im home! yay!
i got home on wednesday, after The Longest Day Of My Life (or, TLDOML). i left sydney at 3 pm on wednesday, traveled for 27 hours, and arrived at 1 in the morning on wednesday night. very logical
anyways, almost a week on, im working through my horrendous jetlag, slowly adjusting to the cold and have pretty much surprised everyone i planned to (though i couple fell through.. it happens...)
i was sad to leave at the time, but im SO glad to be home now, and have my feet on the ground, sleep with my cat, use my own bathroom etc...
thus ends this Travel Journal for nicole, and thankyou all for coming
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Malaysia pictures and paradise
Some photos of Malaysia/Singapore:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95362&l=3eee4&id=66112047
my time spent in Ko Chang was far too short. there are 2 ko Chang's in thailand. one is just a couple hours under bangkok, and is a VERY popular holiday island for Thai people, which means its VERY expensive, and VERY populated. The other, is somewhat of a backpacker urban myth. talks of a tropical island that only has a handful of guesthouses? isnt in the guidebooks? vastly secluded and peaceful? no tourists?! such a place couldnt possibly exist! well, im here to spoil the secret. this place exists, and it just as fabulous as everyone says it is. The 2nd Ko Chang is out of Ranong, which is a small fishing village, famous only because it shares a river border with Burma (meaning visa run, more on that later...). Until ko Chang came along. its only a 45 minute ferry ride (i use the word "ferry" very loosly here, its actually the grocery boat taking supplies out to the island 3 times a day), dropping people off at carious guesthouses around the island. the main beach has about 15 guesthouses, all set back from the beach. the whole island has 2 internet cafes, and 3 minimarts. My chosen bungalow was in a completly private beach about an hours walk north of the main beach. 20 minutes through the north trail (there are 2 "roads", the north one, a track through the forest, the other, the south one which leads to an actual asphalt road (for the 3 motobikes on the island)). During the day the power was solar, and at night we had light until the generator ran out. i spent my days laying in my hammock, and at night listening to the waves. in short, it was paradise. I have never been so happy to be without TV, internet, and a mass of people to talk to. there was a giant bookshelf of (mostly) english novels, and a stack of outdated magazines. plenty for me to do. Unfortunatly my time to leave came far too soon, and i can honestly say there was a serious pang of regret as the ferry (grocery boat) pulled away from the island. but, some ko chang is better than no ko chang, so im happy i got to spend at least a bit of time there.
the morning before i headed off to the island, my night bus from bangkok arrived in ranong. ranong shares a river with burma (myanmar), which makes it a popular place for tourists and locals alike to do a visa run. basically this consists of going through thai immigration on ranong, getting your exit stamp, walking 10 minutes to the pier (which makes me wonder, if id gotten my thai exit stamp, and no entrance stamp, what country was i in?) where you take a boat to the border, and burma immigration. there you get a burmese entrance stamp, signed and dated, then immediatly get an exit stamp, signed and dated the same day. back on the boat, to thailand where you get a brand new thai entrance visa, valid for another 30 days!! well, i didnt need to do a visa run, but i desperatly wanted to go to burma, so i took the run anyways. i was hoping id be aboe to at least walk around and take some pictures, but i was hustled back onto the boat pretty quickly. im glad i did it though, now ive been to burma!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95362&l=3eee4&id=66112047
my time spent in Ko Chang was far too short. there are 2 ko Chang's in thailand. one is just a couple hours under bangkok, and is a VERY popular holiday island for Thai people, which means its VERY expensive, and VERY populated. The other, is somewhat of a backpacker urban myth. talks of a tropical island that only has a handful of guesthouses? isnt in the guidebooks? vastly secluded and peaceful? no tourists?! such a place couldnt possibly exist! well, im here to spoil the secret. this place exists, and it just as fabulous as everyone says it is. The 2nd Ko Chang is out of Ranong, which is a small fishing village, famous only because it shares a river border with Burma (meaning visa run, more on that later...). Until ko Chang came along. its only a 45 minute ferry ride (i use the word "ferry" very loosly here, its actually the grocery boat taking supplies out to the island 3 times a day), dropping people off at carious guesthouses around the island. the main beach has about 15 guesthouses, all set back from the beach. the whole island has 2 internet cafes, and 3 minimarts. My chosen bungalow was in a completly private beach about an hours walk north of the main beach. 20 minutes through the north trail (there are 2 "roads", the north one, a track through the forest, the other, the south one which leads to an actual asphalt road (for the 3 motobikes on the island)). During the day the power was solar, and at night we had light until the generator ran out. i spent my days laying in my hammock, and at night listening to the waves. in short, it was paradise. I have never been so happy to be without TV, internet, and a mass of people to talk to. there was a giant bookshelf of (mostly) english novels, and a stack of outdated magazines. plenty for me to do. Unfortunatly my time to leave came far too soon, and i can honestly say there was a serious pang of regret as the ferry (grocery boat) pulled away from the island. but, some ko chang is better than no ko chang, so im happy i got to spend at least a bit of time there.
the morning before i headed off to the island, my night bus from bangkok arrived in ranong. ranong shares a river with burma (myanmar), which makes it a popular place for tourists and locals alike to do a visa run. basically this consists of going through thai immigration on ranong, getting your exit stamp, walking 10 minutes to the pier (which makes me wonder, if id gotten my thai exit stamp, and no entrance stamp, what country was i in?) where you take a boat to the border, and burma immigration. there you get a burmese entrance stamp, signed and dated, then immediatly get an exit stamp, signed and dated the same day. back on the boat, to thailand where you get a brand new thai entrance visa, valid for another 30 days!! well, i didnt need to do a visa run, but i desperatly wanted to go to burma, so i took the run anyways. i was hoping id be aboe to at least walk around and take some pictures, but i was hustled back onto the boat pretty quickly. im glad i did it though, now ive been to burma!!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
My last day in Singapore was spent on Santosa Island. Apparently when Singaporians (?) go on vacation, Australia, NZ and the rest of South East Asia isnt good enough. they need to make their own holiday resort. Enter Santosa Island. "Plastic Fantastic" is fairly descriptive. man made beaches, giant floral displays, cheesy attractions, and a gigantic "merlion" (half fish half lion). Obviously i loved it. All other backpackers ive met scorned it, and then stared open mouthed at me while i explained that the cheesiness was part of the fun! These are probably people that hate disneyland as well. weirdos. Anyways, that took up pretty much an entire day, that evening i went to the Chinatown markets, which were alright.
The next morning i left for KL again, i had a bus all to myself, which was sweet, but the bus driver apparently thought that meant he could do whatever he wanted. Like put on "Rambo". Ironically that movie takes places in the same part of the world im in. (if you havent seen it, dont. really.) My half day in KL was uber-productive. Shopping for purses and movies, then watching said movies and gazing adoringly at my new bags.
Flew to Bangkok last night, and spent all day today at Chatuchak Markets, which is a MASSIVE outdoor weekend market. I actually came back to Bangkok just for these markets, and met a couple guys on the plane who were doing the same thing. There are thousands and thousands of stalls, and no just of crap, really nice stuff too! the only blemish on the day was accidently wandering into the "pet" area. Lots of sad puppies, and a cock fight to top it all off. Awesome. Its crazy humid here right now, the sun hasnt been out much but the heat is so uncomfortable. it poured this afternoon for about an hour, which left like ten thousand people hiding under the market awnings, waiting for it to stop. i took the plunge and kept shopping. (not surprisingly)
The next morning i left for KL again, i had a bus all to myself, which was sweet, but the bus driver apparently thought that meant he could do whatever he wanted. Like put on "Rambo". Ironically that movie takes places in the same part of the world im in. (if you havent seen it, dont. really.) My half day in KL was uber-productive. Shopping for purses and movies, then watching said movies and gazing adoringly at my new bags.
Flew to Bangkok last night, and spent all day today at Chatuchak Markets, which is a MASSIVE outdoor weekend market. I actually came back to Bangkok just for these markets, and met a couple guys on the plane who were doing the same thing. There are thousands and thousands of stalls, and no just of crap, really nice stuff too! the only blemish on the day was accidently wandering into the "pet" area. Lots of sad puppies, and a cock fight to top it all off. Awesome. Its crazy humid here right now, the sun hasnt been out much but the heat is so uncomfortable. it poured this afternoon for about an hour, which left like ten thousand people hiding under the market awnings, waiting for it to stop. i took the plunge and kept shopping. (not surprisingly)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Singapore; where everything is illegal!
I spent 2 nights in Kuala Lampur. Didnt do a whole lot besides shop and walk around, which is a good way to get to know a city.. the downside to malaysia is that they're very conservative people, so yesterday morning i leave the house in my customary "its 35 out" outfit (meaning, shorts and a tank top) and i got cat called and leered at SO much in the first 2 blocks i had to turn back and change. Ick
Arrived in Singapore this afternoon, its only a 6 hour bus ride from KL and besides the customs stoppoints i slept almost the whole way. Speaking of customs, a few fun facts about things you cannot do in Singapore:
- Bring into the country, under any circumstace the following: anything (lighter, toys etc) shaped like a gun or weapon, Chewing gum (im not making this up), Bootleg movies, Drugs, prescription or otherwise (you actually need a prescription for ibprofen here)
-jaywalking (they actually hand out tickets for this here)
amazing. there are signs all over the customs areas that say "Drug smuggling incurs an automatic death penalty. i kid you not.
In any event, i made it through just fine, and met a girl on the bus, Tina. We went out to Raffles Hotel, which is famous for having invented the Singapore Sling. Obviously we had to go into this incredibly fancy hotel and have a drink. The magic was somewhat diminished when we realized that
a) the drinks are $25 each
and b) are not handmade by some fancy bartender, but come out of a spout automatically, like a pop machine
Despite all this, we each had one, took a lot of photos, and i (stealthy backpacker that i am) took a ziploc bag of complimentary peanuts from the bar. Tina left for the airport, and i headed off to the Singapore Art Museum, then took a walk down Orchard Rd, which is a really long Rd, FULL of shopping malls. and not just regular everyday stores, like 3 leves Chanels, and stores id not expect to see in Asia (like A&W for example?? and MAC?). There are no great deals in Singapore, its pretty high class, but its fun to waltz into the stores and pretend like i belong there.
Arrived in Singapore this afternoon, its only a 6 hour bus ride from KL and besides the customs stoppoints i slept almost the whole way. Speaking of customs, a few fun facts about things you cannot do in Singapore:
- Bring into the country, under any circumstace the following: anything (lighter, toys etc) shaped like a gun or weapon, Chewing gum (im not making this up), Bootleg movies, Drugs, prescription or otherwise (you actually need a prescription for ibprofen here)
-jaywalking (they actually hand out tickets for this here)
amazing. there are signs all over the customs areas that say "Drug smuggling incurs an automatic death penalty. i kid you not.
In any event, i made it through just fine, and met a girl on the bus, Tina. We went out to Raffles Hotel, which is famous for having invented the Singapore Sling. Obviously we had to go into this incredibly fancy hotel and have a drink. The magic was somewhat diminished when we realized that
a) the drinks are $25 each
and b) are not handmade by some fancy bartender, but come out of a spout automatically, like a pop machine
Despite all this, we each had one, took a lot of photos, and i (stealthy backpacker that i am) took a ziploc bag of complimentary peanuts from the bar. Tina left for the airport, and i headed off to the Singapore Art Museum, then took a walk down Orchard Rd, which is a really long Rd, FULL of shopping malls. and not just regular everyday stores, like 3 leves Chanels, and stores id not expect to see in Asia (like A&W for example?? and MAC?). There are no great deals in Singapore, its pretty high class, but its fun to waltz into the stores and pretend like i belong there.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Malaysia
i know, i know. 2 posts in a row. amazing.
stayed the night in bangkok yesterday, which was a lot of hassle for very little sleep. and holy moses is it HOT here! id slowly started adjusting to the biting cold in taiwan, and then im thrown back into 34 degrees and humidity. its awful! anyways, i flew to Kuala Lumpur this morning. im staying in chinatown, which is a pretty happening place. lots of shopping to be had. there isnt a LOT to do in the city, the twin towers, which is the 2nd tallest building in the world (1st place until taipei 101 was built). there are some caves outside the city im going to tomorrow, and on wednesday i might take a bus to singapore (i love that i can just "take a bus to singapore") and stay there for a couple days. i wandered through the markets tonight, and somhow emerged with a giant Fendi suitcase. im not entirly sure how it happened.. theyre so efficiant/manipulative! you agree on a price and before you know it, its packed and in your hands! i walked away twice and got the price down significantly (like 1/5 of what he wanted) ut now i have to carry around another suitcase... there may also have been a couple louis vuittons thrown in there... (so cheap! how can i not?!) luckily i stayed away from the dvds.. for now...
the humidity is still killing me, but my guesthouse only had an a/c room left, so i "settled" and am now sleeping in semi-cool comfort. air conditioning and fendi. high class backpacker
stayed the night in bangkok yesterday, which was a lot of hassle for very little sleep. and holy moses is it HOT here! id slowly started adjusting to the biting cold in taiwan, and then im thrown back into 34 degrees and humidity. its awful! anyways, i flew to Kuala Lumpur this morning. im staying in chinatown, which is a pretty happening place. lots of shopping to be had. there isnt a LOT to do in the city, the twin towers, which is the 2nd tallest building in the world (1st place until taipei 101 was built). there are some caves outside the city im going to tomorrow, and on wednesday i might take a bus to singapore (i love that i can just "take a bus to singapore") and stay there for a couple days. i wandered through the markets tonight, and somhow emerged with a giant Fendi suitcase. im not entirly sure how it happened.. theyre so efficiant/manipulative! you agree on a price and before you know it, its packed and in your hands! i walked away twice and got the price down significantly (like 1/5 of what he wanted) ut now i have to carry around another suitcase... there may also have been a couple louis vuittons thrown in there... (so cheap! how can i not?!) luckily i stayed away from the dvds.. for now...
the humidity is still killing me, but my guesthouse only had an a/c room left, so i "settled" and am now sleeping in semi-cool comfort. air conditioning and fendi. high class backpacker
Sunday, February 10, 2008
A fond look back at Taiwan
Im off to Bangkok tonight, and, as usual am at the airport WAY too early. The plus being that ive found a free internet cafe to kill some time on.
Yesterday A'lo and i tried to do an Obscure Museums Tour of Taipei (self guided of course). I discovered, much to my delight, that the there are musuems on the following:
- Nougat
-Drinking Water
-Miniatures
-Paper
-Baking
No. really. These are all legitimate museums. Our first stop was the bakery museum, whch was a bust. what kind of museum do you need an appointment to go see?? honestly! Next was the miniatures, which was magical. Though by the end we were both in need of something normal sized... The paper museum was closed (new years and all..). By this time it was almost 5, raining, cold and we both needed food. So we 86ed the last 2 and had dinner instead. So, our obscure museums tour turned into a tour of 1 musuem and a lot of failed attempts.
Taiwan has a real fondness for free samples. Which is awesome for a couple different reasons. First, as a poor backpacker, ill take anything free can get, especially lunch. 2nd, i can try things in small amounts that id never have tried without it being handed to me. somethings im still not sure what it was i ate. anyways, my point is, the airport gift shops will be re thinking theyir free sample policy after i depart. Over priced airport food + hungry backpacker + free samples.... not a hard calculation!
Yesterday A'lo and i tried to do an Obscure Museums Tour of Taipei (self guided of course). I discovered, much to my delight, that the there are musuems on the following:
- Nougat
-Drinking Water
-Miniatures
-Paper
-Baking
No. really. These are all legitimate museums. Our first stop was the bakery museum, whch was a bust. what kind of museum do you need an appointment to go see?? honestly! Next was the miniatures, which was magical. Though by the end we were both in need of something normal sized... The paper museum was closed (new years and all..). By this time it was almost 5, raining, cold and we both needed food. So we 86ed the last 2 and had dinner instead. So, our obscure museums tour turned into a tour of 1 musuem and a lot of failed attempts.
Taiwan has a real fondness for free samples. Which is awesome for a couple different reasons. First, as a poor backpacker, ill take anything free can get, especially lunch. 2nd, i can try things in small amounts that id never have tried without it being handed to me. somethings im still not sure what it was i ate. anyways, my point is, the airport gift shops will be re thinking theyir free sample policy after i depart. Over priced airport food + hungry backpacker + free samples.... not a hard calculation!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Taiwan photos and a lot of marble
Taiwan photo album: (arent you impressed at my promptness??)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=91678&l=dd493&id=661120474
A'lo and I took a voyage out to Hualien, which is a city about 15km outside of Taroko Gorge National Park. The city itself is sort of "eh". It had a beautiful temple, but other than that there wasnt much to see. It poured rain all day (all week actually) so we hit the night markets for street food and possible shopping. After spending so much time in the Taipei night markets, small city ones werent much use to us. It was Chinese New Years Eve, so we figured it would be party town. Not so much.. we wandered through city center for 2 hours looking for a bar, restaurant that served beer, or really any place we could sit down and have a drink, besides the bench outside the 7-11. It seems that New Years over here is a family event, and not the wild drunk fest it is everywhere else. eventually we stumbled on the only open establishment in the city. it turned out to be really good. Live music! and i tell you, there are few things better than a Taiwanese band covering "Final Countdown" on New Years Eve. Magic. On the way home i ran into a street performance with a lot of cymbals and interprative dancing, which was very cool
This morning we had a (surprisingly) early start, heading to Taroko Gorge first thing. The gorge is a really famous tourist destination in Taiwan. its massive, and completely made of marble. Its incredible! We spent pretty much the whole day there, doing various walks and enjoying the scenery. Taiwan is the 2nd most thermally active place in Asia, but there were no hot springs in the park, OR in Hua lien, which is dissapointing. i actually carried my bathing suit around all day today and yesterday, just in case we ran into one!
Ive got a few days left in Taiwan, which may or may not be spent shopping and trying to stay warm!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=91678&l=dd493&id=661120474
A'lo and I took a voyage out to Hualien, which is a city about 15km outside of Taroko Gorge National Park. The city itself is sort of "eh". It had a beautiful temple, but other than that there wasnt much to see. It poured rain all day (all week actually) so we hit the night markets for street food and possible shopping. After spending so much time in the Taipei night markets, small city ones werent much use to us. It was Chinese New Years Eve, so we figured it would be party town. Not so much.. we wandered through city center for 2 hours looking for a bar, restaurant that served beer, or really any place we could sit down and have a drink, besides the bench outside the 7-11. It seems that New Years over here is a family event, and not the wild drunk fest it is everywhere else. eventually we stumbled on the only open establishment in the city. it turned out to be really good. Live music! and i tell you, there are few things better than a Taiwanese band covering "Final Countdown" on New Years Eve. Magic. On the way home i ran into a street performance with a lot of cymbals and interprative dancing, which was very cool
This morning we had a (surprisingly) early start, heading to Taroko Gorge first thing. The gorge is a really famous tourist destination in Taiwan. its massive, and completely made of marble. Its incredible! We spent pretty much the whole day there, doing various walks and enjoying the scenery. Taiwan is the 2nd most thermally active place in Asia, but there were no hot springs in the park, OR in Hua lien, which is dissapointing. i actually carried my bathing suit around all day today and yesterday, just in case we ran into one!
Ive got a few days left in Taiwan, which may or may not be spent shopping and trying to stay warm!
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