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!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Taiwan etc.. (also a photo link)
For all non-facebook members (its hard to believe) heres a link to my Thailand photo album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87838&l=2bb37&id=661120474
I arrived in Taipei on Feb 1st. Taipei is in the very north of taiwan, and its winter here right now. i have been living in balmy summer sonditions for roughly the last 7 months straight. sunny, 30's almost constantly. i get here (dressed in my summer clothing) and its raining and 10 degrees. i am FREEZING. hard to sympathize im sure (- 35 in sk the last i heard...) but i am not prepared for cold weather anymore. anyways, my friend amy logan is living her with her boyfriend, theyre both teaching english, and she has very generously let me stay in her apartment. we've toured around taipei quite a bit, the (current) tallest tower in the world, taipei 101, the National Palace Museum, which has over 700 000 chinese artifacts. its an amazing place, we only stayed a couple hours (they want you to leave when the museum closes apparently) but i could have looked around for days! Also we're been doing quite a lot of shopping. the best purchase ive made so far is a sweater, but there are a lot of other items which have added to my ever increasing backpack.
Currently we are in Hualien, which is a couple hours south (but no warmer incedently). The Taroko Gorge is about 15km away, which is a huge gorge made of marble and there are lots of hiking trails and hot springs. The hot springs are definatly more appealing right now! its chinese new years all this week, so the trains and hotels are really busy with holiday makers celebrating. ive learned a couple random facts about chinese newyears:
-a spirit/demon (i cant remeber his name) who brings bad luck is afraid of the colour red, which is why everything suring new years is red. also afraid of firecrackers, so you have to be on the lookout when walking down the street for people just randomly lighting small fireworks in the street.
-all this week, wearing white (death) and black (something else bad) is considered a bad omen
- on feb 10th, no one should leave their house
-all this week, all garbage is to be collected in the middle of the house, and not thrown away until the 11th, marking the end of last year, and a new beginning.
im not entirely sure how many of these traditions are still followed, but it'll be interesting to see the celebrations, as tonight is new years eve, the party night.
my furture plans have taken somewhat of a drastic change. deciding im not ready to go back to thailand yet, ive decied to go to Kuala Lumpar, whch is in Malaysia for a week or so, and see how that works out. Its also really close Singapore, which is conveinent...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87838&l=2bb37&id=661120474
I arrived in Taipei on Feb 1st. Taipei is in the very north of taiwan, and its winter here right now. i have been living in balmy summer sonditions for roughly the last 7 months straight. sunny, 30's almost constantly. i get here (dressed in my summer clothing) and its raining and 10 degrees. i am FREEZING. hard to sympathize im sure (- 35 in sk the last i heard...) but i am not prepared for cold weather anymore. anyways, my friend amy logan is living her with her boyfriend, theyre both teaching english, and she has very generously let me stay in her apartment. we've toured around taipei quite a bit, the (current) tallest tower in the world, taipei 101, the National Palace Museum, which has over 700 000 chinese artifacts. its an amazing place, we only stayed a couple hours (they want you to leave when the museum closes apparently) but i could have looked around for days! Also we're been doing quite a lot of shopping. the best purchase ive made so far is a sweater, but there are a lot of other items which have added to my ever increasing backpack.
Currently we are in Hualien, which is a couple hours south (but no warmer incedently). The Taroko Gorge is about 15km away, which is a huge gorge made of marble and there are lots of hiking trails and hot springs. The hot springs are definatly more appealing right now! its chinese new years all this week, so the trains and hotels are really busy with holiday makers celebrating. ive learned a couple random facts about chinese newyears:
-a spirit/demon (i cant remeber his name) who brings bad luck is afraid of the colour red, which is why everything suring new years is red. also afraid of firecrackers, so you have to be on the lookout when walking down the street for people just randomly lighting small fireworks in the street.
-all this week, wearing white (death) and black (something else bad) is considered a bad omen
- on feb 10th, no one should leave their house
-all this week, all garbage is to be collected in the middle of the house, and not thrown away until the 11th, marking the end of last year, and a new beginning.
im not entirely sure how many of these traditions are still followed, but it'll be interesting to see the celebrations, as tonight is new years eve, the party night.
my furture plans have taken somewhat of a drastic change. deciding im not ready to go back to thailand yet, ive decied to go to Kuala Lumpar, whch is in Malaysia for a week or so, and see how that works out. Its also really close Singapore, which is conveinent...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
tigers!
I spent my last day in Chiang Mai yesterday on a trek. Normally treks are all about hiking up a mountain and camping out etc.. as i am limited on time (and money) i did a one day tour. The day started out with an hour long elephant ride. Everyone else in my group was a couple, so being the odd one out i got to sit on the elephants neck instead of on the seat on her back! it was really cool, but really bumpy (i was on her shoulder blades after all..) and quite hard to balance. the uys sitting behind me had to keep me steady a couple times. it was so amazing though, ours name was Lina and she ate everything in sight. Like uprooting shrubs as we walked by them. I was proud. Next was visitng 2 hill tribles, which was a bit of a let down. i expected to see their whole village very authentic. Mostly it was a a whole bunch of stalls with people selling stuff. nice stuff, handmade clothing, wovem blankets etc.. but not what i was expecting. We "hiked" to a waterfall next (a 30 minute walk down a road... more to save on gas i think..) which was freaking cold, but it was really humid that day, so it was kind of nice. Last on the agenda was bamboo rafting, which is basically a whole bunch of big bamboo sticks wound together with a guy at the front making sure you down crash into anything as you drift down the river. Luckily our guide ad us put our bathing suits on first becasue youre on the raft, but its pretty much submerged in water the entire time.
I had just enough to get back to my guesthouse, change and get on a night bus to Bangkok. I spent all of 45 minutes there and was on yet another bus to Kanchanburi, which is where i am now. The big attraction here is Tiger Temple, which is sort of a giant animal sanctuary, and you can pet the tigers and get photos. Its 300B to get in, which was fine, its for tigers after all.. Technically its a temple because the monks take care of the animals. Not thinkin about this first, i show up in a tank top, which is of course a big nono. it was an hours bus ride to get a different shirt, so what do it do? well! they seel shirts at the temple! of course they do. So 300B later im sporting a brand new, hardly tacky "thailand tiget temple" short. now i realize 300B is only 10$ canadain, but here some perspecitive. Im paying 90B fr my hotel tonight ($3) and i paid 20 for lunch today (75 cents). so 300 is a fairly obnoxious price. To gain some closure for it, i took 2 completmentary water bottles (yes you heard right. 2) and took a giant roll of toilet paper (no bathroom ever has toliet paper. just a hose). Then i go into the temple area (buddha statue on a cement block.. pretty unimpressive) and a monk has the nerve to ask me for a donation before i leave! I very polietly said that i had just "donated" 600B to get in the temple and i thought that was enough. Then i left laughing to myself. I realize i just told a story about how i laughed at a monk, but i was a bit put out.
I had just enough to get back to my guesthouse, change and get on a night bus to Bangkok. I spent all of 45 minutes there and was on yet another bus to Kanchanburi, which is where i am now. The big attraction here is Tiger Temple, which is sort of a giant animal sanctuary, and you can pet the tigers and get photos. Its 300B to get in, which was fine, its for tigers after all.. Technically its a temple because the monks take care of the animals. Not thinkin about this first, i show up in a tank top, which is of course a big nono. it was an hours bus ride to get a different shirt, so what do it do? well! they seel shirts at the temple! of course they do. So 300B later im sporting a brand new, hardly tacky "thailand tiget temple" short. now i realize 300B is only 10$ canadain, but here some perspecitive. Im paying 90B fr my hotel tonight ($3) and i paid 20 for lunch today (75 cents). so 300 is a fairly obnoxious price. To gain some closure for it, i took 2 completmentary water bottles (yes you heard right. 2) and took a giant roll of toilet paper (no bathroom ever has toliet paper. just a hose). Then i go into the temple area (buddha statue on a cement block.. pretty unimpressive) and a monk has the nerve to ask me for a donation before i leave! I very polietly said that i had just "donated" 600B to get in the temple and i thought that was enough. Then i left laughing to myself. I realize i just told a story about how i laughed at a monk, but i was a bit put out.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Motorbikes
Ive been in Northern Thailand for about a week now, and i think its my favorite area so far. i spent about 5 days in Chiang Mai, touring around all the temples (there are over 300 in the city alone!) venturing out to a small town where they specialize in handmade paper and umbrellas (i bought a tiny one) and managed to do 2 cooking courses! They were both a lot of fun, one was just an independent one and the other is run by a famous thai chef. that one was a lot more intense, and i learned more, but the first one was a lot more fun. basically the whole day is spent cooking and eating. which of course, rules, but it becomes difficult to move after a while and even more difficult to convince yourself to take a walk to burn some energy.
Chiang Mai has 2 really good markets, the night bazar which is everynight and takes up like 10 city blocks. its lots of bootleg dvds, designer knock offs, purses, clothing etc.. lots of fun, but if you even slow down to look at something the vendors are on you like stink on a monkey "i make you good price! how much?! try on!" its a bit much after a while. the other really good ones are the sunday night markets, and i may have gone a little overboard at those ones. lots of handmade clothing and some of the northern hill tribes come into town with their stuff, lots of natrual cotton. anyways, i have a lot of really pretty items form that night..
im currently in Pai, which is a smallish hippie town, only 135 km from Chiang Mai but it takes 4 hours to get here becasue the road is so twisty. i met a girl on the bus who is travelling with 2 guys she met randomly. we are sharing rooms at a guesthouse by the river and today we rented motorbikes, and drove up to a waterfall. it was really beautiful but freezing cold! then i dropped my helmet down the waterfall and had to scramble down to get it befre it fell into oblivion. I wasnt real keen on driving, but i decided to give it a whirl, and it was way easier than i though it would be! i made it about 500 m, turned around sucessfully and went back. i was so proud of myself. next step, buying a harley. (ha!)
Chiang Mai has 2 really good markets, the night bazar which is everynight and takes up like 10 city blocks. its lots of bootleg dvds, designer knock offs, purses, clothing etc.. lots of fun, but if you even slow down to look at something the vendors are on you like stink on a monkey "i make you good price! how much?! try on!" its a bit much after a while. the other really good ones are the sunday night markets, and i may have gone a little overboard at those ones. lots of handmade clothing and some of the northern hill tribes come into town with their stuff, lots of natrual cotton. anyways, i have a lot of really pretty items form that night..
im currently in Pai, which is a smallish hippie town, only 135 km from Chiang Mai but it takes 4 hours to get here becasue the road is so twisty. i met a girl on the bus who is travelling with 2 guys she met randomly. we are sharing rooms at a guesthouse by the river and today we rented motorbikes, and drove up to a waterfall. it was really beautiful but freezing cold! then i dropped my helmet down the waterfall and had to scramble down to get it befre it fell into oblivion. I wasnt real keen on driving, but i decided to give it a whirl, and it was way easier than i though it would be! i made it about 500 m, turned around sucessfully and went back. i was so proud of myself. next step, buying a harley. (ha!)
Friday, January 18, 2008
en route to bangkok
the last week or so has been pretty busy, ive been to 3 different islands (all with fairly nauseating ferry rides) but theyve been so beautiful. Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao were the last 2, i stayed a couple nights on each, and managed to find little huts on the beach to stay in. it was so nice, id go for a hike in the day, then lay in my hammock until dinner. the snorkelling on Ko Tao is amazing, its one of the best palces in the world for it, and i managed to sqeeze in a quick trip before i left this morning. ive never seen so many fish in my life!
im in Chumphon right now, which is pretty much a stopover town for people going to, or coming from Ko Tao. Im taking an overnight bus to bangkok and then straight theough to Chang Mai in the north, which is well known for cooking courses and elephant trekking. The people are apparently much friendlier as well. The novelty of people yelling/pointing/staring at me as i walk down the street has worn off.
im in Chumphon right now, which is pretty much a stopover town for people going to, or coming from Ko Tao. Im taking an overnight bus to bangkok and then straight theough to Chang Mai in the north, which is well known for cooking courses and elephant trekking. The people are apparently much friendlier as well. The novelty of people yelling/pointing/staring at me as i walk down the street has worn off.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thailand!
I arrived in Phuket last night, which is the major touristy town in the south of the country. i didnt get into a hotel until about 830pm, so there wasnt a lot of time for exploring. I did manage to find a cafe close by and get a late dinner. i can tell ill be exploring the cuisine of thailand quite extensively (meaning: ill be eating a lot). I ordered rice with shrimp and basil, brothy soup and a beer and its came to a grand total of 55 BHT. Or under $2 Canadian. Magical. Air conditioning is a luxury that costs, so most choose to go without. it makes for uncomfortable days, but suring the night its not too bad.
This morning i took an early bus to Krabi, about 2 hours south, and a jumping off point to Ko Phi Phi ( or pee pee island as they call it) a really beautiful snorkeling island. im staying in a guesthouse (hostels arent a big thing here). i have a room to myself, 2 beds, a fan (the most important), hot water shower (another thing that costs extra, but why someone would ever want hot water in this country i dont know) for 15$ a night. The cheapy places cost 3-4$ a night, but tis the high season and im not booking aheda, just showing up and begging for rooms.
i took a bus (which is a pickup truck with a cage over the bed and benches installed) to Ao Nang beach (at least i think thats where i was...). The first thing i noticed was that everyone swims fully clothed. not a bathing suit in sight. I waded in to my knees for a bit of a cool down. i look behind me, and see 15 children following me. or course they all start yelling outall the english words they know "hello!" "thank you!". i was completely charmed. A bit later, i was walking down the street and a lady asked if she could take a picture with me. I feel like Paris hilton. the people in general are incredible friendly, one lady offered my an apple while i was sitting waiting for the bus. they also ask really personal questions like how much you weigh (hasnt happened to me yet, but ive heard stories) or if you have a boyfriend (almost every thai ive talked to has asked me this). they dont mean to be intrusive, im told tourists of any kind are just a facination. there are, however, the people (men) who ask if you have a boyfriend, and then offer to stop by your hotel later. they probably mean to be intrusive. (dont worry mom i said no)
This morning i took an early bus to Krabi, about 2 hours south, and a jumping off point to Ko Phi Phi ( or pee pee island as they call it) a really beautiful snorkeling island. im staying in a guesthouse (hostels arent a big thing here). i have a room to myself, 2 beds, a fan (the most important), hot water shower (another thing that costs extra, but why someone would ever want hot water in this country i dont know) for 15$ a night. The cheapy places cost 3-4$ a night, but tis the high season and im not booking aheda, just showing up and begging for rooms.
i took a bus (which is a pickup truck with a cage over the bed and benches installed) to Ao Nang beach (at least i think thats where i was...). The first thing i noticed was that everyone swims fully clothed. not a bathing suit in sight. I waded in to my knees for a bit of a cool down. i look behind me, and see 15 children following me. or course they all start yelling outall the english words they know "hello!" "thank you!". i was completely charmed. A bit later, i was walking down the street and a lady asked if she could take a picture with me. I feel like Paris hilton. the people in general are incredible friendly, one lady offered my an apple while i was sitting waiting for the bus. they also ask really personal questions like how much you weigh (hasnt happened to me yet, but ive heard stories) or if you have a boyfriend (almost every thai ive talked to has asked me this). they dont mean to be intrusive, im told tourists of any kind are just a facination. there are, however, the people (men) who ask if you have a boyfriend, and then offer to stop by your hotel later. they probably mean to be intrusive. (dont worry mom i said no)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Christmas and beyond!
Brett and i declined to trade gifts this year. Instead we decided that our presents to each other would be our trip to Tasmania, and the exorbitant amount of money we paid for our campervan rental. Being that Christmas and New years is the middle of summer, and therefore high seanson for campervan rentals, and we waiting until 3 days before xmas to inquire as to rentals (i was actually laughed at by one employee) they pretty much charged whatever they wanted. We flew in on xmas day, and immediatly drove down to the tasman Penisula, and the historic town of port arthur. Our christmas dinner was pasta, complete with santa hats! it may be my new favorite way to spend christmas! As we were paying so much for our rental, we refused to pay for campsites. Just outside Port Arthur we found a youth hostel. We stopped to stretch our legs and take a look around. As it turns out it was abandoned. It couldnt have been abandoned for very long though. There were still dishes in the drying rack, new garbage bags in the bathrooms (which were open, working and full of hot water) and even a washing machine hooked up. We obviously hit the goldmine on this one, and set up shop for the night. While this was all very cool, the whole "abandoned hostel" thing was fairly eerie. Sort of like the setting of a slasher movie.
Next day we drove up the East Coast to Wineglass Bay, which is a famous scenic lookout and hiking area. We hiked up to the lookout, and then down to the actual beach (shaped oddly like the edge of a wineglass..) which was beautiful. We stopped to make dinner in a place called Bicheno. Its sort of a blah town, except for the magic that happens at dusk. Around 10pm everynight hundreds and hundred of fairy penguins come out of the water, up onto the rocks, and into the fields. im not really sure what they DO in the fields, i mean theyre penguins, but it is a magical experience. Obviously flash photography freaks them out, so my pictures arent great, but they were so cute. Theres nothing quite like sitting on a rock, perfectly still and bein swarmed by a group of tiny, tiny penguins. The strange part is, we were walking back to the car, and there were about 20 of them scattered all over the path. Then, as we pull out of the parking lot, our headlights catch a whole other group! in the parking lot!
The next couple days, we went to various national parks and did hikes with amazing scenery. One night, we stumbled upon lake Barrington, which is, by and large one of the most beautiful lakes ive ever seen. Camping there is technically not allowed, but the gates are closed at 9, so basically if you dont get found out before then, youre good to go! We parked right beside the lake, ate dinner, and watched the sunset. It was amazing. Brett woke me up at the ungodly hour of 645 the next morning, but more than made up for it by cooking me breakfast. We, reluctantly, left lake barrington and moved onto our next hiking spot.
On the 29th we headed back to Hobart, returned the campervan and spent a couple days there. We were lucky enough to be there during the taste of hobart festival, which is like the tast to saskatchewan, but there are no perogies, and its more expensive. But very delicious. There was also the "Sydney to Hobart" boat race, which is a big deal, so there was a mini-fair on the peir as well. Very cool.
Back to Melbourne on New Years eve. It was 42C all day. god only knows what the temperature was come the evening, but it was really hot. A large group of us from the hostel went to federation Square to watch the fireworks, which was very cool. New years day, we were all fairly under the weather, and it was 42 again, which made the hostel VERY uncomfortable. So the best thing we could do was go to the beach!
brett left on the 3rd to do the great ocean road, and now im in sydney staying with some friends. on friday i leave for thailand! Wow... that came fast!
more pictures soon!
Next day we drove up the East Coast to Wineglass Bay, which is a famous scenic lookout and hiking area. We hiked up to the lookout, and then down to the actual beach (shaped oddly like the edge of a wineglass..) which was beautiful. We stopped to make dinner in a place called Bicheno. Its sort of a blah town, except for the magic that happens at dusk. Around 10pm everynight hundreds and hundred of fairy penguins come out of the water, up onto the rocks, and into the fields. im not really sure what they DO in the fields, i mean theyre penguins, but it is a magical experience. Obviously flash photography freaks them out, so my pictures arent great, but they were so cute. Theres nothing quite like sitting on a rock, perfectly still and bein swarmed by a group of tiny, tiny penguins. The strange part is, we were walking back to the car, and there were about 20 of them scattered all over the path. Then, as we pull out of the parking lot, our headlights catch a whole other group! in the parking lot!
The next couple days, we went to various national parks and did hikes with amazing scenery. One night, we stumbled upon lake Barrington, which is, by and large one of the most beautiful lakes ive ever seen. Camping there is technically not allowed, but the gates are closed at 9, so basically if you dont get found out before then, youre good to go! We parked right beside the lake, ate dinner, and watched the sunset. It was amazing. Brett woke me up at the ungodly hour of 645 the next morning, but more than made up for it by cooking me breakfast. We, reluctantly, left lake barrington and moved onto our next hiking spot.
On the 29th we headed back to Hobart, returned the campervan and spent a couple days there. We were lucky enough to be there during the taste of hobart festival, which is like the tast to saskatchewan, but there are no perogies, and its more expensive. But very delicious. There was also the "Sydney to Hobart" boat race, which is a big deal, so there was a mini-fair on the peir as well. Very cool.
Back to Melbourne on New Years eve. It was 42C all day. god only knows what the temperature was come the evening, but it was really hot. A large group of us from the hostel went to federation Square to watch the fireworks, which was very cool. New years day, we were all fairly under the weather, and it was 42 again, which made the hostel VERY uncomfortable. So the best thing we could do was go to the beach!
brett left on the 3rd to do the great ocean road, and now im in sydney staying with some friends. on friday i leave for thailand! Wow... that came fast!
more pictures soon!
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