Thursday, June 29, 2006
Japan pics up!
Lots of Japan pics up at flickr. More to come, and I promise that I'll get some journals of Japan up as well, soon!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
I'm still in Japan!
Yep, and I've been to Tokyo, Kyoto, the Kiso valley (Tsumago/Magome), and Hiroshima. Updates on at least some of my adventures here will be forthcoming in the next couple days!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Singapore Again: June 16-17
Took the bus back to Singapore, walked from Lavender bus terminal back to the hostel, dropped my stuff, went for a long walk looking for food – eventually had a carrot cake (not what it sounds like - it was some sort of omelette) and some UNBELIEVABLY good fruit. Soursop, mango, and honey melon. The mango was the best – sweet and tangy. And the soursop (which tastes just like sour apple) was perfect as well.
Malacca: June 13-16
In Malacca, stayed at the Travellers’ Lodge, a decent place with aircon and hot showers (shared). The morning of the 14th, I headed out into Malacca. Had some roti canai and kopi again for breakfast, then walked to the Maritime Museum (housed in a recreation of a Portuguese galleon). It was a fairly interesting museum, focused on Malacca’s history vis-à-vis the ocean, trading, etc. It also had a section on the actual ocean (wildlife, etc). Then I walked through town square (leftover from Dutch colonization), then Chinatown (where there were a lot of cool things to buy, but all too big to get home). Then St. Paul’s hill, where the bones of an old Portuguese church stand. Finished up by passing by the big mall (wanted to look in the Tokyo Lonely Planet book).
Friday, June 16, 2006
Malaysia Pics Up!
Check out my flickr site, where there are new sets of pictures from both Kuala Lumpur and Taman Negara, Malaysia. Some good shots in there, I think.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
One Month Out
Well, it's been a full month now since I left New York. It's been a great trip so far, but the last couple of weeks have felt a bit rushed (because I wanted to do as much as possible before by flight to Japan). I'm really looking forward to Japan now, though (only two days away). And after Japan, my pace should slow down a bit. I have no deadlines after I get to Thailand, save that I fly out November 1. I think I'm going to spend the first week or so after Japan relaxing and figuring out where I want to go until November.
Taman Negara: June 10-13
Taman Negara is one of the oldest primary rainforests still in existence. 130 million years old. That's some old jungle.
June 10, out early, more roti canai, long walk to the bus. Nice AC bus up to Kuala Tembeling, then a 3 hour boat ride in a very narrow shallow wooden boat. Fun! Got to Nusa Camp, staying in a hostel room, six beds, only one me. Big group of Singaporean Malays staying in some of the other hostel rooms – there are cottages and chalets here as well. It’s pretty empty, really. Had dinner (the meals here were rather uninspiring). Then a night walk – if you ever see green reflections of your flashlight in the jungle at night, it’s a spider. Heh. Saw spiders, a snake (climbing a tree!), a scorpion, other bugs.
June 11, hike up Warisan hill – pretty steep climb, nice views at the top. All of my tour stuff is with Barry and Sharon, from Canada – they’re birders. So there’s constant “ooh, look” followed by an identification session from their books. They seem like nice people, though. Back for lunch, then the Canopy walk – Asri, our guide, takes us in the boat to the walk, which is the longest canopy walk in the world. Precariously swaying rope bridges 40 meters above the rainforest make for a good afternoon. Then a little rapids shooting, but there weren’t many of us in the boat so we didn’t get that wet.
June 12, a walk to Asli Waterfall. Swam at the waterfall – it was great. Then a trip to Gua Telinga, a cave. Tons of bats, a snake, and squeezing myself through very tight places (I’m glad I’ve lost a few pounds!). I got very dirty and sweaty, and I REALLY needed to do laundry.
June 13 was a day of travel. 2 hours downriver (by myself), then 3 hours on the bus, then a walk to Puduraya Bus Terminal, then finding the right place to buy a ticket, then waiting an hour, then a 2 hour bus to Malacca, then a 20 minute bus downtown.
June 10, out early, more roti canai, long walk to the bus. Nice AC bus up to Kuala Tembeling, then a 3 hour boat ride in a very narrow shallow wooden boat. Fun! Got to Nusa Camp, staying in a hostel room, six beds, only one me. Big group of Singaporean Malays staying in some of the other hostel rooms – there are cottages and chalets here as well. It’s pretty empty, really. Had dinner (the meals here were rather uninspiring). Then a night walk – if you ever see green reflections of your flashlight in the jungle at night, it’s a spider. Heh. Saw spiders, a snake (climbing a tree!), a scorpion, other bugs.
June 11, hike up Warisan hill – pretty steep climb, nice views at the top. All of my tour stuff is with Barry and Sharon, from Canada – they’re birders. So there’s constant “ooh, look” followed by an identification session from their books. They seem like nice people, though. Back for lunch, then the Canopy walk – Asri, our guide, takes us in the boat to the walk, which is the longest canopy walk in the world. Precariously swaying rope bridges 40 meters above the rainforest make for a good afternoon. Then a little rapids shooting, but there weren’t many of us in the boat so we didn’t get that wet.
June 12, a walk to Asli Waterfall. Swam at the waterfall – it was great. Then a trip to Gua Telinga, a cave. Tons of bats, a snake, and squeezing myself through very tight places (I’m glad I’ve lost a few pounds!). I got very dirty and sweaty, and I REALLY needed to do laundry.
June 13 was a day of travel. 2 hours downriver (by myself), then 3 hours on the bus, then a walk to Puduraya Bus Terminal, then finding the right place to buy a ticket, then waiting an hour, then a 2 hour bus to Malacca, then a 20 minute bus downtown.
Kuala Lumpur: June 8-10
8th of June - the bus to KL from Singapore. It’s a nice bus – individual tv screens (watching Halloween H20 – heh – crappy horror on a bus in Malaysia), food, water, big plush seats. Not a bad way to travel. On the way into Malaysia, had to go through Singapore customs about 30 minutes after leaving, on the Singapore side of the causeway bridge. Then through Malay customs on the other side. A bit annoying, but it didn’t take too long. I should be on the bus about another 2 ½hours.
When I arrived at KL, took a couple minutes to find the LRT system, then tried to get money and couldn’t. Bad news. Then tried a different ATM, less money, and was able to. Ok. So I take the commuter train one stop to get on the Putra LRT to Masjid Jamek and then change to the Star LRT. Which I then take to the end of the line. After 45 minutes of walking around (and worrying that I was not going to find the place before they left for the day, I found the travel agent in some random office complex in northern KL. Ok, get up there and then find out that they only take cash. Gah. So I head back down, and lucky for me, the ATM nearby is one of the ones that actually works for me. I take out more cash, get back upstairs, the guy there gives me some water, and I get my package paid for. Back to the LRT, to my hotel next to Puduraya bus station. Craphole, dirty shared bathroom, but I have AC and a power outlet. So there’s that. Plus, cheap internet in the lobby. So I drop my stuff off, head out for some food. Walking for a little while, then stop at a hawker center in little India. Had roti canai and something else with chicken in it and rice – I still don’t know what it was, but it was damn tasty. Then back to the hotel, after seeing Merdeka Square and a few other sights (including Chinatown, which is very similar to Canal street in NYC) along the way.
Next morning (the 9th), walking around KL. Roti canai for breakfast, walked to Berjaya Times Square (big mall), freaked out a little because money wouldn’t come out of the ATM, then found different ATM that worked. Saw the Petronas Towers, walked some more, actually ended up getting lunch at Fridays (after the money incident I really just wanted some western food), hamburger and fries and lemonade. I wanted a western meal! So sue me. I went nearly a month without one.
When I arrived at KL, took a couple minutes to find the LRT system, then tried to get money and couldn’t. Bad news. Then tried a different ATM, less money, and was able to. Ok. So I take the commuter train one stop to get on the Putra LRT to Masjid Jamek and then change to the Star LRT. Which I then take to the end of the line. After 45 minutes of walking around (and worrying that I was not going to find the place before they left for the day, I found the travel agent in some random office complex in northern KL. Ok, get up there and then find out that they only take cash. Gah. So I head back down, and lucky for me, the ATM nearby is one of the ones that actually works for me. I take out more cash, get back upstairs, the guy there gives me some water, and I get my package paid for. Back to the LRT, to my hotel next to Puduraya bus station. Craphole, dirty shared bathroom, but I have AC and a power outlet. So there’s that. Plus, cheap internet in the lobby. So I drop my stuff off, head out for some food. Walking for a little while, then stop at a hawker center in little India. Had roti canai and something else with chicken in it and rice – I still don’t know what it was, but it was damn tasty. Then back to the hotel, after seeing Merdeka Square and a few other sights (including Chinatown, which is very similar to Canal street in NYC) along the way.
Next morning (the 9th), walking around KL. Roti canai for breakfast, walked to Berjaya Times Square (big mall), freaked out a little because money wouldn’t come out of the ATM, then found different ATM that worked. Saw the Petronas Towers, walked some more, actually ended up getting lunch at Fridays (after the money incident I really just wanted some western food), hamburger and fries and lemonade. I wanted a western meal! So sue me. I went nearly a month without one.
Singapore: June 5-7
I went to Orchard Road, the main shopping district, where I found a “Visitor Hospitality Lounge” that they set up for the Great Singapore Sale, where I was able to sit for 15 minutes in an awesome massage chair in the AC, with a guy bringing me free drinks. Now that's a nice thing after walking around for 4 hours. Tried to go to Borders to read a bit and have coffee, but you can’t do both here! No unpaid merchandise in the café area. Stupid Singapore. I eventually got a hazelnut latte at a Starbucks, and I have to admit that it was delicious. I just needed a little Western coffee... I miss real coffee.
Had chicken murtabak for lunch at the Wisma Atria food court. So tasty. Sort of like an Indian quesadilla with curry. Eventually headed back to the hostel, did a little internet research on travel to Kuala Lumpur and Taman Negara, made a reservation for a package trip from KL to Taman Negara, then decided to take the luxury coach to KL. Headed out to find the Copthorne Orchid hotel – took the MRT when I should have taken the bus (MRT just doubled back on itself), then walked a long way to find out that they don’t take credit cards… Walked all the way back to the MRT station, got cash, headed back on the bus. Got tickets for Thursday morning, then caught the bus back to Little India.
Went to Sentosa Island on the 7th. Meh. Decent beach, tons of Singaporean teens playing beach volleyball. Had a tasty smoothie from New Zealand Natural. Took the MRT to the cable car – waste of money. Walked by the Sentosa Merlion, then down the beach, then to the Southernmost Point in continental Asia. Woo. Then a nature walk, then back to the hostel.
Had chicken murtabak for lunch at the Wisma Atria food court. So tasty. Sort of like an Indian quesadilla with curry. Eventually headed back to the hostel, did a little internet research on travel to Kuala Lumpur and Taman Negara, made a reservation for a package trip from KL to Taman Negara, then decided to take the luxury coach to KL. Headed out to find the Copthorne Orchid hotel – took the MRT when I should have taken the bus (MRT just doubled back on itself), then walked a long way to find out that they don’t take credit cards… Walked all the way back to the MRT station, got cash, headed back on the bus. Got tickets for Thursday morning, then caught the bus back to Little India.
Went to Sentosa Island on the 7th. Meh. Decent beach, tons of Singaporean teens playing beach volleyball. Had a tasty smoothie from New Zealand Natural. Took the MRT to the cable car – waste of money. Walked by the Sentosa Merlion, then down the beach, then to the Southernmost Point in continental Asia. Woo. Then a nature walk, then back to the hostel.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Yes, I'm still here.
Sorry for the lack of posting. I've been holed up in the jungle for the last several days, so I haven't had access to the internet! Before the 17th there will be updates catching you up to the present, along with new pictures at flickr. Can't promise anything more than that right now!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
June 4-5: Bali
The trip back from Gili T to Kuta, Bali was a long one. Left Trawangan at about 8:15 AM on a boat to Bangsal (about 25 minutes). Then an hour and a half bus ride to Lembar harbor, Lombok. Then a 5 hour ferry ride to Padangbai, at the end of which the captain attempted to park us at the ferry dock no less than four times, backing up and doing a 360 after each attempt. This process took about an hour. He was either drunk or it was his first day.
After we finally got off the boat, another bus ride, to Ubud, where everyone but me got off the bus. So it was just me and the bus driver for the last hour, getting me to Kuta about 8 PM. I got off the bus, avoided the touts and quickly found a nice clean cheap room to spend the night. Then a quick dinner, and a pirated copy of X-Men III. God, I'm glad I didn't pay to see that in the theatre. So bad.
The next morning, a bit of walking around Kuta, then off to the airport again.
After we finally got off the boat, another bus ride, to Ubud, where everyone but me got off the bus. So it was just me and the bus driver for the last hour, getting me to Kuta about 8 PM. I got off the bus, avoided the touts and quickly found a nice clean cheap room to spend the night. Then a quick dinner, and a pirated copy of X-Men III. God, I'm glad I didn't pay to see that in the theatre. So bad.
The next morning, a bit of walking around Kuta, then off to the airport again.
To June 4: Advanced!
So, after the last post, I decided to stay a bit longer in Gili Trawangan and get my Advanced PADI certification. A few more days, a few more dives, a few more walks around a tiny sun-drenched island. Not a bad way to spend my days.
Aside from the fact that the dives were all great and I fully intend to start diving as often as possible, there is little to report about the rest of my time in Gili T.
Aside from the fact that the dives were all great and I fully intend to start diving as often as possible, there is little to report about the rest of my time in Gili T.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)