greetings, again. i left off with what was a riveting tale of my few days in cambodia, which, is all you really need in my opinion.
we left siem reap bright and early (well not so much bright considering it was 6 am) and boarded our first bus that would bring us to saigon/ho chi minh city. this bus was nothing like our bus to siem reap: it was full, smelly, and uncomfortable. i cannot imagine what it would have been like had sarah and i not stocked up on dramamine.
an unpeaceful sleep later we arrived back in phnom penh for the bus switch. the first leg was over! onto the second bus, still dramamined up, i enjoyed being squished against the window while two people shared the aisle seat next to me with absolutely zero regard for my need of personal space. my "accidental" shoves and elbows didnt phase them and my stink eye was repelled without even making them flinch.
we crossed the border and were in vietnam! we arrived at our hotel, madam cucs hotel 127, after an awful cab ride where we were scammed beyond belief. these cabbies definitely know whats up and how to get you when youre down. if we didnt have all of our luggage we would have been out of there in a hot second but clearly we know better and it is better to pay the 5 dollar fare and just get over it. after such a long day we ventured in for some food which was quite difficult - pork uterus is not something i would like to try. we finally found food and then passed out.
our next day in saigon was interesting. the city did not meet my imagined expectations minus the millions of motorbikes that i knew would zoom by me without thinking. i had the idea that saigon would be old world like with pretty buildings and charm thrown into the bustling city life. it wasnt. saigon is just a dirty city with very little i liked, except the market. sarah and i never turn down a good market. we ventured our way through the millions of fake bags, jewelry and lacquered items and came out with a few quality purchases such as our "good morning vietnam" shirts. the day had passed and before we knew it it was time to head to the train station to meet kay in nha trang!
we arrived to nha trang very early in the morning and already our spirits were lifted. nha trang is known as a beach town but even if it didnt have the beach i still think it was more charming than saigon. we arrived at our guesthouse, may huy (pronounced mais oui) where we fell in love with the place and the friendly staff who took great care of us. after another early morning nap we were reunited with our best friend kay who were are going to live with in beijing. we got settled, ate, chitchatted and then hit the beach, had great dinners and explored the local night life. perfect day. repeat 2 more times.
we said goodbye to may huy and boarded our train to hue. another dramamine filled night sleep later and we had arrived at binh minh hotel. hue is a quaint little town with cute shops and cafes. the first day we explored the city and scoped out the river and citadel which is the citys main attraction. the citadels walls are 18 feet thick!!! thats a lot of bricks people. after our tourist bout we decided that our time would be best spent at the pool and buying pictures from local photographers. we came home with some gorgeous prints which totaled about 1 dollar! a little goes a long way in the nam.
the next day we said a tearful and early goodbye to kay and then headed out for our private half day boat tour. we moseyed along the river and soaked up some sun while stopping at various points along the way. the first stop, a pagoda, was gorgeous and sarah and i got in a bit of meditation time. next, we headed to the tombs and then a temple. while the stops were great and interesting the best part was just seeing the city from the "lazy river" and soaking in the city from another angle. we also had a great lunch in the process cooked by the wife of our boat driver. we headed back home and then were on our way to the train station for another long ride to hanoi.
hanoi is what i believed vietnam would be like. the buildings are quaint, the people friendly, and the french influence is obvious. it has charm while still being a bustling city. we stayed in the old quarter which is a great area and has everything to offer. the first day we just got a feel for the quarter and strolled around the lake area looking in various shops and cafes along the way. we soon unleashed our need for silk scarves and now there are none left in the country. get ready for presents, people! hanoi was great for us because we could take our time and relax and do what we wanted when we wanted. we liked lazily soaking up the city and taking our time with the sites and shops. we also took in a water puppet show which was highly entertaining even though we understood nothing. the one downside to hanoi is the patch of skin i am now missing from my lower right calf. word to the wise - be careful and do not slip when getting off motorbike taxis. exhaust pipes are hot and will burn your skin off. it is not fun. despite the missing flesh, hanoi was my favorite city in vietnam. we wined, dined, shopped, and really just "lived".
we are departing for shanghai tonight where we will spend a few leisurely days before embarking on our 9 day tour of china. you will hear of that adventure later.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
There's Nothing Funny about Cambodia
hello, again. i am currently writing to you from hanoi, vietnam. it is our last day here and later tonight we head to shanghai, well, nanning and then take a plan to shanghai from there.
before i get into stories from the 'nam, i must first tell you of cambodia, if i can remember that far back.
we flew from bangkok to cambodia and arrived in phnom penh. our guesthouse, grandview (name is not fitting) was in the midst of a backpacker road with tons of restaurants and cafes where "happy" pizzas are plentiful (at some places you can even ask for extra happy). we had dinner, some drinks and were down for the count.
we woke up early the following morning to head to the SE2 museum, on old high school where pol pot and his regime tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of cambodians whom were assumed to be against the khymer. like walking around dachau in germany, i could feel all that had gone on there. there were pictures of individuals who were brought and killed there under gruesome ways which, excuse this phrase, brought such an awful history to life in my eyes.
after the museum we headed back to grandview for a quick lunch before boarding the bus to siem reap. we had an entire bus to ourselves and after a lovely 8 hour nap we arrived at jasmine lodge. our staff could not have been more friendly and helped us book our tour of angkor wat (the largest religious site in the world). we had been told that getting there for sunrise was breathtaking so we decided to go to bed early to wake up at 4 am. of course, the morning we decide to do this, the sunrise is clouded by a wonderful rain shower. the clouds and mist eventually did clear and we were able to enjoy some of the other temples in the area in full sun. the temples were incredible and depicted such intricate detail of life in cambodia through carvings. many people, we were told, spend about 3-4 days returning to angkor wat, but sarah and i could not have been more content with our 6 hours. i think if we had spent days there the temples would have merged together making the experience far less memorable.
we returned around 11 am and found it to be a perfect time for a nap. after finishing a peaceful sleep we just hung out on our rooftop terrace and read before enjoying a great happy hour in "downtown" siem reap followed by some market stall shopping and then a delicious traditional dinner of khymer cuisine at khymer kitchen.
then it was back to jasmine before waking up early yet again for our 2 buses to saigon.
before i get into stories from the 'nam, i must first tell you of cambodia, if i can remember that far back.
we flew from bangkok to cambodia and arrived in phnom penh. our guesthouse, grandview (name is not fitting) was in the midst of a backpacker road with tons of restaurants and cafes where "happy" pizzas are plentiful (at some places you can even ask for extra happy). we had dinner, some drinks and were down for the count.
we woke up early the following morning to head to the SE2 museum, on old high school where pol pot and his regime tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of cambodians whom were assumed to be against the khymer. like walking around dachau in germany, i could feel all that had gone on there. there were pictures of individuals who were brought and killed there under gruesome ways which, excuse this phrase, brought such an awful history to life in my eyes.
after the museum we headed back to grandview for a quick lunch before boarding the bus to siem reap. we had an entire bus to ourselves and after a lovely 8 hour nap we arrived at jasmine lodge. our staff could not have been more friendly and helped us book our tour of angkor wat (the largest religious site in the world). we had been told that getting there for sunrise was breathtaking so we decided to go to bed early to wake up at 4 am. of course, the morning we decide to do this, the sunrise is clouded by a wonderful rain shower. the clouds and mist eventually did clear and we were able to enjoy some of the other temples in the area in full sun. the temples were incredible and depicted such intricate detail of life in cambodia through carvings. many people, we were told, spend about 3-4 days returning to angkor wat, but sarah and i could not have been more content with our 6 hours. i think if we had spent days there the temples would have merged together making the experience far less memorable.
we returned around 11 am and found it to be a perfect time for a nap. after finishing a peaceful sleep we just hung out on our rooftop terrace and read before enjoying a great happy hour in "downtown" siem reap followed by some market stall shopping and then a delicious traditional dinner of khymer cuisine at khymer kitchen.
then it was back to jasmine before waking up early yet again for our 2 buses to saigon.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Monks, Meditation and Massages
greetings. i deeply apologize for what appears to be the longest gap between posts since the beginning of this adventure. i already got yelled at from gary himself and since no one else is my parent you cant express the need for blogs in such a vulgar manner although i bet youre thinking it to yourselves. so fear not, i am here and ready to share.
when i last left you we had just returned from 6 wonderful days of sun, happy hours and all the rest that goes along with general beach merriment. we took another long train ride and were in bangkok. we decided that after such a long journey and our need to be presentable when showing up to the temple the following day we were in need of a bit of luxury. luckilly, sarah and her mom had been to bangkok before and we decided that it would be worth it to stay at their previous hotel, ibrik. we had a lovely room with a balcony that faced the river in addition to a hot shower which these days has been quite difficult to come by.
we settled in, ate lunch and then perused the local market. i have never smelled so many conflicting scents in my entire life. you could have a fish vendor next to a flower vendor next to a sweets vendor. now take that aroma and multiply it by 1,000,000 and there is the local market in bangkok. a successful t-shirt purchase later, we were back at the river room in ibrik relaxing before our last bit of the high life: dinner at the famed suparta river house. we had a wonderful dinner on the water and treated ourselves to our first glass of wine since leaving australia. we had low expectations of wine in thailand but it was better than goon and thats all that counts!!
the next day we did a bit of sightseeing before heading to our project in the late afternoon. we went to the famed wat pho and saw the reclining buddah, which is incredible. this is one massive buddah and in addition to its enormity it is completely gold from head to toe which makes the sight even that much more spectacular. after bonding with the first of many buddahs, we went to the massage region of the temple (wat pho is the one of the original schools for thai massage) and enjoyed a nice half hour relaxation break. we headed back to ibrik for a last sweep of our room and with a tearful goodbye we left the high life and headed for wat arun.
we must have been a sight for sore eyes. the taxi dropped us off in the middle of the main temple grounds and for about 10 minutes or so sarah and i just stared and wandered aimlessly in hope of finding something that would point us in the direction of the volunteer center. finally someone found us and correctly guessed that we were the newest additions to the volunteer team. the man, known as hartanto or "teacher" as we often call him, is the head of the meditation center and volunteer program.
the center and program was founded by a couple in florida who had known hartanto and wanted to repay their thanks to him after he helped them adopt two thai children. hartanto runs it and in accordance with the thai ministry of education, the center helps thai teens have a better life. the program offers them a year of schooling in addition to jobs at the local hospital and engineering centers. the children are learning english with the guarantee of a job the following year.
we helped to teach these children english in the morning for a few days but then were told that a summer school program had come up and we would be teaching younger elementary school children for the remainder of our time at the center. teaching was great and sarah and i proved to be a great team. there is now a group of 20 thai children who are well versed in "there was a crocodile..." and "everywhere we go..."!! in addition to the elementary school, we taught adults who worked for hitachi electronics on tuesday and thursday afternoons. this class was very fun and we enjoyed working on pronunciation and detail with the adults. some of our classes received very high acclaim!!
we slept at the dorm with the other girls and by the end of our two weeks sleeping on the floor was somewhat natural feeling (yeah, right - the second we got on the sleeper train to chiang mai it was like the hard floor had never happened!)
during the off hours when we were not teaching (which was often enough) we would read, meditate and hang out with the head monk (pra metti; pra means monk in thai). pra metti was the funniest man i have ever met. no matter what you were doing he always seemed to have something more interesting (at least to him) for you to be doing such as chopping coconuts, picking flowers or watching bbc television with him.
i have found that although it is very difficult for me, i greatly enjoy meditation. hartanto taught us that it is not about being at inner peace with yourself. it is the opposite; instead of thinking about calming thoughts or just being one with your thoughts, you are not supposed to do that. you can be aware of thoughts and feelings but aside from that awareness you are not meant to follow them any further. if a bug just bit you or you are thinking about something you forgot to do, just acknowledge that you have thought it and then put it aside. the main idea of inside meditation is to follow your breath and for lack of a better buddhist phrase to finish with, see where it takes you. i have tried to continue with meditation at least once daily since we have finished teaching. sometimes i am successful and others i am not. the key for me is to not beat myself up after a "bad" session just to say that i sat for however long as i did and then know that i will try again later or the next day and maybe have a great session. good or bad, as long as you continue to try thats all that matters.
we left bangkok for a 5 day mini vacation to chiang mai which is in northern thailand. its a good thing we went there after our volunteer stint because i had plenty of saved money that didnt go to guest houses and hostels. thats right folks, youve guessed it, the extra cash went to presents for all of you (and myself, obvi.) chiang mai was the perfect place to relax. we got massaged, ate wonderful food (sarah and i managed to find the only restaurant in thailand that serves bagels and lox!), and graced the local shops and markets with our burning wallets. when we werent burning through money, we were laying by the pool at our guest house and reading.
and of course, we couldnt go to chiang mai without taking a thai cooking course. our course was lovely and the people who we shared the day with were great. our teacher was very enthusiastic and we had a great time learning about thai ingredients and how to prepare: hot and sour soup, chicken pad se ew, chicken with cashews, spicy papaya salad, green curry with my very own homemade curry paste, and sticky rice with mango. by the end of the course (3:30 pm) we could hardly move due to the fullness and took our leftovers home for dinner.
we are currently back in bangkok - we had one farewell nights sleep with the beloved floor - and fly to cambodia tonight for a few days before meeting the lovely kay in vietnam. its amazing to think that we are over half way through this trip and in a mere few weeks will be finished with the moving around every few days; we will finally be stationed in a city!!
thats all for now. keep reading.
when i last left you we had just returned from 6 wonderful days of sun, happy hours and all the rest that goes along with general beach merriment. we took another long train ride and were in bangkok. we decided that after such a long journey and our need to be presentable when showing up to the temple the following day we were in need of a bit of luxury. luckilly, sarah and her mom had been to bangkok before and we decided that it would be worth it to stay at their previous hotel, ibrik. we had a lovely room with a balcony that faced the river in addition to a hot shower which these days has been quite difficult to come by.
we settled in, ate lunch and then perused the local market. i have never smelled so many conflicting scents in my entire life. you could have a fish vendor next to a flower vendor next to a sweets vendor. now take that aroma and multiply it by 1,000,000 and there is the local market in bangkok. a successful t-shirt purchase later, we were back at the river room in ibrik relaxing before our last bit of the high life: dinner at the famed suparta river house. we had a wonderful dinner on the water and treated ourselves to our first glass of wine since leaving australia. we had low expectations of wine in thailand but it was better than goon and thats all that counts!!
the next day we did a bit of sightseeing before heading to our project in the late afternoon. we went to the famed wat pho and saw the reclining buddah, which is incredible. this is one massive buddah and in addition to its enormity it is completely gold from head to toe which makes the sight even that much more spectacular. after bonding with the first of many buddahs, we went to the massage region of the temple (wat pho is the one of the original schools for thai massage) and enjoyed a nice half hour relaxation break. we headed back to ibrik for a last sweep of our room and with a tearful goodbye we left the high life and headed for wat arun.
we must have been a sight for sore eyes. the taxi dropped us off in the middle of the main temple grounds and for about 10 minutes or so sarah and i just stared and wandered aimlessly in hope of finding something that would point us in the direction of the volunteer center. finally someone found us and correctly guessed that we were the newest additions to the volunteer team. the man, known as hartanto or "teacher" as we often call him, is the head of the meditation center and volunteer program.
the center and program was founded by a couple in florida who had known hartanto and wanted to repay their thanks to him after he helped them adopt two thai children. hartanto runs it and in accordance with the thai ministry of education, the center helps thai teens have a better life. the program offers them a year of schooling in addition to jobs at the local hospital and engineering centers. the children are learning english with the guarantee of a job the following year.
we helped to teach these children english in the morning for a few days but then were told that a summer school program had come up and we would be teaching younger elementary school children for the remainder of our time at the center. teaching was great and sarah and i proved to be a great team. there is now a group of 20 thai children who are well versed in "there was a crocodile..." and "everywhere we go..."!! in addition to the elementary school, we taught adults who worked for hitachi electronics on tuesday and thursday afternoons. this class was very fun and we enjoyed working on pronunciation and detail with the adults. some of our classes received very high acclaim!!
we slept at the dorm with the other girls and by the end of our two weeks sleeping on the floor was somewhat natural feeling (yeah, right - the second we got on the sleeper train to chiang mai it was like the hard floor had never happened!)
during the off hours when we were not teaching (which was often enough) we would read, meditate and hang out with the head monk (pra metti; pra means monk in thai). pra metti was the funniest man i have ever met. no matter what you were doing he always seemed to have something more interesting (at least to him) for you to be doing such as chopping coconuts, picking flowers or watching bbc television with him.
i have found that although it is very difficult for me, i greatly enjoy meditation. hartanto taught us that it is not about being at inner peace with yourself. it is the opposite; instead of thinking about calming thoughts or just being one with your thoughts, you are not supposed to do that. you can be aware of thoughts and feelings but aside from that awareness you are not meant to follow them any further. if a bug just bit you or you are thinking about something you forgot to do, just acknowledge that you have thought it and then put it aside. the main idea of inside meditation is to follow your breath and for lack of a better buddhist phrase to finish with, see where it takes you. i have tried to continue with meditation at least once daily since we have finished teaching. sometimes i am successful and others i am not. the key for me is to not beat myself up after a "bad" session just to say that i sat for however long as i did and then know that i will try again later or the next day and maybe have a great session. good or bad, as long as you continue to try thats all that matters.
we left bangkok for a 5 day mini vacation to chiang mai which is in northern thailand. its a good thing we went there after our volunteer stint because i had plenty of saved money that didnt go to guest houses and hostels. thats right folks, youve guessed it, the extra cash went to presents for all of you (and myself, obvi.) chiang mai was the perfect place to relax. we got massaged, ate wonderful food (sarah and i managed to find the only restaurant in thailand that serves bagels and lox!), and graced the local shops and markets with our burning wallets. when we werent burning through money, we were laying by the pool at our guest house and reading.
and of course, we couldnt go to chiang mai without taking a thai cooking course. our course was lovely and the people who we shared the day with were great. our teacher was very enthusiastic and we had a great time learning about thai ingredients and how to prepare: hot and sour soup, chicken pad se ew, chicken with cashews, spicy papaya salad, green curry with my very own homemade curry paste, and sticky rice with mango. by the end of the course (3:30 pm) we could hardly move due to the fullness and took our leftovers home for dinner.
we are currently back in bangkok - we had one farewell nights sleep with the beloved floor - and fly to cambodia tonight for a few days before meeting the lovely kay in vietnam. its amazing to think that we are over half way through this trip and in a mere few weeks will be finished with the moving around every few days; we will finally be stationed in a city!!
thats all for now. keep reading.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Malaysia: Toilet Paper Not Included, Ko Samui: I Live Here After Melbourne
hello, all. it feels like its been ages since ive posted so i thought that now would be a perfect time before my skin officially burns from the thai sun. yes, now is the time to be jealous that im on the beaches of thailand and you are not.
but back to malaysia...
melaka:
there is not much to do in melaka. we left singapore bright and early to catch our first of many long train rides. we were off and i said goodbye to singapore. a lot of reading, sleeping and ipod action later, we were in melaka. wishful thinking led me to hope that the heat and humidity would lessen after singapore, but again, that was just wishful thinking. we had a very nice cab driver who spoke wonderful english take us to our guest house after we gently declined his invitation to stay at his house. he gave us a personal tour which allowed us to get a small idea of the lay of the land. we pulled up to our guest house, travellers lodge, and instantly loved its subtle charm. having not eaten since too many hours to count before, we headed to a hawkre center for lunch and refueled with some chicken rice and a fresh juice. we then felt engergized enough to explore but soon found that there wasnt much to search for. melaka has not one, but two, MEGA malls and they seem to take great pride in them. in one of these malls we found not only a starbucks but a coffee bean and tea leaf!! of course my iced green tea cost 10 times what my lunch cost but it was well worth it and still not enough to break the bank. malaysia is cheap, my friends. we headed back home, excited to relax on travellers private roof top terrace which was soon our favorite spot. before we knew it, it was time to eat again which is really the main thing to do in melaka. as my mom would say "if the shoe fits, buy it in every color" so we headed back to newton hawkre center to try some more local fare. lonely planet had told us to try kopiah which is a vegetarian spring roll, but in reality its more like a pancake filled with vegetables and plum sauce. regardless, it was amazing. we ate quickly so that we could enjoy the last bit of light on the rooftop with our books before heading to bed.
the following day we woke with the idea that today would be our tourist day in melaka. again, the heat was in full force which made everything that didnt involve air conditioning very unpleasant. we walked around the town hall square which was actually quite interesting. the buildings in this region are all painted red from when melaka was in the hands of the dutch. it makes that part of town seem more regal and noble. we then walked around chinatown which didnt seem too tourist friendly, more like shops for locals daily needs. the heat began to fry our brains so we decided that we had had enough and went home to relax on our roof. we had planned to go to a museum describing the idea of mutilation and beauty in malaysia but we had then realized that we were train ticketless and that we needed to find a working printer in order to make it to penang the following day. we searched high and low. every place that seemed to have a printer had a broken printer. finally, we got to an internet cafe (malaysian boys LOVE video games) and printed our tickets. frazzled from that long and frantic hour, we cozied up with a tiger beer before heading to dinner at capitol satay.
capitol satay gets its own section in this blog. lonely planet said that this place was enough to make anyone want to move to melaka. i laughed internally but they were right. id either move to melaka or open one of these bad boys in whatever city i choose to reside in next. this place was popular and we knew that our slight wait would be more than worth it. lonely planet wasnt lying, you walk in and there are literally, stainless steel tables connected to a propane tank which then fuel the BUBBLING VATS OF SATAY SAUCE in the middle of your table. we sat down, ordered some drinks and waited for the fun to begin. sarah and i just stared blankly at the massive wall of satay options. you walk to the wall and load your tray with anything you want, if you can decipher what is even there. i have no idea how the melakans (?) do it. i could barely recognize anything other than shrimp and tofu. there were obscure meat balls that these people seemed to recognize even though they were raw and had no name to describe them. maybe they just like to eat anything and will take a chance. sarah and i clearly needed help to decipher what was what. when our tray was full we let the fun begin. you are told how long each stick needs to cook and then just dunk it in the vat and wait. we certainly ate more than necessary but had to soak it all in. the best part? our many sticks and beers cost us about 7 dollars each! capitol satay also taught me something very important - real toilets are going to be harder and harder to come by. in capitol, squatters room only, of course, without toilet paper. luckilly, sarah and i had wised up by our second day in melaka and brought our own. i suppose this leads me to the title of my post: after we settled in at travellers lodge after our train ride sarah and i both went to the bathroom. we learned that there wasnt any toilet paper so we informed, like we assumed any guest would, the man working at the desk that there was none. he told us, the seriousness of his face never leaving that "toilet paper was not included in the price of the room." baffled, we just nodded and were on our way (in the end, we were never charged for the two rolls we acquired).
penang: we took our long cab ride back to the train station and prepared ourselves for another 9 hour journey. another enjoyable ride full of napping, music and some reading, i mostly gazed out the window at the vast expanse of jungle we were riding through. finally, we arrived at butterworth station and after our ferry ride, were in georgetown, the historic and most popular section of penang. we arrived at our guest house, 75 travellers lodge, hot, exhausted and ready to enter our double room with fan (as you travel further and further into air conditionless places, you realize how important your own room can be and that fans are luxuries). the house keeper told us as we wiped sweat from our eyes that our room was still occupied by the previous tenant because they were not feeling well and decided to stay another night. baffled and downright angry, sarah and i had zero energy to argue and took the two beds in the dorm room which, of course, was fanless. the windows were wide open and this led us to the first usage of our trusty mosquito nets which is like sleeping in a clostrophobic prison. too tired to truly care, we fell fast asleep. i now wonder what would have happened had there not been those two empty beds in the dorm...good thing we never had to find out.
we woke, changed rooms, and had breakfast. we decided to get our bearings so we took a hop on hop off bus of georgetown. unfortunately, this was no guide into the history of penang, more of just a free bus that happened to stop at "historic" spots. still happy to have seen a large portion of the city, we hopped off in little india for lunch. this is the kind of little india i imagined singapores to be like. there was bollywood music coming from all sorts of shops that were full of indian garb and shiny bangles that sarah and i had to refrain from buying. we stumbled into a delicious vegetarian restaurant and were quite pleased. sarah has a friend who is malaysian and when we asked her what to do, she bluntly replied, "eat" - so we did. we then checked out the penang museum and learned about penangs history and culture. i really enjoyed the museum and looking at the old artifacts it housed. we headed home then went off to gurney plaza which was wendy from singapores reccommendation for a little AC fix and a manicure if we fancied. manicure aside, this place was nothing sarah and i had ever seen before. if we thought the mega malls in melaka were huge this was a whole other ball game. i had never seen a mall this size let alone even thought that one existed. there were about 8 floors full of shops and restaurants and beauty salons. each floor was actually divided by "subject" keeping all like stores and services together to make for a less confusing shopping experience. sarah and i just rode the escalators with open jaws as we looked around. we then went to the hawkre center near by which did not disapoint. we tried another traditional dish called rojak which was a salad composed of fruits and vegetables (sarah and i could only name cucumber and pineapple) that are dressed with a thick combination of plum sauce and peanuts and maybe a few other ingredients. we had a great outdoor dinner of fried noodles with vegetables (in asia, "fried" just means wok seared which is something us americans could learn to pick up on) then finally found our way home after a few troubles navigating the penang bus system. for such a popular mode of transportation, these bus stops certainly do not want to be found!
the following day we went for a traditional dim sum breakfast which is something i reccommend everyone eating every day of their lives. after you get over the fact you are most likely eating lunch and dinner foods for breakfast, just enjoy. the best things we found were savory pastries filled with barbeque pork. we had some traditional chinese tea and made some english speaking friends. sarah and i appeared to be some kind of novelty in malaysia. people would just come talk to us, fascinated by the mix of american and english accents. people even asked to take pictures with us! i mean, i know were pretty but please!! after breakfast we waited for the bus and enjoyed a fresh juice. in penang, they just squeeze fresh fruit and vegetables and put it in a plastic bag with a straw then tie the bag up so you can wear it like a bracelet therefore making your drinking experience hands free! sarah and i loved the idea and hope it catches on at home. we then caught the bus to penang hill which was a nice little excusrion out of the city. we then took a funicular train up to see wonderful views of the city and look at a gorgeous temple and mosque. we headed back home and then got ready for our "fancy" dinner at a chinese restaurant. lonely planet again told us about this place and warned us that although the place looks like another hole in the wall you must dress the part which of course was dressy. well, dressing up was worth it. we had some of the best chicken and vegetables we had ever had. we then walked around and headed back home.
apparently, according to sarah, many people neglect malaysia (and singapore) during their gap year. i find this to be such a shame. both places are so full of culture and life (and great food) that they should not be missed. having said that, i think we planned perfectly and divided our time between places in a great way. another day in melaka would have been too many, one less in penang would have been too few.
now a glimspe into thailand. another 9 hour train ride turned into a 12 hour train ride but we finally arrive to surrat thani station. making our arrival 2:30 am instead of 11:30 pm, we were glad our hostel was literally, right around the corner from the station. we were also quite lucky that the station has "attendants" for lack of a better word working at the station and one was nice enough to walk with us to our hostel to avoid creepy windy streets in the black of night. we arrived at queen, were shown our room and passed out in the beds before we could even say goodnight to one another. we woke up and got ready for our bus and ferry ride to ko samui. another bus and a long song-tow ride later (think an open cab) we arrived in paradise, matlang resort. we have a private little wooden beach house with ensuite bathroom and, of course, a fan. our long days of travel were behind us and we instantly fell into the beach life.
we fill our days with sunning, swimming, walking along the ocean line and of course eating and drinking. occasionally we throw in a massage on the beach with a few games of cards here and there. we are zooming through books and forgetting all about the real world which is what the beach can do.
thats all for now. we leave for bangkok tomorrow - another glorious train ride, this time hopefully on time. a few days after our arrival, we begin our volunteer project at temple wat arun, otherwise known as the temple of dawn. sarah and i will be teaching english - this is where your confused looks can come into play - and partaking in daily meditation sessions with the monks. we have already pitched the idea to nancy mccann and as of now, meditation with ruthie and sarah is now going to be an after dinner activity for seniors only.
will report from bangkok...stay tuned.
but back to malaysia...
melaka:
there is not much to do in melaka. we left singapore bright and early to catch our first of many long train rides. we were off and i said goodbye to singapore. a lot of reading, sleeping and ipod action later, we were in melaka. wishful thinking led me to hope that the heat and humidity would lessen after singapore, but again, that was just wishful thinking. we had a very nice cab driver who spoke wonderful english take us to our guest house after we gently declined his invitation to stay at his house. he gave us a personal tour which allowed us to get a small idea of the lay of the land. we pulled up to our guest house, travellers lodge, and instantly loved its subtle charm. having not eaten since too many hours to count before, we headed to a hawkre center for lunch and refueled with some chicken rice and a fresh juice. we then felt engergized enough to explore but soon found that there wasnt much to search for. melaka has not one, but two, MEGA malls and they seem to take great pride in them. in one of these malls we found not only a starbucks but a coffee bean and tea leaf!! of course my iced green tea cost 10 times what my lunch cost but it was well worth it and still not enough to break the bank. malaysia is cheap, my friends. we headed back home, excited to relax on travellers private roof top terrace which was soon our favorite spot. before we knew it, it was time to eat again which is really the main thing to do in melaka. as my mom would say "if the shoe fits, buy it in every color" so we headed back to newton hawkre center to try some more local fare. lonely planet had told us to try kopiah which is a vegetarian spring roll, but in reality its more like a pancake filled with vegetables and plum sauce. regardless, it was amazing. we ate quickly so that we could enjoy the last bit of light on the rooftop with our books before heading to bed.
the following day we woke with the idea that today would be our tourist day in melaka. again, the heat was in full force which made everything that didnt involve air conditioning very unpleasant. we walked around the town hall square which was actually quite interesting. the buildings in this region are all painted red from when melaka was in the hands of the dutch. it makes that part of town seem more regal and noble. we then walked around chinatown which didnt seem too tourist friendly, more like shops for locals daily needs. the heat began to fry our brains so we decided that we had had enough and went home to relax on our roof. we had planned to go to a museum describing the idea of mutilation and beauty in malaysia but we had then realized that we were train ticketless and that we needed to find a working printer in order to make it to penang the following day. we searched high and low. every place that seemed to have a printer had a broken printer. finally, we got to an internet cafe (malaysian boys LOVE video games) and printed our tickets. frazzled from that long and frantic hour, we cozied up with a tiger beer before heading to dinner at capitol satay.
capitol satay gets its own section in this blog. lonely planet said that this place was enough to make anyone want to move to melaka. i laughed internally but they were right. id either move to melaka or open one of these bad boys in whatever city i choose to reside in next. this place was popular and we knew that our slight wait would be more than worth it. lonely planet wasnt lying, you walk in and there are literally, stainless steel tables connected to a propane tank which then fuel the BUBBLING VATS OF SATAY SAUCE in the middle of your table. we sat down, ordered some drinks and waited for the fun to begin. sarah and i just stared blankly at the massive wall of satay options. you walk to the wall and load your tray with anything you want, if you can decipher what is even there. i have no idea how the melakans (?) do it. i could barely recognize anything other than shrimp and tofu. there were obscure meat balls that these people seemed to recognize even though they were raw and had no name to describe them. maybe they just like to eat anything and will take a chance. sarah and i clearly needed help to decipher what was what. when our tray was full we let the fun begin. you are told how long each stick needs to cook and then just dunk it in the vat and wait. we certainly ate more than necessary but had to soak it all in. the best part? our many sticks and beers cost us about 7 dollars each! capitol satay also taught me something very important - real toilets are going to be harder and harder to come by. in capitol, squatters room only, of course, without toilet paper. luckilly, sarah and i had wised up by our second day in melaka and brought our own. i suppose this leads me to the title of my post: after we settled in at travellers lodge after our train ride sarah and i both went to the bathroom. we learned that there wasnt any toilet paper so we informed, like we assumed any guest would, the man working at the desk that there was none. he told us, the seriousness of his face never leaving that "toilet paper was not included in the price of the room." baffled, we just nodded and were on our way (in the end, we were never charged for the two rolls we acquired).
penang: we took our long cab ride back to the train station and prepared ourselves for another 9 hour journey. another enjoyable ride full of napping, music and some reading, i mostly gazed out the window at the vast expanse of jungle we were riding through. finally, we arrived at butterworth station and after our ferry ride, were in georgetown, the historic and most popular section of penang. we arrived at our guest house, 75 travellers lodge, hot, exhausted and ready to enter our double room with fan (as you travel further and further into air conditionless places, you realize how important your own room can be and that fans are luxuries). the house keeper told us as we wiped sweat from our eyes that our room was still occupied by the previous tenant because they were not feeling well and decided to stay another night. baffled and downright angry, sarah and i had zero energy to argue and took the two beds in the dorm room which, of course, was fanless. the windows were wide open and this led us to the first usage of our trusty mosquito nets which is like sleeping in a clostrophobic prison. too tired to truly care, we fell fast asleep. i now wonder what would have happened had there not been those two empty beds in the dorm...good thing we never had to find out.
we woke, changed rooms, and had breakfast. we decided to get our bearings so we took a hop on hop off bus of georgetown. unfortunately, this was no guide into the history of penang, more of just a free bus that happened to stop at "historic" spots. still happy to have seen a large portion of the city, we hopped off in little india for lunch. this is the kind of little india i imagined singapores to be like. there was bollywood music coming from all sorts of shops that were full of indian garb and shiny bangles that sarah and i had to refrain from buying. we stumbled into a delicious vegetarian restaurant and were quite pleased. sarah has a friend who is malaysian and when we asked her what to do, she bluntly replied, "eat" - so we did. we then checked out the penang museum and learned about penangs history and culture. i really enjoyed the museum and looking at the old artifacts it housed. we headed home then went off to gurney plaza which was wendy from singapores reccommendation for a little AC fix and a manicure if we fancied. manicure aside, this place was nothing sarah and i had ever seen before. if we thought the mega malls in melaka were huge this was a whole other ball game. i had never seen a mall this size let alone even thought that one existed. there were about 8 floors full of shops and restaurants and beauty salons. each floor was actually divided by "subject" keeping all like stores and services together to make for a less confusing shopping experience. sarah and i just rode the escalators with open jaws as we looked around. we then went to the hawkre center near by which did not disapoint. we tried another traditional dish called rojak which was a salad composed of fruits and vegetables (sarah and i could only name cucumber and pineapple) that are dressed with a thick combination of plum sauce and peanuts and maybe a few other ingredients. we had a great outdoor dinner of fried noodles with vegetables (in asia, "fried" just means wok seared which is something us americans could learn to pick up on) then finally found our way home after a few troubles navigating the penang bus system. for such a popular mode of transportation, these bus stops certainly do not want to be found!
the following day we went for a traditional dim sum breakfast which is something i reccommend everyone eating every day of their lives. after you get over the fact you are most likely eating lunch and dinner foods for breakfast, just enjoy. the best things we found were savory pastries filled with barbeque pork. we had some traditional chinese tea and made some english speaking friends. sarah and i appeared to be some kind of novelty in malaysia. people would just come talk to us, fascinated by the mix of american and english accents. people even asked to take pictures with us! i mean, i know were pretty but please!! after breakfast we waited for the bus and enjoyed a fresh juice. in penang, they just squeeze fresh fruit and vegetables and put it in a plastic bag with a straw then tie the bag up so you can wear it like a bracelet therefore making your drinking experience hands free! sarah and i loved the idea and hope it catches on at home. we then caught the bus to penang hill which was a nice little excusrion out of the city. we then took a funicular train up to see wonderful views of the city and look at a gorgeous temple and mosque. we headed back home and then got ready for our "fancy" dinner at a chinese restaurant. lonely planet again told us about this place and warned us that although the place looks like another hole in the wall you must dress the part which of course was dressy. well, dressing up was worth it. we had some of the best chicken and vegetables we had ever had. we then walked around and headed back home.
apparently, according to sarah, many people neglect malaysia (and singapore) during their gap year. i find this to be such a shame. both places are so full of culture and life (and great food) that they should not be missed. having said that, i think we planned perfectly and divided our time between places in a great way. another day in melaka would have been too many, one less in penang would have been too few.
now a glimspe into thailand. another 9 hour train ride turned into a 12 hour train ride but we finally arrive to surrat thani station. making our arrival 2:30 am instead of 11:30 pm, we were glad our hostel was literally, right around the corner from the station. we were also quite lucky that the station has "attendants" for lack of a better word working at the station and one was nice enough to walk with us to our hostel to avoid creepy windy streets in the black of night. we arrived at queen, were shown our room and passed out in the beds before we could even say goodnight to one another. we woke up and got ready for our bus and ferry ride to ko samui. another bus and a long song-tow ride later (think an open cab) we arrived in paradise, matlang resort. we have a private little wooden beach house with ensuite bathroom and, of course, a fan. our long days of travel were behind us and we instantly fell into the beach life.
we fill our days with sunning, swimming, walking along the ocean line and of course eating and drinking. occasionally we throw in a massage on the beach with a few games of cards here and there. we are zooming through books and forgetting all about the real world which is what the beach can do.
thats all for now. we leave for bangkok tomorrow - another glorious train ride, this time hopefully on time. a few days after our arrival, we begin our volunteer project at temple wat arun, otherwise known as the temple of dawn. sarah and i will be teaching english - this is where your confused looks can come into play - and partaking in daily meditation sessions with the monks. we have already pitched the idea to nancy mccann and as of now, meditation with ruthie and sarah is now going to be an after dinner activity for seniors only.
will report from bangkok...stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Singa-what? Singa-who? Singa-(down)pour
greetings from melaka, malaysia. i know many of you are concerned for the wellbeing of the prime minister, my dear cousin lauren especially, but not to worry, i have neither seen zoolander around nor have i heard the song "relax" during my stay here. but enough about that, onto singapore.
as ive already told you, we had a great flight to singapore. we were met at the airport by our driver who made sarah feel very special when she saw him flashing a piece of paper that said her name in big, capital letters. he took us to our b and b, 1bnbsingapore (original, i know), located in the cute area of spottiswoode park.
we were met by some one of the caretakers and shown to our room which was lovely. the b and b had so much character and charm - 5 or so rooms, nice little dining and living room and a nice kitchen. the people could not have been nicer which made this so much more enjoyable than some of the previous hostels we have been staying at. our room was perfect, complete with AC, and cable tv. we were quite exhausted after the journey that 5 minutes into jimmy kimmel we both fell into a peaceful sleep.
we woke up the next morning ready to take on singapore. we woke up, had breakfast then headed off to explore. after getting a bit lost on the way out of spottiswoode, we finally made our way and started in the direction of chinatown. on our hot, humid, sticky and sweaty walk there we stumbled upon the buddah tooth relic museum which is a temple with different rooms and floors - combining temple with tourist attraction i suppose. there is one room that is covered in wall to wall buddahs (1000 to be exact). it was very beautiful and the colors were magnificent. the temple, of course, was next to chinatown which was perfect.
we walked along, browsing each stall trying to sell us various knick knacks and jewelry. we made it further and further in and stumbled upon a place to have lunch. weary of our stomachs we trusted this place due to the mix of people - tourists and locals alike seemed to be eating there. we braved it and instead of water, enjoyed our first of many tiger beers (possibly one of my favorite to date). lunch turned out to be delicious. weve noticed that fresh juice is a very hot commodity in singapore and malaysia. the spicy food makes you desperately need a palate cleanser and cooler in between bites. sarah and i learned this lesson early and have carried it with us thus far in our travels. we walked around a bit more, contemplating buying more art for the apartment i dont have in the city i dont live in but decided against it because whatever could be found in chinatown we are hoping can be found in china itself!
tired and dragging, we headed back to 1bnb for a little r and r before getting ready for our night safari. we stared with dinner at the famed newton circus, a massive hawkre center full of merchants touting at you because obviously they sell better food than the stall next door. in true singapore fashion, we reserved our table as the locals do, with a packet of tissues! apparently, if the tissues are down no one would dare go near your table. the tissues also are vital to have because napkins dont seem to exist here. so whether its for making sure youre eating cleanly or wiping the sweat from your face after eating some chili, youll be glad you brought the tissues.
the night safari was incredible. you can walk and or take a tram through the designated paths full of animals from all over the world, mainly focusing on asian and african animals. sacha, jennifers friend whom we met for drinks the following night, told us that the lighting on the animals at the safari was done by a theatrical lighting director which made lots of sense after going through the safari. each animal was illuminated as if by spotlights and it was so cool to see them at night. the safari is so life like that you can rarely see the barriers between you and the animals, if there even was one. my favorites would have to be the tigers, lions, male elephant and the hyenas. contrary to what the lion king shows you, they are very pretty animals that i kind of wanted to just hug, but didnt, for fear of being bitten by the strongest jawed animal second to the lion.
the following day we decided to explore the colonial district which is full of great architecture and famous buildings such as the parliament buildings (old and new), courthouse, etc. this area sits along a gorgeous quay (pronounced key) full of river boats and taxis and cute waterfront shops and restaurants. we met sir stamford raffles who has a big statue right at the beginning of this area. we explored a bit, again, getting very sticky very quickly. sacha, who gave us an insiders guide to singapore, recommended a lunch place near by so of course we took him up on his offer and enjoyed some delicious prata bread, of course with juice, for about 3 US dollars! then we headed to the ancient civilizations museum which is housed a very picturesque building but honestly, the museum was a bit disappointing. sarah and i found ourselves most entertained in the exhibits designated childrens sections where the learning was hands on and much more fun.
as we were leaving the MRT (singapores version of the metro which is 1000 times nicer than any metro system i have ever been on) we were caught in our first downpour. the rain was coming down hard and fast and not one part of our bodies were dry by the time we reached cover under the police station. we waited, and waited, and waited until the rain began to clear and we made it home without being caught again. the second we entered 1bnb, the rain continued and did not look like it was going to let up. lucky for us, tonight was the one night we wanted to look nice because we were meeting jennifers friends, sacha and wendy, for drinks at the famous raffles hotel. while sarah and i seriously contemplating getting a room there, we figured our 1000 dollars were better spent elsewhere. we opted for a cab and made it raffles looking nice and dry. sarah went for the raffles famed singapore sling but after doing a bit of research on the ingredients i opted for anything other than what resembled cough syrup with alcohol (sarah referred to it as "fruit juice"). wendy and sacha were such lovely people and it was great to meet them. they even gave us some tips for penang which will be very useful.
we left them in search of yet another hawkre center, lau pa sat. both sacha and wendy recommended that i try chili stingray which, much to my surprise, was amazing. the best comparison i could get was the consistency of salmon, maybe even a bit more tender with the white color of swordfish. any fish lover should try stingray. exhausted, we made our way back home and sunk into bed.
i woke up not feeling so hot so opted to stay home from the national museum of singapore. i figured there was no better place to feel sick than at 1bandb. i fell back to sleep and woke up to be greeting by csi sunday on tv. nothing like a little horatio and gil grissom to make one feel better! sarah made it back and regaled me with singapores history and even brought me a present - percy pigs! who knew that singapore would have a marks and spencer? well that certainly made me happier. we were both starving so we made our way back to chinatown and got our lunch before downpour take 2 hit. this storm was amazing. the lighting and thunder were so close and the rain would not let up. we sat, took our time eating and drinking tea for a good 2 hours before the rain eased enough for us to buy umbrellas. we then made our way to little india which was not my cup of tea at all. neither sarah and i were finding anything we wanted to look at or eat for dinner so we decided to go back to the quay and eat along the river. everything was so beautiful when lit up and we had a delicious meal in an even better setting. we stayed along the river for a bit then headed home to pack up before leaving the following morning on our train to melaka.
my general impressions of singapore were quite good. the city, and country, were much more developed than i had expected, actually, i didnt really know what to expect. and they are right when they say that singapore is clean, there are people on every street corner sweeping up anything that hits the ground. you really take notice of it when there arent just various pieces of garbage strewn about. the people were overall very friendly and with the exception of the touting at hawkre centers, which is illegal, i never felt too out of place or awkward like a typical tourist. i think that feeling will quickly subside as we getting deeper and deeper into asia.
we are leaving melaka today for penang so keep your eyes out for that post. again, i am quite disappointed in all of my readers. my followers number is still a measly 7 people. jump on the bandwagon, folks! thats all for now!
as ive already told you, we had a great flight to singapore. we were met at the airport by our driver who made sarah feel very special when she saw him flashing a piece of paper that said her name in big, capital letters. he took us to our b and b, 1bnbsingapore (original, i know), located in the cute area of spottiswoode park.
we were met by some one of the caretakers and shown to our room which was lovely. the b and b had so much character and charm - 5 or so rooms, nice little dining and living room and a nice kitchen. the people could not have been nicer which made this so much more enjoyable than some of the previous hostels we have been staying at. our room was perfect, complete with AC, and cable tv. we were quite exhausted after the journey that 5 minutes into jimmy kimmel we both fell into a peaceful sleep.
we woke up the next morning ready to take on singapore. we woke up, had breakfast then headed off to explore. after getting a bit lost on the way out of spottiswoode, we finally made our way and started in the direction of chinatown. on our hot, humid, sticky and sweaty walk there we stumbled upon the buddah tooth relic museum which is a temple with different rooms and floors - combining temple with tourist attraction i suppose. there is one room that is covered in wall to wall buddahs (1000 to be exact). it was very beautiful and the colors were magnificent. the temple, of course, was next to chinatown which was perfect.
we walked along, browsing each stall trying to sell us various knick knacks and jewelry. we made it further and further in and stumbled upon a place to have lunch. weary of our stomachs we trusted this place due to the mix of people - tourists and locals alike seemed to be eating there. we braved it and instead of water, enjoyed our first of many tiger beers (possibly one of my favorite to date). lunch turned out to be delicious. weve noticed that fresh juice is a very hot commodity in singapore and malaysia. the spicy food makes you desperately need a palate cleanser and cooler in between bites. sarah and i learned this lesson early and have carried it with us thus far in our travels. we walked around a bit more, contemplating buying more art for the apartment i dont have in the city i dont live in but decided against it because whatever could be found in chinatown we are hoping can be found in china itself!
tired and dragging, we headed back to 1bnb for a little r and r before getting ready for our night safari. we stared with dinner at the famed newton circus, a massive hawkre center full of merchants touting at you because obviously they sell better food than the stall next door. in true singapore fashion, we reserved our table as the locals do, with a packet of tissues! apparently, if the tissues are down no one would dare go near your table. the tissues also are vital to have because napkins dont seem to exist here. so whether its for making sure youre eating cleanly or wiping the sweat from your face after eating some chili, youll be glad you brought the tissues.
the night safari was incredible. you can walk and or take a tram through the designated paths full of animals from all over the world, mainly focusing on asian and african animals. sacha, jennifers friend whom we met for drinks the following night, told us that the lighting on the animals at the safari was done by a theatrical lighting director which made lots of sense after going through the safari. each animal was illuminated as if by spotlights and it was so cool to see them at night. the safari is so life like that you can rarely see the barriers between you and the animals, if there even was one. my favorites would have to be the tigers, lions, male elephant and the hyenas. contrary to what the lion king shows you, they are very pretty animals that i kind of wanted to just hug, but didnt, for fear of being bitten by the strongest jawed animal second to the lion.
the following day we decided to explore the colonial district which is full of great architecture and famous buildings such as the parliament buildings (old and new), courthouse, etc. this area sits along a gorgeous quay (pronounced key) full of river boats and taxis and cute waterfront shops and restaurants. we met sir stamford raffles who has a big statue right at the beginning of this area. we explored a bit, again, getting very sticky very quickly. sacha, who gave us an insiders guide to singapore, recommended a lunch place near by so of course we took him up on his offer and enjoyed some delicious prata bread, of course with juice, for about 3 US dollars! then we headed to the ancient civilizations museum which is housed a very picturesque building but honestly, the museum was a bit disappointing. sarah and i found ourselves most entertained in the exhibits designated childrens sections where the learning was hands on and much more fun.
as we were leaving the MRT (singapores version of the metro which is 1000 times nicer than any metro system i have ever been on) we were caught in our first downpour. the rain was coming down hard and fast and not one part of our bodies were dry by the time we reached cover under the police station. we waited, and waited, and waited until the rain began to clear and we made it home without being caught again. the second we entered 1bnb, the rain continued and did not look like it was going to let up. lucky for us, tonight was the one night we wanted to look nice because we were meeting jennifers friends, sacha and wendy, for drinks at the famous raffles hotel. while sarah and i seriously contemplating getting a room there, we figured our 1000 dollars were better spent elsewhere. we opted for a cab and made it raffles looking nice and dry. sarah went for the raffles famed singapore sling but after doing a bit of research on the ingredients i opted for anything other than what resembled cough syrup with alcohol (sarah referred to it as "fruit juice"). wendy and sacha were such lovely people and it was great to meet them. they even gave us some tips for penang which will be very useful.
we left them in search of yet another hawkre center, lau pa sat. both sacha and wendy recommended that i try chili stingray which, much to my surprise, was amazing. the best comparison i could get was the consistency of salmon, maybe even a bit more tender with the white color of swordfish. any fish lover should try stingray. exhausted, we made our way back home and sunk into bed.
i woke up not feeling so hot so opted to stay home from the national museum of singapore. i figured there was no better place to feel sick than at 1bandb. i fell back to sleep and woke up to be greeting by csi sunday on tv. nothing like a little horatio and gil grissom to make one feel better! sarah made it back and regaled me with singapores history and even brought me a present - percy pigs! who knew that singapore would have a marks and spencer? well that certainly made me happier. we were both starving so we made our way back to chinatown and got our lunch before downpour take 2 hit. this storm was amazing. the lighting and thunder were so close and the rain would not let up. we sat, took our time eating and drinking tea for a good 2 hours before the rain eased enough for us to buy umbrellas. we then made our way to little india which was not my cup of tea at all. neither sarah and i were finding anything we wanted to look at or eat for dinner so we decided to go back to the quay and eat along the river. everything was so beautiful when lit up and we had a delicious meal in an even better setting. we stayed along the river for a bit then headed home to pack up before leaving the following morning on our train to melaka.
my general impressions of singapore were quite good. the city, and country, were much more developed than i had expected, actually, i didnt really know what to expect. and they are right when they say that singapore is clean, there are people on every street corner sweeping up anything that hits the ground. you really take notice of it when there arent just various pieces of garbage strewn about. the people were overall very friendly and with the exception of the touting at hawkre centers, which is illegal, i never felt too out of place or awkward like a typical tourist. i think that feeling will quickly subside as we getting deeper and deeper into asia.
we are leaving melaka today for penang so keep your eyes out for that post. again, i am quite disappointed in all of my readers. my followers number is still a measly 7 people. jump on the bandwagon, folks! thats all for now!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sydney Stories
greetings all. i am currently in singapore and will regale you all of the tales of this place once our stay is through but i wanted to be up to date and give you a taste of our time in sydney.
first of all, i would like to announce that this blog is becoming more and more popular each day. i was officially reunited after what seems like years with my loverly cousin, lauren and she made my blog follower list go up to 7 whole people! i suggest all who read it daily (LRH) while at work or surfing the net, should become one as well. you get updates when i update and honestly, it just makes me feel much cooler than i already am.
after a very long overnight bus with one nice and one grumpy bus driver, we arrived in sydney mid morning to find dark clouds and very grey sky. we unloaded our stuff at our hostel, wake up! (exclamation point included, obviously) and then headed to what seemed like the perfect rainy day activity, the sydney aquarium, australias number 1 tourist attraction.
im not sure i agree with the number 1 status, but it was very very cool. you can walk through underwater tunnels and watch as massive sharks of all shapes, sizes and species swim over your head along with sting rays, and various other aquatic life. we also saw two dugongs, which i believe to look like manatees, which are very rare apparently. people often refer to them as the "original mermaids," im not sure why but thought it was an interesting factoid to mention.
we headed home and got ready for a lovely dinner in the spanish quarter which of course led us to some good wine and delicious tapas. a bit of dancing later (without cyclone) it was off to bed with our wonderful roommates, one of whom snored like his life depended on it.
the next day we were greeted by a bit of a gloomy sky so we decided to check out yet another indoor activity, the powerhouse museum. i could have spent 3 days in this place. they had an incredible exhibit about design and how its changed over the years full with architecture, textiles, furniture, etc. while that part was amazing, the best was the ecology exhibit. of course australia would have one of these in their museum, because they are so green! neither sarah nor i could save sydney from a huge trash dump being placed on their land, and we learned that our carbon footprints are not up to snuff either (sarahs was 5 and mine 8 ONLY because i misread a question so the game thought that i rode a subway for 2 hours a day in addition to driving a car two hours a day. had i been smart, i would have answered correctly and therefore lowered my carbon footprint. so if sarah wrote that i am an energy waster in her blog at least you have the reason why).
upon leaving the musuem we were greeted by glorious sunshine which was perfect because we were headed to tropfest, the worlds smallest film festival which we had read about and lucked out by being in sydney at the perfect time! we headed to the botanic gardens and set up shop full in tow with our picnic, blankets, etc. australians know how to picnic. some people even had stands for their wine glasses to ensure zero spillage. we were joined by 30,000 aussies who also came to enjoy the sun, films, bands and overall merriment of the day. the films were incredible and it really made me feel like a local. i like that sarah and i do more than just touristy stuff, it pays off to research what is actually going on.
the next day the sun was shining just as bright so we got our tourist fix and needed pictures in the perfect setting. we gazed adoringly at the bridge but nixed walking across it, our imaginations are so good that we didnt need to do it for real. we saw the opera house in perfect conditions and seriously, it is incredible. the way the light reflects off of the roof is just amazing. then we headed over to the rocks which is a cute "london-esque" town with cute shops and cafes in and out of little alleyways. i bought a wonderful aboriginal painting with the apartment i dont have in the city i dont yet live in in mind (liz, im becoming you).
we headed home just in time to change and head to the sydney tower, sydneys version of the empire state building. you get incredible views of the city (we were lucky to see it in daylight then go down for the oz trek and then headed back up to see the city lights in all their glory which was breathtaking). an interesting fact from the oz trek, 80% of australias population lives on only 1% of its land!! as bill bryson told me, there is a whole lot of nothing in this country. we headed back home for dinner and had do it yourself korean bbq which was loads of fun.
another day and the sun was still shining. we decided to get our obligatory beach fix in and head to the not so secretly famous, bondi. sarah and i stayed on sand while thousands of people splashed in the surf against the lifeguards warnings (that day, actually within the 3 hours we were there, 150 people were stung by blue bottle jellyfish! as i continue to say, the ocean is a scary place). as the sun started to go down we did the hour and a half coastal walk from bondi to coogee beach. the walk was incredible and gave you the most gorgeous views of the coast line and blue green waters. we ended in the beach town of coogee, had dinner and headed back home.
upon rachels australian suggestions, we decided to take scruffy murphys on. this bar was amazing. no matter who you are, what mood youre in, its there - locals, backpackers and kids abroad alike will find what theyre looking for. upstairs is just chill bar scene, downstairs is a live cover band, and in the basement is a dj full of fun dance songs. we had a blast, i taught some more people the jess fridstein dance, and then we headed to the famed 5 star kebab from which our mouths are still burnt!
the following day we decided to get some sydney shopping in. we headed to the famed paddington neighborhood, home to oxford street. there were tons of nice shops - i had to be pulled away from sass and bide and zimmerman, and we just walked around and tried on things and had genuine fun. our day sadly ended with nothing in hand and we decided what better way to end our time in sydney than how we began it. we had so much fun at the moonlight cinema in melbourne we did it again this time seeing breakfast at tiffanys which was lovely.
our last day in sydney was spent researching the next leg of our trip and enjoying the last bit of cuisine that does not include rice, dumplings or noodles. we headed to sydney airport and were off to singapore.
a little sneak peak into the singapore files - i did not sleep one wink on this flight. (shock falls upon the crowd, my dad especially) what you say? i, ruthie kasnett, am famously known to sleep on every moving vehicle i step foot in. well, the entertainment on this flight was just too good. qantas kept giving us things to stay awake for: meals, drinks, tea, popsicles, etc. and the movie selection was wonderful. i couldnt resist watching 2.5 movies (dont ruin HSM3, ill just have to finish it when we get home). 7 hours later we were in singapore and trust me, you could feel the humidity from the plane. more to come...
apologies again dear followers. i am trying to work on pictures from life after melbourne and the computer is not cooperating. hopefully i can get them up soon, youre in for a treat!
first of all, i would like to announce that this blog is becoming more and more popular each day. i was officially reunited after what seems like years with my loverly cousin, lauren and she made my blog follower list go up to 7 whole people! i suggest all who read it daily (LRH) while at work or surfing the net, should become one as well. you get updates when i update and honestly, it just makes me feel much cooler than i already am.
after a very long overnight bus with one nice and one grumpy bus driver, we arrived in sydney mid morning to find dark clouds and very grey sky. we unloaded our stuff at our hostel, wake up! (exclamation point included, obviously) and then headed to what seemed like the perfect rainy day activity, the sydney aquarium, australias number 1 tourist attraction.
im not sure i agree with the number 1 status, but it was very very cool. you can walk through underwater tunnels and watch as massive sharks of all shapes, sizes and species swim over your head along with sting rays, and various other aquatic life. we also saw two dugongs, which i believe to look like manatees, which are very rare apparently. people often refer to them as the "original mermaids," im not sure why but thought it was an interesting factoid to mention.
we headed home and got ready for a lovely dinner in the spanish quarter which of course led us to some good wine and delicious tapas. a bit of dancing later (without cyclone) it was off to bed with our wonderful roommates, one of whom snored like his life depended on it.
the next day we were greeted by a bit of a gloomy sky so we decided to check out yet another indoor activity, the powerhouse museum. i could have spent 3 days in this place. they had an incredible exhibit about design and how its changed over the years full with architecture, textiles, furniture, etc. while that part was amazing, the best was the ecology exhibit. of course australia would have one of these in their museum, because they are so green! neither sarah nor i could save sydney from a huge trash dump being placed on their land, and we learned that our carbon footprints are not up to snuff either (sarahs was 5 and mine 8 ONLY because i misread a question so the game thought that i rode a subway for 2 hours a day in addition to driving a car two hours a day. had i been smart, i would have answered correctly and therefore lowered my carbon footprint. so if sarah wrote that i am an energy waster in her blog at least you have the reason why).
upon leaving the musuem we were greeted by glorious sunshine which was perfect because we were headed to tropfest, the worlds smallest film festival which we had read about and lucked out by being in sydney at the perfect time! we headed to the botanic gardens and set up shop full in tow with our picnic, blankets, etc. australians know how to picnic. some people even had stands for their wine glasses to ensure zero spillage. we were joined by 30,000 aussies who also came to enjoy the sun, films, bands and overall merriment of the day. the films were incredible and it really made me feel like a local. i like that sarah and i do more than just touristy stuff, it pays off to research what is actually going on.
the next day the sun was shining just as bright so we got our tourist fix and needed pictures in the perfect setting. we gazed adoringly at the bridge but nixed walking across it, our imaginations are so good that we didnt need to do it for real. we saw the opera house in perfect conditions and seriously, it is incredible. the way the light reflects off of the roof is just amazing. then we headed over to the rocks which is a cute "london-esque" town with cute shops and cafes in and out of little alleyways. i bought a wonderful aboriginal painting with the apartment i dont have in the city i dont yet live in in mind (liz, im becoming you).
we headed home just in time to change and head to the sydney tower, sydneys version of the empire state building. you get incredible views of the city (we were lucky to see it in daylight then go down for the oz trek and then headed back up to see the city lights in all their glory which was breathtaking). an interesting fact from the oz trek, 80% of australias population lives on only 1% of its land!! as bill bryson told me, there is a whole lot of nothing in this country. we headed back home for dinner and had do it yourself korean bbq which was loads of fun.
another day and the sun was still shining. we decided to get our obligatory beach fix in and head to the not so secretly famous, bondi. sarah and i stayed on sand while thousands of people splashed in the surf against the lifeguards warnings (that day, actually within the 3 hours we were there, 150 people were stung by blue bottle jellyfish! as i continue to say, the ocean is a scary place). as the sun started to go down we did the hour and a half coastal walk from bondi to coogee beach. the walk was incredible and gave you the most gorgeous views of the coast line and blue green waters. we ended in the beach town of coogee, had dinner and headed back home.
upon rachels australian suggestions, we decided to take scruffy murphys on. this bar was amazing. no matter who you are, what mood youre in, its there - locals, backpackers and kids abroad alike will find what theyre looking for. upstairs is just chill bar scene, downstairs is a live cover band, and in the basement is a dj full of fun dance songs. we had a blast, i taught some more people the jess fridstein dance, and then we headed to the famed 5 star kebab from which our mouths are still burnt!
the following day we decided to get some sydney shopping in. we headed to the famed paddington neighborhood, home to oxford street. there were tons of nice shops - i had to be pulled away from sass and bide and zimmerman, and we just walked around and tried on things and had genuine fun. our day sadly ended with nothing in hand and we decided what better way to end our time in sydney than how we began it. we had so much fun at the moonlight cinema in melbourne we did it again this time seeing breakfast at tiffanys which was lovely.
our last day in sydney was spent researching the next leg of our trip and enjoying the last bit of cuisine that does not include rice, dumplings or noodles. we headed to sydney airport and were off to singapore.
a little sneak peak into the singapore files - i did not sleep one wink on this flight. (shock falls upon the crowd, my dad especially) what you say? i, ruthie kasnett, am famously known to sleep on every moving vehicle i step foot in. well, the entertainment on this flight was just too good. qantas kept giving us things to stay awake for: meals, drinks, tea, popsicles, etc. and the movie selection was wonderful. i couldnt resist watching 2.5 movies (dont ruin HSM3, ill just have to finish it when we get home). 7 hours later we were in singapore and trust me, you could feel the humidity from the plane. more to come...
apologies again dear followers. i am trying to work on pictures from life after melbourne and the computer is not cooperating. hopefully i can get them up soon, youre in for a treat!
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