Being alive and free

The end of the road ... for now (10.08.09)

2009-08-13T04:29:00.002+03:00

I have been traveling for a bit more than 6 months now. I saw a lot of places and I am pretty happy about it. It was a great ride. Now I decided to take a vacation from vacation. I will try something else: instead of being a tourist, I will be living in a place or another for a while. I hope I will learn more about how it is to live in Asia and figure out how well it suits me.

I have started 2 blogs (both in romanian language).

In the first one I will give a lot more details about my travel and hope it might help those who'll take a trip to Asia:
http://mic-ghid-asia.blogspot.com/

In the second one I will writhe short notes about my present life:
http://tanar-pensionar.blogspot.com/

Vientiane (07.08.09)

2009-08-10T12:12:00.009+03:00

What a pleasant surprise! This city has large streets, little traffic, small buildings, I was actually thinking that it could be a nice place to live. On the other side, there isn't too much of entertainment. I visited the most important attraction, That Louang. There are a lot of other temples in the city, also a small presidential palace and a sort of Arc de Triomphe.

Luang Prabang (06.08.09)

2009-08-10T11:41:00.009+03:00

I heard about this city that it's nice. I would agree, but I would also add that is very touristy and it gets pretty hot when it's not raining. What I liked a lot is the Kouang Si waterfall. It is one of the most beatifull waterfalls I've seen. I had fun jumping in the large pool.

Mekong river cruise (03.08.09)

2009-08-06T05:23:00.004+03:00

I crossed the border into Laos at Houayxai and took the 2 days slow boar down the river to Luang Prabang. My first impression of Laos is that is a country very green and sparsed populated. The scenery along the river is no doubt beautiful but not so amazing and variated so after few hours it does get boring.

Chiang Mai (01.08.09)

2009-08-06T05:21:00.003+03:00

From Siem Reap, the city close to Angkor in Cambodia, I took a bus to Bangkok. I spent just a day there, and the went to Chiang Mai by night bus. I took a day tour trekking, but wan't really that much trekking. First I visited a butterfly farm and an orchid farm. Second, I went rafting down the river; that was pretty fun. Then, I took an elephant ride. It was a first for both these activities. After lunch I went rafting, this time using a bamboo raft (the first was in a zodiac-like rubber boat). I just went trekking for about 20 minutes, to a village where women have long necks.
Chiang Mai may be smaller than Bangkok, but it is a very busy city. I didn't see anything so impressive that worths mentioning it here.

Angkor (29.07.09)

2009-08-06T05:15:00.014+03:00

If there is one and ONLY ONE place you MUST SEE in the entire Asia, this is ANGKOR. I have never seen anything like this before. I did see it on TV and on the internet, but it was only when I saw the real thing I could realize how amazing it is.
There are over 100 temples spread over tens of kilometers. I have only seen 10 temples. The most famous is Angkor Wat. It does look good from far distance, but when you are really close to it you start asking yourself how the hell they built it. In the center is the tallest conical tower; around there is the first wall, with 4 tall conical towers at the corners; then there is the second wall, with 4 round towers at the corners; finally, there is the third wall.
The second temple I visited was Banyon, at the center of Angkor Thom city. It occupies a lot smaller surface, but it is tall and has a lot of towers; on each side of the each tower there is a face. I wasn't impressed with Preah Khan (although it streches on hundred of meters), Neak Pean of Ta Som. East Mebon is simple but interesting, Pre Rup is is a bit more complex and pretty tall; from the top I could see around for miles; far away (about 8km) I could see the top of the Angkor Wat. Ta Prohm seems to be magical, as it hasn't been restored and looks like it just have been discovered. The last temple I visited was Phnom Bakhen, at the top of the hill, from where I could have a view to the Angkor Wat.
It is so unbelievable that a great empire that build the greatest temples in Asia hundreds of years ago is now a poor and undeveloped country.

Phnom Penh (27.07.09)

2009-08-06T05:08:00.006+03:00

It took me 8 hours to ge from Saigon to Phnom Penh, by bus. The city doesn't look like a capital of a country. It lacks tall buildings and large boulevards. I only spent a couple of days. I walked along the riverfront. I visited the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace. These are the main tourist attractions, an example of the 20th century Khmer architecture. After that went to the Wat Phnom, a temple on the hill. I saw also few other pagodas and temples. The traffic is not as crazy as in Vietnam; however, the city is rather dirty and dull. I didn't like too much this city. Before I left I visited Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. This was a school transformed into a prison by the Khmer Rouge where thousands of people have been held, tortured, and later killed.

Ho Chi Minh - former Saigon (25.07.09)

2009-07-25T14:05:00.012+03:00

This is a city where I seriosly considered staying for a while. It is very animated, alive and exotic. The night life is impressive here, seems life everybody is having a good time. I visited the War Remnant Museum, which is dedicated of course to the Vietnam war, and also the Reunification Palace. I walked around the city center quite long. I took a day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels, a vast network of tunnels. I got down in one and went for about 100 meters, not easy a all. Another day trip I took was to the Mekong delta, and it was pretty nice.

I visited Vietnam out of season - in the rainy season. It does rain almost every day, and at times it rains hard. The good part is that the entire country is so green. I hope I will come back some day.

Mui Ne (17.07.09)

2009-07-25T13:56:00.005+03:00

Mui Ne is a small village that has became a sea resort, but the reason I came here was not the beach, but the sand dunes nearby. I rented a motorcycle and went first to the white sand dunes, which are about 40 km away. It look a little bit of Sahara, I guess (until I make it to the real dessert, this will do it). It rained hard the night before, and this made the color of sand a light brown rather than white; also, it was easier to climb it. The red sand dunes are a lot closer to the vilage, and cover a smaller surface, but nevertheless they make an interesting scenery. The beach of Mui Ne strech on few kilometers, and plenty of coconuts are around. A small fishing village is there and there are tens of boats on the beach.

Da Lat (15.07.09)

2009-07-15T12:21:00.011+03:00

This is an interesting town. It is located at about 1500 meters altitude. A lot of people come here to escape the heat. I only spent 4 days here, but the weather was rather bad. It rained every single day, for hours, and at times was raining hard. Otherwise, it could be nice. The city is busy and looks like a mountain resort (without snow). In the evening there are many neon lights.
I rented a motorbike and went to see Pongour waterfalls, about 50 km away. It was well worth it, as the waterfall is beautifull. On my way back it started raining. Not so much fun riding the bike, but I made it.

Nha Trang (11.07.09)

2009-07-11T14:33:00.004+03:00

I spent few days in this city, mainly at the beach. It is nice, but not as good as beaches from Thailand or Malaysia. The water is not that clear or warm. A new experience that I had was parasailing. It is somehow intersting and fun. I had to try it for myself. It is not as intense as skydiving or exhilirating fun as paragliding. The night life is pretty intersting in this city, there are bars and cafe everywhere and there are parties on the beach.

My Son (06.07.09)

2009-07-07T09:21:00.008+03:00

No, I do not have a child. This is how is called the site of Cham empire ruins. It had the power few hundreds years ago. The relics are interesting. It a rather unique architecture. I have entered all the ruins. They look so big on outside and so small inside. The location of the site, in the mountains, make the place more mysterious. It is 40 km from Hoi An. I rented a motorbike to get there and back. I almost forgot the joy of riding in the countryside.

Hoi An (05.07.09)

2009-07-07T09:06:00.008+03:00

This city is on the UNESCO list, along Hue, Lijiang and Dali, but from all I definetely like it the most. It is small. There are 3 main streets running parallel with the river. Yes, they looks like shopping alleys, but still it is interesting. There is a covered japanese bridge and few old trade houses beautiful maintained. The river along the city is actually picturesque a coupe of kilometers downstream. It has a very relaxing atmosphere.

Hue (04.02.09)

2009-07-07T08:50:00.005+03:00

Hue is an old town I visited on my way down south. There is an old city surrounded by a wall (named the Citadel). There I visited the Imperial Pallace. They are trying to restore it but still it is in bad shape. I wasn't very impressed. There is also a river running through the city and the riverside is pretty nice. Plenty of French buildings around this area.

Ha Long Bay (02.07.09)

2009-07-07T08:30:00.008+03:00

One of the most beautiful sites in Vietnam is Ha Long Bay. I took a 2 days one night tour to this place. I have seen something simillar in Thailand (Phang Nga and Ang Thong) but not exactly the same. I have visited there a couple of nice caves. I think I was lucky to have good weather this time of year. There are hundreds of mountains coming out of water. In the afternoon I did a bit of kayaking, and before the dinner some diving from the boat (4-5 meters) and swimming. The water was warm but not clear. The bay is marketed as a romantic place. It was definetely worth seeing it.

Hanoi (30.06.09)

2009-06-30T13:57:00.009+03:00

I came back to Lao Cai and took a night train to Hanoi. It's an unique and unbelievable city. There are so many beautiful buildings, all having French colonial architecture. The city is very crowded. There is a river of motorcycle flowing down the streets. Crossing the street is not easy, but can be done. In the center there is the Hoan Kiem lake. The most of the touristics sites are around this lake, in either Old quarter or French quarter. I visited the Ho Chi Min mausoleum - same soviet style like others. The presidential palace is so lovely. The Opera house is another attraction. I visited the Temple of Literature but was not too impressed. I read about Hoa Lo Prison (named Hanoi Hilton) but it didn't seem so scary from outside. One-Pillar Pagoda was somehow interesting. I passed on the Ho Chi Min museum. The army museum was close and didn't bother to come another day.

It is hot during the day. If that's not enough, it also rains every day. Despite all this, there is an undefined charm and it's a cool experience being here.

Sa Pa (27.06.09)

2009-06-30T08:16:00.006+03:00

From Lijiang I took a nightbus to Kunming. I had to spend here few days until I got my visa for Vietnam. From Kunming I took another night bus to Hekou. I cross the border in Vietnam at Lao Cai. I tooke a minibus to Sa Pa, which is a small a popular city . A lot of people come here to escape the heat. It is located in the mountains and there are beautiful rice terraces all over the places. It's a very nice place to be. However, it rains every day. I visited a village named Cat Cat down in the valley. The food is good (finally).

Tragical loss

2009-06-28T15:40:00.005+03:00

My beloved laptop is gone. Along with my Romanian passport. I have forgot it in the hostel in Kunming, China. While I do have double backup of all the pictures, I did loss some priceless personal files. Now great stories from my 10 years immigrant life will be left untold and unheard.
Now I have a bit more time to enjoy the life and a bit less weight and things to worry about.

Lijiang (21.06.09)

2009-06-26T14:47:00.006+03:00

Lijiang is an UNESCO site. The old city looks a lot like Dali; the difference are that the streets are narrow and have many turns and there are few canals filled with running water. The city is so crowded and full of tourists. There is one street full of bars, one after another.
One of the attractions is the Black Dragon Pool. Is a park with a nice lake; there is an arched bridge accross it and a pagoda. I also climb the Elephant hill from where I had a panoramic view across the city. I didn't find anything in the new Lijiang city; just a tipical big chinese city.

I went to the north of the city to visit Baisha but I was dissapointed. Another day I went to the west ot the city to visit a traditional village. The view from the hills was nice, but we couldn't find anybody home.

Tiger Leaping Gorge (15.06.09)

2009-06-26T14:28:00.008+03:00

This is definetely the nicest hike I had on this vacation. It was somehow easy and the scenery was so beautiful. The first park was a gentle but long slope. After lunch I had to put a little effort to go up few hundred meters. The last part of the hike in the first day was pretty much at the same level, more like a walk in the park. At the guesthouse I stayed I had a well deserved beer. The mountains on the other side of the gorge are majestic. The conds part of the hike was very easy, I just went down.

The legend says that the gorge is so narrow a tiger could leap from one side to the other (using a big rock in the middle of the river). The rock seems to be the main attraction of the place, since I saw around 30 buses full of tourists who came to see it.

Shangri La (13.06.09)

2009-06-26T13:59:00.003+03:00

One of the last cities toward the Tibetan world is Shangri La. It is said that the city is an actual tibetan city, even though is not in Tibet, but in the Yunnan Province. City is located at 3200 m altitude. Sky seems closer. The old town is made of wooden building. I do not know if is a chinese style or tibetan style. On a Saturday evening I saw traditional dancing in the central square. There is a tibetan temple on the hill, at the edge of the old town, and next to it there is a rotating golden tower with religious symbols on it.

Few kilometers north of the city there is the biggest tibetan monastery outside of the Tibet (Songzanli). The scenery around is breathtaking.

Dali (09.06.09)

2009-06-26T13:41:00.008+03:00

I have been so lazy. I came to this small relaxing city named Dali and stayed 9 days. It's like a big village, situated at hig altitude (around 2000m). I stayed in the old city. It is very commercial - every single house has a business on the first flo0r. Plenty of tourist on the street, mostly chinese. A couple of day I rented a bike and cycled arround. I have been through rice fields to the Erhai lake and arround. I made it to the new town which is not interesting at all.

I did a bit of climbing on the nearby mountain (Cangshan). The faimous site is the Three Pagodas.

Kunming (01.06.09)

2009-06-26T13:31:00.006+03:00

I travelled quite a bit lately. I returned from Osaka to Shanghai (2 days on cruise ship). I took a train to Hangzhou (to see a friend), and then a train to Kunming (2 days). I have seen from the train a dozen of beautiful little villages.

I didn't like Kunming at all. It's a big city, very crowded and commercial. I just stayed for the day. There is a beautifull park named Green Lake.

Censorship in China

2009-06-26T13:17:00.002+03:00

I came back to China and to my surprise I could NOT access my blog anymore. Goverment of China has decided is best to block few sites. I think they were afraid of a rise, since it was approaching the 20 years anniversary of Tienamen massacre. For few days they even blocked the hotmail too.

I took the picture bellow in Chongquing on 29/04/09 . It is a poor guy who set himself on fire because he didn't get the money the goverment owed him (according to the letters he left on the site). In this case, I do believe this is stupid and this doesn't neccessary needs to be seen on news (bloody car accidents with plenty of deads are more popular).

Bye the way, the guy wasn't dead...just burned to some degree. Police didn't arrest anybody.

Kyoto (26.05.09)

2009-05-26T12:38:00.008+03:00

I spent a little bit more time in Kyoto that I wished. There are tens of temples around the city, I went and visited some of them, but after a while they all seemed the same. The most notable were Golden Temple and Chion-In Temple. An area that I like a lot and is unique is the Bamboo Forest, in the west part of the city. In the east part there is Fushimi Inari, a good hike under thousand of red tori and a good viewpoint. In the city, I guess the attraction is the Gion area; I didn't see any geisha there, just one Maiko (apprentice geisha). In the last day I visited the Imperial palace and learned more about the history. One thing that I did every single day is strolling down the streets for hours and smelling the trees.
I am very glad I got to see Japan. On the other hand, the high cost of living made me feel less free than I wished - I traveled a bit less than I initially planned. Also, I didn't feel so much alive here - I guess that's the problem with "civilized" countries.

New blog

2009-05-17T09:57:00.003+03:00

I have started a new blog. It's about personal finance. This time, in Romanian language.

Banii si viata

Tokyo (17.05.09)

2009-05-17T06:44:00.014+03:00

Forget Singapore. Forget Hong Kong. Forget Shanghai. If I have to chose only one big city that it's worth visiting, that's Tokyo. I don't know how do they do it. the city is very big, it is the most dense populated. I think if you count the suburbs, there are 35 million people living in the Great Tokyo. Yet, the city is very clean. the traffic is not that bad. The transportation system is probably the best. There are so many trains and tracks. There are quite a few subway lines. I went by skytrain and I think I was about 30 meters above ground. The architecture is very simple but yet stylish. This city seems to me a city from the future. I think what is so different from other cities is the respect the people have for each other. Every day I went to an area and walk for hours. Shinjuku is the tall building area; Shibuya, teenagers and clothes; Ginza, the most expensive commercial area; Asakusa, the biggest temple attraction - I saw a festival here; Tsujiki, the famous fish market; Roppongi, night clubs; Ueno, park an and museums; Akihabara, electronics stores. Chiyoda, Imperial Palace garden.
The only one think I don't like about Tokyo is that it is way too expensive.

I've been around the world - sort of (14.05.09)

2009-05-14T03:42:00.006+03:00

West:
Bucharest -> Toronto (1997) -> Los Angeles (2002) -> Honolulu-> Guam -> Manila -> Tokyo (2003)

East:
Bucharest -> Instanbul -> Doha -> Bangkok -> Hong Kong -> Shanghai -> Tokyo (2009)

Osaka (11.05.09)

2009-05-12T14:13:00.005+03:00

I wanted to see Japan but because is very expensive I gave up; however, being so close to it and not see it made me re-think and re-evaluate. I the end, I took a cruse ship from Shanghai to Osaka, where I arrived after 2 days. The ship was the biggest I ever been, and I was lucky to have one night clear sky, full moon and the view from my bed of the moonligth shining on the water. I spent a day in Osaka, and I liked it so much. There were some places were I felt like I was from another planet. Oh, on the subway train the seats covered are like sofas. People are very polite and respectful. I have learn few words; sometimes they thinks I speak Japanese, and they talk to me 5 minutes and I have no idea what they are saying, not even an word. I went and saw a castle in a park, a temple, and walked around the streets for hours. Japan is like no other country, everthing seems so neat and in order. I notice they play so much a game called panchiko, there are so many places for this and so many people inside; also very loud noise and so much smoke. At night the commercial streets are full of neon lights.

Shanghai (08.05.09)

2009-05-08T17:53:00.011+03:00

Shanghai is an hour train ride from Hangzhou. It's a very big city and crowded, modern, and in some way amazing. I wen to see all the main attractions, and 2 days was enough. I went first the the old town, where are traditional chinese buildings - now all shops. I went and visited a old garden. Then I went to the so called french quarter, where there are of course french-built houses. The main attraction on the city is the area around the river. The east side is known as the bund. There are many buildings from 30', mainly banks or tradehouses, with european architecture. Around the city there are also many european looking buildings, from 30'. The other side of the river is full of modern buildings. One icon of the city is the Oriental Pearl TV tower. A new is the Shanghai Finance Center tower, the tallest building here (and 3rd in the world at 450 m), easy recognized by the shape with a square hole at the top. A well known area for shopping is the Nanjing Street East. In the end I stayed 5 days since my travel plan changed.

Hangzhou (03.05.09)

2009-05-05T10:23:00.006+03:00

I have arrived in Hangzhou by a night train from Yichang. After I found accommodation relative close to the West Lake Park, I rented a bicycle and went to visit the park. I didn't expect not to be allowed with the bicycle in the park, but I could understand why: there were so many people in the park, would be very annoying for pedestrians. However, I did sneak up on the Sudi causeway, which is a very long street crossing the lake. From place to place I would get off the bicycle and walk around. I was so impressed with the beauty of the park, I was counting my days and trying to see if is possible to spend one more day. The smell of the tree and flowers was so strong it took me a while to stop sneezing. I have to say that this is one of the most beautiful parks I ever seen. There are many different gardens, so many alleys I could probably walk an entire day and still not see anything. There is a big pagoda (Leifeng) I wish I had time to visit. The park is very clean and well maintained. I don't know about the city - I only saw it for short time from the bus - but the park itself is well worth the trip here.

Expenses (Yuan)
bus 2
room 75
dinner 13
food 36
bicycle rental 10

Yangtze River cruise (02.05.09)

2009-05-05T09:58:00.008+03:00

The boat left the Congquing dock at 9pm. The view of the city was nice, unfortunately it was raining. Early in the morning was a little bit better - the rain has stopped but it was still foggy. The boat stopped at Fengdu - the City of Ghosts, and then went on. In the evening stopped at Zhang Fei Temple. For the entire day the weather wasn't good. It was interesting to see towns and factories along the river.
The next day was the best part of the trip. First the boat went through Quatang Gorge. I guess on a good day the view would be great, but because was foggy couldn't see too far and clear. The cliffs around were so green. Around noon the boat stopped and we transfered on a smaller boat, for the Little 3 Gorges. I liked this 6 hour trip even more than the main cruise. The gorges are narrower and cliffs seems taller. This trip included a small cruise (40 minutes) to mini gorges, where we took much small boat and went around a very narrow river. On the way back we saw some monkeys on the cliffs
On the last day we went through Wu Gorge - it was the most impressive gorge on the Yangtze River, and the cliffs around were spectacular. There were many caves and waterfalls along. The boat didn't reach the famous dam, I just saw it from the bus to Yichang.

Expenses (yuan)
noodles 16
breakfast 15
beer 9
fruits 5
water 4
food 10
train ticket 360
icecream 10
dinner 15

Chongquing (29.04.09)

2009-05-05T09:54:00.003+03:00

From Xian I took a night train to Chongquing. I have arrived there in the morning, and I booked a 3 days cruise on the Yangtze river. Since the cruise was starting at 9pm, I had many hours to spend in this city. I have walked around the central area for a couple of hours. I have witness an unpleasant event near the Rolex clock tower I might (or might not) talk about later. I also had time to catch an movie and to do some shopping. I didn't expect this city to be so big and modern, with so many big malls all around. Later I found out that there are about 5 million people living there.

Expenses (Yuan)
breakfast 5
cruise ticket 680
movie 30
clothes 95
drinks 5
lunch 25

Xian (28.04.09)

2009-05-05T09:43:00.004+03:00

I have spent a couple of days in this town. I guess is not much to say about it, pretty much is like any big cities in China. What's different about it is that the city walls are intact and still standing. They are about 10 meters tall and 2-3 wide. The attractions of the city are: the bell tower, a big pagoda and a mosque that has some chinese architecture.

Army of Terracotta Warriors (27.04.09)

2009-04-27T17:03:00.004+03:00

From Beijing I took an express train to Xian. I had a soft-sleeper ticket, it was comfortable but expensive. As soon as I arrived in Xian I booked the onward ticket, because this time of year tickets are not that easy to get (there is a big holiday around the corer - the first of May - and a lot of people take their vacation now). After I checked in a hostel I went to see the famous Army of Terracotta Warriors. I followed my guide book recommendation and visited the sites in the descending order (pit 3, 2, 1 - from smaller to the bigger). It is an interesting place. I knew about this place for quite a while - I've seen it on TV, along with the history. I was expecting to be a bit more colourful. The entrance fee is a big too expensive, if I compare this site with the Great Wall. I guess I was lucky to see tens of warriors that have been excavated and being displayed a bit closer - I understood that in a month or so there will be put in their original position, down in the pit. So far there are about 2000 warriors excavated from an estimated number of 6000. Therefore, it will only get better as the time will go on.

Expenses (Yuan)
water 4
breakfast 5
bed in dorm 50
bus 2x7
entrance museum terracotta 90
lunch 13
dinner 6

Forbidden City (26.04.09)

2009-04-27T16:58:00.004+03:00

It happens that it was Sunday when I went to the Forbidden city. There were tens of thousands of tourists. The city is pretty big, with few large squares, a big garden, and plenty of ancient buildings, that looked to me almost the same (well, I mean the same style, some are bigger, same are smaller). There are many gates, and also many buildings full of history of emperors and concubines. In most of the buildings there were exposed different objects from different times. I went and visited also a clock exhibition. Overall, I wasn't too excited about this place; it was way too much history to understand (2 dynasties of Emperors (24), Ming and Qing. On the other hand, this place is unique. It took me few good hours to see most of the places.

Expenses (Yuan)
breakfast 5
water 3
Entrance forbidden City 60
audio guide 40
entrance exhibition clock 10
entrance thesaurus 10
lunch 15
ticket train Xian 417

Temple of Heaven park, the Summe Palace and Olympic Stadium (25.04.09)

2009-04-27T16:52:00.008+03:00

The first place I went this morning was the Temple of Heaven park. There are 3 building that are point of interest. The first is the Hal of Prayer for Good harvest. It is a tall wooden building. The second one is the Imperial vault of Heaven, surrounded by an round wall - the Echo wall. The third one is the Round Altair, a 5 meter tall sort of platform. I was actually more impressed with the people in the park. They were singing in many places, playing or dancing. Maybe because it was Saturday they were so many people in the park.
The second place I went it is the Summer palace. This is a very big park, with an even bigger lake. There are few temples and the hill (Longevity Hill). It was nice to stroll around the shoreline, even though it was so crowded.
The last place I went it was to the site of the 2008 Olympics. I finally got to see the National Stadium and the swimming pool. I have seen them on Discovery Channel before. They lived up to the expectation. between them there is a very wide and long boulevard - I have never ever seen such a huge paved open space like that.

Expenses (yuan)
room 45
temple of heaven entrance 35
summer palace entrance 30
taxi 6
bus 2
subway 8
lunch 9
icecream 4
dinner 10

The Great Wall (24.04.09)

2009-04-27T16:46:00.004+03:00

I returned to Guilin, and from there I took a train to Beijing. It took 23 hours to get there, and my ticket was standing,meaning I didn't even have a seat. After many hours of standing I did get a seat, but I couldn't sleep. I arrived at Beijing pretty tired.
In the morning I went to The Great Wall, about an hour bus ride outside from the city. I chose to go to the most popular site, Badaling. It looks just like a wall, but very big and long. I have seen it before on TV and in reality it looks even better. I have walked a couple of hours on it. There were thousand of tourist, even the weather wasn't good - it was very windy and cloudy.
In the evening I went to Tiananmen Square. They say this is the world's largest public square, but to me it didn't look that big. I was a bit disappointed.

Expenses (Yuan)
breakfast 4
bed in a dorm 45
bus badaling 2x12
subway 2x2
water 2.5
great wall entrance 45
lunch 10
dinner 8
beer 3

Yangshuo country side (20.04.09)

2009-04-20T16:48:00.008+03:00

Today I renter a bicycle and went around pedalling for hours. I also went hiking to the Moon hill, from where I had a fantastic view on 2 valleys below. I found the chinese countryside unique and beautiful.

Expenses (Yuan)
room 50
bicycle rental 20
breakfast 6
water 3
lunch 10
beer 5
dinner 7

Yangshuo (19.04.09)

2009-04-20T11:34:00.005+03:00

Yangshuo is a very small city but it gets a lot of tourists. The West street is full of the stores, also the area around. There are so many hotels and restaurants around. I will spend a couple of days here.

Expenses (yuan)
room 50
food 10

Li River cruise (19.04.09)

2009-04-20T11:29:00.005+03:00

The cruise on the Li River is one of the top attraction in China. The scenery is so beautiful so they decided to put it on the 20 yuan banknote. I booked the western group tour (with english guide), and at the pier I was so surprised there were 15 boats going one after another. I guess it is a pretty popular trip. It lasts 3 and half hours and runs downriver to Yangshuo for about 55 km. There are hundred of peaks along the river and all I have to say is that is truly beautiful. I was lucky to get good weather, I wasn't really expecting this after yesterday's rain. There was some food and beer on the boat, not enough though. I have found the price very high for a (jobless) backpacker, but I went for it since it's a one time in life event.

Expenses (Yuan)
cruise 360

Guilin (18.04.09)

2009-04-20T11:24:00.006+03:00

From Hong Kong I took the subway all the way to the border with China. I crossed into Shenzen and from there I took a high-speed train to Guangzhou (1 hr). I was impressed with the train (155km/hr, very smooth), high-rise buildings and wide roads. On my way I found out that this week is a very big trade fair, and all the rooms are double to four times more expensive, so I decided to pass this city. The first challenge was when I had to find the long distance bus station in Guangzhou, as very few people speak english and all signs are in chinese. I took the night bus to Guilin - 9hrs., and while the bus had all the confort, I didn't sleep very well in the reclining seat. I arrived just before 6am in the city, it felt strange at beginning but I found my way and got a room in the hostel I was looking for. I slept a couple of hours and then went exploring the city. Unfortunately, it was foggy and sometimes was even light rain. I lked fow few good hours on the streets and in the Qixing Gongyuan (Seven Star park). I was just amazed - the city is small by chinese standards (just 1.3 million people), but is very animated. The park was very nice, and there were peaks (small mountains), a river, a zoo (I did see a panda but it wasn't that cute - it was big and was sleeping worry free), some hot springs, and in some places the tree were smelling so nice. I managed to get a haircut, do some shopping and eat. It wasn't that cheap I was expecting, and prices are so relative.
My first impression on China is so positive. I will predict I will like it a lot.

Expenses (Yuan)
train Szenchen->Guanzhou 75
bus Guanzhou->Guilin 160
room Guilin 55
food 33
map guilin 6
snacks 7
entrance park 35
haircut 20

A week in Hong Kong (17.04.09)

2009-04-17T07:32:00.010+03:00

I arrived in Hong Kong at the beginning of the Easter holiday. On Friday and Monday offices were closed, so I had to spend a week to get China visa. Peninsula Malaysia is more expensive than Thailand; Borneo Malaysia is more expensive than peninsula Malaysia; Macau is more expensive than Borneo Malaysia; Hong Kong is more expensive than Macau.
If Macau is considered by some people as a big casino, Hong Kong can be also considered as a huge shopping mall. The city is dominated by sky-scrapers (mostly along the shore line) and high-rise apartment buildings. It is sort of New York of the Asia. It is very crowded and very busy. A mixed of asians, european tourists or expats, african and indian immigrants.
I stayed at the famous (among budget travellers) Chungking Mansions. This is a big building, not very pretty but well located on the Nathan road (a large shopping street). It is not on the Hong Kong island, but on the Kowloon peninsula. There are a couple of guesthouses on each floor. A guesthouse was originally a big apartment (something like 10 by 10 meters) that has been subdivided in very small rooms (the smallest I've been was about 1.4 by 3 meters - definitely not for claustrophobic).
From there there is subway to the island but I always preferred the ferry. It is cheaper and scenic, and runs every 6 minutes.
I went twice the the no. 1 attraction of the city, the Victoria Peak. This is a hill from where the bay area can been seen. The view is awesome and at night is even better. Unfortunately, I haven't had a single clear day, it was cloudy and sometimes rainy. There is also an awesome view (and in my opinion even better) of the bay and the city skyline from the Avenue of the Stars (this is a street along the waterfront on the Kowloon, sort of the Hollywod Blvd., having the stars of the famous chinese actors). Every night at 8 there is a show called the Symphony of Lights, when a lot of buildings projects lights and are themselves lighten in different colours and patterns, according to a music that can be listened along the Avenue of the stars and also on radio. It is the biggest permanent light show. It is just stunning! Also at the category biggest in the world there are mid-levels escalators, a long series of escalators that go about 800 meters. It wasn't that much of an experience. on Wednesday most of the museums have free admission, so I went and visited Museum of Space, Museum of Art, Museum of Science and Museum of History. Another attraction as Temple street night market, but I was more impressed with few other streets that are so animated at night, particularly the one that sell electronics goods. On the main street in Kowloon (Nathan Road) there are touts that are trying to get you to a tailor shop, or sell copy (fake) watches (Rolex and others), massages and other things. Everything is expensive here, so I had every day junk food which is the cheapest (McDonald, Burger King, KFC). A nice budget food chain is Yoshinova, which serves asian dishes.
Although at beginning I wasn't happy at all I have to spend so much time here, in the end I am glad - Hong Kong is a unique and must-see city. At some point I was thinking it wouldn't be bad to look for a job here :)). Did I mention how beautiful are asian women here ?

P.S. I would like to thank to my all steady readers and if is there any other info they might want to see in my blog, just let me know.

Expenses - total 2000 (HKD)
room 90
room 6x120
ferry 3x2.5, 2.3, 1.8
subway 4
bus peak 10
minibus peak 3x8
Tshirt 20
laundry 30
Big mac 7x26
BK Whoper 2x32
KFC 2x35
Yoshinova meal 3x34
visa China 450

Macau (09.04.09)

2009-04-12T13:32:00.008+03:00

I took a very early (7am) flight to Macau. I have found accommodation in the centre of the city and then strolled around the streets. I started at the Senate Square, went by Sao Domingo church to the most famous landmark, the ruins of Sao Paulo church. Very close to it was Fortalez do Monte. I went then to Guia Lighthouse and beautiful chinese garden Lou Lim Ieoc. In the evening I went to visit the casinos. The Lisboa casino is in the center of Macau. I was surprised to find out they only play with Hong Kong dollars, not with local currency MOP (patacas). There are many casinos around, the city wants to be the Las Vegas of the Asia, but is far away when it cames to the lively atmosphere. Thanks to the casinos free shuttles, I went on Taipa Island to the biggest casino, Venetian. It does resembles a lot the Venetian in Las Vegas, but it was half empty. I guess the financial crisis is felt here too. I was thinking that sometimes my life was like flipping channels on TV. One day I was deep in the jungle, the very next day I was in the most luxurious casino. The dramatic change made the visit to Macau even more enjoyable.
The next day I walked randomly on the streets. The european influence can be seen in so many places. In the evening I went again to the casinos. I was looking for the atmosphere, and there is some inside. Funny thing that other than roulette, all the games are entirely different that one I am used to. I guess I do miss Las Vegas.
There is a place, called fisherman Wharf, that has a long street with casinos and some different buildings; it even has a volcano, a chinese temple, Alladin fort, some european building. It is the vague resemblance of the strip in Vegas

Expenses (MOP)
room 100 bus jetfoil 4
bus center 4
breakfast 25
lunch 30
water 10
diner 40
gamble 20
room 200
breakfast 20
lunch 30
gamble 20
diner 35

Wildlife around Kinabatangan river (07.04.09)

2009-04-12T13:27:00.003+03:00

From Semporna I took a morning bus to Sandakan. I got off at the junction with Sepilok from where I walked 10 minutes to Uncle Tan operation base. Here I booked a 3 days/2 nights tour. From the base we took a minibus to a village (1hr) and from there a boar upriver (1 hr) to the camp. This was the worst ever river cruise, as it was raining hard, the boat didn't have a roof, and I was getting cold. The accommodation were very basic bungalows, they didn't even have doors. In the evening it stopped raining for a while, and we took another river cruise to look for animals. In the morning we got food weather and took another river cruise, followed by breakfast, a smaller cruise and a walked in the jungle. After lunch we went for another cruise on the river, followed by a night walk in the jungle after dinner. The most notable animals I saw in this 3 days were orangutans, proboscis monkeys, gibbons, eagles, flying foxes (the largest kind of bats). The third day we returned to the base. My original plan was to take a bus to KK, but since there were no showers at the camp, I took the afternoon bus to KK. In the evening I took a bed in a dorm. A good shower with hot water, having my laundry done and few hours of sleep, and life is good again.

Expenses (RM)
bus Sandakan 40
package 3d/2n 320
bus KK 35
room 22
TShirt 10
watch 15
sunglasses 18
dinner 10

Semporna (04.04.09)

2009-04-12T05:22:00.012+03:00

I have spent and entire day and night on the road. From Bandar I took a bus to Muara (45 minutes), and from there a boat to Labuan Island in Malaysia. In 3 hours I had till the next boat I walked the streets and had lunch. Since the island was duty free, I enjoyed a cheap beer. From Labuan it took 3 hours boat ride to reach KK (Kota Kinabalu). I had another 4 hours to spent till the night bus to Semporna, where I arrived at 4:40 am. I found accommodation on a beautiful chalet on the water (named Singamata). They had there a restaurant and a natural aquarium, with lots of big fish. At 9:30 am I went for diving, at the nearby island Sibuan. I dove 2 times and then one more time after lunch. I as very lucky to find a spot for the next day trip to Sipadan island. There is a limit of 120 people that can dive daily at this place, and you have to wait few days- sometimes a week - to get a spot, if you don't have advance booking. I had the best diving day at the Sipadan island. I 3 dives (at barracuda point, south point, hanging gardens) I have seen around 50 sharks and 15 turtles, plus thousands of other fish and awesome corals. For the first time I was swimming next to a turtle and even had my palm on her back. Diving here is expensive but it worth every single cent. The third day I dove 2 more times around Semporna, but after Sipadan it wasn't too exciting.

Expenses (RM)
bus Muara 2 Brunei $
ferry 17 Brunei $
lunch 7
boat KK 34
dinner 7
bus Semporna 40
package 2 days 1 night/ 7 dives 425 Singamata
package 3 dives Sipadan 446
room+2meals Singamata 40

Brunei (31.03.09)

2009-04-05T09:09:00.010+03:00

I took the morning flight back to Miri. I had time for lunch and then took a bus to Brunei border, and from there to first city in Brunei, Kuala Belait. Then I took another bus to Seria, and from there another one to capital of Brunei, Bandar. After I found accommodation in a very clean and cheap (for Brunei) hostel I went visiting the center of the city. The most famous attraction is the Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque. I was surprised to see that very close to it there is a water village (more like a slum).

Expenses (Brunei $)
bus Seria 2
bus BSB 7
bed in dorm 10
dinner 5

Mulu National park (30.03.2009)

2009-04-05T08:17:00.006+03:00

Yesterday seemed to be a bad day for me. I missed the airport bus by one minute, so I had to wait for the next one...one hour 40 minutes. At airport although there were still 20 minutes till the morning flight would take off, they didn't let me board the plane, so I had to take the afternoon plane, which was...6 hours later. The flight was only 20 minutes and I found it expensive.
I found accommodation in a homestay, and we were invited to a funeral party. Well, it wasn't exactly funeral (was a week after) and also not a party (they did sing a bit and had some speeches), but a meal with 80 people.We had time to go to one cave and see bats coming out of a cave (tens of thousands).
Today I went trekking to 4 caves: 2 in one direction, in the morning - Wind Cave and Clearwater cave. They were interesting. On the way there we came accross a snake, sitting exactly in our path, and no plans to move anytime soon. Outside the Clearwater cave I had a nice bath; the water was, of course, clear and cold, but the current was strong, it was very hard to swim against it. In the afternoon we went to Langs cave and Deer cave, which was the biggest cave in the terms of volume. I would say they were pretty impressive caves. Unfortunatelly, I have to give up my plans to climb to see the Pinnacles, because of the cost and duration (what could be a one day trip has to be done in 3 days, with the guide).

Expenses (RM)
Airplane ticket 161
water 6
dinner 9
bed 20

Miri (28.03.09)

2009-03-29T05:48:00.002+03:00

From Sibu I took a bus (7.5 hours) to Miri. This is another city where I had no map and not much info, but I guess I was lucky. I found my way around quick, manage to catch a bus from the long distance bus terminal, and the get a very nice room (TV, air con, hot water) for a good price. I walked around few hours but it wasn't much to see, other than plenty of shop houses, malls, and rather airy streets.

Expenses
taxi 13
bus ticket 40
breakfast 4
lunch 4
dinner 9
room 30 Fairland Inn

Sibu (27.03.09)

2009-03-29T05:29:00.003+03:00

From Kuching I took a nice boat ride (5 hours) to Sibu. This is another city in the state of Sarawak. The most known landmark is the seven-storey pagoda. I didn't have a map of the city, but in the end I found a cheap room, could have been nice if it was cleaner. I had for lunch local food and a chinese beer, Tsingtao. In the afternoon I walked around the city center streets, and went to a very sad movie (Seven pounds).

Expenses
breakfast 2
local bus 1
boat sibu 45
lunch 9
dinner 12
movie 8
water 2
room 25 Holiday Inn

Kuching (26.03.09)

2009-03-29T05:12:00.006+03:00

The day didn't start well, the direct bus to the airport has been canceled, but in the end I made it. I took a flight to Kuching, which is on Borneo Island (this is a huge island - home of the headhunters). I found accommodation at Anglican rest house, which is an very old Chinese house located in the big yard of the Anglican church. There are many temples, but what I liked the most was the riverfront. While I was resting on a bench watching the sunset I realized I am lucky to be here.

Expenses
skytrain 2
metro 2
shuttle bus airport 8
room 20 Anglican rest house
taxi 7
breakfast 3
lunch 4
dinner 9

Batu Caves (KL) (25.03.09)

2009-03-29T04:49:00.006+03:00

Having one more day to spend in KL, I went to Batu Caves just outside of the city. Those caves have been used by Hindu priest for more than a hundred years. There were so many monkeys around, some of them getting very close (and eventually try to steal).
In the afternoon I went to a mall where I saw a movie and run into an old friend, Carls' Jr.

Expenses
room 30 Travelers
breakfast 6
bus batu caves 4
KTM train 2
skytrain 3
towel 22
sunglasses 5
razor blades 9
lunch 8
dinner 15

Taman Negara (24.03.09)

2009-03-25T02:42:00.010+02:00

The day before yesterday I took the Jungle Railway train. It is a mail train that leaves 6 AM from train station (10 km off Kota Bahru) and goes valleys, jungles, and rural areas. It was an interesting ride, I could see brown rivers running for kilometers through jungle. After 11 hours I arrived at Jerantut and I made it just in time for the bus to Kuala Tahan (a village just across the river from park). The accommodations were expensive so I settled for a dorm bed. Yesterday I cross the river around 8:30 and entered the park. This is an 150 million years old rainforest. First I went for the canopy walkway. This is a swaying bridge made of ladders and bound by ropes set at 40 meters above ground. It is the longest in the world. It was a nice experience, although I couldn't see any bird or animal there. Then I went to a 340m hill where I could have a good view. After that, I went for Lata Berkoh. It was nothing spectacular, and I walked more than 8 km for that. There I thought I could take a boat back, but I wasn't so lucky, so I had to return by foot, another 8 km. The trekking through jungle was interesting. The jungle was hot and humid, but I was well protected from the sun. The vegetation outside the path was thick, I couldn't see too far. A couple a times when I've lost the trail I barely made it around, without a machete it will be very hard outside of the beaten path. At some point I've notice a little blood on my sock, I thought I probably cut myself in some tree, but when the stain became larger I stopped to have a look and I found leeches having a feast. An experience that I would prefer not to have it. On the other hand, I heard that they might actually do some good, sucking the bad blood. This morning I took the boat downriver to the Kuala Tembling. It was a pleasant 2 hours ride. From there I took a minibus to Jerantut and later the bus for KL.

Expenses
taxi 7
train Jerantut 13
bus Kuala Tahan 7
room 10
lunch 10
dinner 10
room 10
boat 35
minibus 5
lunch 9
dinner 10
bus KL 19

Perhentian Islands(21.03.09)

2009-03-25T02:35:00.003+02:00

The day before yesterday I took a bus to Kota Bharu (almost 8 hours). I didn't do much in the afternoon, except watch the movie on the rooftop at the hostel I was staying. Yesterday morning was raining hard when I took the minibus to Kuala Besut. This is a small town 45 km away from Kota Bharu; when I got there it wasn't raining anymore. From there I took a speed boat to the Perenthian Kecil (small island). After I got the room on the Long beach, I went for a swim. The weather was great. I have spent the entire day at the beach, under an umbrella. The beach has fine sand and water is warm and crystal clear. What I liked the most was the cool breeze in the late afternoon. At night there was a beautiful clear sky. Today I spent the day at the Coral bay, a 10 minute walk from the long beach. I returned to the Kota Bharu late in the evening.

Expenses
bus ticket Kota Bharu 37
room 20
minibus Kuala Besut 10
ferry 2x35
dinner 7
breakfast 2
room 30
park fee 5
taxi boat 2
umbrella rental 10
lunch 22
beer 9
dinner 11
breakfast 9
lunch 15
taxi 17
dinner 10
clothes 17
fruit 2
water 1
room 20
baggage storage 2

Penang (18.03.09)

2009-03-25T02:26:00.007+02:00

Yesterday I took a bus from Cameron Highlands to Penang (4 hrs). This is an island connected to the land by a bridge 13 Km long. I found accommodation in China town and in the evening I went walking around. I've seen few streets in China town and some parts of te colonial city - Fort Cornwallis, Victoria Clocktower, City Townhall. Today I rented a motorcycle and went first to the Penang Hill.I took a funicular to the top on the hill, where was a mosque, a Hindu temple, a small hotel. When the weather is good, view from the hill is great. Unfortunately, when I got there it was cloudy. The next place I went was Kek Lok Si Temple, a large Buddhist temple. After that I headed north, and had a great ride along the sea for many kilometers. I went through 2 beach towns and at the end stopped to a national Park, where I took a 45 minutes hike (each way) to Monkey beach. The ride back along the coast was just beautiful. In the evening I had mexican food and beer, which was pretty expensive.

Expenses
breakfast 2
bus 30
room 25
lunch 8
bus local 3
water 3
juice 3
room 25
dinner 40
lunch 7
moto rental 25
gas 5

Tea plantation in Cameron Highlands (16.03.09)

2009-03-17T02:37:00.005+02:00

In the first part of the day I went to Bharat tea plantation. It looks like a huge garden, spread over many hills. I had no idea so till now how a tea plantation looks like. I also wondered who drinks that much tea. There are many tea plantations in this area, as well as many farms. I understand now why this beautiful area attracts so many tourists. In the afternoon rained again.

Expenses (RM)
room 30
breakfast 6
lunch 9
dinner 7
water 2
laundry 6

Hiking in Cameron Highlands (15.03.09)

2009-03-15T10:54:00.004+02:00

Yesterday I took a bus from KL to Cameron Highlands. This is a hill area, where are a lot of plantation. It is at higher altitude, so a lot of people come here to escape the heat. It looks like a mountain resort. I arrived in the afternoon, after more than 4 hours journey. Because it was raining, I couldn't go trekking. I just walked the main road in the small city I stayed, Tanah Rata. Today I went for a long hike. In the morning the sky looked OK, some clouds that I hoped they'll go away. A couple of hours into my trip, it started raining. When I got to the top of the mountain - Gurung Beremban (over 6000 ft) it was raining and I was in a cloud, I couldn't see anything. After another 1 hour I got to point where it was clear, even the rain stopped. I had a beautiful view from there. Should I've seen that valley from the road, it wouldn't be probably so interesting; after hiking for hours in jungle, while was raining, I have appreciated the view a lot more. On my way back I visited Robinson waterfall, a nice 20 meters drop with a good flow. When I got back it was raining again.

Expenses (RM)
bus ticket CH 28
room 30
lunch 12
breakfast 4
water 2
dinner 9
breakfast 6
lunch 14
dinner 6
water 2
room 30

Celebrating my birthday at Petronas Twin Towers (13.03.09)

2009-03-14T14:35:00.010+02:00

In the evening I bought a combo burger and a beer. I drop the drink and put beer in the glass. I stayed on a bench in the park behind the Petronas Twin Towers, where there is a big fountain. The view of the towers and the surroundings is even more beautiful at night. Once the world tallest building, it is still very impressive today. Petronas is the National Oil company, so no wonder they had money to finance it. At the base of the tower is a huge shopping mall. The fountain is not anywhere close to those of the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but is still nice. In these area (KLCC = KL City Center) there are a lot of very tall buildings. In the end I am glad I came to KL today.

Day trip to Kuala Lumpur (13.03.09)

2009-03-14T14:28:00.009+02:00

The tickets for Ipoh have been all sold out, so I had to change my plans and went to Kuala Lumpur. I stayed at a hotel in Chinatown, and the first building I wanted to see was the Twin Petronas towers. I have notices another very tall building, KL tower. It looks like CN Tower from Toronto and other towers built mainly for communication purposes. After that I went by foot for hours. I visited the colonial district, where I've seen many interesting buildings. I was very impressed with the Old Railway station, KTM building, Sultan Abdul Samad building. I have visited the National Museum. In the evening I went back to Petronas Towers.

Expenses (RM)
bus ticket KL 13
room 50
recharge phone 10
lunch 12
breakfast 4
local bus 1
water 3.5
skytrain 3.2
dinner 10.5
beer 8

Melaka (12.03.09)

2009-03-12T16:29:00.004+02:00

Yesterday I left Tioman Island in the morning. The boat was late. The bus left 3 hours after I got to Mersing. Somewhere on the way the bus broke down so we switched to another bus. All this made me to arrive at Melaka in the evening, instead of noon as I desired. I found accommodation in China town, close to the center of the city. I had time just to walk a bit along Melaka river and in the China town, along the main street named Jonker. Today I went and visited a lot of historical sites. It was easy because they are all near each other, in historical center. The city was ruled by Malay, Portuguese, Dutch and British. I have visited the Maritime museum and Istana Kesultanan, a replica of 15th century palace of the sultan. Other attractions I've seen were St Paul's Church, Christ Church, Stadhuys, Porta de Santiago, Cheng Hoon Temple. I liked the city. It is charming and has a lot of history.

Expenses (RM)
burger 3
fruit 1
lunch 9
water 2
dinner 2
water 1
room 30
bus ticket 22
internet 4.5
room 30
water 2
breakfast 7
sunglasses 5
movie 7
museums 5
dinner 12
lunch 13
batteries 5

Another 2 days on Tioman Island (10.03.09))

2009-03-11T05:02:00.007+02:00

Yesterday was rainy most of the day. I didn't do much, just red some more on Malaysia and came up with a travel plan. I also went to the next beach all the way till the airport. It is amazing how pilots can land a big plane on such a small strip surrounded by mountains.
Today weather seems to get better, so I went again for snorkeling. Unfortunately, the water visibility wasn't that great like 2 days ago, buy I still enjoyed. I saw again a turtle, 2 sharks at the same time, thousand fish. I spent most of the day snorkeling or laying on a secluded beach (Monkey beach). In the evening I went again for happy hour deal at a small beach bar. In Malaysia alcohol is expensive, but on this island there is duty free so that explains it.

Expenses (RM)
breakfast 5
lunch 12.5
water 3.5
laundry 9
dinner 3.5
snorkel rental 8
room 2x30=60
beer 10
burger 3
breakfast 12

Tioman Island - best snorkeling ever (08.03.09)

2009-03-11T04:58:00.003+02:00

When I though it can't get any better than yesterday, comes a day like today. I went snorkeling again and this time to a different place, about an hour walk, to a place called Monkey Bay, a secluded beach. The water visibility was unbelievable, probably 15-20 meters, the white sand on the bottom made it even better, everything was so colourful, I felt like I was inside a big aquarium. I enjoyed so much, I did some free dives, probably 5 meters deep, around the corals. it never been more beautiful than today. On the other side of the beach, on the bottom I've seen a turtle. I looked at it for about a minute, standing still, then it slowly began going away. I followed for about a minute, then I couldn't see it anymore. When I looked on my left, about 5 meters from me and half meter from the surface, I saw a shark, about 2 meters long, looking at me. I studied it a bit, then it became curious and circled me slowly one time (...Oops...boss... I didn't mean to bother you). Then it went its way, along the reef. Later one I saw another shark, this time smaller and on the bottom, that completely ignored me. I saw few stingrays and again thousand of fishes, and few big fish (I would eat probably 2 weeks from one) I snorkeled for another hour and come back so happy. Life is good.

Expenses (RM)

room 30

breakfast 5

snorkel rental 7

internet 1

lunch 8.5

water 3.5

tuna sandwich 3

Tioman Island -sun and water (07.03.09)

2009-03-11T04:53:00.006+02:00

In the morning, as I was walking around, I saw a group of monkeys. Later, while I was having breakfast, I saw huge lizard. Didn't seem to be bother by the people walking nearby. At the small place I had breakfast I have found good cheap price for snorkel rental, and although I didn't plan for snorkeling, I went for it. I walked all the way to the north of the beach, where I got on the water. From there I went around the shore line north and back, for about an hour and half each way. I saw a small (about 1.5 m) shark, 3 stingrays, and beautiful corals and thousand fish. I spent about 3 hours in the water. There is so much beauty in the water. I don't think diving can get much better than this. For lunch I had fried noodles with chicken, it was different from same thing in Thailand, very tasty also. I had a good nap and went walking south of the beach, to the next one. There are nicer beach with good sand, if I was into laying there and getting a sun tan. Also I have seen a small beach bar ( I though there are none on this island), but it was quiet. The other beach - Tekek - (which is the main on the island) is going through slow development. I guess 10 years from now this will be over crowded with tourists, just like Thailand. After I returned and went the other way I have found another small and quiet beach bar (I do hate them for the noise). They have a great happy hour deal so I stayed and got 3 beers. While I was sitting there, 3 meters from the water, watching the sunset, the light reflecting into the water, the horizon line and vast see, I was just hit by the beauty of this picture. The words can not possibly describe it. I am so happy for being here. Watching beautiful places at TV is not anywhere close to actually being there. I know that this will not last forever, but, after all, what does? Later on I has a burger and walked more around. It is a bit windy and the sea seems agitated. Because I live few steps away from water, I will take some precaution measures: I will put my valuables higher, I case I will get water in my bungalow at night (extreme unlikely though).

Expenses (RM)
omelet 3
milk 2
snorkel rental 7
lunch 8.5
water 3.5
3 beers 10
burger 3
room 30

From Singapore to Tioman Island - Malaysia (06.03.09)

2009-03-11T04:45:00.008+02:00

In the morning I took a bus from Queen st. (Singapore) to Larkin bus terminal in Johor Bahru (Malaysia). For some reason, they wouldn't let me use Romanian passport and insisted on using the one I used for Singapore. Anyway, I got a visa for 3 months and they used the same page as for Singapore. In the Larkin bus terminal I had about 2 hours to wait, so I looked for breakfast. It was a bit difficult, as I didn't find anything I could recognize. I finally got a beef omelet. It came with a sauce on the side I couldn't eat, because of the curry.The trip to Mersing took 2 hours. The roads are good, and they also drive on the right side. From there I took an express boat to Tioman. As the boat was approaching the island I found out why this island was voted one of the most beautiful. It's like a mountain, covered by very thick green vegetation, with the peak of the mountain rising above the clouds. I got off the boat at the Air Batang beach. I looked for accommodation in two resorts but it was all booked. Turns out that it was a public holiday in Malaysia and the season just started on this island. On my way back I found something available but ridiculous expensive. In the end I found a cheap bungalow few steps away from the sea. On this beach there is only a very narrow strip of bungalows, at the base of the mountains, and it is very quiet. This is how is supposed to be an island. The beach is just 3 meters wide, and there are shells and rocks on it, but I don't care. This is definitely the most beautiful island I've been. I went for a swim and it was lovely, the water didn't seem that salty. It was warm and very clear. The vast sea gives me the sensation that this is the end of the earth. later I spent a couple of hours in a hammock, just looking at the sunset.

Expenses (Malaysia ringgit RM)

boat ticket 2x35=70

room 30

bus ticket 12

ice cream 3.5

water 3

burger 3

omelet 6

drink 2

chicken pie 2.8

water 2

tuna sandwich 3.5

banana shake 2.5

More on Singapore (05.03.09)

2009-03-11T04:39:00.007+02:00

My day didn't start very well: my laptop gives me a headache, the wireless is gone. I have to fix it and that will cost time and money. I'll see what I can do.The tour I took has 2 circuits: one is focused on central and northern part of the city, the other one on downtown and shopping areas. I took the first one in the Little India, through Arab quarter, and China Town. This city is very dense populated: it has 4.8 million people on less that 700 sq km. 30% of the land is reclaimed (it was water before). It rained a little bit on the first tour. The weather is unpredictable. Since is very close to equator, the temperature is 33-35 degree Celsius. Most of population is Chinese (over 70%), followed by Malay, and then Indians. There is a very interesting colonial district, with old buildings since the British occupations. Most notables are Raffles Hotel and Fullerton The second tour included the famous Orchard road, full of malls that sell everything, synonym for Fifth Avenue and Champes Elysee. The Central Business District includes all the high rise buildings. Both tours have common the flyer, a big wheel with cabins (bigger than the one in London) from where you can see the city, and also can see Malaysia to north and Indonesia to south. I really like this city. I never thought I will say this, but I think I miss living in big, clean cities. I miss living in Toronto. After the river cruise I was tired, but satisfied.I went to a big IT mall to have my laptop fixed. It was so expensive I decided to buy an external DVD writer (my laptop doesn't have one) That wasn't cheap either, I was left only with bus money for the second day. In the evening I manage to reinstall the original Linux operating system and to my surprise everything went smooth and I am back in business.

Expenses (S$)

bed in dorm 20

sightseeing tour 33

external dvd writer 94

food 10

Singapore - garden city (04.03.09)

2009-03-05T16:15:00.010+02:00

I had to wake up 6am to catch the flight at 9:50am which was late 40 minutes for some reasons. I lived for many years in big cities with skyscraper, but I have to say that coming from southern Thailand in Singapore I was very impressed with the city. I found accommodation at a hostel in Little India and went exploring. I walked the streets about 7 hours. There are big buildings everywhere (85% of population lives buildings) but they all have a refined style. The skyline is beautiful, specially at night. There are trees and plants everywhere. City is very clean and there is harmony between buildings and surroundings. I decided to stay one more day a booked a sightseeing tour for the next day.

Expenses (Singapore dollar)
subway 1.9
bed in a dorm 20
food 4
juice 2
city tour 33
dinner 8
water 2

Patong Beach Phuket Island (03.03.09)

2009-03-05T15:39:00.006+02:00

Patong beach is the second most visited place in Thailand, and when I got here I could tell why. This is an expensive place, but it does offers a very nice beach, and the night life is very animated. The city had many malls very clean, large, and modern. I have spoiled myself and got a hotel room like in the old times (it has AC, hot water, TV,etc.). Although I am not picky about accommodation I could say higher standard of living does make me feel good. There are tons of bars, the main street and main attraction is Bangla street (and few streets around). If in the day is nothing special, at night becomes totally different. There are flashy neon lights everywhere and hundreds of girls inviting you to drink to their bar. It has something resembling Las Vegas. This looks like a single man paradise. If you have money here, you can get young, beautiful women; doesn't matter if you are old, fat, bold, disgusting. It's all about money. It may not buy happiness, but definitely it can get a lease on it. I enjoyed my time in bars. Good thing I left this place for the last, should I came here first I might been tempted to spend all my time and money here.

Expenses (bath)
room 2x600
breakfast 35
mango shake 30
lunch 90
steak 200
beer 90
movie 120
breakfast 40
lunch 140
diner 120
beer 2x90
joint ticket airport 200

Phuket town (01.03.09)

2009-03-05T15:24:00.001+02:00

I arrived in Phuket town in the morning and I found a very cheap accommodation in the old town centre. Most of the building here are two-storey shophouses. For the rest of the day I walked around and checked out the town. The city doesn't have a beach. There are few luxury hotels. I went to stores and market. The cost of living here is low. I could see why someone would retire here for financial reasons. I also saw a movie. The city gets tourists that are mostly in transit.

Expenses
milk 25
bus ticket 80
internet 20
room 180
water 10
beer 32
movie 90
lunch 95

Phang Nga National Park (28.02.09)

2009-03-01T02:51:00.012+02:00

Yesterday I left Khao Sok and headed to Phang Nga. I took a bus to Takua Pa (40 minutes), had lunch, waited for about one hour and half, and from there I took another bus to Phang Nga. I found accommodation in a hotel and booked a tour of Phang Nga park for the next day.This is famous for its karts scenery, with many tall (and some bizarre looking) limestones coming out of water. It wasn't much to do in this small town.The room at the hotel was almost at the main street (which is Hwy 4) and was very noisy. I did sleep OK, but I needed more hours. Therefore, first thing in the morning I booked another room in a different hotel (less noise, better price, but no TV anymore). This morning we left with a minibus to Tha Dan, a pier 8 km south. There we got in a long tail boat and we went for about one hour through channels in the mangrove forests. We passed Ko Panyi, a fishing village built on stilts, at the base on tall limestone cliffs. We kept going and visited 2 very nice caves on 2 different islands. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery around the Hong Island. We stopped for lunch on an island where I climbed in a mango tree and picked up 2 fruits. A little bit dangerous because of the funny ants that kept biting me all the time. Unfortunately there weren't ripe, but I still ate them ( a little bit sour). I had a quick swim and then we left for Ko Phing Kan (Leaning on Itself island). This is the biggest attraction around, because it was shown in a James Bond movie (The man with the golden gun) very long time ago. What's unique here is a big piece of rock that looks upside down. I returned to the pier very satisfied. If there is one negative thing to say, that would be the loud noise from the boat engine. Otherwise, fantastic scenery.

Expenses (bath)

bus ticket Takua Pa 60

bus ticket Phang Nga 60

lunch 25

mango 10

room 200 Ratanapong

tour Phang Nga 700

food 96
room 150 Thasuwik

laundry 50

milk 25

dinner 40

Khao Sok waterfalls (26.02.09)

2009-02-26T14:35:00.009+02:00

Today I went for a hike in the park. I left 9 am and returned 4:30 pm, and covered about 16 km. I went on trails leading to 7 waterfalls mainly on the Sok river. If you are not into hiking, definitely it wouldn't worth the effort. Only 2 waterfalls were a little bit bigger, but nothing spectacular. I saw few monkeys, a big lizard (about 0.8m) and a snake (about 2m). I also saw 3 tourists that made it all the way to the top waterfall (where I swimed a little bit). This is probably the longest I have gone for a hike, surprisingly I wasn't too tired. I am sure that in the wet season these waterfalls and probably the entire park is more impressive, for now I will say just it was nice.

In the evening I checked my mail and was glad to see I got some pictures from diving at Ko Tao.

Expenses (bath)

breakfast 70

water 20

lunch 60

water 20

room 250

Khao Sok National Park - Cheow Lan lake (25.02.09)

2009-02-26T14:21:00.011+02:00

I have booked earlier a joint ticket to Khao Sok. I took an express boat in the morning to Don Sak, from there a bus to Surat Thani, 2 times transfer by pickup truck, and then a minibus to Khao Sok. I arrived 2 hours later than I was told, but I coped well. I learnt that this is how it is, and getting angry or upset will do me no good, neither will change anything. Besides, what's the rush? I have found a decent bungalow close to the park entrance and for the first time I've been in Thailand, I had hot water. I was actually happier for the free wi-fi. I booked a 2 day jungle tour by the lake.So yesterday in the morning we went about 60 km east, where there is Rajjaphapa dam, and from there we took a long tail boat for about an hour to the floating raft houses. The lake is huge, 165 sq. km., and all around there are mountains and jungle. Everything is so green. I really liked the lake and the fact we were so isolated. We took the boat and went around to see animals. We did see many monkeys. After lunch I had a good swim in the lake; the water was clean and warm. Later I took a kayak and ventured through channels. It was so beautiful, I could have gone for hours. In the evening we went out again by the boat to see more animals.Today we went trekking through the jungle. The highlight was going through a big cave. Although I have seen more spectacular caves before, I did find this one interesting. Inside there were hundreds of bats. The second half of the cave was not do interesting, but for the sake of diversity we went ahead instead of returning to the same entry. We had to go through cold and waist deep water to cross it.

Expenses (bath)

milk 24

toothpaste 45

lunch 30

mango 20

room 250

dinner 70

water 20

durian 60

overnight trip 2000

room 250

ice cream 20

park fee 100

dinner 60

Angthong National Marine Park (22.02.09)

2009-02-23T13:02:00.007+02:00

Yesterday I left Ko Tao in the morning with an express boat. I arrived in Ko Samui a bit after lunch time. I decided to stay in the town (Nathon), very close to pier, instead of going to some beach. I got myself a very nice and spacious room in an old hotel. For the first time, I had a TV in my room. It reminded me a bit of the good life I had once in Philippines, when I was living in 4 star hotels. After I checked in I shopped around for a tour of Angthong park. Patience paid off, I got a good price. Later I explored a bit the port city, and went to a night market.This morning I was first of the boat, so I chatted a bit with the staff. They told me they used to have a lot more tourists. We arrived at the park after an hour and half. The marine park is composed of 42 small islands, close to each other, about 31 km northwest of Ko Samui. We did a little bit of the kayaking, and then went to Ko Mee Ko (mother island). Here, in the middle of the island, is an emerald saltwater lake, connected with the sea by underground tunnels. The lake (Thale Nai) was so beautiful. I wish I could swim right then and there, but it is prohibited. We went back to the boat, had lunch and then went to another island, Ko Wau Ta Lap (sleeping cow). Here I went to the view point, a pretty step climb of 500 meters. My effort has been well rewarded. The view from the top was just breath-taking. After I descended I had a good swim in the bay.In the evening I have watched a show - it was actually a charity event - right from my hotel room. It was a couple of bands playing popular american songs, followed by traditional Thai dances.

Expenses (bath)

laundry 70

internet 20

water 10

room 350

lunch 80

AngThong tour 800

icecream 29

juice 26

water 9

sunglasses 80

bateries 25
room 300

ticket Khao Sok 350

dinner 85

Sunrise at Ko Tao (20.02.09)

2009-02-21T04:20:00.004+02:00

I woke up very early, because of the noise around. I couldn't sleep anymore, so at 5am I went for a hike. The road from west coast to east coast goes through the forrest. i haev about half on hour when there was no light whatsoever on my path, I just used the flashlight. Although I knew there are no big animals in the forrest, I realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea (to go into a forrest at night). Anyway, I kept going and about an hour and half later I was at Tanote bay. 10 minutes later I caught the sunrise. It was nice (but no magical, or spectacular). I haven't seen one in many many years. I went for another viewpoint and then returned to the bungalow, about 4 hours since I left. I was tired but satisfied.In the afternoon I went snorkeling. Some folks I met on the diving trips told me about a nice and close spot. They were right, I saw a lot of fish, even some I haven't seen before. I spent about 3 hours in the water. If I knew it would be that good, I would have stayed one more day.

Expenses

room 300

milk 50

ham 50

bread 28

boat ticket Ko Samui 300

snorkel rental 80

water 10

water 20

beer 35

tuna 40

bread 20

Working from home (19.02.02)

2009-02-21T04:17:00.001+02:00

A little bit of hiking at Ko Tao (19.02.09)

2009-02-21T04:14:00.005+02:00

I was thinking to explore the island by foot, since it's not that big. I spent a little bit more time in the bed in the morning, and after breakfast I was on my way to the first viewpoint. I left about 10 am, and when I got there was 11:30 am. The viewpoint it's only about 400 meters above the sea level, but the heat was just too much. I was completely exhausted. I have no desire to continue this way; I could have a heat stoke. I decided to come back to bungalow and either way go by motorcycle or go very early in the morning another day. I have spent the evening at the beach. It did rain for about 20 minutes, I liked it.

Expenses

room 300

batteries 70

breakfast 69

beer 70

mango shake 50

internet 30

Diving at Ko Tao (18.02.09)

2009-02-19T05:23:00.005+02:00

So I arrived yesterday at 7 am at Ko Tao. I took a taxi (pick-up truck) until Sairee beach. This is a long beach where most accommodation are, also close to the village. I have found a cheap and decent room in a bungalow on the beach, and I was quite delighted with it. I went to explore the surroundings and have a feel for the prices. After breakfast I looked at diving options. I was thinking is expensive and it will hurt my budget (and I already spent more than I was supposed). There are many diving shops on the island, and prices are about the same. Still, I have found one shop that will give one free dive for every 3 dives, so I signed up for it. An hour later I was on the boat, ready to dive. I have noticed that the colour of the water was unbelievable turquoise. I haven't seen this beautiful color anywhere else so far. I had a little bit of anxiety, because it was about 6 years since I last dove. Once that I got in the water, it all came back, I felt comfortable and went for it. The first dive was in the Mango Bay, close to the shore. It was a shallow dive with some corals and some fishes. The visibility was great. I wasn't very impressed, but it was OK. The second dive was at the White Rock, a bit further away. This was better, more marine life, and for the first time I saw stingrays. I wasn't sure I will do any diving, but I am so glad I did it. In the evening I walked around.Unfortunately, leaving right on the beach in the middle of everything has its downsides. Close by, some kids had a party all night long, so I barely slept. I went for the morning dives (7am), and I was so tired, I had to get a coffee on the bot to keep me awake (I very rarely drink coffee). The first dive was at Southwest Pinnacle. I was deeper, and a lot of marine life, I enjoyed it. I saw some huge fishes. The second dive was at the Shark Island, and it was probably the best of all. Among other things, saw a turtle. After diving, i went back to the bungalow ans slept few hours. In the evening I walked on the beach and to the pier. Although I've been already on few islands, I wasn't bored with it. It may be the same in some regards, but in others is different. This island has something picturesque.

Expenses (bath)
taxi 50
room 2 nights x300
mango shake 30
water 6 bottles 45
breakfast (grill chicken sandwich with french fries) 60
dinner (fried noodle with mango shake) 90
snack 30
internet 25
diving (4 dives) 3200
milk 50
pad tai (fried noodle) 50

From Railay to Ko Tao (16.02.09)

2009-02-19T05:10:00.004+02:00

After a day of relaxation at the beach, it was the time to go somewhere else: from the west coast, where is Andaman sea, to east coast, in the gulf of Thailand. I took a log-tail boat to Ao Nang (10 minutes), then a minibus to Krabi (40 minutes) and then a bus to Surat Thani 4 hours). I arrived around 2 pm. The night ferry was leaving at 11 pm, so I had about 9 hours to wait. By pure chance I found a computer service shop and got my laptop fixed. Turns out it wasn't a virus but a problem with conflicting ports in Windows. One thing I did in the past when I had a lot of time to spend in a city and too much weight to carry it around was going to the movies. I think one time I saw 3 movies one after another. So I found out there is a movie theatre in the town, took a minibus and got there. It was in a big mall, so I had something to eat too (KFC, for a change). I saw a movie called "Underworld" and the was enough. The movie was dubbed in Thai so I could not understand a single world. I have spent some time afterwards wandering in the mall. If until now everywhere I went I saw more tourist than locals, this time was different, I was the only tourist in the entire mall. I sort of liked it.I returned close to the pier, walked around for a while, got some food from a night market. I haven't seen in other countries this, I do not know the reason they set up markets at night (actually, more like evening). Maybe it's because of the heat during the day, maybe it' just a lifestyle. Finally, the time to get on the boat. I knew the night ferry wasn't a luxury cruiser, however I was expecting a little bit more. The boat is a freighter, and on the main floor they set up tiny mattresses on both sides. This was like a dorm for 60 people and it was almost full. The mattress was about 1.80 by 0.5 meters, so barely enough. I guess in times like this I would prefer being stuck between 2 young beautiful women, unfortunately I wasn't that lucky . The good part was the mattress on my right was free, so I slept comfortably for almost the entire 8 hours trip. When I woke up the boat was almost at the pier.

Expenses (bath)

boat Ao Nang 80

minibus Krabi 60

bus Surat Thani 140

breakfast omlete 60 orange juice 20

water 20

boat Ko Tao 55

0minibus 2x30=60

lunch KFC 120

movie 90

dinner hot dog on stick 2x10=20

watermelon slice 25

Random notes (15.02.09)

2009-02-17T05:22:00.003+02:00

Since I came to Thailand I wear flip-flops, except few times, when going hiking or visiting temples. The problem with that is when walking on the beach and getting sand between my feet and the flip-flops; it acts like sand paper and caused me some minor bruises.
The proper way to use mosquito net is to tuck it in around the mattress. Even so, some mosquito repellent can be useful. I use the mosquito net anytime I can. It's not like a single mosquito bite will cause malaria, but better be safe than sorry.
The first day on Railay, when crossing on the rocks from West beach to Tonsai, my foot slipped on the rock and I fell on my ass. Still hurts after 3 days. The second day I just almost fell; still got a superficial cut on my arm. This is what happens when I am being overconfident.
I drink 3 to 4 liters of water daily. I got used to eat twice a day, first time 11 to 12, second time 6 to 7 in the evening, when I'm not on the road. I haven't got sick to my stomach yet, and I ate mostly food from the street vendors. I did got a little bit bored with same kind of food. The heat doesn't make me very hungry.
The running water on this island is salty, unlike I've seen so far. I am not sure they treat the water right, so I decided to brush my teeth with bottled water. The sound of jungle is loudest in the morning. It is like all the animals slept on the wrong side of the bed and are very nervous.
I saw a lot of monkey climbing on the cliffs, some 50 meters above the ground; they beat any world rock climbing champion.
I met a German couple and exchange some travel info among others. They asked me where I live and I told them I live where I am. They looked so confused.
So far I have seen more tourist than locals. It's like I'm somewhere in Europe.
I do not know anymore what day of the week is. I care only about the day of the month.
My laptop got a virus, I think. The screen is just black right after restart. It does work in the safe mode.
I thought that I will be excited by this journey every single day; it looks more like every 2 days. It is the novelty that gets me excited; the second day I just feel peaceful. Before I am about to get bored, I just hit the road, looking for something else.
I can see a pattern in my actions. The first thing I do when arriving in a new place is finding accommodation. Then, I just explore the surroundings until I get familiar with the place, and see all the point of interest. After that I may allow myself a day of relaxation and then get going.
It's a good habit to check both directions when crossing the street. Sometimes the car will came from the other way.
Another good habit is always ask for the price before.

Railay viewpoint, lagoon, Phra Nang beach (14.02.09)

2009-02-14T12:52:00.008+02:00

Yesterday I moved to a bungalow up the hills, about 5 minutes walk from the beach. It's almost in the jungle. From this beach (Ton Sai) to West beach you can go by boat or walk around on the rocks at the low tide. At high tide, there is a 30 minutes hike through the jungle reaching the east beach. I enjoyed this hike so I went both ways. In the afternoon I stayed on Ton Sai beach, and watch rock climbers. It is probably a lot harder that it seems.
Today I went for another hike, a lot more difficult. There were some ropes along the way to help. The first stop was at the viewpoint, about 100 meters above the sea level. From this point there is a beautiful view of both East and West bay. The second point of interest was the lagoon, situated in the middle of the mountain, surrounded all around by 100 meters cliffs. The down climb to the lagoon was difficult and in some places dangerous, a couple of 5 meters almost vertical drops where was just the rope to help descending. I believe watching the Discovery Channel helped here, so I always maintained 3 points of contact, used the force of the legs rather than arms. Anyway, made it all the way down. I was expecting to find a crystal clear, very light blue lagoon, instead I found an almost dried up pond, muddy and rather ugly. The cliffs surrounding this lagoon made me feel like I was on the bottom of a cooking pot. The echo was great. I was disappointed by the lagoon, but the challenge of getting there was so great, I didn't feel sorry a bit. Climbing out of the lagoon was easier, maybe because I could see where I can put my feet.
After I got down to the see level, I went along the cliffs and I came cross the forth beach, Phra Nang. I have found it the most beautiful beach on this peninsula.

Expenses (bath)

room 250 Saithong Bungalow

lunch 70

water 15

dinner 70

water 20
room 250

water 20

mango shake 30

laundry 80

lunch 70

dinner 100

internet 40

Railay east, west (12.02.09)

2009-02-14T12:42:00.005+02:00

Yesterday morning I moved to another resort, in a bungalow on the beach. This is on a different beach which is very good for swimming. So I spend the morning and afternoon at the beach, just enjoying the water, the sun, the beach. The resort had a bar on the beach and they had magic mushroom on their menu. Also they had happy mushroom. I don't know the difference, but I'm pretty sure those mushroom have some funky effects on the brain. I wasn't curious to try, as a matter a fact I didn't even get a beer. For some reason, the bungalow was getting very hot, despite the fan running.Today I felt full of energy so I hit the road again (so to speak). I took a boat to Railay. This is a peninsula but is so isolated that feels like an island. It can be reached only by boat. This place has beautiful cliffs, fine white sand and clear water. Because I arrived in the afternoon, I was only able to get a room somehow expensive (for a backpacker budget), on the east side, and this after half on hour of searching. Afterwards I went exploring the island. The west side is very expensive, but this is where is the fine beach (on the east side the beach is not usable, just mangroves). There is a third beach, very rocky, which is favourite by backpackers and/or climbers. I went exploring uphill a long way, by the time I got back it was getting dark. A little bit later I went to a reggae concert, some guys named job2do.

Expenses (bath)

breakfast 70

milk 49

internet 25

room 700 Rapala

water 30

dinner 60

Exploring Ko Lanta (10.02.09)

2009-02-10T17:01:00.015+02:00

Finally, a good night sleep. Although I was woken up at 5:30 by the noise from a nearby mosque (island is Muslim, I guess it was the morning prayer), I felt rested. I spent most of the day on motorbike. After I was picked up and brought to the new resort, I left my stuff in the room, dropped of my laundry, had brunch and rented a motorcycle. Ko Lanta is about 27 km long, and about 4 km wide. I have circled the island 2 times. I managed to do some shopping - better sun lotion, mosquito repellent, t-shirt and hat. It's wasn't as cheap as expected. The highlights of this trip would be:-fantastic view of Andanaman sea and few islands from the viewpoint restaurant-beautiful secluded Klong something beach-sea gypsy village-old Lanta town-riding motorbike off road I had a little bit of hard time to remember where I left my laundry and from where I rented the bike, since there are so many places. Looks like the people who provide this services don't know either, so you could pick up somebody else laundry. I also noticed today that most tourist on this island are Germans. In the evening I walked a lot on the beach. It was full moon tonight.

Expenses (bath)

boat ticket Ko Lanta 470

meals 2x40 = 80

water 15

motorbike rental 150

gas 120

mango shake 40

sunscreen 300

mosquito repellant 110

milk 48

t-shirt 180

hat 200

laundry 30

bateries 32

internet 78
breakfast 60

water, milk 40

banana pancake 25

internet 20

water 15

dinner 120

Avoiding the crowd and the noise (09.02.09)

2009-02-10T16:57:00.005+02:00

I am a morning person. I always been like that, and I like it this way. Sleep important for me, and If I don't get enough I feel tired, cranky, miserable. Ko Phi Phi is a gorgeous island, but also very crowded and noisy. It's too bad I only stayed a couple of days, but now it's time to go. I need something quiet. So I took a boat for an hour and half ride to Ko Lanta. This is more family orientated, quiet, and not crowded at all. Once that I arrived, I saw the difference. It looks like a county side village. I think I'm gonna like it here. It's a good place to recover. Catch up with the sleep. Heal the sunburns. Recover financially. The idea is to relax, although is a strange concept to me. How do people relax? Is it by doing nothing? 'cause I don't think I can do that. I was never able to completely shot down my brain. Sometimes, although rarely, the thoughts are running through my head so fast I barely sleep at night. I have found cheap accommodation in a bungalow by the beach. I wasn't very happy about it (because bathroom has no sink), but I took it for a day. Later on I went looking for others. It's a lot easier without baggage, and this island is big. I have found one a little more expensive but more likable, so I booked it for next day. On my way back I stopped at a restaurant on the side road and I had a lunch/dinner (Very tasty and cheap fried noodles with . When I got back I have somehow lost the key. I got another one at reception.In the evening I walked on the beach, watch the sunset, stay more on the beach, then got a bear and lay into hammock at my bungalow. Not so bad, I could say!

Expenses (bath)

breakfast 100

internet 20

room 300 Blue Andaman

room 400 Lanta Family

late lunch 40

water 15

beer 120

Around Phi Phi Islands (08.02.09)

2009-02-09T04:36:00.007+02:00

The loud music from bars didn't stop until 3am, so I slept again about 5 hours. I am a little bit tired, I don't know how long I can last this way. For today I have booked a snorkeling tour around Phi Phi islands. There are 6 island, the biggest being Phi Phi Don, where are all accommodations, stores, boats. It is actually a Muslim village. It might be the most expensive in Thailand. I noticed the prices are, generally speaking, double than in Bangkok. The tour started at 9 and the first stop was Maya Bay on the Phi Phi Lay island. This is the one from the movie The Beach. For me personally was the main reason I come to Thailand: I had to see it for myself. It was everything I have dreamt of, and if I had a bucket list that would be the first check mark on it. Fantastic beach with stunning surroundings. The big boat stopped in the bay and I came by a canoe to the beach. The beach is just perfect. I guess that's way is protected. The downside is there are any accommodation on the island. The only way is to book a tour and camp on the beach. It is limited to 25 people and starts at 4pm and ends at 10 am. After I returned to the big boat I did some snorkeling in the bay. It was just OK, there are corals and fish but not very great. I learned a trick to touch the fish, I just lay there doing nothing, pretend I am dead. Water is very salty and I can float without moving (or maybe I am just that fat). The fish approach me and some of them even try to bite me. The next stop was on the Phi Phi Don island, at Monkey beach. The snorkeling here was a better than in Maya Bay. I just couldn't have enough. The time went so fast, we had to get going. After a little lunch we went to another island, north on Don, named Bamboo Island. I went by canoe to the beach and walked around. This was the fines sand I ever seen. Almost all around the island water was shallow crystal clear, that very light green. I did a little bit of snorkeling but wasn't that great. The last stop was at the shark point on main island (Don). This was absolutely the best snorkeling around. I didn't see sharks, but I saw tones of different fish. If I wouldn't get that sunburned I would definitely come back there tomorrow to snorkel all day. I am now like a fried chicken, although I did use sunscreen many times. I guess there are no roses without thorns. Sometimes is like this, whatever you like the best is hurting you the most. Despite all my suffering, I still went out and spent a couple of hours at the beach, having a drink, watching a fire show, listening to the music. Just another beautiful day.

Expenses (bath)

room 500 Rungatawan

breakfast 100

boat ticket 350

dinner 150

water 20

beer 50

internet 100

internet 40

The (perfect) Beach - I'm speechless (08.02.09)

2009-02-08T14:36:00.008+02:00

(To all my friends) Wish you were here (07.02.09)

2009-02-08T03:37:00.009+02:00

I arrived in Krabi at 9:30. I felt a little bit tired. I haven't slept 7 hours since I arrived in Istanbul. The boat left for Ko Phi Phi at 10am and it took 22 hours. I am the Save-the-best-for-the-last kind of a guy. Not this time! This is supposed to be the highlight of Thailand trip. As the boat was approaching the pier I knew I wasn't wrong. The view was so promising. I checked the prices of accommodations listed in few touristic boots, and it was a lot higher than I expected. I didn't panic and follow the common sense rule: the farther from the beach, the cheaper. In about 10 minutes I have found one good enough and at a decent price for this island. Ko Phi Phi wouldn't probably be so expensive if some dude wouldn't make a movie about a secret spectacular beach some years ago. In fact, this beach is not even here, but about 2 km south. Regardless, this island is amazing beautiful! It looks like two islands connects by a narrow strip of land, with beaches on both sides. After I got my room, showered, had lunch, I went exploring the island. A 30 minutes step climb got me to the highest viewpoint, standing at 186 meter of sea level. I just can't find the right word to describe the view. Fantastic, magnificent, awesome, there are not enough!This probably should go into dictionary under tropical paradise. I just sat there for a while and contemplate. I went down and then walk along the beach till next one - the long beach. I just couldn't wait anymore and I got in the water. It was so clear and warm, must had been around 30 degrees Celsius! I enjoyed my time till close to sunset, then I had early dinner, returned, changed, and went to a beach bar. I had a beer right on the beach, watch a fire show, listen to the music, without a care in the world. This is LIVING!

Expenses (bath)

lemon shake 30

mango shake 40

room 500 Rungatawan

snorkeling tour 800

tuna sandwich 70

stir fry chicken chestnuts 100

beer 60

chicken sandwich 70

internet 10

water 20

The Grand Palace and other Bangkok attractions (06.02.09)

2009-02-08T03:34:00.014+02:00

On the all travel guides it says that one of the main attraction in Bangkok is the Grand Palace. So I went there, only to find out you can see it only from outside. But you do pay to see it, in combination with a temple - Wat Phra. I would say it was interesting to see it, but because me and religion are not close friends, I didn't feel anything divine (I guess it might be something wrong with me). It was more like a curiosity, and also interesting architecture and decorations. I also went to another temple - Wat Pho, which contains a huge reclining Buddha. Having few hours before the bus departure, I took the Chao Phraya Express boat down the river (at least on the map, as I have no idea which way was flowing) and the took the skytrain somewhere it looked like downtown. I walked for about an hour, ate something that again I have no idea what it was, but was tasty. I came back to KhaoSan (if I didn't mentioned till now, it is the Mecca of backpackers - cheap accommodations convenient located). To my surprise, the buses to Krabi were also full. I am starting to think there are way too many tourists. The Europeans are the most, by far. As for the age, the 20-25 years old group are the the biggest percentage. I saw a movie in the bus and then I tried to sleep. Even though the seat reclined, it was just awful. I though it's gonna be a nightmare. An hour and half later, after the first bus stop, my head and my neck were hurting me. I took a towel out of the small backpack and I rolled it and put it around my neck. It made all the difference. It must have been my big heavy brain! I think I did get 4 or 5 hour of sleep, I even dreamt some weird stuff.

Expenses (bath)

pancake 10

fee admission Wath Pho 50

fee admission Grand Palace 350

2 express riverboat 26

2 skytrain tickets 50

lunch something rice 30

2 mango shake 60

water 14

coconut 20

tai pai 20

Erawan falls (05.02.09)

2009-02-06T10:51:00.012+02:00

I woke up in the morning after 5 hours of sleep, and to my surprise I wasn't that tired. It must have been the clean air by the river. The bungalow didn't have a window glass, just a mosquito net. I had only one thing on my agenda: going to the Erawan falls. This was supposed to be best waterfall in the region, or maybe even in Thailand. I had the breakfast from the street vendors, just like locals (some sort of a soup with rice, chicken, and other things), and caught the bus. I arrived the Erawan National Park just before 10, and I have found so many people. Along with some french people I met on the pass we started going up the trail. This is about 2 km easy trail. The waterfall has 7 tiers ( in other words, seven smaller waterfalls downstream). The fist tier was nice, but the second one left me speechless. The waterfall pictures I saw weren't even close to the real thing. Sometimes is like this, unless you are there, you have no idea how heavenly can be. There were quite a few people swimming there. The third and fourth tiers were nice, the fifth one very nice. Somewhere between the sixth and seventh tier I decided to get in the water and swim a little bit. It was a little bit difficult to change, I had to watch my things very careful so the monkey wouldn't take them. I waited until a couple come and the I got in the water, little bit cold at beginning, but after only two minutes was fine. I climbed to the seventh tier ( the top one) and of course took some more pictures. The trip up the trail took about one and half hour, but the way down to the second tier only 45 minutes. By this time, there weren't that many people so I got in the water and enjoyed my sweet time. Now, I have traveled a bit, here and there, seen many waterfalls, but I have to say that this place is absolutely the most beautiful waterfall I even been to.
I was supposed to take the bus back to Kanchanaburi, and from there another bus to Bangkok, that would leave me somewhere at the south bus terminal. In the parking lot I saw a big nice bus and asked the driver if it goes to Bangkok. He said yes, and yada-yada-yada I hoped in for free (well, I did tipped the driver and the guide). 3 hours later, the bus dropped me very close to Khao San Road.
Bangkok has over 9 million people and is very big. I realized that the real beauty (nature beauty) is outside of the cities, so I made a bold decision: I will leave Bangkok tomorrow evening, with the an overnight bus. I found a better room and look for the tickets for Ko Tao. Turns out that everybody is going there, and looks like the main reason is the Fool Moon Party that it's going to be held in few day, on another (but close) Island. I made another bold decision and bought the tickets for another island, on the other coast.
I had for diner some noodles with sea food, cheap and very tasty, followed by, of course, mango shake. What an awesome day!

Expenses (bath)
breakfast 30
water 15
bus erawan 50
banana shake 25
entrance fee Erawan 200
lunch 70
bus Bangkok 200
room 300 New Joe guesthouse
ticket bus, ferry Ko Phi Phi 950
dinner 40
belt 220
guide China 550
mango shake 30
water 14
tai pad 20

Sai Yok Noi fall, the Death Railway, the bridge over River Kwai (04.02.09)

2009-02-05T15:24:00.007+02:00

In the end, I choose to turn off the fan (noise does bother me) and deal with the heat. I woke up a little bit tired, but not so bad. I decided to split the load and put valuables and few things for 2 days in a small backpack, and left the big one at the hotel. I had omelet with rice for breakfast and then I took the minibus for a 2 hour ride to Kanchanaburi. On the road I noticed that there are very good roads in Thailand, and traffic is not bad at all outside off the Bangkok. The second thing I noticed was that most (almost over 95%) of the signs are written using the Thais characters, not the roman ones, so there was no way to tell what the stores were selling or sometimes even the directions. I arrived at Kanchanaburi around 11:30 and tried to book a tour but was nothing available because all the tours were starting in the morning. I asked for a train ticked to Nam ToK but I was told I wouldn't have time to come back. I bumped into a 7-11 store and bought water, ice cream and mosquito repellent. I decided to go there by bus and take the train back, and I was lucky to catch one pretty quick. I dropped me to Sai Yok Noi waterfall. This is a very nice but very small waterfall, and I was a bit disappointed. I took a taxi to Nam Tok train station, and arrived just in time to catch what I thought the last train on the Death Railway. It turns out that was actually the second to last train, being late for about 1 hour. The Death Railway is named like that because the large number of people (POWs and asians) who died in the second world war while building it. It was supposed to be a scenic ride, I found it so and so. I got off just before Kachanaburi, at the bridge over the Rive Kwai. I have to say that the bridge was a lot more spectacular in the movie (with the same name). I had fried noodles with chicken for late lunch (looks like I can handle food a little bit spiced). I have found out a decent and cheap room with private bathroom in a bungalow by the river. Then I rented a scooter and rode it for about three hours, all over the places. I got used very quick to drive on the left side. That was so much fun. Back at the guesthouse, I had the dinner and relax on the river waterfront. I am getting in the vacation mood!

Expenses (bath)
30 breakfast
55 water, icecream, burger, repelant
50 bus ticket Sai Yok Noi fall
20 taxi ride tran station
100 ride train death railway
30 fried noodle chicken pork
200 room at Sugar Cane
100 bike rental
50 gas bike
20 soft drink
75 tuna sandwich and fruit shake

First day in Bangkok (03.02.09)

2009-02-03T18:55:00.004+02:00

The plane landed in Bangkok around 7 am. It was a little bit of fog outside and not hot at all. I got visa exemption but for some reason is only for 29 days. It was supposed to be for 30 days, Maybe they count the days differently than me. I took an express bus from airport. The first thing I noticed it was that they drive on the wrong side of the road. They have the steering wheel on the right side. The second was the crazy traffic. It took almost 2 hours to get to the Khao San Road. I gotta admit I wasn't expecting much of Bangkok, being a capital of a third world country. The city is really big and a good part is well developed. I should have thought of that, judging by the size of the airport. It was only the beginning of a day full of mistakes. I have found quite quickly a cheap room, with shared bathroom and fan. Happily, I had a shower and I went exploring. I tried to go to the Great Palace, but about 3 different people told me that it's closed until 1pm. I have read about this trick and I still fell for it (I will find out that in few days). Anyway, some dude talked me to into taking a tuk-tuk (3 wheel vehicle) really cheap and instead visit some other attractions. Half an hour later I found out why it was so cheap: the drivers gets gas coupons for dropping me in those places. I didn't stay much in the first place (standing Budha), the second place was actually a clothing store - I got out in a minute, and the third one I didn't feel like visiting. Two minutes later, when I got out the driver and his vehicle were gone. It's true I didn't pay him but I wasted time. I took another tuk-tuk to the Pantip Plaza and costed me 3 times more than I was quoted the first time, and this was after slashing in half his price. I could barely breath in the traffic, that bad was polutions. I bought a minilaptop and few other items. The laptop came with linux, but for a couple of bucks I had it changed to Windows. I ate something in the mall during this time, I couldn't really tell what it was - except for the rice- but it was tasty. After shopping took a taxi back to Khao San. I insisted to use the meter and it costed me just a little bit more than the tuk-tuk. Lesson learned, from now on no more tuk-tuks. By the time I got back was hot outside so I spoiled myself with a mango shake. I missed them so much. When I got back to the room, I was surprised how hot it was inside. I started the fan and in the first few moments I was afraid it might break loose and fall into my head. It's a piece a crap very noisy. I don't know how I am going to sleep at night.
Without fan, it's too hot, with the fan is too noisy. Second lesson learned: no more rooms with the fan, if I can afford AC. Same goes for shared bathrooms. I do hope I will afford this, although today I realized that a lot of prices are higher than the ones I found in the travel guides. Even the food is more expensinve, for example the thai pad (some sort of noodles) was 3 times more than I read about it. That didn't stop me to buy it. I had an hour of thai massage. It was very relaxing, I almost fell asllep. I said almost, because to the end the strong fat lady started walking on my legs and on my back. Overall, a good experience, but next time I think I will try something else. I have spend the rest of the evening walking the streets around, There are full of tourists on vacation and you can tell they are enjoying it. I looked for a tour outside of the city but I couldn't
find one the way I want it, so I decided to buy just the bus ticket and go on my own. Honestly, I don't think it will go too well, but maybe this will help me to develop some travel skills. I need to do better than this. Right now, I am looking forward for a good night sleep and catch up with this new timezone.

Expenses (bath)
ticket airport-hao San 150
room 280 (Kawin place)
laptop 9500
tuk-tuk 70
taxi 90
massage 180
mango shake 2x30=60
thai pad 35
thai pad 30
ticket kanchanaburi 200
money belt 200
Batteries 30
SD card 180
short pants 400
south east asia travel guide 320

Leaving Bucharest (02.02.09)

2009-02-03T18:51:00.005+02:00

Finally, it was time to go on the lifetime trip. I was so ready. I arrived at the train station around 12pm, just 10 minutes before the train was leaving. Two old fellows were traveling in the same cabin. It took 22 hours to get to Istanbul. Somehow, I handled it well, maybe because I slept as much as I could.
In the few hours I spent in Istanbul I could notice that is an interesting city and is worth visiting. If I knew the weather wasn't so bad I would stop for a day.
From the train station I took the tramway and then the subway to the airport.
I had good weather on the 3 and half hours flight to Doha, but I couldn't see much other than dessert. I had to wait another 4 hours in the airport for the next flight, and I was already tired and bored. The flight to Bangkok took six hours and during this time I could barely sleep. On top on that, the local time was 6 hours ahead.

Expenses
visa Turkey 12 USD
tramway fare 1.4 TRY
subway fare 1.4 TRY
lunch 5 TRY

Preparation

2009-02-03T18:48:00.003+02:00

Mandatory: Passport, credit cards and money, tickets
Optional: Everything else

Due the relative short time between deciding to go and actually doing it, I done very little planning for a trip that long. how can you plan in a couple of weeks what I'll be doing for a year ?
I have started by making a list of countries I would like to see and read about it on Wikitravel. I became aware of the danger I will expose to (and I am no taking here about plane crashes, being victim of bomb plot or kidnapped, but the ones more likely to happen, like food poisoning and diarrhea, malaria and dengue fever, traffic accidents, having my passport/credit cards/money stolen, getting lost).
I have taken shots for hepatitis A & B, diphtheria, typhoid, tetanus.
I ignored Japanese encephalitis. For dengue fever there is no medicine. I will probably not take any medicine for malaria (strong side effects) but I will use heavily mosquito repellent in the danger areas.
I made an excel spreadsheet with the countries, months, the weather in those months and visa duration. Based on that I decided upon a route, Since then I have change it two times, and it is just a rough guide.
I have bought one way tickets for the beginning of the trip. The rest of the trip I will figure it out as I go along.
As for the things I will be taking, I thing this is the least important aspect of the trip. The idea is to be as light as possible. The list looks like that:
-passports
-money
-credit cards
-tickets
-big backpack
-small backpack
-driver licence
-diving card
-wrist watch
-sun glasses
-flashlight
-trekking GPS unit
-cellphone, charger
-memory card, USB stick, USB cable
-sun screen
-toothbrash, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, soap, nail cutter, dental floss, towels
-socks, boxers, short pants, swimming pants, t-shirts, one pair long pants, long-sleeve t-shirt, sweater, rain coat and rain pants, flip-flops, running shoes

Expenses
Vaccination 166+160+220 RON
Train ticket Bucharest-Istanbul 215 RON
Airplane ticket Istanbul-Bangkok 366.25 euro
Airplane ticket Phuket-Singapore 1605 bath

The travel bug

2009-01-29T21:51:00.005+02:00

If you wonder how was my first day of being jobless, it was good, thanks for asking. Felt like Saturday. I also got a lot done.

The first time I thought about taking a long journey was few years ago, right after I came back from Peru. I was quite surprised how easy I could communicate and find my way around. I was thinking that will be easy to travel through the whole Central and South America, since they mostly speak Spanish (except for Brazil). At that time, it seemed to be just another daydream.

Very long time ago I made a habit to read the news every morning, right after I read my emails. I like to know what's going on in the world. One day I came across an article that caught my attention. It was about a British company that offers overland expeditions, London to Sydney, in 3 months, at a reasonable price. Pretty cool, huh? So I searched more and found another company that was doing the same thing, just a little bit more expensive, but in 8 months. I definitely think it was worth it. One problem was that I wasn't interested in a big part of the route, London to Pakistan. The other problem was the time. How the hell could I get 8 months vacation? It seemed impossible. Yeah, right, like this is ever gonna happen. But the desire was there. It will come back now and then, and the more I ignored it, the stronger it resurfaced. It would just not go away.

A couple of months ago, being very unhappy with the salary I was getting, I looked for another job. I didn't take long at all to get at interview for a job that way paying 80% (you read correctly, eighty percent) more. But when I had to take the job I freaked out. Should I have taken the job I would just kiss goodbye my dream of traveling around the world. Basically, I had to chose between time and money. So I look down into my soul and I made the decision.(Now, let me state here, just for the record, that a straight up alpha male type cool dude like me never uses this kind of expression - looking down into the soul - but at the moment I lack the inspiration).
It wasn't until I bought the plane ticket when I realized that I am actually going to do it. I felt butterflies into my stomach. The level of excitement was so high I could barely sleep for 3 nights in a row. I believe this marked the point of no return. As for the reasons I am doing this, I could make a really long list, but the bottom line is I want it, I can do it, and there is no better time than now.

Oh, by the way, I have created another blog here.

Today, but not tomorrow

2009-01-28T08:26:00.005+02:00

Today I'm just like you. I have to wake up in the morning. Eat whatever I find in the fridge. Try to figure out how to dress. Push to get in the street car. Get off and take the subway. Change the line and get in the other train. Walk to the workplace. Sit in a cubical and stare at the monitor for hours.

I been doing it for quite a while now. I learned, got good jobs, made money, built a career. I remember enjoying it, but now I'm not so sure. I think somewhere along the way there was something wrong with this routine. I don't know why but one day I started asking myself questions. Is this how my life is supposed to be? That's the best I can get? Do I really like it? Does it have this way? Is it the only way?

I can't claim that I have the right answer. The more I think about it, the more I doubt it. I just realized that I will never find out it I keep going this way. Change is good, I always said that and so far it proved I was right. So I decided to quit my job and follow my (day)dreams. It's time to make them happen. Today, in my last day of work, I'm just like you. But not tomorrow!