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Last Night In Bangkok

poweredbytofu — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:37:17 +0000

We took the bus over the dancing road to Battambang yesterday morning. I did a moto tour when we arrived. We drove into the rural areas of Battambang and saw rice paper being made as well as rice noodles. Battambang is a very typical Cambodian city. There’s very little tourism and a lot of poverty. So this is “real” Cambodia. The women who make the rice papers to sell to restaurants make about $3 a day. In Siem Reap, the street children all sell postcards and bracelets. A little girl who looked about 3 years old, tawdled up to me and asked if I wanted to buy a pretty bracelet. I told her I didn’t need a bracelet and she said “but I need the money!” How do you say no to that!? Cambodia is such a different country, it’s heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time.

Today we left to finish our journey over the “dancing road” to the Thai border. After a lunch of pad thai at the the border, we loaded into nice vans and drove on nice, smooth roads to Bangkok, ah, so nice. After wandering around Chinatown, we met for our “goodbye” dinner, since everyone is going their separate ways tomorrow. We ate at a really cool little restaurant near Chinatown and then went out for drinks. At 4 in the morning I headed back to the hotel to grab my pack and left for the airport.

Goodbye SE Asia, it’s time for my long journey home (via Beijing)!

In Malaysia…

poweredbytofu — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:57:35 +0000

Travel day! What was supposed to be five hours in the van ended up being eight hours. Needless to say, I wasn’t a happy camper since I only had a few granola bars to snack on. The border crossing to Malaysia was pretty uneventful. We stood in line on the Thailand side, got our passports stamped before walking through, where we got in taxis to get to the Malaysia side, where they stamped our passports again, and then drove on through the baggage scan. They didn’t even stop our taxi to scan our bags! Then the taxi dropped us off down the road. It was kind of strange, just standing on the side of the road with our packs while we waited for our van. We were like “did we get out of the taxi too soon!” But the van was just across the street. We continued on to Penang island, George Town.

I’m fairly certain that we’re staying at the worst hotel in George Town. It totally gives me the creeps. It seems like a bad hotel from the movies, and we think there’s some kind of brothel in the back. After exchanging my Baht for Ringgits, we met for dinner at an Indian restaurant down the street. It was so good! I love Malaysia! We learned today that Malaysia is a really diverse mix of cultures. While they’re a Muslim majority country, the three main cultures are Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian. This translates to an amazing mix of food choices!

Ko Phi Phi and Monkeys

poweredbytofu — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:57:49 +0000

It’s so nice being out of Bangkok and out on the beach. Today we took a day trip out to Ko Phi Phi. We boated out to several islands, and swam, snorkeled, and laid out. Then we went into an inlet area with sheer rock face cliffs and blue, shallow water. It was really gorgeous. We got out of the boat to swim a little and there was even a rope swing! Then, we stopped at a cliff area, where all of these monkeys live. I had never seen a monkey, other than the zoo. They’re kind of crazy though. They have really unpredictable movements, so they’re kind of unnerving.

We stopped for lunch on Ko Phi Phi Don, the main island, before stopping at one more beach to swim. It started to rain while we were there and after waiting out part of the downpour, we headed back to Ao Nang. It rained the rest of the way back. A big storm is definitely rolling in. After getting back in town, it stopped raining, until we headed out to the waterfront for dinner. By the time we arrived, we were “wring out your clothes” soaked. So we ate dinner, dripping wet. After dinner, we went and got massages. I could get used to this. I don’t think I’ll be able to pay American prices for massages ever again. On the way home, I found some of the super comfy Thai fisherman pants, like the kind that I wore at my massage.

One Night In Bangkok

poweredbytofu — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:39:20 +0000

After over 24 hours of traveling, the last thing I wanted to do today was to hit all the tourist sites. Instead, I walked to Khao San Rd, (and yes, it’s every bit the hippy backpacker ghetto that I imagined). So far, Bangkok just seems like any other massive city in Asia… dirty, crowded and busy. I bought the Lonely Planet SE Asia on a Shoestring guide book, got some pad thai for lunch, and then went to a salon. I got a manicure and pedicure for 180 baht ($6) and then an hour Thai massage for 200 baht, before walking back out to the sweltering heat. After a day of relaxing, I met up with the group for the overnight train to Surat Thani. I went to KFC at the train station, (I know, I never go there at home, but they had salad and mashed potatoes). Thailand trains are way nicer than the China train! The bunks fold down over the seating area, so it’s only 2 bunks high, and you have a curtain! After arriving in Surat Thani, we bused several hours down to Krabi. We finally arrived in Krabi around noon. We’re staying in Ao Nan beach area. I grabbed a wrap at a restaurant down the street, before meeting the truck for rock climbing. Three of us decided to do the 1/2 day climb, and it was so much fun. I officially love climbing! It looked a little scary, but you’re wearing a harness, and Krabi is a really popular climbing destination, so it actually felt really safe. The guides were pretty funny too. After our boat got back from climbing, we went next door to the, you guessed it “Thai restaurant”. ;)

Back To Asia

poweredbytofu — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:54:48 +0000

Asia, take two. What a long day! I woke up at 3:30am to take the shuttle to the airport. I got to Melbourne around 8am, just in time to sit at the airport for five hours. Ahhh, airport fun! So what do I do in an international airport with five hours to kill? Coffee, sudoku, reading the Financial Times, Wii Sports in the electronics shop, Jelly Belly pear jelly beans, pretend shopping, reading, pancakes with maple syrup, 1/2 hour Internet, more Wii, and suddenly it seemed like I was being rushed onto the plane. ;) An hour into my JetStar flight to Bangkok, I decided to pay for the movie player. After that, time went pretty quickly. I watched No Country For Old Men (sad), Charlie Wilson’s War, and The Bucket List. A good use of $12, I’d say. After what felt like several days of travel, I was in Bangkok. I grabbed a taxi to my hotel and crashed.