01 - 31 January, 2010
Finally leaving Bali & flying off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We flew out at 6am on budget airline AirAsia, never heard of them before but that's what's been booked for us. It was OK, it only took 3 hours to get there anyway, & everyone on the plane was asleep.
Our booked accommodation for the week was at Reggae Guest House 1. Right next to Chinatown & walking distance to majority of the attractions around Kuala Lumpur. We thought about buying tickets for that "Hop on - Hop off" bus the Jamaican-looking-American/British-talking (we couldn't work it out) guy was preaching we should take because "it's the best way to see Kuala Lumpur".
Well after our first day of sightseeing, it was quite clear it would be a waste of money, & definitely a lazy way of seeing the city. Plus you won't really get to experience the culture properly if you're on a bus full of trapped tourists. And not only that, the map was not to scale. Showing attractions far from each other, were only in fact 10-15 minutes walk away from each other! I see now how these poor tourists are often trapped, they see the map * think "Oh, that's too far, let's take up that "discount" bus offer". Well I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you have only a couple of days stay here, or you have young kids - but why would you take them anyway? Hehehe
Alright, so with all that aside, our first day out was overcast with some slight drizzle. We visited the Colonial District & took pictures around Dataran Merdeka. Here you had the views of Dayabumi (which houses some government offices), DBKL Library, & the 100m high flag pole - reputedly the tallest in the world. Across the road is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building; built in 1897 and served as the government administration during the British era. Nowadays however, it's the Malaysian Supreme & High Courts. Close-by is Masjid Jamek; built in 1909 & is the city's oldest surviving mosque. It was the principal mosque until in 1965 when Masjid Negara was opened.
When it started to clear-up, we walked to Menara Kuala Lumpur or KL Tower as it is better known. It was a bit of a hike walking up the hill. Supposedly the fourth tallest in the world, & the only one in the world situated within a forest reserve in the city.
Around the corner from our hostel is Jalan Petaling otherwise known as Chinatown. It's the same as every Chinatown in every city that has it - lots of cheap stalls (good practice for your bargaining skills), hawker stalls, & Indians following you around with fake DVDs to sell.
In the afternoon we walked towards the south-west. Taking pictures of the old KL Railway Station, & the KTM Railway Headquarters across the road. Went up the hill towards Masjid Negara, & saw some monkeys running around the front of the KL Bird Park.
Another place we frequented during our stay was Pasar Seni (Central Market) which started out in 1888 as the town's wholesale & retail wet market for fresh produce. The building that you see now however, is from 1986 & now has craft, souvenir, clothing stalls, & a handful of cheap eats.
We woke-up early one morning to catch the LRT (10-15 minutes ride) to Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). Needed to get there as early as possible to get the limited free tickets to go up to the Skybridge of Petronas Twin Towers. Got there at about 7:30am & was shocked how long the queue was already! Joined at the end of the winding snake line & waited for about an hour & a half. When they finally opened we were ticket #123 & reserved to go up at 9:45am. Can I say I was disappointed to find our it wasn't a glass-bottom walkway? Well I was, it still had good views, but there was nothing exciting about looking out into another city from glass-paneled windows. Our guide boasted how the elevator takes only 41 seconds to get up to the 41st floor...I guess that's cool... The rest of the day was spent taking our time looking around Suria KLCC, a mall at the bottom of the towers.
Woohoo! Bukit Bintang area the next day, a shopper's paradise from what I read. Looking at the map, there's a mall on practically every corner, & this is also where Berjaya Time Square is. The biggest mall I've ever seen & the most trying to walk around in. You just don't know where to go! On the 5th, 7th, & 8th floors is Cosmo's World Theme Park, where it houses the world's longest indoor roller coaster - 800m long Supersonic Odyssey.
Up the road is Low Yat Plaza, which would be heaven for nerds & techies. I can't remember how many floors it was, but it was full of camera stores, electronic gadgets, computers, mobile phones etc. Semi disappointed that I didn't find anything to buy, but I guess that's also good since I don't have room in my luggage at the moment.
So far I'm just loving Malaysia! Reminds me so much of the Philippines, just a bit more organised hehehe. We've tried black pepper chicken, mee goreng belacan, nasi lemak, & rendang chicken. Delicious & cheap meals, couldn't get any better than this :)
Our next journey took us to Penang. Our train - Express Langkawi 8 - left Sentral KL at 8pm, & is an overnight train trip to Butterworth. Which meant we had bunk beds! It was definitely a slow, noisy, & sometimes bumpy train ride. Butterworth was the 18th stop, but we didn't arrive until 5:30am, an hour late. Had to then drag our bags across to the port so that we could take the ferry over to Palau Pinang (Penang).
Now...the directions on the lodge's confirmation letter said it's a 20 minute walk...mmmhhhmmm. By the time we arrived at Hutton Lodge, we were aching & sweating so much you'd think we just had a shower. But anyway, the guy was king enough to let us check-in earlier & have breakfast :)
OK so if you ever go to Penang, & your around the Georgetown area, you MUST have dinner at Red Garden Food Paradise. The stalls don't open until 6pm. This is hawker paradise, tasty, there's quite a variety of meals to choose from, & yes - CHEAP!
We only had a few days in Penang so we didn't waste time when it came to seeing the sights. Got a brochure at the reception area that was perfect for a day out. It was a self-guided walking tour around the UNESCO heritage listed Georgetown, showing old trades & must try foods.
Got to Fort Cornwallis just before it opened, & learned about Francis Light; the founder of Georgetown. Walked around the streets & got to see 40+ year old machines still in use at a spice mill, a temple named Khoo Kongse, & a mosque Kapitan Keling Mosque.
In an area called Little India, we snacked on semosas, tek tark (which is black tea with sweetened condensed milk), & apam telur (rice flour pancake with egg). These were all bought from little side-cart stalls, the cheapest way to eat.
A little while later we met an old man who is 3rd generation, & one of the last wooden signboard engravers in Penang. Another temple was close-by, Kuan Yin Teng, as well as flower garland weavers. The last temple we visited was Hainan Temple.
Early the next morning, we set out to get "the best" coconut tarts. And yes...there were the best :) Along the markets in Chinatown, we shared a Chinese doughnut called yu char kuick - never again, too oily.
Took the bus to Penang Hill. Getting to the top however meant having to ride 2 feniculars, changing halfway. It was quite slow & boring. Nice & cool at the top though, with good views of the island in all directions. Didn't stay too long at the top, we knew we were in for quite a trek going back down from 700+m up. Well it actually only took about an hour, but it was so steep in some parts we had to take realy small steps. Also there were groups of monkeys along the way.
The next day, we spent the morning walking around the area & buying stock for the long trip ahead. Around lunch time, it was bye-bye Penang & onto the ferry back to Butterworth. Taking the Exspres Antarabangsa train at 2:20pm to Suratthani in Thailand. It was nice to see some of the countryside for a change. Just 10 minutes before we reached the border, the train stopped & we all had to get off. We queued twice - one was to have out passport stamped leaving Malaysia, & the other for our arrival into Thailand!
Got talking with some of our fellow travelers - a couple of Malaysians on their way to Bangkok for a Muslim convention, & the other, a very arrogant Australian.
The trip went relatively fast. Our seats were turned into beds, given pillows & blankets. Arrived Suratthani at 12:45am, & took a taxi to Diamond Plaza Hotel for the night.
At 11 am the following day, a van picked us up & brought us to the ticketing office for Seatranferry, this was to get across to Koh Samui. Took another van that was packed, & got to the port in time for the 1pm ferry. We finally arrived on the island at 2:30pm, & another taxi ride which took half an hour got us to Lamai Beach, & our accommodation at Samui Beach Resort.
The resort is located right on the beach, which gave me an opportunity to take some sunrise shots. We hired a bike for the day & took it to see Temple Lamai, & Temple Sila Ngu. In the afternoon it would start to rain, but only for a short time. So we usually waited it out.On our way back to the town centre after returning the bikes, we discovered another hawkers paradise. We came here for dinner every night from then on.
The next day we set out on a long walk to Temple Khunaran & to see the Mummified Monk. From what I can remember reading, he passed away in 1978; & has been in cased in a glass case in the position he died. Joel pointed out that he was even wearing Ray Bans sunglasses. The walk to the temple probably took just over an hour & going back we rode one of their jeepney-like transportation.
We checked out Chaweng Beach area, & walked to the end of the road only stopping to check-out some stores along the way. But Otherwise, nothing else to do, so back to Lamai we went.
Koh Samui was nice, but it was time to move on. Got picked-up around lunch time & got dropped off at the port where our bus to Suratthani was waiting. It took us to another port where it too boarded a ferry. When we got back to mainland, it dropped us off for another transfer. Took us to a "cafe/tourist office" for ANOTHER wait. There until 7pm and finally got brought to the train station.
And OF COURSE, the trains were delayed. Didn't leave until 12:15am on the Special Express 36 to Bangkok on one of the sleeper carriages. I was so happy to finally get to sleep. Arrived in Bangkok at 11:30am & took a tuk-tuk to Roof View Place. Didn't waste time here, just dropped our bags, showered & off we went.
The next day was no exception, we headed out to Vimanmek Mansion, & passed Benjamabophit. The camera ran out of battery, & silly me forgot to being the spare, so we decided to head back into town where all the malls were at :) no complaints there!
Tried to see a few more temples the following day, but most had dress codes & there was no way I was going to walk around Bangkok in jeans. We still were able to take a peek at Phra Kaeo, the Grand Palace, & Wat Po. We went to Dusit Zoo for the rest of the day instead. Lots of albino animals, & some bored looking ones because they were all alone. I don't like going to zoos, & this place was a good example why. Three elephants were chained in a small enclosure, including a baby elephant. They just kept swaying back & forth like in some sort of trance. Why people come here & enjoy themselves, I just don't know...
Different scene the next day...people, LOTS of people, mostly tourists of course, like ants crawling into malls. I had just discovered the BEST, & BIGGEST food court/food hall/gourmet supermarket ever in the WORLD! Well to me anyway :) This awesomeness of a place can be found on the ground floor of Siam Paragon.
Well, we ended up eating there yesterday, & of course had a difficult choice on what to eat. but today, we got up early - yet again - to catch a flight with Bangkok Airways to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was crazy, the flight lasted only 30 minutes. Took off, leveled for a very short time, in which they were still able to serve us a meal, then next thing we were descending!
Out tuk-tuk driver was there to take us to the guesthouse I had booked in - Bun Nath Guesthouse. One thing that is going to annoy me during our stay in Cambodia is the use of US dollars here. The have their own currency here - riel - but they use the notes as the coinage. So when you get change of less than a $1, you get it in riel & who knows how it all works out!?! Everything is also marked in dollars, so for an Asian country, it's expensive.
We did a sunrise tour of Angkor Wat while here. Headed out at 5am & sat on a retaining wall by the water & waited patiently in the dark for the sun to rise. It was quite a pretty sight :) Went in & explored the area, probably an hour here just walking around.
Then our tuk-tuk took us to an even bigger complex - Angkor Thom. This had the huge Bayon, as well as the Terrace of the Elephants, & the Terrace of the Leper King. It was starting to get real hot now - even worse because we had to wear long pants to get into some temples.
Visited a couple of small ones along the way - Chau Say Thevoda, Thommanom, & the crazy climb up the stairs one of Ta Keo, phew! Ta Phrhm would have to be the absolute BEST that we visited, it's what you would imagine the place would be - covered with overgrown, large, tall trees, roots covering doorways, & growing on the roofs of the temples! Got to also check-out three more before calling it a day - Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup, & East Mebon.
To get to Phnom Penh, we left at 7:30am on the Paramount Angkor Express bus. It took 6 hours to get there, & it was mostly countryside that you see along the way, so I was falling asleep.
Here, we're going to stay at Sunday Guesthouse. There's really nothing around the area that is anything of interest, so I quickly got bored of Phnom Penh. We managed to get a tuk-tuk to the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, or the Killing Fields. What happened here in the late 70s was horrible - there has already been lots of mass graves dug up with the bones of men, women, & even children. There's still some clothes left half buried on the grounds.
Back to Phnom Penh to visit the Tuol Sleng Museum. A high school that was turned into a prison where they interrogated & killed more people. There were 4 buildings to visit, with 3 floors each. They had photographs of the Khmer, & foreign victims that were tortured here.
Cambodia - sorry but I'm not going to miss you. I'll probably come back, but only to Siem Reap. There is still a lot to explore there, but otherwise no thanks...
Friday, January 8, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Manila - Donsol - Ubud - Kuta
01 - 31 December, 2009
Twelve days until Joel arrives, & twenty days till Bali. Time sure flies when you're having fun...LOADS of FUN! This week I decided to start putting together the things I will send back to Australia, & all of a sudden I felt like there was so much to do...
Come Friday, I left the house early & took the taxi to Makati. Needed to apply for the Chinese visa. I was told it was a process that would take up majority of the morning, but surprisingly I was in & out in 30 minutes. Though that didn't include the hour and a half waiting in a queue for them to open ;) I couldn't believe how many people were applying.
After leaving my passport & forms to be processed I waited outside for the new, & not to mention free-ride E-Jeepney. This took me all around Salcedo Village before getting to my stop at Landmark. It was a smooth & quiet ride. I told the driver not to leave until I get a picture :) After my little shopping spree, I headed back to Magallanes for some lunch & siesta. In the evening, I got ready to go out clubbing!
Met up with Ryan for dinner at Marcian's where I MUST recommend everyone to try the Woody Allen Linguini...THE BEST ever :) After a filling meal, we headed to The Fort to meet with my cousins - Ina, Tanya, Patrick, Tasha, Therese, & Jon. Danced away at Encore then headed across to Fuel Bar.
Grandma came over on the weekend & we had quite a car trip in the afternoon with tita Packay, Sabrina, & Audrey. The plan was to go to mass at The Fort. But when we got to the service road, it was traffic on both directions, so we turned back & headed towards the church near Mall of Asia. Traffic again...we were going to be late for mass so we decided to shop instead :) Tita Packay missed the entrance to the carpark, which meant we would have to go all the way around & get back into the traffic! We gave up & decided to go home, only to be stuck in more traffic! Sooo after 2 1/2 hours in the car, we ended up just passing-by Foodmart (which by the way is only 5 minutes walk from the house) to buy 3 tubs of ice cream. Ohhh boy...
The next day, I had lunch at kuya Paolo's & ate Bianca's condo with the Zosa family. Afterwards went to Posadas Village with Angelo & Ramon. Visited yaya Morit, & also got to catch up with tita Jenny, tito Chito, & Mica. Then to a baby shower just down the road with Ryan, before heading to the park to meet with Mica & Elaine. Before it got too dark, went back to the baby shower to see Mara, her boyfriend Mark, & also Myk.
Mara, the "GOOD" friend that she is, volunteered me to join the games...T-H-A-N-K-S Mara!!! One in which involved me having to down a small jar of Gerbers Apple Sauce (yes the baby food) with the tiniest spoon, you know like the one they give on the planes for your coffee/tea? It was disgusting...as if I was EATING juice, gluggy & just the weirdest texture! Dinner was spent at the Zosa's house with the family :) Good to know that nothing has changed in the past 16 years since moving to Australia!
At the end of the 2nd week., it was to be my last jog for the next 9 months. I'll be sending back my shoes & jogging clothes back to Australia. Now with everything in the box, Dayday accompanied me to the post office to send it all away. Back home, I packed the rest of my clothes into my luggage which I'll be bringing over to my uncle Paul's house in the afternoon.
In the evening I got ready to go out clubbing one last time. Went to a Christmas party at Underground Logic with Ryan. Then over to Encore with Mara & Mark. We really danced the night away here. Didn't leave until 4am, lights turned on & the music being played was Hanson's "Mmm-Bop"! Sooo much fun :) McDonalds for breakfast before going back home for a much needed sleep...
Late in the afternoon, I left Multinational for the last time in this trip, & waited at the airport for Joel to arrive. We then took the taxi to Magallanes where we would stay during our time in Manila.
The next day, we had lunch with my grandma, uncle Ricky, tita Tess, Amber, & Macu at a Filipino buffet restaurant called Kamayan. Super duper full...need to walk it out. Later on, Joel & I took the MRT to SM Mega Mall & met with mama Sony & Teejay. Then with Mara for some dessert.
Majority of the week was spent in Donsol. Flew out first thing on Monday morning to Legaspi with a breath taking view of Mt Mayon below us. We were told that the trek up the volcano has been cancelled due to it being put on level 2 alert. Instead our driver took us to the remains of Cagsawa Church where we were able to take great pictures of Mt Mayon. Next was about an hour drive to Donsol & our accommodation at Vitton Beach Resort.
Breakfast the next day, & actually every morning, was something Joel looked forward to; he got to have his beloved tocilog (tocino, garlic rice, & egg). We met at the tourist office for our 8am departure to swim with the butandings (whale sharks). Met Kate (an excitable Aussie from Melbourne), Chris ("I know everything" from California - no surprise there), Annah (who lives in Sydney but is from the Philippines), her over excited mum Xen, & of course our guide Roman :)
I was about to fall asleep, & we were all so relaxed while cruising up & down the coast. All of a sudden there was commotion amongst the crew & we were speeding up. Kate, Joel, & I jumped up & got our gear on & sat on the edge of our bangka. We waited for Roma's signal - OK! - & jumped in the water. Not knowing where to look or what to do, he said "Quick quick faster! Look look!" & when I did it was right in front coming towards me! The only thing I could think of was the 3-4m distance you must keep from them. So I moved out of the way & by the time I turned around, the only thing I saw was its huge tail just as it dived back down. The whole thing went so fast, I forgot all about taking pictures/videos :(
That bummed me out for awhile, because it's not a guarantee that you'd even see them. So up & down the coast again until Roman & the crew started getting all excited again. This time I had the camera on & ready no matter what! WOW! This next one was a lot bigger and hanged around much longer than the first :) I was able to take great pictures & even videos of it. We were swimming so close to it you could just tough it! Forget about the 3-4m rule! Roman grabbed my arm to get closer to it, he was swimming so fast I just hanged on. We got to swim with another 2 before heading back to shore. The following day however, when Joel & I went for another ride, we only for to see one during the whole 3 hours.
Back to Manila & the last few days were spent going on a shopping spree with the money refunded from the Mt Mayon trek, plus dinner with cousins & friends :)
Ubud in Indonesia was our next stop. Another early morning flight, with a stop-over in Hong Kong. Awww not feeling well...I even missed out on eating the plane food; something I usually look forward to. I just couldn't stomach anything...nothing for the next few days. The only thing I felt like eating was bread/crackers & water. Nothing else seemed to satisfy my stomach.
Staying at Nick's Pension for the week. We did a lot of walking, swimming, & this place is HOT! I was sweating like there was no tomorrow - that's no joke either... And when I finally for to try the local dishes I was hooked! Give me Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, Gado-gado, Chicken Satay any day YUM! :) Saw some cheeky monkeys around the Monkey Forest roads - go figure! Lots of paintings & sculptures there was no need to go to a gallery.
Not much to do here & I didn't feel like doing any tours. Just wanted to eat good cheap food & swim. I did end up buying a painting from a local artist named Tono W though. Very friendly guy, & his works were amazing. Went for a massage, scrub, facial, & get this - a MILK bath. Yeah...I can get used to this :)
Kuta was next, which includes the New Year. Well...I had high hopes for this place. We're staying at Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel in Legian. So there was a lot of walking which is always good. But it's the same thing everywhere...shops selling practically identical things, vendors popping out of nowhere trying to sell you everything under the sun. And I can not stand the Aussie accents & slangs they try to use to get your attention or even when they talk to you. I've never seen a traffic jam with just motorcycles before, not even in Italy! So that was amusing.
Went to the beach a few times - another let down. It was as if it was getting dirtier by the day. The rubbish is just rake & dump in a dugged up hole then covered over with sand. Rubbish & dead fish were aplenty in the water. This is probably close to swimming in Manila Bay, something you would never do.
New Year's eve was spent at the roofdeck of our hotel taking pictures of the fireworks around us. But besides that, it was a pretty quiet night. Our only celebration was lunch at a restaurant close to Kuta Square.
Now close to the end of our stay in Bali, I am yet to understand WHY so many Australians make it out to be such a big deal coming here. It's over rated. Australians & Americans everywhere looking like cooked lobsters or ripe tomatoes with their burnt skins. The beach full of fish guts, not the mention the dirtiest sand ever. I definitely won't be recommending Bali to anyone, & the only reason for me to ever return is to buy artwork in Ubud.
On a good note...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Twelve days until Joel arrives, & twenty days till Bali. Time sure flies when you're having fun...LOADS of FUN! This week I decided to start putting together the things I will send back to Australia, & all of a sudden I felt like there was so much to do...
Come Friday, I left the house early & took the taxi to Makati. Needed to apply for the Chinese visa. I was told it was a process that would take up majority of the morning, but surprisingly I was in & out in 30 minutes. Though that didn't include the hour and a half waiting in a queue for them to open ;) I couldn't believe how many people were applying.
After leaving my passport & forms to be processed I waited outside for the new, & not to mention free-ride E-Jeepney. This took me all around Salcedo Village before getting to my stop at Landmark. It was a smooth & quiet ride. I told the driver not to leave until I get a picture :) After my little shopping spree, I headed back to Magallanes for some lunch & siesta. In the evening, I got ready to go out clubbing!
Met up with Ryan for dinner at Marcian's where I MUST recommend everyone to try the Woody Allen Linguini...THE BEST ever :) After a filling meal, we headed to The Fort to meet with my cousins - Ina, Tanya, Patrick, Tasha, Therese, & Jon. Danced away at Encore then headed across to Fuel Bar.
Grandma came over on the weekend & we had quite a car trip in the afternoon with tita Packay, Sabrina, & Audrey. The plan was to go to mass at The Fort. But when we got to the service road, it was traffic on both directions, so we turned back & headed towards the church near Mall of Asia. Traffic again...we were going to be late for mass so we decided to shop instead :) Tita Packay missed the entrance to the carpark, which meant we would have to go all the way around & get back into the traffic! We gave up & decided to go home, only to be stuck in more traffic! Sooo after 2 1/2 hours in the car, we ended up just passing-by Foodmart (which by the way is only 5 minutes walk from the house) to buy 3 tubs of ice cream. Ohhh boy...
The next day, I had lunch at kuya Paolo's & ate Bianca's condo with the Zosa family. Afterwards went to Posadas Village with Angelo & Ramon. Visited yaya Morit, & also got to catch up with tita Jenny, tito Chito, & Mica. Then to a baby shower just down the road with Ryan, before heading to the park to meet with Mica & Elaine. Before it got too dark, went back to the baby shower to see Mara, her boyfriend Mark, & also Myk.
Mara, the "GOOD" friend that she is, volunteered me to join the games...T-H-A-N-K-S Mara!!! One in which involved me having to down a small jar of Gerbers Apple Sauce (yes the baby food) with the tiniest spoon, you know like the one they give on the planes for your coffee/tea? It was disgusting...as if I was EATING juice, gluggy & just the weirdest texture! Dinner was spent at the Zosa's house with the family :) Good to know that nothing has changed in the past 16 years since moving to Australia!
At the end of the 2nd week., it was to be my last jog for the next 9 months. I'll be sending back my shoes & jogging clothes back to Australia. Now with everything in the box, Dayday accompanied me to the post office to send it all away. Back home, I packed the rest of my clothes into my luggage which I'll be bringing over to my uncle Paul's house in the afternoon.
In the evening I got ready to go out clubbing one last time. Went to a Christmas party at Underground Logic with Ryan. Then over to Encore with Mara & Mark. We really danced the night away here. Didn't leave until 4am, lights turned on & the music being played was Hanson's "Mmm-Bop"! Sooo much fun :) McDonalds for breakfast before going back home for a much needed sleep...
Late in the afternoon, I left Multinational for the last time in this trip, & waited at the airport for Joel to arrive. We then took the taxi to Magallanes where we would stay during our time in Manila.
The next day, we had lunch with my grandma, uncle Ricky, tita Tess, Amber, & Macu at a Filipino buffet restaurant called Kamayan. Super duper full...need to walk it out. Later on, Joel & I took the MRT to SM Mega Mall & met with mama Sony & Teejay. Then with Mara for some dessert.
Majority of the week was spent in Donsol. Flew out first thing on Monday morning to Legaspi with a breath taking view of Mt Mayon below us. We were told that the trek up the volcano has been cancelled due to it being put on level 2 alert. Instead our driver took us to the remains of Cagsawa Church where we were able to take great pictures of Mt Mayon. Next was about an hour drive to Donsol & our accommodation at Vitton Beach Resort.
Breakfast the next day, & actually every morning, was something Joel looked forward to; he got to have his beloved tocilog (tocino, garlic rice, & egg). We met at the tourist office for our 8am departure to swim with the butandings (whale sharks). Met Kate (an excitable Aussie from Melbourne), Chris ("I know everything" from California - no surprise there), Annah (who lives in Sydney but is from the Philippines), her over excited mum Xen, & of course our guide Roman :)
I was about to fall asleep, & we were all so relaxed while cruising up & down the coast. All of a sudden there was commotion amongst the crew & we were speeding up. Kate, Joel, & I jumped up & got our gear on & sat on the edge of our bangka. We waited for Roma's signal - OK! - & jumped in the water. Not knowing where to look or what to do, he said "Quick quick faster! Look look!" & when I did it was right in front coming towards me! The only thing I could think of was the 3-4m distance you must keep from them. So I moved out of the way & by the time I turned around, the only thing I saw was its huge tail just as it dived back down. The whole thing went so fast, I forgot all about taking pictures/videos :(
That bummed me out for awhile, because it's not a guarantee that you'd even see them. So up & down the coast again until Roman & the crew started getting all excited again. This time I had the camera on & ready no matter what! WOW! This next one was a lot bigger and hanged around much longer than the first :) I was able to take great pictures & even videos of it. We were swimming so close to it you could just tough it! Forget about the 3-4m rule! Roman grabbed my arm to get closer to it, he was swimming so fast I just hanged on. We got to swim with another 2 before heading back to shore. The following day however, when Joel & I went for another ride, we only for to see one during the whole 3 hours.
Back to Manila & the last few days were spent going on a shopping spree with the money refunded from the Mt Mayon trek, plus dinner with cousins & friends :)
Ubud in Indonesia was our next stop. Another early morning flight, with a stop-over in Hong Kong. Awww not feeling well...I even missed out on eating the plane food; something I usually look forward to. I just couldn't stomach anything...nothing for the next few days. The only thing I felt like eating was bread/crackers & water. Nothing else seemed to satisfy my stomach.
Staying at Nick's Pension for the week. We did a lot of walking, swimming, & this place is HOT! I was sweating like there was no tomorrow - that's no joke either... And when I finally for to try the local dishes I was hooked! Give me Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, Gado-gado, Chicken Satay any day YUM! :) Saw some cheeky monkeys around the Monkey Forest roads - go figure! Lots of paintings & sculptures there was no need to go to a gallery.
Not much to do here & I didn't feel like doing any tours. Just wanted to eat good cheap food & swim. I did end up buying a painting from a local artist named Tono W though. Very friendly guy, & his works were amazing. Went for a massage, scrub, facial, & get this - a MILK bath. Yeah...I can get used to this :)
Kuta was next, which includes the New Year. Well...I had high hopes for this place. We're staying at Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel in Legian. So there was a lot of walking which is always good. But it's the same thing everywhere...shops selling practically identical things, vendors popping out of nowhere trying to sell you everything under the sun. And I can not stand the Aussie accents & slangs they try to use to get your attention or even when they talk to you. I've never seen a traffic jam with just motorcycles before, not even in Italy! So that was amusing.
Went to the beach a few times - another let down. It was as if it was getting dirtier by the day. The rubbish is just rake & dump in a dugged up hole then covered over with sand. Rubbish & dead fish were aplenty in the water. This is probably close to swimming in Manila Bay, something you would never do.
New Year's eve was spent at the roofdeck of our hotel taking pictures of the fireworks around us. But besides that, it was a pretty quiet night. Our only celebration was lunch at a restaurant close to Kuta Square.
Now close to the end of our stay in Bali, I am yet to understand WHY so many Australians make it out to be such a big deal coming here. It's over rated. Australians & Americans everywhere looking like cooked lobsters or ripe tomatoes with their burnt skins. The beach full of fish guts, not the mention the dirtiest sand ever. I definitely won't be recommending Bali to anyone, & the only reason for me to ever return is to buy artwork in Ubud.
On a good note...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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