TravelStream™ news feed for member zee on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/zee en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 04 Oct 2005 02:37:11 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120974540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120974540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120974540/tpod.html Tue, 04 Oct 2005 02:37:11 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Kuching, Malaysia

Borneo! My preconceptions of this place were of primitive jungle, full of headhunters and crocodiles competing to end my trip even earlier. Well... a concrete jungle and a traffic jam were my first impressions. It got better fast though. Kuching is a beautiful riviera town full of great cafes, gardens, bars and friendly locals. The towering hotels and offices on one side of the river bank are matched by stilt houses on the other. There are a million things you can do and (most importantly) they're cheap!
The first night I was there I met an Austrian, Marco, who was heading to Baku national park the next day. We agreed to split the boat across to the park and ended up spending the whole day trekking through the jungle and chasing down and cornering protected wildlife so we could get a good photo. We adopted a Spanish girl and an American on the way back and spent the night drinking cheap beers with them on the waterfront while the local 'soft boys' and lady-boys came up to chat.
The next day Marco, the Spaniard and I headed up to the orang utan rehabilitation centre. It was raining, cold and we had to get up at 6am (why does everything have to start so early??? I'm going to need a holiday just to recover from this trip).
After standing in the wet jungle for half an hour without seeing anything it started to seem pretty funny: a dozen tourists standing in the middle of the wilderness expecting wild animals to perform for them. But then, right on cue, three orang utan turned up and did exactly that. Swinging around, eating bananas, all the usual stuff.
We were pretty happy with the outcome and were just about to leave when the park rangers started shoving us unceremoniously up the path. The dominant male was making his fashionably-late entrance and we were in his way. He was huge, and he knew it (don't you hate people like that?). He set about eating enormous amounts of bananas, giving us just enough time to get some blurry photos before he heaved himself up some vines and disappeared into the forest. We left feeling like we'd gotten our 3 ringgit-worth.
The next day I got up early again (sigh) and caught the river boat to Kapit, the "Gateway to Borneo", or so they'd have you believe.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120972020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120972020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120972020/tpod.html Mon, 03 Oct 2005 23:21:45 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Melaka, Malaysia

While I was waiting for my flight from KL to Kuching, Sarawak, I decided to go to what Lonely Planet calls the "premier tourist destination" of Malaysia. Why is it so described? Not even the locals could tell you. The writer must have been on some really good drugs going through Malaysia.
Anyway, as with most Malay towns, you can see most of the good stuff on foot in an afternoon. Then you kill time watching other bemused tourists wander round trying to figure out where the rest of the interesting stuff is. It's like they kind of expect a whole bunch of people to jump out from behind a building and yell: "Surprise! Just kidding! We had you thinking there's nothing to do here- there's actually heaps!".
The weekend night markets were on in Chinatown, so with a random American who was staying in my dorm room I wandered up and down buying unidentifiable BBQ meats and sweets. The entertainment was great: at one end of the street a large crowd were watching a large stage onto which jumped a succession of karaoke-singing locals. Crazy stuff. As Kristy and Mark on the Perhentians can testify, it takes at least 6 beers before i'll sing (let's not go there). Malays can do it sober. I will never understand.
At the other end of the street was a kung-fu master using his powers to sell tiger balm. Fire-breathing, whip-cracking fun was outdone only by his piercing a coconut with a forefinger. I was soon targeted as the foreign butt of his jokes, and was apparently so good at it that I somehow ended up being in the rest of his show. He offered to take me round Malaysia doing shows with him, but regretfully I had to decline.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120966980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120966980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120966980/tpod.html Fri, 09 Sep 2005 02:15:40 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Wow. Pizza Hut. I love you. Definitely my first stop after the islands.
I know, this is sheer treason to the older travellers who regaled me with their stories when i was growing up and helped instill my wanderlust. I'm sure their motto would run something like: "Authentic food and experiences are the only way to go!". But this trip has definitely opened my eyes to that one. There is always someone who has travelled longer (met a Japanese guy in Kuching who's been on the road for three years), gone to more exotic places (a Scottish nutter who walked through Sarawak, sleeping alone in the jungle) and lived more 'authentically' than you (any of the hippies in Mcleod Ganj). At first it's disconcerting: no matter how adventurous and spontaneous you are, there's ALWAYS someone who beats you.
Then I realised that its not a competition, each trip is fantastic. Even the three week specials who fly out of their lives and blow a heap of cash before flying back into reality. At least they're travelling. I followed this insight to its logical consequence: the revelation that Pizza Hut is awesome and if it fits my budget, I should knock myself out. At least, that's how I justified it.
Anyway, I grabbed the next 'Jungle Train' to the big smoke that is KL. I didn't have time to stop, but I was hoping to at least see the jungle as we went through. Alas, there are only night trains now, so I missed the last bit of real nature on the Malay peninsular.
KL's great. There are millions of people, lots of laksa houses, markets, cheap DVDs (my bag weighs a bloody tonne now) and assorted material possessions. The sheer materiality of it! When I left home, I felt so relieved to see my stuff leaving on the back of a truck. I was unencumbered. Now I want to be encumbered! I want stuff! I want clothes without holes in them (thankyou a myriad of laundries throughout Asia), I want capitalist consumerism in all its glory! Touring Buddhist countries has well and truly cured me of my Buddhist leanings. And KL's the place to be if you love stuff.
So apparently this is the part of my trip where I start philosophising on the secrets I have learned, the thoughts banging around my head and the beliefs I have developed. Sorry- won't happen again. It happens to all travellers at some stage... usually they only inflict it on other backpackers. Occasionally they start cults. Fear not; as those who went to school with me well know, I have already had my own cult and will not venture down that path again.
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The Perhentians, Malaysia

I had been on the road almost every day since Koh Phangan and on the boat to Pulau Perhentian Kecil (small island) with the sun rising, I was absolutely exhausted. Kecil is the backpackers island, and I headed to Long beach to find the cheapest accomodation. This was hard to find, and I was not enjoying myself staggering up and down the well-named beach with my heavy pack trying to find a room at 7 am. I knew it was the right place though when someone yelled "welcome to the island!".
My mood soon changed after I found a primitive hut, collapsed on the bed and slept. After days of meeting freaks in dorm rooms, I enjoyed having a hut to myself. I had somehow found a fantastic place with great views despite the sleep-deprived state I was staggering around in on that first morning. I enjoyed having no electricity. I enjoyed no tv or internet ($8 an hour counts as no internet on my funds). I enjoed the seafood. All-in-all I was looking forward to an island which looked like Robinson Crusoe was renting out his place to some divers.
Since Thailand every second person I've met raves about diving. I am now fairly curious as to what sucks so many people in to blow all their cash and then scrimp and save to come back for more. It sounds amazing, but it still was not on my list of things to do. Well, ok, it would be fantastic, but it would have involved a week of getting certification first. In other words, watching videos, passing tests and wearing scuba gear on dry land was not on my list of things to do.
What was on my list was washing in rain water, swimming in tropical seas, snorkelling above fantastic coral reefs and getting sunburnt. I also took my hammock-life to the level of grand master. My investment in a hammock (a very macho tie-dye purple) allowed me to spend hours a day reading and sleeping out the front of my cabin with brief interruptions to buy food or swim.
Finally my search across northern Malaysia was successful. Backpackers abounded, and though it wasn't as crowded as the Thai islands, the parties were great. Beach bashes, karaoke, Hookah (Nargillah) bars and satay BBQs made sure that my daytime naps were balanced by lack of night-time sleep.
After a week I was forced to leave when my money ran out. Lack of electricity means lack of ATMs and I had just enough cash to get to town. I was tempted to head back, but I knew that if I did I would never leave. I'm still not sure if not leaving would've been a good thing or a bad thing, but the rest of Malaysia was calling and so I went.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125389640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125389640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125389640/tpod.html Tue, 06 Sep 2005 01:13:28 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Bali, Indonesia

I arrived in Bali absolutely stuffed- it had been 19 hours on the bus from Yogya. I didn't get any sleep though. The reason I had been racing to Bali was Bek, who had come up for a holiday with her best friends Beck and Lou. My four days were a haze and I think I left Legian beach once. Didn't even make it in the ocean. What did I expect from girls who have breakfast beers? Bloody hell...
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Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta was crap, and I was tired. Really tired. I hadn't had more than 4 hours sleep since arriving in Sabah the week before, and the amount of miles I had covered was exhausting. It's much more tiring sitting in a bus all day than you'd think.
I had decided to make a stop-over in Yogya, and take the opportunity to see Borobodur. It was also a good way to break up the 24 hour-long bus ride across Java. The thought of bus rides by now was enough to make me break out in a cold sweat, so I decided to catch the overnight train; great idea. Second class; stupid idea. A couple of hours in I felt something splash my feet. The woman in the seat ahead had thrown up.
I was not in a good mood when I arrived in Yogya, but I soon cheered up. it is a beautiful city, full of friendly locals, and lacking that embarrassment to the first world- sex tourists. Javanese coffee also helped my mood.
The best was yet to come- Borobodur itself. Words can't describe it, so I won't. You'll just have to go see it for youself. Hah! That'll teach you to travel vicariously.
That night I had decent sleep, but it did nothing. I was still exhausted when I dragged myself from bed to the bus to Denpasar.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125389400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125389400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125389400/tpod.html Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:50:46 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Jakarta, Indonesia

Getting to Jakarta was a bit of a blur. I spent the two days from Singporna travelling and managed to cover most forms of transport, from taxis and buses, to scooters, boats and planes. No helicopter ride though. That was the one thing missing. I'll have to do something about that next trip.
Anyway, after a refreshing 2 hours sleep I bade the twins farewell and jumped on a bus across the rest of Sabah. My arrival in Tawau was surprising to the locals, but after they got over the shock of a white person rocking up, their commercial skills returned and they moved me to the ferry to Indonesia in a whirlwind of snacks, trinkets, pressure and haste. The impression that I had 2 hours clear to get some food and relax before the ferry left was short-lived. The Malaysian immigration officer looked at me: "where's your Indonesian visa?"
"I don't need one", I replied, "I get one on arrival".
He looked at me and I lost my nerve. I managed to convince him to let me back into Malaysia and raced to the consulate to check. Instead of answering my question, the besieged consular official grabbed my passport and demanded money. I sighed, and prepared to wait, ready at any moment to grab my passport, jump in a taxi and race to the ferry.
An hour and a half later I had a stamp in my passport and I headed back to the wharf, desperately looking at my watch. Missed it, bugger. I looked around... was it still possible to get across? "Oh yes", came the reply, "there's one every hour".
There are lessons to be learned about travelling in Asia from all of this. 1) Don't stress or rush, there's no point 2) Don't trust anyone except yourself- turned out I could've gotten a visa on arrival after all.
The difference between Indonesia and Malaysia is striking. The first thing that hits you is the crush. There're a lot of people in Indo, and they all seem to want to be in the same place at once. The second is the way everyone stares at you. There are not a lot of tourists who cross the border here. The third is the lack of English speakers. Unlike Malaysia, English isn't taught in school, so everyone wants to try their English out on you, and each one knows only about 5 seemingly random words. I was lucky enough on the ferry to meet the one man in north-eastern Kalimantan (the Indonesian two-thirds of Borneo) who spoke enough English to teach me a few more words in Bahasa. Yet again the generous spirit of the Malay and native Borneo peoples was proved when he walked me through customs and took me to his brother's hotel. That way I ended up not paying a bribe to get into the country and sleeping in the cleanest place in Nunukan. I can't remember the name of it, but don't worry, it's highly unlikely that you will ever feel the need to go through Nunukan. I doubt any other westerner ever has. Funnily enough, the Bahasa I learned on the ferry proved enough to get me through the rest of Indo.
Early in the morning my host got me on the boat to Tarakan, and my spirits began to lift. My plan was to race down the coast and then fly from the capital of Kalimantan to Bali as quickly as possible. It was sad to not get to explore any more, but I was definitely feeling the need for a tan to flaunt when I got home. When I got to Tarakan though I discovered that public transport here is of the hit-and-miss variety. I was assured that the next ferry down the coast would arrive sometime in the next week. Bus isn't an option- there aren't any roads. The train covering the circumfrence of Borneo won't be built for another 3 years. Hmmm... I resigned myself to exploring another small town for a few days and, remembering my lessons from Tawau, relaxed. To cover all options I wandered to the airport and asked about flights to the capital, Balikpapan.
Turned out the only one was leaving in half an hour and it was just stopping over before going to Jakarta. Here comes lesson 3) Smile and chat. I was told that unfortunately the flight was full, and that all the flight for a week were booked out. Oh well, I thought, and chatted with a few people in the airport. Surprising amounts of conversation can be achieved with minimal knowledge of a language. The most important thing is the smile. Within fifteen minutes I had a ticket in my hand and watched my luggage get fast-tracked onto the plane. Nice.
Jakarta was a bit of a shock- like Delhi with friendly people. The hostels were shite and the only other tourists in the backpacker area were a dozen middle aged men hanging out with young Javanese girls. It's also the only time I've ever actually heard woman say "I love you long time" outside of Full Metal Jacket. Urgh...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125386820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125386820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125386820/tpod.html Tue, 30 Aug 2005 04:01:36 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Singporna, Malaysia

After yet another night of drinking, and yet another night of only 4 hours sleep, it was no surprise that Atef, Bessma and I were late for the bus. My kidneys were hurting at the thought of another night in KK, and I was very relieved when a bit of luck and a few tactful smiles by the twins found us a private 4WD owner who was prepared to drive us for only a couple of dollars each more. In our personal taxi we crossed through the jungles of Sabah, riding in comfort and space and stopping when we wanted.
Sabah is truly beautiful and it was painful to have to cross it without detouring. It won't be long before it is as crassly touristed as the rest of Malaysia, and it would have been great to see it before that happened. Oh well, i'm sure there'll be a doco I can watch instead on Discovery channel.
Our day of driving delivered us to the Singporna Jungle Resort, a maze of high walkways built over massive gardens and small lakes. It serves the tourists who come to see the nearby Orangutan rehabilitation centre, and the little Chinese woman who runs it is a small force of nature, ensuring that everyone gets what they want, or at least what they deserve.
Our two nights here were largely alcoholic, inspired as we were by the sight of a loner expat who sank 27 beers on our first night and 16 on the second. Our day was dominated by the Orangutans. Entry was outrageously expensive (amazing how often you get outraged at prices when you're getting to the end of your budget, even when they're Asian prices: "you want 50 cents for a bed?!! i'd rather sleep in the street!"), but the huge family of orangutans who showed up and came within a metre of us made it worthwhile.
Afterwards the three of us headed into the jungle for a quick walk. I was thoroughly entertained watching two very 'girly' girls battle through the muddy paths in heeled thongs (flip flops for cretins), and freak out at monkeys following us from above.
Despite having had an awesome time, I was sad leaving the next morning. I had to say goodbye to the twins, wasn't able to stop and enjoy the rest of Sabah and was in for a rough few days in my race to Bali. I was also psyching myself up for the fact that the end of my trip was very close. Sigh. A few more hours sleep would have helped too.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120295940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120295940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1120295940/tpod.html Sun, 28 Aug 2005 06:32:39 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

As I came through the mountains an amazing sight through the bus windows hit me, which has been repeated throughout Malaysia: jungle wilderness parting to reveal apartment blocks. In the middle of nowhere, with hectares of wilderness around, Malaysians live in 5-10 storey buildings. It's strange how comfortable they are with high density living, but I suppose that fact means that there is space for the greenery throughout the country.
Cameron further damaged my confidence in the Lonely Planet. It has been great everywhere except Malaysia. I found the backpacker guesthouses as foretold, but they are surrounded by high-rise lodges for wealthier tourists. Jungle treks abound, which are fantastic, but they snake around the package-tour attractions such as the strawberry farm, the bee farm, the rose farm and the tea plantations, each demanding you come and 'pluck' your own (though I am curious as to how and why you pluck the bees). The whole place looks like a ski resort, and the prices are equivalent.
I decided to spend only one night in Cameron, the following day trek through the jungle to one of the tea plantations and then catch the night bus somewhere else. It was a great walk, especially after the sedentary week I had on Koh Phangan, and the tea plantation was beautiful. Rows of neat tea trees covered the rolling hills with a chess board effect as far as the eye could see. I kind of expected Alice and the white rabbit to pop out at any moment.
The tea shop was a relief after the long walk in the sun, but I was devastated by the lack of scones. Who has a tea plantation without scones? I realised while trying various teas (vanilla was a bit weird, but cinnamon gets the thumbs-up) that tea and scones was something my mother would look forward to. Geez, I must be getting old. Either that or I'm becoming cultured... nah...just getting old.
Though I had a good day, I decided that plucking was not for me, and since I was still determined to go somewhere cool before I hit KL, I headed to the Perhentian Islands. Without planning to, I somehow ended up crossing the entire country in a quest for a good time, which I suppose is the joy of spontaneous travel.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125223500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125223500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zee/asia05/1125223500/tpod.html Sun, 28 Aug 2005 06:22:26 -0400 Zee and Joe's 5 mth magical bus trip around asia- without a bus (or a paddle)

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Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

I left BSB with no little relief, both for my wallet and for the feeling that the crimes of my liver were not being duly punished, the latter being something I dealt with as soon as I arrived in KK. Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, is a beachside backpacker Mecca, servicing divers, trekkers and general alcoholics with equal enthusiasm, and with typical Malay friendliness.
I met up with Marco again, as well as two Tunisian-German twins I had met in Brunei.They introduced me to Jethro, an itinerant Pom (there are a few of them around). Since Marco was busy planning his trek up Mount Kinabalu, and I had decided that I had seen my share of mountains on this trip, I joined Atef, Bessma and Jethro draining the bars dry at night and exploring one of the nearby small islands by day.
There was karaoke involved too, but there always seems to be somehow. I'll spare you.
Leaving was painful, not just because it involved getting out of bed after 3 days of constant intoxication, but I had to say farewell to Marco, who was set to become an intrepid mountaineer. I had to consol myself with the fact that I was leaving KK with the twins, and that I didn't have to share them with anyone else.
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