DAY 49 I HATE CHINA WASHROOMS!!

The last few days have been nothing less than amazing! Peter and i decided to skip the day in Lijiang and head to the Tiger Leaping Gorge! He thought it would be the best way to spend his birthday!

The tiger Leaping Gorge is a 2 day trek around the world's deepest gorge! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Leaping_Gorge
The trek ranges from moderate to difficult. But it was comletely worth it. The gorge could possibly be China's most beautiful sight!

Somehow during the trek i happened to have strained?/dislocated? my knee and now it is a little difficult to walk or bend. Not too sure how it will heal, but if it doesnt heal by the time i get to Kunming i will see if i can go to the doctor. i plan to take today in Lijiang just to relax. Unfortunately it is cold and rainy today which is why i am hiding away in this internet cafe. haha

Will update soon :)
heading back to Kunming tomorrow and then off to Guilin

Day 46 I LOVE CHINA

April 17th, 2009

China thus far has far exceeded my expectations! First of all, (although ive been in China for just a few days) China seems to be relatively clean . Secondly, I havent been pushed around by crazy amounts of people (im waiting for Shanghai) and lastly, ive only been scammed once (that i know of) while being here and i was quite sure i was being scammed at the time haha

My only complain so far is the toilets. The toilets in CHina have got to be some of the uncleanliness toilets in the world (its a bold statement, but im pretty sure its true). Many of the toilets do not have doors and some toilets are "temporarily unavailable" merely for the fact that there are feces all around the squatter.

But otherwise, the view can't get any better and everything seems to be fairly developed. Maybe it is because i am coming from Laos and Cambodia, but it seems like things are pretty well organised around here. Mind you, i probably have to get out of the Yunnan province to see what most hong kongese people are talking about. But so far so good.

My day in Kunming has been spent with two guys from Amsterdam who were super nice and very talented guitar players. I left them the next day as they were heading to Guangzhou and i to Dali.

My new friend Peter from Norway decided to take advantage of the morning, and take a quick walk around the old town of Dali and then spend the afternoon biking around the area. We biked for about 6 hours (got mildly sunburned) but the scenery was beautiful. Dali is a small city that is nestled between mountains so you can imagine how gorgeous it was. We first started out just circling the temples (didnt go in because it was too expensive), and afterwards decided to head towards the lake, where we met a chinese couple from the Hainan province and toured the local villages for a bit and the river side.

In the evening we got on a bus and am no in Lijiang. It just might be one of my favourite places so far. :)

Tomorrow i may be heading to Tiger Leaping Gorge.

DAY 41

HAPPY EASTER

Theres something about Laos that makes you wanna stay, relax, have a drink and do absolutely nothing at all.
Today i got myself out of the room and headed over to the book cafe where i traded in my book "The Beach" for "The Davinci code", had a pot of some amazing ginger tea and garlic bread.
Left the cafe to buy my bus ticket to Luangnamtha, ran into some old friends and made a new friend in the process, had dinner, and went to the market. It was a simple, yet awsome day!
Although i don't wanna move, i finally decided to get myself out of Luang Prabang and head to Luangnamtha. From there, i'm going to try to catch a bus and head up to Muang Sing and see if i can catch some trekking before heading up to China. :)

DAY 40

Sunday April 12th, 2009

I decided to take today to rest and finally get some proper sleep. The past few days in Vang Vieng were awesome, but an uninterrupted sleep is almost impossible. Why? Two reasons: 1. Our door was in desperate need of some oiling, so if i or my roomie needed to get out of the room to use the toilet, you cant help but be woken up by the creaking of the door. 2. Its true what they say, the roosters literally wake you up every morning, so i was up pretty much before 9 every morning, even if i had a late night.

After taking my time getting up and ready for the day i decided that my stomach pains must be due to hunger, so i got out and got some Indian breakfast. Bad choice. Ended up feeling gassy and nautious the entire day. Despite my overall feeling of unwellness i decided to take advantage of the day and get some bike riding in to see what Luang Prabang is all about. I'm very bad for aimless walking without a real idea of where im going, so in combination with a bike i got myself a little lost and found myself near the airport and in dire need of some sugar/liquid. If you leave the main tourist area of Luang Prabang, finding a cold beverage is probably the hardest thing to do. The locals solve the proble,m by pouring the beverage into a plastic bad and cooling it with some ice. Since i dont know whether or not the water in the ice has been filtered or not i disappointedly accepted the warm miranda.
Laos New Years is just around the corner, so in celebration Laos children were taking waterguns, buckets, roses, bottles, pretty much anything that could hold water and spraying people as they pass by. The people who got it the worse were the people on bikes aka me. One group of guys rode passed me and dumped an entire bucket of water over my head. Although i didn't appreciate that so much, some water to cool me down was not so bad. :)
I eventually found my way back and passed out on my bed.

Later in the evening i met up with another Torontonian i had found on Couchsurfing. FINALLY!! Another Torontonian! You'll meet Canadians all over Canada travelling, but to meet a torontonian is rare. I guess it's the big city mentality: people in Toronto are too busy climbing the corporate ladder to travel. I did actually meet a Toronto couple once when i was in Thailand, but there were both doctors and already established and decided to take a month off to travel.
I have yet to meet someone from NYC.

Tomorrow i am going to spend another day in Luang Prabang. I dont think my stomach can handle a 12 hour bus ride to Muang Sing.

p.s. The handicraft market here is AMAAAAAAAAAZING!!!

DAY 37

Thursday April 9th, 2009

After a few days in Vientiene I decided to make my way up to Vang Vieng. I reconnected with the group i had traveled with from Cambodia and Laos. The group had consisted of a Norweigan couple, and two English guys.

Vang Vieng is exactly what everyone described to me: Scenic views, relaxing atmosphere, tubing down the river. I can see why people come to Vang Vieng and decided to stay for weeks and sometimes months! The first full day in Vang Vieng i decided to skip the relaxation and do some rock climbing. Vang Vieng is supposed to have some of the best rock climbing in all of South East Asia, so i decided it was something i had to do! Being a beginner climber, i didnt get very far but managed to clear the 4 and 5 walls!
The next day i did some tubing inside a cave, which was really cool! The cave wasnt very big, and the entire journey took maybe about 20 minutes. We were given flashlights to wear around our heads and when we got to the end of the cave we turned them off. Trying to navigate through the cave without the lights would have been a bit difficult and scary because once the lights were out the cave was completely dark! Thank God there were no bats!
Next up was kayaking through the river. Kayaking rather than tubing through the river was awesome because we kayak a longer route than the tubers. Kayaking was surprisingly relaxing as we were going with the current. In the middle of out trip we made a pit stop for some drinks and some fun in the water. Most of the bars along the river have zip lines where you can zip line into the water. One of them even had a slide which ends a few meters above water. It took me a while to muster up the courage to get on it, but once i did it was well worth it!

After all the activities, i decided oto take a couple days and just relax and get some tubing in.
Tomorrow i continue North for Luang Prabang :)

DAY 28

Tuesday March 31st, 2009

The past few days on Don Det has been really really relaxing. I was fortunate to get on a bus with a good group of people, we hit it off fairly quickly and decided to stay in the same guesthouse on the island. Did a lot of nothing on the island but relax, play cards and sleep.

What to do next. Maybe Savannahnekhet? Maybe Vientiene?

DAY 24

Friday March 27th, 2009

I arrived to Kratie today at about 4:00pm. The original plan was to stay in Kratie for a couple days befor heading off to Laos. Now that i am here, i realise that it is literally a stop over for those who are going overland to and from Laos. The town here is really cute, but very very small. It's impossible not to run into the same people a few times in a day.

The highlight of Kratie is that it lies right beside the Mekong River and has sightings of the Irrawdy dolphins! I decided to hire a moto and make my way down to the dolphin sightings. The sighting spot is about 15 km away, so i also got a really awesome view of the surrouding villages during my ride there. When i got there soon learned that the boat ride is 9$ US, which is a huge jump from 2 - 3$ US that was quoted in the Lonely Planet and by the moto driver. So i decided to pass (it was almost sunset anyways) and try my luck on the Laos side.

I got back just in time to catch the sunset, which has got to be the most glorious sunset i have ever seen in my life.

Afterwards i decided to get my hair washed the Cambodian way. The wash here is a mix of massage and wash. They have you sit in a chair while they squeeze a combo of water and shampoo into your head, and pretty much scratch your scalp for the next 10 minutes, followed by a quick wash, and head and shoulder massage. i think they definitely got all that grime off my head. haha

The bugs are getting to me, its time for me to go.

Day 23

Thursday March 26th, 2009

In Phnom Penn, still alive and doing great. Heading to Kratie tomorrow morning. Will be posting again soon :)

DAY 18

Saturday March 21st, 2009

SINGAPORE
One thing about Singapore, is that i ate well. And when i say well i mean almost constantly eating! Eva is a terrific host but one thing she expects her guests to do is eat! Eat so much that i ended up getting sick. hahahha so for the past few days i have been traveling with a mild case of travelers diarrhea. It was not a pleasant experience.

Singapore is a beautiful country. Eva describes it as China but advanced 10 years. My favorite part of Singapore, was the zoo and the night safari. 'They do a really good job recreating the animals natural habitat, but since Singapore's so small the animals don't have a lot of space to move around. Since they don't have that space, visitors are able to get a closer look at the animals. Ever seen a tiger close up? They are gorgeous animals! Never have i seen anything more majestic than a tiger!


CAMBODIA
Ankor Wat in Siem Reap is absolutly stunning! I remember being blown away by the temples when seeing the temples for the first time through Nick's photos and the real thing is even better! Aneitha, i think i found your dream destination. Think Ayyuthaya times 10.

I left for Phnom Penn the next day. It was a 7 hour cramped bus with outrageously loud Cambodian music playing on the speakers. I understand playing music on the bus, but what i didnt understand why it must be so loud!

Cambodia outside of Siem Reap is 100% different that the tourist areas. Since the genocide a few years back Cambodia has definitly been left in a helpless state. You can't go anywhere without having someone beg you to "buy from me". You see it more in the country side and the children are taught early on. It's pretty heart breaking.
The ride from Phnom Penn to Kam Pot was an experience. Ann and i had missed the last bus to Kam Pot so we decided to hop on one of those pick up trucks that pick up and drop off locals as they go along. One thing Cambodians love to do it pack in as many people as possible. Our first pick up truck was (i thought) packed full, but they insisted we ride in the back with all the luggage. I couldnt do it. I know they thought us Westerners were wusses, because to Cambodian people there was plenty of space. We ended up getting into a truck with jusrt a few people. I dont think there was a big difference in trucks because we continued to pick up people along the way. At one point there must have been 17 people in our truck! Other trucks i have seen as we were driving must have had 50 plus! They had people sitting on the roof, hanging off the sides and the backs!

The ride to Kam Pot was really cool because we got too see alot of what Cambodia is really like in the country side.
However, it was not so much fun how dusty and cramped the truck was. They had the windows rolled down so dirt was blowing in my face. And this was a 4 hour drive. Must of ate a galllon of dust that day. hahah

Day 12

Sunday March 15th, 2009

Cameron Highlands was beautiful, but i definitely prefer Sapa! i think ive become a Sapa snob and nothing else can come close haha.

i ended up going to KL early because i decided that if i wanted to go to Singapore i would have to reserve a ticket, especially since it was the weekend. Good thing i did because when i got there, the ticket i wanted was sold out! i decided to leave the next morning, which actually worked out perfectly.

It was pretty late at night when i arrived so i decided to go to Wheelers Guesthouse. I had come to Wheelers Guesthouse last year with Tiffany and i remember it being exceptionally clean (well maybe compared to Anuja's). I had gotten a dorm room because it was the only one available at this time. The sleep wasn't the most comfortable, i found myself waking up a lot and scratching my legs. Maybe it was all the bites from when i got bitten by fire ants on the island?
It was bedbugs! I found them when i was changing in the washroom after my shower on my dress, and then again in my blanket! I was fortunate that i didn't get eaten alive like some of the travellers i had talked to.



Right now, is day 2 in Singapore! Singapore is a really cool city. I'm lucky to have Eva as my tour guide because we have been doing more of what the locals would do rather than the touristy areas.

Forcast calls for rain for the next few days :(

DAY 7

On Saturday morning, i woke up bright and early to go to the bus station and return my ticket to Kota Bharu. I had found a guy on couchsurfing who was planning to drive through Terrenganu, to his hometown in Kota Bharu. He was offering to drive people to Terrenganu in exchange for conversation, as he often gets tired when driving and needs company to keep him awake. I noticed that he was friends with Elma, and after asking her about him, she highly recommended i go with him. "He can be trusted", she assured me.

It was definitly a very good decision!

I met Weanu, outside of THE MALL near the PWTC. The 7 hour long ride to Kuala Besut went by fairly quickly as we talked a lot about ourselves and the differences between cultures. The scenery was amazing! Definitly something i would miss out on had i taken the overnight bus. It was also awesome because he told me a lot about Malaysia! The kind of stuff you only learn when talking to a local.

I got the the jetty of Kuala Besut, and luckily they had added a last minute boat to the island for a fee of 25 ringgit. Not exactly the cheapest decision, but definitly made my time more worthwhile! The boat was aboslutely insane though! Think of Halong Bay except in a tiny jet boat. haha It was pretty scary and my back hurt afterwards from all the pounding when the boat hit the water.

When i arrived on the Perhentian islands the first person who approached me was a man trying to sell me one of his rooms for 225 ringgit, which was way over my budget! He told me that Long Beach accomodations are fully booked and that his accomodation is the only option i have. Assuming he was just trying to sell me the room, I decided to try my luck with Long Beach anyways. The path to Long beach consisted of a short walk across Coral Bay beach and a 10 minute trek through the jungle. I was not prepared for this trek and got eaten alive by mosquitoes! As soon as i walked out of the jungle, i saw a guy who was also by himself walking my way. I asked him about the accomodation on the island, and it turned out the man was right, most of the accomodation was fully booked. We decided to scout the island anyways. Theres no way it could be possible! But it was :( I ended up taking the first option, but a cheaper room and at a discounted price of 75 riggit a night.

My beach buddy's name is Johannes from Germany and has been travelling for a year and a half! (so lucky!!) it was really awesome because i got to hear some awesome stories and learn about Germany for the next few days!

Today, i woke up bright and early at met Weanu at the jetty. He had met 3 American girls and offered to take them to Cameron Highlands, which was my next destination!
The three American girls are really amazing and are living in cambodia on a Fulbright scholarship working with the community on several different projects. One girl is working with the community to help them grow and create their own textiles, the other is working with people with disabilities and teaching engineering to Cambodian people and the other is sort of in transition between projects so im not too sure what she is doing.

Anyways i arrived at Cameron Highlands not too long ago, and i was told that if i loved Sapa (which i did) i would definitly love Cameron Highlands. Its sort of the same idea, but with tea plantations instead!

Day 5

The past few days has been nothing less than AMAZING!

I tried to sign up for my OWC but turns out i dont have enough days on the beach. Maybe i'll try a discovery and finish off in Laos. :S (although Lao may not been the best place to dive) You may just win Joanne hahaha

I dont have much time on the internet since the cost of internet is a whopping 15 riggit an hour as opposed to 2 riggit on mainland!! But i have so many stories to share already! I'll definitly keep you guys posted and soon as i get back to Mainland.


Cheers!

DAY 3

For the last two days i have been staying with a wonderful woman named Elma and her family. I found her through couchcurfing.com which is a group of travellers who open up their houses and allow other travellers to crash on their couch. I know, it sounds pretty sketchy, but I have only heard good experiences from this! Plus, you get a local perspective on the country your visiting and save on accomodation costs :)
Anyways, the woman i am staying with is truly amazing and seems to have an endless amount of patience and understanding! When speaking to Elma i found out that she constantly has travellers coming in and out of her house, at all hours of the day, even at 4am! Her house is always open and even has guests on important holidays such as Christmas and New Years! She even made it to the Malaysian newspaper when she had helped a traveller when he had lost his passport. hahah she definitly deserves a medal! So when arriving i wasnt surprised to meet other travellers from Poland, Argentina, Paris, and England. Yesterday, the Argentinia, (Nif) and the Polish girl (Anna) spent the day going to the twin towers and roaming around Chinatown. Nif is definitly a true adventurer who walks around serenading people on his eucalayly! (Ive got some good videos to show you guys when i get home!)

The twin towers was not too bad. We went to the middle of the towers after watching a short video (pure propaganda). I'm going to meet one of the guys from England at 6:30 today to go up to the towers again. The tickets are free and the night view would probably be amazing!

All morning and last night, i spent going from bus station to bus station looking for tickets to Kota Bharu. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/malaysia/map_of_malaysia.jpg (Its the beginning of the school holiday so most tickets are all "finished" ) It's the stop closest to The Perhentian island which i hear is paradise! It looks like its my only opportunity to really beach bum on my trip so I'm definitly gonna try to soak in as much sun as possible!

.....And the food - Mel i know your jealous.

Im starting to get hungry so maybe ill go to the petrona tower, get a roti bun and "think of Jen". hahah

Im Alive!

DAY 2

Got tickets to the Petronas Twin towers!
Gonna head over there now!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Twin_Towers


... and my bag is starting to rip at the zipper... never buy cheap backpacks...