After our brief rendez-vous in the Perhentian Islands it was time to hit the big city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (KL for short). We had heard it was quite a boring city with not much to do. This was definitely the case but Joey and I made the best of it by making an effort to see this sites the city does have.
We arrived by night bus (surprise surprise) quite early in the morning and started to walk over to the monorail through a somewhat sketchy part of town. It was 6 in the morning and not many people were out, which made it even more scary. We made it to the monorail safely and were on our way to the Golden Triangle which is a section of town where all the nightlife and shopping is. It's also apparently where the guesthouses don't have bedbugs, unlike the Chinatown neighbour!
Our guesthouse was on top of what seemed to be an abandoned restaurant. We were greeted by the guesthouse owner who was very nice and helpful. Joey and I still had plenty of time to sleep so we could be refreshed and awake for our day of sightseeing. When we got into our room we inspected for bedbugs because thats what Lonely Planet said to do. It looked like the bed was clear from bugs so we slept soundly!
After our 4 hour nap to make up for the bad sleep on the bus the night before we headed for Chinatown and Little India. Both of which were quite disappointing. It's not like in Canada where there is traditional Chinese architecture and paintings. It's pretty much a modern part of town with a market running through it, not too mention full of other tourists! After that we headed to Little India, which was a little bit more authentic without all the dirt! The smell of curry and incense was delectable.
We decided to make the most of our day and head over to the National Mosque. For those of you who don't know, Islam is Malaysia's official religion and a vast majority of Malays are muslim. The mosque wasn't exactly what Joey was expecting but I thought the architecture was quite modern and pleasing to the eye. Joey was expecting a more traditional looking mosque. Both of us had to wear ugly purple robes. Joey had to cover his tattoos and I had to cover everything but my face. I'm glad the robe was my favourite colour because I may have otherwise been not too pleased. We got a nice tour from a volunteer lady who gave us some insight to the meaning of the architecture in the building. She also showed us some pamphlets on Islam. I am quite curious about this religion for many reasons. This brochures were very informative about why they dress the way the do, what jihad is, what is Ramadan, and why they don't eat pork. It was actually quite interesting.\
That night we woke up to a bedbug feast. Would have been ok if I hadn't been what they were feasting on! We found about 20 bedbugs in the bed. Many of which were full of my blood when we killed them. They weren't attracted to Joey at all, but loved me. After a killing spree we felt ok to go to sleep again. 2 hours later I woke up and turned on the light to see more of the pests in the bed. After another raid, I had a hard time falling back asleep. Despite paying $20 a night for a room, we were still having to deal with bedbugs. It is definitely an apparent problem that guesthouses in KL have to deal with on a daily and weekly basis. We know the place we were staying in was clean and it wasn't because of them (it's more likely other travelers who transfer the bugs) so we decided to stay there for a second night. The next night we just armed ourselves with DEET and checking the bed every 3 hours. We were okay!
The next day Joey and I made our way over to the Petronas Towers which are the 5th tallest buildings in the world. Big whoopty doo. We went quite early in the morning to get our free ticket to go to the bridge that connects the two tours. We had to wait until 4:45 for our showing, so we ended up staying in the mall all day. Both of us bought rash guards for diving and then we saw Alice in Wonderland in the theatre which was quite fun. The bridge itself was only 42 storeys up so it was nothing spectacular, neither was the 3D propaganda Petronas movie we were forced to watch.
The next day we were glad to be getting out of KL. Although it was a nice clean city, there wasn't much to do, and besides it's a city. Joey and I have learned from this trip we don't like cities. Unfortunate for us we were headed to Singapore!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Diving in the Perhentian Islands
We pretty much had to pry ourselves away from Annie's homestay. We felt like it was paradise and exactly what we needed at this point in our trip. But all good things must come to an end. Both of us were looking forward to sand and sun in the Perhentian Islands on the East side of Malaysia.
One of the sad things about leaving Annie's was that we had to take yet another night bus. Never are these rides ever fun. This busride was especially craptastic because the bus would stop at random stops throughout the country side and the conductor would yell something out. Being all groggy from our sleeping pills, we would walk up in a panic every single time. To make matters worse, the bus was freezing cold. The Asian addiction of A/C is sometimes unbearable, especially on buses and in movie theatres! Of course it's too hot outside to even think of bringing a sweater, so Joey and I always suffer. Such a hard life!
We arrived in Kuala Besut around 6:30, just in time to buy a ticket for the 8am boats leaving to the islands 15 km off the coast. The boatride was quite calm and when we got to the islands the water was amazingly clear. blue Even being in 8 metre deep water you could see the bottom. We arrived at our resort and had a much deserved 3 hour nap so we could deal with the rest of our day of lazying on the beach.
When we woke up Joey and I went on the search for a diving place that had cheap dives for our Advanced open water certificate. We decided to dive with Alu Alu. The owner seemed kind of slimey but our dive instructor Karl seemed really cool and down to earth. The dives we chose were a wreck dive and a dive to practice our buoyancy.
Our first dive involved a 330 foot long ship wreck (Sugar Wreck) in open ocean. I was quite nervous at first because the waves were choppy and the current was strong. When we began our dive my fears were lessened because the ship looked so neat. It is only a 10 year old wreck so it isn't totally taken over by coral but you can see how fast the sea works to make something unnatural part of itself. So many fish and other sea life surrounded the ship. Our plan was was to dive around the side into the cargo areas that were open instead of actually penetrating the inside which is too advanced for Joey and I at this point. It was kind of eerie to go through the small passage and see all the fish that were hiding in the darkness. The dive was great aside from the poor visibility. The dive season in the Perhentian islands just started so visibility is still not at it's best.
The second dive was at Shark Point quite close to the beach where our resort is. The coral was stunning. Just like in a movie. We saw lots of different coloured fish. First we had to do some boring stuff like float upside down and work on our breathing and buoyancy. Then we go to go through an obstacle course to prove our skills to our instructor. It was kind of neat, but what I really wanted to do was see some sharks and some sea turtles. After the instructional stuff was over we did a bit of a fun dive. We ended up seeing lots of cool fish and a reef shark. I was sad that we didn't see a sea turtle though. Hayley and Tim went on two fun dives and saw turtles both times! No fair!
The next day we had a lazy day on the beach and hung out with Hayley and Tim who had arrived a day after us. We knew this would be our last beach for a while and we wanted to savour every moment of it.
One of the sad things about leaving Annie's was that we had to take yet another night bus. Never are these rides ever fun. This busride was especially craptastic because the bus would stop at random stops throughout the country side and the conductor would yell something out. Being all groggy from our sleeping pills, we would walk up in a panic every single time. To make matters worse, the bus was freezing cold. The Asian addiction of A/C is sometimes unbearable, especially on buses and in movie theatres! Of course it's too hot outside to even think of bringing a sweater, so Joey and I always suffer. Such a hard life!
We arrived in Kuala Besut around 6:30, just in time to buy a ticket for the 8am boats leaving to the islands 15 km off the coast. The boatride was quite calm and when we got to the islands the water was amazingly clear. blue Even being in 8 metre deep water you could see the bottom. We arrived at our resort and had a much deserved 3 hour nap so we could deal with the rest of our day of lazying on the beach.
When we woke up Joey and I went on the search for a diving place that had cheap dives for our Advanced open water certificate. We decided to dive with Alu Alu. The owner seemed kind of slimey but our dive instructor Karl seemed really cool and down to earth. The dives we chose were a wreck dive and a dive to practice our buoyancy.
Our first dive involved a 330 foot long ship wreck (Sugar Wreck) in open ocean. I was quite nervous at first because the waves were choppy and the current was strong. When we began our dive my fears were lessened because the ship looked so neat. It is only a 10 year old wreck so it isn't totally taken over by coral but you can see how fast the sea works to make something unnatural part of itself. So many fish and other sea life surrounded the ship. Our plan was was to dive around the side into the cargo areas that were open instead of actually penetrating the inside which is too advanced for Joey and I at this point. It was kind of eerie to go through the small passage and see all the fish that were hiding in the darkness. The dive was great aside from the poor visibility. The dive season in the Perhentian islands just started so visibility is still not at it's best.
The second dive was at Shark Point quite close to the beach where our resort is. The coral was stunning. Just like in a movie. We saw lots of different coloured fish. First we had to do some boring stuff like float upside down and work on our breathing and buoyancy. Then we go to go through an obstacle course to prove our skills to our instructor. It was kind of neat, but what I really wanted to do was see some sharks and some sea turtles. After the instructional stuff was over we did a bit of a fun dive. We ended up seeing lots of cool fish and a reef shark. I was sad that we didn't see a sea turtle though. Hayley and Tim went on two fun dives and saw turtles both times! No fair!
The next day we had a lazy day on the beach and hung out with Hayley and Tim who had arrived a day after us. We knew this would be our last beach for a while and we wanted to savour every moment of it.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Annie's Homestay in Penang
After feeling like an unwanted foreigner in Thailand for the last 6 weeks, Joey and I were in dire need of a place with people who were friendly and wanted to show us a piece of their life. This is where Annie's homestay came into play. It was a little out of the way and our cabbie got lost, but in the end we were on the doorstop of a cute suburban house.
Later on that day after settling into our room and walking around Batu Ferringhi (a suburb/beach are of Penang), we met our other housemates and Annie! Annie was a cute little Indian woman with a big heart and you could feel this from the moment we met her. Both of us felt at home. Her husband Raj and her kids were as equally awesome.
We were able to do what we wanted, which really made if feel like home for us. Able to cook, watch tv, sleep, and lazy around as we pleased. We met another couple named Hayley and Tim who were really awesome. We went out for a couple of meals and just sat around and talked. Joey and I were glad to have friends again! It had been a while since we had another couple to talk to, especially ones that were cool and easy to get on with.
That day Joey and I went for a walk to the Spice Garden that was about 4km out of town. Oh it was so so so hot outside. Joey was sweating buckets and his shirt grey shirt wasn't so flattering. I wasn't feeling to sexy myself. We stopped off a beach to take pictures of a big monitor lizard that we had seen playing in the waves. Little did we know that Joey couldn't get out of the beach because it was surrounded by walls. Finally he used a slimey two by four to climb up! It was quite funny. At the spice garden we got a guide to show us an assortment of spices and herbs. He told us about the origin, related plans, and my favourite: the medicinal purposes! I had a lot of fun, and Joey pretended too. I am glad that he is so supportive of my interests! I don't many people's partners that would join them to see a Spice Garden!
The second night we were in Penang, all four of us met Annie and Raj for some late night cheap beers at a bar close to their house. It was really great conversation on the beach with the stars. Lots of laughter and learning about eachother's culture. We extended the invitation of a place to stay to Annie and Raj if they ever dare to come to Canada. They are a bit too afraid of the cold. The bar that we were in was filled with Malaysians, not expats which is a rarity for most of the bars we've ever gone to. Most SEA countries we have gone to, the locals don't drink that much. We were glad to finally be drinking with some locals again!
The next day me, Joey, Hayley and Tim went to check out Georgetown. Unfortunately the town closes down on Sundays because most people want to spend that day with the family. We went to Little India for some lunch and attempted to look at the limited shops that were actually open. After lunch we decided to take a stroll down Love Lane, which was a road highlighted in our Lonely Planet. Apparently it's an unsafe place at night because travelers have been mugged, so we didn't think that it would be bad in the day. Little did we know that taking a picture of Love Lane would turn into a full on confrontation from a homeless Indian man. Hayley took a picture of the road sign and wasn't really paying attention if anyone was in the picture. Next thing she knows there is a really tall lanky Indian guy running from across the street trying to steal her camera. Yelling at her in broken English.
The other 3 of us went to her rescue. The man started saying that she was "snacking" at him and that Joey and Tim shouldn't allow her to speak to him like that. When in reality all she said was something along of the lines of "what are you doing? I am taking a picture of the sign." He got quite irate and in her face. Pointing his long gross finger at her face and yelling at her. At this point Joey stepped in and said that it was nothing and that Hayley wasn't doing anything wrong. The guy quickly realized there were 4 of us, and 1 of him. That didn't stop him from threatening Hayley by saying "Next time, I will break your head." He walked further down Love Lane and then disappeared. We walked past him a bit later while he was sitting on a chair. We didn't know what to expect, so we just ignored him and went on our merry way.
Later on that night I helped make a feast with the Swedish couple that was staying at the homestay and Annie. We made pouli's (an Indian flat bread), potato curry and a vegetable dish. It was a lot work to do, but thankfully Annie was such an expert and guided us along the whole way. The dinner afterward was very delicious and rewarding. After dinner Annie thought it would be fun to dress me up in one of her saree's. Oh boy was it ever fun. I have always thought that the saree was a very beautiful dress and I was very excited to see how flattering it would be on me. Annie got all of her gold jewelery and bangles for me to put on as well. It was so much fun putting everything on. I could almost compare it to getting dressed for prom!
After I had the saree on, I came down the stairs of the house like I would have on prom night while everyone looked at him, and Joey snapped pictures. It was like playing house! So much fun. I'm so glad that Annie shared this experience with me. I can't wait to go to India one day and maybe wear a saree.
Later on that day after settling into our room and walking around Batu Ferringhi (a suburb/beach are of Penang), we met our other housemates and Annie! Annie was a cute little Indian woman with a big heart and you could feel this from the moment we met her. Both of us felt at home. Her husband Raj and her kids were as equally awesome.
We were able to do what we wanted, which really made if feel like home for us. Able to cook, watch tv, sleep, and lazy around as we pleased. We met another couple named Hayley and Tim who were really awesome. We went out for a couple of meals and just sat around and talked. Joey and I were glad to have friends again! It had been a while since we had another couple to talk to, especially ones that were cool and easy to get on with.
That day Joey and I went for a walk to the Spice Garden that was about 4km out of town. Oh it was so so so hot outside. Joey was sweating buckets and his shirt grey shirt wasn't so flattering. I wasn't feeling to sexy myself. We stopped off a beach to take pictures of a big monitor lizard that we had seen playing in the waves. Little did we know that Joey couldn't get out of the beach because it was surrounded by walls. Finally he used a slimey two by four to climb up! It was quite funny. At the spice garden we got a guide to show us an assortment of spices and herbs. He told us about the origin, related plans, and my favourite: the medicinal purposes! I had a lot of fun, and Joey pretended too. I am glad that he is so supportive of my interests! I don't many people's partners that would join them to see a Spice Garden!
The second night we were in Penang, all four of us met Annie and Raj for some late night cheap beers at a bar close to their house. It was really great conversation on the beach with the stars. Lots of laughter and learning about eachother's culture. We extended the invitation of a place to stay to Annie and Raj if they ever dare to come to Canada. They are a bit too afraid of the cold. The bar that we were in was filled with Malaysians, not expats which is a rarity for most of the bars we've ever gone to. Most SEA countries we have gone to, the locals don't drink that much. We were glad to finally be drinking with some locals again!
The next day me, Joey, Hayley and Tim went to check out Georgetown. Unfortunately the town closes down on Sundays because most people want to spend that day with the family. We went to Little India for some lunch and attempted to look at the limited shops that were actually open. After lunch we decided to take a stroll down Love Lane, which was a road highlighted in our Lonely Planet. Apparently it's an unsafe place at night because travelers have been mugged, so we didn't think that it would be bad in the day. Little did we know that taking a picture of Love Lane would turn into a full on confrontation from a homeless Indian man. Hayley took a picture of the road sign and wasn't really paying attention if anyone was in the picture. Next thing she knows there is a really tall lanky Indian guy running from across the street trying to steal her camera. Yelling at her in broken English.
The other 3 of us went to her rescue. The man started saying that she was "snacking" at him and that Joey and Tim shouldn't allow her to speak to him like that. When in reality all she said was something along of the lines of "what are you doing? I am taking a picture of the sign." He got quite irate and in her face. Pointing his long gross finger at her face and yelling at her. At this point Joey stepped in and said that it was nothing and that Hayley wasn't doing anything wrong. The guy quickly realized there were 4 of us, and 1 of him. That didn't stop him from threatening Hayley by saying "Next time, I will break your head." He walked further down Love Lane and then disappeared. We walked past him a bit later while he was sitting on a chair. We didn't know what to expect, so we just ignored him and went on our merry way.
Later on that night I helped make a feast with the Swedish couple that was staying at the homestay and Annie. We made pouli's (an Indian flat bread), potato curry and a vegetable dish. It was a lot work to do, but thankfully Annie was such an expert and guided us along the whole way. The dinner afterward was very delicious and rewarding. After dinner Annie thought it would be fun to dress me up in one of her saree's. Oh boy was it ever fun. I have always thought that the saree was a very beautiful dress and I was very excited to see how flattering it would be on me. Annie got all of her gold jewelery and bangles for me to put on as well. It was so much fun putting everything on. I could almost compare it to getting dressed for prom!
After I had the saree on, I came down the stairs of the house like I would have on prom night while everyone looked at him, and Joey snapped pictures. It was like playing house! So much fun. I'm so glad that Annie shared this experience with me. I can't wait to go to India one day and maybe wear a saree.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Fast Forward Through Southern Thailand
Ok... We spent another 3 weeks in Southern Thailand. I will do a brief blog because I would rather be writing about present things because it's way easier to do so. My thoughts are fresh and I would really be sad if I forgot some things about Malaysia! I apologize in advance for this very vague blog about Southern Thailand. What you need to know about Southern Thailand is that it is seriously overrun with tourists, people are always trying to rip you off, you can't really trust anyone, there is lots of partying and prostitutes, and most of the food is hit or miss!
Bangkok ---> Krabi
Joey and I decided to skip out on Bangkok and fly directly to Krabi. This involved spending 8 hours in the Bangkok airport. We decided to pamper ourselves. I got my nails done and Joey got a bad haircut :)
In Krabi we arrived late at night and found it hard to find a place to stay. We finally found a place called Guesthouse No. 7. We got an amazing room called Peachy Peach. It was comfy, had bunk beds and had a/c. For only $15 we were in heaven.
Krabi ---> Ko Lanta
Ko Lanta is an island off the coast of Krabi. It's predominantly a muslim island so it is quite conservative there. It's a great place for families and if you're looking to relax and not party. We found a place called New Coconut Resort. Our room was quite gross and quite literally falling apart. We also had a horrible ant infestation. The plus side was that we were on the beach, so who cared.
Joey and I spent 5 days there snorkeling, hiking and exploring the island. It was quite relaxing after being in stressful Myanmar for the last two weeks.
Joey got a tattoo the night before we left with a guy who had a tattoo place by our resort. This Thai guy used to be a monk and lived in England for 10 years as a tattoo artist. He had a clean workspace and told us all about his sanitation standards. Both of us felt comfortable with him so we decided this would be a good option for Joey because the tattoos in Thailand are considerably cheaper than back home.
Joey started his tattoo at 8pm because the guy didn't have any a/c in his tattoo studio. They stopped to have a break at 1am, and then continued on until the early morning at 5 am. Joey and I had to be up bright and early to catch a bus back to Krabi at 6:30.
Krabi ---> Ko Samui and Oklahoma?
Joey had a tough time in Burma trying to work because of the lack of internet and internet speed. His work was unimpressed with his work and was seriously contemplating hiring someone else for Joey's position. Not wanting to jepordize his job any further Joey decided to go to headquarters in Stillwater Oklahoma for a week to fix some big problems that their umbrella company was experiencing.
Joey had a great time with airport delays. He was so fortunate enough to have lost his baggage in Chicago and only have flips flops and shorts to wear to work the next morning in Oklahoma. The next week he spent fixing problems and socializing with work people.
While Joey was away I head to Ko Samui by myself. I stayed at a great place called Samui Dojo Resort which was ran by a British man named Geoff. Over the next week I got to know him and his family. I also explored the beach of Lamai and focused on getting back in shape by going for runs everynight. I really missed Joey though!
Ko Samui (Joey's back!!!)
Joey and I spent another 2 days on Ko Samui. We rented a scooter and explored more of the island. We went to an amazing restaurant called Radiance. We fell in love with their vegan food. We especially loved the Raw Vegan Pizza. It was absolutely to die for.
Ko Samui ---> Ko Tao
We decided to see what Ko Tao was all about. We had heard that it was a smaller island with amazing diving. Both of us didn't intend on doing our Open Water PADI course in Ko Tao, but we were convinced by a sales guys from a diving school called Ban's. Next thing you know we're doing the confined underwater with our instructor Tom (who was awesome by the way). It was only us two in our class which was awesome because we breezed through things and were super comfortable with the pace of the class. Diving in the ocean for the first time was unreal. There is so much life. Most of it in beautiful colours and shapes. Both of us were awestruck and in love with this underwater world. During our dives we saw all kinds of fish, and coral formations. The coolest thing we saw was a Sea Snake. They are one of the most deadly snakes in the world but they are not aggressive towards divers. Thank goodness! It took us 2 days to complete our PADI.
Ko Tao ---> Ko Samui
Joey and I were desperate to see the Canada vs. USA hockey game. We looked everywhere and had convinced a Swiss guy who owned a restaurant to stay open until 6 am in the morning so we could watch the game. We realized that we didn't want to watch it by ourselves, so we opted to watch a recorded game the next morning in a bar where we knew there would be other Canadians. There was us, 3 other Canadians and 1 American in the bar at 9am. It was a very intense 3 hours. None of us knew the outcome and were willing to kill anyone who dared tell us. When Canada finally won all the Canadians were super stoked! We sang the national anthem and jumped around like crazy. The American guy left before the awards with a pissed look on his face. The staff in the bar were unimpressed by hockey and kept on asking us if it was over so they could put on MTV. We held our own and continued to watch the festivities!
Ko Samui ---> Ko Phagnan
Full Moon party was next on our agenda. We weren't sure what to expect from the biggest party in the world. It was basically a huge drug and drunk fest. Not really our cup of tea! We did have fun taking in the sights and having a few beers. We found some other Canadians during the party and danced with them for a bit. Other than that, we pretty much just walked around and laughed at the craziness of it all.
Islands ---> Krabi
Yet again we were back at good old Krabi. This time we were there for the rock climbing which is some of the best in the world. The scenery is amazing. Climbing up rock right on the beach couldn't have gotten any better. We met up with a really awesome pair of Canadians called Wade and Kerry. Both of us were starting to get homesick and really just wanted to talk to other Canadians. We had a great time discussing hockey, ice fishing and hunting for wild game.
Krabi ---> Malaysia!
Pretty much sat on a bus all day. It was quite uneventful!
Bangkok ---> Krabi
Joey and I decided to skip out on Bangkok and fly directly to Krabi. This involved spending 8 hours in the Bangkok airport. We decided to pamper ourselves. I got my nails done and Joey got a bad haircut :)
In Krabi we arrived late at night and found it hard to find a place to stay. We finally found a place called Guesthouse No. 7. We got an amazing room called Peachy Peach. It was comfy, had bunk beds and had a/c. For only $15 we were in heaven.
Krabi ---> Ko Lanta
Ko Lanta is an island off the coast of Krabi. It's predominantly a muslim island so it is quite conservative there. It's a great place for families and if you're looking to relax and not party. We found a place called New Coconut Resort. Our room was quite gross and quite literally falling apart. We also had a horrible ant infestation. The plus side was that we were on the beach, so who cared.
Joey and I spent 5 days there snorkeling, hiking and exploring the island. It was quite relaxing after being in stressful Myanmar for the last two weeks.
Joey got a tattoo the night before we left with a guy who had a tattoo place by our resort. This Thai guy used to be a monk and lived in England for 10 years as a tattoo artist. He had a clean workspace and told us all about his sanitation standards. Both of us felt comfortable with him so we decided this would be a good option for Joey because the tattoos in Thailand are considerably cheaper than back home.
Joey started his tattoo at 8pm because the guy didn't have any a/c in his tattoo studio. They stopped to have a break at 1am, and then continued on until the early morning at 5 am. Joey and I had to be up bright and early to catch a bus back to Krabi at 6:30.
Krabi ---> Ko Samui and Oklahoma?
Joey had a tough time in Burma trying to work because of the lack of internet and internet speed. His work was unimpressed with his work and was seriously contemplating hiring someone else for Joey's position. Not wanting to jepordize his job any further Joey decided to go to headquarters in Stillwater Oklahoma for a week to fix some big problems that their umbrella company was experiencing.
Joey had a great time with airport delays. He was so fortunate enough to have lost his baggage in Chicago and only have flips flops and shorts to wear to work the next morning in Oklahoma. The next week he spent fixing problems and socializing with work people.
While Joey was away I head to Ko Samui by myself. I stayed at a great place called Samui Dojo Resort which was ran by a British man named Geoff. Over the next week I got to know him and his family. I also explored the beach of Lamai and focused on getting back in shape by going for runs everynight. I really missed Joey though!
Ko Samui (Joey's back!!!)
Joey and I spent another 2 days on Ko Samui. We rented a scooter and explored more of the island. We went to an amazing restaurant called Radiance. We fell in love with their vegan food. We especially loved the Raw Vegan Pizza. It was absolutely to die for.
Ko Samui ---> Ko Tao
We decided to see what Ko Tao was all about. We had heard that it was a smaller island with amazing diving. Both of us didn't intend on doing our Open Water PADI course in Ko Tao, but we were convinced by a sales guys from a diving school called Ban's. Next thing you know we're doing the confined underwater with our instructor Tom (who was awesome by the way). It was only us two in our class which was awesome because we breezed through things and were super comfortable with the pace of the class. Diving in the ocean for the first time was unreal. There is so much life. Most of it in beautiful colours and shapes. Both of us were awestruck and in love with this underwater world. During our dives we saw all kinds of fish, and coral formations. The coolest thing we saw was a Sea Snake. They are one of the most deadly snakes in the world but they are not aggressive towards divers. Thank goodness! It took us 2 days to complete our PADI.
Ko Tao ---> Ko Samui
Joey and I were desperate to see the Canada vs. USA hockey game. We looked everywhere and had convinced a Swiss guy who owned a restaurant to stay open until 6 am in the morning so we could watch the game. We realized that we didn't want to watch it by ourselves, so we opted to watch a recorded game the next morning in a bar where we knew there would be other Canadians. There was us, 3 other Canadians and 1 American in the bar at 9am. It was a very intense 3 hours. None of us knew the outcome and were willing to kill anyone who dared tell us. When Canada finally won all the Canadians were super stoked! We sang the national anthem and jumped around like crazy. The American guy left before the awards with a pissed look on his face. The staff in the bar were unimpressed by hockey and kept on asking us if it was over so they could put on MTV. We held our own and continued to watch the festivities!
Ko Samui ---> Ko Phagnan
Full Moon party was next on our agenda. We weren't sure what to expect from the biggest party in the world. It was basically a huge drug and drunk fest. Not really our cup of tea! We did have fun taking in the sights and having a few beers. We found some other Canadians during the party and danced with them for a bit. Other than that, we pretty much just walked around and laughed at the craziness of it all.
Islands ---> Krabi
Yet again we were back at good old Krabi. This time we were there for the rock climbing which is some of the best in the world. The scenery is amazing. Climbing up rock right on the beach couldn't have gotten any better. We met up with a really awesome pair of Canadians called Wade and Kerry. Both of us were starting to get homesick and really just wanted to talk to other Canadians. We had a great time discussing hockey, ice fishing and hunting for wild game.
Krabi ---> Malaysia!
Pretty much sat on a bus all day. It was quite uneventful!
Yangon again!
Joey and I got back to Yangon on Feb 6th because we wanted to have a day to spend with our monk friend. We had told him that we would be back on the 4th but weren't able to make that deadline. Apparently he was quite worried and had called our guesthouse looking for us. He was worried that we were hurt.
We went over to his monastery to find him but he wasn't there. So we hung out in a tea shop from across the street hoping we could see him walking there before his polyscript class in the afternoon. We finally found out from another monk that he was sleeping! So we waited a bit more and then decided to brave the monastery. We accidentally interrupted a prayer class trying to get to his room. Joey and I decided not to go any further because we didn't want to disturb anyone. Next thing we know our monk friend is running after us!
He invited us into his room and we showed him all the pictures we took of Myanmar. We also showed him pictures of our travels in Cambodia and Vietnam. He was especially interested in the temple pictures. Burmese people can have no dreams of traveling because most of them are either not allowed to leave the country, or don't have the money to do so. Joey and I decided we would show him what we had seen, and even some pictures of Canada. He was very happy. By the end we even had an audience of novice monks who came to look at the pictures. It was really fun.
We said goodbye to monk friend because we had to get ready for our flight the next day and he had to go to prayer. It was quite sad because we truly felt like we made a friend in a foreign country. We also felt sad because we wanted to show him the world and what else is out there. It felt silly to say "Any time when you're in Canada give us a call." It's just not simple like that with the Burmese which is sad.
That night Joey and I got ready to leave Myanmar. Both of us felt like we could have spent more time there, but with Joey's work 2 weeks was all it could be. Maybe one day we will visit this country again and come see our monk friend in his old age. I hope so.
We went over to his monastery to find him but he wasn't there. So we hung out in a tea shop from across the street hoping we could see him walking there before his polyscript class in the afternoon. We finally found out from another monk that he was sleeping! So we waited a bit more and then decided to brave the monastery. We accidentally interrupted a prayer class trying to get to his room. Joey and I decided not to go any further because we didn't want to disturb anyone. Next thing we know our monk friend is running after us!
He invited us into his room and we showed him all the pictures we took of Myanmar. We also showed him pictures of our travels in Cambodia and Vietnam. He was especially interested in the temple pictures. Burmese people can have no dreams of traveling because most of them are either not allowed to leave the country, or don't have the money to do so. Joey and I decided we would show him what we had seen, and even some pictures of Canada. He was very happy. By the end we even had an audience of novice monks who came to look at the pictures. It was really fun.
We said goodbye to monk friend because we had to get ready for our flight the next day and he had to go to prayer. It was quite sad because we truly felt like we made a friend in a foreign country. We also felt sad because we wanted to show him the world and what else is out there. It felt silly to say "Any time when you're in Canada give us a call." It's just not simple like that with the Burmese which is sad.
That night Joey and I got ready to leave Myanmar. Both of us felt like we could have spent more time there, but with Joey's work 2 weeks was all it could be. Maybe one day we will visit this country again and come see our monk friend in his old age. I hope so.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sorry for being tardy on blog posts
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to apologize for being behind on the blogs. In Burma I wasn't able to write on the blog because it was blocked and I kind of got out the routine. Also, I've been really busy applying for Universities which as taken up a lot more of my time than expected. I will try to get back on track! Just bear with me.
Cheers!
I just wanted to apologize for being behind on the blogs. In Burma I wasn't able to write on the blog because it was blocked and I kind of got out the routine. Also, I've been really busy applying for Universities which as taken up a lot more of my time than expected. I will try to get back on track! Just bear with me.
Cheers!
Mandalay to Inle Lake
After all the temple fun in Bagan we headed to Mandalay where we parted ways with Andrew, Germaine and Eugenie. We arrived quite late but didn't have trouble finding a place to stay. We decided to check out a food stall mentioned in our Lonely Planet called the Chapati Stand. Oh my, was I ever glad that we did. It was just a couple of cooks cooking outside in a make shift kitchen with a bunch of children's plastic chairs scattered around the side walk. Nothing too fancy that is for sure. The food itself was absolutely amazing. We got chapatis, curried chicken and bottomless dhal. We were in heaven. Along with a Myanmar beer, our meal cost us less than $5.
The next day Joey and I did not do much. Most of the sights to see in Mandalay you have to pay a fee. This fee goes straight into the government's pocket. This is something we would rather avoid. So instead, we walked around in the less touristy places of Mandalay and looked through markets scattered around the city. I could see that Mandalay was not as friendly as Yangon, and it was certainly more dirty. We sort of wished that we had gone to see the Amanpura bridge, but we were feeling cheap and didn't want to risk getting caught without a ticket issued by the government.
That night we left on a sleeper bus. All throughout Asia the word "sleeper bus" has it's own meaning. In Vietnam the buses actually had beds, Cambodia had really soft and cushy chairs with blankets and pillows, Thailand had hard chairs that recline really far and sometimes with a pillow... Myanmar, I don't think got the memo. It was pretty much an old transit bus from Korea. The seats were so tiny and they didn't even have a head rest. It's great if you're a midget, but it's a real neck breaker for tall people like us. haha.
We watched a Burmese movie for 2 hours at a very loud volume. We felt kind of left out because the whole bus was laughing quite hard. Joey and I took a couple of sleeping pills and we were out like lights. It was probably the bumpiest ride we have been on and probably the least comfortable. We were glad to have reached the outskirts of Inle Lake at 4 am which was 3 hours earlier than expected. What we didn't expect was the absolute FREEZING cold. Both wearing shorts and a t-shirt with sandals we got out of the bus to catch a songtheaw (a truck taxi with seats in the back box) where we attempted to put on every piece of warm clothing we owned in the pitch black.
The taxi driver drove us around town trying to find a place that would take us in this early in the morning. Unfortunately this involved waking up a lot of people. We finally found a place that had a room available for us. We were so so so glad to be laying our heads down on a bed.
The next morning we walked around the cute town in Inle Lake. It was quite small and not much to see. Joey was glad that they had an internet cafe with internet that wasn't entirely slow. Internet in Myanmar is still agonizingly slow, but it was almost bearable at this one place.
We found a longboat driver to take us for a tour of Inle Lake the next day. He was pretty excited because he hadn't had a customer for 7 days. We promised to meet him in the morning at 8am.
We set off with our boat driver the next morning. It was quite cold so we were bundled up with hoodies and scarves. We first went to the floating gardens which were pretty impressively. Basically they are gardens that float on water. Our driver didn't speak English very well so we never actually learned why they floated like that. It was definitely neat to see all their veggies, herbs and flowers floating beds. It would be be a cool thing to attempt at home but I think it would take practice.
After that we checked out some silver and silk shops. We watched them make silk scarves and silver jewellery. I was more interested in the silk but most of it was quite expensive. The silver jewellery was nothing special. After that we went to a cigarette making place. Joey and I had already bought a big pack of cigarettes from the market to share with all our smoking relatives (you know who you are haha). They are made out of grape leafs, tabacco, bamboo filter and glutinous rice glue to keep it together. We bought 20 or 30 of them for 20 cents. At the cigarette making place they wanted $4 and they were the exact same brand.
We finished the day with a temple and headed back home. All along the way we saw fisherman using different techniques to catch fish. Some of them were even rowing the boats with their legs, which was quite impressive.
That night we had a tasty dinner at a tea shop and went to bed early because we had a flight back to Yangon the next day.
The next day Joey and I did not do much. Most of the sights to see in Mandalay you have to pay a fee. This fee goes straight into the government's pocket. This is something we would rather avoid. So instead, we walked around in the less touristy places of Mandalay and looked through markets scattered around the city. I could see that Mandalay was not as friendly as Yangon, and it was certainly more dirty. We sort of wished that we had gone to see the Amanpura bridge, but we were feeling cheap and didn't want to risk getting caught without a ticket issued by the government.
That night we left on a sleeper bus. All throughout Asia the word "sleeper bus" has it's own meaning. In Vietnam the buses actually had beds, Cambodia had really soft and cushy chairs with blankets and pillows, Thailand had hard chairs that recline really far and sometimes with a pillow... Myanmar, I don't think got the memo. It was pretty much an old transit bus from Korea. The seats were so tiny and they didn't even have a head rest. It's great if you're a midget, but it's a real neck breaker for tall people like us. haha.
We watched a Burmese movie for 2 hours at a very loud volume. We felt kind of left out because the whole bus was laughing quite hard. Joey and I took a couple of sleeping pills and we were out like lights. It was probably the bumpiest ride we have been on and probably the least comfortable. We were glad to have reached the outskirts of Inle Lake at 4 am which was 3 hours earlier than expected. What we didn't expect was the absolute FREEZING cold. Both wearing shorts and a t-shirt with sandals we got out of the bus to catch a songtheaw (a truck taxi with seats in the back box) where we attempted to put on every piece of warm clothing we owned in the pitch black.
The taxi driver drove us around town trying to find a place that would take us in this early in the morning. Unfortunately this involved waking up a lot of people. We finally found a place that had a room available for us. We were so so so glad to be laying our heads down on a bed.
The next morning we walked around the cute town in Inle Lake. It was quite small and not much to see. Joey was glad that they had an internet cafe with internet that wasn't entirely slow. Internet in Myanmar is still agonizingly slow, but it was almost bearable at this one place.
We found a longboat driver to take us for a tour of Inle Lake the next day. He was pretty excited because he hadn't had a customer for 7 days. We promised to meet him in the morning at 8am.
We set off with our boat driver the next morning. It was quite cold so we were bundled up with hoodies and scarves. We first went to the floating gardens which were pretty impressively. Basically they are gardens that float on water. Our driver didn't speak English very well so we never actually learned why they floated like that. It was definitely neat to see all their veggies, herbs and flowers floating beds. It would be be a cool thing to attempt at home but I think it would take practice.
After that we checked out some silver and silk shops. We watched them make silk scarves and silver jewellery. I was more interested in the silk but most of it was quite expensive. The silver jewellery was nothing special. After that we went to a cigarette making place. Joey and I had already bought a big pack of cigarettes from the market to share with all our smoking relatives (you know who you are haha). They are made out of grape leafs, tabacco, bamboo filter and glutinous rice glue to keep it together. We bought 20 or 30 of them for 20 cents. At the cigarette making place they wanted $4 and they were the exact same brand.
We finished the day with a temple and headed back home. All along the way we saw fisherman using different techniques to catch fish. Some of them were even rowing the boats with their legs, which was quite impressive.
That night we had a tasty dinner at a tea shop and went to bed early because we had a flight back to Yangon the next day.
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