Well, then. What remains? As most, if not all of you know, I am now home, so this will be the last post on this blog. I have been putting it off, actually, because I think I was worrying about writing something suitably profound, something that would sum up my travels in its entirety and show you all that I have learnt and grown and that I am now worldly and wise.
I'm not, though. I mean, sure, I've learnt some, and grown some, but I'm still at heart the same person I was... just a little different. Happier, mainly.
Anyway, we ended up coming home early as all of you knew apart from my parents, who were suitably surprised! I didn't write about it on the blog (to maintain the element of surprise, obviously), but on our arrival at Bangkok airport, it hit Char and I suddenly that we were just really exhausted. Really, really exhausted. Of constantly being in airports, of living out of bags, of missing everyone - all the things that I detailed in previous posts, really. And while we both would like to get to Sri Lanka eventually, it didn't seem like an enticing prospect in the slightest just then. So, over a Starbucks, we decided to go home - it felt like a pretty big and pretty exciting decision, even though we were only home 8 days early in the end so it wasn't a massive difference. But psychologically it was, because both of us were so ready to be home.
So we phoned STA Travel and rebooked our flights, and then everything else in Bangkok happened as I detailed previously. We flew to Sri Lanka via some rapid present-buying in duty free, spent the night at the Airport Transit Hotel (it was luxurious, and it bloody well should have been for the $76 we paid for 8 hours - yes, they sell their rooms in hour blocks of time, so weird) and the next day spent 11 hours on the plane before touching down at Heathrow. It was obviously raining, which was both nice (familiar) but also a bit sickening (really cold).
We breezed through immmigration, picked up our bags and then headed for the tube(!). After half an hour or so the tube pulled into Hammersmith and Char and I said a tragic goodbye (I am literally missing her already, I keep turning round to say things to her/shout "Boycieeee" before I remember that she has her own home to go to and I can't reasonably expect her to follow me everywhere I go just for the BANTAH). And then I was on the Richmond branch of the District line, and then I was walking from the station to my door - and then I was home.
I can't tell you how surprised mum and dad were - they actually didn't believe that I was me. Thanks to everyone who was in on it for keeping the secret, the moment of utter shock was priceless and made my endless journeying worth it. It is indescribably lovely to be reunited with my amazing family. I love them to bits and have been missing them for so long, and it is brilliant to be home where absolutely nothing has changed (well, I have a new wardrobe).
I was on such a high that I could hardly sleep that night. The next day was spent unwrapping various parcels I'd sent home (I'd forgotten what my Indian carpet looked like; it was good fun to see that again. And I'd totally forgotten I ordered a marble plate... I don't know what the hell I was thinking, what on Earth will I do with a marble plate?! It's beautiful, though), and just wandering around the house in a daze. Today I became slightly more organised, sorting out all my photos and putting them on Facebook, joining the gym, booking my first hatha yoga class, etc. and getting in touch with friends gradually and making plans.
It is so brilliant to be reunited (and to continue being reunited - I have lots of happy phonecalls to make tomorrow!) with my friends. I have missed you all beyond belief. I can't wait to see you all again :D
I don't really know what else to say. What a journey it has been... both literally and metaphorically (haha). I am the same, and I am different. I think that sums it up entirely. Essentially, travelling hasn't enlightened me - you know, not in the sense that a lightbulb appeared above my head that suddenly contained the answers to Everything. But it has made me acutely aware of myself, who I really am, how I react to things, and also the vast amount of opportunities and choices that are available to me, both in terms of my career, sure, but also how I live my life generally. It has opened a lot of doors and I do now see the world in a different way, a happier way. And of course, I have gained several wonderful friends, and met some beautiful people and seen some beautiful places.
How lucky I am. That's what I keep coming back to, and I feel really strongly that that's what this blog should finish with - not with any profound (read: possibly pompous) statements declaring my self-actualisation. How lucky I was to be able to undertake a journey like this, how lucky I was to be able to share it with Charlotte (who is incredible), how lucky I was to have my friends and family waiting on me, looking forward to hearing my news, supporting me through everything - and excited to see me on my return. How lucky I am to have a lovely job waiting for me.
It wasn't unadulterated amazingosity. Things did go wrong, severely wrong at times, and occasionally I have had to draw on some pretty deep resources just to keep on getting out of bed in the morning. But during those moments, I was always acutely aware of my good fortune, to be travelling but also to be alive.
Now my travels are over, and I am concentrating on the alive part, adjusting my life and habits in London so that the happiness and beauty I have taken from travelling don't just fade - I am taking steps to make sure that those lessons learnt are permenantly incorporated into my daily routine. I firmly believe that because of this, I will always be a happy person. That's more than many people can say, and I have travelling to thank for that.
So, I have had the most wonderful time, and I am, indeed, the luckiest person I know. Good times. Thank you all so much for supporting me and for reading about my adventures and taking the time to get in touch while I was away - believe me, I know how busy life is, and I massively appreciated all your correspondance when I was feeling very far away in distant climes.
Soo... that's me done I guess. Until the next time!
Love you all (but not missing you anymore),
Bye, (but also, since I am now home, hello?! I'm not sure I thought this out...)
Amy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Bangkok, The Sequel
Here we are, back in Bangkok, back on the Koa San Road. Once again we have seamlessly re-entered what is as close to the Western world as we will find in Southeast Asia. In fact, it has moved beyond the Western world - Bangkok is where Westerners come for decadence, and that's saying something.
But, as always, I'm racing ahead - although maybe 'racing' is the wrong word since I have only missed, like, a day. But anyway.
We arrived in Jakarta airport, considered going clubbing as originally planned, and rejected the idea as too expensive. We were sitting in KFC not ordering anything, pondering what we might do instead that didn't involve sitting in KFC any longer, when the 2 Australian surfers we were chatting to said they were staying at the Airport Transit hotel and did we want to sleep on their floor? The sensible, economising traveller's answer to this was obviously yes please. So for no money at all we had a very comfortable sleep and a hot shower - thanks, random Australian surfers.
We were up at 3.30am to check in for our flight to Singapore, which was all fine, and at Singapore airport Gabi very sadly left us and Charlotte and I flew onto Bangkok. We then got a taxi to the Koa San Road, checked into a really nice traveller's guesthouse and had a wander and some dinner before crashing out relatively early.
Today we have just been strolling around Koa San trying to readjust (which seems pointless seeing as in Sri Lanka we will immediately have to un-adjust, but there we are). We spent some time in the bookshop and some on the internet and am about to do a bit of souvenir shopping (read: battling to get what masquerades as a fair price for something that the recipient may well not even like - but I will do my best). And then we fly to Colombo this evening, at 9.10, so we have to leave in less than 3 hours to get to the airport, where Duty Free awaits us, twinkling in all its enticing glory.
I think that is pretty much a complete update of our recent movements, and I have nothing else particularly to add, apart from that I miss you all and not long to go now.
Lots of love xxxxxxxx
But, as always, I'm racing ahead - although maybe 'racing' is the wrong word since I have only missed, like, a day. But anyway.
We arrived in Jakarta airport, considered going clubbing as originally planned, and rejected the idea as too expensive. We were sitting in KFC not ordering anything, pondering what we might do instead that didn't involve sitting in KFC any longer, when the 2 Australian surfers we were chatting to said they were staying at the Airport Transit hotel and did we want to sleep on their floor? The sensible, economising traveller's answer to this was obviously yes please. So for no money at all we had a very comfortable sleep and a hot shower - thanks, random Australian surfers.
We were up at 3.30am to check in for our flight to Singapore, which was all fine, and at Singapore airport Gabi very sadly left us and Charlotte and I flew onto Bangkok. We then got a taxi to the Koa San Road, checked into a really nice traveller's guesthouse and had a wander and some dinner before crashing out relatively early.
Today we have just been strolling around Koa San trying to readjust (which seems pointless seeing as in Sri Lanka we will immediately have to un-adjust, but there we are). We spent some time in the bookshop and some on the internet and am about to do a bit of souvenir shopping (read: battling to get what masquerades as a fair price for something that the recipient may well not even like - but I will do my best). And then we fly to Colombo this evening, at 9.10, so we have to leave in less than 3 hours to get to the airport, where Duty Free awaits us, twinkling in all its enticing glory.
I think that is pretty much a complete update of our recent movements, and I have nothing else particularly to add, apart from that I miss you all and not long to go now.
Lots of love xxxxxxxx
Monday, 20 June 2011
Jogjakarta/Yogyakarta
I included both names in the title because this place can't seem to decide what to call itself.
It's also the first place in Indonesia we've been that can't seem to decide if it wants to be Indonesian or Western. A bit of a Saigon in the sense that it is a cultural mish-mash; plenty of local, traditional culture, but either hidden or dressed up and sold to Westerners for a price. And of course there are all the standard Western phenomena like massive, massive shopping malls. And yet, as well as taxis, horse and carts are the standard way for tourists to get anywhere. It all makes for a very confusing but exciting city.
We arrived from Gili late at night, headed for street food, and then settled into our slightly dingy hotel - Gabi and I shared the room that had the window, so it didn't feel exactly like we were trapped in a prison cell, which was nice.
Breakfast in hotels in Jogjakarta seems to consist solely of chocolate sandwiches. No, actually - chocolate sprinkles and bread toasted together in a toasted sandwich maker. It started off as a novelty but by the end we were sickened and forewent free breakfast in favour of paying for fruit and green tea somewhere else. There's only so long I could handle chocolate in a sandwich for.
That day, we booked all of our excursions for our few short days in Java, and then just hung around in cafes and shopping malls, getting a general feel of the city. We finally, finally, sent our postcards - I sent 18 in total which ended up costing a bit of an absurd amount of money, but never mind. You're all worth it, ha.
In the evening, we went to Prambanan temple (a Hindu temple) to see an outdoor performance of traditional Ramayana ballet. It was the first episode, where Sita is captured and Rama meets the ape prince. I vaguely remembered the story from my religious education at primary school, so was able to tell roughly who was who, because otherwise it wasn't exactly clear - the golden deer, for example, was difficult to distinguish when all of the 200 people on stage were wearing enough gold to satisfy even, like, 50 Cent. The dancing was obviously very different to traditional ballet but we enjoyed it very much, and spent some of the journey home making clever puns based around "ape" (japes, etc.).
The next morning we were awake absurdly early, at 4.30am, and headed off to Borobudur, an absolutely massive Buddhist temple about 40km from Jogjakarta. Our guide told us many really interesting stories about Buddha's youth which I already knew (class geek...) but were still interesting nonetheless. And it really is a fascinatingly beautiful place. The hordes of Indonesian schoolchildren were less fascinated by the temple itself and more fascinated by Charlotte, Gabi and I; we couldn't walk three steps without being asked for a photo opportunity. It ended up being really annoying but since they were children we felt bad being rude, so we spent a lot of our free half-hour post-tour being hugged by various small Indonesians rather than wandering around, finding Nirvana. Never mind, I found metaphorical Nirvana in Gili Air anyway.
After that, we went on to see Prambanan by the light of day which was really nice but we were pretty knackered by that point, so after wandering through a few of the temples that make up the complex, we showed our religious awe and appreciation by sacking it all off and going for chicken noodles.
We were pretty tired when we got back from the tour [a general theme of our busy, crazy, awesome Indonesian jaunt] but no rest because next day we were up to begin our long journey to Mt. Bromo, an active volcano.
After a 12-hour car journey, we reached our hotel, snatched a few hours of sleep in a tauntingly-comfortable bed, and then we were up and in our warmest clothes at 3.15am.
Yeah, 3.15am.
We walked 2km uphill (before breakfast, I might add) to the viewpoint, which was, to be fair, completely incredible and absolutely worth the minor trek. We watched the sunrise over Mt. Bromo, which began to erupt as we looked on. It was awesome. We were cold and tired and hungry, but we forgot all of that in the face of the incomparable view and the constantly-changing, always-vivid colours of the sky. At one point the brightest orange began to merge with the brightest blue, and it was better than any postcard.
After that, we headed to Bromo itself, and climbed up through the ash-dunes (like sand-dunes, but, you know, ash) and then up the ash-y side of Bromo itself. A difficult climb and a long one, but, once we got to the crater itself, again, completely worth it. We were actually on the edge of the crater, standing on it, as a volcano erupted ash. It was absolutely amazing and kind of incomprehensible that a)this was really considered safe? (it totally was though because I'm fine) and b)that we actually made it to the crater. The smoke was thick and there was ash covering our hair and clothing. We obviously took some photos, and then slid all the way down the ash dunes and made ash angels (because to be honest we were already covered in ash so may as well enjoy it...). This was a total highlight - this, the orangutans and my diving on Gili Air have contributed to the most incredible three weeks and confirmation that Indonesia is my favourite country on my travels, if I were forced to pick one.
Then we got back to the hotel, where a man leading a komodo dragon was just walking around. Standardly we each grabbed the lead and walked a dragon for a bit.
It wasn't even 9am. I'm forced to admit that if such a massive amount of amazing stuff can occur before 9 o'clock, I might well have to convert myself into a morning person.
(By the way, on our way out of breakfast, we saw the man slaughtering and gutting the poor komodo dragon that we'd walked only a few minutes before. I was traumatised and couldn't watch, Gabi, with all the fascination of a surgeon-to-be, was really interested. Poor dragon. In my head I'd named him Charles.)
It was then time for the journey back to Jogjakarta - twelve long hours, but we snagged the front seats in the minibus (thanks to our experience fighting for seats on the London Underground, I reckon) so at least there was ample legroom.
We got to Jogjakarta around 11 and crashed out, after showering to remove at least the first coating of ash from our hair. I can still feel it though, two shampoos later. I look like I have gone prematurely grey.
Today we packed up (I threw out half my bag to try and get it down to the weight limit for this absurd flight) and headed for juice and fruit, and then for some serious internet time.
We fly out of Jogjakarta at 6 and get into Jakarta about 7. Since our flight to Singapore leaves at 6am tomorrow, we have decided to leave our bags at the airport and go out clubbing all night - obviously the only sensible option. It will save us lots of money on a hostel and is a more-than-suitable way to celebrate our last night travelling as a three. It has been so lovely having Gabi along and I will miss her very much indeed.
Gabi stays in Singapore tomorrow whilst Char and I will continue to Bangkok, where we have two days of souvenir shopping and general readjustment before we fly to Sri Lanka for our last week of travelling.
With only ten days to go until I am back in London, my excitement levels are rising. I've been making lists of everything I want to do and see when I get back and all the things and people I have missed. As well as passing the time on long journeys, it is really nice to think of home knowing I will be back there soon.
But I am going to miss Indonesia so much. It is paradise and I will be back.
Missing you all, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It's also the first place in Indonesia we've been that can't seem to decide if it wants to be Indonesian or Western. A bit of a Saigon in the sense that it is a cultural mish-mash; plenty of local, traditional culture, but either hidden or dressed up and sold to Westerners for a price. And of course there are all the standard Western phenomena like massive, massive shopping malls. And yet, as well as taxis, horse and carts are the standard way for tourists to get anywhere. It all makes for a very confusing but exciting city.
We arrived from Gili late at night, headed for street food, and then settled into our slightly dingy hotel - Gabi and I shared the room that had the window, so it didn't feel exactly like we were trapped in a prison cell, which was nice.
Breakfast in hotels in Jogjakarta seems to consist solely of chocolate sandwiches. No, actually - chocolate sprinkles and bread toasted together in a toasted sandwich maker. It started off as a novelty but by the end we were sickened and forewent free breakfast in favour of paying for fruit and green tea somewhere else. There's only so long I could handle chocolate in a sandwich for.
That day, we booked all of our excursions for our few short days in Java, and then just hung around in cafes and shopping malls, getting a general feel of the city. We finally, finally, sent our postcards - I sent 18 in total which ended up costing a bit of an absurd amount of money, but never mind. You're all worth it, ha.
In the evening, we went to Prambanan temple (a Hindu temple) to see an outdoor performance of traditional Ramayana ballet. It was the first episode, where Sita is captured and Rama meets the ape prince. I vaguely remembered the story from my religious education at primary school, so was able to tell roughly who was who, because otherwise it wasn't exactly clear - the golden deer, for example, was difficult to distinguish when all of the 200 people on stage were wearing enough gold to satisfy even, like, 50 Cent. The dancing was obviously very different to traditional ballet but we enjoyed it very much, and spent some of the journey home making clever puns based around "ape" (japes, etc.).
The next morning we were awake absurdly early, at 4.30am, and headed off to Borobudur, an absolutely massive Buddhist temple about 40km from Jogjakarta. Our guide told us many really interesting stories about Buddha's youth which I already knew (class geek...) but were still interesting nonetheless. And it really is a fascinatingly beautiful place. The hordes of Indonesian schoolchildren were less fascinated by the temple itself and more fascinated by Charlotte, Gabi and I; we couldn't walk three steps without being asked for a photo opportunity. It ended up being really annoying but since they were children we felt bad being rude, so we spent a lot of our free half-hour post-tour being hugged by various small Indonesians rather than wandering around, finding Nirvana. Never mind, I found metaphorical Nirvana in Gili Air anyway.
After that, we went on to see Prambanan by the light of day which was really nice but we were pretty knackered by that point, so after wandering through a few of the temples that make up the complex, we showed our religious awe and appreciation by sacking it all off and going for chicken noodles.
We were pretty tired when we got back from the tour [a general theme of our busy, crazy, awesome Indonesian jaunt] but no rest because next day we were up to begin our long journey to Mt. Bromo, an active volcano.
After a 12-hour car journey, we reached our hotel, snatched a few hours of sleep in a tauntingly-comfortable bed, and then we were up and in our warmest clothes at 3.15am.
Yeah, 3.15am.
We walked 2km uphill (before breakfast, I might add) to the viewpoint, which was, to be fair, completely incredible and absolutely worth the minor trek. We watched the sunrise over Mt. Bromo, which began to erupt as we looked on. It was awesome. We were cold and tired and hungry, but we forgot all of that in the face of the incomparable view and the constantly-changing, always-vivid colours of the sky. At one point the brightest orange began to merge with the brightest blue, and it was better than any postcard.
After that, we headed to Bromo itself, and climbed up through the ash-dunes (like sand-dunes, but, you know, ash) and then up the ash-y side of Bromo itself. A difficult climb and a long one, but, once we got to the crater itself, again, completely worth it. We were actually on the edge of the crater, standing on it, as a volcano erupted ash. It was absolutely amazing and kind of incomprehensible that a)this was really considered safe? (it totally was though because I'm fine) and b)that we actually made it to the crater. The smoke was thick and there was ash covering our hair and clothing. We obviously took some photos, and then slid all the way down the ash dunes and made ash angels (because to be honest we were already covered in ash so may as well enjoy it...). This was a total highlight - this, the orangutans and my diving on Gili Air have contributed to the most incredible three weeks and confirmation that Indonesia is my favourite country on my travels, if I were forced to pick one.
Then we got back to the hotel, where a man leading a komodo dragon was just walking around. Standardly we each grabbed the lead and walked a dragon for a bit.
It wasn't even 9am. I'm forced to admit that if such a massive amount of amazing stuff can occur before 9 o'clock, I might well have to convert myself into a morning person.
(By the way, on our way out of breakfast, we saw the man slaughtering and gutting the poor komodo dragon that we'd walked only a few minutes before. I was traumatised and couldn't watch, Gabi, with all the fascination of a surgeon-to-be, was really interested. Poor dragon. In my head I'd named him Charles.)
It was then time for the journey back to Jogjakarta - twelve long hours, but we snagged the front seats in the minibus (thanks to our experience fighting for seats on the London Underground, I reckon) so at least there was ample legroom.
We got to Jogjakarta around 11 and crashed out, after showering to remove at least the first coating of ash from our hair. I can still feel it though, two shampoos later. I look like I have gone prematurely grey.
Today we packed up (I threw out half my bag to try and get it down to the weight limit for this absurd flight) and headed for juice and fruit, and then for some serious internet time.
We fly out of Jogjakarta at 6 and get into Jakarta about 7. Since our flight to Singapore leaves at 6am tomorrow, we have decided to leave our bags at the airport and go out clubbing all night - obviously the only sensible option. It will save us lots of money on a hostel and is a more-than-suitable way to celebrate our last night travelling as a three. It has been so lovely having Gabi along and I will miss her very much indeed.
Gabi stays in Singapore tomorrow whilst Char and I will continue to Bangkok, where we have two days of souvenir shopping and general readjustment before we fly to Sri Lanka for our last week of travelling.
With only ten days to go until I am back in London, my excitement levels are rising. I've been making lists of everything I want to do and see when I get back and all the things and people I have missed. As well as passing the time on long journeys, it is really nice to think of home knowing I will be back there soon.
But I am going to miss Indonesia so much. It is paradise and I will be back.
Missing you all, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Gili-ant
Sorry about the title. I know it's bad. I think the sun has gone to my head, or something.
I forgot to mention in my last post the highlight of Ubud for all of us - the live music. We went to the Jazz Cafe and were treated to live Latin music which we attempted to salsa to - badly, obviously. We also went to a reggae bar, and listened to world music and various acoustic sets. All three of us are music lovers and particular fans of live music in any shape or form (apart from badly-played) so that was a real treat.
But anyway, onto my news from the last few days.
We caught the slow boat over to Gili Air which allowed ample time for tanning on the sundeck, although since none of us had slept well the night before it was resentful, grumpy tanning as opposed to sun-worshipping tanning. As in, if there had been shade, we would rather have been in it.
But we soon realised the enforced tanning had been a good idea when we got to Gili Air and saw how disgustingly brown everyone was compared to us - it is such a diving paradise (and a paradise in general) here that lots of people come here and just stay and dive, thus making them hideously, depressingly tanned. We felt very pale and English.
We found our dive school with ease - there are no roads or ATMS or cars on Gili Air, you go everywhere by horse and cart, and if you haven't taken out enough money, I suppose you are there washing dishes until you earn your boat fare back, or something. So we took a horse and cart to Blue Marlin Divers, where Chris, a nice Irish girl who owns the place, was waiting for us to give us our PADI books and get us settled into our room.
The next day, Gabi and I started our course at 2.30pm just watching videos and stuff - in the morning we just sunbathed, and I read Gabi Chapter One of the Openwater Dive Manual to help relieve her boredom - I'm not sure if it worked... Charlotte was doing her Advanced Diver course so was out at 8am in the water, doing two dives that first day with a very amusing couple of Russian girls (unintentionally hilarious, obviously) who spent the entire Underwater Photography Dive taking photos of themselves doing peace signs rather than at the fish as directed.
Gabi and I started our course the next day, we met the other girls (Jo, Laurie and Maryam - all very nice indeed, Maryam ended up being my dive buddy and a very good one she was too) and did our pool test. Gabi wasn't that fussed by it, she didn't hate it but just didn't particularly love it, so decided not to do anymore of the course because that way she didn't have to pay. I went back for our first openwater dive in the afternoon which was a cross between the exhilarating and the traumatic - exhilarating because, you know, you're breathing underwater, and there's fish and stuff. And traumatic because I couldn't control my buoyancy, equalizing seemed like a lot of work, and I had a strong feeling that my tank might fall off/regulator might break and I might die a horrible underwater death. The fact that this has never actually happened didn't reassure me. But it was actually a great dive and we saw some interesting things and I didn't die, which filled me with confidence (sort of).
The next day was an early start - 8am. We did three hours of dive theory, and then our second pool session to learn skills, before doing another dive in the afternoon. This dive was much better - I was reassured, no, convinced that I wasn't going to die. I almost descended properly (not quite). I managed to actually look at the fish instead of just hover in vague confusion. Everything was looking good. We then came back and took the PADI exam which was pretty easy, seeing as everything you get wrong, you get explained to you and then corrected so everyone gets full marks eventually. Not that I got much wrong to be honest, only a couple of questions - that was the geek in me, I suppose. I think I was the only one on the course that actually read the instruction manual... it didn't really help.
Our last day was just two 18m dives. This was by far the best day. I was confident, could set up the gear on my own, descend without any help and manage my weights correctly, maintain my buoyancy no problem, and even better, we saw and had long looks at some awesome fish and coral. We dived around a wreck in the morning which was incredible and quite creepy, and then in the afternoon we saw six sea turtles (mind-bogglingly huge), a stingray and a puffa fish all puffed up, amongst many other beautiful things. And then I was a qualified Open Water Diver! Which is a really amazing feeling despite it being a course that even the most idiotic Gap Yah can and does complete on a regular basis. I still felt good. At this point in my travels it's been so long since I have studied for or achieved anything tangible that I was on a high from that for quite a while.
In the evenings we have mainly been eating really nice food, drinking a little bit (not much because Charlotte and I were diving) and having big cups of tea watching the sunset and then the moon on the water. Tonight we are going for fresh barbecued fish, and then there is a big trance/reggae party at one of the bars on the island that our dive instructors are going to so we will definitely hit that up as a last-night treat as we leave tomorrow to go to Jogjakarta (Java).
Gili Air is the most amazing place. I am feeling thoroughly relaxed and happy, and my tan has considerably deepened. Diving, too, has been an incredible experience. All of these things combined make Gili Air definitely one of, if not my actual favourite, place on this trip so far - and there is a LOT of competition for that title. I will definitely be coming back here.
Tomorrow we get a boat then a plane to Jogjakarta and are going to a volcanic crater lake, and to see some temples and things. We have exactly a week left in Indonesia, and it is now officially two and a half weeks until I am home. I have mixed feelings about both of these things.
I do miss everyone, though. I wrote a lot of postcards back in Goa in March but genuinely I have been too lazy to actually send them (really sorry) - I will get on sending them soon. They may be distinctly Indian in nature. I was considering pretending they all got lost in the post but may as well come clean and admit that no, they have just been sitting in my bag for over three months because I've never seemed to find time to go to the Post Office. This will be rectified - and not just because Gabi has to send hers and therefore she will motivate me to go with her. Hm.
Will write more from Java. Apologies for anyone whose messages I have not yet replied to - my internet time is limited due to the fact that I am maximizing my tanning time so when I get back no one does that whole "Ooh, have you really been away for four months? You're not that brown", and also my dive course was super hectic - I will get on it, probably towards the end of Java.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I forgot to mention in my last post the highlight of Ubud for all of us - the live music. We went to the Jazz Cafe and were treated to live Latin music which we attempted to salsa to - badly, obviously. We also went to a reggae bar, and listened to world music and various acoustic sets. All three of us are music lovers and particular fans of live music in any shape or form (apart from badly-played) so that was a real treat.
But anyway, onto my news from the last few days.
We caught the slow boat over to Gili Air which allowed ample time for tanning on the sundeck, although since none of us had slept well the night before it was resentful, grumpy tanning as opposed to sun-worshipping tanning. As in, if there had been shade, we would rather have been in it.
But we soon realised the enforced tanning had been a good idea when we got to Gili Air and saw how disgustingly brown everyone was compared to us - it is such a diving paradise (and a paradise in general) here that lots of people come here and just stay and dive, thus making them hideously, depressingly tanned. We felt very pale and English.
We found our dive school with ease - there are no roads or ATMS or cars on Gili Air, you go everywhere by horse and cart, and if you haven't taken out enough money, I suppose you are there washing dishes until you earn your boat fare back, or something. So we took a horse and cart to Blue Marlin Divers, where Chris, a nice Irish girl who owns the place, was waiting for us to give us our PADI books and get us settled into our room.
The next day, Gabi and I started our course at 2.30pm just watching videos and stuff - in the morning we just sunbathed, and I read Gabi Chapter One of the Openwater Dive Manual to help relieve her boredom - I'm not sure if it worked... Charlotte was doing her Advanced Diver course so was out at 8am in the water, doing two dives that first day with a very amusing couple of Russian girls (unintentionally hilarious, obviously) who spent the entire Underwater Photography Dive taking photos of themselves doing peace signs rather than at the fish as directed.
Gabi and I started our course the next day, we met the other girls (Jo, Laurie and Maryam - all very nice indeed, Maryam ended up being my dive buddy and a very good one she was too) and did our pool test. Gabi wasn't that fussed by it, she didn't hate it but just didn't particularly love it, so decided not to do anymore of the course because that way she didn't have to pay. I went back for our first openwater dive in the afternoon which was a cross between the exhilarating and the traumatic - exhilarating because, you know, you're breathing underwater, and there's fish and stuff. And traumatic because I couldn't control my buoyancy, equalizing seemed like a lot of work, and I had a strong feeling that my tank might fall off/regulator might break and I might die a horrible underwater death. The fact that this has never actually happened didn't reassure me. But it was actually a great dive and we saw some interesting things and I didn't die, which filled me with confidence (sort of).
The next day was an early start - 8am. We did three hours of dive theory, and then our second pool session to learn skills, before doing another dive in the afternoon. This dive was much better - I was reassured, no, convinced that I wasn't going to die. I almost descended properly (not quite). I managed to actually look at the fish instead of just hover in vague confusion. Everything was looking good. We then came back and took the PADI exam which was pretty easy, seeing as everything you get wrong, you get explained to you and then corrected so everyone gets full marks eventually. Not that I got much wrong to be honest, only a couple of questions - that was the geek in me, I suppose. I think I was the only one on the course that actually read the instruction manual... it didn't really help.
Our last day was just two 18m dives. This was by far the best day. I was confident, could set up the gear on my own, descend without any help and manage my weights correctly, maintain my buoyancy no problem, and even better, we saw and had long looks at some awesome fish and coral. We dived around a wreck in the morning which was incredible and quite creepy, and then in the afternoon we saw six sea turtles (mind-bogglingly huge), a stingray and a puffa fish all puffed up, amongst many other beautiful things. And then I was a qualified Open Water Diver! Which is a really amazing feeling despite it being a course that even the most idiotic Gap Yah can and does complete on a regular basis. I still felt good. At this point in my travels it's been so long since I have studied for or achieved anything tangible that I was on a high from that for quite a while.
In the evenings we have mainly been eating really nice food, drinking a little bit (not much because Charlotte and I were diving) and having big cups of tea watching the sunset and then the moon on the water. Tonight we are going for fresh barbecued fish, and then there is a big trance/reggae party at one of the bars on the island that our dive instructors are going to so we will definitely hit that up as a last-night treat as we leave tomorrow to go to Jogjakarta (Java).
Gili Air is the most amazing place. I am feeling thoroughly relaxed and happy, and my tan has considerably deepened. Diving, too, has been an incredible experience. All of these things combined make Gili Air definitely one of, if not my actual favourite, place on this trip so far - and there is a LOT of competition for that title. I will definitely be coming back here.
Tomorrow we get a boat then a plane to Jogjakarta and are going to a volcanic crater lake, and to see some temples and things. We have exactly a week left in Indonesia, and it is now officially two and a half weeks until I am home. I have mixed feelings about both of these things.
I do miss everyone, though. I wrote a lot of postcards back in Goa in March but genuinely I have been too lazy to actually send them (really sorry) - I will get on sending them soon. They may be distinctly Indian in nature. I was considering pretending they all got lost in the post but may as well come clean and admit that no, they have just been sitting in my bag for over three months because I've never seemed to find time to go to the Post Office. This will be rectified - and not just because Gabi has to send hers and therefore she will motivate me to go with her. Hm.
Will write more from Java. Apologies for anyone whose messages I have not yet replied to - my internet time is limited due to the fact that I am maximizing my tanning time so when I get back no one does that whole "Ooh, have you really been away for four months? You're not that brown", and also my dive course was super hectic - I will get on it, probably towards the end of Java.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Orangutan-ing Around
We have spent a fabulous, ridiculous, beautiful week in Borneo getting to know locals and orangutans. Literally nobody spoke English, they know one word which is "Yes" and they say it to everything you ask/tell them. Once you establish that, it's fine and you just learn to communicate using other methods (i.e., sign language...) but until that point, when you think they're actually agreeing with you, it's very confusing. All the flight announcements, too, are in "bahasa Indonesiana" [Indonesian] so basically, if you want information at an airport, you may as well not bother... or be satisfied with a "Yes" to anything you ask.
We caught our flight to Palangkaraya with no problems whatsoever apart from minor delays and the worst duty free options I have ever seen. The luggage carousel was so small that it didn't even go round, it's just one straight long line that everyone grabs at until it all spills off/piles up at the end. An intelligently designed system with no major flaws, obviously. We made it to Hotel Annisa Dina, where we were essentially celebrities, complete with a photoshoot. The next day we got a taxi to what we thought was going to be the bus station, so we could get a bus to Palangkalanbun, but what actually turned out to be an 11-hour drive to Palangkalanbun itself (via the hair salon to drop their friend off for her appointment)... see what I mean about communication problems?! But actually the taxi was only a pound more expensive than the bus would have been, and technically more comfortable though I think my tailbone is bruised from the bumpy roads.
We arrived late, and the next day headed to Kumai a short distance away, and from Kumai into the jungle (Tanjung Putting National Park). Our "speed" boat (5k/hr... absolute top speed) was guided by, essentially, a total mental, with a self-professed addiction to crystal meth, who listened in on any private conversation we had without any shame whatsoever, it was brilliant. We kept up our Danish identities and gave ourselves assumed names for the weekend, for no other reason except that we could, and telling our guide about our imagined visions of Denmark (none of us have ever been, but in our heads, everyone cycles everywhere and the Dutch are their natural enemies) provided a few hours of amusement. We slept on the boat, watching the stars, trying out the (really quite painful) traditional massages (supposed to have healing properties but gave Gabi the shakes and Charlotte a headache and didn't make any difference to me whatsoever) and drinking rice wine. At one point our boat got stuck in a floating island, and it took the guide ages to cut us out of it.
The next day was devoted to seeing wild orangutans, and tamer ones on the reservation, too. They really are fabulous and very amusing - hairy orange people is quite a good description, I think. Both times, they met us off the boat jetty, like they were expecting us. Their faces are so leathery and expressive, it's so entertaining just watching them, I could have watched them for absolutely hours. I have always been fascinated by monkeys and seeing them wild like that was such good fun and a real highlight.
The magic of the jungle itself is something that I really should mention. The tranquility and the beauty that we found there was something that had a calming influence on all of us; personally I have never been anywhere that remote, wild and unspoilt but somehow completely unthreatening. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I was stranded on the mainland at night with a snake wrapped around my foot/neck, but on our boat, moving almost silently through the water, flanked either side by colonies of fireflies glittering and winking at us, we felt very much at peace. I have never seen stars like we saw on that boat (we were also treated to a lightning storm, which was lovely); it was when we wished we'd googled the constellations, the only one we could find was the Plough. Charlotte and I have been meaning to google star constellations since Dharamsala so we did slightly feel silly for not having done it yet, but we just made some up which sounded very professional and was almost as good. Pointing at any bright star and saying "That's the North Star" in a tone of sufficient authority pretty much makes you an astronomer, I think. So yes, the jungle was incredible and what we had all been hoping for and more.
Oh my God did I get bitten by mosquitos, though. Literally eaten alive. The bastards. (Sorry, I don't normally swear that much on this blog because I know people who don't like swearing are reading it [sorry] but I really, really, REALLY hate mosquitos. My love of nature and all the world's creatures has increased exponentially during my travels but unfortunately mosquitos do not fall into this category, they fall into my category of literal hatred alongside cockroaches and Indian policemen.)
From the jungle, we made the long journey back to Palangkaraya and flew to Bali, where we are now - in Ubud. Ubud is lovely, very touristy, lots of white people and food that isn't cold, oily noodles (breakfast, lunch and dinner - mmm...). Which is a massive relief, much as we loved the remoteness of the jungle, we didn't always love the cuisine and mostly lived on biscuits and tinned fish. We have been doing bits and pieces here, lots of sunbathing and eating vegetables; our hotel has a pool which we have been thoroughly enjoying. Gabi and I were planning a walk up to the rice paddies so I think I will cut this blog entry short in a little bit and go and have some fun (er, not that writing this isn't fun, it is, it's just... a computer screen. And I've seen computer screens in my life more than I have seen rice paddies).
Tomorrow we get the boat to Gili Air, one of the Gili Islands, and Gabi and I are going to do our PADI Openwater dive course for four days. So by the next time you see me I will be able to dive anywhere in the world (supposedly) down to 18m. Which is quite exciting. Apparently the islands are really beautiful and we have booked with a good, PADI-accredited dive school so we should have a very happy few days. We then fly to Java on the 16th, but I'm sure I will update again before then.
Half of me is counting down the days until I am home - I really am ready to be back. But half of me is wanting this trip to never end. It depends on my mood, or, to be blunt, if it is a day where we are sitting on a various mode of transport being bored or a day we are doing something amazing. I am bored of buses, trains and ferries, and planes too, but not of doing amazing things. But you have to do one to get the other, so will just have to grin and bear our 11-hour ferry journey tomorrow.
Lots of love to all, miss you very much xxxxxxxxxxx
We caught our flight to Palangkaraya with no problems whatsoever apart from minor delays and the worst duty free options I have ever seen. The luggage carousel was so small that it didn't even go round, it's just one straight long line that everyone grabs at until it all spills off/piles up at the end. An intelligently designed system with no major flaws, obviously. We made it to Hotel Annisa Dina, where we were essentially celebrities, complete with a photoshoot. The next day we got a taxi to what we thought was going to be the bus station, so we could get a bus to Palangkalanbun, but what actually turned out to be an 11-hour drive to Palangkalanbun itself (via the hair salon to drop their friend off for her appointment)... see what I mean about communication problems?! But actually the taxi was only a pound more expensive than the bus would have been, and technically more comfortable though I think my tailbone is bruised from the bumpy roads.
We arrived late, and the next day headed to Kumai a short distance away, and from Kumai into the jungle (Tanjung Putting National Park). Our "speed" boat (5k/hr... absolute top speed) was guided by, essentially, a total mental, with a self-professed addiction to crystal meth, who listened in on any private conversation we had without any shame whatsoever, it was brilliant. We kept up our Danish identities and gave ourselves assumed names for the weekend, for no other reason except that we could, and telling our guide about our imagined visions of Denmark (none of us have ever been, but in our heads, everyone cycles everywhere and the Dutch are their natural enemies) provided a few hours of amusement. We slept on the boat, watching the stars, trying out the (really quite painful) traditional massages (supposed to have healing properties but gave Gabi the shakes and Charlotte a headache and didn't make any difference to me whatsoever) and drinking rice wine. At one point our boat got stuck in a floating island, and it took the guide ages to cut us out of it.
The next day was devoted to seeing wild orangutans, and tamer ones on the reservation, too. They really are fabulous and very amusing - hairy orange people is quite a good description, I think. Both times, they met us off the boat jetty, like they were expecting us. Their faces are so leathery and expressive, it's so entertaining just watching them, I could have watched them for absolutely hours. I have always been fascinated by monkeys and seeing them wild like that was such good fun and a real highlight.
The magic of the jungle itself is something that I really should mention. The tranquility and the beauty that we found there was something that had a calming influence on all of us; personally I have never been anywhere that remote, wild and unspoilt but somehow completely unthreatening. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I was stranded on the mainland at night with a snake wrapped around my foot/neck, but on our boat, moving almost silently through the water, flanked either side by colonies of fireflies glittering and winking at us, we felt very much at peace. I have never seen stars like we saw on that boat (we were also treated to a lightning storm, which was lovely); it was when we wished we'd googled the constellations, the only one we could find was the Plough. Charlotte and I have been meaning to google star constellations since Dharamsala so we did slightly feel silly for not having done it yet, but we just made some up which sounded very professional and was almost as good. Pointing at any bright star and saying "That's the North Star" in a tone of sufficient authority pretty much makes you an astronomer, I think. So yes, the jungle was incredible and what we had all been hoping for and more.
Oh my God did I get bitten by mosquitos, though. Literally eaten alive. The bastards. (Sorry, I don't normally swear that much on this blog because I know people who don't like swearing are reading it [sorry] but I really, really, REALLY hate mosquitos. My love of nature and all the world's creatures has increased exponentially during my travels but unfortunately mosquitos do not fall into this category, they fall into my category of literal hatred alongside cockroaches and Indian policemen.)
From the jungle, we made the long journey back to Palangkaraya and flew to Bali, where we are now - in Ubud. Ubud is lovely, very touristy, lots of white people and food that isn't cold, oily noodles (breakfast, lunch and dinner - mmm...). Which is a massive relief, much as we loved the remoteness of the jungle, we didn't always love the cuisine and mostly lived on biscuits and tinned fish. We have been doing bits and pieces here, lots of sunbathing and eating vegetables; our hotel has a pool which we have been thoroughly enjoying. Gabi and I were planning a walk up to the rice paddies so I think I will cut this blog entry short in a little bit and go and have some fun (er, not that writing this isn't fun, it is, it's just... a computer screen. And I've seen computer screens in my life more than I have seen rice paddies).
Tomorrow we get the boat to Gili Air, one of the Gili Islands, and Gabi and I are going to do our PADI Openwater dive course for four days. So by the next time you see me I will be able to dive anywhere in the world (supposedly) down to 18m. Which is quite exciting. Apparently the islands are really beautiful and we have booked with a good, PADI-accredited dive school so we should have a very happy few days. We then fly to Java on the 16th, but I'm sure I will update again before then.
Half of me is counting down the days until I am home - I really am ready to be back. But half of me is wanting this trip to never end. It depends on my mood, or, to be blunt, if it is a day where we are sitting on a various mode of transport being bored or a day we are doing something amazing. I am bored of buses, trains and ferries, and planes too, but not of doing amazing things. But you have to do one to get the other, so will just have to grin and bear our 11-hour ferry journey tomorrow.
Lots of love to all, miss you very much xxxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Jl Jaksa 27
So here we are in Indonesia, in Jakarta to be precise - the blog title is the address of our hotel, which we have actually just left. We arrived safely and took an excellent cab ride in which Char, Gabi and I established that we are an ethnically and aesthetically-correct Charlie's Angels - Gabi is Alex, Charlotte is Natalie and I am Dylan. We have continued these alternate identities throughout our time in Jakarta and the locals seem to buy it, treating us like actual celebrities. The cab driver told me I looked like Barbie, and a small piece of my soul died, though he insisted it was a compliment. To console myself, I pretended to be Danish. Taking on alternative personalities has been one of the most amusing things about travelling. Generally I pretend to be Welsh, but I have been mixing it up recently and expanding into the rest of Europe. It doesn't seem to matter that the only accent I can do is Southern Irish.
We have had a pretty chilled out time in Jakarta - there's not that much to do, to be honest, but we've mainly just been lazy. We've sat in the same cafe a lot watching Indonesian music videos (people commit suicide a lot in them due to being dumped - a bit of a disproportionate reaction, but each to their own I suppose), and spent time marvelling at the windowless charm void that is our hotel room, and last night we walked an hour and a half trying to find a substandard, overpriced Middle Eastern restaurant. But that is about it. We did meet a wonderful man in the tourist office, called Frank/Taufik (he likes both names), who insisted that he could be reincarnated as a stone, and also that he was both Dean of the local university and an MI6 spy. At least, he was wonderful until he went on an insane racist tirade. I don't know what it is about us encountering racist officials (remember Ali at the Taj Mahal?!), but it was both incredibly uncomfortable and absolutely hilarious (mainly because it was so uncomfortable) - we didn't know what to say, so we just said nothing at all, which we figured was safer. He took us out with his family for long island ice teas at a local pub where there was a live band playing all the classics - some songs were better than others, it has to be said. "The Power of Love" was never one of my favourites, but if I ever hear it again, I will begin moving quickly in the other direction.
Today we fly to Borneo, where we will be getting a river boat to some villages, and also going to the National Park to see orangutans. It is pretty remote and I doubt I will get any internet signal, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a week or so. I have (probably) not been mauled by a rogue orangutan.
I imagine my next update will be from Bali, where we fly on the 7th.
Also, I just thought I should mention that it's exactly a month today until I am home, meaning we are over 3/4 of the way through our trip now. So, for those who are missing me (tumbleweed/awkward silence), it's not long until I'm back, and I'm very excited.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We have had a pretty chilled out time in Jakarta - there's not that much to do, to be honest, but we've mainly just been lazy. We've sat in the same cafe a lot watching Indonesian music videos (people commit suicide a lot in them due to being dumped - a bit of a disproportionate reaction, but each to their own I suppose), and spent time marvelling at the windowless charm void that is our hotel room, and last night we walked an hour and a half trying to find a substandard, overpriced Middle Eastern restaurant. But that is about it. We did meet a wonderful man in the tourist office, called Frank/Taufik (he likes both names), who insisted that he could be reincarnated as a stone, and also that he was both Dean of the local university and an MI6 spy. At least, he was wonderful until he went on an insane racist tirade. I don't know what it is about us encountering racist officials (remember Ali at the Taj Mahal?!), but it was both incredibly uncomfortable and absolutely hilarious (mainly because it was so uncomfortable) - we didn't know what to say, so we just said nothing at all, which we figured was safer. He took us out with his family for long island ice teas at a local pub where there was a live band playing all the classics - some songs were better than others, it has to be said. "The Power of Love" was never one of my favourites, but if I ever hear it again, I will begin moving quickly in the other direction.
Today we fly to Borneo, where we will be getting a river boat to some villages, and also going to the National Park to see orangutans. It is pretty remote and I doubt I will get any internet signal, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a week or so. I have (probably) not been mauled by a rogue orangutan.
I imagine my next update will be from Bali, where we fly on the 7th.
Also, I just thought I should mention that it's exactly a month today until I am home, meaning we are over 3/4 of the way through our trip now. So, for those who are missing me (tumbleweed/awkward silence), it's not long until I'm back, and I'm very excited.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Monday, 30 May 2011
Maccaroni Cheese, Skype and Topshop
From the title, I could be writing about London. I'm not, though, I'm writing about Singapore, which is utterly fabulous in every way and just what we needed to recharge our batteries.
Our last couple of days in Ko Tao were, of course, wonderful - I've already described the glory that was that beautiful island and all the fun things we did there. Nick and Rob turned up on our last afternoon, and we all went out for dinner, and sat around on the beach reminiscing about how far we have all come since the heady days of Dharamsala (which I now fondly pronounce Dharum-salahhhh, gap-yah style). It's both strange and brilliant to have made such close friends on our journey - we have spent over a month of our lives intensely together, so in a sense we know each other inside out. But with none of the history of our childhoods/adolescence, unless we choose to share or reveal it. This is the last we will see of them on our trip, as Rob heads home from Bangkok in a few days' time to start a new, exciting chapter of his life, and Nick heads onwards to do the Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia circuit, before flying out to Australia to live there for a little while. So while I will see Rob very soon in London I'm sure, it'll be a lot longer before we're all reunited. But when that day comes, it will, of course, be awesome.
Charlotte and I then headed by boat, another boat, bus and another bus to Phuket, where we spent the night before our flight to Singapore the next day. We were kindly met at the airport by the wonderful Simon, Irene and Robin, who we are staying with. We had a pretty chilled day, going for lunch by the seafront and a walk around the Botanic Gardens, before an amazing dinner of maccaroni cheese with broccoli and Ben and Jerrys ice cream. Those who have been travelling for a long time will understand the true luxury, no Eden-esque, implication of those food items. Last night, we had broccoli and stilton soup, complete with amazing fresh granary bread and real cheddar. Tonight, Charlotte and I are cooking - garlic chicken with roasted vegetables, pesto and goats' cheese. Guess who chose that menu and bought the groceries... A massive thank you to Simon and Irene (and Robin too, who has very kindly allowed us to totally take over his room for three nights and who has humoured my teacher-like requests to identify the difference in the narrative styles of J.K. Rowling and other authors with enthusiasm) who could not have been kinder or made us feel more welcome. It has been such a slice of home, and we now feel ready to pack our backpacks up again for the last quarter of our travels.
We went to the National Museum on Sunday, mainly because it was free. It was really excellent. We got out around 3.30 and there, waiting for us on the steps with an amazing sign, was the wonderful Kai! We met Kai back in March in Dharamsala, and since he is a Singapore native, we were fortunate enough to catch him at home. So we spent the afternoon together; Kai gave us a tour of some of the more amazing/ridiculous areas of Singapore down by the coast (a shopping centre with a dry ice rink and a river running through that you could boat on). It was so great to see Kai again, although it made us all a little nostalgic for our amazing life in Dharamsala. Those two and a bit weeks remain my favourite of the trip so far. The people, the place, all came together for me - which is so rare - and whatever I have experienced since, no matter how fantastic it has been (and it has been fantastic), that time still seems a little magical to me.
Today, we got up a little earlier and headed out to meet Charlotte's friend Gabi, who we are travelling Indonesia with, at a shopping mall in town.
She came bearing gifts (well, one gift. One particular, very special gift).
A new pair of Topshop ballet flats. In my size. Exactly the colour I wanted.
Talk about an amazing first impression. I couldn't have been happier if she'd bought me a house.
I nearly cried I was so excited. I know how relieved you will all be, too - my shoe plight has (probably) been affecting your dreams/nightmares as much as it has mine. So you will be extremely reassured to know that the heartache is over, and I am in possession of a shiny (literally) new pair of flats, and I don't hate them, and it's all going to be okay.
Singapore is full of Western shops and we hit them pretty hard (though I only spent £20, so actually, I didn't hit them that hard. We did shop all day though). I bought things to replace broken things so I now have a basically functioning lot of clothes again, which is nice. Although my leggings are still broken beyond repair and I wasn't able to find a suitable replacement pair, so I will just go on wearing the broken ones, which doesn't seem skanky/trampy when you're travelling, it seems economically sensible. Charlotte left to get her hair done and Gabi and I carried on shopping, I bought some groceries for dinner and we went around the food hall pretending to be rich and looking like we might buy things so we got given lots of free tasters - perfect free afternoon snack.
I then headed back to Simon and Irene's in a cab, where I am now, and am about to start making dinner I think, even though Charlotte's not back, or it will start to get late. We are meeting Gabi at the airport tomorrow for our flight to Jakarta, and then our Indonesian adventure will begin!
I am three quarters of the way through my journey now and, much as I am enjoying it, I feel ready to come home. It has been hard being away for so long. By the time I get back, I won't have seen my dad for at least 6 months, and as a very close family that seems pretty absurdly long to be apart for. I oscillate, though, between longing for home and absolute certainty that once I have officially settled back in, I will long to be out here again, doing this, so I am trying to forget about the weariness and keep pushing on. Not that I am not enjoying travelling - of course I am, hugely so, and I am very aware of my good fortune to be in this position. I am just a little tired of packing up and putting on that backpack, of not being able to hide my greasy hair with dry shampoo, of wearing the same clothes, of constantly missing my friends and family, of figuring out new currencies, of figuring out new people. But all those things, apart from missing people, are negligible compared to all the absolutely incredible things about travelling. New places, new people, new experiences, the best and the worst in everything and everyone. Discovery and adventure and connecting. Beauty everywhere, challenging my traditional perception of the concept, the conceit of it. More laughter than I remember in a long time, and a new happiness and peace that I haven't experienced before. Those who knew me before will find me, on my return, a better person. I don't fool myself that I have made any great impact on the wider world through my journey (besides contributing in a minor way to the local economy, I suppose) - I haven't. But I have certainly changed myself a little.
School taught me that I wasn't anything special, that I will always be pretty average - not the cleverest, not the prettiest, not the most musical, the funniest, the most fashionable, not anything else in particular. University taught me that all of that is and will always be true. But travelling has taught me that all of that is probably still true, but that none of it matters. That it doesn't pay to compete with other people, even if they are trying to compete with you - it wastes time and energy and happiness. That all I can do is be the best person I can be, and that's enough, and that alone will make me a beautiful person. This lesson might seem pretty obvious to everyone else, written down it looks so dumb, but it really has taken me twenty one years of my life to realise that being perfect isn't about being skinny or having great hair or being really smart (though I do have great hair), it's about being the best you. I mean, not that I'm giving up makeup completely when I get home, obviously. I'm not going mad or anything. And I'm sure it's a lesson I won't always remember and some days I'll still wake up and hate every single outfit in my wardrobe and hate the fact that I don't look like Pixie Lott. But finally, I think the gist of it has kind of sunk in.
How introspective of me. I don't know why I went off on a self-righteous rant about beauty, I'm not sure where that came from. I apologise for any unintentional foray into an American teen drama with a life-lesson at the end that I may have made.
Whilst in Singapore I have managed to skype my mum, brother and dad, which has been amazing - first time I have talked to them in over a month I think. Emails just aren't the same and I can't wait to see them all again.
Plans for Indonesia include some diving, a moon party in Bali - half-moon, maybe - some orangutans and a volcanic crater. Not all at the same time, obviously. We have got three weeks, then a week in Sri Lanka and then home on July 2nd.
So into the last quarter of our trip we go, and we are still alive and well and happy, and acutely aware of how much we have to be thankful for. Good times.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Our last couple of days in Ko Tao were, of course, wonderful - I've already described the glory that was that beautiful island and all the fun things we did there. Nick and Rob turned up on our last afternoon, and we all went out for dinner, and sat around on the beach reminiscing about how far we have all come since the heady days of Dharamsala (which I now fondly pronounce Dharum-salahhhh, gap-yah style). It's both strange and brilliant to have made such close friends on our journey - we have spent over a month of our lives intensely together, so in a sense we know each other inside out. But with none of the history of our childhoods/adolescence, unless we choose to share or reveal it. This is the last we will see of them on our trip, as Rob heads home from Bangkok in a few days' time to start a new, exciting chapter of his life, and Nick heads onwards to do the Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia circuit, before flying out to Australia to live there for a little while. So while I will see Rob very soon in London I'm sure, it'll be a lot longer before we're all reunited. But when that day comes, it will, of course, be awesome.
Charlotte and I then headed by boat, another boat, bus and another bus to Phuket, where we spent the night before our flight to Singapore the next day. We were kindly met at the airport by the wonderful Simon, Irene and Robin, who we are staying with. We had a pretty chilled day, going for lunch by the seafront and a walk around the Botanic Gardens, before an amazing dinner of maccaroni cheese with broccoli and Ben and Jerrys ice cream. Those who have been travelling for a long time will understand the true luxury, no Eden-esque, implication of those food items. Last night, we had broccoli and stilton soup, complete with amazing fresh granary bread and real cheddar. Tonight, Charlotte and I are cooking - garlic chicken with roasted vegetables, pesto and goats' cheese. Guess who chose that menu and bought the groceries... A massive thank you to Simon and Irene (and Robin too, who has very kindly allowed us to totally take over his room for three nights and who has humoured my teacher-like requests to identify the difference in the narrative styles of J.K. Rowling and other authors with enthusiasm) who could not have been kinder or made us feel more welcome. It has been such a slice of home, and we now feel ready to pack our backpacks up again for the last quarter of our travels.
We went to the National Museum on Sunday, mainly because it was free. It was really excellent. We got out around 3.30 and there, waiting for us on the steps with an amazing sign, was the wonderful Kai! We met Kai back in March in Dharamsala, and since he is a Singapore native, we were fortunate enough to catch him at home. So we spent the afternoon together; Kai gave us a tour of some of the more amazing/ridiculous areas of Singapore down by the coast (a shopping centre with a dry ice rink and a river running through that you could boat on). It was so great to see Kai again, although it made us all a little nostalgic for our amazing life in Dharamsala. Those two and a bit weeks remain my favourite of the trip so far. The people, the place, all came together for me - which is so rare - and whatever I have experienced since, no matter how fantastic it has been (and it has been fantastic), that time still seems a little magical to me.
Today, we got up a little earlier and headed out to meet Charlotte's friend Gabi, who we are travelling Indonesia with, at a shopping mall in town.
She came bearing gifts (well, one gift. One particular, very special gift).
A new pair of Topshop ballet flats. In my size. Exactly the colour I wanted.
Talk about an amazing first impression. I couldn't have been happier if she'd bought me a house.
I nearly cried I was so excited. I know how relieved you will all be, too - my shoe plight has (probably) been affecting your dreams/nightmares as much as it has mine. So you will be extremely reassured to know that the heartache is over, and I am in possession of a shiny (literally) new pair of flats, and I don't hate them, and it's all going to be okay.
Singapore is full of Western shops and we hit them pretty hard (though I only spent £20, so actually, I didn't hit them that hard. We did shop all day though). I bought things to replace broken things so I now have a basically functioning lot of clothes again, which is nice. Although my leggings are still broken beyond repair and I wasn't able to find a suitable replacement pair, so I will just go on wearing the broken ones, which doesn't seem skanky/trampy when you're travelling, it seems economically sensible. Charlotte left to get her hair done and Gabi and I carried on shopping, I bought some groceries for dinner and we went around the food hall pretending to be rich and looking like we might buy things so we got given lots of free tasters - perfect free afternoon snack.
I then headed back to Simon and Irene's in a cab, where I am now, and am about to start making dinner I think, even though Charlotte's not back, or it will start to get late. We are meeting Gabi at the airport tomorrow for our flight to Jakarta, and then our Indonesian adventure will begin!
I am three quarters of the way through my journey now and, much as I am enjoying it, I feel ready to come home. It has been hard being away for so long. By the time I get back, I won't have seen my dad for at least 6 months, and as a very close family that seems pretty absurdly long to be apart for. I oscillate, though, between longing for home and absolute certainty that once I have officially settled back in, I will long to be out here again, doing this, so I am trying to forget about the weariness and keep pushing on. Not that I am not enjoying travelling - of course I am, hugely so, and I am very aware of my good fortune to be in this position. I am just a little tired of packing up and putting on that backpack, of not being able to hide my greasy hair with dry shampoo, of wearing the same clothes, of constantly missing my friends and family, of figuring out new currencies, of figuring out new people. But all those things, apart from missing people, are negligible compared to all the absolutely incredible things about travelling. New places, new people, new experiences, the best and the worst in everything and everyone. Discovery and adventure and connecting. Beauty everywhere, challenging my traditional perception of the concept, the conceit of it. More laughter than I remember in a long time, and a new happiness and peace that I haven't experienced before. Those who knew me before will find me, on my return, a better person. I don't fool myself that I have made any great impact on the wider world through my journey (besides contributing in a minor way to the local economy, I suppose) - I haven't. But I have certainly changed myself a little.
School taught me that I wasn't anything special, that I will always be pretty average - not the cleverest, not the prettiest, not the most musical, the funniest, the most fashionable, not anything else in particular. University taught me that all of that is and will always be true. But travelling has taught me that all of that is probably still true, but that none of it matters. That it doesn't pay to compete with other people, even if they are trying to compete with you - it wastes time and energy and happiness. That all I can do is be the best person I can be, and that's enough, and that alone will make me a beautiful person. This lesson might seem pretty obvious to everyone else, written down it looks so dumb, but it really has taken me twenty one years of my life to realise that being perfect isn't about being skinny or having great hair or being really smart (though I do have great hair), it's about being the best you. I mean, not that I'm giving up makeup completely when I get home, obviously. I'm not going mad or anything. And I'm sure it's a lesson I won't always remember and some days I'll still wake up and hate every single outfit in my wardrobe and hate the fact that I don't look like Pixie Lott. But finally, I think the gist of it has kind of sunk in.
How introspective of me. I don't know why I went off on a self-righteous rant about beauty, I'm not sure where that came from. I apologise for any unintentional foray into an American teen drama with a life-lesson at the end that I may have made.
Whilst in Singapore I have managed to skype my mum, brother and dad, which has been amazing - first time I have talked to them in over a month I think. Emails just aren't the same and I can't wait to see them all again.
Plans for Indonesia include some diving, a moon party in Bali - half-moon, maybe - some orangutans and a volcanic crater. Not all at the same time, obviously. We have got three weeks, then a week in Sri Lanka and then home on July 2nd.
So into the last quarter of our trip we go, and we are still alive and well and happy, and acutely aware of how much we have to be thankful for. Good times.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
There's No Town Like Ko Tao(n)
Sorry for the titles. They just keep getting lamer.
I have arrived safely in Ko Tao, and am very much enjoying this relatively peaceful little island despite all the eighteen year olds hanging out in their "I've been tubing in the Vang Vieng" t-shirts - well done, you got drunk on a river. Truly, that is a feat that merits a tacky tank top. Not that I am being superior about "I've done x/y/z" t-shirts as such, it's just that getting really lashed sitting in a tyre on a river seems like an odd thing to celebrate and proclaim from the rooftops via the medium of badly-made, badly-designed clothing. Maybe it's kind of a secret club, like Fight Club, and once you join and have your magic tank top, you truly grasp the significance and majesty of the thing. Maybe I am just a horrid lame cynic trashing on "GAP YAH"s' good times. But it seems pretty ridiculous to me.
But anyway, yes, Ko Tao is great. We are holed up in a quiet hostel called Lotus Mountain View that is not only cheaper than dorms, but far prettier, very close to the beach and away from the main drag.
I have been attending Hatha Yoga classes - two hours every morning - which has done wonders for my state of body and mind. It is something I will certainly continue when I come back home, partly because the instructor said I am a natural and everyone loves a compliment, and partly because it just leaves you feeling utterly zen and sensational and like a new, better person - a person that gets up in the morning and does yoga instead of lying in bed, resentful and hungover. I want to continue being that new person.
I also had a full-body massage today, and had my eyebrows done, drunk half a large carton of orange juice and read my book a bit.
Going back to work is going to be such a shock.
I am truly feeling at new levels of calm at the moment. Nothing bothers me (apart from those Vang Vieng tank tops I mentioned, but if there is going to be an exception to a rule it may as well be that one), everything is beautiful and brilliant. I think it must be the yoga. I think I'm turning into a hippy. I've suspected it for a while but I am forced to acknowledge now that I am basically hippified.
Nick arrives from Koh Phagnan tomorrow which will be great, so we will get to see him before we leave. We are going to book a speedboat to get to Phuket on Friday (exciting times) and then fly to Singapore Saturday morning, where we are very excited to see both Simon, Irene and Robin, and also Kai. And Gabi, of course, who is meeting us there so the three of us can fly to Indonesia together and continue our travels.
On a note which I know will sadden you all, my Topshop ballet flats breathed their final breath in Koh Samui. They were still technically holding together thanks to my sewing skills, but they smelt so bad and looked so rough that Rob pretty much wouldn't let me leave the island until I ditched them. And then we happened to find a pair of (not as good, obviously - I basically hate them, but only because they're not my lovely old flats) replacements, and I pretty much had to leave the gross ones behind. I nearly shed a tear.
Will update again at some point, not sure when - I like to keep you all guessing, ha. No, it's just that I don't know if I will update before we leave Thailand or not. I imagine I will, but if not, Thailand has been absolutely brilliant and yet again, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be travelling, how much my life has been enhanced and how open I now am to appreciating beauty in both places and people.
I am such a hippy.
Love to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I have arrived safely in Ko Tao, and am very much enjoying this relatively peaceful little island despite all the eighteen year olds hanging out in their "I've been tubing in the Vang Vieng" t-shirts - well done, you got drunk on a river. Truly, that is a feat that merits a tacky tank top. Not that I am being superior about "I've done x/y/z" t-shirts as such, it's just that getting really lashed sitting in a tyre on a river seems like an odd thing to celebrate and proclaim from the rooftops via the medium of badly-made, badly-designed clothing. Maybe it's kind of a secret club, like Fight Club, and once you join and have your magic tank top, you truly grasp the significance and majesty of the thing. Maybe I am just a horrid lame cynic trashing on "GAP YAH"s' good times. But it seems pretty ridiculous to me.
But anyway, yes, Ko Tao is great. We are holed up in a quiet hostel called Lotus Mountain View that is not only cheaper than dorms, but far prettier, very close to the beach and away from the main drag.
I have been attending Hatha Yoga classes - two hours every morning - which has done wonders for my state of body and mind. It is something I will certainly continue when I come back home, partly because the instructor said I am a natural and everyone loves a compliment, and partly because it just leaves you feeling utterly zen and sensational and like a new, better person - a person that gets up in the morning and does yoga instead of lying in bed, resentful and hungover. I want to continue being that new person.
I also had a full-body massage today, and had my eyebrows done, drunk half a large carton of orange juice and read my book a bit.
Going back to work is going to be such a shock.
I am truly feeling at new levels of calm at the moment. Nothing bothers me (apart from those Vang Vieng tank tops I mentioned, but if there is going to be an exception to a rule it may as well be that one), everything is beautiful and brilliant. I think it must be the yoga. I think I'm turning into a hippy. I've suspected it for a while but I am forced to acknowledge now that I am basically hippified.
Nick arrives from Koh Phagnan tomorrow which will be great, so we will get to see him before we leave. We are going to book a speedboat to get to Phuket on Friday (exciting times) and then fly to Singapore Saturday morning, where we are very excited to see both Simon, Irene and Robin, and also Kai. And Gabi, of course, who is meeting us there so the three of us can fly to Indonesia together and continue our travels.
On a note which I know will sadden you all, my Topshop ballet flats breathed their final breath in Koh Samui. They were still technically holding together thanks to my sewing skills, but they smelt so bad and looked so rough that Rob pretty much wouldn't let me leave the island until I ditched them. And then we happened to find a pair of (not as good, obviously - I basically hate them, but only because they're not my lovely old flats) replacements, and I pretty much had to leave the gross ones behind. I nearly shed a tear.
Will update again at some point, not sure when - I like to keep you all guessing, ha. No, it's just that I don't know if I will update before we leave Thailand or not. I imagine I will, but if not, Thailand has been absolutely brilliant and yet again, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be travelling, how much my life has been enhanced and how open I now am to appreciating beauty in both places and people.
I am such a hippy.
Love to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Monday, 23 May 2011
Thai-LAD
I contemplated calling this post "Samu-ee You Later" but then a part of me knew that this would be a pun too far, so I have settled for the more suitable, but still epic, "Thai-LAD" - a punder which we have been using to full advantage.
Our little foursome has finally split, with a possible one-night-only reunion on Thursday in Ko Tao. It's pretty sad, but we have had the best time.
Nick got out of hospital and is now completely and utterly fine, except for having to limit his alcohol consumption due to some pesky antibiotics. He is not missing Doris the Drip at all. We have had a really lovely few days just hanging out on Koh Samui together getting various bits and pieces done, doing lots of swimming and beach-ing and watching some sensational sunsets. There's a massive statue of Buddha which overlooks one of the beaches on the North East side of the island (where we are), and to see it every night framed against this incredible skyline which just bursts and explodes with reds and oranges in these shocking, dramatic patterns - it's really beautiful.
We have been relatively lucky with the weather, too, considering it's rainy season just about - it has been really, really, really hot. Did I mention it has been quite hot? I will just reiterate that it has been hot. There have also been some spectacular storms, though, which have considerably livened up our moped journeys home from wherever it is we've been going. I have forgotten what it's like to have dry hair, what with all the swimming and the storms, and my hair straighteners are currently lying dormant at the bottom of my bag, staring at me whenever I delve deep enough with big, accusatory "Why on Earth did you bother to bring me if you are not vain enough to use me?!" eyes. The sheer lack of time I spend on my appearance here is horrifying, in the best possible sense of the word. My morning routine at home is quick enough - I wouldn't describe myself as particularly over the top - but here it is literally clean teeth, take malaria medication on, put possibly-clean (but probably not) clothes on and go. 3 minutes, done. It's not exactly a standard I could keep to, for example, where employment is concerned, but not wearing make up is welcome relief to be honest.
We have had the hostel to ourselves for about three days now, and have used the opportunity to hold our own personal drum and bass rave in the foyer, drive a motorbike inside, cook a lot of really good food and make endless cups of tea (and rinse the free internet, of course).
Charlotte left early this morning to start a diving course on Ko Tao, while the boys and I went on a day-long kayaking trip around Anthong Marine Park. It was truly fabulous, we had one of the best days of my trip so far for sure. Nick and I made a moderately-successful kayaking-wise but highly successful fun-wise kayaking team, while Rob went solo, and we cruised about through lovely caves having the time of our lives. We went snorkelling, too, and saw some beautiful fish and marine life, and some far-less beautiful sea urchins which creeped us all out a bit. We then spent the afternoon jumping off the top of the boat, diving off the boat, swimming about, getting tanned and kayaking a bit more. To top it all off, we got photos of our faces put on plates - I'm not sure why, but this is Thailand so you just sort of have to go with it.
We have just gotten back to the hostel now. Nick and Rob are hitting golf balls off the roof (obviously), I am updating my blog, trying to find Charlotte's hostel so I can meet her there tomorrow, and keeping lookout for the hostel owners.
Tomorrow morning, I leave for Ko Tao to join Charlotte and try and scope out some options for diving, while Nick and Rob head to Koh Phagnan to go to the Half Moon Party. They arrive in Ko Tao hopefully on Thursday, so we may well all have one last night together before Charlotte and I leave for Phuket to catch our flight to Singapore, which will be very nice indeed.
And now I'm going to go and attack our pit of a dorm to see if I can actually find any of my things. I hate packing - not ideal for a traveller, but there we are.
Miss you, lots of love xxxxxxxxxx
Our little foursome has finally split, with a possible one-night-only reunion on Thursday in Ko Tao. It's pretty sad, but we have had the best time.
Nick got out of hospital and is now completely and utterly fine, except for having to limit his alcohol consumption due to some pesky antibiotics. He is not missing Doris the Drip at all. We have had a really lovely few days just hanging out on Koh Samui together getting various bits and pieces done, doing lots of swimming and beach-ing and watching some sensational sunsets. There's a massive statue of Buddha which overlooks one of the beaches on the North East side of the island (where we are), and to see it every night framed against this incredible skyline which just bursts and explodes with reds and oranges in these shocking, dramatic patterns - it's really beautiful.
We have been relatively lucky with the weather, too, considering it's rainy season just about - it has been really, really, really hot. Did I mention it has been quite hot? I will just reiterate that it has been hot. There have also been some spectacular storms, though, which have considerably livened up our moped journeys home from wherever it is we've been going. I have forgotten what it's like to have dry hair, what with all the swimming and the storms, and my hair straighteners are currently lying dormant at the bottom of my bag, staring at me whenever I delve deep enough with big, accusatory "Why on Earth did you bother to bring me if you are not vain enough to use me?!" eyes. The sheer lack of time I spend on my appearance here is horrifying, in the best possible sense of the word. My morning routine at home is quick enough - I wouldn't describe myself as particularly over the top - but here it is literally clean teeth, take malaria medication on, put possibly-clean (but probably not) clothes on and go. 3 minutes, done. It's not exactly a standard I could keep to, for example, where employment is concerned, but not wearing make up is welcome relief to be honest.
We have had the hostel to ourselves for about three days now, and have used the opportunity to hold our own personal drum and bass rave in the foyer, drive a motorbike inside, cook a lot of really good food and make endless cups of tea (and rinse the free internet, of course).
Charlotte left early this morning to start a diving course on Ko Tao, while the boys and I went on a day-long kayaking trip around Anthong Marine Park. It was truly fabulous, we had one of the best days of my trip so far for sure. Nick and I made a moderately-successful kayaking-wise but highly successful fun-wise kayaking team, while Rob went solo, and we cruised about through lovely caves having the time of our lives. We went snorkelling, too, and saw some beautiful fish and marine life, and some far-less beautiful sea urchins which creeped us all out a bit. We then spent the afternoon jumping off the top of the boat, diving off the boat, swimming about, getting tanned and kayaking a bit more. To top it all off, we got photos of our faces put on plates - I'm not sure why, but this is Thailand so you just sort of have to go with it.
We have just gotten back to the hostel now. Nick and Rob are hitting golf balls off the roof (obviously), I am updating my blog, trying to find Charlotte's hostel so I can meet her there tomorrow, and keeping lookout for the hostel owners.
Tomorrow morning, I leave for Ko Tao to join Charlotte and try and scope out some options for diving, while Nick and Rob head to Koh Phagnan to go to the Half Moon Party. They arrive in Ko Tao hopefully on Thursday, so we may well all have one last night together before Charlotte and I leave for Phuket to catch our flight to Singapore, which will be very nice indeed.
And now I'm going to go and attack our pit of a dorm to see if I can actually find any of my things. I hate packing - not ideal for a traveller, but there we are.
Miss you, lots of love xxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Empty Moon Party
Here we are in Koh Samui! It was a bit of an epic journey down, bus after bus after bus after ferry after incompetent taxi. But we did eventually make it, via a nice day in Bangkok where Rob and I did some casual shopping and I got my hair done (for a fifth of the price it would be in England... result. It took so long that Rob fell asleep in the hair salon, though) and Nick and Charlotte peeled off and went to this incredibly massive, stressful mall. So it's safe to say that Rob and I had a rather more zen bus journey than poor Nick and Charlotte after their stressful day (all of us, though, were aided by some very powerful Thai sleeping pills - probably illegal in 72 countries, for all the "Anchorman" fans).
We made it to our hostel, "Monkey Samui", and it is such a nice place, a bit removed from the main town so we have been whizzing about on the mopeds to get back and forth which has given us a lot more freedom and is so much cheaper. (Don't worry dad, we are being VERY safe, promise - Rob is driving so it's fine, I literally just have to sit still) We were so very excited for Full Moon, we were building it into this epic night, we were going to pre-drink, there was going to be fun and laughter.
So of course it all went wrong. Although this time, I wasn't the one injured.
Poor Nick had swollen feet ("cankles", as we fondly nicknamed them) for the duration of the journey. He and Char headed to the hospital to figure out what was wrong; turns out he had a pretty serious infection, and having gone into hospital on the 17th, he will be there for a while - probably until the 21st. He is completely fine, and doing well (he has nicknamed his drip "Doris"), but of course we felt very wrong going to Full Moon without him. So instead, I made a little moon out of paper and stuck it up in the room, we decorated, got the beers and snacks in and had our own little Full Moon party in his hospital room, complete with a movie starring Keira Knightley (that's when you know you're on to a winner of a party...). We were all obviously gutted, but it felt all wrong to even contemplate going without a member of our lovely foursome, so we stuck it out together and talked about all the fun we would have when he gets out.
Char stayed in the hospital the last couple of nights including Full Moon, so Rob and I whizzed back to the hostel after reading Nick a bedtime story (literally - I wrote him a story about a horse called Pete and a miserable seal, and a lizard named Lash Gordon) via a fabulous lightning storm on the beach. We actually ended up having a really wonderful night, the four of us, so while we were obviously disappointed to miss out on the best party EVAR, we are consoling ourselves with the thought that at least we all missed out. And I wasn't too jealous when we got up this morning and saw everyone that had gone to Full Moon looking very much the worse for wear.
Today, Rob and I went for breakfast before popping into the hospital to see Nick and Charlotte. Charlotte, Rob and I went to the beach, which was stunning, and saw a pretty spectacular sunset, then Charlotte and I headed to Tesco and bought cooking supplies, while Rob spent the evening with Nick in the hospital. Char and I are just chilling out now after a dinner of pasta, apples and green tea, feeling very pleased with ourselves and the world in general. We are happy people in a beautiful place with lovely friends - good thai-mes.
We don't have plans for tomorrow - we've stopped making plans by this point, really. We will head to Koh Tao for diving eventually, when Nick is better.
But until then, I guess we will just keep on eating pasta and 7-11 ham and cheese toasties (which are glorious, by the way, and only 20p), going to the beach, and vaguely contemplating the meaning of life.
Sorry for being so rubbish at replying to emails and messages. I have just been having too much fun to be on the internet to be honest. I am updating this blog not only with a sense of love and appreciation for you all, but also now with a strong sense of duty because I have realised that you might genuinely have all thought I was dead or constantly drunk - neither of which, in the case of the latter perhaps unfortunately, are the case. I am still alive and, for the most part, sober. Although I had a very strong mojito on the beach earlier.
Miss you all, lots of love, xxxxxxxxxxxx <3
We made it to our hostel, "Monkey Samui", and it is such a nice place, a bit removed from the main town so we have been whizzing about on the mopeds to get back and forth which has given us a lot more freedom and is so much cheaper. (Don't worry dad, we are being VERY safe, promise - Rob is driving so it's fine, I literally just have to sit still) We were so very excited for Full Moon, we were building it into this epic night, we were going to pre-drink, there was going to be fun and laughter.
So of course it all went wrong. Although this time, I wasn't the one injured.
Poor Nick had swollen feet ("cankles", as we fondly nicknamed them) for the duration of the journey. He and Char headed to the hospital to figure out what was wrong; turns out he had a pretty serious infection, and having gone into hospital on the 17th, he will be there for a while - probably until the 21st. He is completely fine, and doing well (he has nicknamed his drip "Doris"), but of course we felt very wrong going to Full Moon without him. So instead, I made a little moon out of paper and stuck it up in the room, we decorated, got the beers and snacks in and had our own little Full Moon party in his hospital room, complete with a movie starring Keira Knightley (that's when you know you're on to a winner of a party...). We were all obviously gutted, but it felt all wrong to even contemplate going without a member of our lovely foursome, so we stuck it out together and talked about all the fun we would have when he gets out.
Char stayed in the hospital the last couple of nights including Full Moon, so Rob and I whizzed back to the hostel after reading Nick a bedtime story (literally - I wrote him a story about a horse called Pete and a miserable seal, and a lizard named Lash Gordon) via a fabulous lightning storm on the beach. We actually ended up having a really wonderful night, the four of us, so while we were obviously disappointed to miss out on the best party EVAR, we are consoling ourselves with the thought that at least we all missed out. And I wasn't too jealous when we got up this morning and saw everyone that had gone to Full Moon looking very much the worse for wear.
Today, Rob and I went for breakfast before popping into the hospital to see Nick and Charlotte. Charlotte, Rob and I went to the beach, which was stunning, and saw a pretty spectacular sunset, then Charlotte and I headed to Tesco and bought cooking supplies, while Rob spent the evening with Nick in the hospital. Char and I are just chilling out now after a dinner of pasta, apples and green tea, feeling very pleased with ourselves and the world in general. We are happy people in a beautiful place with lovely friends - good thai-mes.
We don't have plans for tomorrow - we've stopped making plans by this point, really. We will head to Koh Tao for diving eventually, when Nick is better.
But until then, I guess we will just keep on eating pasta and 7-11 ham and cheese toasties (which are glorious, by the way, and only 20p), going to the beach, and vaguely contemplating the meaning of life.
Sorry for being so rubbish at replying to emails and messages. I have just been having too much fun to be on the internet to be honest. I am updating this blog not only with a sense of love and appreciation for you all, but also now with a strong sense of duty because I have realised that you might genuinely have all thought I was dead or constantly drunk - neither of which, in the case of the latter perhaps unfortunately, are the case. I am still alive and, for the most part, sober. Although I had a very strong mojito on the beach earlier.
Miss you all, lots of love, xxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Good Thai-mes
Another brief one I'm afraid -
Arrived in Thailand safely, met Nick and Rob - absolutely wonderful to see them again. What legends.
The four of us did a full-day Thai cooking course today. It's safe to say that Nicholad Worman, Charlotte "Michelin" Arthur, Rob "Legend" Coltman and Amy "Lash Gordon" Kinross [the names on our official certificates] are now bona fide Thai food experts. And also really, really full.
We're heading out on the mopeds to see some temples tomorrow before we leave Chiang Mai and head South for another epic bus journey (36 hours, charming) to Koh Samui, to get to Koh Phagnan in time for Full Moon.
So don't be surprised if I'm out of touch for a little while - I'm definitely not dead.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Arrived in Thailand safely, met Nick and Rob - absolutely wonderful to see them again. What legends.
The four of us did a full-day Thai cooking course today. It's safe to say that Nicholad Worman, Charlotte "Michelin" Arthur, Rob "Legend" Coltman and Amy "Lash Gordon" Kinross [the names on our official certificates] are now bona fide Thai food experts. And also really, really full.
We're heading out on the mopeds to see some temples tomorrow before we leave Chiang Mai and head South for another epic bus journey (36 hours, charming) to Koh Samui, to get to Koh Phagnan in time for Full Moon.
So don't be surprised if I'm out of touch for a little while - I'm definitely not dead.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Goodnight Saigon
Actually, technically we are flying out of Hanoi. I thought that was a snappier title.
But anyway - just a very brief update today (so brief it will be almost grammatically incorrect... hideous).
We had a fabulous time in Nha Trang, had some ridiculous nights out, including meeting Charlotte's friends from fundraising, Mark and Eden, and their friend Owen, and ending up dancing at a sailing club after enjoying (or not enjoying, in Charlotte and my case - it was too soon...) an Indian meal.
We then headed on a ridiculous whirlwind of buses to race up to Hanoi in time for our flight. I never want to see a Sleeper Bus again, or endure another fascist midnight dinner stop.
Arrived in Hanoi, and loving it - like a crazy Asian Paris. Did an excellent tour of Halong Bay today which was really beautiful, and Charlotte and I made the perfect kayaking duo.
Flight tomorrow to Chiang Mai via Bangkok where we will be met by the lovely Nick and Rob (from Dharamsala days back in India), and then we will all travel together for about two and a half weeks until our Singapore flight.
Exciting times, basically!
What is not exciting times is how obscenely early our flight leaves tomorrow morning... Bad times.
Sorry for ridiculously short (and unamusing) update, I am just trying to fit everything in before we depart yet another country!
We will miss Vietnam. I wish I had done it justice and posted more about it. We will be back.
Miss you all, love as always xxxxxxxxxxxx
But anyway - just a very brief update today (so brief it will be almost grammatically incorrect... hideous).
We had a fabulous time in Nha Trang, had some ridiculous nights out, including meeting Charlotte's friends from fundraising, Mark and Eden, and their friend Owen, and ending up dancing at a sailing club after enjoying (or not enjoying, in Charlotte and my case - it was too soon...) an Indian meal.
We then headed on a ridiculous whirlwind of buses to race up to Hanoi in time for our flight. I never want to see a Sleeper Bus again, or endure another fascist midnight dinner stop.
Arrived in Hanoi, and loving it - like a crazy Asian Paris. Did an excellent tour of Halong Bay today which was really beautiful, and Charlotte and I made the perfect kayaking duo.
Flight tomorrow to Chiang Mai via Bangkok where we will be met by the lovely Nick and Rob (from Dharamsala days back in India), and then we will all travel together for about two and a half weeks until our Singapore flight.
Exciting times, basically!
What is not exciting times is how obscenely early our flight leaves tomorrow morning... Bad times.
Sorry for ridiculously short (and unamusing) update, I am just trying to fit everything in before we depart yet another country!
We will miss Vietnam. I wish I had done it justice and posted more about it. We will be back.
Miss you all, love as always xxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Mui Ne/Nha Trang
Here I am sitting in an internet cafe with a Spanish girl yelling at her boyfriend on Skype in one ear (he is showing her his bedroom - maybe he isn't keeping it tidy enough...?!) and a Chinese man playing computer games at top volume on the other. Children run up and down unplugging wires at random... welcome to Nha Trang.
Mui Ne turned out to be utterly sensational - and that's not just in retrospect. I really did end up having the best time, as so often happens when you expect to have the worst time of your life. Once I got over myself and stopped letting my toe depress me, we made some really excellent friends and some pretty amazing memories. One night I ended up being pushed into a swimming pool wearing a full-on silk dress and holding a watermelon martini... very "Great Gatsby". One night, we sat out on beanbags on the beach and watched the stars before having a night-time swim. On our last night, we stayed up all night playing drinking games at a 24 hour bar and then went for a sunrise swim, which was just the most incredible thing ever. The way the mist and the light combined into something ethereal and Sublime in the purest, Wordsworth-style Romantic form of the word, was really something that will stay with me forever. I can't properly describe it because this angry Spanish girl is really distracting, but rest assured it was stunning. Unfortunately none of us took any pictures, but it is imprinted on our minds forever.
So I was really sad to leave Mui Ne - gutted, actually, by the end. Thanks to Igor, Mark, Brody, Andy, Katie, Lewis, Jamie, Adam and Claire (and those Russian girls who were really nice but whose names I can't pronounce or spell) for all the good times. There were many and I will never forget them.
Our bus journey to Nha Trang was very hairy indeed. Our bus driver was an absolute subscriber to the Indian school of driving, which is essentially "Do whatever you want, but hoot before, during and after". So although we had stayed up all night, because of the constant horn-hooting action neither Charlotte nor I could sleep, which meant that we had to stay awake and wince every so often as he nearly ran another road user over. I did point out that if he didn't drive down the middle of the road, he wouldn't have to hoot his bloody horn so much, but that obviously wasn't well-received. In fact, I was nearly left behind at one of the toilet stops... charming. I was only offering some constructive criticism.
We did eventually get there, although I left my book on the bus - I'm sure everyone will sympathise with what a tragedy it is when you are genuinely really interested in a book and then are forced to stop halfway-through. I am about to go and look up the rest of the plot on wikipedia actually because I can't take the not knowing - it's that that hurts the most. I did have a genuine moment of petulant sorrow actually - it was an excellent book and I mourn its loss. I really have to start that Arab history book now.
We have had a good few days in Nha Trang so far. Compared to the quiet, seaside idyll that was Mui Ne, Nha Trang is seedy and crazy - more like a chilled, beachside version of Bangkok.
Just so you all know, (I feel like I have to share because I'm in this internet cafe alone so there's no one else to tell except everyone who reads this, and really, I am not a nosy person but I am looking on in disbelief) the Spanish guy has just lifted up his top to show his girlfriend how fat he is getting, and she is looking very disapproving. I am struggling not to laugh.
Anyway yes, Nha Trang is good. It's pretty unpleasant at night, a bit sinister, but a nice place in the day and there is plenty to do when we choose to get round to it (right now, we are sleeping off our last few nights in Mui Ne still so haven't ventured out too late into the night). Plans for the next couple of days involve museums and beaches and cocktails, and then Charlotte's friends are coming to join us for a bit which will be lovely. Then we head up the coast (via Hoi Ann and Hue) relatively rapidly because our Thailand flight is on the 11th May and to be honest, we haven't as such got very far yet... we were supposed to be in Hue right now, I think, according to our vague original itinerary - but itineraries are made to be broken, after all. Charlotte and I have got this brilliant unofficial arrangement now where, because I have a tendancy to be really organisational and militant about booking transport and getting hostels ("we need to do this... if we don't do this we will have nowhere to go/stay/eat/etc.") and she is far more chilled, I am allowed to provide gentle reminders but they must be phrased in a way that doesn't make it an obligation (i.e., instead of "we need to do this", it becomes "if we feel like it today/if we have a minute, we could possibly do this..."). So our lives have become far more relaxed as a result, which is very nice indeed, and I am learning that obligations are boring, which I feel will stand me in really good stead back in the real world actually because, let's face it, obligations when you're 21 generally are quite boring, and I should recognise this and have fewer of them.
I am more than halfway through my travels now. This both devastates me, and devastates me a little bit more. It's all going to fly by, and I'm not sure I want that to happen at all, much as I am missing home. Talking of missing home - the Royal Wedding... ahh. How proud Charlotte and I were to be British. I had a big mug of tea (served in a pint glass?!) straight afterwards. The boys ruined it by chatting about how fit our new Queen-to-be is, but I had a tear in my eye at the romance and beauty and pageantry of the occasion. (William's outfit was rubbish, though.)
Anyway, I am very bored of this Spanish girl prattling on, so I am going to stop here and go and meet Charlotte so we can eat Pringles and watch some Vietnamese TV that we don't understand. (It wouldn't be as good if we understood it, though.)
Miss you all very much, loads of love
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Mui Ne turned out to be utterly sensational - and that's not just in retrospect. I really did end up having the best time, as so often happens when you expect to have the worst time of your life. Once I got over myself and stopped letting my toe depress me, we made some really excellent friends and some pretty amazing memories. One night I ended up being pushed into a swimming pool wearing a full-on silk dress and holding a watermelon martini... very "Great Gatsby". One night, we sat out on beanbags on the beach and watched the stars before having a night-time swim. On our last night, we stayed up all night playing drinking games at a 24 hour bar and then went for a sunrise swim, which was just the most incredible thing ever. The way the mist and the light combined into something ethereal and Sublime in the purest, Wordsworth-style Romantic form of the word, was really something that will stay with me forever. I can't properly describe it because this angry Spanish girl is really distracting, but rest assured it was stunning. Unfortunately none of us took any pictures, but it is imprinted on our minds forever.
So I was really sad to leave Mui Ne - gutted, actually, by the end. Thanks to Igor, Mark, Brody, Andy, Katie, Lewis, Jamie, Adam and Claire (and those Russian girls who were really nice but whose names I can't pronounce or spell) for all the good times. There were many and I will never forget them.
Our bus journey to Nha Trang was very hairy indeed. Our bus driver was an absolute subscriber to the Indian school of driving, which is essentially "Do whatever you want, but hoot before, during and after". So although we had stayed up all night, because of the constant horn-hooting action neither Charlotte nor I could sleep, which meant that we had to stay awake and wince every so often as he nearly ran another road user over. I did point out that if he didn't drive down the middle of the road, he wouldn't have to hoot his bloody horn so much, but that obviously wasn't well-received. In fact, I was nearly left behind at one of the toilet stops... charming. I was only offering some constructive criticism.
We did eventually get there, although I left my book on the bus - I'm sure everyone will sympathise with what a tragedy it is when you are genuinely really interested in a book and then are forced to stop halfway-through. I am about to go and look up the rest of the plot on wikipedia actually because I can't take the not knowing - it's that that hurts the most. I did have a genuine moment of petulant sorrow actually - it was an excellent book and I mourn its loss. I really have to start that Arab history book now.
We have had a good few days in Nha Trang so far. Compared to the quiet, seaside idyll that was Mui Ne, Nha Trang is seedy and crazy - more like a chilled, beachside version of Bangkok.
Just so you all know, (I feel like I have to share because I'm in this internet cafe alone so there's no one else to tell except everyone who reads this, and really, I am not a nosy person but I am looking on in disbelief) the Spanish guy has just lifted up his top to show his girlfriend how fat he is getting, and she is looking very disapproving. I am struggling not to laugh.
Anyway yes, Nha Trang is good. It's pretty unpleasant at night, a bit sinister, but a nice place in the day and there is plenty to do when we choose to get round to it (right now, we are sleeping off our last few nights in Mui Ne still so haven't ventured out too late into the night). Plans for the next couple of days involve museums and beaches and cocktails, and then Charlotte's friends are coming to join us for a bit which will be lovely. Then we head up the coast (via Hoi Ann and Hue) relatively rapidly because our Thailand flight is on the 11th May and to be honest, we haven't as such got very far yet... we were supposed to be in Hue right now, I think, according to our vague original itinerary - but itineraries are made to be broken, after all. Charlotte and I have got this brilliant unofficial arrangement now where, because I have a tendancy to be really organisational and militant about booking transport and getting hostels ("we need to do this... if we don't do this we will have nowhere to go/stay/eat/etc.") and she is far more chilled, I am allowed to provide gentle reminders but they must be phrased in a way that doesn't make it an obligation (i.e., instead of "we need to do this", it becomes "if we feel like it today/if we have a minute, we could possibly do this..."). So our lives have become far more relaxed as a result, which is very nice indeed, and I am learning that obligations are boring, which I feel will stand me in really good stead back in the real world actually because, let's face it, obligations when you're 21 generally are quite boring, and I should recognise this and have fewer of them.
I am more than halfway through my travels now. This both devastates me, and devastates me a little bit more. It's all going to fly by, and I'm not sure I want that to happen at all, much as I am missing home. Talking of missing home - the Royal Wedding... ahh. How proud Charlotte and I were to be British. I had a big mug of tea (served in a pint glass?!) straight afterwards. The boys ruined it by chatting about how fit our new Queen-to-be is, but I had a tear in my eye at the romance and beauty and pageantry of the occasion. (William's outfit was rubbish, though.)
Anyway, I am very bored of this Spanish girl prattling on, so I am going to stop here and go and meet Charlotte so we can eat Pringles and watch some Vietnamese TV that we don't understand. (It wouldn't be as good if we understood it, though.)
Miss you all very much, loads of love
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Mui Ne
Just a quick one today as I have genuinely spent more on internet time in the last hour and a half than I have on tonight's room, and that doesn't seem right.
We loved Ho Chi Minh with a passion, had a whirlwind few days there (including an Easter roast dinner in an Irish bar next to the most hilariously awkward couple ever - Charlotte and I spent most of our meal making "awkward turtle" signs at each other across the table) and were sad to leave. Now, after catching an amazing sleeper bus with actual beds (that stopped at 12 midnight, turned the lights on and forced us all out of the bus to have dinner - a gesture of bus fascism up almost to Indian levels) we are in the small windsurfing and kitesurfing town of Mui Ne. I can neither windsurf nor kitesurf, due to aforementioned ridiculous toe injury, so there is not much for me here, but Charlotte is loving the watersports and I am inhaling insipid detective novels from the hostel's book exchange shelf so in some small way we are both moving toward our life goals. Or not. The hostel makes wonderful chocolate brownies which I am having to picture in my head rather than eat because of aforementioned ridiculous toe injury (I sense this may become a theme of this post as well as of the trip).
I haven't achieved or done anything here that is worthy of being included in a blog entry (and, since I have previously blogged about crossing the road, that really does literally mean I have done nothing). The lovely hostel people bring me fresh ice for my foot and I sit around and feel jealous and bored. I am trying not to, but it is inevitable I suppose. I am writing prolifically (and badly, but since no one will ever see, that's fine).
I will update again either in the next town (Nha Trang), which we won't get to for a while I don't think, or if something actually happens here.
Obviously after recent events at home, I am homesick and feeling very far away. Thinking about chocolate brownies can't solve that.
Miss you all, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We loved Ho Chi Minh with a passion, had a whirlwind few days there (including an Easter roast dinner in an Irish bar next to the most hilariously awkward couple ever - Charlotte and I spent most of our meal making "awkward turtle" signs at each other across the table) and were sad to leave. Now, after catching an amazing sleeper bus with actual beds (that stopped at 12 midnight, turned the lights on and forced us all out of the bus to have dinner - a gesture of bus fascism up almost to Indian levels) we are in the small windsurfing and kitesurfing town of Mui Ne. I can neither windsurf nor kitesurf, due to aforementioned ridiculous toe injury, so there is not much for me here, but Charlotte is loving the watersports and I am inhaling insipid detective novels from the hostel's book exchange shelf so in some small way we are both moving toward our life goals. Or not. The hostel makes wonderful chocolate brownies which I am having to picture in my head rather than eat because of aforementioned ridiculous toe injury (I sense this may become a theme of this post as well as of the trip).
I haven't achieved or done anything here that is worthy of being included in a blog entry (and, since I have previously blogged about crossing the road, that really does literally mean I have done nothing). The lovely hostel people bring me fresh ice for my foot and I sit around and feel jealous and bored. I am trying not to, but it is inevitable I suppose. I am writing prolifically (and badly, but since no one will ever see, that's fine).
I will update again either in the next town (Nha Trang), which we won't get to for a while I don't think, or if something actually happens here.
Obviously after recent events at home, I am homesick and feeling very far away. Thinking about chocolate brownies can't solve that.
Miss you all, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Friday, 22 April 2011
Ho (Chi Minh)
I am Vietnam sitting at my hostel keyboard and there is a cat fighting with me for control, so please excuse any errant typos. It's the cat's fault.
We got the bus from Phnom Phen this morning and crossed the border which was incredibly (disappointingly?) easy and painless (well, apart from general toe pain). I was sort of expecting a ridiculously covert and spy-style border system where everyone was scrutinised closely for weapons/Facebook-accessing materials (Facebook is supposedly banned in Vietnam, although I have been able to access it fine here in Ho Chi Minh, but then it's a big city so maybe that's why). Actually, you sort of just walked (in my case, hop/shuffled) through and they smiled at you. Not what I expected from "The Socialist Republic of Vietnam" at all - I was very caught off guard.
So we tipped up in Ho Chi Minh about 2pm and sauntered (in my case, hop/shuffled - far less elegant) around until we found a really lovely hostel with friendly people and nice rooms and free internet (no free breakfast, but free bananas so that'll do). We sort of decamped and faffed about for a bit and then went for a wander. I gave some laundry into the hostel and as they were taking it I saw a sign for shoe-mending and thought immediately of my trusty Topshop ballet flats which are, unsurprisingly after the various mountaineering-style journeys I have put them through, looking a little the worse for wear. I have already sewed them up once myself but thought the hostel might do a better job, so gave them into be mended. Imagine my surprise when the hostel owner put them straight in the bin! My look of confusion must have said it all and she, very embarrassed, picked them out again and dusted them off and put them in the mending pile (it could have been the laundry pile actually, who knows - either way, they will come back clean or fixed or both and won't be thrown out with the rubbish...). I was both very upset and very pleased because it really was funny. Although it would have been less funny if I hadn't noticed her putting them in the bin. There are many things in Ho Chi Minh, but not Topshop... yet.
Ho Chi Minh is brilliant. It is so much more of a 24 hour city than Phnom Phen, and it is incredibly cosmopolitan and diverse. There are plenty of backpackers absolutely everywhere which is really nice, and the area we are staying in, District 1, is great because it's so central for everything. We wandered about taking in the bright lights of KFC and Pizza Hut (but not going inside because it's gross), getting increasingly good at crossing the ridiculous roads where thousands of motorbikes come at you so fast (like Jaws in "Jaws", or "Jaws 2") - we actually came up with a really efficient tactic which is use a local person as a human shield as they generally know what they're doing road-crossing-wise. So we just sort of let them take the lead and shadow them very closely and it's worked out really well for us (and no worse for them) so far.
We went for dinner and a few drinks but have had a relatively quiet one tonight, as we're getting up early to do a tour of the tunnels the Vietnamese used in the war, and to go to the War Remnants Museum tomorrow. What a cheerful day ahead. What with that and my toe it's a wonder I am not more depressed. Talking of my toe, I made a hilarious and very expensive trip to the pharmacy earlier to buy everything I could ever need, I nearly bought a wheelchair - it was very tempting but my budget wasn't up to it. I was close, though.
Miss you all very much xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We got the bus from Phnom Phen this morning and crossed the border which was incredibly (disappointingly?) easy and painless (well, apart from general toe pain). I was sort of expecting a ridiculously covert and spy-style border system where everyone was scrutinised closely for weapons/Facebook-accessing materials (Facebook is supposedly banned in Vietnam, although I have been able to access it fine here in Ho Chi Minh, but then it's a big city so maybe that's why). Actually, you sort of just walked (in my case, hop/shuffled) through and they smiled at you. Not what I expected from "The Socialist Republic of Vietnam" at all - I was very caught off guard.
So we tipped up in Ho Chi Minh about 2pm and sauntered (in my case, hop/shuffled - far less elegant) around until we found a really lovely hostel with friendly people and nice rooms and free internet (no free breakfast, but free bananas so that'll do). We sort of decamped and faffed about for a bit and then went for a wander. I gave some laundry into the hostel and as they were taking it I saw a sign for shoe-mending and thought immediately of my trusty Topshop ballet flats which are, unsurprisingly after the various mountaineering-style journeys I have put them through, looking a little the worse for wear. I have already sewed them up once myself but thought the hostel might do a better job, so gave them into be mended. Imagine my surprise when the hostel owner put them straight in the bin! My look of confusion must have said it all and she, very embarrassed, picked them out again and dusted them off and put them in the mending pile (it could have been the laundry pile actually, who knows - either way, they will come back clean or fixed or both and won't be thrown out with the rubbish...). I was both very upset and very pleased because it really was funny. Although it would have been less funny if I hadn't noticed her putting them in the bin. There are many things in Ho Chi Minh, but not Topshop... yet.
Ho Chi Minh is brilliant. It is so much more of a 24 hour city than Phnom Phen, and it is incredibly cosmopolitan and diverse. There are plenty of backpackers absolutely everywhere which is really nice, and the area we are staying in, District 1, is great because it's so central for everything. We wandered about taking in the bright lights of KFC and Pizza Hut (but not going inside because it's gross), getting increasingly good at crossing the ridiculous roads where thousands of motorbikes come at you so fast (like Jaws in "Jaws", or "Jaws 2") - we actually came up with a really efficient tactic which is use a local person as a human shield as they generally know what they're doing road-crossing-wise. So we just sort of let them take the lead and shadow them very closely and it's worked out really well for us (and no worse for them) so far.
We went for dinner and a few drinks but have had a relatively quiet one tonight, as we're getting up early to do a tour of the tunnels the Vietnamese used in the war, and to go to the War Remnants Museum tomorrow. What a cheerful day ahead. What with that and my toe it's a wonder I am not more depressed. Talking of my toe, I made a hilarious and very expensive trip to the pharmacy earlier to buy everything I could ever need, I nearly bought a wheelchair - it was very tempting but my budget wasn't up to it. I was close, though.
Miss you all very much xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Kambodscha
Wow, what a ridiculous length of time without an update. And yet, this is the first time I've sat down at a computer for well over a week. Stealing people's wifi is ruthlessly efficient but not as such conducive to posting informative blog entries.
I think that last time I posted I had just been to S-21 - to be honest, the trauma of that remains with Charlotte and I and still visits us in our nightmares occasionally, but moving on. That night we ended up having a totally ridiculous night out in Siem Reap meeting fellow very fun travellers, having our feet eaten by fishes (for exfoliation purposes apparently?! My feet were certainly exfoliated afterwards to be fair), drinking buckets of various cocktails at the best named bar in Siem Reap, "Angkor What?!" (we spent most of our time there shouting the name at each other loudly and drunkenly, and playing air guitar with our new friends) - they lured us in with the promise of free t-shirts, and to be fair mine has been very useful indeed as I stupidly threw out my other t-shirt in Dharamsala when I felt like I'd never feel warm again, forgetting that Asia is, generally, quite warm. We headed on, ill-advisedly, to another bar and then wandered round a bit, and a bit more, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure how this happened but we absolutely ended up on our 6am bus the next morning still drunk and without having slept. That was a tricky journey to say the least but it served us right for choosing such a ridiculous night to go out drinking - not that we regret it, to be fair. And thus began our journey up north into the Cambodian jungle.
We stayed a night in a pretty town called Kampong Cham, where the Mekong is at its widest. The next day we caught another bus to Stung Treng, which is a bit of a nothing town to be honest - nothing to see and nothing to do besides some reclusive dolphins - and after a lot of travelling for many hours on hot, sweaty buses we were not feeling our best and were a bit cross and out of sorts. The next day we headed even further north, up to Ratankiri, which was the end point of our journey, into a town called Ban Lung. We met two really nice British girls on the bus and headed off to the same hostel as them, called Lakeview, which was, somewhat unsurprisingly, by a lake.
And that's kind of where we stayed for a week, for Khmer New Year. After so much travelling we were pleased to put down roots in somewhere so pretty with nice people for a well-earned break. Ban Lung is really remote and beautiful and calm, there aren't even any taxis. We trekked through the jungle with the two British girls, Maddy and Caitlin, and three others so we had a really big fun trekking party. It was both incredible and incredibly hot, and since my only clean clothes were my free "Angkor What?!" bar t-shirt and my red miniskirt I ended up trekking for two days through increasingly wild landscape looking a bit like I was going clubbing, but at least I had my trainers so it was fine. And my tan is constantly improving.
We got back from trekking and had a couple of days free to hang out in Ban Lung and recuperate. Instead of using the first day for recuperation purposes, I of course used it to have another travelling accident (add it to the list after the rabies - which I am now officially immune from by the way, I have the doctor's report and everything. Good times) by violently slamming my toe in the door and breaking it. Not that I have been to the hospital but the incredibly ridiculous swelling and sticky-up bone (mmm nice) is kind of a clue. That was a pretty hideous couple of days in the end because all I could do was rest and be increasingly bored and jealous at the thought of fun people doing fun things while I hobbled about like a retard. We did move hostel to the most amazing treehouse eco lodge place with the best view ever (and let me tell you, I had a LOT of time to appreciate it... argh stupid toe) and puppies running around constantly which really cheered me up except, since there are no taxis, I had to hobble half an hour with my big bag. But it was ok and I am making the best of it and staying positive. Yes, my toe is stopping me from doing stuff now, but it's not a serious break, the swelling has already gone down soo much, so if I am sensible now and keep it bandaged (thank you Charlotte's First Aid Course) and don't try and do too much, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to go trekking again maybe at the end of Vietnam or something in about three weeks. (That is what I am telling myself to stay positive positive positive). And in the meantime I am needing less and less strong painkillers and hobbling a little bit less like a retard every day. Good times.
Yesterday we caught a ridiculously long, hot bus back to Phnom Phen to put in our Vietnam visas. We are back at the Royal Guesthouse and it feels like coming home, all the restaurant staff recognised us which shows how long we spent in that restaurant...! And they gave us a first-floor room so I don't have to hobble too far (I have perfected "the stair hop"). The Cambodians on the bus absolutely loveddd my bandaged-up foot, they thought it was hilarious (my sympathy with their hilarity decreased in direct proportion to the slow, casual breaking of the air conditioner mid-journey and the increase in the volume of the Cambodian music videos constantly blaring on the TV, all of which seemed to involve either Facebook betrayal or girls betraying guys and then the guys setting alight to themselves - I can't describe how odd it all was), and when I dozed off for a little nap I woke up to find a German girl taking a photo of my foot, which did perplex me slightly - do they not have bandages in Germany?! Anyway, our visas are now processing and we have booked a bus to Vietnam tomorrow morning! Very exciting. So this time tomorrow we will be well on our way to 'Nam to start the next leg of our journey.
So I would imagine that, bar anything incredible happening tonight (somewhat unlikely - our plan at the moment is to find a pad thai down by the river and I need to buy a new watch as mine is now sadly deceased after a talcum powder fight at Lakeside Guest House, but neither of these things really merit their own blog entry), this will be my last Cambodian entry. So all that's left to say is that Cambodia was AWESOME. It has been far less up-and-down than India, it has just been all up. What an amazing country, I am tempted to slip into GAP YAH-style "Oh, Cambodiahhh dahhling, wonderful country, beautiful people") but it really is, I don't know how else to describe it. It's vibrant and busy and colourful and so non-threatening, everyone is so friendly, both traveller and non-traveller. The scenery is beautiful, the Mekong hangs over everything like the prettiest shadow in the world. I will be sad to leave of course, but I am incredibly excited for Vietnam which absolutely softens the blow.
One quick note - there is no Facebook in Vietnam(!!) - it's illegal. So chances are I won't be able to get any Facebook access, or if I do it will be exceptionally slow and limited (and illegal). So if you normally contact/message me on facebook, and want me to reply (I will still receive comments and messages because the notifications come to my email, but I can't reply) - EMAIL ME. My email is amykinross@gmail.com if you don't have it already. I will post the same thing as my facebook status just as a reminder. But yes, I will be on my email relatively frequently (as frequently as I ever am - which is definitely quite frequent) so contact me that way, and I will still be updating my blog of course.
Miss you all so much. Loads of love, will update more frequently from 'Nam!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
I think that last time I posted I had just been to S-21 - to be honest, the trauma of that remains with Charlotte and I and still visits us in our nightmares occasionally, but moving on. That night we ended up having a totally ridiculous night out in Siem Reap meeting fellow very fun travellers, having our feet eaten by fishes (for exfoliation purposes apparently?! My feet were certainly exfoliated afterwards to be fair), drinking buckets of various cocktails at the best named bar in Siem Reap, "Angkor What?!" (we spent most of our time there shouting the name at each other loudly and drunkenly, and playing air guitar with our new friends) - they lured us in with the promise of free t-shirts, and to be fair mine has been very useful indeed as I stupidly threw out my other t-shirt in Dharamsala when I felt like I'd never feel warm again, forgetting that Asia is, generally, quite warm. We headed on, ill-advisedly, to another bar and then wandered round a bit, and a bit more, and to be honest I'm not entirely sure how this happened but we absolutely ended up on our 6am bus the next morning still drunk and without having slept. That was a tricky journey to say the least but it served us right for choosing such a ridiculous night to go out drinking - not that we regret it, to be fair. And thus began our journey up north into the Cambodian jungle.
We stayed a night in a pretty town called Kampong Cham, where the Mekong is at its widest. The next day we caught another bus to Stung Treng, which is a bit of a nothing town to be honest - nothing to see and nothing to do besides some reclusive dolphins - and after a lot of travelling for many hours on hot, sweaty buses we were not feeling our best and were a bit cross and out of sorts. The next day we headed even further north, up to Ratankiri, which was the end point of our journey, into a town called Ban Lung. We met two really nice British girls on the bus and headed off to the same hostel as them, called Lakeview, which was, somewhat unsurprisingly, by a lake.
And that's kind of where we stayed for a week, for Khmer New Year. After so much travelling we were pleased to put down roots in somewhere so pretty with nice people for a well-earned break. Ban Lung is really remote and beautiful and calm, there aren't even any taxis. We trekked through the jungle with the two British girls, Maddy and Caitlin, and three others so we had a really big fun trekking party. It was both incredible and incredibly hot, and since my only clean clothes were my free "Angkor What?!" bar t-shirt and my red miniskirt I ended up trekking for two days through increasingly wild landscape looking a bit like I was going clubbing, but at least I had my trainers so it was fine. And my tan is constantly improving.
We got back from trekking and had a couple of days free to hang out in Ban Lung and recuperate. Instead of using the first day for recuperation purposes, I of course used it to have another travelling accident (add it to the list after the rabies - which I am now officially immune from by the way, I have the doctor's report and everything. Good times) by violently slamming my toe in the door and breaking it. Not that I have been to the hospital but the incredibly ridiculous swelling and sticky-up bone (mmm nice) is kind of a clue. That was a pretty hideous couple of days in the end because all I could do was rest and be increasingly bored and jealous at the thought of fun people doing fun things while I hobbled about like a retard. We did move hostel to the most amazing treehouse eco lodge place with the best view ever (and let me tell you, I had a LOT of time to appreciate it... argh stupid toe) and puppies running around constantly which really cheered me up except, since there are no taxis, I had to hobble half an hour with my big bag. But it was ok and I am making the best of it and staying positive. Yes, my toe is stopping me from doing stuff now, but it's not a serious break, the swelling has already gone down soo much, so if I am sensible now and keep it bandaged (thank you Charlotte's First Aid Course) and don't try and do too much, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to go trekking again maybe at the end of Vietnam or something in about three weeks. (That is what I am telling myself to stay positive positive positive). And in the meantime I am needing less and less strong painkillers and hobbling a little bit less like a retard every day. Good times.
Yesterday we caught a ridiculously long, hot bus back to Phnom Phen to put in our Vietnam visas. We are back at the Royal Guesthouse and it feels like coming home, all the restaurant staff recognised us which shows how long we spent in that restaurant...! And they gave us a first-floor room so I don't have to hobble too far (I have perfected "the stair hop"). The Cambodians on the bus absolutely loveddd my bandaged-up foot, they thought it was hilarious (my sympathy with their hilarity decreased in direct proportion to the slow, casual breaking of the air conditioner mid-journey and the increase in the volume of the Cambodian music videos constantly blaring on the TV, all of which seemed to involve either Facebook betrayal or girls betraying guys and then the guys setting alight to themselves - I can't describe how odd it all was), and when I dozed off for a little nap I woke up to find a German girl taking a photo of my foot, which did perplex me slightly - do they not have bandages in Germany?! Anyway, our visas are now processing and we have booked a bus to Vietnam tomorrow morning! Very exciting. So this time tomorrow we will be well on our way to 'Nam to start the next leg of our journey.
So I would imagine that, bar anything incredible happening tonight (somewhat unlikely - our plan at the moment is to find a pad thai down by the river and I need to buy a new watch as mine is now sadly deceased after a talcum powder fight at Lakeside Guest House, but neither of these things really merit their own blog entry), this will be my last Cambodian entry. So all that's left to say is that Cambodia was AWESOME. It has been far less up-and-down than India, it has just been all up. What an amazing country, I am tempted to slip into GAP YAH-style "Oh, Cambodiahhh dahhling, wonderful country, beautiful people") but it really is, I don't know how else to describe it. It's vibrant and busy and colourful and so non-threatening, everyone is so friendly, both traveller and non-traveller. The scenery is beautiful, the Mekong hangs over everything like the prettiest shadow in the world. I will be sad to leave of course, but I am incredibly excited for Vietnam which absolutely softens the blow.
One quick note - there is no Facebook in Vietnam(!!) - it's illegal. So chances are I won't be able to get any Facebook access, or if I do it will be exceptionally slow and limited (and illegal). So if you normally contact/message me on facebook, and want me to reply (I will still receive comments and messages because the notifications come to my email, but I can't reply) - EMAIL ME. My email is amykinross@gmail.com if you don't have it already. I will post the same thing as my facebook status just as a reminder. But yes, I will be on my email relatively frequently (as frequently as I ever am - which is definitely quite frequent) so contact me that way, and I will still be updating my blog of course.
Miss you all so much. Loads of love, will update more frequently from 'Nam!
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Monday, 11 April 2011
Pad Thai-mes
The subject of this blog post is our new favourite pun (that's right, we're still "pundering" everywhere we go...). That, and shouting "Angkor WHAT?!" at each other at regular intervals, is powering us through when we are at our most tired.
And man, are we tired. So little sleep recently, and the prospect of so little sleep to come, is killing us. But it's worth it, because Cambodia is just utterly sensational.
Let me backpedal. On our morning in Thailand, we rinsed the hotel facilities (massive breakfast, gym, bird sanctuary, stealing all the free stuff) and then caught our plane to Phnom Phen at around 4pm. We arrived, checked into a really lovely, friendly guesthouse, and pretty much collapsed after a bowl of noodles.
The next morning was the scene of what I think will be one of the defining moments of my life. I'm not sure how to describe it. In a massive rush and not having had time for breakfast, we set off for S-21 prison (a central part of the Khmer Rouge regime - the place where people were tortured for confessions before being sent to the Killing Fields. Only 7 people survived out of tens of thousands who were sent there, including children. And the guards were principally indoctrinated child soldiers) armed with the history section of our rough guide and essentially a loose intellectual understanding of what had happened there, but no real comprehension of what that actually meant.
What a place. I'm not sure if I believe in auras or ghosts or any of that stuff, who knows, but Jesus, I've never felt evil like the evil that surrounds S-21, it's a malevolence so suffocating that I actually found it a little difficult to breathe in there. I can't describe it, but I was reluctant enough to be there in the daytime, let alone if it got dark - I would be out of there so fast, honestly. The horror and the fear that is still palpable in the air is only enhanced by the fact that they haven't cleaned or done anything to the place since the Khmer Rouge abandoned it. The bloodstains are still on the walls and floor. When they abandoned the prison, the guards slaughtered the last fourteen prisoners, and their corpses were found, starved and brutally tortured, still in their cells. These fourteen people were so mutilated they were unidentifiable, but their bodies are buried next to the cells where they were murdered. No wonder evil haunts this place - I'd like to see Most Haunted get hold of S-21, ha. The cells themselves are claustrophobic and traumatic and hideous. They contain a wire bed, a box for excrement and occasionally machines for torture. In the case of the fourteen cells the dead prisoners were found in, they also contain a large photo of the corpse in the state it was discovered. Standing in the cell that person died in, seeing that photo - put it this way, we were beginning not only to understand intellectually but to really, truly comprehend.
The museum exhibition is a collection of photographs essentially. Every prisoner that was killed by the Khmer Rouge who was tortured at S-21 is photographed, and you walk along walls and walls of these photographs, looking into these people's eyes and seeing the fear, the defiance, the anguish that they felt, because they must have known exactly what was going to happen to them. Whole families were killed, the logic being why spare children when they might grow up and take revenge? Babies were smashed against trees. Horrifically, S-21 was a highschool before the Khmer Rouge began to use it as a prison. What used to be the exercise bars became a gallows used for the purposes of torture. Other forms of torture included having finger or toenails removed, starvation and being constantly kicked in the middle of the night whenever the prisoner fell asleep. The methods are so primitive and yet fear is obviously an incredibly primitive emotion, which explains their success. The sheer pointless visciousness of the place, the brutality, really did a number on me to be honest, and it's not like I am blind to this kind of thing, because as well as being well-read and interested in history, I have visited concentration camps and other places of horror. So I'm not uninitiated, but this was something different entirely. S-21 will stay with me for the rest of my life, and will haunt my nightmares for a very long time indeed.
We then headed to the Killing Fields, which are about twenty minutes out of Phnom Phen. There is a monument that holds the skulls, bones and clothes of the people who died there in order to remember and honour them. There's also a museum which details the crimes perpetrated against them, the perpetrators themselves and what happens to them (the outcomes of their UN trials, if they didn't die first) and other information about the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime (how all urbanites were forcefully relocated to the countryside to do manual labour, etc.). It was shocking, no doubt about it, but there was actually a peverse and pensieve beauty and sense of hope about the Killing Fields in comparison to the pure evil that was S-21. There was beautiful grass, and a duck with her ducklings, and everyone was walking around in contemplation and remembrance (apart from one Linsay Lohan-a-like who was asking her friend if her legs looked big in her shorts - there's always one...) and yes it was tragic, of course it was, but there was hope and remembrance and respect. It was, all in all, far less traumatising and harrowing than S-21 but no less meaningful for it, I think.
After a pretty intense morning, we had a pretty chilled afternoon. I mended my leggings, a top and a dress, and as I was doing so realised how lucky I am to be able to sew well, so I don't have to keep buying new things, I can mend the stuff I've got. (I mended my trusty Topshop ballet flats the other day which was excellent) We had an evening out on the lash in Phnom Phen, involving many a cocktail and clapping games with street children, which was really excellent. I dealt with my shakiness after the morning's activities in a typically productive manner - watermelon martinis.
We basically had a planning day the next day which was much-needed and our itineraries for Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand are now sorted. We had a wander down by the riverside and a late dinner, and the next day we got on our bus to Siem Reap.
We had a pretty comfortable bus journey and a relatively comfortable night (a cockroach and a room that shook whenever we moved made things a little more exciting). Continuing my long(ish) tradition of being unable to sleep before we do anything important or see any traditional monuments, I had an utterly sleepless night, but we headed off around the city today anyway. We got a day pass to the temples of Angkor Wot (obviously, whenever it is in any way relevant or indeed whenever it is completely irrelevant, we have started to shout "Angkor WHAT?!" really loudly at each other). Wandering round in the sunshine looking at these formiddable pieces of architecture, pretty much iridescent in the midday heat, my one overriding thought was "God, I soo hope I get a tan" - but in my defence I was very tired indeed. We climed up to a temple to watch the sunset and ended up making puns containing the word 'hill' or 'step' to get us through - see my facebook status for further details on that one. 'Hill-arious' was a particular favourite, as well as 'Ít's all downhill from here'(it wasn't, it was uphill, but that's not the point).
And now we are heading out after doing a bit of pre-drinking to a bar, hill-ariously called 'Angkor What?' so that should suit us just fine. Tomorrow we have a criminally early bus to Kampong Cham and are then on the move pretty solidly for a while into quite remote areas in the North, but I will update as and when I can.
Miss you all, very much indeed. Loads of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And man, are we tired. So little sleep recently, and the prospect of so little sleep to come, is killing us. But it's worth it, because Cambodia is just utterly sensational.
Let me backpedal. On our morning in Thailand, we rinsed the hotel facilities (massive breakfast, gym, bird sanctuary, stealing all the free stuff) and then caught our plane to Phnom Phen at around 4pm. We arrived, checked into a really lovely, friendly guesthouse, and pretty much collapsed after a bowl of noodles.
The next morning was the scene of what I think will be one of the defining moments of my life. I'm not sure how to describe it. In a massive rush and not having had time for breakfast, we set off for S-21 prison (a central part of the Khmer Rouge regime - the place where people were tortured for confessions before being sent to the Killing Fields. Only 7 people survived out of tens of thousands who were sent there, including children. And the guards were principally indoctrinated child soldiers) armed with the history section of our rough guide and essentially a loose intellectual understanding of what had happened there, but no real comprehension of what that actually meant.
What a place. I'm not sure if I believe in auras or ghosts or any of that stuff, who knows, but Jesus, I've never felt evil like the evil that surrounds S-21, it's a malevolence so suffocating that I actually found it a little difficult to breathe in there. I can't describe it, but I was reluctant enough to be there in the daytime, let alone if it got dark - I would be out of there so fast, honestly. The horror and the fear that is still palpable in the air is only enhanced by the fact that they haven't cleaned or done anything to the place since the Khmer Rouge abandoned it. The bloodstains are still on the walls and floor. When they abandoned the prison, the guards slaughtered the last fourteen prisoners, and their corpses were found, starved and brutally tortured, still in their cells. These fourteen people were so mutilated they were unidentifiable, but their bodies are buried next to the cells where they were murdered. No wonder evil haunts this place - I'd like to see Most Haunted get hold of S-21, ha. The cells themselves are claustrophobic and traumatic and hideous. They contain a wire bed, a box for excrement and occasionally machines for torture. In the case of the fourteen cells the dead prisoners were found in, they also contain a large photo of the corpse in the state it was discovered. Standing in the cell that person died in, seeing that photo - put it this way, we were beginning not only to understand intellectually but to really, truly comprehend.
The museum exhibition is a collection of photographs essentially. Every prisoner that was killed by the Khmer Rouge who was tortured at S-21 is photographed, and you walk along walls and walls of these photographs, looking into these people's eyes and seeing the fear, the defiance, the anguish that they felt, because they must have known exactly what was going to happen to them. Whole families were killed, the logic being why spare children when they might grow up and take revenge? Babies were smashed against trees. Horrifically, S-21 was a highschool before the Khmer Rouge began to use it as a prison. What used to be the exercise bars became a gallows used for the purposes of torture. Other forms of torture included having finger or toenails removed, starvation and being constantly kicked in the middle of the night whenever the prisoner fell asleep. The methods are so primitive and yet fear is obviously an incredibly primitive emotion, which explains their success. The sheer pointless visciousness of the place, the brutality, really did a number on me to be honest, and it's not like I am blind to this kind of thing, because as well as being well-read and interested in history, I have visited concentration camps and other places of horror. So I'm not uninitiated, but this was something different entirely. S-21 will stay with me for the rest of my life, and will haunt my nightmares for a very long time indeed.
We then headed to the Killing Fields, which are about twenty minutes out of Phnom Phen. There is a monument that holds the skulls, bones and clothes of the people who died there in order to remember and honour them. There's also a museum which details the crimes perpetrated against them, the perpetrators themselves and what happens to them (the outcomes of their UN trials, if they didn't die first) and other information about the brutality of the Khmer Rouge regime (how all urbanites were forcefully relocated to the countryside to do manual labour, etc.). It was shocking, no doubt about it, but there was actually a peverse and pensieve beauty and sense of hope about the Killing Fields in comparison to the pure evil that was S-21. There was beautiful grass, and a duck with her ducklings, and everyone was walking around in contemplation and remembrance (apart from one Linsay Lohan-a-like who was asking her friend if her legs looked big in her shorts - there's always one...) and yes it was tragic, of course it was, but there was hope and remembrance and respect. It was, all in all, far less traumatising and harrowing than S-21 but no less meaningful for it, I think.
After a pretty intense morning, we had a pretty chilled afternoon. I mended my leggings, a top and a dress, and as I was doing so realised how lucky I am to be able to sew well, so I don't have to keep buying new things, I can mend the stuff I've got. (I mended my trusty Topshop ballet flats the other day which was excellent) We had an evening out on the lash in Phnom Phen, involving many a cocktail and clapping games with street children, which was really excellent. I dealt with my shakiness after the morning's activities in a typically productive manner - watermelon martinis.
We basically had a planning day the next day which was much-needed and our itineraries for Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand are now sorted. We had a wander down by the riverside and a late dinner, and the next day we got on our bus to Siem Reap.
We had a pretty comfortable bus journey and a relatively comfortable night (a cockroach and a room that shook whenever we moved made things a little more exciting). Continuing my long(ish) tradition of being unable to sleep before we do anything important or see any traditional monuments, I had an utterly sleepless night, but we headed off around the city today anyway. We got a day pass to the temples of Angkor Wot (obviously, whenever it is in any way relevant or indeed whenever it is completely irrelevant, we have started to shout "Angkor WHAT?!" really loudly at each other). Wandering round in the sunshine looking at these formiddable pieces of architecture, pretty much iridescent in the midday heat, my one overriding thought was "God, I soo hope I get a tan" - but in my defence I was very tired indeed. We climed up to a temple to watch the sunset and ended up making puns containing the word 'hill' or 'step' to get us through - see my facebook status for further details on that one. 'Hill-arious' was a particular favourite, as well as 'Ít's all downhill from here'(it wasn't, it was uphill, but that's not the point).
And now we are heading out after doing a bit of pre-drinking to a bar, hill-ariously called 'Angkor What?' so that should suit us just fine. Tomorrow we have a criminally early bus to Kampong Cham and are then on the move pretty solidly for a while into quite remote areas in the North, but I will update as and when I can.
Miss you all, very much indeed. Loads of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Bangkok Bangkok...
Successful and easy flight from Kochi to Mumbai to Bangkok today (I also managed to find an excellent book in the airport, a concise history of the Arab world, on which to spend my remaining rupees); we arrived in a city that seemed far less intimidating than I remember it from my Thai holiday aged 9 or 10 - maybe I was a lot smaller then or, far more likely, had less experience of completely mental places. After Delhi and the rest of India, Bangkok is a walk in the park - okay, people try and sell you things, but they don't chase you down the street and round the corner to do so. You can just say no. Also, it is wonderful to face absolutely no hassle. That's the boys' lot here; prostitutes unsubtley stalk the streets for prey. We ate street food (fresh watermelon, noodle soup and chicken - my first meat in six weeks as I have been vegetarian since I left for my travels, and I have to say, I haven't missed meat at all but it really was excellent) and were sitting next to a Hugh Hefner-a-like who was eating in silence with a very young Thai girl. I'm sure she was with him purely for his witty conversational acumen.
Absurdly, we checked into a five star hotel. I'm honestly not sure what possessed us to do so. I really can't explain it. We gave the taxi driver the address for a hostel with a dorm, we got out, we tried to find the hostel, we couldn't find it, there was a five star hotel across the street, we both looked at each other in silent agreement and thanked our lucky stars we'd been to the ATM at the airport. So we are now happily ensconced in a lush 18th-floor "superior" room with a stunning cityscape view in a separate, more-five-star-than-normal-five-star (if you're going to do it, you may as well do it properly...) wing of a hotel with a free massive breakfast, pool, gym, "business centre", 24 hour concierge and room service, spa and massage parlor, tropical fish tanks, an in-hotel bakery, all sorts of other completely unnecessary things and, best of all, a bird sanctuary. In the hotel. Marvellous. We are obviously planning to rinse the facilities for all they're worth in the 12 hours or so we have left there and I imagine at least an hour of that will be spent in the bird sanctuary. At least. And all of this for about 30 pounds for the night - what a bargain. Although we were very pleased that our dinner only cost 1 pound each, it made us feel slightly less like terrible backpackers.
Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia, and go back to dorm accommodation, both of which fill Char and I with excitement. We are so looking forward to seeing lots of cultural things and getting back on the backpacker trail. 2 weeks in Cambodia doesn't seem enough but we are going to pack in as much as we can!
India, oddly, already seems like a distant memory. It's so funny how that can happen so quickly; your mind just takes over and moves onto the next place you're left wondering how six weeks went so incredibly fast. I feel desperately sad to not be there anymore, but also fabulously excited to be somewhere else. Swings and roundabouts. Bring on Cambodia.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxx <3
Absurdly, we checked into a five star hotel. I'm honestly not sure what possessed us to do so. I really can't explain it. We gave the taxi driver the address for a hostel with a dorm, we got out, we tried to find the hostel, we couldn't find it, there was a five star hotel across the street, we both looked at each other in silent agreement and thanked our lucky stars we'd been to the ATM at the airport. So we are now happily ensconced in a lush 18th-floor "superior" room with a stunning cityscape view in a separate, more-five-star-than-normal-five-star (if you're going to do it, you may as well do it properly...) wing of a hotel with a free massive breakfast, pool, gym, "business centre", 24 hour concierge and room service, spa and massage parlor, tropical fish tanks, an in-hotel bakery, all sorts of other completely unnecessary things and, best of all, a bird sanctuary. In the hotel. Marvellous. We are obviously planning to rinse the facilities for all they're worth in the 12 hours or so we have left there and I imagine at least an hour of that will be spent in the bird sanctuary. At least. And all of this for about 30 pounds for the night - what a bargain. Although we were very pleased that our dinner only cost 1 pound each, it made us feel slightly less like terrible backpackers.
Tomorrow we fly to Cambodia, and go back to dorm accommodation, both of which fill Char and I with excitement. We are so looking forward to seeing lots of cultural things and getting back on the backpacker trail. 2 weeks in Cambodia doesn't seem enough but we are going to pack in as much as we can!
India, oddly, already seems like a distant memory. It's so funny how that can happen so quickly; your mind just takes over and moves onto the next place you're left wondering how six weeks went so incredibly fast. I feel desperately sad to not be there anymore, but also fabulously excited to be somewhere else. Swings and roundabouts. Bring on Cambodia.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxx <3
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Bye Bye India!
So this is a super quick update because we have been internet booking for hours and are knackered. We have spent the last few days exploring the South, including a night on a luxury rice barge through the backwaters of Kerala which was absolutely fantastic and such a highlight of our entire trip so far. The photos will have to speak for themselves on that one I feel. We have spent the last couple of days in Kochi just faffing around and preparing our plans for South East Asia. Tomorrow we bid goodbye to India and for me personally it is with very mixed feelings indeed. I have loved India, I really have. Every mental, ridiculous minute of it. I will miss this crazy country where "everything is possible... except this. This is not possible". I will miss the people we met and the places we went and the things we did. India has given me new experiences, new confidence, new happiness and, of course, a few new lifelong friends added into the mix. How can I not feel so incredibly grateful and reflect on that with full awareness of not only how lucky I am to have had these experiences, but how lucky I have been to have them with Charlotte and with Rob, Dave and Nick, and Kai, and everyone else we met along the way.
But we are moving on. We fly to Thailand but, because of the flooding we have decided to head straight to Cambodia so have booked a flight for the 7th April, then we'll spend two weeks there, before heading to Vietnam, and then we're coming back to Thailand on 11th May to hopefully meet the boys for Full Moon - that's the plan, anyway. Then we will have a couple of weeks in Thailand and fly to Indonesia possibly via Singapore, then to Sri Lanka and then home. It looks like a busy couple of months, and we are so incredibly excited to be on the move again.
Thanks, though, India. Thanks for everything. Any country where hippies in pirate costumes can get married on a bridge surrounded by monkeys is alright with me.
Love to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
But we are moving on. We fly to Thailand but, because of the flooding we have decided to head straight to Cambodia so have booked a flight for the 7th April, then we'll spend two weeks there, before heading to Vietnam, and then we're coming back to Thailand on 11th May to hopefully meet the boys for Full Moon - that's the plan, anyway. Then we will have a couple of weeks in Thailand and fly to Indonesia possibly via Singapore, then to Sri Lanka and then home. It looks like a busy couple of months, and we are so incredibly excited to be on the move again.
Thanks, though, India. Thanks for everything. Any country where hippies in pirate costumes can get married on a bridge surrounded by monkeys is alright with me.
Love to all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Kerala
We have left Goa, which is absolutely a good thing as I was going stir-crazy doing nothing. People stay in Goa for months and just chill out but much as I love to chill out, and absolutely anyone who knows me at all will testify to my endless pyjama days, Goa was too slow for me. I need action and purpose (that's one thing my time in Goa has taught me actually - I thought I would love sitting by the beach doing nothing, but it drove me mental!). So we have moved on, and brought the lovely Nick from Dharamsala with us, and the three of us are about to embark on a riceboat tour of the backwaters of Allepey, in Kerala, armed with a pack of cards and a lot of in-jokes. We are staying at the prettiest hostel and the mood is one of general relaxation, but not endless relaxation, which is just the way I like it.
Four more days and we leave for Thailand. I have loved India, but it can't come soon enough, and I am pretty much at the point of counting down the hours now! So ready for the next adventure.
Love to all xxxxxxx
Four more days and we leave for Thailand. I have loved India, but it can't come soon enough, and I am pretty much at the point of counting down the hours now! So ready for the next adventure.
Love to all xxxxxxx
Sunday, 27 March 2011
We're Goan Crazy...
I'm really sorry for the terrible pun in the title. We can't stop punning (or "pundering EVERYWAH" - in a grotesque but oh-so-right parody of "chundering EVERYWAH") at the moment. Whatever we do, wherever we go, there is a suitably rubbish and inappropriate pun to light our way.
And here we are in Goa. What a sensationally stunning (I love a bit of alliteration) place this is. If you think postcard paradise, you're subliminally thinking of Goa - it's the kind of place that advertisers have forced down your throat with the promise of "Get away from it all! Relax and don't worry because it's all fine and look at this pretty island with palm trees and blue skies look look LOOK AT IT". The beauty of a Goan sunset is beyond my powers of prose, but I've taken some photos of course so they may do the job, although to be honest I doubt it. It's something you really have to experience for yourself.
We are staying in a small fishing village called Arambol, it's a little off the main tourist track and all the nicer for it, though there are stil plenty of backpackers and hippies here (lots of pirate trousers). We found the place through our friend Kai from Singapore, who we met in Dharamsala, and he also told us about an awesome (and cheap) place to stay right on the beach. So we have our own tiny beach hut and can literally step out of it onto a Goan beach (no pun this time). It's pretty crazy because as I got up for my morning swim yesterday I was thinking about how hard I have worked - through my final exams, through the first half of this year, through everything that's happened - and that I have finally made it, and suddenly it all came crashing down and was a bit overwhelming and emotional and I was filled with a weird kind of pride in everything I have achieved recently and in the past. And then, excellently, just at the peak of my moment of profound pride and deep self-realisation, this mental, drunken, drugged up hippy started letting off fire-crackers on the beach claiming that he was King of the Beach and ranting about some girl called Julia who "never came back". Wonderful. To be honest, that only increased my enjoyment of that particular moment in time.
Plans for the next few days are uncertain. We will probably be sticking around here for a while, hopefully meeting up with my friend Rosie who arrives in Goa tomorrow, though I'm not sure where she's staying. You will all be pleased to hear I'm sure that my tan is deepening by the day, although to be honest I am still bloody pale, especially compared to all the seasoned hippies out here who are at skin-cancer/Paris Hilton levels of tan.
Miss you all, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
And here we are in Goa. What a sensationally stunning (I love a bit of alliteration) place this is. If you think postcard paradise, you're subliminally thinking of Goa - it's the kind of place that advertisers have forced down your throat with the promise of "Get away from it all! Relax and don't worry because it's all fine and look at this pretty island with palm trees and blue skies look look LOOK AT IT". The beauty of a Goan sunset is beyond my powers of prose, but I've taken some photos of course so they may do the job, although to be honest I doubt it. It's something you really have to experience for yourself.
We are staying in a small fishing village called Arambol, it's a little off the main tourist track and all the nicer for it, though there are stil plenty of backpackers and hippies here (lots of pirate trousers). We found the place through our friend Kai from Singapore, who we met in Dharamsala, and he also told us about an awesome (and cheap) place to stay right on the beach. So we have our own tiny beach hut and can literally step out of it onto a Goan beach (no pun this time). It's pretty crazy because as I got up for my morning swim yesterday I was thinking about how hard I have worked - through my final exams, through the first half of this year, through everything that's happened - and that I have finally made it, and suddenly it all came crashing down and was a bit overwhelming and emotional and I was filled with a weird kind of pride in everything I have achieved recently and in the past. And then, excellently, just at the peak of my moment of profound pride and deep self-realisation, this mental, drunken, drugged up hippy started letting off fire-crackers on the beach claiming that he was King of the Beach and ranting about some girl called Julia who "never came back". Wonderful. To be honest, that only increased my enjoyment of that particular moment in time.
Plans for the next few days are uncertain. We will probably be sticking around here for a while, hopefully meeting up with my friend Rosie who arrives in Goa tomorrow, though I'm not sure where she's staying. You will all be pleased to hear I'm sure that my tan is deepening by the day, although to be honest I am still bloody pale, especially compared to all the seasoned hippies out here who are at skin-cancer/Paris Hilton levels of tan.
Miss you all, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Leaving On A Jet Plane (for real)
Still in Delhi as I write this - we have one more night, and we have booked a flight to Goa tomorrow morning so, very excitingly, we will be in Goa by tomorrow afternoon! Excellent. Not that we are particularly hating Delhi this time round actually - we have become used to the noise and the sounds and the smells (oh, the smells...). We've delved into Indian street food with some fresh bamboo juice amongst other things, and delved straight back into non-Indian food by consuming copious amounts of lemon cake. It's been a nice couple of days, though we have had to make sure at least 20% of our conversations are intellectual (this morning, we tackled the economic stability of Germany in comparison to Japan) to make up for the ridiculous amount of shit/"BANTAH" that has seeped its way into our daily lives. This was totally encouraged and added to by phrases we picked up from Dave, Rob and Nick. We cannot now have a conversation without either reciting Gap Yah, or saying "Boycieeee?", "Haaaaaaay", "Shit son", "Ah shweeeeeeet", "Savage", "Abso-fucking-lutely", "Red four red four red four anyone for a red four? Red four red four... Black four black four anyone for a black four?" etc.etc., the list goes on, to the point where we can have an entire conversation without anyone else knowing what the hell we're saying. Hence our new resolution to ration our conversation so that we don't look like complete antisocial freaks.
Otherwise we haven't been up to too much. We went to the Gandhi memorial today which was really moving, and had some quiet time there to just reflect and learn and absorb. After our amazingly sociable last few weeks, it was calming to concentrate on something other than ourselves and our state of minds, pretentious as I'm sure that sounds. We also booked a flight to Goa - we could've got the train but to be honest we are more than a little bit over Indian trains, and since we only have a couple more weeks here we have decided to take the quicker option and fly. So our flight leaves tomorrow morning early and we will be in Goa by the afternoon which is fantastic - so very excited to hit the beach!
I mentioned in my last post that I'd been bitten by a dog - it's not serious or anything, the rabies shots were just a precaution. I don't think I have got actual rabies, although I am sharper than ever with the people that stop me on the street now ("Rickshaw?" "No, I have legs" ... "Where do you come from?" "The moon" etc.). I thought I would have to have five, but I went to the most hilariously ridiculous medical clinic in the world today (but amazingly efficient - I literally walked straight in and was seen by Doctor Gupta) and apparently I should be fine with just the two that I've already had, though he's taken a (very expensive...) blood test just to make sure I have enough antibodies in my blood stream, or something. Anyway, this is only a continuation of my crappy luck with foreign animals (cheetah, monkeys etc.) so it's not really surprising! But hopefully this will be the end of it and I won't need anymore jabs - I get the results back in a week by email. India can be remarkably efficient if you're willing to pay...
Anyway, I will stop there, because I need to pack up before our Goa flight tomorrow. Missing you all very much indeed, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Otherwise we haven't been up to too much. We went to the Gandhi memorial today which was really moving, and had some quiet time there to just reflect and learn and absorb. After our amazingly sociable last few weeks, it was calming to concentrate on something other than ourselves and our state of minds, pretentious as I'm sure that sounds. We also booked a flight to Goa - we could've got the train but to be honest we are more than a little bit over Indian trains, and since we only have a couple more weeks here we have decided to take the quicker option and fly. So our flight leaves tomorrow morning early and we will be in Goa by the afternoon which is fantastic - so very excited to hit the beach!
I mentioned in my last post that I'd been bitten by a dog - it's not serious or anything, the rabies shots were just a precaution. I don't think I have got actual rabies, although I am sharper than ever with the people that stop me on the street now ("Rickshaw?" "No, I have legs" ... "Where do you come from?" "The moon" etc.). I thought I would have to have five, but I went to the most hilariously ridiculous medical clinic in the world today (but amazingly efficient - I literally walked straight in and was seen by Doctor Gupta) and apparently I should be fine with just the two that I've already had, though he's taken a (very expensive...) blood test just to make sure I have enough antibodies in my blood stream, or something. Anyway, this is only a continuation of my crappy luck with foreign animals (cheetah, monkeys etc.) so it's not really surprising! But hopefully this will be the end of it and I won't need anymore jabs - I get the results back in a week by email. India can be remarkably efficient if you're willing to pay...
Anyway, I will stop there, because I need to pack up before our Goa flight tomorrow. Missing you all very much indeed, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Leaving on a Jet Plane (well, a Jet Bus...)
We finally left Mcleod Ganj/Dharamsala on the bus last night... Bad times. Missing the boys and the place and everything about our time there really, it's pretty devastating. Don't have much else to say. We're back in Delhi feeling low, so we treated ourselves to a nice place to stay with a hot shower that's not a bucket. And a LOT of chocolate and marmite sandwiches. So that's how we're getting through the day really, that and copious amounts of internet time.
I got bitten by a stray dog - not ideal. Rabies shots for me, and we all know how much I loveee hospitals (not).
Anyway, as much as we hated leaving and as much as that was such a special time for both Charlotte and I, we are looking onward and upward, and Goa and the sunshine is waiting for us.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxx <3
I got bitten by a stray dog - not ideal. Rabies shots for me, and we all know how much I loveee hospitals (not).
Anyway, as much as we hated leaving and as much as that was such a special time for both Charlotte and I, we are looking onward and upward, and Goa and the sunshine is waiting for us.
Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxx <3
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Epic Train Fail
I have absolutely neglected this blog recently, for which, yet again, I apologise. Even more apologies if I have missed your birthday/engagement/Bar Mitzvah/Holy Communion - please let me know so I can feel suitably bad and try and make it up to you somehow. Maybe I will buy you a present. Maybe.
So, I was gutted to be leaving Dharamsala last time I wrote here. Luckily for me, we just sort of... didn't leave. Like, we fully, fully intended to, to the point where we started saying goodbye to the boys (I can't remember if I wrote that we met a lovely group of boys from Brighton?! They are all complete diamonds and we have had a lot of fun alternating between being culture-seekers in the daytime and "Lads on Tour" to make Queen and Country proud in the evenings.) and then we just sort of... didn't go. It's like, we both looked at each other, and I sort of believe in mental ESP connections and Charlotte and I's profound mental connection was in glorious unison, and it was saying, "...Naahhh....". So we stayed and we have been here ever since.
I think I had been to the waterfall with Rob last time I wrote. This morning, Dave, Rob and I went to the Tibetan museum and temple, which was incredible and made me so angry at the injustice the Tibetan people have faced. Then we ate cake, which seemed incongruous but also appropriate because even suffering Tibetans have to eat. Now Rob and I are heading off to learn how to make momos (traditional Tibetan food) and we will hook up with the guys for dinner and a singalong (we hurt our voices and our pride trying to master Steve Tyler last night).
We will go, soon, probably. But I really don't want to.
Miss you all, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
So, I was gutted to be leaving Dharamsala last time I wrote here. Luckily for me, we just sort of... didn't leave. Like, we fully, fully intended to, to the point where we started saying goodbye to the boys (I can't remember if I wrote that we met a lovely group of boys from Brighton?! They are all complete diamonds and we have had a lot of fun alternating between being culture-seekers in the daytime and "Lads on Tour" to make Queen and Country proud in the evenings.) and then we just sort of... didn't go. It's like, we both looked at each other, and I sort of believe in mental ESP connections and Charlotte and I's profound mental connection was in glorious unison, and it was saying, "...Naahhh....". So we stayed and we have been here ever since.
I think I had been to the waterfall with Rob last time I wrote. This morning, Dave, Rob and I went to the Tibetan museum and temple, which was incredible and made me so angry at the injustice the Tibetan people have faced. Then we ate cake, which seemed incongruous but also appropriate because even suffering Tibetans have to eat. Now Rob and I are heading off to learn how to make momos (traditional Tibetan food) and we will hook up with the guys for dinner and a singalong (we hurt our voices and our pride trying to master Steve Tyler last night).
We will go, soon, probably. But I really don't want to.
Miss you all, lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <3
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