Tag Archives: Asia

Best of Java – Yogyakarta and temples.

Asia September 20, 2013 Leave a comment

After our unintentional stopover in Kuala Lumpur, we made sure to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare, since we didn’t want to miss a second flight to Yogyakarta. We finally made it to Indonesia, and we’re pumped to start exploring. We got ourselves settled in a hostel and then went out to explore Jalan Malioboro (Jalan being the Indonesian word for street). Malioboro is a major shopping street in Yogya and has tons of stalls and stores. We spent some time wandering and admiring all of the batik clothes and knick-knacks.

While we were out, we made arrangements to do some of the temples the next day, as well as arrangements for later on that week to take us to Bali (and do Mt Bromo on the way). The next morning we woke up super early so that we could see the sunrise at Borobudur. Borobudur is a UNESCO world Heritage site and holds a Guinness Book of World Records record for being the largest Buddhist architectural site. It’s one of the top three temples of visit in South East Asia (right up there with Angkor Wat (in Cambodia) and Bagan (in Burma)).

We arrived in the early morning, and the sun had pretty much already risen over the temple by the time we got to the top, but the early morning mist was breathtaking. By going early, we missed a lot of the heat and the hordes of other tourists who started to arrive as we were coming down. Borobudur is kind of pyramid shaped with intricately carved reliefs all the way up. On the top level, there are domes that surround different Buddha statues. We spent some time exploring the temple and then headed down to where they were doing some of the restoration work on the stone.

After Borobudur, we made a quick stop at Mendut, another Buddhist temple nearby and then made our way to Prambanan. Prambanan is also a UNESCO world heritage site, but it’s a Hindu Temple complex. Originally there were 240 temples that made up the complex, but most were destroyed during the earthquake in 2006. There has been a lot of work to rebuild them, and even when we visited, there were piles of stones everywhere waiting to be built back up. It was like a ginormous jigsaw puzzle.

A little further up from Prambanan there are some other temples, so we hopped on a trolley to check them out. out of the ones we visited Sewu was hands down my favourite. It’s a Buddhist temple complex which was also in the midst of being rebuilt. The main temple and a couple of smaller ones surrounding it have been rebuilt, and there are still some guardian statues in the complex, but much of it remains stacked in piles. All of the stones piled up made me curious as to what the temple would have looked like in all it’s glory.

We were spent after our early morning wake up and a full day of temple exploring in the heat, so we headed back to our hotel to lounge by the pool. The temples are definitely worth the visit to Yogyakarta, but other than Mt. Bromo, there isn’t too much to do on the island of Java. We spent the rest of our time in Yogya enjoying Javanese food, exploring the city and psyching ourselves up for Bromo.

Lounging in Langkawi and missed connections in KL

Asia September 13, 2013 Leave a comment

The ferry ride to Langkawi was excruciatingly long. In reality it was only 3 hours, but the choppy waves made for some really seasick passengers. Three hours of listening to people toss their cookies into plastic bags is way longer than anyone needs to sit through (especially if you might be hungover).

We finally made it to the dock (both Shan and I managed to keep our breakfast in our tummies) and couldn’t wait to get to the beach. We fought our way through the crowds of people exiting the ferry and made our way over to the taxi stand. We pointed to the strip of beach on a map that would be our home for the next few days and were off.

Langkawi is an island off the northwestern coast of Malaysia and is super close to Thailand (just a short ferry ride away). It’s a vacation island for many of the locals, and the white sand beaches and warm waters were perfect. We spent a couple days lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean.

Pantai Cenang - the beach where we spent most of our time in Langkawi

Pantai Cenang – the beach where we spent most of our time in Langkawi

After a couple days, we were as relaxed as we could be so we decided to book some cheap flights from KL to Yogyakarta (thank goodness for Low Cost Carriers – what up Air Asia!) and planned on taking the overnight bus back down to KL. On paper, our plan was flawless. We had booked a 10am flight, and had arranged an overnight ferry/bus combo that would get us to Kuala Lumpur at about 6am – leaving us the perfect amount of time to take the train to the airport.

Well guess what? It didn’t work out that way. We made the ferry to bus connection alright, but somehow overnight the bus didn’t make the time it should have. Every time Shannon or I woke up, the bus was stopped at a gas station or for a break. It didn’t seem like we were ever moving. Around 8am, when we were stuck in early morning traffic trying to push our way into downtown KL, we started to get concerned and devised a plan to grab a quick cab to the airport. Around 9am our hopes started to fade and reality set in.

Arriving at the bus station with only half an hour before our flight was to take off, we knew there was no way that we were going to make it. Defeated, we decided to head back to the hostel where we had stayed at the beginning of our trip for a nap and a shower.

Kuala Lumpur Tower from the roof of our hostel (with the Petronas Towers in the background)

Kuala Lumpur Tower from the roof of our hostel (with the Petronas Towers in the background)

The missed flight was actually a blessing in disguise. It gave us a day to rest, do some laundry and re-organize ourselves. I had some paperwork I needed to finish for my upcoming contract in Bolivia, so it was the perfect time to get it sorted out and finished up. We also hadn’t gotten a good glimpse of the Kuala Lumpur Tower all lit up at night when we were in KL the first time. So the rooftop bar of our hostel was the perfect place to relax and wrap up Malaysia.

Street Art in George Town

Asia September 11, 2013 Leave a comment

Aside from having interesting history and amazing food, it turns out that George Town also has some really fantastic street art. Our first morning in George Town while Shan and I were having breakfast, the hostel manager came over to chat with us to see what we were planning to do. When he found out that we didn’t have much of a plan, he grabbed a bunch of pamphlets to help us out. One of them was all about the street art in the city. We flipped through it, but decided to stick to our original plan of just walking around and exploring.

While we were wandering through the streets, we stumbled on the one that was on the cover of the pamphlet. There was an old bicycle bolted to the wall and some children riding on it. It was like finding a hidden treasure in the city.

We didn’t even need to pull the pamphlet out to find more, it seemed that every time we turned the corner we stumbled on to a new piece, even better than the last. My favourites were the welded iron wall caricatures, they all creatively pointed out fun little facts about the area that you were in – like our own little cheeky tour guide of the city.

"Win Win Situation"

“Win Win Situation”

"Jimmy Choo"

“Jimmy Choo”

"One Leg Kicks All"

“One Leg Kicks All”

"Kungfu Girl"

“Kungfu Girl”

"Kids on Bicycle"

“Kids on Bicycle”

Shan playing some soccer

Shan playing some soccer

    

Penang

Asia September 11, 2013 Leave a comment

 I had heard great things about Penang, and was really excited to go. After a 6 hour bus ride from Kuala Lumpur, we arrived at the bus terminal and grabbed some dinner. Penang has a fantastic reputation for food and it’s hawker stalls, and our first meal definitely lived up to the hype.

Without much of a plan, we got up early and decided that we’d explore. George Town isn’t too big, so we set off on foot from our hostel and headed over to Fort Cornwallis. I’ve been to a ton of forts as a Tour guide and am always amazed how much history is housed in them, so I  was actually really looking forward to this one. Even though it’s the largest standing fort in Malaysia, it was ended up being pretty boring – the fort never engaged in battle. Not much of anything seemed to have happened there. It was built by the British Military, but was only ever used as an administrative site rather than a defensive fort. Shan and I went through the fort museum and then headed out to find some actual history. We figured there was bound to be something interesting since Georgetown is listed as a UNESCO heritage site.

Next we ended up among some of the clan houses in Chinatown. We headed into Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi and were blown away by the intricate ornamental decorations throughout the entire building. It was the clan house of the Khoo family who emigrated from South China in the early 1850s. Tucked right next to Chinatown was Little India. We decided it was time for some lunch and found a little south Indian place on one of the corners. It was probably one of the best Indian meals I’ve had outside of India and transported me right back to Madurai when my fragrant meal was served to me on a banana leaf.

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Chinatown and Little India and ended up stumbling upon the famous Cheong Fatt Ze Mansion (also know as the Blue Mansion because of it’s striking indigo colour) – which is also a UNESCO heritage site. We contemplated going inside, but instead were drawn to the iced tea truck outside it’s gates. We relaxed in the park across the street with our ice teas before heading back to our hostel to freshen up.

Our final stop in George Town was the Red Garden night market for some of Penang’s famed hawker food. We found a plastic table and settled in for some fantastic food from the surrounding stalls set up almost like a food court. We stuffed ourselves with amazing fishead curry, Char Koay Teow (stir fried flat noodles with bean sprouts) and satay (meat on a stick).

pumped for dinner at the Red Garden night market

pumped for dinner at the Red Garden night market

Having spent a couple days in Penang staring at the ocean, it was time for us to head to the beach and enjoy it. We bought ferry tickets that afternoon and packed up for an early morning departure to yet another island – Langkawi.

Kuala Lumpur

Asia September 11, 2013 Leave a comment

 I landed in Kuala Lumpur after three long days of travel and as soon as I came down the escalator I was greeted by my favourite tall blonde friend. Shannon had landed about half an hour earlier on her flight from South Korea. We caught a bus that took us to a train that brought us to downtown and then made our way to our hostel. We grabbed some dinner, caught up a bit and then called it a night so we could get up bright and early to start exploring.

Petronas Towers!

Petronas Towers!

We set off first thing in the morning with great intentions to head up the Petronas Towers, but it turns out that you have to be suuuuuuper early to get tickets to go up. It was about 9am, and the only option they had left was to go up at 8pm. We decided we would try again the next morning and decided instead to wander around the park outside to get some pictures of the towers. Bonus for us, cause there was a sweet wading pool that we literally chilled in for a bit before grabbing lunch.

After lunch we hopped on the subway and made our way up to the famous Batu Caves. It was great, because we’d managed to somehow show up when there were hardly any other tourists. We braved the monkeys (they were everywhere) and climbed up the steps to the cave. Unfortunately we also found out that the lack of tourists meant that the caves weren’t lit up in all their glory. Most of the spotlights on the statues were off, so we had to navigate through the shadows to get a good look at them.

Batu Caves!

Batu Caves!

The next morning we finally got our act together and got up early enough for morning tickets up the Petronas towers. When we got to the top, the wait and early mornings were definitely worth it. The view was spectacular (and we were grateful to have spent the morning in the air conditioned tower). After finally making it up the tower, we decided that we had had enough of the city heat and were going to take off that afternoon for the coast.

Stopover in Shanghai

Asia August 30, 2013 Leave a comment

So everyone has a bad day every now and then. I had a really bad one in Shanghai. Mike had flown back to Hong Kong for his flight home, and I flew onward to Shanghai (where my outbound flight home was leaving from). I had just over a day to explore on my own, so I woke up early to check my email and head out. I was really excited to get out and see Shanghai, but I received a pretty upsetting email from back home that stuck with me all day.

I headed out and decided to try and put it out of my mind, but by the time I had reached People’s Square and was walking up to the Shanghai Museum – I was already in tears again. I walked around for a bit, but couldn’t shake the news. Still crying behind my sunglasses as I explored the Old Town and Yuyuan Garden Bazaar, I was determined to enjoy Shanghai.

Shanghai Museum in People's Square

Shanghai Museum in People’s Square

I figured that East Nanjing road and the Bund might do it, so I hopped back on the metro, but when I got off I couldn’t get my bearings and wasn’t able to figure out which direction to head. I was a red-faced weepy mess, and was too embarrassed to ask anyone for directions.

Defeated, I decided that I needed something to cheer me up. This may sound ridiculous, but I always feel really awesome when I change shampoos and it makes my hair extra shiny. So on my way back to the hostel, I found a drugstore bought some new shampoo to put a smile on my face.

After a little downtime, some fresh laundry and shiny, “new shampoo day” hair – I was ready to go. I headed out with my head high and my eyes dry. I’m so glad that I decided to go back out and explore a little more because Shanghai had some gorgeous sights in store for me.

The view of the Harbour from the Bund.

The view of the Harbour from the Bund.

This time I figured out the correct exit from the metro (it was actually super easy), and ended up cruising down East Nanjing road. In hindsight, it was for the best that I came back at night, because the street was lit up and sparkled. All of the buildings had bright signs and lights illuminating their façades. The whole street was full of people and street performers and had an amazing energy. I walked all the way to the end with a stupid grin plastered across my face and finally ended up at the Bund having totally forgotten all about that morning-ruining email.

The famous Peace Hotel was all lit up as were the rest of the buildings on the Bund. I walked along the waterfront and snapped photos of the gorgeous skyline. It couldn’t have been a more perfect way to end the trip.

Thanks Shanghai, you really know how to cheer a girl up.

Beijing

Asia August 29, 2013 Leave a comment

Beijing was a blast. Again, we didn’t have that much time, but we tried to jam in as much as we could. The night we arrived, we hopped on the subway and headed up to Tiananmen Square. Unfortunately the Forbidden city had already closed for the day, but we explored around and took pictures of the square instead.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City

In addition to our visit to the Great Wall of China, we also headed up to see the Olympic Green. The Olympic buildings and towers were all really impressive. It felt a little eerie though, as not many people were around. It was kind of forgotten except for a handful of tourists and some vendors trying to sell pictures and children’s toys.

Olympic Green. Photo: Mike Fallone

Olympic Green. Photo: Mike Fallone

While we were walking through the Olympic Green, a man stopped us and asked us if we could take his picture. He set mike up with his camera, and posed away. Then he asked if he could take a picture of us, and started directing us as if it were a photo shoot. He posed Mike and I like it was prom. Once he was happy with the pictures he took of the two of us, he gave the camera back to Mike and decided that he needed a series of him and I. After about 10 different poses, he took the camera, scrolled through the shots and waved us on. I really regret that we didn’t think to take any pictures on our own cameras, as the whole thing was hilarious.

We're still smiling, cause this is right before we got a mouthful of sand.

We’re still smiling, cause this is right before we got a mouthful of sand.

Our final night in Beijing we headed over to Donghuamen Night Market for some more exploring. It was packed with people and all kinds of food and souvenirs. Along with delicious looking fruit skewers, the food stalls were lined with fried scorpions, snakes, and beetles. The first stall we stopped at convinced us to try snake and snake skin (which is apparently good for your skin). Feeling confident at that point, we decided to try scorpions and starfish so that we could say that we did (I don’t think I would do it again). We finished off our snacking with some fruit rather than moving on to the juicy looking tarantulas. For the record, scorpions are just crunchy and starfish taste like sand.

The Great Wall of China

Asia August 28, 2013 Leave a comment

Having just arrived in Beijing the night before via a 24 hour train ride, obviously the most logical thing to do the next morning was to get on another train. Of course it was, but this time the train was to the Great Wall of China. Mike and I decided that since we were train experts, we would be able to make our way to the Great Wall sans pricey packaged tour (and we actually succeeded for the most part).

This train was hilarious. A total 180 experience from our quiet and civilized sleeper car from Hong Kong, the train to Badaling didn’t have assigned seating, so to our surprise as soon they opened the doors to the platform everyone started running to get the best seats. This was nothing like I’ve ever seen before. It was full out sprinting to the train as if it was already in motion and leaving the station.

Since we left from the first station (and would be picking up more passengers at subsequent stations), there were plenty of seats for everyone, but this didn’t stop us from running as fast as we could to grab our preferred seats as well (although I’m not sure we knew what exactly we were looking for in train seats).

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

Once we were all settled and the train started off, it chugged along for the first half hour through the suburbs and then started out into the mountains. As the mountains got larger, we started to catch glimpses of the wall and towers. Our first challenge that morning had been finding the right ticket window and get on the right train. We really hadn’t thought too far ahead of that, and realized that we had no idea which stop to get off at. We quickly formulated a plan to just get off where the most people were getting off, and hope for the best.

Our strategy worked out for us, and we got off at the same stop as almost everyone else on the train. It turns out that we were visiting the Great Wall on a national holiday with a ton of other locals, so we just followed the stream of people out of the station and up the road to the ticket counter.

A heads up to anyone who goes to visit the Great Wall. It’s a hike, some parts are reaaaaaaally steep. Dress accordingly. Not thinking, I wore inappropriate shoes for walking, and whined and complained all the way up. Mike was amazing at encouraging me to go farther, and kept telling me that if I stopped I would be disappointed in myself. I really appreciate that he kept pushing me, since the further we went, the more amazing the views got. The view from our end point was spectacular.

These people took pictures with Mike. I'm not sure they were fans of me.

These people took pictures with Mike. I’m not sure they were fans of me.

The wall was packed with local tourists (many of whom were also not wearing appropriate hiking footwear – some ladies were in heels!!). They kept stopping us and asking me to pose for pictures. I really hope that it’s because they were confusing me with some famous celebrity. Mike was starting to get annoyed, because no one wanted his photo. But when we got to the end, he was finally asked to pose in someone’s picture (and they didn’t want anything to do with me).

We got engraved medals to celebrate our climb and then proceeded to take the world’s sketchiest gondola down to sprint for a train that wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

Hong Kong and the overnight train to Beijing with my best friend’s husband

Asia August 27, 2013 Leave a comment

Hong Kong was a pretty last minute trip, and was only about a week in total. This meant that it was my favourite kind of travel – no plans and free to explore whatever we felt like.

Mike and I decided that we would spend a few days in Hong Kong and then head up into China to do some exploring. So with only a couple precious days in HK, we jumped in headfirst. I have an expat friend, Elspeth, there who we met up with, and acted as our nightlife tour guide. Without thinking, I introduced Mike to Elspeth as “my best friend’s husband” since I thought it made the most sense for the situation. Mike is still upset about that introduction (he’s since started referring to me as his wife’s friend). Elspeth brought us to some of her favourite places for dinner, drinks and views.

My best friend's husband and I on a whirlwind tour of HK nightlife.

My best friend’s husband and I on a whirlwind tour of HK nightlife.

The next few days in HK were spent checking out Mong Kok and all the markets, the fantastic architecture in Union Square and stunning views from Victoria Peak.

Mike and I happily (and haphazardly) found out that if you’re going to Victoria Peak, it’ best to go early in the morning. We showed up for the tram at about 9am, and only waited for about 5 minutes for our tickets and then another 5 for the tram to arrive. By the time we got back down to the bottom, the lines looked as if to be at least half an hour wait each, as they wrapped around the building and doubled back.

The view from Victoria Peak

The view from Victoria Peak

Since time was limited, we decided that an overnight train would be our best bet to get to China (in order to save on time and see the most). We had originally talked about heading up to Shanghai, but it turned out there weren’t any trains leaving when we wanted to, so Beijing was decided for us.

The train was a fun adventure, but was pretty uneventful. We left Hong Kong in the afternoon and spent the ride reading and trying to kill time (turns out neither of us know any 2 people card games). Really all there was to do was have dinner in the dining car and head to bed early.

Our pretty sweet compartment on the train to Beijing

Our pretty sweet compartment on the train to Beijing

We woke up somewhere in Hunan province, which was neat. It was cool to see the change of scenery from the night before. Hong Kong was pretty tropical feeling with it’s big palm trees and ferns. The landscape had changed so much by morning. It was also really interesting to see the different stations we rolled through. By the time we pulled into Beijing, we were both really impressed that we hadn’t killed each other after spending so much time in such a confined space.

Arriving in Hong Kong

Uncategorized August 26, 2013 Leave a comment

My first Hong Kong encounter embodies all of the reasons I love to travel. I travel to meet interesting people, to experience culture and above all to keep me on my toes.

Upon arrival in Hong Kong, I cleared customs, grabbed some cash and made my way down to the taxi stand for a cab. Just outside the door there was a sea of red cabs all lined up to take arriving passengers to Kowloon. I was waved over to the second cab in the line, and hopped in. I told the driver the hotel where I was meeting up with my friend, and he repeated it a couple times but it didn’t seem to ring a bell for him. Having my phone in my bag, I quickly pulled up the hotel info from my email to show him.

He took my phone (which I fully expected him to do), but then he reached down beside him and picked up a huge magnifying glass. I’m talking novelty prop, the kind you would use in a cartoon or see in a comedy sketch. He peered through the ridiculously large glass, read the hotel name a couple of times and then finally came the ‘aha’ moment when he remembered where it was.

Victoria Harbour at night. Photo: Mike Fallone

Victoria Harbour at night. Photo: Mike Fallone

The fun didn’t stop there. Once in the cab and on the road, I took a look at his dash setup. Not unlike some other countries I’ve travelled to (Ghana or India being prime examples of pimped out transit), his dash was fully accessorized. Not for fashion, but for function. He had a fishing tackle box latched with bungee cords to the top of the dash to hold his change so that it was easily accessible for tolls. There was a paper-tube taped up at the bottom to hold his pens (it looked as though it was glued to the dash). A clipboard was suction cupped to the inside of the windshield, and he also had an ipod and two cell phone all zip-tied to the air vents.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when one of the cell phones beeped, and he immediately reached for the cartoon magnifying glass to read the text message. I’m not sure whether that counts as hands free with the handheld magnifying glass.

Encounters like this always make me laugh and are one of the big reasons I love to travel.  Just from this quick cab ride to the hotel, I knew that Hong Kong was going to be my kind of place.