Last stop~ Hong Kong!

Hong Kong was never a city that I placed high on my list of cities to see.

It was a scheduled stop over on our Cathay Pacific flight back to Toronto, so back when we booked our ticket we decided we would spend two days on a lay over. Boy am I glad we did... Hong Kong was a great city to end off our eight month journey, it encompassed all the things that Andrew and I enjoy in a city. We only had one full day to explore, but we made the most of it and know some day we will go back to see more.

When we booked our tickets to South America and Asia, Andrew thought we should book our hotel in Hong Kong as it was only a short stop and figured we would want to spend our last few nights in a nice hotel. I was hesitant, because I usually don't like to pre-book, but we looked on the Internet and found a good hotel. I am SO glad that we did that... our hotel was fabulous, it was a high rise, modern hotel right in a convenient location. After months and months of searching for rooms in hostels, guest houses and low budget hotels it was a relief to arrive in a city and walk right into a hotel. I was ecstatic about the hotels fluffy towels, clean bath mat, comfy bed, amazing bathroom and shower! The comforts that we sometimes sacrifice when we are on the road!

We arrived in Hong Kong around 8:00pm, we found the transit system was very easy to use so we decided to take a train and subway right to our hotel. We were pooped so it was an early night to bed.

Our day in Hong Kong... first stop DIM SUM:

We had planned for ages that we would eat Dim Sum in Hong Kong. We were really looking forward to trying it in the place where it comes from. On advice from the concierge at the hotel we found a Dim Sum restaurant located near by. Andrew and I are avid Dim Sum eaters, so we were not worried about going or what to order. Perhaps, we should have been....

I must admit on our first time there it was a bit confusing, NO one spoke English at all! Since I look Chinese, everyone was speaking to me in their language only to find out that I couldn't speak back. We expected to find trolleys carrying the food around, so it would be easy to chose and point at the dishes we wanted. Unfortunately this particular restaurant only had a menu and a small area to go up to and pick some dishes. After some sign language we eventually got an English menu that was only 1/4 the size of the Chinese menu. We wondered, what else was on the bigger menu? What were we missing out on???

The food was great, not too different than what is available at home. It was a relief to know that what we get at restaurants in Toronto is the real thing!

Second stop... SHOP:

With full bellies, we left the restaurant to wander down the area looking for a bus to take us to Stanley market. We took an hour bus ride through very windy roads to the market. We were surprised to see just how green this part of the city was. We ended up near the ocean and the view was spectacular. It literally couldn't have been a more perfect day, the sky was brilliant blue and the temperature was low 20's. It was fantastic!

We loved Stanley market... it is where you can buy souvenirs, paintings, jewelery, clothes etc. We wandered around for a few hours and did some last minute shopping. Prices were reasonable, not dirt cheap like in South East Asia, but definitely better than at home!

Third stop... Queen Victoria Peak:

Again we took the bus, which we found to be inexpensive and easy to use! We found our way to Victoria Peak, and rode a funicular that went up the side of the mountain to see a nice panoramic of the city and to go to a shopping area. It was great view, and we were able to snap a few nice pics of the city.

Fourth stop... light show at the Harbour

We had heard about the light show that happens every night at the Harbour. We arrived early to the area only to find tons of people waiting. We wondered, is it this busy every night? If so, then this light show must be really really good.

There were police and many many volunteers patrolling the area. We couldn't find an English speaking person to ask what was happening so we left to go get dinner. We ate at a great Chinese restaurant...

Note: Would Chinese food in Hong Kong simply be called "food?"

Since it goes without saying that it is Chinese...

Or is it still called "Chinese food?"



After dinner we went back to the Harbour to find it "packed" with Thousands and Thousands of people and the police had shut down the streets to cars. At this point we realized that something special was happening, and it was the opening ceremonies for the East Asian Games. We stayed for a while to see the fireworks and the beginning of the ceremony but there was so many people and we couldn't see very well. We decided to cut out early and head back to our hotel to watch it on the television. This was a very good decision on our part... and when we turned on the television we saw a very elaborate opening ceremony and we were lucky enough to see some of the fire works from our hotel window.

All in all our time in Hong Kong was amazing. We found it to be a modern, bustling city with a lot of amenities to offer. It was easy to navigate around and in our experience the people were friendly and helpful. For a city that was one that I had not really been looked forward to seeing... it certainly surprised me! I'm glad that this was the city we ended our eight month long adventure with!!!!

~Nicola

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Hong Kong

Our last stop in South East Asia... Back to Bali

It was hard to leave Australia.

We had a really good time with my family and it was nice to see some familiar faces after being on the road for so many months.
Andrew and I had gotten accustomed to not living out of our backpacks and packing up all our things was such a task. We had somehow managed to acquire quite a number of things while in Australia... some gifts for family and some things for ourselves. Plus the 6kg statue that we had previously bought in Bali! Our backpacks were really put to the test, they were stretched and overloaded like they have never been before. Not only were we concerned about not getting everything in our bags, but we were also concerned about the weight of our bags. We really hoped that we would be under the weight restrictions for our flight.

Luckily for us... with our baggage weight combined we were OK and we had no extra charges. We did not have a direct flight from Melbourne to Australia. Unfortunately we had a four hour lay over in Darwin, which made the journey seem like forever!

We arrived in Kuta Beach, Bali later that evening... it was nice to come back to a familiar place. Of course we checked into the same hotel that we had been to twice before. It isn't the nicest place in Kuta but sometimes its good to be in familiar surroundings. The weather was hot and humid! Man, did we miss the hot weather! We took a room without air-con, but we didn't complain because we knew that we would not be experiencing hot weather for quite some time back home.

We soaked up some sun for a few hours before heading back to the airport.

Next stop.... Hong Kong!

~Nicola

G'day Mate!!! We made it to Australia

We decided to add two weeks onto our trip to go to the "land down under" to visit my family who lives there. Since Australia is so close to South East Asia, we felt we had to take advantage of the cheap air fare and go for a short visit. Obviously we knew that in two weeks we wouldn't be able to see a lot of the country. So we decided to just see Melbourne city and Upwey, where my family lives.

We had a great stay in Australia, my family made us feel really welcome and showed us around the city. We now can say first hand that Australia is more than just a place with funny named animals and spiders that can kill. Hopefully some time in the future we will return and see more of the country.

Sizzling in Melbourne:

We were warned by my family that Melbourne was having a heat wave and it was unusually hot for the spring season of November. Since we have been chasing summer for the better part of this year, we felt that the 40C weather was perfect for us. In fact, Melbourne lacks humidity so the temperature didn't feel hot to us at all... it was a relief from the oppressive heat of South East Asia. Only two days after we arrived the heat wave broke and it when back to a typical spring temperature of around 18C and rainy. This temperature felt extremely cold to us... and since our bodies were use to the hotter climate we had a hard time adjusting. We slept with four blankets every night, and wondered "how will we cope with the sub-zero temperature back home in Toronto?"

Allergies from H*ll!

In our entire time away, neither Andrew or I have had such extreme allergies! Upwey, where my family lives is basically located in the country side. Since it is their spring, there are a lot of new leaves etc... we both suffered from extreme allergies there. As soon as we landed in our next stop of Bali... miraculously the allergies were gone!!!!

Melbourne

Our first impressions of Melbourne city was that it reminded us of a smaller greener version of Toronto. It was a strange feeling being in a modern city, and out of the tropical environment that we had grown accustomed to. Of course within a few days, we were completely adjusted to our new environment and we adjusted quickly to having all the comforts of home that we had been without for so long. It has been "ages" since either me or Andrew have lifted a finger to do anything domestic like dishes, cooking, doing our own laundry, folding our laundry, making our bed or even cleaning after ourselves. So along with our new found comforts, came doing the occasional chore... a dose of "real life." For the first time in months Andrew and I stayed put in one place for two weeks. We started to feel less of a backpacker/transient traveller and more like we were on vacation.

My family lives about 1 hr east of Melbourne city in a suburb called Upwey. It is located up in the hills, in a quaint picturesque part of Victoria. It is a cute area that is located on the tourist trail, so every weekend bus loads of tourist pile off buses to look at the area. From Upwey to Melbourne city it is about a 1hr train ride, and Andrew and I took the train a few times to visit the city. We did the typical touristy things like visiting the Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail), taking a tram around the city and seeing the Queen Victoria Market.

Catching up with some friends

Along our travels we have been fortunate to meet some really great people from all over the world. In Mancora, Peru we met a couple named Jessica and Chris from Australia and we ended up spending a few days hanging out together. We really got along well, and when we decided to add Australia to our trip we contacted them to see where they were living. Coincidentally, they had relocated to an area just outside Melbourne city, about 2hrs by train from my family's house.

We spent a weekend at their home... hanging out and catching up. It was a really great weekend, and they were amazing hosts that took us out and showed us around their area. Definitely a highlight of our time in Australia.

Day tour to Phillip Island & Zoo

We took a day tour to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. Every night after sunset, the world's smallest penguins (1 ft) leave the ocean to walk to their nest on the main land. They set up bleachers so tourist can watch them. It was a great tour... the penguins were so cute and tiny!

The zoo was a great experience too... we got to hand feed kangaroos and Wallaby's. Very Cute!

~Nicola

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Melbourne, Australia

Fun Fact #5: TOILETS

Everyone loves a good toilet joke!!! Well in South East Asia the jokes on us!!!


It is the land of squatter toilets, which are only to be described as a toilet basin on the floor with two areas next to it for your feet and are always accompanied by a large bucket with water to scoop into the toilet after. It is something that us Western’s find hard to get accustomed to. As mentioned in the Fun Fact “Crouch” blog, our bodies just don’t seem to bend the way that is needed to use one of these toilets. In fact, I find it very troublesome and annoying to use them.


There is also something else that is commonly located right next to a Western toilet… and it is a hose (similar to a backyard hose) To this day I am still confused… What is that used for????


Western style toilets are becoming very popular across the continent but the funny thing is many locals prefer the squatter. When waiting in lines for the toilet, I have witnessed locals opt and wait for one of the squatters to become available instead of using a Western one.


A fact: There have been Western toilets with diagrams showing how to use them. One thing I find funny is the sign with the picture, showing NOT to stand on the toilet seat… but to use it by sitting on it. After seeing this diagram in a few establishments, I noticed that many Western style toilets do in fact have foot prints on them.


Don’t get me started on the lack of toilet paper available! It has become a “must have” of mine, I always have a roll of toilet paper in my bag or a package of tissue. I feel it is absolutely necessary to have such items, and I can’t understand how many people go without! I’m not judging them… I’m just sayin’!

Loving Lfe, Culture, Creativity and everything Ubud has to offer:

In yet another black out in Bali… here we are sitting on our front porch in a cute hotel in Ubud. The entire city in darkness, but we came prepared with a bag full of candles and a flashlight. We have learned from pervious experiences to always have a light source since Bali is notorious for blackouts. We rarely have them back home, so these experiences come as a somewhat exciting experience. I’m taking this opportunity to write our last blog of South East Asia, with a background noise of frogs and crickets singing in the rice paddies right outside our front door. It’s quite comfortable here in our liitle hotel, with a mosquito coil burning, many candles lining our little table and my husband sitting beside me smoking a cigar… silence and darkness is good for the creative juices!


Sometimes there are towns that are good, and sometimes there are town that are great! Ubud falls into the latter category. It’s neat, a little quirky and really friendly. The town itself is considered to be cultural capital of Bali. On an island where tourism is flourishing, sometimes it’s hard to find a place that is the “Real Bali”. It’s a place where traditional art and culture is everywhere to be discovered. We only have good things to say about this town, it’s one of those places that both Andrew and I find to have that “special” quality that we look for in a town we are visiting. I know there has been a lot of hoopla about Ubud every since the popular book “Eat, Pray, Love” was published, but that’s not the only reason to take a trip here. I can imagine it would be a place where a few days stay could easily turn into much much longer.


Immediately after exiting our bus from the coastal town of Kuta to the inland town of Ubud, we met a fellow named Katut. He drove us to a few hotels until we found one that we liked. Along this trip we have developed a strategy when it comes to touts, sellers of anyone in the tourism industry… it is to trust our gut! We really caught a good vibe from him so when he offered to come back in the evening to take us to his dance performance… he didn’t hesitate. Ubud is known for being a town with a lot of the traditions of Bali still in effect. There seems to be always a celebration of some kind happening, whether it is full moon, black moon or anything else. Traditional Balinese dancing is something that is also very popular and is hosted at the temples in the night. Our new friend Katut’s performance did not disappoint us; he played the Gamelan in the show dressed in a Balinese traditional outfit. After the performance we were invited to his home to have dinner with him. We love being included in things with locals; the kindness of strangers never ceases to amaze us. His wife cooked us a lovely meal, and we got to see his home. We spent a few hours chatting about life and we really appreciated every minute of it. Our meal consisted of various forms of chicken (smoked, congealed blood, bbq); we learned from Katut that he buys a live chicken everyday to slaughter himself. He uses every single part of the chicken and nothing ever goes to waste. He is one of those rare types that are completely glowing with happiness. Really inspiring!


Another thing Ubud is known for is being an artist town; it is where majority of Balinese art comes from. It seems everyone and their brother is artistic in some manner. Katut, for example plays the Gamelan (xylophone made of brass, hit with a bamboo hammer), is an amazing artist and sculptor and can also do traditional Balinese dancing. His entire family is artistic and almost all the members of his troop are related to him. There are hundreds of shops selling amazing art, and for Andrew and me it was very difficult to decide upon a “perfect” piece. We really wanted to bring something special back home with us, to remind us of our time in Bali and something that we both agreed on. After several days checking out shops we narrowed it down to two pieces. Which one we will decide upon is still not known.


Since we only have three days in Ubud… we felt we should maximize our time. Gone are the days where time is of no importance to us, so we had an early rise and off we went for a six hour hike/walk through the monkey forest, rice patties and village. Of course we timed everything wrong, and we were walking through the rice paddies in mid day sun. But I’m not complaining about the heat… since in only a few weeks time I will be braving the cold Canadian winter back in Toronto. Katot met us at our hotel later that day to drive us to a spa that he had heard was good. We indulged ourselves with a 1hr Balinese style massage and a 30 min body scrub after. It was fabulous… and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening at the spa.


For our last and final day in Bali we took a tour of a temple outside Ubud and ate lunch on a patio overlooking the rice terrances. It was extremely hot and the humidity was quite oppressive, we finished our day a little tired and worn out. We were invited back to our new friend Katot’s house for some Balinese coffee before our bus ride to the airport.


Spending time in Ubud was a wonderful way to say goodbye to Bali. We know that someday in the future we will return to Bali and of course a definitely stop will be to Ubud. I think the culture in Bali is so interesting, and the further we removed ourselves from touristy parts like Kuta beach… the stronger it became. It was sad to say goodbye to Ubud, but we were excited to see what our next stop of Australia had in store for us.


~Nicola

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Ubud, Bali

Just can't seem to stay away from Kuta Beach!

After the surfing experience in Bingin, we decided to head back to Kuta Beach to enjoy a few days of surfing at the easier Beach breaks there. It was a pretty funny feeling to come back to Kuta... we checked back into the hotel with the graffitized room. This time we got a different room, with no graffiti. The days we spent at the beach I was under the same rented umbrella as before. Most of the vendors in the area were surprised to see us back again, and of course like always they were relentless in their sales techniques.

Unfortunately, the surf wasn't very good for the few days that we were there. Waves were really small but Andrew was able to get out and ride a few.

A famous D.J. from the U.K. named Sasha was spinning at a club called Ocean's 27 in Kuta. We saw the fliers and decided to go and check it out. It was a beach party, so all the dancing was done on the beach. We saw some great fire dancers that night... probably the best we've seen all trip. (and we've seen a lot!) We had a great evening of dancing and listening to some good music. This was our first real club experience thus far in our trip!

All and all we had some great times in Kuta... Next stop Ubud!

~Nicola

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Kuta Beach II, Bali

Bingin Beach: Livin’ the Bali dream!

Finally we found the picture perfect place, the image that is conjured into your mind when the word “Bali” is said.

We had a spur of the moment change of plans and left Sanur to go to one more destination before our final planed stop in Ubud. Thank goodness we did that, because we were pleasantly surprised at what we found in Bingin beach. We hoped to find good surf and a nice beach, something to combine both Andrew and my passions, but what we ended up with was far better than expected.

A fellow traveler suggested a hotel on the beach and gave us a business card for it. Of course like every wonderful destination we had to “work” hard to find it. We left Kuta with our clueless driver who reassured us that he knew where the hotel was located, of course he did not! With our hotel business card in hand, we were dropped somewhere on the side of a dirt road and given instructions to follow a barely visible dirt path towards the beach area. We walked and walked with our heavy backpacks for what seemed like forever down many steep stairs towards the beach. It was not easy because all the accommodations are set upon a cliff side, so it involves quite the trek to get from hotel to hotel. Finally, after much sweating and frustration we finally found the place we were looking for, tucked away neatly up on the cliff. We worked hard to get there… and the hotel did not disappoint!

We got an upper bungalow facing the ocean; it was high up a winding set of large stairs into the cliff. Our huge front patio overlooked the ocean with an amazing view of the horizon. The bungalow is exactly the type of hut that is a mixture of rustic, but with the small touches of comfort. Our patio was lined with wicker carpets and the perimeter had a seating area of floor cushions with pillows along the walls. The bungalow was made of weaved bamboo and wood with tons of open area to let breeze in. The bathroom was Balinese style (short waist high wall), so whether sitting on the toilet or showering you could look into the ocean. One of the best features was the sunsets, from our patio while sitting on one of our comfy floor cushions we got to see the sun setting across the water. At night we fell asleep with all the windows and doors open, listening to the sounds of the ocean and feeling the ocean breeze.

Of course one major draw back of having a bungalow that has so many open spots for air to circulate is the amount of creepy crawlys that can enter. Our first night at Stinky's Place, as Andrew walked into the bathroom he saw something scramble behind the toilet. It really freaked us out since it was dark... Andrew looked behind the toilet and to his surprise.

It was a CRAB!!! How the heck did it get there??? We were located high up in a cliff. Maybe it climbed over the bathroom wall???

What a funny sight, Andrew trying to shoo it out of our bungalow with a broom in one hand and a toilet brush in another hand. The next day we spoke to the owner about the incident, and apparently it is quite common... and "NO", unfortunately you can not eat that type of crab.

Surfin' at Bingin:

The Bingin beach is essentially a rocky beach, with some areas of sand. We really liked the look of the beach, with the rocks giving it a natural appearance. At low tide you could see the rocks and coral really far into the water. Unfortunately for Andrew, he found out first hand just how shallow and sharp the rocks and coral can be on our skin.

The break was just a short paddle out from our hotel it was called Bingin (the name of the wave) it is a reef break which means that it breaks right over the coral reef area. We watched many people surf this area, all with grace and expertise- making it look really easy!

On our second day, Andrew rented a board to try his luck at Bingin Break. Let's just say that Andrew has found a new respect for the ocean and all its might! The water was really shallow and he incurred some minor cuts and scrapes on his hands and feet during his paddle out to the break. At the break he was tossed and thrown around a bit. The wave was strong and were breaking much quicker than what Andrew was used to and was pulled under the water a couple of times. He came back to the beach a bit tired, and feeling a little defeated.

After the surfing experience, we decided to change plans once more and head back to Kuta (where the surf is better for novices) before going to Ubud. This was very unexpected, but we both welcomed the chance to get back to the hustle and bustle of Kuta Beach.

Swankin' it up in Dreamlands:

After the surfing experience, we went to Dreamlands beach for some R&R. Unlike Bingin's rocky beach, it is sandy and better for swimming. It is another beach located about half hour walk from Binging beach. Since the tide was low, we were able to walk the distance instead of taking a taxi or motorbike.

Dreamlands was really nice, we rented an umbrella for the day to relax and escape the sun. The break there is called Dreamlands and it is a beach break, there were a lot of surfers out that day. The waves were really high and strong, I didn't go near the water because I watched many people get thrown off their feet at the edge. Of course Andrew went in the water, and had a great time diving through waves. We agreed that it was a good thing for him to get back into the water after the surfing incident, so that he not develop a fear of the water.

There is this huge entertainment complex called KLAPA right on Dreamland beach, it has a night club, two restaurants, pool and more to built in the future. We heard through other travellers that before the entertainment complex, golf course, and luxury villas were built it was a place where you could stay in traditional huts right on the beach and experience a really laid back vibe. This was only a few years ago, and apparently the construction of this huge complex has ruined the waves of Dreamland and of course has impacted the environment in many other ways.

But... I must admit I was very put off by the appearance of this big monstrosity looming right on the beach. It was concrete and massive and oh so ugly! After our afternoon under our nice umbrella we decided to get something to eat in the complex. We were surprised at how lavish and swank the complex was. We were immediately greeted by a Waiter who insisted on getting us the right table in the shade, when none were available he set us up our very own table under a tree to eat dinner. The prices of the food were high by our backpacker standard, but definitely not high by Western standard. They had a beautiful infinity pool that overlooked onto the ocean, which huge deck chairs to lie on. The whole area was grass, and we enjoyed the sunset in the infinity pool while listening to a live band. The whole experience was a bit over-the-top, but for a day... we felt like rock stars!

~Nicola

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Bingin Beach, Bali

Sanur & Nusa Lambongan

We left Kuta by way of minivan to a town called Sanur, which is the gateway to the island Nusa Lambongan. Since we axed our plans to go to an island off the east coast of Bali called Gili Islands, we decided to give another island called Nusa Lambongan a try. It came highly recommended in our guide book, and it was closer and easier to get to.

Before leaving for the island we stayed in Sanur for a couple days to explore the area. We were glad that we did because it had a nice beach that stretched for a few km’s. The sand was a golden shade and in some areas it was almost copper. The beach was so long that it always had a deserted feeling to it, and we enjoyed the quiet time to relax and catch up with some reading. The water wasn’t the best for swimming. There weren’t any big crashing waves like Kuta; on the contrary it had a low tide and a lot of seaweed. There are many seaweed farms in the area, so it was common to see big floating pieces in the water. The town itself was cute, there were a lot of shop selling the usual crafts and souvenirs and many restaurants to chose from. Usually we would take a Bemo into the main area, which is a minivan with no doors that you can flag down for a cheaper price than a metred taxi. We enjoyed our stay in Sanur because unlike Kuta with its party atmosphere, Sanur had a more mature vibe but still had the facilities to go out and have fun.

We stayed in really cute place called Shanti Home Stay, it was clean and comfortable… a welcomed change from our graphitized hotel in Kuta. Mixed in between the two budget accommodation areas were high end resorts with fancy property. We enjoyed some really great meals in the town at quite reasonable prices at the kind of restaurants that at home would be reserved for only special occasions.

One meal that we really enjoyed after a long day at the beach was BBQ corn from a local vendor. She would coat it with lots of butter, salt, black pepper and hot sauce. This is something that really suits mine and Andrew’s palate well. We will definitely bring this recipe home with us; the hot sauce would leave your lips feeling like they were on fire~ but sooo worth it! I love being in this region of the world because hot sauce is provided with everything. Unlike the sissy’s in the West that can’t handle spice, here everyone enjoys a “good sweat!”

Nusa Lambongan:
After a few days of chillin’ out, Andrew was ready to hit the surf! We boarded an early boat over to the island. Both of us were excited to get there and see what was in store for us. The boat ride was only about one hour, and I decided no seasick pills were needed. Water seemed to be smooth, so I anticipated no problems. Boy was that wrong, about half way there the waves became big and our small boat was bouncing all over the place. Myself and a few other passengers seemed to just hanging on to our breakfast by a thread. Thankfully we arrived safely, and other than some pale faces everyone was good.

We found accommodation on the side of the island where it is known to be in the budget category. Even still we had a difficult time finding something suitable, eventually we did find a classic Balinese style hut, simple and clean. Unfortunately our side of the island was not good for swimming; the water was basically a big boat parking lot with very shallow water at times. The good beach we were told was on the other side of the island but accessible only by motorbike or boat. Luckily our hotel staff arranged a boat for Andrew to go to the break (surf spot) called Playground, and then to drop me off at a beach to watch him.

The surf was not good that day, it is a reef break (waves over coral) and they were quite small. Of course the local Balinese kids, because of their size and skill were able to surf there and do 360’s and all kinds of tricks. When we met three of the little kids later on the beach, it turns out that they were all surfing with broken boards. One had a fin missing; another big chunk missing and one even had the nose ripped off. A lot of the kids here in Bali are great little surfers; they almost grow up on their boards and in the water. They are tiny, but they sure know how to tear it up!

The “better” beach was a little hard on the eyes. I wouldn’t consider it a good beach and it wasn’t easy to get too. Andrew and I made the decision that we would leave the following morning and head back to Sanur.

The one great thing about Nusa Lambongan was the amazing sunset. I have never seen the sun light up an area with such a vibrant shade of red. We really enjoyed sitting out at our hotel and watching it.

The following day on our boat back to Sanur, we noticed quite a few passengers from the day before… I guess others had the same feelings about Nusa Lambognan.

Back to Sanur:
Since we knew we liked Sanur, we decided to spend another few nights there before moving on to our next destination. We went back to our cute home stay, and again enjoyed some relaxing on the beach and some good food.

~Nicola

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Sanur & Nusa Lambongan, Bali

Fun Fact #4: BARE FEET

I’m all for removing shoes before entering stores or hotels IF the floor is kept clean. In hot countries everyone wears sandals so it is actually no bother to remove shoes and it can be done quickly.

We have stayed at quite a number of hotels where it is not permitted to wear shoes into the building. Shoes are to be removed at the door step, and every person inside has bare feet. This kind of practice is not done in the West, and I think some people may find it a bit unusual. The only time we found it to be a little strange was at a gas station bathroom that we stopped at while on a bus. We were asked to remove our shoes and put on the slippers that they provided.

That is where I draw the line!!! Wearing shoes others have worn, especially in a toilet… yuck!

During our visit to Vietnam we travelled with Sinh Café (a bus company) a few times we took long haul over night bus rides. The buses consisted of three rows of bunk beds running front to back. Upon entering the bus, we all were instructed to remove our shoes and everyone was given plastic bags to put them in. I completely agree with this practice, firstly it kept the bus really clean. Secondly, who wants to have someone climbing over you to reach the top bunk with their dirty shoes on?

Of course when visiting temples it is customary to remove your shoes as a sign of respect. The only thing that I find annoying in this is the heat of the floor; with the South East Asian tropical climate often times the ground is smokin' hot. It is very uncomfortable to walk over hot tiles or concrete in your bare feet. On occasion there have been so many shoes removed at the entrances that we worry, will my shoes be there when I get back??? So far nothing has ever happened to our shoes… and luckily they have always been exactly where we left them.

Fun Fact #3: AVOIDING THE SUN AT ALL COSTS & WHITENING PRODCUTS

Stripping my tan away? No way… that’s crazy talk!!!

Women in Asia go to great lengths to keep their skin fair and to avoid the sun. Women walk down the smoking hot streets with face visors, umbrellas, oversized hats, long sleeves, long pants and even wearing socks under their flip flops… basically doing everything in their power to avoid the sun’s rays. In Asia it is the exact opposite to the West… tanned skin is considered ugly and white skin is considered beautiful. In no way am I advocating gratuitous sunbathing, obviously I am aware of the medical reproductions of such practices.

Most of the skin products in South East Asia are geared towards whitening the skin. Something in the Western countries that just would not sell well. It is almost impossible to find a facial product that don’t contain a whitening formula. Whether it be facial cleansers or moisturizers or body lotions or underarm deodorant… almost everything is whitening. Even the big names like Loreal, Estee Laudier, Lancome etc have a line of whitening products. When Andrew and I go to the store to buy products we literally have to scourer the shelves to find something that won’t strip away our hard earned tans!

In contrast to Asia we in the West try our hardest to look like we have been on vacation by tanning, using bronzing makeup, spray tan, self tanners or tanning beds. I have spoken to a few locals about this topic and they can’t understand why would want to have dark skin…something that comes so easily for them in their tropical climate. They find white skin to be exotic in contrast to us finding dark skin exotic. I think that saying “The grass is always greener on the other side” applies perfectly to this!

It's Kuta, Baby!!!

It has always been a dream of ours to vacation in Bali. Even the mention of Bali brings up images of beautiful beaches, tropical paradises and lush green vegetation. Since my stomach was feeling good, the antibiotics had done its job, instead of spending an extra day in Yogya we decided to make our way to Bali a little earlier. After a LONG 18 hr bus ride from Yogyakarta we finally arrived into the main city of Denpasar.

Upon arriving at the bus terminal we got into a taxi to take us right into the famous surf area "Kuta Beach" We were surprised to find a vibrant, hectic and bustling town filled with young surfers (mostly Aussie's) and many, many shops lining the streets. The streets were very narrow and congested with motorbikes with surfboards attached to the sides. Walking was always a challenge and you had to be very careful about not getting swiped by a motorbike. Kuta beach is not the sort of place that you go for tranquility, it is a place where you can party hard all night and surf all day... if you want to (quite the opposite of what we had imagined Bali to be like). The budget accommodations are located a few minutes walk or motorbike from the beach. Our place had a pool and included a nice breakfast... our room was a joke, it was covered in graffiti done by drunken patrons and we had many laughs reading it.

It takes time... but Kuta really grows on you!
Our initial plan of staying in Kuta for three days, turned into a one week stay. The beach was huge and the surf was great for novice surfers like Andrew. Our days were spent on the beach... Andrew surfing and I under a rented umbrella and chair. Our nights were spent exploring the energetic town, eating great food and shopping.

Not only does Kuta have many street vendors selling crafts, clothes, jewelry and burned DVD's but they also have stores selling surf wear like Billabong, Quicksilver and Rip Curl etc. The beach sellers were relentless in their sales tactics. I have never been on a beach where they were so ruthless in the way they would "swarm" you in groups, sometimes up to five people all at once. They would keep persisting you buy their goods, but after a firm "no" they would take the hint and leave for the time being. They literally would beg and plead you to purchase, I was even asked blatantly if I would give one lady my hat, towel or sarong.

After a week of full time surfing, Andrew achieved his goal of mastering the art of "catching" waves. (I think he is a natural!) Now he wants to master the art of "carving" on the waves, he was very pleased with his improvements and techniques and felt ready to move on to another town for some bigger and more challenging surf.

At first we really weren't really diggin' Kuta because of it's resemblance to an Aussie College Frat Party, but Kuta is one of those places that really grows on you. We really felt like it was a cool place to be, although it could get wild in some spots with partying etc. It still had a good vibe to it and people were pretty friendly. The "Beach Snobs" (that's us) definitely wouldn't give the beach a high rating because it's not the picturesque post card type beach but for the over all atmosphere... pretty good.

~Nicola

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Kuta Beach, Bali

Fun Fact #2: THE CROUCH

Explanation: It is when you crouch down low to the ground but without your butt touching the floor.


This position is the position of choice for most of the people of South East Asia. It is how you will find people of all ages perching on the side of the road, waiting for a bus, eating a bowl of rice, chatting with friends, selling goods in the market, using the skwatter toilets or any other place you or I would need a chair.

This position is extremely difficult for our Western bodies to adjust to, I personally have tried to use this position but without success. After years of sitting on chairs our bodies just lack the flexibility that they have. It is like their legs and hip joints are made like Gumby’s… out of rubber! I know many elderly people who can barely sit cross legged on the floor, far less do the crouch.



Try it for yourself and hold the position, I kid you not… it’s difficult!

Fun Fact #1: NAILS

Throughout our trip to South America and South East Asia I have been compiling a list of random things that I call “fun facts” they are things that I find interesting or different. Due to procrastination my list has been growing longer without any of them being posted in the blog. I’m going to start posting them periodically from now on.

What is the deal with the nails???? Why do men in South East Asia have an obsession with growing their nails long? If all their nails aren’t long, why only grow the pinky nail?

No matter what country we have been to in this sub-continent it is oh so common to see men with long nails. I wondered, Is it because men here are notorious “pickers?” You can’t go a day without seeing someone use that long nail to probe into the depths of their nostril or deep into their ear canal. Or is it just plain fashion? Or is it cultural?

I recently asked a local Vietnamese guy, and the answer is confirmed and simple, it is to do what we all naturally wish we could do in public but due to social boundaries we do not…. It’s for PICKING!

Visiting some ruins and watching a little ballet in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

We took an eight hour train ride to Yogyakarta (pronounced "Jojakarta"). We booked a ticket in "Eksekutif" class and it was our best train experience to date. Although the train was old, it was very comfortable and the service was great.... it made our ride go quickly and before we knew it we had arrived in "Yogya"

Getting off the train in Yogya felt like entering back into a familiar world. Gone was the glitz and glam of Jakarta and Singapore, and back was the South East Asia we know and love. We checked into a cute guest house that had a swimming pool, it was an unexpected treat and we took full advantage of it for the four days we spent there (Andrew performed water running in the 5" deep pool).

Borobudur
On our second day in the city we had an early start to the day. We were picked up at 4:45am to drive to Borobudur for a sunrise tour of the temple. It is located outside Yogya and is a Mahayana Buddhist temple that was built around 800 AD, (even before the famous Ankor Wat in Cambodia.) Unlike other temples, there is no place to enter inside to worship so it is debated if it is a temple or a monument.

Currently only a very small percentage of Indonesia's population is Buddhist, but this monument was built in a time before Islam swept across Indonesia when Buddhism and Hinduism were the main religions of the country/ region. Presently at certain times of the year, many Buddhists make a pilgrimage to the sight to meditate and worship.

In the last few months we have been to a variety of different temples and ruins in both South America and South East Asia. Obviously some are more memorable and impressive than others, but we love visiting them all. Something that we have noticed during our visits is the quality of the restorations. Before coming on this trip, both Andrew and I were a little too optimistic in our thinking that the temples would be close to there original states. We were sadly wrong, of course to keep them from falling apart repairs must be made to preserve them. For example if a structure was made without mortar originally, the restorations always put the stones or bricks back with mortar... sometimes neatly or other times quite messy. Sometimes the carvings need to be restored so that the scenes can be clearly seen. Unfortunately we have seen some restorations that have been done so poorly and carelessly that it stands out from the original structure like a sore thumb. On one of the most extreme cases in South America, we were shocked to see that the walls were stabilized by pouring some mixture of ugly cement right on top of it. But in the case of Borobudur we thought it was preserved very well especially since it has been a target to bombings and earthquakes. When we visit temples or other ancient structures we have come to realize not to feel disappointed by renovations, but to feel happy that they have been preserved for us to safely experience them.

A night out at the... Ballet?

We went to a temple called Prambanan, which is a Hindu temple outside Yogyakarta to watch a performance of a famous Hindu epic called the "Ramayana". The stage and seating was outside and in the background was a huge Hindu temple. Since it was night time, the temple in the background was illuminated by bright lights. The dancing was done in traditional Javanese style ballet, which is not your typical "ballet". The cast consisted of close to 100 dancers and was primarily men. Even though we weren't familiar with the story, the costumes were amazing and colourful and combined with the beautiful background it made for a memorable evening.

Oh oh... the South American curse part II:

Oh how soon I forgot the feeling of the "South-American belly sickness". It had been a glorious three months without a hint of problems. I was starting to feel "invincible", like it was light years away from the hospital visit back in Bogota. Unfortunately for me... a trip away wouldn't be complete without a healthy dose of antibiotics. Being such a pro in that matter... I wasted no time in diagnosing myself and started medicine immediately. No doctor needed.... in a day I was healthy again!

~Nicola

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Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Spending a few days in another modern city: Jakarta, Indonesia

What I thought I knew about Jakarta was immediately proven wrong the instant we arrived in the downtown core.

Out of everywhere we have been in the last few months, Jakarta was the biggest surprise to me. I expected the city would be massive and populated because of the 8.9 million people residing in the city. Over half of the country’s population of 255 million live on Java the island that Jakarta is located on. What I wasn’t expecting was an ultra modern city with huge buildings, even more expensive malls catering to the elite than Singapore and many high end chain hotels. With so many massive SUV’s and expensive cars and huge mansions it seemed like we were somewhere other than a city in South East Asia. What brought us back to reality was the mandatory security checks when entering any public building in the downtown core. Everyone had to walk through a metal detector and have their bags searched. Cars were also checked by metal detector, trunks inspected and the guards used mirrors to check under the body of the car. It was crystal clear that this was a city that has experienced danger and was protecting the areas most frequented by foreigners or people with money from things like bombings, terrorist attacks and other security issues. Only a few months ago in July 2009, there was a bombing in the city at two high end hotels. The threat is very real in Jakarta, and the only place that we felt like this was in Bogota where the security was also on high.

In Jakarta (I’m embarrassed to say) we didn’t try any of the local cuisine. The city is littered with big Western chain restaurants like Mc Donald’s, Burger King, Chilli’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Tony Roma’s to name a few. In the downtown core you don’t have to walk far until you come across one of these chains. We did have a great sushi lunch one day, which was a fraction of the price of our Sushi dinner in Singapore.

Gambling and pornography is illegal in Indonesia and drugs are punishable by death. Signs are posted through out the airport so there can be no confusion about drugs in the country. On the entry card, having pornography has to be declared upon entry. Although most of the 255 million populations is Muslim most of the country seems to practice a more laid back version of Islam. We were surprised to find not all women wearing head scarves like in Malaysia. The mosques have loud speakers outside to broadcast the Call To Prayer LOUDLY. The first call is around 5:00am in the morning. Luckily for Andrew he is a sound sleeper and to-date has not heard it at 5:00am. For everyone who isn’t as sound of a sleeper as Andrew, it is loud, sounds a little haunting and beautiful all at the same time.

A night out in Jakarta
We read in our guidebook that Jakarta has a pretty wild night life. On our first night there we decided to take a trip to the entertainment strip and go to a bar. To our surprise the street that was listed in our guide book was practically deserted. As it was a Sunday night there were only a few bars open, and a few people on the street. We went into a British Pub and ate a great dinner. We chatted with the bartender named Vivi, who was a very friendly young girl who recommended a few places for us to go. She told us that on weekends the street is literally spilling over with people, food vendors and the bars are full with people.

Vivi suggested we go to a bar called “Top Gun” which was located on the same street as the pub. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the band was pretty good and they sang all kinds of classic cheesy pop songs. Of course like most places in South East Asia… the bar had an underlying sense of seediness to it. Scattered through the bar were Dirty old Men (D.O.M’s) everywhere and double the amount of Asian women dancing or standing around or chatting. Just like Thailand and the Philippines, Indonesia has a problem with prostitution and unfortunately it is common to find many girlie bars (bar where female escorts wait for male patron’s business). That night we did a lot of people watching and laughing.

The unspeakable… Bedbugs!
Honestly, I can barely say the word before I shudder in disgust. It is a backpackers worst nightmare, and any mention of having bedbugs or being in a hostel with bedbugs can get you turned away from a place in an instant. We have been travelling for over six months now and we have been lucky enough to not cross paths with any hostel or guest houses with bedbug outbreaks. In the hot weather and questionable sanitation bedbugs can spread in a city with reasonable speed. Last year in Thailand we have the unpleasant experience of seeing bedbugs in a long haul bus ride for the first time. At that moment we realized that they look much different than what we had thought and the image of them crawling on the buses carpeted walls will never be forgotten. Recently, on our 2nd day in a guest house in Jakarta we had our first encounter with bedbugs. Andrew and I saw one sitting on top of our bed sheet, we of course freaked out!

Just like cockroaches… where there is one there are many.

Did we bring it in our bags from our last gross hostel in Singapore?
Was this guest house in Jakarta infested?

We examined our bodies for the tell tale signs of bites, but we found none. We made the decision to back up our things and find other accommodation. As mentioned before, Jakarta has many choices of high end hotels and boutique style hotels, but “economical” accommodation is limited. There is a small area which is nothing like Khao San Rd, Bangkok and that was where we were staying. We ended up finding a nice hotel, cheap by Western pricing but our most expensive hotel to-date. We enjoyed the having a few comforts like satellite t.v, hot water and a coffee maker in our room.

We enjoyed being in Jakarta, but just like I said when leaving Singapore… We look forward to getting back to the real South East Asia- sometimes dirty, cheap and full of culture... the way we love it!

~Nicola

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Jakarta, Indonesia

Exploring Singapore

We will definitely return to Singapore in the future, only not on a backpackers budget!

Oh Singapore! What a magnificent little city with so much to offer. There are a lot of things for tourists to do and a lot of ways to spent some hard earned cash. The rumors of a clean city are true, the streets are clean and people are very careful where they put their litter. In fact, there were barely any cigarette butts on the streets and no gum imprints on the floor. It was refreshing to see this kind of cleanliness after spending so much time in South East Asia. The modern sky scrapers loom over the city, and there are no shortage of shopping centres that cater to the elite. The food was a wide range of local to western restaurants. For us we filled our days doing window shopping, visiting an Asian Civilization museum and a lot of walking around the city.

• No eating or drinking on the subway! As we purchased our ticket for the super modern subway system we were surprised to learn that there is absolutely no food or drink allowed on the subway. The ticket agent pointed to the bottle of water in my hand and then to the diagram showing a fine for breaking the rule. In our observation the subway was spotless, and people followed the rules.


• Prices for goods and services were almost at-home pricing. One evening we decided to take the subway to an area called Clarke Quay where there are tons of restaurants, bars and clubs that line the canal. It was quite a trendy area, and it was packed with people. We decided to treat ourselves for a nice dinner of sushi and then for a drink at a beer bistro… it was great food, but unfortunately it cost almost the amount of one days budget. Oh well, we enjoyed ourselves and it was nice to dress up and do something that we haven’t done in a while.


• Everything was very orderly in Singapore. Even the taxi automatically dictated that amount owing.


• The main “shopping street” that we were recommended to go to was amazing/crazy. There were literally over ten huge shopping malls on one street. Most places were filled with designer labels and I wondered how there could be so many Luis Vutton stores on one street. Are there that many people who shop there???

One day for dinner we decided to stroll around Little India (where we were staying) and find something good to eat. We stumbled across this little Indian restaurant which was full of men eating inside. We decided since it was so busy we would give it a try. We find we usually have the best luck with food at those places that look a little dodgy, but are filled with locals. The waiter suggested some food for us and we were delighted that it turned out amazing. Andrew was in his “element” shoveling goopy rice with all kinds of sauces into his mouth with his bare hands. (Indian eating style) We tried mutton, liver and chicken and all kinds of toppings to go with it, all served on a big palm leaf. Andrew says it was his best Indian meal yet on the trip. Best thing was, it was cheap!

Our Hostel: “The best movie hostel” (that was the name of it)
YUCK! GROSS! This was nasty! After arriving at our originally planned hostel, only to catch the vibe of “seediness” we decided to scope out another place to stay. We wandered down the street and found a hostel with really nice staff working there. We hesitantly booked into a 12 person dorm, but were reassured that it was not full and there would only be 2 other people in it that night. We decided to take it as it was getting dark and the only private room in the hostel was well over $50 CAD. Andrew and I have only stayed in one other dorm room and it was in Lima, Peru. I’m not keen on the idea of sleeping in a room with other people, and if it can be avoided… we do. Our 12 person dorm was small and claustrophobic like what I imagine a room on a submarine would feel like. The dorm consisted of 4 bunk beds that were 3 beds high and occasionally we did see some creepy crawly cockroaches run across the floor. The shared bathrooms were among the worst I’ve seen and let’s just say… shoes stayed on at all times! Anyways, we did manage to keep our accommodation costs low, so in that respect we were happy.

We stayed in Singapore for four days, what we saw we really liked. We hope to return in the future to visit it again.

Java? Bali?
We weren’t sure whether to leave Singapore and fly straight to Bali or to fly to Jakarta which is on the island of Java. In the end we decided to spend a few days on Java and visit Jakarta and a few other cities on the way to Bali. We were conflicted because recently there had been some “unrest” in Jakarta and there had been an earthquake not too long ago. In the end we figured that we would take the opportunity to visit some more temples, ruins and see some more sights before relaxing on the sunny beaches of Bali. We are looking forward to heading back to a less modern city and back to the real South East Asia- sometimes dirty, cheap and full of culture... the way welove it!

~Nicola

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Singapore, Singapore

Taking in the sights and hanging out with friends in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is one of those cities that we would consider “livable” and was not intimidating to navigate around. The downtown core is modern and has a considerable amount of tall new buildings. We didn’t stay long in Kuala Lumpur, but from what we saw, we found it to be a place that is easy to travel and the locals were very friendly and helpful. Just like Penang we enjoyed the mix of different cuisines like Chinese, Malay and Indian. The thing that we found really refreshing was the lack of pushy vendors, sellers or touts. There weren’t people on the street asking if you needed a motor taxi, or drivers yelling if you need a taxi or a tour guide. In that way Kuala Lumpur seemed like a city outside South East Asia.

We arrived in the city not sure if we would enjoy being there because we heard a mix of reviews from other travelers, but we have learned throughout our time away that advice from others should be taken with a grain of salt.

Did we enjoy Kuala Lumpur? Absolutely!

We are the type of rare travelers that actually enjoying being in cities. Kuala Lumpur isn’t a city with a ton of excitement like Bangkok, or it didn’t have glitz like Singapore, but we spent our time sightseeing, eating and hanging out.

Meeting up with “The Brits”
On our second night in the city, we met up with our British friends Phil and Danielle (whom we had met before the Perhentian islands). We had a good night out in the city eating from street stalls and enjoying a few drinks together and some great conversation.

The Petronas Towers
A visit to Kuala Lumpur wouldn't be complete without going up and walking across the skybridge of the formerly tallest buildings in the world. We were waiting in line for our tickets at about 7:00am and were one of the first to go up the tower for the day. It offered some great views of the city.

Visiting a couple Mosques and a Hindu cave temple
Neither I nor Andrew has ever been to a Mosque before so we were looking forward to seeing one for the first time. The first of two we visited was the oldest Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. Non-Muslims are allowed to come into the premises, but are unable to enter any of the prayer halls. It is mandatory that every part of your body be covered except face, hands and feet. Therefore we were both given robes (they resembled the robes you wear on graduation day) and I got to choose a colourful scarf to wrap over my head. A volunteer of the mosque kindly wrapped it around me and when I looked into the mirror it felt quite strange. With the scarf covering everything except my face, I felt very…. Anonymous. Malaysia is officially an Islamic nation and most women, of any age, wear a head scarf and clothing that covers most of their extremities although it is rare for the women of Malaysia to cover their face.

Mosques are decorated simply and modestly. This particular one was all white marble that created a calm feeling. Since we come from “The West” Andrew and I know very little about Islam and we have never met anyone who could tell us about the religion. Presently a lot of Muslims are misunderstood and treated unfairly and maybe it’s because we know very little about their culture other then what we see in the media. We had the pleasure of chatting with a volunteer at the Mosque about some of their traditions and their basic practice and beliefs. We picked up some brochures about Islam and have since read them. I am glad we did because it answered some things that we didn’t know about their religion and way of life.

The second Mosque we visited was the largest in the country. Again, we were permitted to enter into the premises (unless a prayer was going on), but now allowed to go into the prayer hall. Andrew and I both were given robes to wear, and the females put on the hood to cover their hair. This mosque had its prayer hall roped off and we were still able to see inside. It was also very modest and plain, with some Arabic inscriptions on the walls. I must’ve look like a really “curious/inquisitive” person because a very lovely volunteer scoped me out through the crowd and approached and asked if I had any questions about Islam. We chatted for a while, and again we picked up some more pamphlets that explain Islam to the laymen.

On our last day in Kuala Lumpur we took the public bus to see the Batu Caves, which is a large Hindu temple located in a cave with a massive golden statue in front. To enter the cave we climbed 272 stairs to the top with monkeys all along the sides. They all sat there and stared at us, waiting for the perfect opportunity to run up and grab anything discarded or in our hands. They were cute, but very mischievous and quick. On our way down from the temple, I carried a tissue in my hand, and in an instant a monkey snuck up from behind me and grabbed it out of my hand. Of course I screamed aloud, and when I looked back the sneaky little bugger was trying to eat my tissue.

After this we wished our wild British friends bon voyage and they were off to the exclusive country of Brunei (which they told us later is an alcohol free country). We spent the rest of our last day in KL relaxing and awaiting our bus to Singapore in the morning.

~Nicola

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Perhentian Islands

A beautiful beach, an island spilling with wildlife, sharks, sea turtles, sun and sand just to name a few highlights of our time on the islands.

At the early departure of 5:00 am we set off by mini bus to The Perhentian Islands. Even though it was really early, Andrew and I were super psyched to be going there. We had heard a lot of really great things about the islands, and because of that we had it pegged for another great tropical paradise!

The Perhentian Islands are a group of islands off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The two main places where people stay are "Kecil" which is the small island and "Besar" which is the big island. We decided to start off on Kecil which is known for it's backpacker vibe rather than expensive resort-like hotels. Also our guide book said that the night life was better on Kecil, and recommending staying on Long Beach. This is an Islamic country so just like the mainland, there aren't a lot of places that sell alcohol. Andrew was prepared and bought some booze in advance.

We took a 1/2 boat ride to the island, it was on a fast speed boat. We sped through the water at terrifying speed, it was as if we were riding a rocket. A couple times I was close to flying over the edge as we crashed over a big wave.

Finally we arrived on Kecil, Long Beach... First Impression?!?!? Not good!

We found the beach to be dirty and ravaged. In the blazing hot sun, we ran around the beach checking out all the accommodations. After looking at most places we were still not impressed. The huts were old, and were among the worst that I have seen during our entire trip. We were tired, sweaty and were functioning on a bag of chips which was our only meal of the day. I have to say our mood was pretty "grim" and we felt quite let down.

Where was the paradise that we had heard so much of???

After careful discussion we decided to take a gamble and decided to cross the island by foot to check out lodging on the other side. We didn't know if it would be better, but we didn't want to settle until we found something we were happy with. In our exhaustion we threw on our heavy packs, got our things and began to slowly trek through the jungle on a tiny winding dirt path. We heard that it was a 10 min trek we had also heard that it was a 30min trek. It was midday, and hot hot hot! Finally after about 15 mins we made it threw the jungle and arrived at Coral Bay. Our first impression were great... the bay was small and quaint and had only a few places for accommodations but all were on the beach. So the jungle trek... well worth it!

Shari-La & Coral Bay
We met a British couple (Hi Danielle and Phil) on the mini bus and took the boat with them. It was myself and Phil who checked out the sub-par accommodations on Long Beach. About 15mins after arriving on Coral Bay, they showed up too. So we all joined forces... and started our search for our usual criteria of cheap, good, clean accommodation. Phil (who has the highest energy level we have ever seen) and Andrew walked up and down the beach looking for a place to stay. We finally settled on a hotel called Shari-La.

Our Snorkel Adventure
We bought snorkel gear in the Philippines, so we were prepared. What we weren't prepared for was the variety of species that we saw. We booked a 1/2 day snorkel trip, which consisted of going to three location. The water was a shade that I've never seen before. It was the brightest turquoise and from the boat in spots you could see the bottom with no problems. Luckily for us... weather and visibility was great that day.

• The Light House: This was our first location. There were beautiful bright coral and tons of colourful fish.
• Turtle Point: Our guide saw a turtle surface for air so immediately we all jumped off the boat the followed it. The creature was magnificent, it was graceful and huge. We watched it sit and lazily munch on plants on the bottom of the ocean until finally it surfaced again for another breath. We all swam along with it up to the surface, the entire time the turtle swam it didn't seem to mind us being right behind it. I was surprised at how fast it could swim, and also the huge size of it. We spent a while at turtle point, and all together we spotted four turtles. Our guide Matt, had a underwater camera so we all took turns taking photos of each other. Some people (me not one of them, Andrew was one of them) even were able to swim to the bottom to get a photo with the turtle.
• Shark Point: This was the part of our excursion that I was feeling a bit hesitant about it. Firstly I've only snorkeled a few times in my life, and secondly... I don't want to be eaten by a shark! The location had even better coral than the previous locations, they were colourful and massive. When the first person of the group yelled "Shark!" I think everyone did a little gasp, than swam towards where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a shark circling around under neath us. These sharks weren't anything close in size to "Jaws", they were quite small but regardless... they were sharks. We spotted a few and as the water was clear, we could see them from a distance.

Good bye Kecil, Hello Besar
We stayed on Kecil, the small island for three days. We had great weather and enjoyed nightly a good seafood BBQ but we had a feeling that there was something much better and beautiful out there. So we said good bye to Danielle and Phil and hopped on a boat to the "Big island"

Immediately upon arrival we were glad to be there. We, the "Beach Snobs" let out a deep sigh in satifaction and looked around to find the beach to be amazing and the scenery spectacular, it was what we had imagined The Perhentians to be like. We chose a place called Abdul's from our friend Nicole's recommendation. The bungalows were located right on the beach, and was at the end of the beach. We were disappointed to find out the Abdul's was closing in a few days for monsoon season. But regardless, we decided to stay and enjoy the remaining days that it was open. Although the beauty of the island was breathtaking... the prices were not! Our guide book was right, mostly vacationers and families come to Besar and consequently the prices are "vacationer" prices not "backpacker" prices. Before committing to Adbul's we took stroll down the beach to check out the other places and all were great quality. Of course Andrew, the whiz at negotiation talked us into a better price at Abdul's on a beach front bungalow but still it was our most expensive accommodation to date.

Abdul's was great, the staff was friendly and helpful. Abdul generously let us stay an extra night after the resort was officially closed. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, and met a great retired couple from Buffalo, New York in America (Hi Linda & Chris) that stayed in the bungalow next door to us. Our days there were filled with exploring around our beach, relaxing, swimming and chatting to our neighbours on our porch.

On our second day on Besar, our British "mates" Danielle and Phil arrived. They also checked into Abdul's and we enjoyed a great day fishing and relaxing. The beach after ours was assessable by climbing a set of stairs up and down until you reached the next beach. If Adbul's beach was beautiful the next two beaches were PARADISE. There were no hotels and no one was there. Phil, had brought his own collapsible fishing rod with him. He caught live bait and then tried (and almost succeeded) to catch sharks. It was such an amazing ecosystem, while standing on the beach it was possible to see sharks and tons of fish swimming. During one of our walks back to our beach, we saw a pack of black monkeys in the trees eating food. It was a treat to see them in the wild.

After four great days on the Big Island it was time to leave and get on the boat for another bumpy ride back to the mainland.

~Nicola

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Pulau Perhentian Besar & Kecil, Malaysia

Snorkeling in the Perhentians

Eating our way through Pulau Penang!!

First stop… Penang, Malaysia

The first moments in a new country is always exciting. It’s great to absorb and take everything in for the first time. Our first stop in Malaysia was in Penang. It’s an island off Peninsular Malaysia and it is known for its culinary delights. We arrived in Penang not knowing what to expect, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a quaint little city. This is the only country in South East Asia that we have been to that has such a mix of cultures. The people of Malaysia consist of Malay, Chinese and Indian people. It is an Islamic nation therefore the majority population is Muslim, but there are also many Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. You can be walking down the street and see women with head scarves, saris, western clothes or the clothes that Orthodox Muslim’s wear (I’m not sure what the correct name is). On every street there were temples, mosques or churches. We found it very refreshing to see such a mix of cultures all living together. We loved listening to the enchanting sounds of the Call to Prayer from the Mosques. We have never heard this before, and we were surprised at how eerie yet beautiful is sounded all at the same time. Generally the people in Malaysia speak English really well, so communicating was not a problem. We also found the people to be extremely friendly and helpful.


Not all accommodation can be a magical beach hut on the beach, or a great room in a hotel. Our room in the guest house had no windows and was literally a box. Our sleeps were as if we were knocked out, the lack of lighting allowed us to deep sleep for many hours and we always woke with a sense of confusion about whether it was night or day. The walls were make- shift and voices could be heard coming from all sides (including the floor). Other than the room, our guest house offered great and friendly advice and had an agency that offered good prices for buses.


Eating our way through Penang:
Our first night for dinner we literally ate our way down the street. Our first stop was at a vendor that sold different types of meats and seafood on skewers. We watched how the locals were eating and figured out that you choose a skewer put it in a communal tub of boiling water and wait for it to cook. When it was done cooking, you could dip into different sauces and eat it right there standing up. We enjoyed a few skewers (fish balls, pork balls, beef liver) as an appetizer then continued on our way down the street.


Our next stop was at a stall with a local noodle dish; the next stop was noodle soup, then we sampled some dim sum and finally we washed it all down with fresh fruit juices. On a side note: Fresh fruit juices made on the street are a constant staple throughout Asia, its healthy and yummy. Why don’t we have these at home??? I think we should have juice stalls on the street too. Forget these $7 smoothies from big fancy chain stores, make them the old fashion way and keep it simple and cheap!


Thanksgiving in Penang:
Forget the gobble-gobble… we ate a feast in India town. Andrew and I haven’t eaten Indian food since our trip to India last year. We were happy to find this area of town and were surprised at how it transformed us back to our trip last year. We felt like we were back walking the streets of India. The people were crowded in the streets, and there were loud music and colours everywhere. We found a restaurant and enjoyed an assortment of Indian food. The food was great and we enjoyed the meal, in fact we enjoyed it so much we returned there the following two nights for another “Thanksgiving dinner!”


Sights of Penang:
We went to a Buddhist sanctuary called Bodhi Heart Centre. It was a beautiful place just outside the main city. We went to hear a Dhamma talk, and were surprised to find the other people attending were all part of a senior’s/ retiree group. After listening to a monk talk, the group insisted that we must stay for lunch. It was pot luck of Malaysian food, everyone was very nice and they kept giving us more and more food. Again, we were fortunate enough to meet great people who have gone above and beyond to extend kindness to us. We took a brief tour of the sanctuary stayed to chat a bit then left to head back to our guesthouse.
When we arrive in a city we usually like to take Trishaws (a bicycle rickshaw) to see the city and to get acquainted to where we are. Unlike the madness of riding through Vietnam, this one was relatively calm. I can’t image how hard it must be to ride up and down the city pushing two people, the entire time talking and giving us an excellent tour. We took an hour ride around the city, through China town, India town and other sights.


The Penang transit was easy to navigate and figure out. The buses were extremely modern and the routes were extensive. We took a bus to a funicular which took us up a hill called Penang Hill. It had spectacular views of the city. We spent the afternoon exploring the area, then took the Funicular back down and went to the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia.
After four days in Penang, with a full belly we decided to move on tour next destination.

~Nicola

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Pulau Penang, Malaysia

On the road: From Thailand to Malaysia...

Big decision: Land Crossing vs Flying to Malaysia

Leaving our comfy beach paradise in Ko Pha Ngan was sad, since we had been there for ten days we were really comfortable in our surroundings. We had met some great people there, but like always it became time to say goodbye. We debated for a long time about whether to cross into Malaysia by land or by airplane. The land crossing through the South of Thailand goes through areas that have had unrest in the past. The South is a Muslim area and on occasion there have been bombings, violence and terrorist activity. On the other hand, the other option was to fly North back to Bangkok and then take a separate flight into Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We consulted the Government of Canada travel website which advised NO travel through the area, but after speaking to other travelers and to Thai’s we decided to do the crossing by land. There are two ways to cross in the South, one is through the east side of the country which is not recommended for foreigners and the other route was through the west, which is recommended, by the people we spoke with, and safe at the moment.

Our travel day was a long one that lasted 24hrs.

• We left our hotel on Bottle Beach at 3:30pm and took the hour long dirt road by 4x4 to the ferry dock.


• Took a 3 hour ferry @ 5pm to the mainland.


• Bused 1 hr to the train station.


• Waited at the train station for 4 1/2 hours, train was delayed by 1 hr. It finally came around 1:30am. There were a few trains that came before ours and by the time our train came we were the only “Farang” Westerners on the tracks. I was a little nervous, and started to wonder why no one else was crossing into Malaysia this way.


• Boarded our 2nd class sleeper train: Both of us had top bunks, which had curtains to block the light. It was our first sleeper experience it was quite comfortable although our big packs had to sit at the edge of our beds. In the morning we were woken up at the early hour of 7:00am and ordered breakfast. The top bunks were folded away, and we lost our comfy sleeping area and had to sit on bench seating.


• We arrived at the border got off the train with our luggage and went through immigration. Only to discover we had overstayed our Thai visa by a few hours, therefore needing to pay a fee.


• Train left 1hr later and we continued on the railway until our final destination in Butterworth. Total train ride: 12 hours.


• From Butterworth we walked to the ferry to take us to our final destination of Penang. Luckily the ferry was only a few minutes.


• Upon arrival we took a taxi to our guest house in the city around 3:30pm, which was 24 hours since leaving Bottle Beach.

It was a LONG travel and a test of patience for us both!

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On the Road...

Finding a slice of paradise in Ko Pha Ngan

We, the self proclaimed “Beach Snobs” find paradise again on a small and isolated beach call Hat Kuad on the island of Ko Pha Ngan.

After leaving Nai Plao by taxi we drove to the ferry to take us to Ko Pha Ngan, which is an island near Ko Samui. (Ko means island in Thai) We chose Ko Pha Ngan over Ko Samui because we wanted something relaxing without all the mega resorts and glitz on the beach. Ko Pha Ngan is a small island that is famously known for its wild full moon parties that have been happening since the 80’s. But there are still areas on the island that have amazing beaches that are far away from the full moon party area. Andrew and I decided to go to an area far away from there called Hat Kuad or Bottle Beach.

More Bottle Beach, yes please!
Bottle Beach is located on the Northern part of Ko Pha Ngan. Weather permitting it is only accessible by boat from an area called Chalok Lam or by very bumpy dirt road which can only been done by 4x4. After getting off the ferry we drove to Chalok Lam to get a long tail boat to Bottle Beach. Unfortunately for us the last boat was gone and there wouldn’t be another one until the morning. We spent the night in a fishing village, in a very rustic beach front bungalow. This is the first time that we have every stayed in a bungalow that had a bathroom without a roof. It was quite a strange experience to be showering etc, essentially outside under the stars and trees. The village was quite charming, with cute restaurants and some little shops.

The following day we took the early morning long tail boat and headed off to Bottle Beach which went through some choppy water. We got off the boat to find ourselves on a picture perfect small beach located in a bay with white soft sand and clear emerald water. Along the beach there were only four small hotel complexes and one little store. In the distance on either length of the beach were green hills, which made the view spectacular. Following the recommendation from a Westerner that has lived in the area for ten years, we checked in to a place called Bottle Beach III. We chose a two storey bungalow right on the beach with two big patios, a big comfy bed and a lot of windows. Almost immediately our plans for staying only a few nights turned into a plan to stay for double.

We spent our days relaxing on the beach and eating great food, in the evenings our hotel played a different movie every night on a big screen and after the movie we enjoyed sitting on our patio listening to the waves and chatting. I must mention that we got the best sleeps in our little bungalow and the beautiful beach had no touts or venders. At night we would leave the windows open so that we could hear the waves all night. Not every day was sunny, but regardless we enjoyed the beach and the ocean. The temperature was perfect, even when it was sunny the wind kept things comfortable. We thoroughly enjoyed the cooler evenings, and for the first time in ages we felt a bit chilly at night. Another thing that I must mention is the lack of creepy crawly bugs! We rarely saw any geckos and I didn’t see any of the giant cockroaches that are commonly seen in Asia and the best part of all there were no RATS!

Like always, we became friends with the people from the restaurant and one night we were invited to a birthday party. That night we ate bbq, drank beer and sang songs to a guitar. It was another great night and we felt really fortunate to be staying in another paradise.

Since we extended our stay on the island, the full moon fell on our fifth day. We figured we should go and experience the event as it is such a famous thing to do. During the day of the party, our hotel filled up with people and you could sense the excitement even though we were far away from the party. At 9:30pm we all squished into a 4x4 sawngthaew (which is a pick up truck with two bench seats) We took an hour long journey to the party. The roads were horrendous, and they weren’t kidding when they said it was an unfinished road. Mostly it was a dirt path, with steep inclines and declines and giant holes. Thankfully our driver was experienced and we arrived to the party in one piece. Unfortunately the only option for the party was to leave the hotel at 9:30pm and to leave the full moon party at 6:30am. At this stage of my life, an all night party leaves something to be desired.

Full Mooning Andrew and Nicola Style:
The full moon party is located on the beach of Hat Rin, it was like a complete different world from Bottle Beach. It was everything you would expect of an area ravaged by tourists that flock to the island in search of the fool moon event. There were thousands of people on the beach, and each restaurant was pumping out ear busting trance music. Farang (Westerns) with glow in the dark body paint danced their asses off on the beach, and along the water there were countless Farang passed out everywhere. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The “sleep” areas which were actually first aid areas, were spilling with people by the end of the night. It was a fun time, we did a little dancing and a lot of people watching. For an event with that many people, it was relatively calm. There was a police presence that kept everyone in check. A long time ago, the full moon party was know for drugs but now because of the crack down it seemed to be quite clean. In Thailand doing any drugs is a big punishable offense, and it is know with travelers that messing with the mostly corrupt police would be a huge mistake.

At 2:00am Andrew and I decided to go and get a foot massage near by, it was very relaxing and it helped to pass an hour by. At 6:30am we made the long bumpy journey back home.

Big Bird:
On our first day on Bottle Beach a large looming figure swooped over our heads and landed on a volleyball net. We looked up and to our surprised we saw the biggest bird that we have ever seen in our lives. It’s hard to explain how it looks other than to say part parrot, part tucan and part vulture. It had a huge bright yellow beak with black and white feathers. The bird liked to swoop at unsuspecting people and knock them over and occasionally steal articles of clothing. It was something that we got use to seeing every so often. It seemed a little unpredictable and I always was on watch for it, fearing that it may swoop down and knock me over. One day the bird landed next to a sunbather and tried to take her shirt, Andrew offered assistance and tried to shoo it away by kicking sand on it. Hehe, of course the bird didn’t budge an inch. Suddenly out of the water ran an Israeli guy who started to swat and grab its beak. We watched in disbelief as he played with it like a dog while the bird hopped side to side playing and biting his arm. He was like the “Bird Whisperer!” After the bird flew away, he just left and went back into the water where he came from.

We could never get a straight answer from any of the Thai’s about the bird. We learned that a few months ago two giant birds appeared to the beach. There were once two, but shortly after making an appearance one left to go to the other side of the island. The rumour is that it was once a pet, and the person couldn’t afford it and let it free, another rumour is someone bought them for the island. Who, knows?! The only thing for certain, is the bird is giant wild animal that seems to be very comfortable with humans. It’s an amazing looking creature, and as soon as I can I will try to look it up on the internet to see what it is.

Saying Goodbye to Bottle Beach:
Life on Ko Pha Ngan was so easy going, the atmosphere was really relaxing and timed seemed to flow smoothly. After navitaging through cities for the last few months, it was a nice change of pace to slow down and escape reality. In fact we were so out of reality during our stay that when the day came to check out we discovered we had spent an extra day on the beach. I’m not sure where the extra day went, but all together we stayed for ten. Consequently our tourist visa for Thailand was to expire on Oct 9th, but unknowingly by the time we reached the Malaysian border we had overextended our visa by one day (actually only seven hours). Therefore we had to pay a $30 fine at the border.

I don’t know what it is about being on a beautiful beach in Thailand that makes you loose track of time. Last year while on Ko Chang island in Thailand we did the same thing, except instead of being one day extra we left the island one day early. We didn’t realize until we turned up at Bangkok airport one day earlier that our scheduled flight.

~Nicola

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Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand