Robin Williams Said It Best

You knew this was coming...



Whatta week!  Morgan and I are flying through Vietnam, trying to see and do as much as possible.  At one point, things became a total blur…two overnight trains and one overnight bus in a period of four days, a night on a boat with a 7am wakeup call, and a night in the mountains at a ‘homestay’, where we slept on cushioned mats on the floor along with ten (snoring) others.  It’s been exhausting, but we’re having a great time, and we’re finally at a point now where we can slow things down a bit.

Morgan on the somewhat claustrophobic overnight bus; the whole thing smelled like feet

A little over a week ago, we started in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.  We stayed in our own room at the highly recommended Hanoi Backpackers, the newest of three hostels owned by two Australian guys.  This place is an incredible, one-stop shop.  They have a bar, restaurant, computer room with games and a flat screen TV for movies, nightly activities (BBQs, etc) and an extremely efficient travel desk, where their staff can pretty much help you plan your entire trip in Vietnam.  It was here that we booked a trekking tour to Sapa in Northern Vietnam, a cruise around the islands in Halong Bay, and most importantly, our hop on/hop off bus ticket, which allows us to make six stops as we work our way from north to south. It’s definitely made the planning part of our trip much easier!

Hanoi:  The horns from the cars and the motorbikes here will drive you CRAZY, but the city is actually much quainter than I imagined (but that's possibly because we were staying in the old section).  There are small, tree-lined streets everywhere, and rickshaws to take you from place to place.  Not too many sights to see, but plenty of museums, especially those related to the war.  We also saw Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body; pretty crazy stuff (no pix allowed though).

By the lake

Planes from the war

Out with jokers we met at the hostel.  Everyone sits on tiny chairs when they eat and drink on the sidewalk.

After Hanoi, we headed out on an overnight party cruise around Halong Bay, which is a must-see for anyone who visits Vietnam.  Though it was pretty, it looked a lot like many parts of Thailand, so I wasn't super impressed with the area.  Pretty sad when you start to take beautiful things for granted because they aren't new to you anymore.

Morgan and I with Sumi, who is also teaching English in our program

Taking the plunge

We went kayaking and stopped at this cave

We got back from the cruise, and boarded an overnight train a few hours later to Sapa.  This place is beautiful; the town reminds me of a ski resort out west, and the mountains are covered with rice terraces.  Our group did a 15km trek in the mountains one day, 9km the next, and spent the night at a 'homestay' (a family cooks for you and you stay at their place, but it's unclear whether it's really their home or set up simply for tourist purposes).  We encountered many village tribes along the way (who can drive you insane trying to sell you stuff), and saw some of the world's cutest children.

Sapa town

Look at that baby's cheeks!!  I want one.

Rice terraces

 

We got back from Sapa and it was immediately off to Hoi An (18 hour bus ride!!).  Hoi An is known for its tailors; they are all over town.  You can get anything custom made here, cheaply, within 24 hours.  A lot of men buy suits; women buy dresses and jackets.  I took a pair of shorts to one store, and they replicated them in another color for me for $18.  Definitely a good deal!  This town is adorable too (the old town reminds me of Europe!), and it's only a short bike ride to the beach.

The old town

Cua Dai Beach

Out in town at night

Phew!  I'm exhausted from just writing this post.  We're continuing our journey south tonight, where we plan on hitting a few well-known beach towns.  It's super hot here right now (close to 100 degrees), and will only get hotter as we continue onward.  Send cool thoughts our way!  Until next time....Sawatdee kah!

Earthquake!

An 8.6 earthquake, complete with tsunami warnings, hit off the coast of Indonesia two weeks ago, and I was none the wiser!  Of course, I was over 2000 km away from it but still, scary stuff!  First the flooding in Thailand, and now this...let's just hope my luck with avoiding natural disasters continues for the remainder of my trip!

After I left Bali two weeks ago, I headed to the small island of Nusa Lembongan.  As I stated in my previous post, there wasn't too much going on there, but it was beautiful and relaxing, and I met some great people at the waterfront place where I stayed.

View from the pool area

One of the amazing views from my scooter tour of the island.  That's one of Bali's volcanos in the distance.

After I left Lembongan, I headed to the party island of Gili Tranwangan (Gili T).  I LOVED this place and thought it was pretty much the Indonesian version of Dewey Beach!  No cars or motorcycles on this island (only bicycles and horse drawn carts), which gives this place a super laid back feeling.  There is one main sand/dirt/potholed road that goes around the island, and it takes about 2 hours to bike around it.  Only one main part of the island is heavily populated (waterfront bars and restaurants lined up one after the other), but there are many beautiful beaches along the island route which were fun to check out.

One of the many photo opps along my hot and sweaty bike ride

Flip flop tree at one of the empty beaches

Kind of odd, but Gili T has a party schedule; the main party nights are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  The other nights are decent too, but definitely more relaxed.  I arrived on a Tuesday, which was perfect, and I went to the popular reggae bar Sama Sama for a late dinner and to check out the band.  Five minutes after arriving, I was talking to Narin from England and Ben from Denmark, and just like that, I was signing up to go on a booze cruise with them the next day.  The booze cruise lasted well into the night, after which the party moved to the irish bar on the island, Tir Na Nog.  Good times all around!

Booze cruise crew

A Finnish guy wearing a Philadelphia shirt at a bar in Indonesia!  I needed a picture.

I was sad to leave Gili T, but it was time to move on.  I spent one final night in Bali before flying to Surabaya, which is on the island of Java.  Surabaya is more of a gateway town to the stunning Mt. Bromo than a destination in and of itself, so even though I had planned to stay there for one night, I changed my mind when my flight landed and decided to head directly up to Bromo.  Getting to Bromo was challenging to say the least.  There was a lot of waiting around in the heat, miscommunication, changing of buses...it was exhausting and frustrating, and at one point, the inner me had to tell the outer me to 'pull it together', as I was pretty close to losing it.  One deep breath, candy bar, and financial decision later (backpacker protocol be damned!), it was full speed ahead to Bromo, and all of the trials and tribulations experienced that day were well worth it the next morning at sunrise.

You catch a jeep at 3:30am with 6 or so people to a certain point on the mountain and then hike up 30 minutes from there.  Stunning.

After watching the sunrise, your jeep heads to the volcano's crater, where again, you hike about 30 minutes to the top.

View from the top of the crater looking down

Over the crater, trying not to fall in

I met some fun people in my jeep and at the place where I was staying, and after checking out the sunrise, I, like most people, headed off to my next destination, Jogjakarta (Jogja).  Six of us did the 12-hour mini-bus ride (one German, one Brit, one Spanish, and two Indonesian), but all went our separate ways when we arrived that night.  Jogja is supposed to be a college town with a cool, backpacker vibe, but honestly, I was kind of disappointed.  I had booked in the area that was supposed to be the most fun (Malioboro), but there wasn't much going on.  If it weren't for two German guys staying at my place (Reno and Chris), my time there would have been kind of boring (the guys had planned to stay four nights in Jogja and were disappointed in the scene as well).  The main reason for going to Jogja, though, is the temples, and I was lucky that I could check them out with some fun partners in crime.

Prambanan Temple

Many of the tourists at the temples come from other parts of Indonesia, and they are not used to seeing foreigners.  At times, I felt like WE were the major attraction!

Chris and Reno and our driver Tom at Plaosan Temple

Borobudur Temple.  The Indonesians claim that this is one of the 7 Wonders of the World, though there is no evidence to support this claim, and a google search will illustrate that there are varying opinions on the definition of 'Wonders of the World.'

Jogjakarta was really different than the other places I visited in Indo.  The Muslim culture is very evident there, illustrated by the 5x a day 'call to prayer' over the city's speakers.  The first call is at 4am...every morning...and ear plugs were of no help.  I absolutely loved my guesthouse in Jogja (beautiful and the staff was so nice), but after an early flight to Java from Bali, a sunrise adventure, and three nights in a row of interrupted sleep, it was definitely time to get out.  I'm now back in Bangkok and head to Vietnam tomorrow to meet up with my friend Morgan.  We are hoping to spend at least two weeks traveling from north to south.  Another early flight tomorrow....6:30am!  Why do I consistently do this to myself?  Oh yeah, cheap Air Asia flights!  Until next time....Sawatdee kah!

Surfers' Paradise

Bali is beautiful.  Okay, so parts of it are overrun with tourists (mainly from Australia, so I’m not complaining), but overall, it’s pretty amazing, and part of me feels like I could have stayed there forever.  Two notable points about Bali and Indonesia in general.  First, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the WORLD.  Even more than any country in the Middle East.  However, the island of Bali is an exception; over 92% of the Balinese are Hindu, not Muslim.  The Hinduism practiced in Bali is unique, influenced by the route it took from its path from India, but also influenced by the ancient traditions of the Balinese themselves.  The religion is witnessed every morning and afternoon through the ‘offering’, which is placed outside of many businesses and houses for good luck.

The Balinese also have a really interesting naming system for their children.  All children, based on their order of birth and regardless of sex, have the same name.  So, all first born children are named Wayan, second born children are named Made, etc.  Once you get to the fifth child, you start back at Wayan, so you could have two children in the same family with the same name (the four names that are chosen actually vary from caste to caste, but you get the idea).  That means that walking down the street, you may meet ten Wayans or ten Mades.  Makes it pretty easy to send a text message or an email to the wrong person.  Yikes!  Haha.

Bali is known worldwide as a top surfing destination, and Melissa, Katie, and I stayed in Kuta Beach, Bali for a week.  Kuta is known as the party beach of the island and is swarming with surfers, backpackers, and people on vacation.  The beach is beautiful (despite the RELENTLESS hawkers trying to sell you something), and many come to Kuta beach to learn how to surf (there are advanced surfers here too, but it seems that many advanced surfers head to the the island’s other beaches during the day and party at Kuta at night.  Later in the day, though, especially around sunset, the advanced surfers are out in full force).  Other popular beaches in the area include both Legian and Seminyak, and you will pass both by taking a 45 minute walk along the promenade which stretches north of Kuta.  All three towns have a ton of shopping, restaurants, and nightlife, though Seminyak is known as the most ‘exclusive’ of the three.

Surfboards lined up for rent on Kuta

Hawkers got the best of this guy...looks like he's getting a head massage, foot massage, and whatever else these ladies will get him to buy.

Kuta Square- tons of surf shops and other stores

One of the hundreds of local board shops

Potato Head bar/restaurant in Seminyak.  Great spot for the sunset.

Teaching them young....

Out in Kuta with Tanner (friend of a friend who is teaching English in Bali), Todd (Dewey beach guy...random!), and their crew.

The girls and I really tried to take advantage of everything the island had to offer.  Other than just lying around on the beach in Kuta and going out at night, we explored the island's other beaches, watched a traditional Balinese dance, and saw volcanos, waterfront temples, and rice terraces.  We also visited the areas where they make coffee, silk, and jewelry, and spent a full day in Bali’s cultural center, Ubud.  Ubud was made famous in the movie ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, and is known for its art galleries, funky boutiques and restaurants, and bohemian vibe.  It was here that we ate babi guling, which is suckling pig, at Anthony Bourdain's favorite spot(http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/indonesia/bali/77490/ibu-oka/restaurant-detail.html).  Ubud is definitely a cool place to chill out and spend a few days if you have the time!

Echo Beach in Caangu- they were holding the Oakley Indonesian Surf Competition here

Rice terrace

At Tanah Lot temple in the water

Balinese dance

Volcano

Cliffside temple at Uluwatu.  This is also one of the island's best surf beaches.

The girls left me last Friday, and I spent the weekend in Kuta (ran into my friend Angela from my program) before heading to Nusa Lembongan Island for a few days.  Not much going on there, but it's relaxing, and I stayed at a cool, waterfront place with a bar that ended up being pretty social (for $20 a night).  Two nights there, and now I'm on the island of Gili Trawangan, which is also beautiful, but is a party island.  I've been here for a few hours and totally get the draw of this place; just talked to a Dutch guy who said he's planning on staying here a month!  I'll post more about the two of these in my next entry, as the internet service here is terrible and I'm scrambling to update this blog.  Until next time....Sawatdee kah!