Well after the Full Moon Party, it was time to move over to the other coast of Thailand, The Adaman Coast and the BEAUTIFUL islands that lie along this coast. Unfortunately I only had time to make it to one of these islands but based on my experience, I think that I chose very wisely. I decided to head to the island Ko Phi Phi Don and its little sister island Ko Phi Phi Lay. Ko Phi Phi is famous for two reasons (other than its insane beauty) the first reason is that back in 1999, the infamous beach and bay of Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Lay was used as the set for a movie called "The Beach" which starred Leanardo Dicapprio and which was based on a book by the same name. The second reason that this set of islands is famous is because unfortunately, they were completely washed away during the Tsunami of 2004. I am happy to say however, that life here has come back with a vengance and things are thriving more than ever.
Upon arriving at Ko Phi Phi Don from the mainland on the ferry, I once again set about to find a place to stay. Upon finding one, I dropped my stuff down and set about exploring. Ko Phi Phi Don has a very unique shape; it is basically two large islands joined by a narrow isthmus. This isthmus is also where the main "island tourist village" is located. I spend the first afternoon exploring the village and the two beautiful beaches that lie on either side. After exploring for a few hours, I decided to call it a day and went to sleep.
The next day, I decided to take one of the immensely popular day tours of Ko Phi Phi Lay and the surrounding islands. Since development is forbidden on Ko Phi Phi Lay, this island tour is the only way to see this island. For the morning part of the tour, we headed to and island called Bamboo Island. Upon arriving, we spent a few hours snorkeling and hanging around on the deserted beach. The snorkeling was superb and I saw many neat things including a massive Moray Eel. After Bamboo Island, it was time to head to Ko Phi Phi Lay. We spent the entire afternoon sailing around the various bays of Ko Phi Phi Lay and let me tell you, I have yet to see bays that are more beautiful. The water literally was turquoise and if it were deep enough, I would have been able to see the bottom at around 100 feet or so. After exploring the smaller bays, it was the time we were all waiting for; it was time to explore Maya Bay. Now due to rough seas on the side of Ko Phi Phi Lay where Maya Bay resides, we had to anchor our boat on the opposite side of the island, jump off and swim to shore, and then hike a short distance through the center of the island to Maya Bay. Upon arriving at Maya Bay, I was blown away by the beauty of it. It was definitely the nicest beach I have ever seen and I can clearly see why they chose this beach to use for the film. The bay was bright turquoise and looked as if it were glowing in the dark. After relaxing in TRUE paradise for a while, we headed back to the boat and made our way back to port. On the way in, we stopped at a place called Monkey Beach. As the name indicates, this beach is FULL of monkeys and we had the chance to feed them a variety of fruits. Lets just say that they were very friendly monkeys and had no problem climbing on you if they sensed food anywhere near you. After Monkey Bay, we pulled back into port and I called it a day.
The next day, I woke up early and took off for some morning Scuba Diving around Ko Phi Phi Lay. While the seas were a little bit rough, the diving was INCREDIBLE. We were able to see Blacktip Reef Sharks, Pacific Lionfish, Scorpionfish, Clown Fish (Nemo), Sea Snakes, Eels, Stingrays, and the list goes on. It was definitely some of the best diving that I have done to date. After diving, I came back to shore for just long enough to grab my gear to take off for some beach camping at Maya Bay! I was so blown away by the beauty of Maya Bay the first time I saw it, I had to take the opportunity to actually sleep there for a night. The company that organizes these trips has the only camping permits around and so our group had the entire beach to ourselves for the night. Although we had sand blowing across our sleeping bags and the ground wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing ever, it was still an amazing experience to sleep on "The Beach!"
The next day, after returning from Maya Bay, I decided to hike up to Ko Phi Phi Viewpoint. From the top of this viewpoint, I had am AMAZING 360 degree view of both Ko Phi Phi don and Ko Phi Phi Lay and the surrounding islands. The photo opportunities were incredible so be sure to check out my pictures! After the view point, I just came back to town and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and enjoying my last few hours of Paradise. Tomorrow, I begin the long journey back to Piedmont, California.
I hope you all have had as much fun reading this blog as I have had writing it and actually experiencing all of these incredible things over the last few months. This trip has DEFINITELY been the Trip of a Lifetime!
Until my next Global Travels,
Evan!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Thailand: Ko Phangan)
Well after the amazing Scuba Diving in my last Destination, Ko Tao, I set off south to the Island of Ko Phangan. Ko Phangan is known around the world for its world famous Full Moon Party which is held every month on the Full Moon. Naturally, I planned my visit to fall during the July Full Moon party and it definitely did not disappoint. Upon arriving, I jumped into a taxi from the ferry pier and headed to my hotel. After dropping down my things, I set off to explore my new surroundings. After walking along the main beach (where the party is) for a while, I came back into town to grab some dinner. While I was looking at a menu, these two Irish kids randomly came up and started talking to me. Me being me, had a great conversation with them and we (along with their other 6 or 7 friends) ended up spending the next 5 days and nights cutting loose. While there are some activities you can do on Ko Phangan, the islands main attraction is the Full Moon Party and so partying / dancing / relaxing / and socializing are the main things that people do here. We were no different and spent every day but one day lazing around the beach or sitting on our "stoop" right in the middle of town. Come night fall however, we hit the beach and danced the night away at the literally dozens of bars and clubs that pack the sand. The one day that we decided to be adventuresome, we took a day long boat trip around the Eastern half of the island. We got to go into see a really neat waterfall and some of the more beautiful beaches this island has to offer. While not too intense, the day trip was really fun and well worth the investment.
As the Full Moon Night drew closer, I could feel the energy begin to build. Most of the bars held "warm up" parties and they were incredibly fun. Finally, July 9th rolled around and it was the night we had all been waiting for. We spent the day resting up and decided to meet up at 9:00 PM to get things going. We spent a few hours chilling out at our stoop and having some beers while we painted each other with florescent paint to get into the spirits for the evening. at midnight or so, we hit the sand to cut loose. Now I am not exaggerating when I say this, there were easily 20,000 to 30,000 people partying down on the beach that night. Each bar had a MASSIVE sound system going and there were fire dancers, body paint artists, and many other entertainers performing to the masses. We spent the night going from bar to bar and dancing up a storm. We didn't call it quits until well after the sun had come up. While I don't think that the full enormity of it all will sink in until I get home, it was definitely a night that I will never forget! Now it is time to leave Ko Phangan and after I do a visa run to Myanmar, its off to the island of Ko Phi Phi on the other side of Thailand! Keep tuned for more stories from Paradise!
As the Full Moon Night drew closer, I could feel the energy begin to build. Most of the bars held "warm up" parties and they were incredibly fun. Finally, July 9th rolled around and it was the night we had all been waiting for. We spent the day resting up and decided to meet up at 9:00 PM to get things going. We spent a few hours chilling out at our stoop and having some beers while we painted each other with florescent paint to get into the spirits for the evening. at midnight or so, we hit the sand to cut loose. Now I am not exaggerating when I say this, there were easily 20,000 to 30,000 people partying down on the beach that night. Each bar had a MASSIVE sound system going and there were fire dancers, body paint artists, and many other entertainers performing to the masses. We spent the night going from bar to bar and dancing up a storm. We didn't call it quits until well after the sun had come up. While I don't think that the full enormity of it all will sink in until I get home, it was definitely a night that I will never forget! Now it is time to leave Ko Phangan and after I do a visa run to Myanmar, its off to the island of Ko Phi Phi on the other side of Thailand! Keep tuned for more stories from Paradise!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Thailand: Ko Tao)
Well Ko Tao was the next stop on my adventure. Ko Tao is located to the north of Ko Samui and is world famous for its pristine beaches, chilled out atmosphere, and INCREDIBLE Scuba Diving. I got there on the 28th of June and ended up staying until the 5th of July. Upon arriving, I headed to the stretch of beach known as Sairee Beach. After arriving at my accommodation (which was RIGHT on the sand,) I signed up for some Scuba Diving. For the first day, I decided to just do some "Fun Dives" (which is basically any dive that you do when not enrolled in a Scuba Diving course) to get back into the swing of things. I did four dives the first day and they were incredible! The visibility was amazing and I was lucky enough to see the usual thousands of tropical fish as well as a sea snake, stingray, lion fish, and scorpion fish.
After the first day of getting back into the swing of things, I decided to take my diving to the next level and enrolled in the Advanced Open Water Certification Course. This course is basically the next level up from the basic Open Water Certification (which is the basic level of certification) The Advanced Open Water Course consists of 5 Dives. We were required to do 2 "core dives" which were a Deep Dive and an Underwater Navigation Dive and then we were each able to pick 3 "elective" dives from a list of different specialties. I happened to choose Night Dive, Peak Buoyancy, and Computer. To make a long story short, on each particular dive, we obviously focused on the "theme" of that dive. My favorite was definitely the night dive. Not only was it really cool to jump into the middle of the ocean when its pitch black out, but you get to see so many animals that are nocturnal and that you cant see during the day. After I completed my Advanced Certification Course, I spent the next few days just relaxing and doing a few more "fun dives."
I have now moved on the the next island; Ko Phangan. It is home to many more pristine beaches and the world famous monthly "Full Moon Party" where upwards of 70,000 people come to one particular beach on the island to celebrate the Full Moon! Be sure to stay tuned for more stories from Paradise!
After the first day of getting back into the swing of things, I decided to take my diving to the next level and enrolled in the Advanced Open Water Certification Course. This course is basically the next level up from the basic Open Water Certification (which is the basic level of certification) The Advanced Open Water Course consists of 5 Dives. We were required to do 2 "core dives" which were a Deep Dive and an Underwater Navigation Dive and then we were each able to pick 3 "elective" dives from a list of different specialties. I happened to choose Night Dive, Peak Buoyancy, and Computer. To make a long story short, on each particular dive, we obviously focused on the "theme" of that dive. My favorite was definitely the night dive. Not only was it really cool to jump into the middle of the ocean when its pitch black out, but you get to see so many animals that are nocturnal and that you cant see during the day. After I completed my Advanced Certification Course, I spent the next few days just relaxing and doing a few more "fun dives."
I have now moved on the the next island; Ko Phangan. It is home to many more pristine beaches and the world famous monthly "Full Moon Party" where upwards of 70,000 people come to one particular beach on the island to celebrate the Full Moon! Be sure to stay tuned for more stories from Paradise!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Thailand: Ko Samui)
Well Ko Samui was the first stop on my tour around Thailand's version of Paradise. Upon arriving at the airport, I jumped into a shared mini bus and headed directly to the main strip on the island, Chaweng Beach. Upon arriving, I headed to The Wave Samui backpacker hotel that was recommended to me by my guide book. Although I had emailed them the day before and they replied that they were full, I decided to give it a shot anyway. I ended up lucking out and they had a room. After dropping off my stuff, I headed out to get my first taste of Thailand's version of Paradise. Let me say that it DID NOT disappoint. Chaweng Beach is the most popular beach for a reason. It is 6 Kilometers long and the sand couldn't be whiter, the water couldn't be clearer, and there are plenty of palm trees to go around. I walked down the beach for a while before chilling out at one of the beach front bars to watch the sun set. After the sun went down, I decided to go back to my hotel and get ready for some nighttime fun. That night, I headed out to the "Pub Street" area and had a few drinks. I met some nice Australian people and ended up hanging out with them for the majority of the night.
The next day, I woke up surprisingly early and decided to go and check out Samui's second most popular beach, Lamai Beach. This beach is located 4 Kilometers down the island from Chaweng and so I decided to take a motor-taxi to get there. After arriving, I spent the better part of the morning walking up and down the beach and admiring the sheer beauty of it. It has similar properties to Chaweng (what sand, clear water, palm trees, etc.) but it is a little less developed and it is much quieter. After relaxing at Lamai for a while, I headed back to Chaweng to spend the afternoon back on Chaweng Beach. Upon arriving back at Chaweng, I decided to be sneaky and I picked up a beach chair from one of the resorts to use for the afternoon. After relaxing in the beach chair for a few hours, I decided to up my level of sneakiness and I decided to take a swim in the resorts pool. No one (including the staff) seemed to mind so I made myself right at home. I spent the next few hours poolside and enjoying the fact that I didn't have to pay for any of it! After I decided it was time to leave the pool, I headed back to my hotel and called it a night.
The next day, I got up early to catch my bus to the pier to do finally participate in some fishing! I didn't really know what to expect from the boat that I had joined up with, but I was pleasantly surprised. We headed out from the pier and after a quick 20 minuet ride, we were at the first of the fishing grounds. We spent the morning catching Grouper and Snapper before heading to a nice cove for lunch. The deckhand cooked up a feast (including our morning's catch) and it was delicious. After lunch, we moved a bit further and began fishing again. After some more Grouper, I hooked into something that felt a lot bigger. It turned out that it was a Dragon Fish and it was one of the coolest looking fish that I have ever caught. They are extremely long and narrow (like an eel sort of) and have razor sharp teeth. After snapping some photos, I continued catching Grouper for the rest of the day before we headed back to port.
Tomorrow its off to my next stop on my tour of Paradise; Ko Tao and the world famous scuba diving sites in the surrounding waters!
The next day, I woke up surprisingly early and decided to go and check out Samui's second most popular beach, Lamai Beach. This beach is located 4 Kilometers down the island from Chaweng and so I decided to take a motor-taxi to get there. After arriving, I spent the better part of the morning walking up and down the beach and admiring the sheer beauty of it. It has similar properties to Chaweng (what sand, clear water, palm trees, etc.) but it is a little less developed and it is much quieter. After relaxing at Lamai for a while, I headed back to Chaweng to spend the afternoon back on Chaweng Beach. Upon arriving back at Chaweng, I decided to be sneaky and I picked up a beach chair from one of the resorts to use for the afternoon. After relaxing in the beach chair for a few hours, I decided to up my level of sneakiness and I decided to take a swim in the resorts pool. No one (including the staff) seemed to mind so I made myself right at home. I spent the next few hours poolside and enjoying the fact that I didn't have to pay for any of it! After I decided it was time to leave the pool, I headed back to my hotel and called it a night.
The next day, I got up early to catch my bus to the pier to do finally participate in some fishing! I didn't really know what to expect from the boat that I had joined up with, but I was pleasantly surprised. We headed out from the pier and after a quick 20 minuet ride, we were at the first of the fishing grounds. We spent the morning catching Grouper and Snapper before heading to a nice cove for lunch. The deckhand cooked up a feast (including our morning's catch) and it was delicious. After lunch, we moved a bit further and began fishing again. After some more Grouper, I hooked into something that felt a lot bigger. It turned out that it was a Dragon Fish and it was one of the coolest looking fish that I have ever caught. They are extremely long and narrow (like an eel sort of) and have razor sharp teeth. After snapping some photos, I continued catching Grouper for the rest of the day before we headed back to port.
Tomorrow its off to my next stop on my tour of Paradise; Ko Tao and the world famous scuba diving sites in the surrounding waters!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Thailand: Chang Mai)
Chang Mai was the second stop on the Thailand segment of my trip and it is a pretty awesome city. It is located about an hour flight north of Bangkok and serves as the capital of the northern portion of Thailand. Chang Mai is known for its 356 temples and amazing outdoor activities. Let me tell you, it definitely didn't let me down.
Upon my arrival, I headed to a guesthouse that I had read about in my guide book. It was unfortunately full and so I headed down the road to find another one. The next one I came to also happened to be in my guide book and had gotten good reviews. This being the case, I decided to stay. after dropping down my stuff, I headed out to grab some food. After walking around the city for a few hours, I decided to call it a night.
The next day, I set out to see some of the more famous of the 356 temples that are located in Chang Mai. The city is basically set up in two parts. There is a huge moat that surrounds the "old city" and then the newer sections of Chang Mai are built around the outside of the moat. Considering the fact that most of the temples are extremely old, the bulk of them are located inside of the "old city." After breakfast, I took out my trusty map and set out to explore. The first temple that I came to was called Wat Chedi Luang. This temple was built in 1441 and was absolutely beautiful. What makes this temple famous is the fact that the "Emerald Buddha" which is now located in the Royal Palace in Bangkok, use to be located here. There is now a replica of that Buddha and it was really neat to see the original location of arguably the most famous Buddha statue in all of Thailand. The next temple that I came to was a temple called Wat Phra Singh. This temple is Chang Mai's most visited temple and is home to the city's most famous Buddha. "The Lion Buddha." Apparently this temple is a perfect example of the Northern Thai style of architecture and although I cant necessarily say that I could tell the difference, it was still a very beautiful temple. The final Temple that I came to on my "old city" temple tour was a temple called Wat Chiang Man. This temple is thought to bear the oldest markings from the city. There is an inscription carved into one of the walls that dates from around 1296. It was really neat to see an original inscription that was that old. After this temple, I headed out from the old city and grabbed some lunch near the moat. After lunch, I visited the final two temples of the day. These were Wat Mahawan and Wat Bupparam. These temples are known for their statues of various animals located around the entrances of the temples. They both definitely had a ton of statues and it was fun to see such interesting statues. After these temples, I came back to my hotel to chill for a little while. Later that night, I set out to check out the famous Sunday Walking Street. This is basically a MASSIVE street market that highlights northern handi crafts that local people make. After walking around the market for a while, I decided to call it a night and headed back to my hotel.
The next day, I decided to be adventuresome and booked a FULL day tour called the Lifestyle Adventure Trek. The day began at 8:00 AM and the first place that our group went to was some of the local villages located in the mountains north of Chang Mai. These local tribes are originally from Myanmar but moved to Thailand around 200 years ago to escape military persecution. After walking around the villages for a while, we headed to our next stop, the Orchid and Butterfly farm. At the farm, we walked around for a while admiring the beautiful flowers and butterflies. After the farm, we headed to our next stop, the Elephant Camp for some Elephant Riding! At the Camp, our group hopped into some elephants and then proceeded to take an elephant ride through the jungle for about and hour and a half. I must say, it was definitely a neat experience to ride an elephant. If you ever have the chance, it is definitely a fun experience. After the elephant camp, we headed the the next stop, a trek through the jungle to an amazing waterfall. The trek to the waterfall took about an hour and midway through, it started to downpour. While some people were probably annoyed, I thought that it really added to the experience and I really enjoyed it. Upon arriving at the waterfall, we were rewarded for our efforts with an AMAZING waterfall. The water was cool and clear and was extremely refreshing after such a long trek. After trekking back to the trail head, we headed for our last stop of the day, a whitewater rafting trip down the local river. Now considering that I have done some serious whitewater rafting in my day, while fun, this river wasn't tooo extreme. It was still fun never the less. At the end of the whitewater segment, we got to take a bamboo raft back to the vans. The coolest thing about the bamboo raft was that I actually got to steer it! After arriving back in Chang Mai, after such a full day, I just called it a day.
The next day, it was back on the adventure trail. I woke up SUPER early and headed for the "Flight of the Gibbon Experience." This is basically a series of zip lines, sky bridges and repelling stations located high up in the canopy in the rain forest just south of Chang Mai. There over 2 kilometers of zip lines, 2 sky bridges, and 3 repelling stations. This being the case, I spent the morning flying around the jungle just like the local monkeys that live there. Midway through the morning, we were even lucky enough to see 2 Gibbons. Gibbons are a type of monkey that live in this forest but are EXTREMELY rare. We were incredibly lucky to be able to see some of them. After we completed the rain forest section, we headed to yet another waterfall. This time, the waterfall had 7 "tiers" and we got to climb along side it up to the 4th tier. It was really neat to see the water cascade from one pool over the edge to the next pool. After the waterfall, it was time to head back to Chang Mai. Upon arriving back in Chang Mai it was only around 1:00 PM and so I decided to make use of my afternoon. I decided to head to yet another temple. This time the temple was called Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. This temple is located in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and is located 15 Kilometers from the city. As we were driving to the temple, I realized that I REALLY wished that I had my skateboard because the pavement was 13 Kilometers of perfect grade downhill awesomeness! Upon arriving at the temple, I had to climb 306 steps to reach the temple grounds. Upon reaching the top, I was rewarded with AMAZING views of Chang Mai and the surrounding area. After walking around the temple grounds for a while, I headed back to Chang Mai. After grabbing some dinner, I decided to go check out the infamous night bazaar. This was yet another massive shopping street lined with stalls selling the useful and the useless. While I did not make any purchases, it was still fun to walk around. After the night bazaar, I called it a night.
The next day was my last day in Chang Mai. This being the case, I decided to do the most logical thing that I could think of, I left Thailand and went Myanmar for the day. There was actually a reason for this trip. Upon arriving in Thailand, tourists from the U.S.A. (as well as many other countries) are given a 30 day visa. If you plan to be in Thailand for more than 30 days, you must do whats called a visa run. This means that you must leave Thailand for any length of time and then re-enter. Upon re-entering, you are given another 30 days in the country. For my visa run, I took a van from Chang Mai 4 hours north to a town called Mai Sai that lies right on the border of Myanmar. After crossing into Myanmar I grabbed some food and walked around for an hour or so before heading back to Thailand. While a short visit, this visit to Myanmar was necessary and I can now cross off Myanmar on my global travel map. After returning to the van, we drove 4 hours back to Chang Mai.
FINALLY tomorrow, its off to what I have been most excited about, Ko Samui and The World Class Islands in the South of Thailand. Keep tuned for stories from Paradise!
Upon my arrival, I headed to a guesthouse that I had read about in my guide book. It was unfortunately full and so I headed down the road to find another one. The next one I came to also happened to be in my guide book and had gotten good reviews. This being the case, I decided to stay. after dropping down my stuff, I headed out to grab some food. After walking around the city for a few hours, I decided to call it a night.
The next day, I set out to see some of the more famous of the 356 temples that are located in Chang Mai. The city is basically set up in two parts. There is a huge moat that surrounds the "old city" and then the newer sections of Chang Mai are built around the outside of the moat. Considering the fact that most of the temples are extremely old, the bulk of them are located inside of the "old city." After breakfast, I took out my trusty map and set out to explore. The first temple that I came to was called Wat Chedi Luang. This temple was built in 1441 and was absolutely beautiful. What makes this temple famous is the fact that the "Emerald Buddha" which is now located in the Royal Palace in Bangkok, use to be located here. There is now a replica of that Buddha and it was really neat to see the original location of arguably the most famous Buddha statue in all of Thailand. The next temple that I came to was a temple called Wat Phra Singh. This temple is Chang Mai's most visited temple and is home to the city's most famous Buddha. "The Lion Buddha." Apparently this temple is a perfect example of the Northern Thai style of architecture and although I cant necessarily say that I could tell the difference, it was still a very beautiful temple. The final Temple that I came to on my "old city" temple tour was a temple called Wat Chiang Man. This temple is thought to bear the oldest markings from the city. There is an inscription carved into one of the walls that dates from around 1296. It was really neat to see an original inscription that was that old. After this temple, I headed out from the old city and grabbed some lunch near the moat. After lunch, I visited the final two temples of the day. These were Wat Mahawan and Wat Bupparam. These temples are known for their statues of various animals located around the entrances of the temples. They both definitely had a ton of statues and it was fun to see such interesting statues. After these temples, I came back to my hotel to chill for a little while. Later that night, I set out to check out the famous Sunday Walking Street. This is basically a MASSIVE street market that highlights northern handi crafts that local people make. After walking around the market for a while, I decided to call it a night and headed back to my hotel.
The next day, I decided to be adventuresome and booked a FULL day tour called the Lifestyle Adventure Trek. The day began at 8:00 AM and the first place that our group went to was some of the local villages located in the mountains north of Chang Mai. These local tribes are originally from Myanmar but moved to Thailand around 200 years ago to escape military persecution. After walking around the villages for a while, we headed to our next stop, the Orchid and Butterfly farm. At the farm, we walked around for a while admiring the beautiful flowers and butterflies. After the farm, we headed to our next stop, the Elephant Camp for some Elephant Riding! At the Camp, our group hopped into some elephants and then proceeded to take an elephant ride through the jungle for about and hour and a half. I must say, it was definitely a neat experience to ride an elephant. If you ever have the chance, it is definitely a fun experience. After the elephant camp, we headed the the next stop, a trek through the jungle to an amazing waterfall. The trek to the waterfall took about an hour and midway through, it started to downpour. While some people were probably annoyed, I thought that it really added to the experience and I really enjoyed it. Upon arriving at the waterfall, we were rewarded for our efforts with an AMAZING waterfall. The water was cool and clear and was extremely refreshing after such a long trek. After trekking back to the trail head, we headed for our last stop of the day, a whitewater rafting trip down the local river. Now considering that I have done some serious whitewater rafting in my day, while fun, this river wasn't tooo extreme. It was still fun never the less. At the end of the whitewater segment, we got to take a bamboo raft back to the vans. The coolest thing about the bamboo raft was that I actually got to steer it! After arriving back in Chang Mai, after such a full day, I just called it a day.
The next day, it was back on the adventure trail. I woke up SUPER early and headed for the "Flight of the Gibbon Experience." This is basically a series of zip lines, sky bridges and repelling stations located high up in the canopy in the rain forest just south of Chang Mai. There over 2 kilometers of zip lines, 2 sky bridges, and 3 repelling stations. This being the case, I spent the morning flying around the jungle just like the local monkeys that live there. Midway through the morning, we were even lucky enough to see 2 Gibbons. Gibbons are a type of monkey that live in this forest but are EXTREMELY rare. We were incredibly lucky to be able to see some of them. After we completed the rain forest section, we headed to yet another waterfall. This time, the waterfall had 7 "tiers" and we got to climb along side it up to the 4th tier. It was really neat to see the water cascade from one pool over the edge to the next pool. After the waterfall, it was time to head back to Chang Mai. Upon arriving back in Chang Mai it was only around 1:00 PM and so I decided to make use of my afternoon. I decided to head to yet another temple. This time the temple was called Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. This temple is located in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and is located 15 Kilometers from the city. As we were driving to the temple, I realized that I REALLY wished that I had my skateboard because the pavement was 13 Kilometers of perfect grade downhill awesomeness! Upon arriving at the temple, I had to climb 306 steps to reach the temple grounds. Upon reaching the top, I was rewarded with AMAZING views of Chang Mai and the surrounding area. After walking around the temple grounds for a while, I headed back to Chang Mai. After grabbing some dinner, I decided to go check out the infamous night bazaar. This was yet another massive shopping street lined with stalls selling the useful and the useless. While I did not make any purchases, it was still fun to walk around. After the night bazaar, I called it a night.
The next day was my last day in Chang Mai. This being the case, I decided to do the most logical thing that I could think of, I left Thailand and went Myanmar for the day. There was actually a reason for this trip. Upon arriving in Thailand, tourists from the U.S.A. (as well as many other countries) are given a 30 day visa. If you plan to be in Thailand for more than 30 days, you must do whats called a visa run. This means that you must leave Thailand for any length of time and then re-enter. Upon re-entering, you are given another 30 days in the country. For my visa run, I took a van from Chang Mai 4 hours north to a town called Mai Sai that lies right on the border of Myanmar. After crossing into Myanmar I grabbed some food and walked around for an hour or so before heading back to Thailand. While a short visit, this visit to Myanmar was necessary and I can now cross off Myanmar on my global travel map. After returning to the van, we drove 4 hours back to Chang Mai.
FINALLY tomorrow, its off to what I have been most excited about, Ko Samui and The World Class Islands in the South of Thailand. Keep tuned for stories from Paradise!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 ( Thailand: Bangkok)
Well after a few days in Siem Reap, I continued my quest and headed for my next country, Thailand. Naturally I started in Bangkok and man what an experience Bangkok was. Upon my arrival, I headed to the world famous Khao San Road. For those of you that do not know what this is, Khao San Road is the main street in Bangkok for Backpackers. Many start their adventure and or spend a good bit of time here during their travels around Southeast Asia. As soon as I arrived, I had absolutely NO problem finding a place to stay. After dropping down my gear, I headed out to check out Khao San Road. Although it is just a street with TONS of street vendors, restaurants, travel agencies, accommodation, and bars, it was still quite a sight. There are so many neon lights that it would seriously give The Strip in Las Vegas a run for its money. After walking around for a few hours, I decided to call it a night.
The next day, I woke up early and headed out to check out some of the famous sights around Bangkok. At first, I tried to navigate my way around the city on my own, but a lack of a good map made this nearly impossible. I finally said screw it and jumped into a Tuk Tuk (These are three wheeled motor cycle cabs as opposed to a normal car). Upon telling my tuk tuk driver where I wanted to go, he said that the temple that I wanted to see was closed and that I should go to another one instead. I decided to take his word for it and decided to let him take me to the temple that he had mentioned. Upon my arrival, I was actually pretty happy that he had taken me there. There was a MASSIVE gold Buddha statue that stood over 60 feet tall. After snapping some photos of the Buddha, I got back in the tuk tuk and told my driver where to take me next. He then proceeded to tell me that that temple was closed also. After thinking about it for a little while, I decided that this driver was taking me for a ride and I just told him to take me back to where I started. On our way back to Khao San Road, my driver forced me to go into a tailor shop to look at suits. (I later found out later that tuk tuk drivers do this with all of the people that they drive around because they get free gasoline from the tailor shop for bringing people in.) I proceeded to walk in and then right back outside and made my driver end his guided tour and demanded (in a polite tone) that he take me back to Khao San Road. After some negotiating, he finally agreed and I ended up back on Khao San Road.
After grabbing some food, I was ready to try again for what I had originally planned to see. This time however, I avoided the tuk tuk drivers and got into a legitimate taxi. This time, I told the driver where I wanted to go and he had no problem taking me there. The first temple that I went to see was called Wat Saket aka The Golden Mount. This temple is located on a hill and as the name indicates, has a huge golden spire at the top. After climbing the winding path around to the top of the hill, I was rewarded with not only incredible statues of Buddha but also with incredible views over Bangkok. I was able to see the entire city and surrounding area. It was quite a site. After snapping some photos, I was ready to head to my next destination. Me being me though, decided to strike up a conversation with a fellow westerner who was admiring the view of the city right next to me. It turned out that he was from New York. After introducing ourselves (his name was Jordan) and talking for a few minuets, we concluded that we were headed in the same direction and so we decided to go there together.
The next destination that we headed to is Bangkok's most famous site. This site is The Royal Palace complex. Included in this complex is a temple called Wat Phra Kaew. Upon our arrival, we were both literally stunned at the sheer beauty of the complex. There was so much gold that even the ancient Pharaohs and Aztec kings would be impressed. We spent the next two hours or so walking around the complex and admiring all of the golden statues and various buildings incorporated in the complex. I think that my favorite building was the building housing the "Emerald Buddha." It was my favorite for a few reasons. Not only was there incredible amounts of gold, but the Emerald Buddha happens to be one of the most important Buddha statues in all of Southeast Asia. I thought that it was really neat to be able to see this in person. After a few hours of admiring the complex, Jordan and I headed to our final stop of the day.
The next place that we went was yet another temple. This temple was called Wat Pho and it is famous for its MASSIVE "Reclining Buddha." Upon our arrival, I was yet again stunned at what I saw. Inside of the main shrine of the temple, there was a statue of Buddha in the laying down position that was probably over 30 feet tall and definitely over 100 feet long. It too was completely covered in gold. I seriously couldn't believe what I was looking at. After a good while admiring the massive Buddha in front of us, Jordan and I decided to call it a day. We said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways. I headed back to Khao San Road and called it a day. After such a long day the first day, I decided to chill on my second day in Bangkok. I just stayed around Khao San Road and walked around for a while.
My third day, I got back out and decided to check out some of the more un-conventional sites Bangkok has to offer. The first site that I checked out was the snake farm. This is a farm that holds tons of different types of snakes (both poisonous and non-poisonous.) While the farm makes money from tourists coming to see all of the different types of snakes, its main purpose is to use the snakes to make anti-venom vaccines for people that are unfortunate enough to get bitten by a poisonous snake. The farm makes this anti-venom by "milking" the venom of the poisonous snakes. They then take tiny amounts of this venom and mix it with some other things and like magic, they have the anti-venom. I was lucky enough to see a "milking" take place. The snake handler basically took the snakes head and forced it to bite onto a little funnel. The venom then drips into a jar below. It is then taken off to make the anti-venom. It was definitely an experience!
After the snake farm, I decided to walk around this huge park that was right next to the snake farm. After snapping some photos, I moved on to Chinatown. Bangkok's Chinatown isn't too much different from the many Chinatowns I had already seen so after walking around for a little while, I headed back to Khao San Road and once again called it a day.
The next day, I spent the morning just chilling out before heading to the main event for the day, a night of watching Muy Thai Boxing at one of the local stadiums. I ended up buying a ringside ticket and I was front and center for all of the action. Muy Thai is more like kick boxing that traditional boxing. The fighters may use their feet as well as arms to strike their oponents and let me just say that it isn't necessarily the first sport that I would choose to participate in. I am pretty sure those kids in the ring are going to be in pain until well after I am back in the United States.
The next day was my last day in Bangkok and so I decided to go out with a bang. I decided to do a day trip about two hours northwest of Bangkok to an area called the Kanchanaburi Province. This area happened to be a very important area for the Japanese when they occupied Thailand during World War II. The first site that we visited was a cemetery dedicated to POWs that had lost their lives in this area during the war.
After the cemetery, we headed to the JEATH War Museum. JEATH stands for Japanese, English, American/Australian, Thai, and Holland/Dutch and represents the countries that had the most casualties in this area during the war. The museum was very interesting and focused on a railway line in the area that is known as the Death Railway. It got this name because of all of the people that died during its construction. The railway served as an important link for the Japanese between Thailand and Myanmar. After checking out the museum, we headed to lunch. Lunch was really good and what made it even better was the fact that we got to eat at a restaurant that was literally floating on the local river. It was really neat to be eating and see the water flowing right under my feet!
After lunch, we took a short drive to a local waterfall. The waterfall was really beautiful and after snapping some photos, we headed to the day's main attraction, the Tiger Temple. This temple use to be just a regular Buddhist temple but has since become a sanctuary for Tigers. Since the adoption of their first Tiger 10 or 15 years ago, the temple has successfully bread the tigers and now they have over 20 in the complex. The coolest thing about the experience is how close regular people can get to the tigers. They are SUPER tame and I was able to go up and pet them and take pictures with them like they were my pet dog. It was REALLY awesome and be sure to check out the pictures. After the temple, I came back to Bangkok and called it a night. The next day, I took off for Chang Mai where I am right now. Keep tuned for more updates from Chang Mai and the Thai Islands!
The next day, I woke up early and headed out to check out some of the famous sights around Bangkok. At first, I tried to navigate my way around the city on my own, but a lack of a good map made this nearly impossible. I finally said screw it and jumped into a Tuk Tuk (These are three wheeled motor cycle cabs as opposed to a normal car). Upon telling my tuk tuk driver where I wanted to go, he said that the temple that I wanted to see was closed and that I should go to another one instead. I decided to take his word for it and decided to let him take me to the temple that he had mentioned. Upon my arrival, I was actually pretty happy that he had taken me there. There was a MASSIVE gold Buddha statue that stood over 60 feet tall. After snapping some photos of the Buddha, I got back in the tuk tuk and told my driver where to take me next. He then proceeded to tell me that that temple was closed also. After thinking about it for a little while, I decided that this driver was taking me for a ride and I just told him to take me back to where I started. On our way back to Khao San Road, my driver forced me to go into a tailor shop to look at suits. (I later found out later that tuk tuk drivers do this with all of the people that they drive around because they get free gasoline from the tailor shop for bringing people in.) I proceeded to walk in and then right back outside and made my driver end his guided tour and demanded (in a polite tone) that he take me back to Khao San Road. After some negotiating, he finally agreed and I ended up back on Khao San Road.
After grabbing some food, I was ready to try again for what I had originally planned to see. This time however, I avoided the tuk tuk drivers and got into a legitimate taxi. This time, I told the driver where I wanted to go and he had no problem taking me there. The first temple that I went to see was called Wat Saket aka The Golden Mount. This temple is located on a hill and as the name indicates, has a huge golden spire at the top. After climbing the winding path around to the top of the hill, I was rewarded with not only incredible statues of Buddha but also with incredible views over Bangkok. I was able to see the entire city and surrounding area. It was quite a site. After snapping some photos, I was ready to head to my next destination. Me being me though, decided to strike up a conversation with a fellow westerner who was admiring the view of the city right next to me. It turned out that he was from New York. After introducing ourselves (his name was Jordan) and talking for a few minuets, we concluded that we were headed in the same direction and so we decided to go there together.
The next destination that we headed to is Bangkok's most famous site. This site is The Royal Palace complex. Included in this complex is a temple called Wat Phra Kaew. Upon our arrival, we were both literally stunned at the sheer beauty of the complex. There was so much gold that even the ancient Pharaohs and Aztec kings would be impressed. We spent the next two hours or so walking around the complex and admiring all of the golden statues and various buildings incorporated in the complex. I think that my favorite building was the building housing the "Emerald Buddha." It was my favorite for a few reasons. Not only was there incredible amounts of gold, but the Emerald Buddha happens to be one of the most important Buddha statues in all of Southeast Asia. I thought that it was really neat to be able to see this in person. After a few hours of admiring the complex, Jordan and I headed to our final stop of the day.
The next place that we went was yet another temple. This temple was called Wat Pho and it is famous for its MASSIVE "Reclining Buddha." Upon our arrival, I was yet again stunned at what I saw. Inside of the main shrine of the temple, there was a statue of Buddha in the laying down position that was probably over 30 feet tall and definitely over 100 feet long. It too was completely covered in gold. I seriously couldn't believe what I was looking at. After a good while admiring the massive Buddha in front of us, Jordan and I decided to call it a day. We said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways. I headed back to Khao San Road and called it a day. After such a long day the first day, I decided to chill on my second day in Bangkok. I just stayed around Khao San Road and walked around for a while.
My third day, I got back out and decided to check out some of the more un-conventional sites Bangkok has to offer. The first site that I checked out was the snake farm. This is a farm that holds tons of different types of snakes (both poisonous and non-poisonous.) While the farm makes money from tourists coming to see all of the different types of snakes, its main purpose is to use the snakes to make anti-venom vaccines for people that are unfortunate enough to get bitten by a poisonous snake. The farm makes this anti-venom by "milking" the venom of the poisonous snakes. They then take tiny amounts of this venom and mix it with some other things and like magic, they have the anti-venom. I was lucky enough to see a "milking" take place. The snake handler basically took the snakes head and forced it to bite onto a little funnel. The venom then drips into a jar below. It is then taken off to make the anti-venom. It was definitely an experience!
After the snake farm, I decided to walk around this huge park that was right next to the snake farm. After snapping some photos, I moved on to Chinatown. Bangkok's Chinatown isn't too much different from the many Chinatowns I had already seen so after walking around for a little while, I headed back to Khao San Road and once again called it a day.
The next day, I spent the morning just chilling out before heading to the main event for the day, a night of watching Muy Thai Boxing at one of the local stadiums. I ended up buying a ringside ticket and I was front and center for all of the action. Muy Thai is more like kick boxing that traditional boxing. The fighters may use their feet as well as arms to strike their oponents and let me just say that it isn't necessarily the first sport that I would choose to participate in. I am pretty sure those kids in the ring are going to be in pain until well after I am back in the United States.
The next day was my last day in Bangkok and so I decided to go out with a bang. I decided to do a day trip about two hours northwest of Bangkok to an area called the Kanchanaburi Province. This area happened to be a very important area for the Japanese when they occupied Thailand during World War II. The first site that we visited was a cemetery dedicated to POWs that had lost their lives in this area during the war.
After the cemetery, we headed to the JEATH War Museum. JEATH stands for Japanese, English, American/Australian, Thai, and Holland/Dutch and represents the countries that had the most casualties in this area during the war. The museum was very interesting and focused on a railway line in the area that is known as the Death Railway. It got this name because of all of the people that died during its construction. The railway served as an important link for the Japanese between Thailand and Myanmar. After checking out the museum, we headed to lunch. Lunch was really good and what made it even better was the fact that we got to eat at a restaurant that was literally floating on the local river. It was really neat to be eating and see the water flowing right under my feet!
After lunch, we took a short drive to a local waterfall. The waterfall was really beautiful and after snapping some photos, we headed to the day's main attraction, the Tiger Temple. This temple use to be just a regular Buddhist temple but has since become a sanctuary for Tigers. Since the adoption of their first Tiger 10 or 15 years ago, the temple has successfully bread the tigers and now they have over 20 in the complex. The coolest thing about the experience is how close regular people can get to the tigers. They are SUPER tame and I was able to go up and pet them and take pictures with them like they were my pet dog. It was REALLY awesome and be sure to check out the pictures. After the temple, I came back to Bangkok and called it a night. The next day, I took off for Chang Mai where I am right now. Keep tuned for more updates from Chang Mai and the Thai Islands!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Cambodia: Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor)
Well after some action in Phnom Penh, I headed north west to the town of Siem Reap, which is also the launching point for the 8th wonder of the world, the Temple Valley of Angkor. Upon my arrival in Siem Reap, I checked into my hostel and then headed out to check out the town. Siem Reap is much smaller than Phnom Penh and so it didn't take too long to cover the town. After an amazing local Khmer dinner, I headed back to the hostel to catch some sleep before my LONG day at the temples the next day. Before I went to sleep however, I hit the internet cafe. While I was in the internet Cafe, I happened to sit down next to someone who was also gonig to be headed to the temples the following day. After introducing ourselves and discovering that we were both from California of all places, we decided to meet up the following morning to go to the temples together.
The next day, my new friend, Lance, and I woke up at 4:30 AM in order to head to Angkor Wat (The main temple in the valley) to watch the sun rise. It happened to be fairly cloudy on the day that we went to the temples but it was still an amazing sight. I have never been to the Taj Mahal but I have a feeling that seeing Angkor Wat for the first time brings up the same sort of feeling. Upon my arrival at Angkor Wat, I was literally stunned at the immense beauty of the temple. The temple has an outer wall that has many incredible carvings in the stone. Inside the wall, the temple itself has four massive towers that mark the four corners of the complex. Sitting in the middle of the four towers is one massive central tower. After walking around the temple for a while and marveling at its sheer beauty, Lance and I decided to head to the next temple.
The next temple that we decided to go to was a set of temples known as Angkor Thom (pronounced like Tom.) The main temple in this complex is actually a temple called Bayon. The main marvel at this temple are all of the various "faces" that are carved into the stone. These faces are incredibly detailed and it was really an amazing site to see. After walking around Bayon for a while, we headed to the surrounding temples and then decided to move on.
The next temple that we went to was a temple called Ta Phrom. This temple was my favourite of all. The thing that is special about this temple are all of the trees that have grown into and around the rocks and stones that make up the temple. (Check my pictures to see what I am talking about.) I literally felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie (I actually watched one later that night to stay in the spirits!) Apparently I am not the only one to see the movie potential for this temple. There was actually a movie called Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie that was shot at this very temple. After this temple, Lance and I decided to head back to town to go for an afternoon swim and to get some lunch. After our VERY refreshing swim and delicious lunch, Lance and I headed back to the temple valley to watch the sunset. After the sun went down, we headed back to town and called it a day.
The next day, instead of going to the temples again, Lance and I decided to go and check out a floating village that is located a few miles outside of Siem Reap. Upon our arrival, we boarded a boat and took a tour of the village. It was really incredible to be able to see how these people literally LIVE on the water. They get around only by boat or swimming. While it was really interesting to see, it was also somewhat sad. These people drink, bathe, and go to the bathroom all in the same water. It DEFINITELY puts things into perspective. After the floating village, we headed back to town and just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon.
The following day, I decided to head back to the temple valley by myself to check out some more of the smaller temples. It was a good day but the temples that I saw the second time, while very beautiful, were nowhere near as impressive as the ones that I covered the first day. After the temples, I once again came back to the hostel and called it a day.
Finally, Saturday rolled around and it was time for the Hostel's weekly Pub Crawl. Everyone met in the lobby of the hostel and we hit the town for some fun. It was really fun getting to meet all of the people staying at the hostel and great times were had by all. The next day, it was time to say goodbye to Siem Reap and head to my next destination Bangkok and the AMAZING country of Thailand!
The next day, my new friend, Lance, and I woke up at 4:30 AM in order to head to Angkor Wat (The main temple in the valley) to watch the sun rise. It happened to be fairly cloudy on the day that we went to the temples but it was still an amazing sight. I have never been to the Taj Mahal but I have a feeling that seeing Angkor Wat for the first time brings up the same sort of feeling. Upon my arrival at Angkor Wat, I was literally stunned at the immense beauty of the temple. The temple has an outer wall that has many incredible carvings in the stone. Inside the wall, the temple itself has four massive towers that mark the four corners of the complex. Sitting in the middle of the four towers is one massive central tower. After walking around the temple for a while and marveling at its sheer beauty, Lance and I decided to head to the next temple.
The next temple that we decided to go to was a set of temples known as Angkor Thom (pronounced like Tom.) The main temple in this complex is actually a temple called Bayon. The main marvel at this temple are all of the various "faces" that are carved into the stone. These faces are incredibly detailed and it was really an amazing site to see. After walking around Bayon for a while, we headed to the surrounding temples and then decided to move on.
The next temple that we went to was a temple called Ta Phrom. This temple was my favourite of all. The thing that is special about this temple are all of the trees that have grown into and around the rocks and stones that make up the temple. (Check my pictures to see what I am talking about.) I literally felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie (I actually watched one later that night to stay in the spirits!) Apparently I am not the only one to see the movie potential for this temple. There was actually a movie called Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie that was shot at this very temple. After this temple, Lance and I decided to head back to town to go for an afternoon swim and to get some lunch. After our VERY refreshing swim and delicious lunch, Lance and I headed back to the temple valley to watch the sunset. After the sun went down, we headed back to town and called it a day.
The next day, instead of going to the temples again, Lance and I decided to go and check out a floating village that is located a few miles outside of Siem Reap. Upon our arrival, we boarded a boat and took a tour of the village. It was really incredible to be able to see how these people literally LIVE on the water. They get around only by boat or swimming. While it was really interesting to see, it was also somewhat sad. These people drink, bathe, and go to the bathroom all in the same water. It DEFINITELY puts things into perspective. After the floating village, we headed back to town and just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon.
The following day, I decided to head back to the temple valley by myself to check out some more of the smaller temples. It was a good day but the temples that I saw the second time, while very beautiful, were nowhere near as impressive as the ones that I covered the first day. After the temples, I once again came back to the hostel and called it a day.
Finally, Saturday rolled around and it was time for the Hostel's weekly Pub Crawl. Everyone met in the lobby of the hostel and we hit the town for some fun. It was really fun getting to meet all of the people staying at the hostel and great times were had by all. The next day, it was time to say goodbye to Siem Reap and head to my next destination Bangkok and the AMAZING country of Thailand!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Cambodia: Phnom Penh)
Well my journey has taken me to yet another far off land. This time, the country is Cambodia and my first stop was the capital city of Phnom Penh. Upon my arrival, I got a taxi from the airport and set out to find a hotel. While I was sitting in the taxi looking at my trusty Lonely Planet book to find a hotel, the taxi driver took notice and made a recommendation to me. Now normal traveling rules state that you should NEVER take the driver up on their offers because they almost ALWAYS involve some kind of a scam / ripoff. For whatever reason, I felt differently this time and decided to take the driver up on his offer. He promised that my hotel would be in a great location and would only cost me $15.00 a night for my own room, TV, AC, and hot water. While this sounded too good to be true, I still went along with it.
Upon my arrival at my hotel, things seemed to be looking pretty good. I was smack in the center of the "sight-seeing"area and the place looked great. I was very happy when sure enough my room cost the $15.00 that my driver had promised. I was even happier when I discovered that it came true to form just like he said. (It goes to show that there are good people out there.) After checking in, I thanked my driver, but before I could go, being the business person that he is, he offered to pick me up the following day and be my driver for the day. I felt like I owed him one and so I decided to go along with it. After dropping my stuff down, I called it a night and went to sleep.
The next day, I got up early and just like he said, my driver from the day before was waiting in the lobby for me. The first site that I decided to visit, was the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. For those of you that do not know, back in the 1970's there was a communist movement in Cambodia which was headed by a terrorist named Pol Pot who was just as bad as Hitler, Stalin, Osama, etc. He basically arrested and executed thousands of innocent people for no reason other than that he didn't like them. The killing Fields are the place where the prisoners were taken to be beaten to death, because shooting them was a waste of precious bullets. The fields themselves were very scary (there were mass pits that use to contain hundreds of bodies each) but the scariest thing of all was huge monument that was completely see through. The reason that it is see through is because of the thousands of human skulls that are inside of it. The sight of all of those skulls really knocked home how bad this man and his regime really were.
After the killing fields, I decided to do the most logical thing I could think of, I went to the Army Base / shooting range to fire off automatic weapons. Now the guns at this range are not legal for civilians in the United States, let alone a range letting untrained civilians fire them at will. We proceeded to go to the range and I was presented with a buffet of firearms to choose from ranging from a bazooka, to a Tommy-gun, to an M16, to an AK47, to many others that I don't even feel like taking the time to list. (Basically many HEAVY artillery firearms.) While I would have loved to try them all, it was pretty expensive so I limited my selection to just two. I selected the M16 and the AK47. After making my selection, the guy who worked there took me out to the range, slammed in the magazine (bullets) and let me go at it. After shooting some rounds on single-shot mode, he flicked the switch and let me blast away on rapid fire. I must say that it was pretty awesome but definitely something that would NEVER be legal in the states.
After my fun at the range, I came back to town and got dropped off by my driver friend. After saying goodbye, I grabbed some lunch before setting out to check out some of the historical sights around the city. The first post-lunch sight that I checked out was the National Museum. This is a museum that houses many of Cambodia's artifacts that have been uncovered over the years by archaeologists. They included many Hindu idols and statues as well as many Buddha relics and statues.
After leaving the National Museum, I headed to the Royal Palace. This is the official residence of the Royal Family of Cambodia and is quite beautiful. Although you can not really see tooo much of the grounds (because the family lives there) I was definitely able to see some of the beautiful buildings that lay on the grounds. I was amazed at how much gold was incorporated into the buildings. They were especially beautiful while the afternoon sun reflected off of them.
Now my day wasn't done yet. For dinner that night, I met up with one of my older brother's friends from high school who is teaching at a local school over here. We decided to go to a local spot so that I could get the true Cambodian dining experience. It was a really fun restaurant and instead of ordering cooked food, we ordered our food raw and we got to grill it ourselves on a miniature propane stove at our table. It was quite an awesome experience. After this, I finally called it a day and went to sleep.
The next day, because I had already covered most of the sights in the city, I woke up late and got a late start to the day. The one site I did go to though was S-21 or Security Prison 21. Now logically speaking, one goes to this right before the Killing Fields but I decided not to for some reason. S-21 is the prison/detention center where Pol Pot and his band of terrorists interrogated and tortured their innocent prisoners before taking them to the Killing Fields to be executed. After walking around the grounds for a while, I headed back to town and just chilled out for the rest of the day.
That about sums up my Phnom Penh experience. Its off to Siem Reap in the North of Cambodia tomorrow to checkout the 8th Wonder of the World, The Temple Vally of Angkor!
Until next time,
Evan
Upon my arrival at my hotel, things seemed to be looking pretty good. I was smack in the center of the "sight-seeing"area and the place looked great. I was very happy when sure enough my room cost the $15.00 that my driver had promised. I was even happier when I discovered that it came true to form just like he said. (It goes to show that there are good people out there.) After checking in, I thanked my driver, but before I could go, being the business person that he is, he offered to pick me up the following day and be my driver for the day. I felt like I owed him one and so I decided to go along with it. After dropping my stuff down, I called it a night and went to sleep.
The next day, I got up early and just like he said, my driver from the day before was waiting in the lobby for me. The first site that I decided to visit, was the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. For those of you that do not know, back in the 1970's there was a communist movement in Cambodia which was headed by a terrorist named Pol Pot who was just as bad as Hitler, Stalin, Osama, etc. He basically arrested and executed thousands of innocent people for no reason other than that he didn't like them. The killing Fields are the place where the prisoners were taken to be beaten to death, because shooting them was a waste of precious bullets. The fields themselves were very scary (there were mass pits that use to contain hundreds of bodies each) but the scariest thing of all was huge monument that was completely see through. The reason that it is see through is because of the thousands of human skulls that are inside of it. The sight of all of those skulls really knocked home how bad this man and his regime really were.
After the killing fields, I decided to do the most logical thing I could think of, I went to the Army Base / shooting range to fire off automatic weapons. Now the guns at this range are not legal for civilians in the United States, let alone a range letting untrained civilians fire them at will. We proceeded to go to the range and I was presented with a buffet of firearms to choose from ranging from a bazooka, to a Tommy-gun, to an M16, to an AK47, to many others that I don't even feel like taking the time to list. (Basically many HEAVY artillery firearms.) While I would have loved to try them all, it was pretty expensive so I limited my selection to just two. I selected the M16 and the AK47. After making my selection, the guy who worked there took me out to the range, slammed in the magazine (bullets) and let me go at it. After shooting some rounds on single-shot mode, he flicked the switch and let me blast away on rapid fire. I must say that it was pretty awesome but definitely something that would NEVER be legal in the states.
After my fun at the range, I came back to town and got dropped off by my driver friend. After saying goodbye, I grabbed some lunch before setting out to check out some of the historical sights around the city. The first post-lunch sight that I checked out was the National Museum. This is a museum that houses many of Cambodia's artifacts that have been uncovered over the years by archaeologists. They included many Hindu idols and statues as well as many Buddha relics and statues.
After leaving the National Museum, I headed to the Royal Palace. This is the official residence of the Royal Family of Cambodia and is quite beautiful. Although you can not really see tooo much of the grounds (because the family lives there) I was definitely able to see some of the beautiful buildings that lay on the grounds. I was amazed at how much gold was incorporated into the buildings. They were especially beautiful while the afternoon sun reflected off of them.
Now my day wasn't done yet. For dinner that night, I met up with one of my older brother's friends from high school who is teaching at a local school over here. We decided to go to a local spot so that I could get the true Cambodian dining experience. It was a really fun restaurant and instead of ordering cooked food, we ordered our food raw and we got to grill it ourselves on a miniature propane stove at our table. It was quite an awesome experience. After this, I finally called it a day and went to sleep.
The next day, because I had already covered most of the sights in the city, I woke up late and got a late start to the day. The one site I did go to though was S-21 or Security Prison 21. Now logically speaking, one goes to this right before the Killing Fields but I decided not to for some reason. S-21 is the prison/detention center where Pol Pot and his band of terrorists interrogated and tortured their innocent prisoners before taking them to the Killing Fields to be executed. After walking around the grounds for a while, I headed back to town and just chilled out for the rest of the day.
That about sums up my Phnom Penh experience. Its off to Siem Reap in the North of Cambodia tomorrow to checkout the 8th Wonder of the World, The Temple Vally of Angkor!
Until next time,
Evan
Friday, June 5, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Laos: Vientiane and Vang Vieng)
So the next stop on my trip was Laos. I flew into the capital, Vientiane, from Kuala Lumpur. After arriving and finding a hotel, I set out to check out the sites around the city. This isn't a very big capital city and so it was easy to cover the highlights in one afternoon.
The first site that I went to was called Wat (Which means Temple) Si Saket. This temple is lined with Buddha statues in various positions of relaxation (sitting down, laying down, reclining, etc.) After snapping some photos of the Buddhas, I walked around the perimeter of the temple to check out the other buildings in the complex. While doing this, I saw what I thought was the coolest thing of all; each building had extremely detailed dragon statues as the handrails.
After Wat Si Saket, I headed to the Wat Pha That Luang. This is another temple but this one's main attraction is a MASSIVE golden spire that shoots up into the sky. It was truly a very impressive site.
The last site that I hit on day one was Patuxai. This is Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe. The cement to build it was actually donated to Vientiane back in 1969 and was suppose to be used to build a new airport. After Patuxai, I called it a day and prepared for the trip north in the morning.
The next day, I headed to a town called Vang Vieng. This is officially on the "Southeast Asia Party Trail" and now I can definitely see why. The town is completely build around the river it sits on and the various activities that take place on the river.
Basically the main activity is either tubing or swimming/floating down the river while stopping off at the various bars along the way for some music, dancing, and some very refreshing beverages. Also, many of the bars have some extreme activities that one can partake in if they feel inclined. These include HUGE rope swings (dropping on a trapeze type of a rig from about 60 feet in the air and letting go over the river,) MASSIVE zip-lines (again letting go over the water,) and finally at the last bar, there was a HUGE water slide that shot you over the water at the end of it.
In addition to the beverages and music that are at all of the bars, each bar has a "theme" These themes include the "Smile Bar," "The Paint Bar," The Mud Pit Bar," "The Water Slide Bar" and many more that would take too long to name here. So basically, after my one day in the capital, I spent the next 5 days enjoying the sunshine and the river. That is unfortunately all I have time for in Laos. Its off to Cambodia tomorrow so be sure to check back for another update soon!
The first site that I went to was called Wat (Which means Temple) Si Saket. This temple is lined with Buddha statues in various positions of relaxation (sitting down, laying down, reclining, etc.) After snapping some photos of the Buddhas, I walked around the perimeter of the temple to check out the other buildings in the complex. While doing this, I saw what I thought was the coolest thing of all; each building had extremely detailed dragon statues as the handrails.
After Wat Si Saket, I headed to the Wat Pha That Luang. This is another temple but this one's main attraction is a MASSIVE golden spire that shoots up into the sky. It was truly a very impressive site.
The last site that I hit on day one was Patuxai. This is Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe. The cement to build it was actually donated to Vientiane back in 1969 and was suppose to be used to build a new airport. After Patuxai, I called it a day and prepared for the trip north in the morning.
The next day, I headed to a town called Vang Vieng. This is officially on the "Southeast Asia Party Trail" and now I can definitely see why. The town is completely build around the river it sits on and the various activities that take place on the river.
Basically the main activity is either tubing or swimming/floating down the river while stopping off at the various bars along the way for some music, dancing, and some very refreshing beverages. Also, many of the bars have some extreme activities that one can partake in if they feel inclined. These include HUGE rope swings (dropping on a trapeze type of a rig from about 60 feet in the air and letting go over the river,) MASSIVE zip-lines (again letting go over the water,) and finally at the last bar, there was a HUGE water slide that shot you over the water at the end of it.
In addition to the beverages and music that are at all of the bars, each bar has a "theme" These themes include the "Smile Bar," "The Paint Bar," The Mud Pit Bar," "The Water Slide Bar" and many more that would take too long to name here. So basically, after my one day in the capital, I spent the next 5 days enjoying the sunshine and the river. That is unfortunately all I have time for in Laos. Its off to Cambodia tomorrow so be sure to check back for another update soon!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur)
Well although my stay was short, I definitely packed a LOT in in my two days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I flew into Kuala Lumpur direct from Hanoi, Vietnam. Upon my arrival, I decided to save some money and be adventuresome by taking the shuttle bus into town instead of a regular taxi. After about an hour, the shuttle came to a stop in Chinatown, where I had booked my hostel. Chinatown is the sort of "heart" of Kuala Lumpur and it is definitely a happenning place. The streets are PACKED with food stalls and shops selling everything from rip off northface gear to fake designer handbags and basically the fake version of any other thing you can think of. (I even saw one guy selling the new Star Trek DVD, which hasnt even come out in theaters here yet.) After navigating my way through the streets, I found my hostel and checked in.
Although my hostel was fairly cheap, I now know that I REALLY never want to find myself on the wrong side of the law. My room was a cement block with a bed and thats it. It definitely felt like I had acted like an idiot one night and found myself in Santa Rita County Jail. Anyway, I decided to roll with the punches and take it for what it was. I deopped my stuff off and set out to check out this MASSIVE capital city.
Seeing as though Chinatown is a sight in and of itself, I decided to start there. I began by searching for a famous Hindu Temple that happens to be located in Chinatown instead of Little India (go figure). Anyway, as I was looking for the temple, I saw another guy with his map out and seemed to be looking for the same thing as I was. Anyway, being the person that I am, I approached him and asked him if he knew where to find the temple. We decided to look for it together and ended up spending the next two days together touring the city. This guy's name is Johan and he is from Denmark.
After locating and checking out the Hindu temple, Johan suggested we do a walking tour of the Colonial District and Little India. I agreed and we headed across town (on foot) and began the tour. We got slightly lost along the way, but it was realy neat to see the old colonial buildings and all of the hundreds of local indian people bustling around Little India in their many colored garmets. After the tour ended, Johan and I decided to come back to Chinatown and call it a night. Before we went our seperate ways on night one, however, we decided to meet the following morning to go check out some famous caves called the Batu Caves which are located just a few miles outside of the city.
The next morning, I met Johan at his hostel and we set out to go find the bus to check out the Batu Caves. These caves are a REALLY sacred place for the Hindu people and there is even a Hindu temple built inside of the main cave. If one were to visit in January/Feburary, they would likely encounter the 1,000,000+ pilgrims that come to these caves to pay their respects during some Hindu festival which's name I cannot pronounce, let alone spell. The caves were really neat and came complete with monkeys that will steal ANYTHING right out of your hand if they are given the chance. I actually saw one grab a coke out of someone's hand and proceed to drink it. (If you dont believe me, refer to the pictures.)
After the caves, we came back to the city and decided to check out the skydeck of the Kuala Lumpur Tower. This tower is located in the business district a.k.a "The Golden Triangle" area of the city and stands 272 meters above the ground. After taking the elevator to the top, we were rewarded with a spectacular panoramic view of the entire city and well beyond. It was a little hazy the day that we went up the tower but the view was still impressive.
After the tower, we decided to fit in one last set of activities and so we decided to head to the Lake Garden district of the city. We decided to have some fun getting there and so we opted to take the city monorail to get there. This monorail reminded me so much of the one at Disneyland, I literally felt like I was going to get off in Adventure Land. Anyway, after we got to our stop, we got off the monorail and set out to find the park. On our way to the park, we came accross the Malaysian History Museum. We decided to check it out and it turned out to be a very well set up museum. We were able to learn about Malaysia's history from the beginning of the earth (Pangea time frame) all the way through their current government structure.
After visiting the museum, we finally made it to the park. After walking around the park for a little while, we decided to call it a day. We headed back to Chinatown and grabbed some dinner before we went our seperate ways. Needless to say, I now have 2 people I can stay with when I make my way to Denmark (and mark my words, that WILL happen!)
Although I only had two days in Kuala Lumpur (and Malaysia for that matter) I definitely made the most of it. Im off to Laos tomorrow so be sure to check back soon to see what kind of wild and crazy adventures I get myself into.
Until next time,
Evan
Although my hostel was fairly cheap, I now know that I REALLY never want to find myself on the wrong side of the law. My room was a cement block with a bed and thats it. It definitely felt like I had acted like an idiot one night and found myself in Santa Rita County Jail. Anyway, I decided to roll with the punches and take it for what it was. I deopped my stuff off and set out to check out this MASSIVE capital city.
Seeing as though Chinatown is a sight in and of itself, I decided to start there. I began by searching for a famous Hindu Temple that happens to be located in Chinatown instead of Little India (go figure). Anyway, as I was looking for the temple, I saw another guy with his map out and seemed to be looking for the same thing as I was. Anyway, being the person that I am, I approached him and asked him if he knew where to find the temple. We decided to look for it together and ended up spending the next two days together touring the city. This guy's name is Johan and he is from Denmark.
After locating and checking out the Hindu temple, Johan suggested we do a walking tour of the Colonial District and Little India. I agreed and we headed across town (on foot) and began the tour. We got slightly lost along the way, but it was realy neat to see the old colonial buildings and all of the hundreds of local indian people bustling around Little India in their many colored garmets. After the tour ended, Johan and I decided to come back to Chinatown and call it a night. Before we went our seperate ways on night one, however, we decided to meet the following morning to go check out some famous caves called the Batu Caves which are located just a few miles outside of the city.
The next morning, I met Johan at his hostel and we set out to go find the bus to check out the Batu Caves. These caves are a REALLY sacred place for the Hindu people and there is even a Hindu temple built inside of the main cave. If one were to visit in January/Feburary, they would likely encounter the 1,000,000+ pilgrims that come to these caves to pay their respects during some Hindu festival which's name I cannot pronounce, let alone spell. The caves were really neat and came complete with monkeys that will steal ANYTHING right out of your hand if they are given the chance. I actually saw one grab a coke out of someone's hand and proceed to drink it. (If you dont believe me, refer to the pictures.)
After the caves, we came back to the city and decided to check out the skydeck of the Kuala Lumpur Tower. This tower is located in the business district a.k.a "The Golden Triangle" area of the city and stands 272 meters above the ground. After taking the elevator to the top, we were rewarded with a spectacular panoramic view of the entire city and well beyond. It was a little hazy the day that we went up the tower but the view was still impressive.
After the tower, we decided to fit in one last set of activities and so we decided to head to the Lake Garden district of the city. We decided to have some fun getting there and so we opted to take the city monorail to get there. This monorail reminded me so much of the one at Disneyland, I literally felt like I was going to get off in Adventure Land. Anyway, after we got to our stop, we got off the monorail and set out to find the park. On our way to the park, we came accross the Malaysian History Museum. We decided to check it out and it turned out to be a very well set up museum. We were able to learn about Malaysia's history from the beginning of the earth (Pangea time frame) all the way through their current government structure.
After visiting the museum, we finally made it to the park. After walking around the park for a little while, we decided to call it a day. We headed back to Chinatown and grabbed some dinner before we went our seperate ways. Needless to say, I now have 2 people I can stay with when I make my way to Denmark (and mark my words, that WILL happen!)
Although I only had two days in Kuala Lumpur (and Malaysia for that matter) I definitely made the most of it. Im off to Laos tomorrow so be sure to check back soon to see what kind of wild and crazy adventures I get myself into.
Until next time,
Evan
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Vietnam: Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Sapa)
Well, I successfully made it through China and moved my trip down the coast to Northern Vietnam. I decided to base myself in the Capital of the country, Hanoi. Hanoi is located in the center of the Northern part of the country and is a great location to base onself for trips to the amazing sites that this part of the country has to offer.
Upon ariving in Hanoi, I checked into my hostel and set out to explore the city. The first thing that I decided to check out was the Ho Chi Minh Mosoleum Complex. For those of you who dont know, Ho Chi Minh is to Vietnam what Chairman Mao is to China (Basically the most important person in the history of Vietnam.) Inside of the complex, I was actually able to see his preserved body. It was a little bit weird, but interesting at the same time. After checking that out, I decided to go check out the War Museum. This was very interesting as well (especially being from the U.S.A.) It was full of relics and artifacts from the Vietnam War and although the captions were in Vietnamese, I was able to get a really good idea of what the war was all about and what happened. After the War Museum, I decided to spend the afternoon walking around the lake that is at the center of the city. Although I did not see any, it is said that there are a extreemly rare species of ancient tortise that still inhabit the lake. Finally, after my walk around the lake, I headed to a "Water Puppet" show. This is a form of traditional Vietnamese entertainment and is literally a puppet show over the water. The puppets are held up by sticks and are run by people behind a curtain. It was really interesting and was something that I probably cannot see anywhere else. After the puppet show, I called it a night and prepared for my adventure in Halong Bay the following day.
The next day, I took off for one of Vietnam's most famous sites, Halong Bay. Halong Bay is located three hours east of Hanoi and is basically a bay with hundreds of limestone rock formations jutting straight out of the water. Becasue they are in such close proximity to one another, they create a bay full of little coves, caves, and inlets. Upon our arrival, we boarded our boat and took off. After cruising around for the afternoon, we visited a "floating village" (Literally a village of houses that were floating on the water) where we rented sea kayaks and took off to explore the bay under our own power. The current was strong but we managed to fight through it and wound up at the enterance to an amazing cave that had formed over thousands of years of errosion from the ocean. Upon our arrival, we beached our kayaks and went in to explore the cave. We crawled through the pitch black for a while and then came out on the other side to a lake. This lake had formed by rain water accumulating over the years in an area that was completly closed off by rocks from the surrounding ocean. After checking out the cave for a while, we headed back to the kayaks to make the return journey to our boat. Upon returning to the boat, we had an afternoon of relaxing and swimming before a night of fun with everyone on board.
The next day, upon waking up, we headed to an island among the many rock formations. This island is called Cat Ba Island and is the largest island in the bay. It is the only inhabited island in the bay and it is where we would make our home for the next day. Upon arriving at the island, we set out for a hike through the jungle in order to summet the highest peak on the island. After reaching the peak, the view was unreal. Basically, we were able to see 360 degreese and could see endless rock formations set among the turquoise water of the bay. It is definitely a site I will never forget. After the hike, we settled down in our hotel for the rest of the day. We stayed on the island that night and in the morning, re-boarded our boat and headed back to port. Upon returning to Hanoi, I had just enough time for a shower before I had to turn around and catch the all night train up to the hills of Sapa.
After taking the train all night, we arrived in the hill town of Sapa. This is a town full of indigenous peoples and is the basis for trecks into the mountains of the surrounding region. Upon arriving, we met our guide and set out for a two day treck through the rice paddies and mountains of the surrounding area. The first day, we trecked 15 KM through some of the most beautiful scenery that I have seen in a while. We walked through endless rice fields, and little villages until we came to the village that we were to stay in that night. Instead of staying in a hotel, we were lucky enough to be able to do a "homestay." We literally got to sleep in the home of one of the local indigenous families. They prepared a very good traditional Vietnamese meal for us and let me just say that no one was left hungry.
After waking up, we set out for the second day of trekking. This time, in addition to more rice fields and villages, we were treated to the beautiful sight of a massive waterfall and a bamboo forest. Again, these are two sights that I am not likely soon to forget. After some lunch, we met our jeep and headed back to Sapa in order to catch the night train back to Hanoi.
Well that is what I have been up to over the last week or so. Its off to Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia tomorrow so be sure to check back soon for more updates!
Upon ariving in Hanoi, I checked into my hostel and set out to explore the city. The first thing that I decided to check out was the Ho Chi Minh Mosoleum Complex. For those of you who dont know, Ho Chi Minh is to Vietnam what Chairman Mao is to China (Basically the most important person in the history of Vietnam.) Inside of the complex, I was actually able to see his preserved body. It was a little bit weird, but interesting at the same time. After checking that out, I decided to go check out the War Museum. This was very interesting as well (especially being from the U.S.A.) It was full of relics and artifacts from the Vietnam War and although the captions were in Vietnamese, I was able to get a really good idea of what the war was all about and what happened. After the War Museum, I decided to spend the afternoon walking around the lake that is at the center of the city. Although I did not see any, it is said that there are a extreemly rare species of ancient tortise that still inhabit the lake. Finally, after my walk around the lake, I headed to a "Water Puppet" show. This is a form of traditional Vietnamese entertainment and is literally a puppet show over the water. The puppets are held up by sticks and are run by people behind a curtain. It was really interesting and was something that I probably cannot see anywhere else. After the puppet show, I called it a night and prepared for my adventure in Halong Bay the following day.
The next day, I took off for one of Vietnam's most famous sites, Halong Bay. Halong Bay is located three hours east of Hanoi and is basically a bay with hundreds of limestone rock formations jutting straight out of the water. Becasue they are in such close proximity to one another, they create a bay full of little coves, caves, and inlets. Upon our arrival, we boarded our boat and took off. After cruising around for the afternoon, we visited a "floating village" (Literally a village of houses that were floating on the water) where we rented sea kayaks and took off to explore the bay under our own power. The current was strong but we managed to fight through it and wound up at the enterance to an amazing cave that had formed over thousands of years of errosion from the ocean. Upon our arrival, we beached our kayaks and went in to explore the cave. We crawled through the pitch black for a while and then came out on the other side to a lake. This lake had formed by rain water accumulating over the years in an area that was completly closed off by rocks from the surrounding ocean. After checking out the cave for a while, we headed back to the kayaks to make the return journey to our boat. Upon returning to the boat, we had an afternoon of relaxing and swimming before a night of fun with everyone on board.
The next day, upon waking up, we headed to an island among the many rock formations. This island is called Cat Ba Island and is the largest island in the bay. It is the only inhabited island in the bay and it is where we would make our home for the next day. Upon arriving at the island, we set out for a hike through the jungle in order to summet the highest peak on the island. After reaching the peak, the view was unreal. Basically, we were able to see 360 degreese and could see endless rock formations set among the turquoise water of the bay. It is definitely a site I will never forget. After the hike, we settled down in our hotel for the rest of the day. We stayed on the island that night and in the morning, re-boarded our boat and headed back to port. Upon returning to Hanoi, I had just enough time for a shower before I had to turn around and catch the all night train up to the hills of Sapa.
After taking the train all night, we arrived in the hill town of Sapa. This is a town full of indigenous peoples and is the basis for trecks into the mountains of the surrounding region. Upon arriving, we met our guide and set out for a two day treck through the rice paddies and mountains of the surrounding area. The first day, we trecked 15 KM through some of the most beautiful scenery that I have seen in a while. We walked through endless rice fields, and little villages until we came to the village that we were to stay in that night. Instead of staying in a hotel, we were lucky enough to be able to do a "homestay." We literally got to sleep in the home of one of the local indigenous families. They prepared a very good traditional Vietnamese meal for us and let me just say that no one was left hungry.
After waking up, we set out for the second day of trekking. This time, in addition to more rice fields and villages, we were treated to the beautiful sight of a massive waterfall and a bamboo forest. Again, these are two sights that I am not likely soon to forget. After some lunch, we met our jeep and headed back to Sapa in order to catch the night train back to Hanoi.
Well that is what I have been up to over the last week or so. Its off to Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia tomorrow so be sure to check back soon for more updates!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (China Part 2: The Summer Palace, The Olympic Village Complex, and The Terra Cotta Warrior Army of Xi'An)
The day after the Forbidden City, I headed to the Summer Palace. This is the palace complex that use to be the residence of the Chinese Emporers during the intense heat of the Chinese summer. It is located a few miles outside of Beijing and although it took me a good while to find it (I took the publiuc bus which was interesting to say the least,) it was WELL worth it. It is basically a comples of pld residence halls, banquet halls, and temples that are set around a massive lake. All of the buildings have been restored and are beautiful and have very vibrant colors and decorations. I have to say however, that my favorite part of the whole complex was a temple that was located on the top of a hill at the center of the complex. Upon arriving at the peak of the hill, the view was unreal. I was able to see pretty much ALL of Beijing and the surrounding area. That says a lot because Beijing is HUGE.
After I returned to my hostel from the Palace, I met upo with a kid named Menno from Holland. He was staying in the same dorm room as I was and we decided to go and check out the Olympic Village complex. The village was absolutly amazing and both the National Stadium a.k.a The Bird’s Nest and the Swimming Complex a.k.a The Water Cube are amazing works of architecture. That being said, another amazing building is a 7 (yes you read correctly SEVEN) star hotel that is also on the grounds. We didn't go inside the hotel, but I am sure you can all imagine how amazing it must be. After the complex, it was time to head back to the hotel and go to bed before my EARLY flight to the city of Xi’An to see the “8th wonder of the world,” The famous Terra Cotta Warriors.
Uppon arriving in Xi'An, I took out my trusty map, and after some navigation, found my way to my hostel. This hostel was amazing and had an insane amount of travelers staying there. I immediately met a bunch of fellow travelers and after talking for a while, we decided to head out and check out the city. This city is a former military city and so it is surrounded by “city walls” on all sides. At the center of these walls, is a tower called The Bell Tower. The tower was built using traditional chinese architecture and was very beautiful. After checking out the tower, we headed to this city’s famous Muslim Quarter. The Muslim Quarter was an awesome set of little streets and allyways full of street vendors selling everything from silk scarves to food and souvineres and everything else that you can imagine. After walking around there for a while, we decided to go and check out a fountain show at one of the local temples. The show was really well done and reminded me of somethintg that I would see at Disneyland or Las Vegas. It was complete with music and dancing water. It was quite the specticle.
The next day, it was time to check out this cities most famous attraction, the Terra Cotta Warriors. For those of you who do not know what these are, they are basically a HUGE set of Terra Cotta Army Soldiers that were created during this one emporer’s rule and were burried with him in order to “protect him” and ensure his rule would last for ever. The complex consists of over six-thousand warriors and many more are believed to still be burried. It was an AMAZING (like everything else it seems) site and it was truly unbelieveable. The warriors were only discovered in 1974 by a peasant worker who was digging a well. We were even lucky enough to get to meet the origional discoverer. He was at the museum when we arrived. After the warriors, we came back to the hostel and grabbed dinner before turning in for the night. Today, (May 20th) it is time to head to Vietnam. Be sure to check back for more updates soon!
Until Next Time,
Evan
After I returned to my hostel from the Palace, I met upo with a kid named Menno from Holland. He was staying in the same dorm room as I was and we decided to go and check out the Olympic Village complex. The village was absolutly amazing and both the National Stadium a.k.a The Bird’s Nest and the Swimming Complex a.k.a The Water Cube are amazing works of architecture. That being said, another amazing building is a 7 (yes you read correctly SEVEN) star hotel that is also on the grounds. We didn't go inside the hotel, but I am sure you can all imagine how amazing it must be. After the complex, it was time to head back to the hotel and go to bed before my EARLY flight to the city of Xi’An to see the “8th wonder of the world,” The famous Terra Cotta Warriors.
Uppon arriving in Xi'An, I took out my trusty map, and after some navigation, found my way to my hostel. This hostel was amazing and had an insane amount of travelers staying there. I immediately met a bunch of fellow travelers and after talking for a while, we decided to head out and check out the city. This city is a former military city and so it is surrounded by “city walls” on all sides. At the center of these walls, is a tower called The Bell Tower. The tower was built using traditional chinese architecture and was very beautiful. After checking out the tower, we headed to this city’s famous Muslim Quarter. The Muslim Quarter was an awesome set of little streets and allyways full of street vendors selling everything from silk scarves to food and souvineres and everything else that you can imagine. After walking around there for a while, we decided to go and check out a fountain show at one of the local temples. The show was really well done and reminded me of somethintg that I would see at Disneyland or Las Vegas. It was complete with music and dancing water. It was quite the specticle.
The next day, it was time to check out this cities most famous attraction, the Terra Cotta Warriors. For those of you who do not know what these are, they are basically a HUGE set of Terra Cotta Army Soldiers that were created during this one emporer’s rule and were burried with him in order to “protect him” and ensure his rule would last for ever. The complex consists of over six-thousand warriors and many more are believed to still be burried. It was an AMAZING (like everything else it seems) site and it was truly unbelieveable. The warriors were only discovered in 1974 by a peasant worker who was digging a well. We were even lucky enough to get to meet the origional discoverer. He was at the museum when we arrived. After the warriors, we came back to the hostel and grabbed dinner before turning in for the night. Today, (May 20th) it is time to head to Vietnam. Be sure to check back for more updates soon!
Until Next Time,
Evan
Friday, May 15, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (China Part 1: The Great Wall, Tianamen Square and, The Forbidden City)
Well as the title of this post indicates, I am officially back on the road! I flew from San Francisco to Beijing, China via Hong Kong on May 12th and have officially begun the second go around of my trip.
I started off the trip with a major bang. The first site I decided to visit was the Great Wall of China. This monument is truly as impressive, if not more so, than any of you can imagine. Instead of going to the main section dedicated for tourists, I decided to go a to a section that has not been as restored and is much more "real and original." This turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made. I started at a point called Jinshanling and ended at a point called Simantai. The whole section was 6.5 miles long and consisted of 30 watchtowers as well as the wall! Not only was this section almost completely void of tourists, it was situated in the mountains and while extremely steep at points, the views were unreal. The fog decided to hang around the day that I went so at times, I was literally climbing the wall into the mist. It was truly a site that I will absolutely NEVER forget.
The next day, I headed to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. For those of you who do not know what these are here is a brief description: Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world and is home to many buildings dedicated to Chairman Mao (who basically brought communism to China.) It even houses a building that holds the mummified remains of the Chairman himself! The Forbidden City is adjacent to Tiananmen Square and is the largest concentration of historical and restored buildings in all of China. It got its name because it was "off limits" to outsiders for 500 years.
The Square was amazing and came complete with massive Chinese flags, army soldiers, and INSANE amounts of Chinese citizens who travel from far and wide to pay their respects to the Chairman. The Forbidden City was also quite a sight. It stretches for what seems like miles and has many "traditional" Chinese buildings that have been beautifully restored. These buildings include former residences, banquet halls, and entertainment complexes of former Emperors. Both sites were unreal!
The Sites that I have seen so far have been impressive, but some of the foods that I have seen on the street have been down right INSANE. Now I am sure that all of you have heard rumors of "interesting" things that are eaten China and let me be the first to tell you, THEY ARE ALL TRUE! While walking around the streets of Beijing in search of food, I came into contact with stalls selling things including: (and I am NOT joking about this,) fried scorpion, dog meat, chicken kidneys, chicken hearts, shark, starfish, and basically any other entrails that you can come up with. I decided to stick with the Chicken Kebabs which I think was a safe thing to do.
Well that's all for now but be sure to check back over the next few days to see the pictures from the first set of adventures as well as the next post!
Until Next Time,
Evan
I started off the trip with a major bang. The first site I decided to visit was the Great Wall of China. This monument is truly as impressive, if not more so, than any of you can imagine. Instead of going to the main section dedicated for tourists, I decided to go a to a section that has not been as restored and is much more "real and original." This turned out to be the best decision I could have ever made. I started at a point called Jinshanling and ended at a point called Simantai. The whole section was 6.5 miles long and consisted of 30 watchtowers as well as the wall! Not only was this section almost completely void of tourists, it was situated in the mountains and while extremely steep at points, the views were unreal. The fog decided to hang around the day that I went so at times, I was literally climbing the wall into the mist. It was truly a site that I will absolutely NEVER forget.
The next day, I headed to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. For those of you who do not know what these are here is a brief description: Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world and is home to many buildings dedicated to Chairman Mao (who basically brought communism to China.) It even houses a building that holds the mummified remains of the Chairman himself! The Forbidden City is adjacent to Tiananmen Square and is the largest concentration of historical and restored buildings in all of China. It got its name because it was "off limits" to outsiders for 500 years.
The Square was amazing and came complete with massive Chinese flags, army soldiers, and INSANE amounts of Chinese citizens who travel from far and wide to pay their respects to the Chairman. The Forbidden City was also quite a sight. It stretches for what seems like miles and has many "traditional" Chinese buildings that have been beautifully restored. These buildings include former residences, banquet halls, and entertainment complexes of former Emperors. Both sites were unreal!
The Sites that I have seen so far have been impressive, but some of the foods that I have seen on the street have been down right INSANE. Now I am sure that all of you have heard rumors of "interesting" things that are eaten China and let me be the first to tell you, THEY ARE ALL TRUE! While walking around the streets of Beijing in search of food, I came into contact with stalls selling things including: (and I am NOT joking about this,) fried scorpion, dog meat, chicken kidneys, chicken hearts, shark, starfish, and basically any other entrails that you can come up with. I decided to stick with the Chicken Kebabs which I think was a safe thing to do.
Well that's all for now but be sure to check back over the next few days to see the pictures from the first set of adventures as well as the next post!
Until Next Time,
Evan
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Back on the Road!!
So as the title of this post indicates, as of tomorrow (May 12th), at 1:20 AM PST, I will officially be back on my "Trip of a Lifetime." My foot is 100% better and I am now able to pick up where I left off. Seeing as though I now have a new time frame to work with, I had to alter my itenerary slightly. This time, I will be starting my trip in China, then head to Vietnam, then Malaysia, then Laos, then Cambodia, and finally Thailand.
I will be traveling from May 12th until July 21st. Be sure to check back for updates and posts from "Round 2" of my Trip of a Lifetime.
Talk to yall soon!
Evan
I will be traveling from May 12th until July 21st. Be sure to check back for updates and posts from "Round 2" of my Trip of a Lifetime.
Talk to yall soon!
Evan
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Road Block Along the Way
Well as the message indicates, I have hit a MAJOR road block on my trip. On March 17th, I was walking down some dark stairs and I ended up missing one resulting in my twisting my ankle. After two days, the swelling did not go down so I went to the hospital to get it checked out. It turns out that I had fractured the 5th Metatarsil in my Left foot and to make sure it heals correctly, it required the doctor to perform surgery and insert a pin in my foot. The procedure was done here in Bali but I am headed back to the United States tomorrow (March 23rd) to let it heal. It will take approximatly 4 weeks to heal but 8 weeks to heal to the point that I am cleared to do as much walking as this trip requires. After the 8 weeks are over, I am absolutly going to head back out to finish either what I started, or to embark on a modified "Trip of a Lifetime." More details will follow as to what my revised trip will entail so stay tuned....
Until later,
Evan
Until later,
Evan
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Bali, Indonesia (Part 1)
Well I am currently in Bali, Indonesia and it is truly AMAZING. The sand couldn't be better and the water couldn't be clearer. For the last few days,in addition to relaxing in paradise, I have been finishing up my Scuba Diving Certification. I am proud to say that I am now a certified, open-water scuba diver. To complete this certification, I obviously had to go out and do some dives. I went to the north east corner of the island and we dove at a site off the cost of a town called Tulamben. In Tulamben there are a few different dive areas and we explored them all.
The first site that we went to was the shipwreck of the U.S. Liberty that was sank when a Japanese submarine torpedoed it back in World War II. It is truly spectacular to see a shipwreck that has been on the bottom for so long and has had enough time for coral and other marine life to grow all over it. Aside from the wreck itself, we were lucky enough to be able to see three black-tipped reef sharks, millions of beautiful fish, stingrays, and a barracuda.
The next site that we went to is known as "The Wall" and is basically an underwater cliff that drops straight down from about ten feet to a hundred feet. The wall is absolutely covered with corals and plants of every color imaginable. Along with the plants, there were millions of fish again and we were even lucky enough to see clown fish, or as many of you probably know them as, "Nemo fish."
After experiencing those first few dives, I think that I have found a new sport that I am going to get very into. I already have another dive trip booked and we are going to head to a dive site known as "Manta Point" in hopes of seeing Manta Rays. It is pretty much guaranteed that we will see Manta Rays so stay tuned for details about that! In addition to my trip to Manta Point, I have also decided to immediately upgrade my certification from "open-water diver" to "advanced open-water diver." In order to do this, I have to do five "specialty dives" with each of the five dives focusing on a certain specialty. I was able to pick from a huge list of options and I selected deep diving, underwater navigation, multi-level diving, night diving, and fish identification. I will post more details about what each of those was like after I complete them in a few days!
Well that's about it for now. Keep tuned for Bali part two...
The first site that we went to was the shipwreck of the U.S. Liberty that was sank when a Japanese submarine torpedoed it back in World War II. It is truly spectacular to see a shipwreck that has been on the bottom for so long and has had enough time for coral and other marine life to grow all over it. Aside from the wreck itself, we were lucky enough to be able to see three black-tipped reef sharks, millions of beautiful fish, stingrays, and a barracuda.
The next site that we went to is known as "The Wall" and is basically an underwater cliff that drops straight down from about ten feet to a hundred feet. The wall is absolutely covered with corals and plants of every color imaginable. Along with the plants, there were millions of fish again and we were even lucky enough to see clown fish, or as many of you probably know them as, "Nemo fish."
After experiencing those first few dives, I think that I have found a new sport that I am going to get very into. I already have another dive trip booked and we are going to head to a dive site known as "Manta Point" in hopes of seeing Manta Rays. It is pretty much guaranteed that we will see Manta Rays so stay tuned for details about that! In addition to my trip to Manta Point, I have also decided to immediately upgrade my certification from "open-water diver" to "advanced open-water diver." In order to do this, I have to do five "specialty dives" with each of the five dives focusing on a certain specialty. I was able to pick from a huge list of options and I selected deep diving, underwater navigation, multi-level diving, night diving, and fish identification. I will post more details about what each of those was like after I complete them in a few days!
Well that's about it for now. Keep tuned for Bali part two...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Well I arrived in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on March 8th and it didn't look good from the start. It was pouring rain and I had no reservation for a hotel prior to my arrival. That being the case, I just decided to grab a taxi and try my luck. After what seemed like hours (Yogyakarta has insane traffic problems and basically no traffic laws to speak of,) I arrived in the Sosrowijayan area which is ground zero for backpackers in this city. To add to my list of building problems, it happened to be somebody important in Indonesia's birthday and everyone and their brother was in town for the celebration. So now I was dealing with rain and what looked like no rooms to sleep in.
Just when I thought I was out of luck, a nice man saw me and realized what situation I was likely in. He then came up to me and told me that he had one room left in his "losman" or hotel. I gladly accepted his generous offer and then settled down for the night. The room was very basic but worked great. After dropping my stuff down, I went back to the street to see what was around. It had stopped raining by this point and so I decided to go hunting for a tourist agency to book a tour to this area's two most famous sights, the Buddhist, Borobudur Temple and the Hindu, Prambanan Temple Complex. I was successful and was then set up on my tour for the next day.
The next morning I awoke at 5:00 AM so that we could be at Borobudur for the sun rise and man was it worth it. Upon our arrival to the temple, which is fairly high up on a mountain, we hiked up to the top and watched as the sun appeared out of the mist of the extremely green and lush surrounding foothills. I have seen the sun rise over the Red Sea at Masada in Israel and this reminded me of that. It is simply amazing and something that I will never forget.
After walking around the temple grounds for a while longer, we set out for the Prambanan Temple complex. Upon our arrival at the Parambanan Temple Complex, I was once again amazed at the simple architectural achievement that these temple builders accomplished when this complex was build back in the 9th century A.D. The main temple stands a staggering 47 meters above the ground and that temple as well as the surrounding temples are FILLED with intricate carvings and statues dedicated to the various gods of the Hindu Religion. That was all for day one.
Day two brought me to a new hotel (the other one was full) but it worked out to my benefit. I now had a swimming pool at my disposal. After checking in, I dropped my stuff off and set out for another day of sight seeing. The first sight that I went to on day two was the Kraton, which is the Indonesian word for Sultan's Palace. This was very neat and was filled with HUGE open air rooms that were at one time used for various performances and ceremonies. I unfortunately did not get to see the living quarters (the Sultan currently lives there) and so it was off to stop number two. Stop number two was Yogyakarta's famous "Bird Market." As the title indicates, this is a market where thousands of birds, from little parakeet type birds, all the way to roosters, are sold daily. This was quite a spectacle and I do not think that I have ever seen so many birds in one place in my life. The final stop on day two was the Water Palace. This is another one of the Sultan's Palaces and use to be used for royal bathing and cooling down when it got hot out. It is no longer in use but was still quite a sight.
One final thing that I have DEFINITELY noticed and REALLY taken advantage of in Indonesia is how absurdly cheap things are. My dinners have basically cost me around 3 dollars each for as much food as I can eat, my hotel costs 15 dollars per night for a NICE place (you can pay at little as 4 dollars if you want just the basics) and a taxi to anywhere in the city only costs 2 dollars. That really puts things into perspective. A typical salary for a rice field worker here is 1 dollar a day. That amounts to 365 dollars a year at the absolute most. Just something to think about...
Well that pretty much brings me to the end of my Yogyakarta experience. Tomorrow it is off to what Southeast Asia is REALLY famous for. The golden beaches, crystal clear water, and never ending party. Time to head to Bali tomorrow. Until next time...
Also, if you want to see pictures from my travels do the following:
1. go to http://www.snapfish.com/
2. Click on login
3. In then field that says "email" type: motleyevan7397@yahoo.com
4. In the field that says "password" type: motleycrue
5. Browse on any of the albums titles "Trip of a Lifetime" The description accompanying each album will tell you where the pictures from each album took place.
Just when I thought I was out of luck, a nice man saw me and realized what situation I was likely in. He then came up to me and told me that he had one room left in his "losman" or hotel. I gladly accepted his generous offer and then settled down for the night. The room was very basic but worked great. After dropping my stuff down, I went back to the street to see what was around. It had stopped raining by this point and so I decided to go hunting for a tourist agency to book a tour to this area's two most famous sights, the Buddhist, Borobudur Temple and the Hindu, Prambanan Temple Complex. I was successful and was then set up on my tour for the next day.
The next morning I awoke at 5:00 AM so that we could be at Borobudur for the sun rise and man was it worth it. Upon our arrival to the temple, which is fairly high up on a mountain, we hiked up to the top and watched as the sun appeared out of the mist of the extremely green and lush surrounding foothills. I have seen the sun rise over the Red Sea at Masada in Israel and this reminded me of that. It is simply amazing and something that I will never forget.
After walking around the temple grounds for a while longer, we set out for the Prambanan Temple complex. Upon our arrival at the Parambanan Temple Complex, I was once again amazed at the simple architectural achievement that these temple builders accomplished when this complex was build back in the 9th century A.D. The main temple stands a staggering 47 meters above the ground and that temple as well as the surrounding temples are FILLED with intricate carvings and statues dedicated to the various gods of the Hindu Religion. That was all for day one.
Day two brought me to a new hotel (the other one was full) but it worked out to my benefit. I now had a swimming pool at my disposal. After checking in, I dropped my stuff off and set out for another day of sight seeing. The first sight that I went to on day two was the Kraton, which is the Indonesian word for Sultan's Palace. This was very neat and was filled with HUGE open air rooms that were at one time used for various performances and ceremonies. I unfortunately did not get to see the living quarters (the Sultan currently lives there) and so it was off to stop number two. Stop number two was Yogyakarta's famous "Bird Market." As the title indicates, this is a market where thousands of birds, from little parakeet type birds, all the way to roosters, are sold daily. This was quite a spectacle and I do not think that I have ever seen so many birds in one place in my life. The final stop on day two was the Water Palace. This is another one of the Sultan's Palaces and use to be used for royal bathing and cooling down when it got hot out. It is no longer in use but was still quite a sight.
One final thing that I have DEFINITELY noticed and REALLY taken advantage of in Indonesia is how absurdly cheap things are. My dinners have basically cost me around 3 dollars each for as much food as I can eat, my hotel costs 15 dollars per night for a NICE place (you can pay at little as 4 dollars if you want just the basics) and a taxi to anywhere in the city only costs 2 dollars. That really puts things into perspective. A typical salary for a rice field worker here is 1 dollar a day. That amounts to 365 dollars a year at the absolute most. Just something to think about...
Well that pretty much brings me to the end of my Yogyakarta experience. Tomorrow it is off to what Southeast Asia is REALLY famous for. The golden beaches, crystal clear water, and never ending party. Time to head to Bali tomorrow. Until next time...
Also, if you want to see pictures from my travels do the following:
1. go to http://www.snapfish.com/
2. Click on login
3. In then field that says "email" type: motleyevan7397@yahoo.com
4. In the field that says "password" type: motleycrue
5. Browse on any of the albums titles "Trip of a Lifetime" The description accompanying each album will tell you where the pictures from each album took place.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Singapore
As I write this post, my first stop, Singapore, is coming to an end. The first thing I noticed about Singapore is how clean the city is. I do not think that I have seen a single piece of trash since I have been here. In fact, it is illegal to sell gum here in an effort to keep the city clean. That being said, there is also and IMMENSE amount of culture and life to be found in this city.
The first day, I headed to the old "Colonial District" that is the center of the former British Rule. There are lots of old buildings that have a British type of look and it was very interesting to see such buildings in the middle of an Asian city.
The next day, It was off to Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam also known as the Muslim Quarter. Chinatown was the first stop and it is very similar to most Chinatowns that I have been to, (Oakland, San Francisco, New York, etc.) There are infinite little shops and restaurants all crammed along little alleys that are really neat to walk down. The most interesting that I found in Chinatown, however, was Singapore's most famous Hindu Temple. I had never been to a Hindu Temple before and upon entering, I was completely blown away by the intricacy, detail, and colors of the statues and artwork. The Hindu religion has many "Gods" and each one is represented by a statue. For those of you who have never been to a Hindu Temple, I highly recommend checking one out to see for yourself all of the colors and details that they put into the design of their temples.
Next up was Little India. This part of the city is obviously the "Indian Quarter" and much like Chinatown, it has tons of shops and restaurants crammed along little alleys selling all sorts of traditional "Indian" goods. There wasn't anything particularly special about this area but it was neat to see a specifically "Indian" area for the first time.
Finally, I went to the Muslim Quarter. By far the most distinctive thing in this area was the massive Mosque. The whole time I was there, I could hear prayers being chanted over the loud speaker. This was very interesting to hear and although I couldn't understand what they were saying, it was cool to be immersed in that culture for a little while.
That was all for that day.
The final day I was in Singapore, I went to an Island off of the coast of Singapore called Sentosa Island, which is the next "big thing" in Singapore's tourism industry. The island has a bunch of sandy beaches full of imported sand and by 2010, will boast a Universal Studios theme park and a casino to go along with the currently existing resorts and attractions. The coolest thing that I saw however was this MASSIVE statue that is called the "Merlion." It is a statue that is half fish and half lion and is supposedly the "tourist" symbol of Singapore.
Well that pretty much covers Singapore and its off to Indonesia tomorrow. Be sure to check back soon!
The first day, I headed to the old "Colonial District" that is the center of the former British Rule. There are lots of old buildings that have a British type of look and it was very interesting to see such buildings in the middle of an Asian city.
The next day, It was off to Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam also known as the Muslim Quarter. Chinatown was the first stop and it is very similar to most Chinatowns that I have been to, (Oakland, San Francisco, New York, etc.) There are infinite little shops and restaurants all crammed along little alleys that are really neat to walk down. The most interesting that I found in Chinatown, however, was Singapore's most famous Hindu Temple. I had never been to a Hindu Temple before and upon entering, I was completely blown away by the intricacy, detail, and colors of the statues and artwork. The Hindu religion has many "Gods" and each one is represented by a statue. For those of you who have never been to a Hindu Temple, I highly recommend checking one out to see for yourself all of the colors and details that they put into the design of their temples.
Next up was Little India. This part of the city is obviously the "Indian Quarter" and much like Chinatown, it has tons of shops and restaurants crammed along little alleys selling all sorts of traditional "Indian" goods. There wasn't anything particularly special about this area but it was neat to see a specifically "Indian" area for the first time.
Finally, I went to the Muslim Quarter. By far the most distinctive thing in this area was the massive Mosque. The whole time I was there, I could hear prayers being chanted over the loud speaker. This was very interesting to hear and although I couldn't understand what they were saying, it was cool to be immersed in that culture for a little while.
That was all for that day.
The final day I was in Singapore, I went to an Island off of the coast of Singapore called Sentosa Island, which is the next "big thing" in Singapore's tourism industry. The island has a bunch of sandy beaches full of imported sand and by 2010, will boast a Universal Studios theme park and a casino to go along with the currently existing resorts and attractions. The coolest thing that I saw however was this MASSIVE statue that is called the "Merlion." It is a statue that is half fish and half lion and is supposedly the "tourist" symbol of Singapore.
Well that pretty much covers Singapore and its off to Indonesia tomorrow. Be sure to check back soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)