Friday, 30 January 2009
I'm back!
It actually felt cold when I stepped off the plane in Hanoi last night! I kinda missed the tropical heat. I did notice it was there to a lesser extent in HCMC when I had to change planes there so maybe a weekend there is in order soon. This next term I am woring 3 day weeks so I'm going to make the most of having time off to see some of the country. If I can find some cheap flights to HCMC I'll head there to have a look around as it looks like its a bit different to Hanoi.
I got the bus to mny new house yesterday. This was no end of fun to dea with at the airport. The taxi mafia were waiting to ambush me as soon as I cleared customs, and once I'd finally shaken them off I went out of the airport to get the bus there were heaps more waiting to try and rip me off. Itwasn't clear where the local buses went from so I headed towards the otehr buses figuring they must all go from the same place. There more people tried to hustle me onto various shuttle buses but I managed to shake them off by telling them that I was heading to Kim Ma. Pretty much all the shuttles went to Long Bien and the Old Quarter and I guess they asumes I would be heading there as thats where the majority of tourists go. I tried to ask some of them where the normal buses went from but thy told me "no bus. Take this one then taxi." It seemed unlikely to me that the buses wouldn't be running but I went back in to get some impartial info from someone who wasn't trying to get me to use their bus or taxi and established that the buses were infact running. She told me to go past the shuttle buses and fnd the bus there but there wer no signs or bus stops for local buses. I did spot some people lurking under a bridge thing across the road and eventually established that this was where the local city buses went from after finding one of the passengers who understood what I was trying to ask about the bus. I guess they don't want tourists to get the local bus for just VND5000 when they can fleece them for so much more with taxis and shuttles!
Last night I had to switch my aircon over to heat - after nearly teo weeks of fans and aircon tog et through the night without melting this was very strange - but its still not been particularly cold today. I went for lunch with my new housemate Zoe and it was eaten on midget plastic chairs by the side of the road and it was wa
I'm waiting for the city to come back to life after Tet and for the shops to all open again so I can go and get myself sorted with some bedding. Right now I am using my sleeping bag liner as I have no sheets. Thankfully I have a pillow and a duvet but I need to get linen but nowhere is open at the moment. I might venture out tomorrow and see if any of the places in the old quarter are open but they may well be closed until Monday.
Right now I'm sorting through my photos. I didn't realise quite how many I'd taken! Once I've sorted them I'll stick some up in various places but right now here are a couple of my favourites:
This is the mosque in Brunei. We went for dinner in the evening then headed to the mosque and got there as the sun was setting. This made the cky a cool colour alongside all the different colours of the mosque.
It also looks pretty cool changed into black and white!
A monkey!!!
Petronas Towers at night
It actually felt cold when I stepped off the plane in Hanoi last night! I kinda missed the tropical heat. I did notice it was there to a lesser extent in HCMC when I had to change planes there so maybe a weekend there is in order soon. This next term I am woring 3 day weeks so I'm going to make the most of having time off to see some of the country. If I can find some cheap flights to HCMC I'll head there to have a look around as it looks like its a bit different to Hanoi.
I got the bus to mny new house yesterday. This was no end of fun to dea with at the airport. The taxi mafia were waiting to ambush me as soon as I cleared customs, and once I'd finally shaken them off I went out of the airport to get the bus there were heaps more waiting to try and rip me off. Itwasn't clear where the local buses went from so I headed towards the otehr buses figuring they must all go from the same place. There more people tried to hustle me onto various shuttle buses but I managed to shake them off by telling them that I was heading to Kim Ma. Pretty much all the shuttles went to Long Bien and the Old Quarter and I guess they asumes I would be heading there as thats where the majority of tourists go. I tried to ask some of them where the normal buses went from but thy told me "no bus. Take this one then taxi." It seemed unlikely to me that the buses wouldn't be running but I went back in to get some impartial info from someone who wasn't trying to get me to use their bus or taxi and established that the buses were infact running. She told me to go past the shuttle buses and fnd the bus there but there wer no signs or bus stops for local buses. I did spot some people lurking under a bridge thing across the road and eventually established that this was where the local city buses went from after finding one of the passengers who understood what I was trying to ask about the bus. I guess they don't want tourists to get the local bus for just VND5000 when they can fleece them for so much more with taxis and shuttles!
Last night I had to switch my aircon over to heat - after nearly teo weeks of fans and aircon tog et through the night without melting this was very strange - but its still not been particularly cold today. I went for lunch with my new housemate Zoe and it was eaten on midget plastic chairs by the side of the road and it was wa
I'm waiting for the city to come back to life after Tet and for the shops to all open again so I can go and get myself sorted with some bedding. Right now I am using my sleeping bag liner as I have no sheets. Thankfully I have a pillow and a duvet but I need to get linen but nowhere is open at the moment. I might venture out tomorrow and see if any of the places in the old quarter are open but they may well be closed until Monday.
Right now I'm sorting through my photos. I didn't realise quite how many I'd taken! Once I've sorted them I'll stick some up in various places but right now here are a couple of my favourites:
This is the mosque in Brunei. We went for dinner in the evening then headed to the mosque and got there as the sun was setting. This made the cky a cool colour alongside all the different colours of the mosque.
It also looks pretty cool changed into black and white!
A monkey!!!
Petronas Towers at night
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
I have to go back to Vietnam tomorrow :o( I'm looking forward to getting back I guess but I've got that feeling you get at the end of a holiday where you just don't want it to end. I've definitely adjusted to the tropical heat and i'm no doubt going to feel cold back in Hanoi, even though by British standards it's really not that cold there right now. One thing I'm not going to miss is the tropical rain though! Winters in Hanoi are dry so it will be nice to be able to go out without expecting to get rained on.
That said, yesterday was the first day of my trip that its not rained at all. I arrived really late on Monday eve - by the time I cleared immigration and got the bus into the city it was nearly 1am by the time I checked into the hostel. I half expected it to be closed by the time I got there but I guess as this part of the city is pretty much open 24 hours (having worked out that jam means hours in Malay the signs in restaurants etc advertising 24 jam suddenly make so much more sense!) the hostel is too. It''s the same place I stayed in a few years ago but its changed since then. They've taken over the next door building too and the place is a bit of a maze, plus I don't remember the beds being this uncomfortable last time. The bunks are really wobbly and that gets kinda annoying after a while. Still, the place is right in the centre and despite being a little rough around the edges at least its safe.
I didn't get much sleep that first night as I was on the top bunk and the bed kept wobbling so much I thought I'd be rolled off. Also, the fan kept rotating to blow cool air at my feet and legs every so often. That in itself wasn't a problem but it made my liner rise up then fall back down onto my legs. That drove me round the bend after a while. I think I got about 3 hours sleep in the end and I gave up when I woke up for the millionth time at 6.30 and got out of bed to head to the Petronas Towers. I got there about 7.15 and already there was a bit of a queue. By the time the ticket counter opened at 8.30 the queue was massive and I was grateful for the early start. I was able to get a ticket to go up at 9.15 and so hardly had to wait at all compared to the last time I went up and had to wait ages for the privilege of doing so! I guess the view's not changed much since last time but as its free, why not? Also the towers are right next to the shopping centre that has stores like Topshop and Marks and Sparks so I was planning to head there anyway. There is also a park outside where I sat for a bit waiting for stuff to open. Stupid Chinese new year means a lot of things opened later or closed earlier yesterday as they celebrate it here too, just not to the extent as in Vietnam.
When I was done there I headed to a different shopping centre after hearing a rumour about a Dorothy Perkins store there. This turned out to be fact and made me very happy indeed! I then went to yet another centre to see what 9 floors of retail could resent to me - turns out not that much as a lot of the shops were places I'd already been to in other centres or shops I wouldn't want to go to anyway. There was a Borders there though and I picked up a few books I've been after for a while. I also got a couple of books in Brunei for a bargain price of a pound each so am taking a somewhat heavier bag back to Vietnam. When I'm done with them I'll be able to take them to the book exchanges and get more in return as they are new copies and so in the long term its a good investment! As I was leaving the centre I passed a crowd of people waiting around for something so I decided to join them as I was in no hurry to get anywhere. It turned out they were waiting for a lion dance. Some guys started banging drums then two guys in a Chinese lion costume came along and jumped all over the place. It was actually pretty impressive as they were jumping for post to post and hanging off them, all whilst keeping together and keeping hold of the lion suit!
Yesterday evening I decided to go to the KL tower. I didn't go last time but I do like city views so I made my way there. I got there when it was still light and went up to watch the sun set and see the city by night. The ticket also provided entry to a few attractions at the base of the tower. The first I went to was the winter garden - basically a lot of statues of snowmen and penguins and random Christmas scenes. I then went to the animal centre which was a bit of a random mix of animals, but there was a very cool parrot there. I figured it was worth seeing these things as I guess I'd paid for them with my ticket.
This morning I got a bus to the outskirts of KL and went to some caves. The main cave is reached by climbing up 275 steps that they have thoughtfully numbered just to taunt you as you ascend. There were some monkeys along the stairs though who didn't appear to be scared of people so they got pretty close which was cool. In the cave there are some Hindu temples and the like and some more monkeys so it was worth the effort needed to climb the stairs.
The bus back from the caves stopped right in the middle of Chinatown so I went to the central market for a look around. I didn't really want to buy anything available so I decided to leave, only to find that it was tipping it down. I decided that this was a sign that I should go and get something to eat instead so I had a disappointing Thai curry. The standard has been set by the amazing curry I had in Brunei and this place didn't;t even come close in matching it. The rain hadn't stopped in this time either and was showing no signs of stopping so I gave up waiting and ran to the station. I was only in the rain for a minute or two but I was absolutely soaked by the time I got back under cover. Am not looking forward to when this sort of rain hits Hanoi.
I headed back over to KLCC tonight to do my shopping - I was just browsing for most of the day yesterday trying to decide what to buy with my limited funds - and went out into the park to see the Petronas towers lit up at night. Of course when I was the other side of the park the heavens opened again and I got drenched for the second time today. I now have two sets of clothes drying at the hostel! The good thing to this tropical heat is that things dry so quickly they will be dry in time for me to pack tomorrow. Thats pretty much all I intend to do tomorrow - its probably going to be a pain as I've accumulated a few books and some clothes these apst couple of days, as well as the cushion I got in Brunei. I did buy that mainly for the cover so I guess I could leave the actual cushion behind and just take the coer with me if I get desperate! I have to go to the airport about 11.30 so I'm going to try and find some decent food before I go - shouldn't be too hard with the food street the next street along from the hostel. There is so much choice there it will no doubt take me forever to decide on my last meal before Vietnamese noodles become the staple again!
cushion
That said, yesterday was the first day of my trip that its not rained at all. I arrived really late on Monday eve - by the time I cleared immigration and got the bus into the city it was nearly 1am by the time I checked into the hostel. I half expected it to be closed by the time I got there but I guess as this part of the city is pretty much open 24 hours (having worked out that jam means hours in Malay the signs in restaurants etc advertising 24 jam suddenly make so much more sense!) the hostel is too. It''s the same place I stayed in a few years ago but its changed since then. They've taken over the next door building too and the place is a bit of a maze, plus I don't remember the beds being this uncomfortable last time. The bunks are really wobbly and that gets kinda annoying after a while. Still, the place is right in the centre and despite being a little rough around the edges at least its safe.
I didn't get much sleep that first night as I was on the top bunk and the bed kept wobbling so much I thought I'd be rolled off. Also, the fan kept rotating to blow cool air at my feet and legs every so often. That in itself wasn't a problem but it made my liner rise up then fall back down onto my legs. That drove me round the bend after a while. I think I got about 3 hours sleep in the end and I gave up when I woke up for the millionth time at 6.30 and got out of bed to head to the Petronas Towers. I got there about 7.15 and already there was a bit of a queue. By the time the ticket counter opened at 8.30 the queue was massive and I was grateful for the early start. I was able to get a ticket to go up at 9.15 and so hardly had to wait at all compared to the last time I went up and had to wait ages for the privilege of doing so! I guess the view's not changed much since last time but as its free, why not? Also the towers are right next to the shopping centre that has stores like Topshop and Marks and Sparks so I was planning to head there anyway. There is also a park outside where I sat for a bit waiting for stuff to open. Stupid Chinese new year means a lot of things opened later or closed earlier yesterday as they celebrate it here too, just not to the extent as in Vietnam.
When I was done there I headed to a different shopping centre after hearing a rumour about a Dorothy Perkins store there. This turned out to be fact and made me very happy indeed! I then went to yet another centre to see what 9 floors of retail could resent to me - turns out not that much as a lot of the shops were places I'd already been to in other centres or shops I wouldn't want to go to anyway. There was a Borders there though and I picked up a few books I've been after for a while. I also got a couple of books in Brunei for a bargain price of a pound each so am taking a somewhat heavier bag back to Vietnam. When I'm done with them I'll be able to take them to the book exchanges and get more in return as they are new copies and so in the long term its a good investment! As I was leaving the centre I passed a crowd of people waiting around for something so I decided to join them as I was in no hurry to get anywhere. It turned out they were waiting for a lion dance. Some guys started banging drums then two guys in a Chinese lion costume came along and jumped all over the place. It was actually pretty impressive as they were jumping for post to post and hanging off them, all whilst keeping together and keeping hold of the lion suit!
Yesterday evening I decided to go to the KL tower. I didn't go last time but I do like city views so I made my way there. I got there when it was still light and went up to watch the sun set and see the city by night. The ticket also provided entry to a few attractions at the base of the tower. The first I went to was the winter garden - basically a lot of statues of snowmen and penguins and random Christmas scenes. I then went to the animal centre which was a bit of a random mix of animals, but there was a very cool parrot there. I figured it was worth seeing these things as I guess I'd paid for them with my ticket.
This morning I got a bus to the outskirts of KL and went to some caves. The main cave is reached by climbing up 275 steps that they have thoughtfully numbered just to taunt you as you ascend. There were some monkeys along the stairs though who didn't appear to be scared of people so they got pretty close which was cool. In the cave there are some Hindu temples and the like and some more monkeys so it was worth the effort needed to climb the stairs.
The bus back from the caves stopped right in the middle of Chinatown so I went to the central market for a look around. I didn't really want to buy anything available so I decided to leave, only to find that it was tipping it down. I decided that this was a sign that I should go and get something to eat instead so I had a disappointing Thai curry. The standard has been set by the amazing curry I had in Brunei and this place didn't;t even come close in matching it. The rain hadn't stopped in this time either and was showing no signs of stopping so I gave up waiting and ran to the station. I was only in the rain for a minute or two but I was absolutely soaked by the time I got back under cover. Am not looking forward to when this sort of rain hits Hanoi.
I headed back over to KLCC tonight to do my shopping - I was just browsing for most of the day yesterday trying to decide what to buy with my limited funds - and went out into the park to see the Petronas towers lit up at night. Of course when I was the other side of the park the heavens opened again and I got drenched for the second time today. I now have two sets of clothes drying at the hostel! The good thing to this tropical heat is that things dry so quickly they will be dry in time for me to pack tomorrow. Thats pretty much all I intend to do tomorrow - its probably going to be a pain as I've accumulated a few books and some clothes these apst couple of days, as well as the cushion I got in Brunei. I did buy that mainly for the cover so I guess I could leave the actual cushion behind and just take the coer with me if I get desperate! I have to go to the airport about 11.30 so I'm going to try and find some decent food before I go - shouldn't be too hard with the food street the next street along from the hostel. There is so much choice there it will no doubt take me forever to decide on my last meal before Vietnamese noodles become the staple again!
cushion
Monday, 26 January 2009
I will be glad when Chinese New Year is done and the plinky music dies away! They still celebrate it here, just on a smaller scale than in Vietnam. There were fireworks last night at midnight plus some guys prancing around banging drums this morning before jumping on the back of a truck to disappear off somewhere else. Walked past the Chinese temple a few times today and there are a constant stream of people going in and out to pray, wave incense sticks and burn papers and fake money.
I have been trying to kill time until I can head to the airport but I've run out of things to do in this small town. I got a bus out to a mall this morning but the shops weren't that amazing - lonely planet reckons you can spend a couple of days exploring all the shops in BSB - I struggled to fill a couple of hours! I got a thai curry for lunch which cheered me up, but then it started to rain so my plans to head to the waterfall were scuppered. I feasted on a pineapple at the market then went back to chill at the hostel until the rain stopped. I headed back into the centre to check out buses to the airport and walked around but found very little to entertain me so I went to the Indian place and got a blueberry juice. I was too stuffed to have a roti so maybe I'll go and get one before heading to the airport.
I'm glad I didn't head out to the beach today (that was one of the options I had been considering to fill the day) as it wouldn't have been fun in the rain. Even if it hadn't rained I'd have just ended up with some stupid sunburn no doubt and sand all over the place. I am looking forward to getting to KL and having stuff to do. I think I'm going to go to the Petronas Towers tomorrow morning and then get some shopping in. Hopefully it will stay dry in the evening so I can go to the other tower and see the city at night, but this seems unlikely given that pretty much every night I've been here its rained. Some nights its not started til late so theres still a chance it will be fine I guess.
I have been trying to kill time until I can head to the airport but I've run out of things to do in this small town. I got a bus out to a mall this morning but the shops weren't that amazing - lonely planet reckons you can spend a couple of days exploring all the shops in BSB - I struggled to fill a couple of hours! I got a thai curry for lunch which cheered me up, but then it started to rain so my plans to head to the waterfall were scuppered. I feasted on a pineapple at the market then went back to chill at the hostel until the rain stopped. I headed back into the centre to check out buses to the airport and walked around but found very little to entertain me so I went to the Indian place and got a blueberry juice. I was too stuffed to have a roti so maybe I'll go and get one before heading to the airport.
I'm glad I didn't head out to the beach today (that was one of the options I had been considering to fill the day) as it wouldn't have been fun in the rain. Even if it hadn't rained I'd have just ended up with some stupid sunburn no doubt and sand all over the place. I am looking forward to getting to KL and having stuff to do. I think I'm going to go to the Petronas Towers tomorrow morning and then get some shopping in. Hopefully it will stay dry in the evening so I can go to the other tower and see the city at night, but this seems unlikely given that pretty much every night I've been here its rained. Some nights its not started til late so theres still a chance it will be fine I guess.
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Today I went for more jungle adventures! I got up super early - the Canadians left at about 6am and I was awake so I decided to get up and get going very slowly before heading to the river front and getting a water taxi round to a tiny town called Bangar. The journey was pretty cool - down a river surrounded by jungle, out into the bay surrounded by jungle on 3 sides with open sea on the horizon then off down another river to get to Bangar. I'm impressed how the guys operating the boats know which river to go down - they all looked the same to me. Arrived in Bangar to find any sort of information about the surrounding parks unavailable so when a bunch of people stepped off the next boat with a tour guide I got him to point me in the right direction. He organised a private taxi for me - some old boy in his battered car - that would take me out to the park, wait for me to do the walk and then take me back to Bangar for $30.
The path through the park wound its way up through the jungle to eventually come out at a rocky outcrop where there are awesome views over miles of jungle and the sea in the distance. Something like 70% of this country is rainforest I think so the views were pretty unspoilt. It was a killer walk but totally worth it. There were a bunch of wooden stairs on the way up and after working my way up a bunch to then come round a corner and find another endless set of stairs I nearly considered turning back but I'm glad I persevered. Once the stairs ended it was a pretty easy scramble along to the viewpoint but the heat and humidity were an absolute killer. If you ever want to lose your own body weight in sweat, the rainforest in Borneo is the place to do it!
Back in Bangar it appeared that there was very little to do so I made my way back to BSB. I went swimming as the hostel has a swimming pool attached and it's only $1 and it seemed like a good way to cool down!
Tomorrow I'm heading to KL but my flight isn't until the evening so I'm thinking about getting a bus out to a shopping mall outside of the city centre as I've exhausted all my options here aside from the museums that sound kinda lame. I doubt the shops will keep me entertained all day so I might head back out to the waterfall place again as that's not too taxing as walk. I think I'm also gonna get another pineapple from the market and get a decent Thai curry from the Thai place we found yesterday.
The path through the park wound its way up through the jungle to eventually come out at a rocky outcrop where there are awesome views over miles of jungle and the sea in the distance. Something like 70% of this country is rainforest I think so the views were pretty unspoilt. It was a killer walk but totally worth it. There were a bunch of wooden stairs on the way up and after working my way up a bunch to then come round a corner and find another endless set of stairs I nearly considered turning back but I'm glad I persevered. Once the stairs ended it was a pretty easy scramble along to the viewpoint but the heat and humidity were an absolute killer. If you ever want to lose your own body weight in sweat, the rainforest in Borneo is the place to do it!
Back in Bangar it appeared that there was very little to do so I made my way back to BSB. I went swimming as the hostel has a swimming pool attached and it's only $1 and it seemed like a good way to cool down!
Tomorrow I'm heading to KL but my flight isn't until the evening so I'm thinking about getting a bus out to a shopping mall outside of the city centre as I've exhausted all my options here aside from the museums that sound kinda lame. I doubt the shops will keep me entertained all day so I might head back out to the waterfall place again as that's not too taxing as walk. I think I'm also gonna get another pineapple from the market and get a decent Thai curry from the Thai place we found yesterday.
Saturday, 24 January 2009
So, Brunei.
Got here via two boats and a couple of passport stamping places. There were two Canadian girls and a German guy on the boat so we stuck together to get a taxi from the ferry terminal to the hostel in Bandar Seri Begawan. We headed out to an awesome Indian place to get some dinner - my new favourite dish is chicken roti! Next we headed to the mosque to see it all lit up at night. It looks really impressive and I have some pretty good photos with the sun setting near the mosque.
Yesterday morning we went back to the Indian place for more roti for breakfast, then we went to the market to get some fruit. I love the markets here- they have so many amazing types of fruit. They will also prepare the fruit for you so we got a couple of pineapples all pealed and ready to eat. Then we headed to a nearby park with a waterfall in it. We sat to feast on our fruit and saw monkeys in the trees nearby!!
We then headed to a food court recommended by a local guy Abdul. He's kinda like a tour guide here except he isn't trying to rip anyone off. He is an amazing source of information. He also got his friend who works in the place where the food court is to take us up to the 18th floor of the building for some cool views over BSB.
Abdul also organised a boat tour for only B$20 per person - compared to the tour agencies who charge $60 this is a pretty good deal! We saw the mosques and water village then sailed down the river some way to a place where the probiscus monkeys can be found! We spent a bit of time there watching the monkeys before heading back and sailing through the water village. It is pretty much an entire community on stilts - there are schools and mosques, and even a fire station all on stilts over the river. The government are maintaining it rather than trying to pull it down which makes a nice change to finding places like this in disputes with local governments who want to get rid of such places. We spent nearly 3 hours on the river and saw so much for the bargain price of $20 - if ever you come to BSB seek out Abdul at the youth hostel to arrange a boat tour rather than paying three times the price at a tour agency for a third of the time spent on the river.
This morning the German guy left but me and the Canadians went and had a relatively Western breakfast before heading out to another park at the edge of the city. This one had a hellish climb up seemingly endless stairs to the top where there was then a path around the summit, including a couple of rope bridges. It was a pretty nice place, but it was so hot and humid that it was really hard work. By the time we finished we were absolutely soaked in sweat - places we didn't even know you could sweat from were dripping! A cold shower never felt so good!
This afternoon we are going to check out the mosque and then escape the heat in a shopping centre. Unlike KK, there is no sea breeze here to cool you down so the heat and humidity is such a killer.b
Got here via two boats and a couple of passport stamping places. There were two Canadian girls and a German guy on the boat so we stuck together to get a taxi from the ferry terminal to the hostel in Bandar Seri Begawan. We headed out to an awesome Indian place to get some dinner - my new favourite dish is chicken roti! Next we headed to the mosque to see it all lit up at night. It looks really impressive and I have some pretty good photos with the sun setting near the mosque.
Yesterday morning we went back to the Indian place for more roti for breakfast, then we went to the market to get some fruit. I love the markets here- they have so many amazing types of fruit. They will also prepare the fruit for you so we got a couple of pineapples all pealed and ready to eat. Then we headed to a nearby park with a waterfall in it. We sat to feast on our fruit and saw monkeys in the trees nearby!!
We then headed to a food court recommended by a local guy Abdul. He's kinda like a tour guide here except he isn't trying to rip anyone off. He is an amazing source of information. He also got his friend who works in the place where the food court is to take us up to the 18th floor of the building for some cool views over BSB.
Abdul also organised a boat tour for only B$20 per person - compared to the tour agencies who charge $60 this is a pretty good deal! We saw the mosques and water village then sailed down the river some way to a place where the probiscus monkeys can be found! We spent a bit of time there watching the monkeys before heading back and sailing through the water village. It is pretty much an entire community on stilts - there are schools and mosques, and even a fire station all on stilts over the river. The government are maintaining it rather than trying to pull it down which makes a nice change to finding places like this in disputes with local governments who want to get rid of such places. We spent nearly 3 hours on the river and saw so much for the bargain price of $20 - if ever you come to BSB seek out Abdul at the youth hostel to arrange a boat tour rather than paying three times the price at a tour agency for a third of the time spent on the river.
This morning the German guy left but me and the Canadians went and had a relatively Western breakfast before heading out to another park at the edge of the city. This one had a hellish climb up seemingly endless stairs to the top where there was then a path around the summit, including a couple of rope bridges. It was a pretty nice place, but it was so hot and humid that it was really hard work. By the time we finished we were absolutely soaked in sweat - places we didn't even know you could sweat from were dripping! A cold shower never felt so good!
This afternoon we are going to check out the mosque and then escape the heat in a shopping centre. Unlike KK, there is no sea breeze here to cool you down so the heat and humidity is such a killer.b
Friday, 23 January 2009
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
There is an insane storm going on right now! There is so much rain it is running down the road in streams and the thunder is directly overhead rattling the windows each time. For a change I made it back to the hostel before the rains properly set in! I just hope it's gone by tomorrow morning as I don't want a choppy ride down to Brunei on the boat
I made it to the bird sanctuary today, and got some nice views of the mountain on the way. The set up at the place is a bunch of boardwalks through mangrove swamps and over small ponds. Sadly I didn't have and insect repellent to ward off all the mozzies that lived in the swamps and ponds. Thankfully I had my coat to cover up my arms and apparently mozzies aren't such big fans of after sun lotion so I didn't get too bitten in the end. It could have been a lot worse. I saw a few birds, including a kingfisher and then when I was done sweating away and swatting off the mozzies I got a taxi back into town. I went to a random street restaurant to get some chicken and rice.
(cool thing number one about Asia - when you get hungry just find a ransom street cafe and they will serve you a rice or noodle dish pretty quickly. In Vietnam its often Pho or Bun Cha but here you can get chicken rice, or various sorts of curries. It's all there for you to choose from and then they just whack it on a plate and serve it to you. It's cheap and tasty, and usually quick, and it's fresh as despite being ready when you get there its only recently been cooked and so is still fresh. I guess its the noodle/rice-based version of McDonalds!)
Next up I headed out to the museums. It was a grim walk in the heat but once I was there it was amazingly air conditioned. I had a look around the main part of the museum then I went to the Islamic civilization part before walking around the heritage village. Like the museum of ethnology in Hanoi its a selection of traditional reed houses, usually on stilts. Unlike Hanoi, its surrounded by jungle and water and therefore more mozzies!
The museums were near a Sikh temple and the state mosque so I went to check them out - I went into Sikh temple as some guy there showed me and and told me all about the place, but I just passed by the mosque as there was no-one about and I didn't want to do something wrong or end up somewhere I wasn't supposed to be. Instead I jumped in a taxi and headed to the shopping centre
(cool thing number two about Asia - taxi's are air conditioned and cheap. Sweet!)
I had a look around some of the shops and picked up a few things to decorate my room with as well as some shoes and a pretty top. I also went to Starbucks and indulged in a caramel hot chocolate. Vietnamese places don't really know how to make a decent hot chocolate so I enjoyed the decent Starbucks version very much!
When I was done with the centre I went over to the market for a look around and then I grabbed some random chicken on a stick thing from a street stall and then saw that the sun was starting to set over the ocean. I went to a cafe on the waterfront and got a drink whilst watching the sun set. It was pretty clear today so the view from the top of the hill would probably have been better than it was when I went up there a couple of days ago but I really couldn't be bothered to go up there and then come back down and head back to that part of town again. I guess I've seen the sun set into the ocean plenty of times in Brighton to not feel like I missed out on anything. Once the sun had disappeared I went along the sea front a bit to the place that offered massages and reflexology. I'd got a few leaflets about other places throughout the day but this place had beds facing the sea front and looked really nice so I went there and got a shoulder massage and some reflexology on my bright red feet (my amazing rainbow flip flops don't like getting wet and have now dyed the soles of my feet bright red!) and it was so good and so cheap!
I headed back to the hostel past the supermarket and discovered marmite which was possibly the shopping highlight of my day! They only way to get it in Hanoi is to pay a gazillion pounds for a tiny jar imported from the UK but bigger jars are available here and are pretty much the same price as back home!
I've now gotta pack my marmite and all my other crap as I'm heading to Brunei tomorrow. The boat goes at 8am so I'm not gonna be up for packing in the morning!
(cool thing number one about Asia - when you get hungry just find a ransom street cafe and they will serve you a rice or noodle dish pretty quickly. In Vietnam its often Pho or Bun Cha but here you can get chicken rice, or various sorts of curries. It's all there for you to choose from and then they just whack it on a plate and serve it to you. It's cheap and tasty, and usually quick, and it's fresh as despite being ready when you get there its only recently been cooked and so is still fresh. I guess its the noodle/rice-based version of McDonalds!)
Next up I headed out to the museums. It was a grim walk in the heat but once I was there it was amazingly air conditioned. I had a look around the main part of the museum then I went to the Islamic civilization part before walking around the heritage village. Like the museum of ethnology in Hanoi its a selection of traditional reed houses, usually on stilts. Unlike Hanoi, its surrounded by jungle and water and therefore more mozzies!
The museums were near a Sikh temple and the state mosque so I went to check them out - I went into Sikh temple as some guy there showed me and and told me all about the place, but I just passed by the mosque as there was no-one about and I didn't want to do something wrong or end up somewhere I wasn't supposed to be. Instead I jumped in a taxi and headed to the shopping centre
(cool thing number two about Asia - taxi's are air conditioned and cheap. Sweet!)
I had a look around some of the shops and picked up a few things to decorate my room with as well as some shoes and a pretty top. I also went to Starbucks and indulged in a caramel hot chocolate. Vietnamese places don't really know how to make a decent hot chocolate so I enjoyed the decent Starbucks version very much!
When I was done with the centre I went over to the market for a look around and then I grabbed some random chicken on a stick thing from a street stall and then saw that the sun was starting to set over the ocean. I went to a cafe on the waterfront and got a drink whilst watching the sun set. It was pretty clear today so the view from the top of the hill would probably have been better than it was when I went up there a couple of days ago but I really couldn't be bothered to go up there and then come back down and head back to that part of town again. I guess I've seen the sun set into the ocean plenty of times in Brighton to not feel like I missed out on anything. Once the sun had disappeared I went along the sea front a bit to the place that offered massages and reflexology. I'd got a few leaflets about other places throughout the day but this place had beds facing the sea front and looked really nice so I went there and got a shoulder massage and some reflexology on my bright red feet (my amazing rainbow flip flops don't like getting wet and have now dyed the soles of my feet bright red!) and it was so good and so cheap!
I headed back to the hostel past the supermarket and discovered marmite which was possibly the shopping highlight of my day! They only way to get it in Hanoi is to pay a gazillion pounds for a tiny jar imported from the UK but bigger jars are available here and are pretty much the same price as back home!
I've now gotta pack my marmite and all my other crap as I'm heading to Brunei tomorrow. The boat goes at 8am so I'm not gonna be up for packing in the morning!
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
I spent today on a sandy beach on a tropical island! It looked kinda grey today when I got up but the sun was shining over the islands so I decided to make my way over anyway. I'm glad I'm did! There were some good views of the mountain on the way over and then it all clouded over and couldn't be seen for the rest of the day. There were also grey clouds hovering over KK all day yet sky above the islands was sunny and blue!
I went for a walk through the jungle bit to get to a place called sunset point and the noise of all the insects and birds was incredibly loud. I then climbed down to sea level and clambered over some boulders and walked across mini beaches tog et back to the main beach. At some points I ended up wading through the water but it was nice and cooling to do that. i love my rainbow flip flops from America s they are so durable - regular flip flops from places like Accessorize would be trashed by now but my rainbows are still going strong despite all I've put them through! They were perfect for my adventure along the coastline this morning too.
Once I got back to the main beach I hired a beach mat and got some freshly squeezed orange juice and soaked up the sun for a bit. I cooled down with a dip in the sea every so often and was surrounded by little fish each time. Even just at knee height the fish swam round if you stand still! I decided against snorkelling as seaweed creeps me out too much. I still saw heaps of fish though as they all swim about under the jetty, and there is also a submerged walkway you can stand on to see them. They were so pretty!!
Despite excessive use of factor 40 sunblock I still got slightly burnt but generally I avoided any major lobster effect. Most importantly of all my feet are still a regular human colour rather than an alien red that pretty much glows in the dark! This is a major achievment for me! Liz can attest to the fact that my feet went a horrific colour with the sunburn in New Zealand but today it was my lower leg that got a bit of the burn going on, as well as the hard to reach parts of my back and my wrists - I guess I forgot to put suncream on my wrists as that part doesn't usually burn but the sun was pretty fierce today. It;'s not bad sunburn though and it should be gone by tomorrow morning.
Soon after I got back into KK the heavens opened in another tropical downpour - the weather right now seems to be clear and dry in the mornings and then the clouds roll in in the afternoon/ evening and sometimes the rain comes along too. As a result, tomorrow morning I am heading to the bird sanctuary as its possible to walk there over the hills with some views of the mountain in the distance, then in the afternoon I'm going to go to the mosque and the museums as it doesn't matte if it rains there! I toyed with the idea of heading back to the mountain to see if the views are any better but really it seems unlikely it will be clear tomorrow, plus its a lot of money and effort to get there so I'm just gonna stay in KK. I might also go to this place along the seafront that offers massages with a view over the sea - they are pretty cheap and I feel like indulging! I'll probably also get some shopping in. Today I went to the Air Asia office and paid my RM5 charge for checked baggage in anticipation of accumulating a bag before I fly out of Brunei. There are a couple of things I want to buy here, plus there are some things I want to get from the supermarket here that are impossible to find/incredibly expensive in Hanoi, like decent drinking chocolate. I also saw timtams in the supermarket here! I doubt those will make it back to Hanoi as I won't be able to resist once I've bought them.
I'm heading back out into the downpour now to get some food and go and browse the covered markets and part with some of my money!
I went for a walk through the jungle bit to get to a place called sunset point and the noise of all the insects and birds was incredibly loud. I then climbed down to sea level and clambered over some boulders and walked across mini beaches tog et back to the main beach. At some points I ended up wading through the water but it was nice and cooling to do that. i love my rainbow flip flops from America s they are so durable - regular flip flops from places like Accessorize would be trashed by now but my rainbows are still going strong despite all I've put them through! They were perfect for my adventure along the coastline this morning too.
Once I got back to the main beach I hired a beach mat and got some freshly squeezed orange juice and soaked up the sun for a bit. I cooled down with a dip in the sea every so often and was surrounded by little fish each time. Even just at knee height the fish swam round if you stand still! I decided against snorkelling as seaweed creeps me out too much. I still saw heaps of fish though as they all swim about under the jetty, and there is also a submerged walkway you can stand on to see them. They were so pretty!!
Despite excessive use of factor 40 sunblock I still got slightly burnt but generally I avoided any major lobster effect. Most importantly of all my feet are still a regular human colour rather than an alien red that pretty much glows in the dark! This is a major achievment for me! Liz can attest to the fact that my feet went a horrific colour with the sunburn in New Zealand but today it was my lower leg that got a bit of the burn going on, as well as the hard to reach parts of my back and my wrists - I guess I forgot to put suncream on my wrists as that part doesn't usually burn but the sun was pretty fierce today. It;'s not bad sunburn though and it should be gone by tomorrow morning.
Soon after I got back into KK the heavens opened in another tropical downpour - the weather right now seems to be clear and dry in the mornings and then the clouds roll in in the afternoon/ evening and sometimes the rain comes along too. As a result, tomorrow morning I am heading to the bird sanctuary as its possible to walk there over the hills with some views of the mountain in the distance, then in the afternoon I'm going to go to the mosque and the museums as it doesn't matte if it rains there! I toyed with the idea of heading back to the mountain to see if the views are any better but really it seems unlikely it will be clear tomorrow, plus its a lot of money and effort to get there so I'm just gonna stay in KK. I might also go to this place along the seafront that offers massages with a view over the sea - they are pretty cheap and I feel like indulging! I'll probably also get some shopping in. Today I went to the Air Asia office and paid my RM5 charge for checked baggage in anticipation of accumulating a bag before I fly out of Brunei. There are a couple of things I want to buy here, plus there are some things I want to get from the supermarket here that are impossible to find/incredibly expensive in Hanoi, like decent drinking chocolate. I also saw timtams in the supermarket here! I doubt those will make it back to Hanoi as I won't be able to resist once I've bought them.
I'm heading back out into the downpour now to get some food and go and browse the covered markets and part with some of my money!
Monday, 19 January 2009
Today was spent up in Kinabalu national park!
Yesterday I met a guy at the hostel who was heading there this morning too so I tagged along with him and we managed to find some private transport for only RM16 each. He is originally from Germany but has been living in the UK for the last few years and he's a very cool guy. He looks ever so slightly like Dave Gorman, and he has braided the hair on his chin - it reaches his waist!! - but despite the slightly kooky appearance he was an interesting guy to chat to on the journey to the park. On the way there the view to the summit was clear but soon after arriving it clouded over. This didn't stop me heading off to explore some of the walking tracks around the base of the mountain. I'm not equipped to climb the mountain, nor can I really spare the time this time round, but I'd like to think I'll get back in the future to get to the top. The tracks around the base were pretty cool though and a good way to spend a couple of hours. I encountered 3 crazy Aussies at a random viewpoint and we all headed up to the botanical gardens together. They also invited me to join them for lunch which was cool. After lunch it was starting to drizzle a bit and visibility was fading but before leaving the park we arranged a car to take us up to the official start of the climb to have a look. There wasn't much to see except cloud but I do have a photo of me getting rained on at the start of the climb. I'll try and stick some photos up soon when the computer at the hostel is free for a long time but I don't want to be the annoying person who spends FOREVER leeching the free internet right now. Soon after this it started to tip it down so we collected a couple of Koreans to fill our car then headed back to KK.
It was so much cheaper doing it this way than doing one of the proper tours and I'm glad that did it this way as most of the tours hit the park in the afternoon when it was absolutely hammering it down. Although the views were often shrouded in clouds it was still an awesome day, and given that I was up in the mountains exploring the rain forest in the rainy season I'm just thankful it was dry for most of the day.
When I got back I headed to the post office to try and send my police forms but the place had already closed for the day so I'll have to try and do it tomorrow. I headed towards the water front to check out some of the markets here and found an amazing fruit and veg market. They have everything you could ever want and they're so much more organised than the random markets in Hanoi. I also didn't get harassed at all whereas back in Hanoi I have had people shoving things into my hands to try and get me to buy them. I picked up some rambutan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan) and mangosteens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangosteen) and got a kilo of both combined for a ridiculous price like a pound or something. Sadly pineapples here are sold whole - I will have to wait until I'm back in Hanoi to get the prepared pineapple as I really can't be bothered to attempt to cut up a pineapple.
Right now it is raining in a lovely tropical style and it doesn't seem to be letting up so I'm going to have to brave the streets to go get some food. I hope the rain has cleared by tomorrow as I want to head over to the islands near by and find a nice beach to chill on, and maybe go snorkelling to see some tropical fish. That won't be much fun if its raining!!
today i walked past a branch of the British Council and now I'm thinking that in a year or two I might investigate jobs there. I could easily live here for a year!
One last thing - my Vietnamese number doesn't work here so if you send me a text and don't get a reply its not because I'm ignoring you! I've got my British SIM card in my phone right no but I have hardly any credit on so if you have a truly exciting piece of news you can't wait to tell me text me on that number. No guarantees I'll reply though!
Yesterday I met a guy at the hostel who was heading there this morning too so I tagged along with him and we managed to find some private transport for only RM16 each. He is originally from Germany but has been living in the UK for the last few years and he's a very cool guy. He looks ever so slightly like Dave Gorman, and he has braided the hair on his chin - it reaches his waist!! - but despite the slightly kooky appearance he was an interesting guy to chat to on the journey to the park. On the way there the view to the summit was clear but soon after arriving it clouded over. This didn't stop me heading off to explore some of the walking tracks around the base of the mountain. I'm not equipped to climb the mountain, nor can I really spare the time this time round, but I'd like to think I'll get back in the future to get to the top. The tracks around the base were pretty cool though and a good way to spend a couple of hours. I encountered 3 crazy Aussies at a random viewpoint and we all headed up to the botanical gardens together. They also invited me to join them for lunch which was cool. After lunch it was starting to drizzle a bit and visibility was fading but before leaving the park we arranged a car to take us up to the official start of the climb to have a look. There wasn't much to see except cloud but I do have a photo of me getting rained on at the start of the climb. I'll try and stick some photos up soon when the computer at the hostel is free for a long time but I don't want to be the annoying person who spends FOREVER leeching the free internet right now. Soon after this it started to tip it down so we collected a couple of Koreans to fill our car then headed back to KK.
It was so much cheaper doing it this way than doing one of the proper tours and I'm glad that did it this way as most of the tours hit the park in the afternoon when it was absolutely hammering it down. Although the views were often shrouded in clouds it was still an awesome day, and given that I was up in the mountains exploring the rain forest in the rainy season I'm just thankful it was dry for most of the day.
When I got back I headed to the post office to try and send my police forms but the place had already closed for the day so I'll have to try and do it tomorrow. I headed towards the water front to check out some of the markets here and found an amazing fruit and veg market. They have everything you could ever want and they're so much more organised than the random markets in Hanoi. I also didn't get harassed at all whereas back in Hanoi I have had people shoving things into my hands to try and get me to buy them. I picked up some rambutan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan) and mangosteens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangosteen) and got a kilo of both combined for a ridiculous price like a pound or something. Sadly pineapples here are sold whole - I will have to wait until I'm back in Hanoi to get the prepared pineapple as I really can't be bothered to attempt to cut up a pineapple.
Right now it is raining in a lovely tropical style and it doesn't seem to be letting up so I'm going to have to brave the streets to go get some food. I hope the rain has cleared by tomorrow as I want to head over to the islands near by and find a nice beach to chill on, and maybe go snorkelling to see some tropical fish. That won't be much fun if its raining!!
today i walked past a branch of the British Council and now I'm thinking that in a year or two I might investigate jobs there. I could easily live here for a year!
One last thing - my Vietnamese number doesn't work here so if you send me a text and don't get a reply its not because I'm ignoring you! I've got my British SIM card in my phone right no but I have hardly any credit on so if you have a truly exciting piece of news you can't wait to tell me text me on that number. No guarantees I'll reply though!
Sunday, 18 January 2009
I've escaped into an air conditioned net cafe to cool down so I thought I'd bore you all with an update! Also the keyboard at this place is better than the one at the hostel so my typing should be better this time.
I forgot how opressively hot Malaysia is. It's taking me some time to get used to it. I did remeber to buy some sunblock this morning so hopefully I won't get burnt. i even remembered to apply it to my feet today! I thought I got a touch of sunburn at the airport yesterday but I think it was just where the straps of my bag were rubbing, thank god. Whilst killing time at KL airport yesterday I ventured outside to sit by a random water fountain for a while but I didn't last too long before escaping back into the air conditioned terminal. Also I was sitting on some concrete steps which were stupidly hot and not at all comfortable. I'm glad didn't get sunburn as that would make carrying my bags around very uncomfortable.
Today I have been walking around Kota Kinabalu trying to get used to the heat and humidity. There was a cool market but I resisted the urge to buy anything. There were a couple of things I eyed up so I might buy them from the night market if they're available there. I saw some pretty fabric butterflies I might buy in pink and red to decorate my room back in Hanoi. All the furniture there is dark wood so I think pink and red will go with it and I'm now on the lookout for pink or red things. I did see a really nice pink pashmina at the market but very similar ones are available in Hanoi so I don't think I'm going to bother buying one here.
I also trailed around the city today trying to find an ATM that would give me money. I tried out a couple of banks and they kept saying incorrect pin entered as pin numbers here are 6 digits long. That souldn't be a problem as its the same back in Vietnam and yet my British card with only a 4 digit pin works fine there but it seemes to cause problems here. I went to find HSBC thinking that had to accept my card but it also failed there. I was working my way towards a phone place to call my bank and ask what was going in and I stopped at evey ATM I found on the way. Eventually one worked and I was able to get at my money which was a relief. I walked back towards the centre and came across a park and the city hall on the way which were cool, and then I headed down to the water front. I checked out ferrys to Brunei and the islands near KK then walked along the sea front for a bit before the heat got too much. I escaped into a shopping centre full of shops like Esprit, Roxy and Quicksilver and was actually slightly overwhelmed by all the shops. i'm used to the random little shops in Hanoi. Even the shopping centres there are full of random shops selling a selection of unrelated goods but here they are like carbon copies of the ones back home.
Once I'm ready to brave the heat again I'm going to head back to the hostel to sort my stuff out and fill in soem tedious police forms to send back to the UK so I can get a police check for my work permit application in Vietnam. I'm going to go check out the hill on the edge of KK later - apparently its a good palce to watch teh sun set over the islands then I might go to the night market.
Tomorrow I'm either going to go to the islands nearby or to Kinabalu national park. I've looked at going on a tour there but they seem quite expensive and need a minimum of two people. I should be able to join a tour but apparently it is pretty easy to get a local bus to the park really cheaply so I think I'm going to do that instead. The advantage to a tour is that they fit a lot in and include some hot springs and a canopy walkway thing but I'm looking at going to a place in Brunei that has a canopy walkway so I might just go for the local bus option. That way I could do what I want and go where I want to go.
It's quite nice being here as I no longer stand out and get stared at all the time!I guess there are a lot of tourists who come here and they're used to us, plus the country is just more used to the whole idea of Other Countries whereas Vietnam is only jsut opening up. Also the locals here are of a similar build to Westerners and I no longer tower over everyone I meet. There is less hunger too so people don't look like walking skeletons the way a lot of people do back in Hanoi. Apparently the average yearly income in Vietnam is somewhere between $100 and $200. There are a growing number of wealthy Vietnamese - foreigners are no longer the richest people in the country - who have a lot of cash to splahs around (for example the 5 weeks IELTS course where I work costs $650, and there are 7 different levels to progree through to get there so if you come in at a complete beginner you end up having to do eight courses to get the IELTS certificate ready to study abroad. That's a lot of money) and so that means that there must be a lot of people who are earning little to nothing each year. These are the people who get up stupidly early to cycle for 2 or 3 hours each day from their shack into Hanoi with a bicycle loaded with goods to try and sell them in the streets, and the people who walk the streets all say trying to sell things like fruit or snacks from their baskets. I guess little money means little food which is why they are all so tiny. That's not the case here though so walkign the streets is fairly hassle-free. I also don't feel at a disadvantage not speakng the local language as eveyone here speaks relly good English. It makes a change to be able to understand everything that's going on!
Right, I'm ready to brave the heat again now so its time to tear myself away from the air conditioned heaven I'm currently in.
I forgot how opressively hot Malaysia is. It's taking me some time to get used to it. I did remeber to buy some sunblock this morning so hopefully I won't get burnt. i even remembered to apply it to my feet today! I thought I got a touch of sunburn at the airport yesterday but I think it was just where the straps of my bag were rubbing, thank god. Whilst killing time at KL airport yesterday I ventured outside to sit by a random water fountain for a while but I didn't last too long before escaping back into the air conditioned terminal. Also I was sitting on some concrete steps which were stupidly hot and not at all comfortable. I'm glad didn't get sunburn as that would make carrying my bags around very uncomfortable.
Today I have been walking around Kota Kinabalu trying to get used to the heat and humidity. There was a cool market but I resisted the urge to buy anything. There were a couple of things I eyed up so I might buy them from the night market if they're available there. I saw some pretty fabric butterflies I might buy in pink and red to decorate my room back in Hanoi. All the furniture there is dark wood so I think pink and red will go with it and I'm now on the lookout for pink or red things. I did see a really nice pink pashmina at the market but very similar ones are available in Hanoi so I don't think I'm going to bother buying one here.
I also trailed around the city today trying to find an ATM that would give me money. I tried out a couple of banks and they kept saying incorrect pin entered as pin numbers here are 6 digits long. That souldn't be a problem as its the same back in Vietnam and yet my British card with only a 4 digit pin works fine there but it seemes to cause problems here. I went to find HSBC thinking that had to accept my card but it also failed there. I was working my way towards a phone place to call my bank and ask what was going in and I stopped at evey ATM I found on the way. Eventually one worked and I was able to get at my money which was a relief. I walked back towards the centre and came across a park and the city hall on the way which were cool, and then I headed down to the water front. I checked out ferrys to Brunei and the islands near KK then walked along the sea front for a bit before the heat got too much. I escaped into a shopping centre full of shops like Esprit, Roxy and Quicksilver and was actually slightly overwhelmed by all the shops. i'm used to the random little shops in Hanoi. Even the shopping centres there are full of random shops selling a selection of unrelated goods but here they are like carbon copies of the ones back home.
Once I'm ready to brave the heat again I'm going to head back to the hostel to sort my stuff out and fill in soem tedious police forms to send back to the UK so I can get a police check for my work permit application in Vietnam. I'm going to go check out the hill on the edge of KK later - apparently its a good palce to watch teh sun set over the islands then I might go to the night market.
Tomorrow I'm either going to go to the islands nearby or to Kinabalu national park. I've looked at going on a tour there but they seem quite expensive and need a minimum of two people. I should be able to join a tour but apparently it is pretty easy to get a local bus to the park really cheaply so I think I'm going to do that instead. The advantage to a tour is that they fit a lot in and include some hot springs and a canopy walkway thing but I'm looking at going to a place in Brunei that has a canopy walkway so I might just go for the local bus option. That way I could do what I want and go where I want to go.
It's quite nice being here as I no longer stand out and get stared at all the time!I guess there are a lot of tourists who come here and they're used to us, plus the country is just more used to the whole idea of Other Countries whereas Vietnam is only jsut opening up. Also the locals here are of a similar build to Westerners and I no longer tower over everyone I meet. There is less hunger too so people don't look like walking skeletons the way a lot of people do back in Hanoi. Apparently the average yearly income in Vietnam is somewhere between $100 and $200. There are a growing number of wealthy Vietnamese - foreigners are no longer the richest people in the country - who have a lot of cash to splahs around (for example the 5 weeks IELTS course where I work costs $650, and there are 7 different levels to progree through to get there so if you come in at a complete beginner you end up having to do eight courses to get the IELTS certificate ready to study abroad. That's a lot of money) and so that means that there must be a lot of people who are earning little to nothing each year. These are the people who get up stupidly early to cycle for 2 or 3 hours each day from their shack into Hanoi with a bicycle loaded with goods to try and sell them in the streets, and the people who walk the streets all say trying to sell things like fruit or snacks from their baskets. I guess little money means little food which is why they are all so tiny. That's not the case here though so walkign the streets is fairly hassle-free. I also don't feel at a disadvantage not speakng the local language as eveyone here speaks relly good English. It makes a change to be able to understand everything that's going on!
Right, I'm ready to brave the heat again now so its time to tear myself away from the air conditioned heaven I'm currently in.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
What a crappy journey! I left the hostel at 4am and headed to the airport through an eerie mist. The streets of the old quarter were empty - they look very strange when there are no motorbikes and hawkers clogging up the streets! The only place that was busy was the flower market near the house I lived in for the past month - I don't know if this was jsut because of Tet or if its like that every morning at 4am. To be honest, I doubt I'm ever going to find out as I'm really not a morning person!
When I checked in I discovered I had two hours in transit in HCMC - no-one bothered to tell me this when I booked the ticket! I got some Pho as that was the only thing available and then got on my first flight of the day. Vietnam airways provided a meal - more noodles - and on the next flight I got yet more noodles. Noodle overload! HCMC airport seems far more modern than Hanoi and had a bunch of duty free stores with international brands. The most exciting thing I found there was some Cadbury's chocolate! It was kinda pricey but I gave in and bought it.
When I got to KL I had 3 or 4 hours there - the only way I could get some time int he city would be to take the speedy but incredibly expensaive train. All teh otehr cheaper options took so long so I gave up and killed time at the airport. There were chains like Starbucks and Burger King that I haven't seen since getting to Vietnam - I guess I jsut took it for granted that they were all over the place back home. I feasted on BK - it tasted sooooo good!! - then made my way round to the scrum at the Air Asia terminal. It's basically Asias answer to Easyjet and check-in was jsut as mental. The flight over wasn't too bad - the palne was half empty so I had a row to myself, plus I got some rice and chicken thing. I eat rice and chicken quite often back in Hanoi but it tastes quite bland compared to the Malaysian version. I remember it from last time and I think I'm going to be eating it a lot while I'm here as it's so good!
Kota Kinabalu is very strange after Hanoi - there are no motorbikes, people obey the rules of the road and give way where necessary, plus poverty is less obvious. They also drive on teh same side of teh road as back home and drive cars that are popular back home. That combiled with the neon and the amount of signs in English make it seem like a tropical cross between an American and a British city. There are no funny symbols in their alphabe either so signs in the local language don't look so odd and it's just generally far more Western than Hanoi. I didn't realise hiow used to Hanoi I got until I left! I just hope I don't have go through all the adjustment again when I get back.
When I checked in I discovered I had two hours in transit in HCMC - no-one bothered to tell me this when I booked the ticket! I got some Pho as that was the only thing available and then got on my first flight of the day. Vietnam airways provided a meal - more noodles - and on the next flight I got yet more noodles. Noodle overload! HCMC airport seems far more modern than Hanoi and had a bunch of duty free stores with international brands. The most exciting thing I found there was some Cadbury's chocolate! It was kinda pricey but I gave in and bought it.
When I got to KL I had 3 or 4 hours there - the only way I could get some time int he city would be to take the speedy but incredibly expensaive train. All teh otehr cheaper options took so long so I gave up and killed time at the airport. There were chains like Starbucks and Burger King that I haven't seen since getting to Vietnam - I guess I jsut took it for granted that they were all over the place back home. I feasted on BK - it tasted sooooo good!! - then made my way round to the scrum at the Air Asia terminal. It's basically Asias answer to Easyjet and check-in was jsut as mental. The flight over wasn't too bad - the palne was half empty so I had a row to myself, plus I got some rice and chicken thing. I eat rice and chicken quite often back in Hanoi but it tastes quite bland compared to the Malaysian version. I remember it from last time and I think I'm going to be eating it a lot while I'm here as it's so good!
Kota Kinabalu is very strange after Hanoi - there are no motorbikes, people obey the rules of the road and give way where necessary, plus poverty is less obvious. They also drive on teh same side of teh road as back home and drive cars that are popular back home. That combiled with the neon and the amount of signs in English make it seem like a tropical cross between an American and a British city. There are no funny symbols in their alphabe either so signs in the local language don't look so odd and it's just generally far more Western than Hanoi. I didn't realise hiow used to Hanoi I got until I left! I just hope I don't have go through all the adjustment again when I get back.
Friday, 16 January 2009
I have just seen teh most amazing bag in the old quarter! It is all pretty and sparkly and only $7! I might have to buy it when I get back from my trip as my bag is pretty much full already. I'm sure I'm going to accumulate a whole bunch more stuff when I'm away - I've been told there are some awesome markets, plus I'm looking for a blanket or some sort of cover for my bed in my new place. I want to get something pretty rather than just a regular plain blanket so I'm going to look around whilst I'm away and if I can't find anything then I'll buy something nice when I get back, or even get one made. This was inspired by talking to Suzette today, who has made heaps of nice things for her daughter and has decorated her house really nicely.
They got back from Australia today and I hung around for a couple of hours helping them move a cot around their house and just chatting about stuff. I'm going to see them when I get back from Malaysia too which will be cool. They have been in Vietnam for a few years now so have heaps of info. They're really friendly too and its easy to sit for ages having a gossip. Suzette also had a stash of trashy gossip mags - its been a while since I've read any so I caught up on all the current scandals!
I'm sure I'm going to gain another bag whilst I'm away - I hope its once I get to KL as my flight home is with Vietnam airways who let me check baggage, but my flights to and from Borneo are with Air Asia who charge you to check a bag. If only I could pack light!
I am back in the old quarter now - I have just had some Pho and have been ambling around - I wouldn't go so far as to say I feel at home here but I certainly feel less alien now. That's a very strange thing to say!
They got back from Australia today and I hung around for a couple of hours helping them move a cot around their house and just chatting about stuff. I'm going to see them when I get back from Malaysia too which will be cool. They have been in Vietnam for a few years now so have heaps of info. They're really friendly too and its easy to sit for ages having a gossip. Suzette also had a stash of trashy gossip mags - its been a while since I've read any so I caught up on all the current scandals!
I'm sure I'm going to gain another bag whilst I'm away - I hope its once I get to KL as my flight home is with Vietnam airways who let me check baggage, but my flights to and from Borneo are with Air Asia who charge you to check a bag. If only I could pack light!
I am back in the old quarter now - I have just had some Pho and have been ambling around - I wouldn't go so far as to say I feel at home here but I certainly feel less alien now. That's a very strange thing to say!
I'm all packed up and ready to leave Vietnam for a couple of weeks. Last night I took most of my crap round to my new place and sorted out money and today once the owners of the house I'm currently in get back I shall be taking the rest of my stuff to a hostel for the night. I have been offered a couple of sofas for tonight but I have to go to the airport at 4am tomorrow and it's impossible to get out of Vietnamese houses without needing a set of keys. There's usually no way to get out of a house, lock everything behind you then get the keys back inside - for example in my new place you have to unlock the regular door , then the shutter thing in front of the door and then finally open the padlock on the gate to get out onto the street. All this has to be locked behind you and so unlike back home there is no way I can get out of a house, lock it up and then drop the keys through the mail box (a lot of mail boxes here are OUTSIDE the gate) meaning that a 4am departure would involve waking up some poor soul to let me out and lock up behind me. As a result i am staying at the same hostel I originally stayed in when I first got here so I can get a few hours sleep before heading to the airport. I will be spending most of the day tomorrow on planes or at airports, possibly with a short trip into KL to break it up. My flight to KL arrives at 1.30, then my next flight out isn't until 6.30. That one lands in Kota Kinabalu at about 8.30 and then I am being picked up and taken to my hostel. I've found a place that has dorm rooms for only 3 pounds a night, plus they do a free airport pick up. Bargain! I'm getting excited about my trip but more than anything I'm looking forward to some quiet and some fresh air.
In a strange way I'm going to miss Tay Ho. Its nice being next to the lake and its a little bit quieter than in the centre of the city. My new place is relatively quiet though and i guess its possible to walk to some other lakes and the Ho Chi Minh complex, plus its closer to everything else which makes up for it. I can walk to work next term adn save some pennies though my motorbike rides at 7am are nice in a strange way. They certainly wake me up, plus the sun is rising over the lake when I'm on my way and it's always glowing red. There are also heaps of people playing badminton in the parks or doing some sort of Tai Chi with fans outside a temple which is a strange sight.
Wednesdy was my last day at work for this term and I spent most of it doing speaking exams. My main role in this was just to listen as they did the exams in pairs and spoke to each other. I didn't have to get involved unless there were real issues. Some of them were so scared of the exam - I remember this well from my German and Spanish exams but they all managed to get through it. Some of them didn't do too well but no one completely failed the speaking part.
On Wednesday after work I walked to the old quarter to sort out a room at the hostel and the roads were insanely busy. I could smell all the pollution and feel it burning my throat. Usually it's not this bad - I think it was jsut the volume of traffic on the roads at that time of night. On the plus side as a result of faffing around in the old quarter and getting something to eat at my favourite Pho place the traffic had calmed down by the time I got the bus back up here and so it didn't take nearly as long to get back. It was worth the horiffically polluted walk there for my Pho anyway. That place sells really nice food dirt cheap and I intend to go back tonight for another helping.
One other thing I sw on Wednesday was the front of a shopping centre covered in red lights and the coca cola logo. Over Christmas there were signs up saying that "nothing says christmas like Heineken" and now Coca Cola appear to be getting in on the act for Tet. I'm intrigued to see which beverage will be sponsoring the next holiday and plastering their name and logo all over the shopping centre! I do have a picture of the OTT Coke decorations on my laptop but I said goodbye to my laptop last night so sadly I can't show you the excessive advertising. Maybe when I get back I'll show you!
I'll no doubt get online whilst I'm away so expect some gloating about my holiday in the next couple of weeks!
In a strange way I'm going to miss Tay Ho. Its nice being next to the lake and its a little bit quieter than in the centre of the city. My new place is relatively quiet though and i guess its possible to walk to some other lakes and the Ho Chi Minh complex, plus its closer to everything else which makes up for it. I can walk to work next term adn save some pennies though my motorbike rides at 7am are nice in a strange way. They certainly wake me up, plus the sun is rising over the lake when I'm on my way and it's always glowing red. There are also heaps of people playing badminton in the parks or doing some sort of Tai Chi with fans outside a temple which is a strange sight.
Wednesdy was my last day at work for this term and I spent most of it doing speaking exams. My main role in this was just to listen as they did the exams in pairs and spoke to each other. I didn't have to get involved unless there were real issues. Some of them were so scared of the exam - I remember this well from my German and Spanish exams but they all managed to get through it. Some of them didn't do too well but no one completely failed the speaking part.
On Wednesday after work I walked to the old quarter to sort out a room at the hostel and the roads were insanely busy. I could smell all the pollution and feel it burning my throat. Usually it's not this bad - I think it was jsut the volume of traffic on the roads at that time of night. On the plus side as a result of faffing around in the old quarter and getting something to eat at my favourite Pho place the traffic had calmed down by the time I got the bus back up here and so it didn't take nearly as long to get back. It was worth the horiffically polluted walk there for my Pho anyway. That place sells really nice food dirt cheap and I intend to go back tonight for another helping.
One other thing I sw on Wednesday was the front of a shopping centre covered in red lights and the coca cola logo. Over Christmas there were signs up saying that "nothing says christmas like Heineken" and now Coca Cola appear to be getting in on the act for Tet. I'm intrigued to see which beverage will be sponsoring the next holiday and plastering their name and logo all over the shopping centre! I do have a picture of the OTT Coke decorations on my laptop but I said goodbye to my laptop last night so sadly I can't show you the excessive advertising. Maybe when I get back I'll show you!
I'll no doubt get online whilst I'm away so expect some gloating about my holiday in the next couple of weeks!
Saturday, 10 January 2009
I spent a nice couple of hours wandering around Tay Ho today. I walked to the end of the lane my house is on and headed down streets I'd not seem before for a bit before heading back to the main street next to my house. The main reason for this was so that I could go to the chocolate cafe. I eat hardly any chocolate here as most of it tastes grim but I was in the mood for some decent chocolate. This place is kinda pricey but it makes up for it by serving amazingly chocolaty food. It's got an interesting choice of decor - its really twee and girly but its a nice place to chill for a bit. I tried the chocolate chip cookies which are served hot as I didn't think I would be able to eat the chocolate cake - as nice as it sounds it would probably have been far too sickly. I think the cake requires two people. I decided against a hot chocolate to drink as I didn't want to overload my senses with chocolate so I went for a strange sounding coffee that has coconut and lime in it. Despite sounding rather dubious it was actually rather tasty! The pic below shows my amazing snack!
Once I was done there I went to the lake and walked around the area. I took a whole heap of pretentious arty photos - all the colours looked really bright today and everything looked good against the bright blue sky. I finally dragged myself back home to mark the assignments then once I was done I headed out again to a couple of the temples for a nosey around and took a load more photos before watching the sun set over the lake.
I've decided to randomly stick some of my favourite photos of today up here, and in future I think I'm going to try and make my posts more interesting by adding some of my photos to them. Not sure how long that resolution will last however!
The walls all over Hanoi are covered in these random phone numbers:
All plant life look very green today:
And the red flowers that can be seen all over the place looked particularly bright:
In this one I like the reflection in the swimming pool:
I really like this one - it's probably one of my favourite photos out of all the ones I took today:
In this one I like both the reflection and the contrast between the little reed house in the middle of the lake and the big luxury apartment block in the background:
And finally, shortly before sunset this evening the colours looked even more amazing:
Once I was done there I went to the lake and walked around the area. I took a whole heap of pretentious arty photos - all the colours looked really bright today and everything looked good against the bright blue sky. I finally dragged myself back home to mark the assignments then once I was done I headed out again to a couple of the temples for a nosey around and took a load more photos before watching the sun set over the lake.
I've decided to randomly stick some of my favourite photos of today up here, and in future I think I'm going to try and make my posts more interesting by adding some of my photos to them. Not sure how long that resolution will last however!
The walls all over Hanoi are covered in these random phone numbers:
All plant life look very green today:
And the red flowers that can be seen all over the place looked particularly bright:
In this one I like the reflection in the swimming pool:
I really like this one - it's probably one of my favourite photos out of all the ones I took today:
In this one I like both the reflection and the contrast between the little reed house in the middle of the lake and the big luxury apartment block in the background:
And finally, shortly before sunset this evening the colours looked even more amazing:
I've woken up to a really sunny day so I think I'm going to go for walk down to the lake and see what I can find. It's really blue and sunny outside! It's been grey and dingy for a while now so this is a nice change. I am tempted to go further afield and see what I can find but I have 12 pieces of writing about Hanoi to mark as well as 15 assignments entitled "My last holiday" which for the most part start with "last year I go to..."
I was supposed to mark all this on Thursday but I felt like death so I spent pretty much the whole day in bed watching movies. I only left the house to get some ice cream to soothe my sore throat! I ended up watching the TV series Gossip Girl which was very strange and seemed quite boring at first but before I knew it I had been completely sucked into it and watched an entire series in a day.
Yesterday I had good intentions to get on with some marking but somehow it didn't quite happen. I spent ages doing bugger all in the morning then I went into the Old Quarter to post some things to people. I decided to go to one of my favourite cafes to get something to eat which took a lot longer than I was expecting. It's a really cool place and it serves the most amazing eggs benedict I have ever had so I decided to go get my fix there. I got there as the lunchtime rush was underway and they only have a really small kitchen so it took a while to get served but I enjoyed sitting reading m book on one of the sofas upstairs. The wait certainly made me appreciate the food even more when it finally arrived!
The downside to waiting such a long time is that I didn't have time to deal with the Vietnamese postal system before going to the cinema so I had to take all my crap along with me. The cinema is about the only thing in Hanoi which feels exactly like it does back home. As long as you ignore the Vietnamese subtitles at the bottom of the screen (easy enough as the screen is absolutely massive) you could be sitting in any cinema anywhere in the world watching an American film and eating popcorn. It was kinda weird to them step out of the cinema back onto the street. I get that feeling sometimes when I'm at work. If I don't leave the building during the day then when I finally leave to make my way home in the evening it feels kinda weird walking out onto the street. It's almost as if I forget about the chaos whilst I'm inside.
I made my way back to the post office and psyched myself up for the endless paperwork needed to send three different packages on their way. This time I only needed to fill in two forms per package! It still takes forever though, particularly as they have to look at everything before you can send it. This means that if you are ever sending gifts and you want to wrap them up you have to do it at the post office once they have inspected them, which is very annoying!
Finally once I was done with all of that I made my way over to the language school to do all my prep for Monday so I don't have to try and get it done first thing Monday morning right before the lesson. It took me a lot longer to get there than it should as I got on a bus that didn't follow the route on the map at all. I ended up in some random suburb and had to get another bus back into the city in the middle of the rush hour traffic.The traffic on the roads is a little heavier now as everyone is starting to gear up for Tet and in the evening rush hour it is now insane. Usually my bus ride back home takes about 15 mins in the evenings but on Wednesday it took nearly an hour as the traffic was so bad. It doesn't help that instead of waiting patiently, a lot of motorbike drivers decide to drive along the pavement instead and them when the pavement is blocked by something further up they all filter back onto the road holding everybody else up even more. There were similar sights yesterday and it took me so long to get to work. I made it in the end though and got some stuff prepared then made my way to the bus stop.
I'm getting used to people looking at me on the street and it really doesn't bother me if they just look at me when I pass. However on my way to the bus stop yesterday there were a group of men sitting down eating and as I passed one of them jumped up and started pointing at me and shouting something. He started hitting his friends and getting them to look at me so they were all pointing at me and shouting stuff. That annoys me. It also makes me wonder if I got my skirt tucked into my pants, or maybe I've rubbed my makeup down my face, possibly I've grown another head since leaving work. As I walked past my pus passed me so I ran to the bus stop and thankfully the driver waited for me - they don't often do that so I was impressed this guy did. I went to sit down and there was a guy sitting in the seat in front of me who turned around and just stared at me open mouthed for the whole journey home which also got a bit annoying. I know that quite often when I get on a bus people look at me as I guess not so many Westerners use the bus but they look briefly then look away, and perhaps occasionally take a subtle glance at me throughout the journey. That I can deal with as I know I look very different here but when someone right in front of me spends the whole journey staring at me that makes me kinda uncomfortable.
I was supposed to mark all this on Thursday but I felt like death so I spent pretty much the whole day in bed watching movies. I only left the house to get some ice cream to soothe my sore throat! I ended up watching the TV series Gossip Girl which was very strange and seemed quite boring at first but before I knew it I had been completely sucked into it and watched an entire series in a day.
Yesterday I had good intentions to get on with some marking but somehow it didn't quite happen. I spent ages doing bugger all in the morning then I went into the Old Quarter to post some things to people. I decided to go to one of my favourite cafes to get something to eat which took a lot longer than I was expecting. It's a really cool place and it serves the most amazing eggs benedict I have ever had so I decided to go get my fix there. I got there as the lunchtime rush was underway and they only have a really small kitchen so it took a while to get served but I enjoyed sitting reading m book on one of the sofas upstairs. The wait certainly made me appreciate the food even more when it finally arrived!
The downside to waiting such a long time is that I didn't have time to deal with the Vietnamese postal system before going to the cinema so I had to take all my crap along with me. The cinema is about the only thing in Hanoi which feels exactly like it does back home. As long as you ignore the Vietnamese subtitles at the bottom of the screen (easy enough as the screen is absolutely massive) you could be sitting in any cinema anywhere in the world watching an American film and eating popcorn. It was kinda weird to them step out of the cinema back onto the street. I get that feeling sometimes when I'm at work. If I don't leave the building during the day then when I finally leave to make my way home in the evening it feels kinda weird walking out onto the street. It's almost as if I forget about the chaos whilst I'm inside.
I made my way back to the post office and psyched myself up for the endless paperwork needed to send three different packages on their way. This time I only needed to fill in two forms per package! It still takes forever though, particularly as they have to look at everything before you can send it. This means that if you are ever sending gifts and you want to wrap them up you have to do it at the post office once they have inspected them, which is very annoying!
Finally once I was done with all of that I made my way over to the language school to do all my prep for Monday so I don't have to try and get it done first thing Monday morning right before the lesson. It took me a lot longer to get there than it should as I got on a bus that didn't follow the route on the map at all. I ended up in some random suburb and had to get another bus back into the city in the middle of the rush hour traffic.The traffic on the roads is a little heavier now as everyone is starting to gear up for Tet and in the evening rush hour it is now insane. Usually my bus ride back home takes about 15 mins in the evenings but on Wednesday it took nearly an hour as the traffic was so bad. It doesn't help that instead of waiting patiently, a lot of motorbike drivers decide to drive along the pavement instead and them when the pavement is blocked by something further up they all filter back onto the road holding everybody else up even more. There were similar sights yesterday and it took me so long to get to work. I made it in the end though and got some stuff prepared then made my way to the bus stop.
I'm getting used to people looking at me on the street and it really doesn't bother me if they just look at me when I pass. However on my way to the bus stop yesterday there were a group of men sitting down eating and as I passed one of them jumped up and started pointing at me and shouting something. He started hitting his friends and getting them to look at me so they were all pointing at me and shouting stuff. That annoys me. It also makes me wonder if I got my skirt tucked into my pants, or maybe I've rubbed my makeup down my face, possibly I've grown another head since leaving work. As I walked past my pus passed me so I ran to the bus stop and thankfully the driver waited for me - they don't often do that so I was impressed this guy did. I went to sit down and there was a guy sitting in the seat in front of me who turned around and just stared at me open mouthed for the whole journey home which also got a bit annoying. I know that quite often when I get on a bus people look at me as I guess not so many Westerners use the bus but they look briefly then look away, and perhaps occasionally take a subtle glance at me throughout the journey. That I can deal with as I know I look very different here but when someone right in front of me spends the whole journey staring at me that makes me kinda uncomfortable.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
I spent a heap of money today. I've finally got myslf a helmet so I can be marginally protected on the back of a motorbike - the guy who takes me to work has a helmet that doesn't actually fit so I decided it was time to buy my own. Then I picked up a bunch of stuff from a cool shop to send to people for their birthdays and spent ages in the shop eyeing up all the pretty things. I managed to resist tho and didn't get anything for myself.
Next I headed to the old quarter and went to my favourite cafe to get some of their amazing eggs benedict whilst waiting for the Vietnam Airways office to re-open after their siesta. I finally booked myself a ticket to Malaysia on the 17th! I'm glad thats done as I was getting fed up of all the faff involved in buying the damn thing. In England you can just call up an agency like dial a flight and they tell you all the different prices with the different airlines. Not here. Any agency here could be one of the rip-off merchents who overcharge you and pocket the difference so the best thing to do is go direct to the airline offices. They are spread out all across the city though which is a pain in the ass. Plus even with the offices the price is never the same when you go back the next day. Prices are also different online which just adds to the confusion but in the end I just gave up and got a return with Vietnam airlines. I could have gone round to Air Asia to compare their prices but no doubt the tickets would have cost more with them, then Vietnam Airways would have booked up in the meantime or something lame like that so I just got the ticket there and then. My flight is at 6.30am (!) but VA are generally a bit more reliable than AA. Plus I think I get a meal on that flight whereas AA is basically Easyjet for Asia. I get into KL about 1.30 then have an onward flight with AA at 6.30 . From what I remember of KL the transport network isn't hideously bad so I can probably pop into the city for a few hours before going back to the airport for my flight over to Boneo. I am flying into a place in the north which is by the sea and has some islands and national parks nearby so I'm gonna spend a bit of time there before getting a ferry down to Brunei and spending a few days there. After that I am flying back to KL for a couple of days, mainly o shop. I've been there before so I probably won't bother with the sights, other than the Petronas Towers - they're free to go up, plus they're right next to some of the decent shopping centres. Possibly I might go on a trip out of KL to some place with caves but I might be too busy shopping and eating nice food to do that! I'm excited to have a holiday!
I also went to view a house today and so I have somewhere to live when I get back from my trip! It's pretty close to where I work and its down a quiet (for Hanoi) lane. It's really nice inside with a decent kitchen and three bathrooms, plus a lounge, three bedrooms and a rooftop area. There is cable TV and Wifi, plus a housekeeper who cleans, sorts out bills, does laundry, cooks random meals and buys in basics like bread. It's only $200 a month plus bills - bargain! The two girls I will be living with seem really nice as well. Yay!
Next I headed to the old quarter and went to my favourite cafe to get some of their amazing eggs benedict whilst waiting for the Vietnam Airways office to re-open after their siesta. I finally booked myself a ticket to Malaysia on the 17th! I'm glad thats done as I was getting fed up of all the faff involved in buying the damn thing. In England you can just call up an agency like dial a flight and they tell you all the different prices with the different airlines. Not here. Any agency here could be one of the rip-off merchents who overcharge you and pocket the difference so the best thing to do is go direct to the airline offices. They are spread out all across the city though which is a pain in the ass. Plus even with the offices the price is never the same when you go back the next day. Prices are also different online which just adds to the confusion but in the end I just gave up and got a return with Vietnam airlines. I could have gone round to Air Asia to compare their prices but no doubt the tickets would have cost more with them, then Vietnam Airways would have booked up in the meantime or something lame like that so I just got the ticket there and then. My flight is at 6.30am (!) but VA are generally a bit more reliable than AA. Plus I think I get a meal on that flight whereas AA is basically Easyjet for Asia. I get into KL about 1.30 then have an onward flight with AA at 6.30 . From what I remember of KL the transport network isn't hideously bad so I can probably pop into the city for a few hours before going back to the airport for my flight over to Boneo. I am flying into a place in the north which is by the sea and has some islands and national parks nearby so I'm gonna spend a bit of time there before getting a ferry down to Brunei and spending a few days there. After that I am flying back to KL for a couple of days, mainly o shop. I've been there before so I probably won't bother with the sights, other than the Petronas Towers - they're free to go up, plus they're right next to some of the decent shopping centres. Possibly I might go on a trip out of KL to some place with caves but I might be too busy shopping and eating nice food to do that! I'm excited to have a holiday!
I also went to view a house today and so I have somewhere to live when I get back from my trip! It's pretty close to where I work and its down a quiet (for Hanoi) lane. It's really nice inside with a decent kitchen and three bathrooms, plus a lounge, three bedrooms and a rooftop area. There is cable TV and Wifi, plus a housekeeper who cleans, sorts out bills, does laundry, cooks random meals and buys in basics like bread. It's only $200 a month plus bills - bargain! The two girls I will be living with seem really nice as well. Yay!
Thursday, 1 January 2009
In the end last night was spent talking to people on Skype. I did stay awake til gone midnight which was impressive! I put the TV on to the Vietnamese stations shortly before midnight but not much happened. Some letters danced across the screen at midnight spelling happy new year, then they showed some footage from Sydney and Auckland before going back to regular programming!
I did wake up at about 6.30 this morning and for a split second I thought about getting out af bed and putting on BBC world nto see the stuff back home but that idea soon went away as my be was nice and warm and I was still very sleepy. There is also a lag of half an hour here so it probably wouldn't have come on TV til 7.30 unless they made an exception for new years. Each time they do a time check on BBC world here everything is out by half an hour so no doubt they showed the UK celebrations half an hour late too.
I did catch the news this morning and they showed some of the stuff in London and Edinburgh which looked cool. I don't know if there was anything exciting happening in Ho Chi Minh or even Hanoi - if there was then it didn't make it onto TV at all. Maybe next year I won't be so shattered after working horrible hours so I might make it to the old quarter to see what happens there. I'm sure Vietnam knows how to party but maybe they're saving it all up for Tet.
I did wake up at about 6.30 this morning and for a split second I thought about getting out af bed and putting on BBC world nto see the stuff back home but that idea soon went away as my be was nice and warm and I was still very sleepy. There is also a lag of half an hour here so it probably wouldn't have come on TV til 7.30 unless they made an exception for new years. Each time they do a time check on BBC world here everything is out by half an hour so no doubt they showed the UK celebrations half an hour late too.
I did catch the news this morning and they showed some of the stuff in London and Edinburgh which looked cool. I don't know if there was anything exciting happening in Ho Chi Minh or even Hanoi - if there was then it didn't make it onto TV at all. Maybe next year I won't be so shattered after working horrible hours so I might make it to the old quarter to see what happens there. I'm sure Vietnam knows how to party but maybe they're saving it all up for Tet.
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