Luang Prabang, 16-19 Dec

Having had enough of tubing and partying, It was time to move on to the former capital and now World Heritage site Luang Prabang. Nestled in the mountains with the bus only being able to average 35 km/h, it would have taken us seven hours to complete the 230 km journey if there hadn’t been one eager other bus driver in a rush who almost pushed us off the road. I tried to get some sleep so I was not an eye-witness of the incident but here is what others passengers have told me: Apparently we approached a narrow bridge and slowed down to let an oncoming truck pass by. Another bus didn’t see the bridge (or the truck) and overtook us. The other bus and the truck collided and the bus crashed into our side, almost pushing us over the edge of the road. If we had been any faster we would have definitely overturned and fallen into a river.

close to the ditch

Vang Vieng 13-15 Dec

Set among the idyllic mountains, this relaxed and “happy” (“happy” meaning weed in the Mekong area; for example you can buy “happy” pizza in most towns) village is famous for tubing. You rent an old tube from a truck tyre and float down the River. I have been told that there are several bars along the stream where you can stop and get a drink. But it’s more like an entire industry (Lao style) that caters to the need of the tubers. With comfy chairs and several platforms there are up to 100 people in one location and it is bar after bar. When ordering a drink, you get a free shot (mostly Tequila) and with some loud dance music there is a good atmosphere among the tubers. If you feel courageous after a few drinks you can do the many slides, slingshots and swings constructed from thin trees or branches that don’t look too trustworthy. On the tuk tuk ride from the tube shop to the drop point some people showed me their bruised they had got the previous day and I didn’t wanna end up like them.

view over Vang Vieng from my guesthouse

Vientiane, Laos 11-13 Dec

Laos’ capital is more like a town than a city and coming from bustling Vietnam, you realize pretty fast that things go much slower here. The town centre is craving for every tourism Dollar it can get as you don’t see any locals roaming around the streets that have no business with people like me. Therefore you have westernized shops, restaurants and bars downtown much unlike the many hawker stalls in Hanoi. The French colonized the “Country of a Million Elephants” and united three individual kingdoms into one protectorate, adding an additional “s” for plural to its name. Hence Laos will be called Lao from now on as everybody else does in Asia.

The bus trip from Hanoi to Vientiane is called “Bus from Hell” on various Internet forums as you will see why. The so called “sleeper bus” is very famous in Vietnam and probably the best way to get from town to town. I used it from Saigon to Nha Trang and then to Hoi An and from there to Hanoi. The journeys take about 9-12 hours and starts between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm. There will be one or more stops along the way depending on whether there is a toilet on board. Sometimes you have your own private seat, as shown in the picture, sometimes you have two seats next to each other and you are “cuddling” with some foreigner. Actually a resting bus would be more specific, as you rarely get much sleep. The roads are partly in horrible conditions with many potholes, or the driver honks to let someone know he is overtaking, etc. Also you need the physique of a Vietnamese to be comfy in those seats. I am just 177cm and would like to see how a guy with 195cm is doing. Anyway it gets you to where you want to be, you can also save the money for a guest house, but you don’t arrive there in best conditions.

Hanoi, 07-10 Dec

Thanh Long (City of the Soaring Dragon), as Vietnam’s capital was formerly called, is the country’s major city for history, culture, politics as well as education and no tour guide or bus operator fails to mention it. The most crowed and busiest city I have seen on this trip is a bustling germ full of motor bikes and hawker stalls but without all the tourists you have in other capitals like Kuala Lumpur. In the Old Quarter (backpacker ghetto) you see rarely any English signs and it becomes clear that Hanoi does not need the tourists as badly as Vientiane for example. The traffic might not be as bad as Saigon but it is a close call. At the beginning of the dry season I felt cold for the first time in Asia, what a nice and almost unfamiliar feeling ;-) and you don’t have to pay extra for a/c.

Wedding in Hanoi

Halong Bay 05-06 Dec

Literally translated it means “decending dragons” and is definitely my personal fav of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tokin features more than two thousand vegetation-covered limestone islands and even after having seen a lot during my trip, the beauty of the area is truly amazing. 

Halong Bay

Some travellers opt to skip Halong Bay but I cant understand how you could miss this World Heritage Site (geologically and for natural beauty). The scenery reminds me of the 007-classic“The man with the golden gun“, shot in the Chinese Sea.

I paid $68 for a 2-day-trip which seemed a bit steep considering my 3-day-trip in the Mekong Delta was just $33. But the scenery made it well worthwhile. Just sitting on the bow (king of the world-style) with a cold one in your hand on a sunny day watching the islands pass by is worth all the trouble.

Allegedly we had the best vessel of the company’s fleet which reflected in the way the cabins were decorated and equipped.

Nha Trang +Hoi An 27 Nov – 03 Dec

Vietnam’s beach capital and most famous dive site is at the south-central coast, about 9 hours by bus from Saigon. My guest house was called “The Nice Hotel” and I must say it was on of the best value accommodation I stayed in on this trip. Clean, spacious room with free wifi, private bathroom including hot water, air-conditioning and heavy blankets for $10, which makes it €7.30 at the time. A moto driver at the bus stop suggested this hotel and I am usually a bit sceptical as it often turns out to be an overpriced accommodation that pays heavy commission to the driver.

The town itself is nothing special but it offers some nice beaches and a few islands off shore that are supposedly good for diving. At the beginning of the dry season visibility in the water drops down to just a few meters but you don’t always got a choice. So I booked a trip with two dives and lunch for $70. Usually you get seated in a cramped inflated rubber boat, but in low season there were only four divers and everybody had their own guide. Moreover, the vessel seemed like a retired and modified fishing boat with ample space and hence really comfy.

dive trip

Mekong Delta, 23-25 Nov

Mighty Mekong and its many channels was up next during a three-day trip of the delta. The scenic region is a wonderful green and fertile land with lots of people. While the second largest city in Cambodia is home to 140k people, it looks like every town in the delta has at least 200k citizens. First stop was the pagoda at My Tho with its smiling, happy Buddha. Might be nice for tourists who are on a two week holiday in Vietnam but unfortunately I am spoilt already and so it was nothing special.

Happy Buddha. Look at the people for comparison.

 

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam 19-22 Nov

The 7-hour bus journey to HCMC, including a Mekong crossing, was a bit too long but manageable with a scenic countryside just outside your window. Departure and immigration procedure at the two borders was a bit annoying, but what you gonna do?

Without a valid visa for Vietnam (there is no visa on arrival) you were not even allowed to board the bus. I guess they had some bad experiences in the past. Anyway, all the passports were collected beforehand and all of us had to alight at the Cambodian border to receive your passport in person before handing it back to the tour guide. At the Vietnamese border you had to take your luggage thru the usual x-ray scanner in a building. I bet they wouldn’t have found anything even if someone had any illegal substances with them. Once again you retrieved your passport only to show it to another official five minutes later. After these intricate procedures, that took us the better part of an hour, we continued on to our destination.

You might remember me being fascinated with the traffic in PP but Saigon definitely tops that easily. While there were about 10 motos to 1 car it is now 50 bikes to 1 four-wheeler. Reason for that is the fact that the government adds 20% of import tax on each car but none to Chinese motos which are quite affordable ($300-$500). I probably haven’t seen the town’s main intersections but what is going on at the smaller streets is also worth mentioning. All motos and vehicles honk unceasingly in order to announce their coming. Frustrated bus drivers basically steer with their hand on the horn but at least they don’t have such a screaming noise but rather a wah-wah sound. Also, you always have some pedestrians interfering as well as your usual hawker stalls and street vendors. Just like marvelling at the waves on a beach or staring into a fire, I could watch the traffic here for hours. When it comes to crossing the street yourself it is quite scary at first. I usually looked for a local and just followed him. The trick is to move slowly but consistently and the motos will simply move to avoid you. When you hear a beep you might consider stopping to let someone in a hurry pass. On the other hand, it seems everybody is in a rush.

Apart from the Independence Palace and the War Remnants Museum, HCMC doesn’t offer many more sights if you have seen some temples and pagodas already, and so I dedicated some time to update this blog. Having been lazy in the last 6 weeks it was about time for a decent make over. Most of the time it rained quite heaviliy and so I looked up some markets or other places of interest.

candy at the Ben Tanh Market

Phnom Penh 16-18 Sep

Back to PP on a sort of a local bus as I was the only Westerner. I had a nice talk with an English teacher who visited a friend in Sihanoukville and he told me the fare is $2 for the locals. I paid $5 and I wonder if the bus company or the travel agent pockets the difference. Anyway, $5 for a 5 hour bus ride is still a good deal.

I went back to the same place that I had stayed before and even my tuk-tuk driver who took me to the Killing fields, recognized me immediately and was happy to see me again (probably because I tipped him before).

Just before you get to the Killing Fields, I noticed some quads in front of a shop and asked my driver to take me there. Unfortunately there were no tours on that day but I scheduled a trip for the following. Asking my driver what is around here to see he answered there is a shooting range nearby. Having not been drafted to the military service, I was curious how it would feel but I am not gonna elaborate on this.

The next day I should have been picked up by a tuk-tuk from the quad-shop but the driver never showed and so I eventually called them. The owner said the driver had gone to a similar sounding guest house but he (the owner) could pick me up on his motorbike.

The ride to the quad shop takes about 45 minutes by tuk-tuk but we managed to get there in 15. So you get an idea how fast the guy was driving. Evading traffic by taking shortcuts on the side-walk, squeezing thru two busses with 20 cm to each side at 50 kph and overtaking trucks on the dirty, unpaved side of the road. It was literally like in a video game but also great fun and scary to death at the same time.

my quad

Sihanoukville 13-15 November

It was $6 for the ticket to Sihanoukville and to watch how a small boy throws up several times on the seat next to me, probably motion sickness. Anyway those bus journeys are slowly annoying me as they always take ages. This one took me another 6 hours and I have to go the entire way back to PP. On the other hand it was a two-level bus and I got a seat at the window. Travelling overland I realize that Cambodia is not as lush as for example Malaysia or Bali with lots of palm and banana trees and but rather bushy.

Accommodation-wise it was “back to basic” without air-conditioning or hot water but my guest house is clean and big enough for me. Also, it is conveniently located next to the dive shop.

lots of activities at the beach

Phnom Penh 09-12 November

We took the bus at 7:00h to go to Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. The 6.5h bus ride with monotonous Khmer folk music was a bit too long imho. Jonas travelled on to Kep and we might meet again in Sihanoukville.

It seems like that it’s not you who select your tuk-tuk driver but rather the driver who picks you. When you arrive in Phnom Penh at least ten drivers are pointing at the passengers and shouting at each other. When you exit the bus you are then approached by one person who offers his services.

The Royal Guest House had let me wait quite some time before I was finally able to get that long awaited shower after the strentious bus ride.

In the evening I looked around town and the traffic is even worse than in Bangkok. Moto-madness is apparently the right word to describe what is going on. They take every opportunity to sneak thru the traffic be it on the pavement, using the other side of the road facing the oncoming vehicles or ignoring any traffic lights. If you want to cross a major road as a pedestrian you need good nerves and a bit of luck won’t do any harm either.

Sorya Shopping Mall was the first mall in PP and this is where most Cambodians can take their first ride on an escalator. Especially elderly people and monks sometimes prefer to take the stairs, after having a good long look at that strange moving thing in front of them. The mall is nothing special but I was glad I could pick up some earphones since those bought in BKK didn’t last long. Also the food court offers some tasty bites and the mall is also home to the largest supermarket I have seen so far in this country with decent prices.

It seems to me the touts are much more eager to sell stuff and services than in Siem Reap or Battambang. Although they do understand the meaning of a smiling “No, thank you” and let you on your way, the number of people offering their service is much bigger. From the mall to the next side street you get asked alt least 10 times if you want a moto or tuk-tuk.

Battambang 07-09 November

The day started by getting to the boat ferry terminal some kilometres outside of Siem Reap. The trip took about 7.5 hours from Siem Reap to Battangbang, the second largest city of Cambodia and just the ride over was worth going to Battambang. The boat was about 25 meters long, 4 meters wide and packed with tourists and locals.

our boat for the trip

 First we had to cross a small part of the Tonlé Sap Lake, before we went upstream on the Sangker River to Battambang. Although there are much more inexpensive options to get to this destination, none of them has this flair and atmosphere. The landscape changes rapidly from small vegetation to endless lilly areas to open water where you could see neither a plant nor land to villages on the lake, to swamp-like areas where you could hardly get thru, to fishing settlements on the banks of Sangker. At times it felt like a morning on the calm sea, cruising on the Shannon in Ireland, fighting thru the Everglades in Florida or like gliding thru a lily pond. All at once.

Kids in one of the stilted villages

 

Siem Reap, Cambodia, 02-06 November

With Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao now the real adventure begins. That’s at least the way I would like to think of it before even getting started.

Cambodia only has two international airports at Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The former was my first destination to see the temples of Angkor Wat. You know that you are in an exciting country when they charge you for a visa. Although I knew I had to have a passport photo for the visa, I forgot it in my backpack and so got charged an extra Dollar to scan my passport. About seven or eight “officials” are sitting next to each other passing your passport on to the next person, each one looking and checking. But I am glad that they have established visa on arrival and that it only takes two minutes to get it.
Siem Reap means "defeated Thailand", hardly the most tactful gesture to name a major city so close to the Thai border.

I shared a tuk-tuk to my guest house with an elderly scot who is a professional photographer taking pictures Cambodia’s people, so he told me.

People are finally driving on the right side of the road again. After Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand it’s kinda strange but you easily get into the old habit of looking to the right side when crossing a street.

I stayed at the Mandalay Inn, just next to the old market and for $14 I was really impressed how clean the room was. All staff spoke excellent English and was very eager to please you. Free wifi also contributed to the positive experience.

After a lot of turmoil in recent decades (colonisation by the French and the Khmer Rouge reign) people lost confidence in their own currency (Cambodian Riel) and so they adopted the US-Dollar. Although the Riel remains as the official currency all prices in supermarkets, when booking a bus, tour or tuk-tuk driver are quoted in US-Dollars. Well, that is not entirely correct. All charges must be settled by new, clean, crisp US-Dollar notes. Any torn, old, dirty notes are not accepted. It occurred to me several times that notes were “not good enough” and so I had to tender a different, “better” one. The official exchange rate is 1$ = 4200 Riel, but most places round the Dollar off to 4000. If the price is $2.50 and you tender a $5 note you will get back two Dollars and 2000 Riel.

Also, Cambodia is more expensive than expected, especially the prices at the supermarket for every day items like tooth paste and candy.

For some reasons Diet Coke is more expensive than regular Coke, also no fast food restaurant (McDonald’s or Burger King don’t exist but I have seen one KFC) offers Diet Coke.

On the other hand you can buy a carton (200) of cigarettes for as cheap as $3.00 and a tuk-tuk driver for the whole day to see Angkor Wat only charges $10.00

The classic Thai tuk-tuk is a one-piece vehicle with one metal frame. Cambodia’s tuk-tuks are technically called a “remork” as they consist of a tuk-tuk-like carriage drawn by a moto.

Remork

Bangkok, Thailand 02 -31 Oct

Two Dutch girls (Jitske and Sanne) moved into the bungalow next to mine on Pulau Weh and Jitske was my buddy on three dives. They also headed back to Kuala Lumpur and so I had some people to share the rides and kill some time. We got into a taxi and took the ferry to Banda Aceh at 8:00h in the morning which meant I had to get up at six. Havent been up that early in some time but at least you can easily sleep on the flight and on the bus. On our way from Banda to the airport we had some time left and so we persuaded the taxi driver to get us to a “sight” at no extra charge.

The tidal wave on Boxing Day 2004 hit Banda Aceh pretty hard and a power generator was washed inland to about 4-5 km from its initial place at the beach. When the girls suggested we had a look I was not too enthusiastic, but once I noticed the size of the generator, I realized how much power and impact the wave had on the city. The generator is about 60m long, 30m wide and 20m high. I don’t know how much that thing weighs but you get an idea of how much power the tsunami had.

half of the power generator

Gapang Beach, Pulau Weh, Indonesia 25-30 Sep

Travelling back to Penang was without any occurrences worth mentioning. I stayed one night there and then made my way to the airport the following morning.

At the firefly check in the lady told me Indonesian immigration would want me to show them a return ticket or an onward flight. So I hurried to the Air Asia counter to have my confirmation printed. Of course nobody asked me for that confirmation.

The flight to Banda Aceh was different from what I had experienced before. The ATR 72-500 holds about 60-70 seats, is equipped with a propeller and just two cabin crew members serving the guests.

The ascend and descend was much steeper than any commercial flight I have been on before. I tried to take a nap as soon as I boarded the aircraft and usually I am not bothered by the take off procedures but with such a skyrocketing climb I couldn’t drop off.

Procedures at the Indonesian immigration are straightforward. In June this year “Visa on Arrival” was established in Banda Aceh and so you just hand over 25 USD and get into the country without any hassles.

I took a private tuned cab with a massive sub-woofer in the trunk to get me to the ferry terminal. The ride over to Pulau Weh was nicely air-conditioned and not a bumpy one at all.

Once again a taxi drove me over to Gapang Beach where I finally arrived after a taxi to airport, flight to Banda Aceh, taxi to ferry, ferry to Pulau Weh, taxi to Gapang Beach-trip.

The dive shop was fully booked and so I had to look for accommodation someplace else. The rooms are cheaper next door but you don’t have a proper shower. So I just showered at the dive shop and saved the money.

In the evening I went for dinner with my fellow divers. Apparently there is one restaurant down the beach all the divers always go to. I had fish curry which was either amazing or I was really tired from a long trip. Anyway, it tasted great.

Diving pics of Pulau Weh, Indonesia

My dive buddy on the first beach dive had a camera and he kindly shared the pictures with me:

banded mantis shrimp

Meyer's Butterflyfish

Langkawi, Malaysia, 21-24 Sep

Langkawi consist of 99 islands about 3 hours north of Penang and with its lush rice paddies and tax free status a beautiful and cheap place to stay a few days.

I took the morning ferry to the port of Kuah and from there it is a 35 minutes taxi ride to Pentai Chenang (Chenang Beach) on the western coast. I reckon this is the first time that I choose the accommodation that was lonely planet’s pick.

Gecko Guesthouse - nice, shady place to hang out

George Town, Pulau Penang, Malaysia 18-21 Sep

I took the boat to the mainland after paying the usual 2RM rip-off and this time I got a seat further back. Unfortunately the minibus to Peneng was already fully booked and so I had to take a detour via Cameron Highlinds, which took about 2-3 hours.

After 12 hours on a boat, in a bus or waiting for either one I arrived in Chinatown of George Town. Peneng is an Island on the north western coast and easily accessible via a 4-lane-highway. The lonely planet claims there is the best food in Malaysia and it was in fact delicious. If you ever get your hands on Chicken with plum sauce you definitely wanna try it.

After my nice bungalow just off the beach I checked into a guesthouse this time. The rate was 40RM including air-conditioning which is a real bargain. Apparently I pushed the a/c too hard and so I have a cold now. Hope it will get better soon, I currently cant equaliz.

smallest room I ever had on my trip

Pulau Kecil, Perhentien Islands, Malaysia (13-18 Sep)

It was pouring cats and dogs when I bid KL good bye and got into my bus to the LCCT in order to fly to Kota Bharu on the north-eastern coast of Malaysia. As always the flight with Air Asia was delayed and I don’t know why I still bother to book their flights. Oh wait, I just paid €30 for the flight ;-) I didn’t get what the problem was but getting bored in the departure I talked to a Norwegian couple who happens to be on its way to the Perhentien Islands, too.

There was just one conveyer belt for the luggage in the arrival hall for domestic flights. Seems like Kota Bharu is not the most popular town in Malaysia. We shared a taxi to Kota Besut where our ferry departed. It was quite a bumpy ride although the sea was calm. I didn’t pay attention and so I took a seat near the bow. Of course it is going to be rough there, what a stupid mistake.

Pulau Kecil (which means small island) is about 35 minutes from the mainland by speed boat with 400 hp. You could walk around the entire island in a few hours but most of the beaches are separated and there are no paths to other beaches. Also there is no jetty, thus a small boat has to come from shore to pick up the passengers. Of course that service wasn’t free and so we were charged 2RM each for 8 minutes of work. Nice rip-off

Beach of Paulau Kecil

Kuala Lumpur 08-13 Sep

(Post for Singapore is now complete including Sentosa Island)

Early morning flight with Air Asia in an A320-200 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately the aircraft had a puncture and apparently there was no spare tyre in all of Changi Airport. So we had to wait 4 hours for a tyre to be brought in from KL. We got a free lunch for compensation but that doesn’t really improve your mood.

Having arrived at the LCCT (low cost carrier terminal) in KL I took a bus to bustling chinatown. The streets are cramped with people, cars and scooters and so it took us ages to get there. In chinatown is a myriad of hawker stalls offing all kind of food for 1-2 Euros and the food is really delicious. Eating rice all day I really become a fan of it.

Being on a tight budget I took a room with no air-condition and just a fan which proved to be a big mistake. No a/c on the beach is fine but in a city the heat really gets to you. It was probably the smallest room I had so far with nothing else than a bunk bed, some shelves and a single chair. Being modest it was enough for me.

You see Malaysian flags on every building. In this case even all over the building

Singapore (01-07 Sep)

I got up and took a taxi to the airport for my 1 pm flight to Singapore (translated: Lion City) with AirAsia. After passing the security screening, the gate opened but the aircraft was delayed. Not sure why they let the passengers in that tiny hall when the plane isn’t ready. Anyway, after waiting 30 minutes for the crew to clean up, we were allowed to board the vessel. It was a A320 and I must say I had expected it to be much worse. Nice leather seats and sufficient rooms for your legs. Well done for a budget airline.

Around 4pm we landed in Singapore and had to wait ages for immigration but at least entrance was free of charge. Since we had waited so long my luggage was on the conveyer belt already.

My accommodation is in the city center but I am not sure I will stay here. Although the sleeping room is air conditioned and there is free WIFI, I have to share the room with 19 other people and it is quite crowded in there. The rate is 18 Euro and I am already longing for my private room on Bali which was also 18 bucks. But that’s the way it is and so I don’t complain.

In Singapore you need to have British power converter or just fumble your plug into the socket. So far I got along fine but not all of the sockets will fit my plugs.

I might be wrong, but I experience it to be hotter than in Bali. Probably because in Bali I didn’t have a/c at all and here you come out of an air conditioned room or store and the heat and humidity hits you pretty hard.

Clark Quay, just next to my hostel

 

Gili Trawangan, Lombok (26-30 Aug)

25 kms west of Bali and just off Lombok are the three Gili islands. This place is mostly about partying but I am here to unwind and maybe do some more scuba diving. The return transfer is 63€ which is quite a lot of money on Bali.

now I know why it is called fast boat

Ubud, Bali (23-25 Aug)

As said before I scheduled a shuttle at 7:00h to get me to Ubud. The driver (a heavily tattooed young guy) finally arrived shortly past 8:00h reasoning “I have to pray, is very important for Hindu”. Pissed off I got into an old mini van with no seatbelts. But driving around this beautiful landscape and with some good old Bob Marley from the speakers you cant keep up a bad mood and so I enjoyed the ride.

Area around Ahmed

Tulamben, Bali (21-22 Aug)

I had a shuttle organized to drive me from Kuta to Tulamben where the famous USS Liberty is just 50m off the beach. The vessel was torpedoed in WWII and then was put on the beach to retrieve the valuable cargo. After some years a volcano erupted and pushed the ship to its current location. That is also why you got black sand on the beach which is quite a nice sight. On the first day I organized my dives for the next day and befriended some fellow divers just two doors from my bungalow and the locals. Once again I have established my dislike of cheap Oakley copies and T-shirts, the Balinese are really friendly and want to get to know you better. The receptionist’s English was surprisingly fluent and so the conversation exceeded the normal small talk.

my bungalow in Tulamben

Kuta, Legian & Seminyak, Bali (18-20 Aug)

Ah, finally leaving Australia. Although I liked it very much and I will be going back there I am really looking forward to my trip around Asia.

The flight took about 3.5 hours from Perth in a 737-800 with Pacific Blue, a sister company of Virgin Air. Every seat had its own screen and while we were near Australia it even had live TV.

Landing in Ngurah Rai you get the usual temperature and humidity shock exiting the aircraft. After handing over 25 USD cash to be allowed into the country you can appreciate the “you are new here” overcharge for the taxi ride.

After having spent 4 month in dorm rooms I reckoned I will treat myself with a single room including air conditioning and a private bathroom. I figured the rate of 18 Euros was ok ;-). One of the highlights was a proper towel although it hadn’t seen a softener for a while. After 4 month of travelling with that microfabrics that was a real treat. Don’t get me wrong, the microfabric dries fast, is light weighted and very compact and so I wouldn’t buy a towel. Also, I don’t need a converter any more to charge my electronic devices.

The a/c wasn’t working properly but cooled the room to 5 degrees lower than outside and it was enough to sleep comfortably. 18 Euros may not sound much but you could also get a simple and basic room with shared bathroom for 4.5 Euros and so it will probably be the most expensive room I will have on Bali.

air conditioning switch - I dare you to touch it

Perth (04-18 Aug)

The 4 hour flight to Perth was pretty basic in an A320 with Jetstar. Arriving to 7 degrees it was a bit chilly waiting 30 minutes in shorts for the bus which even dropped me off at my accommodation. As usual I stayed at the YHA which is centrally located just north of the CBD. 4-share and 6-share rooms had the same rate and so it was an easy decision.

The next three days it was not just raining but pouring and by the time the sky cleared up I became sick for some days. In the end it was either pouring or I was lying in bed with a fever.

So unfortunately I just had a few days to explore the city.

The Bell Tower

Cairns (07 Jul – 03 Aug)

The rest of my time in Cairns I just spent enjoying the great weather and the nice people I have met. Big shout out to two guys from Hamburg Andre and Robin and to two fellows from NSW Mark and Jules.

YHA in Cairns

Cape Tripulation (Jul 04-05)

Next day I went on a trip to Cape Tripulation to experience the Tropical North of Queensland.

Cape Trip is as far north as the common backpacker gets. Although there are a few towns further north, there is not much to see and so almost no one goes there. Hence I have finished the East coast now and can tick that on my itinerary too.

On the first day I got picked up at my accommodation and we drove to the Daintree National Park. The “scenic” drive there was really nice. According to the guide this road is second best after the Great Ocean Road.

First up was a cruise on the Daintree River to spot some crocs in the wild. We managed to see quite a few. Biggest one was about 2.5 metres lying on the bank and taking a nap. It was a cloudy day and so most of the crocodiles were in the water rather than taking a sun bath on the banks. There are supposed to be about 80-100 crocs in that river. 

Daintree River

Croc lying on the bank

Cairns (Jun 26 - Jul 3)

It’s hard to describe how you feel returning from a 3-day-trip with 11 dives. You feel more than knackered and so it took me some days to recover. Basically every muscle in my body hurt and I would never have expected it to be that strenuous.

So I took it easy, relaxed for some days, updated this blog and watched the 8^th season of 24.

After some days Suzi checked in at the YHA and so we brought each other up to speed what we have been up to since Rockhampton. We sat down and the next time I looked at my watch it was 4.5 hours later. She was also on Maggy but stayed at the other side of the island to do the open water course. Unfortunately she left for Asia some days later and I will most likely not see her on this trip again *sob.

The next day we went for a walk on the esplanade and noticed some ukulele players on a stage. It was the 2010 Cairns Ukulele festival. 

Festival banner, look at those sponsors. Accor and KPMG are apparently everywhere ;-)

Great Barrier Reef (June 23-25)

Having just checked in at the YHA in Cairns I inquired about a trip to the GBR to get to the next level in scuba diving, the advanced open water certification, when I was told that the next course was to commence the next day at 6:20h and that all the courses for the following days were fully booked already. Nice, that gave me 9 hours to do all my laundry, get rid of some more stuff to lighten my backpack and to recover from a 7 hour bus trip. Still, I was really eager to get in the water again and so it was easy to put up with a little less sleep although I knew I had 11 dives in 3 days ahead of me.

Our boat was a purpose built multi million Dollar scuba vessel with about 80 gross tons skippered by a 22-year-old.

Our boat: ScubaPro II

 Our scuba gear for the trip

Magnetic Island (June 20-22)

…or Maggy as it is also called is just 20 minutes off Townsville and is supposed to be the best location to see koalas in the wild. As a matter of course I missed them.

 Leaving Townsville for Maggy in a very nice cat

Townsville (June 16-20)

Townsville is the second largest city in Queensland with about 160k citizens and a lot of military presence in the area. 

So it is not unusual to see fighter planes breaking the sonic barrier over the city. It is also the gateway to the famous Yongala wreck. This is supposed to be one of the top dive site in Queensland but since I cant afford the GBR and Townsville it wasn’t hard to dismiss the Yongala. Still I would have loved to dive that wreck.

Townsville was one of the few places where I didn’t sleep at the YHA. I stayed at Reef Lodge instead which was recommended by Lonely Planet and the night in a 3 share dorm was just 22 bucks. Finally I have come that far north where you don’t have to put on any long clothes anymore and where you can stay up late just wearing shorts.

My room mates were the nicest couple I have ever come across on my trip so far. Grant and Sara from just outside of Belfast were working at a CD/DVD sale in Townsville and planned on staying there for three weeks. I watched the game Germany-Serbia (fu*king hell that sucked) with Grant and was impressed how much he knew about football. We spent entire evenings just talking about stuff and if you ever hear me saying [nei] instead of now then you know where I got it from ;-)

On the way to the hostel I noticed that the rubber on my suitcase wheel became loose and by the time I reached the hostel the rubber was completely gone and the wheel was about to break off. So unfortunately the suitcase just made it a little under 2 month before I had to replace it. In order to prevent that from happening in the future I decided to buy a proper backpack which proofed to be more difficult than expected. I checked out the local stores but those either didn’t have what I was looking for or the rucksacks (they actually use that word) were too dear (another word Grant uses frequently) . Therefore I had to take the bus to the suburbs. A clever bloke would have done that on any day between Monday and Saturday but I watched some movies I got from Sara instead and so decided to go shopping on a Sunday. N1.

I guess I don’t need to tell you how long I had to wait for the busses to get me to and from the store. Anyway, in the end I got what I wanted and so I am now [nei] a proud owner of a BlackWolf CedarCreek 75+15. They had a big sale on and I got the $330 backpack for $175.

Downsizing from 130 litres or however big my suitcase was to 80 litres was quite difficult and it took me quite long to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. In the end I had to let go of a pair of trainers, a sweater, a pair of jeans, my Lonely Planet Eastcoast, lots of ducuments and flyers, my sailing books and my beloved Gnuf hoody (courtesy of Pokerakedmie.com). Sorry for that, Micha. That hoody was really good but since I had never used it Down Under there was no sense in keeping in.

I almost cracked my bones putting on my new backpack and so I had to throw out more stuff in Cairns. From now on I am a genuine backpacker.

Enough of that bag and back to Townsville: There is the only living coral reef on display in the Reef HQ but as I will get to see that myself first hand in Cairns it was probably smarter to save the money. I would have loved to take a look at it, though.

Instead, I climbed castle to get a good view over the city. 

 Castle Hill

Airlie Beach (The Whitsunday Islands) June 12 – 16

Sailing the Whitsundays is one of three must-sees in Queensland. The other two being 4WDing on Fraser and diving in Cairns.

 The Whitsundays consist of more than 70 islands

Fortunately I just got the boat I was looking for. It was a catamaran (LOA: 15m, Beam 9m) with diving on board at a standby rate saving me $150. They crammed 21 people + 4 crew on board and so there was a snug atmosphere but still quite enjoyable.

All the sheets and sails were operated with hydraulics and so there was not much we could do to help the skipper. The swell picked up and so it was quite a bumpy trip with at least half the passengers getting sick on the way to the Whitsundays.

Rockhampton (June 9-12)

Unfortunately there is only one Greyhound bus out of Agnes Water (the second big coach company Premier Motor Service doesn’t even bother to go there) which is at 9 pm and so we were due to arrive Rocky at midnight. I phoned up the YHA in Rockhampton and they deposited my room key in their safe for me to pick up. Of course there was no taxi at the bus terminal and so we had to wait 20min for one to show up.

I met Suzi again in Agnes and it turned out she also wanted to stay at the YHA. Apparently we just keep bumping into each other. Together with a Dutch guy we shared a cab to go to our accommodation. The Dutch guy wanted to give me the money for the taxi later, he probably just forgot to do so ;-)

The YHA receptionist was a nice bloke from the Philippines. He showed me some cords on the ukulele (it is actually not tuned like a guiar), let me play his guitar and recommended a great restaurant.

I met Kevin from Noosa again (as everybody is travelling in the same direction and since most backpackers stay loyal to YHA you always meet your fellow travellers again) and we had a look around the city searching for the library for free Internet. The Show was in town (something like the Oktoberfest but much smaller and without the huge tents we are familiar with) and so people used it as an excuse not to work this day. Even the library was closed. I assume you meet more people in town on Boxing Day at 06:00 in the morning. The streets were wiped empty.

Since everybody was at the show ground we figured we should at least check it out swallowing hard when the lady said “That’ll come to $15, please”. I would never go to the Oktoberfest if I had to pay $15 admission. WTF???

Anyway, it was just as crowded as the Oktoberfest and so it felt like home.

 as crowded as the Oktoberfest

Agnes Water and Town of 1770 (June 6-8)

As the name indicates in 1770 James Cook came to this nice place and founded the state of Queensland. This is actually the most northern town where you can surf but I didn’t try it. Might save that for Sydney, not sure.

 Agnes Water

It is quite a small town and apart from the beach there is not much to see. Apparently this is a good spot for snorkelling but I will see loads of fish in the Whitsundays and Cairns and so I pointed my attention toward something else.

 Beach in Agnes Water

Hervey Bay (Fraser Island) June 01-06

I had to decide between Hervey Bay and Rainbow Beach as my starting point for Fraser Island. Since I am not the fastest traveller I choose the more northern City.

The YHA Collonial Village is a nice place and it looks more like a camping site than a hostel. Apparently space is becoming less of a concern the further north you go. Even the smallest streets are a lot bigger than back home. The hostel has its own tennis court, ping pong table and a good pool.

My skin deteriorated all of a sudden and so I decided to take it easy for a couple of days to let it get better before going to Fraser Island. Kinda fed up with all these delays and so I need to travel faster from now on.

Initially, I wanted to book a self drive tour on Fraser but as I didn’t feel well during the days before, I chose the guided tour where you can sleep in a hostel room rather than the sandy campground.

Driver was 8 minutes early and so everybody on the bus had to wait for me. Even the hostel staff was already looking for me.

Fraser Island consist of 99% sand and a wee volcanic material. Being 123 km long and 22 km wide it is the world’s biggest sand island and for some reasons different types of forest were able to settle. Depending on how much minerals the trees have already absorbed the color of sand changes every few kms. About 700-2000 Aboriginals (depending on the season) used to live there, but they were deported when the island was discovered by the logging industry.

The shuttle got us down to River Heads where the ferry was already waiting for us. The journey took about 35min and we saw something that some identified as dolphins.

 Fraser Venture

 

Noosa / Australia Zoo (May 28-30)

Eventually leaving Brisbane for good I took the coach to Noosa this morning. Getting out of the bus I was standing next to Suzi (the girl I met on the way to Nimbin) all of a sudden. Was really happy to see her again cuz we had a good time in Nimbin. We checked in at Noosa YHA which is situated in a building dating back to the 19th century. There were no power outlets in the room but it was a lively place with lots of relaxed people. I saw Alex again who I have met in Byron Bay and in Brisbane, I saw Laura who I have met in Surfers etc.

Suzi and I looked around the city and walked around some hours until we were sick of the rain. In the evening there was a meet and greet at the YHA. I haven’t seen that in any hostel I’ve been before. We figured they wanted to sell some tours but as it turned out they just explained the rules and we introduced ourselves over a complimentary glass of wine. I really liked that place and the people I’ve met.

The next day Suzi and I took the free shuttle to Australia Zoo. I wanted to visit the zoo from Brisbane but they didn’t offer free transportation back then. Of course I forgot to mention my YHA membership and so I got charged the full price. N1.

Anyway, the park was not as big as I thought and you could walk from one end to the other in about 35 minutes. Stopping to look at the animals and attending the shows the park took us about 5.5 hours to complete.

I was really excited to see the Australian animals because you usually don’t see them in the zoos back home. Petting the koalas and hand-feeding the kangaroos and wallabies was an amazing experience but then I have always been fond of animals. I have also heard some negative comments on the zoo that I wouldn’t be worth it but I just thought it was great and I would recommend the zoo to anyone. Crickey!!

 Cassowary, Suzi's fav

Surfers Paradise (May 24-26)

Off to Surfers Paradise was today's credo. I decided to take the public transportation rather than the coach to save some money. In the end I travelled for $11.20 from Brisbane to Surfers which is a fair price I'd reckon. On the otherhand it takes twice as long and so I arrived in the evening hours.

After checking in I strolled around the Mariner's Cove Marina and there are some steep boats at these wharfs. Not like Monaco but still pretty impressive. You could book a lot of tours like helicopter rides or fishing trips. I layed my eyes on a jetski safari but I got no time for that.

In the evening I met with some fellow travellers in a pub at the marina for drinks. There were just few Germans around (now that's a first) and mostly british folks. You can quickly become friends with these guys and so we ended up playing cards for hours after the pub closed at 23:00h. One of them even had a guitar with him and so I was able to play a bit too. Feels quite strange after such a long time.

Sea World

The next day I went to Sea World which was ideally located just up the road. The park was bigger than I had expected with widely spread water tanks. The highlights were:

Ray Reef: A small basin full of different rays (sting, fiddler, eagle) that you could touch and hand-feed

white-spotted eagle ray