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

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

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

 

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

PADI Open Water Diver (11May - 14 May)

Day 1

So finally my scuba (self contained underwater breathing aperatus) diving course started. It was a nice little group with Maria (Norway), Chantalle (Switzerland), Dave (Kiwi), Stacy (Oz), Nubia (Brazil) and Ross our great instructor also an Aussie.

I asked for the manual some days in advance so I could familiarize with the vocabulary but as it turned out Ross explained everything to us in a very understandable way. Unlike Phil (Skipper at my sailing trip) Ross doesnt have such a thick accent.

We had to watch some movies which illustrated the theoretical background of scuba diving (like buoyancy, the buddy system) and afterwards we were explained how to set up all the gear. Although I passed a CMAS certificate in 1999, I could hardly remember anything and so it was good I didnt take a refresher course but had everything taught again.

I can remember Andi telling me the most important rule of scuba diving (never dive alone) but Padi makes that "never hold your breath".

We put on our gear and went into the pool. I had some troubles equalizing during that CMAS course but after having my nose lasered last year it is now much easier. So now I can book my Fiji diving.

It felt strange again breathing under water but it is all just a matter of practice. At least I still knew how to clear my mask ;-)

Seoul (Incheon)

Boeing 747-400, very comfy

Usually I cant sleep well on planes and once again I was just able to sleep 2 hours on this flight. Though being really tired I always suffer from insomnia on trips like these. Never mind, you are nervous, anxious and happy about the things to come. Who could sleep in this situation? Well I know many ;-)

Landing on the world’s best airport for 5 straight years (Incheon) I must say they deserve that title. Everything is new and tidy and in excellent condition. There are drinking water fountains everywhere and the toilet’s cleaning staff in charge has a photo ID just next to the sink. If you cant find him, you’ll just have to wait a minute until you see him coming round the corner filling up stuff with dedication.

For some reasons the toilets are much lower than in Germany. Havent figured out the reason why.

We thought the transit area might be a little boring after a while and so we immigrated into Korea to be able to see the entire airport. It got me my first stamp in my new passport.

Incheon International Airport

We had a 7 hour stop over in Seoul and although it sounded tempting we did not decide to go to the city. Bus takes about 90 minutes and so we just explored the airport on foot. There are lots of restaurants, all presenting their food in a little show cases. I know of pictures in menus or of pictures on the wall like McDonalds, but I have never seen the actual meal prior to the order. I also wonder how they prevent the food from getting spoilt. Probably replaced the food with plastics.

This time I made sure there was a smoking area after the security check and in fact I found one just next to our gate. The entire area is just huge with dozen of duty free shops, cafes, craft shops etc. Since I planned on stopping smoking it was kinda hard not to buy a carton of cigarettes for $17 USD. At least now that I am writing this post it gives me an incentive not to restart cuz I would have saved a buck or two. And don’t worry, Dad. I’ll put your cig money to good  use ;-)

getting a little tired at Incheon

KE123 from Seoul to Brisbane at 20:05h with Airbus 330-200.

Realizing that this flight would take almost as long as the previous one and that we lost our own entertaining system, we boarded the aircraft with some mixed feelings. I didn’t care cuz I thought I’d sleep well anyway. Having enjoyed “Western Chicken” on the first flight I decided this time to have “Korean Rice Meal”. It started with a seaweed soup. It was a surprising taste and I might be a good soup after getting used to.

Main course was a bibimbap. Meat, vegetables and mushroom in a big bowl. Additionally, you are served hot rice that you pour onto the meat. For the little extra flavour you add gochuang (a hot pepper paste) and some sesame oil.

It might be a good meal if the rice was really hot. But since I was eating the soup first the rice was not able to heat up the vegetables and so the meal was way too cold.

Anyway, I was hungry and didn’t leave a thing behind.

Cliffnotes:

Landing in Seoul with stop over of 7 hours

Flight Seoul to Brisbane in A330
Strange Korean food on plane (Bibimbap)

Day of departure

Having slept just 3 hours I start my journey by taking the train to Munich at 8:30h to meet my fellow travellers Nadja and Katja.
Unfortunately we need to split rather soon in Oz. The girls decided to get back home a bit earlier than me Both girls worked at Sofitel in F&B and that’s where I met them. Some time ago they told me they wanted go to Australia for a year of Work’n Travel and after some contemplation I joined them. I wanted to go to Canada in the first place but the girls convinced me Australia being the better deal.

Anyway, we met at 9:30h in Munich to start our trip to Australia. Apparently we picked the right date as the sky was clear, temp being around 15 and icland’s volcano stopped erupting so that our scheduled flight was able to take off in time. One week ago a volcano blasted a huge amount of smoke in the air which drifted south and resulted in a complete chaos on the airports. All planes were grounded for several days in northern and central Europe stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers. On Tuesday the first flights were able to take off on a special permission before air space was opened for all planes on Wednesday, our day of departure. Basically we started our trip to Frankfurt without knowing whether the plane would take off at all.

As there are no non-stop flights to Australia and since we booked the trip via a travel agency we had to go to Frankfurt to take our flight with Korean Air to Seoul. Kati scheduled a meeting with her sister Silke in Frankfurt where Silke would take over the car. Fortunatley for Nadja and me we got a lift and didn’t have to take the train.

Way too early we arrived in Frankfurt and after having met with Kati’s sister and niece we drove to the airport. Havent been to Germany’s biggest airport before but I experienced it not that impressive.

In some forums you can read that people started their one year backpacking trip with 12-14 kg of luggage and I really don’t know how to reduce your essentials to that weight. Ok, most backpackers don’t have a computer and don’t use a trolley. Anyhow, the three of us checked in with 60,8 kg and Nadja was a bit scared of getting charged for being over the permitted limit. To our surprise we were told that the limit was 25 kg pp although it said 20kg in our e-ticket.

(Chris, Nadja, Kati looking forward to a great trip)

I bought my alleged “last” pack of faqs as I want/will/would like to quit smoking in Australia. I wanted to quit for a long time but never found the right opportunity (maybe I didn’t search hard enough). But since there is so much to see and do in Australia I figured it would be a good distraction. (Writing these lines two days later the craving is almost unbearable ;-) )

We said good bye to Kati’s relatives and went through the security check to wait for the boarding at 19:15h. I expected there to be a smoking area after the screening but I failed miserably by not asking someone. Instead, I assumed there was a smoking area. Of course there was no such thing and I was fu…

The flight KE906 to Seoul (Incheon) was scheduled for 19:45h in a 747-400. Never before I had the pleasure of travelling with a 747 and it is really a great plane. You have your own entertainment system with on demand movies , tv series and music. Everybody has his own touch screen and so there is not just one TV program for the entire aircraft. Flicking thru the movies I was impressed with the selection. There were classics like Forrest Gump up to the lasted movies. I quickly found the greatest hits of Boston and so I was happy for the rest of the trip.

Cliffnotes:

- Nadja and Katja my fellow travellers

- Flight from Frankfurt to Seoul w/ a great 747