Monday, August 9, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Rafflesia in Asia
The area's most popular attraction, the world's biggest flower, was next on our list. Although we had to cough up some dough to take a tour into the rain forest to see the Raffleasia, it was well worth it. First of all we got to ride in an old 4x4 Land Rover (Paul's dream car), then we went off- roading on an extremely bumpy and muddy path into the forest. The one and a half hour hike into the rain forest was great (although we were with 10 other people) and filled with giant bamboo, ginger plants, distant calls of the Gibbon monkey, and lots of towering trees. After crossing a few rivers, we finally arrived at this day's sighting of the giant flower. It looks like it could be a part of the mushroom family - its rubbery thick petals blossom out from a central hollow orb filled with rubbery orange spikes. They grow to be about 1 M across, the two we saw weren't quite that big, but impressive nonetheless. The flowers start as a small brown ball, and without its own roots, it feeds and grows on other vines, therefore it can be in the air, on a tree, or on the ground. It takes about seven months for it to bloom into this massive red flower, which then only lasts seven days. Because of their short life span, the tour company pays aborigines to find a flower every day for that days tour, we were lucky and saw two.
Strawberries and Tea
Our next stop on the Malaysian peninsula was the Cameron Highlands. We stayed one more day in Tioman than we had planned, and decided we better head up to the mountains to cool off for a few days. We opted for the highlands rather than Taman Negara, the country's rain forest, after we heard that it is rare to see any big wildlife and the cost of a guide and overnight stays was too high for our diminishing budget.
By far the chilliest place in the country, where the temperature never exceeds 80 degrees, the Cameron Highlands is a vast jungle covered mountain range (not too tall though, only about 1800 meters), and a popular escape from the steamy lowlands. Luckily we were there during the week and escaped the hordes of Malaysian tourists on holiday.
We arrived by bus at 3AM in Ipoh, took a two hour taxi to Tanah Rata and slept on a few couches in the outdoor lounging area of our soon-to-be hostel (until we were woken up by the morning buzz of travelers). Since our room was not going to be ready until noon, we picked Public Enemies to watch out of their selection of 1,000 movies and waited. After finally getting a room, all we wanted to do was sleep, but with enthusiasm to take advantage of what the highlands had to offer, we drank some caffeine and got on with the day.
This climate is ideal for tea bushes, therefore the hillsides are dotted with tea plantations, Boh being the most famous. We took a four kilometer walk through the hilly plantations where thousands of rows of tea plants blanket the rolling hills - it looked as if the mountains were covered in thick green corduroy from the 60s. The tea plantations had a similar grace and graphic quality as the rice terraces in Vietnam. We took a short tour of the processing factory, where we saw how tea is pressed, fermented, oxidized, and dried. Because this plantation is nestled between the mountains, plucking leaves isn't yet mechanized, so the leaves are being trimmed by locals with knives and big baskets on their backs filled with tea leaves. After drinking a few cups of tea on a terrace overlooking the farms, we hitched a ride back up the steep road to town.
And not only is the climate ideal for tea, but also for strawberries, which we haven't seen since we left the United States. And there were strawberry farms everywhere - in our town you could get strawberry ice cream, strawberry scones, strawberry naan, strawberry shoes, strawberry umbrellas, etc. We visited a farm and tasted some homemade strawberry ice cream, and it was heavenly!
By far the chilliest place in the country, where the temperature never exceeds 80 degrees, the Cameron Highlands is a vast jungle covered mountain range (not too tall though, only about 1800 meters), and a popular escape from the steamy lowlands. Luckily we were there during the week and escaped the hordes of Malaysian tourists on holiday.
We arrived by bus at 3AM in Ipoh, took a two hour taxi to Tanah Rata and slept on a few couches in the outdoor lounging area of our soon-to-be hostel (until we were woken up by the morning buzz of travelers). Since our room was not going to be ready until noon, we picked Public Enemies to watch out of their selection of 1,000 movies and waited. After finally getting a room, all we wanted to do was sleep, but with enthusiasm to take advantage of what the highlands had to offer, we drank some caffeine and got on with the day.
This climate is ideal for tea bushes, therefore the hillsides are dotted with tea plantations, Boh being the most famous. We took a four kilometer walk through the hilly plantations where thousands of rows of tea plants blanket the rolling hills - it looked as if the mountains were covered in thick green corduroy from the 60s. The tea plantations had a similar grace and graphic quality as the rice terraces in Vietnam. We took a short tour of the processing factory, where we saw how tea is pressed, fermented, oxidized, and dried. Because this plantation is nestled between the mountains, plucking leaves isn't yet mechanized, so the leaves are being trimmed by locals with knives and big baskets on their backs filled with tea leaves. After drinking a few cups of tea on a terrace overlooking the farms, we hitched a ride back up the steep road to town.
And not only is the climate ideal for tea, but also for strawberries, which we haven't seen since we left the United States. And there were strawberry farms everywhere - in our town you could get strawberry ice cream, strawberry scones, strawberry naan, strawberry shoes, strawberry umbrellas, etc. We visited a farm and tasted some homemade strawberry ice cream, and it was heavenly!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Beach.
From the instant we stepped off the ferry, we knew it was going to be hard to leave this place. The island, about 20 km long and 10 km wide, has a few towns dotting the west coast and a rather isolated tropical east coast. The narrow, northern tip of the island has a rocky shore with a jungle interior and as you move south the spine of the island rises into a small set of vegetation covered mountains. Although the island is geared for tourism, there are still a few native residents living outside of the tourist's eye, along the coasts untraveled by ferries. In the budget backpacker's town (dubbed ABC), we never felt we were in an overly touristy area, and the locals running the few guest houses and hotels met us with genuine kindness.
We stayed in a simple bungalow a stone's throw away from the crystal clear water, and the best spot to snorkel was right in front of our hotel. A perfect setting for a 26th birthday. Although we didn't do much for Paul's bday - ate a lot, swam, lazed on the beach (we attempted to play bad mitten but our rackets fell apart) and had a few happy hour beers with our neighbors- it was a perfect way to ring in a new year.
The island is known for its snorkeling and diving, some of the best in Malaysia due to the clarity of the water and the 233 species of fish and 183 species of coral flourishing along the coast. We rented sets of snorkels and fins and dove into the water. We could swim about 300 feet away from the coast and still see the ocean floor, the clearest water we've seen yet. With goggles on and snorkels up, we swam with schools of tropical fish and over clusters of neon coral (some spiky or with fluttering tentacles, others like big brains coming out of the ocean floor). We saw several sting rays gliding over the sand, barracudas, alligator garrs, clown fish, rainbow fish, jelly fish, and even a giant angel fish (about 3 feet high). For the next few days we spent several hours floating above this wild marine life.
The land wasn't so bad either, we had several visits from the local monkeys and saw the famous six foot monitor lizards. The entire interior of the island is a largely untouched jungle. With our neighbors, we did the hike across the island, 9 km each way (and really steep in both directions) to the isolated beaches of Juara on the east coast. Although completely exhausting, it was rewarding and exhilarating. We made it back in time for the 5-7PM happy hour and a delicious pineapple pizza.
The restaurant associated with our little cluster of bungalows was the best on the island. We pretty much ate a combo of fish and chips and vegetable curry the whole time we were there - and never got sick of it!
We stayed in a simple bungalow a stone's throw away from the crystal clear water, and the best spot to snorkel was right in front of our hotel. A perfect setting for a 26th birthday. Although we didn't do much for Paul's bday - ate a lot, swam, lazed on the beach (we attempted to play bad mitten but our rackets fell apart) and had a few happy hour beers with our neighbors- it was a perfect way to ring in a new year.
The island is known for its snorkeling and diving, some of the best in Malaysia due to the clarity of the water and the 233 species of fish and 183 species of coral flourishing along the coast. We rented sets of snorkels and fins and dove into the water. We could swim about 300 feet away from the coast and still see the ocean floor, the clearest water we've seen yet. With goggles on and snorkels up, we swam with schools of tropical fish and over clusters of neon coral (some spiky or with fluttering tentacles, others like big brains coming out of the ocean floor). We saw several sting rays gliding over the sand, barracudas, alligator garrs, clown fish, rainbow fish, jelly fish, and even a giant angel fish (about 3 feet high). For the next few days we spent several hours floating above this wild marine life.
The land wasn't so bad either, we had several visits from the local monkeys and saw the famous six foot monitor lizards. The entire interior of the island is a largely untouched jungle. With our neighbors, we did the hike across the island, 9 km each way (and really steep in both directions) to the isolated beaches of Juara on the east coast. Although completely exhausting, it was rewarding and exhilarating. We made it back in time for the 5-7PM happy hour and a delicious pineapple pizza.
The restaurant associated with our little cluster of bungalows was the best on the island. We pretty much ate a combo of fish and chips and vegetable curry the whole time we were there - and never got sick of it!
Almost to Paradise
From Luang Probang, in the middle of Laos, we went on another few day trek to the southeastern tip of the Malaysian peninsula.
We had to catch a night bus headed for Vientiane. We arrived to the capital city sleepy and pretty hot, even at 6AM. After a croissant and a few mixed fruit shakes, we perked up slightly and made a plan. We had only a half day to see any part of the city, bags in tow - so as the temperature started to soar, we decided the best option was the... swimming pool (and it was only a $1.25 each). We practiced our dives, did a few laps, cleaned ourselves up, and headed for the airport.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur at midnight and left at 8AM the next morning for the East coast island, Pulau Tioman. Needless to say, we having nothing to say about the city itself - at midnight the place was shutting down, and at eight o clock the city was only beginning to wake up. After a five hour bus ride to Mersing from KL, and a two hour ferry into the South China Sea, we arrived on Pulau Tioman, at 5Pm on May 5 - just in time to spend Paul's birthday on the beach.
We had to catch a night bus headed for Vientiane. We arrived to the capital city sleepy and pretty hot, even at 6AM. After a croissant and a few mixed fruit shakes, we perked up slightly and made a plan. We had only a half day to see any part of the city, bags in tow - so as the temperature started to soar, we decided the best option was the... swimming pool (and it was only a $1.25 each). We practiced our dives, did a few laps, cleaned ourselves up, and headed for the airport.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur at midnight and left at 8AM the next morning for the East coast island, Pulau Tioman. Needless to say, we having nothing to say about the city itself - at midnight the place was shutting down, and at eight o clock the city was only beginning to wake up. After a five hour bus ride to Mersing from KL, and a two hour ferry into the South China Sea, we arrived on Pulau Tioman, at 5Pm on May 5 - just in time to spend Paul's birthday on the beach.
Luang Probang
Luang Probang sits at the merging of the Mekong River and Nam Ou river with the picturesque mountains/karsts hugging the perimeter of the town. It is a postcard perfect city (small city though, only about 50,000 people), filled with boutique hotels, French bakeries, and chic bars! Despite the expensive side of this stop, it was charming and well worth it.
We visited a Buddhist temple from the 15th Century that had a famous tree of life mosaic and an impressive collection of the royal family's religious decor - a variety of Buddha's and a golden 'float' used in the king's funeral parade. And to our delight one of the carved golden dragons jutting out from the front of this float had a nice size ball of sticky rice in its mouth (quite the offering). In the courtyard, filled with orange robed monks, were the tombs for a whole line of the royal family.
We explored most of the city by foot in two days, and while zigzagging our way down the peninsula, which ended at the intersection of the two rivers, we decided the city's architecture had a similar feel to New Orleans (a New Orleans filled with Buddhist temples).
With a significantly warmer temperature than the northern mountains, Luang Probang's many cafes were a popular hang out (although some to chic for us). We did enjoy the fusion of French, Western, Thai, and Laotion food on all of the local menus. If we were eating meat, we could have splurged for a Laotian bbq, where you are your own chef. Most restaurants had stone tables with a small fire pit in the center that would be fired up for the customer to grill their own feast...it sure smelled fabulous. This is not the only time our vegetarian will is was almost broken. But, we definitely couldn't beat the one dollar baguette sandwich stuffed with cheese, veggies, and topped with mustard (a novelty here!), sold from little food vendors who seemed to come out of the cracks to line the street every night. We ate a baguette for a midnight snack in the courtyard of our small hotel.
We stayed in a French style old house with dark woodwork and beautiful hardwood floors. Although we stayed in the budget part of town, the narrow streets were lined with similar colonial buildings.
We visited a Buddhist temple from the 15th Century that had a famous tree of life mosaic and an impressive collection of the royal family's religious decor - a variety of Buddha's and a golden 'float' used in the king's funeral parade. And to our delight one of the carved golden dragons jutting out from the front of this float had a nice size ball of sticky rice in its mouth (quite the offering). In the courtyard, filled with orange robed monks, were the tombs for a whole line of the royal family.
We explored most of the city by foot in two days, and while zigzagging our way down the peninsula, which ended at the intersection of the two rivers, we decided the city's architecture had a similar feel to New Orleans (a New Orleans filled with Buddhist temples).
With a significantly warmer temperature than the northern mountains, Luang Probang's many cafes were a popular hang out (although some to chic for us). We did enjoy the fusion of French, Western, Thai, and Laotion food on all of the local menus. If we were eating meat, we could have splurged for a Laotian bbq, where you are your own chef. Most restaurants had stone tables with a small fire pit in the center that would be fired up for the customer to grill their own feast...it sure smelled fabulous. This is not the only time our vegetarian will is was almost broken. But, we definitely couldn't beat the one dollar baguette sandwich stuffed with cheese, veggies, and topped with mustard (a novelty here!), sold from little food vendors who seemed to come out of the cracks to line the street every night. We ate a baguette for a midnight snack in the courtyard of our small hotel.
We stayed in a French style old house with dark woodwork and beautiful hardwood floors. Although we stayed in the budget part of town, the narrow streets were lined with similar colonial buildings.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Tropic Thunder in a Sawng Thaew
The day we left, just like every day we spent in Nong Khiau, there was a tropical thunderstorm. Normally, I would love every second, but today it was just humorous considering the "bus" tickets we bought landed us on a sawng thaew, Lao for a converted pick-up truck with two benches down either side of the bed (with open sides). The two of us, two Japanese travelers, and 16 locals, along with bags of rice, giant boxes, chickens, roosters, and pigs piled in and got cozy. Luckily the rain didn't last too long (although long enough to soak our bags) and the ride was only three and a half hours to Luang Probang, otherwise our tolerance probably would have deminished. We've learned over and over you have to bear every situation with a smile otherwise you would make yourself miserable. It was a great experience in the end, although a test of endurance, and everyone on the bus was super friendly (and just as uncomfortable). 
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