The Amazing Adventures of Dave and Jen

Reflections on Thailand: Bangkok

daveandjen — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:51:00 GMT

Dave and Jen arrived in Bangkok International Airport to be met with another hour long wait in the immigration line to be processed for visas. Looking around in the queues, it was quite interesting seeing your typical 20 year old tourist heading to Thailand in the hope of a tan, a romance (read sleazy drunken pick up), and a couple hundred vodka red bull buckets at the infamous full moon party... Complete with mullet and Chang Beer slogan singlet top. Dave and Jen were very happy that we had both moved on from this stage of travelling, and were, rather, searching for quieter more intrepid adventures...

So used to being able to speak a bit of the language, Jen struggled not to say 'termia kasih' (thank you in Malay and Indonesian) at the appropriate times... Luckily, she was well equipped for such circumstances and had loaded World Nomads Language Guides onto my iPod for all the countries we were visiting -so at least I'd have some of the basics. They are terribly funny and involve Scott (an Australian traveller) in conversation with a 'typical' person of that country getting them to teach him the local phrases. For
Malaysia it is a Chicken Satay vendor, for Laos it's a buddhist monk and for Thailand it's a t-shirt salesman... He does have some useful ones such as thankyou, how much and vocab such as boat, bus, train etc... But, obviously influenced by the Shapelle Corby episode (where an Aust. chick got done for drug trafficking in Indonesia and now resides in a Bali Prison), Scott learns how to say 'Dont Shoot! Those drugs aren't mine!' - I can say it in 4 languages and counting so far... So ridiculous, but at least if that situation arises, I know we'll be ok. So, on the plane Jen wrote down as many useful Thai phrases as she could on her arm to increase her vocab and must have looked terribly strange pulling up her sleeve each time she tried to say thank you to someone...

Dave and Jen's main purpose for a stop over in Bangkok was to get our Vietnamese visas and for Dave to get tattooed again by a buddhist monk this time... Jen consulted travelfish.org, the best companion for independent travel in South East Asia (and no sadly I don't get money for endorsing them, but I definately think I should) to find a good guesthouse. We chose to stay in Sam Sen Sam guesthouse near the tourist centre of Khao San Road, but far enough to be away from the crazyness of it all. While being a tad expensive, at 37 USD a night, it was one of the best places we'd stayed in all the trip. The room was great, flushing toilet check, air conditioning for Dave check, but the standout was Bobby, the main dude/owner. He went out of his way to help us with everything, which was good considering Dave's somewhat strange requests... He helped us with our visas, drew us a map to his favourite restaurant -which had amazing and cheap food by the way, and organised transport for our tattoo adventures...

After an 'interesting' breakfast due to miscommunication, which consisted of two bowls of fruit and a side of bacon (supposed to be toast and one bowl of fruit), Dave was obviously disappointed -Jen quite happy especially considering the fruit had mangosteen in it! -A new found love and one of the most amazing fruit in the world... Jen and Dave met Pong, our Thai taxi driver and companion for the next two days. We went to a temple about an hour out of townm to check out some tattoos... Dave negotiated a good price -getting them down by more than half, with Bobby's translation help via mobile phone through Pong, and got a traditional tattoo complete with monk blessing... (Ask Dave about the meanings because I can't remember them -but it looks very cool) Jen tried to get some photos and videos, as per Dave's wishes, but struggled with the customs and after being told off too many times she gave up... Luckily, she'd managed to get at least a few good ones.

On our way home, Pong stopped at a roadside coffee stall and even though Dave and Jen pleaded that we were fine for drinks, Pong insisted on buying us two iced coffee concoctions. They were really nice, except for the fact that Dave doesn't drink coffee and Jen can't drink milk or coffee... So we spent the whole trip back 'pretending' to drink and making delicious sounding noises in case Pong looked at us through his rear view mirror so as not to offend him. Dave and Jen arrived home to find Bobby patiently waiting to see Dave's new ink. -Very impressed, but also somewhat disappointed that Jen didn't get one too considering we went all the way out there... After exploring infamous Khao San Rd and heaps of street stalls selling really interesting food, Dave and Jen stumbled upon probably the only Indian Restaurant in all of Bamphamaloo and induldged in some naan bread and roti (it's becoming an addiction...)

The following morning, Bobby had preordered our breakfast, with extra mangosteen for Jen, so there would be no misunderstandings and at 730 Pong arrived to take us on our next adventure. Dave and Jen went to the floating markets, rather ignorantly expecting some 'authentic' shopping and were met with, it seemed, Khao San Rd on water. We spent about an hour going through the canals attempting to avoid pushy shop keepers who would grab our boat and pull us in to sell us thai souvenirs which are actually made in China... We, or Jen, was more interested, of course, with the fruit boats and had Dave on the look out for mangosteens and bananas...

Pong then drove us to have a look at the Death Railway Bridge over the River Kwai (named beause of the POWs in WW2) and the Tiger Temple. A temple, or sanctuary, for injured wildlife that is cared for and rehabilitated by buddhist monks. Dave and Jen paid a rather expensive entrance fee, but this allowed you to go and pet and take pictures with a fair few tigers. There were at least 15 fully grown tigers lying in the shade and a guide would take you to go and pet them (they were all asleep or way too hot to notice). If you really wanted to, you could also have a photo taken with the tiger's head on your lap... Dave enjoyed seeing the tigers, but Jen's highlight was seeing nearly 20 water buffalo cooling off in a nearby dam! It was so awesome getting to see them relaxing in the water! Hot and tired from a long day driving and sightseeing around Thailand's Central Provinces, Pong stopped at one more 'tattoo' temple, but due to lack of time, Dave will have to save his next tattoo for his next trip...

That night Dave and Jen had booked a sleeper train to Ubon Rattachani, where we were to make our way to the Laos border. Jen, terrified of night trains, due to all of the horror stories of people being gassed and then having their stuff stolen, had been persuaded since we'd bought 1st class tickets. These tickets were supposed to give us our own private room with a locking door... The train arrived and Dave and Jen quickly looked for our carriage and seats. To our dismay, the 1st class sleeper train had been damaged and so we were relegated to Jen's worst nightmare of sleeper out in the open. After complaining in a broken Thai/English conversation, but clearly conveying the general message of being pissed off, the conductor apologised and assured us that the difference in ticket price would be refunded at our destination... Nothing else could be done at this point aswe had to make it to Laos the next morning. So, after a fair few tearsd, and attempted from Dave to reassure her, Jen managed to calm her nerves and even got some sleep on our 10 hour train ride.

We arrived at the station, caught a tuk tuk, bus and song thaew (a local 'bus' -a pick up truck with wooden planks down the sides for seats) to the Laos Border. 3 hours, 4 police instigated stops and 4 corresponding pay offs later, we had arrived at Laos Immigration...

Reflections on Indonesia: Bali (Third and Final Round)

daveandjen — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:30:00 GMT

Dave and Jen boarded the plane at Maumere, strangely looking forward to their arrival in Depasar, Bali, if for no other reason than because we were certain to find more places to eat than the local supermarket. Again to try and evade previous problems regarding accommodation and mean 'desk guys,' Jen booked a week in advance and this time on the East Coast, away from the Kuta, Legian, Seminyak tourist centre -about an hours drive from the airport... It's probably important to point out that it is ultimate high season in Bali at the moment, so surely all the good places were booked out, thereby heightening our chances of disappointment and being ripped off! Regardless, we managed to get a pretty good deal at Angung and Sue's Watering Hole in Sanur, only a two minut walk from the beach with a great restaurant.

Exhausted from a rough week travelling through Flores, Dave and Jen spent a couple of days relaxing and enjoying the perks of a tourist filled town. Jen had a massage, went for a run and Dave happily read his book in the airconditioned room. After inspecting the beach and finding it hardly inviting. Complete with black sand, motor boats, stray dogs (most likely with rabies), and rubbish, we decided against swimming and opted instead for cold beer and a pyrited DVD, monopolising the restaurants TV...

Three stays in Bali, all in different places and albeit not for a very long time, and in ultimate high season, did not prove very appeling for Dave or Jen. While it is nice sometimes to have the convenience of a flushing toilet and a few choices for dinner -the fact that you get hasselled to buy something everytime you walk down the street, and the rubbish everywhere really leaves little attraction. Maybe I've been spoilt by camping trips to private beaches, but give me an unspoilt national park or small untouristy town (with the aid of a phrase book) anyday!

Two weeks travelling through Indonesia was exciting and interesting to get a different perspective on their way of life. The most striking for me would have to be the unequal nature of male/female work. Most places we went (and again I apologise for my subjective and generalised opinion and I know this isn't 100% true all the time), it seemed as though only the women were the ones who worked, while the men spent more time smoking cigarettes. (By the way, perhaps one of the biggest struggles in Indonesia was how many people smoke and everywhere too! I feel like I must have smoked at least 5 packs myself in my two weeks there...) In conversation with one lady, she told me that she was 24 with two children, a 2 year old and a 6 month old, and worked for 10 and a half hours six days a week, barely making $300 AUD a month -while her husband does not work... Maybe I'm a bit of a feminist (god I hope not), but this just doesn't seem fair... It was encouraging, however, to see in Flores men working on the road (while the women in the fields) but this could also be linked to the fact that Flores is predominately Christian, as opposed to the Muslim majority that comprises the rest of Indonesia.

Jen's indonesian language skills had improved quite well, but in a larger sense were still relatively poor, however she'd picked up enough to get us by in places that didn't have much english translation. And Dave also slowly caught on too -even if he did enjoy calling out random nonsensical phrases, much to Jen's embarassement...

After two weeks exploring, Dave and Jen left Indonesia on a plane bound for Bangkok, both excited at the prospect of some traditional Green Chicken Curry and other local delicacies...

Photos: Northern Laos

daveandjen — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:49:00 GMT

Luang Prabang and surrounds

Photos: Remote Southern Laos

daveandjen — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:41:00 GMT

Pakse, Bolaven Plateau and Savannakhet

Photos: Bangkok, Thailand

daveandjen — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:19:00 GMT

Photos: Indonesia Part 2

daveandjen — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:45:00 GMT

Jogja and Flores...

Reflections on Indonesia: Heading inland through Flores

daveandjen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:35:00 GMT

Dave and Jen set off on what was supposed to be a 12hour (which actually turned out to be 14 and a half hours) bus ride inland through Flores to Ende. Where we were to have a short overnight stay before pushing on again to Moni and Kelimutu, an extinct volcano and the home of three coloured lakes...

Expecting the worst, Dave and Jen were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by an empty minibus for their journey which then quickly filled up (as per apparant Indonesian standards), to at least 150% of capacity. Our 12 seater minibus, now containing 16 individuals, all of us packed in like sardines, but at least the windows opened to let in fresh air... The roads were bitumen and of relatively good standard, whch was welcoming as all of our resarch had told us they were pot holled and terrible.

However, our journey was not wihtout excitement as our driver negotiated motorbikes, goats, chickens, buffalo, small children, pigs and oncoming trucks and buses at 100km on wet mountaineous roads with shear drops (and none of that guard rail to protect you from a most likely imminent death should you drive a bit too far to the side), all while lighting and smoking at least 3 packs of cigaretes and talking on his phone... As night fell, however, our driver took on a more cautious persona -it must have been the blaring Indonesian music that calmed him down, which was a sigh of relif (even if it did cause headaches!)

The bus stopped in a little town, about two hours away from Ende and Jen (typically) busting for the toilet, asked the driver for directions to the nearest bathroom... In the pitch darkness, Jen followed the bus driver, who quickly grabbed her hand and pleaded 'Haiti-Haiti' to her (translates to caution and be aware), to an outhouse neighbouring the pig sty of a small bamboo farmhouse. Jen and the bus driver then made their way back to the bus to meet an anxious Dave, who was quietly stressed out about how dodgy the whole situation was and "how quickly things could get ugly here..." (Jen, unaware of her surroundings just thought Dave was over-reacting and thinking everywhere is like "the hood" in the rough streets of LA, until Dave mentioned that even the tough looking Indonesian guys on the bus we getting worried about our stop...) The strangest thing of all though, was that we dropped off a nun at this dark and dangerous town!

Dave and Jen arrived in Ende, sufferring from slight cabin fever, almost 15 hours cramped in a small confined bus seat, and went to bed. The next morning, Dave and Jen packed our bags and walked out the door in the hope of some sort of transport appearring to take us to the bus station for our final 2 hour leg to Moni. In true Indonesian style, we were met with two guys on scooters as soon as we stepped out the front gate offerring lifts to the bus stations. After Jen bargaining down the guys, and convincing an unconvinced Dave that jumping on the back of a scooter with 20kg of luggage on your back is a good idea -at that price, we jumped on... Jen spent the whole 10 minute journey working on her Indonesian, while Dave spent the whole time terrified at being at the helm of some random guy with a scooter... As Dave and Jen approached the bus station, we were immediately crowded by men grabbing for our bags. Dave, thinking he was being robbed, did his best to push them off, to which they all stood back and laughed! -Realising that Dave was unaware they were only trying to help him get his bags on the next bus...

Our bus to Moni was full when it arrived, by our, clearly uneducated standards, and yet we were expected to fit. Afer some re-arrangement, this was actually comfortably possible, even if all desire for personal space had to be left behind. More passengers got on, with the end total being at least 29 people (you can never get a definite number due to their contortionist abilities) on a 16 seater bus. The driver then proceeded to driver around town honking, as per Indonesian custom, just to make sure no one else wanted to come too, before heading off. Two hours, and numerous pit stops for chats, shopping, cigarette breaks, Dave and Jen got dropped off in Moni. A beautiful, but very very small village, with no electricity, or, to Dave's disappointent, chicken, (despite it being in every second item on most menus, and the fact that there are live chooks running everywhere through the village), the closest place to the coloured lakes of Mt Kelimutu.

Dave and Jen organised transport to Kelimutu for the next morning at 430am to catch the sunrise, and Dave was less than impressed to find that transport meant 'back of a scooter!' After a long and scary (for Dave) ride in the dark with goats and buffalo running wild around wet mountaineous roads, (and one slight crash with a goat) we arrived at the car park to which we hiked the last 15 minutes to the summit. Unfortunately, the weather was not conducive to lake viewing. The fog was so thick, and not likely to lift until later that morning, when we were supposed to be on another bus heading to Maumere (our last stop in Flores and where we'd fly back to Bali)... Rather disappointed at missing what we'd come so far to see, Dave and Jen mae the trip back down to our accommodation and some brekki before setting off again.

This time our transport was a "private taxi" which was like a 4wd 5 seater car with 7 people and two chickens packed in... Our new driver was very considerate and relatively safe (a welcomed change to our last driver), stopping his car to light cigarettes or talk on his phone. But made up for lost time by driving as fast as humanely possible through the tight corners of the mountain roads, resulting in two of the passengers being car sick! Of course, the driver didn't stop for this, and instead only casually pointed to where the plastic bags could be found (as if this was a regular occurence) -which the two girls filled and then proceeded to through out the window! Imagine if you were on a scooter behind and drove into that!

Quite shaken and feeling quesy, Dave and Jen arrived in Maumere -previously the number one diving destination in Flores, before a the aforementioned earthquake and Tsunami destroyed it in 1992. Maumere realy is just a town in the middle of nowhere iwht a couple of guesthouses, a supermarket and a harbour for ferrys to other islands. Well off the beaten track, but unfortunately with no great appeal. Dave and Jen went searching for food. Again being quite the novelty for the locals, Dave and Jen were clearly prime subjects for entertainment and walking opportunity for English practice, which we politely obliged as best we could. After walked through the town, (and for what seemed like ages in the unrelenting sun, we luckily stumbled across a Masakan Padang place, which didn't looked terribly appetising, and would probably shock our mothers and all guide books writers if they saw us eating there, but we were starving! The food was actually quite tasty, but then again we were relatively delirious from the heat and hunger...

Dave and Jen spent the rest of our time in Maumere exploring the supermarket, relaxing and chatting with other travellers befoire catching a plane back to Denpasar, Bali. The highlight of Maumere for Jen was meeting an Australian father and son, from Parkville, who were beginning a Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor Long Way Round style journey from Melbourne to London by car. After general chit-chat about the route and provisions, Jen asked the father whether he had any mechanical knowledge in case of a breakdown, to which he replied with a nervous laugh, 'none at all.' However, he did know how to change a tyre... To escape an akward moment, Jen quickly complimented him on his choice of vehicle -a Toyota Landcruiser, and wished them luck, very envious of the adventure that awaited them...

Reflections on Indonesia: Bali (round two) and Labuan Bajo, Flores

daveandjen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:49:00 GMT

Dave and Jen had another quick overnight stop over in Bali before jumping on the first flight to Labuan Bajo early the next morning. Hoping to avoid the accommodation problems of last time, this time Jen booked a week in advance. This proved cheaper, but other than that there really was no difference -apart from this time it being further from the airport! The next morning Dave and Jen awoke early to make our flight, went down to the desk and called a taxi (given that we were nowhere near a main road). The man at the desk, who the night before was quite rude and had a slight altercation with Dave regarding our passports, had yet another stand off with Dave as Dave demanded he get the photocopy of his passport back -something which apparently does not happen at this hotel... We then ended up having to wait an hour for our taxi to arrive. Coincidence? Dave and Jen both agreed that the desk man had cancelled our taxi when we asked why it was taking so long and luckily Jen hailed one driving past our tiny little alleyway of a street to make it to the airport on time...

After a quick flight which showed amazing views of Komodo and Rinca islands, Dave and Jen arrived in Labuan Bajo. We got a lift into town, after unsuccessful attempts at bargaining for a lower price, and checked into some really cool bungalow accommodation with spectacular views over the oceans and surrounding islands. For those who do not konw, Flores (the island which Labuan Bajo is on) is a large but little visitied island to the East of Bali, Lombok and Sumba -neighbouring Timor. The landscape is absolutely beautiful and looks very similar to Australia. (Wallace tells me this is because it was once originally part of Australia, and not mainland Asia as all islands West once were...) There is hardly any tourist infrastructure in Flores, partly due to the devastating 1992 earthquake and tsunami, and partly due to it being "undiscovered" by mainstream tourism. With Labuan Bajo and its proximity to Komodo NP, the most visited town.

Dave and Jen did some research about day trips and tours and in the end decided it would be best to charter our own boat and captain to have a day trip sight seeing the Komodo Dragons and explore some of the beautiful reeds on the nearby islands. As it turned out, we met a Dutchman at our accommodation (whose name Jen believes was Joseph, however Dave doesn't agree), who had a similar plan, so we happily invited him to join us so we could split the cost three ways.

Joseph was quite a nice guy and avid soccer fan (probably increased due to Hollands efforts in the Cup this year), with a tendancy to exclaim "fark" (in an appropriately Dutch accent) into nearly every situation, which Jen found really funny. He'd also travelled nearly everywhere so Dave was quite happy to have someone to exchange stories with, while Jen laid in the sun on the bow of the boat... The weather was stunning! Warm, without a cloud in the sky, perfect for 'dragon hunting' and snorkelling... We arrived at Rinca Island around 9am to be greeted by a massive Komodo Dragon sunning itself right at the end of the pier!

Just a quick interjection, I feel it might help if I give a few facts on Komodo Dragons before I continue... Komodo Dragons basically look like oversized lizards, or small crocodiles, that grow up to 3m in length and up to 100kg in weight, can run at speeds of 30km/h and can also swim at least 500m -and they are only found in the wild in Komodo National Park in Indonesia. Their saliva contains deadly poisoneous toxins and they eat wild Buffalo, Deer, Horses, Monkeys, even naughty children I'm told... They hang out near the watering holes, camoflagued in the shade and then jump out and bite their unsuspecting prey. It then takes 3 weeks for the poison to work -which the Dragons spend following their sick prey until it dies! One dragon can easily eat a full sized Buffalo in one sittig!

So we were very lucky that our captain, with his big stick lead us safely to the Rangers office, considering we arrived at their most vicious and active time of day, and Dave and Joseph were inappropriately dressed in shorts and thongs! Dave, Jen and Joseph took the 'long' 2 hour hike around Rinca Island and spotted at least 15 of these great prehistoric beasts along with lots of wild Buffalo and monkeys. It was getting close to midday, the sun was starting to burn, (and there is only so long you can marvel at Komodo Dragons for... ) so we made our way back to the boat for some lunch and the promise of some snorkelling.

Dave, Jen and Joseph stopped at two islands (and like most of our time in Labuan Bajo) -we were all by ourselves! The reef was filled with beautifully coloured coral and tropical fish and Jen and Dave enjoyed snorkelling, while Joseph, typically European, worked on his tan... Dave and Jen returned to our bungalow exhausted for a hard day sightseeing, and sun burnt in places we unfortunately missed with sunscreen. We had an delicious BBQ dinner, at a restaurant which claimed to be Organic (questionable) and watched the sunset before retired for the night early in preparation for our 12 hour long bus ride the next morning...

The elusive good night's sleep...

Unfortunately for us, the guy staying in the bungalow next door to us we suffering from food poisoning, the effects of alcohol or the onset of malaria and kept us up all night by wretching his poor guts out! (Luckily, Jen's iPod volume made up for her weak stomach in such circumstances, and the thin walls kept out the smell until morning) Eventually, he stopped (or passed out) and the silence was then interrupted by morning prayers being sun over the loud speaker through the town...

(I haven't mentioned singing morning prayers before and should probably explain for those who, like me, had no previous knowledge... (and I apologise for my religious ignorance and any mistakes through my subjective overview) According to the Islamic faithy, you are required to pray 5 times daily, when this occurs tends to vary -but from my experience so far it occurs between 430-6am, 10am, 12-1pm, 330pm and again around 6-8pm. In Muslim countries, the Mosques have loud speakers so those who cannot physically make it to the Mosques are not left out I suppose. The prayers are then sung our over the loud speaker, and often you can hear prayers from more than one Mosque, so it sounds almost like some sort of duet! It is a beautiful experience, eating dinner, hearing Muslim prayers and watching the sunset -however this is somewhat debateable at 5 in the morning of a sleep less night.)

Prayers ended and Dave and Jen's hope of finally foreseeing no more obstacles hindering those last few minutes of slumber were shattered when a cockeral took up roost on our balcony to announce the break of dawn. Jen gave up trying to sleep at this point and took a shower and started to pack her bags... While being stunningly beauiful and small, if you are looking for a good night's sleep in Labuan Bajo, I'd definately suggest you head out of town!

Photos: Indonesia Part 1

daveandjen — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 02:38:00 GMT

Yogyakarta, Java

Photos: Singapore

daveandjen — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 02:29:00 GMT

Photos: Malaysian Borneo (Part 2)

daveandjen — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 01:22:00 GMT

Reflections on Indonesia: Bali - round one and Java

daveandjen — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 00:27:00 GMT

Dave and Jen (and half of the Australian expat family population it seemed) arrived at Bali's international airport around 8 at night and standed in the immigration line for at least an hour to be processed. (But it felt like so much more!) In front of us in the line were two families with four young kids, obviously on the yearly family holiday to relax in the Balinese sun... But, because these children had too much sugar, or watched too much TV on the plane, they were in the midst of a massive sook attack and desperately needed a good sleep (or a new acquantaince with a wattle brush). The poor tired parents had their children climbing all over them, pulling at their clothes and hair, and lying all over the airport immigration floor... It reminded me of how much fun mom and dad must have had on our long drives up to Queensland in search of that perfect "relaxing" holiday...

Dave and Jen booked the next flight to Yogyakarta, Central Java. This, unfortunately required us to be back at the airport in 7 hours time. Dave, not too excited about Jen's proposal to sleep on the ground outside the airport, convinced me to book some accommodation - which due to our lack of preparation, was very overpriced, although close to the airport and relatively more comfortable than a concrete floor. Dave and Jen were so tired from the 3am wake up call that the morning's flight seemed to pass very quickly and before we knew it we were in Jogja (as Yogyakarta will now be called) bargaining hard for a taxi and checking out some pretty dodgy, but cheap, guesthouses...

We checked into our new accommodation and grabbed the widely available banana pancake breakfast and decided how to spend the week. A sunrise trip to Borburder, the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern hemisphere, was planned for the following morning, which also meant another 3am wake up call! (Who said holidays were all about sleeping in...?) To be honest, the sunrise wasn't very spectacular, and Jen, tired and sufferring from a nasty cold spent most of the time sleeping on the temple floor. Dave, however, snapped away frantically in search of the perfect photograph. Even though it's more expensive to come to Borburdur as sparrow's fart, it's definately worth having the opportunity to see it all before the gates "officially" open. Because when they do, the tourists arrive by the truck load and the temple is aboslutely swamped!

Dave and Jen's experience of Indonesia has been quite entertaining, however it may be more so for the locals... Every second person in Jogja either stops Dave, grabs his arms, or calls out to him complimenting his tattoos and commenting on his muscular size, which funnily, makes him feel terribly uncomfortable. Jen, being this 6 foot freak of a women apparently, is often asked to partake in family photos by Indonesian tourists. Jen happily obliges, but really should start charging a commission -thereby making up for all that excess Singaporian spending she did!

The street that Dave and Jen were staying on was tourist central. There was, of course, a correspondingly large number of "touts" as Rough Guides calls them. Basically "touts" could be translated to mean people hasselling you and trying to sell you things. Dave and Jen quickly got tired of this, and so decided to change guesthouses to a quieter part of town, about 4km away in the opposite direction... With no idea of how to make this journey, Dave and Jen put our backpacks on and started walking. As soon as we walked out of the front door, we were quickly met with competing yells of "You need transport?" "Where you going boss?" "5000 Rupiah Sultan Palace" An old man, whose name we latter found out was Rubio, approached Jen and somehow knew exactly where we were headed, he undercut the competiting options and offerred us a the cheapest ride. The mode of transportation was a rickshaw. For those not familiar, an Indonesian Rickshaw is like a push bike that has a large seat at the front. "Large" enough for 2 Indonesians, however, quite the squeeze for two 6 foot travellers. Dave and Jen squished into the seat, while Rubio stacked our luggage on top of us. In exchanging glances of disbelief, Dave and Jen discussed the impossibility of this tiny old man pedalling about 250kg of weight 4km through the busy city streets of Jogja! While it probably would have been faster, and maybe even comfortable (but probably not), walking, Dave and Jen thoroughly enjoyed Rubio's company and his comments on life...

Rubio is 70 years old, has seven grandchildren and he's spent 34 years of his long life in the Rickshaw trade. Even though being a Rickshaw driver may not make Rubio a rich man, he ensures us that he is happy, and he explains that this is true because he only has one wife, which apparently means less problems! The ride was incredibly painful and due to the uneven weight distribution, all the bags had to be pilled on top of Jen to stop Daves-side wheel of the bike from rubbing against the mudgard or the seat. Rubio explained that we were having this minor problems because Dave "is fatter" than Jen. When we got to our destination, neither of us could feel our legs and Jen couldn't even stand up due to the intense pins and needles!

After re-gaining the ability to walk, Dave and Jen scouted out a couple of guesthouses and finally agreed on Duta Guesthouse. It turned out to be nicer, cleaner, and half the price of our previous accommodation -even with a big beautiful pool! Jen's nasty cold required some getting better and so Dave and Jen took it easy for a few days -watching the Soccer with the locals, eating lots of Sate Ayam (Chicken satay) (our staple food lately) and Dave practiced his "butterfly" or rather, some undefinable stroke, in the pool...

Dave and Jen organised a day trip to the Dieng Plateau in Central Java, about 4 hours drive away to see some old the oldest Hindu temples in Indonesia, coloured lakes and sulphur springs. To be quite honest, the Dieng Plateau was not terribly exciting. The highlight of the trip was actually the drive up there and back, proving that old cliche that the journey is more important than the destination... We drove through some of the most spectacular Javanese landscape -filled with palm trees, rice paddies, dramatically terraced agriculture, bamboo houses and water buffalos. It was also quite interesting to notice the horse and cart still featuring quite prominently as common transportation through most of the villages. On our way home, the driver stopped for some lunch, while Dave and Jen waited in the car. To Jen's delight, a ute pulled up with a 3 week old water buffalo cald and its mother in the tray. Jen quickly got out to pet and feed them with some grass that was growing nearby. This must have impressed the buffalo owner, because he asked, and then took a photograph of Jen and the buffalo on his phone! Jen, quite used to such attention, charged him 5000 Rupiah, (about 70 cents AUD) to which he politely obliged...

Feeling slightly guilty and lazy for laying by the pool and not really exploring more of the city, Dave and Jen set of in search of the Kraton Complex. -The home of Jogja's Sultan, and about a 10 minute walk from our guesthouse. Dave and Jen stopped en route to regain our bearings from the street signs and provoked the interest of a local walking past... He was on his way home from work (he worked in the Kraton complex) and helpfully infomed us that it was closed due to a Muslim holiday. He gave us some "insider" tips of what to do with the rest of our time in Jogja and also how not to be ripped off -which is always welcoming. Our new friend, realising Dave was American, quickly turned the conversation to the World Cup -and America's recent efforts. Apparently, he had bet on the USA game and lost all his money. Hoping to recover his losses, he bet again, this time with his scooter, which unfortantely, proved unsuccessful. His wife wasn't terribly impressed, he told us, that walking was their new mode of transportation...

On our final day in Jogja, Jen convinced Dave to hire a scooter (which only cost $3AUD for 24 hours), to go sightseeing to the beach about an hours ride away. Dave enjoyed negotiated the interesting non existant road rules and Jen tried hard to sit still on the back and hang on tight! We arrived at a less than attractive windswept beach -which is, the signs tell us, too dangerous to go swimming in, filled with local tourists and what seemed like a market on the grey sand complete with horse and carts! Unimpressed, Dave and Jen headed back to busy Jogja. We found a quiet country lane, on the way back, and Jen got a few tips on how to ride the scooter, which was very exciting and much better than her previous attempts (instructed by one Stuart Chambers) which resulted in monstrous bruises...

That night, Dave and Jen left Jogja for Bali (round two), after enjoying some well deserved rest and relaxation!

Reflections on Singapore...

daveandjen — Sun, 4 Jul 2010 18:42:00 GMT

Dave and Jen arrived in Singapore after a typical Tiger Airways flight -that happened to be delayed by at least three hours! Jen had booked the hostel in 'Little India' about an hour long subway ride away. The train ride in was a very interesting introduction to the multicultural nature of Singapore -with every sign and announcement repeated in four languages -English, Tamil, Mandarin and Malay... We finally arrived in Little India and were instantly transported to the streets of Mumbai, or so it seemed, with strong smells of curry wafting through the air. Dave and Jen only had one full day in Singapore and so after exploring the great Mosque and Arab St (to get Dave more roti), Dave and Jen headed for what Singapore is famous for -the shopping malls!

Orchard Road is the place to go and literally has at least 20 malls (or rather for fear of being criticised for my Americanisation, Shopping Centres) all lined up next to one another and often joined underground. This makes it very easy to go through 2 or 3 without even realising it! Dave and Jen particularly enjoyed the food courts, which had an amazing selection of food at really cheap prices. (Wow, sounds a bit like I'm in an advertising program)... But really, it was so good, a true feast for the eyes and the stomach! Jen opted for frozen yoghurt with pepitas and dried cranberries, while Dave found a Cold Stone (Cold Rock) equivalent and had a chocolate masterpiece.

Dave was particularly fascinated by the architecture of Ion Orchard, (the biggest mall of the lot we're told), with beautiful statues and bathrooms that would rival some of the most expensive hotels in Melbourne. After spending a good 5 hours shopping and Jen spending her weekly budget on a dress and shoes, we decided it would be a good idea to escape the consumerism capital of South East Asia and went to see the Karate Kid at the movies. It cost only $7 to get in for a full price ticket and it wasn't even Tight Arse Tuesday! Dave and Jen then headed back to Little India and had a delicious meal of naan bread and dhal from the Indian Restaurant across the road of our hostel, which like most places in Asia, looked really dodgy, but had one of the best meals we'd had all trip, before hitting the hay.

After checking in for our flight to Indonesia, we had a couple of hours to explore 'The World's Best Airport.' It really does deserve that title, as they have thought of everything to make your airport experience as good as possible, they even had a special area with couches and TV screens to watch the World Cup -which Dave and Jen effectively made use of. Dave and Jen then made our way to the departure lounge to be met with the most 'White tourists' and annoying children, with too much energy, running and screaming through the lounge mind you, we'd seen all trip since leaving Melbourne and began dreading that the next destination was to be over touristy Bali...

Reflections on Malaysia: Kuching - Sarawak

daveandjen — Sun, 4 Jul 2010 17:55:00 GMT

Kuching, or 'Cat City,' as it is locally known, due to the extensive number of stray cats and cat statues..., was to be our home for a few nights. Jen had had a recommendation from a friend at BDO to stay at the 'Sea Hare Hostel,' and while being in a bit of an awkward (sorry seem to have lost my ability to spell) position, (a guy got his bag snatched the morning we arrived and another one out front a couple of weeks previously), but it was the cheapest place around and Wes, the owner, was amazing! He sat us down as soon as Dave and Jen arrived and gave us a map of what was worth doing and seeing and exactly how much it would cost and, most importantly, the good places to eat. Dave and Jen had been craving roti canai ever since landing in Malaysia and were very happy to find 'Sri Shan' -an very good and very cheap Indian Restaurant just around the corner, which sold every kind of roti you could think of - roti cheese, roti coconut, roti masala, roti jackfruit... In fact, Dave and Jen enjoyed the place so much, we ate here for lunch and dinner for three consecutive days and Dave even asked the owner for his roti recipe to take back to Cho Gao!

On the topic of food... Dave was also very happy to find 'Secret Recipe' in Kuching, a decadent cake shop, similar to the Cheesecake Shop in Australia, but a little more upmarket, which was introduced to Dave and Jen by Peter. Dave planned to try every cake and milkshake which sounded/looked appealing to him -even if it meant eating there twice in one day, or ordering two cakes and milkshake at once! The cakes did look amazing and Jen gave in to temptation (just once) to try the 'Hi-Fibre Cheesecake' which proved to be quite tasty, but really just enjoyed watching Dave work his way through the menu and Secret Recipe's staff's reactions...

One of the day trips which Dave and Jen were most looking forward to was to Semmongohk Rehabilitation Centre, about 40 minutes bus ride out of town. It was here where Dave and Jen would get to see Orangutans who had been rehabilitated and then let back into the wild, but still returned for food. Apparently the program here in Borneo, of re-releasing the orangutans into the wild is very successful. However, their habitat is being destroyed by the encroachment of palm oil plantations! This is really sad considering they are dangerously endangered and only found in Borneo and Sumatra -so my advice to you is AVOID PALM OIL PRODUCTS! Which, unfortunately, is pretty difficult considering nearly every supermarket packaged item contains it, often disguised by being called 'vegetable oil,' and even worse, it is supposed to be considered as a 'greener' fuel alternative to fossil fuels -even though the palm oil trees don't even absorb carbon dioxide at the same rate as other trees! But that is a bit off topic...

Dave and Jen arrived at Semmongohk Rehabilitation Centre around 830am to catch the morning feeding. It was, typically, raining and so the likelihood of the orangutans coming down was greatly reduced... After waiting patiently for a while, listening to the staff calling them down by name, Dave and Jen were very excited to see the leaves begin to rustle. Dave and Jen then saw tree trunks swaying which revealed a large furry orange body coming towards us in search of bananas! The way they move through the jungle is most impressive and described quite well by Alfred Russel Wallace in the book I'm reading, 'The Malay Archipelago.'

Wallace says: 'It is a singular and very interesting to watch a Mias (Malay word for Orangutan) making his way leisurely through the forest. He walks deliberately along some of the larger branches in the semi erect attitude which the great length of his arms and the shortness of his legs cause him naturally to assume; and the disproportion between these limbs is increased by his walking on his knuckles, not on the palms of his hands, as we should do. He seems always to choose those branches which intermingle with an adjoining tree on approaching, which he stretches out his long arms, and seizing the opposing boughs, grasps them together with both hands, seems to try their strength, and then deliberately swings himself across to the next branch, on which he walks along as before. He never jumps or springs, or even appears to hurry himself, and yet manages to get along almost as quickly as a person can run through the forest beneath.'

Truly an amazing sight. After one came down, at least ten others came for food -even a mother with its little baby clutching on! It was great that they just came down from the tree where ever they desired (and not on the feeding platform at least 15m away) and so Dave and Jen were only 2m away and surrounded by wild orangutans! Because this rehabilitation centre is so little heard of, there were hardly any tourists and so Dave managed to get some great photos too...

Dave and Jen took another day trip to Bako National Park, which is about an hour and a half bus and boat ride out of Kuching, in the hope of seeing the Probiscious Monkey, a big nosed monkey endemic to Borneo. Apparently the boat trip is cheaper the more people you go with, so we befriended a middle aged Italian man, whose name escapes me, (although Dad would surely nick name him Luigi), but who was VERY hairy to share the boat ride with. Dave and Jen walked around the National Park for a couple of hours, saw some of the famous big nosed monkeys and some little ones too, found a beautiful little beach all to ourselves and Jen went swimming while Dave played on the rocks. But the heat and humidity of the jungle was so intense, that Dave and Jen decided to relax with some lunch and watch a bit of the World Cup to regain some energy. Near the restaurant were a few Macaus (spelt wrong, most likely, but is the name of a species of little monkey) hiding in the trees. Wes, during our 'Introduction to Kuching' information session, was telling us that these monkeys are quite the strategisers, and will often work together, with one distracting you in front, while the others steal your stuff! There are also particular fans of plastic water bottles... It was very funny to watch these monkeys run across the restaurant tables, among heaps of hot and hungry trekkers, in an attempt to steal unsuspecting lunches. However, they were unsuccessful, as every time they attempted, they were met with sling shot propelled rocks by the National Park staff. Luckily, Dave and Jen had eaten before anything could be strategically stolen...

In an effort to save money, Dave and Jen (and the hairy Italian) decided to share a boat with tree other guys. The boat, by the way, its probably important to point out, was a small motorised dinghy, and really not made for six people! Anyway, Dave and Jen waded out to knee deep water and then jumped in, and it still required3 people to push the boat out of the mud and into the oncoming swell to get the motor running. But, due to the weight, I think it really would've been faster if we all picked up an oar and started paddling! But I digress, the afternoon tide was coming in, and the well over full boat and our less than experienced skipper formed quite the combination. Rather than tackling the waves front on, he decided that sideways would be the better option, therefore almost resulting in us flipping three times!! -Did I mention the water was crocodile infested?? Jen was getting quite worried and was quickly putting all of her valuables in snaplock bags and blowing them up with air -so at least if we went over (which was highly likely)they would be recoverable... We finally made it to the river, out of the swell, and to dry land -a little shaken, but for the $10 AUD we saved, surely it was worth it?!

Kuching is a beautiful city with, unlike KK (Kota Kinabalu), due to it being bombed in WW2, most of its colonial architecture from the Rajah Brookes Governance, and the big Sarawak River flowing through it makes it very picturesque... Slightly overdosed on roti (Jen still can't eat it 3 weeks later), and Dave successful in trying all of Secret Recipe's desserts, we left Kuching for Singapore.

Reflections on Malaysia: Sibu - Sarawak

daveandjen — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:03:00 GMT

Sibu was to be the next destination for 4 days and Dave and Jen were graciously taken under the wing of Peter, Alicia (my physio's dad). Peter, second generation Foo Chow Chinese, but born in Borneo, lives in Sibu, to develop the land his father left him, while his wife and two daughters live in Melbourne. Peter was an amazing host and really too generous to Dave and Jen. He insisted on going out of his way to pay for all our delicious meals, pick us up from the airport, let us stay in his house, drive us around town to a number of beautiful places, paid and organised our ferry trips and even made sure we had snacks for our long boat trips!

Dave and Jen enjoyed being entertained by Peter's many insights into the corruption that is prevalent in Sibu and Malaysian society, and Dave especially enjoyed Peter's tales of his restaurant business in Melbourne in the late 70s... Perhaps the biggest highlight of hanging out with Peter, for Jen anyway, was the food! Our first dinner consisted of beautifully cooked pork which was poached, roasted, braised and then deep fried! Not the most healthiest of meals, but wow did it taste amazing! It was great being taken around by a local who can share with us their local delicacies and also to provide insight into their daily life...

Peter took us to the main "tourist" attraction of Sibu (Sibu, mind you is not very high on the list of stops of the tourist trail), which was a massive Chinese temple. Peter was friends with the owner and so gave us an hour long personal tour and lecture of the temple and its meanings, Dave was in heaven, being particularly interested in all things Asian history! Jen, however, was a little tired and hot, and while enjoyed the lecture, managed to drift off right at the exact time our teacher asked her a question, which turned out to be rather embarrassing! It is quite interesting that there is such a massive Chinese influence in Sarawak and you would definitely have trouble getting around if you didn't speak Malay and Chinese.

One of Dave's biggest hopes for his round the world trips was to be tattooed by the Dyak tribes of Borneo. As, apparently, they are one of, if not the only, remaining cannibalistic tribes. Peter once again helped us and found the 'maestro' of Iban tattooing which he set Dave up an appointment with. Dave and Jen took a four hour boat ride from Sibu to Kapit, 'Into the Heart of Borneo,' too meet up with the maestro and also to see the traditional lodging of these tribes. Dave's tattoo took about five hours, and even though our driver time to make up time by screaming up the pot hole filled gravel road, with or without her sump tank she didn't mind, Dave and Jen only had about 40 minutes to see the longhouse and to share some traditional tuak (rice whisky) with the local people. Dave and Jen also managed to marvel at the human skulls, trophies of past conquests, which are usually hidden away. While the long house looks old fashioned and for lack of a more appropriate word,'uncivilised' by Western standards, it's quite funny that all of them have the internet and cable TV! The satellite dishes covering the roofs are very funny to see!

Dave and Jen arrived back in Sibu to a loverly traditional and home cooked meal of satay sticks, beef rendang, chinese water spinach and ferns - a fantastic end to an amazing few days with our new friend!

Reflections on Malaysia: Sarawak - Gunung Mulu National Park

daveandjen — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:48:00 GMT

After our much needed recovery from the Mt Kinabalu efforts (and a couple of days enjoying the sunsets and islands near Kota Kinabalu), Dave and Jen left Sabah for Sarawak and Gunung Mulu National Park - thought to be the home of the largest limestone caves in the world and also of the famous 'Bat Exodus.' Two quick flights got us to the destination. Dave and Jen took a short ride to the entrance gate and were greeted by a huge (and particularly unstable with 30kg of luggage a piece) suspension bridge -a true welcoming to the jungles of Borneo!

Even though Jen booked accommodation more than one month in advance, it was not early enough to secure a room all to ourselves and so we were relegated to the infamous dorm room lodging. Jen was quite worried as the safety and the rules of a dorm, as she'd never experienced one before, and Dave seemed to be preoccupied by the fact that his head board was producing insects! It was later discovered that it was termite infested and so he used some bandaids to successfully seal up the holes...

The room (as I'm sure all dorm rooms are) was basically a big hall with about 20 beds in it and numerous windows, doors and openings which were perfect for the invading jungle insects come nightfall. Luckily Jen and Dave came prepared and both mastered fashionable cocoons from mosquito nets to protect them from malaria, frogs, and stick insects, and in Dave's case -death by termites. The first night's slumber was annoying interrupted by a loud snorer just two beds away, who would put Stuart, Dad and Papa's collective most horrendous snoring to shame...

Dave and Jen spent two days exploring the four show caves by long boat and by foot. Jen was terribly frightened of leeches (having had nightmares for the previous week about being consumed by these blood sucking worms), so she completely covered herself with Bushman Plus and clothes in ridiculously hot and humid weather, but was significantly relieved when she didn't encounter one!

The caves were spectacular. Very large and filled with beautiful stalicmites, stalictites, columns and cave curtains. Dave and Jen felt that they were perhaps in an Indiana Jones movie exploring the unknown -if it wasn't for all the Chinese tourists (and lack of handsome Harrison Ford). By far the most impressive was Deer Cave. Apparently, a 747 can be easily flown into it!! It did not have as many beautiful cave features as the others -but what it did have was bats! (and a correspondingly large amount of bat poo - which makes the cave exploration rather unpleasant due to the overpowering stench)...

After walking through the cave, you can sit in the Bat Observatory, near the entrance at Dusk, and watch the famed Bat Exodus, whereby millions upon millions of Bats leave their cave in search of food, or blood filled victims... Unfortunately for Dave and Jen, it was pouring with rain and the bats, unlike us, decided it was a better idea to stay indoors. After waiting for the bats exodus to arrive, the heavens opened up and Dave and Jen appeared to be stuck in an unrelenting downpour of monsoonal proportions! With weary limbs (still) and hungry stomachs, and the promise of a cold shower and clean clothes, Dave and Jen marched, or rather, swam, the 4km long journey through the jungle back to the room.

That night after a long couple of days in humidity and a sleepless night previously, Jen was not going to let that man two beds down interrupt her much needed slumber. -In fact, every time she was awoken by his incessantly loud snoring, Jen crawled out of her mosquito net cocoon and tapped that man until he woke up and whispered, 'Excuse me, but can you please roll over because you're snoring really loudly!' Jen did this three times. The next morning, that man was very apologetic and embarrassed, and Dave was surprised yet appreciative of Jen's audacity...

Dave and Jen had an enjoyable few days in the jungle, seeing all kinds of birds, butterflies and monster stick insects, but were also looking forward to a place where our food wasn't swarmed with insects before you had time to grab your fork to begin eating at each meal!

Reflections on Malaysia: Sabah (North Borneo)

daveandjen — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:46:00 GMT

After spending one week in Taiwan, Dave and Jen caught another Air Asia flight to hot and sticky Sabah (North Borneo). We arrived on the tarmac and were instantly dripping with sweat, luckily we both thought to eachother that we were hightailing it to Mount Kinabalu the same day. Jen was very happy to be in a place where she spoke the language like a true local, thank you Indonesian language classes from Whittlesea Primary nearly 10 years ago... (Malay and Indonesian are very similar) And took every chance she could to say Good Morning, use numbers or say pointless vocabulary which randomly came to her. We arrived at the long distance bus station and Jen was instantly reminded of previous trip to south east asia and the experiences of public transportation, very different from the European standard of rail networks and buses we had so quickly gotten use to in Taiwan. Jen set off to use her Malay language skills to get two tickets to our hostel, while Dave was in charge of the luggage. To the local's astonishment, Dave was carrying his day pack and both the big backpacks, muscles bulging, which prompted at least five Malay to grab his muscles, asking him whether he practiced, and how did he get so big and strong... Being told that the 2 o clock bus was full, it was a hair past two, we were told the next bus was half 3 and so looked for a place to escape the intense humidity and rest from a long day of travel. Suddenly, there was a lot of calling and hand gestures to get Jen and Dave's attention, we had no idea what was going on so we just ignored it, until they came up and grabbed us, excitedly telling us that somehow they had created two bus seats out of mid air for us to catch the 2 pm bus. We were both very grateful, packed our bags underneath and set off...

The bus went up the foothills of Mt Kinabalu for 2 hours, and while Dave was watching Collateral Damage on the bus TV screen, Jen, struggling with motion sickness, tried to take in as much beautiful scenery as possible, admist stares at again being the only Western Tourists around. After two pit stops, one to fix the broken airconditioner, and one to replace a flat tyre, we arrived at D'Villa Rina Ria Lodge, ate some much anticipated Malaysian fare, rubbed our still tired legs with Tiger Balm and got to bed in fear for the next day's punishing trek...

Rough Guides and Alicia (my physio) informed Jen that the hike up Mt Kinabalu was to be a relatively easy 8.7km climb that anyone could do regardless of age or fitness level. It is half the height of Everest, 4095m, and it takes two days to climb. Dave and Jen got to the park headquarters very early, too early in fact, because we had to wait half an hour for it all to open, to pay for our Insurance and Mountain Guide, before we set off. Dave and Jen were designated a 4 foot pocket rocket guide named Dana (or so we think). She was loverly, but didn't talk much, and incredibly fit, her best time to the summit was 3 and a half hours, rivalling the 2009 Run Mt Kinabalu champions! Dave was particularly impressed with her ability to tackle steps and rocks that were literally half the size of her with ease... After four and a half hours Dave and Jen made it to the top, exhausted, sore and slightly sunburnt, but very excited at the thought of a buffet dinner and a good sleep. We arranged with our guide to met at half two the next morning to tackle the summit.

The alarm went off at 1 45am, and both Dave and Jen thought what the hell have we gotten ourselves into as we slowly got ready for our remaining 2.7km trek and final 1000m altitude climb. Equipped with the warmest clothes we had brought, which was not much considering we had originally left Australia prepared for 98% humidity and 36 degree weather, torches and some bananas we began the race to the top before the sun rose. Dave, unbeknownst to him, was already suffering from altitude sickness and had been struggling to catch his breath since arriving at our overnight accommodation, but continued on in the hope of some great pictures, in T shirt and shorts. Jen, of course was wearing leggings, and a long sleeve top, and was afraid to put on more layers so instead they stayed in her pack where they would stay dry and warm until she reached the summit. The two and a half hour trek was highly entertaining and consisted of scaling a bare granite rock face for the most part with a rope to stabilise yourself or to help you absail up, which is particularly difficult when you are also trying to hold a torch, and in the dark... Dave and Jen arrived at the summit not in very good shape. Ten minutes earlier, Jen had broken down, scared with feelings reminiscint to that time she got hypothermia in high school, and was comforted by Dave who helped put more clothes on her. We were the Fourth and Fifth person to make it to the top and you could see that the sun was beginning to make it's way into the sky providing the most spectacular sunrise on a beautifully clear morning, however we were unable to bask in our glory for long, if at all. Jen practically collapsed and Dave helped to put more clothes on her, food in her mouth and give her some water. It turned out that Jen was suffering from some pretty bad altitude sickness and mild hypothermia, too sick in fact to realise that there were foot long rats smelling her shoes!

So, just as the sun was breaking through the horizon, that ultimate picture taking opportunity, Jen set off down the mountain, admist stares of shock and awe as hikers were curious as to why we were missing the beautiful sunrise which was not appearing, practically running to get off that god forsaken summit so she could see clearly, feel her extremities and breathe again! Dave, incredibly sore legs and carrying Jen's pack tried to keep up for fear of Jen jumping off the mountain in her dazed and confused state...

Dave and Jen reached the overnight's accommodation, exhausted, and sick, and had a quick nap before setting off for the 4 hour descent to a more reasonable altitude for humans. (Or rather, unfit idiots). Too tired and sore to catch the 6 hour bus to Sandakan to see the POW Camps from WW2, or the orangutans, Dave decided to splurge and booked the most expensive room in the park (and the only one left available) where we spent a good couple of days recovering!

Reflections on Taiwan: Part 2

daveandjen — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:07:00 GMT

After spending some time in the capital, Dave and Jen embarked on a south ward trip to the historic city of Tainan. (The previous capital of Taiwan). After purchasing tickets, with a piece of paper writen by the English speaking Information Assistant, which probably said "We are two stupid White people who should have learned more Mandarin, but please help us buy two train tickets to Tainan..." The train was a four hour trip south via the Mountain route, and on the way we saw some beautiful scenery of Taiwanese farmland and mountains. We checked into our new hotel, much cleaner and nicer than Happy Family and cheaper too! Then we had a look around town. Tainan is the fourth biggest city in Taiwan, but it is noticeably slower paced than Taipei. It is filled with old temples and monuments and so off Dave and Jen went, walking through the streets in the rain looking for historic sights. Jen quickly got fed up with having saturated shoes and soggy feet and so bought some gum boots for 10 AUD which quickly lightener her mood. Too distracted by deep fried spicy chicken we had just purchased from a road side vendor we missed the street we were supposed to go down and ended up walking on the road about half an hour out of town and out of our way without realising. When it became obvious that we had clearly gone too far we turned around again, soaking wet back towards town. Jen was stopped by a lady in her car with an umbrella poking out her window, pleading Jen to take her umbrella. She was not going to take no for an answer, so Jen, bewildered at such hospitality, took the offering and said thankyou in Mandarin a million times. The lady then drove off in the complete opposite direction. Both Dave and Jen could not believe what had happened, but then remembered Taiwan's reputation as having the most friendly people and thought this was only natural to them!

Dave and Jen left Tainan for Lukang (Lugang), about 2 hours north of Tainan in Central Taiwan, a place which is renowned for its food. Again, having no idea where we were going or how to communicate to ask for directions, a kind lady at the train information centre wrote us out little cards saying "Can you please help us buy a bus ticket for Lugang" and "Do you know where hotel ____ is?" Dave and Jen got on the bus fine, but then realised that we did not know which stop to get off at, neither being to Lugang before, we had no idea what it looked like or what to expect. Jen approached two young teenagers and asked if they spoke English and it turned out that they were getting off at the same stop. This was lucky, considering Hello and Thankyou only get you so far! These two kind Taiwanese teenagers, not only helped us work out where to get off, but then proceeded to walk with us for half an hour (I'm sure out of their way) to our hotel! When Dave tried to offer to buy them lunch or give them some money they would not accept it, all they wanted was a photo, if that would not be too much trouble for us. Jen happily stood head and shoulders above our two taiwanese friends as Dave snapped away. They probably just wanted to take our photo to prove to their friends that their stories of the massive white people were not made up...

Lukang definately has a lot of interesting food. Cow's tongues seem to be sold everywhere. A dough sought of bread thing that is squished and then fried to resemble a cow's tongue that tastes kind of weird and comes in a whole array of flavours, strawberry, brown sugar, green tea... Pork buns seem to be sold everywhere and more sweet bread! Dave got a particular taste for these donut looking things, which were really just croissants in the shape of a donut and bought 20! Everytime we walked past his stand, the shop keeper would look at us and wave and smile like an old friend... Dave was, after all, his best customer!

Dave and jen woke up early the next morning to check out the morning market. The whole town was transformed, what was the previous day a sleepy quiet place was not overrun with scooters, street vendors, shouting and chaotic traffic jams! Dave and jen happily explored the streets and market, jen buying too much fruit and boiled maize for brekki, while dave returned to his favourite shop for more donuts... When we'd had enough we started walking back to our hotel for a quick rest before we attempted the long journey back to Taipei. Jen felt a strong tap on her shoulder, then Dave did as well, we turned around and standing in front of us was a short, well built Taiwanese man in his late 40s. He motioned for us to follow him, and as we were curious and had time we followed...

It's probably important to point that this man did not speak one word of English and so instead our limited conversation consisted of hand gestures and smiles. He took us first to his wife's street side cafe and gave us each a large bowl of some sort of noodle soup. We were both already full from our breakfast, not 10 minutes earlier, and partially scared as to what comprises the bowl in front of us. Not wanted to be rude, Dave and Jen attempted to eat the noodle soup, with the help of spoonfuls of chilli, and were both particularly unsuccessful. However, Dave smiled and gave thumbs up, and Jen rubbed her stomach and said mmmmmmmmm, an onlooker probably thought we were re-acting out scenes from Friends -that episode of thanksgiving where Joey teaches the rest of them how to appreciate Rachel's trifle... When our guide had thought Dave and Jen had endured enough noodle soup, he motioned for us to get up and then proceeded to take us around the market...

It seemed like our friend was the man of the town, walking straight down the middle of busy roads, waving and talking to everyone as we passed by, stopping at various places to give us fruit to try, or trying to get Jen to do womens work (shucking oysters), so then he could take Dave drinking or do Man stuff... The funniest part for Jen was seeing Dave try all the different types of fruit, and not being able to say no, Dave was so good at pretending he liked fresh coconut juice our friend gave him a whole bottle of it! He gave us about $50AUD worth of food for free from his street vendor friends and then took us over to a clothing store where he got the lady to give us two free pairs of shorts! It was very funny watching the owners measure Dave and debate which style and colour would suit him best, finally deciding on black 3/4 length shorts... After taking us around his town for about an hour, he took us back to the place where we met him, gave us his phone number and said goodbye. Dave and Jen were shocked with what they had just experienced, but liked Taiwan all the more because of it, and were astonished that this man had given us $100AUD at least, of fruit, vegetables and clothes, for nothing in return.

After a long journey back, via the coastal route this time, Dave and Jen arrived back at old faithful -Happy Family. Sick of the city and craving for the great outdoors, Jen suggested that Dave and Jen spend our last day in Yangmingshan National Park -about an hours bus trip out of town. Yangmingshan National Park is a beautiful mountainous area with spectacular views of Taipei and filled with native wildlife, volcanic sulphurous springs and a whole mess of stairs! We got off the bus and it was raining and misty, but we didn't let that stop Jen from enjoying being in the fresh air, away from the city. Dave and Jen decided to follow the road up to check out some of the sulphurous springs, only to discover that the fog was so thick you could not see anything, only knowing you were nearby by the overwhelming smell of rotten eggs! Jen thought that the summit trail of Mt Cising, might be a good way to spend the morning and so off Dave and Jen set on the 1.6km trail of stairs to the top. It was a beautiful hike, but it was a shame that at all the lookout spots all you could see was a sea of clouds. Jen decided that we should take longer trip down hill, hoping that it would be less steep, however it wasn't and in fact it was probably more precarious (did I mention Dave was wearing shoes with no grip, constantly falling over and smashing his wrist and his camera?) than the original... Dave and Jen arrived at HQ, saturated and tired and Dave very sore and thought it was a good idea to go back home.

Looking back on doing this hike of stairs through the middle of the National Park was probably not the best idea considering Dave and Jen were supposed to hike MT Kinabalu only two days later and Dave had not exercised for a VERY long time... Of course DOMS set in like nothing else and we could both hardly walk, even after long applications of super strength tiger balm to our weary calves!

With an afternoon to spare, Dave and Jen went down to 'Camera Street' to bargain for a new camera for Dave... After visiting a couple of stores, we finally found the winner. Jen walked in, found the camera Dave was after and smiling her best smile began to bargain with the owner for his best price. Jen managed to get his price down by at least 1000 TWD to a price which beats the Australian price by about 50$! This particular camera even included an American warranty, which would be very helpful to Dave in the near future...

Dave and Jen, tired from the long hike and hard bargaining, went to our favourite sweet bread store, stocked up on food for the early morning flight the next day and had an early night, both very much in love with Taiwan, and also looking forward to the coming events in Borneo...

Photos: Malaysian Borneo

daveandjen — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:52:00 GMT

Photos: Taiwan

daveandjen — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:44:00 GMT