Miss Bootsie On Tour

Borneo: The Land Beneath The Wind… And The Waves

nadi-boots — Sat, 4 Feb 2012 21:08:00 GMT

It’s hard to believe two months has passed since I was in Borneo, and it seems even crazier now that I have relocated to live and teach in Exmouth.

After my whirlwind trip to Beijing I flew from Beijing to Hanoi, Hanoi to KL, KL to Sandakan and finally bartered for a taxi to drive me to Sepilok. A few short days and a LOT of travel, a tired and cranky Nadia arrived in Sepilok. My head hit the pillow and I was dead to the world for the next 10 hours.

Sepilok is well known for one thing, Orang-utans. There is a sanctuary there, and very little else. I made my way to the park so I would be there in time for the 11am feeding session. I followed the boardwalk through the jungle until I found the feeding station where you have the best opportunity to spot some Orang-utans. Since it was late November, the height of rainy season, there was no guarantee that I would see many (if any). Fortunately, after the park ranger arrived and laid food on the platform, three adult orang-utans and three babies soon came down to the feeding platform in front of me. For about thirty minutes I was lucky enough to watch as they ate and played among the forest around me. Such an incredible opportunity to watch them in a semi wild environment. Of course the humidity in the jungle was intense; I was pouring sweat and got out of there as soon as the Orang-utans had dispersed. Side note- there are other (lamer) monkeys that hang around the feeding station hassling tourists and getting very food aggressive.

Next stop was Sandakan, an unimpressive town that boasts some nice nearby islands and a lovely old English tea house up on the hill overlooking town. If I had more time I would have spent a few days chilling out with turtles on the islands, but I was headed to Semporna to get some serious diving done. A half day bus ride and I was there… and it lived up to every word that I had heard about it.

Semporna is a dirty, smelly town that you would not even get of the bus to bother looking around. However, it is the gateway to Sipidan and some of the greatest dive sites in South East Asia. And the bar at Scuba Junkies does make an awesome Lasagne! I did my diving with Sipidan Scuba, and I cannot speak highly enough of the team there. With a mixture of local and expat dive instructors, it was a team that knew the dive sites inside out and showed me the very best of an amazing dive area.

My first day was at Sipidan, the one we all go there to see. I saw so many sharks and turtles I lost count. What surprised me was how placid and content the sharks were, they just cruised on past without a care in the world. Every other place I have spotted sharks they disappear almost as soon as you see them. The drop off was amazing, and as I floated along the side of that wall I couldn’t help but freak out a little bit when I thought about how far down that drop actually goes. The coral, the fish, the macro life… it all just blew my mind. As if what’s under the waves wasn’t enough, the island of Sipidan is a truly beautiful place to spend the day lazing on the beach.

Next day we headed to Mantabuan, another beautiful site that is dotted with small islands and sandbars to relax on between dives. Again we saw sharks and turtles, but Mantabuan is really spectacular because of the tiny macro life that thrives within its waters. I was fortunate to have a local diver as my guide that day, and he spotted things that I would never have noticed in a million years. Although it’s been two months I can still remember that dive like it was yesterday.

Final day of diving was spent at Sibuan. It seems unfair to say it was the ‘worst’ day of diving because it was still a great, clear dive with heaps of marine life; it just wasn’t as spectacular as the other two days. On the plus side, Rob, the dive master, let us take two of those cool hand held propellers that you see spies using in James Bond films. So much fun!

With a tinge of sadness I boarded the bus to Kota Kinabalu and left Semporna. I know I will return to dive those beautiful waters again, hopefully sooner rather than later. The bus ride to KK was a nine hour experience that I will not be racing back to relive. It was school holidays and the bus was full of children, many of them were unwell. I had a long back and forth text conversation with a friend while on that bus… much of which I did not remember when thinking back. It was one of those trips where time seems to stand still.

Once I arrived in KK I checked into a swanky hotel that I had arranged on the internet. I won’t lie, I delighted in luxuriating for a few days. KK has some great food, some great shopping and some beautiful little islands just a short boat trip away. I took a day to go over to Sapi Island and enjoy some snorkelling and sunbathing, which I highly recommend if you are ever in KK. I also arranged with the desk clerk at my hotel to drive me to Lok Kwai Zoo on his day off, a bargain for me and some extra money for him. My last day in KK was spent white water rafting with a Chinese family. Words cannot express how amusing that day was. A terrified mother who screamed every time the boat nudged a rock, a teenage daughter who screeched with laughed every time she got wet, a teenage son who wasn’t paddling hard enough if you ask me, and a father who was trying to manage all of the above.

And then it was time to fly back to KL and on to Perth. I was pretty impressed with my sneaky stealth moves, managing to surprise my family and friends with my arrival home. Mez and Adelina were waiting to pick me up and whisk me home to surprise Mummy Boots and The Dad Person. That day feels like it was a million years ago. In the weeks that followed I drank too much, welcomed a new niece, ate too much at Christmas, hit the beach a lot, travelled to Brisbane and accepted a job offer at Exmouth District High.

For those of you who read all of these posts and shared my trip with me, thank you J I hope you had even one tenth as much fun reading these as I did creating them xox luv Nads

I <3 Beijing Baby!

nadi-boots — Sun, 4 Dec 2011 20:22:00 GMT

Well There Ain't No Party Like The Communist Party, Cos The Communist Party... Runs A Very Efficient And Enjoyable City.

Sometime way back in July I got a nice little surprise in my tax return. I decided then and there, that some of that money should go towards a trip from Hanoi to Beijing. After all, you only live once, and I didn't know when I would next find myself close enough to China to take such a trip. If I was close enough to see The Great Wall of China, and I still had the money in the bank, I would never forgive myself for missing it.

When? Well I guessed it would be towards the end of my trip, at that vague section after I'd made my way up the coast of Vietnam, but before I was ready to come home to Perth. With no firm plans on a flight home I was a little unsure... early to mid December maybe?

I remember my father's exact words. 'Beijing in December? You'll need some warm clothes because it'll be bloody cold!' Well Tommy Boots, you were right. It was bloody cold. I took his advice and bought a jacket before I left Hanoi, and I will be forever grateful for my fathers advice. :)

I landed in Beijing in the late afternoon and passed easily through Chinese immigration with a smile. I had expected them to be stern and officious, but they were friendly and pleasant. The first of many preconceived notions to be shattered.

I exited the terminal and was immediately shocked and delighted by the snapping cold. Hanoi had been a muggy 35 degrees Celsius, Beijing was a very crisp 10 degrees. After almost five months of sweltering humidity in south east Asia, it was a refreshing change to feel cold. On the taxi ride to my hostel I gazed out the window at the clean highways, soviet style apartment blocks and highway signs written entirely in Chinese characters. How strange and foreign everything seemed, and yet at the same time it seemed so much more like home than the messy, crowded, hot, bubbling streets of Hanoi.

I had expected a huge, noisy city, with vast sections of 'old town' crammed in near huge skyscrapers and a vibrant CBD. Instead there were neatly spaced, mid level, apartment blocks and block after block of clean and tidy, low level commercial buildings. The whole place seemed so sterile and clean compared to the mess and excitement of south east Asia.

Then suddenly the landscape started to change and there were cafes, bookshops, pedestrians, food carts and music all around the taxi. Traffic seemed to emerge from nowhere and the taxi was slowed to a crawl. Everywhere I looked there were cafes and bars. The taxi driver pulled over and motioned to a side street, ' hotel over there.' I paid the fare and tried to ask how far down that street the hostel was... but I had exhausted his use of English. I stepped out of the warm taxi into the cold wind, strapped my pack on and headed off in search of the Beijing Downtown Backpackers.

As I walked down the hutong towards the hostel I was amazed by the array of funky clothing stores, gift shops selling ironic and kitsch communist propaganda souvenirs, music stored blasting modern music... 'cool' alternative western music??? And then there was the food. Coffee shop after coffee shop, little hole in the wall kiosks selling huge shish kebabs, huge restaurants serving entire Chinese banquets, tiny restaurants serving rice and basics, western cafes, churros covered in steaming hot fudge, a food cart selling... something, and a shop called 'Mr Beard', the logo was a cartoon faced old man with a fisherman’s hat and a snowy white beard, that only sold eclairs ( or giant profiteroles in my opinion). So random. So wonderful.

Once I found the hostel I quickly dumped my bag in the dormitory and practically ran back out into the Hutong to explore. Everywhere I turned there were amazing smells wafting around, groups of young, trendy Chinese kids laughing and milling about, and music filtering across the top of it all. I immediately loved the neighborhood. I spent the evening wandering through the local hutongs, snacking, shopping and soaking in all the sights. I also took the opportunity to buy gloves, a scarf and a cardigan from one of the many women who had set up an impromptu night market along the street selling cold weather gear. Night set in, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped to about 4 degrees. It was too bloody cold for a Perth girl.

The next day I teamed up with Hannah and Ollie, fellow Aussies from my dorm, to catch the subway out to the Summer Palace. Catching the subway in Beijing is an experience in itself. Just when you think nobody else can possibly fir into the carriage, another 25 people manage to cram themselves in. Add to that the amusement of Ollie, a more than 6 foot tall white guy, towering over a carriage full of fascinated Chinese people.

We spent a day wandering about the beautiful gardens and buildings of the Summer Palace. Set on a lake, it was a serene and peaceful place that allowed us to appreciate the beauty of the traditional architecture and the gardens. We also took great delight in laughing at the many many many people wandering the grounds in panda animal hats. They sell them on just about every corner in Beijing and while I'm sure they keep your head and ears warm, they look ridiculous. The sights at the Summer Palace all had names like, ' the garden of utmost harmony and peace' or ' the temple of divine wisdom and serenity.' Towards the end of the day I started to be confused by all the different versions of peace, wisdom, harmony, serenity and truth.

That night a big group from the hostel headed out to find some Peking duck. There was a little lake near the hostel surrounded by a boardwalk full of restaurants. We had been given a card at the hostel and told it was THE place to go for Peking duck, but we couldn't manage to find it ourselves. With not much Cantonese/Mandarin between us, we were very luck to eventually stop an English speaking passer by who was very friendly and escorted us to the restaurant. We had actually walked past it already. Perhaps the giant cartoon duck statue out the front should have been a giveaway. ;) What followed was not only a delicious meal of Peking duck, but a floor show of dancers, jugglers, acrobats and contortionists. Value for money!

Walking home we joined an impromptu tango class being taught on the boardwalk and played a game of shuttlecock hackey sack ( anyone who's been to Vietnam of China knows what I mean). Again I was struck by how fun and vibrant Beijing and its people were.

Early the next morning Ollie and I boarded a minibus to take a day trip to THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!! Katie, the uber sporty Canadian girl in our dorm, had opted for a more taxing 6km hike of the wall, but Ollie and I were content with what was described as the 'fun hike' to Mutianyu.

I had explained to Ollie that I was really keen to see the wall, but I also wanted to revel in the cliched tourism of it all. I wanted to watch countless Asian tourists make the peace sign in their photo's at the wall, I wanted to photo bomb their pictures, I wanted to make the peace sign myself, I wanted to watch hundreds of people scurry along after tour guides carrying flags and whistles. I did not want to spend 5 hours running to keep up with Katie and the other uber hikers. Ollie agreed that the 'fun hike' sounded like much more fun.

After 3 hours on the minivan we arrived at Mutianyu, at the foot of the wall. Janet, our guide, explained that we would have 3 hours to walk along the wall before we must be back to meet for lunch and the ride back to Beijing.

We caught the chairlift up ( yes it is that touristy) and started to walk along the top of the wall. It was perfect. Mutianyu is not the section closest to Beijing so while it does attract a lot of tour groups, it is not swarming. Not so many people that you can't get a photo on your own, but enough people that I was able to fulfill my photo bomb desire. ;)

I won't try to explain the wall. I can't do it justice. Just know this; it's awesome and you should go see it sometime. Early in our walk, while we were making good time, I made the glib comment that, ' they give you 3 hours so that even people who are half dead can make it back in time.' We walked to the furthermost tower in our section of the wall and then made it back down to the chairlift with time to spare. At this point we decided to follow the wall up in the other direction, a direction filled with a lot more upward stairs. The walk was hard, but the view was spectacular and certainly well worth the effort. Of course we were 15 min late back to the restaurant ( remember my half dead comment :~), which I could see annoyed Janet. Still, given the choice again I would take THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!! over missing the start of lunch.

Eager to make the most of my short time in Beijing, I booked a trip to a Chinese acrobatic show through the hostel for that evening. Wow! I knew it would be good, but I was not prepared for how amazing those Chinese acrobats would be. Jumping through rings with a 20cm diameter that were held over 6 feet high, flying across the stage in flips and bounds that did not look physically possible, hanging from ropes and plunging to within centimeters of the stage, everything they did made my jaw drop. And of course the female acrobats came out with their bicycles and astounded me even more. At one point I swear to god there were about 15 girls balancing on one bike as the rider cycled it around the stage at a great speed. I laughed and smiled so much my face hurt afterward. If you are in Beijing you MUST go and see a Chinese acrobat show!

In the morning I rose early and started a day of hardcore sightseeing. Jingshan Park, Tiananmen Square, The Peoples Monument, The Forbidden City and Beihai Park. It was a day where I got to see the beauty of Beijing's history and the almost fanatical patriotism of its citizens. In Tiananmen Square, with the giant picture of Chairman Mao looming over the square I watched slightly perplexed as Chinese families posed for pictures and beamed as their small children wagged small plastic Chinese flags. I resisted the urge to tap someone, anyone, on the shoulder and say, ' ahem, excuse me, didn't something happen here in 1989?' But the only indication of the Tiananmen Square Massacre comes from the metal detectors and tight security screening you have to pass through in order to center the square. Aside from that, it is as if the death of those protesters never happened.

My final night in Beijing was spent at the Chinese Opera, an event that I was told was a ' must see' while in Beijing. Hmmmmm... what to say about the Chinese Opera. I think it is certainly an acquired taste. The costumes were beautifully crafted, the musicians were very talented and the short martial arts performance in one scene was very entertaining. The plot, not fantastic, and the singing, sometimes hard to listen to. Still, it was something new and now if I ever have the opportunity to see it again I will know that it is not really my taste.

Suddenly it was my last day in Beijing! I got up early and caught a cab to the Lama Temple ( not to be confused with a Llama temple … which I secretly think would have been a bit cooler) to soak up some final bits of Chinese culture. I strolled down the street to the Confucius Temple, but reading the information outside the temple I found that it was actually just a garden full of stone tablets naming students who had studied under Confucius, so I opted not to go in. On my walk back to the hostel I stumbles across a street that was full of old school Chinese medicine men. Literally a whole street full of offices where you can go to see a medicine man for ancient Chinese medicine and I'm assuming some wise advice. As I strolled down the street and peeped into the windows I was delighted to see that each and every one of them was rocking a Fu Manchu mustache!!!

With that I collected my bags, caught a taxi to the airport and flew out of Beijing feeling that I had seen everything I could hope to see in 4 days.

Honeymoon Bomb!!! Adventures in Hanoi, Halong Bay and the Cat Ba Islands

nadi-boots — Sun, 4 Dec 2011 01:03:00 GMT

With a late night flight from Hue to Hanoi I decided ( for once) to be organized and book a room in advance so I wouldn't have to wander around a new city after midnight looking for a bed. I found a bargain deal at a four star hotel through agoda.com and landed in Hanoi feeling organized and prepared. Of course my taxi driver got lost and had to stop and ask about six different people for directions :P Still he finally found the Rising Dragon Hotel and I was greeted by the smiling and ever helpful night clerk Coung.

Now I had hardly been slumming it in Vietnam, the rooms were so cheap I hadn't really needed to stay anywhere too dodgy, but my room at The Rising Dragon was so nice I never wanted to leave it!So imagine my disappointment the next day when I asked to book for one more night, and I was told that they were full. Still, Coung helped me sort my visa for China and offered to store some things for me for a week or so. I was placated and went off to find another place to stay.

I spent the day wandering the streets of Hanoi's old town and got myself well and truly lost a few times. Busy and noisy like HCMC, Hanoi had a more friendly and accessible vibe to the place. Even as found myself lost, again, I knew that eventually I would see something that would lead me back to the central landmark, the lake. I was supposed to meet Scott and Jo ( the honeymooners) at the Bamboo guest house at 7pm... but the Lonely Planet map was not matching up with the reality of the streets???? Thank goodness it all worked out in the end and we met up at the right place and at the right time. Despite that sneaky map's best efforts ;)

And so began the honeymoon bomb, my few days in northern Vietnam with the newlyweds Scott and Jo. We explored Hanoi and enjoyed a rooftop dinner overlooking the city. We caught a local bus out to Halong Bay, on which Scott counted a max of 37 people on a 20 seater bus. Due to this squeeze I spent most of the trip with a middle aged Vietnamese guy sitting on my lap, not an exaggeration. We drank too much cheap vodka in Halong City, became obsessed with the idea of singing karaoke and dared each other to purchase gaudy velour track suits at the Halong City Markets. Jo also bought an excellent tea set... which Scott was unimpressed about due to its size, weight and his doubt that she would ever use it. Ladies it must be agreed upon that we all use Jo's tea set at every given opportunity whenever Scott is around so that he will have no reason ever to say, ' I told you so!'

After much research and exploration we chose a company to take a 1 night, 2 day trip through Halong Bay on a Chinese Junk boat. We spent two lovely days sailing, kayaking, fishing, playing drunken games of UNO ( evidently none of us remembered the rules), sunbathing and watching the beautiful scenery pass us by. Jo even got the chance to sing karaoke ( I made a weak attempt) on the boat with some hard partying Chinese businessmen. That's no joke, they slammed into a bottle of vodka at lunch on the first day. Halong Bay is a truly beautiful place. Sadly the smog and haze that surrounds it cannot help but act as a reminder of how badly we are trashing our planet.

We left the boat and headed to Cat Ba Island. I had come down with a bug so I left the honeymooners to explore the beach and go extreme rock climbing while I caught some Zzz. Even if I hadn't been feeling sick I wasn't hugely motivated to haul my fat arse up the side of a cliff. Funnily enough the pamphlet at the rock climbing place had a counter point for every excuse I had for not doing it. Apparently, having no upper body strength, being a bit over weight and being uncomfortable with heights are no good reason to avoid rock climbing. Still, I have a fever and I don't want to do it are good enough reasons to get out of it ;)

Suddenly it was time to head back to Hanoi so Mr and Mrs Haliburton could fly to Kuala Lumpur and I could head off to Beijing. But before we parted company... THE SNAKE CHALLENGE. I had heard from some friends I made whilst traveling in Laos that there was a place in Hanoi where they would kill a snake, remove its beating heart and let one of your group eat the heart. Scott had also heard about this, and he was very keen.

We got the concierge at my hotel ( I was able to book in and stay at The Rising Dragon again <3) to arrange a taxi to take us to and from the snake restaurant for a reasonable price. The three of us entered the building, climbed the stairs and took a seat at a table in the empty restaurant. I wasn't even eating the snake and I was jumping out of my skin with nerves.

What followed was one of the most disgusting, fascinating, nauseating and funny experiences ever. A very calm Vietnamese guy came out, pulled a roughly 1 meter long snake out of a hessian sack, slit its throat, sliced it's belly open and removed its heart. The heart, still beating, was put into a shot glass filled with vodka. The man set to work draining the snakes blood into a bottle and then once he was finished he drained its lime green stomach bile into another bottle. I don't handle blood and gore too well so all of this left me feeling pretty squeamish.

Scott and Jo both took a shot of the snakes blood, Scott tried the snake bile and then... finally... Scott drank the shot with the snake heart in it. He tried valiantly, but even Scotty couldn't swallow the still beating heart of that snake. We were then presented with about 7 courses of food all prepared with the remaining parts of the snake. I tried a little bit, but to be honest I was struggling not to be ill after all the blood, stomach bile and heart action. What can I say, I'm a princess at heart.

After all that Jo and I decided a stiff drink was in order. We headed to a bar named, The Pub and had a cocktail. One cocktail soon became several and the night ended with Jo and I following Scott down the street singing The Cruel Sea's ' The Honeymoon Is Over.' And sadly, it was :( I said goodbye to the honeymooners and began my journey to Beijing.

All Those Beautiful Places Between Saigon and Hanoi

nadi-boots — Fri, 2 Dec 2011 20:05:00 GMT

Apologies for being a slacker on the blog :P

Leaving Saigon early in the morning I climbed onto the back of a motorbike with my 16kg pack on my back. If you've ever been to Saigon and seen the traffic you will understand what a terrifying experience this was, thank god it was only a 20 minute ride to the pier. I will say this, trying to balance on that bike with a full pack left me with some very frayed nerves and some very sore quad muscles.

Hopped onto a boat and headed up the coast to a place called Vung Tau to check out the beach. After Saigon the place seemed like a ghost town, with so few cars and people about it was almost unnerving. The town has a Jesus statue up on the hill and some casino's down by the waterfront, trying really hard to recreate a whole Rio vibe. Almost there, just needs a LOT more people. Watched an amazing sunset over the ocean ( which really disorientated me because I thought I was on the East coast???) and snuck into the pool at a much nicer hotel than the one I was staying at.

The next day, after a long stroll along the beachfront, I decided I would need to catch a motorbike taxi back to my hotel if I wanted to catch the afternoon bus out of town. There were probably 15 men on the corner calling for me to go with them, and I took pity on the toothless old guy who looked the most pitiful. My reasoning was as follows; I felt sorry for him and wanted to help him out, and I figured that at his age he probably had the most driving experience of all of them. Not two minutes into the trip he crashed into the back of a car in front of us. He broke hard and slowed right down ( so I thought he would miss it) but at the last second he accelerated and smacked into the back right corner of the car. Of course he then engaged in a screaming match with the driver of the car while I did a quick self check and ascertained that I was fine. I pressed 20,000 Dong into his hand and walked away as he continued to scream at the driver of the car. Moral of the story, don't choose a motorbike taxi based on pity. Don't choose anything based on pity actually.

Crisis averted I made it to the bus station and continued North to a town called Mui Ne. The 'bus' was actually a minivan and I found myself once again the only white person on a cramped and crowded local bus. Let's say the bus could comfortable hold about 20 people... I think we maxed out at about 30. Even so, I had a seat ( no sitting in the aisle for me!) and was next to the window so I was reasonable comfortable for the 5 hour journey. I watched as the little towns and villages of Vietnam flashed past the window and before I knew it I was approaching Mui Ne. With about 1 hour to go the 14 year old boy next to me pulled out a cigarette. I glared at him an intense disgust that I thought made my feelings clear. He lit up anyway. On a minivan. With 29 other people crammed in around him. I shouted at him in English. He ignored me in Vietnamese. The bus rolled on.

Mui Ne was an unusual sort of place, not at all what I had expected from a placed touted as 'the best beach in Vietnam.' The whole beachfront was walled off by hotels and resorts, there was no public access where you could just walk down and enjoy the beach without going through a hotel or restaurant. Also, the beach itself was about 1 meter wide. BUT, the kite surfing and wind surfing in Mui Ne was world class. Probably the reason the Quicksilver has a huge hotel on the waterfront and runs the Quicksilver Kite Surfing Academy in Mui Ne. I found myself a bargain room at a nice beachfront place ( with a pool) and spent an afternoon on the sun deck watching the kite surfers skip across the South China Sea.

The town is also full of BBQ seafood restaurants where you can select the freshest seafood at a very good price and eat yourself silly. Which I did ;) The other draw card in Mui Ne is the sand dunes. I took an afternoon tour out to the white and red sand dunes, and to a local fishing village. The fishing village was full of little circular bamboo boats that bobbed around on the sea and were full of all manner of fish and shellfish. The sand dunes were completely random. After weeks, even months, of dense tropical jungle it was very surreal to suddenly find myself in a desert of sand and surrounded by giant sand dunes. The tourists can pay a lot of money to hire 4 wheel quad bikes and tear around the dunes, or they can pay very little money to hire a sheet of plastic and slide down the dunes. Do the maths people ;)

So after a few days of swimming, sunshine and good seafood I caught the 1am night bus to Nah Trang. The road between Mui Ne and Nah Trang is bumpy and punctuated by the horns of a billion semi trailers tearing up and down the coast. I did not get much sleep. I rolled into Nah Trang at about 6am and cheered myself up with a western breakfast at the Rainbow Divers dive shop and found a decent place to stay for a few days. Nah Trang is big enough to have everything you want, but small enough to manage and figure out within a day or two. I spent a day a day diving out in the bay and quickly realized that my diving in Thailand and Indonesia had thoroughly spoiled me. Poor visibility and a lack of marine life meant that I only opted for one day of diving in Nah Trang. Still, it was a lovely day out on the bay with a great dive crew... if you are in Nah Trang and you want to dive give Rainbow Divers a shot.

It was Halloween while I was in Nah Trang, so I met up with Kate and Grant ( the awesome Unicorn Hunters from HCMC) and went to the sailing club for the Halloween party. A Halloween party on the beach in Vietnam is as random and strange as it sounds. We waited a looong time for the Vietnamese dancers to put on a floor show and do the Thriller dance. When they finally did we laughed a lot and took ourselves home. The next day we caught the cable car across the bay ( an adventure in itself for Grant who is afraid of heights) to Nah Trang's adventure theme park VINPEARL LAND!!!!! Lonely Planet describes it as Vietnam’s answer to Disneyland.

What followed was a day I will never forget, though due to fear or laughter I cannot say. We skipped the dinky rides and headed straight to the water park. Perhaps the creepy, scary clown shower at the entrance should have been an sign... but we ignored it. First slide, speed slide, great fun! Second slide, speed slide again, Nadia get's massive air and manages to punch herself in the face and the stomach on landing. Hmmm not a great start to the day... and the bruise on my stomach lasted for a week!!! Third slide, the Tsunami, went on it against ALL my better instincts and regretted it. The Tsunami is an almost sheer drop into a half pipe water slide. Grant went first and seemed fine. Kate went second and screamed something unintelligible ( I later learned it was, 'DON'T DO IT, IT'S NOT FUN'). I went third, almost went over the top on the far side, fell out of the tube as I came down and slid down half the wall on my neck. Needless to say I was very sore and pretty damn scared. For the rest of the day I stuck to a firm policy, I would only go down slides that had an enclosed pipe. Until I was persuaded to go down the Family Slide with Kate and Grant. This was a huge wide slide that you could go down in massive ring tubes( that looked like life rafts) or in those linked tubes that look like figure eights. We went in a linked tube and I swear to go ( and Kate will support this one) we almost went over the edge!!!!

Despite all of these near death experiences we had a really fun day. Much time was spent discussing how perfect the park was for the plot and setting of a horror movie, the covered slides were a lot of fun and also, the park is full of really random animal statues, which we used as the basis for many inappropriate and hilarious photo opportunities while horrified and disgusted Vietnamese families watched. We capped the day off with a turn on the bumper cars, and I think it is safe to say that the stress and anxiety of my day at the death park all came tumbling out as I laughed uncontrollably and rammed into other drivers like a maniac. We coaxed Grant back onto the cable car and made our way back across the bay to Nah Trang where we treated ourselves to some delicious Vietnamese cuisine and gave thanks for making it out alive.

My last day in Nah Trang was spent getting a massage on my VERY SORE NECK, and sunning myself by the pool at the Louisiana Brew house. The Louisiana Brew house is an excellent micro brewery on the beach at Nah Trang where you can drink their specialty brews, eat their great food and swim in their lovely pool. I want one on the beach in Perth, but it'd never work ( shakes head sadly). I jumped onto a night train to Hoi An, where I spent the night trying to sleep with my feet tucked up on the chair to avoid the rat I could see running around the floor. In the end I tied my shoelaces around the bottom of my pants legs and settles my feet on the floor. However, between my fear for a rat somehow running up the inside of my pants leg, and the group of Vietnamese guys in my carriage getting absolutely hammered on Heineken, I didn't get much sleep. I just had to laugh and remind myself that it's all part of the adventure.

Once I made it to Hoi An, rat free might I add, I am ashamed to admit I lost all control of myself and turned into a retail monster. Mostly I blame Kate the Unicorn Hunter... she MADE me buy shoes!!!! I only spent 4 days in Hoi An, but I came out of that town with 5 custom made dresses, a biddness suit, tailor made work pants, 2 custom made coats, 2 pairs of custom made leather shoes and a hand made leather bag. I regret nothing... but I'm praying the package I posted it all home in makes it to Perth. As well as being a shoppers dream, Hoi An is a beautiful town that is filled with silk lanterns, traditional covered bridges, cobbled streets and something else that you can't name, but you can feel it as you wander about town with a smile on your face. On top of all of that I think it's fair to say Hoi An had some of the best food in Vietnam! On the recommendation of Miss Jacquie Long, we cycled out to the beach one afternoon in search of a restaurant she went to a few years ago that serves, ' the most amazing tasting plate ever!' Her directions were vague and non specific, but we found the place ( eventually and after much searching) and delighted in a HUGE tasting plate of Hoi An's delicacies. Thanks Jack it was every bit as good as you said it would be.

I escaped Hoi An on a train headed for Hue. I say escaped because if I had stayed any longer I would have gained 10kgs and wouldn't have had enough money to fly home ( because I would have spent it all on shoes … clearly). The short train ride to Hue was very pretty and wound through the mountains and along the coast. If you are going to take a train trip in Vietnam, take the train between Hoi An and Hue. Of course Hue was almost underwater when I arrived, the perils of building a city on the riverbanks in a country that has monsoons. I took refuge in my hotel room and watched episodes of American Master-chef ( I loath that smug Christian guy!!!) while the rain continued to fall outside. The next day I decided to venture out into the flooded streets and since the towns famed citadel was 3 feet underwater I hired a cyclo driver to take me across the river to the markets. Wandering through the markets while I hid from the rain was a lot of fun, because I had no plans to buy anything I didn't have to get into haggling with the vendors so I just chatted with them and made some new friends :) Still when I left the market I was the proud owner of some tea ( which I probably can't get into Australia), some weasel poo coffee ( which I probably can't get into Australia) and some bamboo conical hats ( which I probably can't get into Australia). Yep I'm a sucker.

Kate and Grant arrived in town and we spent a few crazy nights drinking in local bars ( most notably one called Brown Eyes!!!) and wading through the flooded streets of Hue. Whilst drinking at Brown Eyes one night the power went out, but the management handled this with grace and class. They started handing out free shots! But this only worked for so long and we decided to go in search of a bar that had power. We practically swam down the street to the DMZ bar and began drinking cocktails. What else are you going to do when the town is flooded and the power keeps cutting out? I forgot to mention that at this point the power was also out at our hotel. Grant started putting in requests to the DJ for a Korean band called Super Junior, specifically a song of theirs called 'Mr Simple', which we had taken the time to learn the dance to. This was followed by requests for Darryl Braithwaite and other such classic artists. The DJ stopped listening to our requests. It was time to go home to our powerless hotel. It was time to leave Hue.

Is It Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon? And Where Are The Unicorn’s???

nadi-boots — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:59:00 GMT

I’m not sure how it happened, but I have been in Vietnam for a month. I guess the old adage must be true because I have been having so much fun I didn’t even notice the days slipping by.

After Bali I flew into Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, late in the evening and was amused by the vast amount of neon I saw glowing below me as the plane came in to land. HCMC is all about neon signage, and traffic. I found a nice guest house with an adorable night clerk named Phong (he found out I am a teacher so we had a bit of a ‘lets practice my English’ chat) and then I headed out for a bite to eat and a beer. The backpacker strip in HCMC has a really similar vibe to Phnom Penh, but a bit seedier perhaps. Imagine lots of neon, lots of people trying to sell you everything under the sun and cheap beers and street food.

Because I didn’t plan on spending too much time in HCMC I signed up for a few day trips. First one was to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside of the city, where you have the opportunity to go through the underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (referred to as The American War over here). We were lucky enough to be shown a hilarious documentary about the war, hilarious in its complete pro Vietnam and anti America bias. The doco spoke of Vietnamese fighters being honored with the glory of a, ‘number one American killing hero medal.’ The whole thing was surreal and you could tell most of the westerners in the room were trying hard to keep their jaws from hitting the floor... or from giggling.

The tour carried on to show us a range of the booby traps employed by the Vietnamese, the armpit pincher, the testicle impaler and the death spike to name a few. Not giggling so much anymore. Then we were taken to the firing range where, for a price, you could fire a weapon of your choice. Not being a gun enthusiast I declined, but I did watch while a few others from the tour fired off rounds from an AK-47. They couldn’t be sure if they hit anything... but they all had big smiles on their faces when they finished.

Finally we were taken down into the tunnels. The first tunnel that we went through was actually wider than the ones used by the Viet Cong. Strangely enough they found it necessary to widen them so we fat western tourists could fit through. I’m not one for small spaces and I did not enjoy it. The next one was supposedly the original size used during the war... I enjoyed it even less. I will say one thing; I have a world of sympathy for the men, women and children who spent months, perhaps even years, down these tunnels. I spent a grand total of about 5 minutes in one and I got cabin fever.

The tour was ok, but the guide was a bit of a dud and his information really paled in comparison to what I later heard from others who took the same tour with a different guide. BUT, he was an expert on scooters. For instance, I learned that scooters come in many colours; red, blue, green, white, pink, black, green, blue and others. Also I learned that you must wear a helmet on your scooter, and they too come in many colours; red, blue, green, white, pink, black, green, blue and others. But most importantly I learned that some scooters are cheap and some scooters are expensive and if you have a cheap quality scooter you will have a cheap quality girlfriend, but if you have an expensive scooter you will have an expensive girlfriend. Glad we cleared that up.

Next day I hopped on a bus to do a tour of the Mekong Delta and whilst eavesdropping on their conversation I made friends with a couple from Perth, Kate and Grant. They were discussing the driving age in Vietnam (because at times it seems like six year olds are cruising the streets on scooters) and thanks to the Cu Chi tours extensive discussion of scooters I was able to inform that the driving age was in fact 18, but 16 for any bike under 250cc. I also told them about the colours available incase they were unsure.

We spent the rest of the day mocking things together, asking the guide stupid questions and making up nonsense explanations for the things we did not understand. You can imagine my delight at finding two people as awesome/idiotic as myself.

The tour took us past a place called Dragon Island (didn’t see any dragons) and on to a place called Unicorn Island (you guessed it... no Unicorns either). On Unicorn Island we tasted tea and honey, and then we were offered some wine from a large jar with pickled cobras in it. Kate and Grant tried it, but I opted out. They tried to peer pressure me, but I stayed strong and said no. Imagine my smug delight when I strolled over and looked into the giant snake wine jar... and noticed that there was also a pickled crow in the jar!!!! Kids, even if everyone else is doing it, even if you think it will make you popular, don’t drink wine with a pickled crow in it.

Next we piled into some small canoes and were taken on a short trip through the island streams by some tiny and strong Vietnamese women. Because I was a “single” our guide matched me up with a portly Chinese businessman, but he ditched me and hopped into another boat at the last second. I was hurt... I thought we had something. It was around this time that I fronted up to the guide and asked, ‘when will we see a unicorn?’ I cannot fully describe the look of confusion on the poor mans face as he explained, ‘Unicorn’s no really here.’ It did not stop me from asking him twice more during the day. We did notice a lot of strange broken stumps sticking out of the streams and the most logical explanation led us to believe these were broken unicorn horns. It would seem that Unicorn Island was actually Unicorn GRAVEYARD Island.

We headed to Phoenix Island, where we were taken to a coconut candy workshop. The guide told us many many times that he was certain we would like this coconut candy from his country more than chocolate from our own. It was nice, and we did eat a fair bit of it, but the man was dreaming if he thought it was better than chocolate. As we walked back to the boat, Grant made the joking suggestion that we set one of the many chickens on the island alight to test if it was a REAL phoenix. I found this very amusing, but I hustled him onto the boat quickly incase he was serious.

Our guide, a lovely man who I nicknamed Repeat due to his tendency to repeat everything he told us at least three times, had suggested 87 times that we have the fish for lunch because, ‘pork you can eat anywhere, chicken you can eat anywhere, but fish and shrimp you can only eat here in the Mekong.’ Not wanting to shatter this illusion we ordered the fish and shrimp and pretended that it was a rare delicacy for us three kids from costal Perth. My “boyfriend”, the Chinese business man, was seated at our table and used his limited English to shout random comments at us. ‘THERE IS NO McDONALDS IN VIETNAM!!!....THERE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FOUR PRAWNS ON THIS PLATE...THIS FISH IS FROM THE MEKONG RIVER...THERE IS ONLY KFC IN VIETNAM.’ As you can imagine it was difficult to carry out a conversation with a screaming Chinese man at our table, a man who was talking AT us, not TO us. The piece de resistance came when he asked to waitress to take a photograph for him. Kate and Grant leaned in to be in what they assumed was a snapshot of him sharing lunch with us. Instead he had a solo shot of him stuffing a jumbo shrimp into his mouth. That was a photo op that we have subsequently tried to recreate at every meal since. He did pay for the shrimp though, so I thought he was awesome.

And then, after a short performance of traditional Vietnamese music, the Mekong tour and my time in HCMC was over. I said goodbye to my fellow Unicorn Hunters and began my journey up the coast of Vietnam.

Much more to come soon! xox Luv Nads

The Amazing Wedding of Scotty ( a truly beautiful man) and Joey Jo Jo Jr Shabadoo … And Other bits

nadi-boots — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:37:00 GMT

Bali was always that part of my trip that was hanging about far off in the distant future, so you can imagine how excited I was when it finally came around! For anyone who doesn’t know, I tacked a Bali trip onto my adventure so I could attend the wedding of my dear friends Scott and Jo. For any of our friends who couldn’t make the trip let me just say…. You missed out chumps because it was amazing!!!

So I left for the airport in Phnom Penh at 5am, had a big layover in Kuala Lumpur and finally arrived in Bali at about 10pm at night. Considering all that I was in a pretty cheery mood and made it safely to my hostel and reveled in the upmarket swanky style of Bali vs Cambodia. For the record I would like to say that The Island Hotel in Legian was great value and very very nice… not quite the same standard as all my mates were staying in… but for a backpacker 4 months into her travels it was spectacular. By the time I was settled and ready to go find some dinner it was about 11:30pm, which I quickly discovered is the witching hour in Legian where all the drunk Aussie bogan guys rip off their shirts and wander about the streets screaming at moto drivers. Aaaaaaaaaaah Bali… where the drunk Aussie bogan can live out their dreams of being a billionaire.

The very next day I took myself off to The Padma Resort to meet my old boss Tessa for breakfast and a good strong dose of hotel envy. We ate fancy and expensive salads by the pool and swapped stories from the last few months. I also behaved myself and tried not to get noticed in case they threw the scummy backpacker out of the hotel pool ;) Then we shared a cab up to Ubud in the afternoon so her hubby Carlos could play about on his scooter and we could shop and eat amazing banana splits! Let me just say the shopping in Ubud is dangerous. Tessa headed back to Legian ( to my dismay) and I hung around Ubud for another few days lazing by the pool and buying more shoes, clothes and bags than I could fit into my bag.

I soon found myself back in Legian where I quickly found the soon-to-be-weds drinking by the pool. Suffice to say beers were drunk, hugs were plentiful, Jo was veeeeeeeeeeeery excited/ nervous, gossip was swapped and a drunken indian in a head dress presented Scott and Jo with commemorative ‘marriage necklaces’. Scott’s was made of cows teeth… which I found a lot funnier than he did. Jo had had enough low fat vodka lime and soda’s to think that it was important ( no mandatory) for them to wear the necklaces… which I also found a lot funnier than Scott did.

I left them to make this decision without me and wandered over to Bec and Pizzeys hotel room. The wonderful Pizzey family had obliged to let me sleep on the couch for the night, seeing as how I am Bec’s favorite scummy backpacker/ best friend. They weren’t home, but they had kindly left the door open for me… or so I thought. When they returned from dinner it became apparent that they were surprised to find me stretched out on the couch reading Woman’s Day. There was some short lived finger pointing between Pizzey and Bec’s dad about who had left the door unlocked, but Bec and I ignored them and enjoyed our reunion. Michael ( the new baby) was asleep as per usual, but James ( the old baby ;) was wide awake and just kept looking at me saying, ‘Noooooooooooooooooo nooooooooooooooo nooooooooooooo.’ I won him over with a monkey puppet I bought him in Cambodia and all was well.

Bright and early the next morning I met Cal and Eri at the ferry and we headed off for a few days to the island of Gili Trawangan to do some diving. More hugs, more catch up and the formation of a street gang of divers called The Zany Divers ( possibly inspired by the Tough Brett’s) followed. There are no cars on Gili T, so the three of us piled into the back of a horse and cart buggy for a short, cramped and uncomfortable ride to our guest house, Marta’s. I am pleased to say the horse survived the trip… but there were times when we all doubted it’s strength and felt embarrassed by the fact that the back of the buggy was dragging along the street.

First afternoon we headed to Big Bubble and met our dive instructor ( name escapes me… and I was never actually sure what he was saying). At 2pm we suited up and headed out under the waves. For the next two days dived around the island sites and saw Hawksbill Turtles, Green Turtles, millions of fish, crayfish, sting rays, octopus and much much more. Cal and Eri have an amazing underwater casing for their camera so eventually I will load some pictures. Cal saw a shark on his way up, Eri was bitten by a vicious rouge trigger fish and I had my first experience of drift diving. An experience to say the least! The Trigger fish comment is not a joke, it bit her, scared the crap out of her and left a nasty set of fang marks around her ankle. The Zany Divers now have a score to settle biyatch!!!!

The three of us also hired bikes one afternoon to ride around the island and watch the sunset. We made a game of it and stopped at every beach bar we passed to have a beer, a delightful game which I think we should re-enact when I get home. Small problem, large sections of the road were huge sand traps and we actually ended up walking our bikes for about 60% of the ride. On the plus side we saw the beautiful sunset and had an adventure together… but the walking the bikes part did suck. Gili T has plenty of sea food BBQ restaurants, which we sampled, and beachside bars, which we sampled, and massage shops, which we sampled. Comment of the trip would have to go to Callum who asked us, ‘ This isn’t a hell girly drink is it?’ as he sipped on a Scallywag’s Illusion. Callum, Erica and I lied… it was pretty girly but we love you anyway and thanks’ for the Travelcalm and antihistamines ;) Awesome trip with great company xox

Back in Legian we met up with the rest of the wedding crew who were propping up the bar at The Legian Pub ( seriously did the woodvale boys even leave that place???). Caught up with more buddies from home and then handed Scott over to the boys while the ladies headed over to the Niksoma to have a drink with Jo. Word to the wise, don’t buy a jug of juice at the Niksoma… it is laughably expensive. Ladies went to bed early to prepare and the gentlemen… did not.

So the main event, the wedding of Scott Haliburton and Joanne Palmer, was perfect. The setting was tropical and lovely, the groom looked handsome and the bride was so so very beautiful. Frangipani’s, lanterns, white linen tablecloth’s, banana leaf place settings, sunset and the BEST WEDDING PLAYLIST EVER!!! Jo I always knew you had great taste in music… but babe that was a masterpiece xox All up it was a great night of dancing, laughs and great friends. On the record, Tom Passey I did not only ask you to dance because you were the last one sitting down ;) Also… who broke my fan??? Was it Smithy or Gus????

The next morning I was feeling ‘tired and emotional’, but I still dragged myself out of bed and headed to the Safari Park with the Pizzey family. I won’t say what happened on the drive there, but lets just say I re-enacted the 2005 elephant trek incident. Still, I pulled through and had a great day with Bec, Pizzey and the kids… and an elephant sprayed me with water which James ( and more so Bec) found hilarious. Safari park was great fun, but even better for watching the look on James face every time he saw an new animal! Finished the day with dinner at a German restaurant ??? ( Tom suggested it… he’s so weird ;) Some drunk random at the bar found out that Scott and Jo had just gotten married and bought them cake, which I thought was sweet but others thought was creepy.

Next day I joined the Pizzeys again to take the boys to Waterbomb Park. Took Michael ( the most chilled baby ever) swimming while Bec and Piz took James on slides, only to find out after the fact that he usually screams a lot when you take him in the water. Cheers for that Bec. Did some slides with James, floated in the river, ate some corn, surrendered my lunch to James and chilled out with Bec. All up lovely day with lovely family, cheers Bec and Pizzey for adopting me for a few days xoxo After the park I met up with the others for one final drink before we all scattered again to the four corners of the globe. Missing lots of you already xox Some of you not at all ;)

And then it was over… my last day in Bali involved the beach, a good book, a massage and a goodbye mexican dinner with the lovely newlyweds. Cheers to Scotty and Shabs for putting on an awesome wedding and I know you will have an amazing honeymoon xox

Cambodia… What A Mindf@*k!!!

nadi-boots — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:54:00 GMT

From the moment the bus crossed the border from Laos to Cambodia I could tell it was a whole new game. The guards at the border crossing had newer, cleaner, more officious uniforms. The buses were a better standard. The snacks being sold at the roadside stalls were brands that I recognized and contained ingredients that made sense. Yes Cambodia was step up from Laos in terms of economy and development… and corruption and scams. More on that later.

The flooding that had limited some of my movements in Laos was also causing problems in Cambodia. My plan had been to cross the border and take the bus about 3 hours south to a town called Kratie, where I could watch the Irawaddie dolphins and go mountain biking. We reached the outskirts of Kratie and were told by our bus driver that the centre of town was under water, if we wanted to stay there we had to get off the bus and walk the rest of the way. The other option was to stay on the bus and go all the way to Phnom Penh, he told us we would get there at about 6 or 7. Since it was 3pm already all of us decided to stay on the bus and push through to Phnom Penh. 6pm came whooshing by, and so did 7pm. Aaaaaaaaaahhhh the language barrier, how entertaining it makes a dull bus ride. The driver of course meant 6 or 7 hours, so we rolled into Phnom Penh at about 11:30pm. I teamed up with two lovely French girls, Sandra and Julie, on the bus and we negotiated our way towards a hotel. Sandra and Julie (say it with a French accent and it is sooooooo much more fun) ended up traveling around Cambodia with me for the next few weeks which was fantastic!

We picked a guest house recommended by Lonely Planet and ignored out tuk tuk drivers claims that it was a, ‘place full with many prostitutes.’ Often times the taxi and tuk tuk drivers will talk you out of staying where you want to so that you will instead stay at their friends guest house and they can get a tip for taking you there. Unfortunately our tuk tuk driver turned out to be very correct in his claims… but the room was clean, the price was right and we had been on a bus ALL day.

We spent a few days in Phnom Penh taking in the sights and delighting in the crazy fast paced action of the city. Everywhere you go someone is trying to sell you something, books, bracelets, shoes, drinks, manicures … the list goes on and on. There is also the constant question, ‘you want tuk tuk?’ Any time of the day or night a tuk tuk driver is there waiting for you. While in Phnom Penh we visited the night markets, the grand palace, the riverfront (packed with restaurants and bars) and Tuol Sleng or the S-21 Prison.

Tuol Sleng was once a high school, but in the years between 1975 and 1979 the Khmer Rouge used it as a prison and torture chamber. When the prison was liberated in 1979 only seven prisoners remained alive. The exact number of people who met their deaths in Tuol Sleng escapes me, but an estimated 2,000,000 Cambodians died at the hand of their own government during four years of genocide. Men, women, children, families. Tuol Sleng is being preserved so that tourists, like myself, can better understand what really happened. It is a sad and confronting place that left me feeling sick and distressed at the suffering that went on there. Still, it is an important part of Cambodian history and I felt a tiny bit closer to understanding this country after seeing it, though I would not dream of suggesting I truly understand the extent of their suffering.

After a few days in Phnom Penh we jumped on a bus headed north to Siem Reap, and more importantly Angkor Wat. Siem Reap was under 3 feet of water while we were there; we literally waded down the main street of town and in and out of restaurants. For me it was an adventure, a little bit of extra excitement and a story to tell. For the locals it was a nightmare of lost crops, businesses shut down, homes flooded with mud and debris and painstakingly slow transport in their town. Still, I enjoyed splashing down Main Street, cycling in the middle of a temporary stream and watching the world float by from the second story balcony of the pub.

The Frenchies and I hired a wonderful tuk tuk driver Nam to take us to Angkor Wat on our first day. Nam drove us around the big loop of sights and waited with a patient smile as we clambered around the 1000 year old ruins and snapped a billion photos. Everywhere in SE Asia is hot, but Angkor Wat is scorching and the refreshing breeze on our faces as the tuk tuk zipped around was a lifesaver. The second day we opted to hire bicycles and ride out to the sight ourselves. I’m pretty bad at judging distances but I think it was about 10km to the temples (all flat roads), 10km on the short loop we took around the temples and 10km back at the end of the day. The weather was perfect and we had a spectacular day cycling through the sights and snacking on pineapple sold by every second child around the temples. All the other children were selling postcards and magnets. The temples of Angkor Wat are breathtaking, from the huge Angkor Wat and Bayon Temple, to the lesser known outlying temples. Their age, size and durability is amazing. The whole place filled me with wonder and amazement and had me imagining scenes from The Jungle Book and Indiana Jones. But this was better, this was real J

The unfortunate flipside to Angkor Wat is the scammers, child beggars and prostitution that have followed the huge number of tourists to Siem Reap. Children walk the streets carrying babies and asking for money to feed ‘their children.’ Meanwhile parents sit across the street watching and berate the children when they cannot collect enough cash from the tourists. Sandra and Julie, both nurses, offered to buy some milk for a small child who approached us at breakfast, but she was not happy with the milk they bought because she wanted the tin of formula that costs $26. Later another backpacker explained that the supermarket with buy it back from the children for about $15. I don’t blame the kids, and I don’t know enough about the situation of the parents to judge them, but there is a difference between being generous and being taken for a sucker.

After Siem Reap I left the Frenchies for a few days to head to Battembang, which can normally be accessed by an amazing boat ride, but I had to take the bus because the floods had made the river too high. Battembang itself is nothing too special, but the countryside around Battembang is beautiful! I paid a tuk tuk driver a few dollars to take me out to the countryside and up to the top of a local mountain where a stunning view waited for me. This was also the sight of the Khmer Rouge ‘Killing Cave’, a chasm in the side of the mountain where the KR used to throw people they wanted killed. A girl, about 8 or 9 years old, took me down into the cave and matter of factly showed me the shrine of skulls. She took care to show me the difference between the adult skulls and the baby skulls, and then she pointed out the opening above us where the bodies had been thrown into the cave. Everything she told me was said in a matter of fact tone, with no emotion or empathy. But then, all of this happened 20 years before she was born. For her the cave is a way to make $2 from each tourists she takes down there, and to think much more on it would probably not be worth bearing. Again I was struck by the contradiction of this beautiful land and its ugly history.

While in Battembang I headed to a local bar to watch the AFL Grand final. I had made enquires the day before and been assured by the bar tender that the game would be on at 5pm the next day. I was hardly surprised to find that the bar tender in question was nowhere to be seen and the TV was in fact broken. Still the internet is a wonderful tool and I was soon able to hear that the Cats had won!

Next I headed south to the coastal town of Sianhoukville. Not much was happening there when I arrived, except rain. What I will say is that it looks like it is set up to be a huge party town in the summer, the locals assured me that in December it is packed and the sun is out every day, the tides are different so the beach is much wider and there is a party on the beach every night. I was there in September and it rained a lot, but I met some cool people, the hostel bar was fun and they served Vegemite on toast so I was delighted.

Next up I headed down the coast to Kampot where I ate the best ribs of my life (HUGE call I know but I’m making it), watched the sunset over the river with a cocktail and found a wonderful day spa. For only $17 I had a 1.5 hour full body massage and a green tea and lemongrass body scrub… ladies I know you hate me but it was awesome. By the time I was finished it was about 9pm and the streets were dark. Having only arrived in town that afternoon I wasn’t too sure about walking back to my guest house alone in the dark. I asked the owner, Jolie, if she could help me find a tuk tuk and she immediately arranged for her husband to drive me home on his moped. Some people are just wonderful.

My second to last stop was a little seaside town called Kep, famed for seafood. I found a room at a beautiful guest house, where I promptly locked myself out of my own bathroom and had to watch mortified as a tiny Cambodian woman climbed through the roof to re-open my bathroom door for me. Is this what Regan means when he says classic Nads??? Anyway I soon made my way to the foreshore to watch the action at the crab market. Imagine about a hundred little Cambodian women haggling with fishermen over the price of a billion buckets of live, fresh, squirming seafood. Then I walked a little way down the foreshore and picked a restaurant to sample the local delicacy. I was mid way through a mountain of crabs and prawns, all marinated in something wonderful, when about 12 men in Cambodian military uniforms marched into the restaurant. They sat down, barked orders at the trembling staff and were suddenly presented with beers and a banquet of food that made my small feat look pitiful. They ignored me completely, but I was fascinated watching them take charge of the restaurant. I felt sorry for the wait staff because they all looked terrified so I left them a decent tip. Then I wandered into another restaurant where, I won’t lie… I ordered some more prawns!

Finally I made it back to Phnom Penh where I took a trip to the Russian Markets (to replace the shoes I lost in Laos) and met up with the Frenchies at a riverside bar. Since it was everyone’s last day we decided to be decadent and spoil ourselves with massages. I don’t know how I will survive in Perth without super cheap massages L

After some beers and some dinner the Frenchies headed to the airport and I took a stroll along the riverfront. Since it was a Friday night the riverfront was packed with Cambodian people enjoying some music, food, drink and dancing with their friends and family. Random groups of people would gather together and bust out into choreographed dances to a mix of Cambodian music and western pop music. The groups were a mix of young and old, from children to men and women in their 70’s and 80’s, but almost all of them were led by teenagers who seemed very inspired by R n B dance moves. They were all veeeeeeery dedicated and it was pretty damn entertaining to watch. I looked around for a hat or a bucket to put a tip into… but there was none to be found. THEY WERE JUST DOING IT FOR FUN!!!! Maybe the thought of seeing my friends in Bali in a few days had me emotional, but suddenly my eyes were filled with tears. Here is a country with such a horrific past, where so many people have lost so much, where poverty seems to be the general standard of living and corruption in all levels of government is rife. And yet they have the strength to laugh and smile and dance.

Yep, Cambodia is mindf#@k.

Laos PDR (Please Don’t Rush)

nadi-boots — Sun, 2 Oct 2011 00:45:00 GMT

Hey everyone!

Two things before I tell you about Laos. Firstly, a HUGE good luck to my year 12 boys Jacob, Nic and Dorian in their exams this week!!! You can do it A team ;) Secondly, I heard through the grapevine that Geelong beat those filthy Magpies today! WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

So Laos…

I was able to organize a very seamless journey over the border from Thailand and into Laos. From Chiang Mai I caught a minivan to the border crossing at Chiang Khong with a group of about six other tourists. In Chiang Khong we were set up in a guest house for the night and asked to hand over our passports and the departure tax for Thailand. I have long since resigned myself to that fact that I am often expected to surrender my passport while some local ‘fixer’ goes off to sort the details for me. It all turned out for the best… passports were returned in the morning with our exit stamps in place.

Next we were taken to the riverbank where we climbed into a very small, very fragile looking canoe with a small outboard motor attached to the back of it. We crossed the vast Mekong (I’d say it was at least 40m across!) and found ourselves standing in Laos PDR (Peoples Democratic Republic). We very quickly found that the local joke, Laos (Please Don’t Rush), is a perfect way to describe the national ethos of the very relaxed, very friendly Lao people. A new ‘fixer’ was waiting for us on the riverbank and he explained that we must pay for our Laos visa and be processed through immigration. This all went off without a hitch and my passport was returned with a very large Laos visa pasted across the page. Stiena it’s true… the most tin pot countries have the most paperwork and the take up the most space in your passport!

Next my new travel companions and I climbed aboard the slow boat that would take us on a two day journey down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. As is often the case, the companions I shared the journey with are just as memorable as the trip itself. To Ben, Helen, Emma and Phil, thank you for a wonderful trip or more to the point, Khop Chai La Lai xox

Without sounding too sentimental, the landscape that we traveled through for the next two days was breathtaking. Forests and mountains of the most iridescent green, clouds that drifted slowly down to greet us on the riverbank, lazy water buffaloes wallowing on the riverbank and Lao people greeting us with smiles and laughter. It was a trip spent playing card games, drinking Beer Lao, spotting animals on the banks ( Phil and I discovered a new species which we dubbed the pig-goat… in hindsight it may have simply been a pig), listening to good tunes and gazing in wonder at scenery that was absolutely beautiful. We broke the trip with one night at Pak Ben, where we all drank too much Beer Lao, were served special ‘off the menu’ Lao food by our host and came to the unanimous conclusion that Laos was pretty damn awesome! Before I knew it the two days were up and it was time to disembark and explore Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is described in the Lonely Planet guidebook as a, ‘romantic town of misty mountains and dreams of a never ending stay.’ The cynic in me thought this all sounded a little bit too romanticized… but I take it back. The misty mountains, the serene monks, the cool mountaintop temperatures, stunning waterfalls, the fantastic local crafts, a great selection of places to eat and a huge range of funky watering holes, all capped off by the beautiful Laos people, made me fall in love with Luang Prabang. I managed to limit my stay to only three days… but I left wishing I could stay longer.

My boat crew all boarded a bus to head south to Vang Vien, a town that is famed on the banana pancake trail because it offers a chance to go tubing down the river, stopping along the way at bars that serve buckets of whiskey, ‘happy shakes’ and joints. I had been hearing about Vang Vien since I landed in Malaysia, and although I will admit it sounded like fun, the truth is I can get drunk and float down the river at home (Mez can testify to that!). But actually, the reason I opted out was that the roads in Laos during the rainy season are very very bad and a two day trip can actually become a much longer journey. I took a cheap flight to Vientiane, which meant I could see the beautiful scenery from the sky and arrive at my destination in one short hour. I spoke to other travelers in Vientiane who told me the 6 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang actually took 22 hours due to landslides, and the 4 hour ride from Vang Vien to Vientiane actually took 11 hours due to flooded roads. I think I made the right choice J Also I heard that since January this year 11 backpackers have died while tubing in Vang Vien… with a combo of alcohol, weed and the fast flowing Mekong this is hardly a surprise.

Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is a decent town worth wandering through for a day or two. I spent the evening taking in the sunset on the banks of the Mekong, wandering through the night markets and sharing a drink with some fellow travelers. Next I caught a ‘VIP’ ( they have a vastly different understanding of the term VIP over here) bus to Tha Ket, where I was hoping to make a trip to the Kong Lo Cave, a 7km cave that you can travel through in a small canoe.

Without sounding too much like a whinger the trip to Tha Ket was a total bust!!! We arrived late, but there was a group of us so we shared a tuk tuk and found the one hostel in town. The hostel offered day trips to the cave, but they were rather expensive if there wasn’t a big group. I teamed up with three other backpackers and we negotiated the price down to about 350,000 kip each ($45AUD). This was a VERY expensive tour!!!! At 7am the next day, the four of us boarded the minivan and began the three hour journey to the cave. Three hours later the driver pulled up at the cave, turned and smiled at us apologetically as he explained that the recent flooding meant we would probably not be able to enter the cave that day. He offered us two choices; wait until about 4pm to see if the water level went down (it was only 10am at this point) or pay to do an overnight stay in the local village and tour the cave tomorrow. What annoyed us all about this situation, was the fact that he told us all this information before he had spoken to anyone else (in person or on the phone) which could only mean he had been aware of this situation before we left Tha Ket THREE HOURS EARLIER!!!! Long story short, we waited a few hours, the water didn’t go down, we boarded the minivan and made the return trip to Tha Ket. Our collective complaints meant that we each got a small refund of 150,000kip… but this still meant we paid about $25AUD to drive three hours, only to turn around and drive three hours back. On the bright side, I spent the day with three wonderful travel companions who made a disappointing day fun, saw six hours of beautiful Laos scenery and didn’t exactly go bankrupt in the process. To Ben, Holly and Camille, cheers for a great day J To Tha Ket Travel Lodge… get bent!

Next I jumped on a bus to head for Pakse, six hours to the south and in an area that is not so heavily traveled by backpackers but has enough of an emerging tourist industry to provide fun activities and make things easy enough. I was the only ‘falang’ (= tourist) on the bus and it was a wonderful day full of friendly local people, local food and beautiful countryside. In Pakse I took a day trip to the Bolaven Plateau, where I toured tea and coffee plantations, visited a local village, saw many waterfalls and visited a local school. The tour was fantastic, but the school visit was by far my favorite part of the day. The local kids were being taught about landmines and UXO’s (unexploded ordinances leftover from the war), how to spot them and what to do if they did see one. This is the sad reality of Laos, it is still dealing with the after affects of being heavily bombed during the Vietnam and Cold wars. Still, the children took a break and took great delight in posing for photographs, using my camera to take pictures of themselves and practicing their English phrases on the falang.

My final stop in Laos was on Don Konh, an island in Si Pha Don (the 4000 Islands). This dreamy little island is just one of three places you can stay in Si Pha Don where the Mekong stretches out and there is little to do but chill in a hammock and watch the world float by. I spent a few days in Don Konh lazing in a hammock, riding a bike through the rice paddies, watching the swollen Mekong roar down the local waterfalls and trying to navigate my way through some very flooded and very muddy village streets. In the dry season the river is a beautiful turquoise and you can float about in a tube or paddle a canoe down the stream. But this is the rainy season, the chocolate coloured river was running hard and fast with water gushing all the way from China, and the unusually bad flooding had caused Don Konh to become a great big puddle. Still, the people were friendly, the banana shakes were plentiful and my bicycle ride through a thunderstorm was exhilarating. True to form I fell off my bike and got covered in mud… but the whole thing was a laugh. I had just watched a group of local school children ride through a big puddle so I assumed I would be able to follow suit. I was not able to: P When I returned to my room ‘papa’ the 80 year old man who ran the guesthouse laughed uncontrollably for about five minutes, I could hardly blame him and I was laughing right along with him. When he stopped laughing he motioned for me to follow him to the yard, where he proceeded to spray me with a garden hose until all the mud had come off my clothes. Not my finest hour. Stiena the score remains, bike 2, Nadia 0.

When packing my bag for the trip across the border I realized that I didn’t have my hiking shoes, and that I actually hadn’t seen them since Pakse. I looked all over my room, stomped around and swore for a few minutes and then stopped and tried to be serene. I looked out my door at the Mekong, realized that I am having an amazing adventure, took a deep breath and accepted that my shoes were gone. I won’t pretend I’m not annoyed at my own stupidity, but the truth is when you are surrounded by poverty it feels a little bit ridiculous to pout over a pair of shoes that can easily be replaced.

And so I left Laos and crossed into Cambodia. I can’t really say why I loved Laos so much; certainly the Lao people had a lot to do with it. They are simply more friendly and relaxed than those in their neighboring countries. If you ask the price of an item the answer given always seems fair enough not to bother haggling, if you say you don’t need a tuk tuk they leave you alone and if you ask for help of any kind they are more than happy to provide it. The fact that the countryside is spectacularly beautiful is just an added bonus J

xoxo luv to you all

Nads

A Humbling Experience in Luang Prabang

nadi-boots — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:09:00 GMT

Hey everyone,

This last week has been a real adventure, crossing from Northern Thailand into Laos and slowly cruising down the Mekong River on a boat full of great people who made the trip lots of fun. I will expand on all of that, but this is just a short post to tell you about the very rewarding morning I spent at Big Brother Mouse, in Luang Prabang.

Big Brother Mouse is an organization in Laos that works to help Lao people improve their English skills and to distribute books (in Lao and English) to the children in villages throughout Laos.

This morning I went to the shop/office located in Luang Prabang with another couple I have been traveling with for the past week. At Big Brother Mouse, Emma, Phil and I spent about two hours talking with Lao students and assisting them with their English. The young man I was helping was called Shaun and he is in his fifth year studying law. When he is not taking classes at university, Shaun comes to the Big Brother Mouse shop/office in the mornings to practice his English. In the afternoons he spends time working on his Chinese… if he can fit it in with working too.

Shaun is hoping to get a good job within the government after he completes his law degree, but he must be fluent in English if he hopes to do this.

Emma and I spent some time helping Shaun to understand the definitions of different English words and phrases that he had copied out for this purpose. The list included some very complex vocabulary, and when we questioned him on its origins he explained that he had been listening to the political speeches of Barack Obama on the internet and copied down any terms he did not understand.

After we had assisted him with definitions for all the words on his list we listened to a speech he was preparing (in English) for his law class and helped him to correct some minor grammar flaws. For the most part it was very well done and I couldn’t help but be impressed by his hard work and dedication.

Afterwards we chatted for a little while about his life in Laos, our lives in England and Australia and some of those universal things in between.

Laos is supposedly one of the twenty poorest nations in the world, not hard to believe when you travel outside the major towns. Still, the people have an amazing warmth and friendliness that I have not seen to the same extent in other countries. In their language the words for mine and yours are actually the same, which explains a lot about their peaceful demeanor.

After we had finished chatting with the students Emma, Phil and I each paid 100,000kip ($12.50 AUD) to buy a pack of ten books that will be distributed to children in the villages around Laos. It felt great to be able to give something, no matter how small, back to a country that seems to have so little.

Chatting to Shaun and the other students it is apparent that they are working so hard to better their situations, and also that of their local communities. I was both humbled and impressed by their hard work, determination and positive attitudes.

A pretty great way to spend the morning xox Nads

Thai Love It! Joke (C) Mark Flynn

nadi-boots — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:04:00 GMT

Hey everyone,

firstly I apologise for any typo’s this is a really dinky keyboard. Actually it’s a really dinky internet shop :P Also Credit to the very funny Mr Flynn for his use of Thai instead of I... sorry I stole your joke ;)

So I made it off Koh Pha Ngan without any drama… actually I stretched out across the seats and slept for the whole three hour boat ride ( I’m classy like that). I then caught a bus to Surat Thani where I boarded a sleeper train at 6pm for the overnight train trip to Bangkok. I opted to pay an extra 30 Baht for the air conditioned carriage (approx $1) and I think it was money well spent. The trip was easy and I slept like a baby the whole night through. Well almost. I woke up at 3am because a Thai nanna was vomiting on the floor next to my bunk (thank god I had been given a top bunk!!!)… all over my flip flops. I threw them away L But hey if that was the worst thing to happen how can I complain???

I arrived in Bangkok early and headed straight for Koh San Road, backpacker central. Bangkok is a huge, noisy, dirty, crazy city. It’s a lot of fun and you can shop, eat and drink until your heart’s content. It is also a city where you can blow a week’s budget in one night and people are constantly hassling you to buy this or that, take a ride in their tuk tuk or go to their friends shop. Since I arrived at 6am I spent a day exploring some of the city’s sights (Wat Pho temple- home of the GIANT reclining Buddha and The Grand Palace), shopping and snacking on super cheap Pad Thai and spring rolls. That night I headed out to the bars on Koh San Road with some friends from the hostel and watched the craziness of Bangkok unfold. Dorian, Jacob and Nic, I kept hearing you guys say, ‘Bangkok has you now.’

Next morning I was up early and off to see the famed floating markets. The markets are packed with tourists, but it’s still an amazing sight to see. Boats filled with fruit, seafood, clothes, souvenirs and everything in between trail up and down the canals. For about $5 I was able to board a small canoe and travel through the markets while an ancient Thai woman paddled the canoe. Though I only bought some coconut juice because I am a scummy backpacker… the whole experience was a lot of fun

After the markets my tour group headed to Kanchubarri where we were able to walk across the Bridge on The River Kwai. The war museum is very informative… but a bit tacky. Most of the bridge is obviously the result of post war rebuilding, a fact which seemed to surprise some of my tour group. I found this amusing… the bridge is largely famous because it was almost entirely destroyed by allied bombers. Read the book before the tour people!

Next up we headed to the Kanchubarri Tiger Temple. This is a park where tigers that have been rescued from poachers or rescued due to illness are raised by monks and volunteers. It is an amazing opportunity to get up close with about 15 tigers. The tigers are only available to tourists for a short time each day, just after they have been fed so they are quite lethargic and content. They are walked into a canyon where tourists are able to view them. I handed my camera to a guide while another one took my hand and led me through the canyon. After I had been through the guide with my camera returned it, she had taken several snaps of me sitting with the tigers J The whole experience is scary… but so worth it.

After that I was ready to leave Bangkok so I jumped on a bus to Ayutthaya, a former Thai capitol that houses many ancient ruins. In Ayutthaya I took a boat trip down the river to see the ruins. Later that evening I paid a motorbike taxi about $3 to drive me around the city so I could see the ruins lit up against the night sky. They are stunning during the day… but at night they are spectacular, and the motorbike ride was fun too.

The next day I took another motorbike taxi to the hospital. I had started feeling unwell and developed a fever. Fever is a dirty word in Thailand because of Malaria and Dengue Fever. Fortunately I just had a throat infection, which was soon fixed up with some very very strong antibiotics. I couldn’t help but laugh as a nurse guided me from admissions, to my Dr consultation, to the pharmacy and then gave me detailed instructions on all the medication I had been given. The Dr gave me antibiotics, also antivirals incase it was swine flu, also paracetamol, also tablets for a dry cough, also tablets for a wet cough. I had no cough he was just being thorough. Whatever I had he was determined to fix it, and it only cost me $10! You will all be pleased to know it was not Malaria and I now feel great J

I left Ayutthaya and caught another 12 hour night train north to Chiang Mai. On the train I met a few travelers who had a tip on a great guest house, so we all headed there together when the train arrived at 7am. Let me say that for 400 Baht a night (about $15) I have been staying in absolute luxury at the Chiang Mai Thai House. Pool, air con, cable TV, free internet, laundry, travel agent and the nicest room I have stayed in since I left home. These things are important when you are backpacking and I have been savoring it.

In Chiang Mai there is so much to see and do I have been flat out all week. First I took a day trip to the Elephant Nature Park. This is an elephant conservation park where you can feed and bath the elephants and watch the herd at play. They don’t give rides or perform tricks for the tourists… it is a place for them to be treated with care and respect as they have all been rescued from horrible lives in the logging or tourism trades. I cannot speak highly enough of the park and encourage anyone in Thailand to check it out. I spent the day feeding them fruit and sugarcane and chilling out with them in the river.

I also took a day trip to the mountains of Chiang Mai so I could do the Jungle Flight zip lines. There are about 22 zip line stations set up in the treetop canopy about 50m above the forest floor. I don’t relish heights so this was a real challenge for me. I’m so glad I did it because it was completely exhilarating!!! Hurling yourself from treetop to treetop is not something you can do everyday.

Finally, I have just returned from a two day trek through the mountains and rice paddies surrounding Chiang Mai. It was hot, humid and exhausting, and I loved it. My group consisted of a Spanish couple, a Dutch girl, and English girl and a Canadian guy, so a really mixed bunch. With the exception of the Canadian guy (who has just finished a month long Muay Thai training camp) we were all pitched at very similar fitness levels, so it was good. We spent a day trekking to a local village where we slept for the night. While it was cool to see the village and stay for a night, I won’t be racing to join the local village as it was too rustic for this city kid. The next day we hiked up a mountain that seemed never ending, but I did feel pretty proud of myself once I reached the top. And when I had recovered enough to see straight, there was an amazing view waiting for me. We finished the day with a trip down the river on a bamboo raft. Note to anyone interested in bamboo rafting, it is great fun but you come out of it drenched.

Tomorrow I am leaving Chiang Mai and heading to a border crossing in the north where I will cross the river and arrive in Laos. The next day I will set off down the Mekong River for two days on a slow boat to reach Luang Prabang. I have no idea what to expect… and I can’t wait!

Love you all xox Nads

Photos: More Travel Bits

nadi-boots — Thu, 8 Sep 2011 23:45:00 GMT

Thailand

Don't Pay The Ferry Man...

nadi-boots — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:00:00 GMT

And here is the other story...

Let me preface this with the fact that I love traveling, I am very happy with my decision to take this trip and I love waking up in the morning without absolute certainty about where I will end up at the end of the day. Having said that, not all travel is glamorous and there is a certain amount of time spent in the process of getting from a to b. A is great, B is wonderful, it’s that space in between that can sometimes be a nightmare.

So in Krabi I arranged my trip to Ko Pha Ngan for the bargain price of 660B (roughly $22AUD) and thought how very thrifty I was. The long tail from Hat Railey to Krabi was fine. The Minivan that picked us up from the pier in Krabi was fine. A Swiss couple, two German guys and myself were all headed to the same ferry and were making friends nicely. Then the minivan stopped at a random tourist office/ private home and we were told that another van would be there to pick us up in 1 hour. Not what we expected… but still fine.

The two German guys smoked like it was going out of fashion and I chatted to the Swiss couple about their recent time in Australia. A little over an hour later another van arrived (a slightly shoddier looking van) and we were back on our way… not great but still ok.

After about 2 hours on the road we stopped at another tourist office and were asked to get out. Another van would be here soon. Maybe 1 hour later a sangawathi (spelling?), which is basically a 4WD Ute with bench seats in the back, pulled up to collect us. Now we were all getting annoyed and wondering if we would make the 4pm ferry. We were driven about 20 minutes down the road where, you guessed it; they unloaded us again and told us to wait for our bus.

At this stage the Swiss couple were on the verge of screaming at the driver and the German guys were very upset because they were nearly out of cigarettes. I was annoyed... but really there was not much we could do but roll with it. Our fourth and final bus arrived. It was large and had air conditioning, which I liked. The driver got off, screamed at us in Thai, threw our bags onto the bus and started driving off down the road before the Swiss lady had actually made it onto the bus, which I did not like. Don’t worry her husband screamed back so the driver would stop and she got on board.

Perhaps an hour later we arrived at the port and were told to run quickly down the pier because our ferry was leaving. They ushered us onto the boat and into an air conditioned cabin J However, they soon came around and asked us all for 30B to pay for sitting in the air conditioning. We all quickly got up and moved to the non air conditioned cabin below while the ferry man yelled at us.

We had been told to run quickly for the ferry at 4pm. The boat pulled out of the pier at 5;15pm. The trip that followed was so horrible that I am afraid to get back on a ferry and leave this island. There was a storm brewing so the swell was quite large and the ferry was rocking back and forth quite violently. The windows were leaking, the support beams were making loud cracking sounds and a TV cabinet on the wall kept wobbling about and threatening to fall. When we docked at Ko Samui the Swiss couple and the German guys got off the boat. Every instinct in my body told me to get off the boat too. I didn’t listen. I should have.

As we pulled out of Ko Samui the last of the days sun disappeared so we were now pitching about in the dark. The waves got rougher and the boat made louder more frightening sounds. Normally at this point I am the person who is laughing at how spectacularly bad the day has been... but I still have confidence that the locals would not be on the boat if it was really dangerous. I was genuinely frightened.

Just to make it all that much more special the bottom cabin was filled with the smell of petrol fumes. The seasick feeling that I had been fighting began to overwhelm me. I got out of my seat and moved to the back of the boat in the hope it would be less bumpy and to allow myself closer proximity to the bathroom. I covered my mouth and nose with a sarong to try and stop the fumes. I stood up and leaned against a pillar (I had no real reason I just felt sick sitting down). People on the boat gave me sympathetic looks. One guy laughed.

Five minutes later I had not been ill, but the guy who laughed at me was vomiting in a bin beside me. Karma. Then a small boy near me was unwell in a chip packet. Then an Italian couple was unwell on the far side of the boat. Then every second person on the boat seemed to be throwing up. I don’t know how… but I was not unwell. I gave my only plastic bag to a mother who had two small boys on her lap. I wanted to help her more… but I was still pretty close to being sick myself.

I’m not kidding, I think there were about 40 people in that cabin being unwell. I have never wanted to get out of anywhere faster in my life. Finally the lights of Ko Pha Ngan could be seen in the distance. We docked, I got my bag and got the hell away from that boat.

I have since spent three lovely lazy days on Ko Pha Ngan J The people are lovely, the food is great, the hammocks are plentiful, the massages are cheap and the bays are pretty. The sun has been hiding and the rain has been intermittent… but it’s still a beautiful and very laid back place. Tomorrow I am off to Bangkok via boat and train. I am not excited about the boat ride L

Floating Around In The Andaman Sea

nadi-boots — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:22:00 GMT

Hey everyone,

when I last updated you I was in the midst of my PADI dive course, so I'm sure you will all be please to hear that I passed and am now a qualified Open Water diver! Regan you will be most pleased to hear that I got 100% on the theory exam and as such you are still entitled to tease me for being a nerd :P The diving off Ko Phi Phi was fantastic and during my four dives I was lucky enough to see leopard sharks, sea turtles, eels, reef sharks, sea snakes, cuttlefish, starfish and an abundance of beautiful fish and coral. If you are in the area and you get the chance, go for a dive :)And I cannot speak highly enough of The Adventure Club who I did my course with!

After I finished my course I caught a ferry across to Phuket to meet my sister who was flying in from Perth to spend a week with me. I'd never been to Phuket before, and while it was ok to spend a day waiting for Sti... I won't be racing back. Although, perhaps I would see it differently if I had been staying in a resort ( although the Nid Nok Happy Time Friend House was an excellent establishment too). Anyway the sun was out so I spent the day on the beach and waited for Sti's flight to arrive.

Everything worked out perfectly. We hung out in Phuket for a night drinking some cocktails and eating some seafood, then bailed back to Phi Phi the next morning. Once back on Ko Phi Phi we made the most of the sunshine and spent our afternoon lazing on the beach and floating about in the bay. That night I took Sti to see the fire shows at the beach bars along the bay. Fire poi, fire sticks, fire ropes... basically lots of cool tricks with fire. Then, when the locals in the fire show are exhausted, they get out the LED skipping rope and the limbo stick and all the drunk tourists have a go at making fools of themselves. The whole things is very funny and I highly recomend it if you have a sense of humor.

We decided to do a days snorkeling trip because it gives the best chance to see some of the beaches and islands around Phi Phi The snorkeling is average... but the beaches are stunning so I think it is worth the time. Maya Bay is just off Ko Phi Phi and it is where they filmed the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. Don't worry if you didn't know this, they will remind you every 3 seconds while you are there. Maya Bay is truly beautiful. To really appreciate it you have to be able to imagine that there are not a billion other tourists on the beach with you, but it is a very beautiful spot. I particularly enjoyed laughing at all the girls who were posing FHM style in the waves and against rocks. Sti and I tried to see if they were being ironic or sarcastic... but the truth is they were just posers. I know I am not a nice person but I found this very entertaining.

Had one more dive day with Stiena which was great. Didn't see as much marine life.. but it was still really great fun. Before we left the island, we decided to head up the mountainside to the viewpoint. Despite being told it was, ' very easy walk' by the woman at our guest house, it was actually not. Still, the view from the top was worth the effort. They also have some pictures at the top which show ou the view of the island after the tsunami. That was a bit of a spin out because it really showed how vulnerable everything on the island is.

Next up we headed off to Railey Bay in Krabi Krabi is surrounded by huge limestone cliffs and very spectacular coastline. Every second shop offers packages to go rock climbing and on our way in we saw tiny little people scaling the cliffs way above us. Since hauling myself up a cliff in the heat and humidity is not my idea of fun, I was very satisfied to just watch others climb to great heights. Most of the days we were in Krabi it rained and was pretty overcast, but the weather was still very warm and we got a great deal on a hotel with a pool so it was fine :) I am sure that in the high season, when the sun is out everyday, Krabi is a very very beautiful place.

After just a few days in Krabi it was time for Stiena to fly back to Perth and disappear back to the mines :( There is talk, very loose talk, of her coming back to see me in Vietnam She hopped on a longtail boat for Krabi/ Phuket amd I hopped on a longtail boat for Krabi/ Ko Pha Ngan. Mine seemed a total bargain at only 660B ... but that is a whole other story ;)

Feeling very lucky to have spent some time in this beautiful corner of ther world xox luv Nads

Malaysia You've Been Great ... But I'm Leaving You For Thailand

nadi-boots — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:17:00 GMT

Hey everyone,

after my last update in Melaka I decided it was too hot and humid to trudge all over town looking in my guide book trying to see 'the sights'. Instead I decided to hire a totally blinged out bollywood style trishaw and a guide ( an adorable old guy called 'Cowboy') to take me on a tour of Melaka's sights. Everywhere you walk in Melaka the trishaws follow you about asking if you want a ride and blasting a mixture of asian, indian and western pop music, and they are all covered in lights, flowers, statues and pictures. It's something you really have to see to understand just how tacky and amusing it is. Cowboy took me to all kinds of mosques, temples, historic sights, top notch local food places ( the kind you would cross the street to avoid if you were not with a local) and explained all kinds of social and cultural things to me. Perfect way to see the city, learn some things and keep from fading in the heat :)

I left Melaka and headed north to Georgetown, on the island of Penang off the north west coast. Hmmmmmmm Penang was a bit of a dud... but if I'd had a bit more time and been able to go to the island of Langkaowi I may have been more impressed.

Maybe this negative attitude started because my train from KL was late leaving, so I didn't actually arrive in Georgetown until 11:30pm. I met some other backpackers on the train/ferry to the island and we decided to go searching for a place to stay together. While we quickly found a hostel with dorm beds avaliable, the hostel manager ( who as far as I could tell was not actually working at the time and was very very drunk) spent a lot of time trying to convince us to stay ( even though we had already decided to stay and had paid for our beds) and promoting the fact that the hostel had, ' most fresh quality toilet'. All of this was fine, infact it was pretty amusing. Waking up at 2am to realise that there were bed bugs in my bed was not fine! This all happened over a week ago and I am fine, but at the time I was suitably horrified.

The beaches in Penang were nowhere near as good as the east coast beaches in Malaysia and they were drowning in huge expensive resorts and hotels. Most of the tourists there were either weathly Chinese business men or wealthy Middle Eastern families. I snuck myself into one of these fancy resorts one afternoon to use the pool, and despite the fact that I was clearly a scummy backpacker sneaking in to use the pool... I was tolerated. In short, don't bother with Penang unless you have time to go to Langkaowi... it's too hot and your time will be better spent on the east coast of Malaysia.

After a quick bus ride back to KL, I was in familiar territory and able to go check out the few sights and attractions that I missed on my first visit. Petronas Towers is pretty impressive, and the park attached is beautiful. I did spend a lot of time giggling at all the tourists taking pictures of themselves and trying to fit the towers in the background. And then I did the same thing ;) Next morning I headed to the airport and caught a flight to Krabi in Thailand.

I had heard from other divers I met in Malaysia, that it is better to do your dive course in Koh Phi Phi than in Krabi itself, so as soon as I arrived I hopped onto a ferry across to the island of Koh Phi Phi. I've started my dive course here and I am sooooo glad I made that decision. The island is beautiful, the dive instructor I have is great ( Eric from Brazil) and every night on the island is a party. The last two nights have been pretty full on because it has been the full moon party. It's not as big as Koh Panang ... but it's still a great time :)

So tomorrow I head out for my first proper open water dives and Eric assures me that we WILL see turtles, sharks, cuttlefish and amazing coral. Then there is the chance that we will see octopus, dolphins and whale sharks. Fingers crossed.

This island is so beautiful and so much fun that I could see myself staying for way too long and becoming ' a hippie backpacker' ;) BUT, my big sister Stiena is arriving in Phuket on Friday to spend a week on the beach, diving and lazing about, so rest assured I won't get lost on Koh Phi Phi.

Having a blast! xox luv Nads

Malaysia- A Little Bit of Everything :)

nadi-boots — Sun, 7 Aug 2011 18:03:00 GMT

Hey, sorry it's taken me a while to update this,there is always something far more interesting to do!

I really have hit the ground running and have seen so much in such a short time. Starting in KL, I only spent a few days there because I was keen to head towards the beaches. It's a big city, but it's well laid out and easy to get around. Chinatown is bustling and full of amazing sights, sounds, smells and FOOD!!!

I decided pretty quickly to head to the Tamar Negara national park so I could see some jungle and do some trekking. The journey there involved a 3 hour riverboat ride in a narrow wooden boat. I really enjoyed the trip and was busy snapping pics of the scenery and the wildlife along the banks. The guy behind me ( who couldn't swim) didn't enjoy the boat ride quite so much ;)

With heavy rains each night, and a lot of leeches, I decided not to take the 3-4 day trek into the park. Instead I joined a day trek which let me scale a small peak with great views, take a walk along the treetop canopy and go along a night trail with a local guide to do some animal spotting. We saw a lot of snakes, bugs, scorpions, Tapiers and some deer. The guide did have a lot of fun suggesting everything in the distance was a tiger or a lion and watching an older European guy in the group take a billion photo's before he realised it was another deer :) I was also able to do some white water rafting while I stayed at Tamar Negara, which was great fun.

Next up I caught the bus to the Cameron Highlands and spent a few days drifting through the misty mountains and tea plantations. After the sticky humidity of the jungle this was a welcome change. The scenery up there is spectacular and there were plenty of local trails to take yourself on a wander through the mountains. I went down trail 9 with a group from the hostel and had a very entertaining afternoon slipping and sliding about on the muddy pathway.

Then I was on to the Perhentian Islands to spend some time on the beach and in the water. The Perhentians are a beautiful set of islands of the North East coast of Malaysia, very popular with the locals and the backpacker set. I had planned to get my PADI scuba certification sorted there, but I had some problems with my ears so I had to settle for snorkeling instead. And if I had to 'settle' it wasn't a bad place to do it. The snorkeling was really good, with great visibility and lots to see. Highlight would have to have been swimming right above/beside a sea turtle and with some small reef sharks! The fish and coral were pretty impressive too... but they just don't compare to the turtle and the sharks :)

Next I headed south down the coast to a little island called Pualu Kapas. Nothing I say will do it justice, but believe me the place is perfect. Pristine beaches, great snorkeling, friendly people and a hammock tied to every tree. There weren't a lot of people there, but I thinks that's all part of the charm. Played a few games of volleyball with the locals, sampled the islands famed squid and shared my bathroom with a lizard that I named Lance. I will not miss Lance.

Now I am over on the east coast in a beautiful old town called Melaka. It has a really interesting combination of Malay, Chinese, Dutch and Portugese heritage. As such the architecture, people and the food are a crazy blend of everything. The food here is soooooooooo good!!! Last night I wandered through the night markets snacking on all sorts of sweet and savory bits and pieces. I avoided the chicken feet ( sorry Mez), but I gave most other things a chance... even if I didn't know what I was eating. End result, I had a delicious stroll down the street and only spent about $3 Australian dollars. WIN.

Tomorrow I am headed North to Penang for some more time on the beach. Then... Thailand where I hope I can finally sort my dive ticket!

I'm having a great time and I hope you are all well and happy too xox luv Nads

p.s. Balcatta kids I hope you are being lovely to your new teacher!

Nearly Ready!

nadi-boots — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:43:00 GMT

I had my last vaccination today, finalised my travel insurance, sorted last minute visa details, stocked up on insect repellant and booked a cheap hostel for the first few nights in KL ... I think it's time to go!

I will try to keep you guys posted as often as I can ... but if it's a choice between adventure and trudging about looking for a good internet connection, adventure is going to win.

I fly out of Perth at 6am tomorrow and arrive in KL at about 11:30am. So all things considered I should be sipping cocktails by about 3pm ;)

Photos: Travel bits

nadi-boots — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:06:00 GMT