Alicia & Rich's Roads to Everywhere

If you're caught smuggling drugs, you will be executed...Welcome to Singapore

rich — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:44:00 GMT

Bright lights, clean streets, all looking pretty. Let's hear it for Singapore...concrete jungle where shopping dreams are made of, there's nothing you cant buy! Rich: Terrible English, but to be fair Alicia is just (mis)quoting her namesake - Ms Keys

Ok it's not exactly NYC, but Singapore has got something special. It's modern architecture, riverside cafes, beach island, older quarters, botanical gardens, and then there's Orchard Street - shopping paradise.

We spend 3 days exploring the city on the hop on, hop off bus, which takes you to most of the interesting spots in the city. We stop at Long Bar in Raffles Hotel and try the original Singapore Sling. We check out Chinatown and Little India, go on a River cruise, and head over to Sentosa - the weird theme park type island. We even take a ride on the Singapore Flyer - a copy of the London eye, only 5 meters taller (something they point out repeatedly!)

It's expensive though and 3 days is enough. Next stop London!

Photos: Singapore

rich — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:18:00 GMT

Aquarium of Tioman Island

rich — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 02:42:00 GMT

Ever been to a really large aquarium that has hundreds of colorful fish swimming around in it? Imagine jumping into this aquatic world and that's what its like to go snorkeling in Paya. Right off the beach you can see fish swimming around your ankles. Swim out a little further and you can find Nemo and all his friends. We also saw a large turtle swimming around us. This is even better than any diving we've done.

We spend 4 days chilling at this little island resort, exploring the island and enjoying the sun. But enough of this deserted island life, we're ready to get back to civilization. Singapore here we come!

Photos: Tioman Island

rich — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 02:19:00 GMT

small island off the east coast of Malaysia

Back to Malaysia-Tioman Island

rich — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:34:00 GMT

After a full day of traveling, we still haven't made it to our final destination. So we get up early in the morning to catch the first ferry to the idyllic Pulau Tioman. After 2 hours on a freezing cold (air-conditioned) ferry we finally reach the north coast of the Island.

Hopping off the boat, looking around the bay, we ask, where's the rest of the beach? From the dock you can see the whole of the small cove, with a small sandy beach - not the long stretch of sand as described in the Lonely Planet. This with the addition of a JCB digger on the beach itself means this place isn't exactly what we were expecting.

After an hour of lugging our bags from one horrible and over priced "chalet" (more of a shack) to another, we find ourselves settling for a room near the beach and vowing to spend only 1 day here.

So we don our snorkel gear, jump into the sea and we're instantly very impressed at how crystal clear the warm water is and how many fish we can see. This kinda makes up for the long journey and terrible accommodation. Feeling a little more relaxed we have a lovely, if overpriced, BBQ seafood dinner on the beach and book the ferry to take us down to Paya Beach at the south end of the island tomorrow.

Another early start and we're off to Paya Beach Resort.

Just seeing the place from our small water taxi lifts our spirits, it looks like a proper beach resort! We quickly settle into resort life, our room is amazingly plush (compared to yesterday), there's a pool, good food and the beach is beautiful. Ahhh this is more like it...

Photos: Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon

rich — Sun, 8 Aug 2010 22:41:00 GMT

Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon- you pick

rich — Sat, 7 Aug 2010 22:57:00 GMT

Arriving in HCMC after a few days on the beach is like jumping into a cold pool on a hot summer day. It's certainly a shock to the system. Busy, noisy and chaotic are the first few adjectives that spring to mind and in no time we're dodging motorbikes and people peddling sunglasses again. We've got 2 days in this city and there's a lot to see, so we sign up to some tours..

City Tour: This quick afternoon tour starts at the Reunification Palace. We walk around feeling like we've just entered the Dharma Initiative. Everything looks like it was made and furnished in the 70's, which it was. They rebuilt the Palace after the American War and haven't changed anything since.

Next we visit the Post Office...uh, ok, but it's across the street from their Notre Dame Cathedral so that makes the trip worth while. The cathedral looks similar to its namesake in Paris, but on a much smaller scale.

After the tour, we're dropped off at the Ben Thanh Market, the biggest in the city (and the most touristy). Well that's our afternoon done, Rich goes crazy shopping for cheap clothes and other crap (Rich: yeah right!), when I finally pull him away from the market, it's almost dark.

Cu Chi Tunnels: Walking down into the dirt tunnel, we find it's deceptively wide. As you round the corner the outside light starts to fade and the tunnel begins to narrow. You can feel the humid heat pushing you back and as we get into a crouched position to walk further into the darkness, I hear Rich exclaim "F**k That!" And I turn around to see him heading back towards the tunnel entrance. Wimp. I forge my way on into the darkness.

To be fair, the tunnel experience is a little terrifying, with the lack of air, light, and space. Imagining what it would be like for a soldier squirming his way into the tunnels, not knowing what he'll find is a scary thought. Especially after we see the traps and weapons that we're used on the American intruders. But even more interesting, is the info we learn about the Viet Cong and how they dug the tunnels, lived in them and created this hidden underground world. No wonder the "American Devils" had so much trouble here. It's very interesting to hear the other side of the story and see how the American war caused so much destruction to this peaceful town of Cu Chi.

After our tunnel visit, we are dropped off at the War Remnants Museum which is 3 floors depicting the start to finish of the war. The war with France, immediately followed by the American War, caused chaos and upheavel and ruined a lot of lives.

We see pictures from jounalists who were on the ground during the fighting. They show soliders beating, burying and brutilizing the Vietnamese. There are photos of people affected by the chemical weapon Agent Orange that was dropped on their villages. We saw recent photos of people and children who are severly handicapped due to the ongoing affects of these chemicals that were dropped. The museum is a very sobering experience and a must-see if you vist HCMC.

To end our time in HCMC, we head back to the market and stock up on a few souvenirs. We slurp up as much veitmeanse food as we can and then say goodbye to Vietnam.

Mui Ne

rich — Thu, 5 Aug 2010 22:35:00 GMT

On the route between Nha Trang and, our next main stop, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is another beach town called Mui Ne. We were recommended a place to stay by a couple we met on the Halong Bay trip, and bumped into again in Nha Trang. So we decide to give it a go.

It's really quiet in Mui Ne and the Grace Boutique Hotel is the best we've stayed at in Vietnam, but it's also a bit more expensive and there's not a lot to do except laze by the pool - the beach is really only a thin stretch of sand just behind all the hotels on the front. We make the executive decision that one night is enough and we should press on to HCMC.

So, back on the bus...

Photos: Nha Trang & Mui Ne

rich — Wed, 4 Aug 2010 21:30:00 GMT

Beach Life

Nha Trang

rich — Wed, 4 Aug 2010 00:28:00 GMT

Ever wanted to know what it feels like to live in a sardine can? Just hop on an overnight bus down the Vietnam coast and you'll quickly find out. From the outside it looks like any other bus, but once you step inside (take your shoes off before you do!) it's a whole strange new world. Three rows across and ten deep, these futuristic looking bedseats fill the bus. You have a choice of floor or top bunk, we chose the top beds and spent 6 hours trying to figure out how to get comfortable. No-one told us that there is no room for backpacks, so we have to jam them into the enclosure with our legs. It could've been worse, at least the a/c was working.

So we arrive in Nha Trang around 6am and the city is already buzzing. This seaside town is halfway down the Vietnam coast and is Vietnam's most popular beach for tourists and locals alike. After spending the last couple weeks in crazy cities, it'll be nice to grab a bit of downtime on the beach. Which is where we head to straight away. Sunloungers, umbrellas, warm clear water and a coconut...now this is more like it. Of course at the end of the day Rich is burnt and vowing to never lay out in the sun again. So tomorrow we have to find activities away from the beach.

Vietnamese food is so tasty that we decide to sign up to a cooking class to learn how to make these treats at home. The class is run by a chef at a local restaurant and she begins the day by taking us to the market. This massive market sells everything food related and we weave around the maze of stalls, tasting unfamiliar fruit and veg. And then we see the most disturbing sight. In the fish section, we come across all the normal creatures for sale - crab, octopus, shrimp, and then we see the frogs. A bowl of frogs with no skin! It's gross but not too bad, until we see them move slightly. "Are they alive!?" I say. Then as if to confirm my disbelief, we see a woman pick up a live frog, cut a slit down the back of its skin with scissors and (this is where i looked away) rip the skin clean off the frog in one quick motion.

With the utterly disturbing sight lodged in our heads, we head back to the restaurant to cook up our feast. Our 3 course meal of spring rolls, hot pot and flambé is pretty tasty and they give us the recipes so we can try them out at home.

We spend the rest of our time, exploring the small town's temples and other points of interest. We go scuba diving about 1hr off shore and see some eels and interesting fish in the semi clear water. All in all, Nha Trang is a great beach spot and its only going to get bigger with all the building going on. Glad we got to see it before it turns into Cancun.

Hoi An (Made to Measure)

rich — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:45:00 GMT

Hanoi has been great but it's time to move on. We take a cheap flight down to Danang and from there, catch a taxi a little further down the coast to Hoi An.

This is the city Rich has been dreaming about...and why? Suits made to measure. Tailors to make your wish their command. Hundreds of fabrics, thousands of colors and its all very very cheap!

Halfway through our taxi ride from the airport, we are joined by a local - a "friend" of our driver's. He befriends Rich by talking football and when I mention getting some clothes made, he tells us his family own the best tailor shop in town (of course). Sure, it seems like a scam, but we might as well take a look, why not?

Later that day we head over to the "best tailor shop in town" and after a bit of measuring and haggling, we walk out having ordered a 2 suits. Great! Mission accomplished. But wait, what about Alicia, doesn't she want some clothes made?

That was a rhetorical question. We find our way to a shoe shop (where Alicia is truly in her element), followed by another tailor shop for dresses, and then several more tailor shops that Alicia just can't walk past...Finally we end up at the Central Market where the prices are too good to refuse, and again we both cave to the buying temptations.

In total we walk away with 2 suits (each with an extra pair of trousers), 6 dresses, 8 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts & 2 pairs of shoes. Everything in our choice of fabrics and made to measure with at least three fittings, and all for the bargin price of $600! Ya can't beat that...

There is more to Hoi An than just tailors, but we're here for only 3 days and there's a lot of shopping and measuring to be done so we don't get to do that much sightseeing. Hoi An is a riverside town, originally a busy trading area, and it still has an amazing amount of the original architecture of the old town. Best way to see the town is renting a bike for $1 and riding around town. (beware of the little pickpockets, they look cute and innocent but they are sly)

What is worth mentioning, is that this little town has a great atmosphere, great food and a great beach (so we're told, we never make it that far). But, according to reports, Nha Trang has the best beach in Vietnam and that's our next stop...

Photos: Hoi An

rich — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:37:00 GMT

Halong Bay

rich — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:17:00 GMT

Rain is pouring outside our window as we get up for another early start. This time we're up for a 6.30 breakfast. By 8am were in our minibus, on the way to Halong bay. This is a bay of 100's of islands off the Vietnam coast in the South China sea. This isn't an island hopping trip though - all the islands are rocky mountainous structures. We'll be cruising around these islands from the comfort of our Junk (boat).

After a traffic delayed 4 hour bus ride, we arrive at the peaceful Halong Bay. We get on board our Junk and are delighted to discover that there will be just 8 of us for the cruise. We certainly wont be short of space as it sleeps over 20. Our group is friendly and half are teachers on their ridiculously long summer holidays. Its alright for some...

After lunch we're happy to see the rain has stopped as we leave our Junk and hop on a bamboo boat to visit a floating village. The idea of a floating village reminds us of Uros in Lake Titicaca but this turns out to be a different setup. Here, there are normal looking houses individually floating on what look like plastic barrels. They get around using these bamboo boats. Life here seems simple, most are fisherman, they have a floating school, a pearl farm, pet dogs, most of the homes even have TV's which they power from a generator.

Back on the Junk our evenings entertainment is a bit of a tragic affair. Daisy, our guide, is obsessed with karaoke and things take a turn for the worst when I'm volunteered for Yesterday.(Alicia: He actually volunteered himself)

In the morning we visit some nearby caves, known locally as the Amazing Caves, then enjoy a sunny cruise around the bay. After lunch we depart the Junk for good and head back to the crazy streets of Hanoi.

Photos: Halong Bay

rich — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:31:00 GMT

Goood Morning Vietnam!

rich — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:32:00 GMT

It's a 3am start today because we're headed for Hanoi, Vietnam. Our flight leaves at 6am and it takes a hour to get to the KL LCCT terminal (where the cheap airlines fly from).

By 8.30am we've arrived in Hanoi. We did our visas online so it's quick and easy to get into the country. There's the normal bartering for a taxi when we have no real idea how much it should be anyway. Finally settling on 250,000 Vietnamese Dong (13 USD), we make our way into the city's old quarter.

We didn't book a hotel but heard the Golden Sun is a good bet so we head there. Sadly there is no room at the inn, but the staff are lovely and offer us a ride to their sister hotel a couple of streets away. Before we know it, we're on the back of two motorbikes, going the wrong way down a one-way street. Welcome to Vietnam!

With no real agenda, we decide to walk around the old quarter and get lost in the maze of roads and alleyways. We quickly learn how to cross the street while mopeds and cars stream towards us...follow the locals! And a good tip from our hotel sends us to New Day restaurant, where we have yummy Vietnamese food without another tourist in sight.

A couple more hours of walking around and the 3am start is starting to take its toll on Rich. We finish the day by grabbing an early dinner and a walk around the night market (a market full of crap) on the way back to the hotel.

Photos: Hanoi

rich — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:17:00 GMT

One day in Kuala Lumpur

rich — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:37:00 GMT

Our Australian visas expired yesterday, and we have to go back to the UK. Not because we're moving back but for a wedding! Rich's older bro is tying the knot and we're heading back to the UK on 19th August. But, that gives us four weeks in between, so we decide to visit a new continent.

First stop? Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Why? Because it was the cheapest flight we could find from Melbourne and it's a great base in SE Asia for a few weeks. KL is really only a stopover for us at this point - we'll be flying up to Hanoi (Vietnam) tomorrow morning, but we do have one day here...

8.00am Rich wakes us up early so we can try to get the tickets for the Petronas Towers sky walk.
8.30am I actually get up (jet-lag).
9.00am We leave for the towers on foot and after 15 min walking we give up and hop in a cab (it's cheap). 6 RM ($2) later we get to towers only to find out all 1600 and something tickets are gone. We should've known, there are loads of tour buses outside. We're told we should be in line at 8am if we want to go tomorrow. Well that's not an option - we won't be here!
9.45am We take a lot of pictures of the outside of the towers.

10.00am We hop in cab to look for Imbi Market, a Lonely Planet recommendation for breakfast. After driving around for 20 mins, we and our cab driver can't find it. We search by foot. Still nothing. The hunger is making us (ok me) angry, so we hop back in a cab to Chinatown.
11.00am Food! Coffee! Coconut Jam! Happy!
11.30am We take the Lonely Planet's guided walk around Chinatown, which frankly looks a lot like most other Chinatowns around the world. There is a walk for Little India which we've just about started when the thunderstorm rolls in and we're forced to take shelter in a Massive (8 story) mall, with a/c!

3.00pm Our tired feet need a rest and Dr Foot has a great solution! We sit down and soak our feet in tanks filled with little fish, who slowly nibble us for half an hour. It's a very ticklish sensation at first, but after a while it starts to feel like your feet
have fallen asleep and you've got mild pins and needles.

7.00pm We tuck into a delicious meal at the food stalls on Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang, and then head to bed. We've got a very early start tomorrow!

Photos: Kuala Lumpur

rich — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:08:00 GMT

Leaving Melbourne

rich — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:07:00 GMT

The Australian visas expires tomorrow and we have to go back to the UK. Not because we're moving back, but for a wedding! Rich's older bro is tying the knot and we're heading back to the UK on 19th August. But, that gives us four weeks in between, so we decide to visit another continent.

We've packed up a year's worth of stuff into a few boxes and suitcases and managed to stuff it all into our now former flatmate's (Rachel) storage room. Now we're back to living out of a backpack! We say bye to our flat - it was a great year - and head for the airport.

Just need to get through customs....I proudly show my spiffy new passport to the exit officer and as she flips through the pages, I explain to her that this will be the first stamp. To this she explains, if I don't have my expired passport (the one with my Aussie visa) then how do they know that I entered the country lawfully....doh! So a chat with the manager, a trip to the customs counter and I'm looking for the "Border Security" cameras! Fortunately, I don't seem too dodgy and the manager sorts it out and decides to let me legally leave the country.

G'day Oz.

Australian Open

rich — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:19:00 GMT

The Australian Open is about to begin and all the big hitters are in town warming up. Since the tournament doesn’t start for a couple of days, Roger Federer decides to club together with a few other stars and put together a fundraiser for Haiti.

Haiti was hit by a massive and devastating earthquake on 12^th Jan and desperately needs help. So Federer created Hit for Haiti, a friendly exhibition match between some of the best tennis players in the world.

We went to Rod Laver Arena and paid $10 each to watch this amazing match. The Stadium was packed and the atmosphere was great. We all cheered when Serena, Nadal, Roddick, Federer, Djokovic and Clijsters took to the court playing in doubles and sometimes triples. It was great to see them up close and joking around..who knew they were so funny?

The start of the Open brings with it a great atmosphere to Melbourne. The weather is sunny and hot (sometimes a little too hot) and there are always people in Federation Square watching a match or two on the big screen. We get general admission tickets one day and this gives us access to all the outside courts. Sometimes you can see some of the big players if it's early enough in the competition. We get to see Kuznetsova Vs Li in the women's singles and then catch a men's doubles match. I don’t know any of the players but I'm told if you’re into tennis you do…anyway it’s a good day out. If we’re here next year we’ll get tickets to the main courts.