I intend to post at least 3 more blog posts. 1 for advice, 1 for Odyssey feedback & 1 for how I've felt since getting back/future plans. I was planning on posting them in Jan, Feb & Mar but I've just not managed yet. Will do.
Jo Day's 2013 Career Break Blog
Tuesday 18 March 2014
Wednesday 4 December 2013
Same same but different
I flew with
Air Asia from Bali to Bangkok on Friday 8th November. I noticed the inflight magazine asked
passengers to vote via social media for QPR’s top performer!!! Whoever gets the most votes will be Air
Asia’s player of the month!!! Eh? I looked around. There was no one on this flight who looked
like they knew what QPR was. What was
the connection? I then noticed a
football shirt in the magazine with Air Asia slapped across the chest &
realized who QPR’s sponsors must now be.
I still don’t know why Air Asia would be the sponsers. In the most remote places across Asia I’ve
seen lads wearing Chelsea, Arsonal, Man U & Liverpool tops but funilly
enough not QPR. Why would an airline
operating the other side of the world, where most of its passengers don’t
actually follow football sponser a “Who are they” team? It seems I just can’t avoid being reminded of
work!
I landed at
the old Bangkok airport called Don Mueang this time & got the hour long
train journey to Hua Lampong train sta for just 20 baht=40p. I had been quoted 60-70 baht by the hotel in
a meter taxi from the train sta. Three
taxis refused to take me on the meter. Apparently,
“traffic bad”. Yeah, yeah. If they take me for 200 baht the traffic will
miraculously clear. I wandered around
the surrounding streets & found a tuk tuk driver who agreed to take me for
100 baht after he first asked for 200. 25
min later I was at the hotel.
It was odd
being in Bangkok without the Odyssey Overlanders. I stayed at The Wild Orchid Villa opposite
Erawan House Hotel for £6 a night. I can
honestly describe the room as a cell. No
window, no wall sockets for charging lap top, no space. Still it did the job for just the 2 nights I
was staying. I wandered around my
favourite road = Soi Ram Buttri near the Khao San Road but more quiet. Bought some more Jaico mosquito repellent as advised
by a friend who used to live in Thailand, had a look around the 2nd
hand book shops & 2nd hand market stall where I’d bought my
snorkel & mask last time, ate at a street food vendors & had a good
conversation with a retired couple from England at a street bar. They travelled here every year on their way
to Malaysia to avoid the UK winter 6 months.
On Sunday 10th
Nov I got on the Death Railway from Bangkok Noi Thon Buri train station to
Kanchanaburi. The journey took 3 hours
& cost just 100 Baht=£2.
I’d booked
myself into a nice hotel with swimming pool.
I discovered on Monday 11th Nov it also did a massive buffet
breakfast. (Buffet breakfast=challenge
to also fill up for lunch). It was odd
sitting there with mostly people from all over Asia whilst a musical version of
Puff the Magic Dragon was playing over the restaurant speakers! I have to admit, I’ve discovered on this
journey hotels have very odd music taste.
I did not
plan to be here on Remembrance Day. But,
as this town has one of the largest war cemeteries in the world containing the
graves of 6982 POW’s who died building the Death Railway, I definitely wanted
to pay my respects by attending the Armistice Day service. It was memorable observing the 2 minute
silence, listening to the Last Post, wearing
summer clothes, boiling in the
sun, in deepest Thailand surrounded by 300 British people. In the cemetery I contributed to the Royal
British Legion of Thailand for my poppy this year with Thai Baht. (For a lot more than any Bangkok taxi driver
will ever get out of me). There were ex
British POW’s & widows all in their 80’s/90’s attending the service laying
wreaths. The British ambassador to
Thailand was also present. The Thai
police, army & locals also paid their respects.
After the
service I had a look around the Thailand-Burma Railway centre & then took a
walk over the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai. Time must heal because one of the first large
tour groups I met taking photos & wandering across were Japanese.
Work was now
coming into my mind & I had to spend a 4th whole day of my
journey sorting out some painful forms on Tue 12th.
Wed 13th
Nov I did a tourist day tour with other backpackers. I went swimming in Erawan waterfalls, visited
the Hellfire Pass Death Railway cutting, walked along a significant stretch of
the Death Railway & travelled a short distance on the train. I also had a look around Kanchanburi’s night
market where I got the best value Thai Green Curry ever. 25 Baht=50p.
On Thur 14th
Nov I travelled on the train from Kanchanaburi to the end of the line at Nam
Tok. This is the route of the Death
Railway that’s still in use. This
actually crosses the Bridge over the River Kwai & took about 2.5 hours.
On Friday 15th
Nov I hired a cycle. Went shopping for a
new camera as my 2nd of the trip was now packing up-it does not
switch off & therefore does not charge to take more than about 3 pictures
at a time! I also popped into 2 more
museums & cycled through the countryside to the other allied war cemetery
called Chong Kai.
Sat 16th
was the train journey back to Bangkok.
I’ve done well. Never been to
Thailand until 19th August this year & now I’ve been to Bangkok
4 times!
Sunday 17th
Nov I walked through a political rally at the Democracy monument (which has now
turned into a riot shown on BBC World news.
Last time this happened the protesters shut down the airports), to the
Golden Mount Stupa for good views of Bangkok.
I started my 2nd Intrepid trip by meeting the other people
also booked on it. It was the yearly
river festival called Loi Krathong. I
contributed to a handmade flower boat as the donation was to be matched by
Intrepid & given to those in the Philippines suffering from the
typhoon. (I decided not to buy another
camera as I want to research before I buy.
I’m making do with taking 3 photos per day until the end of my
trip. So, there are quite a few
activities not photographed-it was raining in paradise anyway! I’m thankful to Peter & Danielle for most
of the following photos).
On Monday 18th
Nov we went as a group on the Chao Phraya River express boat to Wat Arun AKA
Temple Of Dawn. After, some people the
headed to The Grand Palace. By now I’m
very “templed out” so headed back for a final wander around the Khao San Road
area, had a Chang beer by the river, walked along my favourite road Soi Ram
Buttri, sat in the restaurant Madame Mesuir as it sells Beer Lao & people
watched for the afternoon. We then all
met up at the hotel & headed to Hua Lam Phong train station for an
overnight train heading south. I was
leaving Bangkok for a fourth & final time.
If I ever
get a Thailand train again, it’s not going to be in an air conditioned
carriage! Last time it broke. There were no windows to open so we all
poached. This time it worked & was
freezing. Take my advice; all you need
is a carriage where you can open the windows to get a warm breeze.
I did like
the Intrepid group code for the state of toilets which became a discussion on
the over-night train. They were either
the happy room or the unhappy room soon to become the happy ocean for me!
After
another coach, shed-type-drop-off & mini bus pick up place that I’m
convinced tourists on package holidays never experience as they consist of very
unhappy rooms among other things, we arrived in Ao Nang, a beach resort next to
Krabbi. The weather was OK, so we
sunbathed on the beach. Bought beer from
a beach vendor who ran off leaving his bucket!
Nearly got a sunset, but a few clouds on the horizon got in the way!
A new job?
Wednesday 20th
Nov I took my last Doxy anti-malaria tablet.
I’d been taking that every day since 24th July. I had no negative side effects from it. I’m not sure if my broken sleep has been from
that or just the fact I’m hardly ever sleeping in the same place. I was lucky.
I’d never taken anti-malarial before.
I never bothered with a trial as I guessed side effects were rare &
I’ve always been fine with tablets.
However, on this journey I’ve met so many people with stories of bad
side effects – really bad indigestion, sun burn, nails falling out, hair
falling out, and sickness. I recommend a
trial because it does seem to affect a lot of people.
Wed 20th
was also our 1st taste of paradise.
We were off snorkelling to those fine white sand & crystal clear turquoise
sea locations made famous in the film The Beach. It is high season on the Andaman Coast. I decided to spend my last 3 weeks away sunning
myself with the fishes.
I don’t know
if I’ll get to Nirvana-but Buddha was not on my side helping me! The skies were grey. I had discovered Thailand’s mass tourism industry. There were about 50 speed boats containing
about 30 tourists all whizzing around. Snorkelling
was OK but visibility not brill. I did
not see any turquoise sea. I just
imagined my time on the Malaysian Perhentian island at the start of
October. I only just saw the beach due
to the amount of moored speed boats.
In my part
of the world we often experience loud groups of American tourists. In this part of the world it’s Chinese. It must be the culture, but they seem very
rude to me. Once again I realize no one
knows how to queue or actually realize they are not the only people present.
I have also
learnt from my journey this year going through China, that this lot on holiday
are very wealthy. Probably more wealthy
than I. If not, they can’t even leave
China! I have a bit of resentment in my
head that says “Before you go away laughing-help the people in dire poverty in
your own country who have no choices whatsoever first. Then you’ll have earnt your holiday &
enjoyment. Until then, keep quiet &
comply like you do at home”.
On Thur 21st
Nov it was misty & raining ALL day.
However, it was nicely warm. After
shopping for supplies at the 7-11 & giving the stamps to our guides (I have
discovered this is a big thing in Thailand), we travelled on a local boat to
the Island called Ko Yao Noi. This was
quiet & off the beaten tourist track.
I swam in the sea in the rain. It
was still nice. My roommate for this
trip was Laura from Argentina. We had a
fab wooden bungalow with fantastic views (when the mist cleared). We now both felt like we were on an Intrepid
trip. Like me she does not like air-con
so we were very happy. Unfortunately,
some people had to put up with mice in the bed & rats in the roof. We just had a snail in the bathroom.
On Fri 22nd
Nov we went on a snorkelling trip using a local fishing boat. No crowds = great. Trouble is no sun either. It was raining again ALL day. The visibility was zero so the snorkelling
turned into swimming. Our desert island
picnic was in the rain. It was still
warm, but our 2 Thai guides were shivering.
The day was cut short & we returned to our bungalow.
On Sat 23rd
it was still raining & heavier than yesterday. We travelled by speedboat to Phuket. The 1st boat was cancelled due to
the conditions! The 2nd was
rammed full with people who should have been on the first. I was about the last to get on. I was surprised the tourists on board were
not wearing their buoyancy aids. I’m a
bit of a risk taker, but sensible. I
quickly put 1 on. Out of the 40 people
on the boat that looked like it should only carry 30, there were only about 5
of us wearing the available buoyancy aids.
I’m a good swimmer-but I can’t swim when knocked unconscious by flying
luggage, flaying bodies or metal boat as it capsizes! Take my advice-wear a lifejacket when at sea
& if that’s not available a buoyancy aid.
At least your body will be recovered.
I did laugh
at the passengers screaming. I thought
the boat was going to snap in half as it pounded through the swell especially
as it was over weighted. I got soaked
with rain & sea spray even though the boat was sealed with a canopy! Some people felt sick. I don’t think it was sea sickness, I think it
was from being frightened.
On solid
ground (but far from dry land) on arrival in Phuket we popped into the gibbon
rehabilitation centre in the pouring rain.
I discovered I’m actually an ape not a monkey because I have no
tail. It seems gibbons are not just my
friends but family! More advice – don’t
EVER have your photo taken with a wild animal by someone who claims it’s their
pet making money. It really is not worth
it.
That night
at our destination called Karon Beach, Phuket we had a group meal at a sea food
restaurant. I’d seen the Thailand
giant/jumbo/mantis prawns before in Ko Samui back in September. This time I treated myself.
With Simone & Danielle choosing our dinner
On Sunday 24th
Nov I said goodbye to my final roommate Laura who was heading back home. Danielle, Simone, Peter & I went to
Phuket Old town. The rain had
stopped. We did a walking tour taking in
my last ‘bit of culture’ of my 8 month travels.
We spent the
afternoon on the beach. White sky today
& bright. However, we could not swim
in the sea. Red no swimming flags all
along the beach due to the dangerous swell.
There was a
new culture shock to encounter. What? You might think. It was Russia. Karon beach is full of Russian holiday
makers. It is weird sat on a beach in
Thailand surrounded by Russians. Lots of
signs & menus are written in Russian.
According to Danielle’s dive instructor there are direct flights from Moscow
to Phuket. I love it because they are
more pale white than the Brits! I’m
looking very glowing in comparison to everyone else on the beach.
The red
flags had disappeared on Tue 26th.
I walked along the beach & swam at all the 4 life guard stations
marked by the yellow & red flags.
(There were no lifeguards in the towers.
Instead they were busy hawking deck chairs, cocktails, jet skis, banana
& parachute rides. Still, I guess
that by swimming within the flags I’m covered by my insurance).
On Friday 29th
Nov I did a snorkel tour now the sea had calmed down for a few days hopping it
would be good visibility. The agent gave
me 1000 Baht discount when I booked, without me even bartering. Instead of £45, it was now £25. This was too good to be true & it was.
Not only was
I back in the mass tourism trade (I was prepared for that), the guides became
salesmen. Quick to point out in his
broken English the tea/coffee on arrival (in minute cups) was free. Also, water, fruit, Pepsi & lunch was
free. So was the snorkel/mask-I should
think so as it is a snorkelling trip!
However,
fins were 100 Baht. Over the microphone
to all 200 of us “I advise you take fins.
You can swim down & see more.
I snorkel every day & it helps.
Only 100 Baht”. I have now become
a snorkel expert & he was spouting rubbish.
Fins should be banned from snorkel trips as the coral gets damaged. We don’t go into the deep to dive down like
divers – in the deep snorkelers would only see blue water. Most snorkelers including me don’t know how
to use fins so they are more of a hindrance.
Again over
the microphone “While you wait you can shop in our store. Discount just for you”. Oh shut up mate. Lets get to the boats so we can start before
it begins raining. I wanted to get to
the 1st of the 3 snorkel sites before the other thousands arrived.
Still on the
microphone “Today sea is very rough. Itinerary
change. We only go 1 snorkel site. But, we go 2 beaches”. What?
The sea is calm man. What are you
wittering about?
1st
stop was the snorkel site. This was
OK. We were there for 45 minutes &
you definitely did not need fins! Next
was a beach not listed on the itinerary?
In broken English “Sand free, chairs & shade 80 Baht [it was
cloudy]. Here you can banana boat &
walk under the sea for extra cost”. Had
we been taken to his mates business? The
beach was nice & I swam in the sea.
Next stop
was lunch. A buffet which was nice.
Then our
last stop of the day – for 3 hours!!! On
another beach. This time there were no
other activates. I could see parents
trying to keep the children occupied. I
found some rocks & floated around with my snorkel – into divers who looked
like they were doing a learn to scuba course.
As we got
back to port the guide thanked us all very much for choosing his company,
produced a mask box & placed a 100 Baht note from his pocket into it blatantly
asking for crew tips. Out the 30 of us
on the boat I saw about 3 people put something in. Like me, everybody is becoming sick of the
tourist conveyer belt. Western prices
but not a western service.
On my long
journey this year I can honestly say in comparison to the rest of Asia Phuket
has been the rip-off capital closely followed by Bali. Still a little cheaper than home, but not
worth it. The biggest con is the price
of day trips, followed by taxis/tuk-tuk prices (esp as the only 2 alternatives
are buses to & from Old Phuket Town taking 2 hours to get from A-B or
hiring your own car/moped) & finally followed by hawkers who don’t barter
down much yet set a high price for crap to begin with. According to the Thai people it’s the “Same
same but different”. They even flog t-shirts with that phrase written on them. Danielle described
the gentle thanking hands together Buddhist Thais trying to flog stuff as
smiling assassin’s. I’m surprised the
Russians but up with it.
I’ve spent
most of my time in Karon Beach swimming in the sea. It’s been a grey to white sky, sometimes with
rain. Unfortunately, I have not
experienced the crystal clear turquoise sea as seen in the film The Beach or
even seen 1 sunset.
However,
it’s been a good end to a fantastic 8 months of travel. Hot & bright. The large waves are fun & just after they
break it’s like being in a Jacuzzi with all the bubbles. The sea is warm. I’ve got a tan. Beer O’clock has been about 6pm each night in
anticipation of a sunset.
The best day for the weather
It’s now
Wednesday 4th December. There
are hardly any Christmas decorations & I’ve heard no Christmas songs which
all adds to the illusion that my body clock still thinks it’s
summer-July/August as I’ve been in very hot climates since the end of May (with
the exception of the Tibetan Plateau in July).
Intrepid cannot. I will get around the price of those tuk-tuks. Moving to my penultimate hotel with the help of staff
I’ve had
good accommodation & good buffet breakfasts. At my penultimate hotel I found a surprise
roof terrace & thank Danielle-who also liked Beer Lao-for listening to me
droning on about my past 8 months on the terrace whilst star gazing.
My return to
work is getting closer & I was very much reminded as I moved into my last
hotel on Sun 1st Dec. I’m in
room 111. As the receptionist gave me
the key he commented “lucky number”! I’m
not so sure. Awkwardly he could not find
the room as he helped me with my bags.
Eventually, we found it. It’s a
good room. Has a kettle, power shower,
fast free wi-fi & lovely view. I’m
talking metaphors now where only a few of you reading this will understand – in
comparison to what I’ve seen this year it’s not that bad but I’m sure there are
better. I’m still striving to find the
better.
I'm not looking forward to returning to work.
However, I'm not as upset as I thought I would be about ending my fantastic 8
months travel adventure. I am actually fed up with the constant
packing/unpacking & moving. It will be nice to be back in one place
with family/friends.
I'm going to enjoy Christmas & New Year as I'm
still officially on my career break. So, I'm hoping to feel I'm on
holiday - lots of nice wine (I've had none of that since leaving the UK), gin
& tonics, food, TV, lazing about.
So, here I
am at my last hotel where I am now typing this post – I have actually caught up
- on a lovely balcony overlooking the sea with a Chang beer &
I'm beginning to feel I actually want to return to the UK. Mainly because
I want to start making changes for the better.
I pack for a
final time & start my relatively short journey home tomorrow evening–
Thursday 5th Dec as I fly from Phuket at 5.45am local time on Friday
6th Dec to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines. Then at 10.35am KL time I catch a connecting flight
to Heathrow. It will be weird flying
over what took me 4 months to travel overland in just 13hours 40 minutes. I’m scheduled to land at Heathrow 4.15pm UK
time. Friday 6th December
will be a very long day, much longer than 24 hours!
When back in
the UK I intend to type more blog posts as I’d like to give some experienced
advice to people doing this journey in the future, share my thoughts about this
journey & hopefully be able to type that this journey has helped me make
some positive changes.
Until then
I’m going to enjoy the heat, finish my beer, swim in the sea & hotel
infinity pool.
Tuesday 3 December 2013
I thought we'd said goodbye
On Wednesday
23rd October we island hopped in Indonesia from Java to Bail on a
local ferry. This was significant. Java is predominately Muslim with its mosque minarets
calling to prayer, Bali is predominately a unique version of Hindu with stone
temples & spirit offerings everywhere.
Bali is 1 hour ahead of Java.
Java is a malaria zone, Bali is not.
These are big differences considering the ferry ride was only 15 minutes! Can mosquitoes fly in a straight line for 15
minutes? However, in true Asian style
the journey actually took about an hour as we were waiting 30 metres from the
dock for a space.
Gavin Bernie Naomi Rosie on the ferry to Bali
Bali spirit offerings
We then had
a 4 hour mini bus journey to our hotel next near a temple called Tanah Lot.
Thur 24th
Oct none of us were bothered to see the temple.
We all hired the mini bus driver to take us to Kuta (referred to by many
as Australia’s Ibiza). It seemed very
nice to me. The hawkers here were
renting surf boards – but I’ve seen more waves at St Ives, Cornwall. Naomi & I negotiated a sun bed price
& I started on my tan. Less than 2
months until I was to be back in the UK.
Less of the cultural stuff & more of the beach is my motto from now
until home. For some reason my skin is
very fair & I usually just burn & peal.
Not this time. With 6.5 months of
living in the outdoors most of my skin was now used to seeing the elements. With factor 30 I was not turning red, but
nicely golden.
The sea was
the warmest so far. Lovely.
After the
beach we headed to the shops. Roxy, Rip
Curl, Billabong & O’Neill all appeared to be their flagship stores. Trouble is, they were all flagship
prices! If only we could have got to the
outlet factories in Bandung. (This
request has gone onto my Intrepid feedback form). It was all very glamorous. I was back in the Western world.
Treating
ourselves to the glamorous lifestyle far away from squat bogs, cockroaches
& street food noodles, Sally suggested a beach bar called Potato Head in
Seminyak. Full of Westerners, western
food, western prices & fab infinity pool we rented 2 big sun beds (not
tables here sweetie). It was good for an
afternoon, but all too false for my liking.
I even managed to find a cockroach in the pool in the form of some bloke
who I had noticed was chatting up EVERY lone female. He tried it with me. It was just like the movies. He claimed to be a trader from
Singapore. I blatantly said trying to
hide my grin “I bet you have lots of money”.
I remember he started to blurt on about money isn't everything. I began to laugh. Rosie joined in the conversation. The so called chat up ended with the lead man
asking “What have I done wrong”? He
moved onto someone else.
Infinity
Bernie Roberto Kaela Kreftie Naomi on our sun bed
Infinity at sunset
Fri 25th
October Naomi & I headed to the Tanah Lot temple as we thought we ought to
go being the reason why Intrepid brought us here. Being the responsible tourist that I think I
am & given the advice of what to wear by Sally we wore our sarongs &
sash’s.
I’m still
not sure if we were conned into donating the equivalent of £1. “Place some money in here. You can then wash your feet, drink the holy
water, have a yellow mark on forehead, flower in hair & I’ll open the
barrier” mumbled the holy man. Up the
steps we walked to the temple, only to find a closed gate 20 steps later far
from the top of the temple. What’s
this? “Why can’t we go up”? “Not open to tourists” said the holy
man. After confirming with the hotel
receptionist & Sally, the temple is only open to Hindus. However, I only gave holy man a donation
because I wanted to see the temple & I’m sure he knew this. Holy man = con artist! I’ve obviously not learnt as much as I’d
thought on this journey!
It annoyed
me why seeing, let alone staying there was on the Intrepid itinerary. Even from a distance it looked nothing
special. I’ve since learnt Intrepid are
not staying in Tanah Lot from 2014.
Result!
Fri 25th
Oct was a 3h drive to Ubud. This was a
unique town. It had the ambiance of a
British village full of art & craft shops + cafes.
Our Intrepid
trip finished on Sat 26th October & I moved to a homestay just
along the road from the hotel. I was
given a room with a balcony overlooking a rice paddy. Very nice.
The family had the biggest cockerel I had ever seen.
My balcony
Ducks in the rice paddy from my balcony
Family pet or food or both?
In the
afternoon I took a walk through the monkey forest with Bernie, Rosie &
Richard. Keeping my distance from the
nasty but can’t-get-enough-of moneys, I literally bumped into Fi & Al! I knew they were coming to Bali during their
after Odyssey travels, but I was not sure when or where. It was a great surprise after I thought we’d
said goodbye on the 6th October in KL.
On Sun 27th
Oct I did a Lonely Planet walking tour.
Not the best!
On Monday 28th
October Fi, Al & myself went to the east coast town of Tulamben to snorkel
over the USS Liberty ship wreck. I had
read about it in the LP. It is only 50
metres from the shore off a beach. Where
else in the world can you snorkel over a ship wreck? I also thought I’d said goodbye to Julie
& Andy on Oct 8th. Since
then, they had decided to come to Bali diving.
We all met up & snorkelling we went.
It was warm, clear & fab. A
great day. It also marked the furthest
East I travelled on my career break.
Odyssey beer O'clock again
Fi & Al at the water temple on the way back to Ubud
On Tue 29th
Oct Fi, Al & I went on a cycling tour.
We got to see a good sample of the Bali countryside.
Civit cat poo coffee
Buffet breakfast looing at Mt Batur
Fi & Al looking after the bikes in a rice paddy
Wed 30th
Oct I was up at 1.45am to do a sunrise hike up Mt Batur with Fi & Al. Like many tourist tours in Bali it was a
western price. However, like most tourist
tours in Asia it was not of Western standard.
My patience was beginning to run out with guides you did not need but
had to have etc.
The pick-up
driver got a hotel location wrong & I was guiding him to the name of a
hotel to pick up other passengers on his list in Ubud at 2.30am. I don’t know if it was a limited choice of
words due to the language barrier or the female/male culture difference, but he
seemed to blame me for being late!
Like so
often, mainly due to the accent/pronunciation I could not understand the
English speaking guide! (Sometimes I
think I can’t moan as I know no other language-but I don’t claim to & certainly
don’t charge for it).
To top it
all off, the guide began blatantly asking for tips. “You come from London. London people very nice. Last week someone from London said goodbye by
shaking my hand & left me Rupiah in palm”.
Well, not me mate ‘cos this has cost me X quid & it’s not worth it
& you have not done anything above/beyond what’s expected. That’s what I wanted to say. That’s what I’ve wanted to say so often
during my journey in SE Asia. I noticed
tips in SE Asia were becoming more & more expected, especially in the very
“tourist” areas. If a tour had been
great value for money or the guide had been excellent I’d tip. Those experiences were becoming less &
less.
Sun rise over Lombok
On Thursday
31st October I thought I’d try another Lonely Planet walk as I like
my self guided walking tours. This was
called Campuan Ridge. The 1st
20 minutes were fab, but I’d turn back after that if I was you.
On Friday 1st
November Andy & Julie picked me up in their hire car & we went on our
own Bali tour. About 10 hours after
starting out, after driving through pouring rain & arriving back in the
dark we discovered the main roads in Bali are like narrow country roads back
home with slow moving vehicles you can’t overtake due to the twists &
turns. Signposts are rare & when in
existence very small. However, we had a
laugh & managed to find the UNESCO rice terraces at Jati Luwih, drove
through lovely scenery & soaked in Banjar hot springs.
So this is how pineapples grow
Julie & Andy in the rice terraces
I've been cleaned by holy water!
On Sat 2nd
Nov most shops & restaurants were shut because it was yet another ceremony. I was looking for an open restaurant when I
heard my name shouted. I found Naomi,
Kaela, Krefti & Bernie sat at a table from the Intrepid trip. They had just
arrived back in Ubud after a week around Bali doing a combination Intrepid
trip. After I thought we’d said goodbye a week earlier it was great to see
them again. We swapped our stories of
travels in Bali.
My homestay
family drove me to my next hotel I had booked in the beach town of Sanur. I’m so thankful I arrived because it was the
most scary driving I have suffered on this journey. Granddad was driving. (That should say it all – but with the added
factor of being Indonesia). As we
reversed out the garage into moving traffic the spirit offering fell off the
dash board due to the braking. I thought
I’m doomed. I seriously hopped the make
of people carrier had undergone crash test dummy exercises & passed
well. I could not understand the
language but I think Grandma kept advising & holding granddads arm
suggesting him to slow down, not tailgate, red means stop, there’s not enough
space between the moped-us-the oncoming lorry to pass, don’t overtake here on a
blind bend & get into your lane as there’s traffic coming towards us NOW!
My hotel in
Sanur was lovely with an excellent pool.
The water was the warmest so far.
Sanur beach was OK, but there is better in paradise. Not crystal clear water-a bit murky. No waves due an off shore reef. At low tide the sea went too far out. It was shallow & left a muddy slick. At high tide there was too much sea grass
& rubbish floating about to enjoy the water. The top end resorts employed people to rake
it away. Too many boats on the beach you
had to swim around. Too many man made
break waters spoiling the beauty. The
town was full of Western OAP’s.
Anyway, my
tan was coming along nicely & I caught up with my blog posts. (It was painful doing those because the hotel
internet was about the slowest of my journey.
I timed it – 1 hour to upload 40 pictures. I hope you like them).
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