Tasmania Wrap Up

Okay first let me say that my plan to spend the night in the Sydney airport was thwarted when a worker informed me that they were locking up the terminal at 11 and it would not be open again until 4 the next morning. I had to collect my things and get up from my comfy chair and move to a metal bench outside the baggage claim area. There was no point in paying full price for 5 hours in a hotel so I just put on a couple extra layers (remember it's summer here) and read my book. The night passed rather quickly and uneventfully and I have spent today screwing around and resting up for SCUBA lessons starting tomorrow.

As I mentioned in the last post, Tasmania was wonderful! Here is a brief day by day of what I was up to:

Day 1: The highlight was climbing Cradle Mountain. Didn't quite make it to the summit because we started later in the day, but the views were stunning with blue lakes, glacial-cut valleys and patches of rainforest mixed in. An added bonus was all of the wombats and wallabies I saw at dusk. Went on a Tasmanian devil search late at night with a flashlight but was unsuccessful.

Day 2: Hiked three hours into Montezuma falls through dense rainforest along the west coast of the island. Went to a beach later in the day and I just couldn't resisit the temptation to go for a quick swim in the Southern Ocean. I mut admit that prior to that swim I was unaware of there being a Southern Ocean, but regardless, I have another ocean crossed off my list.

Day 3: There was a fair bit of driving this day with several short hikes to break up the trip. Walking through a park with eucalyptus (spelling?) trees that were 100 meters high was impressive. Rumor has it that they might overtake the California redwood as the tallest trees on the planet. Stayed in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania which seemed like a quaint city with a cool wharf area. For those of you who didn't know, the Danish prince met his wife at a bar in Sydney a few years ago and she was originally from Tasmania. The royal couple just so happened to be vacationing in Tasmania during my visit but I did not run into them. Shucks.

Day 4: We moved on to the east coast and hiked into Wine Glass Bay which a travel magazine has ranked as one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. Once again I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go swimming so I ventured into the water for a few minutes while everyone else in the group laughed. Tasmania is relatively close to Antarctica so as one might expect, the water is chilly.

Day 5: The last day, I hiked to several waterfalls and the highlight was visiting the Bay of Fires which was about as picturesque as the Wine Glass Bay.

I have been fighting off the beginning stages of what feels like a sinus infection and I am happy to report that the symptoms seem to be retreating. Anyone who has ever tried swimming laps with a sinus infection would know that SCUBA diving would be pretty much impossible. I am off now to get my medical clearance and all systems should be good to go!

Quick post from Tassie

It's the last day of my trek in Tasmania and it has been absolutely fabulous! Definitely one of my very favorite stops on the trip. I only have a minute but thought I would write something. I will be flying to Sydney tonight, spending the night in the airport (this should be the last time I do that) and then catch the morning flight up north to Cairns. On Friday I will start my SCUBA course!

I will write more tomorrow about Tasmania... there were no Danish Princess Mary sitings however I do have another 10 hours to find her.

Thanksgiving dinner for one

Last night was a ton of fun but the 2 hours of sleep I got between returning to my hostel and then waking up to make my morning flight has left me a bit fuzzy-headed all day. I am in Launceston, Tasmania and tomorrow morning will be picked up by my trekking group.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I enjoyed Thai food by myself and thought about everyone back at home. I'm looking forward to being back soon! Laundry tonight in preparation for the trek and then I predict the next 16 action-packed days will fly by!

Old friends in Melbourne

The past few days have been wonderful as I have been escorted all around Melbourne by both new and old friends from Melbourne. I feel as though I have covered the city rather extensively at this point seeing each end of the bay and everything inbetween. Stuck my feet in the ocean only to discover that the water is colder than the northern California coast. I suppose being so close to Antarctica has something to do with water's chilly temp.

On Tuesday I met up with Henry, one of the three Australians I befriend in Prague, and we went out for lunch and walked all over the city near downtown and the riverside taking in sites and eventually met up with Cat, the second of my friends from Prague, and had dinner at a few of their friends' house. Afterwards we went out for desert and drinks.

Yesterday, I met up with them again and they took me all around to a few sites including a mansion, winerery, fish and chips (an Australian favorite) and lots of other fun neighborhoods of the city. They also insisted that I try the pride of Australia: Vegemite. Can't say I'm too fond of it. Forunately, I heard that it is banned in the US so I have an excuse not to take my tube home with me....shucks.

Tonight I am meeting up with Henry and Cat plus friends to join them in celebrating their graduation from university. Should be a fun night and then tomorrow morning I have an early flight to Tasmania. Will relax the rest of the day and then early Saturday morning my action-packed 5 day trek kicks off!

Down Under

It is hard for me to fathom that I am now in the last stop of my colossal trip! I had an enjoyable past few days in Singapore mostly relaxing and avoiding the intense heat and humidity. I took full advantage of my hostel's free gym access and worked out for a few hours each day. It felt great to use muscles that have been hibernating in recent months. My plan was to be exhausted for the latest long travel day (24 hours) but unfortunately my body was extremely sore! No worries though. Nothing a little pampering on Thai Airways couldn't fix. I actually managed to sleep for about 5 hours of the 9 hour flight from Bangkok to Melbourne.

A few final thoughts on Singapore. It was an incredibly clean and efficient city and had more shopping malls per capita than any other city/country/island in the world (I did not read this fact anywhere but am coming to an educated guess based on the mind-blowing number of malls). There was literally a mall at every intersection. It all added up to make the city feel a bit sterile. Without Thanksgiving as an invisible damn holding back the flood water that is Christmas commercialism, Singapore was filled with lights, trees, santas and Christmas music. It just didn't seem right in mid-November.

I just got ahold of two of my Australian friends living in Melbourne. I met them two summers ago in Prague when I was randomly assigned to their hostel room. I am meeting up with them tomorrow to see some of the city. Tonight or tomorrow my mission is to lock down my Tasmania and SCUBA plans for Australia. Once that is done, all I'll have to do is sit back and enjoy myself! I have become so accustomed to only dedicating half of myself to the place I am in while the other half is subconsciously beginning to formulate a plan for the next stop. It will be nice to dive into Australia 100%!

Singapore - another country under my belt

So my stay in Malaysia came to an end last night as I took the night train to Singapore. I have always enjoyed watching the scenery go by on daytime bus and train rides but have to admit that the time goes by much faster when you can lay down on a bed and sleep through most of the journey.

Yesterday in Kuala Lumpur was relatively uneventful as I relaxed in cafes, walked around the city admiring the architecture and then saw the premiere of the new James Bond film at the IMAX theater. One thing that struck me about the city is its impressive time and financial commitment put towards developing a network of trains, busses, subways and monrails.

So far my initial impressions of Singapore are how clean and orderly the city is. I discovered that I illegally smuggled in a pack of chewing gum. Suppodedly chewing gum is illegal and will earn you a fine if caught in the act of spitting it out by the police. Overall, it has been ineresting to witness a few of the "emerging Asian markets" that I always read about in the paper or on CNN.com. Truth be told, they aren't all that different from US or Europeana financial hubs.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

For some reason only the title of my last two postings showed up without any of the actual content I wrote. Hopefully this problem has been solved. They weren't incredibly interesting blog entries so no one missed out.

Basically, with my mom's help, I was able to play with my remaining plane tickets to adjust my Thailand and Australia flights a bit. That left me with a few extra days to play with in SE Asia. I found an inexpensive flight down to Malaysia. I had another long day of transit, killing time at the airport in Bangkok waiting for my flight. It is a strange feeling to be completely relaxed and care-free at the airport. While everyone else is hustling to get their bags or meet up with family members, I leisurly stroll through the airport unconcerned, and in a strange way almost hoping for a delay. A slight delay means less time I have to spend sitting on uncomfortable airport chairs.

Arrived late last night in Kuala Lumpur and am now stranded indoors because of a thunderstorm. I was hoping to explore some of the hill regions just north of Malaysia's capital but it seems i have chosen the wrong time of year. I will check out the city this evening and tomorrow before taking the night train to Singapore. Two days in Singapore and then fly back to Bangkok to catch my 9 hour flight to Melbourne.

Everyone should try out the recipe that my Aunt Kristin was kind enough to post under comments on the last blog entry. If you are feeling lazy, go to a Thai restaurant and order a Thai Iced Tea... you won't be dissapointed!

Malaysia it is!

Australia or Malaysia???

Thai Iced Tea

I am writing from the lovely city of Chiang Mai. I believe it is the second largest city after Bangkok but it has a much calmer vibe...granted this could just be on Sundays. Went to Sukhathai yesterday and visited more old ruins, Buddha statues and temples. That made it three consecutive days of site-seeing and that is for a guy who prides himself on doing minimal touristy site-seeing. I think I have felt compelled to check out the sites because everything is so new and different from North/South America and Europe. I think I have had my fill for a few days at least.

Actually, I am starting to feel as though I've had my fill of Thailand. After re-reading my last couple posts it seems as though I am making this country out to be a horrible place which couldn't be further from the truth. The people are all extremely friendly and smile more than anyone I've ever seen. The food is splendid, and the sites beautifully well preserved and laid out. I feel as though I have seen enough to be content on this trip. The transportation situation leaves something to be desired in terms of reaching some of the smaller more remote locations. If I were traveling with someone else I would be more inclined to venture out to these places, but I would be foolish to ignore my past experiments in Brazil when trying to get off the beaten path.

Right now I am looking into moving up my flight to Australia by a couple weeks and spending the extra time trekking in Tasmania. I'm having a difficult time changing the tickets because I have to coordinate with the agent in San Francisco who helped me line the trip up. Next time, I will arrange all my own flights independently because this has proven to be a royal pain the arse.

While I wait for all this to get sorted out, I am indulging in the fine cuisine that this country has to offer. Tonight it was a struggle to spend a dollar at the outdoor stands. The food is so tasty and so incredibly cheap! I have also treated myself to 3 thai iced teas tonight so far! I plan on googling the recipe so I can make them back in the US!

North of Bangkok

After a day and a half in Bangkok, I started noticing many of the negative things that friends had warned me about. The car exhaust thickened, the crowds of pushy people started to get on my nerves a bit, and I grew weary from so many approaching me soliciting a sex show, wooden frog instrument, fake designer jeans etc. I spent 2 hours searching through Bangkok's China Town for the perfect buttons to complete my jacket. Wound up empty-handed but I am confident that with my Mom's help I will be able to find what I'm looking for back in the Bay Area. China Town was interesting. So many shops, carts, stands and people crammed into narrow alleyways. For some reason, a few Thai guys felt it was an iddeal place to ride their motorcycles. This only caused everyone to squueze together even tighter (keep in mind the temp has been near 100 with high humidity) and I could hear a few isolated squeals of the owners of crushed toes that didn't get move out of the bike's path. I don't want to paint Bangkok to be a horrible place but I am saying that its novelty wore off rather quickly. The food was still awesome and visited a few temples that were unlike anything I had seen before. I'm experiencing quite the culture shock coming from Europe but am beginning to settle in and just go with the flow. Everything is very chaotic and there doesn't seem to be any effort or emphasis put toward obtaining any. Furthermore, it's annoying that prices are so negotiable. Even at a restaurant they are willing to make "special price for you" even before I inquire. Don't get me wrong, I love a "special price" just as much as the next guy but can't help but feel like I am still getting ripped off. It's impossible to get any sense of what the actua value of anything is.

I took a train up north 2 hours but only covered about 100 km. I am giving my travel plans for the rest of the country a second glance with an eye towards the ease and speed of transport because less time in slow, bumpy, sweaty vehicles would be most iddeal. Rented a bike and rode around the ancient capital city of Thailand which has an impressive collection of ruins. Riding a bike around town was a chalenge and probably not one I will take again until I am further in the countryside. Trying to dodge cars, motor bikes, busses and stray dogs is not so fun, especialy while fighting to stay on the left side of the road (yes they drive on the left).

Something else to note. I don't think I wrote about this when it happened, but in Portugal there was a little incident with a small dog trying to attack me that has left me with a small phobia of dogs. I'm sure I will be able to overcome it once I return to the US, but right now it is a hinderance due to the large number of stray dogs roaming the Thai streets. I try to ignore them and continue walking at the same pace, but each time I can fee might heart start to race and my limbs stiffen. If anyone has any quick fixes for a problem of this nature please send them my way!

In Thailand at last!

I last wrote from the relatively clean and peaceful airport in Athens. From there, my next 24 hours were a blur. I was feeling anxious about being so unprepared for Thailand, and had carefully scanned both bookstores in the Athens airport and while their selection was impressive, Thailand was nowhere to be found (however, the inventory manager is predicting a large influx of Greek tourists traveling to Finland based on the number of guidebooks in stock). After passport control and security, I was about to board the plane as I walked past a stand selling newspapers and magazines. On the side of a magazine stack were two random books. One just so happened to be a guide to Bangkok. I took it as an omen and quickly bought it.

Flight to Qatar was uneventful. Arrived around 10pm and my flight to Bangkok was scheduled for 8am. This is where the fun began. The airport in Doha, was large and new, but there were far too many people hanging around to feel real comfortable. Many people were passed out on the floor of the three mosques in the departures hall of the airport, but I chose the "Quiet Lounge" that had 14 lounge chairs spread out in a dimly lit room. If I could snag a few hours of sleep, the next day would be much easier. However, not one, not two, but three, yes THREE consecutive people who sat in the chair next to me were violently loud snorers. Right when I was on the verge of passing out, I would find a new culprit beside me. Finally, after the last snorer had left, a possessed or more likely heavily drugged gypsy girl began sauntering silently around the room. Her eyes were glazed over and she just circulated the room until everyone else was awake and clutching their bags. It only took about 15 minutes before the entire lounge was empty. I then found myself a row of seats in the waiting area. I am certain they designed these seats to be unsleepable, but luckily I managed to curl around the armrests in such a way that I was in a state somewhat resembling comfortable. Got my two hours of sleep in that position. The final flight was fine. My window seat in the exit row treated me nicely. I think I will start arriving an extra hour early for all future flights if it will gurantee me a window exit row seat. I mean it's like getting the benefits of economy/business class without the extra fee!

Got some delicious pad thai noodles from a street vendor last night for less than 50 cents. Today I walked around the main tourist area where I was blown away by how much cheap crap everyone is trying to sell. I thought Peru's collection of junk was impressive but Bangkok blows Peru out of the water. Things are so cheap that I feel half-way tempted to purchase them even though I have no need for them. I did splurge today and got fitted for a custom tailored sports jacket. Black with a faint pinstripe, silver silk interior lining, double vents, and some dark metallic buttons that I need to hunt down in China Town tomorrow for them to complete the coat. I could go with the standard buttons, but if I am going to the trouble to get a custom made jacket I should get it exactly how I desire. Plus, I won't run the risk of encountering someone with the identical coat...how embarassing that would be.

Dinner tonight was a delicious pumpkin curry with chicken over rice. Phenomenal. I've also been indulging in several Thai iced teas. The only catch is that the ice cubes are not good to drink. Hence, I find myself gulping down the tea as quickly as possible in order to limit the amount of ice melt I consume.

I will spend one more day in Bangkok and then plan on heading north. Earlier, I found a Thailand guidebook and fipped through it to help get a general plan for seeing Thailand. I will go north, and then probably the northeast. If I have time and feel like it, I may crossover in Laos for a few days. If anyone has any suggestions on places to visit in the north or northeast sections of Thailand please post a comment or shoot me an e-mail.

Made it to Athens

One flight down, two more to go. I am taking advantage of the free internet access points in the Athens airport (I wish every airport had this). I am feeling pretty good about life right now because I secured window seats in the exit rows for 10 hours worth of flying time! This is a pointless post but I am killing time. Sorry for wasting your time.

Tripod photos

The tripod in action. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Last few days in Europe...

As usual, it has been a busy past couple days. On second thought, maybe it has not been so busy but Danny and I have been moving at a slightly slower pace due to the crazy Halloween and the dropping temperature. In Veliko Turnovo, we explored the fortress and most of the old town before ducking into a cafe to escape the cold. When a light drizzle started, we went to the movies for warmth and entertainment. Afterwards, we ate dinner and proceded to execute a bar hopping route that we had mapped out earlier in the day. Nothing too crazy was going on in town so we cut the pub crawl short and hit the hay as snow flakes began to fall.

The next morning we woke up early and took the bus to Plovdiv. It had been highly recommended by other travelers at our hostel but proved not to be all that interesting. In all fairness, it was probably a great city but the low temperature and strong wind kept us on the lookout for cafes that we could slip into to defrost our extremities.

This morning we took the train to Sofia. The city has a bustling center, but once again (sorry to sound like a broken record) it was just too cold to enjoy much. We hit a movie theater again. Danny just left on the overnight train back to Bucharest and from there he will be flying back to finish up the semester in Copenhagen. Tomorrow I may take a day trip out to the famous monestary in Rila and I also need to do laundry, and rest up for a hellacious 24 hours of travel starting Monday morning. I fly from Sofia to Athens, hang out at the airport for about 6 hours, then 6 hour flight to Qatar, 8 hours in the airport, then another 8 hour flight to Bangkok.

Halloween in Transylvania

The last few days in Transylvania have been incredible! The train ride from Cluj-Napoca was through beautiful autumn scenery with brightly colored leaves, pumpkin patches and scarecrows! I met up with Danny in Sighisora (pronounced She-gah-shwor-ah) to find a crescent moon sliding in and out of thin whimsical clouds. Perched atop the hill, we found the "old town" where we sauntered through the cobblestone streets enjoying the spooky atmosphere. Plenty of black cats, stray dogs and even spider webs. At the stroke of midnight on Halloween Eve, we were next to the clocktower and next to the house where Dracula was born!

On Monday we went to Brasov which is a larger city in Transylvania and a place we figured might have more options for Halloween celebrations. Some guidebooks have dubbed in "the next Prague" which is a bit of a stretch, but the city had great charm and gothic architecture (I actually would take Brasov over Prague any day). Our favorite characteristic of Brasov is the "BRASOV" sign that sits atop the city similar to Hollywood in LA. It is so unexpected here, and well-lit at night. We couldn't resist the temptation to take several pictures of it. We met a bunch of students from Poland at our hostel and ended up going out to a chill lounge bar with three guys, one of which looked identical to Philip Seymour Hoffman. An hour or two ealier, Danny and I had decided on an unconventional costume for Halloween: a tripod. Seeing how there was only us two, we needed to recruit a third leg and Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose name got shorted to PSH, was our choice. He appeared excited when we extended a formal invitation to be a member of the tripod costume.

In the morning, Danny and I went to the Romanian equivalent of Home Depot and purchased all the material for our costumes. I promise to post pictures of our final costume on here tomorrow. Once the costume had been crossed off our to-do list, we decided to try to visit the Bran Castle (yes this is Dracula's castle). We followed our hostel's directions and got on the right bus and then off at the last bus stop of the route, but were surprised to find ourselves in the woods. As it turns out we caught the right bus in the wrong direction. Our options were to wait 30 minutes for the next bus or take a hike. We elected for the latter option. It was gorgious in the woods. We could not have asked for better Halloween weather as it was sunny with a real crisp chill in the air. We were hoping to locate the BRASOV sign on our hike, but had to turn back before finding it, in order to avoid losing all sunlight. If there is one place you don't want to be lost, it's Transylvania woods on Halloween. Back at the hostel we found PSH and assembled our costume. Once everything was set, we went into town where an Irish Pub was having a large Halloween party. Everyone gave curious looks when we were walking around as individual legs, but then laughed and cheered when we all united on stage as a fully-functioning tripod. At one point we all got on stage while the Romanian news filmed us singing Yellow Submarine. We were confused as to why they had us singing but just went along with it. We later found out that they thought we were three submarines with our tripod legs looking like telescopes. As things were winding down at the Irish Pub, we left and were looking for the next stop of the night. In the street we met these Romanians who thought our tripod was hillarious. They invited us to come with them in taxis to a club. They took us to this crazy club with all Romanians (I am almost certain that we were the only 3 foreigners there). Danny took off his tripod leg while using the bathroom and when he turned around someone had stolen it. As a result, PSH and I decided to ditch our costumes as well. I belive our costume was too progressive for the Romanians and that we may have been drawing unwanted attention. The Romanians were super friendly and bought us lots of drinks and introduced us to their friends. Like all of Eastern Europe, the women are mega-attractive.

We got back to the hostel around 6 in the morning and had 3 hours sleep before getting a train to Bucharest in route to Bulgaria. In Bucharest we had to switch trains and paid a little extra to have a sleeper. Worked out perfectly because we were able to catch up on sleep. Arrived in Veliko Turnovo this evening just in time to watch a "light and sound show" in the old fortress from the balcony of our hostel.

Tripod pictures coming soon...