Feisty Nomads

To see more from the Feisty Nomads...

2006-02-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

Well, it's happened - the Feisty Nomads have separated in their travels. Despite spending over 2000 hours together in Asia (yes, we counted on a very long bus ride one day), it was time to do some different things...Which are:

ALYSSA: is currently somewhere in remote India possible near Nepal and Bangladesh working with a health-care NGO. So far, highlights appear to have included not being served borsht on a Russian flight, not having to declare her 5000 pairs of sunglasses after bursting into tears at the Delhi airport and watching pigeons dance (something about reminding her of home?) And that was only the first week! To find out what happens in the next 5 weeks, try solofeistynomad.blogspot.com

EMILY: is sadly nowhere near the India-Bangladesh border and instead madly packing all her belongings for a 2 and a half month trip to Africa where she'll be working on two marine conservation projects - the first is in Kenya where she is desperately hoping not to become a victim of Nairobbery and the second is in South Africa where she is also hoping not to get eaten by a great white shark. Surprisingly, there is apparently a better chance of her getting robbed in Nairobi, but just to be sure you can check out: onefeistynomad.blogspot.com

So even though Em & Alyss are separated by several oceans, thousands of kilometers and the largest mountain range on the planet, we both want to say thanks for checking out our blog and keeping us company these last few months. Now that we'll be off on our own this time, we'd love the company even more. Hope you are all well and have a reliable internet connection.

Love always, Em & Alyss

And then we came home (and abandoned our blog...)

2006-01-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official - we are finally home. OK, so maybe we've been home for over a month and maybe you have or have not known about this. Oops. But the biggest oops of all is leaving our dear blog alone and unattended for quite some time now (tear). Perhaps we'll get around to telling the last stories from our trip, including the monsoon beaches of Thailand and the manicured streets of Singapore...or maybe we won't.

But, why tell old travel stories when there are new ones to post about? For example, Alyss is headed off to India in a mere three days. Wow! And shortly after that, Em is heading off for Kenya and South Africa. No rest for the wicked.

Anyways, sorry to all who check this for abandoning FeistyNomads over past many weeks...but we'll be back and we'll tell you where you can find our new adventures and stories!

Love always, Em & Alyss

Thai Beaches: Ah, Global Warming

2005-12-15T08:17:00.000-08:00

According to Lonely Planet, travel agencies, and pretty much anyone else with a vested interest in successful tourism in Thailand, December is a good month to visit due to its fantastic weather. The rains have left, the temperature reaches the 30's, and the sun glints off the ocean waters giving that glorious turquoise vista all day long. Of course, the beaches also become packed with tourists taking their Christmas early and the prices rise accordingly (i.e. by 100%, often).

We got the tourist prices, that's for sure, but ran out of luck on the sun side. I blame global warming and its erratic effect on weather patterns. I hate you, CO2. One story we got was that somehow, the monsoon season decided to arrive two months late this year and was still sputtering to an end when we arrived, hanging a sulky blanket of grey across the sky and spitting every few hours. Most days were just vaguely crappy, but the gods really decided to unleash fury on evening while we were on a random secluded beach north of tourist-town. Em and I were sharing a motorbike taxi back to our guesthouse and I have to say, it was the first time all trip that I was worried for our transportation safety. As this tiny bike crawled up slick, steep parts of the concrete 'road' (trail), I could actually picture it coming to a halt, sliding backwards, and falling on the two of us and the driver. I didn't say anything to Em - luckily, as she said later she would have lost it and freaked if she knew I was also worried. We arrived home in one piece and decided the best part of the trip was the free shower courtesy of the sky faucet.

It's like DisneyLand...but in Laos!

2005-11-30T04:52:00.000-08:00

Even though we were only in Laos for six (count 'em, 6) days, we still found lots to do in the allegedly "quiet" country. There was that grill-it-yourself dinner in the sleepy capital Vientiane, Alyssa's "hot" date with a monk, temples temples and more temples in Luang Prabang....but the highlight was in a small backpacker town called Vang Vieng where we found Disney Land, Laos-style.

When we got off the bus, the first thing we noticed about town (other than the great scenery) was all the westerners...Man, this place was packed with backpackers! From the usual hippie dreadlock-baggy pant crowd to the couples with matching flip flops and backpacks, Vang Vieng had them all. The next thing we noticed was that ALL of the restaurants had bed-style seating facing large TV screens playing re-runs of Friends. Hilarious. So when you get to episode you've already seen one too many times at home, you can just stroll next door and see what season is on at the next place! But most intriguing was the heaps of inner tubes along the street saying "for rent".

And so we rented. After paying our US $3.50 for a day's inner tube rental, we piled into a 4x4 pickup converted into a taxi and headed 10 minutes upriver. Along with other backpackers our age, we threw our tubes into the river and ourselves after them. The whole point of this is to lazily float down river in the sun under the amazing limestone cliff/hill scenery. However, the fun doesn't stop there. Every 30 meters or so is a riverside bar offering the tastiest beer in SE Asia, Beer Lao. For a measly $1 you can enjoy a big bottle with complementary over-the-water swings, bungee jumping into the river and western music pumped out on loud speakers. I've never been so happy to hear Jack Johnson! And then you hop back on your inner tube and head for the next bar. Definately Disney Land worthy. It's like the lazy river, but with beer. A good combination, a might add. And the ultimate in self-indulgence.

Needless to say we happily passed our two days in Vang Vieng on the river in an inner tube. On our first afternoon it turned out the bar thing takes more time then you think and we furiously paddled the last 2km back to town covered in goosebumps - it's freezing when the sun goes down! (Editors Note: We have since been informed that it is snowing in Canada and we understand we will probably not be getting much sympathy for being cold while floating in bathing suits down in a river in Laos). Besides, we started really early the next day :)

-- em.

Cambodia

2005-11-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Cambodia left us somewhat shell-shocked. Or maybe just shocked, both bad and good - by everything from the legacy of the Khmer Rouge (poverty, corruption, lack of development, and several killing field sites), to astounding beauty, vitality and history of the land and people. While sometimes depressing, the overall experience was more of a positive eye-opener (plus we got to see some awesome temples).

Festival in Phnom Penh

We arrived in the capital with perfect timing - a three day boat race festival had just begun, and Cambodians take their boat racing seriously. We got to see not only tens of boats paddled by hundreds of athletes, but we got to watch the races first on TV from the comfort of a hammock-filled restaurant, and later that evening from the third floor balcony of the Foreign Correspondents' Club (yes, it is as fancy as it sounds). The highlight was that night's "celebration of illuminated boats", with huge glowing floats and a fireworks show overhead, all centred around the full moon. And check out the crowds!

Tuol Sleng Prison Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

A sobering experience. The prison ("S-21") held between 17,000 -20,000 'enemies' of the Khmer Rouge over the years 1975-1979, nearly all of whom were interrogated, tortured, and killed. Mass graves were unearthed at Choeung Ek, where a stupa has been erected in dedication to the victims and holds thousands of skulls. We didn't take any pictures of the killing fields.

Cambodian roads

On a lighter note, I was highly amused by the roads in Cambodia. They are a true example of the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good: the highway from Phnom Penh to Angkor's Siem Reap (6 hours of pure straightaways, good pavement, no nausea). The bad: the unpaved dusty red farm roads just outside Phnom Penh (on our moto ride we covered our faces with sweat rags, bandit-style, and squinted the whole way; I lost a sandal on a bump; and we both arrived with dirt unibrows). The ugly: the road to the Thai border. A good samaritan in Phnom Penh had warned us against this route ("[his] bones ached for days afterwards... if you want to experience hell, take the bus to Thailand"), so we were smart and booked a taxi instead. The roads aren't like the rumours; they're worse. We passed a sign saying "Road Project Ahead" - unfortunately it was only begun this month and is slated to take 5 years. Our driver was great though, and we flew over the bumps and ruts so fast that all we felt was a constant high amplitude vibration, almost comfortable once you relaxed and let your limbs flail around. Bronco (our car), is probably not doing as well and I give his suspension a two-month life expectancy.

Did I mention which side of the road they drive on? Answer: hard to tell. Cambodia is the only country I've seen so far that does not discriminate at all between vehicles with the steering wheel on the left and those with it on the right. I guess a car is a car.

Dinner with Sarah!

A highlight of Cambodia: Meeting up with Sarah (Crookshanks) again, on our totally-unplanned-but-identical route around mainland SE Asia! She also hooked us up with the goods on Angkor over beers and Indian food. It was so nice to see a fun, familiar face and compare stories and impressions.

Kids

The kids in Cambodia are the most talented (or at least most perseverant) beggars and sellers I've ever seen. A lot of the time we got depressed by the level of poverty, lack of opportunity, and desperation of these kids and their unseen families. The first words kids seem to learn in English are "Hello, one dollar?", and they constantly ask for money, pens, and water. Sometimes, however, the only thing you can do is appreciate the energy of these kids or find something to share a laugh about. After giving away bread and extra bottled water, we were cornered by a group who noticed our playtpus nozzles (hydration packs) sticking our of our bags. Since "bite the nozzle and suck out the water" didn't translate so well, we supervised while each kid drank a bit with the help of gravity. A definite hit with the kidlets.

Angkor

Angkor is so much more than the famous Angkor Wat. Check out some pictures (more on the Angkor link on the right) - we'll give you details when we're home!

Transportation in Vietnam

2005-11-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

1. Motorbike (xe om)
Motorbikes = the best kind of transportation there is! After watching the crazy motorbike traffic of Hanoi for many days, we finally got on our own xe om's (motorbike taxi) and decided it's the most exhilarating way to get around. Even when they break down. Or you have to carry your 18 kilo backpack on you. Or a bus passing you in the opposite direction sprays a wave of water on you from a lake-like puddle. Or your driver gets separated from Em's and slightly lost. It's all in the name of the game. I love it.

A note on intersections: Most intersections don't have any lights, and if they do, they only have small red ones hidden away in the curbside foliage. It makes figuring out traffic patterns difficult, until you realize there is no pattern and everyone just zips by wherever they can. I can only assume there are no green lights because motorbikes in Vietnam don't need any encouragement to 'go'. Like I said: exhilarating.

Note: The driver has stopped for an errand and I have stolen the seat of power (but I don't actually know how to drive one yet).

2. Being a pedestrian
This is almost as fun as riding motorbikes. Many tourists hate the traffic and curse the lack of crosswalks or other such pedestrian-friendly inventions. I disagree wholeheartedly with this - from my experience the traffic is incredibly courteous to pedestrians if you just obey the one rule of "keep the pace steady and keep walking!" We now confidently cross all streets Moses-style, the streams of motorbikes parting around us.

3. Trains
Although not as luxurious as Malaysia sleeper trains, the Vietnam rail system has served us well. With four sleeper rides and one 10 hour daytrip, we are now pro's and have learned that:
1) booking your ticket through your guesthouse practically doubles the cost and we should have walked our lazy bums down to the station instead.
2) soft sleepers are only for naive tourists; the hard sleepers are just as comfortable plus you get two extra roommates in your bunk!
And 3) you will most likely wake up to these roommates sitting on the edge of your bed as if cozying up to a sleeping stranger is the most natural thing in the world.
We'd heard that the Vietnamese don't believe in privacy but it was still quite a shock to find two old guys in suits hanging out on our mattresses.

4. Boats
Boat #1: We took a tour of the Mekong Delta in a private two seater (we're DONE with organized group tours). Our driver was a woman, for once, and a very lovely person. The boat was a small wooden thing with a funny motor whose propeller was on a pole, serving as both propagation and rudder (when our hotel man had drawn us a picture of the boat beforehand with a huge oar like thing sticking out the back, I had assumed he was just a terrible artist). The tour itself was an 8 hour trip starting at sunrise, visiting a couple floating markets, many meandering canals, and a garden. The experience was relaxing, refreshing, and a good taste of the delta.

Boat #2: Tour of the Mekong Delta part 2, i.e. transfer to the border to cross into Cambodia. This was actually a combination of two boat trips, the first of which was on a large, comfortable vessel with cushions on the seats and enough room to lie down and read thriller novels (have we mentioned Lee Child's books yet? We have three.) The second was on a small, thin boat with wooden seats, a low wood ceiling (definitely caused some collisions and swearing for the taller tourists), and a precarious lilt to one side. After "2" hours (i.e. 3 and a half) we got out off rubbing our backsides and ready to leave the world of water behind for some good old buses (more on Cambodian transit later).

5. Local minibus
All I need to say is the drivers are crazy, the passengers are piled in everywhere and anywhere (one guy actually stood in the trunk, and Em was treated to a half hour ride on a plastic stool we thought was going to be our card table), but at least the roads are good. Call it negative foreshadowing for Cambodia!

6. Tourist minibus
Ah, the tourist minibus. Picture 14 westerners, average age and waistsize over 35, cramming into seats built for small-boned Asians... The guide in the front saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we must now say goodbye to [insert last sightseeing attraction]..." (and pausing, waiting for a chorus of "goodbye!")... Stopping every hour at a local attraction, translated as tourist-packed rest stop or 'authentic handicraft' centre. But the image I will always remember is the minibus doorway filled with the bum of a New Zealand woman, her body head hanging out as she yelled "Victoria!... Hold on, we're missing my friend... Victoriaaaaa!" (Probably this is just funny to me and Em... but hellishly funny it is.)

How we spent most of our 11 hours in Saigon

2005-11-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

The first thing that hit us about the south of Vietnam was the heat. It's unbelievably hot here - like sun-baking-find-your-45spf-sunscreen-asap-where's-the-nearest-air-con hot. And that's just 8:30am. So when we discovered that our Lonely Planet had a section on "Water Parks in Saigon" we were instantly intrigued. Unfortunately, we only had our day-packs on us which were lacking our bathing suits. Luckily Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City has plenty of sports stores carrying the latest fashions in swimwear. At least, the latest fashions from the 70s. With our new bathing suits in hand, we hopped on the first bus to the Saigon Water Park and endless hours of refreshing entertainment.

The waterpark itself was great - lots of slides, a lazy river, a wave pool. But the most hilarious thing (aside from our bathing ensembles) was the kids! Apparently the water parks mainly attract the under-12 crowd. I guess our first clue should have been the 1/2 price admission to anyone under 1.4m. While I can't say we weren't tempted to bend down just a little, dignity prevailed and we forked over the "tall" admission fee. Anyways, so not only were we the only non-Vietnamese people there, but we were also the only people not born in the 1990s! At first there were a lot of stares and giggles. Obviously we thought it was our bathing suits that were the source of hilarity, but it turns out it was just us. Once we attempted to try out our few lines of Vietnamese, we were soon big favourites! On the lazy river we were swarmed by kids all hanging onto our inner tubes and asking "Where are you from" "What is your name" "How are you" (occasionally confused with "How old are you"), and "Sing us a song!". Needless to say after a few rounds of Row Row Row Your Boat and Happy Birthday, it was clear the Alyssa-and-Emily-Travelling-Circus had once again come to town! All in all a spectacular and unexpected day in Vietnam.

PS. If you thought this was funny, guess what we did the day before in Nha Trang!

Update from Vietnam (finally!)

2005-11-11T02:12:00.000-08:00

Ahh, Vietnam...We've been here over two weeks and simply have not been able to take the time to post, it's been that great. After spending some pampering days in Bangkok, we purchased Vietnam tourist visas and a plane ticket to Hanoi and we were onto country number 5. The first highlight of our trip was when we discovered our Bangkok visas were indeed valid and not forgeries -- or at least forged well enough to fool Vietnamese immigration officers! From then on we stayed in Hanoi for a week with trips to the Northern highlands and Halong Bay before heading south towards Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. As for our adventures in and around Hanoi...

1. Hanoi: Definitely my favourite city to date, but maybe that's just because Alyss spotted a Canon camera store that fixed my broken camera in under 10 minutes! The hustle and bustle of Hanoi is hard to describe - sometimes the entire city feels like millions of honking motorbikes, which I guess it is. But the beautiful part of Hanoi is the trees - every street is lined with trees. And the colonial buildings are a nice touch too. It's neat being in a place with such history as well - not many countries can say they've kicked out the Chinese, French, Khmer Rouge and Americans. Not only does this history make for interesting places to visit, but we've yet to find another country that offers quality baguettes and cappuccinos for breakfast!

We spent most of our days wandering the streets of the Old Quarter and beyond where we discovered such delicacies as Bun Cha Nem - grilled pork in a soup with rice noodles and spring rolls. These heroines also highly recommend local beer with your meal - delicious! (Or "ngon qua", which has made us many local friends despite our likely atrocious pronunication!)

Seriously, Bun Cha Nem is amazing: Who can say this doesn't look delicious? Mmm.....bun cha

2. The Highlands: For our first weekend in Vietnam we decided to spend it in the highlands near the border with China, a 10+ hour train ride from Hanoi. The climate is completely different from Hanoi requiring fleeces, boots and wool socks. But the really cool thing is the people - Vietnam is home to over 81 million people and while 80% of these are ethnic Vietnamese, another 1% is classified as "ethnic minorities" and included over 50 different hill tribes. In our first stop, the town of Sapa, there were mostly Black H'mong people (because of the black-blue dyes used in their clothing) and then in Bac Ha we saw Red Zao, Dzai, and Flower H'mong tribes.

Anyways, onto Sapa. As soon as you descend from the mini-van several things happen. First you realize how great the temperature is - you're not sweating buckets and your hair is barely frizzy anymore! Second, you decide terraced rice paddies are the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. Third, you start to feel the pull of little hands on your clothes, hands, and hair. When you look down (yes, even I had to look down), you realize that over the past 10 seconds you have been swarmed by really cute kids wearing traditional tribal clothing trying to convince you to buy their bracelets, embroidered pillow cases, blankets, etc. Ah, the cash cow of tourism. As you disentagle yourself from the crowd and make a mad dash for the peace and quiet of your hostel, you unwittingly shout back "OK, maybe later I'll buy something". While this may seem innocent enough, apparently "maybe" translates as "yes" and Alyssa and I were hounded by many astute sellers on our next foray into town pouting that we had promised to buy from them. And their memories! Man, you talk to these kids for maybe 5 minutes and they have got your name, citizenship and relationship status memorized! And it's very difficult to turn down cute kids who know a lot about you! Look, here's a picture of Alyssa buying stuff from a whole bunch of them.

We spent the next two days hiking through the hillsides with our guide Quyet and two awesome Swiss Germans, Nadia and Heidi. We saw terraced rice patties, rivers, waterfalls, water buffalo, local Black H'mong villages and still more children with the "you buy from me!" line. Cute for the first time, not for the dozens of more times. Again, one begins to think vile thoughts of the tourism industry. We spent the night in a Dzai village with a really nice family...OK, so sure we only smiled at each other, but they seemed really nice. Quyet made us an amazing dinner of rice, stirfrys and the best fried tofu with tomatoes we've ever had! And to top it off, he pulled out a 2L water bottle of "holy water" for after-dinner drinks, which turned out to shot after shot of local moonshine, or rice wine for the uninitatiated. While I imagine only rocket fuel would taste worse, after 15 shots of the stuff I forgot I had taste buds to even complain about the taste. I'm sure you can all imagine the state your poor heriones were in, so we'll leave it at that.

Day 3 saw us again trapped on a tourist bandwagon to Bac Ha, a small village 3 hours away famous for its large market on Sundays. Not only did we splurge on a few handicrafts (like my new beautiful blanket!), but we saw a market like something from another century. Live animals, tobacco, fruits and vegetables, shoes, crafts, clothing all being sold by Flower H'mongs with beautiful coloured clothing -- imagine Medieval Europe in Vietnam...and then add in a lot of mud.

So then we were carted around for more sightseeing, to an "authentic" Flower H'mong village (don't get me started!) and the Chinese border with Vietnam. Finally we were dropped off at the train station in Lao Cai where Alyssa and I made friends at a local restaurant by playing cribbage and giving our cameras to little kids. We also watched Vietnam win the Agribank Cup which is a very big deal (if you happened to be in Vietnam, that is). Then we were back to Hanoi via night train for a day of laundry (and de-mudding) before heading north to Halong Bay.

3. Halong Bay: About 4 hours north of Hanoi near the coast of China, the strangest thing happens. Huge limestone mountains jut out of the South China Sea -- its really amazing. Unfortunately, many other people think so too and so Alyss and I were once again following the well-travelled tourist trail. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, our feisty heroines had to split up for the first time in over 2 months with Alyss signing up for a 3-day tour and me taking a 2-day tour (since I wanted to be back in Hanoi for a World Wildlife Fund conference). Both tours involved mini-bus rides to Halong City and boat tours through Halong Bay. While I can't say the typhoon off the coast of Vietnam improved the weather (there were a lot of grey skies and rain), the scenary was still amazing. As for my tour, it sucked huge without Alyss - the other 10 people were totally lame and severly decreased my opinion of foreign tourists. There seemed to be no end to their complaints - from the lack of milk for their tea to the noise and dirt in Hanoi. Needless to say I didn't hang out with them very much and instead wrote a lot of postcards. (Yes, there was even one to Alyss!). But apparently Alyss's tour was better but I'll leave her to tell you about that. But really, Halong Bay is very pretty, see?

-em.

Buying Pears

2005-11-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

I've decided buying an asian pear in Vietnam is always an adventure. The first step is finding one. On daily travels around any city you pass countless fresh markets and cornerside fruit sellers who make their presence all to well known. However, the moment you make a premeditated decision that you feel like a pear, the fruit stands have somehow moved to the other side of town and you're left wandering aimlessely through streets filled with motorbike repair shops or displays of expensive silk handbags.

Step 2 is bargaining. After four days in Hanoi I felt like I'd become a clever buyer who'd made my way out of the land of tourist prices, having paid 6000 Vietnamese dong on day one (45 cents), and then slowly working my way down through 4000, 2 for 6000, and finally 2000 (what locals pay, according to one cafe dude). However, there is always variability due to factors such as location, time of day, and the seller's mood. High traffic areas are pricier. Early morning is cheaper than afternoon. And my favourite cornerside fruit lady who routinely accepted my 2000 dong, turned on me one afternoon and demanded 3000. When I put on a confused face and tried, "But this morning you sold for 2000...", all I got was a scowl and, "No! Pear in morning was smaller!" Em even ran into trouble in real Hnoi, outside tourist quarters. After much haggling and an agreed 2000 pricetag, Em handed the guy a 5000 bill... and got only 2000 back. Holding her shortchange and the pear, Em tried to get correct change but was denied. To respect the laws of fair bargaining, she said no thanks, put the already wrapped pear back in the pile, and walked away. It's the principle of things.

Step 3 is eating the pear. The rule "only cooked, peeled or washed" has to be applied to all street food and since we don't carry around a peeler, I just sacrifice some bottled water for a scrubdown (exfoliating bath gloves can also come in handy). Monday, however, I must have failed to reach the scrub level required (from now on, "rinsed" is an evil, evil word). I woke up at 2am to stomach cramps and nausea and spent the next 8 hours emptying ALL contents of my stomach via both ends. Then it was a day of bedrest and water for me, with some bread and a (peeled) orange when I got braver. It was only a 24 hour thing; one pear can't do that much harm. Then again, maybe it's time to invest in a peeler.

P.S. We actually have some photos of my day of fun, starting with me washing the actual pear in question (there was a cute kid in the background - good stealth photo op).

Tokyo highlights

2005-10-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

Again, we've fallen behind on the posting... so here's a snapshot of our Tokyo time (Kyoto and Hiroshima details hopefully to come, if the internet in Vietnam is more accessibly than it's rumoured to be).

Tokyo (2 days)
- stayed with Tim (Watson) and friend Dave (Barecka) - great Queen's/NT reunion and had some fantastic curry... somehow even in Japan we manage to eat Indian. Our waiter had to move us to a bigger table because we ordered so many dishes, and asked us concernedly whether we were sure we wanted to order everything.
- explored Kabuchicho, the red light district, and went to the baths (in a spa, not a brothel).
- explored the subways - a well-oiled machine of a system that was still incredibly confusing to us, requiring three tries to get anything figured out! The same goes for travel in Japan in general...
- did the fish scene - from Tokyo Sea Life Park (it was raining, and you can only ride the subways for so long!), to the huge fish market.
- sat in the busiest Starbucks in the world. Literally.
- witnessed a small earthquake! (causing minor subway delays in the north of the city, then back to business as usual.)
- took the Shinkansen (bullet-train) to Kyoto.

Thai massage at Wat Pho

2005-10-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

We had our first Thai massages today! After a morning of wandering around several wats and the grand palace, we opted for a half-hour, full body, $5 rubdown. The spectatular Wat Pho, a temple with intricate tiling, beautiful gold leaf, countless chedis and home of the largest Buddha in Thailand, also conveniently houses the School of Massage. They give you a queue number then rush you to one of the many beds crammed into the small building, knead your body and muscles with strong hands for the requisite time period, give you a glass of juice, and send you on your way. Production line or no, it was fantastic. Thai massage is a whole body affair, and by whole body I mean the masseuse's whole body... They sit, stand, and straddle you in all possible positions while using their hands, arms, backs, and even feet. At one point my masseuse was sitting at the end of the bed, grasping my feet with both hands and stretching my legs apart, while her leg was extended along mine and she pressed her foot into my inner thigh. Somehow it felt great. (?) The whole affair is really relaxed but without privacy, and the masseuses chat each other up and laugh away in Thai while you wonder if they're joking about your stinky feet. My masseuse liked to make fun of me for not knowing what to do and would tap me on the wrist and laughingly order, "turn over, sleepy!" The whole session was great and Em and I seriously considered going back for a full hour... although my inner thigh is relaxed enough for one day.

-alyssa (learning how to write short posts, finally!)

Hello touristy Thailand!

2005-10-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

Bangkok is one crazy city. I've overcome my initial daze inflicted by the noise, heat, smells, and overwhelming touristy-ness of this place and I think Thailand may become my favourite country... especially with its unfair advantage of the best food in the universe.

We've been feasting already, surprise surprise (you may have noticed the odd picture here and there of us eating during this trip... we like food...). Last night was a seafood bonanza with spicy shrimp salad, mussels, and crab curry. I'm salivating just remembering it. The spicy salad turned out to be too spicy for our inexperienced tastebuds, but the mussels in their bright green shells and the buttery crab was tasty deliciousness (as soon as I figured out how to get the crabmeat out of the shells, inelegantly but sucessfully). I really want to take a Thai cooking course!

Other impressions of Bangkok so far:

1) It has everything! Someone once told us that the best way to travel in Asia is to bring nothing, fly to Bangkok, and buy anything and everything you need there. Definitely true. We're adapting that advice into "buy lots of stuff here in December, pack it into a faux North Face bag (the biggest allowed in airplane carry-on), and open up a wholesale market when we get home." We spent 7 hours wandering around the huge weekend market here; I only got lost about four times. We spent most of the time in the clothing section (although I'm a large/extra-large here and unfortunately they don't often stock those sizes.. grr), but we plan to head back another day and visit the "pets for sale" section to see the snakes.

2) It is so touristy! We knew we'd find that here but it's still shocking and fun. Bars, restaurants, travel agents, and pushy tailors line every street in our neighbourhood of Banglamphu. The tailors are hilarious/infuriating. They sit inside their stores, peering out at the street and waiting to hunt down tourists. When you walk by, unsuspectingly, they jump out at you and start their spiel - and when you try to explain that you really, truly, just don't need a wool suit right now, they look at you incredulously and ask "why NOT?"! We went out last night for our first beers in weeks, and while pouring our $2 jug of Singha saw a woman walk by with a bunch of balloons. Just proved to us what a circus it is here.

3) All they play here is Black Eyed Peas. Day in, day out.

4) It's an interesting mix. As in many SE Asian cities, one street block will hold several local restaurants, a bunch of trendy or beautiful tourist cafes, a temple or fort or historic building, some corrugated iron houses across the street, and street vendor stalls everywhere you look. There's always so much to see, explore, and (forget to) take pictures of. (Ed note: We've been in Bangkok for a whole day and haven't taken any photos yet. What's happened to us?)

5) Have I mentioned the food is fantastic?

This is just a first taste of Thailand - we actually haven't seen enough yet to comment on much of what this country is famous for. To be continued!

-alyss.

(Malaysian) Toilets

2005-10-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

What would a trip abroad be without a comment about the loo? You can tell a lot about a place from its bathrooms. We`ve started judging establishments by the state of their toilets... you can predict a joint`s overall cleanliness by the presence (and size) of insects in the bathrooms, its classiness by the ratio of tile to concrete, and its generosity/helpfulness by the presence or absence of toilet paper. Added points go to stalls with anything resembling a hook on the door, but we`ve only found one of these.

Most washrooms in Malaysia are of the squat variety, but every so often a hotel will offer a western-style toilet (although you generally still have to flush manually using a bucket and scoop... it was an enlightening day when Em realized the intricacies of how all toilets work, i.e. water plus gravity, with no magic behind the pull of the western toilet lever). Some of the squat toilets are clas-sy, with tile surroundings, textured non-slip areas for your feet, a porcelain basin, and tile mosaics around the edge. Those appear in the fancier hotels (where we use the phone and the bathroom, and leave quickly before they notice we are not guests). Public toilets, however, can be another story. I am incredibly sad that I did not think to take some pictures. Public toilets are always labelled with `TANDAS AWAM` painted on the wall, in red or black block letters. However, some part of my brain always confuses `Awam` with `Awas`, a common roadsign warning; hence whenever I approach a public toilet I see: `TANDAS AWAM` - `Toilet! Caution!` Enough said.

More to come on other countries... stay tuned for how Alyssa was peed on by the fancy Japanese self-cleaning toilet.

Mt. Kinabalu

2005-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Apparently there are just not enough hours in the day to be able to make up witty stories for you about all our adventures, so sometimes pictures will just have to do. We'll scribble some stories on our way to Japan tomorrow (if we're not too busy catching up on movies that is). But here's a taste of us climbing the highest mtn in Borneo and the tallest summit between the Himalayas and Papua New Guinea:

A Thanksgiving Story...

2005-10-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well our first holiday away from home has come and gone, and what stories we have for you! After the trials of Mt. Kinabalu, we took a puddle jumper flight to Sibu, the 2nd largest town in Sarawak, the other Malaysian province in Borneo. The main attraction in Sibu is its location on the Batang Rejang, the largest river in Malaysia and where numerous ethnic tribes live, including the Orang Ulu, Kelabit, Penan and Iban, all of loin-cloth and head-hunting fame.

After one rainy day in Sibu, it was time to take a boat trip up the Batang Rejang and go experience living longhouse-style with an upriver tribe. Besides, it was Thanksgiving and who better to spend it with than family? Even if that family lives 3 hours upriver, 30 minutes inland by rickety bus and consists of 400 people living in a row of adjoined houses on stilts.

Upon faithfully researching how exactly to ingratiate onself with a tribe of head-hunting fame, our guidebook and Sibu Visitor's Centre strongly suggested bringing a gift to present to the Chief of the Longhouse as payment for room & board. Specifically, Lonely Planet mentions two enthusiastic travellers who brought a live pig upriver and were invited to stay for as long as they liked! Since it was Thanksgiving, we decided to purchase from the market in Sibu a live chicken (it was that or a duck... apparently no turkeys in Borneo). Even though our parents would likely think this was a fowl idea, what with the avian flu pandemic of Southeast Asia and all, we decided that taking one chicken wrapped in paper and three layers of plastic would be ok for a few hours. (Moms and Dads, please don't worry - we also washed our hands frequently like health websites said, we were nowhere near the culling, defeathering, or cooking of the chicken, and we promise not to go anywhere near live birds in any of the next countries. Besides, think of the pilgrims).

Anyways, so after choosing the tastiest (and healthiest) looking bird we could find, we headed off upriver. Somewhere along the way, Alyss & I decided this was absolutely the most hilarious thing we have done yet on our trip, although both agreed not to tell our parents for a few days (just to prove we didn't have avian flu). As for our little manuk (chicken in Iban), it hid for most of the trip and seemed a little dehydrated, so I tried to feed water to it, but ended up pouring water all over it which didn't accomplish much except to provoke some outraged squawking. Oh, and birds also don't appear to enjoy 3 hours of deafening twin-engines. Who knew? Anyhoo, upon arriving at Rumah Bundong a few hours later and presenting Chief Bundong with his gift, our squawking friend disappeared and mysteriously reappeared a few hours later in cooked form mixed with some mee hoon noodles. Tasty. Although some gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce never hurt a meal, we decided it would be too hard to try to suggest this using hand gestures and happily ate our little bamboo-steamed manuk.

As for the longhouse experience itself, it was certainly interesting and well worth the trip. We couldn't communicate except with a few English speakers so we spent most of our time playing with the 3 and 4 year olds (luckily 'choo choo!' translates well), or just sitting and listening and trying not to feel like we were imposing. Visitors are common though, and although the Iban have always welcomed guests without question, the economic kickback of having tourist visitors is quite welcome now as well. We evetually relaxed into the slow, laidback, communal atmosphere of the place, sitting in sarongs on the long wooden verandah and going for a swim in the river with some teenagers and lots of little naked kids who could swim like fish. And were they ever cute.

And not to disappoint, there were even skulls hanging from the rafters:

So that was our first Thanksgiving away from home. As for our walk on the wild side by spending time with a live chicken in Borneo, we're fine and OBVIOUSLY have no bird flu. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving as well.

Love, Em (and Alyss)

The Amazing Race

2005-10-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

At least half the time in Malaysia we feel like we're on an episode of "The Amazing Race." I've never watched the show but that has nothing to do with my credibility on the subject; Em's given me so many play-by-plays of different teams' adventures that I've become an expert and die-hard fan. (If, like me, you don't have cable and haven't seen it, it's a reality TV show where teams compete against each other on a global treasure hunt race...). The Emily-Alyssa team, on the other hand, is on a race solely against ourselves to catch various planes, trains, boats, and buses so that our carefully concocted schedules work out perfectly and we maximize our time enjoying our destinations instead of waiting in various stations.

The latest adventure was the return trip from Pulau Tioman (beautiful beachy island where Em snorkelled and dived and I spent many hours and 50 ringgit finally submitting meds applications). Ok, Tioman deserves more than once sentence in parentheses. It is one of the most popular beach destinations in the area but luckily it was off-season so it still felt peaceful; we only had to share our lawn with a group of large lizards. (They looked like strange alligators when they went swimming in the river - very cool.) Em was a good sport about me being anti-social and writing applications all day; she rented snorkelling gear and checked out some humphead parrotfish just out from the main beach, and did a great dive with more parrotfish and no malfunctioning regulators! The beach was beautiful and deserted, the island mountainous and impressive, the beer was cold, and the squid not too chewy - all in all a nice 24 hour stay in Tioman.

Getting there and away was slightly more of a challenge. Buying boat tickets from our hostel in advance went well until we got to the jetty at 7:30 am to find that our company's 7:30 am boat was nonexistent. After shelling out another 45 ringgit for a different company, we enjoyed the 1.5 hour trip in the large speedboat with not twin, but triple 200 hp motors.

On the way home, we timed everything perfectly. We caught the 3:00 boat from the island (with five minutes to spare), so we would arrive on the mainland and hop on our 5:15 bus to Johor Bahru (to jump on a plane to Borneo the next day). Yes, much 'catching' to do. However, while on the boat and only half-way to the mainland, we ran into some clouds. Clouds turned to wind, wind turned to rain, and the whole thing turned into the biggest storm and largest waves our driver had ever been through. We stood, watching as the boat crashed down on crest after crest, with water at one point pouring through the front window all over the driver and our bags. Em thought about which window she could swim out most easily and I contemplated whether there would be enough life jackets to tie one onto my backpack. One of the motors broke, luckily, which slowed us down so that we were no longer hitting the waves with a force that seemed strong enough to crack the hull, or at least tailbones. We realized we would miss our bus. The only other transportation to Johor Bahru (in time for our flight the next day) was a 120 ringgit taxi ride... we rationalized this option by deciding to get our money back from the hostel guy for the nonexistent first boat, as well as deciding to stay one more night in town to eat really good Indian (mmm roti and thosai).

We were shocked, and our bellies a little disappointed, when we docked in one piece and with 10 minutes to catch our bus. Feeling invincible at this point (or maybe reckless), we hailed a cab to go reclaim our boat money with all our extra time. The conversation with the cabby went something like:

"Selamat petang (good afternoon)"
"Selamat petang... East Coast Hostel, terima kasih banyak (thanks very much)"
"?..."
"Just go straight... ini jalan (this street)..."
"?..."
"Straight... follow my finger!... Forward!!" "We're in a hurry!...Fast!!" (making straight-ahead waving motions with all available hands)

We felt bad for being demanding, exhausting tourists so we tried to smile a lot and chat on the way there, but all we established was that he was from town and we were dari Kanada (from Canada). Our hand signals worked though, and we recovered our boat money easily AND made the bus. And the flight to Borneo. All at ridiculously low cost. Sign us up for The Amazing Race next season.

(Note: This post is actually ironically timed - we missed the boat today to an island off Borneo and spent the afternoon walking around in a mall, although a very nice air conditioned mall it was.)

-alyss.

Loving the Perhentians...

2005-10-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

Ahh the beautiful Perhentian Islands. We left Kota Bharu via a wild taxi ride -- since all the cars in Malaysia seem to have broken speedometers, we're not really sure how fast we were weaving through traffic, but Alyss and I assume it was pretty fast! Anyways, we arrived at Long Beach in the Perhentians in the late afternoon with beautiful views of jungle-clad hills, white sand and fishing boats coming into the bay to settle in for the night.

It's hard to really describe how taken aback we were the next morning at the beauty of this beach - it was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. And that's saying nothing of the soft white sand that extends for longer than you can swim out into the South China Sea. We spent four days total in the Perhentians which was when the amazingness of our vacation really started to sink in - at least for me, but then you all know how much I love my beaches!

We went on a snorkelling trip one day with a notable quote from Alyssa being: "Wow, you just haven't lived until you've swam in coral reefs!" and both of us even managed to get some scuba diving in. Being certified, I went on two amazing dives on the reefs off the islands, with some noticeable excitement being the dive I thought my regulator was busted about 60 feet underwater. (Ed. note: It wasn't and all was well). Alyss did an introductiory dive one afternoon and loved it (obviously) but I'll let her tell you all about that. We also tried to rent a catamaran and go explore some deserted beaches around the islands, but even with 4 days of vacationing in paradise, there just wasn't time... But don't think it was all glamour, we both got a little gloomy due to overpriced internet and looming med school/grad school applications...

But speaking of deserted beaches, I do have to delve into detail about one (and I swear I'm not trying to make you jealous, only convince you to take a trip to the Perhentians!) We found the most amazing beach ever on our snorkelling trip. It's this moon-shaped stretch of white sand rising into jungle and the water was the warmest, clearest and bluest water you can imagine. Oh, and have I mentioned the baby sea turtle nests yet? No joke, this place was amazing. Anyways, that's our latest update from Malaysia -Hope all is well in Canada and I'm very jealous of your trees that I hear are changing colours.

Take care, love em

Markets of Kota Bharu

2005-09-30T02:07:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the markets of Kota Bharu...also know as The Travelling Circus of Em & Alyss! Turns out Kota Bharu doesn't get many tourists, let alone to the more local markets. Suffice it to say everyone had a great time and Alyss & I were extremely well fed. And we also know that "suda beli" in conjuction with pointing to bags we're carrying makes everything a lot smoother in markets...translates to "we already have"!

Highlights:

1. Pasar Central: The central market was unbelievable. So many fruits (most unidentifiable), fish parts, coconut goo, carpets, fish...you really could get just about anything there. The best was all the vendors - just row after row of old ladies sitting cross-legged in the middle of all their goods and selling you anything and everything. The best was when I got nearly a kilo of rhambutans after specifically asking for two so I could show Alyss what they were. And the funniest part was she kept throwing more in the bag whenever I wasn't looking. Hilarious.

As for the rest of the old ladies, they were more concerned with the fact that we were 23 and not married! Yes, there was a lot of tsk-tsking. And the fact that we had boyfriends didn't really seem to help, but it did get rid of some of our male followers. Except of course the fish vendor that Alyssa made friends with...

2. Night Market: Again, few tourists but luckily it was dark so we didn't stand out (as much). Imagine a huge parking lot with row after row of carts hawking plastic bags filled with every type of food you could imagine! And then there were BBQ stalls with satays, murtabaks (a french toast meets curry chicken concoction), squid-on-a-sticks (no joke), and more. Even though we somehow weren't hungry, we still managed to get just about one of everything, except the squid because I just couldn't imagine eating something with eyes that big!

Best Train Ride Ever (ie. How Em & Alyss discovered the "Sleeper Car")

2005-09-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

After our daring escape from Taman Negara, it was time to head to the beaches, and as Alyssa has already implied, about time I said! So after two of the most needed showers ever, we were finally clean, went to bed and set our alarms for 1am to get up in time for our 2:30am express train to the coast.

When we arrived, it turns out that the 2:30am express from Kuala Lumpur was sold out, but luckily there were still sleeper berths available on the 3:40 express arriving from Singapore. After much reading (Em) and ordering spicy soup (Alyss), it was finally time to expect our 3:40 train...Until of course the station manager arrived to mention that our train was unexpectadly dealyed at least 2 and a half hours. The reason - "engine trouble". Fantastic.

7:00am. Train finally arrives at the station and our weary heroines somehow straggle abroad with all their earthly possessions to discover...the most amazing train class of "the sleeper berth". Seriously, it's just too good to be true. Not only are the sleeper cars air-conditioned (Alyssa's new prerequiste for a good time), but each of us has a beautifully made-up single bunk bed complete with pillow, side table and window! Wow. See below,

All in all, it was probably the best 6 hours of transportation we've ever had. We slept mostly the whole way only waking up to snack on junk food in bed throughout the ride. Total slumber party styles. Later that morning we arrived in Wakaf Bharu feeling better than we had all trip. Now, where are those beaches...

-em.

Taman Negara (jungle), Part 1: Leeches

2005-09-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

The idea of leeches in the jungle made me slightly more than worried, until Em pointed one out to me on the ground. These ones are terrestrial leeches and look like cute little inchworms, motoring down the trails doing their heat-seeking thing. Sometimes they stand up on end and wave around, hoping something hotblooded will come along.

After getting my first leech, I was wasn't too grossed out but decided they weren't all that cute anymore. You can't feel them at all usually, which is good. However, that also means that when you pull off your socks you sometimes find that one or two has managed to crawl THROUGH your smartwool, attach to your leg, and get so fat that they can't crawl out again. Luckily, bugspray (or traditional salt) works quickly to get them off.

Sometimes they just fall off when they've had enough - as Em found out from a giant purple spot left on her stomach on the last day (and giant bloodstain on her shirt). We both got 'leeched' a couple times - which we decided any jungle-goer should rightfully experience. Enjoy the pics!

P.S. Yup, that's em's stomach post-leeching. Once it stopped bleeding it looked like a purple gunshot wound for days. And in her current toasty sunburned state, you can barely notice it at all!

-alyss.

Taman Negara, Part 2: Bumbun Kumbang and the Abandoned Village

2005-09-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

The main event of our Taman Negara jungle trip was a two-day hike to 'Bumbun Kumbang', a hide (stilted house) in the middle of the jungle from which you can watch and listen to wildlife. We trekked with two other travellers we'd just met, Colin and Joey (Seattle and England), which I loved because they provided novel company and lots of cookies.

The trek was challenging, not because of the trail but because of the heat and humidity. 12 clicks took almost 5 hours of hiking time plus food/water stops. However, we were rewarded at the hide when a tapir came to the watering hole just after dark and we were able to watch and listen to him slurping until we went to bed.

Em and I also slipped in a quick hike to the nearby village of Kuala Trenggan to check out a lodge supposedly rampaged by an elephant.

Lonely Planet got that one wrong though - the chalets were indeed torn apart, but by termites rather than an enraged elephant. We got this tidbit from a guy who docked his riverboat at the jetty (just as I was inconveniently having a pee on his beach), and sat chatting with us for a while and offered us coffee. When he left, Em and I jumped in the warm, silty river for a terrific skinny-dip and decided our side-trip had been well worth it.

In the hide the next morning I woke up before dawn and listened as the insect noises gave way to bird noises and then gibbons. I love being in the middle of uninhabited places, especially in the near-dark, being a quiet observer. Reminds me of planting, South America, and the cottage. We hiked out quitely that morning, stopping to look at beautiful insects and to listen to more birds and gibbons. It felt amazing to be in one of the oldest forests in the world, untouched by human or geological forces in over 135 million years.

-the nature-inspired side of Alyssa.

Taman Negara, Part 3: How we left

2005-09-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

Part 3: How We Left

Prologue

Em and I are walking (unusually briskly) through the hot (and not unusually sweaty) jungle. We've been keeping our mind off our exhaustion by reminiscing about NT and Queen's through the last seven years. We're making good time. We'll be back earlier than expected and actually have time for a real lunch (i.e. not more crackers and PB) before I/we head off to explore caves for our last afternoon. We're actually enjoying the hike. And Em hasn't mentioned beaches in over two hours.

Then an idea hits me (Em calls it 'The most brilliant idea Titus has ever had') - I realize we can book it back to the trailhead in time to catch this afternoon's riverboat out of the jungle instead of tomorrow's... and gain one full day at our next destination, the beaches of the Perhentians.

The Saga

So it was a great idea in theory. When we got back to park headquarters we ran to the camping store to return our rental gear and grab the miscellaneous crap from our locker. Then saw a sad sign telling us the store was closed for lunch and wouldn't reopen until 3 pm, too late to catch our 2:30 boat. What basically followed was us running back and forth trying to find various people who worked at the park, trying to find various boat tour people to see if anything was flexible, and basically discovering that no one worked ANYWHERE in the middle of the day because it was a Friday and most Malaysians in the area are Muslim (Jumu'ah, a congretational prayer, is held Fridays after lunch). We felt very clueless, and helpless.

Sitting down to a calming popsicle, we reconciled ourselves to a shoddy plan B which involved taking the much-hated minibus later than night and spending more hot and sweaty time in the jungle in our hot, sweaty and bloody clothes.

However, after the lime/icecream infusion, our refreshed minds started concocting a riskier but potentially very satisfying plan. We would buy riverboat tickets, I would take the ferry back to the camping store at 2:15 in the hope than our guy had returned early from his break (someone had mentioned this possibility to us), Emily would stay at the riverboat and plead adorably with the driver and other passengers to wait an extra few minutes, and if she and I were both successful, I would run across the park and down the steps with our 50 pounds of gear, bribe the ferry dude to take me straight to Em, she would see me coming and reassure our riverboat people, and no one (and no one's stuff) would be left in the jungle!

It worked of course - and after many smiles and thanks and smiles again to the guys who helped us make it work (camping guy, ferry guy, riverboat guy.. who all thought we were nuts), we jumped into our riverboat laughing gleefully. (There's been a lot of gleeful laughter this trip it seems... that's what you get when you stick us together with no outside calming influence I guess).

The boat trip was relaxing, windy and cool, had a beautiful view (minus one young boy's full moon and then full frontal to us from across the river - actually, he was small enough for it to be cute), and the only slightly unpleasant part of the whole episode was having to pee very badly for the second hour of the trip. Well worth it, I say.

The jungle was adventurous and new, but sometimes leaving can be just as exciting.

-the long-winded storyteller side of Alyssa.

Malaysia feeds our heroines well!

2005-09-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

Well, where to begin with the culinary delights of Malaysia? First of all, we haven't even gotten around to eating Malaysian food since we keep getting enticed by Indian and Chinese food!

1. Indian Food: Where to even start with our favourite food? Even though we're technically in Malaysia, we're eating like we're in India -- lots of curries and naans (called roti here) for all meals possible. Even breakfast, we've discovered "roti chani", which is a thinner, crispier naan bread baked with bananas, pineapple, honey and chocolate (or various combinations). Muy tasty.

2. Chinese Steamboat: Consists of a hug wok-pot thing of steaming broth and vegetables and a pile of uncooked vegetables, meat and unrecognizable seafood (our best guesses include cuttlefish, jellyfish and fish eyes). Then, you throw all the uncooked things into the broth, wait 3 minutes, and voila! Soup dinner! Souper tasty and highly recommended from those chilly nights in the Cameron Highlands.

3. Malaysian Tom Yam Soup: Strange name since involves no yams but a soupy, spicy tomato mixture with a generous diversity of noodles, fish and seafood. Currently Alyssa's favourite meal.

Anyways, that's it for this edition of the Wandering Gourmet, but stay tuned for next installments as we continue to eat our way through Asia! Mmmm..

- em

Some thoughts on the people

2005-09-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

The people in Malaysia seem very good-natured and friendly - and not only "buy-my-stuff" friendly; they're genuinely happy and interested to talk to you or just have a smiling exchange. The restaurant owners sometimes hassle you a bit and try to smile you into choosing their fried mee hoon over the fried mee hoon at any of the next four places, but if you smile and shake your head they send you on your way with another, genuine smile. (Granted, maybe that's because they know you're more likely to come back and choose them tomorrow, but I still get the sense that they are wishing you well.) The cab drivers range from quiet-friendly to funny-friendly. The hostel staff are eager to chat, help, show your around, or help you with your Malay. And everyone always wants to know, "How do you like Malaysia?", "What have you seen in Malaysia?", "Where are you going?"... There doesn't seem to be any resentment towards tourists or the demands of the tourist-system (if there is, there isn't a lot and it's well-hidden) - Malaysians seem genuinedly interested in us being there, or at least interested in us. The children are definitely intrigued. The older kids smile and wave, the younger ones smile and giggle (or moon us like one boy today on the river!), and the littlest ones just stare.

I was expecting to go pretty much unnoticed, one tourist among the throngs of others here, but I'm still waved at, called to, and smiled at, everywhere I go. I get the idea we're the biggest sightseeing attraction of all, to Malaysians. And I'm happy to provide that entertainment to such a friendly lot.

-alyss.

Cameron Highlands, AKA the only civilized climate around here

2005-09-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my paradise! Not only is there a climate deserving of blankets at night here (and blankets, plural!), but the local town is friendly, is near enough jungle walks and hilly views to satisfy any Titus, AND is littered with tasty Indian food restaurants. And as you can see, internet everywhere (although connection speed leave something to be desired so we're falling behind in our picture-posting...). So far we've had 3 Indian meals in 2 days, and been on the internet roughly 5 hours. Ha, and Em thought she would wean me off it... (Em, this is NOT a challenge)

We're staying at a great little guesthouse with our own bathroom and shower with hot water (if you are Emily and the hot water likes you... MY first shower was lukewarm at best but refreshing). There are hibiscus (hibiscuses? hibiscii?) all around, food, books and movies, and info about local hikes and sightseeing.

Today we went on a great guided tour of the Boh Tea Plantation and nearby "mossy forest", one of the oldest forests in the world. It's covered in yes, moss, but also tons of orchids and pitcher plants of all sizes. Our guide was this ex-insect-poacher turned naturalist/conservationist who knew EVERYTHING about the biology and history of the area. He was also a good salesman and almost convinced us to buy his packaged tour to Taman Negara (the real rainforest 6 hours away), for RM 650, the equivalent of $220 Canadian or a small local mansion.

We're such efficient and energetic travellers that we're already done with the Highlands, moving on to Taman Negara tomorrow (via a cheaper minibus) and from there to the Perhentian Islands for some beaching and snorkelling/diving. I doubt we'll be able to keep up this pace forever, but for now it's perfect and somehow I feel totally relaxed.

Off to upload some pictures. Blast this slow connection and lack of card-readers! They may have cell phones but we've got decent internet...

-alyss.

Miss Malaysia and How Pepsi Nearly Ruined Our Lives...

2005-09-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, we met a 30-something year old British guy wandering around KL Sentral looking for a cheap place to stay in Kuala Lumpur. Obviously, we recommended our new favourite budget haunt, the Coliseum. Turns out he was saving money so he could stay in KL long enough to win back his old girlfriend. As he put it, his story was "one of long lost love". His lost love, who he'd met in a bar in KL on an earlier trip, had recently been crowned Miss Malaysia! We had no idea whether he was bluffing, but who would lie about something like that? (So we decided to believe him.) He'd been running around all over town trying to give her roses and needed a cheap place to stay to stock up on funds. We wished him luck and decided to keep an eye on the Malaysian tabloids to see if anything ever worked out for him.

Ed. note: And did we ever - a few days later in Tanah Rata we found a front-page spread detailing the apparently non-existent relationship status of Ms. Malaysia...Doesn't look good for British dude:

We, on the other hand, had been running around town with no roses, but 50 lb packs for the whole morning getting things organized to leave KL for the countryside. After cabbing to KL Sentral, price-shopping for an hour, standing in line for 2 hours to book, searching for ATMs and phone cards for another while and realizing that a) Alyssa's shirt had turned from opaque white to translucent white and b) we don't know how to end a sentence, we decided a cold drink was in order.

Pepsi in hand, we grabbed a taxi to the Puduraya bus station and rushed to get tickets for the next bus out of town. In the madness that can only ensue in a bus station in a developing country, we horrifyingly realized the Pepsi in Em's hand had somehow replaced the Lonely Planet Malaysia.

There's only one thing worse than losing your Lonely Planet Malaysia" - realizing you have a chapter on Malaysia in your "Lonely Planet Southeast Asia" which is currently sitting at home after being excised with an exacto knife to cut down on travel weight.

After much swearing (by Em) and poor attempts at cheering-up jokes (by Alyss), we decided to retrace our steps and/or find a bookstore since life could clearly not continue without a Lonely Planet travel guide. Here is the following sequence of non-amusing events:

1. Pudu Hostel across the street to try and buy a copy: Nope.
2. From Pudu manager: "Bookstore? Yeah...there's one on the corner": Non-existant
3. Alleged bookstore on another corner: Also non-existant
4. Finding the right corner to catch a cab (much harder than it sounds)
5. Different street corner to catch a cab...
6. KL Sentral to seach ticket counters in case we left it there (although likely left in the back seat of our first cab)
7. First bookstore in KL Sentral that conveniently had seveal Lonely Planets, including Lonely Planet Maldives, which led to us seriously considering changing our travel plans
8. Second and last bookstore in KL Sentral that rewarded us with a beautiful, shrink-wrapped, glowing LP Malaysia!!!! Yay!!!

We laughed gleefully, jumped around a bit, sang a few choruses of Hallelujah and probably seemed insane to the lady behind the counter! But that just doesn't matter when you have your Lonely Planet back....

-alyss (and transcribed/edited by em)

Hong Kong impressions

2005-09-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

It's crowded. We took some pics last night of the markets and some shopping areas that were curb to curb people. It was a Wednesday.

The street are packed with people, double-decker buses, and signs. The crosswalks, instead of making chirping noises like in toronto, sound like mini-jackhammers.

They pave mountains here. And there are a lot of mountains! On the Peak, behind our hotel... pretty much anywhere bordering the city area... they throw concrete all over the hills, leaving holes for the trees and gutters to drain rainwater. They even paved the entire slope of Victoria Peak, this huge mountain in the middle of the city. Seriously though, how do they do it?

And it's fast. Even the escalators move quicker than in Canada! The subways are well organized, clean, well-signed, and they have anti-suicide glass in front of the tracks (at least that's what we call them). At the airport they also have announcements saying how long the next train will be, and signs saying "relax. the next train will arrive in 3 minutes." It's pretty cute.

The rip-off labels are a hoot. We've seen a bazillion Tshirts with things like "Dolce and Grbbrnr." So far we've resisted the call of these hot items and only window shopped.

As for what we actually did...Day 1 highlights included managing to stay awake to sightsee Victoria Peak, a huge (paved) mountain right in the middle of Hong Kong with great views of the harbour and expected, yet still breathtaking, tall buildings.

Day 2 involved much walking, from the flower and (avian-flu-free) songbird gardens to the crazy aquarium shops to strolling along the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade (where alyssa promptly fell asleep) to a nighttime ride on the Star Ferry for amazing views of the Hong Kong Harbour. Finally, we crashed back at our room and somehow managed to wake up at 5am for our flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Wow.

-- alyss & em

PS. There's more Hong Kong pics on our Flickr website (follow the link on the right)

Packing: Not much better in Em's room

2005-09-12T01:04:00.000-07:00

OK, So I couldn't resist...Here's my bed! It really is less than it seems...I would also like to acknowledge ziplocs and moms (and dads) and chocolate? Where's this chocolate?

Packing...

2005-09-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

After one final MEC run (the 6th or 7th between us?) we've started the process. All I can say is thank god for ziplocs, chocolate, and moms. Not quite sure how "pack lightly" turned into 30 pounds of hygeine/first aid stuff and Em conceding to bring 3 bathing suits instead of 5 (yes yes, I know they're small)... But things are coming along and if it turns out I don't need 3 bottles of sunscreen, I can make a donation to some poor sunburned tourist.

All cynicism aside, I'm finally getting those pangs of excitment that I only get right before an adventure and I'm going to sign off right now so I can get back to organizing my lonely planets and feeling giddy. :)

-alyss.

At Sandbanks on Canada Day

2005-08-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well well well, our first beach shot. Obviously the first of many if Em has any say in the itinerary! This is from Sandbanks Provincial Park on Canada Day (ie. pre-Asia expedition). Don't forget to notice my spectacular sunburn. Needless to say I've learned my lesson about forgetting to put sunscreen on any exposed skin!

--Em

T minus...Actually we're in denial

2005-08-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to say yet since we're both in denial about actually leaving in less than two weeks...oops, I wasn't going to say that! Shit! Are we really going somewhere?