Arrogant Australians Abroad?

An interesting article in today's Age by Claire Buckis on arrogant Australian travellers.

"AUSTRALIANS only care what's between the barbecue and the beach!" shouted an Irishman from across the table in Santiago, Chile, after he heard my accent. I wasn't surprised or offended by his opinion, because after travelling around the world for more than six months, it's one of the kinder ones I've heard about Australians overseas.

Among the backpacking crowd, at least, it seems Australian travellers are rapidly gaining a reputation abroad, and not as the friendly easy-going types we would prefer to be known as.

It may be that some of our other national characteristics — which we tend to play up on when we're overseas — are getting us into trouble. We're known for our fond relationship with a cold beer, we're known for our love of sport. But a fond relationship with beer can lead to a reputation for drunkenness, a love of sport leads to a reputation for being over-zealous. For every thoughtful Aussie overseas who learns the language and gets to know the locals, there are plenty more intent on wringing the party time out of every last millisecond of their holiday..." - The Age, December 10

Singapore, Day One

Yesterday was, upon reflection, one of the most gruelling days that we've had on the road so far. The loooong trip from KL to Singapore on an uncomfortable train with no food, then being shuffled into immigration (a very undramatic border crossing, with no signage or flags to signify the cross-over) and customs, back onto a testosterone-filled train with some drunken guys, and finally being dumped (and paying hansomly for it) by a mini-bus driver over the wrong side of the city only to have to negotiate our way around the public transport system in a whole new country.. We finally checked into a hostel some twelve hours after we'd departed from KL. Ugghh.

Aside from all the moaning and groaning, we're really chuffed to have made it to Singapore, finally, our last stop on this tour of South-East Asia (+ Taiwan). It's been a fantastic experience, and we've slowly begun the process of reflection and introspection.

On that note, here are some of our stand-out happy memories of this tour:


Having a great conversation with a German urologist about his pseudo-homo-erotic obsession with George Michael, or more specifically, the lyrics, melody and video clip of the Wham classic 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.' - Cat Ba Island, Gulf of Tolkin, Northern Vietnam.

Watching our tuk-tuk driver try to explain what a ping-pong show was (in limited English and awesome body language) - Bangkok, Thailand.

Sim explaining to a Dutchman how to body-surf, which, once he did right, had him squealing "Hooray for the Dutchman!" at the top of his lungs. - Mui Ne, Southern Vietnam.

Getting drunk off countless mojitos to celebrate the beginning of December and the joys of being on a tropical island. - Ko Tao Island, Thailand.

And onwards and upwards. We've done plenty in this past nine months, that's for sure.

So today we're taking it pretty easy, spending the morning and early afternoon at the Asian Civilisations Museum in the Colonial District of Singapore. It's a beautiful, modern setting which integrates so many critical elements of South-East Asian culture (migration, language, agriculture, textiles, religion, climate...) A tough ask, really, to blend each of these elements whilst setting each culture apart. It's a fascinating place, and absolutely achieved its aims. I'd say we enjoyed it as much as we did the Museum of World Religions in Taipei (which is to say, a hell of a lot.)

Singapore itself is a fascinating place, and we've warmed to it much more than its counterpart, KL. We've been speaking Chinese and enjoying that immensely, and eating as much Indian food as we can muster (simple pleasures). It's almost like a sanitized, not quite as intense version of Taipei City, with plenty of greenery and places to sit and watch the world go by. All in all, a really liveable SE Asian city.

We're hoping to head out to Singapore's Zoo later this evening to see its relatively rare collection of animals (you wouldn't think so, for a city-state only 605 square km?) but they hold night tours, so hopefully we'll be up for it. Otherwise, there's plenty to see, do, smell, eat and encounter here, here, the final leg of our journey.

Hello Singapore.. and Happiest Birthday Emms!

Three minutes left on an internet count-down.. But a brief note.. After a full day on a train, we have left Malaysia and have safely arrived in Singapore. We're staying at a great hostel (though dorm beds!) and are looking forward to dinner in little India tonight and a couple of days of full sight-seeing.

Happiest 22nd Birthday Emms, love you muchly and in our thoughts today! :)

Goodbye Thailand, Hello Malaysia, and a Few Notes on Transport

Firstly, I better mention that we've successfully arrived in Malaysia's humid capital, Kuala Lumpur. It's perhaps lesser of a a feat than the methods by which we got here, which I should really write about before our trip winds down.

From Ko Tao Island (ohh, blissful island) to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:

- Boat (not a catamaran, thank God!) from the island to Chumphon, 2 hours.
- Overnight sleeper train from Chumphon to Bangkok, 10 hours.
- Taxi from city centre to Airport, 45 minutes.
- Flight from Thailand to Malaysia, 2 hours.
- Bus from outskirts of city into KL city centre, 1.5 hours.
- Metro (light rail) from KL city centre into Chinatown area.

.. back to back travelling. All in all, nearly 22 straight hours. Needless to say, Sim and I were absolutely knackered (and not in the best of spirits after fruitless hotel searches) upon our arrival. It had to be some of the most gruelling travelling I've ever done, but wow, what an experience (also one of the best showers ever). :)

In fact, Sim and I counted the modes of transport that we've taken in the past six weeks and couldn't believe how many there were.. For your viewing pleasure (and general interest):

- Taxis (ubiqitous)
- Tuk-tuks (Hanoi, Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand)
- Refurbished junk (Halong Bay, Vietnam)
- Back of a motorbike (Dalat, Vietnam)
- Kayaks (Halong Bay, Vietnam)
- Cyclos (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
- Buses (everywhere!)
- Metro and light rail (Bangkok, Thailand and KL, Malaysia)
- Planes (too many)
- Dune buggy (Ko Tao Island, Thailand)
- Utes with benches in the tray (Ko Tao Island, Thailand)
- Catamaran - the infamous catamaran - (Ko Tao Island, Thailand)
- Regular boat (Ko Tao Island, Thailand)
- Snorkelling fins (?) (Ko Tao Island, Thailand)

We have a couple of full days in KL in which we're planning on seeing all the key tourist attractions (the Museum, the gallery, Little India, the markets and more of Chinatown), before finishing up with an Eiffel-Tower-esque smooch under the Petronas Towers. :)

Ko Tao at Sunset

Ko Tao Foreshore, Leese's 22nd Birthday

Ko Tao Island, Gulf of Thailand

Ahh, Bangkok. Reading the last post, how long ago it feels!

We are now in a place called Ko Tao Island, off the Gulf of Thailand. To get here, we traveled through the cities of Hua Hin and Chumphon, which were both pretty disappointing towns heading south from Bangkok. So from Chumphon, we decided to take a catamaran into the Gulf.. which seemed like a good idea at the time..

Ive not been on a catamaran before, and figured that they were just like big boats designed to cut through the choppy waters of the open sea. Ha! Literally moments into the trip, the boat heaved 1-2m up.. and then down.. up.. and down again...

Simon didn't last five minutes, and headed out with the other terribly motion sick passengers to the back of the boat, where it was clear from its set-up that this problem happened all the time. I was stuck in the cabin, too unsure of my stomach to move - like everyone else, it seemed - until the scenes of 'Mr Bean's Holiday'(in which he chews on seafood) completely did me in, and sent me packing for the back of the boat too.

Courtesy of a motion sickness tablet I had taken, I kept my stomach down.. Unlike the other thirty passengers. Each of us, sickened by each other's company and the sights and smells, were comforted by the crew who told us that 'it was a perfect day for sailing'.. Making me wonder what a less-than-perfect day may have been like. We later found out that catamarans are designed for flat bays rather than open seas, so no surprises really.

It's definitely one of those stories that now seems funny, but at the time, had all the nuance and atmosphere of a prison camp setting, with no refrain for two whole hours.

Nonetheless, we made it, safe and sound (if a little stumbly and unsure of ouselves), and have since navigated our way into a beach bungalow and days of sweet, idyllic paradise.

Ko Tao is a beautiful island of white sandy beaches, quiet shores, lots of trekking or motor-biking, and a certain rustic appeal (away from the main tourist areas). Sim and I have since lazed the days away drinking cocktails, going for morning and afternoon swims, having bbqs on the beach for dinner, reading, playing Scrabble and mini-golf.. All those hard things. It was in this style that we celebrated my 22nd birthday, too. Thanks to all those that had us in your thoughts!

Today, we added another activity to our lazy days, by hiring a dune buggy and going trekking around the island on its dusty, unpaved paths. Brilliant! Sore bums but had a great time. It was my first driving experience and has definitely incited some motivation for me to get a license. :)

Tomorrow is our final day on the island, before heading back on the 3rd to Bangkok and then flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. New adventures to be had soon!

Bangkok, Thailand - Days 1 & 2

.. And so Part III of our trip has commenced (Taiwan-Vietnam-Thailand).. Yes, we have reached the sunny, lemon-yellow coloured, green curry, lime and chilli- scented shores of Bangkok, Thailand's illustrious and cosmopolitan capital!

The run-down so far:

We arrived on Saturday morning, pretty tired and a little shell-shocked upon arrival. After taking it relatively easy on the first day, on Sunday we embarked upon a full-blown walking tour (three maps in all) across Bangkok.

We started at the Grand Palace, the pinnacle of any Bangkok visit. In this case, we can only hope that the photos speak volumes of the striking beauty of the Palace. (For my two cents).. In my mind, it absolutely kicks the Forbidden City in Beijing and most any other thing I've seen.

"For just about 150 years, Bangkok's Grand Palace was not only the home of the King and his court, but also the entire administrative seat of government. Within the crenelated walls were the country's war ministry, state departments, and even the mint. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace full time around the turn of the twentieth century, but the complex remains the seat of power and spiritual heart of the Thai kingdom... The area totals nearly sixty acres in size." -- ThailandVisitor.com

We then spent much of the afternoon trekking across the city to the Main Train Station, through the streets of Chinatown; if anything, this trip has been incredibly illuminating as to how vast an expanse Chinese culture and language has crossed in Asian history, and its continued relevance today.

On the way, we also visited Wat Tramit, a temple famous for its pure gold, five tonne, two metres high Buddha. Beautiful, although pretty disconcerting- the temple housed a huge array of touristy gear AND a currency exchange booth. (?) Really, immensely odd for an active place of worship. (Also, pretty disrespectful on part of some of the tourists there, some of whom showed no respect of their surrounds..) This IS Thailand, however, a country which sees some 12 million tourists per year; so perhaps its to be (cynically) expected.

Finally, we took a famous "tuk-tuk" back to the backpacker area. A "tuk-tuk" is difficult to describe - like a mini-taxi/billy cart (?) They run off diesel and are notorious for their fumes and roaring engines, so too the drivers for their corrupt commissions.. But all in all, great fun, we loved it. Definitely part of the experience (cheap thrills abound!)

Today we took it pretty easy, spending the morning in and around the Silom area, famous for its huge shopping complexes. We headed to the 'Shabuya'-esque young local designers area, which was great, before splurging on some gold class movie tickets for the afternoon. :)

Tomorrow is our final day in Bangkok, and we're considering how deeply we want to delve into our curiosities about the sex industry areas here. Lady-boys abound!(The "tuk-tuk" driver on the way home offered to take us to a ping-pong show.. promising we'd love it.. Then kindly simulating the act.. Hilarious.) Interestingly, I've read that 95% of the notorious Bangkok sex industry caters for the local Bangkokians, rather than the tourists. It remains to be seen.

Until then, feel free to check out the photos that Sim's posted on his Facebook profile (for any of you Facebook friends out there), and more soon. x

Unassuming Contributions

This was our final day in the streets of Hanoi. Though the day itself wasn't too much to speak of, I felt it important to write of the one thing that happened today that has imprinted itself in our memories. Without realising it, today we unintentionally made a contribution (albeit somewhat minor) to Vietnam's sex tourism industry.

We'd planned to get massages this afternoon to counter the effects of sleeping in soft, lumpy hostel beds. I suggested we go to a massage place that I saw when we were having coffee in a small department store in the centre of Hanoi - one which was well-lit and advertised a range of beauty treatments. From the surrounds, I figured it was a legitimate operation...

.. While I was being cracked and pummeled, so too climbed upon (?), poor Simon was being propositioned in the next room. In the main, the woman had behaved perfectly naturally and professionally, until the last few minutes of the 'massage' where it became clear that the woman worked for 'tips'. Simon handled the situation very well and before we knew it, we were out the door.

We're both pretty shocked and affronted by the situation, more so because of the attitude of the women. Both with the curves of mothers, no less. It has been clear from the outset we were a couple, and in this situation, the women need not sell their bodies to us - but chose to regardless - and seemed shocked that we'd not reponded in kind.

It's not the perculiarity of it, no, I'm sure this kind of 'misunderstanding' happens all the time. Rather, it's the grit, the muck, the grime of a sex tourism industry of which we'd heard so much but seen so little...

Good Morning.. And Good Bye.. Vietnam

Just briefly, today marks our final day in Hanoi and in Vietnam. We'll take with us the memories of cyclo tours, French colonial architecture, white sandy beaches, kayaks in Halong Bay, the headiness of tourism and the smiling faces and wonderful hospitality of the Vietnamese.

Tomorrow we're set for Bangkok, Thailand - sure to be an experience! We're planning to find a place to stay before settling in for the afternoon, as the "Australia Network" is showing the election live from the ABC. Hooray!

Halong Bay - The Experience of a Lifetime

It's been a whilewind since I was last here, that's for sure.

Courtesy of the aforementioned floods in the Central Highlands, Sim and I made an executive decision to head back to Saigon and simply fly across the country to Hanoi. Courtesy of some excellently-priced flights, we were able to do so, and flew over the north of the country, arriving late last week.

We spent a day wandering the streets of Hanoi, initially, to find that it's a far more delightful city than Saigon. It's just... bustling et beautiful, French colonial architecture abound, an a certain integrity and grit to the city that's always appealing. We immediately booked our tour of Halong Bay, ready to head straight into it.

For those of you who don't know about Halong Bay, here's a description from its UNESCO World Heritage Site listing:

Situated in the North-East region of Vietnam, Halong Bay is a bay in the Gulf of Tonkin comprised of regions of Halong City, the township of Cam Pha, and a part of the island district of Van Don. Halong Bay borders Cat Ba Island in the southwest, the East Sea in the east, and the mainland, creating a 120 km coastline.

Halong Bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. There are two kinds of islands, limestone and schist, which are concentrated in two main zones: the southeast (belonging to Bai Tu Long Bay), and the southwest (belonging to Halong Bay). This densely concentrated zone of stone islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottoes and caves, forms the central zone of Halong Bay, which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site... an area of 43,400 ha...

Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. There is Man's Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which all astonishingly resemble their namesakes. The forms of the islands change depending on the angle of the light and from where the islands are viewed. At the core of the islands, there are wonderful caves and grottoes, such as Thien Cung (Heavenly Residence Grotto), Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto), Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto), and Tam Cung (Three Palace Grotto).

Halong Bay has many links to the history of Vietnam. For example, there are such famous geographical sites as Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port), Poem Mountain (with engravings of many poems about emperors and other famous historical figures), and Bach Dang River (the location of two fierce naval battles fought against foreign aggressors).
It has been proven by scientists that Halong was one of the first cradles of human existence in the area at such archeological sites as Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu, and Thoi Gieng. It is also a region of highly-concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of salt water-flooded forests, coral reefs, and tropical forests featuring thousands of species of animal and plant life.

With all this in mind, the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.


Yes... Halong Bay. A sight for tired Australian eyes. We booked a three day tour, and spent the first day travelling out to the bay, then to settle into the refurbished junk (like a pirate ship, really) that we'd spend our first night on. It was great! Sailing away into the distance. We spent the afternoon eating, drinking, and swimming in the bay (mostly by jumping off the roof of the boat, which was great.)

The second day, we spent mostly on two-person kayaks. Our tour guide went through the safety routine before we were able to head out as a group, often kayaking beneath - yes, beneath - some of the limestone cliffs around us. The water was a beautiful emerald green colour, so clean, so precious. Then onto a smaller junk headed out to Cat Ba Island, off the coast of Halong Bay, some forty minutes from where we were anchored.

We spent the evening and the following day mostly in the four-star RESORT that we'd been given as part of the tour, complete with the usual perks (hah!) like a private beach and swimming pool. A definite luxury experience, not too shabby, that's for sure.. Certainly not what we'd expected. But nice, nonetheless.

So we're back in Hanoi today, and spent a lovely day wandering the city, seeing the Temple of Literature and the like. Simon had a great street-side haircut from a local guy, who shaved his head and beard (leaving the moustache!) - much to the amusement of the locals (and foreigners) scattered around us. That was great.

And finally, a late lunch and coffee at KOTO, a famous Australian-Vietnamese restaurant which is based upon giving disadvantaged street kids an opportunity to learn on the job hospitality training skills. The food was delectable and the service excellent, and all for a good cause, too.

Only two more days in Hanoi before heading upwards and onwards, we'll post photos soon (definitely some of Halong Bay!) Until then, all our love. xo

Stranded! Tragic Floods in Central Vietnam

Sim and I had planned to travel north yesterday, to a city called Hoi An on the central coast of Vietnam. However, the area has been experiencing extreme flooding (it's rainy season here at the moment), and twice, our transport has been canceled. So we've decided to head back to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in the south of Vietnam and take a domestic flight to Hanoi for the rest of our travels, skipping the central coast entirely (at least for this trip). We're fortunate to have avoided the floods (almost) entirely, as if we'd left a day earlier, we'd probably still be stuck on the bus (some three days later).


From: http://www.thanhniennews.com

Heavy rains and floods have once again battered central provinces, leaving at least 26 dead or missing, submerging hundreds of thousands of houses, and forcing the evacuation of over 100,000 residents.

The central meteorological agency reported Monday the floods have forced water levels to 4.1 m in some areas, the highest level since 1999.

Around 2,000 passengers were left stranded in Thua Thien-Hue as the floods cut off the provincial rail system.

In Quang Nam Province's Hoi An 550 tourists in were moved to higher ground, authorities said.

In Hue City, some 3,000 tourists were stuck in local hotels and all Thua Thien-Hue-Da Nang tours were canceled.

Dalat

Dalat - Some 1457m high and the 'fruitbasket' of Southern Vietnam

Nha Trang, Day Three

Just a brief note today.. As we spent the day at a place called the "Louisiana Brewhouse". It's a sort of brewhouse-cum-resort, with a swimming pool and big comfy beach lounges under bamboo, gumnut-esque shades... Luxury! Fresh beer and lounging about. We'd expected to get on a bus tonight to Hoi An, on the Central coast of Vietnam. However, there's been heavy storms there, so perhaps tomorrow we'll consider going snorkelling or scuba diving.. If we're not seduced by the Brewhouse once more.

Simple Pleasures

A local villager sharing her home-grown strawberries with us,

Dalat Village