My last two days in KL were great. On Monday, we walked around the Golden Triangle area and had a ridiculously awesome spa treatment at our hotel - foot bath, body scrub, 50 minute Balinese massage, and facial. In the evening we went up the Menara KL (KL Tower), the 4th tallest freestanding tower in the world. The view was good, but I think we should have gone up in the daytime since KL is not as big as it feels from the street.
Tuesday we walked around the downtown area and colonial quarter and then had Chinese for lunch. We also visited the Islamic Arts museum, which had some really nice tapestries, calligraphy, and inlaid wood objects.
Our KL - Tokyo flight on Japan Airlines was ass. The fight was delayed for almost 3 hours; the given explanation was that the plane was overloaded. If that was true, I do not know what took 3 hours to unload. Also, we sat on the plane for most of the delay. And there was a screaming baby.
Our original plan was to use our scheduled 11 hour layover to venture into the city of Tokyo, but since our layover ended up being only 8 hours, we decided to just venture into the town of Narita, which is very close to the airport. We saw a really cool 1,000 year old Buddhist temple, had lunch, and then headed back to the airport. I am now battling a Japanese keyboard in the free Yahoo! cafe that does not serve food or drinks.
This has been a great trip, and I am excited to return to the U.S. of A. to see my fam, my dog, and my peeps. I am not looking forward to the mechanics of the very stressful week before me, and I just might find my mind drifting off to a Javanese temple or one of the dive sites on Pulau Weh.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
eating my way through Kuala Lumpur
KL is a great city for eating. I binged on Chinese food Friday night, Middle Eastern and Indian on Saturday, and this morning I ate enough dim sum to last me until mid-afternoon. I'm not sure what is on the menu for this evening, but Thai is set for tomorrow night.
In addition to eating, there are lots of sights to see. We went to one of KL's fancy-schmancy shopping malls on Friday and another on Saturday, and we visited the Hindu temples at Batu Caves on Saturday. We've also been to several outdoor markets and to the orchid garden and bird park.
This afternoon after a late lunch, we were checking out the exhibit for the Petronas towers when one of the people who worked there asked if we wanted to go up to the skybridge on the 42nd floor. We hadn't planned to b/c you have to get there early in the morning for tickets, but it just so happened that they had two no-shows. So up we went. The view was very nice even though it was a little cloudy after a rain shower, but the coolest part was being able to see the sides of the towers up close. This evening, if it clears up, we will go to the top of the Menara KL (KL tower) for what are supposed to be great views of the city since you are much higher up and can see the twin towers.
Our hotel is great. After eating so much since arrival, I felt like a fat ass and swam laps this morning for about 30 minutes. I'll swim again tomorrow, and the kilometers of walking we are doing also helps. Although KL is a city of about 3 million, the central part is fairly compact and walkable. There is also a good metro and a more interesting but not as good monorail.
In addition to eating, there are lots of sights to see. We went to one of KL's fancy-schmancy shopping malls on Friday and another on Saturday, and we visited the Hindu temples at Batu Caves on Saturday. We've also been to several outdoor markets and to the orchid garden and bird park.
This afternoon after a late lunch, we were checking out the exhibit for the Petronas towers when one of the people who worked there asked if we wanted to go up to the skybridge on the 42nd floor. We hadn't planned to b/c you have to get there early in the morning for tickets, but it just so happened that they had two no-shows. So up we went. The view was very nice even though it was a little cloudy after a rain shower, but the coolest part was being able to see the sides of the towers up close. This evening, if it clears up, we will go to the top of the Menara KL (KL tower) for what are supposed to be great views of the city since you are much higher up and can see the twin towers.
Our hotel is great. After eating so much since arrival, I felt like a fat ass and swam laps this morning for about 30 minutes. I'll swim again tomorrow, and the kilometers of walking we are doing also helps. Although KL is a city of about 3 million, the central part is fairly compact and walkable. There is also a good metro and a more interesting but not as good monorail.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Banda Aceh
I'm whiling away my last few hours in Indonesia in an internet cafe in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. We checked out the city's gorgeous mosque and walked around a bit, but after that there isn't a whole lot to do here. There are some nice beaches a few hours away, but they are a little difficult to get to and haven't had lodging since the 2004 tsunami devastated the area.
Last night after our arrival, I had tasty chicken sate (chicken shish kabob without the veggies but with peanut sauce). I also had an avocado shake that came with some chocolate syrup in the glass. Not so tasty, but still interesting to try. Later, I tried a soft drink by the brand name of "Bird's Nest". It tasted like popcorn, looked like urine, and contained about a half cup of tapioca pellets. As you might imagine, it was disgusting.
We head to Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. I'm looking forward to exploring the city and seeing a friend from law school who lives there. I'm also looking forward to our swank hotel with a giant swimming pool.
Last night after our arrival, I had tasty chicken sate (chicken shish kabob without the veggies but with peanut sauce). I also had an avocado shake that came with some chocolate syrup in the glass. Not so tasty, but still interesting to try. Later, I tried a soft drink by the brand name of "Bird's Nest". It tasted like popcorn, looked like urine, and contained about a half cup of tapioca pellets. As you might imagine, it was disgusting.
We head to Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. I'm looking forward to exploring the city and seeing a friend from law school who lives there. I'm also looking forward to our swank hotel with a giant swimming pool.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Pulau Weh, Part II
The diving here is really good. Not Sipadan (Malaysian Borneo) awesome, but still really good. The substrate consists of volcanic boulders and coral, and the reefs are very healthy. Lots of fish and small critters to look at, not so many big things but I still saw some barracuda, a couple of giant moray eels, and a turtle. The visibility has ranged from not so great the first day to excellent this morning.
Speaking of this morning, the dive was one of my most enjoyable to date. We descended through a canyon into a cold current and then drifted up along a wall. The dive was simply beautiful.
One great thing about Pulau Weh is that there are very few divers on the island. There are only two dive shops open right now, one in each village. The dive boat holds about 12, and we have had each day's dive site to ourselves, so there aren't walls of bubbles from other divers or many people to bang into.
This place is very relaxing. It feels like I have been here for much longer than the three days I have. All I have to do each day is get on the boat at 9:30 and again at 2. There are two restaurants, and they serve pretty much the same thing. Thankfully the food has been good, and even more thankfully we've been able to get food during the day despite it being Ramadan in this predominatly Muslim country. We've also been able to find beer - more Bintang!
We decided to cut our time in Pulau Weh short by two days, so we leave tomorrow afternoon for Banda Aceh and then Friday afternoon for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. KL has loads of stuff to fill the remaining 4 days of this so far great vacation.
Speaking of this morning, the dive was one of my most enjoyable to date. We descended through a canyon into a cold current and then drifted up along a wall. The dive was simply beautiful.
One great thing about Pulau Weh is that there are very few divers on the island. There are only two dive shops open right now, one in each village. The dive boat holds about 12, and we have had each day's dive site to ourselves, so there aren't walls of bubbles from other divers or many people to bang into.
This place is very relaxing. It feels like I have been here for much longer than the three days I have. All I have to do each day is get on the boat at 9:30 and again at 2. There are two restaurants, and they serve pretty much the same thing. Thankfully the food has been good, and even more thankfully we've been able to get food during the day despite it being Ramadan in this predominatly Muslim country. We've also been able to find beer - more Bintang!
We decided to cut our time in Pulau Weh short by two days, so we leave tomorrow afternoon for Banda Aceh and then Friday afternoon for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. KL has loads of stuff to fill the remaining 4 days of this so far great vacation.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Pulau Weh
We left Danau Toba yesterday morning and made excellent time to Medan, so excelllent that we had 6 hours to kill in the Medan airport. Fortunately, the Dunkin Donuts empire extends to Sumatra, so we set up shop in the A/C'ed donut stop. The coffee was delicious as expected, and we sampled jelly filled donuts with exotic flavors such as durian and lychee.
Our flight was delayed due to a torrential downpour. The airport's roof sprung a couple of leaks, and some of the check in counters had miniwaterfalls over them.
We arrived in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, without incident. Banda Aceh was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and many areas have been rebuilt. On our taxi ride to the port this morning the driver with questionable driving experience pointed out a number of areas that were destroyed by the tsunami.
By 10:30, we were in Sabang, the main town on Pulau Weh, which is off the northwestern tip of Sumatra. We're staying in Gapang, and the village has a few restaurants and a nice, professional, monopolistic dive shop that also offers pricey but nice accomodation. This is where we are staying. I went on two dives this afternoon. The first was a shallow wreck in the harbor of Sabang, the second was an area of underwater hot springs. The surface of the ocean near the hot springs stank of sulfur, and under the waves there were jets of bubbles and very warm water pouring into the cooler (but still warm) ocean. The hot springs were super awesome.
The lack of non-dive options isn't a problem for me but is for my travelling companion. We may cut our stay in Pulau Weh short by 2 days, but I'll still have 4 days here and at least 7 dives.
Our flight was delayed due to a torrential downpour. The airport's roof sprung a couple of leaks, and some of the check in counters had miniwaterfalls over them.
We arrived in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, without incident. Banda Aceh was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and many areas have been rebuilt. On our taxi ride to the port this morning the driver with questionable driving experience pointed out a number of areas that were destroyed by the tsunami.
By 10:30, we were in Sabang, the main town on Pulau Weh, which is off the northwestern tip of Sumatra. We're staying in Gapang, and the village has a few restaurants and a nice, professional, monopolistic dive shop that also offers pricey but nice accomodation. This is where we are staying. I went on two dives this afternoon. The first was a shallow wreck in the harbor of Sabang, the second was an area of underwater hot springs. The surface of the ocean near the hot springs stank of sulfur, and under the waves there were jets of bubbles and very warm water pouring into the cooler (but still warm) ocean. The hot springs were super awesome.
The lack of non-dive options isn't a problem for me but is for my travelling companion. We may cut our stay in Pulau Weh short by 2 days, but I'll still have 4 days here and at least 7 dives.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Quick updates
I didn't feel the Java earthquake in northern Sumatra. I'm about 1,500 miles away.
The beer here, Bintang, is okay. It is an ale that reminds me of 33 in Cameroon.
The beer here, Bintang, is okay. It is an ale that reminds me of 33 in Cameroon.
Danau Toba
Danau Toba is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, one of the highest in the world, and also really, really big. It was created when a gigantic volcano exploded 100,000 years ago. The caldera is now Samosir island (really a peninsula), which is about the same size as Singapore.
We're staying in Tuk-tuk, the peninsula on a peninsula. Our hotel is very nice and has great views and a great swimming area. The lake water is cool but not cold, but if you go below the shallow thermocline then it is quite chilly. Yesterday we sat on our butts and read. I had a delicious lunch of sak-sang, a traditional Batak dish that is pork in a spicy coconut ginger sauce. I'd like to learn how to make it, but apparently the pepper that gives the dish its spice only grows along the shores of Lake Toba.
Today we walked to a village called Ambarita that has a circle of stone chairs where the village council used to meet and sometimes behead people. But all that remains today are the stone chairs and a string of tacky tourist stalls selling "Lake Toba" t-shirts.
Tomorrow we are walking to another village in a different direction. If I can convince myself that the beautiful carvings I see won't break in my backpack during the rest of the trip, I might get some of those too.
We're staying in Tuk-tuk, the peninsula on a peninsula. Our hotel is very nice and has great views and a great swimming area. The lake water is cool but not cold, but if you go below the shallow thermocline then it is quite chilly. Yesterday we sat on our butts and read. I had a delicious lunch of sak-sang, a traditional Batak dish that is pork in a spicy coconut ginger sauce. I'd like to learn how to make it, but apparently the pepper that gives the dish its spice only grows along the shores of Lake Toba.
Today we walked to a village called Ambarita that has a circle of stone chairs where the village council used to meet and sometimes behead people. But all that remains today are the stone chairs and a string of tacky tourist stalls selling "Lake Toba" t-shirts.
Tomorrow we are walking to another village in a different direction. If I can convince myself that the beautiful carvings I see won't break in my backpack during the rest of the trip, I might get some of those too.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Karo Highlands
On Tuesday morning, we left Berastagi by a private hired minibus, an uncharacteristic luxury. We hired our own transport so that we could visit the interesting sights along the way to Parapat, rather than just careen to the ferry point for our next destination.
Our first stop was to a small village called Dokan. Many of the people in this village still live in traditional Batak longhouses, which have arched pointy roofs and intricate carvings on the outside and a large multi-family open space on the inside. Seeing the inhabited houses was interesting, but I felt uncomfortable as a supertourist in a poor village. I still took pictures, though, because that is what supertourists from America are supposed to do.
Next, we visited the Sipiso-piso waterfall, which plunges 120 meters into Lake Toba. We didn't climb down the stairs to the base because our legs were still really tired from the previous two days' volcano treks.
We then stopped at what was called the King's Palace, which were some very well preserved but deserted Batak longhouses and other buildings.
We arrived in Parapat around 1:30 and caught the 2:30 ferry to Samosir Island.
Our first stop was to a small village called Dokan. Many of the people in this village still live in traditional Batak longhouses, which have arched pointy roofs and intricate carvings on the outside and a large multi-family open space on the inside. Seeing the inhabited houses was interesting, but I felt uncomfortable as a supertourist in a poor village. I still took pictures, though, because that is what supertourists from America are supposed to do.
Next, we visited the Sipiso-piso waterfall, which plunges 120 meters into Lake Toba. We didn't climb down the stairs to the base because our legs were still really tired from the previous two days' volcano treks.
We then stopped at what was called the King's Palace, which were some very well preserved but deserted Batak longhouses and other buildings.
We arrived in Parapat around 1:30 and caught the 2:30 ferry to Samosir Island.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Berastagi
Berastagi is a great city. The weather is cool, it hasn't rained too much, and there are plenty of things to do nearby.
On Sunday we climbed Gunung Sinabung, an active volcano that is about 2400 meters high. The ascent through a fern and orchid filled forest was very steep and took 4 hours. The summit was very cloudy, and we only had amazing views for about 30 seconds. But on the plus side, the constant clouds and smell of sulfur made us feel like we were on another planet. The descent wasn't much fun and our legs were in pain when we left the mountain around 5:30 PM.
So much pain that we decided to climb another volcano today, Gunung Sibayek. Sibayek is smaller - about 2000 meters, and the ascent wasn't very interesting or difficult when compared to the previous day. The summit was filled with sulfur-spewing fumaroles, and the sky was clearer so we had some great views of the surrounding valley. After exiting the trail, we stopped off at some hot springs for a relaxing dip and hopefully didn't pick up a skin infection.
Tonight is our last in Berastagi. We hired a car to take us to some villages tomorrow and drop us off at the jumping off point for Danau Toba, a big mountain lake and the largest in SE Asia.
On Sunday we climbed Gunung Sinabung, an active volcano that is about 2400 meters high. The ascent through a fern and orchid filled forest was very steep and took 4 hours. The summit was very cloudy, and we only had amazing views for about 30 seconds. But on the plus side, the constant clouds and smell of sulfur made us feel like we were on another planet. The descent wasn't much fun and our legs were in pain when we left the mountain around 5:30 PM.
So much pain that we decided to climb another volcano today, Gunung Sibayek. Sibayek is smaller - about 2000 meters, and the ascent wasn't very interesting or difficult when compared to the previous day. The summit was filled with sulfur-spewing fumaroles, and the sky was clearer so we had some great views of the surrounding valley. After exiting the trail, we stopped off at some hot springs for a relaxing dip and hopefully didn't pick up a skin infection.
Tonight is our last in Berastagi. We hired a car to take us to some villages tomorrow and drop us off at the jumping off point for Danau Toba, a big mountain lake and the largest in SE Asia.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Bukit Lawang
We made a quick overnight trip to Bukit Lawang. The town isn't conducive to a quick overnight trip since it took 4 hours to get here, but we decided to cut our time short since we opted not to do a jungle trek. Instead, we just wanted to see the orangutan rehabilitation center.
The center lived up to its promise - an orangutan sighting sort of in the wild. We saw a mother with a baby who was hanging out by the feeding platform for twice-daily bananas and milk. The food offered is intentionally boring because the park wants to encourage the animals to seek out more interesting fruits in the forest. But this mama certainly snarfed down her share of bananas, peeling each with her lips. She was a little more dignified with the milk, since she used a cup. We also saw a poisonous green viper on the trail leading to the platform.
This morning after breakfast we made the long trip to Berastagi, where I am now. Berastagi is cool and in the mountains. We're here to climb some volcanoes.
The center lived up to its promise - an orangutan sighting sort of in the wild. We saw a mother with a baby who was hanging out by the feeding platform for twice-daily bananas and milk. The food offered is intentionally boring because the park wants to encourage the animals to seek out more interesting fruits in the forest. But this mama certainly snarfed down her share of bananas, peeling each with her lips. She was a little more dignified with the milk, since she used a cup. We also saw a poisonous green viper on the trail leading to the platform.
This morning after breakfast we made the long trip to Berastagi, where I am now. Berastagi is cool and in the mountains. We're here to climb some volcanoes.
Medan
We arrived in Sumatra early Thursday evening after a very tight connection in Jakarta. Medan is a bustling, sultry city of 2 million people, and it is noticeably poorer and more chaotic than Yogyakarta.
After checking into our hotel, we had dinner at a street stall in a Ramadan fair right beside the main mosque in the city. The Ramadan fair was THE place to be, and we attracted a fair amount of friendly attention. In addition to dinner, my traveling companion purchased a pair of designer Gurci sunglasses and a pair of Converse flip flops (no trademark-infringing suit thwarting misspelling).
We left Medan early in the morning for Bukit Lawang.
After checking into our hotel, we had dinner at a street stall in a Ramadan fair right beside the main mosque in the city. The Ramadan fair was THE place to be, and we attracted a fair amount of friendly attention. In addition to dinner, my traveling companion purchased a pair of designer Gurci sunglasses and a pair of Converse flip flops (no trademark-infringing suit thwarting misspelling).
We left Medan early in the morning for Bukit Lawang.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Yogyakarta, part II
Our two days in Yogya were good. On Tuesday evening, we went and saw a traditional Javanese ballet performance of Ramayana, a love story involving gods, bad guys, and a monkey kingdom whose subjects were dressed like Power Rangers.
On Wednesday we walked around the city, visited the sultan's palace, and went shopping for batik and leather puppets. The good stuff is expensive, so it is a good thing that our perfectly decent hotel (with a swimming pool) cost only $9 a night.
We're leaving Yogya on an afternoon flight to Medan via Jakarta. I'm ready for Sumatra, and am ready to see how the islands differ.
On Wednesday we walked around the city, visited the sultan's palace, and went shopping for batik and leather puppets. The good stuff is expensive, so it is a good thing that our perfectly decent hotel (with a swimming pool) cost only $9 a night.
We're leaving Yogya on an afternoon flight to Medan via Jakarta. I'm ready for Sumatra, and am ready to see how the islands differ.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Yogyakarta
I'm now in Yogyakarta. We arrived in this central Java city on Sunday and tried to get to Borobudur, but by 4:30 all the buses already left. So we took a "Trans," a municipal bus with fixed stops that operates more like a metro than a bus, to the suburb of Prambanan.
Prambanan is a bit of a hole. Our hotel offered rooms by the hour as well as by the night, but it was reasonably clean and had friendly staff. And it was only for one night. On Monday morning, we got up at the crack of dawn to see the eponymous Hindu temple complex which was amazing. Some of the temples had been damaged by the 2006 earthquake and thus did not allow entry, but they were still very beautiful and really cool looking. We visited two more nearby temples, and by noon we returned to Yogya and left for Borobudur.
Borobudur is a much nicer town, and our hotel was a lot nicer, too. This morning, we again woke up at the crack of dawn and visited the eponymous Buddhist temple, which is gigantic spire built around a big hill. Again, it was really cool. Both Prambanan and Borobudur were built in the 9th or 10th century and had been restored.
Yogya is a friendly, mid-size city. We aren't doing anything today. Tomorrow we will visit the sultan's palace and maybe see a Javanese dance performance.
Prambanan is a bit of a hole. Our hotel offered rooms by the hour as well as by the night, but it was reasonably clean and had friendly staff. And it was only for one night. On Monday morning, we got up at the crack of dawn to see the eponymous Hindu temple complex which was amazing. Some of the temples had been damaged by the 2006 earthquake and thus did not allow entry, but they were still very beautiful and really cool looking. We visited two more nearby temples, and by noon we returned to Yogya and left for Borobudur.
Borobudur is a much nicer town, and our hotel was a lot nicer, too. This morning, we again woke up at the crack of dawn and visited the eponymous Buddhist temple, which is gigantic spire built around a big hill. Again, it was really cool. Both Prambanan and Borobudur were built in the 9th or 10th century and had been restored.
Yogya is a friendly, mid-size city. We aren't doing anything today. Tomorrow we will visit the sultan's palace and maybe see a Javanese dance performance.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Singapore, three years to the day
Blogazon is alive and posting again, if only for a month on this much needed vacation.
I arrived in Singapore safe and sound early this morning after two long flights. My traveling companion and I are seeing the sites I found most interesting when I was here three years ago. After about 7 hours of walking around the central neighborhoods, we have "done" the country. Check. Singapore is still safe, clean, efficient, and kind of boring.
This evening, I am dining with a friend from high school who I haven't seen for 15 years. We're going to some crab place, which sounds pretty delicious. After that, it will be back to the Crowne Plaza at the airport, a very nice and surprisingly not overpriced hotel. Our flight to Java is tomorrow morning, and we'll probably head directly to Borobudur on arrival in Yogyakarta.
I arrived in Singapore safe and sound early this morning after two long flights. My traveling companion and I are seeing the sites I found most interesting when I was here three years ago. After about 7 hours of walking around the central neighborhoods, we have "done" the country. Check. Singapore is still safe, clean, efficient, and kind of boring.
This evening, I am dining with a friend from high school who I haven't seen for 15 years. We're going to some crab place, which sounds pretty delicious. After that, it will be back to the Crowne Plaza at the airport, a very nice and surprisingly not overpriced hotel. Our flight to Java is tomorrow morning, and we'll probably head directly to Borobudur on arrival in Yogyakarta.
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