We then made our way to the middle area of the Island, Ubud, and stayed in a hostel right in the middle of rice fields. We had to walk about 20 minutes through rice fields to get to any type of street. From here, we did lots of traveling throughout the area looking at all the cultural events, dances and such. Again visiting temples, and learning more about the Balinese culture. We also went to a cock fight, and bet on some of the “fighters”. Maya and I bet on the white chicken and Taka and Yoshi bet on the black one. We doubled our money (which was only about $1). It was a good experience though, to see this type of thing still going on today. We then moved to another are on the island more north again to Padangbai. Here, we had another cool hostel, but thought we had lost Maya when she went away with some random person on a motorcycle to find us a place to stay! Eventually we found her, and went to the area of different homestays on the beach. Ours was really cool, which had a shower and toilet outside. So nice. Here we swam in the ocean, watched dances too. This was the last place we’d stay before moving to Amed.
Category: Asia
Accident on the jetski
We got up the next morning to look at some nearby shops and beaches. We moved to another area from Kuta, to Sanur Beach a little bit more north. Here, we found an awesome homestay with amazing little rooms for a mere $3 a night. (again we were surprised at the cost). We became spoiled at the cost of living and forgot how much money we were actually talking about.
That afternoon we went to the beach and all rented some jetskis. This is the one even that changed our entire stay. During our fun in the sun in the ocean on our jetskis, one of our friends Keiko made a wrong turn and flipped off the jetski into the water. I was nearby, and didn’t know whether to laugh or be worried. She looked very hurt and couldn’t move well. So we brought her back to the beach, and sat her down to see if she could just get back to normal. But, as time went by, the whiter and whiter she got, and more discomfort she felt. We took her to the hospital nearby in an ambulance, which was scaring all of us to death, and the boys had to meet the girls at the hospital. Once we arrived at the hospital, my most feared sights was right in front of me. This was a 3rd world country I was in, and their hospital facilities were definitely not what I was used to. Stepping over puddles of blood into a huge room accommodating too many sick, injured people, we found Keiko. Xrays were done to try to find out what happened.
That evening, we went back to our homestay to get some of her stuff. Not only was this a scary event for Keiko, but it was for us too. A man at a nearby restaurant we ate at offered to drive us on his motorcycle and help us get back and forth to the hospital everyday. Best experiences come when you least expect them, and I now realize how amazing riding that motorcycle was. Riding in a crowd of a good 50 other cyclists, I felt like I was really free and living another life. With all of my travels, I feel that I am living. During Keiko’s stay in the hospital, we found that it was just that she couldn’t move due to a fractured pelvis. So, we toured during the day, and stayed with her at night for a while telling what we did and bringing her stuff>> mainly food–the food there was definitely not what you’d want to eat if you were sick to begin with! We toured the site of the world’s most beautiful sunset, and I lost my camera dropping it into the sea. This was my second camera, and I was totally bummed losing those pictures that were already on the film, PLUS having no camera for the rest of the trip.
Visiting temples and monkey forests, eating at small mom and pop restaurants, we began a small life evolution I believe. This was my first “raw” experience in life. Not having hot water, not depending on my car, living day by day, and not planning. This proved to be a great growing experience for me that I still take with me today in my life now.
Flight to Langkawi
We flew from KL to Langkawi the next day, and arrived in a TINY little airport. We took a taxi home with some other foreigners from Austrailia? and they told us about some good beaches to go to. We found our hotel, and went to the beach for a nice tropical dinner on the sand. The next day we went around where our hotel was looking at the shops and such. I always wonder why a hotel would bother having a pool when you could walk just 2 minutes and lie on the beach… oh well. Keiko decided to take a parasail ride over the beach, while I waded in the water. It was soooo relaxing! Not many tourists were there, and it was nice just to rest. We went to the different stalls around for great cheap food>> meals for as cheap as $.75 for a lot of good stomach filling food. Unfortunately, this vacation came to an end, and we had to fly back to Singapore to get our flight the next morning for Japan.
On the flight back to Japan however, I got to see a great view of Mt. Fuji from the air. Coming back to Japan was fun, because I was meeting Traci to go tour the rest of Japan. Boy, that day was really tiring for both of us. We went to Tokyo to get back to my apartment.
All around Kuala Lumpur
We spent touring the different sights around KL all today. The financial district and religious areas were really interesting to see. The architecture of the buildings were really interesting and had been designed to reflect the religion of the area. This was a much bigger city than I thought, but it was fairly easy and cheap to get around. The best place we went was definitely to see the Twin Towers. Unfortunately the top is not open to the public for viewing, but just standing next to the monstrous structure was reward enough. On the inside bottom floors were great restaurants, and out back was a nice park. It was so hot, that getting in the water was a great relief! That night we saw a traditional Malaysian show at a restaurant. On our way home, we stopped in front of Hard Rock Café Kuala Lumpur for a picture.
Even though we stayed in KL just for 2 days, it was enough to see the major landmarks around the city. Plus, after this big trip, we were really excited to just go to Langkawi for a nice relaxing few days on the beaches.
Train to Kuala Lumpur
Because of the convenient location of Singapore at the bottom of Malaysia, we decided to take a train across into Malaysia. This trip was not only going to be interesting, but relaxing too, as we opted for a side trip from Kuala Lumpur, to a little desolate island located at the border of Thailand an Malaysia called Langkawi. We left our hotel in the morning to go to the train station. Unfortunately, I got there, and realized I had left my passport in the safe at the hotel. So, I had to travel a lone all the way back to the hotel located in the Muslim section of Singapore. I got back fine, but ran the entire way to and from the train stations to save as much time as possible, because we didn’t want to miss our train. Our train went straight for Kuala Lumpur. Well, to say straight is a little misnomer, because of how many stops it took for us to get there.
After a good eight hours of riding the train through jungle terrain, we arrived in KL. We arrived at night, and had a nice dinner at Pizza Hut, where we saw the fattest man I had ever seen in my entire life. Anyhow, after dinner we went to find our hotel which I had booked from the internet. We had an awesome view of KL at night, given that the Petronas Twin Towers were towering and sparkling at night. It was truly a magnificent sight.
The Singapore Zoo!
The next day was planned for the Singapore Zoological Gardens. This was the best place! The zoo was so amazing! The animals roamed freely (like monkeys and such) around, while the more vicious ones had some type of natural barrier between the spectators and them. The nature within the gardens was so full of plantlife I had never seen before. Really it was like a jungle, with paths everywhere leading to different places that animals lived. We watched different shows, and I actually got to sit right next to an orangutan!
The most famous thing to do also at the zoo, is to go to the night safari, which has been recognized world-wide for its magnificence. So, of course, we went along too. It started to get really stormy though, but it was perfect. The night safari is a park with hyenas, lions, giraffes, and everything else, that you can take a little train through at night and see them in their habitat. The coolest part was after the train ride, walking through the jungles with the lightning in the background, you could see the giraffes in the shadows. It was truly awe inspiring.
This was the last day for Singapore. We left the next day at the train station for Malaysia. On our way back from Malaysia though, we stopped back through Singapore for one more day of playing in the city.
The Huge Merlion
The next day, we headed off for Sentosa Island where the huge Merlion is found. We had to board a gondola, that took us a good 20 minutes to the island. We were so high up! When we got out, the island was like a complete theme park. It had beaches, parks, butterfly gardens, and peacocks roaming around everywhere. The biggest landmark of course was the Merlion standing perched above the highest point looking over everything. It was quite a sight. We never lost our way because you could see him from practically every point. We then went to the beach to swim a little. We found that at the beach was the Southernmost Point of the Asia Continent. So, that was fun to at least “know”. We then went back to the Merlion and went inside and climbed to the top. At the top, you get a grand view back at the main island of Singapore, and then directly opposite, you could see islands of Indonesia. You can climb to the head, or look out the mouth. After that, we wandered around more, and came upon a man with a huge snake that would let us hold it for a small price. So, of course, Keiko and I just upped the snake on our shoulders and I donned a turban and vest and did the whole charming deal.
That night, we watched a fantastic laser light show. It was right in front of the Merlion, and the lights and music were fabulous! At the end, the Merlion’s eyes turned into lasers also, and went everywhere! It was an awesome sight. That was a great end to an awesome day!
Cruise on the Singapore River
The next day, we woke up and made it downtown again for a cruise on the Singapore river. These little boats had a tape recorder that did the tour for us. When we got in the boat, the people around us were other tourists from other nations, and the tape had actually been for Japanese speakers. So while Keiko and I were fine listening to the facts of the buildings and such, the rest of course complained. So, we had to go back to shore to get the English tape. It was really interesting to see the buildings brightly painted in pastels. It looked like a fake city that is used in movies. We then did a walking tour around the city, and thanks to Lonely Planet, we saw a lot of interesting things and learned a lot of the historical sites within the city center. We saw the famous Merlion, and it was so much smaller than one would imagine! Compared to me, It was maybe 3 feet taller! But, later I found out there is a much bigger one on Sentosa Island. We spent the afternoon just wandering to the different districts within the city.
We then found the Indian sector and went to the most famous of their temples. It had an elaborate entrance where several people were carved and stacked up toward the top. We then wandered to the famous Orchard Road, the rich part of town, where all designer type shops can be found. There were also several street performers that were very entertaining.
Off to Singapore!
Flying from Hong Kong, we had a beautiful view of the North China Sea. The tropical scenery was amazing! Stepping off the plane in Singapore, I realized how hot it was there. Coming from Japan during March, it had been quite cold, so being in such warm weather really told me I was in the tropics. The airport was pretty new, and looking out the windows, I’ll never forget how “plush” everything was. The greenery of grass and bushes with pink tropical flowers surrounded everywhere I looked. We waited in line with others for a taxi.
The taxi took us to our hotel located near the Paya Labar E5 Train Station. It was right in front of the Muslim area in town. See, in Singapore, there are three distinct groups. Chinese, Indians, and Muslims. Our hotel was really nice and cheap (I had booked the nights over the internet). That afternoon, we used the train and went to the city center, which was just a 20 minute train ride. The trains reminded me of Disney Word’s Monorail system because it was above ground. The streets of downtown were immaculate, and it seemed like a really safe place to be. Signs were everywhere warning things that were prohibited. “No flammable liquid gas, FINE” “No smoking, FINE” No eating and drinking, FINE” All were fines of S$500. Those were signs just in the train station. We had a nice dinner outside while people-watching, and we noticed right away how cheap things were. Singapore I thought would be more expensive than things in the US, but it was actually very comparable, if not cheaper.
Off to Macau!
Macau
is a really interesting place, being that it just went back to China as well. However, instead of being a colony of England, like Hong Kong, it was a colony of Portugal. So, interestingly, the architecture of Macau was all in the style of Portugal. Different money system, and, practically a different country from China, still set it apart as it tries to be unified with China. There is still a strict immigration control point, that divided Macau from China.
We decided to travel to Macau when we found out how close it actually was to Hong Kong . All you have to do is get on a fast jet foil boat, that is exactly like a plane on the inside, and you’re there in an hour! It was really funny, because we had to go through customs and everything right when you got off the boat. When we arrived, we took a taxi to St. Paul ‘s old ruins of a church. Passing McDonald’s with Chinese characters along the way. Seeing the ruins of this old church was really cool, since only the front is still standing. From there we wandered around to find a nice place to eat. We found a great little outdoor restaurant, and had a filling lunch while watching the passer-byers.
We also went to an old fortress that still had the cannons, along with a great view of China across the river, and the city. We made the rounds of the local temples and such, and then took a taxi to the border control between Macau and China . There is a window (outdoor) that lets you see China on the other side. After the control point, we went to a Casino. Casino’s are illegal in Hong Kong, but Macau allowed them, so we went in. Of course, being warm, I was wearing shorts, so I was denied entry. So, we went across the street to buy some pants–for $3– Macau is very cheap! We went in, and I spent just $10 on doing different stuff. It was a cool experience because I had never gambled before. We then spent the evening there, and ate at the McDonalds (just to add to my list of eating at a McDonald’s in every country). We then boarded the boat for a quick trip back to Hong Kong . The next day we were flying to Singapore.