Well, the sun has set on my first day in the craziness that is Delhi... There aren't many words that can be used to describe it... except crazy! I arrived later last night, at around 7:30pm, where I was to be met by a driver to take me to my hotel. He was about 45 minutes late, and appeared flustered and apologetic. If he had been driving back and forth to the airport all day, I don't blame him for being flustered! I thought the traffic in Bangkok was bad... There was a young American bloke staying at the hotel as well, having a few days in Delhi and Agra after being flown (business class) to Bangalore for work. I ended up flying to Delhi from KL on Air Asia Premium class, because bizarrely, the tickets were the same a regular fares at about $170 for a six hour flight. Admittedly it's not the full business class experience, but the lie flat (on an angle) seats were awesome and such a comfortable way to travel. Too bad the cheap tickets weren't there for the return leg.
Today I have been out sightseeing. I started the day with a potato curry for breakfast at the hotel, the Hotel Tara Palace, which is in the Chandni Chawk area of Old Delhi. There is a rooftop terrace with great fews of the Red F0rt and the Jama Masjid mosque. I wandered over to the Red Fort after breakfast for a look around, and ended up getting cornered by a guide who wanted 200 rupees (a couple of bucks...) to take me on a 45 minute tour, so I agreed. It was money well spent as there's bugger all signs or information. Lots of see and photograph, and the SD card has been given a bit of a workout! I wandered back to the hotel, getting humbugged a lot by people who wanted to sell me USB sticks (times are a-changing) for a bit of respite, then decided to walk down to the mosque. On the way, a bicycle taxi driver asked me if I was keen on a tour, and I decided to give it a try. He only wanted 150 rupees for a 90 minute tour. It ended up going for four hours, and not surprisingly, he was keen on a bit m ore than a 150 rupees, which I was happy to pay considering he had to drag my lard arse around the alleyways (and motorways... an experience on a bike taxi, I can tell you) of Old Delhi.
The power keeps dropping out a bit... I will post this now just in case.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Last night in Langkawi
After a three country jaunt with my parents, we've reached our final night of travelling together. It has been an opportunity for dad to visit some of the places that impacted on his family during World War Two, including a visit to his uncle's grave. I have a couple of posts about my first trip to Kanchanaburi earlier in the blog. This time, we stayed a little more upmarket (this whole trip has been four star minimum!) and also had an opportunity to visit Hellfire Pass, which is a very fitting memorial; it was closed during my last visit.
We also had four nights in Singapore, which was about my sixth or seventh trip, although this trip saw me make it to Sentosa Island for the first time. I'm also now back in Langkawi, having visited in the April holidays in 2009, travelling with my good buddy Brandon in our week off from our educational duties on Groote Eylandt. There are no blog posts of that trip, with some of the details on Facebook, which has replaced this blog. I'm starting it up again, since having read through a few of the old entries, this is probably as good a way as any to keep recollections of my travels. Having visited Moonbi to catch up with the Hillier and Leedham clans, I was able to proofread Fred's stories of travelling to India in 1970. The level of detail is fantastic, no doubt a result of him keeping detailed diaries. I'd like to do the same, but I find typing easier than writing... though I am making some attempt at keeping a written journal too.
Tomorrow we have a late morning flight to Kuala Lumpur, where I part ways with my folks and head to Delhi, as they head back to the Gold Coast to have Christmas with my sister and her husband. As I will be meeting up with friends early in the new year, I figured it would be easier to stay in South East Asia, rather than returning to Australia just to return again in a couple of weeks. As it turns out, a spur of the moment decision is seeing me head to Bhutan via Delhi and Kathmandu, at considerable more expense and flight durations than a return to Australia. Still, it will be far more of an adventure! I decided that since I would be spending Christmas away from family and friends, it would be best to replace it with an amazing experience, and a 14 day gentle trekking tour through Bhutan seemed to fit the bill. Bhutan is an expensive destination... you cannot travel without being associated with a tour company, which charges $US200 a day minimum. But with the Aussie dollar doing so well, and the fact that the minimum charge is going up, now is an affordable time to travel.
Off to Delhi tomorrow, for the first small chapter of this trip. A $100 visa was needed for two short stopovers, so I will have to make the most of my only full day there. I'm staying near the Red Fort in Old Delhi, so it should be a good introduction. Hopefully my visa can be used again later in the year for a follow up visit.
Oh, and I get to travel Premium Class tomorrow... with a lie flat bed! Admittedly, it's on Air Asia, but with premium seats on sale for less than a regular seat, I was mad not to book it!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Back to blogging
I have been keeping a diary but writing hurts my hand so will blog instead. Damn the computer age and its impact on my ability to hold a pen! I know nobody really reads this, but it's a great way for me to keep track of my journeys. In Langkawi at the moment... Details to come.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Chicks in burqinis
Tonight is my last night on Redang Island. Am back to Singapore tomorrow for a night, then back to Darwin on Friday night, arriving at the convenient time of 2am... Actually, leaving here has come at the right time, considering it has started to rain and I've run out of books to read.
The rain kicked in at about 2pm and kept going til about 6:30. The entertainment from my balcony was watching the bamboo and plastic greenhouse they'd built fall to pieces. No Cert I in General Construction there... Eventually the rain stopped, and I headed out for a stroll on the beach at dusk. It's certainly a top spot for a wander, with the sky darkening and the clouds making an impressive display in the sky. There weren't too many people swimming, except for a group of three women wearing burqinis, which are those whole body and head covering bathers for Islamic women. They don't look very comfortable... At least they could get in the water. I try to be one for tolerance, but that kind of restriction seems over the top to me. By the time I returned from the other end of the beach, two of the women had left and one was lazing in the shallow water. I couldn't help but ponder whether she felt free, or just wished she was.
The rain kicked in at about 2pm and kept going til about 6:30. The entertainment from my balcony was watching the bamboo and plastic greenhouse they'd built fall to pieces. No Cert I in General Construction there... Eventually the rain stopped, and I headed out for a stroll on the beach at dusk. It's certainly a top spot for a wander, with the sky darkening and the clouds making an impressive display in the sky. There weren't too many people swimming, except for a group of three women wearing burqinis, which are those whole body and head covering bathers for Islamic women. They don't look very comfortable... At least they could get in the water. I try to be one for tolerance, but that kind of restriction seems over the top to me. By the time I returned from the other end of the beach, two of the women had left and one was lazing in the shallow water. I couldn't help but ponder whether she felt free, or just wished she was.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Redang continued....
I've come to terms with the fact that there are worse places to be when you have a cold, so I will stop complaining about it... And it isn't a particularly bad cold at any rate and hasn't dampened by ability to do what I came over here for, and that is to do not very much at all. Had a good day by the beach today, though it appears my sunscreen is getting a bit old (the labels are written in French and English, which is a bit of a concern, considering it's been 15 months since I've been in Canada...) so I have a bit of a reddish tinge to my face with matching panda eyes were my sunnies have been. But not so bad.
The beach has been a pretty sweet spot to hang out. The snorkelling from the beach has been fantastic, with heaps of fish and really clear water (though the coral, as I suspect it is in most places, is pretty much dead.) There is some sort of Bollywood-esque filming going on at the beach, with Indian actors doing crazy dance moves on the beach, in the water and standing on rocks. I say 'esque' because I'm guessing this is some sort of el-cheapon Indo-Malaysian Bollywood ripoff, since no doubt there are equally as nice beaches for the real Bollywood actors in India, although the more telling sign is the fact that the actors here are fatter and far more unattractive than India's best.... The entourage is entertaining in itself with a huge cohort of sleazy Indian men wearing their best 1970s porno clothing and matching moustaches, as if they have been lifted straight out of Apu's Kwik-e-mart... You start understanding where stereotypes come from, that's for sure.
Will continue on with another lazy afternoon. I am almost through my second book - reading Life of Pi right now, after slogging through a Richard Dawkins' account of evolution. Sadly, unless I figure out a way to learn German or Swedish overnight, it'll be it for the reading, since the books on the second-hand shelf are all European. And the TV isn't much better, with the same shitty Brendan Fraser movie the only thing in English shown over and over again. The 10 minutes I've seen of Inkheart are enough... At least there's still the beach!
The beach has been a pretty sweet spot to hang out. The snorkelling from the beach has been fantastic, with heaps of fish and really clear water (though the coral, as I suspect it is in most places, is pretty much dead.) There is some sort of Bollywood-esque filming going on at the beach, with Indian actors doing crazy dance moves on the beach, in the water and standing on rocks. I say 'esque' because I'm guessing this is some sort of el-cheapon Indo-Malaysian Bollywood ripoff, since no doubt there are equally as nice beaches for the real Bollywood actors in India, although the more telling sign is the fact that the actors here are fatter and far more unattractive than India's best.... The entourage is entertaining in itself with a huge cohort of sleazy Indian men wearing their best 1970s porno clothing and matching moustaches, as if they have been lifted straight out of Apu's Kwik-e-mart... You start understanding where stereotypes come from, that's for sure.
Will continue on with another lazy afternoon. I am almost through my second book - reading Life of Pi right now, after slogging through a Richard Dawkins' account of evolution. Sadly, unless I figure out a way to learn German or Swedish overnight, it'll be it for the reading, since the books on the second-hand shelf are all European. And the TV isn't much better, with the same shitty Brendan Fraser movie the only thing in English shown over and over again. The 10 minutes I've seen of Inkheart are enough... At least there's still the beach!
Monday, September 28, 2009
A possible blog resurrection? Redang Island, Malaysia
So I haven't blogged in awhile, and was wondering whether to keep it up, but considering I'm on holidays at the moment, having come down with a cold, and with a comedy of errors seemingly stalking me the whole time, I figured now is a better time as ever to be grumpy!
I'm currently on Redang Island off the east coast of peninsula Malaysia. The island is really nice, with a clean, white beach and really clear water. The island is pretty well known for its resorts, rather than catering for the independent traveller, so it probably wasn't the best choice for me, but it's easy, with everything laid on (except booze, which is way more expensive than Langkawi or Thailand...)
I had originally intended to head a little further north to the Perhentian Islands, but after arriving in Kuala Terengganu on a Saturday (which is like our Sunday... nothing open) I wandered around the hot and humid streets looking for an ATM and an open travel agent. Despite passing about 384 Hotlink Mobile phone stores, you'd think you'd come across an ATM, but no luck. I had a handful of ringgit, but needed more and eventually stumbled into a 7-11 where there was an ATM, and got out the cash I needed. Not too far down the road, I wandered into an open travel agent and asked them to send me to the nearest island with a half decent beach.
Perhaps I may have investigated things a little further if being hot and bothered was all that was impacting on my mind, but sitting in Singapore airport a few hours earlier, I realised that I'd booked the wrong return flight, requiring a mad dash to an available internet terminal to rectify my stupid mistake (you think by now I could use a calendar effectively... I am a low level educational bureaucrat after all...). So I was flustered and didn't want to think anymore, so hear I am on Redang Island, home of the non-alcoholic all inclusive resort, and not a place designed for the independent traveller. But the beach is nice, the snorkeling pretty impressive and I can indulge in a bit of doing nothing for a few days to recharge the batteries.
I do have a few photos I will upload later - sadly, my brand spanking new Panasonic camera has decided to shit itself, so I won't get too many more shots (save the odd mobile phone photo). They are doing a bit of filming on the beach, including what could count as Malaysia's equivalent of Girls Gone Wild (but being conservative Malaysia, it was just a few girls in bikinis walking up and down the beach... oooh, risque!)
That's about all for now. I will keep resting up today and hope that this cold doesn't take hold...
I'm currently on Redang Island off the east coast of peninsula Malaysia. The island is really nice, with a clean, white beach and really clear water. The island is pretty well known for its resorts, rather than catering for the independent traveller, so it probably wasn't the best choice for me, but it's easy, with everything laid on (except booze, which is way more expensive than Langkawi or Thailand...)
I had originally intended to head a little further north to the Perhentian Islands, but after arriving in Kuala Terengganu on a Saturday (which is like our Sunday... nothing open) I wandered around the hot and humid streets looking for an ATM and an open travel agent. Despite passing about 384 Hotlink Mobile phone stores, you'd think you'd come across an ATM, but no luck. I had a handful of ringgit, but needed more and eventually stumbled into a 7-11 where there was an ATM, and got out the cash I needed. Not too far down the road, I wandered into an open travel agent and asked them to send me to the nearest island with a half decent beach.
Perhaps I may have investigated things a little further if being hot and bothered was all that was impacting on my mind, but sitting in Singapore airport a few hours earlier, I realised that I'd booked the wrong return flight, requiring a mad dash to an available internet terminal to rectify my stupid mistake (you think by now I could use a calendar effectively... I am a low level educational bureaucrat after all...). So I was flustered and didn't want to think anymore, so hear I am on Redang Island, home of the non-alcoholic all inclusive resort, and not a place designed for the independent traveller. But the beach is nice, the snorkeling pretty impressive and I can indulge in a bit of doing nothing for a few days to recharge the batteries.
I do have a few photos I will upload later - sadly, my brand spanking new Panasonic camera has decided to shit itself, so I won't get too many more shots (save the odd mobile phone photo). They are doing a bit of filming on the beach, including what could count as Malaysia's equivalent of Girls Gone Wild (but being conservative Malaysia, it was just a few girls in bikinis walking up and down the beach... oooh, risque!)
That's about all for now. I will keep resting up today and hope that this cold doesn't take hold...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Farewell to Toronto
Currently sitting in YYZ waiting to head down to Boston. It was great to be back in Canada and to catch up with old friends. It's been three-and-a-half years. Hopefully the gap between this trip and the next won't be as long.
I've been back in Toronto and surrounds since getting back from a great couple of days up north at Three-Legged Lake, where my old exchange partner has a cottage. It was a great spot and I could have chilled out there for a few weeks and enjoyed it just as much.
Since the return I've mainly spent time catching up with people, though did have a couple of trips downtown, including a visit to Toronto Islands which was well worth it considering how good the weather was (a rarity in Toronto!)
There are photos on facebook if you're keen to have a look!
I've been back in Toronto and surrounds since getting back from a great couple of days up north at Three-Legged Lake, where my old exchange partner has a cottage. It was a great spot and I could have chilled out there for a few weeks and enjoyed it just as much.
Since the return I've mainly spent time catching up with people, though did have a couple of trips downtown, including a visit to Toronto Islands which was well worth it considering how good the weather was (a rarity in Toronto!)
There are photos on facebook if you're keen to have a look!
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