There was a joke when I was a kid that alternated between statements of good and bad news. I am going to attempt a parody of that joke here:
Good news: I found a ride north from Brisbane.
Bad news: The ride is not going all the way north to Cairns, as I wanted.
Good news: The ride is going about 90% of the way to Cairns, to Airlie Beach, from which I should be able to get a ride to Cairns pretty easily.
Bad news: Should be able to.
Good news: The ride is from a girl.
Bad news: The girl is French.
Good news: There is another girl in the car.
Bad news: She is also French. And does not speak much English.
Good news: They are both easy going enough and the driver is a decent driver.
Bad news: More French music than you can shake a stick at.
Good news: They have friend in Noosa Heads, our first stop.
Bad news: For some reason, I am not allowed into the residence of the friends.
Good news: I am allowed to sleep in the car.
Bad news: I am not invited to dinner or to hang out with them.
Good news: Not a big deal. They can enjoy their French conversation without the pressure to translate for me and I can entertain myself.
Bad news: There is nothing to do in Noosa Heads. It is not a place to see stuff but rather a place to be seen.
Good news: I had an opportunity to fulfill a goal of seeing a movie, in theaters, on each continent I visit.
Bad news: I failed at this goal a long time ago.
Good news: Whatever, I still got to see a reasonably priced movie.
Bad news: The best option of movies was Grown Ups.
Good news: Surprisingly Grown Ups was not terrible.
Bad news: The following morning we were waking up at 5AM so that they can go surfing. I was invited but was not allowed to use a board.
Good news: I took a awesome picture of them silhouetted against the rising sun, with surf boards headed out to the water.
Bad news: I was not going surfing.
Good news: I got to do some excellent hiking in Noosa National Park instead of surfing. And, their surfing sucked because of the tide.
Bad news: We did not have a chance to visit North Shore, which is supposed to be nice and empty.
Good news: We headed off early enough to cover some good distance and spend some time in the a quick stop over, Hervey Bay, upon my request.
Bad news: Once we turned off the main highway to go to Hervey Bay I was asked, "This is 70 kilometers away, are you sure you want to go?"
Good news: I asked them to let me out of the car and we split ways.
They let me out at a McDonald's upon my request because there is free wifi there. We said our goodbyes without hard feelings. I figured out some semblance of a plan, sent a couch surfing request to the only CS hosts in Hervey Bay that had logged in more recently than a week ago, and started walking down the road with my thumb up. After about 20 minutes some guy picked me up and drove me to Hervey Bay Centro, the main bus stop in Hervey Bay. As soon as I got out of the car and gathered my bags, I rushed to a group of people getting in a maxi (a taxi that holds 10 people) and asked if there was room for one more. Other than the maxi driver and the guide everybody in the maxi was American. The group was on some volunteering trip in New Zealand and Australia. The main guide was Australian and ran the show and there was a secondary guide, who was American and 25, that seemed to be an intermediary. The rest of the group was 16 to 18 year old and the ride there was kind of strange. I guess I had forgotten what people are like at that age. Either way, I got a ride into town and, since I had not heard from the CS host that I sent the request to, found a place to sleep for the night.
30 July 2010
Brisbane, Australia, Part I
My first even remotely negative couch surfing experience occurred in Brisbane. I sent my request about a week in advance and had been given the OK just to let her, the host, know exactly which day I will arrive when I could as I was driving up and the specific day of arrival was a bit in the air. I did so. I texted. Repeatedly. I called. Repeatedly. I arrived in Brisbane with a CS host that said I could surf at her place but never gave me an address nor would she pick up or return my efforts to contact her. I was pissed but all in all this is not such a bad experience just inconvenient. I ended up spending my first night in Brisbane in the campervan that took me from Melbourne to Brisbane so it was a familiar sleeping space. The second night was spent on the couch of a friend of a friend. I ended up finding another CS host but I found a ride heading north so my time in Brisbane was cut short.
While trying to contact my CS host I was invited by Tobi (my ride from Melbourne to Brisbane) to play jugger, which is an alternative sport and completely new to me. The rules had been explained to me in the van and again once we arrived but made little sense until I started playing. So, I will not explain much of the rules here just know this: each team has five people, four with (padded) weapons the fifth is the "quick" and is the only player eligible to score. If you are hit by a weapon in a legal area you kneel down and are out of play for 3-5 seconds. A point is scored by moving the "skull" to your opponent's side of the field and placing it around a stake.
I started off as a player with a weapon (an "enforcer") because the quicks are much more important than any individual enforcer and not where a novice should start. The game was fun and the rules made more sense once I started playing. While competitive, it is a friendly game. It also helped that there were other people who had never played before either. I was not particularly good at being an enforcer but I did not do terribly either. I quickly picked up some basic strategy and was able to use people's expectations of my (lack of) skills and (lack of) knowledge of the game against them. I certainly screwed up a few times but it is expected given I was still learning the rules and new rules while I played. After a few games I asked if I could try being the quick and I finally found where I could help out my team the most.
At the beginning of a game and after each point scored the skull is placed in a circle in the center of the field and the quicks stand anywhere along the circumference of the circle. Once time starts the quicks try to get the skull. This involves quickness and usually some wrestling and I played up my quickness since my wrestling is, well, let's say not an advantage for me (oddly, however, I ended up being pretty decent at that part as well). I immediately got the skull and then did what I was supposed to do until I tried to put the skull around the stake, at which time I did what was just about the worst thing you can do in this game (have the skull go out of bounds). Lesson learned. With the help of my team I eventually got the skull back and scored a point. After that we scored about ten more consecutive points. Compliments all around including, "That was textbook quick play" from one of the veterans. In truth, I had little idea what I was doing other than using my speed and being aggressive. It was fun and I plan on playing again if I can.
That night I went out for drinks with the jugger crowd. We went to a bar that has six TVs attached to video game consoles. While drinking you play video games. I cannot believe I did not think of this idea myself. I do not care much for video games but it was still fun. My first drink did not sit well and I decided to stop drinking and just hang out. That lasted until one of the jugger players, Garth, realized that, after most people had left, of the four remaining, he was the only person drinking. He got the four of us a round of drinks, despite our insistence that he did not, so that he was not drinking alone. After the drink Garth wanted another one and once again did not take no for an answer. He insisted that we leave this bar and go to another that makes excellent cocktails, called the Bowery. I should tell you a bit about Garth. He was recently paid AU$40,000 by a former employer upon leaving the job as part of his compensation package and despite his best efforts to spend the money had only manage to spend $2500 and was looking to spend more in a hurry. At the time, he had five weeks before he left for an international vacation (which is basically him travelling around the world to various jugger games including the world championships in Germany). We arrived at the Bowery and he asked each of use what kind of alcohol we preferred. After an unusually long time the bartender and his girl friend brought us our drinks and joined us as well (Garth and them are friends). The drink I was handed cost AU$19. After some conversation a second, different AU$19 whiskey drink arrived. Both were good but I do not think I would pay that much for a drink. Even if I was trying to waste AU$40,000. By this time Garth was drunk and we left the bar. An interesting and enjoyable day with new, interesting people.
The next day, despite the poor weather, I walked around Brisbane. Brisbane is a nice town but does not offer much for tourists. I think it would be a good town to live in and visiting briefly is nice and should be done but there is not much to do after only a couple days. I continued to walk around even though my camera battery had died and I saw many of the attractions. It was good and I will be passing through Brisbane again for sure as I left my big bag in the garage of the friend of the friend and will do more exploring then.
During those couple days in Brisbane I managed to find a ride north to Airlie Beach from two French girls on gumtree. I had never met them and only talked briefly on the phone. They picked me up the next day and off we went north. What could go wrong?
While trying to contact my CS host I was invited by Tobi (my ride from Melbourne to Brisbane) to play jugger, which is an alternative sport and completely new to me. The rules had been explained to me in the van and again once we arrived but made little sense until I started playing. So, I will not explain much of the rules here just know this: each team has five people, four with (padded) weapons the fifth is the "quick" and is the only player eligible to score. If you are hit by a weapon in a legal area you kneel down and are out of play for 3-5 seconds. A point is scored by moving the "skull" to your opponent's side of the field and placing it around a stake.
I started off as a player with a weapon (an "enforcer") because the quicks are much more important than any individual enforcer and not where a novice should start. The game was fun and the rules made more sense once I started playing. While competitive, it is a friendly game. It also helped that there were other people who had never played before either. I was not particularly good at being an enforcer but I did not do terribly either. I quickly picked up some basic strategy and was able to use people's expectations of my (lack of) skills and (lack of) knowledge of the game against them. I certainly screwed up a few times but it is expected given I was still learning the rules and new rules while I played. After a few games I asked if I could try being the quick and I finally found where I could help out my team the most.
At the beginning of a game and after each point scored the skull is placed in a circle in the center of the field and the quicks stand anywhere along the circumference of the circle. Once time starts the quicks try to get the skull. This involves quickness and usually some wrestling and I played up my quickness since my wrestling is, well, let's say not an advantage for me (oddly, however, I ended up being pretty decent at that part as well). I immediately got the skull and then did what I was supposed to do until I tried to put the skull around the stake, at which time I did what was just about the worst thing you can do in this game (have the skull go out of bounds). Lesson learned. With the help of my team I eventually got the skull back and scored a point. After that we scored about ten more consecutive points. Compliments all around including, "That was textbook quick play" from one of the veterans. In truth, I had little idea what I was doing other than using my speed and being aggressive. It was fun and I plan on playing again if I can.
That night I went out for drinks with the jugger crowd. We went to a bar that has six TVs attached to video game consoles. While drinking you play video games. I cannot believe I did not think of this idea myself. I do not care much for video games but it was still fun. My first drink did not sit well and I decided to stop drinking and just hang out. That lasted until one of the jugger players, Garth, realized that, after most people had left, of the four remaining, he was the only person drinking. He got the four of us a round of drinks, despite our insistence that he did not, so that he was not drinking alone. After the drink Garth wanted another one and once again did not take no for an answer. He insisted that we leave this bar and go to another that makes excellent cocktails, called the Bowery. I should tell you a bit about Garth. He was recently paid AU$40,000 by a former employer upon leaving the job as part of his compensation package and despite his best efforts to spend the money had only manage to spend $2500 and was looking to spend more in a hurry. At the time, he had five weeks before he left for an international vacation (which is basically him travelling around the world to various jugger games including the world championships in Germany). We arrived at the Bowery and he asked each of use what kind of alcohol we preferred. After an unusually long time the bartender and his girl friend brought us our drinks and joined us as well (Garth and them are friends). The drink I was handed cost AU$19. After some conversation a second, different AU$19 whiskey drink arrived. Both were good but I do not think I would pay that much for a drink. Even if I was trying to waste AU$40,000. By this time Garth was drunk and we left the bar. An interesting and enjoyable day with new, interesting people.
The next day, despite the poor weather, I walked around Brisbane. Brisbane is a nice town but does not offer much for tourists. I think it would be a good town to live in and visiting briefly is nice and should be done but there is not much to do after only a couple days. I continued to walk around even though my camera battery had died and I saw many of the attractions. It was good and I will be passing through Brisbane again for sure as I left my big bag in the garage of the friend of the friend and will do more exploring then.
During those couple days in Brisbane I managed to find a ride north to Airlie Beach from two French girls on gumtree. I had never met them and only talked briefly on the phone. They picked me up the next day and off we went north. What could go wrong?
22 July 2010
Road Trip North to Brisbane
The Australian equivalent of craigslist is called gumtree and a section of the site is rideshare where peolpe post where and when they are driving hoping to find a travel companion. Usually you split the gas money, sometimes the driving. You can also post where you are and where and when you want to go hoping somebody will contact you with a ride offer. A big thing for backpackers in Australia is buying a used campervan and driving it all over the country, with the east coast being especially popular. On gumtree I found one such person that was headed from Melbourne north to Brisbane. I replied to his ad and we met up for a beer to make sure the other person was not a whackjob and that we would get along well enough. Apparently we satisfied each other's standards and we were set to leave in a couple days. Tobi, 20, is German with long blonde hair and is partial to bad slow speed metal, what sounds like Blink 182 covers and semi-Western or country covers of songs that I like. He listens to some decent music but what I will remember is listening to what could have been Slip Knot's rendition of Suite Judy Blue Eyes. He bought the van with money he earned planting trees near Cairns and various other jobs scattered around the east coast. He is a slightly strange character but nothing too off putting. His Facebook profile picture is him holding a bow and arrow that he made. He will not initiate conversation with women and once there is conversation he speaks but get overly touchy. He was completely foreign to the idea that if I am speaking with a girl and her friend is otherwise unengaged that he may consider speaking with her. No doubt this hesitation is related to his issue initiating conversation. Also, he owns and periodically wears a cape. Seriously. No, he is not Frank Costanza's lawyer.
He is a good guy though and to be honest I was lucky that he took me on this trip. He brought much more to the table than I did. It was his van, he drove the entire time, his all-important and useful map. He had pots and pans and two stoves for cooking, a extra sleeping bag, He only benefitted from me by splitting the cost of fuel, some company, and my outstanding social skills (everything is relative). He was a pretty decent cook and a driver and I have only a couple complaints about the entire 1981 kilometer (1238 mile) trip.
There was a German girl, Anna, that I surfed with in Melbourne that needed a ride up to Sydney so she joined us part of the way. The campervan only has two seats and two seat belts so at all times when in the van either Anna or myself was on the bed in back and everybody was hoping the police did not notice. They never did and we did not have any trouble.
I do not recall most of the towns we stopped in but I do remember some good times. We went swimming in the South Pacific Ocean in the middle of winter. The water was cold and the shower just off the beach was even colder. Tobi taking up two-thirds of the bed while Anna and I shared the remaining third or, when Anna left, me having to wake Tobi up to ask him to move over. We ate home-made German bread made over a fire. I turned a meat-eating German on to hummos. We made nearly random ingredients into some tastey food. Plenty of beautiful scenary.
He is a good guy though and to be honest I was lucky that he took me on this trip. He brought much more to the table than I did. It was his van, he drove the entire time, his all-important and useful map. He had pots and pans and two stoves for cooking, a extra sleeping bag, He only benefitted from me by splitting the cost of fuel, some company, and my outstanding social skills (everything is relative). He was a pretty decent cook and a driver and I have only a couple complaints about the entire 1981 kilometer (1238 mile) trip.
There was a German girl, Anna, that I surfed with in Melbourne that needed a ride up to Sydney so she joined us part of the way. The campervan only has two seats and two seat belts so at all times when in the van either Anna or myself was on the bed in back and everybody was hoping the police did not notice. They never did and we did not have any trouble.
I do not recall most of the towns we stopped in but I do remember some good times. We went swimming in the South Pacific Ocean in the middle of winter. The water was cold and the shower just off the beach was even colder. Tobi taking up two-thirds of the bed while Anna and I shared the remaining third or, when Anna left, me having to wake Tobi up to ask him to move over. We ate home-made German bread made over a fire. I turned a meat-eating German on to hummos. We made nearly random ingredients into some tastey food. Plenty of beautiful scenary.
Melbourne, Australia
After Tioman I spent a night in Kuala Lumpur but I did basically nothing so I am nnot going to spend a post on it.
On the way to the KL airport I re-met an English guy that I had originally met in KL. He was supposed to be travelling for a pretty long time but had to cut his trip short because he broke his leg and decided it would be a better idea to let it heal at home. He had planned on going to Australia but since he no longer was and I was about to get on a plane going there he gave me his Australia Lonely Planet, which is nice to have and has a retail value of US$30 and often actually cost more to buy on the road. While waiting in line to check in on my first Air Asia flight I met a Aussie guy on the same flight. He had just flown in to KL from London, making is travel path London-KL-Melbourne, which is a long couple of flights. We started talking a bit and ended up sharing a cab from the Melbourne airport to where I was staying and where he lives as they are about four block from each other. We were supposed to met up to go to a "footie" match but it did not work out.
I am getting ahead of myself. Air Asia is a low cost airline. I had to pay an extra US$20 for the weight of my big bag because its weight is above the standard permit weight of zero. My boarding ticket was printed on the same paper that a receipt from your grocery store is printed on. The seat wide enough to accommodate me but not much more. There is food and drink available the cost of which is not included in the fare. Not even water. I heard the toilets used to be paid as well but was reversed. The flight cost less than US$200.
Melbourne has a cool atmosphere about it. The people are relaxed and fitness crazed. Never in my life have a seen more people running or biking outside of a race and they were just on their way home from work. It seemed as if everybody opts to not take the famous tram home in favor of a little exercise. It was a drastic change from Asia were it seems almost nobody ever exercises. Another change was the weather. What are the summer months in Chicago are the winter months in Australia, though an Aussie winter is distinctly not a Chicago winter. I enjoyed getting out of the sun for a bit and the cool air. It felt good to need to wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt for reasons other than protecting myself from branches and bugs.
The city is a nice place to walk around and explore. The esplanade is pleasent (and a favorite place for the runners and bicyclists, of course) though the views are less than spectacular. Melbourne is known for its culture more so than Sydney. The only museum I went into had no theme that I could pick up but the section I visited was free and seemed to have to do with light. It sounds weird and I cannot describe it well but it was really cool. (The paid portion of the museum had a Tim Burton exhibit going on that looked really cool but was too expensive.) There were a bunch of different set-ups including a circular room with cameras all around that allowed you to make a short Matrix-bullet-time video. There was also a screen that captured peoples' shadows and automatically recognized shapes and assigned them sounds and sometimes rounded out the shadow image. For example, if you made a bird shadow with your hands there would be a bird noise. If you made a circle it would often assume it was supposed to be an eye and put a pupil in the middle. It was really cool and would be interested in learning how it works.
I was couch surfing once again in Melbourne with three 21-year-old Aussies. Most of the accommodation in Asia (except for Japan) cost between US$3-6 a night, the low being about 50 cents (Pingyao, China) and the high being probably US$8 in various places. Sometimes those are dorms other times they are private rooms. A night in an Australian hostel (which are called backpackers here) generally costs AU$20+ (US$17+) for a dorm. I like couch surfing for a variety of reasons but the savings is much more important when it is saving you $20 instead of $4. The hosts' place was not quite as nice as where I last surfed in Singapore. The three bedrooms were occupied by the hosts and the surfers all slept in what was basically the living room on some padding on the ground or the couchess. During my week in Melbourne the most people that surfed on a single night was nine and the minimum was three. The door is never locked. There are two half washroom. The walls of one with the shower are cover with mold from shoulder-height up. The one with the toilet is outside (meaning you have to go outside to access it) and does not have a functioning light. As you would probably guess, the Italian family that lives next door is not fond of them. The hosts are Liam, Tom, and (Fat) Tom. Liam is an apprentice carpenter, Tom is prodigy with computers and a student, Fat Tom is almost 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall, wide, though not fat, bartender that, in addition to wearing almost all black, has a number of piercings, can never drive because is an epileptic and has a benin tumor. Fat Tom and I got along well.
While walking around one day I say somebody I recognized from Chicago, a former co-worker. The firm I worked for does an exhange thing with firms in Australia and as the Australian financial year was due to end in a few days, he was there for the impending busy season. Given that he was working at the time we could not catch up much and because I was leaving Melbourne in a couple days we did not have a chance to meet up. It was funny coincidence but I guess it should not be all that surprising.
I thuroughly enjoyed Melbourne, more so than expected in fact. It seemed to be kind of an Australian version of Chicago though there are some difference aside from the accent. I hope to go back for a few more days before leaving Oz (short for Australia) and get to know the city a bit more. And to make another Matrix video.
On the way to the KL airport I re-met an English guy that I had originally met in KL. He was supposed to be travelling for a pretty long time but had to cut his trip short because he broke his leg and decided it would be a better idea to let it heal at home. He had planned on going to Australia but since he no longer was and I was about to get on a plane going there he gave me his Australia Lonely Planet, which is nice to have and has a retail value of US$30 and often actually cost more to buy on the road. While waiting in line to check in on my first Air Asia flight I met a Aussie guy on the same flight. He had just flown in to KL from London, making is travel path London-KL-Melbourne, which is a long couple of flights. We started talking a bit and ended up sharing a cab from the Melbourne airport to where I was staying and where he lives as they are about four block from each other. We were supposed to met up to go to a "footie" match but it did not work out.
I am getting ahead of myself. Air Asia is a low cost airline. I had to pay an extra US$20 for the weight of my big bag because its weight is above the standard permit weight of zero. My boarding ticket was printed on the same paper that a receipt from your grocery store is printed on. The seat wide enough to accommodate me but not much more. There is food and drink available the cost of which is not included in the fare. Not even water. I heard the toilets used to be paid as well but was reversed. The flight cost less than US$200.
Melbourne has a cool atmosphere about it. The people are relaxed and fitness crazed. Never in my life have a seen more people running or biking outside of a race and they were just on their way home from work. It seemed as if everybody opts to not take the famous tram home in favor of a little exercise. It was a drastic change from Asia were it seems almost nobody ever exercises. Another change was the weather. What are the summer months in Chicago are the winter months in Australia, though an Aussie winter is distinctly not a Chicago winter. I enjoyed getting out of the sun for a bit and the cool air. It felt good to need to wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt for reasons other than protecting myself from branches and bugs.
The city is a nice place to walk around and explore. The esplanade is pleasent (and a favorite place for the runners and bicyclists, of course) though the views are less than spectacular. Melbourne is known for its culture more so than Sydney. The only museum I went into had no theme that I could pick up but the section I visited was free and seemed to have to do with light. It sounds weird and I cannot describe it well but it was really cool. (The paid portion of the museum had a Tim Burton exhibit going on that looked really cool but was too expensive.) There were a bunch of different set-ups including a circular room with cameras all around that allowed you to make a short Matrix-bullet-time video. There was also a screen that captured peoples' shadows and automatically recognized shapes and assigned them sounds and sometimes rounded out the shadow image. For example, if you made a bird shadow with your hands there would be a bird noise. If you made a circle it would often assume it was supposed to be an eye and put a pupil in the middle. It was really cool and would be interested in learning how it works.
I was couch surfing once again in Melbourne with three 21-year-old Aussies. Most of the accommodation in Asia (except for Japan) cost between US$3-6 a night, the low being about 50 cents (Pingyao, China) and the high being probably US$8 in various places. Sometimes those are dorms other times they are private rooms. A night in an Australian hostel (which are called backpackers here) generally costs AU$20+ (US$17+) for a dorm. I like couch surfing for a variety of reasons but the savings is much more important when it is saving you $20 instead of $4. The hosts' place was not quite as nice as where I last surfed in Singapore. The three bedrooms were occupied by the hosts and the surfers all slept in what was basically the living room on some padding on the ground or the couchess. During my week in Melbourne the most people that surfed on a single night was nine and the minimum was three. The door is never locked. There are two half washroom. The walls of one with the shower are cover with mold from shoulder-height up. The one with the toilet is outside (meaning you have to go outside to access it) and does not have a functioning light. As you would probably guess, the Italian family that lives next door is not fond of them. The hosts are Liam, Tom, and (Fat) Tom. Liam is an apprentice carpenter, Tom is prodigy with computers and a student, Fat Tom is almost 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall, wide, though not fat, bartender that, in addition to wearing almost all black, has a number of piercings, can never drive because is an epileptic and has a benin tumor. Fat Tom and I got along well.
While walking around one day I say somebody I recognized from Chicago, a former co-worker. The firm I worked for does an exhange thing with firms in Australia and as the Australian financial year was due to end in a few days, he was there for the impending busy season. Given that he was working at the time we could not catch up much and because I was leaving Melbourne in a couple days we did not have a chance to meet up. It was funny coincidence but I guess it should not be all that surprising.
I thuroughly enjoyed Melbourne, more so than expected in fact. It seemed to be kind of an Australian version of Chicago though there are some difference aside from the accent. I hope to go back for a few more days before leaving Oz (short for Australia) and get to know the city a bit more. And to make another Matrix video.
Tioman, Malaysia
Tioman was one of the places I was considering staying for a month if it struck me right. I had the same idea for the Perhentian Islands in the north east of peninsular Malaysia but it was not right. I had decided that if I could find a simple job or a way to over my living costs (aside from diving) but allow me time to dive I would stay a month but if not I would stay a bit and move on. I ended up not finding such a job but still spending about two weeks there. I met a bunch of cool people, completed my Advanced Open Water diving certification, and enjoyed duty free alcohol.
The Advanced course usually takes three days but because of the diving schedule and my feeling ill it took me nearly a week. This is fine as it provided me a free dive and the slower pace allowed me to enjoy the night life and World Cup more fully.
Other than the diving Tioman has some good hiking and I took advantage. The best route was across the waist of the island to its west side to a town called Juara, which is far less visited, quieter, and has amazing beaches. The first beach I saw on the west side was was the southern-most beach in the area and completely empty as far as the eye could see when I got there. Over the 30 minutes that I was there I saw maybe five other people all as disappointed to see me as I was to see them. I went swimming and at my US$0.60 lunch on top a rock overlooking the ocean. Then I walked as far north as I could passing over rocks and swimming around them. The beaches at the north were not as nice because this is where the jetty is located and the water has a rainbowy tint from the oil. I decided to eat again for no reasons other than I had not eaten on this side of the island and was craving beef for some reason.
The walk to Juara takes a few hours. I could have easily walked back through the jungle as I did when I got there and started off doing so but then decided to take part in a Tioman tradition: hitchhiking. While it is technically hitchhiking it kind of is not here because everybody picks everybody up without asking anything more than, "Where are you going?" The police routinely pick people up. It is just understood here that you pick anybody up that you can when you can. (In the end, this was one of my favorite parts of Tioman. It is just so simple and funny and perfect.) After about 30 seconds of walking I saw a pick-up truck full of people and food in the back. They stopped for me and I jumped in.
The truck has a Malaysian driver and nine people from Saudi Arabia and the conversation was priceless. I cannot transcribe most of it here. The four girls were sitting inside the cabin and the five guys were in the truck bed with me. In the back was also four cases of beer, countless bottles of hard alcohol (remember all alcohol is duty free), and some food. They were just at Juara but left because it was too quiet (which meant too few people to drink with and too few women specifically) and were asking me where to find both things. I directed them to the beach I was staying and they were interested but you cannot get there by car so they had a situation. It worked out for them but I made it back to my place seperate from them because I could walk there while they could not.
While Tioman would not have been the worst place to spend a month as I was hoping to do, it was not right for me. I had already done most of the above water acitivities and the below water activities alone were not enough to keep me there for the full month. Still, I did spend longer than I intended to stay once I decided I was not staying the month but this is partially to do with the flights I found to my next destination.
The Advanced course usually takes three days but because of the diving schedule and my feeling ill it took me nearly a week. This is fine as it provided me a free dive and the slower pace allowed me to enjoy the night life and World Cup more fully.
Other than the diving Tioman has some good hiking and I took advantage. The best route was across the waist of the island to its west side to a town called Juara, which is far less visited, quieter, and has amazing beaches. The first beach I saw on the west side was was the southern-most beach in the area and completely empty as far as the eye could see when I got there. Over the 30 minutes that I was there I saw maybe five other people all as disappointed to see me as I was to see them. I went swimming and at my US$0.60 lunch on top a rock overlooking the ocean. Then I walked as far north as I could passing over rocks and swimming around them. The beaches at the north were not as nice because this is where the jetty is located and the water has a rainbowy tint from the oil. I decided to eat again for no reasons other than I had not eaten on this side of the island and was craving beef for some reason.
The walk to Juara takes a few hours. I could have easily walked back through the jungle as I did when I got there and started off doing so but then decided to take part in a Tioman tradition: hitchhiking. While it is technically hitchhiking it kind of is not here because everybody picks everybody up without asking anything more than, "Where are you going?" The police routinely pick people up. It is just understood here that you pick anybody up that you can when you can. (In the end, this was one of my favorite parts of Tioman. It is just so simple and funny and perfect.) After about 30 seconds of walking I saw a pick-up truck full of people and food in the back. They stopped for me and I jumped in.
The truck has a Malaysian driver and nine people from Saudi Arabia and the conversation was priceless. I cannot transcribe most of it here. The four girls were sitting inside the cabin and the five guys were in the truck bed with me. In the back was also four cases of beer, countless bottles of hard alcohol (remember all alcohol is duty free), and some food. They were just at Juara but left because it was too quiet (which meant too few people to drink with and too few women specifically) and were asking me where to find both things. I directed them to the beach I was staying and they were interested but you cannot get there by car so they had a situation. It worked out for them but I made it back to my place seperate from them because I could walk there while they could not.
While Tioman would not have been the worst place to spend a month as I was hoping to do, it was not right for me. I had already done most of the above water acitivities and the below water activities alone were not enough to keep me there for the full month. Still, I did spend longer than I intended to stay once I decided I was not staying the month but this is partially to do with the flights I found to my next destination.
Singapore, Singapore
Shaun and I were once again couch surfing, this time in Singapore. Our host, Kuni, was a Japanese expat who has also lived in India and Malaysia and has hosted some 300 surfers in total. We had only requested to stay two nights but realized the the first USA World Cup game would take place right after we were scheduled to leave and we thought it would be cool to see the US play England in Singapore so we asked to stay a third night straight away. He said we could so that was set up.
Getting to Singapore was easy but we assumed the transport would be late as it always is in Malaysia but it was right on time so we had about four hours to kill before Kuni could let us in when he got home from work. We figured McDonalds would be a good bet because we could sit there for as long as we wanted without being bothered and could use the free wifi that every McDonalds in Malaysia has. In Singapore, however, there was no free wifi for us. We ended up sitting at McDonalds the entire time reading and talking, which was OK but it would have been nice to get some stuff done online during that time.
Kuni's place is a studio apartment in an amazing complex. There is an olympic size swimming pool, a workout facility, a bowling alley, and more. The apartment itself is nice but small considering the six surfers he had there. Everybody was pretty cool. I got along with a couple German girls pretty well and Shaun hit it off with a Dane. I was interested in going to the world famous Singapore Zoo and Shaun was not so we split way for our first day in Singapore not spent in McDonalds. Shaun walked around the city and the German girls and myself headed to the zoo. The zoo was pretty sweet and while it was a bit pricey it was worth it. I enjoy zoos and would recommend it to people that do but if not it would probably not be a good time.
We ended up not seeing the USA-England game because nobody was interested in going out to see it partially because we had gone out the previous night to see the opening day's games. The bar we ended up at was filled with French people who ended up being devestated when they tied an "inferior" opponent. It was fun and especially fun because all the French were unhappy and because the Dane that Shaun befriended was very drunk and buying everybody drinks.
I decided that I had not seen enough of Singapore so kindly asked Kuni if I could stay a fourth night. It would only be me, though, because Shaun was headed to KL to catch a flight to Bali. So, Shaun and I parted ways. It was nice to hang out with somebody from home for a bit even though it was brief. It had been a long time since I had seen anybody that I had known for longer than a month and other than my time in Yangshuo it had also been a long time since I had seen anybody that I had known longer than a week. It also gave me a taste of travelling in a pair instead of alone. The dynamics are different and there are pros and cons with both and both are acceptable to me. Regardless, Shaun was headed to Bali and I had another day in Singapore.
I decided I could not resist the touristy yet ever-tempting Sentosa island. It is an island just south of the island of Singapore. It is not big but is, as far as I can tell, an island-wide series of theme parks and hotels. Think Orlando without the people that actually live in Orlando. (That is a poor description but the best I can come up with at the moment.) I went with one of the other surfers and it was actually a pretty nice place just to walk around. There are a ton of toursits (virtually everybody) but the views are nice. We were going primarily to do the Sentosa Luge. It is not a real luge at all but is still fun. You sit in what is what I called a Big Wheel when I was a kid expect it is a little more sturdy and has a break. It is basically a tricycle that does not require peddling that sits really low to the groung and is more horizontal with a break. (Again a poor description.) You get one go for S$14, three for S$21, or five for S$27 (about US$10, 15, 20, respectively). We both decided to go for three in part because it was a good value, in part because there are two routes down allowing us to try both and then do the one we liked more again, and it part because, in truth, we did not know if we were going to like it enough to want to invest in doing five. Well, it was good fun, though overpriced and too short of a ride. That said, I was glad I did it and if I could go back I would do it again. We also walked around the island a bit. There is a lot to do there but everything is expensive. We ended up playing ultimate disc with some people on the beach. Only myself and one other guy had any clue how to play. It was still fun and reminded me a bit of home.
With its vast array of cultures and people Singapore was a really interesting place and would be a good place to live abroad if you do not know a language other than English. You would be left out of some stuff but could easily get around and basically still do anything. I enjoyed my time there a great deal.
Getting to Singapore was easy but we assumed the transport would be late as it always is in Malaysia but it was right on time so we had about four hours to kill before Kuni could let us in when he got home from work. We figured McDonalds would be a good bet because we could sit there for as long as we wanted without being bothered and could use the free wifi that every McDonalds in Malaysia has. In Singapore, however, there was no free wifi for us. We ended up sitting at McDonalds the entire time reading and talking, which was OK but it would have been nice to get some stuff done online during that time.
Kuni's place is a studio apartment in an amazing complex. There is an olympic size swimming pool, a workout facility, a bowling alley, and more. The apartment itself is nice but small considering the six surfers he had there. Everybody was pretty cool. I got along with a couple German girls pretty well and Shaun hit it off with a Dane. I was interested in going to the world famous Singapore Zoo and Shaun was not so we split way for our first day in Singapore not spent in McDonalds. Shaun walked around the city and the German girls and myself headed to the zoo. The zoo was pretty sweet and while it was a bit pricey it was worth it. I enjoy zoos and would recommend it to people that do but if not it would probably not be a good time.
We ended up not seeing the USA-England game because nobody was interested in going out to see it partially because we had gone out the previous night to see the opening day's games. The bar we ended up at was filled with French people who ended up being devestated when they tied an "inferior" opponent. It was fun and especially fun because all the French were unhappy and because the Dane that Shaun befriended was very drunk and buying everybody drinks.
I decided that I had not seen enough of Singapore so kindly asked Kuni if I could stay a fourth night. It would only be me, though, because Shaun was headed to KL to catch a flight to Bali. So, Shaun and I parted ways. It was nice to hang out with somebody from home for a bit even though it was brief. It had been a long time since I had seen anybody that I had known for longer than a month and other than my time in Yangshuo it had also been a long time since I had seen anybody that I had known longer than a week. It also gave me a taste of travelling in a pair instead of alone. The dynamics are different and there are pros and cons with both and both are acceptable to me. Regardless, Shaun was headed to Bali and I had another day in Singapore.
I decided I could not resist the touristy yet ever-tempting Sentosa island. It is an island just south of the island of Singapore. It is not big but is, as far as I can tell, an island-wide series of theme parks and hotels. Think Orlando without the people that actually live in Orlando. (That is a poor description but the best I can come up with at the moment.) I went with one of the other surfers and it was actually a pretty nice place just to walk around. There are a ton of toursits (virtually everybody) but the views are nice. We were going primarily to do the Sentosa Luge. It is not a real luge at all but is still fun. You sit in what is what I called a Big Wheel when I was a kid expect it is a little more sturdy and has a break. It is basically a tricycle that does not require peddling that sits really low to the groung and is more horizontal with a break. (Again a poor description.) You get one go for S$14, three for S$21, or five for S$27 (about US$10, 15, 20, respectively). We both decided to go for three in part because it was a good value, in part because there are two routes down allowing us to try both and then do the one we liked more again, and it part because, in truth, we did not know if we were going to like it enough to want to invest in doing five. Well, it was good fun, though overpriced and too short of a ride. That said, I was glad I did it and if I could go back I would do it again. We also walked around the island a bit. There is a lot to do there but everything is expensive. We ended up playing ultimate disc with some people on the beach. Only myself and one other guy had any clue how to play. It was still fun and reminded me a bit of home.
With its vast array of cultures and people Singapore was a really interesting place and would be a good place to live abroad if you do not know a language other than English. You would be left out of some stuff but could easily get around and basically still do anything. I enjoyed my time there a great deal.
Melacca, Malaysia
With fewer days spent in Terengganu and Kuantan than planned, we had a few extra in Melacca, which is spelled Melaka in Malay and I will use both spellings in this post because I often type one when I meant to type the other. I was fine with this because I had heard nothing but good things about the town and had travelled with somebody in Vietnam for a bit that had volunteered there for more than three months, absolutely loved the place, and was sure I would too. I do not know if I loved it but I certainly enjoyed my time there and was happy to have the extra time. Though it is the second biggest city in Malaysia, Melacca does not have a city feel. It feels more like a small town with a few malls set among a winding river. The malls are the downside to the town. There were more than I cared to keep track of but they provided a nice refuge from the heat and free wifi, and we took full advantage of both.
Melaka is a pretty chill place. Like its big brother, Kuala Lumpor, there is not a lot to do but the joy of the town is just walking around exploring the different neighborhoods and the local food of each. Most of the sites (Stadthuys, Christ Church, and Jonker Street) are in one central area so the obligatory pictures are largely out of the way within a couple hours. A river sprawls through town but the water is not nice and the riverside is not as built up as you would guess. It is still nice to walk along for a bit but the dirtiness of the water gets old and the rundown buildings that line most of its length gets old too. There are plenty of museums but we did not visit any, just some more pictures of the buildings from the outside. The Dutch influence on the city is pretty obvious even though I have never been to Holland. The architecture is decidedly less Asian/Malaysian.
Not far from the central part of town is what is called the "Portuguese Settlement." I am not sure how many actual Portuguese are in this settlement but I understand that the people that live here are the descendants of the Portuguese that conquered Melacca in 1511 reside. The area did have a different feel and it seemed richer, not necessarily Portuguese, though there was an increased presence of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Either way, the thing to do is to go for dinner, which we planned on doing, except the walk there was shorter than we expect and none of us (Shaun and I were walking with a friend we made at the hostel) were especially hungry so we explored the residential area. This is primarily where this area felt different than the rest of Melaka. The food was good but the most expensive we had had in a long time (about US$7 for a lot of fish and seafood and rice).
One day Shaun and I decided to summit this not-too-high but wide hill. As we went up we realized that it was a cemetery. It was not too densely populated (I doubt "populated" is the right word considering the circumstances but I do not know what is) and was clearly designed for people to walk around and spend some time. The top was a decently sized flat area that made for some more nice pictures. There we spotted a temple that we wanted to visit. We got the general direction and started to descend. After not too much effort we reached the temple. It was very unclear whether tourists were allowed in but we decided to take our shoes off and go in anyway figuring we would just be asked to leave if we were not welcome and would not offend anybody too seriously either way. We barely got ten steps in when, using hand gestures, we were invited to eat with them. One guy spoke good English and confirmed that we wanted to eat. I had just eaten and was not hungry but there was no way I was passing this opportunity. Quickly a banana leaf was placed in front of us (a pseudo-plate) and then a enormous pile of plain rice followed by a couple spoonfuls of different curries. I made sure to tell Shaun not to use his left hand as that is used for other, less hygienic purposes, but that we were supposed to eat with our right hands. Somebody gave up a spoon and fork but we wanted to eat how everybody else was so continued eating with our hands. The food was excellent and the experience was even better. With every bite we took we were offered more and, every time, respectfully declined. A couple of times somebody would give us a new item; not more of what we had and we had no choice but to accept. A couple of girls kept staring and laughing at us. Part of the laughter was no doubt that a couple of Westerners were eating with their hands and clearly had no idea what they were doing but I think they were doing a bit of flirting. After about half the food was gone they gave us another item, this one in a cup, explaining that it was sweet. It did not look very good but I tried it anyway. It was gross. Though at least theoretically a liquid it would not pour out of the cup into my mouth the way liquids do and once in my mouth I felt it was necessary to chew. I told Shaun, who had not tried it yet, that it was terrible and that he should consume it gradually with his food so that he can chase it with food. He declined. I powered through this mystery cup substance and was proud of myself for it. When he was done with his food Shaun finally tried it and agreed that it was not good but he had a plan.
We were finished with our food and after turning down additional offering for me we said thank you. To the guy that spoke good English Shaun asked what the stuff in the cup was called (neither of us remember what he said) as if he was really enjoying it and wanted to be able to get more in the future. We thanked everybody again and parted ways. Once out of the vicinity of the temple he disposed of the cup and what it was that was inside without more than a small taste.
I really liked Melacca a lot and is easily preferable to me over KL.
Melaka is a pretty chill place. Like its big brother, Kuala Lumpor, there is not a lot to do but the joy of the town is just walking around exploring the different neighborhoods and the local food of each. Most of the sites (Stadthuys, Christ Church, and Jonker Street) are in one central area so the obligatory pictures are largely out of the way within a couple hours. A river sprawls through town but the water is not nice and the riverside is not as built up as you would guess. It is still nice to walk along for a bit but the dirtiness of the water gets old and the rundown buildings that line most of its length gets old too. There are plenty of museums but we did not visit any, just some more pictures of the buildings from the outside. The Dutch influence on the city is pretty obvious even though I have never been to Holland. The architecture is decidedly less Asian/Malaysian.
Not far from the central part of town is what is called the "Portuguese Settlement." I am not sure how many actual Portuguese are in this settlement but I understand that the people that live here are the descendants of the Portuguese that conquered Melacca in 1511 reside. The area did have a different feel and it seemed richer, not necessarily Portuguese, though there was an increased presence of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Either way, the thing to do is to go for dinner, which we planned on doing, except the walk there was shorter than we expect and none of us (Shaun and I were walking with a friend we made at the hostel) were especially hungry so we explored the residential area. This is primarily where this area felt different than the rest of Melaka. The food was good but the most expensive we had had in a long time (about US$7 for a lot of fish and seafood and rice).
One day Shaun and I decided to summit this not-too-high but wide hill. As we went up we realized that it was a cemetery. It was not too densely populated (I doubt "populated" is the right word considering the circumstances but I do not know what is) and was clearly designed for people to walk around and spend some time. The top was a decently sized flat area that made for some more nice pictures. There we spotted a temple that we wanted to visit. We got the general direction and started to descend. After not too much effort we reached the temple. It was very unclear whether tourists were allowed in but we decided to take our shoes off and go in anyway figuring we would just be asked to leave if we were not welcome and would not offend anybody too seriously either way. We barely got ten steps in when, using hand gestures, we were invited to eat with them. One guy spoke good English and confirmed that we wanted to eat. I had just eaten and was not hungry but there was no way I was passing this opportunity. Quickly a banana leaf was placed in front of us (a pseudo-plate) and then a enormous pile of plain rice followed by a couple spoonfuls of different curries. I made sure to tell Shaun not to use his left hand as that is used for other, less hygienic purposes, but that we were supposed to eat with our right hands. Somebody gave up a spoon and fork but we wanted to eat how everybody else was so continued eating with our hands. The food was excellent and the experience was even better. With every bite we took we were offered more and, every time, respectfully declined. A couple of times somebody would give us a new item; not more of what we had and we had no choice but to accept. A couple of girls kept staring and laughing at us. Part of the laughter was no doubt that a couple of Westerners were eating with their hands and clearly had no idea what they were doing but I think they were doing a bit of flirting. After about half the food was gone they gave us another item, this one in a cup, explaining that it was sweet. It did not look very good but I tried it anyway. It was gross. Though at least theoretically a liquid it would not pour out of the cup into my mouth the way liquids do and once in my mouth I felt it was necessary to chew. I told Shaun, who had not tried it yet, that it was terrible and that he should consume it gradually with his food so that he can chase it with food. He declined. I powered through this mystery cup substance and was proud of myself for it. When he was done with his food Shaun finally tried it and agreed that it was not good but he had a plan.
We were finished with our food and after turning down additional offering for me we said thank you. To the guy that spoke good English Shaun asked what the stuff in the cup was called (neither of us remember what he said) as if he was really enjoying it and wanted to be able to get more in the future. We thanked everybody again and parted ways. Once out of the vicinity of the temple he disposed of the cup and what it was that was inside without more than a small taste.
I really liked Melacca a lot and is easily preferable to me over KL.
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