5 March 2010
Home. Sweet home?
Hello all.
I've been home now for couple of days and I'm suffering from the winter weather of Finland which is (and most definitely has been) quite phenomenal what comes to temperatures and the amount of snow. Well, just give me a week to adjust my system to the finnish position again.
I told my top 3 for Africa was Serengeti, Victoria falls and South Luangwa National park.
On South-East Asian part I would rate Laos (absolutely the most relaxed way of things ever..), Krabi (totally recommend rock climbing) and Bunaken (under water world is quite amazing) to be the best of the best.
I uploaded some new pictures from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
28 February 2010
Last night - coming home...
Last night in Bangkok after couple of days of excessive shopping. Traffic, amount of people, shopping malls - all beyond of Finnish scale (=small).
Last week has been quite hard physically with the climbing, traveling and, of course, walking in the endless shopping malls. So, I think it is good time to come home and have a couple of days of rest before starting the official training season.
Although the forecast is not as warm in Finland as I would like it to be, I hope that summer will find its way to Finland also as my summer collection for 2010 is spectacular.
Well, then a little bit of summarizing:
overall this has been a great trip with highlights that I will remember the rest of my life - some unbelievable sights and great new friendships. It has also offered a chance to learn about/from other cultures, other travelers, many obstacles and new skills which will come in handy in the future. More profound evaluation of the trip plus plenty more of photos coming up as I get back to Jyvaskyla.
Thanks for everyone who have been reading the blog - I'll tell you more, when I see you next time.
Over and out from Bangkok.
19 February 2010
Greetings from Ton Sai beach
Last couple of days have been about rock climbing and I have to say that once you get the idea, it is a lot of fun - and also good exercise. Ton Sai and Railay West/East and Pranang beaches are just a short boatride out of Krabi, Ton Sai is basically the climbers beach as the the rest serve more of a typical sun lover kind of tourism. The atmosphere is relaxed and nice - nothing like the overcrowded and very expensive Phuket. I can recommend this - accomodation goes from 0 to 5 star and activities are easy to find and book, price level is reasonable and food is good. Today I hiked to the view point and lagoon at the southern end of the Krabi - guidebook said that viewpoint can be reached by anyone but to get to the lagoon you would have to be spidermans' nephew. Well, I did not quite believe that, but now I can say that easy it was not. I don't blame the people turning back because if you don't feel fit enough to do some rock climbing and rope hanging, then it is not possible to get to the lagoon. After struggling my way there I was kind of disappointed of the goal though. Not as dreamy as I expected, but a good workout again..
Tomorrow back with actual climbing and after that I'll decide whether I extend the course by couple of days to learn some more advanced stuff.
Less than two weeks to go - time flies.
One medal in the Olympics?! Hopefully the upcoming days bring more light to the finnish winter sports.
14 February 2010
Year of the Tiger
Cong Xi Fa Cai from Malacca.
I took a bus from Singapore to Malacca couple of days ago. The Chinese new year started basically at that same moment as I got here - as I was getting a ticket this kind of revealed to me since I was able to get the last seat out of the 17 buses going to Malacca that day.
Well then I was waiting for a local bus at Melaka Sentral and met this guy who was a visiting vet here at the Malacca zoo. He introduced me to a couple of people here and one of them (thanks to Jeffrey, Susan and especially to Pang and her family) took me to spend a Chinese new year with her family.
So last night I was celebrating the new year with 50-60 members of a Chinese family. We fins don't really have this kind of reunions in our culture - well, maybe Christmas in some parts is comparable to this. Anyway, I had a good time and I'll definately remember celebrating new year in the middle of February while the temperature at the night time is still around +30.
Yes, it is insanely hot here - +35 in shadow, so sweating is very much the deal.
Two days here and then I'm of to Thailand.
4 February 2010
Surfing at Padang padang
Hello from Bali - I have been trying to learn to surf for the last five days but it is not so easy... And the sun sun is absolutely something out of this world here; SPF 50 was like paper, white men need to get the zinc paste or burn. I did both. First the burning and then the zinc. Well, I've catched a couple of waves and I even have some proof, thanks to photographer here in the surf camp. Surf camp itself has probably the best facilities I have visited in SouthEastAsia - the management, however, is a little bit of a questionmark. Some white lies here and there plus some inconsistency in the service that makes a scandinavian think whether everything is ok or not.
Other thing that bothers me is the price level which is getting higher and really fast - two years ago I felt that Indonesia was really cheap, I won't say that anymore.
Tomorrow we are planning to do a little drive to north at Ubud and see some countryside. On sunday morning me and my burned calves continue to Singapore for some city living.
26 January 2010
Hello from Bunaken island
So, so, so..
After spending a couple of nights at the friendly and helpful Red Palm at KL, I took the flight to Manado and loaded myself to a boat which brought me to the island of Bunaken.
After refreshing my scuba skills by doing a couple of dives I also took the PADI advanced open water diver -course which included deep diving, night diving, wreck diving, navigation under water and buoyancy control skills. Good course overall if you want to improve your skills as a diver - makes things a lot more easy in the long run.
Being here is basically just diving, eating, sleeping and chatting with other divers - only annoyancies are mosquitoes and occasional rain falls. So, not so much to worry.
We heard that Manado suffered from heavy rains and because of that there have been flooding and mud slides that killed 8 people. However, here at the island it is business as usual.
I'm staying here until sunday and after that I'll take the plane to Denpasar (Bali) to study some surfing.
19 January 2010
From Vientiane back to KL
Ok, my time is Laos is over and I have to say that it was too short. Laos is absolutely worth more than a 6 days visit. Next time I'll do the extended version..
Something about Vientiane:
Major sights in the city (Allow some inaccuracy about spelling..): That Luang, Patoxay, Vat Sisaket, Hor Prakeo, Presidential palace and National museum can easily be visited in one day even by foot, although a bicycle or tuktuk might be good options too. I stayed at Malinamphu guesthouse so I took a tuktuk to That Luang which was about 6km away. You only feel alive when you enter the trafic from the back of a tuktuk. I don't know if I can especially recommend any of these to you (you'll do it all anyway if you come to Vientiane); the thing is that I just don't get major kicks out of these temples or museums unless there is something spectacular. Well I have gotten this little thing towards photography, though. And there have been many good opportunities to practise that. So win lose situation, not the best, not the worst.
Nice place to have dinner is just in the Namphu corner - place called Khop Chai Deu offers a good menu and service at reasonable price unlike some restaurants around the Namphu fountain.
16 January 2010
Luang Prabang - quick overview
City is small and nice, price level is good and the area has a good vibe overall. Two most popular sights are Kuang Si waterfall (26km out by road, 1hour drive, around 100000K for ride and ticket) and Pak Ou cave (1,5h by boat on Mekong, around 70000K for boat and ticket) which are both crowded all day long. However, my recommendation would be to go to the watterfall with lunch\dinner set in your bag and wait for a more peacefull time to enjoy the falls and great blue water in peace - you can also use the rope to swing you in one of the natural swimming pools if you want some action. Pak Ou caves you can skip if you have seen one religious cave somewhere else - that spectacular it is not. Additionally here you find more people wanting your money than anywhere else in Laos so far. If you decide to go anyway, take warm clothing for the boatride, some snacks, sunlotion and a torch for the upper cave if you don't want to be forced to make a donation to get one within the entrance.
What else? Night market is nice and the products there seem to have more quality than their cousins in the other SEA countries. I decided to skip Luang Prabang National museum and most the temples (wats) because they also have tendency to look alike after you visit enough.
Tonight I'm still going to check out the sunset at That Phousi mountain in the middle of the city before heading for last dinner in one of Luang Prabang's many good restaurants.
Tomorrow to Vientiane.
14 January 2010
Lao PDR, I like it already
I have heard people talking positively about Laos because here the atmosphere is supposed to be more relaxed and less money oriented than in other places in SouthEastAsia.
After spending less than a day here, I can already confirm this hearsay as a fact - this is like nothing I have experienced before when travelling; absolutely no-one is pushing you to do anything. Great!
A had an early start from KL, transited through Vientiane and reached Luang Prabang at 1300 local time - I'm feeling a bit exhausted from the Africa tour as well as the jetlag from moving to SEA. Hopefully I can balance the situation by laying low for couple of days - the Laos style.
One more thing - although I have learned to like spicy food, I just don't seem to remember that when having hot sauces here, extra caution is a must. I had dinner in local restaurant by the Mekong river just a moment ago and made a hot mistake by tasting chili sauce a bit too boldly.... Well, to live and to learn from sweating and running nose - at least the waiter had some fun to see me burn.
11 January 2010
Abu Dhabi airport at night time
Eight hours from Johannesburg to United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi which, I have to say, looks quite impressive at night time - lights mean money and as we now UAE has lots of it. The terminal building mosaic itself is also one of a kind. I still have some 6 hrs of flying before arriving KL tomorrow at 1400 local time. I'm hoping to be able to upload some Africa pics as I get to KL - with African internet speed that just wasn't possible.
- 12.-14.1.2010 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 14.-17.1.2010 Luang Prabang, Laos
- 17.-19.1.2010 Vientiane, Laos
- 19.-21.1.2010 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 21.-30.1.2010 Bunaken/Manado, Indonesia
- 30.1.-7.2.2010 Bali, Indonesia
- 7.-12.2.2010 Singapore
- 12.-16.2.2010 Melaka, Malaysia
- 16.-25.2.2010 Krabi, Thailand
- 26.2-1.3.2010 Bangkok, Thailand
Travel Info:
- Currencies: Malaysian ringit, Kip (Laos), Thailand Baht, Indonesian Rupiah (USD), Singapore Dollar, US Dollar, ATM access varies
- My vaccinations: Basic + Yellow fever (certificate needed) + Hepatitis A+B + Cholera
- Visas: Malaysia 3 mo, Thailand 1 mo without visa for finnish citizens; visa needed for Laos (visa on arrival, 30 days, 35USD) Indonesia (visa on arrival, 30 days, 25USD)
- My airlines: Etihad Airways, Air Asia, Lao Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Thai Airlines, Finnair
Flights:
- JNB-AUH, 11.1.2010, 1355-0010+1: EY0601
- AUH-KUL, 12.1.2010, 0245-1400: EY0418
- KUL-VTE, 14.1.2010, 0810-0940: AK612
- VTE-LPQ, 14.1.2010, 1300-1340: QV105
- LPQ-VTE, 17.1.2010, 1350-1430: QV110
(NEW)
- VTE-KUL, 19.1.2010, 1005-1340: AK613
(UPDATE)
- KUL-MDC, 21.1.2010, 1250-1640: AK432
(UPDATE)
- MDC-DPS, 30.1.2010, 1330-1745: GA603/621
- DPS-SIN, 7.2.2010, 0700-0935: QZ8490
- KUL-KBV, 16.2.2010, 1330-1345: AK804
(NEW)
- KBV-BKK, 26.2.2010, 1225-1345: FD3164
(NEW)
- BKK-MAD, 1.3.2010, 2355-0520+1: ??
- MAD-HEL, 2.3.2010, 1030-1400: ??
