Leeches Chased Me From Taman Negara

Ulrik and Graham at the base of a really big tree in Taman Negara
Okay ... leeches didn't literally chase me from Taman Negara, but their presence certainly didn't make me want to stay.

Taman Negara (literally "national park") is, at more than 150 million years old, considered the oldest rainforest in the world. It covers more than 4,300 square kilometres in the centre of Peninsular Malaysia. After being in Kuala Lumpur for a week we wanted to get back to nature and do some trekking.

We had been warned of the leech issue before and after arriving in Taman Negara. As much as I was freaked out about the prospect of encountering one of these disgusting little bloodsuckers, at the back of my mind I was thinking that they couldn't really be that bad. Unfortunately they were!

We travelled to the park via a basic wooden 'canoe'-like boat. It was a really peaceful way to travel. The sun was shining, there was a lovely breeze, the waters were calm, and rainforest lined both banks.

Three hours later we arrived at Kuala Tahan. Located on the opposite side of the river from the park, this is where most visitors to the park are based (there is a resort on the same side as the park, but it is exorbitantly expensive). Floating restaurants line the river and it was at one of these that we disembarked.

Our first order of business, after finding accommodations, was to visit the park office; we wanted to get more information about the seven- to nine-day hike to summit Gunung Tahan which, at 2187m, is the highest peak in Peninsular Malaysia. Unfortunately, it sounded very complicated. We had hoped that the guide we hired (which is an absolute requirement) would assist us in organizing the logistics of the hike. (Although there are a few huts within a day's walk, there aren't any after day two or three; we'd have to carry in our own tent, sleeping gear, food, water, and cooking gear.) Ulrik and I both felt confident that we could do the hike itself, but since we had never undertaken a completely self-sufficient hike before we weren't 100% comfortable with having the responsibility of kitting ourselves out. (Some of you might remember the story of our overnight hike in Honduras where we carried only tortillas and peanut butter for food and a sheet to sleep with.) So, instead, we decided to do a day hike to a small hill (about 11km roundtrip), and then do an overnight hike to one of the bumbuns (animal hides) where we could spend the night and, if lucky, see some animals. The two day/one night hike would cover a total of 22km. Great plans ... but they didn't take into account the leeches!

Before setting out, though, we decided to spend a day just relaxing. We headed to a nearby swimming hole which was really lovely; the water was cool and refreshing, which was wonderful because the Taman Negara is stinking hot! Unfortunately, our lovely afternoon ended on a gross note as Ulrik found a BIG FAT LEECH on his foot just as we were leaving. (Fortunately it was Ulrik and not me as he is much better at handling that sort of thing than I am.)

On our way out of the park, we met Lauren and Graham, this lovely South African couple who had travelled into the park on the same boat as us. We stood and chatted with them a bit and Lauren told us how she had had three leeches on her the previous day. Three! One of them was on her shoulder! After commiserating with her about her traumatic experience (if I was her, I don't know if I would have left my room again) we told them of our hiking plans, and arranged to do the day hike together.

Unfortunately, on the morning of the hike Lauren backed out. (She later said she just couldn't face the leeches again, and I can't say that I blame her.) But Graham was still up for it, and off we went.

My leech defence system.
Well ... before we headed out, I had to make sure that I would stay leech free. There are all sorts of suggestions for avoiding leeches: wear tightly-laced ankle boots, liberally spray your shoes with bug spray, rub tobacco on your feet, etc. Here's the strategy I came up with (I had thought of nothing else during the three-hour bus ride, one-hour bus ride, and three-hour canoe ride to Taman Negara):

1. Tuck long pants into socks.
2. In absence of ankle boots use gaiters with shoes (my gaiters went to my mid-calf).
3. Tuck tobacco in all exposed lace holes, and between gaiter and boot. (Although the Malay locals were laughing at me while I was doing this, secretly I think they were just sad to see the waste of so much tobacco.)
4. Tighten everything to the point of cutting off your circulation. (Hey, if one manages to get in at least there won't be any blood for the little f@%ker to suck.)
5. Liberally spray shoes and gaiters with bug repellent. How much is enough? Spray until you can actually feel yourself becoming sterile ... that's probably enough.

So did it work? Read on ...

Off we went into the rainforest. It was very cool. Some of the trees were huge. We got a little lost, but we ended up happening upon an Orang Asli (the "original people"; they are an indigenous people, and the only people, allowed to live in the rainforest) village. A tour guide visiting the village with paying tourists quickly pointed us in the right direction (I think he was worried that we might get to see the fire starting demonstration for free). After getting back on the right path, we stopped and explored a small cave and two bumbuns that were en route. Up until this point we'd only encountered a few small leeches. Both Graham and Ulrik got the occasional one on their shoes, but each time the leech was really small and slow moving and they were able to flick it off quite easily. And even though a couple actually got onto their socks, they weren't biting them -- I think they were just too small to get through the material. But as we started on the last kilometre of the hike, we noticed that the ground was much more damp, an environment that leeches apparently thrive in because we quickly noticed how many more leeches there seemed to be. Not only that but these were fat and aggressive leeches. These would get on your boot and haul ass to get to your skin. You had to flick them off quickly, and it usually took four or five tries to get the little buggers to let go. This was also the first time in the hike that I had leeches on my own boots, and I have to say that I was not too impressed by this development. So we're all distracted by the leeches, and with trying to move quickly to try to prevent them from getting on us, when we reach a point where the trail just seems to end. And, of course, we don't have the luxury of standing there to discuss which direction to move in, because if we stand still too long it's likely we will be overrun by leeches. So at this point, I said that I'd rather just turn around. Now most of you probably know how much I hate to concede defeat when it comes to physical exertions like this. I know I am not the most physically fit person, but I will run myself into the ground rather than be the first person to suggest turning around. And we were only about 3/4km from our goal. But I was not having any fun whatsoever. I was becoming totally paranoid that one of those aggressive buggers had gotten through my defence system and was, as I was standing there, having a little feast in my shoe. Based on how quickly everyone agreed with me, I think both Ulrik and Graham were happy that someone suggested it. So we turned around and practically ran through that stretch of the trail. We had to stop at one point because Ulrik noticed he was under serious attack ... he actually had a leech working its way through his sock! When he pulled his sock off, it was stuck halfway through! We stopped at the last bumbun for a bite of lunch and the boys assessed the damage. I refused to dismantle my defence system to take a look ... I knew that if I found one in there I might not be able to get myself together to get back out and Ulrik would have to carry me!

Shortly before we reached our starting point, it started to rain. Boy did that spur me on. I was just going for it. Forget the boys (who were behind me), I was getting the hell out of there ... everyone knows how leeches are so much worse during and after it rains. In fact, it was raining when Lauren got that leech on her shoulder.

Eventually we all made it out. (Pardon the dramatics ... leeches tend to do that to me!) And none to much the worse for wear. We quickly met up with Lauren, and then it was time for the great unveiling. Had my defence system worked? Was I leech free? Or was there a whole colony of the buggers enjoying a buffet in my shoes? Off came the gaiters, off came the shoes, off came the socks. And not a single leech. Phew.

Although I liked the hike and the scenery, I told Ulrik there was no way I was doing any more hikes in this rainforest. The prospect of leeches was just too much for me to relax and really enjoy myself. Even though I was pretty confident in my leech defence system throughout the hike, I was still paranoid the entire time. And even though I saw that my system did indeed work, I knew that I would still be paranoid if we went on another hike. And that's just no fun. Besides, I knew that there would be many other opportunities to go hiking in places that don't have any leeches. So we said goodbye to Taman Negara. We also said goodbye to Graham and Lauren, unfortunately, as they were headed south to Malaysia and we were headed north to Thailand.

F@%king leeches ...

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.

Quick Note

We're heading off into the jungles of Taman Negara. We're not sure how long we're going to trek for -- there are day treks, short multiple day treks, and a long trek up the mountain of Gunung Tahan (about seven to nine days). So we could be out of touch for over a week. Just think, it's the perfect time to catch up on your reading ...!

Kuala Lumpur

Mmmmmmmm ...
After Lee's last few posts, you might think that Kuala Lumpur has been only about doing taxes and chasing after mirage FedEx offices (by the way, the other day while sitting at an outdoor cafe, we saw a FedEx van drive by!). But that is far from the case; we've definitely experienced a lot of what KL has to offer.

Saturday we went to the district of Little India to check out its famous Saturday night market. The place was amazing! Picture several city blocks of tables laden with food, drink, snacks, desserts, etc. We feasted on such items as fried chicken breast, a beef sandwich, murtaback (similar to a samosa), chocolate cake, nasi lemak (which is really supposed to be for breakfast), and a tasty 'frappucino'-type iced mocha. All for under C$3 (the frapuccino was only C$0.60 -- take that Starbucks)! Well-stuffed and tired from looking at all the colourful stands, we decide to walk the half hour back to our guesthouse. After a few blocks we came upon a makeshift stage in a little plaza. As we got there, the MC (this very flamboyant, Liberace-inspired gentleman) who seemed to be introducing the next act spontaneously, and to much cheering, broke into song! He was actually quite good but Lee, cynically, believed he was lip-syncing. His act was followed by a local band called Master Clan. Part gangsta rap, part boy band, and part hip hop, they were dressed in the usual uniform of baggy clothes, trucker hats, headbands, etc., and they played it up with all the right rap/boy band/hip hop moves. They worked hard to get the audience to "feel the love ... it's all about the love, baby," but they just weren't buying. Probably because the audience consisted primarily of older couples, young families, and middle-aged men. They were actually quite good, and we felt a bit bad for them. Next up was a young Asian girl who was more to the audience's tastes. She sang a number of Hong Kong classics (including a famous soap opera theme song). It probably also helped that she was young, cute, perky, and wearing an outfit that was both demure and sexy (a look that has been mastered in the Muslim countries we've visited). We also saw a couple of traditional dances before we decided to head home.

During the last couple of days we've taken in a few other of KL's sights. First was the KL Tower, which is similar to the CN Tower in Toronto although shorter. The view from the observation deck was quite good despite the bad weather moving in. Afterwards, we managed to beat the rain to the Petronas Towers, the highest twin buildings in the world, and KL's most famous landmark. They really are quite stunning. While the KL Tower is rather plain and uninspiring to look at, the PTs are a marvel of classic and modern islamic architecture in glass and steel. At their base is a giant mall, Suria KLCC, and although we couldn't afford anything from the posh stores (think Gucci, Hermes, etc.), we did treat ourselves to some really tasty watermelon gelato.

Statues at the entry to the Batu Caves Hindu shrine.
Next on the agenda were the Batu Caves. This Hindu shrine is the site of the annual Thaipusam festival, an orgy of colours, dance, music, and skin pierced with metal hooks (apparently to show repentence). Alas, we missed it (it's in February), but the caves were rather impressive nonetheless. A stairway with 272 steps leads to the maw of the cave, and it's lined with monkeys waiting for handouts from tourists and devotees. While most of the older monkeys just sat around, the younger monkeys were a bit more playful and aggressive. Indeed, one little guy kept trying to grab at peoples feet and bags. On the way down the steps, we saw what was likely the cause of this behaviour. We saw a family teasing the monkeys with candy (it should be noted that the candy was still in its wrapper). And we were effectively ignored when we pointed out that not only could the monkeys choke on the wrapping, but also that candy is not good for them. And we later saw a woman waving a shirt in a monkey's face; I assume to get it to 'do' something. Why are people so ignorant?

Despite all the 'hard work' we've had to do in KL, we've enjoyed our time here. But it's time to move on ... next up, Taman Negara and, hopefully, a trek up Gunung Tahan.

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.

F@%king F@%k!

Our bank card's home for a day.
Pardon the language but, OHMIGOD, I practically had a heart attack yesterday.

We needed to replenish our cash stocks, so we went to find an ATM. Since we were at a big mall, there was a whole bank of ATMs to choose from. Well, I CHOSE WRONG!!!

A few seconds after putting our bank card in, the screen said,

"There is a problem with your card. Your card has been retained. Please contact your local branch if you have any questions."

RETAINED?!? RETAINED!?!? What the f@%k do you mean RETAINED?!?? At first I looked at the screen stupidly. Then I looked at Ulrik stupidly. Then I started punching buttons (e.g. like 'cancel', like that was going to work) stupidly.

Since I was pretty useless, Ulrik went to a nearby information desk and they told him that, fortunately, there was a branch for this bank just across the road. Since I still hadn't recovered from the shock, he headed over to the bank on his own and, about 45min later, came back with mixed news. The good news was that we should be able to get our card back; the bad news was that it wouldn't happen until the next day.

So, today, we trudged back to the bank and, el hum d'Allah (Arabic for God be praised), we got our card back. For that, and for making it happen so quickly, we have to thank Mr. Radhi Yaslam Bin Zainudin, Bank Executive at Bank Rakyat, for taking such good care of us stupid tourists. Mr. Bin Zainudin, we promise we will never use a Bank Rakyat ATM again!

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.

Looking for Koalas

After our big update, Ulrik pointed out that we didn't have a single picture of koalas on our website. Which was weird because I had made such a big fuss about seeing them -- and maybe even getting to pet one! -- when we were in Australia. So here are a couple of pics for you to enjoy.

We met this little girl -- and got to pet her! -- at
the Featherdale Wildlife Park.
We spotted this little fellow on the road to the Otway Lighthouse.
(He's to the left of the big cluster of leaves in the centre.)
For more photos, see our Featherdale photo album and/or our Great Ocean Road photo album.

Mission: FedEx? Mission: Impossible!

A completely unrelated photo. Oh what a carefree day that was ...
With our taxes complete, the next task at hand was to file them. Since TELEFILE and EFILE weren't an option, our only choice was to send them by mail. But I wasn't about to trust my original receipts to Malaysia's post (no offense Malaysia), and since FedEx doesn't have a depot on Pulau Tioman, it was time to head back to the big city. In this case, Kuala Lumpur (KL).

We had originally planned to bypass KL (which is on the west side of the country), and instead head inland and north to Taman Negara National Park. But Taman would just have to wait ... the taxes need to be filed!

We got to KL in good time and -- shockingly! -- during daylight hours. Again, our connections were smooth and hassle-free (we love you Malaysia!). But we arrived on Friday night, the end of the work week. We've obviously been away from the working world for too long already!

Thinking that a drop-off point might be open on a Saturday, we headed out with a list of addresses and telephone numbers from the FedEx website. We ran into problems almost immediately.

1. With only the map in our sad little Book, we couldn't figure out where the offices were actually located.
2. We tried calling them, but couldn't figure out how the public pay phones worked.
3. Once we found a phone that did work, it wouldn't accept the toll-free number for FedEx Malaysia.
4. We found a telephone centre, but the man who worked there couldn't figure out how to get the toll-free number to work.
5. We eventually figured out, after extensive research on the internet, that all but one of the offices were nowhere near us.
6. The office that was sort of near us still wasn't answering their telephone number.
7. After deciding to just go to the store anyway, we found that it was shut tight for the day and, more likely, the weekend.

We finally got a break at a fancy hotel near the store location, the Hotel Istana. (The map on their website is how we found the store in the first place -- go figure.) As they were located in the Central Business District, we assumed that their guests would regularly use a courier service like FedEx, so Ulrik asked them if they had any contact information for FedEx in KL. They did. So after a whole day of chasing our tails, all we had was a new telephone number. And we would have to wait two days until we could use it.

Well, we should have known. When we called the number on Monday, there was no answer. Fortunately, I also had the number for UPS (the guy at our guesthouse helped find it for me), and that number worked. Within two hours of calling them, a guy showed up and picked up our package.

Damn FedEx Malaysia. And damn taxes for being the cause of all this bother.

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.

Tax Time

The view from our dinner table.
After an wonderful week in Singapore, it was time to get back on the road. Actually, part of the reason why we were delayed leaving Singapore by a couple of days is that we really didn't know where we were going next. We knew we were heading to Malaysia, but should we go west or east? Sigh. The problems of being a world traveller. (Don't hate us too much, please!) I left it to Ulrik and he picked Pulau Tioman, a laid-back little island just off the east coast (I should have known).

The border crossing was incredibly straightforward, and cheap! We took the MRT to the bus station, caught an express bus to the border, hopped off to go through Singapore's immigration, hopped on to cross the Causeway to the Malaysian side of the border, hopped off to go through Malaysia's immigration, hopped back on to get to the bus terminal in Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia. All in all, it cost us about C$3 each to get from Singapore to Malaysia.

Once in JB, we quickly jumped on another bus bound for Mersing, where we would catch a ferry to the island. We left Singapore at about 9:00am and arrived on Pulau Tioman around 3:00pm. Each connection was quick and without hassle. If only it was always this easy!

We spent about five days on the island. Most of that time was spent DOING OUR TAXES!!!!!!! When I realized that we were well into April, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and get them done. Now most people would think that if they had to do their taxes, then a tropical island would be a pretty great place to do them. I thought the same until I actually had to do them on a tropical island.

Why a Tropical Island is Not a Great Place to do Your Taxes
1. It is very hot on a tropical island. Sitting doing calculations is no fun when you're sweating. (And don't even think about getting in the water to cool down.)
2. It can be a bit breezy on a tropical island. Your papers tend to fly everywhere. At one point, I couldn't figure out what I did with Federal Schedule 1, but then I found it on the ground behind me! (I hope I didn't lose anything else.)
3. It is very humid on a tropical island. The seal on the envelope kept getting stuck to my papers.
4. There are a lot more fun things to do on a tropical island. The last thing you want to be doing is your taxes!

To break up the tedium, and reward me for getting through them the first time (I always do the calculations twice), we went for a hike to the other side of the island. The walk is only about 7km, but it goes straight up and then straight down. It took us just over two hours to get to the other side. We took an hour to enjoy the beach and have a light lunch, and then we walked back. More than four hours of sweating like a pig for a bit of fried rice and a beach that looked just like ours. What were we thinking? Actually, the hike was quite enjoyable. It's good to stretch your legs after being stuck in a chair DOING YOUR TAXES!

I suppose that's one benefit to doing your taxes on a tropical island. Don't hate us too much, eh ...?

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.

Night Safari

The massive crowd waiting to get into the
animal show. Fortunately we were in front!
The one thing we knew, without a doubt, that we would do in Singapore was go to the Night Safari. But even though we bought tickets on our third day in town, it took us another three days (and one false start) to finally get there.

There are three main parts to the Night Safari: an animal show, walking paths, and a tram ride that travels beyond the walking paths. We hoped to get in all three. We were able to do the show and the tram ride but, because we had to make sure we made the last train home, we were able to do only a small part of the walking trails.

In general, the safari was very cool. The animal enclosures are unique in that many of them use natural barriers. I suppose this is to try to create more of a 'safari' experience for visitors. Unfortunately, it's hard to feel like you're encountering an animal in the wild when you're surrounded by the 'wilds' of civilization. There were so many people! It was so crowded, we had to get to the show area really early in order to get a decent seat, and then we had to wait in a long queue for the the tram. Not to say that the experience was terrible. The animal show was well done, and the main presenter was quite a showman. The tram ride, however, was just okay. It was difficult to hear the guide with so many people on board ignoring her and just talking amongst themselves. Also, they never really paused at any of the displays. So you didn't really have much time to see each enclosure. The guide, though, was quite funny. Obviously trying to push conservation, she would say things like, "It takes the coats of three lions to make a coat for one selfish individual to wear. Does that seem fair?" And, "It takes the coats of three tigers to make a coat for one selfish individual to wear. Does that seem fair?" And, "Their tusks are used to make chess pieces and ashtrays ... I don't think that seems fair, do you?" You get the idea. But, overall, I am glad we went. I've wanted to go to the Night Safari since reading about it during my layover in Singapore in 2000. It's just unfortunate that we had to share it with so many others.

For more photos, see our Singapore photo album.

Memorable Eats I

Mmmm ... fish head ...
Since giving up our kitchen (we unfortunately had to give it up with the apartment), we haven't been able to cook for ourselves as much as we would like. But we've still enjoyed some incredible culinary experiences. Here are the ones that warm our stomachs when the only option available is cup noodles.

- Elaine's incredible homemade pizza dough (Toronto)
- making homemade sushi with the White-Ngs ... or is it Ng-Whites? (Toronto)
- batches of toffee biscotti (Calgary)
- pork dumplings made from scratch; yes ... even the dough! (Vancouver)
- rice, jackfruit curry, and spicy sambal wrapped in a banana leaf ... for breakfast! (Indonesia)
- Copenhagen ice cream in Manly (Australia)
- pretty much every single apple we ate in New Zealand
- a peppermint Magnum after a long day of riding (New Zealand)
- 'homemade muesli' on the road: non-toasted muesli, half as much whole oats, a generous helping of raw pumpkin seeds, and, if your sweet tooth is singing (as Ulrik's always is), a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips (New Zealand)
- the beef tenderloin and the local wine (Vyper) at 19th, a restaurant in Queenstown (New Zealand)
- hokey pokeys ... but only from the bulk section of New World in New Zealand, or the candy stall at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne (New Zealand & Australia)
- Ulrik's bolognese sauce; satisfying any day, but especially after a day riding the open road (New Zealand)
- Kylie's killer chocolate muffins; she made them for Karen & Scott's wedding 'cake' (Australia)
- making starter with James (Australia)
- all the cheeses that we tasted in the Hunter Valley (Australia)
- kangeroo tenderloin at The Meat & Wine Co., a restaurant in Sydney (Australia)
- the coffee at Café Lava (Indonesia)
- ice cream sandwiches; literally a slice of ice cream on a piece of bread! (Singapore)
- fish head curry; sounds disgusting, looks disgusting, tastes delicious! (Singapore)
- ice kecang, a crazy mix of red beans, corn kernels, shaved ice, and topped with sweet syrups (Singapore)
- the food court at Funan Digitalife Mall, not only because of the quality and variety of food, but also because it was such a comfortable place to escape the heat of the day
- curry puffs and sardine puffs (Singapore)
- the coffee at ATRS; it was only Nescafe 2-in-1, but it sure was tasty! (Singapore)
- too many pints of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream, a terribly delicious concoction of chocolate ice cream, swirls of caramel and marshmallow, and pieces of fudgy fish (Singapore)
- pratha, a flaky pancaky-type bread that you dip in a curry 'gravy' (Singapore)
- Robin's hamburgers; we don't know what she puts into them, but they're incredible and addictive (Malaysia)
- nasi lemak; coconut rice served with small dried fish, roasted peanuts, a fried egg, cucumber, and spicy sambal ... another tasty breakfast option (Malaysia)

So, so many tasty eats ....

Singapore's OK!

Singapore is more than OK!
After a short interlude in Indo, we arrived in Singapore. We didn't really know what to expect but, if Changi Airport (love Changi Airport!) was anything to go by, we had high expectations.

We were in and out of Changi in less than 15min (did I mention that I love Changi?) and onto the MRT, Singapore's fast, efficient, and affordable public transit system. We had decided to stay in Chinatown -- a decision we would regret only because it made it so difficult to leave -- at a small family-run hostel called A Travellers Rest Stop (ATRS). Owned and operated by Lucy and Boy (Lucy's mother and father also work there), cosy ATRS quickly became our home away from home.

We had only planned on staying in Singapore for four days (01 Apr to 05 Apr), but ended up staying an additional three (until 08 Apr)! As I said before, the comfort of our guesthouse, combined with the ease of getting around Singapore, conspired to keep us a bit longer.

Most of our time was actually spent at Funan Digitalife Mall. Although neither of us are big shoppers, as most of you know, we had decided to buy either a laptop or PDA to help us keep on top of our emails and blog entries (as you can see, it's helping already!). We spent a lot of time researching what we wanted and, with some helpful input from a friend back home (thanks Jeff!), we decided to get an HP iPAQ PDA. But our decisions weren't done just yet. Now we had to decide who to buy from. Funan is this huge electronics mall, but the strange thing is that although there are over five floors of stores, they all sell pretty much the exact same products at the exact same price. And, yet, for some reason it still took us most of the day to decide on who to buy from!

The welcoming party to the Tree Top Walk.
That task completed, we escaped to the outdoors; specifically the MacRitchie Trails. One of the trails is the Tree Top Walk, which leads to a suspension bridge that is 25m above the ground. The walk itself is about 10km, but we only ended up walking about 8km as it started to pour and we met a nice Singaporean guy who offered us a chance to get in his car. Don't worry, we haven't completely lost our heads! We had walked with him for some time, and then hung out on the bridge under a bit of shelter while waiting for the rain to stop. In total we probably talked with him for more than an hour-and-a-half before we actually got into his car. He was a really friendly guy. He not only drove us to a food court to try a new dish (pratha, which we had mentioned wanting to try), he paid for it, and then took us on a mini tour of the city before dropping us off where we had originally planned to go after our walk. Thanks Ian!

Another example of that amazing Singaporean efficiency.
Other than the huge distraction and job of making our big purchase, our time in Singapore was very relaxed. We really enjoyed exploring our little part of town, especially trying all the tasty little treats in Chinatown and beyond. Although some people (both locals and foreigners) don't like the almost sterile nature of the country. (It can seem a bit big brother-ish. There are signs everywhere telling you what and what not to do: don't spit; throw away your rubbish; keep the bathrooms clean; etc. One would hope that adults would just know to do this but Singapore, apparently, doesn't want to take the chance.) But I really liked Singapore. The funny thing is, if I were running a country I could see myself doing the exact same thing. I, too, am an anal-retentive control freak. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed Singapore so much!

For more photos, see our Singapore photo album.

Indonesia Dua

We had to return to Indo in order to catch our onward flight from Jakarta to Singapore, and we managed to find a great flight from Melbourne to Denpasar (Bali) on Jetstar. Learning from our past experience in Denpasar (see A Long Hard Slog), this time we decided to make our lives easier and just stay in Bali. My cousin recommended a hotel that, while a little out of our budget, was still pretty reasonable at about C$35 a night. (Definitely much cheaper than what we had been paying in Aus and NZ.) And since we were arriving relatively late (around 11:00pm), it was nice knowing where we were going. His recommendation was well deserved! The Masa Inn was practically a luxury hotel -- at least three star by western standards -- with two pools, AC, TV, a big comfortable bed with crisp clean sheets, and hot showers. Okay, maybe it's just a nice hotel by western standards, but for us it was luxury. (Goes to show what your standards become when you're backpacking.) We enjoyed the perks while we had them (just the one night and following morning). We didn't give ourselves much time to do much else in Bali, although we did visit the memorial to those murdered in the Bali bombing of 2001. We knew that many people had died, but we didn't really grasp the full scale of the tragedy until we saw all those names.

Bundled against the cold mountain air. Bromo is the grey crater just
over my right shoulder; not the big mountain in the background.
Our first and only stop on our way to Jakarta was Mount Bromo, an active volcano set amidst an incredible moon-like landscape (or so the Book says). We jumped on a night bus and, true to form, it arrived in the town of Probolinggo, our connecting point to Mount Bromo, at 2:00am. And, of course, the 'bus stop' happened to be in front of a travel agency that also just happened to have an agent up at that time of the morning. Since the public bus wasn't expected for another six hours (assuming that it would even run on time), we were left with little choice except to take their expensive shuttle to Cemora Lawang (the town nearest Mount Bromo). So we agreed and handed over our money. We also, after further badgering, signed up for a 4WD trip to the viewpoint that overlooks Mount Bromo and transport to the rim of the volcano crater itself, AND we agreed to buy a return ticket to Surabaya (where we were catching a flight to Jakarta). We knew at the time we should just say no, and sort things out on our own when we got where we were going, but it was 2:00am! And the agent was more than a bit persistant. Although we knew we were paying probably more than double, we consoled ourselves with the fact that at least we wouldn't have to deal with the same hassle when we arrived. And despite the extremely late/early hour, Lee still managed to bargain him down from Rp600,000 (about C$80) to Rp500,000 (about C$65). (That's C$65 for both of us, by the way).

We had a bumpy sleep in the shuttle to Cemoro Lawang, arriving just after 4:00am. We quickly got ourselves sorted (we needed warm clothes!) and jumped in the waiting jeep. Our first stop was at a cliff overlooking Mount Bromo and the surrounding mountains, and we waited there for the sunrise. Bromo looks a little like something out of a Flash Gordon movie, with all the craters and the smoke belching out in sporadic puffs. Very cool. And cold! The mountains get quite cold during the wee hours, and we were glad to have thought to pull out some warm clothes before getting in the jeep. After the sunrise, the jeep drove us to the bottom of the crater. From there we walked up the 237 steps to Mount Bromo's rim for a good look into ... well, the sulphur cloud. And boy did it smell bad! It stung our eyes, throats, and noses. We didn't see any magma, but that was probably a good thing. But we managed to get a pretty good look around before the smell finally drove us off the mountain. After all the excitement, we headed back to Cemoro Lawang for breakfast and kopi susu (coffee with milk), which tasted extra good that morning.

Cemoro Lawang's 'superstore'. Notice how all
encompassing the surrounding darkness is.
We spent two-and-a-half days exploring the mountain village of Cemoro Lawang and their endless cabbage fields before jumping on a bus to Surabaya. From Surabaya we caught an Air Asia flight to Jakarta (which was cheaper, easier, and faster -- so much faster -- than the train) where we would fly to Singapore. Apart from being stressed that we were going to miss our connecting bus to Surabaya, our travel from Cemoro Lawang to the Surabaya airport went remarkably smoothly (remarkable because it involved continuous travel from a minibus to a big bus to an airport bus -- no mean feat in Indo!), and we soon found ourselves in the luxurious embrace of Singapore Airlines.

For more photos, see our Bali & Mount Bromo photo album, and/or our Indonesia photo album.

Driving the Great Ocean Road

The entrance to the Great Ocean Road.
Melbourne was to be our last major stop in Australia so we were both happy and sad to arrive there. We initially stayed outside the city centre in an area called St. Kilda. St Kilda used to be a happening place, but then it fell into a state of ill-repute. It's starting to reclaim its former glory, but there is still evidence of its seedier past -- there are more than a few girly bars standing shoulder to shoulder with the more elegant home furnishing shops and cosy coffee shops in the area!

We took a couple of days to recover from our overnight train journey to get there, and to plan a road trip along the Great Ocean Road. It took us a while to sort out a car rental as pretty much everything in the city was booked; our visit coincided with the FINA swimming competition, Formula 1, and Melbourne's Food & Wine Festival. Needless to say, the city was packed! We finally booked a car with Hertz, but funnily enough we were only able to book online. When we went into their office, they didn't have access to their own online booking system! The man at the counter told us to try to book online and, if we were able to get something, to just come and pick it up. Which is exactly what we did. Weird. But, fortunately, it all worked out and we were on our way!

The Great Ocean Road (GOR) stretches from Torquay(just south of Melbourne) to Adelaide, a total distance of about 260km. We planned to go only as far as Port Campbell and the renowned 12 Apostles, a distance of about 150km (a total of 300km there and back). And we gave ourselves three days to do it, so it made for a very leisurely drive. Driving the GOR is very easy. There isn't a lot of traffic, and there are a lot of areas to pull off to enjoy the view (which was fortunate for Ulrik as he did most of the driving). To offset the cost of the car rental we slept in the car the three nights we were on the road. And I have to say that the Toyota Corolla is a very comfortable car to sleep in!

Don't we look cosy?
Driving yourself is definitely a nice way to get around. We were able to go at our own pace and stop whenever something looked interesting. We walked around the 12 Apostles, did several walks around the Loch Ard Gorge, and toured the Otway Lighthouse. And we got to see so many koalas in the wild! They were in the trees leading to the lighthouse. And they were in the trees on the walk toward the Kennett River. At one point we stopped for lunch at the appropriately named Koala Café, and I saw seven koalas on my way to use the bathroom! By the time we finished our tour, I was almost koala'd out.

The 12 Apostles.
After three days, though, it was time to return to the city. This time we decided to stay closer to the city centre as we only had a day and a half before our flight to Indo. We toured the Queen Victoria Market and enjoyed the western toilets and hot showers (we weren't sure when we'd get to enjoy them again!)

It's been wonderful getting to see Australia. I remember when I was a little girl, the most exotic and far away place I could think of was Australia ... probably because it is literally on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, we've only seen a small part of it, but I am sure that we will be back someday -- there's still the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef, and Western Australia to explore. As for now, although Australia has been a thoroughly enjoyable interlude of western delights, we are looking forward to getting back on the road and enjoying the often daily challenges of travelling in developing countries. The travel may not be as comfortable or easy, but it's certainly always interesting!

For more photos, see our Great Ocean Road photo album.

Hanging with Wilf

After the wedding festivities were concluded, we planned to spend some time travelling with Wilf, my boss's husband. I know it probably sounds a little unusual, but we've known Wilf for some time; he's an interesting guy to spend time with (he's working on some interesting projects) and he's very active. To be honest, the only thing we were worried about was whether we would be able to keep up with him!

Our first and only time at Starbucks on the trip so far.
Wilf made us ... we swear!
We headed back to Sydney (the wedding had taken place in Narrabeen), and explored there for a couple of days. We did a tour of the Sydney Opera House, and visited both the Sydney Aquarium and the Sydney Wildlife World. The Opera House was impressive; I had no idea how ahead if his time the designer (a Dane!) was. And both the aquarium and the wildlife place were cool ... but I wasn't able to hold a koala at either.

Next up was the Blue Mountains. This area is really beautiful. We did two short walks and one longer day walk. During our day walk, we headed to Ruined Castle, a rock formation that from afar looks like ... you guessed it, a ruined castle. With the exception of a section called the Golden Staircase, the walk wasn't very difficult. (The Golden Staircase, on the other hand, was literally stone stairs that just went up and up; fortunately, they didn't last too long.) The walk terminates at the Ruined Castle rocks, and you can climb up to the top for an amazing 360 degree view of the Blue Mountains. We stopped there to enjoy the view and a bite of lunch.

Our picnic spot was the top of the rock
in the upper right corner.
After a few days in the Blue Mountains enjoying the views and more than a few tasty dinners (thanks Wilf!), it was time to head back to Sydney. Wilf was heading back to Canada, and Ulrik and I were trying to decide how we wanted to get to Melbourne (car? train?). While in Sydney we were able to hook up with the newlyweds one last time before they, too, headed back to Canada. And we were able to check out this animal sanctuary called Featherdale, where I was finally able to pet a koala! And just as we were leaving I got to hold a joey (a baby kangaroo). Score!

For more photos, see our Australia photo album, our Blue Mountain photo album, and/or our Featherdale photo album.

Surfs Up, Dudes!!

Our friend James took on the foolhardy and extremely challenging task of trying to teach us how to "hang ten". Here are the results!


I only managed to get up on my knees ... getting to my feet eluded me know matter how many times I tried. But Ulrik actually looks like he knows what he's doing!


For more photos, see our Surfing in Manly photo album.

First comes love, then comes marriage ...

After New Zealand, it was time to head to Sydney, Australia for our friend's (Karen & Scott) wedding. First up, though, were the hens and bucks nights. (For those of you not familiar with the terms, it's Aussie for the bachelorette and bachelor party). We were picked up from the airport by the radiant bride-to-be and one of her lowly minions (Kylie, Scott's sister and a fellow bridesmaid). Ulrik was dropped at our friend James' house (James was putting us up for about a week while we were in Sydney -- thanks again James!); he would meet up with the boys later. And I was whisked off to Terrigal, the site of all the hen-y debauchery to come.

The weekend was filled with good food and drink, great friends, and a plethora of plastic penises ... as all good weekends should be! (Ulrik had great fun with the boys as well ... but from the sounds of it, it was much tamer than the hens; I don't believe there was a single plastic penis).

The rest of the week (Mar 3rd to Mar 9th) was spent getting reacquainted with our friend James (he really was as great as we remembered), getting to know his girlfriend Penny (who totally lived up to the advance press), and, of course, spending time with the bride and groom. I should note that for having to plan their wedding from the other side of the world, these two were incredibly relaxed and chilled out.

The wedding day (Mar 10th) dawned bright and beautiful. Because the wedding wasn't until 5:00pm, the bridal party had a relaxed time of it having breakfast and getting ready. There was no frantic running around, no stress, and definitely no bridezilla! (Although anyone who knows the bride would know bridezilla-like behaviour would be completely out of character.)

The wedding was held just off the beach shortly before sunset. And it was beautiful. It was one of those weddings that truly reflect the personalities of the couple being married.

Next up, the reception ... which also completely reflected the couple of the day. It was so much fun! The playlist was excellent. And, although we were vastly outnumbered, we Canadians REPRESENTED! (Right Julie?)

For more photos, see our Karen & Scott Get Married photo album, our Karen's Hens Night I photo album, and/or our Karen's Hens Night II photo album.

New Zealand

Well, I doubt anyone read our last entry (Timor Leste) due to its excessive length. We'll try to be a bit more succinct this time ... but with Lee editing this (and adding her five cents worth), I can't make any promises.

On our way to New Zealand (from Timor Leste), we had a quick 24-hour stop in Sydney. Just enough time to see our friend James, eat some home cooking (his food), do some laundry (in his machine), and get a good nights sleep (yes, you guessed it; in his guest bed. Thanks, James!). Then it was off to NZ, specifically Wellington on the North Island. But we didn't linger (we figured we'd see it on our way back) and, right after a quick stop for breakfast (it was a little strange paying 1st world prices again) we jumped on a ferry to the South Island. And we saw for ourselves that, when the Divine Beings were dishing out stunning landscapes, New Zealand got a pretty sweet deal. The views throughout the journey from Wellington to Picton (on the South Island) just took our breath away.

We arrived in Nelson, our first stop, a lovely mid-sized city where we planned to spend a few days recovering from the challenges of travelling through Indonesia and Timor Leste. Well, that was our excuse anyway. After some pretty lean living in Indo and Timor Leste, we happily indulged in pizzas and ice cream (and even McDonald's; I'm sooo sorry ...). We also had to organize our bike trip along the West Coast, so our other excuse for indulging ourselves was that we needed to 'carbo load'. Unfortunately, we also 'fat loaded' and 'ice cream loaded' as well.

Nelson wasn't all just eating and sleeping our asses off. We took advantage of our proximity to Abel Tasman National Park, and did an overnight hike/kayak tour. The first day we were essentially on our own; they told us where the kayaks would meet us the following morning and dropped us off at the trailhead. We walked for about six hours along the coastline, enjoying the view and the well-maintained trail. We pitched our tent at a small campsite just off the beach (Bark Bay), and the next day we met up with our kayaking group and spent the day on the water. We even got close to a seal colony. Cool. One small unexpected glitch ... the kayaks were two-seaters, and Lee and I quickly learned that we had to work on our communication skills (someone is a bit of a control freak, but I won't mention any names). Thank goodness we didn't book a tandem for our bike trip ...! Overall, however, the entire trip was thoroughly enjoyable, and we would highly recommend it.

Abel Tasman National Park
After a day's delay, we finally got our bikes (they were rented from a company in Christchurch who had to ship them to Nelson) and were ready and pumped to get going. We planned to bike west towards the port town of Westport, and from there follow the well-known West Coast trail south finishing in Queenstown. Our tour was based on one Lee found in a biking book, and, based on the timeline the book provided and conversations with more than a few bicyclists in town, we thought we could accomplish the journey in the 12 days that we had. (We were limited to 12 days because we were trying to meet up with Lee's boss, Helen, and her husband Wilf in Queenstown on the 26th.)

After the first day, however, we realized that perhaps we had been a bit ambitious. First, the distance from Nelson to Queenstown is just over 900km. That meant we needed to cover, on average, 75km per day, a calculation that we somehow neglected to do during our planning phase. Second, we were carrying all our stuff (in the neighbourhood of about 15 kg each) as we were doing the journey only one way and we weren't able to find a bus company willing to ship the stuff we didn't need to Queenstown. Third, we realized after closer scrutiny of the tour Lee found that it was likely a supported tour as it only listed the biking distance between Nelson and Westport as 80km (the distance is closer to over 200km). As you can imagine, it is significantly easier to cover longer distances on a supported tour because you don't carry anything on your bike, except maybe a water bottle or two. Fourth, we were not in top biking shape (damn those tasty pizzas!), and on the first day, after being on the bikes for six hours, our legs and our bums gave serious protest. And we'd covered only about 65km! But the short distance covered wasn't only due to our pizza and ice cream habit ... NZ is hilly!! And we're not talking steep but short hills. No ... we wish! No, these hills are steep and long or not-as-steep and seemingly going on forever. Midway through the first day we faced a monolithic beast that just went up and up and up. It's actually a good thing our legs died when they did that day. We didn't know it, but there was another beast just over the horizon -- the Hope Saddle. We attacked and barely conquered that monster about mid-morning on the second day. It's such a brute that while we were recovering at the top, drivers going past us honked their horns and gave us the thumbs up or shook their fists in victory.

After two days we'd covered about 120km and conquered two monster hills. But our legs were burnt out, and our asses weren't speaking to us anymore. We decided that we needed a rest day, and we combined it with a shuttle bus to our next scheduled stop. That way we'd get our rest day, but not fall too far behind our schedule. So we took a shuttle from Murchison to Westport, and it's amazing how much easier it is to cover 100km when you're on four wheels and not two!

Everything got better once we reached the coast as the views of the cliffs and the ocean are just stunning; they certainly gave us a much needed mental boost. Along the way, we met a nice couple from Switzerland who were also on bikes. Dario and Suzanne had been on the road for more than a month, and were in tip-top shape. We crossed paths with them on a couple of occasions, but we'd only overtake them after throwing the bikes on a shuttle bus. They always caught up with us though!

Those tiny specks on the road are Dario and Susanne.
We were there only half-an-hour before them.
One must see (of many) along the West Coast trail are the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. They are really cool, and they actually do look like pancakes. All we needed was a little maple syrup .... Speaking of maple syrup, you actually can eat pancakes at the Pancake Rocks. Unfortunately, we'd already eaten breakfast.

Franz Joseph Glacier is another must see. We signed up for a day tour to walk up the ice face (you can take a helicopter to see the glacier, but we figured it was the wimpy way to do it; it was also seriously out of our budget). And what a walk is was! It's an eerie feeling walking on what's essentially a giant ice cube. The glacier is full of gorges and ridges and our guide, Ben, was a little overzealous in his trail-making. I think he could have kept going up the glacier forever. Lee said that when it finally became apparent to him that we had to head back (or risk coming down the glacier in the dark) he was like a puppy that realized that it's owner is serious about taking it home. He just sort of deflated. I think he was hoping we'd all say that we were up for continuing onward, even though it was past 4:00pm when he finally turned us around. We got back to our camp (more than a couple hours late), wet, cold, and tired. It was a very cool experience (literally!), but, as you can imagine, we slept like babies that night.

Ulrik making his way down a set of ice stairs.
Our bike trip was at an end and, fortunately, we'd had only one 'serious' mishap -- some losers stole all our food from the camp kitchen one night. We jumped on another shuttle bus to Queenstown to meet Helen and Wilf (Lee's boss and her husband). And after all the hard work, is was very good to spend a couple of evenings with them; it was nice to see some familiar faces. Nice, too, enjoying some really good food (we'd been primarily cooking for ourselves in camp kitchens -- thanks Helen and Wilf!). After too short a time, Helen and Wilf were off to the Milford Track (lucky them!), and we were on our own again. Not that we lacked anything to do. Queenstown is, after all, the adventure capital of New Zealand, and while we bypassed the jet boats, helicopters, zorbing, and bungees, we did try The Luge. It's basically a go-cart, but the track goes around the top of this hill overlooking the city. You can pick up a fair amount of speed, and competing against each other was a lot of fun. We also did a day hike to the top of Ben Lomond, which is the highest peak in Queensland. The views from the top were absolutely stunning (totally worth the three hour uphill journey to get there). It was literally a 360 degree vista, which included the Southern Alps.

Enjoying the view from the top of Ben Lomond.
But eventually it all had to come to an end, and we boarded a plane to Wellington where we were to catch our flight to Sydney, Australia.

New Zealand's South Island is truly beautiful, and we really enjoyed our visit there, even when we were cold, wet, tired and had sore bums. We'll most certainly return, but next time we might rent a camper van ....

For more photos, see our New Zealand photo album.

Timor Leste (East Timor)

Crossing the border.
After a rather uneventful flight we actually arrived in Kupang at a reasonable time which, as we've mentioned before, is practically unheard of in Indonesia. We immediately set out to secure a hotel room. With our trusted Lonely Planet in hand, we commenced our search only to quickly discover that all the hotels were fully booked due to a conference for all government employees! I finally found a very low-end option that wasn't too unacceptable (Lee had given up in despair, and was waiting with our bags), and after collecting Lee and our bags, we started the long walk up the hill to get there. But fate intervened, and we met a man who had a friend with a guest house and an available room. Normally, we wouldn't have fallen for this ploy but we were only halfway up the hill, his friend's guesthouse was down the hill, and it was cheaper than the dive we were headed to, so we thought we might as well check it out. While not great, it was available and (as mentioned previously) cheap, and as we were only staying one night we decided to take it. Another bit of good luck was that the owner was able to help us arrange our transport to Timor Leste (East Timor). After a couple of phone calls, he told us that the minibus would pick us up at our accommodations the following morning at the ungodly time of 5:00am.

Now when people in Indonesia tell you a pick-up time, you could add a couple of hours, sleep in and still be early. After travelling in Indo for three weeks, we should have known this but, like newbies, we were up at the crack of dawn and waiting in front of our accommodations ten minutes before the appointed hour. When the shuttle still hadn't shown up by 7:00am, we started getting a little nervous. Lee finally convinced me to go and look for a phone to try to call the company. Of course, by the time I locate a phone (with the help of a local guy), I see the shuttle zooming past us towards our guesthouse.

With the driver being late and having to rush to reach the border before it closes for the day, he puts pedal-to-the-metal, and the 10-hour ride to Dili is anything but fun with high speed twist and turns through the mountains. We finally arrive in Dili -- after a brief stop at the border check-point which is basically a tin shack -- and, as always, it's getting dark. Luckily, our driver drops us right at the front gate of the hotel we were looking to stay it. Unluckily, we notice after he pulls away that the hotel is looking awfully dark and deserted. We eventually locate a guy walking around by the light of his cell phone, who gets the owner, and, finally, we're checked in. Being rather hungry after a long day with little food, we decide to head to town to get some dinner. The owner suggests that a taxi is easiest, and tells us the price (US$1 to go downtown). We decide on a slightly more upmarket place that seems to be busy (once we got settled at a table and looked around, we noticed that all the patrons were white westerners -- we later realize that they are all foreign aid workers). After a fantastic dinner of pizza and salad, we leave the restaurant around 10:00pm and discover that the streets are completely and utterly deserted. No one is around, the streets are very dark (the street lights are placed very far apart), there are no cars, and there are definitely no taxis.

We ask at the desk in front of the restaurant where we can find a taxi and he indicates heading towards a few lights down a dark street. Feeling a little nervous, we head in that direction, which also happens to be in the direction of where we're staying. We get to the next set of lights, but there are still no signs of any taxis. With our hearts in our throats we decide to walk the 3KM towards our accommodation in the hope of spotting one on the way. This has generally worked for us in the past. But there are still no taxis and so we keep on walking. The occassional motorbike passes us (going in the opposite direction), and there are small clusters of young men hanging out in the light of the widely spaced street lights. By the time, we're both feeling somewhat nervous as this is exactly what we should not be doing: walking around in a deserted area that is unfamiliar after dark. And we weren't even 100% sure we were going in the right direction! Finally, after what seems like forever, we come across a few familiar landmarks, and shortly after that we arrive at the gates of our accommodations. Lee told me that the time we arrived (11:00pm, an hour after we had left the restaurant), was the time she had told herself she could start to panic!

Despite our slightly harrowing introduction to Timor Leste, we ultimately found it to be a wonderful country. The people were nothing but friendly to us (although not as much to each other; there is a Civil Unrest number, seriously, it's 7230686). Indeed, on our long walk home in the dark on that first night we were greeted with friendly "Bonne Noits" (good evening) from several of the clusters of men in the dark.

Lunch?
Getting up early the next morning we decide to only explore the city doing the day, and after a hearty breakfast of Timorese coffee and Portuguese pao (bread), we're on our way. Life has returned to the city, and one of the first things we notice is that practically every car is a big white Toyota being driven by a foreigner, and that one out of three is a UN Police vehicle. Maybe this whole East Timor was not such a great idea after all! But while exploring the city we find the locals to either be shyly friendly or completely indifferent to our presence -- quite a change from the more aggressive "friendliness" encountered in Indonesia and other developing countries!

Wanting a closer look at the island of Atauro (located just north of Dili), but not willing to rely on the sporadic ferry crossings, we book a dive trip with a local dive company for two days hence. After a hot day of walking around (we thought we would save the cost of taxi fares!), we arrived back at our hotel (well before dark!) and got to talking with the owner of the hotel. We later find out that Pedro (the owner) is actually a bit of a local celebrity, as his hotel used to house foreign journalists during the Indonesian oppression of East Timor. He's also mentioned more than a few times in the Australian journalist John Martinkus' book, A Dirty Little War, which chronicles this time in East Timor's history.

After a couple more days exploring Dili, we embark on our scuba adventure. What is fast becoming obvious to us is that East Timor is not high on anyone's travel itinerary; there is only one other tourist on the boat and he's also the only one we meet during our week here. And while waiting in line for the ATM, the lady ahead of us was so surprised when we told her we were travellers that her jaw practically dropped and she did a double take! That's not to say that we're the only "white" faces in town. The place is crawling with foreigners ... they just all happen to be foreign aid workers.

The diving ended up not being that great, but it wasn't that bad either. But just to remind us that we are not in some carefree tropical locale, during our surface interval the captain received a text message (all foreigners are hooked up to a network that updates them on what is going on in the city) saying that the airport has been shut down due to riots, and that there have been some casualties. Although Lee and I are quite taken aback by the news, which is imparted to us in a blase "here's the weather" tone of voice, it all appears to be business as usual for everyone else. No one even bats an eye; they just get on with the diving.

Finally having had enough of Dili, and being told by many that we can't judge East Timor by Dili alone, we decide to take a day trip to the mountain town of Maubisse. After an early 5:00am start, we eventually locate the bus station. Or, more accurately, the street where all the buses appear to leave from. This also appears to be a major market area, and a lot of locals are setting up their tables of local wares for sale. Because we left our accommodations so early we did not receive our usual complimentary breakfast, so we decided to get some food at the market. To our joy we spot a guy selling the very delicious pao that we had not had any luck in finding previously. Lee asks him for the price, and he responds by putting up one finger. Does this mean $1? And, if yes, how many do we get for $1? After a couple of confusing seconds, we decide to just get what he gives us and we nod yes to him. He smiles and starts throwing buns in a big bag, and he doesn't stop until it's full of twelve warm and chewy rolls. Not sure if we're paying the right amount, Lee gives him the $1. He smiles and waves us away. Wow! Twelve buns for only $1! Delicious and cheap!! Well provisioned we get on the first bus, only to be cajoled into getting on a pick-up truck that seems to have more people on it and is further up the road (which we took to mean being at the head of the line). There do not appear to be any schedules in this country and, like in Indonesia, transportation just leaves when it's full. We must have filled the quota because after getting on the pick-up we leave right away. Which is good, because it's pretty full. The 70KM ride ends up taking three-and-a-half hours. But it was through winding roads that afforded amazing views down into Dili and the surrounding countryside.

Maubisse lives up to its reputation, and we settle in for lunch at a traditional Portuguese Posada which is located on its own peak and has 360 degree view of the surroundings. Again, we're the only customers, but this was due to the fact that it was midweek. (Apparently, the place is packed with foreign aid workers on the weekend.) The proprietor is very friendly; he moves us to a table on the veranda and serves us a giant meal of chicken with rice and vegetables (one of only two items on the menu). After lunch we walked the grounds and enjoyed the quiet.

The ride back is another adventure. We take another pick-up truck; this one practically empty so we're able to stand up and hang onto the railing in order to enjoy the fresh air (sort of like a dog with its head hanging out a car window). Unfortunately, it seems like one of the other passengers is planning on building something, because we keep having to stop at these "wood stalls" along the way. These are no Home Depot. They are, literally, long planks of wood, bundled together, and laid along the side of the road. Periodically, we would stop at one of these stops, and the driver and the guy doing the buying would get out and go through the bundles, find something that was acceptable, and pile them into the back of the pickup.

It's definitely one way to get there.
After less than a week in East Timor, it's time to leave, which makes us rather sad as we have come to like this unusual country. It might very well be on every country's foreign department's list of "Places Not to Visit", but we truly enjoyed our time there and are already looking forward to going back one day.

For more photos, see our East Timor photo album.

Where we've been so far ...

Here's what we've actually done so far:

04 January to 20 February 2008 (Lee only) - Canada (Toronto to North Gower to Toronto to Calgary to Toronto to North Gower to Toronto)
13 December 2007 to 04 January 2008 - Denmark (Copenhagen)
11 to 13 December 2007 - Switzerland (Zurich)
21 November to 11 December 2007 - Italy (Venice to Bologna to Florence to Marradi to Crespino to Florence to Assisi to Pisa to Lucca to Parma to Como)
16 to 20 November 2007 - Thailand (Bangkok)
03 October to 16 November 2007 - Nepal (Kathmandu to Besisahar to Bahundanda to Chamje to Danaygu to Chame to Manang to Yak Kharka to Thorung Phedi to the Thorung La Pass to Muktinath to Marpha to Larjung to Dhaulagiri to Ghasa to Tatopani to Ghorepani to Pokhara to the Karnali River to Kathmandu)
02 to 03 October 2007 - Thailand (Bangkok)
12 August to 30 September 2007 - Canada (Vancouver to Ottawa to Toronto to Halifax to Toronto to Lake of Bays to Toronto)
10 to 12 August 2007 - Thailand (Bangkok)
29 July to 10 August 2007 - Burma (Yangon to Kalaw to Inle Lake to Hpa-An to Yangon)
17 to 29 July 2007 - Thailand (Chiang Khong to Chiang Mai to Pai to Chiang Mai to Ban Mae Jo/Panya Project Farm to Chiang Mai to Bangkok)
01 to 17 July 2007 - Laos (Savannakhet to Vientiane to Phonsavan to Luang Prabang to Luang Nam Tha to Muang Sing to Luang Nam Tha to Vieng Phouka to Huay Xai)
10 June to 01 July 2007 - Vietnam (Chau Doc to Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat to Lak Lake to Buon Ma Thuot to Kon Tum to Kham Duc to Hoi An to Hue to Lao Bao)
25 May to 10 June 2007 - Cambodia (Poipet to Siem Reap/Angkor to Phnom Penh to Tropaeng Sdock to Phnom Penh to Neak Leung)
27 April to 25 May 2007 - Thailand (Sungai Kolok to Hat Yai to Chaiya to Surat Thani to Koh Samui to Koh Tao to Chumphon to Bangkok to Ayutthaya to Bankgok to Aranya Prathet)
08 to 27 April 2007 - Malaysia (Pulau Tiomen to Kuala Lumpur to Jerantut to Kuala Tahan/Taman Negara to Jerantut to Wakaf Baharu to Kota Bahru to Puntau Jentang)
01 to 08 April 2007 - Singapore
27 March to 01 April 2007 - Indonesia (Bali to Mt. Bromo to Surabaya to Jakarta)
03 to 27 March 2007 - Australia (Sydney to Blue Mountains to Sydney to Melbourne to Great Ocean Road to Melbourne)
10 February to 03 March 2007 - New Zealand (Wellington to Picton to Nelson to Abel Tasman National Park to Nelson to Wesport to Punakaiki to Greymouth to Hokitika to Franz Josef to Queenstown to Wellington)
08 to 09 February 2007 - Australia (Darwin to Sydney)
01 to 07 February 2007 - Timor Leste (Dili to Atauro to Dili to Maubisse to Dili)
06 to 31 January 2007 - Indonesia (Jakarta to Yogyakarta to Kaliurang to Mt. Merapi to Semarang to Kumai to Tanjung Puting National Park to Kumai to Pangkalanbun to Kumai to Surabaya to Denpassar to Gili Air to Mataram to Kupang)
14 December 2006 to 04 January 2007 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
01 to 14 December 2006 - Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Sun, sand, and sea!

Welcome to paradise.
I think Lee needed to get that out of her system. Public transport in Indonesia is NOT easy. It's not that the trains/buses/ferries are bad (although they are hardly great), or even expensive (it's probably about a C$1.50/hour average), it's just that it takes sooo long to get anywhere.

We were well and truly tired when we arrived at Gili Air. Luckily it wasn't too late in the evening and was still daylight, so we felt confident that we could find a decent space to throw down our backpacks. The island itself is very small; circumnavigating it on foot takes about an hour, and it was very quiet when we got there. As we made our rounds of the resorts, a lady who wanted us to see her place called out to us. We kind of had another place in mind, but she told that the price of the room was only 35,000 Rupiahs/night (about C$5), and this included breakfast (which turned out to be a big banana pancake with a fruit salad and coffee!). Needless to say that sounded too good to be true, but we decided to take a look. Good thing we did as the hut was very nice, indeed. It was a self-contained hut in a hibiscus garden close to the beach, with a nice big bed and a big, clean bath room. Awesome. Still, we thought we should check out our original option, which, unfortunately, was at the farthest point on the island. And, of course, it turned out to be no good, so we trudged right back, double checked the price, and settled in. The next six days (it was only supposed to be three) were spent doing some serious relaxation, eating some good food and, of course, doing some diving.

We went on three great dives, and saw sharks, turtles (eight in one dive!) and leafy scorpionfish. The highlight would have to be the purple Pygmy seahorses our guide found in a large fan coral. They were so tiny, only about 5mm, and they blended in perfectly with the purple coral itself. I don't know how they spotted them! I would look at certain spots of the coral, not really knowing if I was actually looking at a seahorse or not, until I would see an eye blink or a gill move. Amazing stuff! Lee and I have seen a lot of stuff underwater and can be a bit hard to impress, but these little critters are certainly at the top of the list.

We also met a couple from Quebec (we seem to be meeting only people from Canada; it makes one wonder ... ) that we got talking to. Marie-Helene and Numa had also spent a lot of time on the road, and were, like us, recharging in Gili Air. We spent many a night on the beach, eating food and chatting, which funnily enough was mainly about food, especially French-Canadian specialities such as poutine (for those not in the know, it's french fries with brown gravy and melted cheese curds -- heart attack in a paper box, but oh so tasty ... ). We had to leave eventually, but this time we decided to fly ... no more slow boats for us! We got ourselves a plane ticket to Kupang, West Timor, the most easterly island in Indonesia.

For more photos, see our Indonesia photo album.