Journals of a Transient

Quick Stop Singapura

2009-12-22T01:04:00.000-08:00

If you had a day in Singapore, what do you do?

a. Avoid the sweltering heat and constant rain. Stay and shop underground (it's airconditioned), then navigate your way around this country through its expansive and very reliable public transport system, the MRT.

b. Starve yourself for several hours, then find the nearest hawker stand and start stuffing your face with great Singapore food finds.

c. Connect with long lost friends. Since about half of the population are immigrants, I'm sure you know at least one person (or know someone who knows someone) in Singapore.

Mutya and Noah

Us, at Jinggoy's and Mutya's abode in Singapore.

d. Finally, rest. You're paying a lot for your accommodation in this expensive country so take advantage of your hotel room.

New and comfortable, aQueen Lavender Hotel

A quick shout out to my very talented friend Jinggoy, his beautiful wife Mutya, and cute Noah for welcoming us for an afternoon tea at their beautiful home. We can't wait to hear more about Bubba's updates. Take care!!!

Surviving Siem Reap

2009-12-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

In Siem Reap, you have a choice. Hide and avoid, or stay and go nuts. I'm not trying to deter the average traveler intending to traverse the beauty of the lands far east, but one should be ready and aware of the irks when planning a trip to this world wonder. When arriving in Siem Reap, don't expect too much and you'll be happier. Don't trust the beautiful photos and stories from travel books and web guides because hidden are the elements which contribute much to most of the annoyances.

One of the few saving graces of our stay in this city is our hotel. Aside from having attentive and pleasantly nice staff, it is also very cheap. The Mandalay Inn just a few blocks from the main area of Old Market, offers clean and comfy basic rooms with two double beds and aircondition for $16/night. When I say aircondition, you better take it because if you try to go for the fan room, you will not survive. The heat in this is sweltering, even in the supposedly cooler month of September. Let me just say that mid day, can get to 95 degrees fahrenheit (not sure what that is in celsius).

In addition to your hotel room, you have to find another place for a sanctuary away from the heat of the sun, the annoying street hawkers (trying to sell you anything under the sun....and moon), and the overbearing crowds of tourists. For us, our spot became the uber comfy 2nd floor lounge of the trendy Blue Pumpkin bar/resto/cafe. You can literally have breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed at this shop. It has WiFi but with a downside (nothing's perfect you know). There are no electric plugs in the lounge so you'll have to make sure you either have long lasting battery or you can endure the heat and humidity at the non-airconditioned smoking area. Oh well, it's still good and one should experience it regardless.

Blue Pumpkin

Lounging away from the crowd and heat

Snack in Bed

There are a lot of activities to keep you busy and away from the crowds as well. There are millions of volunteer opportunities in this city as there is a huge need. Just make sure you line them up ahead of time. Don't be like me and Rolfe, trying to find one the last minute.

There are gazillions of options for food from local Khmer food stalls to hoity toity selections at pub street. If you choose to eat "safe" by going to the later, make sure you're prepared to pay US prices as well. Just know that a meal for pub street can go for $10-$20 per person easily. Regardless, local food stall or pub street, just don't forget to indulge yourself at least one for a good local favorite called Amok which is steamed fish in coconut curry, served with rice. And yes, we did indulge at least once. We found a place surprisingly by the name of the dish itself, Amok at pub street.

Don't try to do everything the ruins have to offer. Pick your battles, some of them are not worth fighting for in my own opinion. Just like watching the free Sunset on top of one of the ruins (included if you pre-purchase a ticket for the next day).

If you're coming here to see the Angkor and many of its surrounding sites, which I hope you are, you have a choice between riding tuktuk, a moto (sitting behind a motorcycle driver), or renting your own bike. Having been unable to endure the heat, sweat and crowd, we opted for our own tuktuk. However, we still tried to go cheap by not going for a tour guide and instead just winging it on our own. In the morning, we woke up eagerly at 4am to watch the well raved about sunrise at Angkor Wat. Riding on a windowless tuktuk means a bumpy and windy ride. Once you get to Angkor Wat and have entered the site, you'll be greeted with an introduction by a faceless person trying to guide you towards the spot to watch the sunrise. Afterwards he'll ask you if you want a chair in front of the small lake for a small fee of $1 (pretty expensive for a chair in an empty morning). It includes a free cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or water. But still, we didn't think we had to pay on top of paying for entrance. Whatever, we went for it anyway after realizing that the crowd was getting bigger and we might lose our spot for the spectacular view and reflection of Angkor Wat from the lake.

After gazing through the changing colors of the temple at sunrise, trek around many of the sites. Obviously, you'd want to see the Angkor Wat itself. We were lucky enough to bump into nice tourists who were kind enough to let us tag along with their guide tour. We paid of course but having a guide can't beat the historical information you won't get if you decide to go your own. The sites were amazing but if you only have a day or two, I say pick the best ones.

After Angkor Wat, there's Angkor Thom, where you'd want to hit Bayon. Here you'll be welcomed by heads of the Buddha (eventually converted to Hindu god Vishnu by adding a third eye) which all look the same (based on the likings of the egoistic King Jayavaraman VII).

Be very careful with your food. This guy stole Rolfe's muffin away from his hand. Hehehehe.

After Bayon, there are smaller temples and ruins including, Ta Prhom where they shot the film Tomb Raider. It's a very interesting temple because the ruins started growing very large trees on top of them.

After being at all these sites, everything becomes a little underwhelming. You have a choice to go further and check out more but Rolfe and I were exhausted after a very early morning start, overwhelming crowds and suffocating heat.

We could've done more and stayed longer but 4 days was enough. The nonstop hassling by tuktuk drivers, food and clothing shop vendors, and the constant bombardment of begging from children for money don't help to keep us staying longer. In Siem Reap, there's a choice and our choice was to move on.

Little Big Town Luang Prabang

2009-12-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

From Bangkok and then Chian Mai, we were ready to slow down. The smog was wearing us us out and both Rolfe and I started getting congestion. The tiny town of Luang Prabang was the perfect place for us to wind down and go zen. Picking us up at the Chiang Mai airport was the introduction of what we should expect from Luang Prabang. A tiny propeller complete with all the amenities of any large Boeing or Airbus plane.

Lao Air flight from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang

After arriving at the airport, Rolfe and I were greeted at the immigration with officers. Being still a Filipino citizen, I can take advantage of traveling around SE Asia without needing a visa. Rolfe had to queue up and get a visa and pay some fee to get in the country. When we got to town, we immediately felt how different the stay would be in comparison to the much bigger and busier cities of Thailand. The weather was cold at night, filled with locals and monks walking along the small streets. Motorbikes and regular bicycles zipped around like bees. Guesthouses (smaller version of hotels), internet cafes, tour operators and bookshops lined the quiet streets that lead to the main street of town. Once you get to the main street, you'll be greeted by chic restaurants and shops housed in old-style French Maison.

Local French style Cafe

Chic spaces meant not very cheap prices. However, it is still cheaper in comparison to eating out in the US. A full set breakfast with a large baguette (they love this french bread here) with marmalade and butter, coffee, fresh fruit, two eggs, fruit shake cost about 40,000 Kip (around $4.50 per person). If you're still not satisfied with the price, you have the option of eating at a local food stall to eat pho for 10,000 kip ($1.20) or the many skewered meat from chicken, pork to fish and many of their byproducts (hehehe) for even less. Many stalls open for dinner at the small streets that lead up to the night market. One thing positive about shopping and eating in Luang Prabang is that they accept US dollars and Thai baht everywhere. So don't worry about running of the large denominations of Lao kip.

In addition to eating cheap and window(less) shopping around town and the night market, some highlights of being in this UNESCO world heritage site city are the magnificent views of the river, the mountains and the falls. You can spend an afternoon just chilling long the riverside, where you can watch slow boats dock, read a book or do yoga (yes someone was doing yoga by herself on the quiet riverside).

Mekong Sunset

After a day of pure relaxation, Rolfe and I decided it was time to do a little bit of giving back to our very kind world. While walking along the streets of the night market, we bumped into this small stall where a guy is selling books that benefit children and young adults who are keen on learning the English language. The organization he represents is called Big Brother Mouse (click here to learn more) . Basically, the idea is you buy the book, then the next day, you can bring the book to their local office where you can have a book party where you give the book to a kid who wants to learn and speak English. If you don't have much mulla (just like Rolfe and myself - both unemployed), you can just give the gift of time by spending two hours of conversation. We decided to swing by the office the next day to help some locals, and there we met a few students. One of them stood out who's very keen to learn. He also asked us if we wanted to learn more about some interesting sites. Since we decided to go the next day for site seeing without a guide, we decided to bring him along with us to serve as our guide and so he can practice his English at the same time.

In the afternoon, we decided to be more active and to journey outside of town to the villages using the bikes we rented for the day. In addition to the wonderful views of the mountain ranges, we also had sightings of local youth engaging in fun sports.

The next day, were excited to be toured around by our new friend. We hired a private minivan so we can make the most of our time and visit. We went to Luang Prabang's most famous site. Outside of town lies the wonder, Kuang Si Falls. It is composed of terraces of smaller falls and a large falls on the very top. You can swim at the clear small falls and hike up the top of main large falls to peek at the view of the beautiful rain forest.

Kuang Si Falls

After watching the spectacular view from the top of the falls, we decided to trek another 4 kilometers to the rainforest to a water spring and cave. Along the path, we bumped into fields, goats, views of the mountain ranges and a dilapidated bridge. Once we got to the cave entrance, we figured couldn't really go inside since we didn't bring flashlights.

As we headed back to the hotel, our van broke. It was like fate telling us not to leave yet. But we really had to go. Although very sore, that night, we still tried to exert our all the energy we've got by strolling around town, eating local food and even playing three rounds of bowling until midnight (I had a high score of 140! Woohoo!) The next day we had to leave but who would've thought we would have so much fun in this little big town called Luang Prabang.

Cool Chiang Mai

2009-12-08T05:13:00.000-08:00

Chiang Mai is cool with a capital C. The weather is more bearable (meaning Cooler), locals are artsy and tons of activities. It's an adventure-seeker and thrill-rider haven. Although Chiang Mai can get chaotic, especially at night as it is Thailand's second largest city next to Bangkok, it still has the charms of a small town. It really reminded me of Seattle with its music scene, adventure packed activities and chic shops. Three days really is not enough to explore this wonderful city. Click here to see some of our adventures in Chiang Mai.

A few things we go to do during our short stay here include:

1. A walk along the busy Sunday Market at night (only Sundays ok so make sure to visit this city on a Sunday!). We thought we got away from chaos in Bangkok but it just follows us.

2. Got to see cool performances and exhibits at the Muang-Muang Cultural Happenings (also at the Sunday Market). Yes, it's a really artsy town with a large population of locals and foreigners (aka farangs) enjoying the scene.

3. Eat tons of food.OMG, traveling with Rolfe means we eat a full meal every three hours.

4. Zipline (Flight of the Gibbon). One of the most fun activity I've done my entire life. There's nothing like seeing the view from the top. Rolfe, he just freaked out every time they push him on the zip line.

We have one more day left (really just half day) and we'll take advantage of it before we head to Luang Prabang, Laos. Tomorrow, we'll see the temples at Doi Suthep atop the mountain overlooking the city. Then, we'll head to the Buphing Palace, which is the winter residence of the royal family and famous for its beautiful gardens.

There are still tons to do like going up the hills to visit the hilltribe people, cooking class, elephants, rockclimbing, ATV, more massage, etc, etc. But then, it's just one of those where you say "Oh well, we'll just have to come back."

Bangkok, City in Pink

2009-12-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

Sawasdee. Rolfe and I arrived in Bangkok a few days ago and I would say that we are both overwhelmed, both good and bad. The people are very polite and friendly, the temples are spectacular, food just incomparable, yet the chaos will turn your head spinning.

You have not seen traffic if you've never been to Bangkok. This city will test your patience, and yes the people are very patient with waiting, sitting on the bus or the tuktuks but are very impatient with following the rules of the road (which really end up causing the traffic in the first place). I won't even try to drive here if I had a chance. If you really want to test yourself even further, come to Bangkok during the King's birthday on December 5th (the celebration actually goes on and on for days, the real count I don't know because even the locals don't). During this time, the city turns into pink, the color of the day when the King was born. Everything is pink. Pink shirts, pink dress, pink flowers, pink cabs, pink lights, pink anything.

Women in pink praying to the Emerald Buddha at the Wat Phra Kaew

(click here to see more of our Bangkok Adventures)

On the day of our arrival, Rolfe's friend Peter took us to a temple to get us introduced to the many many more temples we'll see in and outside the city. Then, we went out for a river cruise dinner along the Chao Praya. Of course, Rolfe was very happy since he got to eat some more. My favorite part of the cruise was the traditional performance by the traditional Thai dancers. My advice to the jetlagged tourist, do this three hour long river cruise (in addition to the two hour traffic around Bangkok) after you've recovered from the time zone difference. I fell asleep after the performance below and I felt bad for our host for missing some of the sites we passed along the river. Sorry Bangkok :(

The next day, we met with our friend Nipa (Lori's previous exchange student). Even though she didn't have a car (which is a smart way of living in Bangkok), she managed to take us around to see and do many things Bangkok style. This included a trip to Bangkok's largest mall, MBK to run a few errands before our long day of sightseeing. Rolfe had to find food so we had to stop at the grocery. He also wanted to get a haircut (which meant I get to get one too, hehehe). We went to this salon which had a gazillion of very beautiful Thai girls (by birth and by hear, mind and soul....you know what I mean). Rolfe said it was his best haircut ever and we only paid $5 each.

After the haircut, Rolfe and I also needed to buy some accessories for our gadgets. I managed to leave my charger for my flip cam and he managed to leave his USB connector for his camera. And the beauty of shopping Bangkok style, you get to buy these things knock off, with knock off prices.

Anyway, after our travails around the shops and mall of Bangkok, we did get to go to see some cultural spots (not that malls and shopping aren't a part of Thai culture). Nipa took us to the largest and most beautiful collection of temples around Wat Phra Kaew and the Great Palace (See photos as proof that we didn't just go shoppin g).

After a long day of walking, we decided we haven't experienced enough of Thai culture so we decided to try some Thai massage. Nipa took us to the Thai massage school at one of the temples and see if we can handle this really stressful activity. We got there late (as usual) which meant we only get to experience this for 30 minutes. Rolfe got a foot massage while Nipa and I got a full body massage. Fully dressed with jeans and shirt on, my masseur managed to get through my sore body without trouble. I have never experienced such strong masseur and I would say, it is not for the faint of heart. This beats Lori's chiropractor hands down. Speaking of which, the masseur even cracked my back five times, which was really a surprising experience.

As we were ending our day, we decided to eat at Khao San road in the center of Bangkok, nearby our hotel. This street is flocked by foreigners, food stalls, hotels and hostels, and more shopping. Add to this, the chaos of the Thai celebration of the King's birthday and you'll really be exhausted and ready to to go to bed immediately afterwards. This is if you're able to find your hotel around many of Bangkok's confusing streets and traffic even after midnight.

The next day, we met with Nipa for another adventure before she goes out of town with her family. We met her boyfriend and they were both very gracious to take us around the largest public market (possibly in the world), the Chatuchak market. You can buy anything you want in this market, from furnitures, to clothes, to food, to dogs, cats and birds (yes...real live animals as pets, which I'm glad we didn't see because it will only break our hearts). We only managed to go to 5% of the market since we only had a few hours alloted before we ventured to the outskirts of Bangkok for another trip. This place was heaven for Rolfe because of food and as you see on the photo below, he found a new favorite skewer snack for only 30 cents. It's basically skewered onion, garlic, ginger and melted sugar wrapped in a leaf we don't know.

(Rolfe's new favorite snack)

After Chatuchak, we took a commuter van, one hour and half ride to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand. Here, you can see the contrast of Bangkok to the old capital. From glamorous temples, to old and disintegrating, mainly affected by the ravages of war with the Burmese in the old periods. We were also greeted by many stray dogs, wandering around the old city, which was very hard to see, knowing that animals are being bred nonstop to be sold as pets both in Thailand and many other countries. It was a very frustrating scenario and the city was a little bit underwhelming in comparison to the chaos and beauty of Bangkok and its treasures.

(Ayutthaya's many structures standing tall despite age and gravity)

(See more photos of Ayutthaya)

After a long day of travel, we had to go back to Bangkok. Obviously, the night of the King's Birthday couldn't be the best time for us to return to our hotel. We were stuck in traffic for hours and had to walk several miles. Despite the evening heat and humidity, the millions of locals were in a celebratory mode. They figured just watching chaos from tv is not enough so why not join it. Rolfe and I decided to make our way back to our hotel and sleep for our next stop next day to Chiang Mai.

Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, the locals still take time to relax, meditate and pray. Managing to live in this environment means one is able to withstand anything. This is why Thai people are very gentle I would say, wherever we meet them in any part of the world. They just have the patience not many of us have. This contrast to me provides more colors to this beautiful city more than just pink. Sawasdee :)

Quick Hello from Hong Kong

2009-12-02T16:31:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Just a quick hello and welcome to my blog. For the past 18 hours, Rolfe and I have been spending a more than average nomadic life traveling first class via Cathay Pacific and using first class lounges at the SFO and Hong Kong airports. Don't worry, we're still grounded (although we've mostly been up in the sky) even though we're being treated extra special with the rest of the trip so far. I have never flown first class before and I would tell you that flying first class actually meant gorging on food nonstop both at the first class lounges in the airports and on the plane. Here's a glance of our flight experience so far.

Getting ready to start the party!

(click here to view more pictures)

Ok, I gotta run before I miss our flight. I'll post some more photos and videos later. Ciao for now!

Edan