Kevin and Lily…at home

I can’t believe it’s been a week since we’ve been home. And even though I’m totally relishing in the fact that I have a clean and comfortable bed to sleep in every night, there’s a lot of mixed feelings stirring around inside of me.

On the one hand, the time we’ve been able to spend with family and friends since we’ve been back has been amazing. The warm fuzzy feeling of coming home never gets old. And it’s funny. Even on our way home from the airport, it felt like we’d never left. On the other hand, things seem slightly different and unfamiliar than how we remembered it to be. For starters, since the time we’ve been gone, my mom has learned how to use the computer and go online. Like today, she spent a few hours in the afternoon streaming China’s Got Talent. Hrm. Then there’s our hardworking friends. Not only is everyone working really hard at advancing their careers, carefree attitudes towards life are replaced with ambitious goals to own a home. Hrm. But I suppose we all have to grow up some time.

5 months may not be long in the grand scheme of things, but it definitely gives you plenty of time to experience eye-opening situations and environments. I’ve found that travelling to less developed countries is this weird dichotomy of feeling really appreciative and grateful of what you have back home, but at the same time, being able to gain so much perspective and knowledge from these different cultures and people. I really think that there’s a lot to gain from extended travelling, and if time/life permits, go out there and explore the world. See life from a different light.

Although Kevin and Lily won’t be in transit much in the immediate future, we just wanted to say thanks to our friends and family who have checked up on us through our blog to make sure we were okay. Your encouraging messages and thoughts meant a lot to us. We hope you were able to live vicariously through our (mis)adventures. 

Until next time, happy travels and enjoy the journey. 

Kevin and Lily in transit

Familiar in the unfamiliar and vice versa

We spent our last few days in Thailand in Phuket. FYI: it’s pronounced poo-ket. Ahem. By now, this is our third time in this city, and it’s funny how things can feel so familiar in such an unfamiliar place.  We have become unfazed by the motorbike taxi drivers hollering, we know where to go for a comforting bowl of noodle soup, and we can even navigate through the traffic and streets quite well on our own motorbike.

Oddly enough, the opposite has also happened – the unfamiliar in the familiar. We’re at the airport right now, waiting to board our flight. Since we’re going back to a country (China) where it’s not summer all year round, it’s necessary for me to put on the layers. Who would have thought that after 6 weeks of giving my legs and feet freedom to breathe that pants and shoes would feel so restricting and odd? The upside is that there won’t be any blood-sucking mosquitos once we get on that plane.

There’s only a few hours left before our flight leaves Thailand, the land of smiles. And although I’m sad that we won’t be back anytime in the foreseeable future, South East Asia 2.0 has been a blast. I’m definitely very grateful for all the things we’ve been able to do, the food we’ve been able to eat, and the people we’ve met along the way. I know we can’t be on vacation forever, and there’s even a small part of me that’s somewhat excited to get back to work. Working definitely makes you more appreciative of having time off, and the money’s not bad either.  I think a sure sign of how you know your expenses are running dry is when you need to gather up all our foreign currencies you’ve accumulated to see how much you have for food that day. We must have provided the currency exchange guy much excitement when we showed up with our Cambodian riels, Loas kips, Indonesian rupiahs, Philippino pesos, Vietnamese dongs, and some US dollars just for kicks. 

We still have almost an hour before we board. It’s 1 AM right now, believe it or not. We haven’t left the country yet but it feels like we’re already transitioning into China. There’s a murmur of Mandarin all around us, and the Duty Free shop is jammed pack with Chinese tourists taking advantage of the tobacco and alcohol deals. We’re gonna be stopping over in Shanghai for a few hours, but that gives us just enough time to head into town and get our favourite pan fried buns. Then it’s back to Beijing for the final countdown.  

It's been a blast South East Asia. So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Sail Rock, Similan Islands - Thailand

The forbidden fruit

I have a confession to make. For the past three days Kevin and I have spoiled ourselves with some serious indulgence at a fancy 5-star hotel. It definitely wasn’t in our shoestring travel plans, but those Groupon deals can be oh so tempting.

We decided to save some money by walking it into the resort grounds from where the bus dropped us off. But almost 2 km later, with our packs getting heavier and our shirts getting sweatier with each step we took, we finally made it to the hotel. As soon as we stepped through the glass doors that were opened for us by two smiling Thai staff, I could feel my stress (and sweat) slipping away. From reading on the beach, to swimming around the hotel in their 3 km long pool, to getting massages at night we had plenty of things to keep us occupied that we didn’t leave the resort grounds for the entire time we were there. And if that wasn’t enough to get you going, the buffet breakfasts were definitely a great start to your day. Just ask Kevin and all the bacon he stuffed himself silly with. Yes, the forbidden fruit of luxury is mouth-wateringly delicious .

Even though we’ve checked out of our five-star and checked into a windowless room in town, we’re happy to be experiencing what is outside those perfectly white walls of the resort. As fabulous as our stay at the resort was, it’s scary to think that some people really do just come to Thailand to stay at a place like that for the entire time and feel like they’ve “experienced” the country.

We’ll be staying in the town of Khao Lak for the next couple nights where most people use this place as a starting point to visit the Similan Islands.  The Similans are a group of nine islands to the west of here, and it’s considered by many as one of the best places in Thailand to see an abundance of marine and wildlife. We’re super excited to go snorkeling there tomorrow, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that a sea turtle will want to grace us with its presence.  

Kevin's so impressed he's donned a robe

A 3 km long pool that winds itself around the rooms 

Infinity poolside at sunset

Big city hopping

The last few days we have spent running around the concrete jungles of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. With not a lot of time, and too many things to see and eat, we tried to pack in as much as we could.

In Singapore, there was a day where we started off in Chinatown, walked over to Arab Street, perused around in Little India, and ended the night in Singapore’s version of a red light district for some tasty late night treats…and by treats I mean local food…and by food I mean delectable dishes.

This wasn’t the first for Kevin and I to be in Singapore since Kevin did a semester of exchange there back in 2006, and of course I took the opportunity to visit him while I was doing my exchange in Hong Kong. However, this time around, it was a much different place than how we remembered it.  A lot has changed in the six years since Kevin was first there. Our “ancient” metro cards didn’t work anymore, Kevin’s favourite food dig was closed for reno, and even the skyline was totally different. I suppose six years is a long time to be away from such a rapidly developing island state like Singapore.  It was nostalgic and unfamiliar at the same time.

A new addition to the Singaporean skyline - Marina Bay Sands: a mall/theatre/casino/hotel extravaganza!

 

The food tour didn’t stop in Singapore, oh no. KL had lots of tasty dishes it were proud to call its own. While there, we were able to meet up with some friends that we haven’t seen in many years. Friends that we met while we were students, are now all grown up and working in the big cities. It made me excited to go home to start my career, but also made me want to run away from the rat race for as long as I can.

No trip to KL is complete without a visit to the famous Petronas Twin Towers

We’re done with the big cities for a while, as our hearts are longing for the sun and beach again. We’re back in Thailand to give some new places a go. We’re hoping to find some new hidden gems waiting for us in its clear turquoise waters. 

In search of the dove

We’ve spent the last week in the big mixed salad bowl of Indonesia. Even though it’s a mostly Muslim country, there are a myriad of other cultures, languages, and ethnicities. It was hard to put my finger on what Indonesian culture really was, but it was fun to see, taste, and experience the variety.

Our visit commenced with a familiar and friendly face. Martin, a friend whom we met in Vancouver, just so happened to be in Jakarta during the time that we were visiting.  We had the luxury of being picked up at the airport instead of having to navigate ourselves through the sea of hungry touts at the arrivals gate. Correction - as we found out soon enough, we were greeted by Martin, but actually picked up by his driver! Martin, why did you pretend to be a lowly student in Vancouver when you have your own personal driver at home? We didn’t have any plans for our time in Jakarta so we were perfectly content tagging along with Martin while he ran his errands, but also seeing some sights, and tasting some local dishes along the way. It was a really nice way to experience a new place and to see Martin interact with his family and be in his natural environment.

Seeing Martin so comfortable and happy at home was a nice change of perspective to the travellers whom we’ve met throughout our trip. Usually, the people who you meet while travelling are those who are in search of something different. Whether it’s a new country, a new experience, or the next big adventure, they (and us included) are always looking for something new and stimulating. But I think that sometimes, what you really need, is to be surrounded by the familiar.  Martin told us that in Indonesia, the national pastime is taking care of birds. There are all sorts of bird competitions where owners take their prized pets out for showcase. There’s one competition where they set the male dove free to see how far and fast it can fly. In the end though, the male dove always flies back to the female dove no matter how far he flies. Maybe it takes some travelling around the world to realize that home is really where the heart is. 

Enjoying dinner with the Lesmana family - Jakarta, Indonesia

Finding ourselves in an unexpected adventure - Bali, Indonesia

Past Present Future

Past

I can’t believe our two week stay in the Philippines is already up. We seriously wish we had more time to see more and do more things in this beautiful country, but surprisingly, we’re running out of time.  But during our time here, we definitely tried to get some quality beach time in with some spectacular snorkeling.

Most of our beach and water activities took place around the islands of El Nido, where mother nature seemed to have been allowed to have her imagination run wild. There’s so much wildlife here and the landscape is just jaw dropping. I won’t bore you with the details because a picture says a thousand words.

Las Cabanas Beach - Got there on the first day in time for the sunset

Seven Commandos Beach - There was no one there but us

Secret Lagoon Beach - Karst mountains as the backdrop add to the magic

Secret Lagoon Beach - The view as we had lunch on the beach

We left the Philippines reluctantly, but we already have plans to come back to continue our exploring here.

Present

We’re now sitting in the airport in Singapore, and it makes me sigh with relief being here because everything is so clean and comfortable and accessible. 24 hour food places? Check. Plenty of comfortable seating? Check. Free wireless internet? Check. Anything and everything that makes a 6 hour stopover comfortable? Check check…and check.

Future

We’re headed to Jakarta, Indonesia next, where we found out last minute that a friend will be there at the same time as us! I suppose that’s a good reason to leave the Singapore airport.  We won’t be in Indonesia for too long though, but hopefully we’ll be able to climb some volcanoes while we’re there. 

Reason #660 NOT to take the boat in the Philippines

You don’t  know when or if you’ll make it.

Kevin and I are spending the day today recovering from the traumatic boat ride that took us from El Nido to Coron. The whole thing was a two-day ordeal starting on Sunday when we were supposed to take off, until the glorious moment we finally arrived on land last night (Monday). We were supposed to leave El Nido on Sunday morning on a ferry bound for Coron. We thought it was a good day to travel since it was cloudy and there was no a/c on the boat.  After about an hour, the waves started crashing in and the boat was rocking feverishly from side to side. The boat crew, where the oldest person was around 18, started hammering up pieces of plywood and fastening tarp to block out the water that was gushing in. The engine died a few times and we were still nowhere close to or destination. After about 4 hours of being thrashed around in the waves, the crew decided that the best thing to do was to head back to El Nido. It took another 2 hours to get back. So, that was attempt number 1. It wasn’t until the next day when we found out that there was actually a huge hole (about 1 metre squared) on the front of the boat where water was actually gushing into the inside of the boat. Apparently, the woman that was from that boat company was quoted saying, “It would have been better if the boat had sank. At least we could have claimed insurance for it.”  

The next day, attempt number 2, we boarded a slightly different boat to try to get to Coron again. This time, the boat was slightly bigger, the crew was older, and there was no sign of any plywood lying around. The first couple hours were actually quite nice as we sailed past all the different islands around us. But it wasn’t long until the angry waves came and we found ourselves once again at the mercy of the ocean. Even though this boat was slightly in better shape than the last one, it still really isn’t in any condition to ferry around 50 people for 8 hours over these rough waters. It wasn’t the fact that there were no real seats – there were two rows of long benches facing each other. Nor was it the fact that when they said “buffet lunch” will be served on the boat, they meant a chicken wing and a scoop of dry rice. It was the indefinite arrival time that could drive any sane person crazy. Only once did the crew inform us of when we would arrive, which turned out to be twice as long in reality. It was supposed to be an eight hour trip, but eight turned into nine, and nine tuned into ten. And finally, after 11 gruelling hours out in the ocean on a little fishing boat, we finally arrived…alive.

Moral of the story: When in the Philippines, FLY! 

Reason #660: For all 660 hours we were tossed around at sea