Adro&Seans Blog on RealTravel

Korgessaare journal: Rugby... in German?

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:17:39 GMT

Good ol' Priidu sorted us out with the rugby. His friend Stefan has satellite TV, which provided us with a live feed of the Italy vs. New Zealand match. Naturally, NZ kicked arse but the commentary was in German. Beggars can't be choosers.

The following afternoon we ventured out for a drive. We had to pick up a couple of things at the supermarket, so we went to Kärdla first, having a quick peek at the small port and beach. Then it was back to Körgesaarre. It's a small town that used to have a factory of some sort. The factory buildings have been converted into ...

A ...

Suuremoisa journal: Day Trippin'

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 07:25:55 GMT

Our friends Mark and Susan were getting married on Saturday. We hoped our postcard from Estonia would suffice in place of us. During Saturday morning we helped Alice clear some rubbish from a building in Kõrgessaare, though we didn't really manage to do much. It was a bit hard not knowing any Estonian to communicate with the other people that were helping out. One thing that we've learnt is that Soviet times were not the cleanest!!

The afternoon was spent exploring northern Hiiumaa and its east coast. Our first stop was the nearby Reiga church, a pleasant stop but we bumped ...

Kardla journal: Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:26:26 GMT

Our third week on Hiiumaa started off with a long awaited haircut. Sean had started to look like a character from Dragonball Z (big hair) and Adrienne hadn't had her hair cut since Holly and Ben's wedding in January. The hairdresser didn't understand much English, but when Adrienne said “I can see!” after her sun bleached fringe was cut, she laughed. A decent job was done, all for EEK120 (NZ$15).

We went to Kärdla (the capital of Hiiumaa) for the morning on Tuesday. To escape the freezing rain, we spent some time in the library where we found plenty of English books. We ...

Kopu journal: Exploring The Peninsula

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:22:48 GMT

We played a truly international game during on Friday night: Monopoly. Adrienne cleaned up!! There was a protracted war of retribution between the remaining players but even though Adrienne had retired a hour or two earlier, she still won. By the time 3am rolled around, we realised that it was probably time to give up.

A sleep-in and a decent fry up for brekkie put us in good stead to explore a bit of the Kõpu peninsula. A lightless beacon had been built there in 1531, then upgraded to a lighthouse in 1649... basically there has been a warning structure here for a really ...

Tallinn journal: A Day Off

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:06:02 GMT

Alice had to take the Renault to Tallinn for some maintenance so we jumped in for the ride. In order to get to Tallinn at a reasonable time, we were up early in order to catch the 8:30am ferry. It's a popular time to catch the ferry and it's first in first served so you have to make sure you're there early enough.

After dropping off the car, we met Alice's Mum and found a cheap place for lunch. This is hard to do in the middle of touristy Old Town, but local knowledge always helps. Alice took us to the Linnamuseum where we learnt more about what life was like back in the day ...

Haldreka journal: Home in Haldreka

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:32:05 GMT

With the bus stopping in little Nurste, we had begun our little taste of Estonian life in the village of Haldreka. Priidu (the farmer) picked us up and took us the 2 km to his and Alice's house. When we got to the house we were introduced to our best friend in the following weeks – Pipi the resident Jack Russell. We suspect though that her devotion to us was really because we scratched her tummy and gave her food.

It turned out that we were the first people to work at the farm through WWOOF. Priidu has about 500 Ha on which is run cattle, dairy and even rabbits. Alice works ...

Kassari journal: Kiriks and Giants

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:24:48 GMT

At the end of the week we headed to Käina, where we visited Käina Kirik (church) ruins before heading to Kassari. Legend has it that the local giant Leiger tried to build a land bridge from here to the nearby island of Saaremaa so his brother Suur Toll could visit. He did this by throwing rocks into the sea, but he was defeated. What was left is called Sääretirp, a spit of rock heading out to the sea for a couple of kilometres. We took a walk along it, battling the wind and enjoying the sunshine while it lasted.

On Sunday we managed a bike ride along some back roads to ...

Haldreka journal: Week Two

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 07:44:59 GMT

The beginning of our second week at Haldreka saw Estonia's Independence Day. Estonia has two independence days, one on February 24 to celebrate the countries independence from Soviet Russia (1918) and the 20th of August celebrates the countries independence from the Soviet Union (1991). It wasn't a holiday for us though, we had a busy day ahead of us. We started off at the old pig farm, but were soon hijacked to help move some firewood at a nearby house. The mother of this family was an English teacher and we were impressed by the level of English the 12 year old boy spoke.

Tallinn journal: Tere Estonia!

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:50:21 GMT

We arrived in Tallinn at 5:30am, but realised that we told our friends Silja and Priit (who we met at Mt Bromo in Indonesia) we were arriving at 7:30am (the lady who sold us the tickets really didn't know anything). A good book took care of the time and soon Priit picked us up to drive us to their house for breakfast.

A couple of Silja and Priit's friends were away and on their trip to work they dropped us off at the empty apartment, right in Old Town. It was luxury; we had our own bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and internet to use! We took our first morning slowly, then headed out on to the ...

Moscow journal: Yay! We Weren't Arrested!

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:29:59 GMT

A drizzly and grey Moscow greeted us with excellent examples of Soviet architecture and a lasting lesson on the ills of misusing concrete in too functional designs. We were only here for the day; a conscious decision to make the most of our remaining days exploring St Petersburg.

Later that night we were due to leave Leningrad Station. The stunning Moscow metro shuttled us there efficiently (R17), where we tracked down the left luggage place and deposited our packs in trustworthy hands (R50) for the day.

The first stop was Red Square. Wow! So much better than Tienanmen Square. ...

Suzdal journal: Church-Land

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:59:58 GMT

The bus station in Suzdal is a walk of about 20 min outside of the town centre. There was a lot to see. In this town of only about 12,000 there are a surprisingly large number of churches. Our mission was to see the best of them.

Our first stop was the town Kremlin, where we saw our first wedding party having their photos taken. For R80, we could go into all of the open buildings. The most impressive was the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, with it's onion topped domes painted blue with gold stars. Inside was an amazing sight. The walls were covered in frescoes of saints, ...

Vladimir journal: Fleeting Frolic

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:51:58 GMT

Arriving late evening from Suzdal meant that we didn't have any time to enjoy the sights of Vladimir. We viewed the Assumption Cathedral but were too late to go inside. Instead we settled on an outside view and a really good view of the city. Houses sprinkled amongst wooded hills reminded us of home but with a definitely Russian flavour. It was a bit unfortunate to have no time to investigate what Vladimir had to offer. Another entry on our “stuff to come back to” list.

We missioned around to find internet but after going too far on the bus, wandering in the wrong direction (right bus ...

Vladimir journal: The Place, Not The Person!

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:36:27 GMT

We often found it a little difficult to pick which was the correct train to jump onto at the stations, but sometimes there was an electronic board to read which platform the train would be on, and what time it would arrive. Kungur, being a small town, didn't have this. We waited, trying to understand the distorted Russian announcements and finally chose a train to climb aboard. For the first and only time, it was the wrong train. Thankfully it was stopping in the next big city, Perm, where the provodnitsa helped us change to the correct train. We thought we were too lucky to have a cabin all ...

Kungur journal: More Ice in Summer!

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:32:49 GMT

We arrived in Kungur Tuesday afternoon after the longest train trip we'd had.Having quickly learnt the need to book in advance, we booked our next and last two train journeys, then caught a bus to a hotel suggested by the ticket lady. Our worries about accommodation being expensive and crappy in Kungur were abated. Hotel Iren (Lenin St) was another great stay, for R600 we had a double room with shared bathroom.

The next morning we jumped on bus no. 9 (R7) which took us most of the way to the ice caves. A 15 minute walk, and we were there. The morning was cool, but it was going to be ...

Novosibirsk journal: Train Riding

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:44:46 GMT

We caught an early train to Novosibirsk after witnessing an early morning beer session at the platform. We thought we'd take a quick look around the city while waiting for the next train, but all that ended up happening was us paying for our bags to go in left luggage (R50.40/bag) while we looked for some lunch. Again, we were highly disappointed with Russian food, simple and bland is about as far as it goes. The train station housed some enormous chandeliers but isn't as exciting as Lonely Planet might suggest.

Train stations can be a great place to try stall food, and Novosibirsk was a ...

Ulan Ude journal: My, Mr Lenin. What A Big Head You Have!

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:40:32 GMT

We'd heard all the stories about how nightmarish it could be and were told by a lot of people to go through Russia as quickly as possible, that people were unhelpful and the country boring. It looks like we'll find out on our own.

Russian customs was definitely faster than the Mongolian side and soon we were heading into unknown territory. People are only able to carry a certain amount of goods into Russia, and before customs there was a rush to stow the extra that is always carried in. Lucky cabins were treated to clothing under their pillow or bedding, and shoes hidden in a ...

Tomsk journal: The Right Place This Time

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 12:49:31 GMT

We had learnt our lesson from Ulan Ude about booking tickets ASAP. It was a slight nightmare getting tickets out of Tomsk because summer is a popular time to travel and there weren't many places left on the train. The traveller's we joined were from the Czech Republic and Lithuania. They were able to speak Russian and we wouldn't have booked our tickets without them. The train directly from Tomsk was full but Adrienne had the very bright idea to catch a train from Novobirisk to our destination Kungur (ice caves!). We ended up with a commuter train to Novobirisk (R266.90) and kupe to ...

Ulsan journal: A Free Ticket to Heaven

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:02:54 GMT

Buses are an easy way to get around South Korea, so we jumped on one headed for Ulsan to see what Rachael had been up to for the last 10 months. Keren (a fellow traveller and friend from Welly) was also visiting Rachael, and they were both at the bus station to meet us when we arrived. Even with our loads, it was a quick walk to Rachael's apartment. Compared with Peter and Ani's bootbox, this really was a shoebox, complete with soft, pink, glittery toilet seat.

Adrienne was still getting over her bug, so Sean, Keren and Rachael went out to find some food. Sean loved the pancakes ...

Dalandzadgad journal: 10 Days In A UAZ

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:32:43 GMT

Click here for a basic map of our tour. The map on RealTravel isn't specific enough, and some of the places aren't correct.

Kicking off with an early start, we met our guide Odnoo and driver Budee at the Golden Gobi. Odnoo had bought supplies the previous night and we helped load them and our bags into our transport for the next 10 days, a very Soviet looking UAZ 452 van. The first day was going to be a long haul but we were surprised how comfortable the van was. Charging out of UB we went from almost acceptable roads to something that was definitely more off-road.

The ...

Bayanzag journal: Flaming Cliffs

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:19:11 GMT

Click here for a basic map of our tour.

Budee was a mayor of a town in his life before being a tour driver and we stopped there to meet his parents. We stocked up on the essentials of vodka and chocolate before heading to the flaming cliffs.

Not quite flaming but the red cliffs were fun to climb around and we grabbed a beer from a stall that was at the entrance. Apparently a lot of dinosaur fossils have been found in this area.

We headed to our accommodation for the night; another gertel but this one was near a big turtle! Someone had the genius idea of building ...

Yolyn Am journal: Ice In The Desert!

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:54:38 GMT

Click here for a basic map of our tour.

Aruul (dried curds) was one Mongolian treat that we didn't get used to. Odnoo introduced us to this one morning and Sean successfully tricked Mark into taking a massive bite, since "it's actually quite nice". Not. Mark's face was classic!! After our introduction, we headed to the glacier that is not far from Dalanzadgad.

At the entrance to the glacier area, a number of souvenir shops were waiting for us to spend our money. And we did, well, a little. Adrienne bought a soft and warm beanie made of camel wool, and we bought a painting ...

orhon waterfall journal: Goats Drink Vodka!

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:15:12 GMT

Click here for a basic map of our tour.

Ulaan Tsutgalan (or Orkhon) Waterfall was our next stop and is situated in a national park of the same name. It really was a beautiful oasis. The waterfall is about 20m high and proudly acknowledged as the highest in Mongolia. It is fed by the Orkhon River, which also helps keep the valley that we stayed in, wonderfully green.

That day we saw hawks swooping down 20m in front of us, as they raided our leftovers from lunch. It was awesome seeing them circle around and the gracefully take the food from the off the ground. We also had the ...

Ih Hongor uul journal: Camels And Sand Dunes, What More Do You Need?

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:21:39 GMT

Click here for a basic map of our tour.

The rain proved tricky when we headed towards the big sand dunes at Khungur, further west. We were met with the unexpected experience of the van getting stuck in the mud. There were plenty of stones around that we laid down and with some pushing we managed to get the van moving. Odnoo had been taking tours for the last 2 years and it was the first time that it had rained for her.

When we were pushing the van an old dog came out of nowhere and it seemed to be on its last legs. Being typical soft bellied whities we wanted to do help it ...

Ulaanbaatar journal: Ugly Buildings, Nice People

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 02:56:49 GMT

After a nice sleep in a soft sleeper (4 beds and a door - we didn't close it because it was hot!) we had the usual fare of noodles for breakfast. But what a view! The Gobi Desert was right outside our window. Vast expanses of almost nothing. Chatting with Mark and Carrie in the restaurant car on the way to UB, we spotted goats, horses, some shaggy looking things (turned out to be yaks) and camels!

Golden Gobi Guesthouse greeted us on our arrival at UB train station with warm smiles and friendly chatter. We were surprised and a little disappointed, to see so many other ...

Beijing journal: Peking Duck

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 12:48:44 GMT

We had a busy evening on arrival back in Beijing. First to the police station to pick up a report for the stolen camera, then to pick up the repaired camera and swap the dodgy SD card (and it worked!).

After that rush, we met Mark and Carrie for some Peking duck with a couple of Americans who were teaching in Wuhan. Beijing Duck (the name has been corrected) was ok, but not that flash. We had bought a couple of cheap ducks (RMB68 each) at a restaurant and there wasn't much meat on them. We filled up on side dishes, but next time we might not be so cheap. Then again, we'll be ...

Ulaanbaatar journal: Good atmosphere

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 09:07:13 GMT

This was a great place for us to organise our Mongolian tour. The staff are very helpful and try to give you what you want. There is also a couple of computers to use for the internet and they have a pile of DVDs to watch on their TV. A great place to meet fellow travellers as well. $5 for a dorm bed, $14 for a double, shared bath.

Pingyao journal: Old School Charm

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 08:47:35 GMT

Sorry about the lack of photos but the camera was stolen. We're going to get some from fellow travelers later.

Buses normally stop at a bus station bit it seems that Pingyao isn't that important. We woke before our arrival time, anticipating the sights of old China, as we travelled along the motorway. The sign for the turn off appeared "Pingyao, 2 km" but when we came to the exit, the bus stopped. What the hell? In a flurry of Chinese and hand gestures we were evicted form the bus and pointed down the exit, whereupon the bus promptly left us, vomiting fumes in farewell. We ...

Erlian Yanchang journal: Luck Be A Lady Tonight

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 06:43:35 GMT

Waking up on the outskirts of Erlian, a bizarre sight lurked by the roadside - statues of dinosaurs. It was actually a really awesome thing to see, probably because we didn't expect anything. At all. We were, after all, in the middle of Inner Mongolia (another piece of land the Chinese have taken from a bordering country). There is a good reason behind it, Erlian is a "hotbed" of fossil finds.

Anyhow, we arrived at 5:30am, ready to hurry to the train station. We jumped in a private taxi with Kyle (RMB5 pp - real price in proper taxi is RMB5 total). Kyle is an American guy ...

Great Wall journal: Secret Wall

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 05:47:57 GMT

Leo Hostel does a "Secret Wall" tour to the Great Wall that sounded right up our alley; RMB180, no tourists other than our group of 20, and an unrestored section of the wall. It was a long drive out (2.5 hours) and, on the way, we passed the normal tourist part that had been restored. We were pleased we weren't going to those spots after seeing the throngs of people climbing up and down the wall. We were also lucky enough to be on the other side of the hills from Beijing, where the pollution didn't reach. We were treated to the first clear blue skies we'd seen in a couple of weeks!

Beijing journal: Home of the 2008 Olympics

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 05:26:12 GMT

And we thought Shanghai was polluted?! Beijing had a soft haze of pollution that obscured anything distant and part of it's cause was apparent from our taxi - insane traffic. We arrived at the West Train Staion and needed to find our hotel Derek takes care of the Beca office in Beijing and had kindly organised us 3 nights in a hotel (Home Inn), for free. We only had an address written in Chinese but our taxi driver safely deposited us at our hotel on the other side of town (RMB 49). It was a mint room that normally costs RMB 199.

Since our main objective was to get a ...

Xi'an journal: Once Were Warriors

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 10:02:03 GMT

Sorry about the lack of photos but the camera was stolen. We're going to get some from fellow travelers later. And yes Keren, we did copy your title!

As you exit the station, the first view of Xi'an is primo. You're standing at the top of three steps, a lumpy surface of black heads stretching out in front of you, loud squawking of Chinese harassing your eardrum and then the city walls rising high, briefly shielding you from the modernity of a Chinese city.

We got the feeling that Xi'an would be more of what we were looking for. 7 Sages Youth Hostel (RMB 130) had a sign ...

Shanghai journal: Just A Quickie

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 09:48:58 GMT

Our Russian visas were ready, so we had a quick stop in Shanghai. We left our luggage at the station and missioned off to the embassy, where we were first in line. There was no hassle in getting our passports back (there had been a bit of worry over Adrienne's as her middle name had been spelt slightly wrong on her Letter of Invitation) and we were at the station, noodles in hand, in good time.

While waiting for the train, a couple of guys opposite us were blatantly (i.e. as per usual) staring. Sean returned the favour but added a "ni hao", which they thought was hilarious - white ...

Suzhou journal: The Venice Of China

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 09:38:57 GMT

Another uneventful train ride graced us a safe arrival in Suzhou. This city is meant to be the Venice of China but kind of unlike Venice we got a normal taxi to the Suzhou International Youth Hostel… most of the water canals having been filled in long ago.

Adrienne managed to pick up a rice addiction in Asia and was stoked to have some for lunch (noodles had featured quite heavily in our diet). We were on our way to see the Opera Museum but were defeated by the heat. Instead we dragged ourselves to the hostel, through some wonderful old houses, down cobblestone streets. Fisher ...

Hangzhou journal: One Grain of Salt Please!

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:45:51 GMT

Welcome to China's "Most beautiful City" or at least the CCT (China's TV network) version of it. The actual city itself is the same as any other but the lake area isn't too bad. In the days of yore, Hangzhou was a water city, connected by a network of canals but those days are gone; steel, rubber and exhaust dominate now. The remnants of the canals are picturesque but the stagnant green waters cower away between giant buildings. Our advice is to compare it with other Chinese cities, not New Zealand ones!

A tout at the train station sorted us out with a cheap hotel (RMB 130) ...

Shanghai journal: Back to the Future

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:57:58 GMT

Cough, splutter, buzz, drip, drip... the sounds of Shanghai. Every building is air conditioned (you don't have to pay extra for it here!) and we quickly lost our immunity to heat. We were shocked by the amount of pollution hampering the views in Shanghai and it was frustrating that such a famous skyline should be shrouded in an awful mist but we did manage to get one day that was clear.

Accommodation is expensive in Shanghai and we were unsure of where to go. Luckily C-Trip came to our rescue and organised a room in a hotel for us. It was a good deal - RMB 158 for a three star ...

Nanning journal: Meet George Jetson

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 10:45:09 GMT

Ok, the title is a bit ambiguous but Nanning was so unexpected. To us it was modern enough that we wouldn't have been surprised to see a Spacely Sprockets factory or the Jetsons whizzing around. We had expected to see something a little more like Vietnam, a bit more... underdeveloped.

We arrived at Jiangnan Zhan station and were treated to our first example of Engrish: the "Station Loving Counter". Brilliant! But we still have no idea what it means. Information pointed us to the local buses and we were off to the train station, agog at seeing such a modern city, plus we saw ...

Pingxiang journal: Another Day, Another Country

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:15:37 GMT

The bus we had organised through the hotel to get to the border town of Dong Dang the next morning turned out to be a particularly uncomfortable journey. We were taken to the van on motos and were last on, meaning we got the crappy seats with no backs on them. Four hours supporting your own back! Even after our half-way break where Sean tried a tasty rice triangle wrapped in a banana leaf, they wouldn't let us swap seats (everyone else was Vietnamese), but somehow we managed.

We were dropped at customs in Dong Dang, where we passed through quickly. Chinese customs was nice ...

Hanoi journal: Bac Ho (Uncle Ho)

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:21:49 GMT

We wanted some good spring rolls and were directed to a great cafe that we probably wouldn't have gone to normally, because it was full of whities. As it turns out, Bia Minh was good value and good food. There was a night market in full swing when we left the restaurant, so we had a perusal but didn't find anything interesting. Sean, though, was of interest to a pickpocket but luckily they weren't very good and he felt them trying to liberate his wallet.

We joined Marion and Andrew for breakfast at a bakery before they headed off to Ninh Binh the following morning. Marion just ...

Hanoi journal: We Got Marmite!

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:05:19 GMT

Marion and Andrew were flying into Hanoi today, after a couple of days in Bangkok. We were really looking forward to meeting them and not only because they were bringing us presents (Marmite and Vegemite - we tried to fight the addiction but it's hard going cold turkey!). Our mission, that we chose to accept, was to organise accommodation and a tour of Ha Long Bay. Easy! We disembarked from the bus station grabbed a tuk-tuk (D50,000) to the old quarter and within 15 minutes were in a 2 star hotel for $7 (Hanoi Lotus Hotel; free internet, mint rooms, air con, breakfast). That was a great deal ...

Hue journal: Old Capital

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:04:06 GMT

The bus from Hoi An sucked - 4.5 hours to cover 160km!? On arrival we went for a wander and found Dong Tam Guesthouse ($5) which had a great courtyard and a decent restaurant (i.e. cheap and tasty).

Since it was a bit late in the day, we didn't do too much but were stoked to find Cathi 24. The happy hour meal was the best value in Vietnam - D8000 for an omlette, biscuits, salad, 3 hot rolls, fruit and ice tea. For cheapos like us it was mana from heaven! Our other achievement was posting our Hoi An purchases to England (8.9 kg, D640,000).

Hue is an old capital and features a ...

Dong Ha journal: DMZ II

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:02:40 GMT

The day started early, the DMZ tour bus picked us up at 6am. Three hours later we arrived in Dong Ha, ravenous and were served our mediocre but free breakfast. Aine happened to be on the same tour, as well as one of the guys we played cards with while crossing the border into Vietnam.

Back on the bus we were driven towards the Laos border, stopping for some sites on the way. First was the Rockpile, a forward observation post for the US artillery. It could accommodate 6 troops at a time and could only be accessed by helicopter or hard-arse, rock climbing, uber-commandos. It ...

Halong Bay journal: Not Quite Ninh Binh

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 02:07:09 GMT

The bed at Hanoi Capital wasn't very good but at least we managed to get some free breakfast before heading on our tour. One thing that did suck was having to pay for the tour before we jumped on the bus, even though we had been told that we were to pay afterwards. We hopped on the van and were taken to Halong City.

Halong Bay is a beautiful area; like Ninh Binh but on water... yeah, that means not rice fields and no motorbikes but it's still good. One thing that there is plenty of are boats, and tourists. Lots of tourists. It took a couple of hours for us to steam out to the first ...

Ninh Binh journal: Bloody Beautiful

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:12:59 GMT

Our bus ride turned out really well apart from the fact that we had to get off the bus at 4am... bugger! On arrival our theory was simple and had been applied to great effect in Bangkok: arrive early, book into room, sleep. Like all great plans, this one had a flaw - the jerk who ran the hotel. We checked into Star Hotel ($6 with AC but the place is crap) and slept for a few hours before getting up. We tried to see if there were any cheaper rooms for us to move into but were having issues with the jerk. In the end we moved out because we discovered that he was going to charge us for 2 nights, ...

Hoi An journal: Tailoring Mecca

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:23:49 GMT

Adrienne had been looking forward to Hoi An for the last month. Why would a seasoned traveller be so excited? The answer is simple, Adrienne is female and the town is devoted to tailored clothes! Her wish list was formidable - let's see how the bank account enjoyed it!

Our overnight bus was the worst one we'd been on in our whole trip. The a/c didn't work, Sean was so hot he felt like spewing at one stage, the seats were vinyl so that you slipped whenever you were close to comfort and we seemed to stop all of the time. Eventually we made it and decided to stay at Hoa My ($6, fan, bath ...

Nha Trang journal: $3 Boat Trip

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:38:51 GMT

We were surprised that the bus stopped at a decently priced hotel. Because the open bus tickets are cheap, they make their money by collecting commissions at restaurants and hotels that they stop at. Normally they're overpriced but the Ha Huong Hotel ($6) was really good.

There were a few hours left in the day and we decided to check our Long Son Pagaoda. We can't say that it's a must-see but there is a big reclining Buddha and a big laughing Buddha. Normally we successfully avoid having to pay more than required but a monk (of all people, they're not always saints!) got us and we parted ...

Dalat journal: Dalatful

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 23:12:31 GMT

Not what we'd call the most comfortable ride but we made it to Dalat and unfolded ourselves form the van. We'd been dropped off at a hotel that tried to charge us extra ($6 for one person in a room, $10 for two), but the van was happy to take us to where we wanted to be - near the centre. Nam Viet gave us a room for $5 but we found Dalat a difficult place to get cheap rooms. It didn't help that the Vietnamese school holidays had just started! Dalat is in the highlands and people go there to escape the intense heat in summer.

Also staying at our guesthouse was Louise, a friendly, ...

Mui Ne journal: Lil' Ol' Dune Buggy

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:38:08 GMT

The 5 hour ride to Mui Ne went quickly and we were in a quiet beach town albeit stuck in the tourist area (no local restaurants or shops!!). Xang Uyen provided us with a $6 room, 20m form the beach. There isn't much to do here except enjoy the beach. Kite surfing and windsurfing are popular but at $50 an hour for lessons we decided our pockets couldn't handle it. The other thing is to get a tour and see the sand dunes. Coco Cafe sorted us out with our tour: a jeep and guide and us two. Perfect.

Up at 4am we were picked up by our guide Phuong and taken to the White Sand dunes for sunrise. ...

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) journal: Streamy Saigon

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:42:34 GMT

With the help of Marcos we found a great place to stay called Tam Ngoc ($5) which wasn't far from Happy Tour (the company who had run our Mekong Tour). Dumping our bags, we were keen for a feed and a taster of the famous bia hio - fresh beer. It's delivered daily and very cheap (D3,500 - D8,000 per litre).

Although a low percentage thrill, our bia hoi experience was one of the reasons why travelling is so great. Picture tables and chairs manufactured for toddlers, us sitting on them (beer in hand) with people encompassing different parts of the world; Holland, Columbia, Nigeria, Ghana. ...

My Tho journal: Coconut Candy!

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:15:17 GMT

Arriving in My Tho we jumped off the bus, put our bags on our back and waited for instruction. We were almost forgotten, as the rest of the bus was taking a break on their way back to Saigon. We were sent to our hotel on the back of motos, well almost. Adrienne was in front and didn't understand why she was waiting so long for Sean. It was lucky she stood by the road looking for him because when he eventually turned up, he was dropped off at a hotel down the road!

That evening we took a wander along the river and looked through a market, picking up the essential Tiger Balm for the bite ...

Can Tho journal: Homestay

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:51:32 GMT

The roads can be a little rough in Vietnam, we discovered this on our bus ride to Can Tho. The roads are sealed, just not smooth. After some confusion at our drop-off point (a petrol station when it was supposed to be a bus terminal) we were picked up by Phuong and a friend on motos (motorbikes - really scooters) and taken to our homestay. This was the main reason we took the tour, paying $4 extra each for this privilege - we didn't need to stay in another hotel.

Phuong was our host. We ate lunch with him, cooked by his mother Nam, and he told us about his farm. We were in the ...

Chau Doc journal: Entering the Mekong Delta

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:32:46 GMT

We left our guesthouse expecting a short bus ride to the river, instead a couple of guys had to get their passports back from being issued visas. They couldn't find their receipt and mysteriously, the passports suddenly appeared when they finally found the receipt. Other passengers were picked up and Cambodians were squashed into the van (a bit of extra pocket money for the driver) for our 2 hour ride to the boat (we almost thought we'd paid to take the boat but got the bus). When we finally did arrive, we found a boat that wouldn't start. Thankfully some bananas, incense (and a prayer) to ...

Siem Reap journal: Wat's At Angkor?

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 01:11:44 GMT

We had a long and somewhat eventful bus trip to Siem Reap. The bus we first got on was travelling all the way to Phnom Penh so we changed buses at the lunch stop. Except that we had to wait 2.5 hours for the second bus. It was a chance for us to talk to some locals who were shocked when we told them how much we would pay (in USD) for the simple and cheap lunch we had just eaten. Then we said "each" and they excitedly chattered to each other in Khmer almost fainting at the idea of paying $5 for fried rice (we paid $2 total!).

Our new bus broke down and the driver didn't know what was ...

Kratie journal: Irrawaddy Dolphins

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:39:39 GMT

Si Phan Don is on the border of Cambodia, so we had booked a bus from Don Det to Kratie in Cambodia for US$20 (and picked up a free bottle of water). The ride to the border was short, but rough. Laos customs asked for US$1 for us to exit, and some people were arguing about it! Save the hassle, just pay.

We walked to Cambodia. The guards there asked for US$2 each - Sean loves to advise fellow travellers that "they don't offer group discounts". Our guidebook had advised us to get our visas in Bangkok and we were disappointed to find out you can purchase Cambodian visas at the border for ...

Don Det journal: Si Phan Don

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:17:15 GMT

Once dropped off in Pakxe, we jumped in a minivan for the trip to Don Det (K50,000 pp). We were given a coffee (without asking) at a stop along the way. Thinking it was included in the price of the trip, we were a little surprised when we were asked for money. We didn't pay. Don Det is a small island at the bottom of Laos, one of about 4,000 islands in the area of the Mekong that widens to 14km. The Lao name is Si Phan Don, literally Four Thousand Islands.

Once on Don Det, we found a bungalow with shared bathroom at Tana Bungalows on Sunset Strip (K20,000). No don't be mistaken, this ...

Vang Vieng journal: Tourist Trap

Tue, 29 May 2007 22:37:08 GMT

Thankfully halfway to Vang Vieng, the woman on our bus who couldn't handle the windy roads (i.e. bus sick) disembarked. A free tuk-tuk from the bus station took us to some accommodation that we could have taken for K30,000, but we wandered in the sun for too long and ended up finding a room for K20,000 at Amphone Guesthouse.

This town is incredibly touristy - restaurants/bars screen Friends or The Simpsons all day, every day. We never knew it was such an important part of Lao culture. This did make us think that Vang Vieng had sold its soul but what devastated us were the K10,000 ...

Vientiane journal: Imperialists, Puppets and Mercenaries

Tue, 29 May 2007 22:34:45 GMT

Add a bit of French colonialism, some diced American imperialism and Pathet Lao communism, with a sprinkle of NGOs; you get Laos' capital Vientiane! After arriving at the bus station we headed towards accommodation central, ending up on the doorsteps of Thawee Guesthouse. We thought that we had found a wicked deal: air-con, tv and ensuite for K100,000 for two nights, after bargaining from K60,000 per night. All we wanted was a fan with a shared bathroom. This was great because we had already heard accommodation was much more expensive in Vientiane than the rest of Laos.

We met Gabez and ...

Oudomxai journal: Birthday Bus II

Sat, 26 May 2007 04:04:44 GMT

Don't worry, the title isn't advertising for some crap movie sequel - it was Adrienne's birthday instead. Yay! Like Sean's birthday, we celebrated in style: first a tuk-tuk from Muang Sing to Louang Nam Tha (breaking down numerous times, thrown in for free), then a bus from Louang Nam Tha to Oudomxai. In total about 8 hours of travel time on a bus. We only stopped in Louang Nam Tha long enough to get a bus ticket (K32,000) and some food from the market, as well as catch up with Kate, James and Maurice who had taken the later bus from Muang Sing.

Luckily we secured seats in the bus an ...

Chiang Khong journal: Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

Sat, 26 May 2007 03:49:02 GMT

The trip to Chiang Khong wasn't hugely interesting. The firey red trees turned purple as we journey towards the Lao border. We chatted with David, a British guy who we had bumped into a couple times in Chiang Mai, and saw cashews being processed. In order to get us to spend more money we pulled into the second eatery on our 5 hour journey. Cabin fever had set in a bit and we couldn't help laughing at the chickens crossing the road in front of us.

We had recently been in contact with Mr and Mrs Kerr (aka James and Catherine), who happened to be crossing the Laos border at the same time as ...

Chiang Mai journal: What Wat's What?

Sat, 26 May 2007 03:44:56 GMT

Having slept well on the bus we were picked up by a guest house to be shown their place. It's a great practice because we got a free ride into town and nearly booked a room. We ended up at another place called Five Star paying B150 for a room with a bathroom - brilliant! At breakfast Sean discovered what was to become our favourite Thai dish: Khao Soi (sometimes Chiang Mai) noodles. Yu-u-u-uum!

Chiang Mai is a cool city. We were located in the old city within the city walls and moat. The old city is a maze of narrow, windy streets with a wat located on every corner (ok, so we're ...

Sing journal: Scorched Laos Policy

Sat, 26 May 2007 03:42:58 GMT

We had decided on Muang Sing because it looked to be a bit off the normal tourist trail. Along the way we looked in wonder at the villages with homes made of bamboo. On arrival, it looked like what we had asked for: a frontier town with cellphones. The tuk-tuk from Louang Nam Tha cost us K20,000 and took 1.5 hours but we were happily entertained by the windy roads and lush scenery. Unfortunately, one of the locals wasn't enjoying the ride and once at the Muang Sing market, he promptly deposited this mornings noodle soup onto the ground.

The closest guesthouse (Champadang) was a steal; ...

Bangkok journal: Still No Stinky, Smelly City

Sun, 13 May 2007 03:28:06 GMT

After a bite to eat for dinner, we searched for a tuk-tuk to take us cheaply to Patpong where we hoped to peruse the night market, and view some ping-pong. The first tuk-tuk we approached agreed to B10, and we were off. Or so we thought.

Just around the corner the driver pulled over and turned off the engine. He asked if we wanted to see a show, to which we answered "yes" looking a little confused at each other as that was what we'd already told him. Off we went again, passed the Railway Station... were we going the right way? We didn't have a map. As it turned out, he took us ...

Kanchanaburi journal: One Life For Every Sleeper

Sun, 13 May 2007 03:09:13 GMT

Normally touts are wrong and try to sucker you into paying heaps, but Kanchanaburi was different. We were taken to the Riverside Guesthouse, that had great rooms with bathrooms attached for B200. We paid the rickshaw driver B20 but it probably should have been B30. We met a British guy, Rob, and had dinner with him, topped off with some of our apple vodka and some Danes to talk to.

Following our new rule of no automatic scooters, we grabbed a clutchless manual for B150 and headed to Hellfire Pass. It's amazing how long it can take to drive a distance of some 80km with a 100cc ...

Bangkok journal: Where's The Dirty, Smelly City?

Sat, 12 May 2007 03:11:07 GMT

The ferry from Ko Tao arrived in Chumphon via a river, alongside which we saw hundreds of boats lined up ready for their next fishing trip. It was obvious a lot of people made their money from the sea here. Everyone clambered onto a bus that dropped us off at the train station. We hadn't pre-booked a ticket, but we should have as there were no seats let alone beds available until the next evening. Beds are booked days in advance.

So off we went, packs on our backs, looking for the bus station. We were eventually directed to a small shop and bought tickets for B270 pp (saving us ...

Ko Tao journal: Diving Into The New Year

Fri, 11 May 2007 03:02:41 GMT

Ko Tao appeared as a little oasis in the blue sea. We'd slept pretty well through the night considering we had Thai sized thin, mattresses to sleep on, but were happy to be arrive at Mae Haad. There were plenty of touts to greet us and explain that their dive operator was the best but we decided to go for a wander. In the end, we only checked out two of the forty-six dive operators and went for Planet Scuba because they had small classes for the PADI open water dive certificate. There is plenty of competition, so most places do deals i.e. we got 5 nights accommodation with our course for ...

Krabi journal: Karsting About In Krabi

Fri, 11 May 2007 02:44:42 GMT

Having made the decision to go diving, we went to Krabi, with high hopes of getting a sweet package to Ko Tao. Krabi is located in a beautiful area, and it would be easy to spend a few days looking around. Limestone karst formations rise out of the ground and apparently this makes the nearby beaches quite beautiful. We thought that we'd arrive then within an hour or two be heading to Ko Tao, dive course all organised. We discovered very quickly that this was not to be - Krabi is a transit hub; it'll get you there bit not much else. We spoke with the tourist information people and nearly ...

Ko Lanta Yai journal: Island Thai-m

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 06:00:25 GMT

Our boat dropped us at the pier near Satun at the same time we left Langkawi (1 hour time difference). Once through customs (our NZ passports seemed to get us through a little quicker than some others) we were politely hounded as to whether we needed a taxi, where we were going and did we need a ticket? Having no baht on hand and needing B2 (NZ$1=B25) to use the toilet, a tourist agent handed some over. We ended up booking a ticket through him to get to our next island destination, Ko Lanta. We planned on spending a good few days here, relaxing. Sean managed to bargain our ticket ...

Langkawi journal: Island Time

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:39:59 GMT

While waiting to board the boat to Langkawi (there are two - one at 8:15am and the second at 8:30am), we were told that the sea was rough overnight and some minor damage had been done to our boat. Instead of taking 2.5 hours it was going to take 4. using her McGyver like mind, Adrienne spoke to the ticket collector and asked, politely, that if any passengers for the 5:15am boat didn't turn up, then could we please go on that boat? That was fine with him and we were let onboard the early boat.

It was beautiful when we arrived in Kuah, the main town on Langkawi. The sun was hot and the ...

George Town journal: Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:19:44 GMT

We boarded the bus in Tanah Rata and were surprised to hear: "Hello Adrienne. I danced with you", coming from one of the seats. After being reintroduced, Adrienne was relieved to find she hadn't been drunk the previous night. Dave and Jos from Christchurch were on the bus, and Adrienne had danced with Dave while learning swing. We hadn't spoken to any Kiwis on our trip since leaving Keren in Seoul but it doesn't stop there. Two more Kiwis were sitting nearby, Derek and Christine from Wellington. Sean had seen Derek around. Derek and Dave also happened to be mechanical engineers, which meant ...

Kuala Selangor journal: Fireflies at Night

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:30:21 GMT

We headed off from KL once we'd grabbed food. and for RM2.80 headed 2 hours to Kuala Selangor; it's a nature park on a smaller scale to Taman Negara and easier to access. The park entrance fee is RM4 pp but we decided to stay in an A-frame at the park that cost RM25. It had just rained and the mozzys were felling feisty.

With a liberal application of DEET we braved a walk through the park. It's very straightforward (just watch out for the monkeys, Adrienne got in between a male and his family and it was ready to attck, bearing his teeth and growling at her!) and easy to have a wander, ...

Tanah Rata journal: Proper BOH

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:56:25 GMT

We couldn't go directly to the Cameron Highlands from Kuala Selangor, a brief stop in KL at the Puda Raya station helped us get there. It was during this stop that we first tried Nasi Lemak, a breakfast dish in which the main ingredient is rice (nasi) flavoured with coconut. It would have been delicious if the dried fish and shrimp paste they seem to love in Malaysia hadn't been added.

The Cameron Highlands is a mountainous region in Malaysia, so you can imagine it wasn't a short trip to get there (about 4 - 4.5 hours) and was windy, at least in part. We got a great view of the ...

Melaka journal: Reliving The Spice Trade

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:30:58 GMT

The bus ride to Melaka was incredibly comfortable after what we'd experienced in Indonesia. We were met by a couple of "touts" but they didn't harass us, merely gave us info about where their places were and showed us which bus to catch. The no. 17 bus into town was only RM0.80 pp and we were a stone throw from the area we wanted to stay in. We stayed at Sunny's Inn (RM25) for the first night, but our room proved too noisy (traffic) and we decided to move in the morning. Traveller's Lodge was heaps better and cost RM22.

Melaka is an easy city to get around. We wandered over to the ...

Melaka journal: Much Better

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:30:52 GMT

At RM22 for a double room where bags were stored downstairs in the room and the bed was up a flight of stairs/ladder, it was pretty good value. It was hot (33C with only a fan at night), but comfortable. The bathrooms were clean and a relief after Sunny's Inn. The common area was relaxed and a good place to hang out. If staying in Melaka, stay here!

Singapore City journal: Cheap in an Expensive City

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:28:00 GMT

We came across this by accident when leaving Malaka. A flyer advertising rooms for as little as S$20! We had pre-booked dorm beds at S$18 each, and after finding there was a room available at Ali's Nest, we cancelled those. It is set up in a house where a Chinese family lives. There's air conditioning (at least in our room, which wasn't a double but had bunks). Breakfast was thrown in (jam on toast, terrible coffee). It was adequate for our needs, and from what we had seen on the internet, about as cheap as it gets.

Melaka journal: Noisy!

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:25:53 GMT

We paid RM25 for a double room with a balcony. Bad choice. The road was noisy all night and Adrienne had very little sleep. We didn't really like the bathrooms either. Perhaps it would have been better if we didn't have a room on the street?

Tokyo journal: Tidy and cheap

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:16:57 GMT

We found this place over the internet, and for Tokyo, it was cheap accomodation (Y6000 for a double room). We found it a great place to get a good sleep. It was tidy and clean, what more do you need?

Johor Bahru journal: Customs on Holiday

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:10:59 GMT

Customs into Malaysia when coming form Singapore, is a test of patience. A mob of people surge towards the customs officers in what initially looks like no order whatsoever. No arrival cards are available on entering the building so we went into the security office to get ours. On joining the queue again, we noticed a shorter line off to the side so we joined that. We waited in the heat with the fan intermittently blowing on us and noticed our good choice in line. The desks weren't in a straight row, but jaggered so even though a line ended at the same point near the entry door, some of ...

Singapore City journal: Singapore Fling

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:23:02 GMT

We arrived in Singapore after a quick stamp at customs. Our bus station (Queen St) happened to be close to where we had booked accommodation for the night - Ali's Nest. At S$25 (NZ$1=S$1.16) for a room, including a breakfast of jam on toast and BAD coffee, it was by far the cheapest we could find.

After jay-walking many times and dropping off our bags, we headed into Little India to look for a beer and dinner. We found the beer, but dinner was had at a hawker market. They were impressed to see us eat our roasted duck on rice with chop sticks - we were complimented on our technique!

Yogyakarta journal: Methinks Angkor Instead

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:18:40 GMT

Our bus took about 10.5 hours bit it went surprisingly fast. The bus driver was insane and managed to get Adrienne feeling a bit queasy at the start because his overtaking technique was quite violent.

Indonesia gets tiring after a while because everyone is trying to rip you off. At the Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta) bus terminal, ojeks wanted Rp50,000 to take us to Sosrowijayen St. After much arguing and being shown the wrong exit, we got a taxi to give us a metered ride. We tracked where he was going on the Rough Guide map and he took us straight there. It ended up costing ...

Jakarta journal: We're Outta Here!

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:06:08 GMT

Our second visit to Jakarta was, again, brief. We just needed to get to the airport. A motorised ojek took us to Gambir train station where we could catch a bus to the airport, but brfore boarding, we thought we'd check out a nearby monument. Monas, or "Surkano's Last Erection" as it's affectionately known, is in the middle of a rather beautiful park (Medan Merdeka) in the middle of Jakarta. We decided we'd see enough of Jakarta from the top of this, and indeed we did. Nearby is Mesjid Istiqlal, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, holding 250,000 people. There is also a museum at the ...

Probolinggo journal: One Bad Cup Of Java

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 06:56:37 GMT

This is a longish entry, but here's a quick summary:

Mt Bromo = excellent Mahkota Travel = evil

For the story, read on...

Welcome to Probolinggo, the supposed "Investment City" and our pick for the a-hole of Java. Ok, that sounds a tad bitter but we didn't have the greatest experience. The day started kind of well, the bus dropped us off at 3:30am, down the street from the bus terminal. We wanted to go to Bromo and set off to the terminal to organise a way there. We were constantly harassed by pedicabs (ojek) telling us the terminal was 7km away, when it was really ...

Denpasar journal: Island Hopping

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 06:54:17 GMT

Having survived Nyepi and avoiding trouble with any Nyepi cops, we fuelled up on the great breakfast at Ari's, before getting on the scooter again. We stopped by Goa Lawah (the bat cave, we resisted any bat-gags this bat-time). The temple is really small but we still had to fork out a "donation" for the guide, after paying the entrance fee (Rp5000?). There were hundreds of bats in the cave mouth and we were told that the cave extended back 50m, with bats covering the walls.

From there it was basically straight to Denpasar's bus terminal (Ubung). We did stop for the best satay at a ...

Candi Dasa journal: Nyepi

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:53:29 GMT

With about 140kg on the scooter, we made it to the top of the crater - slowly. This achieved, we glided down the other side through a beautiful green forest only to be stopped for us and our bike (or our trip) to be blessed, including having rice stuck to our foreheads. We didn't realise straight away but it wasn't an altruistic gesture, we should've guessed that a donation was required. Crazy thing was that they had pulled us over like they were the police!

We made a side-trip to Besakih Temple at the foot of Ganung Agung. Ganung Agung is the highest and holiest mountain in ...

Kintamani journal: Kedi-vegas

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:26:07 GMT

With our scooter loaded up again, we rode into the wide green yonder heading for the crater area of Ganung Batur. We knew it wasn't going to be a long ride so scheduled in a stop at Tirta Empul (Holy Spring Temple), our second temple. It is one of the six most important temples in Bali and the name signifies a crystal clear stream which is used as the holy water for various religious ceremonies. We entered through the locals entrance but were called back to pay the Rp6,000 pp entrance fee. Again there were beautiful carvings everywhere and good use of gold in some places. And of course there ...

Ubud journal: Bali's Cultural Centre

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 05:38:15 GMT

It normally takes a wee while to find cheap accommodation in Ubud but the first place we went to offered us Rp35,000 per night. Taking Hanna's advice we looked around and found a cool homestay for the same price. It had awesome, intricate Balinese decorations and a crazy old lady. Wandering Ubud we came across an interesting restaurant that had a view over a little garden. A pity that the meal wasn't up to the price, in fact we found street food that was cheaper and tastier about 15min down the road.

On getting back to the homestay we were confronted by the owner (we had ...

Kuta journal: Kuta Kalling

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:35:48 GMT

Cebu Pacific winged us to Jakarta Airport, where we planned to get a flight to Bali. We cleared customs by 1am and were quickly harassed by taxi drivers. In the end we decided to sleep in the airport until the airline offices opened because there wasn't enough time to sort out accommodation in the city. If you're sleeping at the airport, head to the departures level where you'll find a clean area, relatively decent toilets and security guards. Don't bother trying to find the internet, that's one thing the place lacks easy access to.

Adam Air had the cheapest tickets to Denpasar ...

Manila journal: Moving On

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:24:54 GMT

We arrived at Batangas Pier only to have our relaxed vibe stolen from us as taxi drivers tried, unsuccessfully, to convince us that their taxi was the best way to get to Manila. Along with a German couple who were also on our boat, we were plied with "2000 peso's to airport" and "next bus doesn't leave until 3pm"; yeah right. The buses leave regularly and only cost P146.5 pp. The station is hidden by some shops, so it's easy to miss. We grabbed the bus, with a last minute cry of "1000 per two people!" and helped the German couple find out where it stopped. They were very surprised to hear ...

Puerto Galera journal: The Filipino Chill Pill

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:41:56 GMT

According to our guidebook, White Beach is a quiet beach for relaxing compared with other Puerto Galera beaches. Since the book is out of date, a lot has changed in 5 years. Although the low season, we arrived to find that the beach was doing an imitation of the cliche sardine can. The touts attempted a beach assault on us, which made us decide on Talipanan Beach instead. The tricycle cost us P150 (normally P100) to get there and we settled on Mengi's Resort (P500 per night), with our own bathroom containing a real shower! There are about 5 places to choose from. By this stage we were ...