Final week in Indonesia!

Yah, I've been slack with this baby I know.. but life is like that here in Indonesia.. laid back.. no priorities.. lots of rest and relaxation.. I can honestly say my level of desire to do much right now is minimal.. perhaps because I know in one month I am back to reality and back to Australia and begrudgingly back to work! February the 5th feels like a while ago but my first impressions and tastes of Jogja are still strong.. though what I know and feel of this place now is comforting, I do miss that thrill of arriving to a new destination and navigating through new streets, finding new places to eat, trying new cuisine, meeting new people.. However since we have relocated in Jogja for the last 3 weeks, we have found many new places to eat and hang out. In Feb you would still have to twist my arm to get me to eat out of the street vendor's little kitchen on wheels.. now, I am not so fussy and wow the food is delicious! How I will miss yellow rice with peanuts, fried egg, cabbage and sambal for breakfast. I crave the stuff.. It is an over generous serving and only 5000rupiah.. just over 50 cents. And just as good if not better than some food you'd find here in restaurants. The ease of getting your breakfast 'dibungkus' (take away) wrapped in a bamboo leaf and paper I will miss. It is beautifully presented every time you open your parcel once you get home. The call to prayer is somewhat of a staple of every day life here. I enjoy it more now that we don't live next to a mosque and enjoy the sounds resonating through the air, especially in the evenings. I will miss the magnificent views of Mt Merapi.. The guilty indulgence of getting a western meal a few times a week.. The freedom of the scooter.. the crazy chaotic roads... the friendliness of the people.. karaoke.. even at times I think i'll miss sticking out of the crowd, though many  times I have only wanted the opposite! I will miss the amazingly abundant amount of street art on every corner. Jogjakarta is a very characteristic, friendly and yes chaotic place to be but once you get your head around this place it is incredibly charming and easy going.
We had an adventure to West Java to a beach called Batu Karas, a reknown surfing beach. Though we cannot surf we spent a very fun couple of days relaxing by the water, body boarding and enjoying the rural countryside of Java. We visited the Green Canyon, a river that is enveloped by lush ferns & trees, the river is incredibly green. Unfortunately for us, the weather was too cool for us to swim (we have acclimatised!- the Indonesians who always complain about the cold were in the water and we refused!)We got on the back of a motorbike (ojek) to get to the nearest bus station and rode over a bamboo bridge overhanging the river- a blue sky, 630am morning sunlight, the green river and a mist rising over the water made for a breathtaking sight!The beauty is priceless and well worth the 16 hour round way trip.
I'm not sure what is on the cards for this week. I'm yet to make my way to Borobodor.. Should do it. Then we are off via Jakarta to KL to reach Phuket! A week of Thailand, 2 weeks of Vietnam..

 A favourite view of mine of part of Jogjakarta

Heading west

Batu Karas, West Java

Kembali ke Jogjakarta!

Back to it!
I recommenced traveling last Saturday, the 28th of May, after returning home for ten days to spend with family and attend the funeral of my uncle. Suddenly halting the SE asian travels was quite odd. I went from the 'organised' chaos, distinctive smells, warm to hot & humid weather, incredible traffic, motorcycles, litter, abundant greeenery, rice paddies, road side stalls and listening to a foreign tongue every day to a clean, quiet and well organised city where the weather had turned wintery. That said it was pleasurable to drink water from the tap, eat a bucketload of veggies & beans & not have to face the daily challenge of asking for no meat in my food and to see family was nice too, though in sad circumstances. Oh, and I managed to rest and get over my gastric illness that kept me bedridden in Phnom Penh. Will definitely get back to Cambodia another day.
Singapore was so clean, the weather was warm, the days weren't hampered by rain, the architecture really impressed me. I had no expectations but what I saw was nothing like what I could have imagined. I am used to the gritty SE Asia. Singapore, for the most part, never revealed itself to me in that way. Even when I stayed in little India, well sure it became a bit more hectic.. Perhaps this is just what I am used to now.
Singapore definitely showed itself to me to be a great, lively city to party in. The price however is not so nice. The Singapore dollar is not far away from the Australian dollar and this makes for an expensive night out. Transport was fair, well priced and easy to use. The consumerism in that city is over abundant and it is quite hard to think just a 2 hour flight is the poverty of Cambodia and so on. Designer labels, i-pods, i-pads, shopping malls beyond ridiculous, a casino where in you had to pay 100 Singapore dollars to get in. An extravagance I had never experienced yet myself in Asia.. although this ridiculous amount of consumerism & desire to have material possessions is not my thing, it was a great city to see.  And I can hardly talk, as I was treated to some of the finer things in life, such as a vintage 2002 bottle of Dom Perignon.. To think how hard and long people in the other cities I've been traveling through and living in would have to work to make that much money.. and I just drank it down. My usual feeling of guilt accompanied the drink but it was surely a memorable experience. And I didn't pay for it. I never could.

My only tip would be if you go to Singapore and head up to the new sky park, where the views are magnificent and the pool will blow your mind (though you cannot swim there unless you are staying in the hotel, you can still be voyeuristic and watch others swimming) and the views through dusk until night are incredible, do not pay for the observation deck. It costs $20 to get up to the deck. However if you head to the bar & restaurant there you will get exceptional service and the prices aren't too ridiculous given your prime view. Just head straight up to the bar, we ordered a  caraf of sangria for $38 (got at least 2 and  half drinks each) and a gourmet pizza for $22. Definitely do not need to visit the observation deck. because your view from the bar is beautiful enough. Plus to be honest once you're up there you could walk to the deck anyway, they only check your tickets to go up to the deck and from there it's all open space. The beauty of hindsight would have saved me $20.

So now I'm back in Jogjakarta. Where I managed to surprise my man by arriving earlier than he was expected. Caught him completely unawares and it was great fun to do!
Life back here didn't take too long to get used to. The language is coming back each day. The people here are so friendly. I've met up with old friends I had made in February & March, it's been great to see them again. Ventured up to the camp that my man has been living in and working in for the 2 months I spent traveling, it was a great community and I know he had a great time getting to know people up there. I loved being able to see where he had spent his time and meet his new friends. The rural countryside is just beautiful.
I will write more about Jogja later.

3 more weeks here until we leave for Thailand & Vietnam.

Phnom Penh, you'll have to wait..

Well. Cambodia you look really interesting.. I want to get to know more about you & your history. Unfortunately it will have to wait.
I have been here for five days, much longer than I planned to be in this city but I have been too unwell for travel & now I've decided to go home for my Uncle is really acutely sick.. dying actually.
So tomorrow I will leave for Singapore & then onwards & back home for ten days before resuming this adventure.

What I saw a lot of in Phnom Penh

What I should have been seeing instead..


I will resume this blog as I head for Singapore.. where I hope my batteries will be recharged &  I will have a renewed spirit (and a healthy one), ready for adventures & some boozing. It will leave me with only seven weeks of travel!

Goodbye Thai

I have been so lazy with this blog.. To be honest I guess like anything I do, I start with good intentions & it eventually falls behind. Yet I really have no priorities while traveling. 


My month in Chiang Mai really flew. I had a very lovely and inspiring time working with the young children at the single mother's home. It was a very enriching place to be- to see a successful organisation that was started from scratch, that is environmentally as well as socially just, was so uplifting. Going there each day was a pleasure. Although admittedly there were days when the children were incredibly challenging and loved to push me. Language barriers could get in the way but they knew from the tone of my voice when I meant business. They were ultimately gorgeous kids who loved warmth & attention like any other children. We had a lot of fun together. I would easily have stayed longer & think that would have been the best way to get the most out of the organisation. It's such a community that it's not the right place to just waltz in & waltz out again.

I don't think I will ever do volunteer service through an organisation that links me to the volunteer work. It was confirmed that none of the money we paid went to the actually place we volunteered for. This is insane. For the price, especially in comparison to the cost of living in Thailand, and the accommodation (especially it's location), the fact we had to pay our own transport daily,is really disappointing. I feared this would be the case but I had limited time to organise this for myself prior to coming. And to be honest I wasn't sure about the whole process, how easy it would be. Now I know. I now understand why the name of the place I volunteered at isn't actually written at all on the organisation's website. I guess so you can't google it, find their website and realise you can go straight to them, rather than pay far too much money to a third party. I feel I would have had a more genuine experience without the organisation. Plus the attitudes of most of the travelers/volunteers in the house were deplorable. A gossipy, clingy group of late teens who thought they were still in high school and that there was a hierarchy to the volunteer house. Oh how they sucked. Definitely a dampener. Glad expecting to meet some awesome people was not what I was in Chiang Mai for. Sure, I did meet some great people. Just still have a bee in my bonnet over the incredulous behaviour of the youngsters there. 


I'd recommend Chiang Mai. Northern Thailand is great. The city itself is rather quaint, not so chaotic, pretty orderly in fact. I'd definitely encourage a trip during Songkran. I was so enthralled with this festival. It was great! 

Hill tribe dress.

So I flew into Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Saturday. 


I have had some nasty gastro since Thursday, it totally wipes me out. Unfortunately I'm spending longer than I wanted to here in Phnom Penh has I can't handle getting on a bus to Siem Reap right now. I haven't seen much of Phnom Penh either, other than the taxi from the airport & a short walk yesterday. It seems chaotic. I really want to explore it but I will be back on the outward journey from Cambodia.


I finally sought a doctor last night. It was easier than I thought. I got a bunch of french medication and it has helped me feel a bit better. Though not entirely. I'm hoping yesterday was the peak of it. Pretty tired. Spending too much money for Cambodia in this accommodation but it will make me feel better than a hostel dorm and shared bathroom.


Flying into Cambodia was interesting. I haven't seen such arid looking country since I left Australia. I'm excited to explore this country, even though it will only be an eleven day journey- if I'm well enough to set off tomorrow for Siem Reap.

Another night, another mojito.

Chiang Mai.. Well, I have to say I now understand why so many people love spending their holidays and going on adventures here in Thailand. It feels liberated in comparison to many asian countries I have traveled through. I mean I can see the women looking to make money through male tourists more than I have seen anywhere else but being able to travel somewhere with less worries about offending the local custom makes you feel more at ease. The sense of relaxed locals with a lot of easy going tourists makes for a very smooth ride through daily life here in Chiang Mai.
Each day I wake up at about 7am (enjoying the sleep ins for work as opposed to 530am) get ready and head to the main volunteer house where I meet two others, currently one American & one Dutch and we head out to the home via a songthiew, ie local taxi/bus/public transport. It can take half an hour or so of waiting on the street to have the one we want come along. Its about a twenty minute ride out of town. Costs 15 baht ie 50cents. We ride in the back of a ute with a cover on the top, that's what a songthiew is like.
Once I arrive I head to the 'nursery' where the kids are aged 1 to 5 yrs. While the older kids are at thai & english classes I look after the 1 & 2 year olds. It can be a mission to entertain them day in and day out but they are lovely and I thoroughly enjoy their personalities and extending their vocab and numeracy in english. We do snack time where the kiddies drink their milk then we eat fruit. I've tried some amazing and new fruits here. Rose apples, unripened mango, the best watermelon of my life, nice rambutan, banana etc. After the second classes it's lunch time. I generally just eat lunch and don't have to pay much mind to the kids but occassionally I receive a welcome cuddle or one of them will come sit on my lap for a while. Then I watch and help sort any dramas in the playground & sandpit for about an huor and then have to hustle them for teeth brushing and showering. Theyre all pretty good once I can get them under control. They love the game, run away and hide from the volunteer until she gets really angry.. And then once I finally get them ready to wash and in the act of brushing their teeth, they often run away again stark naked. It doesn't test me too much, if I ignore them they tend to come back easier than when I get stroppy about it. Bath time is fun, the water is cold & they usually have a good laugh. Encouraging their hygiene & independence is really important. After wash time it's nap time. It doesn't take too much for most of them to settle to sleep but I lay with them & try to help them fall asleep by brushing their hair or just keeping them company. I generally pass out asleep for some time too. After that it's snack time again & then I choof off home. A pretty easy day. Though it is all outdoors in the Northern Thai summer heat. At the end of the day I'm pretty tired.
After work I come home via 7-11 for a cheeky snack & just relax.. Then it's dinner time. I head to town with another songthiew, it takes about 10 to 15mins. There is such a wide variety of cuisine here, it's great. Thai (of course) & Mexican rank highly on my list here. There are loads of vegetarian restaurants. Mojitos are always on special & I love singha beer, though it the most expensive you can generally buy.
Pai was beautiful and romantic. I would love to be there with my beloved.
Tomorrow I will go to the tiger kingdom after work. I've read a mixture about this place. That the tigers are heavily sedated, that they are exploited, that it is cruel.. I am keen to see it for my own eyes.
I will write about it. I promise.

Time slips away from me here

I have been the slackest blogger ever these last 2 weeks.. The days here in Chiang Mai easily roll into one another. I spend my day volunteering at a home for single mothers, looking after youngsters & enjoying an afternoon nap with them after lunch, yet I am always too tired to blog! Too tired to do a lot! It's been 3 months since I left work so this daily routine is a change. It's good as I get to see more of the ebb & flow of life around me as Chiang Mai is reasonably touristy, especially in the centre.
The setting of the home is beautiful, further out of the city surrounded by rice fields & a bit of construction work. Most of the women have come there from hilltribes surrounding northern Thailand. It's very fascinating to learn about these tribes, their differing beliefs, culture & dress. I found out that apparently the long neck women that are sold as a Thai hilltribe tourist attraction are smuggled here from Myanmar.. Human slavery, a human zoo.. Terrible. Won't be going to see that then.
Around Chiang Mai I would recommend (besides ensuring you come here for Songkran) going for a day or morning at an elephant park/sanctuary. It depends what level you want to get involved but you can spend the day as a ma-hoot or just watch. The hills around here are beautiful and driving through them is almost spiritual,  to see nature's beauty.The Golden Triangle is a fair hike from here, it was a ten hour round trip but on the way you can stop by hot springs, a wonderful glistening white temple, and Chiang Rai. The Golden Triangle is the boarder of Thailand, Myanmar & Laos that has the Mekong river running between them all. I have to say I felt deep in the heart of Asia. I loved being there but there is little to do but relax & enjoy the view. Unless you want to cross the boarder & go into Laos or take a boat ride up the mekong. When we got up there our car would not start. It was a slightly stressful situation being five hours from home with limited help available! Though after we let the beast cool down it obediently started again!
The road rules are observed well here in comparison to some other countries I have been driving in. It's reassuring for long drives.
This weekend am headed to Pai, a city that is probably another tourist mecca, though I have heard it is beautiful & the road there involved some 725 turns. It is in the mountains & close to the boarder of Myanmar.
My lovely friend Canada has rejoined me after her stay in Malaysia & I am so happy to see her familiar face again!
There are limited crazy stories to tell of here so far.. This is good. I am really just trying to relax & live simply. I like to think I am succeeding. Don't even think I've had a proper hangover here. This weekend may change that.

Wildflower

http://www.wildflowerhome.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en


This is where I am spending my month volunteering in Chiang Mai....

I am grateful to be there.