There once was a woman loved travel
But her suitcase had begun to unravel
She said, "Not too late!"
And whipped out duct tape
In ten minutes was hitting the gravel
by Natalie Fredrickson aka my sister
Monday, September 24, 2007
Technical Difficulties
I arrived back in Arizona with the intention to upload the last portion of my trip in Thailand only to discover that either my camera or my digital media card somehow deleted the last couple weeks of my trip. A good friend ran several recovery programs in attempt to rescue my lost media, but was only able to retrieve a few of the lost photos.
It is good to be home and see friends and family again. There really is nothing quite like being around familiar faces and people who know you well. The culture shock is minimizing each day. I no longer have to use water bottles to brush my teeth, dig through a backpack of dirty clothes to find the least smelliest clothes to wear, or use a spray hose instead of toilet paper when using the toilet. Little luxuries we take for granted are so nice to return to. I am no longer waking up dripping wet in 90% humidity to the sound of mosquitos buzzing in my ear and slathering myself mosquito repellent. American commercialism is still an adjustment as I am still baffled by the number of choices of items we have in grocery stores and American prices turn me back into a cheapskate. I started driving again after three months of not being behind the wheel, it comes back all too quickly. I mostly miss the beaches and the ocean.
The question on some people's minds.... What was your favorite place you visited? This is such a difficult question to answer. So many places hold so many great memories it is impossible to pick just one. Highlights of the trip were definitely:
1) Visiting the tiny and BEAUTIFUL island if Nanuku off of Taveuni, Fiji
2) Diving the Great Barrier Reef outside of Cairns, Australia and getting my Advanced Padi certification
3) Climbing the volcano, Mount Rinjani, in Lombok, Indonesia
4) Rock climbing and lying on the beach in Krabi, Thailand
5) Eating Thai food in Thailand...YUMMY!!!
There are so many beautiful places in the world to see, I could return to every single place I went and see new things. There is so much to do and 3 months was not long enough. I am anxious to hit the road again.
For now I am homeless, jobless, and trying to stretch my dollar. I am hoping to relocate to Colorado in the next couple of months, find a job, and work long enough to save money to travel again. I'll keep my blog updated with exciting news from this side of the globe until then.
It is good to be home and see friends and family again. There really is nothing quite like being around familiar faces and people who know you well. The culture shock is minimizing each day. I no longer have to use water bottles to brush my teeth, dig through a backpack of dirty clothes to find the least smelliest clothes to wear, or use a spray hose instead of toilet paper when using the toilet. Little luxuries we take for granted are so nice to return to. I am no longer waking up dripping wet in 90% humidity to the sound of mosquitos buzzing in my ear and slathering myself mosquito repellent. American commercialism is still an adjustment as I am still baffled by the number of choices of items we have in grocery stores and American prices turn me back into a cheapskate. I started driving again after three months of not being behind the wheel, it comes back all too quickly. I mostly miss the beaches and the ocean.
The question on some people's minds.... What was your favorite place you visited? This is such a difficult question to answer. So many places hold so many great memories it is impossible to pick just one. Highlights of the trip were definitely:
1) Visiting the tiny and BEAUTIFUL island if Nanuku off of Taveuni, Fiji
2) Diving the Great Barrier Reef outside of Cairns, Australia and getting my Advanced Padi certification
3) Climbing the volcano, Mount Rinjani, in Lombok, Indonesia
4) Rock climbing and lying on the beach in Krabi, Thailand
5) Eating Thai food in Thailand...YUMMY!!!
There are so many beautiful places in the world to see, I could return to every single place I went and see new things. There is so much to do and 3 months was not long enough. I am anxious to hit the road again.
For now I am homeless, jobless, and trying to stretch my dollar. I am hoping to relocate to Colorado in the next couple of months, find a job, and work long enough to save money to travel again. I'll keep my blog updated with exciting news from this side of the globe until then.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Southern Thailand
I headed south from Bangkok on a $40 flight to Krabi and then took a long tail boat out to a place called Railay Beach. This is quite possibly the most beautiful beach on all of Thailand. I know it is still early in my travels, but Tyson said it was the most beautiful, and once I arrived I couldn't agree more.
Surrounded by large lime stones cliffs that jet up from the land like large thumbs, Railay beach is famous for rock climbers, which is what I came here intending to do. It is like a climbers paradise here, or what I thought of as a Disneyland for climbers, but I was to short to ride all of the rides. But they luckily do have climbing for all levels, so I was able to get up on the rocks and put my arms to some long overdue exercise. I was so caught up in the climbing that all I want to do is come home and train so that I can come back (maybe with a friend next time) and climb all over the place!
The most beautiful part of the beach is that after climbing, you have a gorgeous place to lay down in the sand, swim in the gorgeous turquoise waters, and relax hard worked muscles while enjoying the beautiful scenery, and maybe a few monkeys.
From Krabi I took a ferry boat over to the island of Ko Phi Phi, home of the famous beach from the movie "The Beach". I had one day of fabulous weather and took advantage of going diving. Being the rainy season, the next two days on this island completely poured ALL day. I was never able to make it over to the actual "Beach". But alas, it is the rainy season here.
They say when it is raining on one side of the coast in Thailand, head to the other and you'll find sunshine. So next I am headed to the west coast to seek out yet more sunshine and more beaches. This is the life : )
Surrounded by large lime stones cliffs that jet up from the land like large thumbs, Railay beach is famous for rock climbers, which is what I came here intending to do. It is like a climbers paradise here, or what I thought of as a Disneyland for climbers, but I was to short to ride all of the rides. But they luckily do have climbing for all levels, so I was able to get up on the rocks and put my arms to some long overdue exercise. I was so caught up in the climbing that all I want to do is come home and train so that I can come back (maybe with a friend next time) and climb all over the place!
The most beautiful part of the beach is that after climbing, you have a gorgeous place to lay down in the sand, swim in the gorgeous turquoise waters, and relax hard worked muscles while enjoying the beautiful scenery, and maybe a few monkeys.
From Krabi I took a ferry boat over to the island of Ko Phi Phi, home of the famous beach from the movie "The Beach". I had one day of fabulous weather and took advantage of going diving. Being the rainy season, the next two days on this island completely poured ALL day. I was never able to make it over to the actual "Beach". But alas, it is the rainy season here.
They say when it is raining on one side of the coast in Thailand, head to the other and you'll find sunshine. So next I am headed to the west coast to seek out yet more sunshine and more beaches. This is the life : )
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Bangkok
I arrived in Bangkok and headed to the famous Kao Shan Road where backpackers gather, sleep, drink and shop. I arrived at 10 p.m. at night when the road was blocked off from traffic (as it is every night) because people gather in the streets to browse street vendors shops, drink alcohol from buckets, transform their image by getting fake dreadlocks applied to their heads or henna tattoos, and test their taste buds on street Pad Thai and Banana Pancakes for $20 Baht (a little less than $1 US). The next morning I hired a tuk tuk, a small three wheeled motorcycle reminiscent of the cheap Pulmonias in Mazatlan, as cheap transportation to take me around town.
I visited several Buddha statues including the standing Buddha. I have learned that the position the Buddha statue is in, i.e. standing, sitting, lying down, each has a different meaning, as well as the position his hands are placed in. I believe this particular statue is believed to bring luck and blessings when you pray in front of it.
I also hired a taxi to visit the famous ancient city of Ayutthaya. This city is the ancient capital of Thailand from 1350 until 1767 when the city was destroyed by Burmese invaders.
Near by I was able to visit elephants that offer tourists an opportunity for a quick ride or photo op. I choose the photo op : )
From Bangkok I headed south to Krabi and Railay Beach to do some rock climbing and spend yet more time on the beach. The waters of near by Pranang Beach are so beatiful, they could seduce you into drowning. See pictures next post : )
I visited several Buddha statues including the standing Buddha. I have learned that the position the Buddha statue is in, i.e. standing, sitting, lying down, each has a different meaning, as well as the position his hands are placed in. I believe this particular statue is believed to bring luck and blessings when you pray in front of it.
I also hired a taxi to visit the famous ancient city of Ayutthaya. This city is the ancient capital of Thailand from 1350 until 1767 when the city was destroyed by Burmese invaders.
Near by I was able to visit elephants that offer tourists an opportunity for a quick ride or photo op. I choose the photo op : )
From Bangkok I headed south to Krabi and Railay Beach to do some rock climbing and spend yet more time on the beach. The waters of near by Pranang Beach are so beatiful, they could seduce you into drowning. See pictures next post : )
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Lombok
I quickly agreed with all of my friends who have been to Bali before me that it is overcrowded, overpriced, over commercialized, and I was over it. Three days into Indonesia and I jumped on the four hour ferry from bali and headed east to the island of Lombok.
In Lombok I traveled to the northeastern tip of the island where three smaller islands called the Gilis (islands in Bahasa Indonesian) sit. I went to the largest and furthest one out, Gili Trawangan.
This is my kinda paradise. Beautiful turquoise waters with reefs great for scuba diving, small restaurants and bars and a decent amount of nightlife.
The only transportation on the island is bicycle (which I rented one day and rode around the island) or horse drawn carriages.
There are even individual movie booths right on the beach. Pick a movie, relax on some beanbags in the privacy of your own booth...and the cost is only ordering something to drink or eat (in my case a $2 beer). The movies are pirated so you can see the most current hits!
I stayed on the island for four days, diving every day and enjoying the vibe of the island and it's people.
Then I headed back to Lombok to see the island from a different perspective. I decided to take on Mount Rinjani. Mount Rinjani or Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano and rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia. I met two friends from Canada while on Gili Trawangan and we hired a guide to take us up the hill, along with two porters who, THANK GOD, carried our food, tent, and sleeping gear. The trip was extremely challenging, as I haven't exactly been working out much on my trip, nor have I been above sea level in over two months so my lungs got quite the shock.
View of the Mountain from the car
Still smiling after reaching 2,400 meters
Our fabulous porters who did the heavy lifting (in flipflops the whole way!)
Christine and Reneau (from Canada) supervising dinner preparations
Our view right before sunset on night two
After waking up at 2;30 a.m. and hiking for 3 1/2 hours, the view made it all worth it in the end.
Now I just need a few days for my legs to recover. I'm off to Thailand next...see you there
In Lombok I traveled to the northeastern tip of the island where three smaller islands called the Gilis (islands in Bahasa Indonesian) sit. I went to the largest and furthest one out, Gili Trawangan.
This is my kinda paradise. Beautiful turquoise waters with reefs great for scuba diving, small restaurants and bars and a decent amount of nightlife.
The only transportation on the island is bicycle (which I rented one day and rode around the island) or horse drawn carriages.
There are even individual movie booths right on the beach. Pick a movie, relax on some beanbags in the privacy of your own booth...and the cost is only ordering something to drink or eat (in my case a $2 beer). The movies are pirated so you can see the most current hits!
I stayed on the island for four days, diving every day and enjoying the vibe of the island and it's people.
Then I headed back to Lombok to see the island from a different perspective. I decided to take on Mount Rinjani. Mount Rinjani or Gunung Rinjani is an active volcano and rises to 3,726 m (12,224 ft), making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia. I met two friends from Canada while on Gili Trawangan and we hired a guide to take us up the hill, along with two porters who, THANK GOD, carried our food, tent, and sleeping gear. The trip was extremely challenging, as I haven't exactly been working out much on my trip, nor have I been above sea level in over two months so my lungs got quite the shock.
View of the Mountain from the car
Still smiling after reaching 2,400 meters
Our fabulous porters who did the heavy lifting (in flipflops the whole way!)
Christine and Reneau (from Canada) supervising dinner preparations
Our view right before sunset on night two
After waking up at 2;30 a.m. and hiking for 3 1/2 hours, the view made it all worth it in the end.
Now I just need a few days for my legs to recover. I'm off to Thailand next...see you there
Bali - My Pics
My camera is back up and running...here's some of my pics of Bali...
Flowers outside of my hotel room
Kuta Beach
Trying to get over my monkeyphobia
Tanah Lot
Being Blessed
Flowers outside of my hotel room
Kuta Beach
Trying to get over my monkeyphobia
Tanah Lot
Being Blessed
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Bali
Unfortunately none of the following photos are my own. My camera battery has died and I misplaced my electrical outlet converter. Hopefully this will be remedied ASAP. I do have very similar (some better) photos that I can show you when I get home : )
My two weeks in Indonesia have gone by much too quickly. There is so much to see and do here (as I am realizing seems to be the case everywhere I go) and things here are so cheap, I could travel here forever. Unfortunately I only planned two weeks here, so I crammed in as much as I could, and left plenty to do when I come back.
I started my trip in Bali. An island with gorgeous beaches, beautiful Hindu temples, a fascinating culture, and BIG CROWDS of tourists! I spent three days on Bali before moving onto the island just east called Lombok, and three days was more than enough.
I stayed in the town of Kuta, on the southern part of the island. Kuta is a mass of tourists, tourist shops selling phony name brand merchandise from Arnette Sunglasses for $3 to Billabong swimwear for $5, massage parlors, over a million scooters and motorcycles, and narrow streets that wind around for miles.
There is a gorgeous beach as well, and the vendors know the tourists will be there trying to escape the shops, so they bring the shops to you. You can even get a massage right where you are on the beach. It probably won't be the best massage ever, but it'll only cost you $5 if you bargain well.
I spent one day on Bali taking a tour around the island. Some friends I met in Darwin , Austalia were also in Bali and we hired a car to drive us around for the day. We went north to the town of Ubud and visited the sacred monkey forset. The monkeys are wild and EVERYWHERE! Some are tame enough that if you sit down with a banana in your hand they will climb on your shoulder or back and take the banana from you. It was really a beautiful spot to vist, even if the monkeys do freak you out a little bit.
From the monkey village we traveled further north to a town called Bedugul up in the mountains near Lake Bratan, home of the famous temple Ulun Danu.
Here I also tried my first bite of real Indonesian Food, Nasi Goreng. This is a dish of fried rice and a few vegies like carrots, chilis and water cress, topped with a fried egg and on the side a couple slices of cucmber, maybe a tomato, and a crispy shrimp cracker.I really liked it!
From here we traveled back south to the most photographed temple in all of Bali, Tanah Lot, which sits on a large island just off the beach. At this temple you can actually pay a donation and be blessed at the temple.
This is a quick recap of three short days. I hope to soon have my battery chanrged so I can post the Lombok portion of my trip with photos of me in these amazing places.
My two weeks in Indonesia have gone by much too quickly. There is so much to see and do here (as I am realizing seems to be the case everywhere I go) and things here are so cheap, I could travel here forever. Unfortunately I only planned two weeks here, so I crammed in as much as I could, and left plenty to do when I come back.
I started my trip in Bali. An island with gorgeous beaches, beautiful Hindu temples, a fascinating culture, and BIG CROWDS of tourists! I spent three days on Bali before moving onto the island just east called Lombok, and three days was more than enough.
I stayed in the town of Kuta, on the southern part of the island. Kuta is a mass of tourists, tourist shops selling phony name brand merchandise from Arnette Sunglasses for $3 to Billabong swimwear for $5, massage parlors, over a million scooters and motorcycles, and narrow streets that wind around for miles.
There is a gorgeous beach as well, and the vendors know the tourists will be there trying to escape the shops, so they bring the shops to you. You can even get a massage right where you are on the beach. It probably won't be the best massage ever, but it'll only cost you $5 if you bargain well.
I spent one day on Bali taking a tour around the island. Some friends I met in Darwin , Austalia were also in Bali and we hired a car to drive us around for the day. We went north to the town of Ubud and visited the sacred monkey forset. The monkeys are wild and EVERYWHERE! Some are tame enough that if you sit down with a banana in your hand they will climb on your shoulder or back and take the banana from you. It was really a beautiful spot to vist, even if the monkeys do freak you out a little bit.
From the monkey village we traveled further north to a town called Bedugul up in the mountains near Lake Bratan, home of the famous temple Ulun Danu.
Here I also tried my first bite of real Indonesian Food, Nasi Goreng. This is a dish of fried rice and a few vegies like carrots, chilis and water cress, topped with a fried egg and on the side a couple slices of cucmber, maybe a tomato, and a crispy shrimp cracker.I really liked it!
From here we traveled back south to the most photographed temple in all of Bali, Tanah Lot, which sits on a large island just off the beach. At this temple you can actually pay a donation and be blessed at the temple.
This is a quick recap of three short days. I hope to soon have my battery chanrged so I can post the Lombok portion of my trip with photos of me in these amazing places.
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