We survived the first leg of the great Trans Mongolian Train ride and arrived in Ulaan Bator. We were picked up by our tour guide and brought to out hotel, nice change after a TV!
Ulaan Bator is a bit of a strange city; buildings everywhere in no clear pattern roads full of holes and no clear traffic rules so everyone jumps on the road. After showering and shaving we did a sightseeing tour through UB and it is a quite interesting place to hang around! Chengis Khan is everywhere! We also found out it is pretty cold over here, especially compared to Beijing and HK which I visted before.
On the second day we went to a couple more sights in UB and finally took off to our yurt camp, there were 25 yurt tents or so. Since we are not travelling in the tourist season we were the only ones. Live in a yurt tent is old fashioned, light a fire to heat up no water available and toilets were a little hole a bit further away. But the scenery is beautiful, very surreal mountains, and lots and lots of space!
Unfortunately we must have eaten something bad as we got sick on day 2 in the camp. Therefore we went back to UB and after a day with lots of rest we are OK now.
Today and tomorrow we'll hang around a bit in UB and than it is off to Russia, apparantly it takes the Russian customs 7 hours to clear the train...
Monday, April 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Beijing
Last night in Beijing, a busy, big and vibrant place to be! I arrived here after a 25 hour trainride, interesting to see so much of China from the window, a country that is clearly developing itself into a modern society. I was pretty tired when I arrived here and had a nice meal and a beer before I dropped into bed.
The following day Xander arrived as well so for the rest of the journey it's the two of us. The first day we visited the Forbidden city, a very large complex of palaces in the middle of the city, here as on any other place there are two many street hawkers who want to sell things to tourist (= white people) and they can be very pushy doing so. After the forbidden city we saw the Tianamen Square by night which is an odd place, very big, ideal to hold parades on much than I expected it to be.
The next day we made a tour to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, unfortunately it also included way too many stops at shopping centres ("for some cultural understanding") with a bunch of pushy people. However the wall was great to see and I am glad to have been there.
Today we did a bit of shopping for the train and picked up our tickets, that was pretty interesting as the tour operator did not give us a complete address, it missed the number of the building and the housenumber so we had to ask around, that's when you feel like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, barely anyone speaks English, although they ae very willing to help.
At last we found the office and got our tickets, we also went to Bei Hai Lake and Park and visited Tianamen a second time, this time in daylight.
Tomorrow we kick off the great Trans Mongolian journey and we are very excited and a bit worried because Mongolia still seems to be pretty cold, even Siberia is warmer!
The following day Xander arrived as well so for the rest of the journey it's the two of us. The first day we visited the Forbidden city, a very large complex of palaces in the middle of the city, here as on any other place there are two many street hawkers who want to sell things to tourist (= white people) and they can be very pushy doing so. After the forbidden city we saw the Tianamen Square by night which is an odd place, very big, ideal to hold parades on much than I expected it to be.
The next day we made a tour to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, unfortunately it also included way too many stops at shopping centres ("for some cultural understanding") with a bunch of pushy people. However the wall was great to see and I am glad to have been there.
Today we did a bit of shopping for the train and picked up our tickets, that was pretty interesting as the tour operator did not give us a complete address, it missed the number of the building and the housenumber so we had to ask around, that's when you feel like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, barely anyone speaks English, although they ae very willing to help.
At last we found the office and got our tickets, we also went to Bei Hai Lake and Park and visited Tianamen a second time, this time in daylight.
Tomorrow we kick off the great Trans Mongolian journey and we are very excited and a bit worried because Mongolia still seems to be pretty cold, even Siberia is warmer!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Hong Kong
I spent a week in Hong Kong and I can say it is a great city. Life is very vibrant over here, there are so many people everywhere that there is oftern congestion in the MRTs and on the pavements. There are so many shops, things are cheap, you can get everything you can think of...
It sure was an exhausting week, I stayed with my Australian housemate and friend Dom, and we went out for drink till later every night. He lives very central here and close to where it all happens (although it happens everywhere over here).
Besides partying and shopping I visited quite some tourist places, a beach, several markets and some offshore islands, Hong Kong also has a great environment. The funny thing is if you stand on a prestine beach you still see huge container ships passing by.
Today I am off for the next destination: Beijing. I go by train which takes about 25 hours, so China is quite a big country. I am curious what I will see on my way north!
It sure was an exhausting week, I stayed with my Australian housemate and friend Dom, and we went out for drink till later every night. He lives very central here and close to where it all happens (although it happens everywhere over here).
Besides partying and shopping I visited quite some tourist places, a beach, several markets and some offshore islands, Hong Kong also has a great environment. The funny thing is if you stand on a prestine beach you still see huge container ships passing by.
Today I am off for the next destination: Beijing. I go by train which takes about 25 hours, so China is quite a big country. I am curious what I will see on my way north!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Puala Tioman - Juara
This leg of the trip proves to be exhausting and relaxing.. It took 5 hours to get from Singapore into Malaysia, it took 3 hours alone to get through the Malaysian Customs, with a 20 KG backpack on my back in a 40 degrees room without airco and lots of people, some of whom fainted...
Apparently Good Friday is a holiday in Singapore as well: many Singaporians fled their city state to Malaysia which caused a lot of dismay. When I finally set foot on Malaysian soil, I had to fight my way to get a bus to Mersing, the same place from where I am writing this story.
Mersing is the kickoff for trips to the island paradise of Tioman, 50 KM offshore in the south Chinese sea. As soon as I arrived I quickly got tickets for the last ferry and a ride to the other side of the island: Juara.
Juara is magical, it is an oasis of relaxation, good food, very nice sea and a lot of doing nothing at all. I had a hut on the beach, meaning that when you wake up the first view you see is some sleepy palm trees full of coconuts, a white beach and a very deep blue sea. The water in the sea is amazing, exactly the right temperature!
I basically dived my time between swimming, snorkeling, reading a book in a hammock and eating delicious local dishes (curry!). I also made a trip from on side of the island to the other as saw monkeys in the middle of the jungle and beautiful waterfalls.
There was even a place with Dutch ties so I also had some cheese sandwiches, it was a great unforgettable adventure!
This morning I took a 4WD taxi to the other side of the island from where you can take the ferry, unfortunately the car got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by another car. Due to this I missed my early ferry and had to wait for another one, causing me to miss my bus to KL as well... Now I have to wait until 6PM if the bus departs in time this time... and arrive 11h30..
Tomorrow a last days of sightseeing in KL and than off to Hong Kong!
Apparently Good Friday is a holiday in Singapore as well: many Singaporians fled their city state to Malaysia which caused a lot of dismay. When I finally set foot on Malaysian soil, I had to fight my way to get a bus to Mersing, the same place from where I am writing this story.
Mersing is the kickoff for trips to the island paradise of Tioman, 50 KM offshore in the south Chinese sea. As soon as I arrived I quickly got tickets for the last ferry and a ride to the other side of the island: Juara.
Juara is magical, it is an oasis of relaxation, good food, very nice sea and a lot of doing nothing at all. I had a hut on the beach, meaning that when you wake up the first view you see is some sleepy palm trees full of coconuts, a white beach and a very deep blue sea. The water in the sea is amazing, exactly the right temperature!
I basically dived my time between swimming, snorkeling, reading a book in a hammock and eating delicious local dishes (curry!). I also made a trip from on side of the island to the other as saw monkeys in the middle of the jungle and beautiful waterfalls.
There was even a place with Dutch ties so I also had some cheese sandwiches, it was a great unforgettable adventure!
This morning I took a 4WD taxi to the other side of the island from where you can take the ferry, unfortunately the car got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by another car. Due to this I missed my early ferry and had to wait for another one, causing me to miss my bus to KL as well... Now I have to wait until 6PM if the bus departs in time this time... and arrive 11h30..
Tomorrow a last days of sightseeing in KL and than off to Hong Kong!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Singapore
Singapore is, besides a city, a sovereign country something you notice when you cross the border at the bridge between Malaysia (Johor Bahru) and Singapore. First the bus stopped at the Malaysian checkpoint where I have to receive a stamp and hand over some paperwork, after which the bus brought us to the other side of the bus where had to do the opposite on Singaporian soil. The visa application clearly stated that carrying drugs can lead to the death penalty...
Singapore itself looks at first sight much different than Kuala Lumpur or Melaka: more organised, cleaner but once you walk around you see the same spirit: shops stalls and hawkers on the street selling their goods.
The temperature is OK but the humidity is far higher (85 per cent, compared to almost nill in Canberra) guess that is what happens when you live so close to the equator (1 degree N)
I spend some time shopping (airconditioning!!) but the prices are not different than what you would pay in Australia or Europe, but it was nice to see some familiar European Stores like Zara (Zaraaaaaaaaaaa) and Mexx. Furthermore I visited the Esplanade and the Changi Museum and Chapel.
Tomorrow I'll head of to a nice tropical island to chill for a couple of days!!
Singapore itself looks at first sight much different than Kuala Lumpur or Melaka: more organised, cleaner but once you walk around you see the same spirit: shops stalls and hawkers on the street selling their goods.
The temperature is OK but the humidity is far higher (85 per cent, compared to almost nill in Canberra) guess that is what happens when you live so close to the equator (1 degree N)
I spend some time shopping (airconditioning!!) but the prices are not different than what you would pay in Australia or Europe, but it was nice to see some familiar European Stores like Zara (Zaraaaaaaaaaaa) and Mexx. Furthermore I visited the Esplanade and the Changi Museum and Chapel.
Tomorrow I'll head of to a nice tropical island to chill for a couple of days!!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Melaka
Melaka was the second stop on my journey through Malaysia. It is a relatively small town and one day over there is enough to get a good impression. The interesting part of town is its history, the mediocre Portugese, the heroic Dutch and the brutal British all colonised Melaka and that can be see in the architecture. Another way I figured out old ties is that some words in Malay are very similar to Dutch...
Having seen the Stadhuys and surrounding building and eating some very yummy Indian food made it a worthwile trip. However the next day I have to wake up early as Singapore is the next destination.
Having seen the Stadhuys and surrounding building and eating some very yummy Indian food made it a worthwile trip. However the next day I have to wake up early as Singapore is the next destination.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital is way different than any other place I have seen so far. There are two distinctive features: Asian and a Muslim country. You can see you are in Asia not just because of the way people look like but also the way business is done: on the street you can buy all sorts of things: food DVDs etc etc. Besides that KL has some very big shopping malls with lots of luxurious products and lots of junk!
You can see it is a Muslim country they way women are dressed and the fact you cannot really get pork meat and alcohol is relatively expensive. It is great to see a completely different culture.
The only thing with which I do have difficulties is the climate: temperature is OK but it is so humid, I keep on buying drink all the times but evaporation is much quicker than me refilling myself...
In KL I got a good impression of the city, saw the Petronas Towers (from the sky bridge 177M high, not even half way!) apparantly two weeks ago a Frenchmen a.k.a. Spiderman tried to climb the tower without any gear, he almost made it to the top but policemen were waiting for him, the second time he fell short of ultimate glory in KL.
I guess it is time for me to dive into the city life again!
You can see it is a Muslim country they way women are dressed and the fact you cannot really get pork meat and alcohol is relatively expensive. It is great to see a completely different culture.
The only thing with which I do have difficulties is the climate: temperature is OK but it is so humid, I keep on buying drink all the times but evaporation is much quicker than me refilling myself...
In KL I got a good impression of the city, saw the Petronas Towers (from the sky bridge 177M high, not even half way!) apparantly two weeks ago a Frenchmen a.k.a. Spiderman tried to climb the tower without any gear, he almost made it to the top but policemen were waiting for him, the second time he fell short of ultimate glory in KL.
I guess it is time for me to dive into the city life again!
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