Where's Angela now?

It's been 4 months now, back in beautiful Melbourne, where you can get the BEST coffee and brekkie of softly poached eggs on rye/grain/sourdough bread with all the yummiest sides. I've missed you Melbourne!!!

To pick up from where I left off:

1. Nha Trang to Mui Ne:
The former was not quite the 'Surfers' Paradise of Vietnam' as I had been led to expect. The beach was fairly quiet and the weather was quite stormy. It rained everyday we were there. We did become regular patrons at the Aussie fish and chip shop!
Mui Ne was relaxing. Chilled out by the pool as the beach was non-existent during the day. The tide was quite high between 8am-10pm so that pretty much ruled out sunbathing on the beach!

2. Ho Chinh Minh City to Phu Quoc:
HCMC was a crazy, bustling city that never sleeps. Two days really wasn't enough. We managed to fit in Ben Thanh Market, War Remnants Museum and shopping around town.






We took a very quick (2-hour) tour of Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta. The brick kilns were interesting...very hard-working people working in horribly dusty conditions. The boat trip on the Mekong was relaxing. We enjoyed delicious and sweet coconut juice at a coconut farm.
Then it was off to Rach Gia for a night before embarking on a hyrdofoil(speedboat) to Phu Quoc.
Phu Quoc was just the best way to end a 3-month trip around South East Asia. It was 5 days of nothing else but beach, massage, more beach, reading and eating the most exquisite bbq seafood. Ah...what a life! I'm yearning for those hot, humid days as I'm writing this, when the heat prevented you doing much else other than lifting an icy cold drink or laying on a sunbed soaking in the sun, or getting a cheap massage anytime of the day! Bring it all back!!

Check out more photos here.

What happened before, during and after Earth Hour...

...from this:

...to this:

Follow the story here.

Having fun in Vietnam...

It's been a very intensifying 2-week tour of Vietnam with three girls. Packing in Hanoi, a 3-day cruise of Halong Bay, visiting ancient ruins of Hue and going crazy with tailoring clothes in Hoi An.

The drinks and food are flowing freely most nights. So much fun, so little time.

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Hello hello!

Sapa in northwest Vietnam is a mountain resort bustling with tourists. I didn't expect to see more rice terraces here. It's a squeaky clean and more developed version of Yuanyang in Southern China.
There are many ethnic minority groups living in the surrounding villages outside of the main town. Many women, young and old, come into town selling their wares. I was astounded at their very good grasp of English. They all crowd around tourists chatting happily away.
Monica and I were approached one morning outside a cafe/bar by a young woman. She was very friendly and asked where we came from, our names and how long we were staying in Sapa. We found out that she was 25, married at 15 and has 2 young children already! She laughed when we told her we were both unmarried and had no children. She then progressed to sell her handicraft to us. It wasn't long before another woman approached us too, carrying a really gorgeous baby on her back; also from the same village of Lao Chai. We ended up buying a purse from each lady.
We were hounded endlessly on the walk to a nearby village. Cries of "Hello hello!", "Where you come from?", "What you name?", "You buy from me?"(mostly in that order!) followed us. I fired my responses back just as quick: "Australia, Angela, No thank you!". They also had the "Maybe later you buy? Remember me, OK?" response. There probably was a compulsory crash course in business English in town.
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Running out of time...

...on internet! It's sooo slow here.

So here is what I've done in a nutshell:

* Luang Prabang - enjoyed the beautiful waterfalls and great company

*Vang Vieng - tubing down the river, twice! First time was lame was we'd only made it a 100m; the bars along the river got in the way. Seriously!

*Vientiane - actually did some sightseeing, instead of lazing around. Saw weird Buddha sculptures in Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan) and went to a gleaming golden stupa Pha That Luang.

Next, Vietnam!

Photos here.

Lazing in Lao

From being hand-fed, fussed over and drinking up a storm in Malaysia, I am now on the move again with my dear friend Monica. We're taking in the beautiful lush green jungle of Laos and discovering its slow and laid-back culture, and its delicious sweet fruit shakes.
So far the highlight has been a 2-day trek through the Nam Ha National Park in Luang Nam Tha. The heat made the trek a little more taxing but the beauty of the park made up for it - climbing steep trails, admiring the ancient trees and bamboo forest, learning about the medicinal use of plants and crossing multiple streams and bamboo bridges.
There were 8 altogether in the group: an Irish couple (who were amazingly fit considering they were in their 60s!), a Swiss engineer, a Canadian studying in Kyoto and a German with a French-Polish girlfriend and us. It was a really great group to hike with. Many travel stories were swopped and lots of laughs were shared.
The village we stayed at was called Ban Nalan and the people are of the Khmu tribe. The kids were gorgeous and very intrigued by the "falang" (foreigners). They enjoyed having their photo taken and playing games with us. I saw very young girls, from about 4 years old, chopping wood with a maschete for fire, pounding rice to remove the husks, and feeding the farm animals. The boys just seemed content to play and annoy them! The girls certainly work hard including looking after the babies too.
The simple fare we ate in the village and on the trek was delicious. A typical Lao meal includes sticky rice, which you take a little handfull and roll into a ball, then dip into laap (a cold salad of minced meat or fish) and vegetables. Over the two days, we sampled a spicy eggplant dish, fish laap, pumpkin soup, duck and sticky rice. And 'lao lao', a potent rice whisky, was being passed around generously. By the end of it, I was totally over sticky rice, and haven't touched it since!
Next destination was Nong Kiao, a little town by the river. We only stayed a night as we wanted to head to Muang Ngoi, a more rural town accessible only by boat. Not much sleep here as the chickens were at it early and the thin bamboo walls didn't shield out the trucks and motorbikes driving past or the really loud snoarer from the next room!


Muang Ngoi was beautiful and really chilled out. Our 3 days there were dictated by our stomache and thirst. Really slow living here: the meals we ordered took forever (recommended to bring a book along). Lucky the Beer Lao was always quick at hand. Electricity only runs between 6-10pm each day (actually was shorter some nights!) so getting an ice cold drink was difficult. They must also kill the chickens freshly for each meal ordered!
We spent each night in our hammocks, reading until the sun set and we got drowsy. We did have a little swim in the river and a bit of a walk. But not much else. Such is life!
View more photos of Luang Nam Tha and Nong Kiao/Muang Ngoi.

A bit of a pickle in Pangkor

I've had quite a holiday in Malaysia. Visiting a few relatives and eating and drinking loads. My cousin planned a great trip to Pangkor Island, along the western coast of Malaysia, about 3-4 hours south of Penang. It is a small island mainly inhabited by fishermen but has really beautiful beaches too.
The 3-day trip started off well and early. The drive was only going to take about 3 hours with a 40-minute ferry ride to the island. However, as all well-planned holidays go something had to come up.
We had to make a pitstop an hour into the trip as a loud bang was heard coming from the rear of the car. A punctured tyre had unfortunately occured and resulted in a lengthy wait as the boys discovered the spare one couldn't fit properly. In the end, when the highway patrol couldn't help either, we had to be towed into the nearest town to get a new tyre. Almost 3 hours later, we were back on track.
When we arrived at Pangkor Island we hired motorbikes and took a quick tour. There is only one main road encircling the entire island, so it only took a few hours to get an idea of its layout.
Later that night, after the cheapest seafood feast I've ever had, we took ourselves to a pre-booked 2-hour massage near the hotel. We had to wait for a little while as the massage parlour was busy. So it was at this time that the boys decided to show me how to ride a motorbike.
Now, this was actually my second try (previously had been in the hotel's parking lot, which made me quite nervous as it was narrow with many parked cars). I did well, but I must have gotten too excited or nervous when turning the bike around. I didn't release the throttle in time to brake and hit the curb. The result: a damaged front wheel which cost me RM$250 (about AU$100), a few cuts and bruises to my feet and a very embarrassed Angela. It all happened in front of a small crowd who were nice enough to not laugh too much at my mishap and helped me to my feet. Oh well, at least a bruised ego was the worst of it. Still, I'm determined to learn...
Anyway, the rest of the trip wasn't so dramatic. We all had fun snorkelling and jetskiing and drinking up the sun (and beer!). Soon I'll be on the road again when I continue my adventures with Mon from Chiang Mai. Laos here I come!
See more photos here.

Challenging China

China in all its natural glory is also one of the most challenging destinations I have been to. Everyone around me, even the European tourists, spoke Mandarin except me. Whenever a bus ticket was purchased, I really hoped for the worst. And it never failed to disappoint me.
The buses are dirty, suffocatingly smoky with men who were even spitting inside!! Both Mon and I got sick separately after two long bus rides. Although I think it was also the food we ate. Our diet consisted mainly of vegetables and rice; too scared to eat too much meat as often they aren't refrigerated.
We did have really delicious meals throughout China. Surprisingly the southern Chinese eat with loads of chilli, although they aren't always spicy like the Thai food. From hotpots to steamed carp (had this twice in Yuanyang!) to dumplings. The best value dumplings were in Dali - about AU$1 for 11 pork or vegetable dumplings. The best whole steamed fish in Yuanyang for all of AU$3.75.
Lijiang was beautiful albeit very touristy. The Old Town was wholly reconstructed and lacked the quaintness of Dali. Souvenir shops sold pretty much the same thing anyway, so trying food was more challenging. We did take some time out of the tourist-filled area and ventured out on mountain bikes to Baisha, about 10km out of town. We were rewarded with a great view of the Jade Snow Dragon Mountains most of the way.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge was an experience I'll never forget. Not only was the weather divine, but the views we had were amazing. Unfortnunately, I strained my knee quite badly and started to limp before the end of the first day and for most of the second. I quite enjoyed taking a pee at the Halfway Guesthouse, which had fantastic views of the mountains (although a little chilly!) and sitting in the sun at Tina's Guesthouse at the end of the trek. The food was the most memorable part of the trip: cheap and delicious. The best coffee was at Jane's right at the start of the trek.
The trip to the rice terraces in Yuanyang was quite uncomfortable and long. It took over 24 hours of total travel time in smokey buses and pitstops at the most disgusting toilets ever. Then we arrived at quite a small town that was both dirty and gloomy. I was then struck down with the flu over the next two days. I only managed to eat vegetables and rice.
There was heavy fog over the valley which meant that you couldn't see much of the rice terraces. So we booked another night, hoping the mist would lift. When it cleared, we hired a taxi to take us to one of the terraces for sunset. What a sight! It really took my breath away. The whole valley seemed to be illuminated by the reflections off the terraces. And it was a neverending sea of undulating rice fields. So beautiful! I didn't think that farmland could look so amazing.
Then it was back onto another disgusting sleeper bus (which the men smoked and spat in) to Kunming before we split up - me to Malaysia and Mon to Thailand. A trip that should have taken only 6-8 hours dragged on for 12 hours!! It was unfortunately Mon's turn to get sick! Not much to do in Kunming anyway.
All in all, China was quite exciting. The views were amazing and the people we met along the way were really interesting and fun. Couldn't have done it without fumbling through terrible Chinese and the help of the lovely staff at the hostels who booked us tickets and also wrote out our destinations on little bits of paper, and also the help we got along the way from foreigners who spoke fluent Chinese.
Photos of Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge here. And of Yuanyang here.

More Hong Kong photos

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Chinese New Year in Dali

The overnight sleeper train from Kunming was fairly uneventful. I was quite excited as it was my first overnight train ride. Getting the train tickets itself was quite a chore, with our very limited amount of Mandarin Chinese. After a lot of pointing to the guidebook and gesturing, we did manage to get our tickets. The few hours spent in Kunming had already made us realise how difficult it was going to be. Our attempt at ordering dinner was quite lame. Also involving pointing and gesturing to pictures. We left one supposedly famous restaurant because its ordering system (you had to purchase a ticket at a window) proved too challenging.
I slept well enough on the train, albeit to the very loud snores of a man sleeping in the bunk underneath Monica. He really sounded like he was choking on his own tongue!
We arrived at 8am in Dali's new town, Xiaguan, feeling quite disoriented and sleepy.
Another short bus ride later took us into the Old Town where our hostel is. The Old Town is very neat, with "tourist" written all over it. The architecture is a reconstruction of the Tang Dynasty buildings. There's even a street called "Foreigner Street" if that gives you any indication! The shops are all filled with souvenirs and other nick nacks. Many bars and restaurants line the cobblestone streets. We have already tried the local dumplings and rice pancake. Lots of chilli spices are used.
The Jade Emu Guesthouse is huge and has a great common area, complete with a bar and pool table. There was a free hotpot dinner for the guests on Chinese New Year Eve. Followed by more drinking and firecrackers, of course!!
Yesterday, Mon and I headed to Shaping to see the Monday market. It was smaller being the first day of the New Year. Not much else other than produce being sold. We did chance upon a little concert though. A large circle had formed in a square off the main road. Groups of women performed in turn in their traditional costumes. Even children danced for the audience. And then sometime into the event, a bus decided to roll into the square and literally squeezed itself through! The crowd didn't mind at all.


Today, we tried to catch a ferry across Erhau Lake, a massive lake just outside of Dali Old Town. But we were very disappointed at the high asking price of almost AU$40. Oh well...just have to wait until we get to Lijiang tomorrow for more sightseeing.
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Hong Kong: hazy, crazy and tasty!

Amidst the haze rises numerous skyscrapers, that reach out to the sky like long fingers. Hong Kong is a shopping haven for its locals and tourists alike. I for one was just happy to watch the frenzy.
So far, Monica and I have seen much of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon (where we are staying, the most densely populated part), and also the outlying islands called Lama and Lantau Island.









Lama Island was a quaint and laid-back fishing village. Here I saw houses built on stilts along the water's edge. Lantau Island featured the Big Buddha sitting atop Ngong Ping plateau. Quite magnificent in its immenseness. There were many markets in Kowloon where we stayed - a Ladies' Market (selling clothes, bags and accessories), Temple Market (selling clothes, bags and more accessories), Goldfish market and a flower market. The flower market was amazing and had so many beautiful, very large bouquets of gladiolus, chrysanthemums and various other species.

We have also been tasting the various food that Hong Kong has to offer, from dim sum to fish ball noodles to bubble tea. We still think that Melbourne's dim sum is the best.
See more photos here.