The Traveling Bum

The Phi Phi Islands Tour

2009-11-22T02:56:00.000-08:00

Okay people, let's put your swimsuit and plenty of sunscreen on because we're going on a speed boat tour to the Phi Phi Islands!

Island hopping, in good hands

The best, but also the most expensive time to visit Krabi and Phuket is from the beginning of November to early April, where the fierce Southeast Asian monsoon wind blows the other way. We were extremely lucky that day, since it was raining quite heavy the day before. The sun was shining throughout the day, with only a drizzle of rain after dinner. Our journey started at the Aree Tara Resort in Ao Nang Beach, Krabi (a review will follow suit), where we booked our Phi Phi Islands tour by a rather big company called Chok Paisan Andaman for BHT1400 per person, which includes snorkeling equipment, lunch, fruits and drinks on board and most importantly a return transfer to the hotel. The average price of this speed boad tour if you book outside hovers around BHT1000 to BHT1500, but I think we've got ourselves pretty good deal.

Shortly after breakfast, the transportation arrived in the form of a very new Toyota van, and we were the first passengers on board. After about 2 more trips to nearby hotels, we finally arrived at the Noppharat Thara boat pier about 10 minutes from the Ao Nang Beach. The speed boat was quite full and it has both covered and uncovered seats; 45 in total. We have decided to sit right in front of it, with A LOT of sunscreen because the sun can get very harsh in the mid day. A little tip here, if you are a bit picky about seats, try to go ahead of the crowd and be the first to board the speed boat. It will stop at the beautiful and exclusive Railay beach to pick up some people on the way, about 15 minutes into the journey.

Viking Cave

Technically it's not a stop, but mainly a slowdown for photo op. For those who are not familiar with bird's nest harvesting, this is quite a view. I already knew, albeit roughly but I can see the guide trying his best to explain the whole process along with a picture of the actual bird's nest.

Viking Cave, I don't know there were Vikings in Thailand

Lohsamah & Pileh Bay

Lohsamah Bay is located very near to Maya Beach, where they filmed "The Beach" and this is where we get to get off the boat to snorkel. There's no shortage of colourful fishes here, and the depth is about 7 feet. In fact, as soon as you get into the water you'll feel that all of them are attacking you. As I'm not a good swimmer, I'm thankful to the fact that there are plenty of life jackets (for snorkeling, of course) on board.

Maya Bay

Next, we headed to Maya Beach — or as our guide described, "The Market". Yes, this is where they filmed that Hollywood film with Leonardo DiCaprio post "Titanic". It is also the location of one of the world's biggest natural disaster, the Asian tsunami back in 2004. If there's one thing you'll see a lot here, it's the tourists. They are everywhere. There's a path from the beach leading to a cliff area as seen in the movie, but we only got about half an hour so we've decided not to see what's beyond Maya Beach. Besides, plenty more things to do. It is a beautiful place nonetheless, albeit a little too overrated in my opinion.

This way to Maya Bay

Phi Phi Don

This is where we have our wonderful lunch, which was served buffet style. While we were there, we were served rice, clear tom yam, battered fish fillets with sweet chili sauce, crispy fried fish skin (yes, they don't waste anything) in sweet and sour sauce, stir fried vegetable in oyster sauce and chicken in soy sauce. For those of you who only eat halal food, there shouldn't be any worries here as the servers are all Muslim. We also get a nice selection of salads and choice of cold drink, coffee or tea. Well worth the money, I'd say.

Hin Klarng

After lunch, we headed to Hin Klarng; which is not exactly an island but a snorkeling spot in the open sea. Yes, the friggin' open sea and there's almost nothing around you. Also, it's 10 feet deep this time. I've noticed about half of the people have decided to stay on board, but I braved myself and went ahead with the snorkeling. It was a wide decision. The corals here are breathtaking and there's a lot more types of fishes can be found here than Lohsamah Bay. As soon as you stick your head underwater, time really flies. We were given about half an hour to snorkel around the boat, and I really wish it was longer. It was definitely a scary thought because you're in the open sea, but trust me it was an unforgettable experience.

The wide open sea. The best feeling ever!

Bamboo Island

Our final stop is the beautiful Bamboo Island, known for its very white sandy beaches and clear blue waters. We were given an hour to explore and enjoy this lovely island, and that's more than enough — although I'd love to spend all day here. There are plenty of trees if you're looking for shades and when we were there there were not too many people, and definitely far less than Maya Beach. I would probably come to this particular island again on longtail boat to spend a lazy day here.

On our way back we were served tropical fruits, which provides a nice ending to a lovely day. At BHT1400 (£25) or even less than that if you know your way around, it's totally something you must do if you come to this part of the world for the first time!

Clear blue waters, and I didn't use any Photoshop for this

A hermit crab on Bamboo Island, also a victim of poor focus

A coconut tree on Phi Phi Don

A whole island to yourself? Well one can always dream!

Papandayan, Bandung: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2009-09-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is it a little cramped in here?

I look down through the old Boeing 737 badly scratched window as the plane descended. Small cramped houses with no access wads for a good sized car, among picturesque hills. The wads are congested with all kinds of light motorized vehicles you can imagine. Welome to Bandung, Indonesia. The land of instant noodles, wigs and false eyelashes. Oh wait, that's just Indonesia in general.

Bandara Hussein Sastranegara
When you come to Bandung by air, you'll be greeted by a sad looking airport, Bandara Hussein Sastranegara. To describe it as "compact" is an understatement. You have your luggage belt, an x-ray scanner, toilets and immigration counters (all four of them) in one cramped 100 square feet. It's amazing. When you come out from the arrival hall, there are a few shops selling essentials like food, last minute souvenirs and even mobile starter packs. Taxis are available at the far end across the road, they seem to have reached an agreement with the taxi drivers where they cannot cross the road to haggle the arriving visitors. All they can do is do various suggestive gestures from afar. Unless you know what's the going rate to your destination, take the taxis with meters, like the Bluebird ones.

Sisa Eksport
Bandung, for many is famous for it's fashion outlets. Perhaps it's the only thing that Bandung is famous for. Designers' brands available to the masses without the absurd price tags. A Yves Saint Laurent smoker's jacket will cost you about Rp200.000, which is about GBP12. Well they claim that they are from export rejects, but I'll take that with a grain, no a sack full of salt. These items are actually fabricated using the existing design, but using cheaper material and no connection to the original brand other than the suspicious looking labels. Call it what you want, but this is the only reason people flock to this cool (as in, climate) Indonesian city. When there's people, of course, there will be a lot of hotels to accomodate them.

The Good
Papandayan Hotel is one of the major starred hotels in Bandung, and also one of the oldest ones. Upon arriving, you'll be greeted with the friendly and very polite staffs. But again, itis standard throughout Indonesia. They are very generous with smile, and if you tip them well the smile will be even wider. I think they have one of the friendliest security checks in the world. The lobby looks nice, if you're coming in the early 1990s. It's nice, nonetheless. Check in is seamless, and the guy at the reception even take you to your room instead of the door man which is what usually happens in other hotels.

It was Hari Raya when I stayed at this hotel, the biggest holiday on Indonesian calendar. A lot of big families, mainly from Jakarta came here and it was full house for 4 consecutive days. The pool here is adequate, big and spacious. Almost olympic size. There's even a jacuzzi and a smaller pool for kids, albeit oddly positioned.

The Bad
The rooms. Oh God, have mercy. I wasn't kidding when I say the hotel belongs to the early 1990s. It is much reflected throughout the property, from the lobby, the corridor, the lift and especially, the guest rooms. One look at the carpert and you'll feel the urge to rip it off and replace it with a new one. If the furniture have working legs, they would walk to the nearest retirement home and quit this hotel for good.

The Ugly
Believe it or not, Papandayan Hotel is a 4 star establishment. Well, the maybe had the rating 20 years ago but judging from it's current state, this hotel barely makes it to 3. Although the water heating and pressure in the bathroom are nice, taking a shower here can actually be borderline scary. There's mould everywhere, the shower head leaks and the tiles are uneven resulting in water not drained properly. A lot of makeshift instant repairs can be seen everywhere. Rennovation is what it desperately needs. Desperately.

The lounge area in Papandayan Hotel, Bandung

Nice lamp, but will it hold for long?

Birds of Queensland

2009-08-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

Australian Magpie in Noosa Heads

Last night, I went through my travel pictures and found some birds pictures I've taken when I was in Brisbane and Noosa in Queensland, Australia. Here are a few of them. The "chicken" is actually a very domesticated turkey and they can be found all over Noosa, due to the very lush reserve near the beach. The second last picture is an Ibis in one of the water features in South Bank, Brisbane. South Bank Parklands is a wonderfully landscaped and well planned park on the other side of the Brisbane River. If you plan to visit this city, don't forget to include this in your itinerary.

Insert chicken crossing the road joke here

Southbank Park, Brisbane

Australian Wood Duck in Noosa Marina

Hever Castle, Kent

2009-08-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hever Castle is the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, who is well known as the tragic queen of King Henry the VIII. It is later acquired by the Astor family of England. Although the castle looks relatively small from the outside, it's quiet spacious inside due to the very steep and small stairs to move around. The walkthrough inside is fantastic, with display items dated back to over 500 years. Due to the nature of the exhibits, any photography indoors is strictly prohibited.

Besides the historic interior, it has two mazes on the outside. The yew maze, which is very well thought is perfect for with the little ones. Well, maybe this is the first garden maze that I've been to, but I had a very good time nonetheless. It is a tad difficult to find the center of the maze, but that's where the fun is. The second maze is a water maze, which is a definitely no no if you don't want to get wet. Children would absolutely love this, although I did see some adults didn't mind to get their clothes wet not so much due to the water obstacles, but due to the kids splashing around.

Admission for both garden and castle is £12 for adults and £9 for garden entry only. Parking is ample and free. It is best to go earlier in the morning during spring and summer to catch the lovely flowers, especially the roses in the Italian garden built by William Waldorf Astor which took 2 years to construct by 1000 men. It is specifically designed to showcase his impressive collection of Italian sculptures from Roman to the Renaissance times. A huge 35 acre man-made lake is just next to it, you can take a calming boat ride and enjoy the lush greenery of the massive area.

There is lodging available near in the area, but a day trip by car would suffice and it is best to make your way here early in the morning. If you're driving, Hever Castle is about half an hour from junction 5 or 6 from the M25. Here is the official website and its Wikipedia entry.

Here are some interesting shots I took during my visit to the Hever Castle.

Wilting summer flowers at Hever Castle

The Italian Garden outside Hever Castle

Rose garden just outside Hever Castle

Side view of the Hever Castle surrounded by water

Red grapes at the Italian Garden

A dog statue in the Italian Garden at Hever Castle

The water maze at Hever Castle

A closeup of a statue in the Italian Garden at Hever Castle

Lavenders in the Italian Garden

A fountain marble statue in the Italian Garden at Hever Castle

Traveling for (Dirt) Cheap with RyanAir

2009-07-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

RyanAir over Dublin

Today, we booked a few flights for our October Paris trip from London Stansted airport with Europe's popular low cost airline, RyanAir. They currently have this £1 promotion for their post summer fares and we have decided to take advantage of it. Funny enough, there isn't any direct flights from Stansted to Paris Beauvais airport and the next best thing to do is to book two flights going to and return.

Searching the times, in the end we booked 4 flights; from Stansted to Beauvais via Glasgow and from Beauvais to Stansted via Shannon. Since all the tickets cost us exactly £6 per flight segment (£1 plus £5 booking fee — unless you have a Visa Electron card), the total cost for one person return would be a mere £12! Despite having to take two flights instead, if you have no problem with it then it should be alright.

Our main worry is that knowing the delays RyanAir can cause, we might miss the connection flight to Paris. We have up to 2 hours in Glasgow to catch our flight to Beauvais, and I personally don't think the delay in Stansted will take that long. I might be wrong though, or lucky because I've never experienced major delays with RyanAir (I've taken quiet a few flights with them) so far and I wouldn't call half hour delay a major one.

Well, the trip is about 2 months away so hopefully everything will go smooth by then!

Southend Pier, Southend-on-Sea

2009-07-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

Southend Pier with brown sandy beach in the foreground

Southend Pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Who would've thought? Located in the sunny Southend-on-Sea, this pier has survived fires, boat crashes and two world wars. Yes, it is old. To get to the end of the 1.33 miles pier, you can either walk halfway and take the train or take the train all the way from beginning til end. It is an ideal way to spend a lazy summer afternoon. Pier train fares are £3.50 for train ride and £3.00 for walk and ride.

Lamp post at the end of the Southend Pier

Seagulls at the end of the Southend Pier"

A Sweet Deal on Emirates

2009-07-01T02:34:00.000-07:00

Probably not Emirates, but you'll catch the drift

Back in June, I've booked a return ticket with Emirates from Kuala Lumpur to London via Dubai for RM1670 online. That's £287 and yes, that includes all taxes and fees. I think this is one of the sweetest airline deals I've ever got so far. Emirates has a very high reputation of being a 5-star airline and to fly with them with the similar cost of a budget airline is utter bliss.

After you have chosen your dates, the website will prompt you to pick the most suitable times for your flight. If I knew the 7.45am flight in Dubai is on the A380, I would have definitely chosen that time slot but that means nearly 8 hours transit in Dubai International Airport. As a solo traveler, I don't think that's anywhere near fun, as modern and sophisticated the airport is. Of course you can opt for a stopover if you want to. Emirates provides up to two stopovers for your return ticket.

Transit in the wee hours of the morning is the only catch for that £287 return ticket, other than that I can't say anything bad about Emirates. The food tastes good and the touch screen in-flight entertainment, or ICE as they would like to call it is one of a kind. A worthy note here, if you're in transit at Dubai Airport, the wireless internet here is free and there's a lot of reclining chair where you can stretch your legs and even catch a nap if you can. Power points are also available at every other gate so you don't have to worry about running out of battery. Just remember to bring your charger in your hand luggage and you'll be fine.

Bangkok, Thailand

2009-06-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

Among all the capital cities in South East Asia, nothing as unique as Thailand's capital city, Bangkok. It can be accessed directly via major airlines from Europe, but if you are traveling from Kuala Lumpur and you're on a budget, take the Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia. It's like RyanAir or EasyJet in Europe except the food on board are much tastier and far cheaper as well. The same rules apply, the earlier you book the cheaper the tickets are.

We got about £20 return from Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Terminal including hot meals on board last time, and we booked our tickets nearly 2 months in advance. Check in online is available and if you forgot you passport number and its expiry date while you check in online, have no worries since it didn't ask for any passport details. All you need is your booking reference number which you should receive in your email right after you purchased your tickets.

We stayed at Pullman King Power Hotel, a very nice upscale hotel with a great pool and one of the most amazing koi pond I've ever seen. The fishes are at least one and a half feet each!

A room in Pullman Bangkok Hotel, with a sliding door separating the bath and the bedroom area

During the 4 days 3 nights trip, we have visited the Grand Palace, a few other temples in the vicinity, took the boats on Chao Phraya river, took a walk at the Chatuchak weekend market and on the last night we went to an amazing show called Siam Niramit. If you have never seen it before, this show is nothing short of spectacular. Tickets are relatively a little expensive, but they are nowhere near the discounted Westend tickets.

A neat trick here is too book Siam Niramit tickets via travel agents. We got ourselves a very good deal, accidentally after a short chat with one of the friendly guys at the boat pier. For 350 baht less than published rates, in addition we get return transfer from our hotel in a shared minivan, buffet dinner and premier seats at the theater. It is worth every Baht we've spent. Here is the official website with previews of the show (cameras are strictly prohibited). As you can see it will cost you about 1,500 baht for standard seats alone and the buffet dinner would cost you 350 baht extra.

Here are some pictures I took during my recent trip to this wonderful city.

A nice purple lotus flower at the Grand Palace with quite a few bees on it

Feeding the insane number of catfish in Chao Phraya river

Details on one of the temples in the Grand Palace

An elephant statue at the Grand Palace

Back view of the Reclining Buddha's head

An warrior statue at the Grand Palace

Dried cuttlefish at a dried seafood market near Tha Tian pier

Hotel Montpellier, Paris

2009-06-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Top half of the Arc de Triomphe

A hotel in Paris for €55 a night on a summer weekend? Seems impossible, and yes it's almost impossible to get a decent hotel in Paris this time of the year for €55 a night. If given choice, I would very much prefer to travel on weekday, in winter if I have to. This time, I am traveling with my good friend and she only had the weekend off. On a limited budget, we booked Hotel Montpellier in Montmarte area in Paris. We weren't sure what we'll do in Paris because both of us have been there before, so it is natural to book a relatively cheap hotel very near to the Metro station.

Getting There

If you're taking RyanAir, the airport bus will stop at Porte Maillot and from there take the train to Anvers station. If you're not French and you're asking for directions, be careful to not to pronounce it the English way. I learned the hard way. Anyways, the hotel will be on your right when you're out of the station. There are a few Halal kebab joints here if you're Muslim and one particularly makes darn good chicken shawarmas. It is the one nearest to the hotel.

Rooms

Do not expect all the luxuries of a 2 star hotel (yes you read that right, TWO) because rooms here are pretty basic. For €55 you'll get a double room with shared baths and toilets. There's a double bed, a small table, a small closet and a wash basin in the room, which I think a nice touch because you don't have to go out to get to a wash basin. It seems they have just renovated the rooms, but still retains the rustic Parisian charms. That's another word for old and falling apart. For the price you pay, it's not something that you can complaint about really. No television, but the wireless internet is free.

Unfortunately I did not take any photos while I was there, and I really wish I could. You can find some pictures of the hotel at its official website. And because I tend to put at least a picture in each post, here are one of Arc de Triomphe and a typical Parisian style apartment building.

A typical building in Paris

Blue Sky Over London

2009-05-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

Lion statue at The Trafalgar Square

You know what I like most about the UK during spring and summer time? Yes, the flowers are nice too but that's not it. I love them blue skies! Here's a couple of shots I took in London with nice blue sky at the background. Okay the last one has white sky but I think it is has an interesting point of view of something we are very familiar of.

Nelsons Column at The Trafalgar Square

The Victoria Memorial

A hunky statue outside Buckingham Palace guarding the Victoria Memorial

The Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster, also referred to as Big Ben

If You're a Window Seater

2009-05-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Aerial view of the Himalayas en route to London

Here's a trick I've learned upon traveling constantly between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and London Heathrow over the past few months. If you're arriving in Heathrow during the day and you prefer to seat by the window, pick the row on the right because you might see the City of London right from your window, depending on what airline you take. I remembered the first time I went on a 13 hour flight with Malaysia Airlines to Heathrow, the view was just magnificent.

After a while, the novelty of it is definitely wearing off and now I am converted to a true aisle seater, especially if you're taking a flight more than 3 hours. The reason? Ask my bladder. It is just a privilege having not to go through 2 people especially when they're sound asleep when you desperately want to go to the loo!

Aerial view of the desert in Central Australia en route to Sydney

Gold Coast, Australia

2009-04-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

This is my second time to the land down under. I've spent a brief 3 days in Gold Coast, Australia primarily around Surfer's Paradise and stayed in the wonderful Marrakesh Resort Apartments — one of hundreds holiday accommodations that can be found all over this popular vacation spot.

It was late autumn, and the weather wasn't too kind to me during my stay there as evidenced in the picture above. The waves were rough, but there were some brave surfers about. It rained almost every night, so it wasn't an ideal beach vacation one would hope for. Here are a couple more photos I took in Gold Coast.

A long walk back to The Spit

The Q1, the tallest residential tower in the world and the tallest building in Australia

Hilton Kuching Hotel, Sarawak

2009-02-12T02:59:00.000-08:00

A king bed at Hilton Kuching Hotel

I stayed in Hilton Kuching last year. Booked through time share, and got myself a very good deal of RM50 a night for a superior room. That's less than a tenner on a five star hotel! These are the pictures I've taken of the interior using a cameraphone (they are evil), the Z610 to be exact because I didn't have a proper digital camera back then. The quality isn't as nice but I think it's perfectly adequate.

Broadband internet is available at a relatively expensive fee, almost the same price I paid for the room. I don't know why these five star hotels still charge for internet which probably will cost them very little to implement. The room, although a tad outdated interior design wise, was clean and the bathroom was well organized. It was big. You can almost fit another kind size bed in it, and still have some more room to move about. You can tell that the hotel has been there for quite a while by the smell. Maybe I have a strong sense of smell but there was this musky smell when you entered the room for the first time.

As I was traveling alone that time and had been busy going to places of interest during the day, I didn't have the chance to visit the pool but going through the travel sites, the pool seems to get some good reviews.

Food wise, for the price I paid I certainly can't expect that they will include a buffet breakfast with the room. Well, who needs to eat at the hotel (well I did order some room service for dinner — they're not good) when you're in Kuching, one of the food capitals of Malaysia?

Take the taxi boat to cross the river, will probably cost you about 50 sen or less than 10p (or just give the boatman any amount higher than that, usually RM1) and you'll get to the other side in about a minute. It seems to be one of the popular ways for the locals to cross the river as well, although I didn't see any bridge in the vicinity. It might be the only way. You'll find a few nice restaurants serving local food at a very reasonable price. A bowl of "Mee Kolok" or "Laksa Sarawak" will cost you RM3.50 and that's far more cheaper than the hotel or the restaurants along the other side of the river serving the same type of food.

The writing desk at Hilton Kuching Hotel

The bathroom at Hilton Kuching Hotel

Hilton Kuching Hotel from the other side of the river