Karoliina
Karoliina Joined: February 7th 2007
Logged in: January 25th 2012
Logged in: January 25th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
Just recovered
My first three days in the state of Sabah were dedicated to getting better. I had checked in at the hotel which was quite decent and thus suitable for being sick. I had even a TV with some five channels - only one of them broadcast English programmes though, but the others were great for studying Malay language… ;) I only went out to buy more water, to eat or to watch a movie in the neighbouring movie theatre (Ocean’s 13 and Sherk 3 if anyone is curious what kind of films they show in Borneo. By the way, Shrek 3 was premiered in Finland over two months later than in Malaysia!) I had also changed some books in Miri and had now two good and thick books to enjoy. The reason for such devotion for ... read more
Colourful streets of Kuching
It was cheaper to fly from Malaysia than Singapore, so I needed to cross the border back to the Malaysian side in order to catch a flight to Borneo, my next destination and the third largest island in the world. I had been fascinated about Borneo ever since were read about it in the geography on the fourth class (aged 10). Why I had been so interested in the place I couldn’t remember, but it probably had something to do with the hard-to-reach rainforests, head-hunters, orang utangs and wild tigers. The island has been divided between three countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. I decided to stay on the Malaysian side, mainly because I had heard that the Indonesian side is pretty similar to it and small Sultanate of Brunei is simply boring. In East Malaysia (i.e. ... read more
The Raffles Hotel in the evening light
Four hours by bus from Melaka and I was in a new, although very small country, Singapore. I had only two and a half days time so the plan was to do as much as possible as quickly as possible. The hotels are expensive in Singapore (I paid US$60 for my very average room - three times more than I have paid anywhere else during the trip so far) so didn't want to use any more time on the island. All the main kitchens of the world are easily at hand in Singapore. Already in the street next to my hotel there were Italian, Thai, Indonesian, Chinese and Sarawak (the part of Borneo I would going next) restaurants. I started with eating some Thai food. Apparently common in Singapore they had 'eat as much as ... read more
Colourful buildings in KL
After leaving Taman Negara and embarking for another seven hour trip (two hours by boat, then half an hour by a minivan, a lunch break in Jerantut and four more hours by bus) to Kuala Lumpur I promised myself that I could get whatever I wanted in the capital city to make me happy after too big a portion of nature. Starbucks, massage, western food... Funnily enough, as soon as I got rid of my smelly and bloody (from leeches) clothes, had found a safe place to stay and walked to Chinatown I started to feel much better. The vibrant Chinatown, beautiful Colonial Quarter and some North Indian food were my program for the first night. What a welcome change the tandoori chicken and naan bread made to my diet. I must say that variety in ... read more
English style house in Cameron Highlands
I wanted to travel from Penang to Perhentian Islands. Unfortunately, for the first time, I had logistical problems and couldn't follow my travel plan as there was a school holiday in Malaysia and all buses were full for four next days. Luckily I had had lots of sun in Thailand so wasn't too sorry to miss those apparently fantastic islands. I ended up going to Cameron Highlands instead. Not ideal, as the next stop after them would be Taman Negara - two trekking destinations one after another is a bit much no matter how into hiking you might be. Additionally it would be problematic to get the clothes washed in between, as I needed the same gear in both places. One good thing in Malaysia is the comfortable traveling, i.e. the buses and minibuses are not ... read more
Colonial charm in Georgetown
My first destination in Malaysia was Penang Island and its main city Georgetown. It was a good introduction to life and history of the country: everything essential was presented and easily accessed due to good size of the place. Having about 600 000 inhabitants is not too big or small but just good for a couple of days exploration. As Malaysia is positioned in the crossroads of the sea trade routes between the Middle East, India and China the country has always been a cultural melting pot. There are numerous different ethnic groups living side by side, three most important ones being Malays, Chinese and Indians. These consist 90 % of the population today. All groups have maintained their cultural customs, religion and cuisine. Malays are mostly Muslims, Indians Hindus, Chinese have their own temples and ... read more
Andrea and Liz
As you might have noticed from my latest blog entries I had become increasingly short tempered in North Vietnam, so the beach holiday couldn't have come at a better time. I hadn't slept more than one night in the same bed for two weeks, and just wanted to have a break from packing, unpacking and moving constantly on. So I flew from Hanoi back to Thailand, to Koh Samui, where I was about to meet my friends Liz and Andrea. Everyone who has ever been to a tropical holiday destination knows the feeling when stepping out from the plane. The hot and humid air hits you immediately. I felt so happy, it's amazing how a bit of warm weather can make one so cheerful, even if the time in the cooler climate had been matter of ... read more
Red Dzao woman
I was a bit nervous - I had never travelled in the sleeping carriage of the night train before. We had booked a hard sleeper for the way to Sapa and a soft sleeper back. This wasn't to save money but to experience also the more local way to travel. (To get the real real thing I think we should have taken just the seat but this far we weren't ready to experiment.) When we passed the soft sleeper carriages on our way to our hard one and saw the water bottles and fake flowers on their window sill, not to mention the soft lighting and wood paneling (fake again) we were cursing for a split second our adventorous minds. Well, the hard sleeper was fine. There were just two more people in the same space, ... read more
And suddenly it's Halong Bay
After a slightly temperamental start Francesca and I were off from Hanoi to Hai Phong, the third biggest city in Vietnam and a stepping stone to Halong Bay. First I totally lost it with the moto drivers. We bargained and bargained about the fare to the bus station with some pretty rude drivers and finally came to some sort of conclusion. Then the guy said that he can't take my backpack in the front, I need to have it on my back. I asked why, he was the very first driver (after I had learned to demand that) not to take it. He said it's too dangerous and I said it's too dangerous for me to sit in the back with it. In the process he dropped my water bottle about three times on the ground ... read more
On the way to Tam Coc
So Francesca and I had decided to take a small step off the far too beaten track and make a stop over in Ninh Binh. There were two particular attractions that we were interested in: Cuc Phuong National Park and Tam Coc, which has been called the Halong Bay of the rice fields. There were logistical challenges in this plan and neither of us could have done it alone, but together we were ready to face the 4.30am drop off by the highway. The bus was going to Hanoi and we were the only ones to do this stopover. I was mentally prepared to sit a couple of hours in the rain, shivering of cold, waiting for the morning light before we could find a guesthouse. We were pleasantly surprised when there were even two guesthouse ... read more
