Tom Farnetti
Entered the wider world on Feb 5th with a new motto of "Peace and Love"...there's just something about traveling I could never get sick of...tsgfarnetti
Travel Blog Posts
August 13th 2007
After a reatively comfortable and relaxing week in Melaka it was onwards it was to Singpore aka "The Fine City", more not so because it is a nice city but because you can get fined for, well, pretty much everything (its a stupid joke I know but hey, I never came up with it). If you so much as spit, walk, eat, drink, breathe, litter, move, smoke, cross the road or chew chewing gum (which is actually illegal here) in any area which hasn't been designated for that task and provided you get cought then your budget will be in deep sh!t. Even so, I was told to be prepared for a country that on the border would charge you tax even on a packet of cigarettes that has already been opened and half smoked. Of ... read more
August 7th 2007
Hey peeps, last time I left off in Kuala Lumpur after so many days of doing, well...not much. So it was time to head a little further south to a place recommended by a fellow backpacker called Melaka that was supposed to be a lot more peaceful and with some allegedly pretty awesome history & culture. The city itself has a history of selling itself, having been ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and Brits since it was a popular port in a good defensive location. The result is that there are colonial buildings everywhere which now serve as museums (I know what your thinking, "ugh" right?) but it retains a certain charm, especially with the blood red Dutch quarter, what remains of the old Portuguese fort "La Famosa" (after the English blew it all up), an ... read more
Kuala Lumpur: Selamat Datang to Malaysia
Published: August 15th 2007Asia » Malaysia » Wilayah Persekutuan » Kuala Lumpur
August 4th 2007
I left you all recovering from the second full moon party of the tour, the final goodbye to Thailand (well I have been here 3 times in 6 months) so it was finally time to split as Australia approaches. With two weeks to waste, it was time to move on to Malaysia, coming here for no real reason apart from not having to spend all this time in Singapore. So back to Hat Yai (the place bombed as late as last year *5 times* by separatists) so that I could cross the border and split the 15 hour trip to Kuala Lumpur. All I can say is the Malays know how to travel in style. Its the first real VIP bus I had the luck to experience and it was the cheapest too! The seats were ... read more
Malay...erm Koh Phangan (part two): What better way to say goodbye?
Published: August 8th 2007Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Pha-Ngan
July 23rd 2007
Last time I left you guys just back from burma, exhausted and in need of some partying. Don't get me wrong the place touched me (in some places you don't wanna know) but one month of such little nightlife can easily get to you after a while. So it was back to Bangkok, and buckets were flowing on the old Koah San road in company of Pini (the legend himself from back in Yangon, also in serious need to party after 3 MONTHS of the same old thing in Burma) and any girls he managed to molest (which is a lot, he's sorry...I'm sure!). It seems he was not used to drinking alcohol anymore and I had to take him home on his last night while he was being sick on himself (just for fun) so ... read more
July 14th 2007
Yay finally the last one for Burma! Although I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad... Last time I left you guys kicking off to a lazy get of a trishaw driver. It was time to calm down, chill out, get away from all this touristy bollocks and just reeeelaaax. Don't get me wrong I had an awesome time up here. But with all the sight seeing in Bagan and Mandalay it was definitely time to head to a beach and crash. You seen the photo's, Burma has some of the worlds most amazing beaches, with kilometers after kilometers of white sand, palm trees and lazy looking bungalows you know you bound to unwind and clear your mind of anything even remotely stressful. To get here you have to leave from Yangon, so I decided that ... read more
July 9th 2007
Whoop Whoop, next stop...Mandalay, Myanmar's second city. After almost a week all alone I was looking forward to finding some westerners to socialize with. There are really so few backpackers here in Myanmar! So you step off the bus to be swamped by leech-like touts clambering over each other to get some of your business. At this point you know there is no way to get out of the "new-guy-in-town" fees...I chose self humiliation and went with the good old trishaw (a bicycle with sidecar...i.e. sooooo slow) since it was the cheapest option. I have to say though the driver earned every kyat with each drop of sweat, it looked like he had just come out the shower. With the roads being in such a poor condition you go so slow on these things you could ... read more
July 5th 2007
A 5am start from Inle in the back of a taxi with a boring couple (of which one looked gay and the other had really, really saggy breasts) marked the 5 month mark & nobody decent to celebrate it with. Burma needs independent travelers during low season! My Faithful Irish companion escaped to Yangon to meditate so I was on my own from now on. With the government outlawing Beer Stations in Bagan (something about it being an Archaeological Site) meant it was unlikely I was gonna be talking to anyone but myself (violins please). It was the longest period of time without talking to other westerners, mainly because there were none (of the backpacker variety anyway, none of this saggy boob lot thanks). And I'm definitely not saying it was a wasted one, not only ... read more
June 29th 2007
Hey people, one more location on the map from me. This time, from the wonderful world of Inle. Possibly one of the few areas in Myanmar with an actual backpacker-like-type-vibe, a place where you may actually run into and socialize some other backpackers! Hurray! Just to get here from the Golden Rock was an experience within itself, an experience which makes my bones ache to this day even now I'm back in Bangkok. Consisting of 2 pick-ups totaling 5 hours, one overnight bus, another pick-up (we missed our damn stop!), a mini-bus and a taxi in the space of 24 hours! I hope never again to have to sit on a wooden bench of a pick up with 30 other people (yes 30!!! Squashed in the back, hanging off the side, sitting on the roof and ... read more
June 27th 2007
First I'll mention there is nothing here in Kinpun worth doing apart from visiting a really big boulder (and it is a nice boulder) perched atop a mountain in a gravity defying sort of way, allegedly held in place by one of the Buddha's hairs making it one of the Wonders of the World. Obviously since I was in this part of the world and with some good company, namely Yoris and Fergal from Yangon, we thought it was probably a sight worth seeing. So you arrive in Kinpun sitting on the roof of a pick-up (try explaining that on an insurance claim!), a village which serves as base-camp for Kyaityio and the Golden Rock which offers cheap accommodation & the luxury of electricity for 6 hours a day from 6pm. Yay. Sea Sar Guest House ... read more
June 25th 2007
Found only 4 hours from Yangon, Bago was our first stop in Myanmar. As you step off the bus you're immediately ambushed by touts offering you accommodation in their hotels. It doesn't take long for it to sink in that we are the ONLY foreigners in the whole city. The Lonely Planet is right, the touts from the Emperor Hotel are VERY aggressive...he just makes you wanna scream! It probably wouldn't phase him though, he'd probably just keep asking you to check out his stinking rooms. "check room please, compare, look, please check room, my family, 3 people, 9 dolla, please I need customers" and so on and so on.... NO NO f@!king NO!!! Take the hint, please! The news 3 white guys arrived in town spread like wildfire and within 10 minutes of sitting down ... read more
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