We arrived half dead in Banda Aceh following the shitty night minivan from Takengon. Again we had a problem due to it being the weekend. There were no free hostels available. Everyone told us they were full and wanted us to stay at the most expensive places. The first hotel we asked had one room, but we went everywhere else to be met with rejection. Only then did it dawn on us that we should have asked if they had a room for four people. Hindsight is often neglected. We got a room for 150,000 rp for the four of us and all three girls decided to have a rest. In the end Cannelle joined me for breakfast at Tower Cafe where we had our first experience of sort of Padang food where they plonk down a bunch of plates and you just eat whatever you fancy and pay for those items. It was the first time we had Rizol (spring roll thing, really nice), andal andal (coconut covered caramel thing. The girls loved it) and Pulut (sticky rice). Every piece was 1000 rp and the Indonesian bakeries are a godsend for us and so, so cheap. We went to visit the mosque which is really something and then for a walk down the memorial gardens to the old artificial hill built by an old sultan for his Malaysian wife (Gunongan). So far, so pleasant. Its a nice city to go for a stroll around and you can see that they have taken care with the cleanup. We then met a motorcycle driver who invited us for tea with him. It was short as we had to meet the German girls to visit the Tsunami Museum, which was the primary reason we had stopped here. It really is an impressive museum and totally free. Be careful though as they want money for the cloakroom if you leave any items there which is mandatory. I refused to pay on the way out as they didn't mention this when we deposited the items. They have an interesting museum, showing the power and speed of the water, as well as some more technical explanations. The people must have been hit hard and its weird walking around a city in which you know almost everyone must have lost at least one relative in the tsunami. Afterwards the girls went back and I went on to see the giant 4,500 tonne boat that was deposited 4km inland. Its an impressive site and again its entrance by donation only. I toured around the site for an hour or so and there were a lot of visitors in Banda Aceh for the weekend for a maths conference so they were not used to foreigners and I had to pose for a lot of photos. Most of it is harmless enough though. Just don't leave home in a rush as you will have a hard time making it anywhere on time. I decided not to visit the boat on a roof until the following day and on the way back I was accosted by a tricycle driver who had met the German girls earlier and been offering to take us around town for free. I invited him to join us for dinner that evening. This was our one and only bad experience with the locals of Aceh. He arrived and said he would take us to a vegetarian Chinese restaurant that was cheap. It was not cheap and it wasn't vegetarian. Three of us ordered chicken nuggets as it was the only cheap thing on the menu. Bad choice. It was meager and shit. We told him it was more expensive than street food and he said it wasn't. It was. He then proceeded to try to get us to hire him to take us to the port or the airport. We told him we would just take local buses and he said that he had never heard of a tourist taking a local bus. Well now he had. Not sure who he was mixing with. Its illegal for locals to drink alcohol in Aceh and they can only drink it with tourists. He ordered a beer even though none of us were drinking and then said it was expensive. I reckon he wanted us to pay for it, but after the awkward sales pitch, none of us were inclined to pick up his tab. It was a horrible experience and we believed we were heading out to dinner for a genuine chat with a local. Shame really. Even worse was to follow when first Cannelle and then I came down with food poisoning. We decided to rest in Banda Aceh, while the others went to Pulau Weh. Manu would later be struck down on the way to the island as well. Insult compounded by illness from the chicken nuggets.
We didn't do much as we were both sick and spent all day in bed feeling incredibly weak. I just about made it to watch Spurs win 2-1. The pressure was on Arsenal now when they played Wigan on Tuesday.
The next day we took the labi labi to the port, but not before the locals tried to make us take a charter. They love their charter transport in Asia. Shame I don't or we'd get on famously. We had been told the boat was at 10am, but only at weekends. In the week it goes at 2pm so we were four hours early and left twiddling our thumbs. Excellent. We chatted with a load of tuk tuk drivers who set us up with a friend of ours on the other side. They were also setting us up for the return journey, but on this side there are labi labis and they were going to be disappointed. There were no seats in economy class on the slow boat so we rested it out and grabbed a tuk tuk to Iboih on the other side. It cost us 60,000 rp even though the price is supposed to be 80,000 rp. We haggled them down and only later realised its like 40km or so, so maybe the price is not as steep as I first thought. We saw the same Dutch girl from Berastagi which was surprising as she wasn't supposed to come North so we found a cheap place to stay and met up with Manu and Brechje (Dutch girl for dinner) as Mimi was busy taking magic mushrooms with the owner of her guesthouse. We went to the Italian place at the start of the village which does really nice food (including home made pasta that you can watch the guy make). We decided to go snorkelling together the following day, as neither Manu or Bee can dive.
We went to the dive shop to enquire about their dive sites for the next few days, but they said they would know by the end of the day. The dive shop gave us a lift over to Rubiah Island and we hiked to the far side to go snorkelling. There were some jellyfish but not as many as in Moalboal. Bee had a shitty snorkel and it limited her ability to snorkel, so Cannelle lent her hers and we went snorkelling together. There are some strong currents out there, but again they are nothing to worry about if you are a strong swimmer. Make sure you don't get too tired though. I think I saw an eagle ray glide off in the blue and we saw some trigger fish. The fish life is nice, but the coral is totally destroyed. Its much worse on the near side of the island and the snorkelling there was quite boring. I was also half drowning having taken Bee's mask for her. A dive shop should not be renting out snorkels like that. Having seen the snorkelling I figured the diving would be ok, but not amazing, especially as we were out of season for rays. Shitty again. Then came the really crappy news. There was a festival/environmental thing/something noone really understands that would mean noone could go in the water on the diving side of the water for 3 days. No diving, no snorkelling, no swimming. Shit. That's what we came for. I asked a dive master (not realising he was a dive master) if there was anything truly exceptional to dive out there. He said not really if you aren't a fan of sharks, though the morays would have been cool. I would have dived if we didn't have to kill three days, but his answer persuaded me that it wouldn't be worth losing three days of the holiday to dive there. They suggested we could visit the beaches and waterfall. Thankyou very much, but after 2 months in the Philippines, the lures of Pulau Weh island were not very appealing. Its a pretty enough place if you haven't just spent 2 months in paradise. Oh well. Our hotel owner was pissed as we would be checking out early. Manu played some beach volleyball and then we all met for dinner at the Italian after some more snorkelling (quite nice) in front of the Iboih beach. We met some Germans who seemed a little lost on their travels and two Finnish guys (with some serious gambling problems) who had spent 6 weeks on Danau Toba. Cool. Maybe its a good place, even if Manu hadn't liked it and Bee thought it was just ok. We said goodbye to Manu and we were actually starting to travel with people here, like in South America.
The next morning we met Bee (carrying the most ridiculous sized rucksack ever) and got a ride to the port with one of the dive instructors. We took the boat across and thought we would have a really boring day in Banda Aceh. Instead the time flew and we had a great time just shooting the breeze in Banda Aceh. We went back to Tower Cafe and indulged in some more small snacks. Cannelle started to get a little jealous of Bee even while really liking her, because she thought she was so pretty and that me and her got on well. I think she reminded both of us of Cannelle. She has the same fidgety niceness that's really endearing. We really enjoyed travelling with her and it was cool to spend time with someone who was really like us. We ended up getting the most ridiculous night bus ever to Medan. For 120,000 rp you will never see a bus more luxurious. It was almost like you had your own armchair to sleep in and thick blankets. I think its no exaggeration if I say that I slept better on that bus than any bed in Sumatra until now in Banderlampung. Bee told us about the shit experience she had had in Bali with a volunteering organisation and I told her that maybe she should go into setting up her own NGO for a job in the future.
In the morning we said goodbye to Bee. Cannelle was enjoying travelling with different people and we'd slowed the travel down to the pace that it will be on the next trip. We are also starting to narrow it down to three more trips, but big ones fuelled by big budgets. Pacific/Asia, Western Europe/Americas, Middle East/Africa. Should be a good three trips, possibly funded out of London. We managed to get on a bus across town after some ojek hassle and then another bus to Parapat for only 25,000 rp. We asked to be dropped in the bus station to check for buses to Bukittingi first, but they dropped us there and there is just one office. There is no bus station here. You have to chance it on the road or pay 180,000 rp here. If you know when you are going to leave stop here and book it. If not then you may have to use a place in Tuk Tuk. We paid 205,000 rp, but a German guy paid 230,000 rp. Shop around. We walked down to the harbour (don't bother just take an opelet for 2,000 rp) as we ended up in the wrong harbour and had to pay for an opelet to the other one anyway. The boat to Tuk Tuk is 10,000 rp (be prepared for touts), though the other harbour has a boat for 5,000 rp to a town 3km from Tuk Tuk. Not worth it unless you love walking or pack light. We beat off the touts to get dropped off near Bagus Bay Homestay. We got a place for 40,000 rp and booked for 2 nights assuming we would want at least that long on the premier tourist attraction of Sumatra. Well you would think so. We had been to Sipiso-Piso and seen the beautiful lake from there. The lake looks stunning from Parapat (personally I would just stay there or even better in the town 5km from Sipiso-Piso as at least you can get local cheap food and avoid the bullshit of Tuk Tuk). From Tuk Tuk the lake just looks very meh. Tuk Tuk is overdeveloped and very meh. There is nothing local or authentic about the place. They have surrendered it to tourists in much the same way the Dutch have surrendered the centre of Amsterdam. Ghost town like as there aren't enough tourists here anymore. How the hell did the Finnish guy spend 6 weeks here? How could you even spend 6 days here? I figure 6 hours may be too much. Even when you ask the guy what to do here he says meh. Well where is the best place to see the lake. It all looks the same. Its just a lake. Wow you could feel the enthusiasm. There really is nothing to do. Shit why did we book in for 2 nights. Bugger. Don't get me wrong. Its a pleasant place to relax (as that's all you can do). You really have no choice. Accommodation is cheap. Food is expensive but affordable due to cheap accommodation. The lake is not that special, especially compared to somewhere like Maninjau. The German bakery place was the saviour as they had fresh cheese (5,000rp for 2 slices, 5000rp for a home made roll and 4000rp for mayonaise). I just ate porridge and cheese sandwiches for 2 days, which was heavenly but hardly the Asian experience. If you need to step off the tourist trail and recuperate this place is perfect. If you don't then its hardly worth coming. Until the last week it was the only place we visited in Sumatra that was not a highlight.
So do we hire a motorbike or not? Bee had said its ok, the hostel worker says it all looks the same. Fuck it we just walked and took opelets. Cheap day. We witnessed a close shave between an opelet and a tourist on a motorbike, so be wary of the idiotic driving here. We went to the town with the tombs (the one with the other ferry) and proceeded to be underwhelmed. Nice, but hardly worth getting out of bed for. We have high standards for Sumatra. We could not find the stone chairs when we went to that town and given the nature of the tombs we weren't that bothered to try. The lake has not real clear views apart from Tuk Tuk. The view from the hill near Sipiso-Piso was still by far the best view of the lake we had had. We went back and played monopoly and ate cheese sandwiches. There was a huge group of morons on the lake all walking around an Islamic country in the shortest tops and shorts imaginable. It was land of the package tourist again and full of morons. I imagined Bukit Lawang to be the same as this was as far as the banana pancake trail people made it to in Indonesia. Christian place you see, so they can drink. Woohoo. That's what its all about, eh lol. I listened to some idiot saying how Bali was so much better than the rest of Indonesia because they were Muslim and Bali was Hindu and therefore respecting of all religions. You do get some bollocks on your travels. Even the French girls in Berastagi had been saying how all the women here were clearly subjugated and forced to wear the headscarf even though they hadn't bothered to actually interact with locals. Blind naivety is annoying. People take their views with them and they see what they want to see. I thought travelling was supposed to open the mind and your eyes not just reinforce what you left home with. May as well have stayed in their cocoon. I have found that the least hassle and nicest people I have met travelling have often been in Muslim places. We also met some locals who said that their husbands didn't want them to wear headscarves, but they wanted to anyway. As with Morocco, it doesn't strike me as a persecuted and suppressed people. Bali itself doesn't even look that impressive, but we will see when we get there. Anyway back to boring Toba.
The next day we did nothing, because there isn't anything to do and then we took the boat across to get the 5pm night bus to Bukittingi. We somehow had a super boring German guy latch onto us. He asked us a question, so we started talking. Well I did. I asked him questions and he barely responded, never asking anything in return. Does he not realise conversation is a two way thing. Oh well. Conclusions. Aceh is awesome and the people are great. Just if you meet a tuk tuk driver offering free rides, avoid him. Toba is so overrated its not even funny and everyone interesting we met travelling thinks the place is super boring. It was the first place in Indonesia where the locals had no interest in talking with us as well. They only wanted money or a business transaction of some kind. It is however a good place to unwind if you want to step off the tourist trail. Anyway onwards to Bukittingi, to cross the equator and for Cannelle to be in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Something that I thought was a cool and big deal, but she doesn't seem to see the significance of this big thing. I thought it was cool when I did it in Ecuador.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Indonesia (Sumatra Part 2): Ketambe, Gunung Leuser, Kedah and Tacloban)
We arrived in the tiny village of Ketambe and booked into a cheap lodge. Not friendship but the one next door, who are in LP and their name eludes me now. There were some Germans who wanted to stay for 18 days and had been hoping to see elephants, rhinos and tigers. The owner joked with us that we wanted to see tigers. We told him that we had a much more realistic aim for our time here. We wanted to see orangutans, thomas leaf monkeys and if we could siamangs and gibbons. We had decided against Bukit Lawang because I figured it would be like Semenggoh and we preferred it when we saw the wild orangutans in Kinabatangan (since then we have met people who went to Bukit Lawang and saw Siamang and gibbons as well, even if they are obviously acclimatised to people, I think it may well be worth visiting both if you have the time). They also do night treks where you have a reasonable chance of seeing civet cats, slow loris, porcupines and pangolins. I wish we had taken one now and its probably worth a look.
In the morning Mimi was still too sick to walk so they called for the local doctor who gave her some medication for her stomach. The other three of us decided to go rafting for the day. There is a surprising amount of white water on the river and its very, very fast. We actively had to aim to avoid some of the bigger rapids instead of hitting them. Its not amazing, but its really good and much better than I was expecting. On one bend we pulled over to the side and walk to the edge. Ouch. Shit. Something stung me in the back of the knee. Manu screams as something stung her on the finger. The guide told us not to move. Shit. What was it? A black wasp like creature that apparently attacks anything that moves. The more you move, the more of them come so you have to freeze. Great. Then one of the little bastards landed on my eyelid. Shit. I can't let it sting me in the eye so I blink and it stings me in the eyelid. Shit that hurt. My fucking eye. The guide tells me to move downriver slowly and my eye starts to swell up. The stings hurt like hell for 20 minutes and then they ease off. The trip was around 3-4 hours. When we got back some Italians had arrived so we chatted with them in the evening while the rain battered down. We had paid 900,000 rp for the three of us for the rafting. We organised a 2 day/1 night trek for 600,000 rp each for the 2 days all included. I think we could have got 250,000 rp as I heard of some people who did. I don't haggle much with people I like, but I will fuck anyone I don't like on price.
The following day we set off for our trek in the jungle. Its not as muddy as LP says, though there is mud. There aren't that many mosquitoes, but there are a lot of leeches. We were in dry season, but it was after heavy rain and we had maybe 30 each a day, though only one bit me through the hole in my trousers. On the second day in the jungle there were a lot less. Maybe 5-10 each. In the morning we walked for around 3-4 hours, but due to the rain we only saw 3 orangutans quite far away, but it was still cool. You stay in a campsite not that deep in the jungle and there we saw what we thought were long tailed mcaques (only when we zoomed in later on the photo did we realised they were thomas leaf monkeys). We had been worried about tigers but the guide told us some facts. They never attack groups of 3 or more and even 2 is unlikely. You should not enter the forest on your own though. The main cause of attacks is due to injury or farmer encroachment but these always happen on the periphery an not in the actual park. In the park there are three problems. If you see tiger claw marks, this is to mark where they have buried a kill. If you don't step near it they won't attack you. Secondly they pooh at the top of hills so animals smell the pooh and run the other way where the tiger is waiting for an ambush. They know you are not a natural prey so if you enter their territory they will growl three times. If you don't back away after three growls well then you are fair prey as you were warned. The final one is to do with babies. The babies have no fear of humans and will come to check you out. If they get close the mum will defend them. They said if you hear or see a baby tiger just run away. In the afternoon we went for another hike and this time we were rewarded with a troop of thomas leaf monkeys and a mother and baby orangutan at very close range (10m maybe). We followed them until the baby became a bit agitated and started to throw branches at us so we moved away. Both the guide and I were bitten once by a leech and we came back to the camp for some nice food. Having seen our main two objectives (both 99% guaranteed here) I wanted to focus on the siamang and gibbon in the morning.
We went on a search for gibbons in the morning, but had no luck as they weren't in the area that day. Shame. We did see three more orangutans at a distance including a male up in a tree. We saw plenty of varied insect life on the trek as well. Gunung Leuser looked like a nice park to hike in. At lunch the guide told us that there were more gibbons at Kedah, even though the owner had told us they had no wildlife up there. (It seems like Kedah is a good place to go to see gibbons and if I could do this part over again I would have gone there as well as it seems a better place for gibbons, who seem to like to hang out between 1500 and 1900m). Manu was stung by a yellow bee that leaves a nasty swelling for two days after the sting. In the afternoon we saw 2 more orangutans and then the big male, who was enormous, but I think smaller than Richie in Semenggoh. Overall we saw 11 orangutans and it was a really nice trek. I could have spent longer there and gone to Kedah but the others wanted to move on. It battered down with rain that evening so again we didn't have the opportunity to go on a night hike. Cannelle had injured her thigh but nothing serious. Back at the lodge we saw a rhinoceros beetle and we decided we had had enough of rain in the jungle. So far everywhere we had visited in Sumatra was a highlight. Hands down the best place of our trip so far.
The next day we took an early bus to Blankejeran where there were a lot of guides claiming there was no work in Kedah anymore. I think that's because everyone in Ketambe says there are no animals. The next bus to Takengon passes through some really nice scenery. Nothing jaw dropping, but sort of like a poor man's Ha Giang and that's a good compliment. Takengon has a beautiful mountain lake and we wanted to stay the night. The only problem was that it was the weekend and none of the hotels had any cheap rooms left. Shitty. I am not sure if they were telling the truth or just aiming to get us to pay more, but in absence of any proof I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. People were really nice here. Shame, but we had no choice. We signed up for the night bus to Banda Aceh. Manu fell in a hole in the street and cut and bruised herself. She wasn't having much luck. I don't wish this minibus ride on anyone. Its super uncomfortable as there is no real headrest if you are tall. They were stacking the bus, but they wanted to put more luggage on the back and Mimi got into a fierce argument with them, arguing it was against health and safety etc. I disagree. I think she wanted the space for herself and it became real awkward, because she got abusive with the locals and we felt ashamed to be associated as a tourist at this moment, because the people were really nice in Aceh. Needless to say the atmosphere was not great and noone slept much before they dropped us off in Banda Aceh at 4.30am. We dropped into a tea house and waited for the hotels to open. The rde and route through the mountains was impressive and so far everything we had done in Sumatra was a highlight of the trip.
In the morning Mimi was still too sick to walk so they called for the local doctor who gave her some medication for her stomach. The other three of us decided to go rafting for the day. There is a surprising amount of white water on the river and its very, very fast. We actively had to aim to avoid some of the bigger rapids instead of hitting them. Its not amazing, but its really good and much better than I was expecting. On one bend we pulled over to the side and walk to the edge. Ouch. Shit. Something stung me in the back of the knee. Manu screams as something stung her on the finger. The guide told us not to move. Shit. What was it? A black wasp like creature that apparently attacks anything that moves. The more you move, the more of them come so you have to freeze. Great. Then one of the little bastards landed on my eyelid. Shit. I can't let it sting me in the eye so I blink and it stings me in the eyelid. Shit that hurt. My fucking eye. The guide tells me to move downriver slowly and my eye starts to swell up. The stings hurt like hell for 20 minutes and then they ease off. The trip was around 3-4 hours. When we got back some Italians had arrived so we chatted with them in the evening while the rain battered down. We had paid 900,000 rp for the three of us for the rafting. We organised a 2 day/1 night trek for 600,000 rp each for the 2 days all included. I think we could have got 250,000 rp as I heard of some people who did. I don't haggle much with people I like, but I will fuck anyone I don't like on price.
The following day we set off for our trek in the jungle. Its not as muddy as LP says, though there is mud. There aren't that many mosquitoes, but there are a lot of leeches. We were in dry season, but it was after heavy rain and we had maybe 30 each a day, though only one bit me through the hole in my trousers. On the second day in the jungle there were a lot less. Maybe 5-10 each. In the morning we walked for around 3-4 hours, but due to the rain we only saw 3 orangutans quite far away, but it was still cool. You stay in a campsite not that deep in the jungle and there we saw what we thought were long tailed mcaques (only when we zoomed in later on the photo did we realised they were thomas leaf monkeys). We had been worried about tigers but the guide told us some facts. They never attack groups of 3 or more and even 2 is unlikely. You should not enter the forest on your own though. The main cause of attacks is due to injury or farmer encroachment but these always happen on the periphery an not in the actual park. In the park there are three problems. If you see tiger claw marks, this is to mark where they have buried a kill. If you don't step near it they won't attack you. Secondly they pooh at the top of hills so animals smell the pooh and run the other way where the tiger is waiting for an ambush. They know you are not a natural prey so if you enter their territory they will growl three times. If you don't back away after three growls well then you are fair prey as you were warned. The final one is to do with babies. The babies have no fear of humans and will come to check you out. If they get close the mum will defend them. They said if you hear or see a baby tiger just run away. In the afternoon we went for another hike and this time we were rewarded with a troop of thomas leaf monkeys and a mother and baby orangutan at very close range (10m maybe). We followed them until the baby became a bit agitated and started to throw branches at us so we moved away. Both the guide and I were bitten once by a leech and we came back to the camp for some nice food. Having seen our main two objectives (both 99% guaranteed here) I wanted to focus on the siamang and gibbon in the morning.
We went on a search for gibbons in the morning, but had no luck as they weren't in the area that day. Shame. We did see three more orangutans at a distance including a male up in a tree. We saw plenty of varied insect life on the trek as well. Gunung Leuser looked like a nice park to hike in. At lunch the guide told us that there were more gibbons at Kedah, even though the owner had told us they had no wildlife up there. (It seems like Kedah is a good place to go to see gibbons and if I could do this part over again I would have gone there as well as it seems a better place for gibbons, who seem to like to hang out between 1500 and 1900m). Manu was stung by a yellow bee that leaves a nasty swelling for two days after the sting. In the afternoon we saw 2 more orangutans and then the big male, who was enormous, but I think smaller than Richie in Semenggoh. Overall we saw 11 orangutans and it was a really nice trek. I could have spent longer there and gone to Kedah but the others wanted to move on. It battered down with rain that evening so again we didn't have the opportunity to go on a night hike. Cannelle had injured her thigh but nothing serious. Back at the lodge we saw a rhinoceros beetle and we decided we had had enough of rain in the jungle. So far everywhere we had visited in Sumatra was a highlight. Hands down the best place of our trip so far.
The next day we took an early bus to Blankejeran where there were a lot of guides claiming there was no work in Kedah anymore. I think that's because everyone in Ketambe says there are no animals. The next bus to Takengon passes through some really nice scenery. Nothing jaw dropping, but sort of like a poor man's Ha Giang and that's a good compliment. Takengon has a beautiful mountain lake and we wanted to stay the night. The only problem was that it was the weekend and none of the hotels had any cheap rooms left. Shitty. I am not sure if they were telling the truth or just aiming to get us to pay more, but in absence of any proof I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. People were really nice here. Shame, but we had no choice. We signed up for the night bus to Banda Aceh. Manu fell in a hole in the street and cut and bruised herself. She wasn't having much luck. I don't wish this minibus ride on anyone. Its super uncomfortable as there is no real headrest if you are tall. They were stacking the bus, but they wanted to put more luggage on the back and Mimi got into a fierce argument with them, arguing it was against health and safety etc. I disagree. I think she wanted the space for herself and it became real awkward, because she got abusive with the locals and we felt ashamed to be associated as a tourist at this moment, because the people were really nice in Aceh. Needless to say the atmosphere was not great and noone slept much before they dropped us off in Banda Aceh at 4.30am. We dropped into a tea house and waited for the hotels to open. The rde and route through the mountains was impressive and so far everything we had done in Sumatra was a highlight of the trip.
Indonesia (Sumatra Part 1): Langsa, Berastagi, Sibayak and Sipiso Piso
You know a place doesn't get many tourists when the immigration officials all want to have their photo taken with you. Welcome to Indonesia. A land of smiles. Nice people. Friendly people. Helpful people. Finally, thank fuck we had arrived. Given that we want to spend 6 months or so here over the course of 2 trips it was a relief to get off to a good start. Apart from one brief moment when the guard removed Cannelle's tampons and asked 'what's this?'. Erm. Another guard tried to get him to leave it but he persisted. Awkward moment as we try to explain how they are used with no language to help us. They told us how much to pay for a tricycle and it seemed reasonable. Cheap now with hindsight. We stupidly had some money so the tricycle driver took us to an ATM first, though he didn't have any change. He found it eventually when I just waited. One small problem in Indonesia is the no change problem. Still there was no 'special price' or 'my friend' bollocks. Just simple niceness. Oh how I missed it in lots of place in Indonesia. There is nothing to see here but driving out of the port we saw long tailed macaques in the mangrove swamps. Sumatra should be full of wildlife. We got a hotel for 150,000 and this was our first night here. Its a nice town to start with, but you soon realise how uncomfortable the life of a celebrity must be with all these constant requests for photos lol.
We got a bus the next day for 25 ringgit each to Medan. That's $2.5 for a 4 hour journey. This country is cheap. Well at least Sumatra is. From there we got a quick transfer to Berastagi for 10 ringgit even if they asked for 20. We checked into the best guesthouse we have stayed in alongside the ones in Dumaguete and Hue. Its right next to the giant cabbage. They have a lot of info on how to do lots of activities on your own. No pushing. No tours. Just advice. They do tours if you'd like one though. We had a chat with a guy on the bus there using our dictionary and its not hard to speak this language with help. No grammar means a dictionary can provide for a useful conversation and we tend to find speaking a little bahasa indonesian means that you get cheaper prices for public transport. In the evening we walked up the hill in town for a pretty view over the town and a good look at the two volcanos that overlook the town. We got chatting with a local woman who was out for a jog and it seems like the locals here like to practice their English. We had a nice feeling. Like the North of Vietnam and Philippines.
The next day we got porridge for breakfast. Godsend. We took a local bus to Sibayak volcano. They say it takes 2.5 hours to reach the top, but we did it easily in 1.5 hours with little effort. Walking towards the volcano is easy and requires no guide, unless you are really clueless with directions or have no self confidence with hiking. Anyone with an iota of climbing experience will have no problems. You take the bus to the entrance gate and set off along the track. It is straight for around 4km and then there is a path to the left. Ignore that and carry on straight. We double checked if it was the way with some old tourists and their guide. 'Yes, but we have a guide', was the curt and dickish reply. I should have replied 'ah yes, but we don't need one as we are neither retarded nor pointlessly rich'. Bitch. A little further is a road to the right. That's the road to the hot springs if you go later. Just keep going straight and its a damn road so easy to follow. The only tricky bit is when you get a wall of white rock on your left. You will emerge into an open area and almost the end of the road. Just after that white wall on your left you will see some rocks piled up. Climb up them and you will see the steps that lead up to the top of the volcano. Its obvious if you know what you are looking for and you have hiked before. Very easy. We passed some Russian guys from our hostel on the way up and left them for dust. Don't think they liked being beaten by a woman, but Cannelle is now much better and faster than me when climbing. I still have the edge on down and flat, but I'm clearly getting older lol. Apparently lots of people have died up there. Its highly unlikely unless you do something stupid or go way beyond your comfort zone. The volcano is beautiful. Lots of purples and yellows with fumaroles and vents blasting out of the floor. The Russians went up to one of the vents and were throwing rocks on it. Cannelle said she always wondered how people got injured doing stupid things until she watched these two guys. We ate a picnic up there and admired the chiselled rock. Its very picturesque. We found both the trail down to the hot springs and the one into the jungle. You could get confused. Don't take the hotspring trail unless you are certain you have the right one. Even then you might want to think twice. Its the one that curves round to the right over the ridge 90 degrees to the right of the crater when you come up. We found it, but as we weren't 100% we took the easy way back down and walked the long road to the hot springs. Another group took the trail down and said it was slippery and hard work. Our way was easier. Your choice. We passed some crazy people and some geothermal plants until we reached the hot springs for just 4000 rp. What a bonus. We had the place to ourselves and just relaxed there. We walked back on the road till a group of pig tailed macaques persuaded Cannelle to take a bus. We had a little argument over price, which we won and then I got co-opted into chatting with some local kids who wanted to learn English. This was the only negative regarding the hostel. They were making kids pay 300,000 rp a month for conversational classes with English tourists. Only they don't tell the tourists that. They just ask people to help chat with the kids. Cheeky as we are unpaid. Yet they are worse for the kids as they are mostly elementary level so conversational classes are a waste of time and money for them. Scandalous rip off. At least I gave them some websites to help them learn, because they got lucky and had a class with an actual English language teacher.
The next day we took local buses to see Sipiso-Piso waterfall. The first bus cost 3000 and the second one to the turnoff to the waterfall cost 4000. Just 7000 rp in total. We had been told more, but I think our attempts at Bahasa helped us. The first bus saw us chatting with a farmer, the second with a local old guy who spoke no English. Great country. At the turn off we walked to the waterfall and got distracted by a sign that seemed to suggest the waterfall was off to the left. This resulted in a steep climb to a beautiful view over the lake but not the waterfall. Shit. Oh well at least the view is nice. The real route is to just walk straight down the road and you will arrive at the waterfall. Its so much more impressive than the photos and I think its a must see. Really stunning and its only enhanced by the viewpoint where one way is the waterfall and the opposite direction is a panorama over the lake. Impressive. There were so many school kids there and they all wanted to chat or take photos. We eventually scrambled down to the bottom of the waterfall which is worth it to walk through the chiselled valley, though I cut my knee on a rock. On the way up we stopped for some food and a policeman came and sat with us to chat for 20 minutes. Even the police are nice here. This was a good start to Indonesia. He told us how a German girl had been raped by an ojek driver on the way to the lake, but it was the only incident he could remember in 20 years. They caught the guy and imprisoned him, but it was a odd conversation topic. On the way back we decided to stop at Dokan for some traditional houses. We got some nice fruit for free on the road and then decided to walk there. Some kids asked for money. Unusual here. That should have been the first warning sign. When we got there we had to sign a donation book, where people had given ridiculous sums. Shit. We gave 20,000 as that was the best we could do. Then we went in. What an awful, hellhole of a voyeuristic place. Noone smiled, all the kids ran up to you begging for money and everyone wanted money, crowding around you. It was the most awkward, awful experience on our whole trip. We felt so uncomfortable taking photos of the admittedly beautiful architecture. We just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Hideous. We later asked people how that happened in such a nice country. They said old Dutch tourists had been visiting and handing out lots of money and presents to everyone, so they just associate us with money. Shit. Why do some tourists not realise the harm they do. If that persists then noone will go there. Avoid that place at all costs unless people crowding you and begging for money appeal.
In the morning I was too sick to leave. We had met a couple of German girls who wanted to go to Ketambe as well, but one of them was also sick so we decided to postpone for a day. This hostel is an excellent place to meet people. Finally a place that reminded me of Latin American hostels. In fact the travellers and travelling style in Sumatra is more reminiscent of Latin America. Apparently its not true of Java but we will see soon enough. Spurs and Arsenal both won so the race was still on for 4th place. We got chatting with three English people who had been travelling together for a long time even if they had totally contrasting personalities and didn't seem to click. I think a lot of travellers just stick with any old bunch of people not to be alone. Must be a lot of people who sacrifice an ideal itinerary for company. I would always go where you want and make friends on the way. One day was enough to recover.
In the morning we met a Dutch girl and a Canadian and I offered the Dutch girl help for the IELTS exam. Then we set off with Manu and Mimi (the Germans) to Ketambe. Mimi was sick and could barely move but she wanted to head off. We had to take separate buses because one was almost full. We took the bus to Kutacane and then jumped on a local bus to Ketambe. On that bus we got chatting with some locals again, including an English teacher and chatted all the way to Ketambe. Nice ride. Onwards to Gunung Leuser and the orangutans.
We got a bus the next day for 25 ringgit each to Medan. That's $2.5 for a 4 hour journey. This country is cheap. Well at least Sumatra is. From there we got a quick transfer to Berastagi for 10 ringgit even if they asked for 20. We checked into the best guesthouse we have stayed in alongside the ones in Dumaguete and Hue. Its right next to the giant cabbage. They have a lot of info on how to do lots of activities on your own. No pushing. No tours. Just advice. They do tours if you'd like one though. We had a chat with a guy on the bus there using our dictionary and its not hard to speak this language with help. No grammar means a dictionary can provide for a useful conversation and we tend to find speaking a little bahasa indonesian means that you get cheaper prices for public transport. In the evening we walked up the hill in town for a pretty view over the town and a good look at the two volcanos that overlook the town. We got chatting with a local woman who was out for a jog and it seems like the locals here like to practice their English. We had a nice feeling. Like the North of Vietnam and Philippines.
The next day we got porridge for breakfast. Godsend. We took a local bus to Sibayak volcano. They say it takes 2.5 hours to reach the top, but we did it easily in 1.5 hours with little effort. Walking towards the volcano is easy and requires no guide, unless you are really clueless with directions or have no self confidence with hiking. Anyone with an iota of climbing experience will have no problems. You take the bus to the entrance gate and set off along the track. It is straight for around 4km and then there is a path to the left. Ignore that and carry on straight. We double checked if it was the way with some old tourists and their guide. 'Yes, but we have a guide', was the curt and dickish reply. I should have replied 'ah yes, but we don't need one as we are neither retarded nor pointlessly rich'. Bitch. A little further is a road to the right. That's the road to the hot springs if you go later. Just keep going straight and its a damn road so easy to follow. The only tricky bit is when you get a wall of white rock on your left. You will emerge into an open area and almost the end of the road. Just after that white wall on your left you will see some rocks piled up. Climb up them and you will see the steps that lead up to the top of the volcano. Its obvious if you know what you are looking for and you have hiked before. Very easy. We passed some Russian guys from our hostel on the way up and left them for dust. Don't think they liked being beaten by a woman, but Cannelle is now much better and faster than me when climbing. I still have the edge on down and flat, but I'm clearly getting older lol. Apparently lots of people have died up there. Its highly unlikely unless you do something stupid or go way beyond your comfort zone. The volcano is beautiful. Lots of purples and yellows with fumaroles and vents blasting out of the floor. The Russians went up to one of the vents and were throwing rocks on it. Cannelle said she always wondered how people got injured doing stupid things until she watched these two guys. We ate a picnic up there and admired the chiselled rock. Its very picturesque. We found both the trail down to the hot springs and the one into the jungle. You could get confused. Don't take the hotspring trail unless you are certain you have the right one. Even then you might want to think twice. Its the one that curves round to the right over the ridge 90 degrees to the right of the crater when you come up. We found it, but as we weren't 100% we took the easy way back down and walked the long road to the hot springs. Another group took the trail down and said it was slippery and hard work. Our way was easier. Your choice. We passed some crazy people and some geothermal plants until we reached the hot springs for just 4000 rp. What a bonus. We had the place to ourselves and just relaxed there. We walked back on the road till a group of pig tailed macaques persuaded Cannelle to take a bus. We had a little argument over price, which we won and then I got co-opted into chatting with some local kids who wanted to learn English. This was the only negative regarding the hostel. They were making kids pay 300,000 rp a month for conversational classes with English tourists. Only they don't tell the tourists that. They just ask people to help chat with the kids. Cheeky as we are unpaid. Yet they are worse for the kids as they are mostly elementary level so conversational classes are a waste of time and money for them. Scandalous rip off. At least I gave them some websites to help them learn, because they got lucky and had a class with an actual English language teacher.
The next day we took local buses to see Sipiso-Piso waterfall. The first bus cost 3000 and the second one to the turnoff to the waterfall cost 4000. Just 7000 rp in total. We had been told more, but I think our attempts at Bahasa helped us. The first bus saw us chatting with a farmer, the second with a local old guy who spoke no English. Great country. At the turn off we walked to the waterfall and got distracted by a sign that seemed to suggest the waterfall was off to the left. This resulted in a steep climb to a beautiful view over the lake but not the waterfall. Shit. Oh well at least the view is nice. The real route is to just walk straight down the road and you will arrive at the waterfall. Its so much more impressive than the photos and I think its a must see. Really stunning and its only enhanced by the viewpoint where one way is the waterfall and the opposite direction is a panorama over the lake. Impressive. There were so many school kids there and they all wanted to chat or take photos. We eventually scrambled down to the bottom of the waterfall which is worth it to walk through the chiselled valley, though I cut my knee on a rock. On the way up we stopped for some food and a policeman came and sat with us to chat for 20 minutes. Even the police are nice here. This was a good start to Indonesia. He told us how a German girl had been raped by an ojek driver on the way to the lake, but it was the only incident he could remember in 20 years. They caught the guy and imprisoned him, but it was a odd conversation topic. On the way back we decided to stop at Dokan for some traditional houses. We got some nice fruit for free on the road and then decided to walk there. Some kids asked for money. Unusual here. That should have been the first warning sign. When we got there we had to sign a donation book, where people had given ridiculous sums. Shit. We gave 20,000 as that was the best we could do. Then we went in. What an awful, hellhole of a voyeuristic place. Noone smiled, all the kids ran up to you begging for money and everyone wanted money, crowding around you. It was the most awkward, awful experience on our whole trip. We felt so uncomfortable taking photos of the admittedly beautiful architecture. We just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Hideous. We later asked people how that happened in such a nice country. They said old Dutch tourists had been visiting and handing out lots of money and presents to everyone, so they just associate us with money. Shit. Why do some tourists not realise the harm they do. If that persists then noone will go there. Avoid that place at all costs unless people crowding you and begging for money appeal.
In the morning I was too sick to leave. We had met a couple of German girls who wanted to go to Ketambe as well, but one of them was also sick so we decided to postpone for a day. This hostel is an excellent place to meet people. Finally a place that reminded me of Latin American hostels. In fact the travellers and travelling style in Sumatra is more reminiscent of Latin America. Apparently its not true of Java but we will see soon enough. Spurs and Arsenal both won so the race was still on for 4th place. We got chatting with three English people who had been travelling together for a long time even if they had totally contrasting personalities and didn't seem to click. I think a lot of travellers just stick with any old bunch of people not to be alone. Must be a lot of people who sacrifice an ideal itinerary for company. I would always go where you want and make friends on the way. One day was enough to recover.
In the morning we met a Dutch girl and a Canadian and I offered the Dutch girl help for the IELTS exam. Then we set off with Manu and Mimi (the Germans) to Ketambe. Mimi was sick and could barely move but she wanted to head off. We had to take separate buses because one was almost full. We took the bus to Kutacane and then jumped on a local bus to Ketambe. On that bus we got chatting with some locals again, including an English teacher and chatted all the way to Ketambe. Nice ride. Onwards to Gunung Leuser and the orangutans.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Malaysia Part 7 (Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and the Indonesia Visa via Padang-Langsa ferry)
More of a transit piece. We grabbed the cheap bus into KL from the airport and walked from there to our hostel for a couple mof nights. Nice place.
In the morning we walked to the Petronas Towers and picked up the new LP for Indonesia. We also enquired into the possibility of seeing the orchestra only to be told that we didn't meet the dress code because we weren't travelling with any suit shoes. Shitty. We ate at Nandos and both of us spoke with our families. Tottenham drew 2-2 with Wigan and that was the result that probably cost us the champions league. That and the Fulham loss.
We got up late, did a laundry and took a bus to Butterworth and grabbed the ferry to Georgetown again. We stayed in the same place as last time and got a good biryani. Arsenal drew with Man United and I realised Georgetown seemed a better place this time round.
We were stressed for Indonesia as the return boat trip to Langsa was only valid for 30 days and we were certain that they would not give us the 60 day visa we wanted. We also knew that if we went to Langsa on wednesday then we would need to stay 91 days and that was going to be awkward for the extension, but we would have to take it one step at a time. We didn't want to wait until the following monday. So we set off on the monday for the boat office as well dressed as we could manage. The tour agencies had told us our only option was to fly now that the Medan boat was finished until we told them of the Penang-Langsa ferry. The boat agency sold us a return ticket for 190 ringgit and we set off for the Indonesian embassy. You are going to need a copy of your boat ticket, a copy of your passport and two photos on a red background, all of which can be done opposite the Indonesian consulate for cheap. They will tell you where. We filled in the form and they told us that the return boat ticket was valid for a 60 day visa. It was really simple. We needn't have worried and we picked up the passports with our 60 day visa the next day. I think the Langsa boat is the easiest way to get one as the price for a return or single is the same and there is no need to book a flight out. We went to the English pub and got some fish and chips.
The next day we didn't do much. Picked up the passports and then went back to pick up our boarding passes. We relaxed and watched Battle Royale. Some guys were nervous as a tsunami warning had been issued and they were off to climb a car park to be safe. I checked online and the earthquake was off Sabah and the warning had been retracted with the initial wave feared at 1m. Fuck sake. Some people need to get a grip and research things properly.
In the morning we got to the ferry terminal and everyone kept trying to send us to the queue for Langsawi with the zombie tourists who seemed to be heading that way. It was just us and one other couple heading to Langsa. They asked me on the boat for the exchange rate. Shit. Do some people look up nothing before they arrive. We watched Harry Potter 1, Undisputed 3 and The Expendables 2. They like numbers. Cannelle was pissed that we got the Expendables 2 again, but the other two were good. It took about 7 hours, but we arrived in Langsa and we were entering the final country of our trip and the one I was most looking forward to. Indonesia at last.
In the morning we walked to the Petronas Towers and picked up the new LP for Indonesia. We also enquired into the possibility of seeing the orchestra only to be told that we didn't meet the dress code because we weren't travelling with any suit shoes. Shitty. We ate at Nandos and both of us spoke with our families. Tottenham drew 2-2 with Wigan and that was the result that probably cost us the champions league. That and the Fulham loss.
We got up late, did a laundry and took a bus to Butterworth and grabbed the ferry to Georgetown again. We stayed in the same place as last time and got a good biryani. Arsenal drew with Man United and I realised Georgetown seemed a better place this time round.
We were stressed for Indonesia as the return boat trip to Langsa was only valid for 30 days and we were certain that they would not give us the 60 day visa we wanted. We also knew that if we went to Langsa on wednesday then we would need to stay 91 days and that was going to be awkward for the extension, but we would have to take it one step at a time. We didn't want to wait until the following monday. So we set off on the monday for the boat office as well dressed as we could manage. The tour agencies had told us our only option was to fly now that the Medan boat was finished until we told them of the Penang-Langsa ferry. The boat agency sold us a return ticket for 190 ringgit and we set off for the Indonesian embassy. You are going to need a copy of your boat ticket, a copy of your passport and two photos on a red background, all of which can be done opposite the Indonesian consulate for cheap. They will tell you where. We filled in the form and they told us that the return boat ticket was valid for a 60 day visa. It was really simple. We needn't have worried and we picked up the passports with our 60 day visa the next day. I think the Langsa boat is the easiest way to get one as the price for a return or single is the same and there is no need to book a flight out. We went to the English pub and got some fish and chips.
The next day we didn't do much. Picked up the passports and then went back to pick up our boarding passes. We relaxed and watched Battle Royale. Some guys were nervous as a tsunami warning had been issued and they were off to climb a car park to be safe. I checked online and the earthquake was off Sabah and the warning had been retracted with the initial wave feared at 1m. Fuck sake. Some people need to get a grip and research things properly.
In the morning we got to the ferry terminal and everyone kept trying to send us to the queue for Langsawi with the zombie tourists who seemed to be heading that way. It was just us and one other couple heading to Langsa. They asked me on the boat for the exchange rate. Shit. Do some people look up nothing before they arrive. We watched Harry Potter 1, Undisputed 3 and The Expendables 2. They like numbers. Cannelle was pissed that we got the Expendables 2 again, but the other two were good. It took about 7 hours, but we arrived in Langsa and we were entering the final country of our trip and the one I was most looking forward to. Indonesia at last.
Philippines Part 9 (Naga, Caramoan Peninsula, Olongapo, Subic Bay and Angeles airport)
We arrived in Naga and got ourselves a cheap place. The policeman had said it was a great city and while that may be a stretch I would say it could be the third best city we went to in the Philippines.
We watched the Boston manhunt on the tv today. Was quite a shock, but all the news channels were totally focused on the event. Bicol food is really good. We just spent the day bumming around and I did a lot of writing. We had decided not to go to the watersports park.
In the morning we got the bus and boat combination to the Caramoan Peninsula. It was much smoother than we imagined, but be warned. There is a lot less infrastructure there than I had even anticipated. There is no sense of selling tours or even of really organising them. South of Thailand this is not. We grabbed a jeepny from the jetty to the local hotels. They were all pretty expensive. We had to wake up the owner of the pink hotel (who was sleeping like a pig). Best value place, though the food is best in the expensive looking place just down the road. I wanted to go down to the beach, but I suddenly came down with a violent sickness and too weak to do anything. Hopefully I would recover the following day.
We took a tircyle for 100 pesos (he had wanted 150) down to the port. It was a total rip off for what is at most a 4km walk. Shitty. He also hooked us up with a boat for the short trip around the islands for 1500 pesos. It was steep but we had already come all the way here and there was noone to bargain or negotiate with. They kept pushing us for the longer trip, but I feel the shorter one is more than sufficient. Get a group together if you can to cut the costs like the locals do. Its hard to judge this trip. I would say it was a rip off, but that it was really nice. If you love beaches and especially deserted ones then you may love it, but if like me you don't especially love beaches, then even if you can appreciate the beauty, you will find yourself getting bored a little easily. Even Cannelle was getting tired of perfect beaches in the Philippines. There are just so many of them that they stop feeling special. The beaches here are stunning though. Like you see on google image and you get them to yourself. At least until the Filipine families rock up an hour or so later. The only incident was a little jellyfish swimming around us. Just one though. They say its a day trip. Its more like a half day of 4 hours. Enough for me, but be firm if you want longer. If the trip had been 500 pesos it would have been perfect. They wanted us to take a tricycle back. Fuck them. Even though my sandal had totally broken, I wasn't going to surrender anymore of my money to these vampires. I tied a t-shirt around my foot, to stop the heat and limped 4km all the way back to the hotel. Its an easy walk if you have two shoes. We got some good chicken curry and prepped ourselves for the last leg in the Philippines.
In the morning it was back to Naga on the same boat/bus combo where you pay 10 pesos for the artificial bridge, but at least they are working for it. We walked to the boat harbour so a tircycle eventually offered us for just 40. I love the power walking has to see prices tumble. We got a night bus to Manila for 680 pesos as the train was sadly not running anymore and we kicked our heals in an internet cafe while we waited to leave.
We arrived and got a connection straight to Olongapo. We decided to stay next to the bus station rather than going into Subic Bay and it was a much. much better decision. Then we decided that we wouldn't climb Pinatubo as they wanted too much money and we knew that we were heading to Sumatra afterwards. That evening we walked all the way to the bat kingdom in Subic Bay. Its a fair walk. Around 12km and it took its toll as the bats had moved around and we climbed a hill for no reason. The locals were really cool as always though and directed us towards the bat's new home. We hiked down and heard them a long time before we saw them. Thousands and thousands of the giant fruit bats hanging off loads of tress. What a tremendous noise and impressive sight. We waited until sunset to see them leave and swarm off over the trees. It was almost as if they made the sky go dark all on their own. Super impressive and well worth it. Then we walked back in the dark and it was a b it scary, replete with creaking doors and fantasy horror sounds. Eventually we grabbed a ride with some workmen who had been preparing for a competition in the back of their truck. Yet more nice locals.
Olongapo is a nice town in and of itself and doesn't really smell of shit. It does have a seedy side that you can see without looking too hard. It was our penultimate day and we decided to do nothing except watch Ironman 3 (which was not bad) and then went to Texas Joe's for dinner. What a top class restaurant. Not quite a true Texas barbecue but a really fucking good approximation and definitely somewhere you have to eat if you are in the area.
We lay in the next day and took a bus to Dau for Angeles airport. It was so slow. They wanted 100 pesos for a special jeepney to the airport. Taking the piss for about 8km walk. We grabbed an ordinary jeepney to the SM City in Angeles and apparently from there you can get a public jeepney to the airport. None of them wanted to take us though and were asking for charters, so we walked and luckily a policeman took pity on Cannelle and stopped a truck to take us to the airport turnoff. From there it was a 2km walk to the terminal. Saved us some money for food though and we still weren't sure what the departure tax was for Angeles airport. I can't remember now but its the lower one of the prices you will read online. The plane was delayed and seemed to take ages with a little bit of turbulence. Eventually we arrived back in Malaysia. I had read Voltaire's Candide on the flight and was exited do be back in Malaysia, to go to Nandos, get a roti, horlicks and biryani and sort out the Indonesia visa. The Philippines had been a great country for us, but we were happy to go now. Too many perfect beaches gets tiring lol. We were ready for jungle.
We watched the Boston manhunt on the tv today. Was quite a shock, but all the news channels were totally focused on the event. Bicol food is really good. We just spent the day bumming around and I did a lot of writing. We had decided not to go to the watersports park.
In the morning we got the bus and boat combination to the Caramoan Peninsula. It was much smoother than we imagined, but be warned. There is a lot less infrastructure there than I had even anticipated. There is no sense of selling tours or even of really organising them. South of Thailand this is not. We grabbed a jeepny from the jetty to the local hotels. They were all pretty expensive. We had to wake up the owner of the pink hotel (who was sleeping like a pig). Best value place, though the food is best in the expensive looking place just down the road. I wanted to go down to the beach, but I suddenly came down with a violent sickness and too weak to do anything. Hopefully I would recover the following day.
We took a tircyle for 100 pesos (he had wanted 150) down to the port. It was a total rip off for what is at most a 4km walk. Shitty. He also hooked us up with a boat for the short trip around the islands for 1500 pesos. It was steep but we had already come all the way here and there was noone to bargain or negotiate with. They kept pushing us for the longer trip, but I feel the shorter one is more than sufficient. Get a group together if you can to cut the costs like the locals do. Its hard to judge this trip. I would say it was a rip off, but that it was really nice. If you love beaches and especially deserted ones then you may love it, but if like me you don't especially love beaches, then even if you can appreciate the beauty, you will find yourself getting bored a little easily. Even Cannelle was getting tired of perfect beaches in the Philippines. There are just so many of them that they stop feeling special. The beaches here are stunning though. Like you see on google image and you get them to yourself. At least until the Filipine families rock up an hour or so later. The only incident was a little jellyfish swimming around us. Just one though. They say its a day trip. Its more like a half day of 4 hours. Enough for me, but be firm if you want longer. If the trip had been 500 pesos it would have been perfect. They wanted us to take a tricycle back. Fuck them. Even though my sandal had totally broken, I wasn't going to surrender anymore of my money to these vampires. I tied a t-shirt around my foot, to stop the heat and limped 4km all the way back to the hotel. Its an easy walk if you have two shoes. We got some good chicken curry and prepped ourselves for the last leg in the Philippines.
In the morning it was back to Naga on the same boat/bus combo where you pay 10 pesos for the artificial bridge, but at least they are working for it. We walked to the boat harbour so a tircycle eventually offered us for just 40. I love the power walking has to see prices tumble. We got a night bus to Manila for 680 pesos as the train was sadly not running anymore and we kicked our heals in an internet cafe while we waited to leave.
We arrived and got a connection straight to Olongapo. We decided to stay next to the bus station rather than going into Subic Bay and it was a much. much better decision. Then we decided that we wouldn't climb Pinatubo as they wanted too much money and we knew that we were heading to Sumatra afterwards. That evening we walked all the way to the bat kingdom in Subic Bay. Its a fair walk. Around 12km and it took its toll as the bats had moved around and we climbed a hill for no reason. The locals were really cool as always though and directed us towards the bat's new home. We hiked down and heard them a long time before we saw them. Thousands and thousands of the giant fruit bats hanging off loads of tress. What a tremendous noise and impressive sight. We waited until sunset to see them leave and swarm off over the trees. It was almost as if they made the sky go dark all on their own. Super impressive and well worth it. Then we walked back in the dark and it was a b it scary, replete with creaking doors and fantasy horror sounds. Eventually we grabbed a ride with some workmen who had been preparing for a competition in the back of their truck. Yet more nice locals.
Olongapo is a nice town in and of itself and doesn't really smell of shit. It does have a seedy side that you can see without looking too hard. It was our penultimate day and we decided to do nothing except watch Ironman 3 (which was not bad) and then went to Texas Joe's for dinner. What a top class restaurant. Not quite a true Texas barbecue but a really fucking good approximation and definitely somewhere you have to eat if you are in the area.
We lay in the next day and took a bus to Dau for Angeles airport. It was so slow. They wanted 100 pesos for a special jeepney to the airport. Taking the piss for about 8km walk. We grabbed an ordinary jeepney to the SM City in Angeles and apparently from there you can get a public jeepney to the airport. None of them wanted to take us though and were asking for charters, so we walked and luckily a policeman took pity on Cannelle and stopped a truck to take us to the airport turnoff. From there it was a 2km walk to the terminal. Saved us some money for food though and we still weren't sure what the departure tax was for Angeles airport. I can't remember now but its the lower one of the prices you will read online. The plane was delayed and seemed to take ages with a little bit of turbulence. Eventually we arrived back in Malaysia. I had read Voltaire's Candide on the flight and was exited do be back in Malaysia, to go to Nandos, get a roti, horlicks and biryani and sort out the Indonesia visa. The Philippines had been a great country for us, but we were happy to go now. Too many perfect beaches gets tiring lol. We were ready for jungle.
Philippines Part 8 (Tacloban, Calbayog, Allen, Biri Islands, Legazpi and Mt Mayon)
This proved a bit of a sprint through these areas as we were running low on time. We had got the slow boat across to Leyte and in Bato we were able to get an even slower bus to Tacloban City. They had a giant jehovah's witness conference on in the city at the time, but we were able to get a cheap hotel. The quality of accommodation relative to the price is so much greater in Leyte and Samar than it is in the touristy parts of the country.
There wasn't a lot to do so we got a buffet breakfast and took a van to Calbayog. This took forever as well, but the scenery was really beautiful. If you want to see a really pretty area with not many tourists then I would recommend spending some time on Samar. We regretted not having much time to look around there. Hire a motorbike and enjoy the scenery. In Calbayog we got a late van to Allen and found a shitty but cheap hotel in this shitty little town. Allen really is a dump. I am not sure why LP recommends you should stay this side if you arrive late, because the other side doesn't look any shitter and the buses and ferries are 24 hours. I doubt LP goes anywhere they say they do after what we just found out in Kerinci Valley but thats for later when I catch up with myself in Sumatra. We decided to visit Biri for the day in case we got trapped there. It was somewhat of a mistake. I would definitely recommend staying on the Biri Islands if you come here.
In the morning they wanted us to take a tricycle for 150 pesos to the local town with the boats to Biri Island. We had also been told that the boats went at 6am. Both of these are bollocks. The town is 10km from Allen and I called their bluff by deciding to walk. Sure enough 5 minutes later a jeepney comes by and we paid only 10 pesos each. I would advise setting off at 7am and insisting on the jeepney and the price of 10 pesos per person. The public boat is 50 pesos each, but naturally they wanted a 'special trip' fare for only 1000 or so. I feel so special with all these 'special trips'. We stood our ground and about 8am or so we left for 50 pesos each. When you land head left to the main town and follow the road round to the rock formations. They try to sell you cheap motorcycle trips and tell you its miles away. Be careful. You have to pay a fee to see the rocks and you pay an additional fee for transport so that cheap fare stops being cheap. Its only about a 4km walk maximum to the rock formations from the town and with the additional walk it took us just over an hour from the boat landing. The scenery is impressive, but the rocks are stunning. One of the prettiest places we have seen on our trip. The rocks have been carved up into stunning vistas by the sea. You can swim over to the rock formations on your left when you arrive, but the ones on the right can be waded to after walking across the bridge and are probably the more impressive of the two. We met a local woman and her Australian husband to be and naturally were invited for food and drink. It was nice but rushed as we were wary of missing the last public boat back around midday or 1pm. Its another reason to stay on the island. When we got back to the port they told us there were no more public boats and that we would have to pay 200 each and wait an hour. I had my suspicions so I walked about 100 metres further and got offered a public boat for 50 each. You can't trust boatmen in this country. Overall it was well worth the trip. Even the ordinary islands on the way back had stunning beaches and water, but this was just becoming par for the course in the Philippines. We had to break some money and came back to Allen. We wanted to find out what time the boats went, but the people were fucking useless. Allen was one of the most annoying places we stayed in the Philippines. The boats just leave when full with no fixed timetable. Great. We met a German couple in the evening and they seemed to be the only other travellers not going to Palawan. They had travelled all over South East Asia many times and lamented the fact that there weren't many genuine travellers anymore. Shit. Maybe it wasn't a difference between Asia and Latin America. Maybe it was just a universal change in traveller types. They said it had been cool to meet some real travellers and once again we were heading in the opposite direction to some cool people.
There was a delay with the ferry the next day. Of course. We then had a fight about taking jeepneys on the far side and eventually had to settle for a fee to Sorsogon. From there we got a bus to Legazpi. We were getting tired of transport here. If only we flew lol. Most of the hotels were full and we had to wander around for a while before we found somewhere. Mt Mayon was covered in clouds but it is still a perfectly formed volcano. Really pretty.
In the morning we visited the Cagasawa ruins by jeepney, which are not as tacky as LP says and worth a detour. We then took our bags up to Danaga church for a beautiful lunch overlooking Mt Mayon. This time there were no clouds. We tried Bicol food for the first time. Its spicier than the normal food here and done with a lot of coconut. The dishes are truly tasty though Naga is where we would really see the level of food. When we finished we went down and got a bus to Naga. We chatted with a local policeman all the way there and it was onwards to the final part of our time in the Philippines.
There wasn't a lot to do so we got a buffet breakfast and took a van to Calbayog. This took forever as well, but the scenery was really beautiful. If you want to see a really pretty area with not many tourists then I would recommend spending some time on Samar. We regretted not having much time to look around there. Hire a motorbike and enjoy the scenery. In Calbayog we got a late van to Allen and found a shitty but cheap hotel in this shitty little town. Allen really is a dump. I am not sure why LP recommends you should stay this side if you arrive late, because the other side doesn't look any shitter and the buses and ferries are 24 hours. I doubt LP goes anywhere they say they do after what we just found out in Kerinci Valley but thats for later when I catch up with myself in Sumatra. We decided to visit Biri for the day in case we got trapped there. It was somewhat of a mistake. I would definitely recommend staying on the Biri Islands if you come here.
In the morning they wanted us to take a tricycle for 150 pesos to the local town with the boats to Biri Island. We had also been told that the boats went at 6am. Both of these are bollocks. The town is 10km from Allen and I called their bluff by deciding to walk. Sure enough 5 minutes later a jeepney comes by and we paid only 10 pesos each. I would advise setting off at 7am and insisting on the jeepney and the price of 10 pesos per person. The public boat is 50 pesos each, but naturally they wanted a 'special trip' fare for only 1000 or so. I feel so special with all these 'special trips'. We stood our ground and about 8am or so we left for 50 pesos each. When you land head left to the main town and follow the road round to the rock formations. They try to sell you cheap motorcycle trips and tell you its miles away. Be careful. You have to pay a fee to see the rocks and you pay an additional fee for transport so that cheap fare stops being cheap. Its only about a 4km walk maximum to the rock formations from the town and with the additional walk it took us just over an hour from the boat landing. The scenery is impressive, but the rocks are stunning. One of the prettiest places we have seen on our trip. The rocks have been carved up into stunning vistas by the sea. You can swim over to the rock formations on your left when you arrive, but the ones on the right can be waded to after walking across the bridge and are probably the more impressive of the two. We met a local woman and her Australian husband to be and naturally were invited for food and drink. It was nice but rushed as we were wary of missing the last public boat back around midday or 1pm. Its another reason to stay on the island. When we got back to the port they told us there were no more public boats and that we would have to pay 200 each and wait an hour. I had my suspicions so I walked about 100 metres further and got offered a public boat for 50 each. You can't trust boatmen in this country. Overall it was well worth the trip. Even the ordinary islands on the way back had stunning beaches and water, but this was just becoming par for the course in the Philippines. We had to break some money and came back to Allen. We wanted to find out what time the boats went, but the people were fucking useless. Allen was one of the most annoying places we stayed in the Philippines. The boats just leave when full with no fixed timetable. Great. We met a German couple in the evening and they seemed to be the only other travellers not going to Palawan. They had travelled all over South East Asia many times and lamented the fact that there weren't many genuine travellers anymore. Shit. Maybe it wasn't a difference between Asia and Latin America. Maybe it was just a universal change in traveller types. They said it had been cool to meet some real travellers and once again we were heading in the opposite direction to some cool people.
There was a delay with the ferry the next day. Of course. We then had a fight about taking jeepneys on the far side and eventually had to settle for a fee to Sorsogon. From there we got a bus to Legazpi. We were getting tired of transport here. If only we flew lol. Most of the hotels were full and we had to wander around for a while before we found somewhere. Mt Mayon was covered in clouds but it is still a perfectly formed volcano. Really pretty.
In the morning we visited the Cagasawa ruins by jeepney, which are not as tacky as LP says and worth a detour. We then took our bags up to Danaga church for a beautiful lunch overlooking Mt Mayon. This time there were no clouds. We tried Bicol food for the first time. Its spicier than the normal food here and done with a lot of coconut. The dishes are truly tasty though Naga is where we would really see the level of food. When we finished we went down and got a bus to Naga. We chatted with a local policeman all the way there and it was onwards to the final part of our time in the Philippines.
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