Hi Everyone,
The Singapore airport has more shopping than I think I've seen in a very long time. You could get just about anything you need here, it's truly amazing. I have heard that Singapore generally is very expensive, but prices in the airport seem to be fairly comparable to US pricing. I suppose that is expensive for SE Asia though.
So I wanted to share quick thoughts on traveling alone as I have a long layover here before I meet up with a few friends in Bali, and I have been reading the book 'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed. First of all, such a great book about her journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and the struggle, beauty and transformation along her path.
From time to time I contemplate being sad that I have lived alone for so long, and I do long for companionship. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite happy with my life, and I have great companionship with many close friends - but I do wish I had a man in my life to be a companion and partner in crime (so to speak). It doesn't usually come as an urgent "must solve this problem now" need, but more a nagging every once in a while that wouldn't that be nice. It's actually hard for me to admit since I then feel the immediate rebellion in my mind of not wanting to sound like the "typical woman" or needy in any way - but the feeling is there, so may as well own up to it :) Anyhow, I was reading in 'Wild' about her journey and spending so much time alone, with only herself in the wilderness and coming to the revelation that being alone is really not so bad.
So it makes me contemplate, sitting here by myself in the Singapore airport where I know nobody and everyone is really here just transitory, what is so wrong with being alone? I actually don't mind it. I feel free to be myself, not care about judgement or expectations and to eat, drink and enjoy myself whenever I feel like it. I am really truly free when I am by myself. At the same time, I think it is human nature to want to feel connected to others - but when you have too much connection, it feels like you're trapped - I suppose the grass is always greener.
Recognizing the need for balance and the fact that like so many things in life, the balance of being free/alone and having someone/companionship will fluctuate one direction or the other throught life, and that is ok, is freeing in and of itself. Isn't life a fun rollercoaster?
Onto Bali ~ More Later ~
Amy
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Monday, March 1, 2010
Layover notes - Feb 28th, 2010
Hi,
I am in the Taipei airport, 6 hr layover - Last night M and I had a nice last night, didn't get to our hotel in Bangkok until 9:30pm but they had a little restaurant around the back run by a Filipino family, the guy spoke great English and when I complimented him on it, he said, it's because we start learning when we are young in the Philippines. Ha.
Restaurant was open till 10pm so we shared some sweet/sour chicken and rice and had two huge bottles of Singha Thai beer. Our hotel also had a 24hr massage place next door, so after dinner we got one last massage ($10) - felt bad b/c one of the girls had to wake up to give us the massage, but I think they were glad for the business.
One more flight, then back to reality!
A
I am in the Taipei airport, 6 hr layover - Last night M and I had a nice last night, didn't get to our hotel in Bangkok until 9:30pm but they had a little restaurant around the back run by a Filipino family, the guy spoke great English and when I complimented him on it, he said, it's because we start learning when we are young in the Philippines. Ha.
Restaurant was open till 10pm so we shared some sweet/sour chicken and rice and had two huge bottles of Singha Thai beer. Our hotel also had a 24hr massage place next door, so after dinner we got one last massage ($10) - felt bad b/c one of the girls had to wake up to give us the massage, but I think they were glad for the business.
One more flight, then back to reality!
A
Last Update :( - Feb 26th, 2010
Hi Guys,
Today is our last day at the beach :( I hear there's a crazy rain storm up in the bay area, so I will try to appreciate it as much as possible even though I was contemplating with M this morning, how can I keep getting paid and keep travelling around the world :)
Yesterday was an easy day, got into Phuket, the hotel here is fine, very British and charges 10% service charge and 7% tax on top of everything which is different than what we've gotten so far. But only one night, so no big deal.
Patong is very busy - lots of neon lights, go go bars, lady-men dancing, lots of prostitutes, people in the street getting right in front of you trying to sell you something every 5 feet, and lots of live bands blasting old hits that are somewhat understandable. The drinks are just as expensive as in the US and they measure out 1oz of whiskey for your whiskey+diet coke (1oz is less than a shot, for $6/drink not so much worth it). The beach is nice enough, but very crowded and it costs 100baht to sit at one of the umbrella chairs (2x as much as on Koh Phi Phi island). So to sum up, interesting to see, but one night is certainly enough - and if I were to recommend a place in the Thai islands, it would definitely not be Patong beach.
Tonight we fly back to Bangkok, stay in an airport hotel tonight and start the long flight back home!!
A
Today is our last day at the beach :( I hear there's a crazy rain storm up in the bay area, so I will try to appreciate it as much as possible even though I was contemplating with M this morning, how can I keep getting paid and keep travelling around the world :)
Yesterday was an easy day, got into Phuket, the hotel here is fine, very British and charges 10% service charge and 7% tax on top of everything which is different than what we've gotten so far. But only one night, so no big deal.
Patong is very busy - lots of neon lights, go go bars, lady-men dancing, lots of prostitutes, people in the street getting right in front of you trying to sell you something every 5 feet, and lots of live bands blasting old hits that are somewhat understandable. The drinks are just as expensive as in the US and they measure out 1oz of whiskey for your whiskey+diet coke (1oz is less than a shot, for $6/drink not so much worth it). The beach is nice enough, but very crowded and it costs 100baht to sit at one of the umbrella chairs (2x as much as on Koh Phi Phi island). So to sum up, interesting to see, but one night is certainly enough - and if I were to recommend a place in the Thai islands, it would definitely not be Patong beach.
Tonight we fly back to Bangkok, stay in an airport hotel tonight and start the long flight back home!!
A
Snorkeling, Kayaking, Fire Jump Rope - Feb 25th, 2010
Hi Guys,
Yesterday was a fun day, just relaxed in the morning, and went on our snorkeling cruise - I have to say with this trip I'm getting a lot more confident with going on boats. We were on a pretty tippy catamaran and I was fine all day - the tour lasted from 1pm to 7pm, although granted we were getting on and off the boat a lot. First stop was to a beach that had monkeys - these monkeys were not quite as friendly as the ones we saw outside Bangkok, probably from the masses of tourists teasing them every day. I did hand one a banana and he took it right from my hand though.
Next stop was to an area we went kayaking back into a lagoon in between cliffs and got out of the kayak to go swimming, it was beautiful and the water is super warm. Then did some snorkeling - saw a huge school of fish the kept jumping out of the water, lots of coral, and a few "non stinging" jelly fish - then just toward the end, M tapped me and pointed and there was a jellyfish maybe 10 feet away that was at least the size of my head with big tentacles. We decided to make a beeline for the boat and get out then. Ha.
Then we went to Maya bay, which is the beach that is in the movie "the Beach" w/ Leonardo Dicaprio - it's on an island that doesn't have anyone living on it, M was telling me the story since I haven't seen the movie (going to have to watch it now) - and apparently the movie is about this deserted island that only "backpackers in the know" know about, and some drug scandal that goes down with the local people. Anyway it was quite ironic because since that movie, lots and lots of tours go to that beach and it was packed with people. Beautiful, but a little too crowded for my taste. We got back on the boat and watched the sunset from the boat while they fed us fried rice. Beautiful but kind of cloudy so we didn't see the sun touch the horizon.
So yes, in my subject I said fire jump rope :) We went to a bar on the beach last night whose fire show gets a little more interactive. We did not participate but definitely got a good show. They did a huge jumprope lit on fire and any tourist that took a stab at jumping rope got a free shot of vodka - then they had a limbo that was lit on fire, got down pretty low (the guys there, not me!) and then last but not least, they had a big ring that they lit on fire and had people, whoever wanted to, jumping through. Crazy - M was saying our fire department would never give a liscence to do that ha! But on the bright side, sand can put out a fire pretty easily!
Today is our last day in Koh Phi Phi :( tomorrow we go over to Phuket for one night, then back to Bangkok for a night before heading home.
A
Yesterday was a fun day, just relaxed in the morning, and went on our snorkeling cruise - I have to say with this trip I'm getting a lot more confident with going on boats. We were on a pretty tippy catamaran and I was fine all day - the tour lasted from 1pm to 7pm, although granted we were getting on and off the boat a lot. First stop was to a beach that had monkeys - these monkeys were not quite as friendly as the ones we saw outside Bangkok, probably from the masses of tourists teasing them every day. I did hand one a banana and he took it right from my hand though.
Next stop was to an area we went kayaking back into a lagoon in between cliffs and got out of the kayak to go swimming, it was beautiful and the water is super warm. Then did some snorkeling - saw a huge school of fish the kept jumping out of the water, lots of coral, and a few "non stinging" jelly fish - then just toward the end, M tapped me and pointed and there was a jellyfish maybe 10 feet away that was at least the size of my head with big tentacles. We decided to make a beeline for the boat and get out then. Ha.
Then we went to Maya bay, which is the beach that is in the movie "the Beach" w/ Leonardo Dicaprio - it's on an island that doesn't have anyone living on it, M was telling me the story since I haven't seen the movie (going to have to watch it now) - and apparently the movie is about this deserted island that only "backpackers in the know" know about, and some drug scandal that goes down with the local people. Anyway it was quite ironic because since that movie, lots and lots of tours go to that beach and it was packed with people. Beautiful, but a little too crowded for my taste. We got back on the boat and watched the sunset from the boat while they fed us fried rice. Beautiful but kind of cloudy so we didn't see the sun touch the horizon.
So yes, in my subject I said fire jump rope :) We went to a bar on the beach last night whose fire show gets a little more interactive. We did not participate but definitely got a good show. They did a huge jumprope lit on fire and any tourist that took a stab at jumping rope got a free shot of vodka - then they had a limbo that was lit on fire, got down pretty low (the guys there, not me!) and then last but not least, they had a big ring that they lit on fire and had people, whoever wanted to, jumping through. Crazy - M was saying our fire department would never give a liscence to do that ha! But on the bright side, sand can put out a fire pretty easily!
Today is our last day in Koh Phi Phi :( tomorrow we go over to Phuket for one night, then back to Bangkok for a night before heading home.
A
Swimming with Sharks - Feb 23rd, 2010
Hi Guys,
Yesterday morning we woke up at 5:30am, yes that's right, before sunrise on our vacation - to go swimming with the sharks. The company we booked the tour on took us out on a longtail boat and first thing we got out on the water and not too far away was a big pod of dolphins!! The tour guide had us stop the boat to get in the water with them, and he goes "Oooh I've only seen dolphins a few times, I'm scared!!" To which I said uh oh, we're going swimming with sharks with you and you're scared of dolphins??? ha. They ran off after we stopped the boat though, so didn't get too close. We did however, get very close to some reef sharks - they looked scary but they were fairly harmless, seemed more afraid of us than us of them. We had to swim very quietly (no splashing) and not use our arms (back fins only) to swim, they were only about 3-5feet big, no huge ones. It was fun though, got to see lots of other colorful fish and coral, a few conch shells, razor fish - lots of jellyfish which freaked me out, but come to find out they are the non-stinging type. The guide picked one up and handed it to me b/c I told him they were concerning to me. ha.
In the afternoon we really just relaxed on the beach in the shade of some trees. Took a nap - and then got Thai massages right on the beach - beautiful setting and the massages were wonderful, although slightly more expensive than the last few we've gotten (300baht, or $10). :)
Today we're going to relax this morning and we're going on a snorkeling/kayaking tour this afternoon to Koh Phi Phi Ley, another island not far away - supposed to be some really beautiful caves and beaches. The tour is 1pm through sunset.
A
First Day on Phi Phi - Feb 22, 2010
Hi All,
Yesterday was quite the day of traveling - took a cab to the airport (45mins), then the flight across thailand (1hr), bus to the ferry from the airport (1hr), then the ferry out to the island (2hrs). We finally got here and settled into our bungalow about 5pm. The hotel is great - everything on the island seems to be fairly new since the 2004 tsunami totally devastated the island. They have rebuilt quite a lot though now and hard to tell it was all wiped away except that everything looks pretty nice. The other great thing is that there are no roads on the island, only walking paths, so all the bustling and honking is gone for now!! Yay!!
Last night we walked the ~50 ft from our hotel out to the beach and ate at one of the waterfront restaurants for dinner. Things here are much more expensive than any of the other places, beers are ~$4 and cocktails ~$6, but for a secluded beach island, not too bad still. Then last night we went exploring around the island to check out the other restaurants and happened upon one that was having a beach-front fire dancing show, all you had to do was buy your drinks. So, we bought a few drinks and watched the show, amazing, I even took some videos with my camera so you guys could see.
Today was a totally lazy day. Woke up at 9:30am only because free breakfast at the hotel only goes till 10am. It was great - short order eggs, and a full buffet of other stuff, anything you could want. Then we spent a few hours reading on the beach until we got too hot (rented an umbrella and beach chairs for 100baht/$3) then went to lunch and booked a sharks swimming/snorkeling tour for tomorrow morning. Then laid about the pool reading. I've finished three books so far and working on my 4th - now reading 'The Blind Assasin' chose it b/c M had heard good things and it's 700 pages long, so hopefully this one lasts me the beach and the plane ride home :)
As I mentioned, we are going on a snorkeling tour about a kilometer off shore tomorrow morning at the bright and early hour of 6:15am, because we get to swim with sharks! That's right, no cages, just reef sharks swimming around with us and the guide... hopefully this goes well!!
A
Yesterday was quite the day of traveling - took a cab to the airport (45mins), then the flight across thailand (1hr), bus to the ferry from the airport (1hr), then the ferry out to the island (2hrs). We finally got here and settled into our bungalow about 5pm. The hotel is great - everything on the island seems to be fairly new since the 2004 tsunami totally devastated the island. They have rebuilt quite a lot though now and hard to tell it was all wiped away except that everything looks pretty nice. The other great thing is that there are no roads on the island, only walking paths, so all the bustling and honking is gone for now!! Yay!!
Last night we walked the ~50 ft from our hotel out to the beach and ate at one of the waterfront restaurants for dinner. Things here are much more expensive than any of the other places, beers are ~$4 and cocktails ~$6, but for a secluded beach island, not too bad still. Then last night we went exploring around the island to check out the other restaurants and happened upon one that was having a beach-front fire dancing show, all you had to do was buy your drinks. So, we bought a few drinks and watched the show, amazing, I even took some videos with my camera so you guys could see.
Today was a totally lazy day. Woke up at 9:30am only because free breakfast at the hotel only goes till 10am. It was great - short order eggs, and a full buffet of other stuff, anything you could want. Then we spent a few hours reading on the beach until we got too hot (rented an umbrella and beach chairs for 100baht/$3) then went to lunch and booked a sharks swimming/snorkeling tour for tomorrow morning. Then laid about the pool reading. I've finished three books so far and working on my 4th - now reading 'The Blind Assasin' chose it b/c M had heard good things and it's 700 pages long, so hopefully this one lasts me the beach and the plane ride home :)
As I mentioned, we are going on a snorkeling tour about a kilometer off shore tomorrow morning at the bright and early hour of 6:15am, because we get to swim with sharks! That's right, no cages, just reef sharks swimming around with us and the guide... hopefully this goes well!!
A
Hugging the Tigers - Feb 20th, 2010
Hi All,
Yesterday M and I trudged around sweaty sweltering Bangkok and tried to find all the Temples and Buddha's described in the lonely planet guidebook. It was beautiful, but a bit frustrating of a day as Bangkok is not nearly as well labeled as Vietnam, and in some cases, not labeled at all, or labeled in Thai which is completely incomprehensible to us. At least in Vietnam, even if we couldn't translate we could recognize the signs as they use western symbols for the language. Thai is impossible and there are a lot of people very eager to put you in a tuk tuk and take you "around town" (ie. scam and who knows where/if you will end up). So we tried to sort it out on our own - did decently, but it was a long day. We did, however, end the day with another $8 massage which was decent. We tried to find the Wat Pho school of Thai Massage but were unsuccessful so we just went to one near our hotel. Forgot to mention - Thailand drives on the left side of the road, a surprise to me!
Today was amazing. We went on our tiger temple tour where we had quite a long ride out of Bangkok to the north east province of Kochanburi in a private car (didn't know that when we booked, but nice surprise). Great AC! :) Stopped at a few highway bathrooms that were mostly just holes in the wall; Mom wish you could see these bathrooms! Squat and drip-dry then use some hand sanitizer! There were a lot of people at the Tiger Temple, but the guide we were with put us to the front of the line as she goes there every day and knows everyone, we certainly got VIP treatment. Got to walk with the tiger and pet it, then took pics with the tiger's head in my lap, and got to pose with and sit next to a couple of different ones. The we went to a different part where they had cubs - some a few weeks old (didn't get to touch those) and some about 6-8mos old. Took lots of pics with those, and literally laid down next to one like I was spooning him and took pics with our faces next to each other. Amazing. They were hot but still very friendly and just seemed like big domesticated cats, although of course much more powerful and strong. Quite awesome creatures - can't wait to show you all the pics. I have a ton and sorry, but I'm not editing out ANY of these :)
We went on to stop at the side of the road where she knew there were monkeys and we fed them peanuts and water straight out of the water bottle, it was really cute. They are friendly and you can see the expressions on their face. She told us only thing we need to be careful not to tease - if you hold out food, let them take it or they will get angry. Scary!!!
Then we went on to go on an Elephant ride - kind of a circus atmosphere at this place, but the ride was quite long - they had carts tied to the top of the elephant and a local that rode on it's neck as a "driver" but halfway through, he got off the elephant and made me get up on it's head to "drive" and take pics, etc. Then he directed me to step on his head to get back up on the cart and let M drive for a bit. I didn't fall off or drop my shoe!!!
Just had another long ride back to the city - going to have a nice dinner, maybe do some souvenir shopping (any requests??) and then have an early start tomorrow - 8:30am flight to Phuket, where we will immediately take a ferry over to Koh Phi Phi and check in for the final leg of our trip. I was commenting to M today that we've been travelling for 2 weeks now and with everything that has happened to us, it feels like a LOT longer.
A
Yesterday M and I trudged around sweaty sweltering Bangkok and tried to find all the Temples and Buddha's described in the lonely planet guidebook. It was beautiful, but a bit frustrating of a day as Bangkok is not nearly as well labeled as Vietnam, and in some cases, not labeled at all, or labeled in Thai which is completely incomprehensible to us. At least in Vietnam, even if we couldn't translate we could recognize the signs as they use western symbols for the language. Thai is impossible and there are a lot of people very eager to put you in a tuk tuk and take you "around town" (ie. scam and who knows where/if you will end up). So we tried to sort it out on our own - did decently, but it was a long day. We did, however, end the day with another $8 massage which was decent. We tried to find the Wat Pho school of Thai Massage but were unsuccessful so we just went to one near our hotel. Forgot to mention - Thailand drives on the left side of the road, a surprise to me!
Today was amazing. We went on our tiger temple tour where we had quite a long ride out of Bangkok to the north east province of Kochanburi in a private car (didn't know that when we booked, but nice surprise). Great AC! :) Stopped at a few highway bathrooms that were mostly just holes in the wall; Mom wish you could see these bathrooms! Squat and drip-dry then use some hand sanitizer! There were a lot of people at the Tiger Temple, but the guide we were with put us to the front of the line as she goes there every day and knows everyone, we certainly got VIP treatment. Got to walk with the tiger and pet it, then took pics with the tiger's head in my lap, and got to pose with and sit next to a couple of different ones. The we went to a different part where they had cubs - some a few weeks old (didn't get to touch those) and some about 6-8mos old. Took lots of pics with those, and literally laid down next to one like I was spooning him and took pics with our faces next to each other. Amazing. They were hot but still very friendly and just seemed like big domesticated cats, although of course much more powerful and strong. Quite awesome creatures - can't wait to show you all the pics. I have a ton and sorry, but I'm not editing out ANY of these :)
We went on to stop at the side of the road where she knew there were monkeys and we fed them peanuts and water straight out of the water bottle, it was really cute. They are friendly and you can see the expressions on their face. She told us only thing we need to be careful not to tease - if you hold out food, let them take it or they will get angry. Scary!!!
Then we went on to go on an Elephant ride - kind of a circus atmosphere at this place, but the ride was quite long - they had carts tied to the top of the elephant and a local that rode on it's neck as a "driver" but halfway through, he got off the elephant and made me get up on it's head to "drive" and take pics, etc. Then he directed me to step on his head to get back up on the cart and let M drive for a bit. I didn't fall off or drop my shoe!!!
Just had another long ride back to the city - going to have a nice dinner, maybe do some souvenir shopping (any requests??) and then have an early start tomorrow - 8:30am flight to Phuket, where we will immediately take a ferry over to Koh Phi Phi and check in for the final leg of our trip. I was commenting to M today that we've been travelling for 2 weeks now and with everything that has happened to us, it feels like a LOT longer.
A
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)