2 May 2009
Home with family
I have a week with family in my hometown Kuching. There’s nothing much to report but the eating seems to be the thing to do. We also took a look around the city and noticed some new buildings in addition to the familiar.
24 September 2008
Resistance is futile
Not a bed of roses Today, Mike and I travelled from Bukittinggi to Padang together and stayed at the same hotel. Text continues after this gallery. While looking for lunch we met Ricky (a Chinese Indonesian who works for the maker of the famous Kopiko sweet found around the world). He was absolutely […]
23 September 2008
Forty-four hairpin turns
Above: Today’s ride was about 32km in each direction and included 44 Hairpin turns each way! 44 Hairpins Down and 44 Hairpins Up Today Mike and I with our drivers headed to Lake Maninjau about 32km away. It is a volcanic crater lake and from the top of the rim looking down, we had to […]
22 September 2008
Matriachal homeland
Above: Approximate route for the day. Highland on two wheels I hired a motorcycle and driver for the day to take me around to various Minangkabau cultural sights, especially the beautiful architecture set amongst the green countryside. Travelling with me was a 21 year old English student Mike and his driver. Strangely he’s studying English […]
21 September 2008
The home of Rendang
“Maiden” flight I woke at 0430 in order to make my 0750 flight to Padang comfortably. While checking-in, I checked out my fellow passengers. It was largely a a maid-and-worker flight. There were a few couples helping their maids with the process eg. making sure they weren’t pinged with baggage charges unnecessarily. It felt good […]
20 September 2008
Sponsored in KL
Above: Stations on the KL monorail have sponsored names. My hotel is at “Medan Tuanku MAA Assurance” My AirAsia flight from Vientiane to Kuala Lumpur departed at 1110 today. Landing at 1445 I bused and monorailed to my overnight at the cheapie Tune Hotel before flying off on another AirAsia super-cheap flight tomorrow bright and […]
19 September 2008
Bye bye Laos
I spent my last evening in Laos beside the Mekong with Lao Beer and watch the sun set … only to be interrupted by: Women selling dried squid which they would warm over the coals for you (yummy with beer), and The tap-tap-tap of spoons against semi-hatched eggs by the young couple sitting opposite me. […]
18 September 2008
Amongst the rice paddies
I hired a bike to explore the surrounding countryside today. The cheapest bike was a girly bike with a big comfy soft seat, a useful basket and a pillion seat. It was more comfortable than the mountain bike I hired in China. At night most restaurants play DVDs of Friends (or Family Guy, Simpsons) while their […]
17 September 2008
I painted the bus
This morning I left Luang Prabang by bus for Vang Vieng. The 6 hour journey was very windy and the bus crawled at seemingly cycling speed for much of the time. I felt chucky as I had taken my motion-sickness pills a bit too late to be effective … and they may been past their […]
16 September 2008
A spiritual morning
This morning I woke at 5am in order to see the monks “collect their alms” (I have forgotten this term since school … I was thinking “beg for food”). Residents line up by the roadside to give monks food … typically they roll balls of rice to deposit into the monks pots as they file […]