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2/3/03 -- Testing... |
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This is a test of the Trekshare travelogue web-publishing medium. Please do not be alarmed. This is only a test.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
This is a test of the Trekshare travelogue web-publishing medium. If this had been a real travelogue, the above symbolic representation of an annoying audio tone would instead have been replaced by |
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2/10/03 -- Thoughts, one week beforehand |
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OK, so here's my first attempt at writing something real in this online diary/travelogue system.
To start with, I can now say that in retrospect, cancelling my December LSAT was probably a smart move. I took the test again this morning, and I felt much more comfortable coming out of it. Part |
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2/16/03 And the countdown begins... |
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Life has been pretty full for the last few days. Last Tuesday night, my roommates threw a goodbye party and fun was had by all. A few selected pictures are on this site. Aaron and David -- I was going to post the photo of you guys, but then I |
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2/18/03 And Blizzard makes disaster |
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This is how it was supposed to happen:
Feb 16: Go to the wedding.
Feb 17: See my sister's concert
Feb 18: Fly to LA in morning & fly from LA to Auckland at night.
A few hours before the wedding, I get a call from DC...it seems that the entire area |
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2/19/03 Staying awake in LA |
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My ATA flight left Chicago on time.
Chicago had no snow whatsoever. It was amazing. All the flights from 8:00A on were completely booked solid as a result of northeasterners trying to get through on the first flight out. But the 6:45A was so empty that everybody on the airplane had an |
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2/20/03 Hello? Any date there? |
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I'd write a travelogue for this date, but I can't seem to find it. Is it possible I left it at the international date line? Does my insurance cover missing days?
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2/21/03 Adjusting to NZ |
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I sat next to a lovely British couple on the plane over, who are renting a campervan and taking it around the NZ. Imagine my surprise when my special meal request came, and I realized it had been shipped to LA from Maspeth, Long Island! As can be imagined, the food |
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2/22/03 Shabbat in Auckland |
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Friday night, I got to shul and asked the local Rabbi if I he knew of anybody with an extra place at his table. I instantly got an invitation.
This is one of the things I love about travel. It's a chance to experience other communities, trade ideas, and learn about how |
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2/26/03 I think I may need a new pair of legs |
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OK, I suspect that by tomorrow morning my legs are going to feel like they are going to fall off. Auckland isn't exactly a city meant for walking, but that was how I got around there. So after that incredibly hilly place, my legs were already a little sore. But, I |
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2/23/03 Longs walks in a city not meant for walking |
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So, I wanted to see Auckland.
The problem is that Auckland doesn't have much to see.
Don't get me wrong; it's a great city with incredibly friendly people, a nice temperate climate, and a laid back atmosphere, but there's not much for a tourist to do while trying to be a tourist. B7 |
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3/01/03 And the winner is... |
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Flying into Auckland, I'd gotten the idea that there was a bit of a rivalry between Auckland and Wellington. The guy who drove me from the airport to my hostel in Auckland chuckled when I asked him what he thought of Wellington. He chuckled and indicated that he didn't think much |
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3/02/03 (Sea) Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh my! |
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I still didn't have a hostel booked for Dunedin. And my van to the airport showed up at 6:05A. I left plenty of time for the flight, and got there by 6:30A for my 7:25A flight from Wellington - Dunedin.
The check-in girl was a cute, cheerful person who was all too |
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3/06/03 Queenstown! |
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Queenstown!
A beautiful little town on the shores of lake Wakatipu, surrounded by mountains.
Queenstown!
A place where just about every tourist in New Zealand must eventually visit, or they haven't experienced New Zealand!
Queenstown!
The only city in NZ which B7 told me to spend more than one day!
Queenstown!
A city (town, actually) with a deep, |
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3/03/03 Bottom Bus Day #1: Moseying through Catlins |
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Pick-up was 7:50A for my Bottom Bus trip to The Catlins. This is basically the remote area from Nugget Point south of Dunedin to the are to the east of Invercargill. We stopped at a few scenic points to see sea lions and some natural features of the land. There's not |
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3/04/03 Bottom Bus Day #2: Change in scenery |
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I though the Catlins were OK. I mean, I'd heard from quite a few people Do the Bottom Bus, but in the end, they were just cool rolling green hills with lots of sheep and a number of craggy cliffs into the cold treacherous sea.
Moving from Riverton to Te Anau, the |
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3/05/03 Bottom Bus/Kiwi Exp Day #3: Milford Sound is GORGEOUS! |
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There's really very little way I can possibly sum up this day. My photos can't possibly do it justice because you'd need a panoramic high-resolution video with sound, smell, and touch to really understand it.
To the west of lake Te Anau is Fiordland, a national park and protected World Heritage area |
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3/08/03 What it's like being here #1: Who else is here? |
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After a little over two weeks of travel, there's a couple things you begin to notice, so here's my attempt to summarize them in the semi-exhausted state I'm in at the moment.
The backpacker buses I've been on so far (Magic for the North Island, Bottom Bus for Dunedin - Te Anau, |
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3/09/03 Adventures in Puzzle-land |
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6:00A wake-up this morning for a 7:05A bus to Wanaka. Last night, I distinctly remember securing my glasses to one of the straps on my backpack before going to bed. So, after moving all of my stuff out of the dormitory room, I suddenly realized that I couldn't see well...and there |
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2/24/03 Magic Bus Day #1: Auckland - Rotorua |
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I'm writing this almost 2 weeks later, because I finally need to fill in the blanks here...
Magic Bus picked up at my hostel, and (surprise!) an American named Dabney from LA was waiting with me outside the place.
Our driver was Rob, who proceeded to take us to the Waitomo caves. These |
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2/25/03 Magic Bus #2 |
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Again, writing this 2 weeks later...
If I could do things over again, I probably would have spent an extra day in Rotorua. Unfortunately, you need to book 24 hours ahead with Magic, and I want to do the Tongariro Crossing and be in Wellington by Friday.
We did a quick hike through |
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3/10/03 swimming (yes, SWIMMING) in a class-3 river |
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I planned on going kayaking this afternoon, so I asked Adele (the Welsh manager of my hostel) for some suggestions for the morning. She recommended that I climb Mount Iron. So, I walked out there, and climbed the 250 meter (about 850 feet) mountain in 30 minutes, despite the sign saying |
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2/27/03 Magic Bus Day #3: Driving Turangi - Wellington |
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Our driver for the day was a guy who called himself Monkey with a bunch of toy monkeys hanging around the bus. He also had red horns made from his hair and sticking up in a ridge. Well, I guess it takes all types.
Today was basically a driving day from Turangi |
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3/12/03 It's a big dirty melting ice cube! |
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I've been meaning to mention here that NZ has a much more temperate climate than back home. So there. I've mentioned it. Basically, this means that there are few extremes; it's usually in the high 60s/low 70s during the day and high 50s/low 60s at night. Wherever you are. South Island |
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3/15/03 The most English city in the southern hemisphere |
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So!
Thursday, 3/13/03, was basically an 11-hour travelling day. I had the option of going by bus from Fox to either Greymouth or Hokitika for another bus to Christchurch or by train from Greymouth. The bus was NZ$60 for the whole thing, while a bus/train combo would have been about NZ$100 and |
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3/16/03 Departure from NZ & Summary |
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Woke up this morning, and this is definitely not allergies, it's a cold. Yesterday, it knocked me out partway through the day, this time around, I really want to take a last stab at Christchurch before leaving.
I wandered to the Christchurch Botanic Garden. This is something which I really haven't seen |
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3/17/03 It's a dump. So what? |
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All the hostels in NZ that I visited seemed to have a basic minimum of standards. Even the low-end ones were usually clean, with made beds, and a nice look.
Knowing that I wouldn't get out of the airport until after 7:30P, I opened my guidebook and randomly picked a place called |
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3/22/03 Shabbat in Adelaide |
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Wayward Bus got in shortly before Shabbat last night, so I made a hasty goodbye to all the people on the trip, got myself a room, and ran outside to grab a taxi to the suburb of Glenside. It didn't help matters that I had no idea where Glenside was or |
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3/23/03 So, it's a city. |
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OK, so Adelaide is kind of a cute place.
The actual city of Adelaide is a small are about a mile square surrounded by parklands. The suburbs lie outside the parklands and are where most people actually live. The entire area has about one million people, making it the largest city in |
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3/25/03 Wayward Bus OTR #2: Fly, fly away! fly away from me! |
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First, a word about the flies.
In Melbourne, I decided that flies in Australia were certainly one of the more annoying breeds, that knew how to annoy just a little longer than your average housefly.
On my Wayward Bus trip from Melbourne to Adelaide, I found that the flies were perhaps a little |
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3/27/03 So what about Alice? |
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A late start this morning. It's really weird that even though I want to pack every moment full of activities, real life does intrude occasionally and you need to spend time planning your next few steps.
First was checking with Qantas about internal flights. I got the last flight priced at AU$330 |
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3/28/03 Wayward Bus JTC Day #0.5 |
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Wayward picked me up at my hostel at 6:30A as promised. Regina, Jill, and Graham were on the tour and I think they were a little surprised to see me since I wasn't supposed to start the tour until Sunday.
The driver was Reg, who seemed a little confused about why he |
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3/30/03 Wayward Bus JTC Day #1: King's Canyon |
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OK, I'm trying to catch up on quite a few travelogues here after writing something like a 10-page story for the past 2 days (not on this site, you'll have to e-mail me if you want it), so here goes...
Yomi and I stood on the dirt road, and when I saw |
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3/31/03 Wayward Bus JTC #2: King's Canyon & Uluru |
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We were supposed to wake up at 5:00A to watch the sunrise. The deal was that only lunch was to be eaten with the flies, Dinner and breakfast were fly-free meals in the dark.
Well, we were supposed to. I didn't bother setting my alarm, just because.
So, at around 5:45A I kind |
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4/02/03 Wayward Bus JTC Day #3.5: Goodbye & Alice |
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Loooong bus ride back to Alice.
The morning started with 5-minute camel rides for each of us on camels at Curtin Springs. I'd done this before in Eilat (and for a longer ride), but these camels had saddles which allowed you to hang one leg down on each side instead of looping |
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4/03/03 Good riddance to the flies |
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The flies in Alice Springs are nowhere near as bad as much of the rest of the Outback, but you still need to have your hand in constant motion swatting to your right and left or else they *will* land on your face. On the bright side, the constant buzzing that |
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4/05/03 Exploring Darwin and some interesting characters |
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Just a bit of explanation about where I've been.
New Zealand sits between 33 and 47 degrees south. Auckland is at 36 degrees south and has a sub-tropical climate. Most of the edge of the country is temperate with few extremes in temperature. Obviously, the mountains can get snow, and can be |
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4/06/03 Whew! it's HUMID here! |
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OK, so yesterday, I was wandering around Darwin during the hottest part of the day, and after about six hours I was exhausted. The humidity *does* get to you after a while, and you want to gulp water constantly.
So, what did I accomplish today?
There's a place called Aquascene near Doctor's Gully |
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4/10/03 Four-day Top-End camping trip |
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Instead of giving a day-by-day description of this part of the trip, I'm just going to summarize it in one travelogue.
I did a 4-day tour of Northern Territory's Top End with a company called Wilderness 4WD Adventures. The tour itself was good and the locations visited were incredible, but I didn't |
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4/12/03 Farewell to the Stuart Highway |
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The Stuart Highway runs about 3000 km from Adelaide up to Darwin through the center of Australia. I've spent the past month seeing the sights around it. Here, then, is the end of this part of my trip. Quick summary:
1) North Island New Zealand
2) South Island New Zealand
3) Melbourne - Adelaide |
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4/13/03 Long day travelling |
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5:00A bus to Darwin airport
6:20A - 8:20A plane to Alice Springs
11:20A - 2:20P plane to Melbourne - 30 minute time zone change.
In Alice Springs, I saw 2 Lubavitch guys getting off the plane coming in from Melbourne that I was about to get on. Hmmm...looks like they're making a seder in |
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3/18/03 Purim in Melbourne |
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I'm writing this quite a bit later (almost 1 month), so here goes my attempt at long-term memory...
Feeling a little dehydrated, I went back to the hostel (which was a complete bug-infested dump) and tried to catch some shut-eye. In the process, I got more comments about how could I not |
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4/15/03 Preparing for Pesach and seeing some of Melbourne |
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When my plane landed in Melbourne on Sunday night, I got my first dose of real rain since either Port Fairy or Bridgeport (can't remember which) east of Adelaide. Yes. I saw the smallest amount of light drizzle in Darwin (barely enough to call a drizzle, since the sun never went |
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4/16/03 More Ned Kelly |
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You know, for a city with a climate similar to Washington, D.C. (though maybe a bit warmer in winter since it never snows here), Melbourne does look a bit strange. Somebody planted these huge palm trees all over the place, trying to make it look like a tropical city. When I |
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4/20/03 Big big BIG city |
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So, what's there to say about Pesach?
Well, I found myself a family to spend the holiday with, who were extremely gracious to welcome an almost-complete-stranger into their home for 4 days. The sedarim were rather quiet, in that it was basically just me + the family and their son who was |
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4/21/03 An Australian-style museum: some differences |
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So, today was the day for me to tackle the Melbourne Museum. I will say that the biggest disappointment/annoyance of this particular museum is its cost: AU$15 for basic entrance, AU$18 for a combo ticket including a special exhibit on life on Mars. Most other museums here have either been much |
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4/26/03 Anzac Day + end of Passover |
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The day before the last days of Pesach was spent going to the National Gallery of Victoria in the brand-spanking-new Federation Square. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed in the art galleries, but I will say that this was one of the best exhibits I've seen thus far showcasing modern aboriginal art. |
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4/27/03 Last day in Melbourne |
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My last day in Melbourne was basically a day taking care of final business and seeing a few final parts of the city. The morning included some shopping for things I needed while away from civilization for a while (Cairns is a tourist trap, not a city). Yomi and I got |
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5/02/03 Mixed results from a dive course |
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At this point, I have about 2 weeks worth of journal writing to catch up on, so anything I'm writing from this point until mid-May will be a little rushed while I just try to get things written down before heading into SE Asia.
I did my 5-day dive course on the |
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5/06/03 Uncle Brian's Fun Falls & Forest |
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So, today I took a day-tour called Uncle Brian's Fun, Falls, and Forest. It came highly recommended by my roomie's friend who had been here a few years ago.
I'll definitely say that this wasn't a trip for everybody, but if you don't mind something a little, well, trippy, then this one's |
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5/07/03 A day in Brisbane |
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Not much to report for the day...early-morning flight out of Cairns into Brisbane. Brisbane is not as humid, and the temperature hits about 20 degrees. Unlike other cities I've seen so far, Brisbane has a rail link to get into the city...nice and convenient, especially since my hostel was across the |
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5/08/03 Rob's Rainforest Explorer |
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There's really not much to do in Brisbane. The main reason I came here was to see Fraser Island, which I'm not doing until next week. So, I figured it was worth taking a day to see the subtropical rainforest around Brisbane.
Brisbane is at a similar latitude to Eilat (just a |
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5/10/03 Shabbat in Brisbane |
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Friday -- walking through Brisbane to see the clock tower. Not a very spectacular monument, mainly because the view is blocked by the huge high-rise buildings all around it!
Walk across a pedestrian bridge to the south side of the river and then through a walking path. There's a manmade beach here, |
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5/19/03 SE Asia, here I come! |
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I got to Sydney's airport with plenty of time to spare.
Pet Peeve noticed along the way: You're a shop. You sell postcards. So, why on earth does it not occur to you to sell something as basic as STAMPS to go with the postcards? That's right, Sydney airport has not a |
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5/20/03 Wandering through the city |
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So, I've come to the conclusion that KL is basically a first world city. Now, there are a few minor differences, but for the most part this is just another modern city.
Minor differences: 1) I've been getting mixed reports about whether or not the tap water is safe to drink, so |
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5/21/03 Portuguese, Dutch, British or Malay? |
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I'm up by 6:30A to catch a 7:30A bus to Melaka (or Malacca, depending on your spelling). The main bus station is around the corner from my guest house (lucky choice). Inside, is a collection of noodle shops and tiny convenience stores. And a Dunkin Donuts. Now, each of the 20 |
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5/23/03 Tea plantations and cool(er) weather |
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I wake up at 7:30A so that I have plenty of time to collect my things, check out, and make my way to the bus terminal around the corner.
I walk into the bus terminal and go to the area with the ticket windows, where I try to decipher the list of |
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5/26/03 Penang -- Chinese with a hidden Jewish past? |
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Last day in the Cameron Highlands was spent walking jungle walk #9A. In retrospect, this may have been a mistake. I had been told by a previous group of hikers that the trek was well-maintained, obvious, and full of other people. It was none of the above with the possible exception |
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5/27/03 Kek Lok Si & Phuket |
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Overslept my alarm this morning for the first time since Darwin...only by a half hour until 7:30A, but it still meant a bit of a rush in packing before my flight this afternoon.
Breakfast was something called Jawa Mee which was a noodle soup with a yam base, probably of Indonesian flavors. |
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5/28/03 So, it's a pretty beachfront |
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I got up early this morning so I could at least claim to have seen Phuket's Ao Patong beach in daylight and without being hassled by prostitutes. So, at 7:00A, I took a wander down to the beachfront.
Let's just say that I'm glad I'm only spending about 12 hours on Phuket. |
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5/29/03 Tour of Ko Samui |
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So, my original plan had been to see the national marine park to the west of Ko Samui today, and do some snorkeling on one of the islands to the north before heading up to Bangkok.
The day actually started right. Pick up at my guest house at 7:30A. At the pier |
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5/31/03 boat ride + intro to bangkok |
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First a rant on internet places.
Finding a simple place to check and send e-mail is stupidly simple. They're all over the place.
The big problem is that for uploading these trip reports, I need to find cafes that (a) have a fast connection and (b) have Windows XP when I want to |
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6/01/03 Sorry! Buddhist holiday! Palace Closed! |
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Sorry! Buddhist holiday! Sunday! Palace closed!
Yeah, right.
I was somewhat surprised that somebody actually tried to pull that scam on me. See, I tend to do my homework before heading into an area, and Bangkok was no exception. The reason this scam works is because the scam artists try and take advantage |
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6/03/03 On wheels around a big overgrown country town |
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The 2-hour train ride from Bangkok to Ayuthaya costs all of B15 (US$0.40) for a 3rd class seat. 3rd class basically means a schoolbus style seat, but the train is almost empty.
I get off the train, and of course tuk-tuk drivers are scrambling over me for my business. Where you |
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6/04/03 What Wat's What? |
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The train ride to Lopburi is only an hour, in 3rd class again, for something like 10 Baht. Seriously cheap stuff.
Basically, What's here (Wats here?) is Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, across from the train station; Phra Narai Ratchanivet, a palace complex which was restored by Rama IV in 1856 (you |
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6/07/03 Chaing Mai & Shavuot |
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Overnight 2nd class to Chiang Mai. Only B340 (US$8). Well, let's just say that a 2nd class sleeper wasn't exactly what I expected. JP had given me a warning, but 2nd class is basically a train car fitted like a dormitory with a bunch of hard beds with thin sheets pulled |
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6/10/03 Life in the slow lane of NW Thailand |
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Not-so-early-morning pick-up of 9:30A at my guesthouse.
Our transportation (basically a pick-up truck with a roof and two side-facing bench seats) was so full that the one passenger and both guides needed to literally stand on the outside of the back of the truck with their hair flapping in the wind. There |
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6/11/03 ...and to the border |
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Not much to report. Spent the morning doing some quick shopping in Chiang Mai for supplies, then caught a 6 hour bus to the border with Laos at Chiang Khong. Most of the people on the bus are American. Weird. Chiang Khong is a pretty empty place, with just a few |
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6/13/03 (finished) And it's a slooooooow boat down the Mekong |
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So, this is how my guidebook (The Rough Guide to SE Asia) describes the slow boat journey from Huay Xai to Luang Phabang via Pakbeng:
Despite the general lack of comfort, most travellers agree that the two-day journey by slow boat to the old royal capital is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences...
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6/16/03 (finished) A most laid-back friendly city |
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I'll preface this by saying that I've discovered that it's really hard to feel that you're in the 3rd world as a western traveller. As long as you don't get too far off the beaten track, you'll be able to find most of the amenities of home (for a price, occasionally). |
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6/18/03 Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! |
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First, nobody should expect any more photo postings until I get back. Unfortunately, I'm probably not going to see another internet connection fast enough until I get to New York. On top of that, internet connections in Laos have been pretty bad. While there are internet cafes everywhere, they're all not |
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City or village? |
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I took the local bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane at 5:30A. Being a local bus, there was no air conditioning, and people basically piled in wherever they could find a seat. One woman expressed some interest in sitting on my head pillow, but I declined, and she seemed offended enough |
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6/22/03 Back in a real city |
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The night bus from Vientiane to Bangkok was OK, I guess with large reclining seats. It would have been nicer if people boarded all at once rather than getting the westeners at the border and then stocking up with locals all along the way.
So, how do you driver from a right-hand-drive |
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phnom |
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Arrival in Phnom Penh's international airport was nothing special...it's just a medium-sized airport with very few facilities, including no pay phones. In fact, when I landed at around 7:30P, I was informed that the long-distance phone kiosk had already closed for the day. Weird.
Got to the Capitol Guest House rather quickly. |
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