In Search of Open Spaces (Val)

To date, our journey has brought us to big cities, beautiful coast lines, mountains, and small villages. Although we both appreciate the history, culture, and architecture in the big cities, we find ourselves mostly attracted to open spaces and high places just like we do at home.

In Bangkok (population 14.5 million) our favorite place was Lampini Park - a large green oasis in the heart of the city with lakes, jogging paths, etc. much like Central Park in NYC.

View across the lake in Lampini Park in Bangkok

Some fun exercise equipment in the park

Another view of Bangkok from Lampini Park

In Kuala Lumpur (population 7.2 million) our favorite place was KLCC - again, a large green oasis in the heart of the city with incredible views of the KL skyline and Petronas Towers (now the third highest buildings in the world)

An unusual tree in KLCC park

KLCC park was a hub of activity for joggers and others seeking a bit of solace from city life

Enjoying our visit to Kuala Lumpur

A view of Petronas Towers (3rd tallest buildings in the world as of the time of this blog)

In Singapore (population 5.2 million) our favorite place was the Botanical Gardens which were among the most beautiful we have ever seen although we also appreciated the views from high places.

View of Singapore from the top of Swiss Hotel, Stamford

A quiet place in the Botanical Gardens in Singapore

Brenda looking lovely in the Orchid Gardens in Singapore

So many beautiful Orchids

One of our favorite spots in the botanical gardens in Singapore.  We learned that Singapore sets just 70 miles away from the Equator which explains the tropical beauty (and the sweltering heat)

Night time view of Singapore and Sky Park from the top of the Singapore Flyer (claimed to be worlds largest ferris wheel)

Again in Athens (population 3.1 million) we have found our favorite places to be the open spaces around the city. Although we have certainly appreciated the history and atmosphere around the Acropolis and the Plaka, our favorite places have been Filopappos Hill and Lykavittos Hill which are a couple of the highest places in the city with breathtaking views of Piraeus Bay, the Acropolis, and the enormous city.

Just this morning I went for my morning run in Lykavittos Park and ran to the top of the hill (equivalent to about 1/3 of the Manitou Incline) and, for a few minutes, enjoyed being the only person at the summit overlooking the Parthenon on the Acropolis and watching the city below come to life.

Lykavittos Hill is the mountain in the background behind the Acropolis.  Our Athens host lived at the base of Lykavittos so we were able to enjoy climbing to the top of the hill where we had awesome views of the city.

So there you have it, we are country folks in the big city! We have done pretty good navigating public transit systems and keeping our bearings as we walk around these strange cities but we continually find ourselves seeking peace and tranquility and, most definitely, high places.

The view from the top of Lykavittos Hill

Looking from Philopappos Park open space towards the Acropolis.  Athens has preserved many open spaces around the city for all to enjoy.

We found ourselves in places like this more than the city below

Yet another view from Lykavittos in Athens

What Can We Fit Into 18 Hours? Part II

Since we only had a day in Singapore, we wanted to make every moment count.  So, we were up early, had a small breakfast at the hostel, stowed our bags in the lobby and headed out.  The day was sunny, hot and - you guessed it - humid.  Singapore has the highest density of any city in the world - 19,000 people per square kilometer. And I think most of them were out that day, traveling to work, walking the streets, driving in the crazy traffic. Even with all those people, it's a clean city and seemed to be well-organized and well-run.  There are cameras everywhere and lots of rules and regulations accompanied by the disclaimer that if you don't follow this rule, there will be severe consequences.  I might be being overly dramatic, traumatized by my first run-in with the immigration officers :).

One thing we noticed is how expensive Singapore is compared to how inexpensive Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, to a lesser degree, was. And how geographically close those countries are. We're thinking we might have gotten spoiled with the inexpensive pricing for food and lodging and our budget might need to stretch as we get to Greece and Spain and the weak dollar against the euro. 

Armed with a map and a camera - yes, we looked a little like tourists - we spent the next 12 hours touring the city on foot and by train. We visited the Botanical Gardens which were absolutely beautiful.  As always, we promise pics when we can post them again.  Within the Botanical Gardens was the National Orchid Garden which, if you can imagine, had every kind of orchid I'd ever seen and many I've never seen. Colors, aromas everywhere. Sometimes walking along, we got a whiff of some perfume and just stood there for a second enjoying it.

Another highlight of the day was the Singapore Flyer, the largest "Ferris Wheel" in the world. To call it a ferris wheel, though, doesn't do it justice. In fact, they call it an observation ride because instead of the usual open seat you'd find on a typical ferris wheel, here about 10 of us stepped into a gondola-like car that moved slowly around so that we had a 360 degree view of the city.  From this vantage point we were able to see the Sky Park at the top of Marina Bay Sands hotel. The sky park spans the length of three buildings and is shaped a bit like a cruise ship. It sits a top these three buildings - an oasis of green, over 75 floors up in the air. We timed the ride on the Singapore Flyer to be able to see the city lights in the dark and so got off the ride about 8:30.

And after that amazing ride, we high tailed it back to the hostel to pick up our bags and make our way to the airport for our 2:00 AM flight to first Doha, Katar (a small middle eastern country just east of Saudi Arabia) and then a connecting flight to Athens.  We enjoyed our time and now are ready for the second leg of our trip: Greece, here we come!

What Can We Fit Into 18 hours?, Part I

Our Singapore experiences started with a bus ride from KL.  For about $12.00 each, we bought tickets on what turned out to be a nice, comfortable bus where we kicked back, read, napped and relaxed for the five-hour ride.  We made a few stops where we managed to spend the last of our Malaysian ringgits on fruit, Mentos and chocolate :)  Two nice guys behind us helped to navigate the stops we made at the Singapore border.  We had to take our luggage through customs and then reboard the bus.  As we were waiting to reboard, Val took a few pictures of the Immigration building and then left to talk with the two guys about transportation once we got to our destination.  He left the camera with me.  A few minutes later, two uniformed men approached me and asked if I was taking pictures because that wasn't allowed.  They asked to see my passport and made a call.  Presumably to the office who monitors the activities of suspicious characters masquerading as clueless Western tourists.  Meanwhile, Val is now wondering what's going on and the bus driver is telling us we have to go - or at least I think that's what his flurry of words and the scowl on his face meant.  Turns out we didn't get hauled away, they just made us delete the two pictures while the entire bus watched the show. Darn tourists.

We had an address to the restaurant so we splurged and took a taxi once we got off the bus.  We were going to have dinner and ask couchsurfers for a good, inexpensive place to stay one night, but we were a bit early so we decided to find a place before dinner.  We were lucky to get two beds in a six-person room all to ourselves.  AC, free breakfast, all for only $48.00 - we felt like royalty!  The two other hotels we checked out were $300.00 (the one the guy in Phuket suggested) and $500.00/night so we felt pretty good about where we ended up.

This group of people were just as interesting and welcoming as the group the night before in KL.  We spent the evening sharing travel stories and learning about our different countries.  I left about 10:00 and went back to the hostel.  Val stayed another hour or so to chat.  A great way to start our visit in Singapore!

"What Can We Fit Into 18 Hours? Part II" next . . .  

If It's Monday, It Must Be Athens

Don't ask me what day it is.  Well, I think it's Monday.  Yes, it's Monday, March 26.  I know this because our host just left for work - poor thing - but it took a bit to work out the exact date.  We always set an alarm so we don't sleep too late but now that we don't have to get up and out to exercise before the crack of dawn to escape the heat, our last few mornings have been more relaxed.  Athens is about 30 degrees cooler and far less humid than Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore.

Since we last posted, we've spent three days in Kuala Lumpur (that's KL to locals), an evening and a full day in Singapore and two days in Athens.  We leave tomorrow late afternoon for five days on the island of Crete and two on Santorini.

For many reasons, our time is KL was a highlight of our trip so far.  Our host, Eric (that's his Christian name; he converted to Christianity many years ago and even thugh he says he's now a free thinker rather than a Christian or Buddhist, he still uses his Christian name when with Westerners or his Christian friends.  His given name is Lim Young Fock), was very generous with his time and helped make navigating around and experiencing the culture and sights of KL so easy.  He even told us which train to take from the airport to a meeting point and then picked us up from that train station.

Where we stayed in KL 

We spent hours talking about the history of Malaysia, how the Chinese, Indians and Muslims influenced the Malays and his ideas for a more collaborative and sustainable future.  Interesting ideas about "collaborative consumption" vs "conspicuous consumption."  Check out the book, "What's Mine Is Yours" - I started reading it while I was there and plan to finish it when we get home.

On our second day there, we left the apartment about 11:30 AM and didn't return until after midnight.  First, Eric took us to one of his favorite Chinese cafes to grab some lunch.  Then we took the train down to the city center and for the next six hours Eric took us on a walking tour of his city.  I say "walking" - it was more of a slow jog.  I'm kidding, but only slightly - that 65-year old man showed us young whippersnappers a thing or two about being in shape :)

He also showed us where the two rivers in the center of the city came together and how KL got its name.  We went to a museum which helped us learn the history of Malaysia and KL so that everything else we saw for the rest of the day had meaning.  We went to Petronas Towers - amazing, google it!  We spent time in a beautiful park, doing a few laps around the jogging track because we just didn't walk enough that day!

Eric and I at one of his favorite Chinese eateries.

I was amazed at the sheer amount of laundry hanging out to dry - almost every window on every floor had something hanging from the balcony railings.

A typical temple, built by a family to honor their relatives.

We wandered into a shop that sold only teas and such.  This woman brewed tea for us and explained the ritual and art behind it. After 45 minutes and five "rounds" of pouring, we thanked her and left.  Who knew there was so much to the brewing and pouring of tea? 

Little India

Petronas Towers

Dancing in the park

To give you an idea of the rich cultural fabric of the city, during the course of the day we had Malay, Chinese and Indian food and ended the night at an Irish pub!  For dinner that night, we met about 30-35 other couchsurfing members from all over the world at their weekly KL couchsurfing meeting - that's where we had the delicious Indian food.  These gatherings are posted on the website and if you're in the area you're welcome to stop in.  We met other hosts, people who were traveling and people who weren't able to host but who just liked the fellowship of the group.  I sat next to Kyle, a guy traveling and working in KL who was from . . . Boulder!  Small world.  After dinner, we walked a few blocks to an Irish pub where I managed not to fall asleep in my beer.

At dinner, we learned of a couchsurfer gathering in Singapore the next night.  So, after a five-hour bus ride from KL to Singapore, we found a backpackers hostel a few blocks from the restaurant, checked in and headed to dinner.  More about our Singapore experiences later - we're off to the Acropolis!

Last Day In Thailand

The first leg of our trip, Thailand, is about ready to end. We leave tomorrow morning about 7:00 for the Phuket airport. For $750 Bahts, a taxi will pick us up from our hotel and drive us the 90 minutes - about $28.00. We're in Kuala Lumphur for two nights, then will take a train or bus to Singapore for one night and then off to Athens. It seems I'm finally getting acclimated to the weather- just in time for us to go. Val likes the heat and humidity more than I do but still says he's looking forward to some cooler temps when we get to Greece.

We rented a motorbike and have spent the last few afternoons exploring the area outside of the beach resorts. Yesterday and this afternoon we went to national parks and hiked up and around some beautiful waterfalls. The hike yesterday was very strenuous. So much so that about 15 minutes from the top, I turned around and went back down with my head pounding and drenched in sweat. Val went on and said the rest of the route was even harder but the view at the top was worth it. The hike today was a bit easier though just as beautiful. We didn't encounter any snakes or other critters of any kind, just about a million mosquitos.

When I asked Val what his favorite part of this leg of our trip was, the first thing that comes to mind for him is the food! So good and so inexpensive - we had lunch today for about $1.25. For both of us. He also liked the jungle hiking - you'll have to ask him about his waterfall adventure. I liked experiencing the two ends of the spectrum that defined for me this county: how the beaches and countryside were so beautiful - only to turn the corner and see heaps of garbage and trash. How the people in Bangkok and the small town of Ban Song were so hospitable and welcoming while the Thai people who make their living from tourism in the beach resorts can be rude and pushy. We also liked how in the sea of people here at the beaches, we found interesting fellow travelers from over the world who were willing to spend a bit of time with us: Bruce and Rety who used to live in Canada but who now call the world their home - they're spending the next three months Italy and we may try to meet up with them in Verona when we go to Spain; Thomsen, an Australian woman who now lives in Scotland and who works as a consultant so she can set her own work schedule, save up and travel. She spent 9 mos in South America and is here in Thailand for 3 weeks; Nathaniel and his dad who were here from Singapore for a get-away week who gave us info about traveling in Singapore and even gave us the name of a nice but inexpensive hotel close to a central subway stop. All good people, good times.

Well, we're up early tomorrow - looking forward to what comes next!

Experiencing true Thai culture in Ban Song (Val)

We left Hua Hin about 10 pm Saturday, March 10, on overnight train to Ban Song where we were greeted at 7 am by Wanla and her daughter, Faang, who graciously hosted us for a couple of days and introduced us to some true Thai culture.

Downtown Ban Song

Ban Song is a small city far away from any tourist areas. I think it might even be true to say that we are the only foreigners here now and that very few come to this region.  We've been warmly received by our hosts, their family and friends and even a few strangers who helped us out when we lost the keys to the scooter Wanla's sister loaned us.  The keys had fit loosely in the ignition and we think we lost them on a bumpy road leading to the park we went for a hike in. Then, we ran out of gas about 30 minutes outside of Ban Song.  There is a somewhat logical explanation for this which will be a good story sometime! (Brenda questions the use of the word "logical")

Yesterday we spent a good part of the day at Wanla's sister's home out in the country where we were greeted by a menagerie of cats, dogs, roosters, and hens.  We were happy to get a bit of dog love in. We also watched a Thai newscast broadcasting world news in English - interesting to hear from a different perspective.

Our host Wanla and Brenda at their family home near Ban Song

 Last evening we went to a Karoke pub where Faang entertained us with her beautiful voice singinging a variety of songs in both Thai and English. We think she should try out for American Idol!

Fang sharing her talents in both Thai and English at a Karoke Pub in Ban Song

Today we enjoyed a peaceful ride through the mountains and sat under a thatched roof hut on the bank of a big reservoir and consumed a couple of $0.80 good local beers. Tonight we will be learning to cook some Traditional Thai BBQ. Have we mentioned yet that the food here is sooooo good!

Enjoying an $0.80 cent beer under a campground cabana overlooking a lake near Ban Song