Bali, Indonesia [24 ~ 29 October 2004]

Bali ~ A Sensational Journey

I went to the City of Angels beginning of this year, and recently I was just back from the Island of Gods – Bali, one of the paradises on earth that nobody should miss out this fascinating place from their traveling list.

It was really the good news that Air Asia is flying to Bali starting middle of this year. I was truly lucky that I got the cheapest airfares flying to Bali; it was only RM99.99 per way per person.

As I was hoping for a more relaxing trip with the smallest number of people in the group, I had just invited few of my very closed friends for the trip. However, it ended up with only two of us. As the budget concerns, I had decided to stay in those middle class budget accommodation on this beautiful island for my holiday there.

As usual, I had study quite thorough on this island besides gathered some information from friends who went there before. As I would like to cut down on the unnecessary expenses on the arrangement by the local travel agents, if I could get to those places by my own.

The flight to Bali was a rather too early in the morning; it was 7:10am on 24 October 2004. I had to catch the first KLIA Express train to the airport from KL Sentral at 5:00am; therefore I was putting up a night at my friend place, which is very near to KL Sentral. In fact, we were still packing our staff and only went to bed at about 2:00am! What a miserable experience as the start of my trip, I was truly not enough sleep! Anyway, luckily we got someone who drove us to catch the train. There was no traffic at all, like the whole city was in the sleep yet. The train was about leaving after we arrived in two minutes.

When we reached the check-in counter at KLIA, it was really surprisingly that a lots of people queuing at the Air Asia counters. There were few flights leaving KLIA almost at the same time. I was really unbelievable that I had packed about 10kg of stuff inside my check-in luggage! I really wonder what had I brought along, or maybe the weighing-machine was out of order!

I met this group of people, 4 girls and 1 guy, traveling on the same flight with us, and carrying huge rucksack like mine. I guess they were also backpacking to Bali. What a coincidence, one of them was my classmate’s colleague! They were traveling not only on Bali, but also crossed over to Java for one-week journey. I wish I could do that too, one day.

I was truly in bad condition due to not enough sleep; therefore we decided to have coffee while filling in the immigration cards. We had chosen the wrong café, which charged us a glass of “teh tarik” as the price of a coffee in Starbucks! It was really not worth of paying for such a drink! Please be extra careful on the pricing when you order any foods or drinks from this café that selling Malay cuisine, which is near to KFC restaurant.

I had a light breakfast that prepared by my friend at the waiting area inside the main terminal building. We didn’t wait for long at the boarding gate for our flight to Bali. As usual, everybody got very excited and queuing up at the entrance whenever the staff appeared, so that the people who get in the aircraft faster would get the nicer seats. I was sitting at the window seat, but there was nothing excited outside. I had a nap in the aircraft cause I was really tired after finishing the last piece of sandwich that my friend prepared.


Bali International Airport [24 Oct 2004]

The sky was quite misty during the touching down at Bali International Airport. The weather was so hot and dry like burning my skin when I walked out from the aircraft! However, luckily the terminal building had air-cond., which was much cooler. We were so excited with the Balinese architecture found in the compound of the airport.

The wonderful thing was that, right after the immigration counters, there was a row of moneychanger counters receiving you for currency exchange. I was really surprised that they have Ringgit Malaysia exchange rates! However, I found out that there were much better exchange rates in Ubud and Kuta.

We were supposed to take the airport taxi to Ubud upon arrival, however we met someone in the aircraft whom I knew and so happen they were going to Ubud too, but the airport taxi would not allow for different drop-off points. They managed to call a friend in Bali to get them a driver. So, they advised us to wait for the driver to come and pick us up to share the cost. However, after waiting for more than half an hour, the driver was still on the way. We decided to take the airport taxi, as we really don’t want to waste any more time on waiting. Furthermore, I was really hungry.

I noticed the locals were so relaxing and enjoying their lazy moment at the foyer of the arrival hall. I even saw children with their parents sitting on the floor like having a family gathering; the local guys were chatting with their friends like just passing time. I wonder the life on this island was that truly enjoyable and relaxing!

The journey to Ubud from airport was about one hour. The driver was silent and I failed to encourage him to talk; I thought I could get free commentary along the way to Ubud. Maybe they were just trained not to talk to the passengers, as they are only driver and not a guide.

I could see many huge statues along the way, some on the center of roundabouts. There were lots of woodcarvings, stone carvings, handcrafts and souvenirs along the journey. Most of the houses we passed by were built or decorated in Balinese style.

[View Bali Int'l Aiport Photos]

Ubud [24 Oct 2004]

Without realizing, we had already reached Ubud and the taxi stopped at the roadside of the entrance to our guesthouse that I’d booked online. After following the signboard of Guci-Guesthouses and walking down a small lane turning left and right, we finally reached a reception area with a sign said: please press bell. That was what I did as I didn’t see anyone around. A German lady called Ulli came to welcome us and shown us the bungalow house that we would be staying for two nights. She was very friendly and helpful, telling us the facilities and showing us around the area in their compound.

This family-run guesthouse was quite fully occupied during our stay there, and they had received quite a number of tourists from Europe countries. The compound area was not really big, but the feeling of home was the unique gift that it could offer. For more details, please visit their website at http://www.guci-bali.com/.

I took a bath at the open-air bathroom. This was the first time that I had my naked body under the sky with sunlight directly shined on it, wow, what a feeling! Well, it would be a good idea to have sunbathing nakedly in this open-air bathroom! I only saw few coconut trees that beyond the height of the bathroom’s walls.

I was advised by Ulli about the bad condition of walkway on both sides of the roads in Ubud area. It was really little understand as why the local authority did not emphasis on the safety of the walkways, instead of beautify the places of interest. I saw big holes on the walkway that someone could easily fell into, especially during the dark as the streetlight has little help over here. According to her, she did have guests injured themselves by accidentally fell into those holes.

We decided to have a quick look around in Ubud before it turned dark. The journey to the town center was about 2km. We took the turn to the Monkey Forest Road so that we could visit the monkey forest first. The entrance fee was Rp10,000 per person. This sacred monkey forest sanctuary was called Mandala Wisata Wenara Wana. For more details, please visit their website at: http://www.balimonkey.com/.

There were locals selling banana for tourists to feed the monkeys. I didn’t buy any, as I don’t want the monkeys jump on my head or chase after me later on. True enough the monkeys here were not afraid of tourists, and they were everywhere in the forest and eyeing on tourists who holding food in their hands.

We didn’t spend much time in the monkey forest, as I don’t want to be attacked by the monkeys. Anyway, I had seen enough monkeys in my own country, but the tourists were so excited to communicate with them, maybe they don’t have such creatures in their home countries.

We proceeded to our journey to the town center following the Monkey Forest Road. I saw shops and restaurants alongside the road, selling handcrafts, paintings, clothes, textiles, souvenirs, massages, tattoos, optional tours, foods and drinks. They were all next to each other, with hotels and shrines or temples in between them. You would never find enough time to shop around here, as they were plenty of them everywhere and selling wide range of variety products and services. This place is definitely the heaven for shoppers.

We didn’t find it difficult to walk for the long distance, as we were charmed with the shops and restaurants alongside the road. We passed by a huge football field, and the children were playing happily on the field and there was a Japanese couple sitting at the corner enjoying the scenery. Wow, what a romantic moment in life!

At the end of the Monkey Forest Road is the center of the Ubud town, where the Pasar Seni (Art Market), Ubud Palace, and Ubud Tourist Information located. From far, we already heard the beautiful sound of gamelan played by the locals in the Ubud Palace. They were practicing gamelan there and the music was really attractive. I just couldn’t get much information from the Tourist Information besides the hotels’, shops’ and restaurants’ leaflets, and we had to pay for the maps if we need one. There were list of optional tours on the notice board.

We noticed there were everywhere people selling Balinese dance performance tickets. Every night, there was different type of dance performances at different places usually starting from 7:00pm for about one hour show. As we would have to wake up early in the morning for Mt Batur Sunrise Tour next day, therefore we decided not to have one for that night so that we could sleep early.

We visited the temple, Pura Taman Saraswati, with a beautiful lotus pond in front of it. Next to it was the Jalan Kajeng, which was macadamized with crafted stones. We also looked around to find a nice dining place for our early dinner. Finally, we came to a restaurant mentioned in the Lonely Planet Bali for cheap meals. Dewa Warung was a very simple and small set up on the slope. We had a wonderful dinner with cheapest and tastiest dishes in town. We ordered nasi goreng (fried rice) with egg, soto ayam (spicy soup with noodles), mixed fruits juice and lemon juice. The food was served in big portion and very health conscious, with little cooking oil and a lot of vegetables. The juices were really fantastic with lots of fruits and little water added. I just couldn’t get this kind of wonderful meals with that kind of cheap pricing back in my own country. I love it!

Guess what we saw on the way back to our guesthouse? We saw lots of wind chimes made from bamboo hanging outside the shop that selling them while the door was closed at night. It shown how safe we are in Ubud, no one would bother to steal those wind chimes!

After another open-air shower bath, I went to bed early so that I would be able to wake up for the pick-up at 2:00am for the sunrise tour at Mt Batur. It was rained that night. According to Ulli, they had not received rain for a very long time…

[View Ubud Photos]

Mt Batur [25 Oct 2004]

I was really unwillingly to wake up when my alarm clock sounded. It was dark everywhere as the guesthouse had switched off all the lights in its compound. I heard the singing sounded from frogs that I had not listened to one for a long time. We met our driver and the guy who I’d booked the tour directly with over the Internet, his name called Pineh, at the reception area of our guesthouse. His name was mentioned in the Lonely Planet Indonesia and highly recommended by the guidebook. He was very friendly and nice looking person. He had offered me a very good price for the tour.

We were in the 4WD and driving in dark with fresh air along the way to Mt Batur area. As we reaching Penelokan, the air became cooler. We stop at Pineh’s Art Shop to have a light breakfast. The breakfast was banana pancake and Balinese coffee and was cooked by the family member. It was surprisingly tasty.

The driver then drove us to Hotel Surya to wait for a German couple to join the group. The air was very fresh and cool, with lots of stars on the sky. We waited for a while, and then continue our journey together with the couple to the starting point of our climb.

We were dropped at a car park in the dark. Someone came over and leaded us the way. He was our mountain guide and we were accompanied by another guy who was the soft drink seller that following us to the mountain hoping for business from us. We were all in the dark with the little help of our torchlight; we hardly see what was around us along the trial. I didn’t see clearly how our guide looked like, and I only recognized the clothes he was wearing.

The drink seller was really aggressive and started talking to us along the way, while our guide was more interested to chat with the couple. This is what I really annoyed with the way how Asian people treat with the westerners that so much different from their own people. We are all human being, isn’t it we should be treated the same, regardless westerners or easterners? However, the fact is, people are more concerned about the dollar sign they saw in their eyes!

The trail was easy at the start, and it was getting harder towards the peak, the trail became very steep and rocky. I was the only person who had difficulty to walk after half an hour of climb. I was almost dying and both my legs were so painful and unable to walk further. The couple was really fit and was all the way far ahead. Luckily, the guide noticed my difficulty and tried to stop and wait for me whenever he saw me far behind. However, the couple was truly enthusiastic to reach the peak soonest possible. The guide was trying his very best to encourage me to move faster. What a disaster to me!

I knew I was lack of training for this climb, and furthermore I was really not enough sleep. Therefore, I was not angry with anybody, but I really felt guilty of delaying the group to watch the sunrise. Surprisingly, the only person who pulled me all the way up to the mountain was the drink seller, he was only wearing slipper for the climb. I was hoping some other people handed me the helping hands, and not him. I have the mountain guide, my friend and teammates, isn’t it one of them should pay more attention or concern to me, rather than someone who was just hoping for business from me? I guess in certain circumstances, business worked better than friendship. I was so afraid that he would ask for an expensive reward after helping me.

I was so tired and exhausted, my legs were heavily overworked and my whole body was in pain. I could not think and I almost lost all my senses, but yet I still had to carry on climbing step by step. I was once thinking of giving up but the guide said they would use a different trail going down. Again, I had no choice to challenge my pain and suffer.

At last, I was there! After paying a very expensive but affordable price for a bottle of Coke and another one for the drink seller that he asked for. I could eventually release my worry and enjoy watching the sunrise over the Mt Agung in the east. We were resting at one of the teahouse, having our refreshment, which was a boiled egg and banana sandwich. The sunrise was truly fantastic and wonderful.

They had to continue to the summit of Mt Batur, of course without me. I would rather stay back sitting at the teahouse enjoying the beautiful morning scenery of Mt Agung and the Lake Batur. The weather was really cold. I had to put on jacket and gloves. I saw a Japanese lady sitting on the slope and writing a poem to appreciate the beauty of the sunrise. I wished I could do that too, but not with the pain and exhausted feeling that I preferred to sit and rest.

Some other guides who came with other groups of tourists were very friendly and funny. They were making jokes with different languages that they’d learned. The westerners were so happy to talk to them. Of course, I didn’t understand what they were talking about, but the way they spoke I knew they were having fun with the foreign languages.

I saw two friendly dogs; one black and another had mixture of colors of black, white, yellow, brown and orange. The tourists were non-stop feeding them with breads and eggs, and yet they seemed like never enough; the two dogs kept on eating and eating…

The summit was not far away from the teahouse, but the journey was tougher and difficult to climb, especially a slope of volcanic ash. I felt glad that I didn’t join them, as I preferred a more relaxing and enjoyable holiday than suffering of pain. However, I did join them to have a closer look on one of the nearest craters of Mt Batur that was still having hot steam. The guide said four years ago, the crater was erupted and killed two German tourists who came to see the crater.

We then continued our journey going down the mountain. We did pass by a forest of pine trees. I really enjoyed the feeling of rustling the dry pine leaves. However, the guide and the couple were rushing all the way and I didn’t really have enough time to appreciate the beauty of the forest, it was yellowish throughout. Due to the rush, I was slipped twice, and added the pain to my legs. What a bad experience!

Finally, we reached the village of Toya Bungkah where our van was waiting for us. Our guide did say that I was a strong guy, but anyway I was glad that I didn’t die in the mountain. The driver was so nice that he stopped at the roadside for us to take a beautiful picture with Mt Batur, on the way going back to Penelokan.

After dropping the couple, we continued our journey back to Ubud. On the way, we saw the villages busy with their daily activities, and we did saw few ladies carrying their offerings on their head and wearing colorful traditional costume on the way to temple. We also passed by temples that were having ceremony with flags and heavy smoke. The driver did make a photo stop for us at the side of paddy terraces that stripped down a hillside.

We were back to Ubud at about 9:00am and we were still able to have another breakfast at the guesthouse after taking a shower bath. I saw Ulli’s husband, Nyoman doing his prayer at the compound. He did greet us when passing by our porch with his charming smile.

[View Mt Batur Photos]

Ubud [25 Oct 2004]

The climb of Mt Batur was a tiring one, as my friend really needed a nap before going out again. I was busy cleaning my shoes at the porch, and I did brought back some tiny volcanic rocks and stones from the climb inside my shoes. I even noticed my shoes were scratched heavily by the rocks and stones along the trail. I just couldn’t imagine how serious the injury would be if I ever fall in the mountain.

While waiting for my friend to wake up, I made my own glass of tea that was readily served with teabags, hot water and sugar on a side table outside the door. I was enjoying the wonderful moment at the porch with greenish garden, and of course a nice tea. After having the tea break, we continued our exploration in Ubud.

I missed the fruits juice at Dewa Warung, so we went back to the restaurant to have juices, about half an hour walking distance. After the drink, my friend would like to send some postcards back to his friends. We had bought some postcards, and he spent some time writing his postcard at the post office while I was sitting on the staircase of the entrance enjoyed watching people on the street. I even noticed that many foreigners were riding motorbikes traveling on the streets.

As according to the guidebook, there would be local children practicing Balinese dances and the gamelan rehearsals at Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA) from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. We were walking down the Jalan Hanoman, and bought the bus tickets from Perama Tourist Service on the way going to the museum. We also ordered a small bowl of bakso ayam (chicken soup with noodles and meatballs) from a street cart on the roadside. We had to sit at the kerb to eat it.

The entrance fee of ARMA was Rp20,000 per person and inclusive a complimentary coffee or tea at their Warung Kopi. The compound of the museum was huge and the landscape was really beautiful. I could actually hear the gamelan music from far. There was a group of locals playing gamelan inside a pavilion and another group of children practicing their Balinese dances at the garden. I was so happy to have free shows for both. The children were so seriously practicing their dances and the facial expression was so real. While the gamelan was truly wonderful, they were playing the music wholeheartedly. I was really impressed, as I never heard such wonderful music before, even though our own country does have gamelan.

I had little knowledge and interest on drawings and paintings. Since I had already in Ubud, so called the center of cultures and arts of Bali, I’d better have a look on those paintings shown in the museum. The drawings were unique, especially those with black and white colors. They were very fine and detailed. However, the modern arts were more colorful and attractive.

I had my cup of Balinese coffee at Warung Kopi. The environment was peaceful and relaxing. There were so much green and shady that made me felt very lazy. The coffee was thick and truly nice. It was served with cinnamon stick to stir-mix the coffee with sugar and milk. The cinnamon stick had added some kind of flavor into the coffee and made the coffee tasted so unique. Of course not to mention the smell, it was so fantastic!

We decided to have a good dinner for that day. I was heard about dirty duck dishes, which was very famous in Ubud. We went into Bebek Bengil to have our dirty duck (crispy deep-fried duck) dinner. The dining area was really huge with paddy fields inside the compound! The architecture of the building was following the Balinese style. They had individual pavilions and common areas for dining. The decoration was a rich and luxury one. The duck was delicious with crispy skin and reasonable priced as compared to the luxury set up of the restaurant. I swore I never had such delicious duck dishes before! This is highly recommended.

After the dinner, we walked back to our guesthouse. We passed by some restaurants along the road. Mostly were so romantically decorated, especially the candle on each tables with dim lightings and soft music in the restaurant. I think girls would easily fall in love under such romantic environment, even though there would be an ugly man sitting in front.

[View Ubud Photos]

Ubud [26 Oct 2004]

This would be our last day in Ubud, and we would be leaving for Kuta by noon. Without wasting our precious time in Ubud, we waked up early in the morning and going for a visit to the local market. We saw Nyoman and Ulli were resting on the veranda of their house. They were surprised that we were going out so early in the morning. However, this would be the best time visiting the local market. Ulli was asking about our climb to Mt Batur, and she was worried about us as that night was raining in Ubud. Both of them were very caring and lovely.

The shops along the way were mostly still closed and there were many students on their way to school by motorbike. I saw ladies wearing traditional costume carrying a woven tray on their head praying along the street, putting offerings at the doorsteps, shrines and temples.

The local market was busy with lots of people. Mostly were the locals who came to buy daily groceries. Some of them were surprised to see us there, like we were not supposed to be there at that time. Most of the shops at Pasar Seni was just started their business, and this would be the best time to bargain a better price, they called harga pagi (morning price). We were lucky to be their first customer of the day and we managed to buy so many souvenirs with the best prices they could offer. I got my first sarong here.

We then rushed back to our guesthouse to have our breakfast and prepare for checking-out at 11:00am. The breakfast at our guesthouse was really interesting; they served a two-course breakfast each day with a plate of tropical fruits consist of papaya, banana and watermelon, and another plate of main course that varies daily. We had pisang goreng (fried banana) on the first day, and toast sandwiched with eggs on the second day. Both were big serving and decorated with flowers, and also served with a small pot of tea or coffee that could easily make up to 2 to 3 glasses for a person.

I went to collect my laundry that I sent for the day before after the climb, as I hoped I could still wearing back those t-shirts instead of buying new one from Bali. Due to the cloudy weather in Ubud, unfortunately my t-shirts were still hanging on the racks and not yet totally dried. Anyway, I had to collect my t-shirts and go.

I was having a chat with Ulli at the reception area after making the payment for our stay, while waiting for my friend to get his staff ready in the room. I was really surprised that she didn’t know about the cheapest flight offered by Air Asia. She was so excited when I told her about this good news!

We had to walk about 15 minutes to the bus terminal of Perama Tourist Service to catch our bus to Kuta leaving at 12:00 noon. I was carrying my big rucksack and sweating like hell, not to mention my painful legs. There were other passengers came by the pick-up service provided by the company with a flat rate within Ubud area. The bus, in fact it was a van, left punctually with passengers mostly westerners, except a Japanese guy and both of us.

Kuta [26 Oct 2004]

The van was using fresh air-cond. The breeze could easily make me to sleep. However I was trying my best to be awake, so that I would not miss out any interesting scenery along the journey to Kuta. There were passengers getting down at Sanur, therefore the van will stop at Kuta as the final drop-off point. I wouldn’t mind of this, as I could see another place for free!

I noticed that Sanur was a quieter place as compared to Kuta. Even though it had more luxury hotels around but lesser commercial area. However, for those who keen for more happenings and nightlife, Kuta still the best destination.

I was really surprised by the shops and restaurants along the streets when the van reached Kuta area. I was never in my life thought that Kuta would be damn commercialized! The branded products were everywhere and next to each other. The western style restaurants, pubs, clubs, tattoos, massages, souvenirs, and textiles shops, not to mention hundreds of budget and middle class accommodations were packed into the streets.

The first thing in my mind when we got down from the van was to look for our accommodation. We were searching for Poppies Lane 1 along the Jalan Legian and almost missed it. I was never in my mind that the entrance of the lane was that small till only for one motorbike to pass thru. Luckily I saw lots of signboards of the various accommodations located at Poppies Lane 1 that I knew were at the entrance of that lane.

The entrance of the lane was small but the lane became wider that could accommodate the width of a car towards another entrance from Jalan Pantai. The lane was packed with lots of shops, restaurants, budget and middle class accommodations. We went to Masa Inn (http://www.masainn.com/) and checked the room and the compound of the hotel, and we were so impressed and decided to stay there, which was my first intention anyway. With the price that we paid for was very much worth of their standard and quality of the facilities and service. It looked like a resort to me.

Without any further delay, after I took the bath, we went out for a quick look of Kuta. The pricing of foods and drinks in Kuta was higher than that of those in Ubud. The town was not so green and shady as those in Ubud, therefore the streets were quite dusty, hot and dry.
The interesting part was I could easily see foreigners wearing with the least cloth walking on the streets, such as bikini for the ladies and shorts for the guys. Most of them who showed their body were nicely built and tanned, and pretty good looking too. Most of the people who were walking on the streets were tourists, and few of them that we could recognize were from our own country, from their look, the way they dress and speak.

We managed to find those cheap local restaurants at the back lanes in Kuta. The food was still tasty but just couldn’t compare with those in Ubud; we still found that the foods and drinks in Ubud were the best on the island.

The Poppies Lane 2 had more happenings than Poppies Lane 1. The lane was wider with more shops, restaurants and accommodations, but the trade-off was the traffic flow would be a hassle.

The Kuta beach was less than 200m away from where we were staying, after crossing the heavy traffic flow of Jalan Pantai. The weather in Kuta was terribly hot and dry. The sand on the beach was too hot to walk bare foot. The heat was like burning my skin. I didn’t see many tourists on the beach for sunbathing, and only few people were on the surf. The beach was really long and wide, with the beautiful surf, no wonder it was considered as the best beach on the island. However, the trade-off was the hassling hawkers offering tattoo or massage service.

It was still too early for the sunset, and my legs were really painful after the long walk. We decided to rest at the McDonald’s in Kuta Square, as this would be the cheapest place for a drink with air-cond. I bought a big size iced lemon tea and found a corner to make myself busy in writing my diary, so that the waiters would not chase me away. Surprisingly, a guy came and asked whether my name is Kent while I was talking to my friend. I certainly don’t agree that this would be a good idea to meet someone unknown in such a crowded restaurant.

In fact, the Starbucks Coffee which near to Hard Rock Café was an ideal place to have a nice coffee and chat with friends. If I was not on very tight budget, I would like to enjoy a lazy afternoon or a lovely nightfall of Kuta here.

The sunset of Kuta beach was amazing; not the beautiful sun that going down to the west, but the people who gathered at the beach. It was crowded with so many people walking, sitting, laying, standing, chatting, playing on the beach, and regardless the locals or foreigners mostly were waiting to enjoy the wonderful sunset.

My friend was chatting with a local surfer, while I was waiting and snapping the best moments of sunset. I could imagine the romantic moments with my love one, if I ever had one, sharing such wonderful sunset on a beach. The beach was really peaceful and nobody would bother what others were doing, even though the beach was crowded with people. The sea breeze was an enjoyable one and it chased away the heat from the sun. However, the sky was clouded and I would not expect a very nice sunset that evening.

Furthermore, the sand was not as beautiful as what we had in Redang Island.

We went back to our room for shower before having our dinner at one of those cheap restaurants. At night, the Jalan Legian was busier and more attractive than daytime with the beautiful neon lights, music and tourists, of course the heavy traffic flow too. The street stretching for few kilometers and I was unable to walk that far due to my painful legs. My friend was interested in those branded clothes sold in Bali, as according to him, the pricing of the clothes would be much cheaper then that of back in our own country if they were on sales or big discount here.

We did pass by the location of the Bali bombing that happened two years ago. That piece of land was now vacant and fenced, and there was a monument built opposite the road with the name of the 202 victims listed on it. I was standing at the roadside overlooking the land, I felt sad about the stupidity of human behavior that ruined the peaceful environment on this island. I just hope that each of us, as a human being, should not be easily swayed by the evil thoughts and one’s bad emotion. Not only war can cause a tragedy to human being, even an individual can ruin his/her relationship with the people around and also his/her own future.

That piece of land looked extremely peaceful in the dark, while the surrounding was busier with shops, restaurants, pubs, tourists and the traffic flow. I just wish the soul of the victims could rest here peacefully forever. Hopefully Bali would still be the paradise on earth in future.

At last, we went back to our room due to the pain of my legs. Almost every night, I had to rub my legs with pain relieving analgesic cream before sleep. The sore being on a long walk was really unpleasant and killing, it swept away all my interest and attention during my trip.

[View Kuta Photos]

Denpasar [27 Oct 2004]

After the breakfast at Masa Inn, we walked to the Bemo Corner to catch a van to Denpasar for a day trip. There were many vans passing by, and we asked one of the vans that stopped beside us. I knew they were overcharging us for the ride, but since it was the cheapest mode of transport on this island, so we didn’t mind paying.

The ride to Denpasar was short, about half an hour. I thought it would stop at a building called Tegal Bus Terminal, as indicated on the map in the guidebook. However, it was just the roadside that all the vans stopped alongside the road, there was no landmark indicated that it was a bus terminal, except a small wooden table where few drivers were sitting and resting there.

While we were on the way walking to the local markets, we saw a dokar (pony cart) passing by in the middle of the traffic; it was in between the cars, motorbikes and vans on the road, amazing!

The two local markets that we visited were separated by the river, Sungai Badung; the main produce market, Pasar Badung and the handcraft and textiles market, Pasar Kumbasari. Both building were about 4 storeys high. The ground floor of Pasar Badung was crowded with locals in the morning where they could get fresh vegetables and meats. We didn’t visit all the 4-storey of both buildings, as we were trying to rush for our schedule. During our visit, there was a ceremony held at the temples just next to the markets, with flags hanging around and gamelan on the play.

We were more interested in Pasar Kumbasari, where my friend would like to buy some souvenirs. There were lots of shops selling variety of souvenirs that one’s might have difficulty to choose what to buy or how many to buy. I was really surprised that most of the locals could speak simple English. But I would prefer to talk to them in simple Bahasa Indonesia.

Before we were heading to Puputan Square, we did pass by Jalan Sulawesi, next to Pasar Badung to have a look on those shops selling batik, ikat, and other fabrics. Next we were walking on the Jalan Gajah Mada, and I saw few guys wearing blue uniform waving at the roadside, to clear the traffic in order to give way for the cars to leave and enter the parking lots alongside the road, and issue parking tickets to the drivers. I had not seen this for ages, it reminded me those days in my childhood.

After passing thru the Catur Muka Statue at the middle of a roundabout, we had reached Puputan Square. The statue of a man, a woman, and a child holding weapons standing at the side of the field, reminded me the ritual puputan (a fight to the death) – when the Dutch attacked at Sanur in September 1906, and the Balinese retreated to Denpasar, under the threat of Dutch artillery, three princes of the kingdom of Badung destroyed their own palaces and made a suicidal last stand, in which the old kingdoms of the south were wipe out. In all, nearly 4000 Balinese died.

There were many locals resting under the shade of the huge trees at the sides of the field, also few hawkers selling snacks and drinks at the roadside. When I reached the entrance of Pura Jagatnatha, a guy came to advise me of the dress code to enter the temple. As he was unable to get us the sarong, then I just requested to snap a photo on the temple from the entrance. According to him, there would be a two-day ceremony going on at the temple starting that day.

Next to Pura Jagatnatha was the Museum Negeri Propinsi Bali, or Bali Museum in short. There were few people standing at the entrance of the museum, I knew for sure they were the unofficial tour guides who bring tourist around the museum for a fees. After paying the entrance fee at the ticket office, I was walking very fast trying to escape from these people, but unfortunately my friend was not known about the scam. A guy was so aggressively chasing us and told us that he is a stuff of the museum and not doing guiding. He was leading us to visit all the exhibition halls and doing some commentary on the items exhibited. My intuition told me something was fishy, and true enough at the exit of the museum, he was asking for tips from us! I was really annoyed of being cheated!

However, the museum was truly amazing with the collections and the beautiful landscape. It was still worth of paying a visit for a small entrance fees, but beware of the scam.

My friend did buy and taste the satay (tiny kebabs of various types of meat served with a spicy peanut sauce) sold by the hawkers, but I didn’t try it as my legs were so painful and I really had no mood under the hot sun. Anyway, he said it was very tasty.

We continued our journey to the nearby Denpasar Tourist Office, hoping to collect some useful brochures and maps. The officer over the counter was little helpful. She was not smiling at all, I guessed she was having period that day. There was not much information from the racks. In fact all the brochures and maps were kept underneath the counter away from our sight and would only be giving out if and only if we ask for a copy.

After a short rest on the sofa at the Tourist Office, as my legs needed more rest before another long walk, we decided to go back to Tegal Bus Terminal. En-route, we went to visit a temple that mentioned in the guidebook, the Pura Maospahit. The temple was situated on the roadside, but the main entrance was closed and the side entrance was on a small lane on the left leading to nowhere. When I was stepping into the temple, it was so quiet and only few workers were busy doing their stuff and no tourists around. I was feeling like mistakenly fell into ancient time where people look at me with a kind of weird feeling that made me felt very uneasy. After taking a picture on the temple gateway, we quickly left the place before someone catch us, hang and dry us under the sun.

Next we visited Puri Pemecutan, which was on our way to the bus terminal. It was a palace destroyed during the 1906 invasion. It was now rebuilt and operating as a hotel. The compound was very nice with lots of Balinese architecture. Again, it was so quiet and shady, and no tourists around. Unfortunately, when we were leaving the place, a dog started to bark violently and non-stop, looked like we might have a big problem here. We walked steadily towards the exit and tried not to provoke the dog further. However, when we almost reaching the exit, another dog started to bark also. It was so scary, but luckily the dogs never chased after us.

[Hey, stupid dogs, put on your glasses, I’m not the Dutch!]

I was really hungry and my legs were really sore. We then stopped at a hawker stall and had our bakso ayam at the roadside. After the meal, we walked back to the place we were dropped that morning to catch a bemo back to Kuta. As I didn’t see any passengers waiting there except many bemo drivers were sitting at the roadside, I could expect overcharging would happen again. Finally, we accepted the offer from one of the drivers who offered the cheapest fare. Anyway, it would be cheaper than taking the taxi.

The journey back to Kuta was quite far, as most of the roads in Kuta and Denpasar area were in one-way direction. The driver dropped us at the junction of Jalan Legian and Jalan Majapahit, which was about 1.5km away from Poppies Lane 1. We had no choice to take our own sweet time to walk back to our hotel. When we passed by the Perama Tourist Service counter, we booked and paid for the sunset tours to Ulu Watu that evening and Tanah Lot next evening, as they had 10% discount for anyone who took their service before. There were plenty of counters set up everywhere in Kuta, mostly were in front of a shop without any signboard or company name. I would not dare to book any tours with them, as I really doubt with the services they provided.

[View Denpasar Photos]

Ulu Watu [27 Oct 2004]

Our sunset tour to Ulu Watu would start at 4:00pm. We had to be at the Perama office 15 minutes before departure. The office had a tiny recreational park with a pond full of fish and birds in the cages. The washroom had shower facilities. There were quite a lot of leaflets and brochures at the waiting area. The air-cond. van was leaving punctually for the tour, with another two Canadian ladies to join the group.

The journey to Pura Luhur Ulu Watu was about one hour. The two ladies were very friendly and we did have a pleasant conversation along the way. When we reached the car park area of the temple, our driver cum tour guide was advising us not to bring any loose items, such as glasses, hats, jewelry, etc., as the monkeys at the temple would just snatch them away from us. Luckily, my power was not that bad, and I still could able to see without glasses.

I guessed I was the only guy who was wearing long pants and yet with a sarong, as I was not aware of this and I just put on the sarong that was handed to me by the guide. Later I found out that only people who was not wearing long pants or skirt that covered their legs needed to wear a sarong. I was really unique in the temple, luckily nobody bother to laugh at me.

The monkeys at the temple were really wild and scary. There was one monkey trying to snatch the jacket from one of the Canadian ladies, but failed. I was shocked when the westerner at my back suddenly shouting and scolding, it was the monkey that jumped over his head and snatched his glasses. The temple staff was trying to get back his glasses from the monkey on the roof.

Another heart attack was that my friend was asking me to take a picture of him with the beautiful cliff-top at the back, and suddenly a monkey passed by and snatched his digital camera case that he kept all the memory cards. While the temple staff trying to exchange fruits with the monkey, it just thrown the case towards the cliff, luckily the case didn’t drop down to the sea.

I was so scared after that and holding my stuff very tight so that the dreadful monkeys would not have any chance on me. I was watching them everywhere I go, and I noticed that they were everywhere in the temple and eyeing on tourists. What an awful creature on earth!

Somebody told me that the monkeys might have a kind of business relationship with the temple staff, as all the victims of the snatch had to pay a token to the temple staff for getting back their lost items. Surprisingly, there were many victims in a day!

We were also paying to see the Kecak dance that starting at 6:00pm at the compound of the temple. We went into the venue early and looked for the best seats for the show. The seats we chosen were overlooking the sea and sunset at Ulu Watu. While watching the dance, we could actually enjoy the sunset view too.

The Kecak dance was really interesting, especially the Act where Hanoman (the while monkey) was about to be burned by fire, and by using his supernatural power to escaped from death. The performance was using real fire and Hanoman was kicking the fire and spread out the fire towards the audiences. It was amazing!

After the show, there were more than hundred people leaving the place. We gathered at the entrance of the temple and our van came to pick us up and heading to Jimbaran for seafood dinner. An American guy was joining us for the dinner, as the Canadian ladies just met him during the show. They were happily chatting along the way till we stopped at one of the seafood restaurants on the Jimbaran Beach.

The seafood restaurant had tables on the beach with candle light setting. Unfortunately I was not coming with my love one otherwise this would be a wonderful candle light dinner! We went to the seafood counter to choose the seafood for our dinner. The pricing stated on the menu almost shocked me to death; the seafood was weighted in kilogram and the price was inclusive rice, salads, and potatoes, but quite highly priced! Luckily, they allowed two persons sharing a fish.

I guessed I don’t really enjoy candle light dinner, as I just hardly see what was on my plate with the little help of the candle light. My friend was scolding me as I was having the candle right in front of me and yet still complaining not enough light.

Our fish was really big, fresh and nicely cooked by using the fire from the burning coconut shells. The dinner was really fantastic with the sea breeze from the sea and music from the musician on the beach. There was a group of local guys using different musical instruments to play and sing the songs that the restaurant’s guests requested, and earn the tips from the guests. They could play and sing the songs wonderfully, even in French.

We were sharing the long table and the American guy where talking to the Canadian ladies, and it was a boring and very dry topic: the US polities. My friend and I was sitting at the other end and would not interested in the conversation, as we both knew that the American guy was more interested in the Canadian ladies.

True enough, after the dinner, the guy was supposed to go back to his hotel in Jimbaran initially, but then he was following the ladies to their hotel in Kuta. Anyway, it was none of our business.

It was quite late after the dinner, but my friend would like to walk around and I preferred to stay at the room writing my diary. He came back and told me what was happening on the streets. I could imagine how busy the pubs and the streets with those youngsters hanging around with alcohol, cigarette and may be drugs too. I seriously dislike this kind of activities. My friend did tell me that there was a western style restaurant not far from our hotel in the same lane selling cheap steaks and it was always full of people all the time.

[View Ulu Watu Photos]

Kuta [28 Oct 2004]

Early in the morning, my friend went for surfing lesson. The guy he met on the beach that evening offered him a very cheap surfing lesson. I went to have my breakfast alone and was really wondering what to eat. The menu had a long list of foods and drinks for us to choose as breakfast, and of course it was inclusive in our room rates. I was writing my diary while waiting for my breakfast to be served. The environment was truly excellent, just nice to have a good time to pen down whatever was in my mind. As the compound of the hotel was very green and the restaurant was overlooking the swimming pool, it was a wonderful time to have breakfast in such environment. This is what I call a holiday!

We went out again after my friend came back from the beach. According to him, the seawater was very clear, and the surf was fantastic and just nice for a beginner. We walked around in other part of Kuta.

We went to the Badung Tourist Office and checked if they have other brochures and maps. The guys there were all wearing blue batik and quite helpful with the brochures and maps we asked for. When I mentioned Siti Nurhaliza (http://sitizone.com/), the popular Malaysia female singer, they were so excited and became so friendly and friend of mine having group photo with them. Then we stopped at Kuta Art Market and we bought some souvenirs from one of the shops, anyway the pricing was not that attractive as Ubud. However, if you are looking for some swimwear, you may get it here and it was plenty all over Kuta.

After the lunch at one of those cheap local restaurants at the back lanes of Kuta, I went to have sunbathing at the hotel swimming pool area. It was really a sunny day and the weather was really hot and dry. The heat was really terrible and I almost suffocated under the sun. I had to shower myself with cold water from time to time. However, after one and a half hour, I gave up sunbathing and soaked my whole body into the swimming pool.

[View Kuta Photos]

Tanah Lot [28 Oct 2004]

Before 4:00pm, we were back to Perama Office for our sunset tour to Tanah Lot. Guess what, we were the only passengers in the van. The journey to Tanah Lot took about an hour, and we were talking to the driver along the way in mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia, anyway both languages are similar to each other somehow or rather.

The driver leaded us all the way to the seaside and showed us the exit after viewing the sunset, and he would wait for us at the car park. The scenery of the beach was fantastic, especially with the crowd of tourists around. The breeze was strong and the waves were marvelous. The temple on the rock at the seaside was not so wonderful as compared to the sunset we saw later on.

The rocks around the temple were very slippery and full of seaweed. I heard that area was also the home for sea snakes, but I just didn’t have the luck to see one.

The cliff-top opposite the temple had plenty of restaurants, where the best view overlooking the temple and the sunset. We went to one of the restaurants and ordered the expensive drinks while waiting to snap the best moments of the view. The sunset was really wonderful and attractive. It was so romantic that like the feeling of falling in love!

On the way back to Kuta, our driver was terribly sick and coughed heavily all the way. I was so worry about him, and wished he could drive carefully and sent us back safely. Thank God, I felt release when I saw the neon lights of Jalan Legian.

We went back to those local restaurants for our dinner. We saw a local lady sitting on the next table and had ordered lots of dishes, and she kept on eating and ordering like had not been eating for days. From the way she dressed and made up, I felt very uneasy. I rushed my friend to finish the dinner soonest possible, as I didn’t want to be involved indirectly in any unpleasant argument or fighting, or maybe worst, killing or murder.

The night was still young and we just hoped to have a short walk on Jalan Legian before leaving Bali tomorrow. I went to one of the CD shops hoping to buy a CD on gamelan music, as I heard few times whenever I passed by those CD shops that playing gamelan music, which was truly Balinese style. However, I didn’t know which one was the one I like the most, and of course I just couldn’t ask the shop owner to play all the music for me to choose. So, I ended up with no CD after browsing thru the racks for about an hour.

[View Tanah Lot Photos]

Bali International Airport [29 Oct 2004]

We had to wake up early and rushed for our breakfast in order to catch our flight back to Malaysia. As I had a bad experience in Bangkok International Airport, where the long queue was really time consuming and scary, therefore I’d better be early than late.

There was an airport taxi passing by us in that small lane, right after we walked out from the hotel. As I really hoping not to walk further with my heavy rucksack at my back, I was willingly to pay more, even though I knew the driver was overcharging us. The journey to airport was less than ten minutes, as the traffic was very smooth.

The departure system of the airport was really good. Right after entering the main door, there was a long stretch of airlines check-in counters, and Air Asia was located at Counter 1 and 2. I was really surprised that there were very few people in the airport, and there was none at Air Asia counters. Both counter staffs were waiting to receive us and I was just couldn’t make up my mind, it made me so clumsy.

Hey, my rucksack was just one kilogram more as compared to that of during my arrival. After check-in, a staircase just next to the check-in counter leading up to the next counter for paying the airport taxi of Rp100,000. Then, after the corner, there was another stretch of immigration counters for checking the passport. Right after that, it was a huge duty free shopping mall.

The hand luggage check was at each departure gate, which was different than the centralized system in Bangkok International Airport that usually caused the long queue. We ended up with more than one hour of free time at the duty free shopping mall. I even finished a cartoon program on the TV spoke in Bahasa Indonesia while waiting for the departure.

I just couldn’t believe that I was trying my very best to look for a fabric sticker with the word and design of Bali while I was in Ubud and Kuta but failed, and I now saw it in the airport shopping mall but it was so expensive! I usually would buy one fabric sticker after visiting a new place or foreign country, and sewed it on my rucksack, to reminisce all my travel experiences.

I still remembered that my friend said he would not visit a place for a second time, instead he would prefer to visit some other new places. However, after this trip, he was so attracted and would return to Bali for another visit(s) in future! So do I.

While in the aircraft, I met a British lady who was holding a Belgium passport that was rejected for entry to Bali; she had to reapply a new visa at the Indonesia Embassy in Malaysia. Her three French friends were having no problem for their visa and waiting for her in Bali. Anyway, Air Asia staff would help her with regards on this matter. I was chatting with her along the journey and telling her what not to miss in Bali. She was so excited to see Bali soonest possible.

I felt glad when I was landed on KLIA. Some kind of feelings telling me that I shouldn’t felt regret of being coming back so soon. I knew I would be having another travel experience soon, in future. I took the KLIA Transit to Bandar Tasik Selatan Station and changed to Star LRT to reach the nearest station to my home.

After the trip, guess what, my legs could only be recovered after about one month with some medicines.


Yoke Ming
26 November 2004

Bangkok, Ayutthaya & Chiang Mai [14 ~ 21 March 2004]

I came to Bangkok by rail in February 2002. Two years later, I returned by flight. I have no idea as why I visit Thailand again, and not some other places. As I just need a holiday right after my semester final examinations, and also suggested by my ex-colleague, I planned to visit Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai besides Bangkok for this trip.

I was almost sitting in front of my computer on-lined at least twice a day ever since Air Asia announced of their acquisition of landing permit in Thailand. I was really lucky after about a month of waiting and checking, Air Asia eventually opened their direct flight from KLIA to Bangkok. I swept the lowest fare of RM99.99 one-way to Bangkok and return on the first day morning of their promotion.

Friends and classmates of mine, seven persons in total, flying to Bangkok on 14 March for a journey of 8 days in Thailand. We were really lucky of getting the cheapest fare as our traveling period is coincidentally crushed with our national school holidays. The flight was really full.


DAY 1: 14 March 2004 BANGKOK

Ex-colleague and I bought the special promotion return ticket of KLIA Transit at the MATTA Fair and cost only half the price of a normal return ticket. I left home at about 10am in order to catch the train leaving at 10.33am from KL Sentral to KLIA.

We gathered at the Air Asia check-in counter, of course not forgetting to take the group photo before leaving KLIA. We had a very light lunch at the food court, expensive and tasteless; we were actually looking forwards for cheaper and better foods in Thailand.

Nothing special of flying with Air Asia besides their cheapest price compared to other airlines. However, due to free seating arrangement, people were rushing and queuing at the entrance in the boarding hall, afraid that no getting the best seats they ever aiming for, usually the front and window seats. Look like very Chinese! Amazingly the Whites follow the custom of "kiasuism" too!

The flight journey took about two hours. We landed at the Terminal 2 of Bangkok International Airport at about 2:45pm local time and we walked over to the Terminal 1, which was a very short distance. The railway station of Don Muang is exactly opposite the Terminal 1 connected with a pedestrian bridge crossed over the highway. We waited for about an hour for the train going to the main station in city center, Hualamphong Railway Station, which cost only 10B per person. While waiting for the train, I also purchased the train tickets going to Chiang Mai from Ayutthaya and the return journey of Chiang Mai to Bangkok from the information counter, as the ticket counter was closed. The advance booking can only be made for long journey as according to the staff, not for short distance like Bangkok to Ayutthaya.

The train came finally at about 4.30pm, crowded with locals. It was a non-aircond. and hard-seat 3rd class train. We were standing on the walkway inside the train with our bulky rucksacks; waiting for any empty seats available whenever reaching the next stops. The air flew into the train was hot and dry; our skin was really sticky. The locals were wearing simple and old fashion clothing looked like lowest class of the citizens. The atmosphere remained me of those days traveling in the train back in 50 years ago in China. I felt like I’m traveling in the past!

Bangkok, so called one of the international metropolitan city in the world, I could still able to see those homeless people staying in a simple tent alongside the highways or railways or even at the corner of streets where no one would even bother to help them, they lives peaceful (so called) without “disturbance” from the government. I wonder what is inside their mind; don’t them want to have a better living or just pretending of nonexistence in this city till the end of their life? Everyone has the right to live the way they wanted to, but why there are still people who give up their hope or not to struggle for a better future?

The train reached the huge main railway station of Hualamphong after about one hour trip. We had a very difficult time to explain to the taxi drivers of where we would like to go; we were stuck in getting a taxi, as the taxi drivers we approached can hardly understand us in English! Luckily, a very friendly and sweet Thai lady came to rescue us by showing us where and how to get the bus that is cheaper than taking the taxi. The bus stop is just located on the right hand side of the entrance of Hualamphong train station. Without any delay we boarded the bus leading us to Mahboonkrong Shopping Center (MBK) that cost only 5B (whereas the taxi minimum charge is 35B). We got down the bus where exactly the place I came first time two years ago. We walked to Soi Kasem San 1 to look for our accommodation for the night, from one guesthouse to another. Unfortunately, God knows why, all the guesthouses were fully occupied! Luckily, we managed to get the only three left rooms in Muangphol Mansion, a budget hotel next to the main rood and Skytrain station. This was the hotel that first strikes my sixth sense that we would eventually end up with, and it was true enough!

After we had taken our bath, we rushed to MBK, which is just opposite the road for our dinner. The food court I believe had done some renovation that looked better in feature but the quality of the foods was not up to our standard anymore! We had the lousiest Thai foods in Thailand!

Next, we took the Skytrain to Patpong, one of the well-known red light areas in Bangkok. Friends of mine were really excited with the pubs alongside the Patpong Night Market. There were many people offering adult shows outside the pubs, and some even can speak to us in Mandarin! The ladies wearing bikini dancing and twisting their sexy body on the tables inside the pubs, trying their best to attract the guys.

We had to go back to our hotel earlier as we need to rush for our early morning train to Ayutthaya next day. There were many food stalls right outside our hotel alongside the main road. Friends of mine were so excited with the cheap and tasty barbequed meats, and fresh and sweet fruits, which only cost 10B each (big serving)!


DAY 2: 15 March 2004 AYUTTHAYA

One of our group members decided to stay back in Bangkok and not following us for the onward journey. I was really sad on this, however I had to continue the journey with the rest. I was praying for him so that God will protect him while he is alone in Bangkok. I hoped to see him safe and sound when we back and meet again in Bangkok after our journey to Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai.

We rushed to Hualamphong Train Station by taxi to buy our tickets to Ayutthaya. At the same time, I asked for the refund of the tickets of my friend that not following us. Luckily, we were really blessed by the angels of the city, that we managed to receive quite a lot of money back from the cancelled tickets (50% on Ayutthaya-Chiang Mai and 80% on Chiang Mai-Bangkok).

We took the same type of train that we traveled to Bangkok from the airport on the first day we arrived. The journey to Ayutthaya about 1 hour 40 minutes that passing thru the paddy fields was really fascinating. The early morning breeze was not so hot and the golden ray of the sun was just nice for the journey. The train was quite empty with very few passengers. The food sellers that get in and down from the train started their daily business walking pass to sell their products, that remained me the first time I traveled by Thai rail. Their voice like a singing tone, flowing from one end of the train to the other end, so soft and sweet. I would say Thai is one of the most soft and beautiful languages in the world.

Without realizing, we reached Ayutthaya at about 8.40am; the helpful and good-looking train police officer came and remained us of our destination. I really felt warm-hearted. We left our luggage at the train station for 10B each bag. Then, we crossed the road and came to one of the restaurants nearby for our breakfast. It was really a peaceful, lazy and relaxing town, suitable for a break after a long hassled working life in big city. Next, we rented bicycles to tour around the town. The shop lady showed us where to locate those beautiful temples around on the only left map she had.

The first temple we visited was Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol, after cycling of about 4km from the train station. I was really tired, as I was not used to cycle for long and my skill was really lousy! The temple was really wonderful with beautiful landscape gardening. The next stop was Wat Phanan Cheong, which is located on the riverside. We didn’t visit this temple but entering the compound to reach the pier next to it for crossing the river. The sky was cloudy and didn’t look good. We paid 5B each to cross the river together with our bicycles via motorboat. We had to carry our own bicycles onto the boat. The other side of the river stands a pavilion where we decided to take a break as the sky was about to rain. The huge compound of Wat Phanan Cheong was really fascinating viewing from the pavilion cross the river.

We continued our journey to Phraram Park. We had to stop at one of the pavilions inside the park away from the main road as the rain poured heavily. The park was beautiful with the ruin temples as the background and rivers flew in between. The atmosphere was really peaceful and relaxing. We felt like being transformed to the past by time machine where the great royal city of Ayutthaya was found about 600 years ago.

After the rain stopped, we had a photo stop at the Wat Thammikarat and continued our journey to Wat Phra Si Sanphet. We didn’t enter Wat Phra Si Sanphet but just took a picture of it from outside. We saw the tourists riding the elephants and toured around the temples near Wat Phra Ram. Unfortunately, we had problem with the tyre of one of our bicycles. We searched around but unable to locate any bicycle shop to repair it. We had to send the bicycle for repair via tuk-tuk and the rest cycled and waited at Wat Ratchaburana. Luckily we had walkie-talkie for communication. We managed to gather the member who went to repair the bicycle with the rest. We parked our bicycles at the entrance of Wat Ratchaburana and walked across the road to get something for refreshment at one of the restaurants there.

The golden ray of sunset shined the ruin temples in Ayutthaya like covering them with a layer of golden silk. We continued our visit to Wat Mahathat, the well-known temple where a Buddha head around which tree roots have grown.

On the way back, we stopped at the town center and had our dinner at the Chao Phrom Market. The food there was really tasty and big serving, of course cheap! The locals were very friendly and nice. The sky was dark and we had to rush for the train. We took the shower at one of the guesthouses opposite the bicycle renting shop for 20B a person. We then waited for our train to Chiang Mai at the railway station, which operates 24 hours daily. The luggage room of the railway station was not really safe enough. We were inside the room and tidying up our staff, while there were many other bags and rucksacks around. I wondered as whether the railway station staff knows which bags belonged to us, what if we opened up other bags or took away other bags? Not one would know, I believed.

Our train was delay for about an hour due to some technical problems to the train. A nice, tall and good-looking railway police officer came to advise us on the problems and guided us on which train that we should take. The night train to Chiang Mai was really a long one with many cars that the platform of Ayutthaya Railway Station could not accommodate. Our car was number 14 that almost towards the end. We had to run down from the platform and waited at the side of the railway track. The train was passing by us before it stopped; it was really dangerous and exciting. The gap between the stairs of the train and the ground was about 3 feet height! We had no choice but tried our best to jump up to the train with our bulky rucksack on our back! Really amazing!

The night was a tiring and sweet one; all of us had a nice rest over the night in the train.

[View Ayutthaya Photos]


DAY 3: 16 March 2004 CHIANG MAI

Early morning after a simple wash up in the train, we walked from one end of the train to the other end to observe what other people doing and how they looked like. Friends of mine had card games while I enjoyed talking with another friend. The train passed by the dry forest. The air was rather dusty and hot.

Upon arrival at the Chiang Mai Railway Station, I approached the information counter. Apparently, the staffs at the counter were actually the staffs of the local travel agents. They were suggesting some hotels or guesthouses with reasonable pricing. They even sent us to the hotel for inspection free of charge. We then decided to stay in Winner Inn Hotel that they gave a promotional price of 400B a room a night. The rooms were really good with air-cond and attached bathroom with hot water shower. Friends of mine were really like the room that shown by the hotel staff. The lady who sold us the rooms, Nim, also persuaded us to take up a tour in Chiang Mai. After some discussions, we agreed to go for a day trip to Maetaman Rafting & Elephant Camp to see the elephant shows, ride the elephant and visit the Lisu hilltribe, go for a bamboo rafting, and also visit a elephant dung paper factory and orchid farm en-route. The tour cost us 800B a person. We were also given a free half-day tour to visit the cottage industries around Chiang Mai.

We quickly took a bath and had our lunch at the nearby food stall before the half-day tour in the afternoon starting at 1pm.

A local Chinese old lady who worked at the counter of the hotel, quietly offered us a dinner and night show at a cheapest price of 190B whereas the same offered by the travel agents cost about 400B. We were impressed of the help offered by the old lady and without any doubts we agreed to pay the price and there would be a van to pick us up for the dinner and show at 7pm. She even asked us not to disclose this to the travel agent staff.

The half-day tour was not really fascinating. The driver didn’t do any commentary on Chiang Mai and its cottage industries instead drove us to the various factories and showrooms, hoping to earn his commission at the end of the tour. The driver drove us to the lacquerware factory where the plates, containers, utensils and other items decorated with eggshell. Next, we visited the gems factory, silverware factory, umbrellas factory, woodcarving & furniture factory, and lastly the textiles factory before sending us back to hotel.

We were too tired and took a rest in our rooms after the tour. About 7pm, the reception called and told us that our van is waiting downstairs. There were two German ladies already in the van who were going for the dinner as well. The restaurant was a hug wooden traditional house decorated with local northern region architecture design. There were five long tables that can easily accommodate 20 persons on one side, arranged vertically with the stage in front. There were not many people that night. Foods served on the table with portions for four persons of each dishes. There were fish, chicken, pork and vegetables with rice. Foods can be replenished on request. The shows started while we were still having our dinner. There were fingers dance, drum, traditional music, and some other northern region traditional dances.

Some of us felt that we were cheated. They believed the dinner and show offered by the travel agents that cost much higher should be a grand and nicer place than what we had that night. However, based on the price we paid, I personally quite comfortable with the service and foods provided. I’m an easy-going person after all.

The van sent us to the Night Market after the dinner and show. We walked around and observed what was there in the night market and what are the things that we would like to buy. Some of us started their shopping without any delay, as they said it was irresistible. Most of the items sold here are handicrafts and clothes.

On our way back to hotel, we stopped at one of the Internet shop that offered the cheapest we could ever find in town, 15B per hour! Some of us sent back their messages to their family members.


DAY 4: 17 March 2004 CHIANG MAI

Early morning, we went to one of the restaurants on the main road near our hotel for breakfast: rice with 3 dishes cost only 20B, very cheap!

While waiting for our van to pick us up for the day trip, some of us sent our clothes for laundry. My long pants cost 25B for the service, rather too expensive!

The English speaking tour guide, Ning came to greet us at the hotel lobby. He led us to the elephant training camp north of Chiang Mai. He was friendly, nice and humor. Some of our members started asking him some questions on where to buy books, VCDs, DVDs and even the best massage center in town. I was fallen asleep during the journey to the elephant camp, as I was really tired. I lost my voice since I was in Ayutthaya due to the hot and dry weather in Thailand, and I kept on drinking water like nobody business. I spent quite a lot of money on buying the mineral water.

The Maetaman Rafting and Elephant Camp located in the middle of the jungle. Amazingly there were lots of Whites at the entrance area and having photograph section with the elephants. While waiting for the elephant bathing time, we went to the washrooms. I like their washrooms, which were surprisingly very spacious and clean.

According to our tour guide, an elephant can easily consume about 250kg of food and 18 gallon of water a day. For those who interested, an elephant can be sold at 400,000B. Next, we went to the riverside to see how elephants taking their bath. The elephants splashed water on the tourists while walking back from the river. It was really fun seeing people running away from the elephants. The elephant shows started right after the bathing time. Tourists were well seated under the shelters built by bamboos. We saw how elephant played harmonica, standing on two legs, played basket ball and even foot ball, massage, painting and so on. It was really amazing! But one thing really spoilt my mood was that the elephants were trained to collect tips from the tourists after the show!

Next, we proceeded to elephant riding. It was not really fascinating, as I had experienced it once in Nepal. The jungle was too dry, the trees didn't look greenish and the surrounding looked very dusty. Most of the teak trees were cut down for commercial purpose, therefore the jungle no longer as thick as it was.

We then stopped at the Lisu village. Again, it was another round of shopping of handicrafts. The hilltribe people were wearing their own customs and selling their handmade products. We spent quite a lot of time there bargaining the price.

On the way back to the camp, we rod the white-ox-carts and passing thru the local village. We had our buffet lunch upon arrival at the restaurant in the camp. After the lunch, we went for bamboo rafting. The river was flowing very slowly and the water was really cool. We dipped our legs into the water and felt the natural coolness flew into our body and revived our spirit. I like the environment, so peaceful and relaxing.

Next, we boarded our van and proceeded to Thaimitts Elephant Dung & Natural Fiber Paper factory and showroom. Here, we saw the whole process of how the elephant dung turned into pieces of papers; from cleaning, boiling, dyeing, to drying under the sun. We even saw the various end products from this recycling process of elephant dung at their showroom. This idea was really fantastic; it is really an environmental friendly process!

Before heading back to our hotel, we stopped at an orchid and butterfly farm. Our tour guide explained to us on how orchid grew from the seed in the sealed bottle before they were transferred to the pot. The compound was not really big but we saw variety of different kind of beautiful orchid flowers grew in the farm.

At night, we had our dinner at the food court in Night Market. The food was not really good as what we expected. After the dinner, some of us went to search for the best massage center recommended by the tour guide. A friend of mine and I went to the biggest bookstore in town: Suriwong Book Center, which is very near to the Night Market. Unfortunately, they already closed at 7.30pm. We then walked towards the old town to look for other bookstores and VCD or DVD stores along the way.


DAY 5: 18 March 2004 CHIANG MAI

We had our breakfast in one of the restaurants next to Night Market, which is very Chinese looked and situated at the corner of a junction. Friends of mine who eagerly looked for the best massage center in town were not able to locate it last night; therefore they planned to go there again in the morning. The one who recommended by our tour guide as well as some other people, the best massage center in town is Red Elephant. The friend of mine and I went to Suriwong Book Center again. It was a well-decorated modern bookstore. I managed to buy a book on Chiang Mai and the hilltribes. We then walked to the old town area and looked for other bookstores.

Before noon, as we had to cheak-out from the hotel at 11am, we left our luggage at the hotel and continued our exploration of the old town and visited the oldest temple in Chiang Mai: Wat Chiang Man. We had our late lunch at Aum Vegetarian Restaurant, it was a restaurant cum bookstore; ones could enjoy meals while reading/browsing the books of interest.

We walked back to the hotel to get our luggage and caught a sawngthaew to the railway station. The ride was extremely cheap, i.e. 10B per person as compared to the offered from the old lady at the hotel who charged us for 200B to get a van for us. Upon arrival at the train station, it was very close to the departure time. Some of us ran to the opposite 7-11 store across the road to buy some bread and snacks for our dinner on the train.

We met a local Chinese businessman and an undergraduate student of Chiang Mai University on the train.

[View Chiang Mai Photos]


DAY 6: 19 March 2004 BANGKOK

We had to wake up early in the morning, as the train will reach Bangkok at about 6.15am. We approached the information counter in Hualamphong Railway Station upon arrival; the lady over the counter showed us the direction of where to get the bus and the bus number to Khao San Road. We went to the left hand side of the train station but were unable to locate any bus stop along the road. Suddenly, we saw the bus came and stopped right after the corner near the entrance to the railway station and picked up few passengers. There was no bus stop sign available. We missed the bus, so what we do was to wait for the next bus at where the previous bus stopped and picked up the passengers. There were few Whites waiting for the bus too, so I guessed this must be the place and I assumed we were going to the same place too. Meanwhile there were many taxi drivers came to offering us their service, as the taxi stand was just opposite to where we were waiting.

The next bus came after few minutes and the ride was extremely cheap, only 4B per person! The bus passed by the Chinatown area and the places of interest such as Grand Palace and Sanam Luang. We went to look for our accommodation nearby Khao San Road in a quiet and peaceful lane where full of budget hotels and guesthouses. God knows why, most of the guesthouses were fully occupied and rooms were only available after 12pm checkout time. No advance booking available, we had to come back and check.

We had our breakfast at the roadside stall in a small lane where an old lady selling pork porridge. The porridge was really tasty, or maybe we were too hungry. We finally decided to stay in Sawasdee Krungthep Inn where at least they still have a quad share room available and would reserved a double room for us after the checkout time. We took turns for taking our bath in that room and at the same time the hotel staff gave us another vacant room but only for taking bath. I wondered why the hotel staff didn’t give us the room instead, maybe the room was mean for certain purpose or maybe that room had some kind of unexplainable objects inside. God knows!

We left our luggage inside the room and went to Grand Palace to meet the friend of mine who stayed back in Bangkok. I led them the way; stopped at the Bangkok Tourist Bureau to get some information and useful leaflets and maps, then passing thru the Thammasat University, Maharaj Market and Amulet Market before reaching the entrance to Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace. I saw my friend from far, who standing in front of the entrance; I felt released.

He was robbed the day before in the middle of the street, crowded with people on the road in Silom area. He had the unpleasant experiences where little helps available. However, he was lucky that someone give him some money to spend till he met us. I led him to our hotel via taxi while the rest went into the Wat Phra Kaew first; we then met again later.

The Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace would be closed at 3.30pm, we had little time to explore the fascinating and beautiful architectural of the buildings and the Buddha images. Next, we proceeded to Wat Pho. I really enjoyed listening to the metal sound made from the bowls when coins dropped into them. The environment was really peaceful and quiet. The huge declining Buddha layered with orange silk cloth looked very amazingly.

On our way back to our hotel, we walked all the way and came to Sanam Luang. There were people playing kites on this huge royal field, it was a windy season. There were lots of kites in the sky and lots of locals on the field. There were many food stalls everywhere on the field and friends of mine were really excited with the local foods, tasty and cheap!

We planned to view the sunset over the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River, however due to rain, we had to go back to our hotel. After taking our bath and rest, we went to Khao San Road area for our late dinner. We wandered around the area till midnight.


DAY 7: 20 March 2004 BANGKOK

We had our breakfast at the lane where we stayed. We really liked the particular noodle soup that cost 20B only. Then, we proceeded to the nearby tourist information booth to ask for the bus going to Chatuchak Weekend Market. The staff was very helpful and resourceful. No wonder why their tourism industry is much better than that of our country; not only the quality of the services, but also the positive attitude of the staff.

The weekend market was really huge and crowded with lots of people. Friends of mine were over excited with the cheap things sold in the market. We were walking and shopping till the market closed at about 7pm! Can you imagine, we spent the whole day in Chatuchak Weekend Market and yet, we didn’t cover the whole market; certain part of the market we didn’t have the enough time to explore!

I really admire the locals of their respectfulness attitude towards their country. At about 5pm, the national anthem played thru the speakers placed all over the market. Everyone in the market was immediately standing up straight and making no noise. We were shocked and had to follow the locals. No one dared to make a single move, seemed like the time was stopped and everybody was freeze. I really had a heavy heart after this incident; I was sad, as this seldom happen in my country, I really doubt the attitude of our people towards the country.

At night, we took the bus back and stopped at the Democracy Monument. We had group photo with the monument as the background, and it was really wonderful with the lights on. We walked all the way back to Khao San Road area and had our dinner before going back to our hotel. Later at night almost close to midnight, we went back to Khao San Road to taste the pork burger that will never be sold in Malaysia.

[View Bangkok Photos]


DAY 8: 21 March 2004 BANGKOK

After the long journey, most of my friends including me myself were terribly tired. We decided not going to Chinatown as what we initially planned. We rather waked up a bit late, and took a walk to the Santichaiprakan Park where the Phra Sumen Fort located and it was not far from where we stayed. It was a lazy Sunday morning, the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River was flowing peacefully and the water traffic was not really busy. There were very few people in the park. However, we saw a group of locals gather at one spot having some kind of local community event; we saw many people having a group hair cut together.

Before noon, we checked out from the hotel, and walked a distance with our bulky rucksacks on our back to the bus stand that to catch the bus going to airport. We all sweated like hell and had to run and jump into the bus. The bus stand was really busy with buses going for different destination; one might miss the bus if other buses block one’s sight, or the bus driver did not notice there is any passenger at the bus stand.

We stopped at the bus stand just beside the Don Muang Railway Station. We walked over the pedestrian bridge and checked in at the Air Asia counter located at Terminal 2. After paying the airport tax of 500B, we walked to the local food court. This would be our last chance of having the tasty local foods before boarding the plane.

The queue at the immigration and custom check was quite long. We really worried of getting late for our flight. Luckily, nobody was blaming and stopping us for jumping queue. I guessed Thai people are truly nice to tourist, or we were just too lucky. We were running inside the airport heading to our boarding gate. I heard the notice announced thru the speaker saying that Air Asia flight was delayed, while we were running. True enough, the arrival flight from Kuala Lumpur was delayed when we approached the counter at the entrance of the boarding gate, and our departure would have to postpone to another half an hour. Thank God, we did not miss the flight!

The time passed very fast, we safely touched down at KLIA. After the hassle of locating our luggage, there was no clear indication of which luggage belt assigned for Air Asia passengers, we had to ask and follow the instruction of the staff of where to get our luggage. It was really badly managed.

We took the KLIA Transit back to KL Sentral, and I went back home by taking the KL Monorail. About an hour after the flight touched down at KLIA, I was at home taking my bath and ready for my bedtime. I was really terribly tired both body and soul. My illness, since the second day of the trip, took about a month to recover.

Yoke Ming
22 April 2004