Jogja...

I had a couple of days back in Bali. One I spent playing golf with Jim and the next I relaxed hard and caught some small waves before I jumped on a flight to Yogyakarta.
Yogyakarta is a 'special area' in Indonesia, a university town - it contains a lot of history and also 2 huge temples which are the governments first 'restoration for tourism' projects.
I felt pretty drawn to Borobudur since I have been travelling and heard about it. It is the largest Buddhist Stupa in the world, a UNESCO site and I was planning on heading out there on my 3rd day here. I got up on the second morning and hired a motor scooter and headed out on the 45km journey - I couldn't wait! Of course I got a bit lost on the way but that's half the fun and a good way to have a look around central Java. It is so lush and green here and the area is surrounded by volcanoes so it's very spectacular. Being the wet season its very green but getting caught in a downpour makes you very wet as I learnt walking around on my first day.
Eventually I made it to the temple and it is huge. There were lots of tourists there but the hardest part of looking around was trying to make your way through the maze of Batik and souvenir stalls to the parking area. I got some good photo's but Internet connections are not great here either so I have to limit what I upload.. Check out Borobudur on the web.
It's really hot here and I've been having quiet nights and reading lots...
So my third day I first went to the Sultans palace which is in jogja itself before heading out to Prambanan temple - the other large temple nearby - this one is Hindu and not Buddhist but there are also Buddhist temples in the same park/area. This temple is also a UNESCO Site - it is also spectacular but unfortunately due to the large earthquake in 2006 much of the site was closed off and had scaffolding on it. It was very worthwhile.

I had the motor scooter for 2 days here and it was a great way to look around both the city and the surrounding areas and meet some local people. It's been great to be eating street food again - and I think one of the only ways to eat Indonesian food as all the restaurants are western or Chinese..
I'm really glad I made it to Indonesia outside of Bali and are really impressed by it. I saw all these signs saying 'tempel' which I thought would be more temples abut after driving through a few it seems that they are villages or communities and they are all clean and beautiful amongst the lush green forest/jungle.
One thing that being back in travelling mode has reminded me of is that everyone wants to sell you something and they try very hard to do so.. They're just making a living but I have had to book my ticket home because I'm getting worried about my reaction to some of these sellers!! So it's a week in Bali, hopefully body surfing some nice waves and relaxing big time before I am back in Melbourne next week. It's been a long trip and excellent but I think I need to centre myself a bit with some routine and it will be great to see my family and friends. I've put some different pictures up this time.



One is a traditional local house in Timor Leste, one of my mate Jim and his family in Bali and a couple of Jogja..
Thanks to all the people who sent me support to keep my blog going. I think this will be the end of it as I don't think I'll have much to report over the next week or so. I'll see most of you back in Melbourne after next week - and to my overseas friends - I'll hopefully see you back on the road again sometime not to far away!

The young country

Well it's been a long time between posts and I must admit I'm starting to get a bit weary so I think it's a sign that it's nearly time for home.
I'm posting this blog from Dili, East Timor and the internet isn't so fast here and most of my things are in Bali so unfortunately no photos just yet..
Going back I made it to Bangkok and spent a couple of days by the pool which was nice. It really is a big city though and I found it a bit overwhelming. It probably didn't help that I found out how much a city of the night is really is - particularly after 2 am when all the bars close and people move onto the street to eat and drink at little portable bars. I met some really interesting people there but maybe could have slept more!
Luckily my friend Berenice who I met in Laos and Cambodia flew over to meet me and we spent some time looking around the city. We caught a boat up the river to the Grand Palace and also went to Wat Pho which were both amazing places and absolutely beautiful. We also found a meditation centre before meeting up with my Spanish friends Rendo and Olalla and had a bit of a big night. It wasn't difficult for them to convince us to move across to to the Khao San area which was surprising much nicer than Sukhumvit where I stayed previously - maybe a bit more touristy but quieter too.
My visa had actually expired so I was illegal for a few days before I jumped on a flight to Bali. My old friend Jim's family live in Bali so they can go to school so I spent 1 night there before getting a plane for East Timor - the youngest country in the world(?).
I arrived in Dili and had a good afternoon catching up with my old mate and having a bit of a look around town. We ended up at a nightclub that night and I was blown away by the live band there. I think music is the only outlet for a lot of young people here and the music was great.
After a bit of a late start the next day we hired a 4 wheel drive and headed up out of Dili to have a bit more of a look around the island. We arrived at Baucau around dusk and stayed in what is a luxury hotel for East Timor which Jim was looking at for his East Timor Hotels website. It is a lot higher up that Dili and so was a bit cooler (but still warm).
The next day we headed even further east and it was great driving from up in the mountains down to the beach and back up again. We went to Tutuala which is the far east of East Timor and went down to the beach where you can get a local fishing boat across to Jaco Island. We didn'y actually go across but the beach was lovely.
We then headed to the town of Lospalos which is in the mountains to the east. It's rainy season over here and the rain kicked in just after lunch and it poured down for hours. Coming from Melbourne I haven't seen rain like that for years but I tried my best to send it home!
Jim has a mate Carlos who runs a hotel in Lospalos and it was Carlos son's christening which is a big, big affair in East Timor. I was lucky enough to experience a Timorese party with lots of locals and Portuguese.
The next morning we headed off early to beat the rain to Dili.
We're heading to Bali tomorrow and I think I will do a quick trick to Yogyakata before doing some bodysurfing in Bali and heading home.
Sorry to say that means that soon it will be the end of my blog for all those living vicariously through it! Thanks for your support though - and maybe there will still a post or 2 before I get back..

What Wat??

Well since leaving Chiang Mai I'm beginning to feel a bit Wat'ed out! I just visted Sukhothai historical park - the ruins of the first capital of Thailand and where the Thai language comes from. I arrived in the New Sukhothai the early evening and checked in before making my way down to the weekend food festival. There were stalls from many businesses and small opeartors and I ate delicious food for really cheap prices. After an early night I headed out the old city of Sukhothai and hired a bicycle. There are hundreds fo ruins around and riding a bike around the area was a great way to see all the different areas and visit nearly all the ruins.
There were many Chinese celebrations going on in New Sukhothai that night - a family celebration for the new year I think.. I ate yummy street food before another early night.

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The following morning I got myself a motorscooter and headed out for Si Satchanalai which was another important city in the area during the time Sukhothai was the capital. It was a 60km ride and seemed to take longer to get there than get back but I thought it was really great. Although not as big as Sukhothai it was a lot more relaxed and had a much more natural setting. Of course there were much less tour groups and other vistors and it was layed out over a larger space and was great. The temples were in better condition and also showed more architectual styles. There is some local styles as well as Khmer and Sri Lankan temples in the area. It didn't take me too long to look around on the scooter so I was back to New Sukhothai in the afternoon and got a bus to Arruthaya arriving late that night.

Arruthaya I think was the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai and there is a UNESCO Historical Park situated throughout the current city. I had a bit of a sleep in but again hired a scooter to get out and have a look at the many Wats and temples around the city. The temples here are in better shape than those in Sukhotahi, but they are a also bit newer. There are some great Buddha statues here - one is the largest in Thailand and some other beautiful old ones. It's funny but I tried to take photos of the one I liked the best and the same thing has happened that occurred in the historical park I visited a few weeks ago and the shots have come out all blurred (maybe I'm shaking too much!). So as mentioned I'm nearly overloaded on the Wat and temple stakes and are heading to good old Bangkok to relax by a pool for a couple of days. Of course I will have to visit the major Wat's there too but the further south I get the warmer it is getting too and I'm stuggling a bit with the heat. All my friends in Melbourne are probably jealous of the fact that I've been a bit cooler and the fires down there sound pretty full on so I won't complain too much! I must admit I'm not enjoying Thailand as much as my other destinations.. It's much further developed and I can't help but feeling a bit like I'm just lloked at like a wallet. Of course there are some lovely local people but also plenty looking to make money!

Northern Thailand - Chiang Mai and Pai

Chiang Mai is a nice town. It's hard to think that it's the second city behind Bangkok because it just doesn't feel very big at all.
We had a couple of relaxing days just looking around which was nice, I found the 'trendy' art gallery area. There are very many good food options in this town so I made the most of that too. There are also nearly as many Wats in Chiang Mai as there are in Bangkok and considering the size difference they seem to be everywhere.



We decided then to visit Pai which is in the mountains to the north of Chiang Mai. It is also a 'boutiquey' little town and probably not really like anywhere else in Thailand. I get the feeling that Pai has changed a lot in the last few years as there were quite a few Thai tourists there and apparently going to Pai and camping 'in the cold' is the thing to do at the moment!
It also used to be a bit of a hippie haven but it seemed to me that that side of things was dying out - maybe I just wasn't there long enough..
The food is great in Pai as is the live music scene and we saw some great music in the 3 days that we were there. Adam made friends with Cat (from London) in the bus on the way up so the 3 of us hung around and looked at some of the many sites on offer out of Pai. After a long hike not quite to a waterfall on day one we got motorbikes and went and found some waterfalls the next day.

We visited 'Coffee in Love' which is a coffee shop that is very popular with Thai people (I think it was in a movie) but the best places we found were heading north out of Pai into the countryside. This is getting into local tribal areas and the landscape was beautiful. We also visited a national park with some hot springs that we could bathe in which was great.






After a few nights I decided to head back to Chiang Mai to sort out my visa. Thailand has recently changed its visa rules and if you cross into the country on foot you only get a 15 day visa. I had to buy an extension and could only get 7 more days so I won't be spending too long here! A relaxing day or 2 here back on my own for the first time in a while and then onto Sukhothai..

Waterfalls and Historical energy centres

After one night in Udon Thani we decided it was time to move on and a long long bus journey didn't seem very attractive. We decided to hire a car and see a bit of the North East not being locked into the tourist bus route.
The first place we headed for was Phu Phrabat Historical Park not too far from Udon Thani. It took us a little while to head of and find our way there but what a highlight. It was really fantastic, beautiful ancient countryside that reminded me of aboriginal centres like the Grampians at home. There was rock art and some really unusually shaped rock formation scattered across the landscape. It felt like a real energy centre and Adam and I both got a real buzz from being there. We left around dusk and headed west. We hit a small town and decided to stop for some soup for tea. We sat down in the small village and there was an older Dutch man in the same shop who we chatted with. He lives in this village with his Thai wife. He told us what he thought was the best road to take at night and we followed his directions to find ourselves back near where we started 2 hours earlier! Eventually we found the main highway and headed onto Loei arriving very late.


The next morning our car wouldn't start and we had to wait 2 hours for another one to arrive from Udon Thani. We headed off late and decided not to try to do too much that day. We went hunting for waterfalls and were a little disappointed with what we found before making it to Phitsanulok around dusk. It was quite a formal town and the night market was the cleanest and most organised I've seen. We had tea and an early night.
Phitsanulok must have a large Chinese population because that night we saw Chinese Opera and the next morning we were woken by fireworks, drums and gongs as a dragon danced it way through many of the shops in our street.
Phitsanulok also has the second most important sculpture of Buddha in Thailand in one of its Wats (The most important being the Jade Buddha in Bangkok). We went to had a look amongst the many, many pilgrims before hitting the road again and heading North.


We were determined to not spend too much time in the car but realised that most of the National parks and waterfalls were to the east and behind us and eventually we headed out to some waterfalls at a National Park. The main waterfall had seven levels but the disappointment was that the water was a bit dirty.
That night we headed on to Phrae with was a small town with the old city walls still standing. Unfortunately I was starting to feel a bit sick so another early night was enjoyed.










The following morning we decided to head for Chae Son National Park for some more waterfalls but also natural hot springs! It was a beautiful park with nice jungle around the waterfalls and I spent a good 45 minutes in and out of the hot mineral springs. As I had a bit of a cold i then had a fantastic Thai Massage before we jumped in the car and headed back south to Lampang. Lampang was a really cosmopolitan town and we had dinner at a pub with live music amongst trendy clothes shops. I had another early night as my throat was pretty sore. The next morning I decided to bite the bullet and try some antibiotics.

We visited Wat Phra That Lampang Luang which is the oldest wooden temple in Thailand and which felt really great. The Pagoda here is said to contain some of the Buddha's hair so again there were many pilgrims visiting. I also got interviewed by some Thai students studying English. From the Wat we headed up to Chang Mai (Thailand second city) and returned our hire car. It will be nice to stay in the same place for a night or 3 before we are thinking of hiring some small motorbikes and heading up north to Pai.

Kung Hei Fat Choi and another land of smiles

Happy Chinese New Year. I can't believe that now I'm in Thailand.. It was very hard to say goodbye to Cambodia - I can understand people forming relationships with that place.
I didn't like the 'feel' of Battambang much but we had a lazy day there and I rested and had a sauna and massage. From there we jumped in a car to Sissaphon which seemed like a pretty small town - we headed out almost straight away on the back of moto's to the temples which were about 60kms away. It was a long and very dusty ride. We bought cheap, used long sleeve t-shirts to wear and covered our heads in Krama's to try to keep the dust off and we very happy to be able to walk around for quite a while once we arrived at Banteay Chhmer.

It is a massive complex - probably similar size to the main temple at Angkor Wat.. There is a large wall around it and a moat, the temple itself is very run down and has been heavily looted but it is still magnificent and quite fun to climb around in.

We then jumped back on the moto's to visit another ruined complex nearby called Banteay Top .

This was much smaller, but the building's taller and some had wooden beams built in. It felt older and was more ruined than Chhmer. It was great to get out to these sites - particularly as we had them nearly all to ourselves!

After a night in Sissaphon we decided to hit Thailand. We took a car to the border and after having a quick bite (Thailand is so different to Cambodia!) we jumped on a bus to head north. It was a long, long day in the bus - we wanted to head to Ubon Ratchatani but when we got off we re-evaluated. We booked into a cheap hotel with the intention of catching an early train but over dinner that night I realised when Adam was talking to a local, that he thought that were going north and me east. We went down to the station and worked out that it was better to head north so we jumped on a train west not long after - with the intention of getting an overnight sleeper north later that night. When we arrived at the railway junction there was only one seat left on the train that night so we stayed in a nice hotel and got the early morning train to Udon Thani.

We travelled third class on the trains with the locals and its a fun way to meet some of them. We were constantly offered fruit and sweets! It was a long slow journey but from here we should be able to make our way north on local transport and see a bit of the countryside.

Culture and the countryside

It was back to Phnom Penh for some relaxing and enjoyment of the city. It does have a great feel and has come a long way in 7 years. Adam and I found a great massage place which we visited a few times and I spent the next 5 days just soaking up living in the city.
It was great to bump into my friend Berenice (French) on the street as she was arriving to stay in the same hotel . There were lots of cultural things to do and many were for free which says a lot about Phnom Penh's development.
Last Saturday we went to see a famous French Jazz musician (Louis Sclavis) play the clarinet, the soprano saxophone and the bass clarinet with a group of traditional Khmer musicians. It was a great experience and there was even an Aspara dancer who came on for a number of songs and did modern Aspara dancing to the music. After the show we had a delicious dinner with Monica and the wedding crew.
On Sunday we went to Khmer Boxing, (same as Thai Boxing) and that night we went to the Metahouse, which is an art gallery and restaurant/bar to watch a Wong Kar Wei movie (Chungking Express) at the rooftop bar which was great. We took Berenice to 'Friends' the restaurant that night and spent some time at Monica's before strolling home late through the quiet streets.
Monday I did some unexpected shopping and too much working out at the gym. Tuesday was pretty quiet although I did make back to the National Museum which was fantastic. It's quite small but there is some really great stuff in there.
Adam and I decided it was time to leave Phnom Pehn. It's a great town but I was being too social and drinking a bit much! So Wednesday we jumped on a bus to Battambang - Cambodia's second biggest city.
It is a really beautiful city with lots of old french colonial architecture and it is much more relaxed than Phnom Pehn. We spent the first day in the back of a tuk-tuk doing a tour of many of the local sites.

These included a ride on 'the bamboo train' of which there are actually very many. A local just builds a platform from wood and bamboo, and sticks it on some wheels on the railway track. It is an easy way to transport food and people between villages. We actually were going really fast and it felt a bit like a roller coaster but we stopped at a village and met some really nice locals - one of who showed me around a brick works they operate there.
We then went to Phnom Sampeau which is a large limestone mountain that suddenly sticks up out of the flat countryside. There were a number of new temples there as well as some left over Khmer Rouge cannons. We also visited the killing caves which were used by the Khmer Rouge during their reign and genocide.
From there we went to Phnom Banan and up the 358 steps to the temple that some say inspired Angkor Wat. You can definitely see the similarities although Phnom Banan is much smaller, I met a lovely young guide there who fanned me as I stopped for a breather on the way up. She also had some good knowledge of the temple as she lived in the village below.
After an early diner at Smokin Pot (A local restaurant that offers cooking classes) Adam and I jumped on a moto out to the Phare Ponleu Selpak centre. This is a centre for homeless and disadvantaged children and was really impressive. The buildings were great but much much better was the artwork that was produced by the children there. From the gallery we went out to a circus performance that was incredible. A mixture of juggling, diablo, acrobatics, interpretive dance, trapeze and live music was incredibly impressive. Many of the artists are going on to do international tours and I later found out that many of the musicians that I saw in Phnon Penh last Sunday came from this NGO as well.
As I have been living the life'' rather than being a tourist I have not taken many shots and I'm also having problems uploading them here in Battembang so apologies for not posting more. I have a bit of a flu again from too much partying and gym work in Phnom Pehn so are planning to slowly make my way to Thailand via Banteay Chhmer and Banteay Top. What to do for Chinese New year?? I'm sure it will be big in these parts!