Yo, I'm at the Petronas Towers, formerly the biggest buildings in the world.
1. Going to get some Pizza Hut. Woo-hoo!
2. Just heard the Radiohead new album "clips" for the first time and am now beginning the process of wiping the drool off the keyboard. Please leak soon. PLEASE!! I can't take it.
Alright, I'm super tired from not sleeping well on the train so today I am lying low. Rumor has it there is an amazing roller coaster somewhere in one of the malls around where I am typing and I might just hunt that down, go check out some mosques later, if the sun comes out.
Later.
- m
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Singapore
Leaving Singapore for Kuala Lumpur in a matter of hours. Taking an overnight sleeper train, which is bound to be a bit of an adventure.
Singapore is as clean and efficient and nice and modern as you hear. Upon landing (15 minutes early), I flew through immigration in less than five minutes, literally had my bag waiting for me, and was on and off the subway in front of my hostel in about 20 minutes. Nice work.
Yesterday I crawled basically every district of the city: the British Colonial district, the seaside, Little India, the Arab district, Chinatown. I visited my first mosque and greatly offended everyone (innocently) by walking in the prayer room and by not wearing the green gown they told me I had to wear.
My afternoon brought me to Orchard Rd where I ate ice cream and spent about an hour walking trying to find the Botanical Gardens. They were alright. I walked back, took a shower, and headed to the Night Safari, a night zoo. Saw some sweet animals (elephants, leopards, etc. up close). Came back around 11 and had an expensive (2.75USD) Tiger beer (these were 90 cents in PP) and slept.
I've been staying in a 6 bed dorm room. Suprisingly, I've been the last person to bed both nights.
Today I woke up feeling drained. I've been running myself hard the last few days. I took the subway to Harbour something-er-other and then took the monarail across to Sentosa Island, some sort of synthetic resort island off the coast of Singapore. I haven't quite figured out exactly what it was supposed to be, but it sure looked nice and touristy. But they had a great aquarium with an underwater passageway and a tank where you could touch rays and sharks - nice.
After this it was crappy out and I was totally exhausted so I decided to see Transformers. I actually didn't hate it and it made me realize I really miss America. I'm one of the few "backpacker/NGO workers" that doesn't actually hate America. Michael Bay, you have shown me the light.
Now here I sit. Gotta shower, etc., and then I'm off.
City 3/3 on deck. Back in the US one week from today!
- m
Singapore is as clean and efficient and nice and modern as you hear. Upon landing (15 minutes early), I flew through immigration in less than five minutes, literally had my bag waiting for me, and was on and off the subway in front of my hostel in about 20 minutes. Nice work.
Yesterday I crawled basically every district of the city: the British Colonial district, the seaside, Little India, the Arab district, Chinatown. I visited my first mosque and greatly offended everyone (innocently) by walking in the prayer room and by not wearing the green gown they told me I had to wear.
My afternoon brought me to Orchard Rd where I ate ice cream and spent about an hour walking trying to find the Botanical Gardens. They were alright. I walked back, took a shower, and headed to the Night Safari, a night zoo. Saw some sweet animals (elephants, leopards, etc. up close). Came back around 11 and had an expensive (2.75USD) Tiger beer (these were 90 cents in PP) and slept.
I've been staying in a 6 bed dorm room. Suprisingly, I've been the last person to bed both nights.
Today I woke up feeling drained. I've been running myself hard the last few days. I took the subway to Harbour something-er-other and then took the monarail across to Sentosa Island, some sort of synthetic resort island off the coast of Singapore. I haven't quite figured out exactly what it was supposed to be, but it sure looked nice and touristy. But they had a great aquarium with an underwater passageway and a tank where you could touch rays and sharks - nice.
After this it was crappy out and I was totally exhausted so I decided to see Transformers. I actually didn't hate it and it made me realize I really miss America. I'm one of the few "backpacker/NGO workers" that doesn't actually hate America. Michael Bay, you have shown me the light.
Now here I sit. Gotta shower, etc., and then I'm off.
City 3/3 on deck. Back in the US one week from today!
- m
Monday, July 9, 2007
I don't know why I can't add titles to these entries in Thailand. Worked fine in Cambodia.
So I'm leaving BKK in about a half hour. Really, not for like 4, but it takes 1.5 hrs to get to the airport, and then I've got to do the obligatory wait in the airport.
Final thoughts on BKK:
1. This is a city that will seriously rip you off if you're not a smart traveller. Tons of "hidden" fees, lots of shady dealings. It's funny for a day and then annoying after that. My advice if you ever come: tell them you live here. They're a lot more honest once you say that. Learn to say a couple things in Thai (which I didn't) and you'll probably be okay too.
2. Sorta related, but the street peddlers are relentless. In Cambodia, you'd ignore their first statement and they'd stop. Here they just hound and hound you, sometimes follow you down the street. I've just gotten used to being a prick to all of them because it shuts them up.
3. This city is a mess. If you've ever wanted to research the merits of centralized planning, and need a counterexample, BKK's a good choice.
4. It's a lot of fun here though, corruption, pollution, near-constant annoyances and mind-boggling gaps in public transportation aside. I'd recommend a weekend at most, like I did.
So, so long Thailand. I wish I could've seen more. Would've been nice to get to Phuket / Krabie / Ko Samui / etc. but I just didn't have the time.
Next stop: Singapore.
- m
So I'm leaving BKK in about a half hour. Really, not for like 4, but it takes 1.5 hrs to get to the airport, and then I've got to do the obligatory wait in the airport.
Final thoughts on BKK:
1. This is a city that will seriously rip you off if you're not a smart traveller. Tons of "hidden" fees, lots of shady dealings. It's funny for a day and then annoying after that. My advice if you ever come: tell them you live here. They're a lot more honest once you say that. Learn to say a couple things in Thai (which I didn't) and you'll probably be okay too.
2. Sorta related, but the street peddlers are relentless. In Cambodia, you'd ignore their first statement and they'd stop. Here they just hound and hound you, sometimes follow you down the street. I've just gotten used to being a prick to all of them because it shuts them up.
3. This city is a mess. If you've ever wanted to research the merits of centralized planning, and need a counterexample, BKK's a good choice.
4. It's a lot of fun here though, corruption, pollution, near-constant annoyances and mind-boggling gaps in public transportation aside. I'd recommend a weekend at most, like I did.
So, so long Thailand. I wish I could've seen more. Would've been nice to get to Phuket / Krabie / Ko Samui / etc. but I just didn't have the time.
Next stop: Singapore.
- m
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Day 3 in Bangkok. Woke up, did some Wats. Pretty cool. Hard to describe without you being here.
Took a tuk-tuk to the zoo, which was sorta boring, honestly. Saw some leapords and panthers, king cobras, the typical little boy stuff. As I watched the penguins swim I decided that, I too, wanted to swim.
My ideal pool wouldn't just be a pool however. It would be the pool at the bottom of a waterslide. Maybe with a roller coaster or two nearby for some variety. I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if there is such a pool in Bangkok?" In fact there was: Siam Park City, a theme/water park in the city. Having done a boatload of culture in the last two days, I figured I'd treat myself to a purely "Mike Vukich" afternoon: waterslides and rollercoasters.
So I headed over to the Victory Monument, where the website told me I could board a bus for the park. Sounds simple. Then I get to the victory monument. Dozens of busses. All simply numbered with no ID of where they were going. No one spoke English. I get on one bus but realize it's heading the wrong way. Get off. Finally find an information booth . . . that spoke 100% Thai. I finally get directions by drawing, no joke, a roller coaster on a piece of paper and showing it to a kid who spoke a little bit of English. I get on Bus 168 and head off, proud of myself.
One hour later, the park is nowhere in sight. I'm just out in the middle of Bangkok's suburbia, no clue of where I'm going. Start to get nervous. Finally, it appears. I exit the bus, and buy tickets -- 350 baht (~$10) which is pretty pricey for Bangkok and this is only enough to get my two coaster rides and admission to the water park (the real reason I came... the coasters looked a bit crappy).
So I ride Coaster #1 which was an inverted Raptor-like deal. Pretty okay, albeit short and nowhere as good as the Raptor. All the Thai kids think I'm a badass for riding in the front seat as they were all afraid.
Then I head over to Coaster #2, which, after riding, I affectionately titled "Gulag: The Ride" (I know it doesn't exactly fit, but work with me). This was hands-down the worst and most painful rollercoaster I have ever been on. It was essentially the old Lazer Loop at Kennywood, but riding it was like getting lazers in my neck and back. Holy hell. It was obviously a Soviet creation, you could just tell by the "We want to be like the Americans but simply aren't as good" look and feel to every detail of the ride -- the crappy cars, the crappy platform, the fact that it nearly broke my head off. Good lord. At least now I have a concensus #1 Worst Coaster Ever on my list.
Then I headed over to the water park, which was decent enough. Honestly, I can't explain to you how amazing it felt to submerge myself in water. It's like 95-105 everyday. Sweat soaks through my clothes within 10 minutes of walking outside. It's embarassing / disgusting. The water was amazing. Amazing.
I took off around 5, which at the time seemed like a good idea. The park wasn't too far from downtown Bangkok; I could see the skyline from the top of the coasters and the stupidly tall speed slides I went down (which also beat the crap out of my back). First I get on the wrong bus. It drops me off in the middle of nowhere.
Then I get picked up by the right bus. They have no idea where I want to go so I show them the picture of the Victory Monument on my camera as they speak no English. They look at it and laugh. I wonder why. I found out why over the next two hours. Two hours it took! TWO HOURS ON A BUS. To get a matter of maybe 10-20km.
We get to the Monument and of course it is pouring. I finally eat, make it back to Khao San and drink two beers in a matter of minutes. And here we are.
- m
Took a tuk-tuk to the zoo, which was sorta boring, honestly. Saw some leapords and panthers, king cobras, the typical little boy stuff. As I watched the penguins swim I decided that, I too, wanted to swim.
My ideal pool wouldn't just be a pool however. It would be the pool at the bottom of a waterslide. Maybe with a roller coaster or two nearby for some variety. I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if there is such a pool in Bangkok?" In fact there was: Siam Park City, a theme/water park in the city. Having done a boatload of culture in the last two days, I figured I'd treat myself to a purely "Mike Vukich" afternoon: waterslides and rollercoasters.
So I headed over to the Victory Monument, where the website told me I could board a bus for the park. Sounds simple. Then I get to the victory monument. Dozens of busses. All simply numbered with no ID of where they were going. No one spoke English. I get on one bus but realize it's heading the wrong way. Get off. Finally find an information booth . . . that spoke 100% Thai. I finally get directions by drawing, no joke, a roller coaster on a piece of paper and showing it to a kid who spoke a little bit of English. I get on Bus 168 and head off, proud of myself.
One hour later, the park is nowhere in sight. I'm just out in the middle of Bangkok's suburbia, no clue of where I'm going. Start to get nervous. Finally, it appears. I exit the bus, and buy tickets -- 350 baht (~$10) which is pretty pricey for Bangkok and this is only enough to get my two coaster rides and admission to the water park (the real reason I came... the coasters looked a bit crappy).
So I ride Coaster #1 which was an inverted Raptor-like deal. Pretty okay, albeit short and nowhere as good as the Raptor. All the Thai kids think I'm a badass for riding in the front seat as they were all afraid.
Then I head over to Coaster #2, which, after riding, I affectionately titled "Gulag: The Ride" (I know it doesn't exactly fit, but work with me). This was hands-down the worst and most painful rollercoaster I have ever been on. It was essentially the old Lazer Loop at Kennywood, but riding it was like getting lazers in my neck and back. Holy hell. It was obviously a Soviet creation, you could just tell by the "We want to be like the Americans but simply aren't as good" look and feel to every detail of the ride -- the crappy cars, the crappy platform, the fact that it nearly broke my head off. Good lord. At least now I have a concensus #1 Worst Coaster Ever on my list.
Then I headed over to the water park, which was decent enough. Honestly, I can't explain to you how amazing it felt to submerge myself in water. It's like 95-105 everyday. Sweat soaks through my clothes within 10 minutes of walking outside. It's embarassing / disgusting. The water was amazing. Amazing.
I took off around 5, which at the time seemed like a good idea. The park wasn't too far from downtown Bangkok; I could see the skyline from the top of the coasters and the stupidly tall speed slides I went down (which also beat the crap out of my back). First I get on the wrong bus. It drops me off in the middle of nowhere.
Then I get picked up by the right bus. They have no idea where I want to go so I show them the picture of the Victory Monument on my camera as they speak no English. They look at it and laugh. I wonder why. I found out why over the next two hours. Two hours it took! TWO HOURS ON A BUS. To get a matter of maybe 10-20km.
We get to the Monument and of course it is pouring. I finally eat, make it back to Khao San and drink two beers in a matter of minutes. And here we are.
- m
Saturday, July 7, 2007
I'm in Bangkok. I've been here since yesterday. I'm staying on Khao San which is a big backpackers district. Really it feels like a bunch of weirdos and Western brats (which I suppose I am). It's just sorta the whole "backpacker" mentality that gets on my nerves I guess. Generally rich people pretending they're poor, haha.
Yesterday I got lost around this part of town / Chinatown / etc. Went and got a drink at a bar, saw some local music which was really good actually.
Today I woke up early cause I went to bed early. My hotel -- which was in and out of power during a 20 minute period yesterday -- didn't have running water this morning, which was great. I just got dressed and went to the local Wats (temples). Took a boat across the river and climbed Wat Arun, which was tall and gave me vertigo (I think you get vertigo from heights, maybe, I don't know). I took a tuk-tuk to Siam Square next. The tuk-tuk driver gave me two options, either a.) pay 200 Baht for the ride (around $6) or b.) pay 10B (about 30 cents) but go visit a tailor that he had a "deal" with on the way. I chose option "B" and was forced to poke around a tailor for 10 minutes, but it saved me around $5.50. Nice.
Siam Square is a mess of shopping malls and restaurants, all incredibly modern and nice. It took forever to get there and the first thing I saw was an Au Bon Pain and the hunger in my stomach made me go in, although I was excited to try the local Thai cuisine. I wandered around the square for a bit and then had enough. Took the skytrain to Lumphini Park, which is a beautiful park in the middle of the city. Sat there and relaxed. Next I headed over to the Red Light District just to see what it was like. It was 3PM, mind you, so nothing was open, but I did see the exteriors of sex clubs with names both innocuous ("Tip Top") and hysterical ("Super Pussy.")
Eventually I ended back up at Siam Square. It started to rain so I figured seeing a movie was a decent option, wait out the rain. The only thing playing in English was Die Hard 4, so I saw it. Was okay for a Die Hard movie I guess. Before this I had amazing Thai stir fry with pork and vegetables... really outstanding food. Best meal I've had in a while but it didn't fill me up.
Grabbed a tuk-tuk back to Khao San and now here we stand. I'm totally exhausted (my eyes are drooping as I type this and it's only 9:50PM). My whole goal of spending very little money on this trip fell through as soon as I sit down and figured out that I could spend $60/day and still come home with enough money to pay rent and live comfortably. So things are a lot more fun now!
Um... that's about it. I'm back in the USA a week from Wednesday and I'd really love if someone could get me the new Spoon, Iron & Wine, Interpol, Okkervil River, White Stripes, New P's, etc.
Until later.
- m
Yesterday I got lost around this part of town / Chinatown / etc. Went and got a drink at a bar, saw some local music which was really good actually.
Today I woke up early cause I went to bed early. My hotel -- which was in and out of power during a 20 minute period yesterday -- didn't have running water this morning, which was great. I just got dressed and went to the local Wats (temples). Took a boat across the river and climbed Wat Arun, which was tall and gave me vertigo (I think you get vertigo from heights, maybe, I don't know). I took a tuk-tuk to Siam Square next. The tuk-tuk driver gave me two options, either a.) pay 200 Baht for the ride (around $6) or b.) pay 10B (about 30 cents) but go visit a tailor that he had a "deal" with on the way. I chose option "B" and was forced to poke around a tailor for 10 minutes, but it saved me around $5.50. Nice.
Siam Square is a mess of shopping malls and restaurants, all incredibly modern and nice. It took forever to get there and the first thing I saw was an Au Bon Pain and the hunger in my stomach made me go in, although I was excited to try the local Thai cuisine. I wandered around the square for a bit and then had enough. Took the skytrain to Lumphini Park, which is a beautiful park in the middle of the city. Sat there and relaxed. Next I headed over to the Red Light District just to see what it was like. It was 3PM, mind you, so nothing was open, but I did see the exteriors of sex clubs with names both innocuous ("Tip Top") and hysterical ("Super Pussy.")
Eventually I ended back up at Siam Square. It started to rain so I figured seeing a movie was a decent option, wait out the rain. The only thing playing in English was Die Hard 4, so I saw it. Was okay for a Die Hard movie I guess. Before this I had amazing Thai stir fry with pork and vegetables... really outstanding food. Best meal I've had in a while but it didn't fill me up.
Grabbed a tuk-tuk back to Khao San and now here we stand. I'm totally exhausted (my eyes are drooping as I type this and it's only 9:50PM). My whole goal of spending very little money on this trip fell through as soon as I sit down and figured out that I could spend $60/day and still come home with enough money to pay rent and live comfortably. So things are a lot more fun now!
Um... that's about it. I'm back in the USA a week from Wednesday and I'd really love if someone could get me the new Spoon, Iron & Wine, Interpol, Okkervil River, White Stripes, New P's, etc.
Until later.
- m
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Last day at work
Last day at KiD.
Found out today that I am officially an Associate Editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law. Adding on the fact that I'm a chair of the International Law Society, my resume is looking pretty good going into OCI.
8 days of travel await. I'll update from the "road."
- m
Found out today that I am officially an Associate Editor of the Michigan Journal of International Law. Adding on the fact that I'm a chair of the International Law Society, my resume is looking pretty good going into OCI.
8 days of travel await. I'll update from the "road."
- m
More pictures of me in Cambodia
Courtesy of Bobby Mauger's Facebook:
Kep, next to our boat, and with a storm looming
Sort of hating the boat ride to/from Kep
Jungle hike, Kep again
"This is no way a cheeseburger," Sihanoukville
- m
- m
Monday, July 2, 2007
Assorted stuff
First of all, I should say that I went to Sihanoukville this weekend, which is another beach town. And it rained. In fact, as I got off the bus at the terminal, it looked like a monsoon. I rode a moto to the beach by hiding underneath the back of my driver's poncho, my face nicely planted into his B.O.-emenating arm pit. He then tried to con me into staying at some guest house he worked for (and I was too smart for that!) so he just dropped me off at the end of this street. Eventually, by walking through the rain, I found our guesthouse. It was gray and rainy for the rest of the weekend.
It wasn't all a wash. I got a nice massage (no happy ending) and got to read a lot of The Corrections.
Oh, and here are the dates for my trip:
7/6 Leave for Bangkok
7/9 Leave Bangkok for Singapore
7/11 Take overnight train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
7/14 Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh
My three flights cost a total of $220. My train ticket will be about $15-20. Besides that I'm hoping to find a way to live on $20 a day (food + accomodations), with a little extra being spent in Singapore and on attractions at each place. I'm praying that this will only cost me around $500. If not, it shouldn't be too much more.
I'll be arranging hostels and guest houses shortly.
Hmmm. Only 3 days left in Cambodia this week. Sad. After I leave I'll only have the 2 days after I return from KL to finish enjoying the city. I fly out of PP only two weeks from today.
- m
It wasn't all a wash. I got a nice massage (no happy ending) and got to read a lot of The Corrections.
Oh, and here are the dates for my trip:
7/6 Leave for Bangkok
7/9 Leave Bangkok for Singapore
7/11 Take overnight train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
7/14 Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh
My three flights cost a total of $220. My train ticket will be about $15-20. Besides that I'm hoping to find a way to live on $20 a day (food + accomodations), with a little extra being spent in Singapore and on attractions at each place. I'm praying that this will only cost me around $500. If not, it shouldn't be too much more.
I'll be arranging hostels and guest houses shortly.
Hmmm. Only 3 days left in Cambodia this week. Sad. After I leave I'll only have the 2 days after I return from KL to finish enjoying the city. I fly out of PP only two weeks from today.
- m
Friday, June 29, 2007
Change of plans
Work offered me the last week off from my internship if I wanted to travel. Seeing as I have more than enough employment left in the summer when I return -- if anything, I was working too much -- I accepted.
Right now it looks like I'm heading to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore across 8 days with nothing but my backpack. Hooray! More details to come.
I just left Freebird, a bar/grill that looked and felt distinctly American. It was weird to walk out on the street when I was done... I honestly felt like I was at home. Sadly, and happily too, I will be home in less than 3 weeks now: Wednesday the 16th.
Tomorrow I am catching the 8AM bus to Sihanoukville. All the rest of my friends are already there, so I'm stuck home alone. I bought a bus pass for Saturday before I realized work would've easily let me take a half day so I could go today. Oh well. So tonight I am all alone. I enjoyed my chicken sandwich @ Freebird and now just booked a flight to Bangkok! And I bought the Prestige today @ the DVD store so I could watch it tonight, so this is what I will do.
Plus, since I'm travelling alone tomorrow, this means I can get up early and indulge in something that probably only I would enjoy... USA DONUTS!!! Yes! Authentic, American-style donuts (cake with sprinkles) await me when I wake up tomorrow. Awesome. I'll almost more excited about this than I am about going to Sville.
- m
Right now it looks like I'm heading to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore across 8 days with nothing but my backpack. Hooray! More details to come.
I just left Freebird, a bar/grill that looked and felt distinctly American. It was weird to walk out on the street when I was done... I honestly felt like I was at home. Sadly, and happily too, I will be home in less than 3 weeks now: Wednesday the 16th.
Tomorrow I am catching the 8AM bus to Sihanoukville. All the rest of my friends are already there, so I'm stuck home alone. I bought a bus pass for Saturday before I realized work would've easily let me take a half day so I could go today. Oh well. So tonight I am all alone. I enjoyed my chicken sandwich @ Freebird and now just booked a flight to Bangkok! And I bought the Prestige today @ the DVD store so I could watch it tonight, so this is what I will do.
Plus, since I'm travelling alone tomorrow, this means I can get up early and indulge in something that probably only I would enjoy... USA DONUTS!!! Yes! Authentic, American-style donuts (cake with sprinkles) await me when I wake up tomorrow. Awesome. I'll almost more excited about this than I am about going to Sville.
- m
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Plane crash stuff
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6243842.stm
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/6/27/worldupdates/2007-06-27T072714Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-281930-2&sec=Worldupdates
Turns out it had crashed a lot earlier in the day, which means we were definetly there when it happened. Don't know where we were in relation to the mountain it was found on.
Yikes.
- m
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/6/27/worldupdates/2007-06-27T072714Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-281930-2&sec=Worldupdates
Turns out it had crashed a lot earlier in the day, which means we were definetly there when it happened. Don't know where we were in relation to the mountain it was found on.
Yikes.
- m
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