Charming Laos : September 2011

Brief description on my trip to Vientiane and Vang Vieng, Laos

20 September 2011

Arrived Vientiane by AirAsia in the evening. 

Checked-in at Malinam Phu hotel.

For the rest of the day, only photography skills were practiced.

Met many Muslims in Vientiane and halal restaurants are available, mostly Indian food. 

Enjoyed Indian food so much for the entire trip

21st September 2011

Started the day by strolling around the city, visiting That Dam Stupa (Black stupa).

Later, rented a Laotian style tuk-tuk from morning till evening, and headed to Buddha park which is located outskirt of Vientiane. The Budda Park is located at the riverbank of Mekong river, which is at the border of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Road condition was horrible and it was a bumpy ride once entering the village.

Later, visited That Luang stupa, or also known as the Golden Stupa, a very famous symbol of Laos.

Next, head to Patuxay, resembling Arc de Triomp of Paris. 

After a full afternoon, we dropped by at the waterfront to have late lunch

Strolled around Vientiane city and return to the hotel.

At night, went to the night market, bought the must buy items and shawls.

22nd September 2011

Took a bus to Vang Vieng which took 3 hours ++.

Vang Vieng is a small city which is full of foreigners seeking fun here.

Checked in at Riverview Hotel. Our room is in the middle of Vang Vieng river which is cool.

Reached Vang Vieng at noon and surveyed for activities possible to be done today. We decided to do kayaking from the upriver (can't remember the name) until Vang Vieng small city.

Thought of going for tubing but the tour agent said it's not good for us. I couldn't understand why is that so but that the guy said it is meant for drunk people who do not have anything else to do. And it seemed that the guy knew both of us were not drinkers. 

Kayaking along the river is fun and the view along the river is really amazing. It is a feel in a real village with no pollution and development.

After kayaking, returned to the hotel and had dinner at an Indian restaurant.

Planned itinerary for next day, and finally decided to go caving and visiting the Blue Lagoon (sad, sad, sad,that Blue Lagoon happened to be white-tea lagoon due to rain).

23rd September 2011

Took a half bumpy ride to the Blue Cave and Blue lagoon. It was raining so not many photographs were taken accept in the cave and nearby area. After caving, passed through a village and saw women were weaving shawls and the shawls made were displayed. They are for sale!!! We stopped and bought a few pieces as this is something authentic and made by the locals. 

Couldn't afford to waste anymore time because we've booked bus  ticket to return to Vientiane at 2 pm.

We did a quick packing up and checked out. It was really frustrating to stay in Vang Vieng for a short time. 

If time and financially permitting, I would return to Vientiane and headed straight to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang and spend more time doing outdoor activities in Vang Vieng. 

Arrived Vientiane and checked in at Mixay Guesthouse (veru cheap) in the evening and there was nothing much to do except that visiting the night market again, looking for typical Laotian skirts.

24th September 2011

We spent our last day in Vientiane by visiting the day market and Laotian Museum. There are many souvenirs and Laotian handicrafts here and many shops selling the skirts that I wanted to buy earlier. 

\And next, we took a tuk-tuk to the museum. This museum is located in front of the National Cultural Hall.  It is not that big but tiring enough to walk from one end to another end at two floors.

There were traditional items on display but couldn't remember those items because my spine was signaling me to slow down and sit.

By afternoon, we returned to the hotel, checked out and headed to the airport for departure to KL

@ Buddha Park

Many hands Buddha statue

Leaning Buddha and other figures

Nice view of Golden Stupa

Patuxay

Golden Stupa, famous Vientieane icon

The way they fish in Laos

Tenagers in Vang Vieng

Half drunken tubers

Kayaking in Vang Vieng

View of paddy field at foot of  mountain

In the cave

Natural spring water in the cave

View from our room

Weaving apparatus

Handmade shawls for sale

Ramadhan Short Trip: Bandar Sri Begawan August 2011

It was not really a well-planned trip. I would say this was an ad hoc trip as I simply booked a return AirAsia flight of KL-Bandar Sri Begawan route. And since it was quite some time I did not travel, I thought I should give a try traveling during the fasting month. Lucky I have a friend who understood me well she too, started to travel here and there.

Brunei is not as huge as any other countries I used to visit. It is a simple city and it is very, very clean. Even the river in the city was free from rubbish i.e not a single rubbish seen though there is a market on the riverbank. It was not difficult to navigate this city but walking in the scorching heat, strong sun and considerably high humidity (being on the equator), it got us all sweaty and a little uncomfortable. But we managed to complete our fasting of the day. Alhamdulillah.

Brunei is a small but well-known to the world for their King is among the richest in the world. The main produce of Brunei is petroleum and with the size of the country, the citizens of Brunei live in prosperous life, most of them, if not all. And I believe the government of Brunei did a very good job in running the country.

It seems that there are many immigrants in Brunei. In the local buses, 95% is occupied by immigrants, most probably from Philippines, Indonesia and Bangladesh. I guess Bruneians do not need to travel by public transports when they manage to buy their own cars.

When visiting Brunei, it is worth to visit the mosques and several other attractions such as the Water Village, Royal Regalia and of course, take a peek on the Nurul Iman palace from the outside.

Here are several pictures from my trip to Bandar Sri Begawan.

Mountain, Seasand, Waterfall and Crater : July 2011

14th July 2011

I and my travel buddy departed for Surabaya at night, and arrived Juanda airport a few minutes after midnight. Met Lintangbuana representative, Fandi and the driver, and started for a long trip heading to Sukapura. The journey took 4 hours (maybe more). We could hardly sleep as the ride were bumpy.

15th July 2011

Mt. Bromo (expelling fumes), Mt. Tengger and Mt. Semeru (back)

We arrived Bromo-Tengger-Semeru caldera, also gazetted as a National Park, around 4 am. It was cold and we started to put on our warm clothing.  At the foot of Mt. Penanjakan, we took a horse ride (Rph 100,000) to the peak fir the sunrise view. It was ok to walk but given the coldness and deteriorating stamina, it was worth riding the horse. There were so many tourists which I didn't expect this. My last visit in February was a lot less crowded, maybe because of the volcanic activity of Mt. Bromo did not encourage tourists to visit this place. This trip, however, was super awesome because the views were magnificent. Maybe couples of pictures will tell the whole thing.

Foggy and misty at the foot of the mountain

We couldn't view the sunrise as it was cloudy. After 45 minutes or so, we returned to our MPV and proceed to Whispering Savannah. It was summer so everything becomes dry, brown and less colourful. But I still consider it as an amazing place for photography. It was foggy and it was like entering a mysterious place. It wasn't spooky but it was more like being curious on what was there surrounding us. And it resembles paths heading any cowboy town, minus all the grasses and shrubs

Foggy day at Whispering Savannah

After a few minutes in Whispering Savannah, we passed through a sea sand on our way to the foot of Mt. Bromo. The sand texture is superfine and greyish as the product recent volcanic activity. We were told that after massive eruption, layers of volcanic ash may be formed up to several feet thick. Crops were severely destroyed and the green colours disappeared within a blink of the eyes.

There is also ceremonies held annually where the villagers will place offerings such as chickens, yellow sticky rice and fruit, at the lip of Bromo crater. They believe by doing so, they will appease the guardian of Mt. Bromo, thus lowering the frequency of volcanic activity/eruption. I think most villagers residing at volcano areas in Indonesia do have the same belief but maybe different ways of performing the rituals. There is also an ancient Hindu temple at the foot of Mt. Bromo. This temple is the place where the villagers will assembly before heading to Mt. Bromo.

Showers heading to the main waterfall

To get to the crater, we need to climb a steep staircase with 200++ stairs. It was quite tiring because we walked for 1-2 kilometers throughout the sand bed before arriving the staircase. There were horses that could bring us straight to the staircase but we thought it was best to just walk (it saved us another Rph 100,000 though :)). Word of advice, bring extra Rupiah notes if you feel like doing some shopping later.

After having quite enough times (I will never say enough for beautiful places like this) at this caldera, we had
breakfast at a hotel restaurant on our way down. I simply love Indonesian 'nasgor' (simply short form for nasi goreng or fried rice) and other Javanese cuisines. They are simple and healthy.
 
Next, we went to Madakaripura waterfall, located at Probolinggo district which is not far from Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park. This is another beautiful place which I have not seen anywhere in my home country. To get to the waterfall area, we walk for 1 km, following the concrete pathways and several river crossings (don't worry, it is no deeper than your calf/knee but beware, it's slippery). We had a short stop at the a small stall selling fried foods and drinks. We rented umbrellas as we would have to pass through a 'shower' before getting to the main waterfall. While passing through the showers, all items meant to be dry at all times must be kept in a plastic i.e wallets, cameras,handphones etc. We spent less than 1 hour here because we have to proceed to Ijen, which is very far (5-6 hours drive) from this waterfall. I think the place is not that far but due to the traffics and road conditions, it takes times to get there.

Madakaripura waterfall

 The long journey to Ijen were unpleasant and those who are unaccustomed to traveling by road for a long time, will probably get headache and nauseate. The scariest part was when our driver drove uphill to    Ijen area. The road was super horrible and no smooth surfaces available for a smoother drive. Rocks and rocks and holes. My worry was that the MPV would malfunctioned, and leaving us stranded at a place we definitely didn't wish to be, dark and far from anything. Given the circumstances, I think it's best not to panic and pray for the better things to come. So the better thing came. We arrived Caltimore Guest House after passing through jungles and coffee plantations. We checked-in, had late dinner and went to bed.

16th January 2011

This is how raw sulphur looks like

A sulphur miner heading to the crater

We woke up at 4 am and repacked our bags before having our breakfast and checked out. It was cold and we put on proper clothing to avoid discomfort while hiking towards Ijen crater. Caltimore Guess House is just a few minutes drive to the checkpoint post to Ijen crater. There are many checkpoint posts on our way to Ijen area and I realize that each time a vehicle passes through these posts, payment is applicable. I am not sure why those payments are imposed and not sure why there so many checkpoint posts here. I just hope that the payment will benefit all residents in Ijen, i.e road improvement, lamp posts etc.

Nice view on the way to the crater

Sulphur mine at Ijen crater

 We arrived at the parking area of the entrance to Ijen crater after 1 hour getting lost further up of the junction we were supposed to take. Our guide fell asleep and the driver did not know exactly where to go. The road condition became crappier and only 4WD could access that road. We got stuck for awhile when we turned back to the missed junction. The road was slippery with steep incline. With the help of several 4WD drivers, we managed to get through. Thank God!!

Foggy and sunless

At the entrance, we were told that the distance to the crater would be 3.5 kilometers. Yaikkksssss.....I couldn't remember when was the last time I walked that far. Good for us to warm up the day before when walking through the sea sand to Mt. Bromo crater. We walked uphills and downhills which were more challenging. The weather was good and chilly too, which was why we kept the difficulties away from our minds. There were also breathtaking views which made us forget the discomforts for awhile. Enjoying the walk was the right thing to do and we stopped whenever the limbs felt sore.

After an hour and a half, we reached the crater. Yeayyyy!!! But it was foggy and we couldn't get the nicest view of the crater as posted by previous travelers on the net. While sitting at the lip, we just observed the sulphur miners going down to the mining site and returning with sulphur blocks on the rattan basket. A miner may carry load up to 90 kg!!! That is something I can hardly believe because the miners are thin and some of them seem to be underfed. I felt sorry for them but in the same time, I admire their strength in living their life. By the way, Javanese are well known for being hardworking day and night. I pray that they live in a nice condition and happy.

 We left the crater and arrived the parking area earlier as going down was relatively easy than going up. The trick is to run or walk faster to prevent overexertion to the feet. It would be much painful if we tried to walk at a normal pace when going down. I couldn't explain this in proper scientific terms but this was what the mountaineers told me before. We stopped for a few minutes at the weighing post and this was the place where the sulphur miners would claim their pay of the day. We reached the parking area around 11 am. After leaving Ijen area, we stopped at one of the small towns for lunch. We had chicken and beef kebabs and lamb soups. They were really delicious, tasty, nice...whatever you call it. The journey back to Surabaya city is even longer. Traffics were horrible and we got stranded for couple of hours. We arrived Family Guesthouse Surabaya around 8 pm(or maybe 9 pm). Foods were not provided and neither we tried to look for food when our limbs did no longer willing to walk any further.

17th July 2011

Bye bye Indonesia. Gonna miss you a lot!!

Yangon, Myanmar: May 2011

Visiting Myanmar is not really an easy one. Myanmar still have a long way to go before they are totally ready to open their tourism to all sorts of tourists around the world. It needs to get their telecommunication system upgraded and enhanced to enable visitors and tourists alike to get in touch with relatives and friends at country home. Internet is really expensive in Myanmar and slow too.

Myanmar, however, has many attractions which are worth visiting, and for Muslims, it is easy to get nice, tasty and halal meals. Hire the local tour guide and everything will be in OK.

Many people would say China is the largest producer on jade in the world, but I was told that Myanmar has the largest sources of jade in the world. Not only that, it is also one of the largest producers of other gems such as ruby, sapphire, amethyst and other semi-precious gems in the world. Unfortunately, these sources are manipulated by foreigners instead of the Burmese themselves. And shockingly, the prices of those gems are super high that I though that it was ridiculous and unreasonable.

Places visited in Yangon was the world heritage Shwedagon Pagoda, Kandawgyi Lake, the White Elephants, Yangon City Centre and the so-called Waterfront. There so many religious sites in Yangon but I did not bother to visit them. Shedagon Pagoda is really worth visiting but other, well, just the same like anywhere else. The Scott Market is a lovely place too where one can get various gems, polished or raw, at cheaper prices. Souvenirs are also sold at a reasonable price.

Albino Elephant (sacred animal to the Burmese)

Yangon City Hall viewed from Maha Bandoola Garden

High Court

Independence Monument

Football in sarong??

Karaweik at Kandawgyi Lake

Shwedagon Pagoda

Diving & Rafting in Bali

Bali is one of my favorite destinations in the whole world. It is really an awesome place to do loads of activities. There are many places worth visiting, be it for photography, sight-seeing, diving, water-rafting, shopping, dining, pampering oneself and the culture itself. People often got mistaken that Bali is a country and Indonesia is in Bali. Something that needs major correction isn't it? This time,my trip to Bali was a combination of 'underwater tour', land tour and shopping, but the major activity is of course the underwater tour. Note that whenever we(I don't normally travel alone) plan a trip, no matter how diverse the activities are on the trip, SCUBA diving is the one making the largest proportion out of it (if there is one). Why? Because of the cost and amount of time spent for this activity. It is really uninteresting to spend SCUBA diving activities for only one day, especially when it comes to diving out of Malaysia. Oppsss....by the way, I did that one day diving in Similan island, Thailand. Didn't satisfy about it though, and lucky there wasn't much to see.

Neon damsels with their coral home.

Crocodilefish (don't worry, it is harmless)

Chromodoris annae

Acropora staghorn corals, home to the furious damsels.

Male ribbon eel

Next morning, we headed to Seraya, which is a few minutes away from Tulamben. It was a shore dive. and
today's dive, we were no longer a team of six, but 7. one the DMs friends, Irfan, joined us. Well, lucky my darling was the planner of this trip, if not, I would have flirted with this Irfan guy. Wakakakaka....(pls don't kill me sweetheart!!). To what I heard from Muhfa, he was a rich guy, own a business somewhere around Legian or Seminyak...or somewhere like that. Ok..ok...enough with the flirts. While entering, there were rocks everywhere that made the water looked dark. I was quite curious but when I dipped my face, everything was like crystal clear and nice. Those rocks came from the eruption of nearby Mount Agung, ages ago. Coral were not so abundant as what we had observed at Menjangan island. But the critters here were simply amazing. Nudibranchs, ribbon eels, flamboyant shrimps,and fishes. While diving, there was thermocline which got me headache and started to feel like throwing up. Our second dive was at a spot further up from the infamous USST Liberty wreck of Tulamben. It was in the same stretch of Seraya so basically not much difference in terms of marine fauna. It was sort of a torture dive for me because we need to fin for as far as I-don't-know-how-far until we got to the wreck. I thought I cried a moment because I couldn't stand the cold water (I'm sensitive to cold) and the burning on my head. But the pains were diverted by focusing on the search for critters and of course to 'guide' the camera to do the painting :D.

Mooray eel

Harlequin shrimp

This weird looking fish..well I don't know what is it.

My air was almost empty that I started to have problem with buoyancy. It wouldn't be a problem if I took underwater camera set with the Ikelite housing because it would compensate for the insufficient weight. I used 2 lead weights when I have my camera set. So I would not be able to maintain neutral buoyancy when 2 lead weights are used, but without my camera set!! The guys helped me to avoid myself being thrust upward. I'm the first to descend, and I'm the first to get out of the water. Haha...And then, we had lunch, just a plate of fried rice (Indonesian fried rice is always delicious) and some fish crackers. We (actually they) rested to meet the proper surface interval and prepared for last dive at USS Liberty wreck. I was so not coming (again!!) because I didn't feel like 'torturing' myself. I need let my body to calm down and another reason for that, it was cloudy, approaching sunset which I didn't want to experience it underwater. And I made the right decision because my buddies told me there was extreme thermocline and it was cold all the time. After rinsing our equipments, washed ourselves and packed all dive gears, we headed to Sanur. Another day passed nicely.

Female ribbon eel

Fish BBQ

Next day, we planned to go for white-water rafting in Ayung river. It costed Rph 500,000 each person for such activity. Well, this was my first time experiencing water-rafting and it's....international. Haha...but I didn't think it was that challenging and it was only level 2 or 3...something like that. It was enjoying though given the fresh and cooling environment which I really love always. Oh..by the way, the price inclusive of lunch. Around noon, we left Sg. Ayung and headed for another must-do activity (especially for ladies) that is shopping for souvenirs. We went to Krishna Oleh-Oleh Khas Bali (Krishna Bali Souvenirs) which is in Denpasar. When it comes to souvenirs, I got blinded and felt like buying everything. I ended up buying 2 creatively-made photo albums and candle stands. I thought they would be nice for my soon-to-have display cabinets and I might consider using aromatherapy candle frequently.At night, we went to have seafood dinner at Gedoangan (instead of Jimbaran beach). There were dance performances and while waiting for the food, we entertained ourselves with the performances. And there came our foody-foody. We were hungry. I could see they were starving and the dishes emptied within  the blink of an eye. Arrghhhhh....I really have to go to Bali again to have the real seafood dinner and MUST included all, prawns, lobsters, squids, grouper and anything nice. Now I feel damn hungry!!! That's the end of my 3rd trip to Bali. Definitely will return but no diving this time. Only travel in style with broad-brimmed hat and trolley-bag.