Singapore

The first sign that singapore had it together: free interenet in the huge/ very modern airport. There were also computers that were free to use (for up to 15 minutes).

Ive heard complaints about singapore and its alleged lack of culture. I would have to disagree. Singapore is small, very modern and very organized. I think it was a perect place to begin the asia adventure. The subway is exremely easy to navigate, free wireless abounds, and the food was wonderful.

Singapore is pricey compared to most places in SE Asia but you just have to accept that and know what you're gettting into. Food is disproportionately cheap especially at government organized hawker centers. The centers consist of very specialized little booths. There is usually only 1 of each type including 1 just for drinks (the food stalls dont serve drinks). My favorite drink is the teh tarik (pulled tea). It is sort of like a really basic chai and it costs .80 cents (SD). I could go on and on about the food. One of my favorites was a soup where you go and pick out little pieces of stuff (bok choy, bean curd, tofu, sproats, etc.) and then they cook it with noodles in a soup. Very delicious and fairly healthy. The food (like the culture) is a mix of chinese (hokkien), indian, and malaysian.

We stayed in a hostel near little india and found it to be quite cozy. It was more like an apartment than a hostel and we only left because there were no more beds available afer a few days ( we didnt book in advance).

Singapore is a small melting pot of cultures. I was really intrigued by the brightly colored Little India part of town. The indian food was also really amazing. I quickly learned how to eat with my hand ( a common indian practice). While it was sometimes difficult to communicate with the people selling food, we always got a smile of approval when we started eating with our hands.

On a spiritual note, I visited my first Hindu temple and Islamic Mosque on the same day. The Mosque was really basic and no frills. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the temple was really elaborately decorated with tons of statues, offerings, and incense. I was impressed with the calm and tranquil energy that abounded in the temples. It was different than most other religious structures Ive been to.

We spent most of our time in Singapore just wandering around and eating the most random food we could find. But, we did make it to the botanical gardens. The orchid collection (supposedly the largest in the world) was absolutely stunning. Tons of orchids were flowering and it was fun to see all of the hybrids they had.

I could have hung out in Singapore for much longer, but the budget wouldnt have liked that. So, after 4 or 5 days, we took having to leave our hostel as a sign and head to Malaysia....

Gear and Such

Internet (and wifi connections) are widespread here (Singapore), but uploading pictures has become somewhat of a challenge. It would be really great to be able to supplement my blog with pictures, but it is really difficult, time consuming, and even impossible on some computers Ive encountered.

Ive taken to blogging via the N800 (nokia). At first I was sort of indifferent to the n800 but Ive started appreciating it more and more. Itś about 5 or 6 inches by 3 inches-very compact. It has definitely been helpful for checking e-mail, websurfing, not getting lost (map capabilities), etc. We bought a small keyboard which connects via USB and makes excessive typing much more pleasant.

The next thing Im impressed with is my travel clothes collection. I got talked into travel shorts and a shirt. As I was washing the shirt for the first time, I found the drying loops. They are little snap loops on the inside for hanging the shirt upside down. I was amused by the fact that the words ´drying loop´´were written on the loops. But then, I was looking at my shorts and found the ´śtow pocket´´also written on the zipper pull. Had it not been marked, I never would have guessed that my shorts folded up and tucked in the back pocket. Then, I found the secret passport pocket. I'm sure it's just because I'm new to 'outdoor' clothes and that no other 'bona fide' traveler/outdoorsy person would ever be so easily amused by her clothing. I have always been a firm believer that the jean skirt was an all situations article of clothing, but now that I have clothing with quick drying capabilities (very valuable when you have limited clothing) I may have to re-think my hypothesis.

I'm also going to mention the chaco's. Man, I should be getting paid for this free advertisement. But, after a few wet-to-dry-to wet treks plus 8 hour+ days of walking around cities, I'd have to say that the chaco's are as functional, hi-tech, and comfortable as they are ugly (they are the least cute shoes I've ever owned).

Last but not least is the iodine solution. This should be a no-brainer. It's cheap, lasts forever, and makes the nastiest water potable. That being said, I am amazed at how many people I see buying huge bottles of water wherever they go. People were even doing that in Australia where the tap water is absolutely fine to drink. I admit that we left our solution at the hostel once and had to buy 2 bottles of water (we were an hour away from our place and pretty dehydrated). But, I'm anticipating not having to buy water for the rest of the trip. Yay for not contributing to unecesary plastic consumption.

Transition from Australia to Asia

The last week or so that I spent in Australia was a sort of transition period. I fnished all of my school work. I can't completely feel relaxed until I officially graduate, but I have definitely started the shift from student to non-student. So far it just feels like summer (or winter) break. Coming off of exams is usually sort of difficult because my mind and body get into study mode and I feel like I should keep up the constant schedule of studying...

It was also a transition period from Australia to Asia. We did a 3 day trip to Cape Tribulation to sort of unwind from diving so much. I had no idea that cape trib was just a small little area tucked into the rainforest. It was quiet, serene, and peaceful. Mostly we just walked along the mangrove and rainforest walks, searched for interesting new plants and animals, swam in the swimming hole and the pool at our resort style hostel, and chilled out. The beaches were pretty, but sort of disappointing b/c the stingers made it impossible to swim.

After Cape Trib, we flew to Darwin for an overnight stay before our flight to Singapore. Darwin seemed like an interesting place. There is definitely more evidence of aborignals the more north you go (at least on the east coast). We chose to spend our day in Darwin mostly at the botanical gardens. You never really know what to expect with botanical gardens, but I've been really impressed with the ones in Australia. I've become semi-obsessed with learning how to use my new DSLR by photographing tropical flowers. So far I've learned a lot about both tropical plants and my camera.

It's funny, we dropped off the majority of our luggage to be stored in brisbane. In addition to our backpacks, we had 4-6 re-usable bags worth of food and additional stuff. As we moved from brisbane to cairns to darwin, we shed and used up stuff the whole way. With the self-imposed deadline of our flight to Singapore, we were forced to let go ( of the rest of our junk) and move on- ready or not.

Diving the Great Barrier Reef

My only previous dive experience was in Hawaii. That being said, I wasn't sure what to expect from the GBR. I also try not to have expectations.

We signed up for a 3 day/ 2 night live aboard dive trip. The reef is a few hours from the coast (depending of course on which part you go to). So, while it seemed like a ridiculous amount of money upfront, 11 dives in 3 days + equipment rental + 2 nights accomodations + all meals, etc. Added up to be a pretty good deal.

It had been over a year since my last dive, but the mechanics of it came back quickly. The amount of dives this trip almost doubled my total amount of dives-ever.

The first GBR dive was amazing and it kept getting better with each subsequent dive. The coral was absolutely mind blowing. (no signs of coral bleaching) Both the colors and the sheer volume of it were overwhelming. The variety of shapes (types?) Was also amazing. Most of my diving and snorkeling has included plenty of reef fish, so I was able to avoid being overwhelmed by those guys and pick out the unique creatures. One of my favorites was the giant clam-these guys were everywhere. Other new fish-types I saw included a few lion fish, batfish, maori wrasse, potato and flowery cod, bump head parrot fish, etc. And of course, nemo-while diproportionately popular, the clown fish are cute., I was amazed at how curious some of the fish were. At one point, there was one medium size fish that just wouldn't leave us alone. He wasn' aggressive, just checking us out, I guess.

The trip included 2 night dives. I had really built up the night dives in my mind so I was a little apprehensive. As soon as we got in the water though, my nerves calmed down. I was somewhat disapointed that we didn't see more creatures. I had just assumed that the reef would reveal a different side at night. I was not disappointed with our shark sighting though. It was just a reef shark and I know that it wasn't going to hurt us, but it's hard to erase the association of that animal with big teeth and lots of blood. The one we saw made its rounds, checked us out and moved on. Not so scary. It was actually pretty cool.

One of the best sightings of the trip was the moray eel. I was scouring cracks and crevasses looking for a little eel to show my partner. I was really intent on finding one. As we rounded a sort of corner, right in front of me was the biggest eel I've ever seen. Not only was he quite large, he also was pretty exposed. It's been my experience that you usually only get to see a little bit past the mouth.

The last few dives, we adopted a really slow pace and tried to look for the little guys. There were tons of christmas tree worms, plant/animals we couldn't identify, and even a few nudibrinks.

11 dives in 3 days was quite intense (dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, sleep, etc.) But it was totally worth it. Being in the water by 6:15 am turned out to be a really great experience despite my hatred for waking up early. I hope the reef is this amazing by the time I get back to Oz.

Ode to Australian Food

One of my favorite things about traveling is trying all the fun, crazy, and different food. The Australians have retained some traditional british foods like meat pies. While much more delicious than those sketchy frozen chicken pot pies we used to eat when I was younger, it was hard to justify such a large number of calories just for pie. I preferred to use up my 'empty' calorie budget on lamington squares. They are simple white sponge/angels food cake coated in chocolate (or srawberry or lemon) icing with coconut flakes. Nothing special, but I like them. Competing for favorite dessert would have to be tim-tams- chocolate coated chocolate cookies with chocolate icing. How could you go wrong with that combination?

Meat: As soon as my partner got to australia, I was relieved of all cooking duties which was fine with me. I was having a meat craving (it happens) and so we went to buy some chicken from wooly's. Somehow we got sidetracked and stumbled on kangaroo. At almost the same price, it seemed like a way better deal- it's very lean, way better for the environment, it's completely free range, no hormones or sketchy additives, etc. And so began our interest in interesting meats.

Next, we bought some crocodile. It looked more like fish, but tasted more like chicken. Unlike the kanga-saurus, the crocodile was not so tasty without massive marinating or sauce. The Aussies (sort of understandably) have a mental block against eating kangaroo despite its obvious advantages. We talked one of our aussie roommates into trying both kangasaurus and croc. He said the 'roo was really good and he would eat more if he didn' know what it was. He agreed with us on the croc. We did have some croc wontons at a restaurant which were good, but the flavor definitely came from the sauce.

Finally, at a nice dinner in Cairns, we tried emu. We've done less research on the merits of emu meat, but it was really tasty. IT was served with a mac nut crust on top of mashed potatoes with rocket (arrugula) on top.

I think that the most interesting thig that I ate was a green ant. We were told that they were really sour so the next time we saw some, we unknowingly at the whole ant. Apparently just the backside is sufficient. Oh well, it was really bitter but cool to just pick up a bug off of a tree and eat it.

One of my favorite things about traveling is trying all the fun, crazy, and different food. The Australians have retained some traditional british foods like meat pies. While much more delicious than those sketchy frozen chicken pot pies we used to eat when I was younger, it was hard to justify such a large number of calories just for pie. I preferred to use up my 'empty' calorie budget on lamington squares. They are simple white sponge/angels food cake coated in chocolate (or srawberry or lemon) icing with coconut flakes. Nothing special, but I like them. Competing for favorite dessert would have to be tim-tams- chocolate coated chocolate cookies with chocolate icing. How could you go wrong with that combination?

Meat: As soon as my partner got to australia, I was relieved of all cooking duties which was fine with me. I was having a meat craving (it happens) and so we went to buy some chicken from wooly's. Somehow we got sidetracked and stumbled on kangaroo. At almost the same price, it seemed like a way better deal- it's very lean, way better for the environment, it's completely free range, no hormones or sketchy additives, etc. And so began our interest in interesting meats.

Next, we bought some crocodile. It looked more like fish, but tasted more like chicken. Unlike the kanga-saurus, the crocodile was not so tasty without massive marinating or sauce. The Aussies (sort of understandably) have a mental block against eating kangaroo despite its obvious advantages. We talked one of our aussie roommates into trying both kangasaurus and croc. He said the 'roo was really good and he would eat more if he didn' know what it was. He agreed with us on the croc. We did have some croc wontons at a restaurant which were good, but the flavor definitely came from the sauce.

Finally, at a nice dinner in Cairns, we tried emu. We've done less research on the merits of emu meat, but it was really tasty. IT was served with a mac nut crust on top of mashed potatoes with rocket (arrugula) on top.

I think that the most interesting thig that I ate was a green ant. We were told that they were really sour so the next time we saw some, we unknowingly at the whole ant. Apparently just the backside is sufficient. Oh well, it was really bitter but cool to just pick up a bug off of a tree and eat it.

Road Trip

It's fairly obvious that I got way behind on blogging and am having to delve into memory for the details. Normally I try to post something more introspective than just trip reports, but I'm trying to catch up.

Part of the problem was exams. Everything was on hold until exams were over. As soon as that moment came though, it was on. I finished my last exam as my partner picked up our campervan. Yes, campervan. If you're going to see australia (and you are not a millionaire), then campervan is the way to go. So an hour or two after my exam, we were loading up 5 months worth of stuff and heading to Brisbane. I deposited my excess 'stuff' and was left with a 25L backpack to carry my 'stuff' for the next 5 months.

I admit, I have a problem with 'stuff' and that's why I keep bringing it up. I delight in having appropriate clothes and shoes. Variety is also a big deal. But, being able to carry all of your 'stuff' on your back comfortably is also rather appealing.

The drive up to Cairns was one of my favorite things I've done in Australia. Aside from getting to practice my manual transmission and driving on the left skills, it was great to take in all of the beautiful scenery and diversity along the way.

In 6 days, we squeezed in quite a bit: markets, trails, beaches, tourist traps, fruit wine tastings, bundaberg rum tasting, cooking on the free barbies at the 'rest stops,' viewing a koala from the highway, etc. I was super relieved that school had ended, but starting to feel sad about leaving australia.

The other day, an italian woman asked me if I liked Australia. My immediate reply was 'it's different.' Australia definitely wormed its way in and secured a spot in the list of places I like. During the drive up the coast, I realized that I had become somewhat defensive of the Gold Coast. As if living there for 5 months had authorized that. But the roadtrip helped me to realize that judging australia based on the gold coast would belike judging the US based on miami. All I know is that I like australia enough to make my way back.

Byron Bay Round 2

This was my first rental car experience in Australia. That might not sounds like a big deal, but after 4 months of relying on public transport (or other people), the freedom was refreshing. On the drive down, we went through Nerang (a little bit inland) and then 15 minutes west of Nerang, we were in the hinterland. The contrast is pretty stunning. From coast to nothing all in less than 30 minutes. The scenery was beautiful though. All the land was super green. My mailbox fascination continued as we drove south. Apparently there are no restrictions on the type/size/shape of mailboxes in australia. I remember one that was a little plastic tub that had a slot cut in it and was turned upside down affixed to a post.

This trip to Byron, I stayed with my roommate's mom who has a house in Byron. It was a unique experience to say the least. The hospitaliy level was great. It's always nice to find a little piece of home while so far away from your own home. It is also fun to find insight into other families and how they do things.

On my second trip, Byron grew on me even more. The thing that I like most is that people just seem to do what they want. While that's generally true in beach towns, Byron is way less superficial than the gold coast.

On the drive back, we took the coastal route. Another sunny beautiful day. We headed south first to go for a swim in Lake Ainsworth which supposedly abounds with tea tree oil from the tea trees surrounding the lake. It was very refreshing.

I'm not going to lie, we totally embraced the tourist attitude on the way back. This means stopping at attractions such as macadamia nut castle and tropical fruit world. We sampled garlic, wasabi, and chocolate covered mac nuts. They were delicious and I was thinking they were pretty great until I learned that there are almost 1000 calories in 1 cup. I think the appropriate serving size is about 3 nuts.

Tropical fruit world had a giant avocado (sort of like a water tower, but in the shape of an avocado). Australia loves their 'giant' things. We gathered some info here on tropical fruits but didn't actually buy any. There's a whole world of exotic tropical fruit out there that I was unaware of.

Sydney

This mini-trip started out like many others- frantic packing followed by racing to the airport and running to my departure gate. One big difference was that I was traveling with a buddy. My (male) partner. I didn' realize how many practices I had adopted as a female traveling alone. I usually try to arrive at my destination before dark if I'm searching for a place to stay, etc.

We arrived around 11pm and instead of taking the way overpriced train, we decided to walk the 1.5 K to a closer train station. Had I been alone, I probably wouldn´t have planned on walking alone. I still feel that thereś something inherently wrong with the fact that women cant just travel around as they please like men can.

The rest of the time in Sydney was great. It´s a good sized city (around 4 million) and it is very user friendly. There were maps everywhere even though it´ś not that hard to navigate. Highlights include: the walk from the spit to manly along the coast on the other side of the harbour, the sculptures on display at Bondi, culinary delights as always, etc.

The Opera House was really cool. The best viewing is from the ferry going across the harbour. I really enjoyed the view from the edge of the botanical gardens. Sitting on the grass in the park taking in the operahouse and the harbour bridge, I found another small slice of perfection.

Food: I never realized I was so into food. Anyhow, NewTown was great for cheaper ethnic foods. The African was really delicious. The Korean in ChinaTown was excellent too. My aforementioned partner ordered my dish hot/spicy so it was a little challenging, but I made it through. Next was the fresh sashimi at the seafood market. No complaints about the selection. There was so much seafood that it warraned two meals. BYO wine of course. Finally, my favorite indulgence: chocolate! We stumbled into a sort of chocolate ritual. It came in the form of a little platter with a tiny pitcher of milk, a little bowl of chocolate chips and a candle lit melting system. Definitely the best hot chocolate ever.