July 3, 2014

NovatouriEND

christinelouise Asia, NovaTOURient, Travel Talk 2014, Asia, Cambodia, final thoughts, India, laos, malaysia, NovaTOURient, singapore, thailand, video, vietnam

Planned route:
India: Delhi → Goa → Mumbai → Gujarat → Saurashtra → Pushkar → Jaipur → Delhi → Agra → Varanasi → Kolkata

Thailand: Krabi → Koh Lanta → Koh Phi Phi → Patong → Phuket → Koh Samui → Koh Phangan → Koh Tao → Hua Hin → Pattaya → Bangkok → Chiang Mai → Mae Hong Son → Chiang Rai → Chiang Khong

Laos: Luang Prabang → Vang Vieng → Khammouane → Vientiane

Cambodia: Siem Reap (2 weeks of volunteer work) Battambang → Koh Kong → Kompang Son → Kampot/Kep → Koh Thonsay → Phnom Penh

Vietnam: Saigon → Nha Trang → Hoi An → Hue → Hanoi → Sa Pa

Final route:
India: Delhi → Vagator → Arambol → Hampi → Mumbai → Udaipur → Jaisalmer → Jaipur → Amritsar → Rishikesh → Agra → Varanasi → Kolkata

Thailand: Krabi → Koh Phi Phi → Patong → Koh Samui → Koh Phangan → Koh Tao
↓
Myanmar: Kawthaung
↓
Thailand:
Chumpon → Bangkok → Chiang Mai → Pai → Chiang Mai → Chiang Rai → Chiang Khong

Laos: Pakbeng → Luang Prabang → Vang Vieng → Vientiane

Vietnam: Hanoi → Hue → Hoi An → Nha Trang → Saigon

Cambodia: Phnom Penh → Sihanoukville → Siem reap

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur → Taman Negara → Cameron Highlands → Georgetown

Singapore: Singapore

Thailand: Bangkok

When I started planning for this trip, I was in a bad place. Dumped by a boy. Stuck, both in school and in general, desperate to get it overwith so I could escape. I think my trip was just that – an escape.
I so desperately want to find my passion in life, be ambitious about something, but how could I possibly do that without knowing myself? To be honest, I have always felt that I was in between every personality trait – shy but social, smart but dumb, trusting but cynical. One thing I always knew for sure, was that I am selfish and dependent, and I hoped that this trip would force me to throw that away with my extra luggage.

In some way I guess this would be an Eat, Pray, Love-kind of experience. And by that, I mean I would deal with my issues, develop some strong personality traits and gain more confidence. Then I would discover my passion in life, and go back to accomplish something.

While this all sounds very unlikely, it was what had helped me in the past. Everytime I have been away from home since my parents divorce 4 years ago, I’ve become a little more independent, a little less shy, and a little more sure what I wanted to do in life: travel. Being away for 4 months however, was something I had never done until now, and it didn’t feel right as soon as I actually left. Maybe it was our choices of countries (where people could sometimes be rude, the food awful, and the cities dirty and loud), but it could also be because my travel partner and I turned out to be incompatible.

Of course, this all just sounds so negative, and of course this experience hasn’t been at all. I’ve gotten to see amazing places – many that I want to return to – and met some great people, and that is what I wanted all along. I finally got over the guy who dumped me, which gave me a lot fewer lonely nights and fits of anger.

Basically, I had some great highs and awful lows that made me see things only a tiny bit clearer, but I am on my way. I learned that I enjoy the simple things in life, like a sunset or a little kid waving at me, because deep down, there is a war in me, and I never know which side will win. Some days, I think I am a fun and outgoing person, always seeing the best in people. Other days, I don’t dare talk to people, and I think I am destined to live a life of sadness and loneliness. That is why I rely on the only ones that understand, my best friends. Away from them, I felt hopeless and less “free”, and I know that this is something that I have to get used to as we start to move in different directions.

This post will probably forever be a mess, like my feelings about my trip. There is so much I want to say, yet nothing I can think of. It was the experiene, but not the time of my life – at least not as often as I wanted it to be.

113 days away from home
18 things crossed off my bucket list
13 books read
7 countries traveled (if you don’t count Burma)
Not nearly enough hangovers.

June 18, 2014

Georgetown

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People have told us so many times: “go to Georgetown, GEORGETOWN DAMMIT”. So we do.

What we didn’t realise until we arrived, is that Georgetown is just full of museums (boo), temples (more boo) and some street art. After 4 months, it takes a lot more to impress us.

So we get to Butterworth and take the ferry to Georgetown, followed by a few kilometers walking around looking for our hostel, Clockwise. It’s very new, very small and very nice. After the cold weather in Cameron Highlands, it seems even harder to endure the walk in what feels like 50 degrees with 25 kgs of extra weight on me. We make it to the hostel after asking like 5 people though – Indians in Malaysia are much nicer than the ones in India, I tell ya. Well, we of course have a nap after check-in and then go to a mall to go see a movie.

We do a stop at Watson’s to buy chapstick or whatever, when we run into Geoff from our dorm in SpicyThao, Chiang Mai! We chat for ages and he’s trying to convince us to come to Singapore with him, and he decides to tag along to the movies. I reluctantly agree to watch the new Tom Cruise movie, Edge of Tomorrow. The one where he keeps dying. Wow action much movie! Geoff smuggles in some whiskey, which I mix with my water and a multivitamin. I get a bit tipsy to say the least.

The following day we are on a mission to find the bigger mall in Georgetown, I’ve forgotten the name. We go to the mall from yesterday first and talk to travel agents, and decide “hey, let’s take the night bus to Singapore later!” That makes us run home, pack and ask for our money back for the nights we have already booked at our hostel. Needless to say, we aren’t so popular.

We then take the bus to the giant mall and spend like 70 minutes in Sephora and an hour in H&M, no joke. We also go for waxes, and I have a full-on normal conversation about shopping, travelling and age guessing while I am pantless and this person I’m talking to is touching my lady parts. Good times.

So after all this, we hurry home and book a hostel in Singapore before going to the travel agent to catch the bus. I am on it now, and it’s the best sleeper bus I’ve ever been on, so I’m confident I’ll have a decent nights sleep. Toodles.

Cheeky Snapchat from me

June 16, 2014

Cameron Highlands

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Today I’ve learned something new about myself: I become a cranky bitch when I have to climb a mountain.

We’re in Cameron Highlands and it’s so cold, I must wear this outfit at all times:

Sara and I have booked a half-day tour around Cameron Highlands, which includes a hike in a mossy forest, a visit to a tea plantation and a strawberry farm. We are told to jump on the same bus as our French roommate Jeanne, who has booked a full-day tour, but we don’t think much of it at first. 4 hours of hiking later, we realize that we are on the full-day tour too, but for half the price. Score!

The first hike is up a mountain, and it’s brutal. I am almost hyperventilating, sweating profusely and spitting everywhere like the total babe that I am. We make it to the top in around an hour and admire the view, before having to fucking climb down again. Ugh.

We also go to a tea plantation and cut some tea leaves – like trimming the hedges, basically. We have malay food for lunch, and then go to a Butterfly garden. It’s pretty cool, and one of the butterflies sit on my finger at one point, and I’m like ohmygoshiamananimalwhisperer!

Then we head to a strawberry farm, buy some souvenirs and have some of the berries. It’s delicious, even though I accidentally knock over my bowl of strawberries and cream.

Last stop is at a tea place with a view over some of the plantations. I have an awesome cup of masala chai, which I’ve really missed.

Jeanne’s polaroid of the beautiful view from the mountain earlier

So our 8 hour trip out in Cameron Highlands has been an exhausting success, but now I feel like I can stop feeling so guilty about being a lazy tourist.

June 12, 2014

Kuala Lumpur

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After a very turbulent, over-prized flight with a cheap airline, we make it to KLIA2 and get a bus to KL Sentral. We have a late dinner at McDonald’s, which is halal! Shoutout to my muzzies in hurr (hi Albulena). Then we get on the sky train and walk around Chinatown for ages before finding Marquee Guest House. Then we pass out.

Close to our hostel

The next day, we wake up quite late and take our sweet time getting up. It’s just one of those days, I guess. We get a skytrain to KLCC, where we stumble upon the Petronas Towers!

Sara suggests going to the Convention Center to check out Aquarium KLCC, so there we go. At first, we can’t find the aquarium, and walk around a massive convention, feeling pretty out of place. By the time we find it, we are a bit disappointed to find out that it’s a total kids thing. It’s still pretty cool though. We see piranhas, sharks, spiders and all that crap.

We walk around the different malls in the city center before going back to relax a bit. Then we have dinner at a street kitchen in Chinatown, which is actually pretty nice, despite looking dirty. Tomorrow it’s time to go somewhere else. I don’t know the name, really, but there’s supposed to be a tribe, so I’m game.