Travel has greatly shaped the way I view the world. Below are some of my travel notes. They tell more of the places that I went than of the stories and memories I experienced.
9/1/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Arezzo)
-Arezzo field trip
9/2/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Arezzo)
-Giostra del Saracino, jousting competition. We cheered with San Spirito.
9/3/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Arezzo)
-Castiglion Fiorentino historic tour
9/5/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Firenze)
-San Miniato al Monte
-Santa Croce
-Ate near Donte’s house
-World War 2 American Cemetery in Florence
-World War 2 British Cemetery outside Arezzo
9/7/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Cinque Terre)
-Train to Vernazza. Swam in cove.
-Hiked to Monterossa al Mir . Chilled on the beach and went to a nice restaurant in the city center.
-Took a train back to Vernazza.
-Slept in a cave on the coast of Vernazza. It was a cold night.
9/8/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Cinque Terre)
-Hiked to Corniglia and had amazing pizza.
-Hiked with them to Manarola and went cliff jumping.
-Hiked to Riomaggiore, picked berries, then took a train back to Vernazza.
-Watched the sunset, saw fireworks in the distance, and slept in a house rented out by an older couple.
9/9/2007
Italy (Cinque Terre-Castiglion Fiorentino)
9/11/2007
Italy (Catiglion Fiorentino)
-Members of Castiglion Fiorentino held a 9-11 ceremony for the Santa Chiara students
9/12/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Firenze)
-Plazzo Davazodi
-Museo del Opera
9/15/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Firenze)
-bought some cloths and we met up with friends
9/16/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Terontola)
-Went south to Lago Trasimino.
-Beautiful hike through a valley full of vineyards.
-The lake was pretty, but not swimable.
-Took the train back to Castiglion Fiorentino and had some ticket trouble with our “cambio” classe tickets.
9/19/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Roma)
-Termini station, put luggage in Hotel Torino
-Tour of the Coliseum, Forum, Campidoglio, Pantheon, Plazza Novona, Il Gesu, and the prison of Peter and Paul.
-Hiked around, and ate a wonderful supper. Then went to the Trevi Fountain at night.
9/20/2007
Italy (Roma)
-Metro to St. Peters Square.
-Tour of the Basilica.
-Visited the Vatican Museum after lunch.
-Took a nap at the hotel then went for a crazy cab ride to go dancing.
9/21/2007
Italy (Roma-Tivoli)
-Went to Hadrian’s Villa.
-Villa d’ Este. The gardens were beautiful with hundreds of water features. I wish we had more time there.
-Italy (Tivoli-Roma)
-Took the bus back.
-Italy (Roma-Naples)
-Parted ways from the group. About half way to Naples our train ran over a man. We don’t think it killed him. It was very confusing as to what was going on. We found a lady who spoke English and she helped tremendously with getting to Naples.
-Italy (Naples-Sorrento)
-Naples is a pretty dirty and rough city.
-We took the metro to Sorrento, and then a very expensive taxi van to our hostel.
-We got in about 9:30 pm and were exhausted.
-The area was stunningly pretty and the accommodations were great.
9/22/2007
Italy (Sorrento)
-Woke up around 9 am and got our entire crew of 11 people together to go snorkeling in a cove facing Capri. It was awesome. I gut my leg up pretty bad while swimming through an underwater tunnel of sharp rock. When the Australian snorkel guide saw, he told me the sharks would come after me. I told him I would just stick next to him then. We swam a ton and then ate pasta that he had prepared for us. We lay in the sun and then left at 16:00.
-Went to a restaurant on the coast. There was a new waiter that got mixed up and gave my meal to someone else, and then forgot to bring out the other meal. Thanks to some translation errors and poor service I went without food until everyone was pretty much finished. I finally got a fish which I still ended up paying a good bit for. I bought a pizza afterward.
-We stayed, danced, and then slept like a rock.
9/23/2007
Italy (Sorrento-Naples-Roma-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-An entire day of travel
-It wasn’t too bad. We were able to get to know each other better.
-We left around 10:00 and got into Castiglion Fiorentino around 22:00.
9/26/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Assisi)
-Class trip, Saint Francis, Saint Claire
9/28/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Ancona)- Croatia (Split)
-Took regional train from Castiglion Fiorentino to Foligno, and a Eurostar train to Ancona.
-Spent the day around the cool port town of Ancona
-Boarded the ship. Headed out at 21:00 on our ferry adventure to Croatia.
-We had tickets to sleep on the deck, but it turned out to be super cold, so we snuck inside and slept under some seats that others were sleeping in.
9/29/2007
Croatia (Split-Omis)
-Spent the morning in Split.
-Took a bus to Omis. Hiked up a mountain. As we hiked up, an old Croatian man was trying to get our attention and it looked like he wanted us to stop climbing. We figured it was because we were in sandals and he didn’t want us to get hurt. We smile, nodded, and kept climbing. About half way up they mountain we found a noose which looked well used. This made us re-question what the man was trying to tell us. After the amazing climb with the beautiful view we chilled on the beach.
-Caught a crazy cab back to Split.
9/30/2007
Croatia (Split-Omis)- Italy (Ancona)
-Left Al’s Hostel in the morning and went to Omis for a white water rafting trip down the Cetina River. After a wild van ride through the mountains and went along with a 20 year old Croatian guy into the wilderness. Great rapids and good times talking about life and girls.
We ate in Omis, and caught a bus back to Split.
-Loaded the ferry at night.
10/1/2007
Italy (Ancona-Foligno-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-The ferry was late getting in and had to run from the dock to the train station, and barely made it in time.
-We arrived back in Castiglion Fiorentino just in time for lunch.
10/3/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Siena)
-Some of the sites we visited were the Basilica di San Domenico, Il Duomo, Duomo Museum, Piazza del Campo, and the National Picture Gallery
10/4/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Cortona)
-Beautiful town full of art.
-Visited the Etruscan Museo.
10/10/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Montepulciano-Pienza)
-Tempio di San Bagio
-Montepulciano had views of beautiful Tuscan hills
-Overcast rainy day. Went to a wine cellar which housed an Etruscan tomb, and bought some Vino Nobile.
-Pienza was a pretty town with a homey feel .
-We visited the Palazzo Piccolomini and saw an ancient 14th century rooftop garden.
-Ate an amazing lasagna lunch with good wine.
10/16/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Florence-Venice)
-Took a boat to Lido and checked into Hotel Cristallo
-Went to the Doges Palace
10/17/2007
Italy (Venice)
-Toured the Basilica, the Treasury with beautiful mosaics, the Paulo d’ Oro, and the Saint Marks Horses.
-Walked to the Ponte Rialto, and walked through an outdoor market with amazing masks.
-Went through the Peggy Guggenheim modern art museum
-Ate Chinese food and drank wine as we took a ferry down the Grand Canal
10/18/2007
Italy (Venice)
-Went to Murano Island
-Walked around our project site for studio
-Looked at Murano glass and watch glass being made in a factory
-Watched an orchestra play at the Chiesa San Vidal Concert Hall They played several Vivaldi, Pasiello, and Mozart compositions
10/19/2007
Italy (Venice)- Ireland (Dublin)
-Ferry to Piazza Roma in Venice then bus to the Treviso airport
-Arrived in Ireland, took a cab to the Travel Lodge hotel.
-Had some payment issues. The reservation was under different names than we thought and cause a lot of confusion.
-Took the bus into the city. Walked down O’ Connell Street
-Saw Dublin Castel, Christ Church, Saint Patricks Cathedral, and walked around the mall. Before we got to the mall I got separated from the group which was a scary experience.
-Ate with the girls at TGF
-Went to the Temple Bar at night and had some Guiness.
10/20/2007
Ireland (Dublin)
-Trinity College, Marrion Square climbed a tree and rolled down a hill.
-Saint Stephens Green, had amazing coffee and deserts near the shopping center.
-Walked everywhere and had a night stroll on the far side of town walked through a light park full of neon lights. Walked by Custom House and took a taxi back to the hostel.
10/21/2007
Ireland (Dublin)-Scotland (Edinburgh)
-The bus to the airport didn’t come so we got a taxi barely in time.
-Took a bus from the airport when we arrived.
-Ate Chinese food by Marion Bridge.
-Walk to the walls of Edinburgh Castle and walked around the city.
-Stayed in McBackpackers hostel.
-Went to grab supper and some drinks. Went to a club late that night.
10/22/2007
Scotland (Edinburgh-Perth)
-Scots Monument in Edinburgh.
-Had a quick chicken nugget lunch and took a bus to Perth.
-Walked around the town
-A hike up Kinnoull Hill.
-Amazing views of the countryside, sheep, and horses. Phenomenal sunset. Hicked to top where there stood an unfinished castle turret on a sheer cliff.
-Hiked down and ate pizza hut.
10/23/2007
Scotland (Perth- Edinburgh)-England (London)
-Took a bus to Edinburgh.
-Took a bus from Marion Bridge to the airport and flew to the outskirts of London.
-Took a bus to metro then took the underground.
-dropped bags off, then met with friends, and then the girls to grab some drinks.
-Slept on friends couch.
10/24/2007
England (London-Luton- Shepard’s Bush)
-Went and ate an English Breakfast.
-Walk and see the sites
-Saw Westminster, Big Ben and Parliament, London Eye, Green Park, Saint James Park, Royal Palace.
-Ate and rode a merry-go-round
-Went out to an English pub.
10/25/2007
England (London)-Netherlands (Amsterdam)
-Took the underground to the metro rail to the bus on route to the airport.
-Flew to Amsterdam and got in late.
-Took a bus to our 8 bed hostel room. After checking in we walked around the city and ate.
10/26/2007
Netherlands (Amsterdam-Maastricht-Margraten)-Belgium (Vice)-back to Amsterdam
-Went to see my great Uncle's grave site.
-2.5 hour train to Maastricht with one transfer
-Took bus to Margraten National Cemetery. Arrived at 19:00, one hour after closing. So naturally we hopped the fence to the cemetery. Searched for the grave, but with no one to guide us, we couldn’t find it.
-We went back to Maastricht and decided to go to Vice Belgium because it was so close.
-After a coffee and desert in Belgium, we headed back to Amsterdam. We got in late and walked around the red light district.
10/27/2007
Netherlands (Amsterdam)-Germany (Dortmund)
-Tried to catch an early morning bus or taxi from the hotel to the train station, but nothing would show. We missed our train to Germany and ended up getting a later departure.
-During a train transfer a friend was able to get off at the stop, but the train closed up and took off before the rest of us could get out. We jumped on a regional train and backtracked, hoping they wouldn’t check tickets, and met with her.
-Germany was beautiful.
-Checked into a British B&B near the airport on the edge of Dortmund.
-Our host recommended a nice place to eat. I smoked my pipe, drank a beer, and had a great meal. It took us a while to find the B&B after we ate because the walk looked a lot different in the dark. After we found the place, we each had a nice bed to pass out in.
10/28/2007
Germany (Dortmund)-Italy (Rome)
-Ate at the B&B, then went for a walk around town.
-Hostess gave us a ride to the airport.
-Once in Rome we took underground and then bus to the Termini station.
-Stayed in Rome for the night, and checked into the Sandy Hostel. Then we ate with the girls before they headed back to Castiglion Fiorentino. While we were getting our food a large protest started moving down the street. We joined in. We were the only white people in a sea of middle-eastern men. We didn’t seem too welcome so we returned to our food.
-Walked all around Rome that night. We saw Santa Maria Maggiore, the Trevi
-Fountain all lit up, the Spanish Steps, Villa Medici, Piazza del Popolo, Ara Pacis, Ponte Cavour, Vittorie Emanuele monument, Mercati Traianei, Palazzo delle Ssposiziani.
10/29/2007
Italy (Rome-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-Took the long train home and arrived just in time for lunch.
10/30/2007
Italy (Villa Lante-Bomarzo-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-Toured Villa Lante, then I split from the group and hiked around the trails of the ancient hunting ground. It was filled with old trees and hidden fountains.
-Then we walked around the town.
-We left from there and went to Bomarzo to the Paro dei Mostri-Monster park.
-There were all sorts of odd sculptures of monsters and mythical creatures.
-We had a great time playing on the parks small playground too.
-When we returned home there was a Halloween costume contest where I dressed as a mafia guy. Some Italians saw me on the way to the bar and said “Ahh Al Capone’!”. We all had a fun time at the bar Regiros.
11/2/2007
Italy (San Gimignano-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-Walked around the tower filled city and admired the amazing views of the Tuscan hillside. We walked through stylish shops and art galleries. We ate a great lunch with an amazing desert.
-Several of us climbed to the top of a tower for an amazing view.
-On the bus ride home we stopped for a wine tasting. There was an assortment of olio, and truffles, and balsamic vinegars.
-I tried the Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montaloino, and Bartolomeo Supertuscan which was my favorite.
-Split a case of wine for our room.
11/7/2007
Italy (Rome)
-After the long train ride we checked into Hotel Daniela.
-Ate a picnic lunch.
-Then we all walked through the Borghese gardens.
-We went to see the Galleria Nazionale D’ Arte Moderna.
-Watched the Sunset over San Peitro from Pincio overlook above the Piazza del Popolo.
-Our group split up at a Mark Rothco exhibit and I went with a bud to the see the Forum at night, and then we went to sketch the Colosseo
-We all reunited and crossed the Tiber River and went to eat at a place off of the viale Trastevere
-We returned to the hotel exhausted.
11/8/2007
Italy (Rome-Montecassino-Caserta)
-Rode the bus to a beautiful Polish WW2 cemetery. It was an oddly powerful place, and I think most were moved by it.
-We hiked uphill to the rebuilt Basilica, the original of which was bombed in the war. Inside there were dramatic murals painted in a surrealistic style.
-Went to a British WW2 cemetery, followed by a French cemetery that was closed. The history class was our reason for the cemetery stops.
-We stayed at the Hotel Regina in Caserta. We had a loud fun night on the hotel balcony, and were confronted about the noise several times.
11/9/2007
Italy (Caserta-Paestum-Sorrento)
-Toured the Reggia di Caserta Palace. Took a trolley down the long sightline of the garden grounds. A fountain pouring from sculptures cascaded down the terraced roadway. Our destination was the origin of the fountain. We hoped a fence and hiked up a slippery path to the top of the fountain which offered the only view out of the grounds.
-I walked back with a girl in the rain.
-Once in Paestum we ate pizza and then walked toward the ruins. We hopped the fence to the ruins because we were tired of being charged to see every piece of old stuff in Italy; which happens to be everything.
-In Sorrento we checked into the Hotel Girasole. I accidentally left my phone on the bus, and after several attempts to track it down, never saw it again.
-We walked around town and had supper at a nice restaurant.
-We missed our bus stop on the way back, and had a long confusing walk to the hotel.
11/10/2007
Italy (Sorrento-Pompeii)
-Took a train to a Mount Vesuvius shuttle. It took us most of the way up the volcano, and we hiked the rest. Amazing views of the coastline cities of Naples and Sorrento with Capri floating in the distance.
-We went to Pompeii and ate some pizza outside the walls of the ruins. Then we explored the ruins with the ominous view of Vesuvius in the background.
-We returned to the Sorrento hotel
11/11/2007
Italy (Sorrento-Naples-Rome-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-As we were walking to our train in Naples, a street vendor barked in my face after I ignored his advances for selling his goods. I stopped, and starred him in the eyes, he felt my anger and backed down. I got a bad impression of Naples.
11/14/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Florence)
-It was a cold and rainy day of exploring galleries. We toured the Galleria dell Accademia. The David, slave sculptures, and peita by Michelangelo were beautiful.
-We sat down at a nice restaurant and then ended up leaving as we were in a time crunch and the service was taking forever. We grabbed some pizza and then headed to the Uffizi.
11/21/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Orvieto)
-We took a bus to Orvieto, and took a trolley lift thing to the top of the town.
-We went to the Duomo and saw beautiful frescos by Signorelli Luca
-Walked around town, and ate lunch.
-We all went into the underground Etruscan tunnels where olive oil was made, wine was stored, and birds were raised.
-Walked with Bobby to a courtyard and looked out over the misty Tuscan hills. There was a smell of small brush fires burning in the distance. We could look across to the city’s well along the edge of the wall.
11/23/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Rome)-Spain (Barcelona)
-Left early to Rome by train.
-Took bus and metro to the airport.
-Flew to the outskirts of Barcelona and took metro to the apartment style room that we rented.
-Ate a wonderful 20E meal of Spanish seafood, and then returned to chill in our room.
11/24/2007
Spain (Barcelona)
-I made breakfast in the room.
-Went to the Picasso Museo
-Stopped for coffe and a sandwhich
-Rented bikes at the Pl d’ Antoni Lopeez and rode to a casino at Port Olimpic
-After riding all around the city we returned to the room and chilled
11/25/2007
Spain (Barcelona)
-We tried to use the metro but it was having problems and was closed, so we walked to see Guadi’s Casa Batilo, Casa Mila, Casa de las Punxes, Casa Macaya, and the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famillia.
-Then we walked to the Parc de la Crutadella with it’s small paddle boat lake.
-We took a taxi to the air cable car (transpordador Aeri) and had a scenic ride over the coast.
-As it got darker and colder outside we walked around the beach in the light of a huge orange moon. I tried to push a friend into the water at one point, and the tide soaked my socks and shoes. It was a long cold walk back to the apartment room.
11/26/2007
Spain (Barcelona)-Italy (Rome-Castiglion Fiorentino)
-Woke at 4:30 am and took a taxi to the bus at Arch di Triumph Metro, and had an hour bus ride to the airport.
-Flew into Ciampino airport in Rome, and took a bus to Termini train station and missed our train by two minutes.
-Had lunch and then caught the next train to Castiglion Fiorentino.
12/01/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Florence)
-I took a daytrip to Florence to buy gifts.
-We had a blast walking around the market.
12/02/2007
Italy (Castiglion Fiorentino-Ravenna)
-We saw tile mosaics in the 5th century Basilica Apollinare in Classe.
-Then we went to the main part of Ravenna, and saw the rebuilt 11th century Theoderics Basilica with it’s tile mosaics
-Basilica di Dan Vitale, in its octagonal shape and beautiful tile mosaics.
-We saw Dontes tomb, and walked around the markets as people biked around us.
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5/25/2008
USA (Austin-Houston-Minneapolis)- Japan (Tokyo)
-Austin airport at 5 am.
-We flew to Houston, then to Minneapolis, and then headed on the long flight to Tokyo.
-Talked to a flight attendant and after we told her we were headed to Singapore she said “watch out for the girls, they will give you an instant family”
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5/26/2008
Japan (Tokyo)-Singapore
-Flew with the sun and lost a day on our seven hour flight.
5/27/2008
Singapore
-We were welcomed with pacing guards carrying guns. They were intimidated by the prime fighting machine bodies of my friend and myself.
-We arrived at 1:45am, grabbed a burger, and slept in the airport behind some seats until a group of Indian ladies sat in the seats practically on top of us.
-We watched really cool trees pass by as we took a taxi to the city center.
-We walked around the city at night and when day broke we met our girl friend at a coffee shop by Borders bookstore near the Royal Plaza Hotel Mariel and her mom stayed.
-The three of us took the MRT to Raffles.
-Went through Thian Hock Temple; Singapore’s oldest.
-Took our shoes off and walked through a Hindu Temple named Sri Mariamman.
-Explored Chinatown, ever tempted by cheap trinkets.
-Went to a Buddhist temple named Kuan Lan Thong Hood Cho and watched as people preformed there religious ceremonies. They shook sticks around and put flowers at the front after buying them at the kiosk just outside.
-Walked around the Fountain of Wealth three times for good luck.
-We went to get a drink in the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel and left when we realized they were crazy expensive.
-Walked by the Esplanade building.
-Saw the Mermaid-lion statue.
-Took a trishaw bike taxi and the poor guy biked all three of us down the street.
-Took a taxi ride in the pouring rain to our hostel One 66.
-We went to the Night Safari and during the creatures of the night show I was called on stage to hold a python. It was heavy. I made friends with an Indian family and later took pictures with them. We took the tram and saw animals in the moonlight.
5/28/2008
Singapore-Malaysia (Johor Bahru,-Mersing-Tioman Island)
-Woke up at 6am. As we were quietly trying to get around a lantern hanging from the hostel ceiling fell on my friend's head and broke on the floor.
-Took a bus to the causeway connecting to Malaysia and checked our passports before we walked across to Johor Bahru.
-Grabbed some flour and sugar rice cakes and headed with our taxi driver to the airport to pick up our Avis rent car. Due to a translation error we paid him way under what we owed and when he figured it out he came running back. He was a cool guy.
-We ran into a ton of complications while picking up the car. The plan was to drop it off at the Avis station in Melaka as arranged on the phone with Avis. The only problem was that there was no Avis in Melaka. We finally worked out a deal to drop the car off at our hotel in Melaka and pay extra for them to grab it.
-We saw our first wild monkeys (primate brothers) as my friend took us on our beautiful drive to Mersing.
-He drove since he had an international license, and I did my best to navigate with his GPS; later pronounced/named “jeeeps”
-We drove to the Mersing port and from there followed a nice taxi driver who guided us the ferry service for Tioman Island.
-The company hooked us up with a room at the Berjaya Beach Resort.
-When we arrived at the island after a two and a half hour ferry ride we realized it was one of the most beautiful places in the world. We quickly started thinking of ways that we could stay an extra day.
-Chased monitor lizards by our bungalow style room.
-After check in we chilled on the beach, swam, and picked up pieces of dead coral that had washed up on the beach. We proceeded to sunbathe while drinking a tiger beer.
-We ate supper at the restaurant at the Berjaya which was a classy open-air pavilion with buffet style food.
5/29/2008
Malaysia (Tioman Island)
-We started noticing problems with the water pressure in our room. The shower was a trickle and the toilet wouldn’t flush.
-We ate breakfast at the Berjaya restaurant buffet. It was really good food, and tons of it.
-To fill our desire for exploration we took a trek to Tekek, stocked up on water, and took a hike through the mountainous rainforest to KG. Juara.
-The rainforest had beautiful trees with monkeys, and beautiful waterfalls.
-Swam on the beautiful beach of Juara, and then decided to make our way to another beach on the opposite side.
-We climbed some slippery rocks with sharp barnacles, hid our stuff, and then swam along a rocky coast to the other beach. There were no other people on this flawless beach.
After chilling in the waves for a while we headed to the other beach in Juara and ate some food outside at a restaurant. I had some great sweet and sour squid.
-We took a taxi jeep back to Tekek and at one point we hopped a boulder and almost got stuck when another truck was trying to pass.
-We got back to the Berjaya beach and split a bottle of wine at sunset.
-We switched hotel rooms and got a much nicer place with a great bathroom and water pressure.
5/30/2008
Malaysia (Tioman Island)
-After we ate our buffet breakfast we chilled at the Berjaya beach. We swam and looked at urchins.
-Had a burger and Pinacollata at the Berjaya beach.
-Went snorkeling. The first island was a good 40 minutes away and had beautiful fish and coral. -We went back to a port on the main island and swam with local kids, looked at fish including several barracuda that circled us, and we did backflips off of the 20 foot high pier. The last stop was the small island near the Berjaya beach. The fish and coral were amazing. Took a break from swimming and climbed to the top of the island barefoot. The island was a mass of huge rocks and massive trees. Our hands and feet were cut up from the sharp volcanic rock and barnacles.
-That evening we went to a small restaurant outside the gate of the Berjaya area and had sweet, sour, and spicy mixed meat.
5/31/2008
Malaysia (Tioman Island-Mersing-Kumar Lumpur)
-Checked out of Berjaya and got advice from the guest attendant on where to find the Asian Bigfoot. We were told to search in the Endau Rompin Rainforest.
-Went to Mersing and ate at a super unclean restaurant. Dying, mangey cats were rubbing up against us and walking on the counters inside the filthy kitchen.
-Watched thousands of crabs walk around under a bridge adjacent to the sketchy restaurant.
-Drove to the Endau Rompin forest to find the Asian Bigfoot aka Yeti. We found a sweet waterfall instead.
-Took a mystic ride through the mountainous forests into the evening.
-Arrived in Kumar Lumpur at night and tried to navigate our rent car through the city. It was scary and incredibly frustrating.
-Made it to the Equator Hostel. One of the nicest I’ve been in.
-Ate some great Chinese food at a place down the street from the hostel.
-Took a cab through the city. Our driver, Ravi, took us to see the Petronas Towers, Chinatown which was already closed, Lake Titiwangsa and the Eye of Malaysia, Masid Negra Mosque, Old KL Train Station, the Kings House, and Independence Square of the Colonial District.
6/1/2008
Malaysia (Kumar Lumpur-Melaka)
-Woke early with a cereal breakfast.
-Took taxi to Batu Caves. Saw a few massive statues, hiked up a ton of stairs to see some stellar -Hindu shrines, and saw some crazy monkeys.
-The same taxi driver took us to the Petronas Towers. We wanted to go up to the sky bridge, but the tickets were sold out for the day.
-Went to Chinatown, bargained, bought, ate, and had a great time.
-Took a cab to the hostel then took another stressful drive through KL and headed toward Melaka.
-We were welcomed to Melaka with a ton of traffic. We later learned that there was a huge food festival.
-After doing some daring back road driving we arrived at Aldy Hotel. We checked in and then walked around the beautiful city full of super nice people.
-Walked around Chinatown, bought souvenirs, and ate. I had some sweet and sour chicken, and -Got some crazy coconut juice soup.
-Went to fill the car with gas, and got lost. Some locals, our age, got in there car and showed us the way to the Christ Church which was right by our hotel.
6/2/2008
Malaysia (Melaka)- Indonesia (Dumei-Duri)
-Ate a free breakfast at the Aldy Hotel
-Left the car keys with the hotel and walked to the ferry. We had to ask around a bit but found the ticket office.
-Got a ticket for the Malaysia Indomal Express to Dumei.
-The ferry was pretty packed and the ride took about 3 hours.
-We landed in Dumai. Checked our passports and got visas.
-Rode with Safrael, our driver and friend of the Host, to the Cal-Tex camp in Duri.
-We drove through Simpang Padang, the largest city outside of Duri.
-We caught up with the hosts and they fed us some amazing local food. We had chicken curry, beef, and stir-fry.
-Watched a movie and went to sleep.
6/3/2008
Indonesia (Duri)
-Woke and ate some bread and eggs
-A lady selling blankets, shirts, and tons of other stuff came by the house. I bought a lot.
-I got my first pedicure. An Indonesian woman who often gives the hosts messages and pedicures included us in her routine.
-Had more great food.
-Went into town. Took out some money…One Million Rupi! Saw a local with his hand in a bucket of bees selling honey.
-Looked in shops. Went to a textile shop and bought some Batik cloth for a robe that was to be made by a lady that did textile work for the host. We also went to some cool furniture shops. Did laundry at the house…we were in desperate need of that.
-Watched a movie, ate super, chilled at the house, and planed out the trip for Bukittinggi.
6/4/2008
Indonesia (Duri-Runbai-Pekanbaru-Bukittinggi)
-Woke, ate, and drove to our bus headed to Pekanbaru at 7:00.
-Stopped in Runbai, then met with our driver and Mr. W, our van, in Pekanbaru
-We stopped at a restaurant overlook in the mountains. The girl with us made an admirer, and I ended up holding a baby. A woman wanted to take pictures of me holding her baby.
-Went to Harau Valley to see waterfalls and a beautiful gorge. We went to a resort of sorts within the gorge. There were stunning views of rice patties, mountains, and waterfalls.
-Stopped at a huge roadside waterfall. Made some friends.
-Checked into Hotel Asia in Bukittinggi.
-Went to Pasar Bawah market, but it was closing.
-Went to Jam Gadang, the clock tower, and took pictures with about thirty Indonesian admirers. -A mob of younger girls were hanging on us, and a ton of drooling guys took pictures with our female companion.
-Got some icecream inside a mall near the clock tower square.
-Played in an arcade within the mall.
-We acquired some whiskey from a sketchy dude that had paid us a lot of attention since our arrival…we drank the whiskey.
6/5/2008
Indonesia (Bukittinggi-Padang)
-The sound of prayers woke us up at 5 am.
-Took a much needed shower and ate breakfast.
-Went to the largest Japanese caves in Southeast Asia, Retribusi Masukobyek Wisata, Taman Panorama.
-Went to the Koto Gadiang silver village, and the owner asked if we would like to see. Batman. -After an exchange of awkward glances, and the realization of an obvious translation error, we agreed to follow. He took us through rice fields to an amazing gorge full of huge bats.
-Went to another shop and bought some silver jewelry.
-Drove to the top of Minanjau volcano to overlook the amazing crater lake below. As we sat we heard the shouting and barking of pig hunters and their dogs. Then we walked with Aris, a local at the top of Minanjau, through the sugar cane fields. We came to a circular clearing in the middle of the fields where an ox was powering a press which was being used to crush sugarcane. The operation was being manned by an ancient man and a few others. They gave us a glass of sugar water with lemon. It was great but we were scared it would make us sick.
-A rush of misty cool weather followed us on our descent down.
-We continued our celebrity took tons of pictures with locals at a village market on the way to 44 turns.
-Went down the 44 turns, and threw chex mix to monkeys out the window. They were brilliant and would cut down the switchbacks to catch us on another drive-by.
-We reached Padang in the pouring rain, and jumped in the Indian Ocean.
-We had a hard time finding a hotel because the Vice President of Indonesia was in town and brought his entourage. We went back to the first hotel that we had initially left in disgust. It was the worst hotel I’ve ever been in. There were sugar-ants in the bed sheets, the 2’ shower also served as the bathroom, and the water didn’t work. In short, never go to Hotel Kemala Balqis.
We used the previously acquired whiskey to forget about the condition of our sleeping arrangement.
-Walked in the rain in search of wine. We ended up going to a nice restaurant named Fellas. The owner of Fellas made a call to have a bottle of wine brought in for our seafood meal. He later told us to not get any more of that “whiskey” because it had been known to make people go blind. Good to know.
6/6/2008
Indonesia (Padang-Bukittinggi)
-A man brought a sketchy breakfast to our room. I ate it.
-On our way back to Bukittinggi we stopped at a cool roadside waterfall.
-Drove by lake Sekarang (not sure on spelling).
-Went to see the “Big House” Toman Bundo, only to find that it had burned down two months prior to our arrival. A tour bus pulled up as we were leaving…
-Ate an amazing lunch at a place the driver took us to. They brought out 25 dishes. After we tried a bit of everything it occurred to us that we were to pay for everything we touched…It was cool though because it was still just about $5 US. We ate with our hands like true locals, and the food was amazing.
-We went to a zoo in Bukittinggi. It was horrible. The cages were tiny and they was a ton of trash to accompany the poor animals. As always, our sad faces were a bigger spectacle for the locals than the animals were. We went to this Dutch fort, but it was nothing amazing.
-Went to a wood carving village and met a girl from Perth Scotland, the town my buddy is from. Small world.
-We went back to our hotel, the Denai, and swam in the freezing water of a really nice pool, and then chilled in our immaculate room.
-Ate some good pizza and had some beer at a place down the road.
6/7/2008
Indonesia (Bukittinggi-Pekanbaru-Runbai-Duri)
-Grabbed breakfast to go from the hotel, and embarked on the long journey back to Duri.
-We arrived at the Hosts house, took a shower, and relaxed.
-Went to a social gathering at the house of a friend/coworker. We had a blast talking about our journey while snacking and drinking wine. The party host took us around outside the house on a nighttime tour of his extensive plant collection.
6/8/2008
Indonesia (Duri-Dumai) -Malaysia (Melaka)
-Parted ways with the hosts and headed with Safriel to the ferry. He almost left as we were figuring out that we had to go to the ferry office which was mile away. He realized we were having trouble and came back for us with the car. We got all checked in, went back to the ferry, and headed for Melaka.
-When we got to Melaka we headed back to the Aldy Hotel. The flamboyant clerk directed us to their other hotel I Chinatown. It turned out to be a nicer place, and cheaper.
-We walked into Chinatown to pick up shoes that my friend ordered earlier.
-After eating some great pizza at the hotel’s café we just went to our room and slept. It was 6 pm.
6/9/2008
Malaysia (Melaka-Johor Bahru)- Singapore
-Woke up at 7ish with some killer stomach problems, that we both shared for some reason.
-Went downstairs and at a good breakfast at the hotel. Then we checked our email, and headed out.
-Took a cab to the bus station. All of the buses to Johor Bahru and Singapore were full so we took a cab which was a lot more expensive, but got us there in half the time.
After a long search for an ATM we headed for the Singapore zoo. It was an interesting ride to the zoo. Our cab driver was very into politics… The zoo was awesome. Saw a good portion of it, but there was no sign of the Yeti.
-We searched for a hostel for the longest time and were getting more worried as the sun dropped. We finally found the Axis and Orchid hostel, the two we were looking for, together at the end of an alley.
-Our appetite was fed with some really good Chinese food place down the road.
We had some nice beds, but only got to enjoy them for a few hours.
6/10/2008
Singapore- Japan (Tokyo)- USA (Minneapolis- Houston- Austin)
-Woke up at 3:30 am.
-Took a cab to the airport from Sky Orchid hostel.
-Flew from Singapore to Tokyo’s Narita airport which took about six and a half hours.
-On our flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis we sat next to a mid-change cross-dresser. He had boobs…Of course my friend had to start a conversation. It lasted the entire flight.
-We played around the Mall of America in Minneapolis. Apparently it’s the largest in the world.
-Got on our plane to Houston.
-We almost missed our flight from Houston to Austin because they couldn’t get a tram to transfer us from terminals.
-We flew to Austin and were picked up
-So ends another amazing journey.
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