13-20th Oct 2013
Redang Island
The destination was a complete surprise to Duygu. She knew we would be going away together on travel, and I had tried my best to blur the lines in terms of destinations. She knew it would be diving location, but had no idea. She is smart so she narrowed down the possibilities to where she would not need a visa…
On our way to the airport I was super excited, and wanted to prolong her surprise as long as I could. I dropped her off at Starbucks and made my way to the check in counter to warn the lady that it was going to be a surprise for her. I brought Duygu and blocked her view so she could not see the monitor above and after check in grabbed both tickets with me, all the way to the gate where I kept blocking her site whilst hoping that no other tourist would shout ‘we’ re going to Redaaaaaaaang’ around us. Every announcement by the captain prompted me to block her ears and hence we made it, she only found out at the arrival terminal.
The flight was in a propeller plane, and we landed on a tiny island with a tiny landing strip which appeared out of nowhere. Adventurous start oh yeaaaaaaaa here we are Redang.
A minibus came to pick us up at the smallest airport I have ever seen to bring us to the jetty. From there we made our way on a boat around the island to reach the hotel, and were dropped off on the beach. This was awesome. A 200m wide white sand beach dedicated to the full board, small and rustic hotel we were going to spend a week in. I can honestly say it is the nicest beach I have ever been to.
I’ll add that there was no TV, a poor excuse of a WiFi and barely any mobile phone coverage. Add to this a room with view on the sea, silence, and clear water in front of us, this was looking very good.
We had planned to go diving during the week. Duygu was going to complete her Open Water and I would do my Advanced. She had no idea there was to be a comprehensive theory and to be honest I did not want to tell her about it before she signed up. She would have to study during her holidays!! On that note so would I (but mine was a lot easier..).
I was very excited for her, remembering when I became an official dive buddy with my brother a few years back and how much fun the experience had been. Redang Island was known for having very nice dive sites so this was going to be all pleasure once Duygu had completed all the theory.
We were staying in the Wisana full board hotel, managed by a local family. Apparently it is the only hotel left on the island managed by locals. It had a very casual vibe where all guests would mingle quite easily between themselves and the family. The food was good, but to be honest after a few dives any type of food becomes very appetising and tasty.
The kid in the family was a local player, constantly checking out the little girls and communicating with them without speaking in english. We saw him one night throwing paper planes with one of his friends and I got sucked in back to my childhood (or maybe I had never left it), sat down and put all my best efforts into designing the best plane, extracting all the knowledge I had gained from my engineering background and hours of boredom during school hours. He was gonna see what a real paper plane was. I threw it and basked in the glory of my plane looping on itself and going straight down, and him laughing at me. Turns out that this was not as simple as I remembered….
After a few iterations and revisions, my prototype was becoming respectable, enough for Duygu and myself to challenge on longest flights in front of a captivated audience at the grandstand table. We had become cool in the eyes of the kid and locals, oh yea. This paper plane challenge would have several rounds during our stay, and the kid ended up with a collection of paper planes.
7-14th June 2013
Bali & Gili,
I had always wanted to visit Bali. Upon arrival in Singapore I was told numerous times that Bali was a great place to go (Bali this..Bali that). I thought about going but for some reason I pushed it back, keeping it aside for a special occasion. I wanted to see other parts of Asia before going to someplace recommended by so many people. I guess I wanted a build up to this visit!
We flew out from Singapore very excited.
The plan was to spend 3 days in Ubud, followed by 4 days in the Gili Trawangan. We arrived in Bali and made our way to the hotel. Duygu was already looking forward to a massage at this point. After a quick check in we grabbed a shuttle bus to the center of Ubud to try and grab a feel of the city. Ubud is a rustic little village, known as the hippy and cultural centre of Bali. We sat in a small cafe and went about deciding what we would like to do over the next few days, and within 15 mins, or the time needed to drink a fresh cocktail juice, we had a plan over the next 3 days in Ubud.
We stopped off for a massage, after all, it is part of the culture here in Bali and we definitely wanted to soak up the culture as much as possible. After a dinner in a local restaurant we went back to the hotel and had a few drinks on the terrace to finish off a promising trip.
The next day we had arranged for a driver to come pick us up at the hotel. Our first stop was a wood carving showroom, which is one of the specialities in Bali. We found out that people carve some interesting pieces out of wood, notably huge phallic objects which seemed a little bit too detailed and overcompensated to be used as decoration ornament hm hm.
We continued our way, driven by Ketuk, a local driver, who helped shed some light on some of the questions we had. For some reason, we tend to discuss about marriages a lot with local people. We stopped by the volcano to admire the view, and went through some stores to look for souvenirs. I managed to get an awesome deal on Ray Bans, where I got a brand new pair for a dollar…couldn’t believe how well I had negotiated. Needless to say I looked pretty awesome in my (fake) Ray Bans.
Next stop was a coffee plantation which was perfect timing – we were both getting a little bit too comfortable in the van and looked forward to tasting the coffee Luwak, aka shit coffee. Coffee Luwak, in a nutshell, are coffee beans digested by an Asian Palm Civet and then brewed to apparently make one of the best coffees in the world. I couldn’t help thinking how somebody first came up with the idea of picking droppings from this animal thinking ‘I need to make coffee out of this’.
After preparing our own coffee we then drank the fruits of our labor and quickly realised together that this coffee…was good, but not that special.
Next stop was the rice terrace. In my mind, this is the picture I had in mind when thinking of Bali.
Terraces of green rice paddies surrounded by palm trees.
It really is an impressive sight which is definitely worth seeing. There are cafes and a little restaurant where you are just able to chill and look at the view
We then drove all the way down south past Kuta to reach Uluwatu temple for Sunset. The setting is pretty special, with a temple on top of a huge cliff.
A few pictures later we made our way to the Kecak dance, a traditional dance. Picture a circle of half naked men doing beatbox with 2 – 3 ladies on mute in colorful dresses and you will get a fairly accurate presentation of what we witnessed. A little boring. We did get to take a picture with monkey man though which was the highlight for me. We made our way to Jimbaran beach to have dinner: BBQ seafood litteraly in front of the beach. I discovered that Duygu really, really liked prawns, a dish she would indulge in many more times during our trip.
After a very enjoyable ride in the van back to the hotel we decided we would rent a motorbike the following day and discover Ubud and its surroundings by ourselves.
So, next day we went ahead and hired a motorcycle. I had heard numerous stories about driving motorcycles in Bali, and most were not good. I decided not to share this with Duygu… Anyways, we were dropped off by the hotel as this vendor where we basically showed money and were allowed to rent out a 100cc scooter. I was not asked my driving license, I would like to think it was because he could see I was a natural born 2-wheel driver and it would have offended me to ask, but even I doubt this.
The first few minutes were spent learning how to turn again and I was ready to pick up my girl and race off the streets of Ubud oh yeah.
Off a side street, Duygu asks me whether she could drive. Of course you can bebe. I briefly explained how to work it and sat at the back. She grips the handle and starts accelerating towards a wall 5 metres in front of us before stopping quickly. Hmm, this is going to be fun.
She continued practising but by herself, blaming me for being off balance. After seeing her speed away out of sight around a corner I start walking to meet her. And I walk, and keep on walking and 5 mins later I see her appear again, very slowly. Miss Duygu had had to brush off a tree which was in the way as she was turning the scooter, resulting in a rather impressive scratch across her arm.
Yet she continued to want to drive…
We returned to the rice terraces in view to go for a walk but by the time we arrived it was raining, so had to make do with relaxing under a shelter, grabbing a late lunch and just admiring the view. I was feeling a bit tired at this stage and allowed Duygu to drive me back to Ubud.
Early wake up the following morning – we had a boat to catch to reach the Gili islands. The Gili islands are located about 90 mins off the north east coast of Bali, and are apparently a diver’s paradise. The islands are small, devoid of any motorised vehicles and surrounded by clear water. It has a reputation for being a bit of a party island, and I had made sure that we had a hotel a little away from the centre so we could also relax.
We quickly organised a diving course for the following day and arranged for a taxi to the hotel. By taxi I mean an old style horse and cart dragging us along the only main street on the island to the front gate of the hotel. During this 5 min trip Duygu managed to get friendly with a local, begging me to take a picture. Her new found friend seemed very excited about having his picture taken also. The hotel is really nice. Managed by a couple of kiwis, they had setup rugby goal posts in the middle of the garden so one could practise their kicking skills even on holidays..
That afternoon was spent relaxing on the terrace and soaking in the relaxed atmosphere of the island. It felt pretty good to do nothing and just lie down and quickly get into the slower and relaxing pace of the island and holidays.
Next morning we made our way to the diving school. Duygu was pretending to be nervous about diving but wasn’t really.
As I laid down a bit and got some well deserved rest she was in the pool with two other girls learning the diving basics, to be comfortable enough for the afternoon dive in the sea. I was to accompany her in the afternoon dive with another group but in a nice turn of event, the girls she were with failed the introduction class and I was ‘promoted’ to join her group so we ended up diving the two of us with the divemaster. Too bad for the other girls, but great for us.
Had a quick lunch, and then boarded the boat to take us diving to Manta Ray. For a first dive, Duygu went into the water James Bond style. During the dive Duygu thought it would be more fun to combine diving with a rollercoaster ride. Up and down she went as we moved forward and I learnt to quickly look up and down when turning back to her.
The visibility was amazing, with about 30 – 35 metres and we managed to catch a few turtles swimming away.
The last day on the island was spent on our bikes going round the island. The island is small, about 7 km to go round and we took our time, stopping off whenever we felt like it and generally just enjoying the slow pace of life on the island. It is a very chilled island, and a welcome break from the fast paced life of Singapore or Istanbul. We left the island very relaxed and chilled, to go back to Bali for a last night in town.
17-20th Aug 2012
Ho Chi Minh,
I arrived in Ho Chi Minh very early in the morning, and made our way to the hotel where we were greeted with a breakfast and tea while we waited on our room.
Took this opportunity to plan the 3 day weekend within HCM. There were two places a colleague of mine had recommended: the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta. I organised the tours (for sunday and monday) by the time breakfast was finished and set about to walk around this city.
First stop: Ben Than market. I think everyone who visits HCM will have stopped here: it is a large market filled with small stalls selling fake goods and souvenirs from the country. This did not start well: it took me 5 mins to get past the first 3 stalls, with the local vendors (all girls) all trying to get a piece of me and grabbing my arm and literally pulling me in their stall. First impression is that they’re a little bit more aggressive than similar markets in China!
Gradually though, I learnt the technique most foreigners learn naturally and that is tunnel vision: do not make eye contact unless you are willing to buy and just march ahead looking far away at the background. We bought quite a few goods and this was fun, bartering around with the vendors.
We stopped for some street food, eating some of auntie’s food (everyone calls each other uncle, auntie, brother, sister: one big happy family in Ho Chi Minh). This was the first taste of local street food and it was very simple, but tasty nonetheless.
Second stop: War Museum. I had heard of this place and been warned that although interesting, it is not an easy place to visit due to some of the content. I can confirm both: a comprehensive storyline on the war, axed towards the suffering the US brought to Vietnamese people. This is illustrated by very graphical and some disturbing pictures of the side effects the Agent Orange toxic gas had both on the landscape and the people.
It is quite a heavy atmosphere in the museum, and the visitors clearly get an idea of what went on during these times. I myself walked out with mixed emotions, on one hand my curiosity is rewarded but on the other, its not easy to digest and understand. However curiosity won this battle, and I am actually quite interested in learning more about the war.
We went back by foot to the hotel, amazed at the number of motorcycles in the streets. It gets to the stage where you are almost surprised to see a car about! As a reward, I went for a foot massage. I have been to my fair share of foot massages in Asia, and this was hands down the best. For 30 mins I was in a comfy seat getting my feet massaged, and the next 30 mins I was getting pulled, stretched in positions I have never been in before and that I did not know existed/were possible. Walked out refreshed!
We then went out for some dinner, again trying some street food: what I mean by street food is these small stalls located on the pavement. The owner wheels out her kitchen cart and arranges small plastic picnic chairs around and voila, a restaurant outdoors right in the middle of the city! We tried seafood and especially enjoyed a dish with crab legs with a sweet and garlicky sauce (actually went again the following day for seconds as an appetiser..that good). The street food was followed by a pub crawl around some of the bars / clubs in the area. I decided to try only alcohol made in Vietnam: Vodka (awful), red wine (awful, could be used as vinegar) and Rum (surprisingly good, I was liking this city more and more). Partied hard for our first night in Ho Chi Minh, as you do…
Next morning was tough…a bus was waiting at 8 am to take us to the Cu Chi tunnels. These are the tunnels dug up by the vietnamese during the wars. There are three levels, from 2-3m down to 10 m down! The guide would like to remind us during the visit that the tunnels were specifically made for standard size, not american size, not even trying to repress the smile across his face. The guide showed us some of the booby traps laid out by the Vietnamese, which were often rustic but definitely effective.We got to go down and visit part of the tunnels where we basically had to crawl through. It was incredible thinking that these tunnels (over 250km of them) were used extensively during 17 years. I finished the visit at the shooting range with an AK47, carefully shooting my 10 bullets I had paid 10 dollars for. My neighboor, slightly trigger happier, was on automatic mode going through 12 bullets a second for half a minute whilst talking to himself, hmm..
We got back into the city centre and to our hotel, realising that the alley we were staying had a power cut. We ended up with a dinner and fresh local food, including nems and spring rolls and a roll made from crepe paste, another wink at the French legacy here.
Next day, took the bus again at 8 am to go visit the Mekong delta south of the capital. The tour was very well organised, and started with a boat tour along one of the many branches of the delta and stopping to a village only accessible by the river.
The region is very famous for cultivating honeyand rice (larger export than Korea and Japan combined) and is very fertile. Around a quarter of the population in Vietnam lives within the delta. The tour finished with a visit in one of the temples nearby which was nice but appeared very touristy and we only stayed 15 mins. I made my way back to the city centre to pick up our luggage and made our way to meet a colleague from work who had invited us to dinner before flying back. I met my colleague and his team where they made us try a variety of dishes with buffalo and local beer. First time for either of us and a fitting end to close our trip in Ho Chi Minh!
