Gili ended up being a blast form the past.  There was not a single motorized vehicle on the island (awesome), the “cabs” were horse drawn buggies (even more awesome) and the electricty was only sometimes working (not as awesome when one relies on fan/AC for sleeping).  Gili is a scuba divers mecca, and though Nick and I didn’t dive, we did snorkel!  We saw some awesome fish, turtles, coral, and so on.

There isn’t much to DO on Gili except look at the ocean in various ways, but it was nice to end my trip on such a relaxed and “back in time” fashion.

Check out the photos from Gili,

We started off in the resort and tourist-laiden area of southern Bali, home to the famous beach area of Kuta and more surfers than anyone would ever want.  Here we spent 3 glorious nights filled with tasty indonesian food, self-indulgent massages, lazy days laying by the pool and generally just relaxing.  I have made it an unofficial policy in my head to not worry about taking photos when I’m being lazy at resorts because for the most part there isn’t anything really unique about these days…though I certainly enjoy them!

Lucky for us this was by no means our only experience in Bali, as we trekked an hour and a half north to the renowned town of Ubud.  Ubud is a town tucked away amongst rice fields and rolling hills in the middle of the Balinese jungle.  It is also known for its unbelievable crafts and arts for sale, and it did not disappoint.

Nick and I also stumbled across something completely unexpected; the “Bali Spirits Festival”.  This was an transnational-drawing 6-day festivals of music, dance and yoga.  It consisted of many workshops during the day, including yoga classes, dance, music and so on.  At night the venue switched closer to town and it turned into a 6 hour concert of music from all over the world…it was of a very high caliber and Nick and I were immediately interested in the concerts and some of the workshops!…it was, however, ridiculously expensive.  100 US dollars for a full day pass, 25 bucks to attend just the concert and over 500 dollars for all 6 days of programming.  This is INSANE amounts of money for Indonesia…

Sidenote:  Does anyone remember when Nick and I got free tuxedo’s (and ended up renting BALLER zuit-suits) for our High School prom because we passed out the tuxedo-rental-store’s flyers to the private schools of San Francisco?

So yea, we pulled something just like that!  We offered to volunteer at the festival and in exchange we received free workshops and access to the concerts!  All we had to do was check tickets for an evening at the concert (As “Security Guards”).  So we did that!  And we got to see a free concert and attend a couple of workshops…all for free! (and they fed us 3 meals!)

Highlights from the festival include taking a Bollywood class where the whole group learned the same routine to some famous Bollywood song…and, blowing my musical senses out of the water, was listening to a musician named Mamadou Diabate, a Malinese (yes, from the African country of Mali, not Bali) Kora player.  The Kora is a 21 stringed guitar/lute/harp instrument exclusively from West Africa…and Mamadou played it in ways I didn’t think were possible.  We heard him first at the concert, then we had a workshop with him where he played for us and answered some of our questions.  I bought his CD because I was so impressed.  (oh FYI, he was the Grammy in 2010 for best World Music Album…yea, he’s kind of a big deal).

Anyway, Bali is amazing and you should all visit.  Go to Ubud after getting a dose of party/beach life in Kuta.  That’s my endorsement.  Enjoy the photos!

I know I haven’t updated this blog for a few too many days.  I have been on the islands of Bali and Gili in Indonesia for the past week or so, but I haven’t had my computer with me.  I left my computer back at our resort in Kuta (the main town on Bali where we stayed for 3 nights) because I didn’t want to carry a lot of stuff with me as we zipped around Indonesia for my last week travelling.  As a result, I haven’t been able to offload/upload any pictures, so I haven’t posted a blog.  I like accompanying all my posts with something visual because I know for me I skip over words and just like videos/pictures.

So, just to keep everyone updated, I will be posting two posts in the next day or so.  One on my experience in Bali, and one on my experience in Gili.

Afterward I will go to Jakarta to catch my flight home…but wait!  I will still have one more adventure!  I have an 11 hour layover in Hong Kong and I will be sure to take advantage of their 27 minute train into the city from the airport!  I’ll get a solid day in the city, so I’ll have a post about that as well.

I go home really soon, and I have a lot of mixed feelings which I am sure to analyze and expouse here on my blog…so you get to look forward to that as well

Cheers!

Jakarta is crowded, congested, paralyzed by traffic, lacking any neighborhoods, completely devoid of public transportation, consists nearly exclusively of mega-shopping malls and lacks any real interesting core.  The rich live in condos integrated into giant malls and can spend their whole lives doing this…the poor live in slums that barely classify as real housing.

Jakarta is also a very corrupt place.  I experienced this first hand when I was asked for a bribe by the immigration officer at Jakarta International Airport because my passport was “full of stamps” and “had no room for the visa” (which wasn’t true…AND I didn’t care if they covered other stamps)  So the guy asked me to “help him out” but I’m so damn naive that I started talking outloud about how much he wanted…which scared him and escalated the situation.  Luckily I was saved by a woman who turned out to be our savior and the most generous/kind person I’ve met in a long time. Her name is Bunga and she talked down the immigration officer and everything was sorted out…but Bunga turned out to be far more than an immigration savior…she ended up taking us under her wing and took us around Jakarta for a full 24 hours in her car, with her entire family!  Check out Nick’s recounting of the events here.

I won’t repeat what Nick so eloquently wrote in his blog, because he summed it all up quite well…but needless to say this was a bright highlight in our trip to Asia, and I’m just so thrilled we were able to be shown Jakarta by someone so friendly and knowledgable about the city!

Here are some photos from the day:

Don’t be fooled America– it is cleaner, safer and better run than any American city.  The crime rate here is comically low…despite everything being illegal (chewing gum brings a hefty fine…and it’s enforced!)  The MRT (Metro) runs every 120 to 240 seconds…no joke.  Seeing a piece of litter on the street is a rarity and feeling unsafe, even in the red light district where we stayed the last two nights, never happened.  Compared to Bangkok, the red light district was a joke and consisted of some guy waving to you as you passed a brothel…as opposed to Thailand where one would be aggressively approached, grabbed and yelled at to come to their “ping pong show” (I’ll let you imagine what that is).

So it’s official, of all the places I’ve been to in SE Asia, Singapore wins as being the most likely candidate that I would accept a job and raise a family if the occasion ever presented itself.  Not only would I do it, I would welcome it…because for 100 bucks and 3 free days I could go the islands of Thailand,, the malls of Saigon, the beaches of Malaysia and volunteer at an orphanage in Cambodia…that certainly beats road tripping to Indiana in a vain attempt at finding a cheap and charming B&B (though we all know I’d do it anyway if I ended up in Chicago!)

So here’s to Singapore!  Way to impress the hell out of me and leave me wanting more.

Sitting aboard my flight to Singapore, having just left Hanoi, I find myself thinking back over my entire two week experience in Vietnam.  This country is amazing…it is a dichotomous combination of a thriving, eclectic and fascinating society with a somewhat oppressive and corrupt government that denies its citizen elections or any true say in the destiny of their own country.  But none of these negative aspects affected my stay in Vietnam, as I successfully avoided any interaction with corrupt law enforcement or power hungry politicians, and managed to instead be touched by the genuine happiness and generosity of the Vietnamese people.  And I can also happily say that I managed to feel like I experienced Vietnam from more than a purely tourist’s perspective.

When I last blogged I had just gotten back from the beautiful Halong Bay, a few hours from the capital city of Hanoi.  Since then I spent nearly five full days in Hanoi, a city that I would say still typifies what older Vietnamese society feels like before western influence came in.  For example, walking through Hanoi’s streets it is strikingly obvious the dearth of western store fronts…in fact there are only a handful that I saw in the entire city.  They include:  Western Union (thank goodness for that, as it’s my primary source of money until the end of my trip!), KFC and Gloria Jean’s Coffee (which I actually think is Singaporian).  That’s it.  There are no McDonald’s, no Starbuck’s, no 7-11’s, no other fast food chains or anything.  It’s striking to see essentially zero western presence, but refreshing at the same time.  There are not many places left on this planet like this.

There were a number of highlights during my time in Hanoi.  One was my half day cooking class at an upscale restaurant.  This class was educational, delicious and hilarious.  To start we took a little field trip to the local produce, meat and spice market.  Our teacher, Zuim (who goes by “Tim”…don’t really know why), explained to us all the different types of fruit, and since he’s a regular at the market we were able to try a number of different things.  One new fruit that I tried is called a “Custard Apple”…which on the outside looks like a brain and on the inside…well, it kinda looks like a brain as well…but it tastes like an apple!  It was really delicious (There’s a picture of it below…hopefully my description will allow you to identify it).  I was also told that I was a very attractive 42 year old by one of the meat selling women…I still can’t decide if that’s a compliment or not.

One small thing I forgot to mention was that it started drizzling when we were at the market, which caused us to move the cooking class inside.  This wouldn’t have been a big deal except that instead of cooking on a granite table we cooked on a table with a tablecloth…so when Zuim was cooking up some delicious fried shrimp the tablecloth caught on fire.  But not to worry, he said, he signaled he could out the small (but growing!) fire…what tool was he using?  A PAIR OF CHOPSTICKS!  I’m not kidding…and I have video proof.  Zuim was trying to put out a table fire with a pair of chopsticks…it took some good ole western cajoling to convince him to dump water on it (which was probably not a good idea either because it subsequently caused the fire to spread some more)…and then finally we extinguished it by just balling up the entire tablecloth!  It was quite the hilarious experience that could have ended in utter disaster, but it was certainly memorable!

So the cooking class was great, and it was even better because it led to the following evening’s activity.  I offered to come help out at the restaurant the following night, since they were understaffed and under trained.  In exchange I got a free delicious dinner!  However when I showed up I was told that both reservations for the evening, reservations of 17 and 6, had cancelled.  Since the restaurant just opened and there wasn’t much foot traffic, they weren’t expecting any guests really.  So instead of helping to serve, I helped them train their new and eager staff!  I acted like I was a customer and had them practice their English and serving skills…an experience that made me realize how much I take for granted when it comes to western hospitality skills…these guys were completely clueless, but it was great to help them learn.  After helping them at the restaurant for a few hours, and eating a delicious meal, the 2 managers, the marketing director (with whom I had my cooking class the previous day) and a newly promoted waiter all went out for beers at a local street-bar.  Beers were 4,000 Dong each…that’s $.20 each.  Hands down the cheapest beers I’ve ever had in my life…and they weren’t bad either!
My time in Hanoi and Vietnam overall has been unbelievable.  I would recommend the country to anyone with a desire for adventure, and I would encourage people to head them before more westernizing changes take place.  Vietnam, along with Thailand, have proven to be my favorite countries of my trip so far, and I hope you all get a chance some day to experience it!

more photos and video to come shortly

More to come on Singapore a bit later!

Cheers,
Paul

I want to give you an update as to why I havn’t posted in a while.  First of all, when I was in Vietnam, the government would not allow any photos to be uploaded.  NOW, my laptop has a virus because there was never any anti-virus software purchased for it and I can’t connect to the internet.  I am currently at an internet cafe, and while the connection is great, I don’t have access to any of my photos.  I am hoping to resolve the issue BEFORE I return to the states in 2 weeks, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be possible.  I may just have to wait until I return to upload everything and post all my remaining photos….in the meantime I’ll still be able to post text posts when I find an internet cafe.

Cheers!

Paul

After one has been traveling from place to place for many months it becomes more and more difficult to be “wowed”.  After the 10th temple, 15th beach town, 20th natural wonder and 25th marketplace there becomes a certain threshold that is difficult to crack that truly will wow you.  This is why is was so unbelievably nice to be completely blown away by Halong bay.

Halong Bay is an enormous body of water about 3 hours east of Hanoi in northern Vietnam.  It is famous for its spattering of rock formations throughout the bay and for the “junk boats” that sail amongst them carrying happily dining tourists.  The weather is more San Franciscan than south east Asian– it was foggy, cool and marine-like.  The views are spectacular and the junk boats, which are made completely of old, dark wood are gorgeous.

Gap included one activity in its tour package (that is one that was completely paid for and arranged) and it was a 7 course seafood lunch on a junk boat while touring Halong bay.  We also got to go into one of the most exquisite caves I have ever seen.  The day was truly amazing.

Vietnam has been an amazing country– one that I would recommend to anyone thinking about coming to Southeast Asia.  The people are nice, the food is delicious, the cities are interesting, the architecture is unique, the tourist attractions are worthwhile and the country as a whole is very cheap.  Come quickly, because the country is changing fast!  I see new buildings and projects on every road, and it certainly doesn’t feel like there’s a recession going on here.

Right now I am on a bus to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam!  I have two nights here until my Gap Adventure ends, and I will definitely be sad to leave both Vietnam and the gap tour.  It has been an absolute pleasure on this tour, and I am very glad I made the somewhat expensive decision to do it!

Enjoy the photos below from our day on the Halong Bay.

After much deliberation I finally decided to spend some money and get myself some made-to-fit clothing.  In all I bought a dark gray cashmere/wool suit, a light gray wool winter/autumn jacket and two fitted cuff-linked dress shirts.  For ALL of these it cost 175 dollars, and it all fits me perfectly.  The only bad thing about this is I had to buy a cheap bag in order to carry my new clothing around with me for the next 3 weeks…but it’s a price I’m willing to pay for such a great deal.  Check out the photos below to check out my new clothing.

Apart from ordering dress clothing we also took an epic voyage to the temples of My Son about 40 kilometers out of the city.  To do this we rented motorbikes…now, this was a tough decision for me.  I’ve never ridden a motorbike before, but literally everyone and their mom rides them in Vietnam, so it’s pretty much the only thing on the road.  Yes they are everywhere, but there are also basically no cars on the road, which makes riding around less intimidating.  So against my internalized mother’s apprehensions I decided to do it! (see video below for my apology)  Riding bikes was SO much fun…and there were only a couple of times when there was a close call or anything intimidating happening on the road.  I’m definitely glad that I did it…and I came back in one piece!

This is by no means to suggest that Viet Nam is rich, because it isn’t.  But it is definitely on everyone’s list as one of Asia’s emerging (and emerging quickly, despite the recession) economies, and it shows.  The scenery is lush, the streetscape is energetic and there is an vibe around that the country is going places ever since they opened their borders to the rest of the world for trade, commerce and tourism.  People are hawking their goods to you, not desperately hoping you’ll spare a dollar for whatever useless items they’re pitching (like they all too often did in Cambodia).  Viet Nam, hands down, is a better off country than Cambodia.

So far I’ve spent a day in Chou Doc, a town just 45 minutes in from the Cambodian border, and two days in Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh city after the communists took control of the country post-Vietnam war.)  Most people still refer to it as Saigon, and I think I will as well because Ho Chi Minh City is a name that congratulates general Ho Chi Minh for a job well done keeping the country communist and undemocratic (not that I endorse the US’s operations in Vietnam, but the city WAS named Saigon for ages before.  It would be like naming Atlanta Abe Lincoln City because the north won the civil war…come to think of it I’m sure something like that happened  and I just don’t know about it…but I disapprove)

Saigon was fascinating.  We visited a decent number of Viet Nam war points of interest, including the war museum and the underground tunnels that the Viet Cong hid in just north of Saigon.  I learned SO much about the war that I didn’t know…simple things like people would often switch between the Viet Cong (communist, based in the north, supported by the Russians and Chinese) and the South Vietnamese Army (capitalists, pro-democracy, fighting side-by-side with Americans).  It sometimes would just come down to who needed food from the local village and for which side their sons, brothers and husbands were fighting for.  Politics is SO local, and during the war it was remarkably so given the country was in a civil war.

Our guide to the underground tunnels was a man in his late 60′s who was a hired translator for the US and fought next to many Americans during the war.  He had so many interesting stories to tell and made it very clear that he viewed all soldiers as casualties of the war (Americans because no one wanted to be there and the Vietnamese people for being forced to choose a side in order to survive).  Sometimes he would even have to lower his voice as a security guard or other guide walked by because his point of view was so different from what most Vietnamese learn in school in the “official” history of the war.

Anyway, it was all greatly informative and I wish I could have spent more time in Saigon.  Highlights of the city include checking out the central market, eating some delicious local fare, and playing a game of Vietnamese hacky-sack in the middle of the park and having random people (tourists and vietnamese alike) come up and join in the game.  At one point the circle of players was about 15!!  It was so awesome to just play the game with them because there weren’t language similarities, but it was definitely easy to just laugh and clap when things took place in the game.  I’ll have some pictures of this as soon as I steal them from my roommate Simon.  Lastly, we got to shoot massively powerful rifles at the shooting range, which was LOUD and AWESOME.  There’s a video of that below.  Enjoy the photos as well!

On a separate note, I unfortunately will have to come back about 10 days earlier from my time in Asia than I had originally planned.  I need to get back to check out law schools and in order to do so I need to return April 8th.  Oh well…that just gets to mean I’ll start planning my next big trip a tad soon!

Cheers!