Tioman/Singapore Part 2

Day 2 in Monkey Bay was lovely.  There was more work to be done on the sailboat before it could actually sail.  We lost a small piece that helped hoist the jib, and Matt did quite a few 20 meter dives trying to find it, but  he eventually gave up.  Luckily the piece was not vital and we raised the sail easily.  Most of the rest of the day was spent swimming and lounging (for me anyways.  Matt's the type that can't sit still for more than a few minutes unless he's got a beer in his hand).  That evening we both went snorkeling (I'd learned my lesson and wasn't getting in the water unless he was in it too).  I think I must be somewhat of a curiosity to the sharks because as soon as I was maybe 10 meters from him, I saw 4 sharks, two on either side of me, glide by.  I didn't panic quite so much this time, but I did locate Matt pretty quickly and start swimming back towards him.  He hadn't seen the sharks but was impressed that I had.    After reading about the blacktip coral sharks I'm now a little more comfortable with the idea of seeing them (they really are pretty harmless) but at the time I was still a less impressed than Matt.

On our way to Monkey Bay!

Dinner was the same thing as the night before... burgers, brews, endless stars.  We'd set up my hammock so I attempted to sleep in it.  I got a bit chilly around 3am though so ended the night back in the cabin.
Day 3 we went snorkeling for a while and Matt caught a fish that happened to run into a pointy thing.  We did a little more work on the boat and then weighed anchor and finally did a little sailing.  The wind was perfect, running south, which was back towards the marina.  We got back to Tekek that afternoon and cleaned and scrubbed down the boat.  That evening we went to a bbq place for dinner.  It was excellent!  We had fried rice, calamari in sambal (which was way hotter than I was expecting), and grilled snapper.  It made me wish we'd gone out to eat more often.  It's a lot easier to find good food when you go with someone who knows all the good places and what to order.  All the locals seemed to know Matt and greeted him where ever we went.  We ended the evening at the cabana with some drinks and good company.

Captain Matt (in Monkey Bay post swim)

It rained a little bit that night, which was the first rain we'd had all week.  The next day was cleanup, a swim, a shower, and then packing to leave.  I elected to fly out this time.  I'd had enough of ferries and buses.  I was really sad to leave, but all good things must end... or else they become common. 

View from the plane

So now I'm in Singapore getting ready for the journey home.  Maybe not quite the world traveler compared to some... but I'm working on it.

Time to pack up and head out.  Signing off.

Tioman/Singapore-Part 1

And we're back!
Where to begin?!  I guess I can start with where we left off, having lunch in Juara after a grueling hike across the island.  I took a taxi back and if I recall correctly, I think Matt's friends came and hung out at his dock again and we pretty much drank our dinner.
Friday: Despite a hangover the next day (Friday), we managed to get the boat fixed up enough that we headed out of the marina that afternoon.  We didn't actually sail--there was still too much work to be done and we had to get the jib up, so we just motored our way down 2 bays to Monkey Bay.  It was great.  Tourists come and snorkel during the day, but there's nowhere to stay so in the evenings and mornings its nice and deserted.  Right after we set anchor Matt encouraged me to go snorkeling out to the south side of the cove.  All other visitors were gone and the bay was quiet and calm.
So, snorkeling I went.  It didn't have quite the variety as Ringus (the small island I snorkeled at during my first trip), but it was still lovely and I was just drifting along in the shallow waters, admiring the sea life when I see this long shadow swimming off to my left.  I turn, and sure enough there's a shark!
I am a little ashamed to admit that at this point I freaked out.  I started heading to shallower water, trying not to splash, and desperately trying to think of everything I've ever learned about sharks and what to do.  Nothing really came to mind.  So I keep an eye out as I swim and I keep catching glimpses of it.  My heart is absolutely racing.  I know it's highly unlikely that it would attack, but that doesn't keep me from heading to shore as quickly as possible.  Once I'm there, I look back to the boat and try to figure out what to do about Matt. It's too far to even signal him or anything. Okay, sure, shark attack in unlikely, but I really don't want to swim back without Matt, and at the same time I'm scared he'll get bit.  So I stay where I am and hope he comes soon.
So, he finally finishes his boat stuff and goes over the side...and then starts swimming for the opposite side of the bay!  I keep an eye out, thinking maybe he just wants to do a lot of swimming and then he'll come towards me.  I wait and watch and slowly pick my way through the shallows filled with dead coral towards his side of the bay, but he seems to have disappeared.  It doesn't help matters that I saw a lot of jumping fish and maybe some thrashing over there, which made me think the shark was now on that side.  I wait, and wait, and now I'm really feeling frantic.  What if he was bit?!  While way over there?!  There's no way I'm going to go back in the water and that's the quickest way to get to where I last saw him.  Finally, after what seems like ages, he reappears back on the boat.  I wave at him and he waves back but there's no way I can convey to him that I'm freaked out and unwilling to get back in the water and would you please swim over here and escort me back to the boat through shark infested waters.  So, I gird my loins, telling myself that if he's still alive there's a good chance I'll make it back, too, and pick my way through the shallows and then back to the boat.
So, yes, I am a big pussy.  I think my imagination definitely got away with me, but when you've been snorkeling around and the largest critter you've seen is maybe a foot and then all the sudden this six foot shark comes gliding by.... well, give it a try and let me know how you react.
When I got back on board and told Matt my story he just grinned and said he wished he'd seen some sharks.  Apparently there's only really blacktip reef sharks in the area and no one's ever been bitten around Tioman.
And that was day 1 in Monkey Bay.  We ended the evening with beer and burgers and the stars were even more amazing with no ambient light around.  There were storms way out in the east by the mainland that you could see the lightning flashing.  I got a really good view of the Southern Cross, too.
I'll post about the rest of my stay a little later... here's a spoiler- more sharks!
:)

Tioman island day 2 (round 2)

The weather has definitely shaped up for Tioman round 2. It's been sunny and hot. I spent all day Tuesday traveling back to the island with Matt. We were at his boat for 10 minutes when some of his fellow sailors came over bearing drinks. A few beers later and an impromptu dinner of 'burger' patties and eggs with a lone sailor named Dave (who is convinced the apocalypse is 4 years away and so had prepared accordingly) and it was bedtime.
The next day I explored a local cantina which had wifi and did a little computer work, tried out one of Matt's sit on top kayaks and helped with a few chores on the boat to get it ready to sail.  I also did a little snorkeling. Drinks on the dock and dinner and we called it a night.
Now, I'm sitting in Juara, finishing my lunch. I shouldn't be hungry after the three egg omelette I made this morning, but I did end up hiking across the island. I think it took me three and a half hours and it felt like I climbed up a mile worth of stairs (and maybe I did) but my feet are aching and when I got to the ocean and made my salty contribution, it was quite paltry. Matt thinks I'm a wuss since there's no way on hell I could hike back, but, well, I guess now I have an exercise goal. Damn those spry sporty guys.
I did get to share some of my misery (and my water) with a cute Finnish guy who was also hiking down. He was carrying probably 60 lbs too. I didn't catch his name tho. I should get better about that.
Alright,I guess I should start thinking about heading back.
below is lunch (makeral) and the view.

Singapore- Day 7 (?)

Right. So I was supposed to be leaving for home tomorrow.  And then I met a guy.  Isn't that just typical.
The story thus far:
I left Tioman on Friday, and everything went pretty smoothly.  Of course the weather was clearing up as I was leaving.  Before the ferry docked, a short, slightly scruffy guy with the deeply bronzed skin and air of someone who's been living on an island a while started chatting with me, asking where I was headed, where I'm from, etc.  Turns out he helps run a business from his sail boat that he lives on and is docked at Tioman, and is returning to Singapore to hang out with some friends and do a little sailboat racing.  He laments that I didn't meet him at the harbor earlier since he could have showed me the island.  Apparently the marina is a great place to meet single guys.  It was lamentable, but at the same time, as a woman travelling by my lonesome, I am very aware of how vulnerable I am and how unlikely it would have been that I'd sail around with someone I'd just met.  But we disembark and he helps me get a taxi (I was going to take the bus but the next one was in another 2 hours and I was so tired of waiting for public transport I splurged for a $50 taxi ride instead).  I took a gamble that he wasn't going to use me as a drug mule and invited him to ride with me.  He turned out to be very entertaining during the drive and then useful knowing which buses and where to go thru customs and whatnot.  Turns out we were both going to west Singapore, and so Matt invited me to hang out at the Raffle's Marina with him to have a beer and meet his friends who own the boats he was staying on (dive boat) and racing on (sailboat).  I had no plans, and Michael already had plans for the evening, and frankly I was ready for some social interaction since I didn't really meet anyone at the resort I stayed at (too many honeymooners and families).
So, tasty cool beers and swims (Raffles Marina is very glam-- I felt like such an interloper), and then his friends Lizzy and Gordon showed up.  They definitely remind me of my parents, or maybe Darryl and Mary Kay- very chill, relaxed, they live in East Singapore but usually stay on their boat on the weekends, and their vacations are taking their boat out to some nice tropical island and going diving.  I had a great evening, and I returned the next afternoon to hang out and meet the rest of the sailing crew, and got Michael and his friend Zhara to show up as well.  It was quite an evening.  I stayed too late for public transportation so slept on the boat.  Hangover + slightly rocking boat is an odd combination.  Coffee and a morning swim was nice though.  And then as I was leaving and giving my goodbye's Matt mentioned that, you know, I could change my flight and come back to Tioman w/ him for a bit.  At first I didn't really consider it, but then I realized changing my flight would be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a round trip ticket, even if I ever do get the time to come out this way again.
Much stress, many phone calls, and about $300 later, my new itinerary has me flying out next Tuesday and being home that Wed.   I need to take care of some things that I would have done when I got home (like pay bills), but other than that in a couple days I should be on a boat with my new friend on a tropical island!
And so, that is how things stand.  Lets hope for better weather in Tioman!

Tioman island day 2

So yes I finally did arrive and this is my second full day on the island. I'm currently not watching the sun set as it's still cloudy but watching a couple well built fellows frolicking in the waves almost makes up for it.  I also just witnessed a large school of small fish desperately skimming between the air, water and shore ahead of a larger fish.
Today has been the best day so far....while still cloudy, it did stop drizzling this afternoon.  I also went snorkeling around non today at a nearby island.  The fish were magnificent. So many colors! I wish I could have taken pictures.  The guy who drove the boat to and from the snorkeling platform offered to take me put again this afternoon, free of charge, but I'm sure he was still trying to sell something, heh.
Of course the weather tomorrow is supposed to be nice and sunny for my trip back home. Ooh well. I think the monkeys are out to get me.  I'd better leave before I walk under the wrong coconut tree.  I sure hope my journey to Singapore is smoother.

Right,I forgot I should mention the previous day and a half. Got to the island, hopped a small boat with a couple other folk and went to the next town down. Altho town is a bit generous. It was more a collection of huts and was pretty isolated. My chalet was quite...charming. I'll post some pics so you can see what I mean. I swam in the ocean and showered and had a beer and chatted with an older couple that had been coming to tioman for the past 10 years. They told me some great stories and I tried a durian pudding (which was barely edible) then went to bed. I decided I wouldn't stay another night 1) because of the isolation and 2) because they weren't sure they'd have a room available. So I went back to the larger port, found internet, corrected my ATM card problem, emailed my parents, and half a coffee before I realized the ferry had arrived and ran off to catch it. A few stops later and I was in Tekek. The first hostel I stopped at was full so I decided to splurge and stay at a nice resort. And that's where I am now. And the cheeseburgers suck.  Guess this ain't my paradise.

Travel hassles

So the day started out well. Got to my bus, bus got to the immigration station, and then things got complicated. So coming into Singapore they give you this little slip of paper, which then you apparently need to present before leaving.  Mine disappeared at some point when I was cleaning out my purse. This delayed me for about 10 minutes which was just long enough for my bus to leave me (my book bag was on there too). After a brief bout of panic and some consultation with an attendant, I took a public bus to the next bus station and found the bus company kiosk. Luckily, they'd dropped off my bag there.  The next bus for Mersing wasn't until 2 (it was 1130). So I go see how much cabs are (only $50). Okay, sure, maybe I'll just do that. I don't want to miss the ferry, since I have no idea when it leaves. All attempts to call anywhere in Malaysia have indeed in failure. So I go to an ATM to get some ringgits. No dice. My bank card isn't working. Same thing with all other ATMs. I run around trying to find someone who sells international calling cards. Can't find nothing. In the mean time a taxi driver had found me and is trying to 'help'. He drives me to a big bank and they try to call my bank, except I think ncsecu doesn't have a 24/7 helpline and it's 1 am in NC at this point (or else the back just couldn't maker international calls). I end up having to take money out of my visa card. Can't wait to see the rate on that. 

March 13, 3 pm

Singapore- Day 5

Saturday after my blog post I saw a bit of Nanyang University and then the ritzy/downtown part of Singapore called Orchard Rd. with Michael.  Food is definitely big city prices outside of hawker centers.  Not that I'm any sort of expert on big cities, but to me, Singapore is what all cities should look like.  Very clean, cheap food easily accessible, great public transportation, lots of greenery and green spaces and little exercise parks in every complex and on every corner.  

Sunday I ventured to the Botanic Gardens, which were amazing.  I especially enjoyed the evolution garden and the orchid park.  Unfortunately, my camera died about 10 minutes in, but I think I got some good pics with my phone.  They're on google+.  I also tried to find the bus terminal that runs buses to Mersing, Malaysia.  Asking around found me at a place that sold tickets to buses going to Kuala Lampur, which is on the opposite coast of Mersing, so it wasn't very useful.  When I asked about Mersing buses they told me to check the other travel agencies, which were closed.  Internet searches were also pretty fruitless.  

Today, I was packed and ready for Malaysia and armed with more knowledge of where to find the bus station.  That knowledge was pretty useless.  The bus terminal is undergoing renovations so the buses were parking another block down.  There was also nowhere to buy tickets.  A bus driver told me which bus to ask for, but that driver wasn't around and I had a couple hours until it actually left so I hiked and bused my way back to the other bus station to see if the now open travel agencies could be any use.  They weren't.  So I took a cab back to the Lavender St. bus station and waited around for the bus driver.  Once he arrived, he drove me to the ticket station where other passengers were, where I then bought a ticket and then was informed that the bus was full.  So yeah.  I now have a ticket for tomorrow morning, 10am, to Mersing, where I'll (hopefully) catch a ferry to Tioman Island and then (hopefully) find the hotel I booked or some other cheap place to stay.  I am  a little worried about finding my hotel because apparently you have to go by boat from village to village and I'm not sure the ferry stops at my village, although I should be able to hire another boat.  I guess an adventure awaits!  

Oh yeah, and for the record, when I got back from the bus fiasco, I had a pretty bad headache so mostly just slept all day.  Great explorer that I am :-P  

Anyways, wish me luck!

Singapore- Day 3

(Note: the dates are wrong.  it's actually saturday at 11 am, and my last post was on a thursday morning.)

So my Singapore journey has been off to a slow start.  I did end up journeying to the chinese and japanese gardens but due to poor direction and shoe choices, I ended up heading back home early because of excessive blistering.  I stayed home on Friday to give the blisters a chance to heal, and I'm pleased to report they're doing much better today.  So, I don't really have a whole lot to report.  In compensation, here's a few pictures of the pittance I've taken so far.  

Flight to Beijing from LA: No idea where we were, but it looked cold!

I'm still not sure how these work.

Breakfast: Those pancake/quiche things are tasty.

Chinese Garden

Bridge to Japanese garden

Singapore- Day 1

It's a little after noon here in Singapore, so yes, I did indeed make it.  Overseas travel really is a bitch.  I tried not to sleep too much on the 12 hour flight from LAX to Beijing, just taking a nap, and then I also tried not to sleep during my 6 hour layover.
Wait.  That's wrong.  "Tried not to sleep" makes it sound like I could have slept if I wanted to.  It's more like I decided to try to sleep only during the 6 hour flight from Beijing to Singapore since it was from midnight to 6 am in an attempt to get the jump on the jet lag.   But my attempt to nap on the overseas flight, where I had a whole empty seat next to me, made me realize that my plan did not really factor in my lack of the "sleeping while sitting up" skill. While I did manage a short nap on the overseas flight, it left me utterly groggy and partially brain dead during my time at the Beijing airport.  Luckily, that airport is one of the nicest I've ever been in- very organized and clean and easy to navigate.  They even had an hourly hotel in the airport which I paid $20 to try out, managing a nice 30 min nap that cleared my brain fog a modicum.  Oh yeah, I also had Starbucks and Pizza Hut while I was there.  I decided that when I'm that low on brain power, it's best to go with the familiar.

So yeah, uneventful.  Michael met me at the sub station near his flat and treated me to a bus ride and breakfast (and COFFEEEEEE). Got to his place with renewed energy and a large desire for a shower, but was thwarted when I cut my finger on my razor and started bleeding copiously.  Once the bleeding stopped, I Macgyvered a bandaid using toilet paper, a sandwich bag, and double sided electrical tape, and had my shower anyways.  I am now returned from purchasing iodine, bandaids, a sim card and some clothing from the local market.  Michael has informed me that I'm on my own for dinner, so relatively shortly I'm going to head out towards Jurong Lake and the gardens there and see what other sights I can see.

Travel day LA to Beijing

So I know I haven't posted in a while but honestly there hasn't been a whole lot to post about. I was sick when I arrived and my friends Tony was just starting to get sick so tourist activities were minimal. He drove me down to a beach on the San Diego County line on Monday do I got a little beach and Sun time in, them we had a delicious dinner with his aunt and uncle at their house. The next day Tony was even sicker so I spent most the day applying to jobs, doing laundry (dryers rule), and making sure I have plenty to read on my kindle. To make up for his untimely illness, Tony took me to the best Chinese I have ever had.  Think hand rolled lo mein noodles. I wish Durham had a place like that. 
Now I'm sitting in LAX (which smells like vomit and had the slowest lines yet) and waiting to board my 13 hour flight to Beijing.  Which is starting to happen now.
Hasta luego!

Travel Day/LA

So, ill luck strikes again.
I left Ramon's by taxi at 4.30 am this morning for my 7am flight and the people at the ticket counter made me check my larger carry on.  Fine, whatever, I thought.  It made getting around the airport a lot easier, though it did cost $20 (even for an international flight, fuckers.)  But everything else about the trip was uneventful.  I got to LA by 5 and was eating sushi by the beach at 6, then home to my friend's apartment by 8, ready for a shower.
I opened up the suitcase and there laying on top was the pouch I'd put my spare cash in and stashed at the bottom of my suitcase.  Big surprise-the pouch was cashless.  $200, in case you were wondering.

So yeah.  I'm beating myself up for forgetting to keep it with me, and pissed at the fucker at the counter who made me check my bag, and of course whoever stole it.

I think this is my 3rd bad thing though, so I should be golden the rest of my trip. Right?

*sigh*

Heredia-Day 9

So one of my fears has come to pass-- I'm sick :(  Luckily, not with Montezuma's revenge but a simple head cold.  I still feel like crap though.

So, where did we leave off?  I believe I made a lackluster post about how I'd be going snorkeling.  Well, snorkeling did happen, somewhat.  I'd booked the sunset/snorkeling catamaran cruise and was waiting around to be picked up when a couple that I'd met the day before showed up.  I guess I should preface this by saying that most of the people at the hostel were young women or couples and none of them were particularly warm when I tried to engage them in conversation.  Tuesday night I arrived back at the hostel with salad ingredients for dinner and found a couple making dinner in the kitchen.  They're my age and were actually being friendly and joking with me, which was definitely a nice change.  I thought of inviting them to do the snorkeling cruise with me but they'd already mentioned how they were doing some other tour early in the morning so I figured they wouldn't be back in time or would be too tired.  But, as I said, I was waiting around on Wed to be picked up and the woman, Heidi, stumbles out of her room with that bleary look of the recently napped.  I joke with her about it and ask how the tour went (great!) and then mention if they were still up for more adventure they could come on this cruise with me.  To my surprise, they were game for it and finished making reservations maybe 10 minutes before the shuttle service came to pick us up.

I'm on a boat!

It was definitely a fun cruise.  Drinks were free and flowed readily, the scenery was lovely, and the ship was very smooth on the water.  We spotted some dolphins and spent a short while chasing after them, and then went to a reef to snorkel.  I will say I was a little disappointed in the amount of snorkeling.  We spent 30 minutes in an area that was pretty murky from the other 3 boats and their numerous passengers who were also swimming in the same area.  There was a decent variety of fish at least but in all the cruise mostly seemed like an opportunity to drink and watch the sun set.  We were also served fish kebabs, which were pretty tasty.

So, a lot of booze, a few fish, tasty food, fun people (I also hung out with a couple of older Canadian women- Val and Rosemary) then came back to the hostel and kept drinking with Sean and Heidi and did some swimming and stargazing in the pool.  Venus, Jupiter, and Mars were all in the sky and Orion was almost directly overhead.

It was a lovely night... until I fell asleep at about 9, woke up at 1 thinking it was morning, stayed up a bit then went back to bed and woke up with the beginnings of this delightful cold I have now.  I still enjoyed a cup of coffee by the pool looking out on the jungle and ocean and mountains.

More trials came that day, though.  I'd loaned my cell phone charger to a girl at the hostel the first day and it managed to walk off somehow.  She had found her charger though, and so before I left to go back to San Jose that day I asked to borrow it from her and then decided I just wouldn't give it back.  She wasn't super happy about that, but I wasn't super happy that my charger had disappeared while in her hands.  My second trial came when I was paying for my bus ticket and realized I was a dollar short.  I ran off to find an ATM and found two of them...with a line 20 people long.  Luckily, I had plenty of time to wait, pay for my ticket, and eat lunch at a local mexican restaurant before my bus came, and while the bus ride back was hot and uncomfortable, I did have two seats to myself.  So, equal mix of bad and good but it all turned out pretty well.  Except for this damn cold.

My flight to LA is at 7am tomorrow morning.  I will have a legitimate excuse to wear my surgeon mask on the plane this time.