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Bali has beaches, great surf, temples, gorgeous countryside, big mountains and a rich culture. Its my vote for the prettiest little piece of SE Asia.  Terraced rice fields near Amed, Bali, Indonesia (6/99).

Local girl on the way to a festival. There seems to be a one everyday in some town or other. Local traditions are still so strong in Bali. Indonesia (6/99).

The best way to get around Bali is by motorcycle. I had never ridden one before but if you cough out the $4.50, you too can rent a new one for the whole day. I practiced on my hotel lawn for 1/2 hour then off I went. No road signs anywhere so you'd better have a good sense of direction.  Bali, Indonesia (6/99).

Lovina Beach, Bali (6/99).

A view I will never forget. Down below in the bay are the 2 fishing boats which brought us on this voyage. There is no dock for us to get on shore so we jumped out and swam the 50m to the sandy beach. I almost drowned trying to swim with one hand holding my camera above the water. It was worth it just to get this shot.  Overlooking Komodo Island, Flores Sea, Indonesia. (6/99).

2.5 meter long Komodo Dragon. Seeing them in the wild is an unforgetable sight. They are a slow moving sedate creature so you can get close to it and stare all you want. Komodo Island (6/99).

Food, a big part of any visit to Asia. Those who aren't familiar with Asian food might not realize that there's at least 100 different Asian dishes for every one Western one.

Tea plantations. Cameron Highlands, Malaysia (7/99).

Malaysia is a rapidly developing modern country but the old ways still exist in many places. Penang, Malaysia (7/99).

A very common sign in Malaysia. When I was a kid, I really thought that someone was going to shoot you if you trespassed. Returning to Malaysia after 11 years in Canada, I thought this sign was quite funny.  Malaysia (7/99).

My good old friend Dave, his baby boy and wife Charlene. They were fantastic hosts during my month visit to Malaysia (7/99).

Indoor market in the predominately muslim East Malaysia (hence all the women in ninja-like hoods). Of the 3500 pictures (one roll of 36 per week) I took on my trip, this is one of my favourites.  Kota Baru, Malaysia (7/99).

Ang Thong Marine Park, Ko Samui, Gulf of Thailand (8/99).

Andaman Sea, Thailand (8/99).

Muslim village near Krabi, Thailand (8/99).

Buddha statue, Ko Samui, Thailand (8/99).

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999

After leaving Aus, I do not have to cook anymore but now have to do my own laundry (by hand too, unreal !). Just can't win can I. Hopefully I will find my dream destination soon....no cooking and no laundry. 

Have a packed agenda here in Indo. Realized that my 25 days here will not do justice. So far the best thing has been renting motor-bike and just wandering all over. I have never ridden a motorbike before and the rental guy was getting a bit nervous when I was asking him: how to change gears, where is the brake etc. Had to learn quick since traffic here is chaos. The problem isn't so much the pot-holed narrow one-lane no curb roads but its sharing it with cows, donkeys, bicycles, trucks, buses, dogs, street vendors pushing food stalls.... 

Motor bike ride went well without incident but I did notice all the locals giving me a wide berth. I wasn't hard to spot on the road. You could see me - I was the only one with a helmet and going half the speed. You could hear me - always in wrong gear...and you could smell my fear. 

Big problem here will stray dogs howling all night and barking at you on the street. Wished I had a light-sabre to hack them up. Whoops...that wasn't PC. 

Did quite a bit of shopping today. Can you imagine me shopping but there is so much good stuff here and soooooo cheap. The only thing holding me back is....how the heck am I going to mail this home??? 

Bought a sleeping comforter today. Its this beautiful batik patch/quilt thing. Bargained like nuts and got it for $22. Someone should have video-taped the bargain session, firstly it was all in Bahasa and it went something like (translated to English).....this is for my mothers birthday you know........I am not a dumb rich Japanese tourist, I am from Malaysia, we are poor too........the Msian Ringgit has dropped too........I am a student......if I pay xxx I will not eat for the next 2 days.......my mother will kill me if I return with no present for her etc... You guys get the drift, me and my adversary (shopkeeper) were actually laughing through all this and later I did feel a bit guilty about all the blantant lies I told. Oh Well. 

Climb this big smoking volcano 2 days ago. Of course a dozen people were all over me to "guide me" up the mtn but there was no way in hell I'd pay for that. Heck, you could even see the route up form the road. After I came back, met 2 Finnish girls who paid 500,000 Rupiah for the half-day guide stroll up the mtn...ie they paid $100 (remember, we are in a country where its hard to blow $30 per day). After I told them I went up myself for free. "Thanks you just ruined our day", was the reply!!! I wondered if they left their brains in Helsinki. 

 BYE.

Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999

Tourism there is hurting big-time. Lots of empty shops, restarants with more staff standing around than customers. When you get off the tourist bus when it arrives at the station...woah...dozens of touts mobbing the trickle of us and they all "want to be your friend" !!! 

The highlight of my 26 days there was a 3 day island hopping boat trip to Komodo. I have seen pictures and TV documentaries of the dragons but nothing can prepare you for the first time you actually see it. Its like, "Holy shit, what the hell is that !!!!". Then you whip out the camera and blow a whole roll. Many of us are convinced Kodak is sponsoring the dragons since they just sit there, pose and grunt away. The boat trip was actually really rough going, I am used to roughing it out but even I was at my limit. Many times I did look up to the heavens and say, please get me off this boat.

 There was 14 of us in this small rickety thing and we just sat, ate and slept on the large front deck for 3 days straight. In the middle of the night you were frequently awaken by a nice salt water shower if the seas got a bit rough and water came over the rails. It got better when we started losing passengers to make more room for the rest of us. A french couple begged to be dropped of at a nearby port since they were puking their guts out (seasick). An American couple couldn't handle the fact that there was no shower, chairs, table etc (basic living stuff) onboard so they bailed halfway too. In fact, the boats crew told me in the rainy season when the seas are rough, only 50% of paying passengers make in the whole way, they all beg to be let off halfway usually at some tiny remote fishing village were cannibals get them anyway !!! 

But, admist all this was spectacular coastline and some of the most stunning beaches, bays, coves I have seen. Also, the camaraderie amongst the great bunch of travellers onboard. 

Surprisingly, I made it all the way to Flores which is very remote. Everywhere I walked locals would stop whatever they were doing and just stare at me like I had a 3rd eye. It was earie. 

Bali is a great travellers destination too. Its small, compact and offers so much. You could surf, enjoy the beach scene, jungle trek, mtn climb all in one place. The rural scenery was stunning too and those terraced padi fields are every bit as good as people say. And just to dispel the myth that I am not cultured, I attended a tradional dance and made a quick whiz to a famous art museum (but as usual, understood nothing !!). 

I am now in Singapore, which is quite possibly the cleanest most manicured place in this planet. Going from backward Indonesia to here is like stepping through a dimensional portal. As I was walking down the airport terminal corridor to the baggage place I saw a sign, "Please watch your step". This gave me a good laugh. Just hours before in Indonesia, you'd be walking on the side-walk and there would be a slab of sidewalk missing and a 3 meter drop to a sewage drain below !!!

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999

China was simple enough, they screw you good (money-wise $72) but its simple and straight-forward as long as you cough it up. 

Pakistan, on the other hand, was a nightmare. Went to KL Paki embassy, guy tells me that office here only issue visas to Msians. I ask him, "OK, how am I to visit Pakistan then ?". Asshole says I have to go back to Canada to apply for it there, slams the door and leaves. Of course, thats not an option for me. I return the next day (hoping that some other non-asshole is on shift instead) but same guy since he is the only visa issuing officer in Msia. I ask him again (nicely) and same thing, go back to Canada ! Some other guy in the line-up hears my problem and suggests I speak to a higher authority in the embassy. So, I make friends with the receptionist (Chinese lady) and she lets me speak to High Commisioners secretary for a possible appointment. I come back the next day (3rd visit to that damn place), sit in lobby for 4 hrs waiting to see High Commissioner. After a while they probably figured I was not going to go away (all staff knew my face by then, 3rd visit in a week and hours sitting in the lobby) so I get ushered into her office. She's a really nice lady and ends up blabbing to me about how she visited the Karakorams as a teenager and loved it etc...blah blah, asked me how long I need there and within minutes, I get a chop on my passport to visit the damn place.

 Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, it cost me 530 Ringgit, thats C$210 !!! Damn place better be good when I get there.

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999

KL, although very spread out, is quite interesting and has retained a lot of its Asian character, unlike Spore. I actually quite like (from a tourist perspective, not a tax-payers !!) a lot of Mahathirs billion dollar "show-off-to-the-world" projects especially the Petronas Twin Towers. There are a lot more impressive and aestetically pleasing than either Empire State building, World Trade Ctr or Sears Tower. 

Cameron Hghlands is a dump of shit, no wonder Mum never wanted to go there. The drive is hell too. The cool air (25 C) did rejuvenate me though. 

Penang still has lots of charm and the best food in SE Asia I have visited. Its famed beaches are crap though and I can't believe all those dumb foreigners who pay 500 RM per night to stay at those resorts there. 

Taman Negara, in my opinion, is just a huge clump of trees that nobody can log. I've never like the rainforest jungle so my opinion is hugely biased. It does have a great boat ride up the Tembeling River to access the park (gives you the feeling of being in a Nat Geographic documentary in the Amazon, only a much smaller river). 

Then off to Rantau Abang to see the giant leather-back turtles laying eggs on the beach, but they never came !! It seems that nowadays they do not come very often, maybe once every fortnight. Thats a shame that man has "harvested" 90% of their population. 

Pulau Redang which is really gorgeous and so far in early stages of development so not swamped like most beautiful beach places. Major highlight, saw (close-up while snorkelling) a turtle couple doing the wild-thing !!! Yup, it was full-on no-holding-back from the start to the finish, right in front of myself and a couple other snorkellers in the vicinity. Thats nature alright. 

Spent 2 days in Kota Baru which is probably one of the most interesting towns in Msia from a tourist standpoint. The food there was great and a real treat since I never really like Malay food before this. Tired, got to go to sleep now.

 Tomorrow, I'll hire a motor-bike and check out this island, Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand.

Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1999

Presently waiting for the ferry to Ko Samui after 5 days in the Krabi region. Krabi is famous for striking marine limestone cliffs and karst formations. Visited the island were 007 Man with Golden Gun was filmed. The limestone rocks gives rise to beautiful pure white sand beaches and its fine silt makes water colour a deep turquise blue (just like glacial lakes only water is 29 C). What a beautiful part of the world. 

Its supposed to be the SW monsoon right now but I've had nothing but blue skies. Thai food is fantastic and I have yet to have something I did not like. The Thai people are also the friendliest folks I've met since the Cook Islanders. They all have this infectious smile and don't hassle the hell out of you like in Indonesia. 

The highlight was sea kayaking yesterday amongst the limestone cliffs towering 5 to 10 storeys above us. Things here are incredibly cheap here too. The all-day kayak trip with lunch, a guide and motor-boat following us (we would bail to the motorboat for the open ocean sections) was C$36. That would cost well over $100 in Canada ! Tonight, its a live Thai-boxing at the local ring. 

See Ya

Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999

Was at Patpong today and picked up some Tintin t-shirts. Funny thing is, I was wondering where all the notorious Bangkok seedy night-life was.....until I went to Patpong !! Will go back there at night-time tommorow. Touts on the street there where offering me, "2 hours #*$@ing for 1500 baht". That seems quite high but I did not try bargaining since although I am curious for the real price I obviously do not want a situation whereby I "have" to accept the product !! 

Saw 10 rounds of Muay Thai (thai boxing) yesterday night. What a riot, especially the maniacs in the stands. Imagine 5000 people all screaming and waving signs at one another trying to negotiate bets. One of the fights actually ended with a knock-out, stretcher and the whole bit. He got himself in a uncompromising head-lock and the other dude knee'ed him in the head 3 times. OUCH !! 

Thai people are an honest bunch too. One of many examples was today when I over-paid for a drink and the street-seller actually came running after me with the change !!! In Indonesia, you have to look at the seller with the where-is-my-change look since they are always hoping you either will forget and walk off or not realize the actual price and over-pay. 

Been riding the public bus all the time (between 12 to 20 cents each ride). Problem is I am never quite sure where they are actually going. My method is : jump on, whip out a map and point your destination to conductor. If she nods, stay on. If she shakes her head profusely, get off quick and try another ! 

In two days I head off to the wilds of Northern Pakistan and China's remote Xinjiang Province for a few months. Email will be sparse or non-existant there. Pity, since I have enjoyed this part of the trip being well connected to the outside world. 

See Ya.

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