Phuket - our first Thai island

We got to Changhai Airport with loads of time to spare for our flight to Phuket. The EW line brings you directly there. We checked in our bags and waited for our plane. AirAsia offer super cheap flights around all of SE Asia. We also learnt from a guy in the hostel that Tiger are another one to check out. They even offer flights from Singapore to India from as little as €100 return. Its good, when planning, to think of Singapore as the gateway to Asia. With only a twenty minute delay we were up and away on route to Thailand. The journey was fortunately without event. No matter, how often I fly I still feel better with my feet on the ground. I may not come across as nervous as Jojo when flying, although I always notice how quickly my own fears tries to sneak in. The usual silence fills the air as the plane begins to descend. As soon as those wheels touch down safely and the brakes engage, the energy changes immediately with all the passengers. For one, people start talking again. 

Phuket airport looks quite simple and basic compared to some of the airports I had being in previously. A large crowd is standing in lines for Immigration when we enter. An hour later, we finally pass through, with a new 30 day visa stamped in our passports. After collecting our bags we headed out. From my experience of India and Nepal, I'm initially skeptical at ports of entry. You are immediately approached by to   people trying to offer taxis into the city. We decide to wait for the local bus, to save some money. A handful of people board the bus with us forty minutes later. It feel great to be back in Asia. Driving through the outskirts of Phuket and watching the world go by. There is something beyond magical about this part of the world. A movie is playing on a TV for the whole journey. Everyone, including Jojo is afixed. Its a movie I haven't seen yet called Wanted. Not wanting see too much of it, I stare out the window, as the tropical landscape flys by.      

We get dropped into the centre of the city and are told the direction to walk to get to our guesthouse. There's a certain Portuguese feel to the delapatated city streets. Electric cabling litters the skyline like an entangled mass of spagehetti hanging from post to post. We clamber down the road with our bags. Beads of sweat roll down our face in the intense humidty. Its not long before we see the plastic Backpacker Guesthouse sign hanging ahead of us. We enter a hallway to see an iron gateway. Through this sits a smart looking recpetion desk and foyer. After being welcomed in, ouir reservation is checked and we are show to our room. The hostel is of an excellent standard. 300 baht a night. Tasteful modern decor. The room we were shown was a ten bed dorm with A/C. You are given a locker with the room. A large clean shared bathroom with western toilets sits opposite. After showering and changing with headed down to the common room. They have free WIFI and 5 computers with free internet. The lounge is large and cosy. Large modern couches line the wall and Thai cushion and bean bags make plentiful seating for the room. A plasma screen tv sits on the wall and a broad collection of new and old movies is available for rent for free from reception. Out the back there is also a small clean kitchen and comfortable garden. A real find when you get to Phuket town. Well worth the stay. 

Myself and Jojo headed out for dinner. Within 5 mins we found a local outdoor food court on a corner. There was a great selection of foods available. We ordered our first meal and drinks in Thailand. The food cost 85 baht, which just under €2. Hard to believe it until you see it. Both a prawn and beef dish with portions of rice. It was a delicious tasty meal that went down a treat after our long day of travelling with only some salty snacks to curb our appetites. We chatted away and headed back to the backpackers after. We sat down in the enormous bean bags and watched some movies. We ended up heading to bed around 1am. The room was chilled to perfection with the powerful a/c blowing away. I was asleep within 5 mins. 

I woke a few times during the night and finally decided to get up at 6am. Jojo looked like he was freezing in his bed, so I covered him my sheet and some towels to warm him up. I also left the door ajar while I went to shower. I gave him a cuddle and told him I'd see him downstairs in a couple of hours. I grabbed my Asus and headed down to the cosy common room to catch up on some work and blogging. The hostel was bereft of anyone. I made myself a coffee and got to work. 

Jojo appeared at around 10am. We booked a moped for the day and headed off to have breakfast somewhere in the town. We drove around Phuket town until we found a another place the locals ate on a corner. Just before getting here we stopped in a more western style cafe, although the prices where to steep for our tight budget. It is said in all the books to eat where the locals eat. So, that's what we did. The only two westerners there , we munched on some pork scratchings to start and then a spicy rice dish of some sort. Absolutely delicious again and once again just over 100 baht for the two of us. 

The rest of the day we spent going from beach to beach along the west coast. Phuket island is fairly small overall. We didn't really know where we were going, although we found all the places we planned to. We began in Karon beach. An overall touristy, over run beach with deck chairs and umbrellas as far as the eye could see. The beach and water were very pretty. The views were a bit disappointing. We headed on up to Patong. Worse by a long shot. A bit of the Coste Del Sol in Asia. The main road lined with burger joints, bars and tour operators. 

We finished up in Kamala. On route we got a puncture. Thankfully, we had only passed a mechanic a couple of hundred yards before it happened. The family sat outside in a covered garage, with the TV on in the background. They told us to wait while they rang someone to come. After some initial discussion we agreed to replace the tyre with a second-hand one for 100 baht. Three generations carried on their days activities as the tyre was being replaced. Every now and again a look from them with a smile. We headed off to Kamala. All of the beaches you will find on the west coast of Thailand were hit by the Tsunami in 2004, so most have new buildings and structures alongside them. Kamala had signs for Evacuation points everywhere. As my memory serves me, I think I remember seeing a video when the giant wave hit this particular beach. I prefered Kamala to the other beaches. We jumped in and had swim in the area marked off. After we came  out we had a beer and relaxed on some loungers, as the heat of the day finally passed. It was a pleasant finale to the day. Phuket is not quite what I had being expecting from Thailand, so far. Nevertheless, it was very pleasant travelling around the island on the scooter. We headed off home with rush hour traffic just beginning to build up. Just after leaving Patong we got another puncture. We stopped and had a snack at a local food stall, while the tube was replaced. 

When we got back to the hostel we spent some time doing some research online about our next few days. Our plan had being to head to meet Peter and Shane in Krabi the next day. We hadn't booked the ferry and we were not sure if we were going to head to the Phi Phi islands first. We both thought it'd be cool to go to a full moon party if we had the option. We headed into discover some more of Phuket town. There is whole section of town we didn't even know existed. It has a collection of modern stores and restaurants. We ended up coming back and eating in another local place for dinner. We decided to go for a western option this time. We agreed to stay another night before heading off. After we got back we lay down on Jojo's bed and watched the movie Bolt. Another animated movie classic, about a superhero dog, was extremely entertaining. 

I got up early and began doing some work for Lucca Leadership. Jojo joint me in the living room and began watching the 3rd saga to Lord of the Rings. We met the owner of the scooter and he agreed to give us another day for free in exchange for the money we had spent on the scooter. It was nearly two o'clock by the time I finished up. Jojo had patiently waited and was now hungry, so our first stop was to get some food. We checked out a Pizzeria around the corner. It was a bit on the expensive side. We decided to continue searching, until we found something a bit cheaper. The remainder of the afternoon we explored the east and south of Phuket island. 

We found a fantastic buddhist temple that was preparing for its nights activities. A collection of stalls where lined up in the dusty car park selling sweets and savory foods and toys. Harmonic music filled the sweet warm air. The temple was a myriad of gold, reds, blue, greens and yellows. The whole scene was beyond beautiful. Jojo and myself parked the scooter and went inside the temple. Local people arrived to the altar with incense sticks. It was a wonderfully peaceful experience to watch and be part of. We were acknowledged by everyone with a smile and gentle bow of their head. We stayed for another little bit, taking photos and watching more and more people arriving. Jojo told of how the ambiance reminded him of similar religious get togethers in Brazil. 

We arrived back to the Phuket town well after dark. We had dinner of pizza for Jojo and steak for me. As it was to be expected, the steak was a disaster. The deep fried ice cream with chocolate sauce was delicious. We strolled around town a little more before heading home. We caught another movie in the common room and finalised some of our plans for when we were to leave the next day.

The gateway to Asia

Getting up at 6am local Singapore time might  have something to do with it being 6 hours behind New Zealand. The landlady of the guesthouse is a lady called Rai. One of her shower units was spurting out a fountain of water from a broken handle so I thought it might be nice to help her out. Running my mind through what Magyver solution might work temporarily to ease the stress it was causing here. In her broken English and my inability to say anything accept English I explained I'd try to get a washer for her in one of the local hardware stores. When Jojo arose we headed off. 

We were staying in the outskirts of Singapore, just 5 mins from the MRT stop of Aljunied EW9. Far from the description so many people had told me of coming to Singapore, the area was quite working class with unpainted buildings and local people sitting outside cafe eating breakfast. We headed of down SIm Avenue and then made our way to Geyland Rd. Thankfully I had loaded the hardware store location in Google Maps on my iPhone and the GPS was taking us the rest of the way. Yeah, I know. Sam and technology. What am I like. I love it nevertheless. 

Ten minutes later the flashing blue icon was showing us at 777 Gelyland Rd. Sadly, the falshing blue icon could not tell me that the business was not there any longer. Back to our huuman instincts we went of in search of the washer. It was loads of fun too see the more real side of Singpaore. I joked to Jojo how bizarre it must be to think that our first day in Asia we are off searching for plumbing  supplies. We called into a few different bathroom and hardware shops. Explaining, we were looking for a washer, was an interesting challenge. After a few strange looks and some simple charades we had an understanding. We spent the next hour walking from shop to shop until we got the right washer. Delighted with our little adventure we headed back to the Sky Orchid guesthouse on Lor 27. I found Kai and she smiled and explained that the plumber was upstairs putting in a new tap. I smiled and said "ooh" and left her to it. 

We headed in to the city on the MRT and in search of some food. Impeccably clean and effeciently run, the MRT is a low cost and necessary option for getting around Singapore. We jumped off at City Hall and made our way out into the modern and clean city. Not knowing where we where we were we walked around aimlessly in search of something. We picked up a pair of Flip Flops for Jojo and head further towards the main river. It's quite hard to find the main shopping area. We found a row of eateries along the riverside offering a vast selection of seafood at a semi-reasonable cost. We continued until we found a small cafe/restaurant behind this row. At this stage our tempers were near flaring with the hunger inside. After ordering I noticed that the restaurant was called The Smile Clinic. Unusual combination. Food and dentistry. I had picked up some pretty bad tartar somewhere along the way that had being worrying me, so I decided to see how much having my teeth cleaned would cost. Jojo also needed some fillings done. After eating and paying we headed upstairs. For only €30 I could have my teeth fully cleaned. Jojo was advised to wait until he was stopping somewhere for a while. 30 mins later I was walking out with my new super white smile.

After some discussion we decided to treat ourselves to Singapore Zoo. We jumped back on the MRT and then onto a local bus route 138. Entry was on $14 dollars for the zoo. You could additionally do the Night Safari and the Bird Sanctuary as part of a package deal for $40. Now, I have being to a number of different zoos and safari parks around the world. Singapore gets my thumbs up. As a matter of fact, I didn't really want to go to a zoo after seeing how depressed the animals where in Shanghai. They have done an amazing job and the whole experience is quite special. The layout is beautiful and very well thought out. The animals seem to be fairly happy. They have created some interesting tasks and games to keep the animals occupied, while at the same time entertaining the crowds. There is an abundance of trees and wildlife growing everywhere and the animals are kept in very natural looking settings. It was worth every doller and showed me that zoos can be done a right way. So many countries could take a lesson from this. We also got see a fantastic water show called Splash Time with Dugoons, Penguins and particularly amazing performing seal. Jojo was in his element. We both loved it and it finished off our Singapore Zoo experience nicely.

After we got back to Sky Orchid we lay down to rest for a little bit. Expecting to sleep for an hour and get up to explore some more of the city by night. We didn't quite mean night, when we both woke at 11.30pm. Determined not to miss out and get some food we jumped on the last MRT into city. The city was fairly devoid of human life when we arrived. We picked up some homemade ice tea off a street vendor. We resigned to a McDonalds. Yes, Peter would be laughing now. Delicious. When your hungry. Now feeling more alive and awake we decided we start walking through the city back to the guesthouse. With no map and using our instincts we navigated through the empty streets of Singapore. After 30 mins or so we decided to stop someone and ask where Geyland was. We gave some poor girl a fright. She then quizzically asked where we walking there. She pointed in the direction and mentioned it was quite far. We thanked here and went on our way. After navigating across the main river and through more local areas we stopped a McDs delivery guy. He also mentioned it was a good distance. Another 20 minutes later we asked the last person. He also asked us questionally, where we walking. All in all we did the 8km journey in around an hour and a half. It was a fantastic way to spend an evening and was a brilliant way to see a city. Especially such a modern one as Singpaore. Once again, my expectations of a city are thrown out the window. I wonder what the learning is in this!

Day 118 - Lost in Beijing

Okay, for anyone that is coming to Beijing my first and best recommendation is get a map. Actually get three of them in all different sizes. Preferably in English although have a Chinese version also. Beijing is big. Super big. Beijing municipality has a total area of 16800 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. Today taught me a few lesson. Awoken as usual at a ridiculous hour, not impressed, within an hour we had ourselves booked into where the boys were staying. The Beijing Downtown Backpackers Accommodation in Nan Luo Gu Alley, highly recommended on Hostelworld and by a few others. Only thing is on the directions page they only had info if coming from the airport or Beijing Railway Station. The street name, came up a blank on Google Maps, so we had no way of knowing how to get there by metro. I did a bit more searching and found a listing for the youth hostel name in Google Maps. Delighted with the info we headed off. We took the local subway to the nearest station I saw on the map. We arrived on another crazy busy highway, with no address and wondering how we'd get there. Thankfully I had the number in my last dialed numbers. We jumped into a cab, although just prior to that I asked an attentive soldier where the area was, we were looking for. He pointed to the right. Our taxi took the instructions off the BDBA staff on the phone and we were off. It all seemed too easy. We headed off and I kept checking the map. Roughly knowing where we were supposed to be going I knew something was wrong. Ian kept telling me to relax. Maps are one thing I love. Always have and from my rough calculations we were well off the mark. Next he headed west in the opposite direction of where we were supposed to be heading. Feeling slightly stressed the further we drove I rang the hostel and got them to confirm our destination to the driver. A moment later he handed it back to me. I asked the girl where the hostel was based on the area I had seen on the map. She confirmed that the driver knew where he was going or perhaps I had seen the wrong hostel. I relaxed a bit. Ten mins later we were driving through a row of some very smart Huan Tons with Chinese lanterns hanging from trees lining the laneway. We passed by Peking Downtown and Ian called out for the guy to stop. I was like, no its definitely the Beijing Downtown. Thinking we were lost we called the hostel again, only to find out we were in the right place. We arrived in the place and I gave out about the name on the outside of the door. She said it was the same thing. This I didn't quite agree with and didn't gain any knew friends. We checked in and jumped on the lads asleep in the room. I greeted Eoghan with some wonderful BO after not showering for the last two mornings and Ia n hopped on Aidan. The boys had only being asleep a few hours. We caught up on our adventures and got some showers.

We got a taxi with some help of a local. The Forbidden City was closed for the day by the time we got our shit together so I recommended Tian'anmen Sq. It was bloody freezin outside as we walked across the square. Aidan was in hilarious form, still drunk after only getting to bed at 1pm. Peter looked absolutely wrecked. Within minutes the boys were complaining of the cold and wanting to get a taxi home. I decided perhaps a bit of sightseeing was in order so I dragged them to the metro. They had no idea where they where. So like sheep they followed. Funny enough I was a bit lost myself. I knew roughly, although after leaving the map back in the hostel I was riding on a bit of luck. First thing was we got off at the wrong station. Next we went back one stop, now sure I had it. We walked out of the metro and I was totally lost. The boys were looking at me with a look of "are you serious?". Suddenly I saw the astronomy observatory I had visited the first day. That didn't help. I was still a bit lost. It must have being the stop before this one. LOL. Aidan, hangover looming was, "okay, I'm getting a taxi and going". I knew getting a taxi was going to be insane. No one listened. So, I asked for the hostel flyer and headed off to the metro. When I walked back into the station, a woman was frantically trying to get someone to understand her, asking people, "Do you speak english?". In all the bustle of the evening rush no one was stopping to help. As soon as she saw me, she was, "Do you speak English?" I asked her how I could help. The poor lady had being standing outside for over an hour trying to get a taxi. Another warning for you. Taxis can be fairly hard to get at times, especially during rush hour. Secondly, if you don't speak Mandarin a lot of taxi drivers will not give you the time. Thirdly, if your destination is on the other side of the city, they will probably not bring you there. Feigning ignorance they will wave you no. Sometimes you just need to sit there, ignore their franctics noises and hope they'll bring you home. Taxis are cheap. The longest possible journey from one side of the city to the other will be no more than €15. Generally most fares are two to three euros max.

The lady was lost. She had the card from the hotel although no directions. She had no idea which metro to get. Most public maps are written purely in Chinese so they are of not much use. I rang her hotel on my mobile. No one spoke english so we were in the same boat. We asked one of the staff to help and they pointed at one of the stops on the metro. It was a start. I began the journey with lady as she was heading in my direction. As we walked and chatted I realised how stressed she was. She was from Morocco and worked for the government. She was over doing a workshop and had only arrived the day before. She was finding it very difficult with no one speaking english. We spoke about Ireland and Morocco. I learnt a lot about a country I knew nothing about. We got lost and took the wrong metro line so we had to come back on ourselves and start again. We finally arrived at her station an hour later. It had being a fantastic journey and time to spend with someone. Somewhere along the way I had decided to make sure she got home. We exited the station at her stop. It took two taxis before someone would take her and knew the address written on the card. I gave her a hug and kiss and she was so looked grateful as she headed off into the madness that is Beijing.

5 minutes, and one metro stop later I was walking down the street not far from our hostel. Another row of Huan-tons where being rebuilt and kitted out along the roadside. Local are beginning to realise the money that can be made from them. On the way back I got to see the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower all lit up and standing majestically in the night sky. Another 10 minutes I was back. The boys were playing pool and online. Myself and Eoghan headed to the local bar to read a book and me to write the blog. We sat, ate some snacks and drank a few pints. Cheap stuff was only 20rmb a pint. Not bad tasting. By the time the place was closing I was fairly tipsy. Most of the days blog written. Eoghan was chatting some hot German bird up. We headed back. I was so wrecked and crashed immediately.

Day 116 - We arrive in the Olmypic City

Okay, summarise Sam. Summarise. Not much sleep on the very packed 11 hour train from Nanjng to Beijing. Some people stood the whole way. Arrived expecting to jump straight onto a metro from the station. Nothing of the sort. A queue of a hundred stood outside waiting to buy tickets from a single ticket counter. Jumped in a taxi. Broke the poor mans bucket in his boot. He wasn't impressed. Frist impressions were meh. Ian agreed. The say the city is the same size as the country of Belgium. Took twenty minutes to get our Youth Hostel in the Dongcheng District. Now I understand why the driver seemed so disgruntled when we should him our address. We got dropped off in a small side street of old cottages and low buildings. Lugging our bags on our backs we proceeded to search for our PLoft Youth Hostel. Found it after many local pointed the way. The girl at reception looked tired. Got shone where the showers were and then explained our rooms were around the corner. Eh, sort of. A 2 min walk outdoors to our rooms. Room is bare, stark and rather minging looking. Not dirty, just lacking in life. The whole looks a little prison like. As it says on the brochure. Not quite what i expected. We head to the hostel cafe. Watch the end of Boy A. Fantastic movie. Highly highly recommend. The room is cold. The whole place seems cold. We go online. Order some jumbo brekkies. Meh. Expensive the food is here. 40 rmb. over €4 not including coffee. Another €1.10 for this. Go and have a shower and freshen up. Shower is a bloody disaster. You have three settings. Skin scorching hot, ski crawling cold or off. Not impressed. Bathroom is meh. Actually less than meh, its shit. No proper sink and its all placed in the back of a boiler house. Do some research on the China Comm Expo that I want to visit. Can not find the address anywhere online. Websites are terrible. Finally find a listing in Google Maps. Have some trouble getting the staff to work out how to write it down. By the time it is all sorted it is 3pm. Conference ends at 4.30pm. Decide to leave it until tomorrow. Ian heads up to the common room upstairs. Bigger room, more couches and not as cold.

I head out after Ian falls asleep to check out the local area. The block is enormous. I'm lost straight away. Call into a local supermarket to buy some supplies. Have to save on spending so much as we are on a tight budget before our bank cards get delivered from Ireland. Buy loads of junk food. Meet a Taiwanese guy that we met in our hostel who was promptly checking out and into another one aroud the corner from ours. He brings me around to the Lama Temple Hostel. It seems much cosier and colourful. Check the price and availability for the boys arrival tomorrow night. Head of to find my way home. Get lost in a labyrinth of dark side streets. Have no idea where I am. I stop an elderly lady and show here my little map. She takes a moment. Ask a taxi driver stopped nearby. He seems to ignore her and mutters something. She smiles at me and motions me to follow her. We walk around a kilometre through winding alleys and streets. I keep thanking here, Xie Xie and she smiles as she leads the way. I could have being lost for hours in the maze. She brings me right to the door. She was walking in totally the opposite direction when I found her. She smiles as I take her hand to thank her one last time. This is the type of treatment we have found so many times in China. People go so far out of their way to try help you. Ian is still in slumber world when I return. I ring Joao and then my mum, to wish her a Happy Birthday. She is in great form and delighted to hear from me. When Ian wakes we watch some Chinese movies on his laptop, called CJ7. Absolute joke of a movie. Eh, dont watch. Fall asleep and wake ten mins later as Ian is turning off the movie. Head to bed and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Now that was me summarising. You see, its hard :)