Malaysia

After arriving in Kuala Lumpur (or KL as the locals call it), Malaysia at 3 am, we caught a teksi into the city and kept looking at each other in trepidation as we zoomed by other vehicles at 160+ kph (100 mph). We arrived in record time at the condo of Mr. Reyes, the father of a childhood friend of Priti’s, who graciously hosted us in KL. As the taxi driver searched for his street, we drove in small circles in the Golden Triangle neighborhood of KL. Despite the hour, the streets were alive with a random assortment of people. The kadai kopis (street cafes) were packed with Muslim Malays eating their morning meal prior to fasting from dawn to dusk for Ramadan. Lamp posts had festive lights dangling from them, as though it were Christmas. Others have compared KL to NYC due to its incredible diversity and active nightlife. Although the majority of the country is Islamic, according to our host, KL is comprised mostly of Chinese, along with Malays and Indians. Thus, the people wore a range of clothes from tank tops and shirts to being fully covered from head to ankle. Many women wore jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts with a head scarf.On our first day, we went to the KLCC mall which is, like most of the malls in Asia, massive. It was six stories tall and had stores, and shoppers, from all over the world. One of the funniest sights we’ve seen on our trip is a group of Japanese tourists marveling at one of the stores in the mall as the tour guide told a fascinating tale about…your guess is as good as ours. One cool thing about the malls in Asia is that many of them host cultural events to offer a reprieve from the consumerism. Thus, we enjoyed a set of traditional Arabic music and watched a fashion show. Despite the fasting period, the restaurants in the mall were open for business. One of them was a desert place that served Durian which is a tropical fruit that was forbidden in Indonesia and Australia due to its unpleasant odor. We figured it was now or never so we gave it a try. The “ABC Durian” consisted of pureed durian on top of what looked like shaved ice mixed with an assortment of jelly candies and beans. The smell of durian was malodorous, sort of like rotten meat, yet the taste was sweet and nutty with the texture of sweet potatoes. Surprisingly tasty but something we probably won’t be eating again. Upon leaving the mall we stumbled into a local after-work market selling various skewered meats that we couldn’t resist, despite having full stomachs…yum!

The next day we went to the Petronas Towers, the tallest building in the world at 452 meters.

For some reason, they only let visitors up to the 42^nd floor to the sky bridge that connects the towers. Before they let us ascend, we had to sit through a 3D presentation about the wonders of oil exploration, courtesy of Petronas. The views weren’t that impressive and we were ushered back down after about five minutes. At least we hadn’t arrived early and stood in line for hours like all the other tourists, as Mr. Reyes scored us tickets. From the outside however, the Petronas Towers were spectacular, with their stainless steel exterior and building design modeled after an eight-pointed star which is an important symbol in the Islamic faith. We're not sure whether it looks better during the day or night.

Despite its chaotic appearance, KL is a city of street vendors and markets. We explored Masjib India’s markets and searched in vain for Jason’s favorite Indian sweets called ladoos, which are little orange flecks of fried dough sculpted into ping pong balls. The Indian food was pretty good, but of course couldn’t hold a candle to Mom’s home cooking. We also enjoyed eating seafood at Jalan Alor street market where the oysters, calamari, and fish were freshly caught. Malays like their food spicy and every table has sweet and spicy chili sauce – something that will definitely be added to our cupboard when we return to the States. Another interesting characteristic of all the restaurants, save for a few Chinese ones, is that they are Halal, meaning no pork due to the Islamic religion. Even the fast food restaurants alter their menus to serve “turkey bacon” or “beef pepperoni.” As described, the nightlife in KL was pretty good, with a wide range of environments and music. One place alternated a grunge cover band with a DJ spinning house music while another coupled reggae with R & B.

After four days in the city, we finally managed to venture out on a day trip north to the Batu Caves. Before arriving there, the “tour” (which was basically shuffling a bunch of tourists on a bus for 20x the cost of the local bus), took us to a pewter plant and a batik factory. Other than trying to get us to buy things, we couldn’t figure out how or why the three locales were combined into the same tour. The Batu Caves themselves, which house a Hindu temple, were spectacular with a cornucopia of carvings under the shadow of a gargantuan gold statue of a Hindu God. While we were visiting the caves, a Bollywood movie was being filmed that was depicting the biggest festivalof the city, Thaipusam, which typically draws more than a million worshipers. We watched Indians in colorful orange and yellow garb dance to the festive music, and Jason spotted a hippie doppelganger of Priti’s brother Pinto among the performers.

Tired of the urban environment, we flew to Sabah, Borneo, which is known for its natural splendor and captivating wildlife. Unfortunately for us, we hadn’t accounted for Hari Raya, or the celebration at the conclusion of Ramadan. Thus, when we tried to arrange activities outside of our arrival city of Kota Kinabalu (KK), we were disappointed to learn that all of the public busses were booked for the week. Thankfully, the company had arranged for a small mini-bus in a few days so we were only stuck in KK for a few days. But, the delays meant that we would not be able to see everything, so we had to cut out Sipadan, which is world-renowned for its marine wildlife. The nightlife in KK wasn’t nearly as exciting as KL, and consisted mostly of cheesy non-English karaoke bars and overpriced drinks.

Our first Borneo excursion consisted of a two-day hike up Mt. Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in SE Asia at over 4000 meters. Even from afar, it has a menacing presence, and we knew we were in for a grueling couple of days. Sure enough, the hike was a hellacious one. The trail is 8.5 km and the elevation increases 2.2 km, from 1800 meters above sea level at the trailhead to 4095 km at the summit. In other words, it is STEEP. The entire trail is uphill, offering almost no reprieve to hikers. As we slowly paced ourselves on the ascent, we were amazed at the porters who would zip right by us with loads ranging from 20-50 km (66-110 lbs.) that were harnessed on wooden contraptions to their heads/necks! Near the end of the first day, we experienced some heavy rainfall, which is another characteristic of Mt. Kinabalu. Exhausted and wet, we arrived at our lodge and were pleasantly surprised to learn that we’d gotten a heated room (we were told it would not be). (Tangent: During dinner, we spoke with an Aussie couple who told us a harrowing tale while they were traveling in India fifteen years ago. The driver of their public bus misread a narrow road and flipped their bus, killing several passengers. The driver had immediately fled the scene, knowing the other passengers would have enacted revenge for his stupidity.) After dinner, we tried to get to bed early in order to be rested by our 2 am departure to the top of the mountain the next morning.

After a fitful night’s sleep, Priti decided to stay in bed and let Jason ascend to the pinnacle with our guide. The rest of the hike was similarly brutal and at one point became so steep that the only way forward was with a secured rope. Jason was the 3^rd hiker to the peak and thus had beaten the sunrise by about 45 minutes. Although the weather at the base of the mountain was hot and humid, at the top it was freezing temperatures. When the sun finally appeared over the adjacent mountaintop it was a spectacular view. After about ten minutes, the clouds began to roll in, and five minutes later the visibility was virtually nil. As Jason descended, he felt sorry for the many other hikers he passed on the way down who had not reached the summit before the clouds rolled in. Thankfully, there was no rain on the way down, as the granite trail was already slick, as evidenced by Jason’s several wipeouts before returning to the lodge, where Priti had enjoyed a nice restful morning. We had more time on the descent to examine some of the local flora, including various orchids and “Pitcher” plants. We also enjoyed the company of our roommates Peter, a German physician living in Britain, and his wife Regina, who were traveling for four months for their honeymoon.

The grueling hike took its toll on Jason, whose left knee began throbbing, forcing him to limp back down the mountain and use our guide’s walking stick for support. By the time we finished, Priti’s legs were numb and Jason was jealous since he was feeling only pain in his.

We returned to KK for one night before departing for Sakau for a safari cruise along the Kinabatangan River. The drive took about seven hours as the roads were not in the best condition. Over the course of the three days, we went on four different boat rides to go searching for the local wildlife. They included the Proboscis monkeys, which, due to their large noses and large bellies were nicknamed the “Dutchmen” monkey by the locals. After seeing them just sitting up in the trees inert, we understood why their stomachs were so large. We also saw many Grey-tail monkeys, and for those of you watching the videos, be forewarned that they are a horny lot. We spotted lots of different birds, including Kingfishers, Rhinocerous Hornbills, Whitecrested Eagles, and many more which we don’t recall the names. Unfortunately, we just missed the Pygmy Elephants, which had been around a few weeks prior to our arrival, but had moved deeper into the forest with the arrival of the rains. During the evenings, we went on night walks and saw many more birds. Jason, feeling courageous, even let a gigantic scorpion crawl up his arm.

Priti served as a leech repelant for Jason (she must have tastier blood) and unfortunately had to endure several leech bites. To get leeches off, you can flick them when they are crawling or use vinager, salt, insect repellent, or tiger balm after one has attached to the skin. The night walks were a bit disappointing because we had so many people in our group, due to understaffing because of Hari Raya. The tradeoff was that on the 2^nd evening we were invited to attend a celebration courtesy of the owner of the nature lodge. We found their hospitality during their holiday celebration admirable, and the food was delicious. We met some cool people on the Kinabatangan River tour, including Frank, a German who’d been living in Austin and was on a circuitous route home to renew his visa. He was also the keyboardist of an indie rock band called the Glass Family. Incredibly, Frank was on the same flight to Fiji as we were, and we have basically been on the same route during our trip! We’re pretty sure we’ll see him again.

Our final stop in Malaysia was Sepilok, home to the Orangutan sanctuary. Of course we went on probably the busiest day of the year, as it was the Sunday of the long holiday weekend. Thus, the crowds were pretty big and, although the animals have free reign in the sanctuary as they are rehabilitated back into the wild, it felt more like a zoo. Also, we couldn’t believe the discrepancy in the prices they charged locals (5 ringits) versus the tourists (40 ringits).

Although it was only $12, the skewing of the pricing structure seemed a tad extreme, but apparently we'll be experiencing a lot of it in Asia. Despite these annoyances, it was a great experience to see the Orangutans in their natural habitats. The sanctuary has platforms set up and there are two daily feedings. We saw a handful of Orangutans and they were fascinating to watch, as they swung acrobatically on the ropes and enjoyed bunches of bananas. There was also another group of monkeys that mischievously grabbed the leftovers.

Wow, how the time is flying; we hope everyone is well and keep in touch!

Indonesia

Picture the following scene: a crowded bustling street filled with surfers on their way to catch some killer waves, tourists from around the globe, scores of motorcycles screaming by, passing and avoiding each other by mere inches, merchants and charlatans alike trying to make a quick buck, and incense wafting through air from the practicing Hindus offering morning prayers of rice and fruit. KA-BOOM. The noise seems to surround you and the onrush of air knocks you to your feet. Every store within view no longer has any windows, as shattered glass rains down around you. You turn your head to see an unimaginable spectacle; smoke billowing out of a nearby hotel, the parked cars half-missing and in flames; charred, mangled bodies in impossible angles, and then come the screams....

Just over five years ago, on October 12, 2002, extremists exploded a bomb in a Kuta hotel, killing 189 people, including seven Americans. Unbeknownst to us when we booked it, the location of this senseless tragedy was less than 200 meters from our hotel. Today there remains a fenced-off vacant lot, adorned with a handful of remembrances from the victims’ friends and families. Across the street, a memorial lists the victims by nationality. Although we had forgotten the specifics, we remembered hearing about this bombing when it occurred. Upon realizing just how close we were to this horrific scene and not even knowing it, we became pretty emotional. Later on, we would meet someone who had a friend perish in the blast.

The reason we were in Kuta was because our flight arrived too late to get somewhere further from the airport. Nonetheless, we were thrilled when we arrived to find a king size bed, full a/c, bathroom with hot shower, and a pool to boot!

The next day was spent in recovery, as we both slept throughout the day in our spacious and oh so comfortable bed. After having spent the last week either in tents or dorms, we were completely content just catching up on some z’s. Well rested, the next day we hired a driver, who took us to a parasailing spot. It was a bit disappointing because it lasted only about 5 minutes, but it was just $10. Next we visited this temple with massive statues of a religious figure and a dragon (see Jason cowering below for a sense of scale).

Then it was off to Uluwatu, a famous temple right at the edge of these scenic cliffs, where we caught the sunset with some monkeys and watched a Kecak fire dance depicting the classic Hindu story of Rama and Sita.

Watching a group of barely clothed men swaying and chanting in rhythm, with the sun setting on the ocean, was definitely a moving experience (see video). Our final stop was Jimbaran, where we enjoyed a romantic seafood dinner on the beach while being serenaded by local musicians with “Something” and “Could You Be Loved?” in broken English.

Our next stop was Ubud, the art center of Bali, where we were accosted by Yandy, who offered us a room for 75,000 rupiahs a night, or about $8, including breakfast! We were skeptical so he took us back to the homestay and we were blown away by the décor, which were like a shrine.

We booked a couple nights and then ventured out to see the town, passing galleries galore, massage parlors, and shops selling clothes, wood carvings, and jewelry. We made our way to the monkey sanctuary, where about 300 monkeys live. We were both glad we hadn’t booked a tour that would’ve given us a set time in the forest because we ended up staying there for about three hours. For dinner, we ventured a bit off the main street to a local warung, and enjoyed a simple but great dinner of mie goreng (fried noodles, meat and veggies) for about $2 each.

The following day we went whitewater rafting on the Telaga Waja river. Unfortunately, it was the end of the dry season so the rafting was pretty tame, although we did get to go over a four meter fall and learn how to say “paddle forward” in Japanese (hungataki!) Following Yandy’s recommendation, we waited until the following evening to attend a Legong dance show, hosted by a group that has toured the world. Balinese music is unlike anything we’ve ever heard before.

To our ears, which are accustomed to melodies and western rhythms, it initially appeared as noise; however, as we grew acclimated to the structure of the music, it became much more enjoyable. There were also lots of incredible dancers with very striking features. Following the dance show, we ate some great seafood at a restaurant overlooking rice paddies.

During our 2nd week there, we got to witness a glimpse of the true Bali, compliments of a daylong bicycle and cultural tour. We started off by driving north from Ubud and having a splendid breakfast overlooking the Gunung Batur volcano, which last exploded in 1963. Forty-four years later the remnants of that explosion were still clearly visible, through the gaping crater and lava rocks covering the southern slope.

During the drive up, we learned a wealth of information about Bali from our intrepid guide Darma. Now 41 but looking at least a decade younger, Darma had left his banjar, or community, at age 14 to seek an education on the island of Java, Bali’s western neighbor. His first five years in Java were spent in servitude, working from 3:30 am until midnight, as he was too ashamed to inform his family of the extremely harsh conditions under which he was enduring. He eventually saved up enough money to fund his English education, which he pursued over the next five years, again at the absurd hours of 10 pm to 6 am (he slept on the bus). After finishing his studies, he returned home (as the youngest male, as opposed to the more common custom of the oldest male, he is responsible for the caretaking of his parents) and now lives with his extended family of 40 in a compound.

Later in the day, we would visit a compound to see firsthand how he and millions of other Balinese live. Besides his history, Darma described many of the beliefs of the Balinese, who are Hindu but of a very different sort than Indian Hinduism. At its most basic, everything revolves around one’s banjar. This is why a family will willingly accept conditions of abject poverty in order to save up the 30-50 million rupiahs ($3-5K) in order to cremate their dead; not individually but collectively every three to five years (as an individual ceremony would be cost prohibitive)! Some of the underlying beliefs for these seemingly bizarre priorities are the well-known concept of karma, whereby humans are reincarnated based on the quality of their lives. Also, they believe in the separation between sekala (visible world) and the much more important niskala (invisible world) [Jason interpreted this as the equivalent to the notions of the implicate and explicate orders: DO YOURSELF A FAVOR]. Apparently these beliefs are not always enough to keep the people in line, as the banjars can expel a member for not adhering to the rules.

This is no laughing matter as the price of re-entry is a whopping 75-100 million rupiahs ($7500-10K), about 10 years’ salary of the average Balinese. A few other interesting facts about the Balinese: they don’t have surnames, and 1st born children receive one of three names, 2nd born on of three different names, and so on until the 5th child, who gets one of the three names reserved for first-borns (yet another example of the emphasis on banjar rather than the individual); they do not celebrate birthdays (although they do have a six month shaving ceremony) and thus do not know how old they are; during adolescence they have their six canine teeth filed down to be even with the rest of their teeth because they look too savage and represent the six primary sins of lust, greed, anger, drunkenness, confusion, and jealousy.

Once we got on the bikes, Jason was a bit disappointed that it was all downhill; we literally did not peddle the entire trip and had to ride our brakes throughout most of it. However, we got to stop at some wonderful spots:

the famous Tegallalang rice terraces that have to be seen to be appreciated; a “plantation,” where we had fresh snakefruit (mix of apple, pineapple and kiwi), hot cocoa, coffee, and cigarettes (from the sweetest tobacco we’ve ever tasted); a family compound whose business was bamboo and whose “bank” was their cow, worth a cool four million rupiah ($400); and a wood carving shop, where a dozen uneducated males created scores of identical “antiques” for the local shops. Throughout the day we also saw dozens of genuinely ancient Hindu temples, many of which were in preparation for ceremonies and thus adorned with colorful vertical ribbons and ornate animals, all made from bamboo. Our final stop was to see another rice field that was near the end of its four-month harvesting process.

Having eaten rice with every meal over the past week, we did not have to be told how important rice is to the Balinese, but we were astounded to learn that the former Indonesian Prime Minister, Nurdin Halid, had actually imported rice back in the early naughties, and was currently standing trial for this and other malfeasances during his tenure. Perhaps the world would be a better place if all politicians were immediately placed on trial so that we could weed out all the scumbags and start anew with the one percent that made it through the vetting process. We would attach the addendum “save for all of the rat bastard politicians” to the principle of “guilty until proven innocent.” To work off some of his pent-up rage, Jason thankfully got to do some uphill riding while Priti and most of the others followed along in the van. Finally, we were treated to an incredible feast of roasted chicken and duck, satay, fried tofu, nasi goreng (rice, meats & veggies) and the best tempeh (sweet & spicy) we’ve ever tasted. Despite spending an average of $8 per meal for both of us, Balinese cuisine is the best we’ve tasted thus far on our trip.

Although we were having a great time in Ubud, we left the next day for Padang Bai, a quiet beach town that would be our launching point to the Gilis (islands). Jason went snorkeling in the blue lagoon and got mauled by the coral because the tide was low. That night we hung out a bar that actually had some acoustic live music, then proceeded to the “reggae” bar, which consisted of Bob Marley and then some more Nesta. Sadly, despite all the locals being reggae fans, none of them have heard of Toots and the Maytalls. We weren’t too impressed with Padang Bai so we left the next day for the island of Trawangan.

The ride over was pretty crazy because of the choppy conditions. There were several points where the boat seemed to be on the verge of tipping. Priti went inside the cabin and some of the tourists had put on lifejackets while the locals laughed at them. Meanwhile, Jason was hanging out on the side that was closest to the water, obliviously taking pictures. Upon arriving we got a decent room on the beach for $8 and headed out to see the island.

A few things are absent on the island, leading to a very unique atmosphere: 1) cars, 2) police, and 3) cat tails . The only mode of transport are horse-drawn buggies and any law enforcement is handled by the tribal chief. Also, our fears of animal cruelty were allayed upon finding out that the cats were sans tails due to inbreeding.

The following day, Jason signed up for an advanced open water diving course with Bruno, a lively Frenchman who had a doctorate in marine biology. That afternoon he completed the navigation dive but the night dive was pushed back due to the full moon. That evening, we ate dinner at a place that had private viewing booths on the beach with tvs/dvds; we initially picked the Bourne Supremacy but after seeing a person's head in the corner of the screen, we switched to 300, a solid albeit violent flick. The next morning Jason did the deep dive, which was pretty cool; then the peak performance buoyancy, where we tried to hone our skills and did back flips a la the Matrix; then the night dive, which was much scarier than he thought it would be. It didn’t help that the boat drivers stopped at the wrong place so we had to ride the sides of the boat for about 10 minutes before climbing back aboard with our gear still on. The final dive was a photography dive. Throughout the course, we saw lots of cool things like massive turtles, a Spanish dancer, an octopus, and a school of big bumpheads. While Jason was diving, Priti enjoyed a day of snorkeling on a glass bottom boat that took her to two other islands, where she saw lots of fish and turtles as well.

Our final evening in Trawangan was pleasant, starting off with a sunset hike to the top of the island with Mohammed, a local guy who had “taken care” of Priti during the snorkeling trip while I was diving. He took us on a “short cut” which essentially meant sans trail considering it took about the same amount of time. He also informed us he was a Marlboro Man (Me Always Respect Ladies But Only the Rich/Right Ones). After the hike we had a nice sushi dinner with three Dutch: Bin, a divemaster; Loren, a 2nd Basemen, and his girlfriend Desharda. Much to our relief, the return trip was far less harrowing as the seas were much calmer. We returned to Ubud so that Jason could get a massage and Priti could take a cooking class. After her class, Priti took a nap. Her unconscious was working overtime, as she realized in a dream that our plane was later that night rather than the following day. The brilliant Qatar Airlines scheduled our flight for 12:05 am, causing us to miscalculate our departure. Fortunately we were able to make our flight without too much hassle, although we were set to arrive in KL at 3 am, far from the city center. Thanks QA!

Australia - North End

After Fraser, we went on a sailing cruise of the Whitsunday Islands. Unfortunately, it was pouring for the first two days so we didn't get to see much although we did manage to see a whale and get some nice snorkelling in on the Great Barrier Reef. We continued up the coast with a stopover on Magnetic Island, which had lots of wildlife and a series of WWII forts as the island was the first line of defense against the Japanese. Our final bus stop on the east coast was Cairns. Although we had planned to do more snorkelling/diving on the Reef, after spending way too much the day before on our monopolized flight to Darwin (and the Kakadu/Litchfield tours), we decided to go to the free botanical gardens and also hung out with the last remnants of the Fraser crew.

Although we were supposed to go to Kakadu first, our itineraries got switched around because many of their guides were out with the flu. Thus, we spent our first day exploring Litchfield NP. Exploring isn’t really the right word considering we were just bussed from one exhibit to the next. The first was a series of termite mounds made by a variety of species of termites. The most picturesque of the bunch were the Cathedral termites (see if you can spot Ganesh in the pic). Incredibly, the mounds are both water- and fire-proof! We also saw a bunch of Wooly Butt trees, a type of eucalyptus that are noteworthy because their bark only extends about half-way down and then vanishes. The bulk of the day was spent going to four different waterfalls, three of which we were allowed to swim. The final water locale was the most fun as there were a series of pools, some of which we could jump into off the rocks. Jason had a pretty nasty fall on the slippery rocks and for a few minutes we feared he might have broken his elbow. Thankfully our fears were not realized. On the way back, our tour guide suddenly stopped the van, ran into the bush, and caught a famous type of lizard (can’t recall the name) and induced it to flare out the sides of its neck. Our final stop of the day was to see some long-necked turtles and feed some huge Barramundis, who are hermaphroditic and transform from males to females at a certain age. Due to this unique characteristic, they are legally not allowed to be caught until they have turned into females (to ensure they’ve had a chance to lay eggs).

Early the next morning we left for Kakadu NP. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start as one of the passengers, an Aussie named Kat, was about 20 minutes late because she’d been out partying the night before. By the end of the trip, she had developed quite the complex over her tardiness, and Priti made sure to get her contact information for future reference. The rest of us: Paul, a vegetarian Aussie male (a rarity) from the violent town of Woolongong, who’d witnessed a shooting the night before; Charlie, an 18-year-old Brit who’d seen more of the world than most people twice his age; Frank and Micheal (or Hakeem since he wore an Olajuwon jersey the whole trip), Germans in Australia for a family wedding; Felix, a German medical student doing a rotation in Darwin, and his friend Andreas; and the inimitable Cam, our Aussie tour guide and a true survivalist. Interestingly, from what we saw, the Germans in Darwin outnumbered every other group. Overall, it was a great group and everyone was more than willing to pull their own weight. Whereas most of the group, upon introducing themselves, said they wanted to have fun and see wildlife, Jason said “no offense folks, but I want to see a croc mauling.” Cam rightfully declared it should be Kat given our delay on her behalf. (Hey, Priti needs some clientele!)

The tour started with a crocodile cruise but our first of many wildlife experiences was a tragic one, as a wallaby came running along side of our vehicle, then unsuccessfully tried to jump through the gap between the truck and the trailer. It was Cam’s first killing of the year and the rest of us were not quite sure whether he was joking when he said we’d be having it for dinner. While sitting in the front seat, Jason discovered a few interesting parallels with Cam, since they had the same brand of sandals (Chaco) and MP3 players (Toshiba). The latter brought back fond but bitter memories for Jason, as his had been dead since running out of juice on Fraser Island (due to a manufacturing glitch, the normal route of recharging via the laptop does not work if the battery is completely dead). During the croc cruise, we saw about a dozen “salties” (a good example of the Aussie lexicon of taking the first syllable and adding “ies” to it, “sunnies” being another personal favorite since Jason had to buy another pair after breaking his on the Whitsundays trip). They would dangle raw meat over the water to get them to “jump”. One of the crocs was over 100 years old and he was a massive beast. They had to be careful not to dangle the meat when multiple crocs were in the vicinity as they are cannibals and might end up killing each other, like they do in Woolongong. We also got to hold this non-poisonous (a rarity) diamond python, which promptly wrapped itself around Jason’s neck (right after Priti held it, coincidence?). After the croc cruise, we had a pretty long drive, as Kakadu is gargantuan, a total area larger than Switzerland. After stopping for lunch, we set up camp at Maguk, and then hiked to this spot that had lots of pools, most of which were at least 10 meters deep. While the rest of the group kept going to more pools, we hung back and Jason, ever such the rebel and in defiance of Cam’s explicit instructions, jumped off the rocks into the pools. Jason had again brought his mask so we took turns trying to skindive to the bottom of the various pools, all at least 10 meters deep; only Charlie made it. One of the pools was almost like a cave, as we accessed it by swimming down a couple meters underneath one of the rocks.

That night, all of us learned firsthand that Cam had previously been employed as a chef. He cooked us some buffalo sausages and we both got to try some kangaroo for the first time. It’s apparently one of the healthiest red meats and it tasted somewhat like beef but lighter. Cam shared some of his memorable experiences as a tour guide and also told us how Kakadu was completely different during the wet season (Nov-Mar), as much of the park becomes completely submerged due to interminable rains, thereby giving crocodiles much greater range throughout the park. After dinner, we had a good time discussing, among other things, the Futbol history between Germany and Italy (who defeated Germany yet again in the 2006 World Cup semis, viva Italia!), and the best scenes from The Simpsons movie (the swap between the faithful and the bar patrons), while Andreas kept count of everyone’s beer consumption. We managed not to drink all of it the first night as we were in for an early morning and long day.

Groggily, we awoke at the crack of dawn to break camp and hit the most famous spots in Kakadu. First was Twin Falls, which, due to a German tourist being eaten by a croc a few years ago, was off limits to swimmers and thus only accessible by a five-minute boat ride (that cost $12.50). As nice as the Twin Falls were, it was pretty disappointing that we weren’t able to swim, particularly since we’d just hiked for an hour in 40 (104 C) degrees coupled with extreme humidity. At some point during the day, we crossed the yellow river, where the water was so deep that the engine (that had a snorkel) was submerged and the water began seeping in through the back of the van. After another hour or so on a road that reminded us both of Fraser (i.e., BUMPY), we arrived at Jim Jim Falls. Like many of the names in Kakadu, it was a malapropism due to the White Man’s inability or unwillingness to understand the Aboriginal language (I suppose with names like Kunbarllanjnja and Malabanjbanjdju, it’s somewhat understandable). Unfortunately, Jim Jim Falls were anything but, as only a trickle was left after nearly a full dry season. Nonetheless, the 300 meter cliff face was a marvel to behold and at least we got to swim. The waters directly beneath the “Falls” were freezing so we opted to hang out in the warmer pools (but not the luke warm one, which Cam revealed a bit too much of himself when he exclaimed “it’s like swimming in piss”). After playing Classic Catch for awhile, by diving into the water off this tiny sand island, Cam orchestrated a game akin to dodgeball, where those in the water took turns flinging a small football at those in the sand. Sadly for Cam, or more appropriately his offspring, the game ended with him taking a ball from Jason directly in the groin. Jason couldn’t stop laughing and fortunately Cam wasn’t seriously injured and was a good sport.

That evening, after another scrumptious meal of lamb chops, teriyaki vegetables, and baked potatoes, Cam brought out his didgeridoo and gave us all a brief lesson in playing. We all gave decent efforts, but, sans circular breathing, which takes months to learn, the playing comes in spurts. After bringing over a few women from the neighboring camp, Cam proceeded to lead us on a nighttime nature hike. With about a dozen in tow, there was virtually no chance of spotting anything noteworthy, so we ended up laying down in a field and gazing at the stars while engaging in some random conversations, such as the future of humanity and the nature of the space/time continuum. What’s cool about stargazing in Australia is that the stars are completely different and so is the Milky Way itself, which is much splotchier in appearance relative to the mostly uniform band of haze we see in the northern hemisphere.

Another early morning for the crew on our final day in Kakadu brought us to a series of rock art paintings. Incredibly, carbon dating has revealed that one of the Aboriginal tribes had been creating paintings for 57,000 years, making them the oldest civilization on earth. Tragically, their tribe died out in 1969, as the youngest members left the tribe to pursue a western lifestyle. Cam expertly relayed many stories behind the paintings, including the formation of crocodiles, the Aboriginal version of the boogeyman, and the spirits that were believed to have painted themselves. Doubt them at your own risk. Throughout the final day, everyone had their expectations met as we saw tons of wildlife. In the morning we saw a couple of salties in the wild, although our prompting for them to fight went unheeded. Next we saw a pack of wild horses (cue Mick) consisting of one stallion, four(!) mares, and two youngsters. At one of the rock art sites, we saw some wallaroos, which are similar to wallabies. Other wildlife we spotted included buffaloes, cockatoos, egrits, flying black kites, and a white-chested sea eagle. The ultimate wildlife experience occurred on our way out of the park, as Cam antagonized a freshie with his didgeridoo into charging our 4x4. Jason got out and took pictures and managed not to get mauled in the process (imagine the irony). As we drove back into Darwin, the sun was visible through the trees, a fiery red ball that reminded us of a famous Magritte painting in the Chicago Art Institute.

Our final day in Australia was pretty uneventful, although we had a few instances of good luck, as a used book store owner paid us cash for our guidebook and the hostel receptionist gave us free shuttle passes after being entertained by the fact that we had saved exactly enough cash (or so we thought) for the tickets. And, Jason finally found an electronics store that could recharge his Gigabeat. Although we had enjoyed our trip thus far, we both realized that the true adventure was about to begin.

Reflecting on our time in Australia, there are a few things that stand out for those of you who are planning to go there. First, it’s BIG (like the mighty Banyan tree). We were there for a month and only traveled up the east coast and Darwin, and we felt rushed almost the entire time. It’s deceptively large because it’s an island and there’s nothing but a big rock in the middle, but make no mistake. It didn’t help that we traversed the entire coast via Greyhound, a la Edlavi circa 1999. Second, they like to drink. They really, really, really like to drink. And we'll leave it at that. Third, they are the southern hemisphere’s America, brash, arrogant and not too concerned with what the rest of the world thinks of them. Finally, it’s very expensive. Five years ago, the Aussie dollar was worth $.55; today it’s worth $.83, so everything has increased in price by about 50% for Americans in that time frame. The activities we engaged in were certainly fun but were very expensive. It’s a good thing we got Australia out of the way first because otherwise we would’ve probably had to miss out on some of them due to insufficient funds.

The Australia pics are finally up, sorry for the delay. Also, for those of you that have been dying to comment but didn't want to register, the settings have been changed to allow readers to post anonymously. Hint hint. And for those of you keeping track, not only the Cubs but the Diamondbacks also made the playoffs. Go Cubbies!

Australia - Fraser Island

The next stop was Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, for a self-guided 4x4 three day tour. Thankfully, our group was both diverse and incredibly cool. Dave Murphy (Murph) an Irish laddy who’s on his own world tour and had just spent three months picking fruit in Bundaberg; Murph was traveling with Tom, a British zoologist who’s been traveling for five years and reckons he’ll be doing it for five more and Jordan, a 19-year-old Canadian who reminded everyone of a cartoon character but no one could say for sure exactly which one; Sandra, a German who’s living in Brisbane with her boyfriend Sam, a native Aussie and big fan of Spiderbait; the lovely Italians Alessandra and Marina, who, through a mistranslation of the zen notion of keeping one's mind clear, had the word thoughtless tatooed on her forearm; and Vince from Paris, a mechanical engineer and huge fan of Shakti and Magma.

Over the course of the three days, a rivalry developed with the other group that left from the same tour outfit: Team B. It began the night before, when Sandra was awoken in her hostel room by three German women and the two Italians. The Italians were being considerate but the Germans were very rude and woke her up on multiple occasions throughout the night. At 3 am, after Sandra finally asked them to keep it down, they became nasty and even started talking about her in German, assuming incorrectly that she would not understand what was being said about her. Thus, she was quite relieved to learn that they were not in the same group.

The next morning, after packing all of our gear, we were off to the island. Since Tom and Jordan had been to Fraser before, it was like having our own tour guide, a huge bonus considering the ridiculous prices of the guided tours. Our first stop was the stunning Lake Birrabeen, with a white sand beach and turquoise water that we had all to ourselves. After frolicking around for awhile, we headed to Lake Wabby, an emerald green lake which was surrounded by these massive sand dunes. Tom and Jason climbed the steep dune and while Tom did somersaults down the dune into the lake, Jason, fearful of breaking his neck, rolled down sideways. After Lake Wabby, we returned to see a dingo, a type of wild dog, hanging around our vehicle. Thankfully it was alone so we didn’t have to worry about it becoming aggressive, as they do when in packs. Then we made our way to our first camp site. The evening was absolutely wonderful and we enjoyed an incredible moonrise while listening to good tunes and retelling our crazy adventures. All in all a great day. Jason also got to do a bit of driving and had good fun watching in the rearview mirror as the rest of the group got bounced during each bump.

The following morning we headed further up the coast past a shipwreck on the beach. The tide was in so the waves came splashing up through it. Next was Indian Head, which is a series of cliffs overlooking some more beautiful coastline. Supposedly sharks can be seen down below but none of us saw any. We weren’t supposed to take the 4x4 all the way to it but we did anyways since our “tourguides” had done it before. Upon spotting Team B’s 4x4 parked far away, we devilishly unlocked their front wheels, thereby relegating their vehicle to two-wheel drive. And then the fun began. We were hoping we’d get to see them digging themselves out as we drove by but no such luck. We proceeded to the Champagne Pools, which were a set of rocks that gave some protection from the surf and more importantly the sharks, as this was the only area of the ocean we were allowed to go into. Basically, we hung on for dear life to these spongy rocks as massive waves crashed into them, and then over them and us like the bubbly.

We headed off to another lake, where we ran once again into Team B. We saw that they had locked their wheels, but we unlocked them again just for good measure. We also unlocked ours to see if they would be dumb enough to change ours without looking at the settings. When we ran into them at the lake, our wry grins gave us away so they surmised that we were the culprits. We had a good laugh but they didn’t seem too amused. They made a joke about leaving our stuff on the beach and then left almost immediately. When we returned to our vehicle, we decided to eat since we weren’t going to make our campsite before dark (another no-no was driving after sunset…oops). After getting our stuff out, we realized that some of our food was missing. And, worse yet, some of our alcohol had been nicked as well. Those bastards!!! It’s one thing to have a laugh but their response was to engage in outright theft?! Murph was frantic and was ready to track them down but we weren’t absolutely sure the stuff was missing or buried. Several in the group had purchased alcohol that day at “island” prices ($4/can). They also took our last loaf of bread so we’d have to purchase more the next day. On the way to our campsite (in the dark), Tom took us down a crazy path and since we were in the far back we got bounced around like jumping beans. He also managed to get stuck and so we had to dig ourselves out. It took about 15 minutes but we had a good laugh…something Team B apparently was incapable of. During the nighttime festivities, Murph and Jason set to plotting Team A’s revenge. We settled on tracking down their families and murdering their fathers, since Australia’s Father’s Day was just around the corner. Teach ‘em a lesson they’d never forget! We pitched it to the group but they opted for something a tad less extreme. Reluctantly, Murph and Jason conceded. Shortly thereafter we realized our hammer was missing. One annoying thing about the Fraser tour companies is that they charge ridiculous prices for any missing equipment; thus it was decided we would liberate Team B's $15 hammer.

On the way back down, we stopped once again at the shipwreck because Jason had the idea to get everyone to pose like the Dali composition of naked women in the form of a skull. As the pictures will attest, the effect clearly isn’t the same when the women are clothed! (The tour company gave us a camera and requested we take creative shots and the best one would get a prize. Sadly we had dropped ours in the water the first day so it was likely a futile effort regardless.) Our final destination was Lake McKenzie, which is supposedly the most beautiful but I thought it was basically the same as Birrabeen but with bigger crowds. After providing action shots for some photographer while playing keep the ball out of the water (akin to hacky sack), we decided to take another crack at the photo contest by following Tom’s suggestion to make it appear as if we were midgets buried in the sand. Then we completely buried Sam, laughing the entire time. Soon after we departed, we realized we’d left our $25 shovel behind…doh! Unfortunately, we could not just turnaround so we had to take a ½ hour detour to retrieve it, only to find it stuck under another 4x4’s rear wheel! After a good team effort of rocking the vehicle, we managed to retrieve it. However, this delay meant that we would be hard-pressed to see the final sight on our itinerary, an invisible creek so named because from the vantage point the water was so clear as to appear non-existent. Vince did his best to make sure we made up the time, much to the shagrin of Sam and Sandra, who are currently seeing chiropractors to get themselves realigned (haha). We decided to skip the creek but ended up arriving with plenty of time to spare (thanks to our fearless Frenchman).

The return ferry was somewhat sad since we’d had such a blast on the island. Back at the hostel, we unloaded the vans and started putting our equipment in order. We turned in all of our equipment (sans hammer) and discussed how to get Team B to reimburse us for our stolen provisions because it didn’t appear likely we’d be able to get their hammer. However, while Team B was turning in other equipment, Jason managed to swoop in and nab their hammer while their entire group was fewer than five meters away. Great Scot! After surreptitiously disclosing his feat to the team, it was time for Sandra to have her revenge on the Germans. She accosted them and said, in German, “so are you going to repay us for the things you stole.” Oh, snap! This just goes to show that you should never hurl insults at people in another language until you are sure they don’t speak it. It turns out the Germans were behind the entire heist plan but yet were the most adamantly opposed to taking responsibility for their actions. Ultimately, after following through on our promise to inform the tour company if they remained obstinate in their refusal to make good, they agreed to buy us a round of drinks at the pub. At about the same time, the tour company informed them that their hammer was missing. Watching them get into a tizzy and then scrounging up the $15 was priceless, and I’m still not sure how we managed to contain our emotions in our moment of triumph. Sex on the Beach, purchased on their tab, never tasted so good and we can only hope that one of us run into one of them before we leave Australia so we can let them know what happened to their hammer.

Postscript: Tom was happy to report that he did in fact run into some of Team B so we can rest assured that they all found out about their hammer. WOOOHOOOOO!!!!

Australia (part 1)

Hi folks,

Before we share our Aussie experience, we must first take a few moments to reflect on the glory of our beloved laptop. So here goes:



Ode On a Second-hand Laptop

Oh glorious lappy, so transportable and light
Your black exterior darker than night.
Versatility your virtue, reliability your strength
A whopping eight gig hard drive, yet just twelve inches in length.

We thank you, thank you, for all that you do
Just one month into our trip, we feared we'd lost you
But lo and behold, our fears were unfounded.
And now our appreciation for you has compounded.

So carry on, thou little black box of wonder
And never let us be torn asunder.
Without your processing power, we'd be up against a wall.
And remember, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"---that is all

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. The adventure in the Land Down Under started in Melbourne, where we were greeted with the familiar faces of friends, Rebecca Hill and her family, Simon, Romany, and Inez. Melbourne is a unique, cosmopolitan city that looks much larger on the map than it really is. We explored much of it by foot, including the massive Victoria Market, where vendors were selling everything from fresh foods to fake watches. Jason ended up buying this hokey black leather belt with Australian imprints.

Later that day, we went to a footy (i.e., Australian Football) match. The AFL match was a lot of fun, though the crowd was much tamer than we were expecting. Perhaps it was because the beer they served (Victoria Bitter) was dreadful. AF is sort of like hockey on grass with bits of rugby, soccer, and even basketball thrown in. And of course reckless abandon amongst the padless players. The stadium was nearly filled to capacity because it was the 1st place team in town, the Geelong Cats vs. the North Melbourne Kangaroos (actually both are based in the Melbourne vicinity). The Cats were clearly the better team and won the match 118-91, although at one point the Roos had closed to within two points. To let you know how exciting of a match it was, Priti actually paid attention to the entire game rather than peoplewatch (as she does at every baseball game Jason has dragged her to). The frontrunner for the AFL MVP scored five goals, yet the fans didn’t appear too appreciative; perhaps he’s Australia’s A-Rod.

Our Ausssie tour continued with a drive to Philip Island, a wildlife haven. We went to the Koala Sanctuary where upon treetop boardwalks we found ourselves face to face with a mother koala and her joey (baby). Although koalas sleep for 16-20 hours per day, we were lucky enough to see (and capture on video) the joey come out of her mother's pouch and cling to her belly as she climbed down one tree, took a sniff of some koala droppings, and then proceeded to climb another tree. This amazing experience was followed by sightings of kangaroos in the woods or "scrubs" as the Aussies call them. Hippity-hop they went, stopping occasionally to stare at us. Moving along to another area of Philip Island, we sat along a boardwalk, watched the sunset over hills and the ocean, and then saw hundreds of Little Penguins (creativity isn't one of the Aussies' strengths), swim out of the ocean onto the beach and waddle to their nests. They emerged out of the ocean in groups of six to ten, and some of the groups kept going back in to the water, and it took them multiple attempts to muster enough courage to waddle all the way up the beach to their nests. The set up allowed us to get within arms reach of the penguins. They made a squeaky, gurgling sound as each individual stood guard of its nest. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pics because this area was protected and the flashes would scare them.

Melbourne reminded us of Chicago, with its second city complex and concerted efforts at self-promotion, lots of quality restaurants, quality museums, and obsessiveness over professional sports. Priti loved it. At night, we ventured to the trendy St. Kilda neighborhood to see some good old fashioned rock n' roll.

After four days there, we said goodbye to our hosts and went to Sydney where we stayed in the King's Cross neighborhood, renowned for its colorful clientele. Unfortuately, the rain followed us from NZ, but we still ventured out to explore the city. At the wharf, we listened to an Aboriginal with a painted face and body play the Didgeridoo on the wharf and we also witnessed a woman contort her body into a small plexiglass box. She literally could have kissed her own arse. We took the ferry to Manly beach and had good sunset views of the Opera House and the Sydney Bridge. The following day we finally splurged at Sushi Rio, taking whichever dishes we wanted from the conveyor belt as they passed by (sushi train). Following lunch, we went to the Chinese Garden, an oasis of tranquility within the mania that is Sydney. Interestingly, given our Melbourne/Chicago perceptions, Sydney reminded us of NYC - lots of beautiful, stylishly dressed people, cuisine from all over the world, and a night life that goes until the wee hours of the mornin'.

The road north led next to Byron Bay, which was recommended by many fellow travelers. Sadly, the weather once again was not very good so we couldn't do that much in Byron itself. One of the highlights was a day trip to Nimbin, Australia’s version of Amsterdam. The rest of the time in Byron was spent on the beach. We also came across this massive tree that was filled with hundreds of parrots, who must have been in mating season because they were all paired up and singing to the high heavens. Our next stop was Noosa, although since it had been completely under water from flooding the week before, our hostel room smelled like mildew. Not a fun experience sleeping that night but good things were just around the corner...

Australia is so massive that it's been a challenge to find time to update the blog, but there will be more updates coming very soon along with pics. Take care everyone!