So Not Lost!

Kao Pad - Click to View Hi-Res Image

Food is an important part of travel. Admit it: One of the best (and simplest) ways to experience another country’s culture is through its food. Whenever I visit a new place, I make sure to try some of its local cuisine.

Food in Bangkok was AMAZING. There were the usual entries, stuff you find in almost any Thai restaurant, and then there was other stuff that the locals ate. Mark – also known as @migrationology – took me out to dinner and it was absolutely amazing… but I’ll talk about that at length next time.

In this photo is my first Thai meal in Bangkok, albeit one that’s more touristy and relatively common (even in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand). This is Kao Pad, also known as Thai fried rice. It was delicious, and it made me fall in love with Thai food right away.

That was this week’s TravelTuesday Picture of the Week. Enjoy the rest of TravelTuesday on Twitter and follow me @hyperren. Come back next week for another PotW!

I’ve been negligent in my blogging for the past few months, but I swear I have a very good reason for it.

I’ve moved to Singapore.

It is not a permanent move (my contract to work here is until November 2010, but I’m aiming to renew it for at least one more year), but I did have to pack my bags and relocate, and adjust to my new surroundings.

I am here because of work, and wow, I’m having such a GREAT time working here! I work for Universal Studios Singapore as a performer and I’m having the time of my life here.

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Post Office at Ho Chi Minh City - Click to View Hi-Res Image

This is the beautiful post office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, designed by Gustave Eiffel. It’s a gorgeous building, both outside and inside, and mailing a post card from here was one of the highlights of my trip.

I admit it, the main reason I chose this as my Picture of the Week is because it was featured on last week’s episode of The Amazing Race, which may just be my favorite travel show of all time. Last week was the first time I ever watched an episode and yelled at the TV, “I was there! I was there!” (Do you need proof that I was there? Check out this picture.)

That was this week’s TravelTuesday Picture of the Week. Enjoy the rest of TravelTuesday on Twitter and follow me @hyperren. Come back next week for another PotW!

I only had one full day to explore Kuala Lumpur, so I wanted to make the most of it. I borrowed a Malaysian guidebook from my CouchSurfing host Angelo, and I had some idea of what I wanted to do that day. Unfortunately, my day started out as a comedy of errors.

I meant to wake up early to have enough time to do laundry and head to the Petronas Towers, get a ticket, and go to the observation deck. Unfortunately, my exhaustion from the day before made me wake up later than I had hoped, so I had to scratch the Petronas Towers observation deck from my plans.

I was further delayed by my almost comically bad attempts to make it to the nearest train station. I made it as far as outside the apartment complex when I drew a blank on where I was supposed to go. (That’s what I get for not paying attention when my host picked me up from the station and brought me to his apartment.) I made a wrong turn and walked further away from the station. To make things worse, when I finally figured out what direction I needed to go, I totally forgot that people drove on the side of the road opposite from that in the Philippines. So, instead of looking to the right before crossing the street, I looked left. Needless to say, the driver of the car coming in from the right was not pleased to see me walking down the street, oblivious to her presence.

The Kuala Lumpur rail system was quite possibly more confusing than the one here in Manila, probably because there were more lines and stations in KL than in Manila. I knew I had to switch stations and train lines at some point, but of course I couldn’t figure out where the other line was when I got to that point.

Once I had figured everything out, I ended up at Suria KLCC, a mall so huge they actually offered maps of the mall for visitors. (Maybe that’s something the owners of SM Mall of Asia can take a cue from. I still get lost and confused in that place.)

After eating a quick breakfast, I began to look for Petronas Towers. I consulted my guidebook and my Suria KLCC map. I went outside, looking for signs and directions pointing me to Petronas Towers.

I should have just turned around and looked up.

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Solo Traveler has released a free downloadable eBook called Travel Alone and Love It! The book features ten solo travel stories from readers of the blog, including Sandy Salle of Hills of Africa, Evelyn Hannon of Journeywoman, and Rahim Ismail of The Funk Stop.

Oh, and I wrote something, too!

I contributed an article entitled “Dammit, Jim, I’m a Tourist, Not a Local!” about my experiences as a Southeast Asian traveling solo around Southeast Asia. Here’s a little look at my page in the eBook:

I hope you download the eBook and enjoy these ten great solo travel stories!

Hot Air Balloon over Angkor Wat (Cambodia) - Click to View Hi-Res Image

There are many ways to explore Angkor Wat. Most do it on foot, getting there by tuk-tuk, bicycle, motorcycle, or even elephant (or maybe that’s just Bayon). But for the more adventurous (and moneyed) tourist, nothing beats an aerial view. You can take a helicopter ride (I met a helicopter pilot during a CouchSurfing meet-up in Siem Reap). Or you can go up, up, and away on a hot air balloon. I spied this yellow hot air balloon hovering near Angkor Wat, and I didn’t miss the opportunity to snap a photo of it.

That was this week’s TravelTuesday Picture of the Week. Enjoy the rest of TravelTuesday on Twitter and follow me @hyperren. Come back next week for another PotW!

After three full days in Siem Reap, it was time to head to my next destination: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After breakfast and some last-minute browsing at the markets, my tuk-tuk driver, Mr. Bill, picked me up from the hostel and brought me to Siem Reap Airport. He gave me his contact information, asking me to refer him to my friends who needed a tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap; so, if anyone is heading to Siem Reap anytime soon, I highly recommend Mr. Bill, and I can give you his contact information.

I was a little early in arriving at the airport; in fact, my flight hadn’t even begun boarding yet. It gave me a little time to explore the airport. It was a relatively small airport, but it was quite charming. There were lots of Khmer architectural touches in the design and decor of the airport.

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I had spent a good morning at Angkor Wat on my last full day in Siem Reap. After a cloudy sunrise and a wet excursion at the temple itself, I went to Angkor National Museum for a bit of historical and cultural background which, in hindsight, I probably should have done before exploring the temples of Angkor. By lunchtime, I was pretty much done with the temples. Sure, there were still a few lesser temples and far temples that I could have seen, but after three days, I was all templed out. Besides, at least it gave me something to return to, just in case.

I was all out of ideas on what to do for the rest of the day when my tuk-tuk driver Mr. Bill suggested that I go check out the lake, Tonle Sap. I was only vaguely aware of what to expect there, with my knowledge coming solely from a single episode of “The Amazing Race” set in Siem Reap. When Mr. Bill mentioned experiencing sunset at Tonle Sap, I was sold.

My last afternoon at Siem Reap was spent on a good meal, followed by a little bit of shopping (for school supplies, mainly, as the envelope that carried my documents was starting to fall apart), some ice cream at this great French ice cream shop called The Blue Pumpkin, and swimming at my hostel, The Siem Reap Hostel. It was great; after three hot days of temples, splashing around in a cool pool was a refreshing respite. It energized me for whatever was left of the day.

Later that afternoon, Mr. Bill arrived to take me to Tonle Sap. He warned me that the roads would be rough, but I wasn’t prepared for what I had experienced. The moment I saw an advertisement for dirt buggy rentals, I knew I was going to be in trouble. The tuk-tuk moved slowly on the rocky dirt roads, but it didn’t help stop the vehicle from bouncing up and down. I had to make a conscious effort to stay in my seat and not get thrown off the tuk-tuk, or worse, hit my head and get a concussion.

After that long and rough ride, we finally arrived at the riverside pier. I didn’t realize that I would have to rent a boat from the river to the lake itself; I was expecting to be dropped off right by the lake. The fee itself was quite pricey, and as a solo traveler on a budget, it made quite a dent on my travel budget. I noted that this trip would probably be best with a big group, as to split the high rental fee. On the upside, I had a boat all to myself.

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Inside Binondo Church (Chinatown, Manila) - Click to View Hi-Res Image

This is the interior of Binondo Church, whose facade was the Picture of the Week a couple of weeks ago. It may not be as grand as other churches, but it’s still beautiful.

That was this week’s TravelTuesday Picture of the Week. Enjoy the rest of TravelTuesday on Twitter and follow me @hyperren. Come back next week for another PotW!

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