City Jumper

Tips and Tricks for Malaysia

2012-01-10T23:20:00.001+01:00

After traveling for 3 weeks around the west coast of Malaysia I thought I would put together a few tips and tricks for anyone planning a similar trip.

Main Places to visit:

- Langkawi, a island to the north, very close to Thailand. Great beaches, activities and fantastic to chill out. Langkawi has limited night life, not many night clubs. Rent a Scooter then and discover the island, the Cable Car is a must.

- George Town (Penang), World Heritage Site, wonderful culture, history, and blend of nationalities as well as a wide variety of outdoor activities. The night life is great, lots of places to young people to party and chill out. It also is great hub for visiting the Cameroon Highlands. *for the Cameroon Highlands you will need to sleep one night there.

- Kuala Lumpur (a.k.a KL), the capital and great place for shopping and site seeing. If you don’t have much time, the hop on hop off bus is easy, and costs about 10euros per person for a 24h ticket.

- Malacca I would not spend more than 3 days there but really worth the visit. Great food, and interesting relics of the past.

Transportation

Buses are the cheapest and most efficient way of getting around. There are always loads of different companies selling tickets to where ever you want to go. You can buy online, just be careful to make sure that you go to the right bus depot. *in KL there are several bus depots/stations.

We never paid more than 23 Ringgit per person.

If you would like to save a few hours, AirAsia is a great company and a good low cost option. They are FAR better than Ryanair.

Trains are also reliable, but we did not try them as some of the stations are not located in the city centers, hence an additional bus is usually required.

Taxis are cheap, just be careful not be ripped off. Always go for the meter.

For local transport, renting a scooter for 30MR per day is clearly the best way to get around (not for KL), but remember… stick to the left! Petrol is about half the price compared to Europe.

Where to stay

I am a strong adept of HostelWorld.com, just read the reviews and book it online.

Clothing

The weather in Malaysia is great, you don’t need more than 1 pair of trousers, take a some shorts, and some slops. If you need to get any cloths just buy it locally. I would recommend to travel light and leave plenty of space for shopping. It is a temptation from start to finish.

Food

Malaysia is home to a pleasant mixture of cultures, and there is no shortage of cheap restaurants. They may seem to the average European different, but guaranteed you will get a good meal. On average we spent about 3 euros per meal. If you go local. If you are looking for western food, it will cost about 10 euros a meal.

Malaysian Trip by the Numbers

2012-01-09T07:27:00.001+01:00

The phenomenal trip to Malaysia had so many highlights that it would be difficult to capture everything so here is a list of what we achieved in one of our best holidays ever…

Activities	Number
Days	20
Nights	19
Trains	2
Flights	8
Bus	10
Taxi	12
Boat	4
Jet Ski	1
Scooter	2
Beaches	5
Market (traditional)	7
Malls (modern)	5
World Heritage Sites	2
Hostels	9
Eagles sites	3
Turtle Sanctuary	1
Temples	4
Hair Cut	2
New Friends	9
Swimming Pools	2
Massages	2
Caves	2
Fish Farm	1
Butterfly Farm	1
Para-shoot	1
Monkey Sittings	3
Visited Islands	5
Jungle Trek	2
Large Lizards	3

Malaysia has been a really positive surprise. I strongly recommend anyone thinking of visiting this part of the world to stop in Malaysia as this 3 week holiday cost less than 2.5k euros (including air fair).

Langkawi 2012

2012-01-08T15:11:00.001+01:00

Before we headed back to our “regular” lives we had to go back to Langkawi for a few more days of sun and beaching. This time we rented a scooter and discovered the island. The breathtaking moment for me was to go to the north of the island, catch a boat and see eagles feeding. The site of an eagle is peaceful and intimidating as these large birds of pray swoop down to catch fish in the river. We were lucky enough to see this on a tour around some of the smaller islands around Langkawi. The trip also included a trip to a fish farm where we touched sting rays and saw archery fish squirt water at us persuing low hanging bread. Our guide also took us to bat caves ending with a glorious sun set on a boat looking over to Thailand. Life cannot get any better than this.

I am really impressed to see how that this part of the world so close to Thailand and yet not destroyed by tourism. I have been to Phuket and Phi Phi islands but this looks very similar but with FAR LESS tourists (and much cheaper). It is great to see that the government controls the tourism by owning the land and protecting it from foreign investments.

The oriental village is also worth a visit as it is the gate to the Langkawi cable car, one of the steepest cable cars in the world. It takes one to the top of the 700m “mountain” where there are many view points and a breath taking skybridge. Langkawi has everything.

Kuala Lumpur 2012

2012-01-08T12:28:00.003+01:00

We hadn't really discovered the wonders of KL so we went back for a few days. Considering the mere dimension of KL we decided to take the hop on hop off bus around the city. Of course we went to the KL tower and the Petrona Twin Towers. These 2 landmarks really paint the picture of how quickly KL has grown and how the city line is nothing short of a modern megalithic city. Some would even considere them as a good representation of how modern Malaysia is.

Shopping is also a clear highlight of the KL, where clothes are cheap, malls are humongous, variety in closes is nothing short of a paradise for women. Even I enjoyed the shopping and being able to discover the wonders of IT in this part of the world. Our favorite mall was Times Square a “small” 10 floor shopping center with EVERYTHING, even a Nando’s restaurant with Portuguese Piri-Piri chicken.

We tried some of Ogawa electronic foot, back and even eye massage. This seems to be so common in Asia and yet so rare in Europe taking our shopping experience to the next level.

Pangkor 2011 – 2012

2012-01-08T12:28:00.001+01:00

You know how every year it seems to be a nightmare to figure out where you are spending New Year Eve? More importantly with whom? Which Party? Which location? Get the right booking? The worse part of it is that there is huge expectation that it is going to be the best night ever. Well this year we thought we would do something different… spend New Year in a remote part of the world…. just me and Pandinha on a Swiss Golf Resort with every luxury that you could imagine. Outstanding does not even come close to describing our New Year!

To get there we needed to catch a 30min taxi (as there is not buses to this resort). The taxi ride was an adventure as the car must haven been at least 30 years old, but upon arrival we were greeted with mango juice, a fantastic view and a great hotel. The swimming pool looked over to the beach, there was an artificial waterfall and we had massage of every type at our disposal. What a way to start the 2012. Happy New Year everyone:)

Tablet Mania

2012-01-04T10:45:00.001+01:00

The more I think about life, and how Technology changes it, I begin to think that the future of Tablets and our daily activities will become more and more intertwined. Imagine walking into a restaurant and having a tablet on your table. Instead of ordering, you could submit your order via tablet… Wouldn’t that be great? Of course if you had questions you could ask the waiter but it would seem that life would be easier… you choose, what you want, and you get a tablet to “play” while you wait for your meal.

Another way would be that Google tracks what we all order/eat. Say you walked in with your own tablet… and got an app to order… instead of using the restaurant tablet use your own, and Google could track your eating habits too.

I could even imagine that you could have your own music, localized advertisements, or music at your table which you control. Would it be such a difficult thing to have? We are heading towards Google controlling lights via wifi… Local temperature and music will for sure follow.

If you take the bigger picture, you will also be able to log this on your social media account and it could be used for helping doctors understand everyone's nutrition problems and correlate sickness with what we eat over longer periods of time. It is only a matter of time before Google/Facebook filter our social lives online to what we eat/where we eat.

Penang 2011

2012-01-04T10:43:00.001+01:00

Traveling around Malaysia is really easy. The busses are great (cheap and comfortable). We arrived in Penang, an island which is recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage site. This little island also known as the silicon island has everything from high tech industries/manufactures, like AMD, Intel, NXP and so on but also is home to George Town. A little village which has not really changed much in the last 200 years or so. This city has a wonderful mixture of cultures, religions and the city has evidence of this everywhere. Every corner has a new surprise.

The only way to see the city is to walk or rent a scooter and just ride around and take the city in just like any other local. Being on scooter in Malaysia is very different from the Netherlands, there are no bicycle paths, there are no rules… you just go with the flow.

The scooter was the highlight for me as we could go around the island to see butterfly farms, beaches, turtle beaches, temples, rocks, jungle tracks, little India, china town, malls… the list is endless.

Our hostel next to a coffee boutique was very useful as we had chocolate coffee every morning. We got to know the locals during our 4 day stay.

Perhaps the most interesting night was with Koto a young Japanese guy on holiday wanting to discover the world. We went out for a dinner and ended the evening talking about Manga and sport. It was great to see and compare cultures in this amazing place where history is really alive. The best way to describe this is by picturing our night: a Portuguese Engineer, with an Amazing Italian Linguist, talking to a future Japanese pilot, survivor from the radiation from Fukushima about how Manga touched us all as young children, with a guy from Bronx (New York) sharing stories from around the world in a Jamaican bar on a remote island of Malaysia – Penang is definitely a magical place worthy of being a World Heritage Site (here is a list of all of them in the world)

Langkawi 2011

2012-01-04T10:39:00.001+01:00

Malaysia has many hidden treasures. One of which is called Langkawi, a small island in the North of the country. There are actually many great little islands to be visited, a bit like Phi Phi islands but with less tourists. The little village has lots to offer with only 2 or 3 ATMs, nice restaurants and an amazing beach. We decided to go Eagle watching and try Jet Skiing to see some of these smaller untouched islands. This magnificent place is where we spent Xmas… near a great swimming pool and close the beach. Happy Xmas everyone.

Even thought the location is amazing it was only when we meet Anis, who really gave a little insight to Langkawi. This young women, started her own little business to be able to spend more time with her children. Most would think that this is a contradictory statement, but she opened her home to tourists and made her garage into a great little cafe with the best pancakes ever. She helped us and told us about the Tsunami which happened in 2004. She witness it live and was truly touched that we were asking about it. Langkawi is special, so special that it is for sure worth another visit.

Kuala Lumpur 2011

2012-01-04T10:36:00.001+01:00

Traveling from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur by bus was a comfortable ride, however we did not really know where in KL we would end up. It turned out that we ended up in a large train station, with a good connection to KLRapid, the local metro. Our stop was Passar Senir (gets it name from the Central Market as it is the first thing you see upon exiting the station).A 3 minute walk from our Amazing Hostel: The Explorer Guest House. As soon as one starts walking the streets of KL, you immediately feel the chaos and the energy of everyone walking around trying to make a living by selling food or services in one way or another. We took the afternoon to explore the Central Market and the China Town. There are always great bargains to be made in this part of the world, remember 1 euro is about 4 ringgit. Our stay in KL was short as we had to fly to Langkawi for Xmas, but we would return later for more shopping.

Fun Facts:

- Greater KL has over 7million people

- KL gets its name from Muddy River (Lumpur is mud)

Malacca 2011

2012-01-04T10:28:00.001+01:00

We decided to catch the bus from the Golden Mile in Singapore to travel 184km to Malacca. To be honest traveling in this part of the world via bus is the most reasonable, the busses are amazing, they are extremely comfortable (about 2x more leg room than on a plane and one 10th the cost – only 24 Singapore Dollars) and you get dropped off in the city center. Arriving in Malacca (Melaka Sentral) all we had was a piece of paper from Hostel World, stating catch bus #17. At this stage Malacca looks anything but like a World Heritage site, but since our spirits were high we found this little bus and went with it. The idea was to stop at the Dutch Square, described as a group of red buildings… what could go wrong? Well nothing, arriving at the Dutch Square what initially seemed to be the end of the world turned out to be an AMAZING treasure. The history of Malacca is unique in the sense that the Portuguese, Dutch and British had all been there, leaving their marks. Extremely well conserved there was a mixture of cultures, traditions, smells, food, ethnic races, and of course buildings which are literally breath taking. We ended up staying in this little hostel on the river where we had everything. There is no walk like walking on the river side to get to a hostel. When we arrived at the hostel, there was a paper stating: Gareth, if you want to check in go and talk to Ben, the next door neighbor… Ben actually owned the local grocery store and was very happy to see us, meeting with a gracious smile. Our trip in Malaysia had begun with a smile. The next few days we enjoyed the Famosa Chicken Rice Balls, the Dimpling soups, the Museums, Temples, the Markets, and all the shopping, clearing invaded by Angry Birds phenomena. The day we left it was raining, but walking to the nearest bus stop was great. We caught a local bus which was not in the greatest shape, but still got us to Melaka Sentral where buying a ticket to KL was and cheap… 13 Ringgit to travel in a first class bus. KL here we come.

Singapore 2011

2012-01-04T10:13:00.001+01:00

Nearly 15 years after leaving Singapore to go and live in Hong Kong, I was back. Even though I was back I did not really recognize much, except the smell did seam to trigger a few old memories. Strange how at such a young age I remembered all of these smells, which made me feel right at home. Pandinha and I checked in to a small hostel near the city center (close to the China Town). After the long trip we explored around the hostel, discovering all the smells, shops, malls, exciting life in Singapore. It is outstanding to see how many years this “little” city is ahead of Eindhoven. In the morning we decided to visit the Buddha's Temple (where his tooth is exposed). On our way we had to stop for a nice breakfast in the local market which can only be described as chaotic, but tasty. Picture, hundreds of little stores all selling coffee, fried duck, backed Pork, dumpling Soup and any combination of the above, being cooked on the spot, with everyone stopping by as the room smells, but it is clearly the starting point for a Monday morning for many. The little lady in the back to struggles to take her food to a free table, while the gentlemen in a suit quickly finishes his coffee makes this day unique to me but is simply just another day in these peoples life.

In the afternoon walking around the city we discover a small shopping center with 6 floors of ONLY computer stuff. I my heart goes crazy as there is an entire floor dedicated to tables. Can life get any better?

Portugal 2011

2012-01-04T06:37:00.001+01:00

It had been a while since I went back to Portugal, this time I wanted to show Pandinha Portugal through my eyes. We travelled to Faro and rented a car. Starting with the amazing August sun, I knew I was home. Pandinha really liked Portugal. The challenge is always when you go back home you end up visiting everyone who misses you and this leaves one with not enough time for truly visiting the country as planned. We did however spend some time in the Algarve, visting Silves, Sagres and Lagoa. Of course we had to stop in the wonderful Slide and Splash. How that brought back nice memories… After Algarve we ended up going to Lisbon, to taste the Pasteis de Nata, to visit o Bairro, o Castelo de S.Jorge, os Santos, Costa da Caparica and of course to meet up with my buddies which 5 years after leaving Portugal are always willing to listen to my strange stories from around the world. Jeronimo was also a must, as Pandinha had to try the famous Pasteis de Belem and see o Padrao dos Descobrimentos.

All of these places even though they are part of who I am, they really become alive when I see the with Pandinha whos smile was increasing bigger and bigger with each day.

One week later it was time to travel back to the Algarve to fly back home. It was a great holiday, however maybe not as relaxing as expected never the less still outstanding break.

A weekend in Rome

2011-12-24T09:02:00.001+01:00

It was time to travel again, I thought that I would visit Rome with Giovanna for a weekend. To be honest Rome is one of Italy's finest pearls, as it has everything from great food, to history, to amazing culture, to crazy traffic jams, and of course the Italian Passion thrives within the city. The weather was hot, and all I could think of was having nice cool ice-cream …

Turkey 2011

2011-12-24T08:49:00.001+01:00

I had not yet visited Turkey. This trip however was not for fun but for work. It was my first time that the MathWorks invited me to speak outside the Benelux. As a result, I ended up going to Ankara and Istanbul for 1 week. The good news is that in between hotels, conferences, seminars, customer visits I had the opportunity to visit Istanbul. The city is amazing. Starting with the fact that half of the city is in Europe and the other half in Asia. There many things to be seen, of which I really only saw: Galata Tower, Hagia Sophia and the Galata Bridge. This is really a city to come back to.

Cambridge 2011

2011-06-01T08:34:00.001+02:00

Some say that all good comes to those who wait. Well I waited 29 years to see Cambridge and I must say I was impressed. This little village of 300 thousand people clearly dominated by its large Colleague student community brings something young and vibrant to the city. University of Cambridge actually covers over 20 different Colleges and most of the city is devoted to education. Students have to eat in their colleges 1 a week with the warden of the college all dressed up. This is unique to the life of most University students. The result is clear, people learn from example and Cambridge is unique in the UK as it has the lowest crime rate associated with drinking.

There are loads of things to see, however I guess one of the highlights is the punting, a bit like the Gondolas in Venice. this is mainly organized by the students trying to get a few more pounds in their pockets.

While I was there, I was lucky enough to catch the air show at Duxford, a little outside Cambridge. This Sunday afternoon was dedicated to female pilots who have made their mark in the UK over the years. It was amazing, to see all the different planes, stunts, and just enjoy the nice weather. Of course there is a museum which is worth a visit for 20 pounds(they have a B-52), but actually seeing the Spitfires in action was like a dream come true. I had never seen a air show in my life. I guess it is true all good things do come to those who wait.

Effective time for Posting on Facebook

2011-05-16T21:14:00.002+02:00

Have you ever thought what time is the best for posting on Facebook or LinkedIn?
When I say the best, what I mean is when will the most people read or comment on your posts? Maybe you can help me out here.

How Many Triangles can you count?

2011-05-10T23:08:00.001+02:00

We all have our “Jerry Maguire” moments – there is something that keeps you awake and you just want to cease the moment so you stay up and think/write. I guess I have just had one of those moments and would like to share it with you.

Simple Problem: in the picture how many Triangles can you count?

I will past the solution in the comments. But in the mean time… Good luck and have fun.

TIP(with MATLAB):

>> a = [73 32 102 105 103 117 114 101 100 32 105 116 32 111 117 116 32 98 121 101 32 114 101 100 114 97 119 105 110 103 32 116 104 101 32 102 105 103 117 114 101 44 32 97 110 100 32 99 111 117 110 116 105 110 103 32 104 111 119 32 109 97 110 121 32 110 101 119 32 116 114 105 97 110 103 108 101 115 32 119 101 114 101 32 99 114 101 97 116 101 100 32 119 105 116 104 32 101 97 99 104 32 110 101 119 32 108 105 110 101 46];

>> char(a)

Vegas just keeps getting better and better!

2011-05-10T14:55:00.001+02:00

This was the 3rd time I went to Vegas for a few days…and what can I say? Vegas is simply amazing!

The truth being said, it is always fun, but what really makes the difference is who you go with. This time I took the opportunity to focus more on the shows. Every casino, has its own shows from erotic, to stand up comedy, to musicals, to whatever your heart desires! Just walking down the strip is an adventure or an experience that every mortal should go through once in their life.

Most people have this perception that Vegas is all about adult entertainment and gambling however if you choose to visit Vegas with people who are not really interested in that… well it does not mean that Vegas is boring. Actually that is what makes Vegas so great there is something for everyone!

I will keep this blog entry short, as what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas… but I can tell you that it was a blast! If you have never been, just go there for a few days and see for yourself. There is no place on earth like Vegas!

Tips for Vegas:

Tip#1 Hotels and accommodation are cheap! It is worth spending 80 dollars for a room on the 50th of Trump Towers with a view that makes your heart stop. Go for it.

Tip#2 Don’t stay in Vegas too long, I recommend at least 2 nights but not more than 4! It can get expensive.

Tip#3 If you are there you have to go to the Grand Canyon! Rent a car and drive it is part of the the Vegas experience.

Tip#4 Vegas is not only for men! I saw plenty of women there who were with their partners and had a blast! Take your partner you might be surprised.

Tip#5 I would recommend staying at one of the ends of the strip. When you walk up/down the strip it only gets better and better and bigger!

Tip#6 Only take into a casino what you want to loose. Hang around and figure out the rules before loosing your money blindly. If you are at the tables, always get a free drink.

Tip#7 Just go once in your life! No matter your age/sex or tastes… you will enjoy Vegas! Don't hesitate, don't postpone, just go. Check it off your bucket list!

Fenway Park: Boston 2011

2011-05-10T14:37:00.001+02:00

My visit to Boston would not be complete if I did not walk around Fenway Park. Most people outside the US have no idea what Fenway Park is or how important it is. Until you visit or see a professional game of Baseball it will always be an question mark. The game is actually lots of fun. The crowd really gets into it plus America’s history is relatively short in comparison to Europe, hence sport plays a much bigger role.

Fenway Park is the home of the Boston Red Sox. It is called Fenway because Red Sox owner John I. Taylor said, "It's in the Fenway section of Boston, isn't it? Then call it Fenway Park." It was also Taylor who changed the club's name from Americans to Red Sox prior to the 1908 season. I went there in the Winter and it was strange to see the pitch in snow, but still interesting. You this is a historic monument, which is about to be considered National Heritage (and hence will be never allowed to be taken down) as it is the oldest Baseball park in the US with its first game on the 20th of April 1912. It goes so far back that this park as seen how Boston changed in the last 100 years.

Walking through the park it is clear the amount of passion that the city has for the game, the team and of course the rivalry with the New York Yankees (most famous rivalry North American professional sports).

WhatsApp ?

2011-05-09T13:06:00.001+02:00

What makes WhatsApp so special? Just like the Angry Bird phenomena, now there is WhatsApp... thousands of people download and use something blindly. This must be one of the most efficient marketing strategies ever. First year it is for free then you pay 2 dollars per year...and still people like it (including myself)! Well it turns out that there more than 1 million people already using the program...Will people stop using it? NO, just because they want to stay connected, fear of being along or not popular scares the vast majority of the world. Next Year WhatsApp makes 2 million out of the box! (not bad for “simple” app).

Couple a instant messaging service to a mobile phone number and allow people to send video, geographic position, text, pictures, recordings...for free.

If you read this you may think there are so many other services which have the same... but none of them couple the account to a mobile number, around the world (not just the US)! The secret here was you can find someone based on their phone number instead of their email! And since you already have your friends phone number on your phone… it is just easy to find people.
This makes Whatapp special they probably have the fastest growing best cross platform mobile phone directory in the planet!

How did they do it? Word of mouth? It is a phenomena takes off, and EVERYONE needs it... Human nature at its very best, if my friend has something, I also need it!

But how do these things grow? Tweeter? Angry Birds? YouTube? gmail? Google? Facebook? Blogger? Skype? iPhone? iPad?LinkedIn? DropBox? Flicker?

Technically there are always just as good or better (even cheaper) products/websites and still this is not enough, people need to feel part of something and therefore chose what their friends have. So what do these things have in common?
- Timing?
- Great network?
- Effective Marketing?
- Creative/Innovative Idea?
- Started in the US?
- Makes you feel good? Or part of something!

- Get Connected with others?
- Topic that you can talk about anywhere? to anyone?

Alice Springs 2011

2011-02-27T10:10:00.001+01:00

The last stop of our trip in Australia was Alice Springs. Clearly the idea was to go and see Uluru. I must say it was impressive from so many perspectives: the 3 day tour, hiking in the outback, meeting amazing people, watching the sun at behind Uluru with Champagne, sleeping under the stars and learning more about the local culture.

We had a 3 day tour organized buy Emu Tours which was very nice. Everything was organized for us from food to lodging to sight seeing. We travelled with a great group of people who made the trip worth while. Most people come to Alice Spring to see Uluru, and yes it is impressive but that part of the world has much more to offer than just walking around the great rock (9km). We had the chance to get a bit more information about how the Aborigine survived and how their stories actually explain how nature in a very simplistic way. They clearly survived in one of hardest environments known to man kind but on the other hand they depend so strongly on the land and once this balanced is disrupted ever so slightly they find themselves at a lost. Which is very clear to anyone who visits Australia.

Part of the 3 day tour around the centre of Australia included camping and sleeping under the starts… which in one word is breathtaking. Most people who live in big cities forget how beautiful it can be to just watch the starts.

Alice Springs was really worth while as we got to see kangaroos in the wild but for me the most attractive hike that I have ever done: Kings Canyon. I would say that it on a par with the Grand Canyon.

Cairns 2011

2011-01-15T03:23:00.001+01:00

Cairns is one of the party cities on the east coast of Australia but better known as the gateway to the great barrier reef as it proud to be the second biggest diving centre of the world.

Cairns was lucky to have missed the flooding. We have met several people blocked or seriously in trouble because of this tragedy that has heavily hit the Queensland. The floods cover an area larger than France and Germany put together! We were very lucky to avoid the floods our whole trip, as at each stop we encountered several backpackers who had to change their plans due to mother natures wrath!

Sponsored activities in Cairns range from scuba diving to sky diving to hang gliding. Actually it is not and easy task to find your way through the maze of offers that are available everywhere. We decided to try scuba diving, a 1 day introduction course on the reef. Jay, our tall blond hunk of muscle trainer, taught us how to use the equipment and going down to 10 meters! What can I say… a dream had come true! Swimming on the reef, all along the coral coast and discovering the pleasure of diving surrounded by thousands of colourful fish reflecting the brightness of the sun light unrevealed one of natures best kept secrets. After listening to Jays stories and his lifestyle, living around the world, one and only one question popped up in my mind … why had I waited for so long to try diving?!

The last two days we decided to rent a car (for 35 bucks per day) and to spend one day to visit the Rainfall forest Habitat Park at north of Cairns and the following one to make a tour of the Waterfalls at south. In the Rainfall Forest Habitat, just outside Port Douglas, we finally got to see the native Australian wildife, including koalas, kangaroos and wallaby.

There are several waterfalls near Cairns. Eventually we followed Nicoles (from our hostel) suggestion: Josephine Falls and Milla Milla. The Josephine Falls was a revelation to us as we had found were locals spent their summer!! With its natural slide (the algae on the rocks made it perfect to slide down) and cold fresh water this was heaven on earth to escape the overwhelming heat of the Australian Summer. After a swim we decided to drive for another 100km heading towards to the Milla Milla Falls. On the way we went passed rainforests, mountains, hills, lookout points and several little waterfalls. We got to the Milla Milla Falls late so we decided to have a “quick” cup of coffee at the local Bed and Breakfast where we met Sandy, John and Wilma. We quickly engaged in a friendly conversation and were eventually invited to have dinner with them. The tones of our conversation spread from the most light and funny to the serious ones. Namely we have to thank Wilma, John and Sandy for the sincere close up on the Aborigines lifestyle. Already in Cairns we got the feeling that these people were ghostly presences in an environment not really fitting their inner nature. Our new friends confirmed this awkwardness by tracing up forty years and more of racial harassment, cultural uprooting and attempts to integrate them in the white established modern society. After six hours of laughs and stories we decided to head back to Cairns. I would like to thank John, Sandy and Wilma for perhaps the best night of our stay in Australia, illustrating the true friendliness of the Ozzie culture. Thank you:)

For those of you who are interested in visiting Cairns, I strongly recommend our hostel, the Calypso backpackers. It was definitely a good choice: 50 bucks for a double bed room. Perhaps not the cheapest but staying there was a pleasure: nice decoration giving it a Caribbean style, amazing music selection and a management always available and smiley, in typical Ozzie style.Though internet was accessible under payment, our transports to the city centre and the airport was for free…very good point!

Fraser Island 2011

2011-01-10T01:55:00.003+01:00

After reading about the largest sand island in the world in National Geographic we decided to go and see it. It is located on the East Coast of Australia, between Cairns and Brisbane.

This island is made up of 98% sand and 2% rock with dingos (wild dogs) and is particularly interesting as its sub tropical climate is unique. Most oasis there are only a few palms around the water, here on this sandy island there is a true rain forest which flourishes with flora and fauna of all shapes and sizes.

The journey itself is great as there are bumpy dirt roads that one goes on in jeeps to discover the most interesting areas of the island like lake McKenzie (apparently the bluest lake in the world), ship wreck and of course the 75 mile beach about 90 km beach where 4WD drive up and down.

The history of the island is really interesting from Aborigine, to the naming of the island, to the timber and wood exploration but the highlight for me was Wobbi beach, a lake which will disappear in about 80 years, as it lies between about a 60% incline sand dune and tree/rain forest. It is a sight! To get there one needs to track through jungle and breathtaking desert like dunes but it really is worth it. This is a close as I have ever been to a true oasis.

Thank you National Geographic, the pictures/description in that article that triggered me to go there was definitely worth it! Two days in nothing short of paradise on earth.
Here is National Geographics article: Sands of Time

Fiji 2010

2011-01-09T12:37:00.001+01:00

As soon as you land in Nadi, the capital of Fiji, you need to give up your concept of time as you officially enter into the “Its Fiji Time zone”.

Our first encounter with the Fiji Time concept, was before the disarming and bright smile of our 2 hour late driver who simply apologized with a innocent shrug of his shoulders and exclaimed: “Sorry Sir, Its Fiji Time”. Along the week this expression became more of a life style to us.

Our stay in Fiji started with a very special Xmas present: two days in an Hilton Resort in Nadi. Well, not really “backpackers style” but we wanted to just pamper ourselves: swimming in the pool, lying in the sun, walking on the beach and of course our well deserved fruit cocktails.

Leaving the Hilton a truly artificial paradise was hard but we were ready for our backpackers trip to begin. We choose to spend the last four days of our week in Fiji in one of the more 300 islands that make up the archipelago... a true dilemma if you consider that in the brochures all of them looked gorgeous! Eventually our choice fell on the Yasawa Islands, a crown of little spots of land in the north west side of Nadi. Our destination: The Long Beach Resort.

Five hours on a ferry boat and 260 Fiji dollars (€110) later an amazing blue lagoon unfolded before us. We were welcomed by a thrilling “bula”(cheers in the local language) from our host family which made us feel at home.

Life in the resort was simple: for 75 Fijian dollars 35€/per person we got three hot meals per day served after the loud calling of drum's. We slept in mosquito protected dorms with our own private beach. Activities like snorkelling, fishing, coconut lessons, kayaking, fire dancing and beach sports were all available. The added value of stay was given by meeting a multitude of people that alone or in group decided to give up everything just to start travelling around the world. Most of them get an island pass and hop from one island to another as such every night we had different guests. Our meal times were filled with stories from other islands and the past lifestyle of the travellers. We met a wide variety of people from the British designers who created their own font, to the pHd chemical engineers, to the simple bar tenders, to the marketing directors, to the Swedish twins, to the German working travellers. You can imagine that meals were never disappointing as their reality could not be further away from steady jobs, stability as you and I know, the family life, or paid holidays.

To be honest once you travel enough, meeting interesting people is part of the journey but what makes travelling truly special is to understand the local culture and lifestyle. We took the time to talk to Melinea, a young single lady who worked at the resort. She explained how the Fijian lifestyle has changed over the years. It all started when the missionaries came and introduced religion, the concept of clothes and the different food. She was disappointed as her culture, the ways of her fathers as she referred to, was slowly changing. She explained that before there was no need for clothes and the desire for more or money did not exist, the island provided everything. The tree of life (coconut tree), the fish, the sweet potato and fruit is all they really needed. Their island ruled by one big family, which she referred to as the clan, actually does not follow the main land rules/laws and have their own system. Land and family is all that is sacred. Respect the land and you will happy. Their happiness is simple, what is mine is yours and what is yours is mine. Family provides for each other, the clan looks after each other. The concept of war, anger, vengeance, laziness, or any of the other deadly sins did not exist. It was the missionaries who introduced these concepts. Even though this is sad she understands the need for change, but is reluctant to accept it. An Italian entrepreneur has taken over a resort on another island she said this a sign of change for her and her family. During our stay we were invited to play volleyball with the rest of the local family, we were taught how to fish by Noah, teaching us the way of his ancestors, Manu, the cook, showed us how to prepare the fish we caught, with the sweet potatoes from the land, Ruben showed us how the tree of life provided everything and fun can be simply playing flicky flicky at night were laughter is the trump. Take a second and think about it, what more do you really need to be happy? This life style is the living proof of this.

Sydney 2010

2011-01-06T10:31:00.001+01:00

Following the amazing Dubai, landing in Sydney is a world apart. As soon as you arrive in Sydney you are welcomed by the easy and outgoing nature of this nation. Once through customs a warm and humid air along with everyone in flip flops, colourful shirts reminds you of one thing alone: Summer!

Even thought the city is expensive the nice feeling you get when talking to people make up for that. Their double decked metro takes you straight into the city centre, where life is good. Indeed we were lucky as at the airport some Nordic tourists ready to leave gave us their still valid metro tickets. We saved 119 dollars, not bad to start our journey in Australia! After a tasty coffee and a nice chit chat with a very friendly waiter we were ready to discover Sydney on foot. The starting point for most tourists is the Rocks. Once the roughest part of the city as it was the main landing point for Convicts from the UK, now this part of the city is turned into the heart of Sydney Harbour particularly famous for its cafes, museums, restaurants and shops engraved in a maze of narrow streets. Circular Quay in my opinion is the best place to be! Picture this: the shining Sydney Bridge on your left and the modern Sydney Opera House on your right, the sun reflected on the harbour with the faint sound of snap happy tourists and children laughing and playing in the near by park.

To capture the essence of the city waking up and to get a different perspective of the lifestyle that Sydney has to offer, we went for a morning jog along the harbour wharfs through the Marina, under the Sydney Bridge around the city. This city can only be described as overwhelming.

The Hyde Park Barracks Museum now considered a World Heritage is a great place to see how Sydney came to be the city that we know today. Its history is relatively recent and tough, often haunted by human pain. In a nutshell here is how modern Australia was born: being a British colony, Ozzie land was used for storing convicts for which the UK had no longer any space for. The advantage for the British was to free the prisons and to use cheap labour to build the infra-structures that still exist today. The Hyde Park Barracks was the main sleeping/working quarters for these convicts in Sydney. Later on the Barracks hosted Irish orphans (mainly female) as Ireland was struck by several bad years of agriculture. This helped boost the Australian population which had become predominately male. Not that different that from what happened on the Eastern Coast of the US.

Knowing this it becomes very clear why personally I think that today Sydney is very similar to New York in many aspects: the modern architectural style and the dominant multicultural diversity go along with the friendliness and the energy you feel when walking down town. And then again the TV channels, the concept of distance, the European emigration patterns, the currency and the pursuit of a good life style… all of this reminds me of a young New York.

Gareth