Amazing trip

Go Climbing, Kinabalu

2011-12-09T10:50:00.001+07:00

Kinabalu Park

Kinabalu Park, in the State of Sabah on the northern end of the island of Borneo, is dominated by Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. It has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations. It has been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia and is exceptionally rich in species with examples of flora from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malaysia, as well as pan-tropical flora. Mt Kinabalu (4095m) is the tallest mountain in South-East Asia and is situated in the Kinabalu National Park in the province of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. Thousands of tourists visit Kinabalu National Park each year and most come with the intention of climbing Mt Kinabalu. The mountain and its surroundings feature a huge variety of flora, and is one of the world's most important biological sites. Fortunately, Mt Kinabalu is one of the easiest peaks in the world to conquer. It takes just two days and climbers don't need any previous experience at mountain climbing. At sunrise, the views from the Mt Kinabalu's summit at Low's Peak are spectacular, making all the effort worthwhile. Most climbers take two days to ascend and descend Mt Kinabalu. The eight-kilometre climb generally starts from the the Timpohon Gate near park headquarters (1800m), with an overnight stay at one of the guest houses at Laban Rata (3273m), before pushing on to the summit early next morning. Mt Kinabalu's summit is usually reached in time to view the sunrise, before returning to Laban Rata for breakfast. Climbers then descend the mountain, generally reaching the park headquarters by mid-afternoon.

2011-12-04T15:26:00.001+07:00

Halong bay

Located in the North East of Vietnam in Quang Ninh province, Halong bay with its clear emerald waters and 1969 limestone and schist islands that come in all shapes and sizes is a spectacular creation of nature. The bay deserves its title as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site and is a must-visit to all tourists.

History of its name Like many other locations in Vietnam, Ha Long bay’s geography and name is connected to ancient legends. In Sino-Vietnamese, Ha is to lower and Long is dragon – Ha Long describes a dragon descending to land on earth. The Vietnamese people have always believed in their connection to dragons – legends tell that the ancestors of all Vietnamese are in fact Lac Long Quan (a dragon god from the ocean) and Au Co ( a beautiful mountain goddess). Halong legend tells that many centuries ago, the Vietnamese were attacked by vicious foreigners and had to fight back to protect their country. A mother dragon and her children were sent down to help the people in this ocean area. The dragons spit out pearls from their mouth, which formed into islands and created a defense system that helped the Vietnamese win. Culture and History Most of Halong bay’s local inhabitants live on fishing. There are currently 4 fishing villages within the World Heritage Protected area, with around 1600 inhabitants who live on floating houses and boats. Ha Long was also home to many ancient Vietnamese people and different ethnic groups. Archeological evidence is present showing the lives of the Soi Nhu culture (16000 – 5000 BCE), Cái Bèo culture (5000-3000BCE) and Halong culture (2500-1500 BCE) Biodiversity Halong bay area has rich biodiversity, with 2 main ecosystems: tropical moist evergreen rainforest ecosystem and marine and coastal ecosystem with 7 endemic species.

Credits Photo by anaru Creative Commons license

BALI - THE ULTIMATE ISLAND

2011-09-21T23:19:00.000+07:00

BALI — THE "ULTIMATE ISLAND" <

In spite of many changes caused by the rapid development of Bali's economy, local and international tourism, and communications (television, fax, pagers, GSM hand phones, Internet), the influx of people from other Indonesian islands, and the strong influence of the government and "big business" in Jakarta, the island of Bali in Indonesia is year after year voted by the readers of all major travel magazines the most enchanting travel and holiday destination in the whole world. Bali's wide variety of attractions, the physical beauty of the island, and the year-round pleasant climate make Bali a place regarded by many visitors as the "Ultimate Island". The friendly people and the absence of any serious criminal activities guarantee visitors a totally relaxing stay – which is a very pleasant surprise for guests who repeatedly felt threatened in Barbados, Jamaica, and other "dream islands" in the Caribbean. The rapid growth of development in tourism has had a big impact and influences to Bali tradition and lifestyle. Interestingly, Balinese culture is still as what it was, growing along with the of globalization. It is the Balinese civilization what makes the island different from other destination. Geography Among 17,500 islands across the Indonesian archipelago, Bali is one of the 33 provinces of the Republic of Indonesia... Climate With sunshine shining throughout the year, Bali has a tropical monsoon climate, with pleasant day temperatures between 20 to 33 degrees Celsius... Topography The province of Bali is divided into nine regencies (eight regencies and one municipality) with its own capital... Flora & Fauna Just like common tropical islands, in Bali you will find a wide variety of plants by surprise. Huge banyan trees are everywhere in the villages... People & Life Style Bali’s population of over 3,000,000 souls spread over the whole island, including those in the smaller islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan... How to get to Bali With the increasing number of direct flight to Bali from some other parts of the world, it makes it easier to go to Bali... Economic As the most populous area of the island the southern part Bali is where most jobs are to be found, mostly in the hotel or tourist industry... Local Transportation Because of the size of the island, it is not difficult to get around Bali by various modes of transportation. The traditional types of transportation... History Bali has a long chain of history from the ice-age era (pre-historic time) to modern, global civilization era. With a dynamic characteristic indicating...

Vang Vieng, Laos

2009-11-23T21:01:00.001+07:00

Vang Vieng : Once no more than a bus changing station on the long haul between Vientiane at the Thai border and the World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, it has managed to become a destination in its own right. Still not much more than three streets and a bus station, the main attractions are the river, laid back countryside and cave-filled rock formations. And to anyone who's been travelling anywhere is South East Asia, you've no doubt heard about "Tubing," an activity that dominates the town and it's visitors. Originally opened up by hedonistic backpackers, the city's predominant ambiance is one of lethargy by day and debauchery by night: tourists sprawl out in the pillow-filled restaurants, termed "TV Bars," watching re-runs of Friends and Family Guy episodes until the sun goes down, and then party heavily until the early hours. Nevertheless, there is a growing number of more sedate foreign sightseers.

Get in
Vang Vieng is on Highway #13 between Vientiane and Luang Prabang - by bus (road and bus conditions permitting) about 6-8 hours from Luang Prabang, around 3-4 hours from Vientiane. From the bus station beside the market, buses leave hourly in the morning and early afternoon to Vang Vieng and cost 30,000 kip. The last one leaves at 3pm. A minibus leaves at 09:00 and costs US$5. The tourist bus and minibus to Luang Prabang costs 90,000 kip and 105,000 kip (Jan 2009) respectively. Tickets can be purchased at almost every guesthouse.

Get around
From the bus station:
Tourist buses will drop you off either at the old airstrip (from the Vietnam war, it's now just a giant gravel pad) or in front of a hotel on the main street in town. The airstrip is directly behind the main street, so in either case there is no need to take a tuk tuk or cyclo if you plan to stay in the main area of town. The island and bungalows along the river are about a 10 minute walk away.

Around town:
Vang Vieng is so small that everything is easily reachable by foot. If you want to venture outside of town, bicycles are widely available and can be rented from hotels or local businesses. You should not have to pay over 10,000 kip for a day's rental. For the more adventurous, motorcycle rentals are also widely available. It's quite easy to rent a motorcycle from a local business for only 30,000 kip for the entire day. Hotels will tend to charge 40,000.
Several tuk tuks are also scattered around town. $1 USD per person will be plenty to get to anywhere within Vang Vieng, and about $3 USD per person to reach more remote sites.

Tubing down the river, no booking needed (go to the bank and walk towards the river, the villagers have two companies in cartel alternating the service approx 100 meter from the river). From around 9:00 to 13:00 is reasonable to go because the sun hides behind the mountains around 15:00 and it gets very cold on the river. Look at the magnificent view of the mountains rising directly beside the river. Many beer and other pit stops along the way. Also, try the diving stop and the swing. Some dry bags may not be of the best quality, often digital cameras get ruined by faulty dry bags rented to tourists, so beware and if in doubt, don't bring your camera. Tubes have to be back by six pm to get the deposit back, and in winter it gets a bit cold from 4pm, so start early to make the most of drinking your way down the river. Ride at least one rapid before starting the party to avoid disturbing guests visiting the Organic Farm. Some westerners has the job of promoting bars. The party scene has taken over and the owners use humongous loudspeakers, effectively blocking out any singing of birds. Beware of tubes getting stolen while stopping at bars, you may lose your deposit and the ride down. 55.000kip + 60,000 kip deposit, Dry bag 20,000. (18.9333,102.4500)

Tham Poukham - Blue Lagoon, (7 km west from town, maps provided where you can rent bicycles). 8:00-18:00. A spring fed lagoon at the bottom of "Golden Cave". Nice place to relax, swim and play on the rope swing. The waters are inhabitated with a few hundred carp fish that will eat locally sold fish food right out of your hand. The cave above requires a modest 100m hike up a make shift bamboo ladder. Once inside, there is a short walk to the Sleeping Golden Buhdda and glimmering stalactites about 300m further inside. 10,000 kip.Lao-style steam sauna.

Kayaking the river. This covers the same part of the river as tubing (and a more untouched part further upriver).

Movies and the TV-series Friends is shown at many restaurants and seem to be very popular with the younger party crowd.

Playing on the very high swings over the river and sliding on a slide. Please be careful - perforated eardrums, broken ribs and permanent hearing damage are common injuries resulting from going the wrong way and also foot injuries hitting rocks and consequently also death when going head first or falling off platforms when drunk. The local hospital is not equipped to diagnose or treat these serious injuries - Vientiane has the closest (if spartan) ENT facility but no English speaking specialists, so you may have to head all the way to Bangkok for treatment. You might have to rely on other tourist for rescue.

3km north of Vang Vieng, close to where the main tubing run commences, there's an organic farm. It is noise free until about 11:00 and again when the last revelers go back to town at about 18:00. The organic farm has dormitory, budget and more luxurious rooms for rent. They teach the village kids, build mud brick buildings, learn/teach farming, eat organic food and go to sleep at 22:00.

Internet. The local internet cartel charges $US2 an hour for internet, however, the bandwidth is very good for Laos and they encourage customers to use it! (meaning downloading mp3's and the such).

Rock climbing. There are excellent walls to everyone from first timers to pros. The day trips (includes guide, all gear, lunch, transport etc.) starts from 20USD. Contact Adam (tel : 856 205010832 email : stclimber@yahoo.com) or visit by the shop at the northern end of the main street.

Hill and Cave trek, (Cross a footbridge over the river, follow the signs and white flags (garbage bags) on sticks through the field). Across the river a 1.5km path marked by white flags cuts through the fields towards the limestone mountains. The smallest hill has very rickety ladders (read: dangerous) to aid in climbing to the top. Halfway up the mountain is a cave. Another 1km along the path past the mountain goes through a small forest and arrives at a cave. A few sleepy Laotians guard the cave's entrance and a hand painted sign says that guides are mandatory. It costs extra to go to the lagoon in the cave, and the guides will let you know that "tipping extra is ok". 10,000 kip for the hill, 15,000 kip for the cave, 30,000 to go to the cave lagoon.

Ref : http://wikitravel.org/en/Vang_Vieng

Picture by : laosvisitorsguide.com