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In short : The itinerary

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:06:00 +0000

We have mostly stuck to the list of countries that we had put together before our departure. The main addition was the duo Palestine-Israel. We had also not included the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) and Borneo (Malaysia) in the list. Even if our budget took a severe hit, both places proved worth the trip. We removed Tasmania (Australia) since we heard it is quite close to New Zealand.

Except in South America, where we had a rather precise travel plan, we had decided what to visit next as we moved on.

See our itinerary in a larger map

We spent an average of 3 weeks in each country. But in reality, our stay in some of them did not exceed 3 days (i.e. Singapore) whereas in other nations, such as India, we spent 45 days to cover only part of the North.

If we had to do it all over again, surely we would spend a bit less time in Southest Asia and Australia (expensive and a little overrated), and we would skip Thailand (too touristy). But overall, we think that our itinerary was quite balanced : we neither got bored nor had the feeling to be rushing after time.

Many people asked us whether at some point we felt like chilling for a while in a place. Truth is we have not felt the need. The closest that we got to sedentary life are the week that we spent in Sidney (Australia) and Sucre (Bolivia). We took profit of those pretty places to do a ‘technical’ scale to organize the following stages of the trip, update the blog, get our clothes cleaned and, of course, get some rest. But each time, after a few days, the appeal of new horizons was too strong to be ignored. However, we met travelers who stopped for weeks, or that even settled definitively in one of the places they had loved during their trips.

Karim

Next post : In short : The transportations.

We have come full circle

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:54:00 +0000

48 hours after leaving Jordan and having set foot on 3 continents I became aware that the trip was over while dropping my bags at my parents home in Casablanca.

Over the following days, I started realizing that we had been dreaming with our eyes open for a year. More than the unforgettable sceneries we have seen, more than the wonderful encounters we made and more than the yummy delights that still make our mouth water, the most beautiful thing we have experienced is Freedom. Yearlong, we have enjoyed this feeling that was unknown to us before this long-haul journey.

We were happy to see our family and friends once again, even if I was not that keen on taking our flight back home. Not that I wanted to run away from anything but I felt good in this nomadic lifestyle where you see, learn and do something new every day. It would have been great if we could have taken a one month break and then sailed away for new horizons.

Once back home, it took us a while to loose some habits, like checking every 5 minutes our pockets to see if our passports were still there or jay-walking on busy wide streets. Several times a week, when the weather is cooperating, we go for little walks and, like tourists, we shoot anything that is moving. Thanks to the cosmopolitanism of Paris, you get easily a change-of-scenery fix for a Metro fare or a Velib’ ride : have lunch at a cheap Pakistani eatery in “Strasbourg-Saint Denis”, remember the middle-east while cruising “rue des Rosiers” where fresh falafels are fried or feel stuffed after a “Pho Spécial” in XIII° District.

Arriving in Paris on Friday to resume work on Monday made us dive immediately with both feet in the daily routine. It was not easy: we had forgotten what it was like to remain seated all day long, to be pushed around by the crowd in the subway, to be pressured by hyper-consumerism or to feel sick when hearing French politicians.

But thanks to our well-oiled society, we were very quickly back to business. Like everybody, you start dreaming about the next week-end on Monday morning. In spite of all this, the trip charged me up with positive energy and gave me this sweet sensation of being now on top of things.

Today, the question is not whether we will be doing this type of trip again but rather when we will be doing it again.

Karim

The places visited in the Middle-East

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:26:00 +0000

View our itinerary in a larger map

Photos : Jordan

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:23:00 +0000

Click on the picture below to see some shots of our trip in Jordan :

Jordan

The Holy Land : to the Est of the Jordan river.

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Back in Jordan, we started our visit with Amman. Taking each individual building separately one would hardly call it a beautiful town, but the fact that they spread across several hills and they have a homogeneous coloring adds a certain charm to the whole. A few Roman remains, dating from a time when the place was known as Philadelphia, also embellish it.

It is the kind of town that I love visiting. Walking around downtown we passed in front of a mosque where day labourers waited, tools in hand, for an employer to show up. We walked next to fresh and dry fruit stalls, herbalist's, bakeries, coffee mills, butcher's shops, barber's. In a side street we found a shop selling sexy underwear, while a bit further another one sold traditional clothes and kefis. Between the tiny perfume and lottery stalls, we stopped for a freshly squeezed juice in a refreshment shop and then went to eat some falafel and humus at 'Hachem’s',a no-frills restaurant that is so famous that it has become a landmark within the capital.

We moved then south to Aqaba, by the Red Sea, for a last dive before returning home. I must say that both the fauna and the temperature did not measure up to the Komodo National Park in Indonesia. The worst was that there were enough plastic cups and plates on the sea bottom to serve diner to a full army. We enjoyed better the night life. As soon as the sun set and the heat became tolerable, everybody headed for the beach : to bathe, to smoke on water pipes, to ride a camel or, in the case of a group of guys from Oman, to dance to the rhythm of popular music, dressed in traditional clothes up to their sabers.

We also did a little incursion into the Wadi Rum desert, an amazing landscape that hosted Lawrence of Arabia and where one of the Indiana Jones films was shot. The place is really beautiful and the experience is worth it, even when the calm night under the stars we were expecting turned into a big noisy event. As it happened, it was the week-end and the camp had organized a big party that draw plenty of people from the capital. They wished certainly to experience the beauty of the desert, but overall they seemed interested in the dance and the food.

The party followed us to Petra, where we spent a couple of days walking around the remains of the Nabatean capital. It is easy to imagine, while walking around the historical site, how magnificent it must have been before being devastated by a couple of earthquakes and abandoned by all except a few Bedouins. The nights were differently filled, among the music of nearby weddings and the muezzins' calls to prayer, surely not wanting to be less that their Indonesian colleagues, showed enviable energy at such an early hour.

We spent the last two days in Madaba, conveniently situated between Amman airport and the Dead Sea. Madaba is Jordan's Christian town and has a few old mosaics and Byzantine churches, plus weddings as noisy as in Petra.

It is a really funny experience to swim in the Dead Sea. You feel as if you were made of wood : you can not sink even when you try to. Better this way, since the water is so salty that a single drop in your eyes stings really bad. And if by any chance it touches your lips you think you are drinking battery liquid. To make the most of it, I wrapped-up myself in Red Sea clay, which is supposed to have a few beneficial properties and make your skin baby-smooth.

So, at the end, even if we chose to include Jordan in our itinerary only because it was convenient stop-over between Southeast Asia and London, it has revealed to be a great decision. It has been one of the highlights of our trip, and a very good way to finish it : already tasting a bit of home and Mediterranean summer but still quite different.

It has been a long return journey. First a stop in London where we had the chance to see Neil and Natasa, friends that date back to the time we were living in Strasbourg. A second stop in Marrakesh, enough time to wave hello to the Koutoubia and we are now and finally on board of the train that will drop us in Casablanca.

Bea.

Photos : Israël and Palestine

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Click on the picture below to see some pictures of our trip in Isrraël and Palestine :

Israel - Palestine

The Holy Land : to the west of the Jordan river

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:18:00 +0000

Step by step, we reached the last stop of our trip. We can hardly believe that almost a year has passed since we left Paris, happy to have the chance to roam freely around the world ! We have certainly missed our friends and family and we long to see them, but the truth is that we would not mind leaving again to follow a different itinerary, after taking a little break for a month. Far from helping us get over the travel fever, this journey has increased our thirst for it.

Since Jerusalem is quite close to Amman and one of Karim's cousins lives in the outskirts of Tel-Aviv, we decided to split the 15 days left among Palestine, Israel and Jordan. Getting to our destination in Israel across the Jordan river and the West-Bank took us a full day. The trip involved several steps, as well as a rather long and tedious border crossing to Israeli. The process which is usually rather tiresome, was extra-long for Karim due to his Arab name, his Moroccan nationality and maybe his beard.

Israel is a multicultural nation, thanks to all the Jews that have come from all around the world. It is a developed country with good health and public transport systems and everything is quite expensive, with prices close to those of West European countries. As for the cities, while walking the back streets of Tel-Aviv, we had the felt to be somewhere in Spain or Morocco.

But in spite of the variety of the immigration, Israel still looks like many other countries in the area. Most basic restaurants serve the same kind of food as in the surrounding countries : hummus, eggplant paste, salads, olives, veggies marinated in vinegar, falafel, kebab and skewers (of course, in kosher version). Market stalls are packed with fresh produce such as tomatoes, eggplants, prickly pears, figs, peaches, raisins, dates and enormous watermelons.

In the street, we crossed many people able to speak Spanish, French, English, Russian and many other languages. On the other hand, most of the written stuff, including menus in most restaurants, is written only in Hebrew characters (looked like Chinese for me). In the streets, we came across a lot of Orthodox Jews in traditional clothes (that I find original, but not the prettiest in the world). There are also a lot of youngsters doing their military service. At the beginning, it was almost fun to see so many boys and girls, younger than my nephews, walking with rifles while shopping around. But after a couple of days it started to be irritating to see weapons everywhere and to have to go through a metal detector each time you are entering a public building, either a mall or a bus station.

Tel-Aviv offered the sight of a white sand beach and the charming little town of Jaffa. Karim's cousin, her family and neighbors were so welcoming and fed us with so much couscous, tajines and other delights that in just a few days, we put on back part of the weight we have lost during our journey. Through their anecdotes, we learnt many things about the life in this part of the world.

In Jerusalem, I felt that every single stone has some historical meaning and is venerated and coveted by the three big monotheist religions as well as by their many subdivisions : the Wailing Wall, the Holy Sepulcher, the Via Dolorosa, etc. It is a pretty town, well preserved, full of little streets, full of shops that reflect all the business around religion : you can buy crucifixes, crosses, Fatima eyes or hands, David stars and many other religious trinkets or anything with the smallest oriental flair. West Jerusalem is jewish, including a full Orthodox neighborhood where everybody dresses in black and white. East Jerusalem is Palestinian.

To get to the Mount of Olives and enjoy the panoramic views over the old city, we changed from the 'Jewish' bus to the 'Arab' one. We did not understand why some people riding the first one made a fuss about the dangers of going up there. In our case, we felt exactly like anywhere else in town. Maybe the place where we seemed less welcomed was the Orthodox neighborhood, since the inhabitants are fed up with tourists cruising around and taking pictures of them. It is true that their dress code is so photogenic that you would love to flash your camera around continuously.

We did not visit a lot of Palestine, since the time was short. We spent just some time in East-Jerusalem and we crossed the West-Bank on our way out to Jordan. From the little experience we got, Palestinians have more patience than the Saint Job, waiting for hours at check points, enduring the military presence in their territories and a foreign government imposing on them whatever he feels like.

Of course, we can not pretend to understand the complexities of the area, as we stayed there just for 6 days. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to visit it and see by myself these places that are mentioned so often in the news since I was a baby. I hope to go back there one day to visit more Israel, spend some time in Palestine and also in the neighboring countries.

Bea.

The places visited in Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:39:00 +0000

View our itinerary in a larger map

Photos : Indonesia : Bali, Komodo, Flores

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:28:00 +0000

Click on the picture below to see some pictures of the second leg of our trip in Indonesia

Indonesia : Bali, Komodo, Flores

Indonesia : Flores & Bali

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:02:00 +0000

We happily left Sanur, since it was geared toward Ozzies in their mid 50s looking for a cheaper version of the Gold Coast without crocodiles and stingers.

Landing at Labuanbajo, our base for a week in Flores, we were greeted by goats and chickens patrolling the main street. Even if the city lacks some charm, the people are nice and the setting gorgeous. Nested on the side of a mountain, the town opens-up on a beautiful bay with hundreds islands. Watching the sunset from the balcony of our room was almost a daily activity.

We primarily visited this area for the Komodo National Park, famous for its dragons and its marine life. The dives we did there where the best of our underwater life, out-ranking Sipadan or the great coral reef. But the area is far from being a play ground for the beginners : the current is strong and sometimes it might even give you the impression to be stuck inside a washing machine. It was the first time that I saw my bubbles, instead of rising up to the surface, going horizontally before dropping down. Even the Napoleons, usually looking very «phlegmatic», were struggling with their buoyancy. But still, it was better than diving in an aquarium : we saw a constant parade of sharks, turtles, eagle-rays, tuna and barracudas. The best was the manta ray that went back and forth, fashion-show-style, in front of our wide open eyes.

The varans were also easy to spot. They were in the shade at the entrance of the national park, although not really waiting for us, but rather because the smell of what was cooking in the rangers hut attracted them. They reminded us of their far-cousins the Galapagos iguanas, except that you have to be careful approaching them as their length reaches 3 meters and their bite is venomous. It will take 15 days for a buffalo to die from it, and the dragon will follow him all that time.

We left Labuanbajo, wishing we would have stayed longer in Flores. Initially, we were thinking about using buses and boats to go back to Bali but when we learned that it might take 3 days and remembering our journey out of Java (see the previous post), we decided to take a flight that shortened the trip to 1 hour. Even if nearly all the domestic airlines are black-listed, it sounded as the best option.

During my high-school years, the body-board was quite popular. From time to time, we went to spots around Casablanca trying to rid some waves. At the end of the session, we used to seat on the beach talking about the day waves and the moves each one supposedly did, while looking at surf magazines. The most beautiful shots we often came across were taken in Bali. Since then I wanted to visit this place. For a long time, I thought it was an Australian or an American city, as most of the surfers were blond with a western type. I felt ashamed when I learned that it was an island in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, Bali was far from what I had in my imagination. The traffic and the concrete is heavily spread across the southern part of the island. The inefficiency of the public transportation makes you an easy pray for the taxis unless you stick to the «gringo trail». Our answer was to rent a motorbike and for as little as 3.5€/day (after bargaining), we regained our freedom.

After taking advantage of all the cultural activities in Ubud, we left our big backpacks in the hotel and went to explore the island for 8 days. On the east coast, we did some fine diving and snorkeling. Around lake Bratan, we walked in a New Zealand like scenery and back south, we visited the touristy temple of Tanah lot.

We enjoyed this journey through nice scenery and meeting the locals while discovering the unique Balinese Hindu culture. But as the rest of Indonesia, you have often to scrape beneath the surface to be rewarded with the country beauty.

We leave this country with a bitter-sweet taste. Indonesia has some true gems and offers a nice change of scenery. But we did not like all the attempts to rip off the orang-asing (foreigner). Most of the time, the «tourist» price is from 2 to 10 times the local one. Even if you are always greeted with a big smile buying a basic item, such as a banana or bottled water, could be close to arm wrestling.

That closes the south-east Asia chapter of our trip. Unlike South America or India, the magic did not work but we will definitely come back, at least for diving and maybe exploring less touristy areas. We are now flying toward the middle-east, the last stop of our trip, which after 15 days in this region will be just a memory.

Karim

Photos : Indonesia : Java

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:36:00 +0000

Click on the picture below to see some of shots taken in Java :

Indonesia - Java

Indonesia : Java and a bit of Bali.

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:55:00 +0000

We are finally in Indonesia, our last stop in South-Est Asia. Made of 18000 tropical islands with inspiring names such as Java, Sumatra or Bali, the country also includes big chunks of Borneo, Timor and Papua. Looking at it in a world map, sandwiched between the Asian and Australian continents, I always thought of it as a relatively small country. In reality, from one extremity to the other, there is a distance equivalent to the average width of the Atlantic Ocean.

Another curious thing is that it is the country with more Muslims in the World : around 85% of the 230 millions inhabitants follow this faith. To make sure that no believer risks oversleeping and missing the first prayer at dawn, muezzins start shouting their calls to prayer from well before daylight. The rhythm is slightly different from the one heard in Morocco but, curiously, reminds me a lot of Andalusian 'cante hondo'. It is actually quite charming, although I must recognize that most of the muezzins do not have Cat Steven's sense of tune and sometimes the loud speakers deform the voice and you wake up in the middle of the night hearing shadowy sounds that make you wonder whether your hotel is haunted.

As mentioned in our previous post, at 2 AM the day of our depart from Singapore we discovered that our host in Jakarta had a last minute impediment and could not host us anymore. We were lucky though, because as soon as we saw the e-mail, we wrote to the other two people who had accepted our couch-surfing requests in this town and one of them answered us shortly after inviting us once again to come to their place.

Vari and Rangga, our new hosts, are a really nice couple and definitely the best thing that happened to us in the capital. We shared some nice discussions and we went together to watch Tekken in a movie theatre located in a neighbouring mall. It seems that malls are the first choice for entertainment for locals and we understand why : the city is really not that pretty, we spent six hours in the public transport network just to be able to buy a train ticket (in spite that there was a single transfer and it was not even rush-hour) and after three hours raining there was more water running down the streets than in the Mississippi river. After our short stay in this town, that we finally left mostly unvisited, we understand why it is not part of any tourist itinerary.

Yogyakarta, in central Java, improved our perception of the island. The bicycles that the hotel landed us were the perfect mean of transport to move around, since the town is as flat as the banana pancakes they served us at breakfast. But the best is outside town : Borobudur and Prambanan, respectively a Buddhist and a Hindu temples that were built long before the spread of Muslim faith in the area. In my opinion, they are not only the most impressive ancient temples in Indonesia, but in all the countries of South-Est Asia that we have included in our itinerary.

The trip by train to Yogya was long but rather comfortable. What we have lost in comfort during the two days of journey to Bali, we gained in “authenticity”. Specially on the second day, when we travelled in a bus packed with smoking locals, hawkers hopping on and off and that broke down after a few hours on the road (Thanks God the driver managed to revive the beast and we reached Bali with just a few hours delay). As part of the journey, we stopped overnight near Mount Bromo and we woke up at 3 AM to walk the distance up to the Volcano's crater. From this vantage point, you can peep down the fuming crater and enjoy a beautiful sunrise. Groups of noisy Indonesian students add liveliness to the otherwise mystic atmosphere. Travelling in this country we experienced the life of the “rich and famous” : since 1 million of rupiah are 90 euros, each monetary transaction involves a lot of zeroes. Then, we got stopped continuously by young girls or boys, even by families on holiday, who wanted to take a picture with us, the “Foreigners”, to take back home as a souvenir.

We spent our first stay in Bali was a short stopover while waiting our flight to Flores island, in Sanur. As everywhere else in the south of the island, it is a tourist ghetto where Australians, Dutch or Japanese spend their holidays among nice hotels and fancy restaurants that serve dishes at a price well above the country living standard. An option that we do not necessarily despise, but that is not what we look for in this trip. After some investigation, we nevertheless managed to discover a street with a few fare restaurants with local patrons and prices. Using some kind of Indonesish, we got some chicken and tofu bathed in extra-super-hot curry that very proudly ate with the fire-fighting help of rice. To top that, we found a temple that doubles as the village square, where they had installed a giant screen airing the World Cup games. Indonesians love watching soccer (Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Torres are non-national heroes here) and they like even more to bet on the result of each match with their neighbours.

But we will leave the proper discovery of Bali for after our return from Flores. For the moment, we will be spending a week there, diving in the Komodo National Park and having a look at the dragons that inhabit the land.

Bea.

The places visited in Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:33:00 +0000

View our itinerary in a larger map

Photos : Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:22:00 +0000

Click below to see some of our shots of Singapore :

Singapore

Singapore : Durian and skyscrapers

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:07:00 +0000

We finally left Malaysia after enjoying several days in Melaka. We found ourselves again in a city staging a multicultural blend and a colonial architecture but, this time, with a dutch touch. As we are not necessarily too fond of old stones, we spent our stay sampling the spicy hybrid food from the little "Makan" (restaurants). At the Indian from around the corner, we treated ourselves to a Roti Canai : a pancake close to the Moroccan "M'semane" and served with Dal (Lentils Curry). A family Chinese kitchen served us a Laksa : noodles, tofu and sea-food bathing in a very spicy coconut milk and curry gravy. To finish with class, we had a Satay Celup, a DIY thing where you cook various type of skewers in a peanut sauce. Definitely, Melaka tasted real good.

Before heading to Indonesia, we did a stop-over in Singapore where we stayed with Bea, a Spanish girl that we had met at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. She graciously offered to host us on a typical neighborhood of the island with its Kopitiam and its hawker center.

We also spent a nice evening with Timothée, a friend from the university, who took us away from the tourist trail to try a tasty chili-crab, a typical dish. Wearing an apron was mandatory if you did not want to say good-bye to your clothes. Then around midnight, he took us through a dodgy experiment which pictures are already on Facebook : he made us try durian. Imagine a creamy substance with a strong garlic taste and a sewer smell in your mouth. This fruit is so popular over there that it inspired the shape of the city Opera. But still, it is forbidden to take it with you on a plane or the subway.

Singapore is a pleasant Hong-Kong : greener and less claustrophobic. It is true that skyscrapers are all over the CBD but Little India, Chinatown or the colonial area around Raffles square can be quite a change of scenery. In Clark Quay, you can even move your body on Cuban or Middle eastern beats. Like in Hong-Kong, most of the population is from a Chinese origin but, as in Malaysia, English is widely spoken, making it easy to chat with the "locals".

Two full days were not enough to visit the city as we were engaged in a race against time trying to get the most of it. We like also to do things the hard way : we have forgotten to take the camera the first day. So the second day, we re-visited some places to take some shots. Unfortunately, the weather was not sunny anymore, but very foggy as in HK.

We liked Singapore even if some find it oppressive with its heavy fine policy, judicial caning and big brother surveillance.

In our case, it is our next destination that sounds challenging. A few hours before our flight to Jakarta where we planned to do some couchsurfing, our host sent us an email to cancel ...

Karim

photos: Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Click on the image below to see some pictures of our trip in Malaysia :

Malaysia

Selamat Datang Malaysia (Welcome to Malasia)

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:27:00 +0000

At our arrival in Malaysia, it felt good to recover the feeling of backpacking rather than being in a huge tourist theme park. At first sight, people here look a lot like their northern neighbors, are as kind and respectful as them and even more smiling. But the similarities do not go much further than that. Starting by religious beliefs, where Thais are mainly Buddhists, most Malaysians are Muslims. Many women wear coloured hijabs (headscarfs), although some of them are, at the same time, profusely maked-up, clothed in tight-fitting outfits and walking on top of heels that would probably make me dizzy.

Secondly, a good chunk of the population is of Indian or Chinese origin. Those who were not muslim have kept their Hindu and Buddhist beliefs alive. And, of course, they have contributed with their genes, their clothing and their culinary specialties to the mix, producing an interesting melting pot. While walking around Georgetown, we discovered three adjoining houses, one Muslim, one Hindu and one Buddhist and we ate fried noodles at the rhythm of the last Bollywood success. The ingredients used in the concoction were 'halal'. All packaged products : tomato sauce, water, shampoo, vinegar, jam and even cooking wear seem to be branded 'halal'. In a country were several religions coexist in harmony, this obsession looks somehow an incongruity as the 'halal' seal, in general, only applies to meat. The whole thing feels more of a marketing strategy than a religious obsession but, still, it makes us wonder if the coexistence is as idyllic as it seems.

Malaysia's colonial past has also left its mark in several cities across the country. Being situated along the Strait of Melaka, a strategic passing point of the maritime spice route, first the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the English set their views on the area and conquered it. In the capital, Kuala Lumpur, there is even an administrative district built by the English shortly before the independence, some 50 years ago, following a reinterpretation of Islamic style (similar to what the French did in Casablanca, although the final result is a bit different).

The country seems to us quite developed. Cities have got abundant greenery, its share of shopping malls, flea markets and museums. Not being junkies of the latter, we actually enjoyed our visits to the National and Islamic Art Museums, as well as the Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur (as a bonus, they saved us from spending outside the hottest hours of the day). Still, overall, despite the charm of colonial towns and the awesome sight of Petrona Towers we think that Malaysian cities are more interesting than impressive.

We also spent a good part of our month in Malaysia in the countryside. The Cameron Highlands, in the heart of the Peninsula, allowed us to get away from the oppressive heat of the coast and spend a few days among tea plantations, strawberry-growing greenhouses and evening downpours. Then, after the bustle of the capital, we flew to Malaysian Borneo, where all the star attractions are related in one way or another with nature. We found ourselves one more time cruising along a 'gringo' path, although this time one almost exclusively populated with people traveling for a few months.

A good part of Borneo is covered by jungle, even if it is difficult to believe it when confronted to endless extensions of palm-oil plantations. We spent a couple of days in a camp in the banks of the Kinabatangan river screening, from a boat or on foot, the sparse jungle spread along the river in search of orangutans, Proboscis monkeys, birds, frogs and other animals. After just a few minutes under the intense humidity of the place we were a sweaty mess. But since using the muddy water pumped from the river was as unwelcoming as sharing the bath cabins with the hairy spiders living on them (or alternatively with the crocodiles living in the river) we preferred to stay filthy and console ourselves thinking we were living the 'true wild experience'.

Back into civilisation and after a short visit to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, we moved to the surroundings of Mount Kinabalu. Most people come here to hike the 8 kilometers of steps leading to the mountain top. The number of climbers per day is limited, the price quite exorbitant and since nevertheless we still remember so vividly our Colca Canyon experience, we decided to walk instead along the trails at the foot of the mountain. A very nice hike indeed, even if we had to keep an eye in our boots and trousers checking for leeches. Due to the rains of the eve, we were warned that the little beasts would be lurking around. True enough, the only time we stopped for more than a few seconds, Karim caught two of them climbing up his boot.

Along with the orangutans, the other reason that took us to Sabah was to dive in Sipadan. The site is classified as one of the best diving spots in the world and we enjoyed the beautiful corals, giant turtles and reef-sharks, even if the famous huge barracuda school did not come to meet us. We dove as well in the less known Mabul because it was a condition set by the diving shop for them to take us to Sipadan. It turned out that, although the place is not as beautiful or the fishes as big as in Sipadan, the variety of aquatic fauna is much higher in Mabul and I personally enjoyed more my dives in there that in its glamorous neighbor.

Malaysia has been our introduction to Muslim Est-Asia. We will continue exploring it in our next destination, Indonesia, that we will reach after a brief stop in Singapore.

Bea.

The places visited in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:29:00 +0000

View our itinerary in a larger map

Photos : Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Fri, 28 May 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Click on the image below to see some pictures of our trip in Thailand :

Thailand

Thailand : among Red-bull tank tops et red shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sun, 23 May 2010 14:03:00 +0000

The trip goes on or should I say, as some of you did remind us, is getting closer to its end ? I am writing these lines while waiting for the night train that will take us away from Thailand and towards northern Malaysia. After “Incredible India”, “Amazing Thailand” also showed us different faces that we enjoyed unevenly.

The country is quite famous for its scuba diving spots and heavenly islands. It is true that we liked the few days we spent diving Koh Tao, an island off the East Coast, where nice corals, big groupers and small schools of barracudas made our days. As a bonus, the warm temperature of the water, compared to which the Mediterranean feels like the North Pole, made the experience more enjoyable. But according to the “experts”, diving is even greater on the West coast so we might come back to jump in the Andaman sea in the future.

Another highlight of our stay in Thailand was the trek we did from Pai, a small village in the northern part of the country. We hiked during 3 days in a mountainous area close to the Burmese border, under a burning sun and sleeping in home-stays in the villages we crossed. In this part of the country, people do not speak Thai but a handful of dialects, Animism replaces Buddhism and the electricity is not always available. During the Monsoon, you will be rewarded by being surrounded by green rice fields. In our case, we walked in a burnt land closer to a “lunar” landscape because, every year, farmers will burn their fields to get them ready for the new planting season. The flames go sometimes beyond the plantations and grind the forest. At night, the hills surrounding the villages are blazing with fires, which is a quite an impressive view specially when the flames are only a kilometer away from the house hosting you. When we asked the locals if it could be dangerous, they reassured us said saying : “Yes, fire, but don't worry ! No problem !”. So we did like them and went to bed for a good night of rest.

If you are looking for temples, old or new or restored, Thailand has what your are looking for : you will never be far from one. The only thing that outnumbers them is the picture of the king, that is nearly on every corner. In our case, after visiting a few temples we reached an overdose and preferred to crawl around the hawker food stalls where you can enjoy, at any time, day or night, some cashew nut curry or a nice mango-sticky rice. Willing to learn more about the exquisite Thai cuisine, we took a cooking class where a ladyboy taught us how to make some dishes. We were surprised to see that the fish sauce is part of every recipe, even the ones that are sweet. Thanks to this course, we hope that next time that we go to an Asian supermarket in Paris, we will feel less stupid while looking at all this weird products on the shelf.

Regarding the political problems that Thailand is going through, they have not really impacted our trip, even if the night before our arrival a nasty hide and seek game between the police and the protesters resulted in twenty deaths. The red shirt movement seemed quite pacifist and was concentrated in a neighborhood where upscale malls, which as a result had been closed for weeks, are located. We even walked in the red-shirt camp to notice a peaceful atmosphere, making it look like a fair where ice-cream stalls are replaced by hawkers selling crispy chicken rice (yummmy !).

That said, they day we arrived in Bangkok we had nevertheless to face an urban guerrilla with heavily equipped squads that was spread across town. They soaked with buckets of water all what was moving : pedestrians, cars, police, bus passengers and even red shirts convoys that were happy to return the favor. It was quite funny to watch, after securing our passports and the camera. It is thanks to the celebration of Thai New Year (Songkran) that we have been able to witness this uncommon face of a city known for its traffic jams and hustle and bustle. But during that week the town was sleepy, as the inhabitants had run away for a week of vacation resulting in a lot of shops closed and an air quite safe to breath.

Thailand's dark side is the mass tourism and the hordes of westerners wearing Red-Bull tank tops and a reddish tan. Since we were there on the low season, I cannot imagine how cramped it must be on July and August. The markets which are supposed to be a touristic attraction are full of counterfeit goods and the local handicraft have been replaced by fake Bling-Bling Rolex watches and imitated Polo shirts. In some places the local people are outnumbered by foreigners and it is not pleasant if you are looking for some genuineness .

It is true that Thailand still offers a change of scenery for cheap in a safe, clean and organized environment, miles away of what we have experienced in India. Thai people are quite nice and good at listening at “farangs” (foreigners) and answering their needs. But in Koh Tao or Pai, we were wandering if we were still in Thailand and not have been teleported to Ibiza.

In our case, we felt trapped in the « gringo trail » and the contact with Thai people remained superficial. So, overall, even if it was pleasant to spend 3 weeks in Thailand, the publicized charm of this country did not act on us.

Karim

The places visited in India

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:12:00 +0000

View our itinerary in a larger map

India : last photos

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Click on the image below to see some photos taken in Rajasthan, Gujarat and again in Mumbai :

India - Rajasthan, Ahmedabad, Mumbai

India : We are hooked !

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sun, 02 May 2010 06:00:00 +0000

After only 10 days in India, we felt like we had been for ages in the country. We actually had some hard time understanding the people who chooses to travel around it for months or even years. But as the weeks went by, we have become to enjoy this complex country more and more and, now that the time to leave it has come, we have to admit that we'd have loved our stay to be longer than 43 days.

From Amritsar, we headed for Rajasthan, a State that stretches across an arid land and is scattered with impressive fortified palaces. The forts were built to resist all kind of hurdles by lineages of Maharajas that, as any feudal lord worth its name, spent their time fighting and planning marriages among them and with the Mughals. When the English took over the declining Mughol empire, they still managed to kept their luxurious way of life well into the 20th century, which I guess is why the palaces are rather well preserved.

Seen from outside, the forts look sober and massive. But once inside the city walls you find yourself wandering around intricate streets, small squares and palaces filled with courtyards, corridors, blind windows from where women could see without being seen, Turkish baths and richly carved walls that conjure up images from the Book of One Thousand and One Nights.

The towns that surround the palaces have each a predominant colour that confers it a certain harmony : pink in Jaipur, blue in Jodhpur or white in Udaipur. But the one I liked the most was Jaisalmer, where the stone facades are so finely carved that they look like wood, and the yellowish sandstone buildings blurs into the surrounding desert.

While touring the area, we visited a few 19th century Havelis (traditional mansions) where the period furniture and interior decoration shows the penchant for psychedelic ornamentation of their wealthy owners, we loafed around bazaars and went to a couple traditional puppet and dance shows. We discovered also the importance that turbans and distinguished-looking mustaches had in the region : the color, length and the way the former is knotted, as well the shape of the latter, indicate the social status, the occupation and even the religion of the bearer. In the same way, the colors of the sari a woman wears will depend on the season and her civil status.

Before going back to Mumbai, and with the thermometer rising over the 40° mark(although it is not until may-june that the temperatures go completely loony), we did a last stop in the capital of Gujarat State, Ahmedabad. Even if it is mainly an industrial city, it has got an amazing collection of old Indian textiles worth the visit, an interesting guided tour of the historical center and the Ashram (retreat) that was Gandhi's headquarters for a period of his life.

But the highlight of our visit to this town laid in the lovely family that hosted us via couchsurfing. Staying with Rushir gave us the chance to share a few days with a typical Indian family, in which wedded couples settle with the husband's parents. All of them went out of their way to make our visit enjoyable, to the point of taking us along to an wedding dressed with clothes they lent us. We even got a ride in a sidecar, driven skillfully by the senior lady of the house. A true immersion in the great Indian hospitality.

A couple of additional days visiting Mumbai and staying wagain at Louella's and we have to say goodbye to this country. We hope to comeback sometime in future because we have left so much unvisited. And this time, we will come with empty suitcases so I can strip bare bazaars at ease. For now, we continue our route, heading back to Southeast Asia, and more in particular, for Thailand.

Bea

Photos : Agra, Delhi, Amritsar

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Click on the photo below to view some of the pictures we took while traveling from Agra up to the Pakistani border :

India - Agra, Delhi, Amritsar

We almost made it to Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Karim) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:00:00 +0000

After leaving Khajuraho and a short night train ride, we landed in Agra. This city is quite a milestone in our trip across North India since it is home to the famous Taj Mahal. To enjoy this world class monument before the crowd hits it, we were queuing at the entrance at dawn, which spared us as well the massive heat that starts pounding after 10 am. It was really worth it to be there so early to enjoy the monument at first day light.

On the first two weeks, we have been mainly in important Hinduism areas. Agra and its surroundings gave us a glimpse on the Muslim India and the heritage left by the mughals when ruling the region. Today, 15% of the Indians are Muslim and 80% are Hindu. Even the Islam here seems to have a masala flavour : some of the rituals reminded more what we saw in the Hindu temples than what is done in Morocco, for example.

New Delhi, our next stop, has also many buildings of that era, like the Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb. At our arrival in the country's capital, we shared our breakfast table with a farmer and his two kids that managed with that to accomplish two dreams in one day : ride the subway and meet a foreigner. On our two first weeks in India, the constant touts attention made us switch the paranoid mode on. But little by little, we have also met some genuinely nice and welcoming people that on a train will share their meal with you without any hesitation. I am very often mistaken for an Indian and sometimes I will be addressed in Hindi or even in some local languages like Maharati or Punjabi. Once, when I insisted that I am from a Moroccan origin, I got in return : “ Are you parents Indian immigrants ?”

Even if Delhi was less impressive than Varanasi, we enjoyed this city that offers landmarks from the Mughal era to British colonization times. As in the rest of the country, we noticed in this city some interesting contrasts : busy western fast foods and upscale brand shops versus the traditional bazaars and the ear cleaner doing business as usual with some scary tools.

Even if our veg diet is still on, we took a break to taste the dish of one of my homonyms that is city wide known. His restaurant is serving Mughal cuisine that his forefathers were already cooking for the emperors. “Karim's” is quite famous and a lot of people comes to eat the whole stuffed and roasted goat. As we should have ordered this delicacy 24 hours in advance, we treated ourselves to some chicken and lamb kebab Burrah style (marinated and barbecued). It is was so good that I need to finish this paragraph quickly as my mouth is watering way to much. Looking forward for the next eid-el-kebir.

After Delhi, the train took us to Amritsar, Sikhism holiest city. Even if the Sikhs represent less than 2% of the population, there are very visible thanks to their turban and a solid physical build. We were impressed by the golden temple that sits in the middle of a sacred pond and the 750 Kg that cover its top. Even the fans inside are gold-platted. There is also a kitchen that serves for free more than 60 000 meals daily to the pilgrim that comes from all around the world. It is truly a city within the city.

The other highlight when you visit Amritsar is actually Pakistan. Every day, a very popular border closing ceremony is held by both sides. It is an odd mix of : Military and patriotic songs, kids and ladies dancing on “slum-dog millionaire” music, soldiers taking provocative stands towards the neighboring country and nationalist slogans shouted from each side of the border. There is even a guy whose job is to encourage the audience to shout more and louder than Pakistanis that are asked to do the same against the Indians.

As foreign spectators, during the first minutes of the show, we laughed a bit before remembering the 2008 Mumbai bombings and all the negative comments about Pakistan we heard during this trip. Between these two nuclear super powers, wars have been fought leaving behind thousand of casualties. On the way back, we were wandering how an official ceremony promoting hate toward a neighboring country could be hold on Ghandi's home land.

Karim