Vacationing on the Water, Part I: The Gili Islands

It is cold in Chicago.  It has been cold the entire time I've been here.  Every night, I curl up on my couch under my Red Sox fleece blanket and imagine being somewhere warm.  To indulge my fantasy, let me recommend some of the best tropical/seaside locations I've visited in the past few years.  Maybe you can escape to one of them soon.

Longboats on the beach

The Gili Islands, Indonesia

My favorite part of these three islands near Bali is that there are no cars or motorbikes.  People get around on bicycles or horse-drawn carts.  Though there is the risk of getting trampled by a pony, I loved not having motorbikes sneak up behind me.  Maybe because of this, the water seemed extra blue and the beaches extra clean.  Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three islands, is still small enough that you can walk around the entire coastline in an afternoon.  The main road is lined with hotels, guest houses, restaurants and snorkeling companies.  Eric and I spent six nights on Gili Trawangan, and I could have happily spent another few days.  

My Traveling Soundtrack

Frequently, popular songs end up linked in my mind to specific places.  LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" always takes me back to celebrating Eric's 30th birthday at the Blue Note Club on Ios (and a fantastic "Parks and Recreation" cold open).  "Young Folks" makes me think of the coffee shop in Philadelphia where I worked as a line cook for a summer.  During our nine months abroad, I ended up with my own personal mix CD of music I now associate with our trip.  Almost all of the songs are in English — no one is kidding when they talk about American culture being exported overseas.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, and please don't judge too harshly.

Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is lined with clubs blasting American pop music

Favorite Photos from Asia

One of the temples near Angkor Wat, Cambodia

In May, I posted my favorite photos from our first two months of traveling.  By that point, we'd visited Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia.  Since getting back, I have been sorting through my many, many pictures and wanted to share my favorites from the trip as a whole.  I'm breaking the post up into two parts, Asia and Europe, to try to make it a manageable length.  I hope you like these as much as I do!

Back in Thailand, Always Learning

Whenever I've arrived in a new country, I've had to re-learn basic skills. 

In Indonesia, I had to figure out how to take a taxi.  The first men who approach you at bus stations yelling "taxi!" actually drive private cars and will quote you double what you should pay.  Official taxi drivers wear uniforms and use a meter to determine how much you owe.  By contrast, bus drivers and workers do not wear uniforms.  You have to get used to trusting the guys in cargo pants who tell you which bus to board by yelling destinations.

On the way to Gunung Bromo on Java - Probably not the best way to flag down a cab

Volcanic Adventures in Java

Eric and I decided that we didn't want to leave Indonesia without hiking one of the country's many volcanoes.  After looking into a few near Bali and being stopped by three-day hikes, 36-hour ferry rides and other travel-related issues that would delay our return to Thailand, we decided to fly to Java and make our way to Mount Bromo.  The others would certainly be worth the effort, but maybe on a different journey.  (We're already brainstorming a south Pacific trip for the future.  There's so much to see!)

Bubble bubble bubble

Budget Traveling in Beautiful Places: An Update from Indonesia

When Eric and I first got to Indonesia, I felt mislead.  I had heard stories about how cheap it was to travel through Indonesia.  Other travelers had spent weeks and months going through Java and Sumatra.  At something like 9400 rupiah to the dollar, it seemed that we would live well on our backpacker budget.  However, we struggled to find any hostel that fell within our $20 per day limit, even on the outskirts of towns in Bali.  As we counted up our daily expenses, I grumbled that Indonesia was the most expensive country we'd been to yet. 

A pleasant homestay that cost us $27 per night and had hot showers.

When we got to the Gili Islands, we found rooms within our budget, but without hot showers.  We started to look at other guest houses and homestays that had warm water, and I began to realize that while Bali and the Gili Islands are too expensive for our limited budget, you can find amazing accommodation and food for much less than what you'd pay in the US or Europe. 

From KL to the Beach

June flew by before I even noticed.  Looking back, I realized that my last couple posts have been on general topics rather than what we've actually been getting up to.  Here's what's been going on for the past few weeks!

After sixteen days in the Cameron Highlands, Eric and I started moving again.  We spent three quick nights in Kuala Lumpur.  Due to illness and the heat, we didn't explore the city much.  A few highlights were the delicious street noodles and satay, great nights with some new friends, and winning at beer pong and flip cup at the rooftop bar of our hostel.

I ate this dish at least three times in the three days we were in Kuala Lumpur.