Express visit to Australia: Melbourne & Sydney - April 16-24, 2011

My visit to Australia was short and sweet, just 9 days that I split between Melbourne and Sydney. I started out in Melbourne, and was lucky enough to stay with Aida, a girl I met on my overland Africa tour. The day after I arrived Aida took me out for a road trip along the Great Ocean Road, which was a nice surprise. It was an absolutely stunning drive, but a lot to fit into 1 day. We managed to see the majority of the highlights – London Bridge, The Grotto, The Arch, Loch and George and the Twelve Apostles.

London Bridge

Loch and Gorge

The Twelve Apostles

During the rest of my time in Melbourne I walked around and explored the city centre. I was really lucky and had a few days of fabulous sunny fall weather. Melbourne has excellent tourist services, with a great information centre and free bus and tram doing loops around the city. Plenty of great walks all mapped out covering different highlights and areas of the city. I really loved my time in Melbourne. Staying with Aida I had my first home cooked meals in a few months, and that was a nice treat!

In Sydney I did quite a bit of walking as well. I split my time between staying with Brendan, a guy I met in India, and at a hostel. Brendan showed me around his neighbourhood and took me to Maroubra Beach, just down the street from his house. It was nice to see a friendly face and see some sights I might otherwise not have had the chance to check out. I did the free walking tour and saw all the main touristy sites, like Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I also took the ferry out to Manly Beach and spent a day walking around there. I never did make it to the infamous Bondi Beach.

Australia was so expensive that I didn’t really do much other than walk around and try to find the fun free things to do! I cut my trip there short to spend more time in New Zealand, which I was hoping would be a bit cheaper.

Goodbye Bali, Hello Australia!

Throughout this whole trip, I’ve been quite thorough with checking my visa requirements before heading to a country. Now, I’d heard that Canadians need a visa to enter Australia, but I’d also heard it was electronic and often just lumped in with the cost of the plane ticket. So I sort of forgot about it. While I was in Bali I double checked the visa requirements for New Zealand, and totally forgot to check Australia.

So I showed up at the airport without a visa. It was a bit of a surprise when they asked for one, and I was a bit freaked when she told me she couldn’t issue my boarding pass without a visa. Luckily, I had arrived really early, and they were able to process it for me right then and there for the price of $25USD. Disaster averted, hello Australia!

Strolling the streets of Amed – April 12, 2011

Amed is on the north east coast of Bali, small fishing villages strung together along the coast. There are black sand beaches, beautiful coral reefs, and excellent diving. I came to check out a shipwreck, the U.S.A.T Liberty, just 40m from the shore. The dives were awesome. I totally did not expect to be doing a wreck dive when I first got certified!

Even though there are tons of dive shops everywhere, it’s a bit more remote and off the main tourist track. It’s low season right now as well, so there are plenty of empty restaurant and available taxi drivers. I had to find a way to get back to Ubud, about a 2.5hr drive. The shuttle only runs with a minimum of 2 people, and being solo that posed a problem. To get here, I had taken a motorcycle, and didn’t want to repeat that experience. We had my big backpack jammed up at the front, and I wore my smaller daypack and purse. Now my daypack is still fairly heavy, and about an hour into the ride my bum and back were both aching. I wanted the return drive to be a bit more comfortable.

Along about a 200m stretch of road, I got numerous offers for taxis, most of them trying to overcharge and rip me off. I had a few guys tell me that if I found a lower offer to just come back and they would match the price. Um, how about just give me a lower price? I finally did find one guy who gave me a decent deal. If there’s no business though, wouldn’t it make more sense to give a better price and get work than overcharge and get nothing?

Walking back to my bungalow, this one young driver I had spoken with earlier was now sitting on his stoop with a buddy, playing some guitar. He invited to come and sit with them for a bit, so I did. They played a bunch of songs in English, and a few in Balinese. It was so cute listening to them sing the English ones, because some words were left out or made up. Props to them though, I couldn’t sing anything in Indonesian!

It was funny to sit up there with them and watch them hassle the other tourists walking by, asking them if they needed a “Taxi? Motorbike? Where you going?” Everyone was just trying to take a peaceful stroll down the street. I could definitely relate to all the people walking by!

Diving in Bali. Seeing Sharks and a Mola Mola! – April 8 & 10, 2011

From Bali I took a boat to the island of Nusa Lembongan. It’s tiny, only 8km2. There are no cars, only bicycles, motorbikes and small trucks for transporting goods. A fabulous place to spend a few days exploring, diving and relaxing in the sun. There are some great beaches tucked away in some secluded bays.

I went out for 4 dives, my first dives since getting my Open Water Certification on Koh Tao. On our way out to the first dive spot, we saw a manta swimming right near the surface. My instructor told me just to jump in with my mask to get a look, but I was too indecisive so by the time I got in the water it was too far away to see. Missed my chance.

During the first dive we got extremely lucky and saw a mola mola (sunfish), an absolutely bizarre looking creature. It’s not even the season for them, so we were definitely in the right place at the right time. I also saw my first turtle, which was pretty cool.  

I went out for a few more dives two days later, and the plan was to go to Manta Point, where we’d be able to swim with some mantas. The water was way too rough so we had to revise that plan and go somewhere else. I was disappointed, but on the second dive we saw some white tipped reef sharks! I know that there are obviously sharks in the water, but I hadn’t expected to see any during my dives. I thought it would be all coral and fish.  All of a sudden, there were just these sharks swimming not that far off. Definitely a highlight of my dives so far!

Trekking up Mt Agung – April 6, 2011

Despite getting very little exercise during the past few months of travel, I decided to sign up for a sunrise trek up Mt. Agung, an active volcano and at 3142 m the highest point on Bali. It last erupted in 1963.  The climb was described in the brochure as difficult, but I figured I’d be fine.

I was picked up at 10:30pm the evening of the 5^th, and we drove a couple hours from Ubud to the volcano. We started our climb around 1:00am, with an offering at the temple located at the base. The group was fairly small – a couple, another solo guy and girl and me. We were accompanied by a local guide and two other guides.

It started out easily enough in the jungle. There had been rain the past few nights, but we were lucky and had a beautiful clear night. We took numerous short breaks throughout, for everyone in the group to catch up. About halfway up we lost the couple, and one of the guides. The rest of us kept heading up. Two thirds of the way up, it got rocky and rather technical. The rocks were a bit slippery as well from all the rain. I scrambled around using my hands quite a bit. I’m glad that it was so dark and I couldn’t see how far down I’d fall if I slipped.

The ascent took about 4.5hrs, and we arrived just before sunrise at 6:00am. We got some beautiful views of the sunrise, Bali and the surrounding islands before the clouds rolled in and covered everything. We could also see down into a giant crater, but it just looked like normal rocks. No molten lava or anything. There was a small statue perched at the edge, and this was to make another religious offering. It was also absolutely freezing at the summit. I thought I’d be over dressed with all my layers, but I was wrong. We ate our breakfast quickly, and then started back down.

The descent took about as long as the ascent had. We took the same route down that we had going up, and it was worse going down I think. Our guide turned on the radio on his phone, and played all sorts of terrible music as we went down. He was smiling and singing the entire time, with some flowers tucked behind his ear. 

Everything is Better in Bali. Meeting Ketut Liyer, the Medicine Man from Eat Pray Love – April 5, 2011

Ubud is a beautiful place. A few main streets with nice shops and restaurants, and rice paddies everywhere. Touristy? Yes. But a welcome change of pace after everything that happened inThailand. Not filled with drunk 18 year old backpackers either. Landing in Bali, I had no idea really how I would spend my two weeks here. From what I found online, Ubud sounded like a nice central place to start things off. I had no idea that this was where Elizabeth Gilbert came in Eat Pray Love.

There are plenty of classes available in Ubud, and I took a Balinese cooking class. At the class, I got to talking with a Canadian woman in her 50’s who’d been in Bali for the past month. The topic of medicine men came up, and she said she’d gone to a really great one. I didn’t have any particular medical issue I wanted resolved, but it just seemed like while in Bali I should visit a medicine man because it was the thing to do.

Everything I’d read online about Ketut Liyer (Eat Pray Love) was that visiting him was a waste of money because he told everyone the same thing. I’d also heard that if I wanted to go, it was better to go really early, because people have to take a number and line up to see him. Part of me wanted to see Ketut just because I really enjoyed Eat Pray Love and he’s kind of a minor celebrity, and the other part of me wanted to visit a legitimate medicine man that came with a solid recommendation.

I made plans with an Irish woman Polly (also in the class), to try and find this legitimate medicine man the next day. The only information we had was that he lived in a village near the Bali zoo. We left bright and early at 7am. Our driver had to ask around a bit, but at 8am we arrived at the home of a medicine man. Whether it was the same one that our friend from the cooking class recommended, I have no idea. Both of us felt a bit silly about the whole thing, because these men must see a steady stream of women in their 20’s and 30’s who have read Eat Pray Love and are looking for answers.

He came out, looked us over rather quizzically, and asked us “Why you here? You young.” Meaning what possible medical issues did we have that needed his expertise? He also told us we were too early, and if we wanted to see him to come back in 2 hours. Neither of us wanted to sit around and wait, and our driver suggested we visit another medicine man nearby, one who read palms.

We pulled up, and as soon as I saw the name on the sign, a light bulb went off. Our driver had totally taken us to Ketut Liyer, despite our attempts to avoid seeing him. But really, if I were him, I would’ve taken us to the same place. We fit the demographic perfectly.

Since we were there, I figured “Why not?” It would be fun to see the character brought to life. It was only 8:15am, and we were the first people there. We grabbed numbers 1 and 2, and then waited until 9am. There was a poster from the movie up on one wall, and in a corner water and snacks for sale. A regular tourist attraction. Three other women showed up before 9am.

Ketut came out of his room at 9am, and I was lucky number 1. He invited me to sit on his porch with him. He looked exactly as described in the book. A single tooth poking in front of his gummy smile, and some crazy long eyebrows. He’s also quite small. He was wearing a polo t-shirt with a wrap around his waist. He was all smiles, and very happy to see me. We chatted a bit, and he told me he would read my palm.

“I see good, I tell you good. I see bad, I tell you bad.”

Before starting, I noticed his copy of Eat Pray Love, which I knew had been autographed. I asked to see it, and he read me the message written inside. Then he pulled out an envelope tucked in the pages. It was a note from Liz Gilbert, on official “Elizabeth Gilbert” stationary (simple, cream coloured with her name embossed across the top). He asked me to read it to him, and I’m sure I’m not the first person to do that. It basically said that she’d heard he was feeling sick and hoped that he felt better soon, and that she was very grateful for everything he had done for her. He asked me to explain the word ‘grateful’. The envelope looked a bit worn, and he said he’d received it about 2 months earlier. Even if I’m not the first person to have this conversation with him, it felt nice that he was trying to make it special and unique.

The palm reading actually started with my face. He looked at my ears, then nose, mouth, cheeks and eyes, all the while saying that I’m “very pretty” and “very happy”. When he got to my mouth, he said “Your lips are sweet like sugar” which I had read in another blog that he said to everyone. He took my left palm in his, and proceeded to predict my future. I’ll live to be 100, and have 3 kids. I’ll have a very successful career and good relationships. He did say that if I got divorced, not to cry because I would find love again. So I guess he did predict some bad, but mostly good. The squeezed the tip of each finger, each representing a different organ, all the while saying “good, good, good” so I guess that means I’m healthy!

He also looked at my back, at the base of my neck. I’m not sure exactly why, but he said he saw lotus flowers which I think is a good thing. Then he looked at my mosquito bitten legs, poked and my knees and predicted good health.

The whole reading was peppered with numerous “very good, very pretty, very lucky.” After saying certain things, he looked at me and asked “you understand?” His english was really good – I’m sure with all the visitors he’s received in the past few years he’s gotten plenty of practice. He said that he’s “96 years old, but then again not actually sure.”

I got a couple of photos with him, and some of just him. He asked me to mail him a copy of our photo together. At the end of it all he asked for a donation of 250,000Rp, about $28.00 CAD. In a day he said that he sees up to 50 people! 50 people x 250,000Rp = 12,500,000Rp = $1,400.00CAD/day. I’d say he’s doing pretty well for himself.  It may have been expensive, but I found it fun and worth if just for the opportunity to meet him. 

Evacuation by the Thai Navy – March 30, 2011 (Koh Tao)

The day I was evacuated from Koh Tao by the Thai Navy was probably the most epic part of the trip that I didn’t have to pay for. I can now say that I’ve ridden in a military helicopter and aircraft carrier. Hopefully an experience that I won’t be repeating any time soon.

Molly had a Thai friend, Prai, on Koh Phangan that was keeping us updated with all the latest news about when we might actually be able to get off Koh Tao. We had originally planned on leaving on Sunday, March 27^th (the day of the flood), and it was already Wednesday the 30^th. Molly and I both had flights scheduled to leave Bangkok on Friday, April 1^st. It looked like we weren’t going to make it back in time. We booked tickets for a ferry to Koh Phangan leaving Koh Tao on the 31^st, since it was a bigger island and we thought we might be able to make it back to the mainland easier.

Prai called Molly and told her that the Navy were evacuating people, but we had to sign up on some list to get out of Koh Tao.  Molly jumped on that information and checked with the staff at the resort (who also did all travel bookings) and they confirmed it, but said we had to go to the pier to sign up.

We decided to go for it, so we headed up to our room for a hasty pack. Both our bags were completely empty since we had washed them out from the flood, so we had to repack absolutely everything.

At around 12pm we caught a taxi to the main pier. The weather was dismal and rainy. We got in the line for destination Bangkok, and just happened to meet a really kind man who told us we were at the wrong side of the island for the navy boats, but that he could take us there. About 15 minutes later we ended up at some resort, signed up for the evacuation, got purple stickers indicating we were Bangkok bound, and sat and waited. We expected to board the boat in a few hours.

After about an hour the staff announced there would be helicopters for the old, sick, pregnant women and families with children. Half an hour later they announced that women could go to, so we got loaded up in another taxi and taken to the helicopter launch pad, to wait in another line. Luckily we were fairly close to the front of the line, and only had to wait about 45 minutes for our turn. We had to crouch on the ground and cover our faces when the helicopter landed, because the force from the blades sprayed us with gravel. They had us run into the helicopter to get us loaded as quickly as possible.

During our short helicopter ride everyone was taking pictures and smiling, just enjoying the experience. It was fun and exciting because we didn’t feel like we were in any serious danger.

Disembarking on the aircraft carrier was awesome. There was a line of Navy men waiting leading the way to the entrance to the ship, all in matching blue sweatshirts. They had us jump out and run to the entrance, and as I passed each officer he patted my shoulder. They passed our backpacks down the line  and into the ship. All the bags were loaded into an elevator and we were sent down some narrow, steep stairs. We ended up in what looked like a giant cargo bay, it reminded me of a school gym.

The whole process was very organized and efficient. Once on the boat we had to register our names, nationality and destination, and drop off our big bags in a holding area. There was an area with beds designated for the sick and older people, with an attached medical centre. I think some rooms were actually provided to families with babies. Molly and I were given pieces of cardboard to sleep on, and picked a spot on the ground and make ourselves comfortable. It was about 3:30pm.

A food station served food for most of the afternoon and evening (basic rice with some meat/veg/egg) and bottled water was readily available. There was even a snack bar where we could purchase chips and candy.

We slept for a few hours in the afternoon, and were woken up and instructed to move because they needed the space to store two helicopters. It was neat watching them bring the helicopters in. We had to find another spot to sleep which was a bit tougher with more people, but we moved some mats together and squeezed in. As far as I know, there were about 1200 people evacuated on the boat.

We didn’t leave Koh Tao until about 8pm, scheduled to arrive at about 7am. We headed north all along the coast, to dock somewhere a couple hours from Bangkok. They couldn’t take us to the nearer Chumpon or Surat Thani because the mainland was too flooded.

I read and slept. Around 9:30pm they turned off the main lights, and turned on these red bedtime lights. I woke up around 6:00am. Sometime during the night someone had made a PowerPoint presentation, and it was playing on the wall. Slides pointed out where the bathroom and smoking areas were, what time we could expect breakfast (6:30am), and when we should arrive (7:30am). There was even one apologising for the inconvenience and reminding everyone to “KEEP SMILING J”. In the bathroom, I saw a girl putting on makeup. Maybe to look good for the cameras?

There were14 buses heading to Bangkok/the airport. Everyone was surprisingly relaxed and orderly when it came time to get off. Outside, there were cameramen filming us as we walked out. There were some stands set up, selling Navy baseball hats (of course)! The officers on the boat waved down at us. All the Thai Navy officers were so nice. The whole time smiling and trying to be helpful. Even they were taking pictures throughout. They seemed excited to be part of the evacuation.

The bus ride seemed long. They dropped us at Khao San Road. There were some booths with water and snacks, and when we took some we had about 5 people take our picture. I’d like to know what happened to all these photos.

Overall, my evacuation experience was more an exciting adventure than a disastrous hassle. Apparently it wasn't so easy for everyone. I heard stories about people waiting all day and unable to get on the boat. We were actually pretty lucky.