Freezing in Melbourne

Got my evening flight to Melbourne and landed 6 am in the morning. Had been told that immigration might take a while and that was indeed true since I ran into trouble straight away. First of the guy who took my passport said I didn't look anything like the picture (trying to explain that I lost my glasses and lost a couple of kilos didn't help), secondly my passport so new that they couldn't scan it properly (well get some new technology then you plonkers). Thirdly I hadn't specified an adress where I was staying since I intended to stay at Kimberly's (nice girl who worked for Penguin in London but afterwards gone back) so I suppse I have to give them that. Had to wait for an hour before they had checked everything and just as I was walking out they grabbed me again and said they wanted to see proof of my departure ticket. I'm sure there must be a picture that looks just like me somewhere in the immigration office that says "If he looks like this give him hard time" or something but in the end I got through.
Considered taking a taxi in to town but saw this guy who was picking backpackers up for a hostel. I asked how much is was, made the calculations that if I went for it I'll be paying less than the taxi fare so I jumped into the minibus and headed for the centre.
Did I forget to mention how freezing cold it was in Melbourne, of course I did. A clear case of denial. Getting out in shorts trough the entrance was like being frozen down into a cryonic tube. Don't know what I was expecting but I realised that I got far to accustomed to the heat during the last months and was shivering like a leaf.
Got to the hostel and into my room and was greated by a bunch of snotty eighteen year old english people on a gap year who were discussing how drunk they had been the past night. I was quite close to intervene and reply that in comparison to what I just experinced in Bali they had not even been close to tipsy but I kept my gob shut.
It felt a bit weird being in a dorm again after having had the luxioury of having my own room for two weeks in Bali but there wasn't much to do about it. I knew Australia would be the most expensive country on my trip so it was pretty much a case of grittin' teeth and bearing it.
Slept for a couple of hours and was then picked up by Kimberly just after lunch (I had sent an s.o.s email that morning) and was taken out to her parents lovley house where I pretty much instantly fell asleep again.
Woke up the following lunctime as it was time to head out to Yarra valley for some winetasting. Ended up in a lovley little winery whit a nice little restaurant where I got the pleasure of enjoying a great kangaroo steak. It tasted fantastic and the wine they served with it was even better. A great way to ease into the Australian culture.

Birthday in Bali

Hurried to get to Singapore airport only tho find that the flight I was supposed to take to Bali had been delayed by an hour and a half. I dind't mind too much though, gave me more time to check out the huge varitety of shopping in the tax free area. Can't say I bought anything apart from a magazine but to see the the Japanese tourists running rampant in the Gucci shop was worth the wait alone.
After a five hur flight I landed in Bali and took a taxi in to Kuta which is the main tourist area. Had been a bit slack on checking out the hotels and ended up in a pretty dire hotel but it was alright since I was quite tired.
Kuta in itself was just crazy. Due to the bombings that happened there during the last five years the tourist industry has fallen into quite a decline since there's more people trying to sell you stuff than there are people buying it. You get hounded the first few days to say the least, luckily for me I had been well trained in Vietnam and managed to brush of most of them with a smile and a "No thank you". I guess the worst thing was the so called "Massage" places where they try to grab you to come in. Took a lot time persuading them that "No, I was not interested in a cheeky, cheeky massage".
Bali felt a bit strange at first I must admit and it took me a while to get into. There are a lot of quite cklicky groups and then loads of couples going for a romantic holiday and it became quite clear that Bali was a place where people go for their holidays not to travel.
Where it previously had been a benefit to travel by myself I now to some extent felt like a weirdo for being on my own (but still, I rather be alone than feel alone).
Spent my 35 birthday without anyone about apart from the locals who took me out to the jungle and got me drunk on palm wine which tasted horribly but got me well clobbered (well, it was my 35th so I was entitled to it). They had even made me a little cake and sang for me soin the end I got a birthday I'll soon forget.
The day after I felt it was time for a change. So what's a boy to do you might ask, well the answer is obviously to go for the cheapest hotel in town to find like minded people.
Said and done, did my research and found a decent place with a pool that was about half the price of the one I previously had (that's 5 pounds a night) and I was proven right.
Pretty much instantly met a whole bunch of travelers who shared the same thoughts about Bali as myself and we were pretty soon comparing war stories from previous contries.
The following week was spent in the following maner, morning; go for a trip to check out the amzing temples that exist around Bali (that includes monkey temple, Bat temple, Lion temple and lots of other animal temples) and then get back to find the most of the group still laying by the pool trying to cure their hangovers before it was time to party again.
A really nice canadian guy called Troy had tried to leave for the last week but for some peculiar reason ended up getting so drunk every night that he couldn't move the following morning (that's the time he usally got back from Bounty, the main club) until evening time when he started drinking again. School boy error if you ask me but it was quite funny to see though.
Went out to a couple of really nice beaches and checked out the surfers doing their thing. I really wanted to try it but the waves were a bit too erratic and I was told that it almost was impossible to learn during those condistions. Real shame but maybe next time.
Overall I had a great time in Bali. The first few days were a bit of a drag but that was mainly due to my own wrong doings. The following ones were fantastic, met such nice people and it almost felt like a shame to leave them. Will without doubt keep in contact though so not too worried.

Short stop in Singapore

It was time to finally leave Malaysia.
I had spent a longer time there than expected due the fact that the rain season had hit Thailand sooner than I expected but I was quite happy i did. There was so much to do in Malaysian Borneo and so many things to see. I could easily spent another two weeks there and still be able to come back. Sure it doesn't have the parties or beaches of Thailand but overall I felt it was well worth going to if you are into nature, culture and animals.
Took a flight out to Johur Bahru and just managed to get on a bus from the airport that would drive all the way into Singapore.
Everyone on the buss were dropped at some hotel but after speaking to a German family we decided to share a taxi into central Singapore and after a twenty minute ride I was dropped off in Little india. It took me a while to get my bearings but after walking arond for a while I managed to find the hostel I was after. As expected it was far pricier than anything I'd paid for a hotel during the previous two and a half months but it also looked a lot cleaner and modern so I guess it was justifiable.
Since I only had two days in Singapore I decicied to hit town straight away and walked down to the subway and got myself a ticket into the centre and got out of the tube and staright into the center.
It was definatly a bit of a culture shock. Suddenly I was surrounded by all these high street shops and there were no corrupt policemen or crazy driving going on anymore. Took a stroll up and down the streets and then checked out the shopping mauls. The best thing was the big food courts that pertty much resided in each one of them. The variety was endless, everything from Japanese to traditional Malaysian food was served and the best thing was that it was very cheap. Went to Borders and founf myself a good book on photography and then headed back to the hostel in the evening for some drinks with some scottish people I met. Went for a quiqk sleep before hand and was woken up a lady who was suppsoed to have the bed underneath me. She kept mumbling "It's too dark in here. Scary...scary" and acted very strange. I sat up and sarcastically said "Good morning" since she had caused such a lot of noice and she just starred at me for a minute with these crazy eyes and then grabbed her suitcase and walked off. Guess it takes all sorts.
The following day I headed down to the botanical gardens and checked out the orchids. It was quite impressive to say the least and even though I've never had a hughe interest in flowers it certainly made me change my opinion. Spent a couple of hours checking out the rest of the park and then walked over to Chinatown. That part of town was not at all what I expected (or maybe wasn't in the right part). Instead of lots of chinese restaurants I found lots of trendy bars and me and the guys I was with sat down and watched the world go by while sippin' on a nice singapore sling (when in Rome right!).
Headed beack to the hostel, had some nice barbeque and and chatted to a weird Irish guy who had decided to do the whole of south east asia in five weeks. I explained that he would be pushing it a bit on time but his reply was that he had just got the all clear from his doctor after having mental problems and had to go. Don't know if there's a special "loonie" trip going to Singapore but my guess is that there is.

The boredom of Brunei

Before heading over for some relaxation in Bali I had decided to take a quick trip to Brunei since it was so close to Kota Kinanbalu.
The kingdom of Brunei is a really small but wealthy (population is about 300K) nation that is stuck pretty much in the middle of the Malaysian Borneo peninsula but very prosperous due to the oil they've got.
Said and done, walked down to the ferry early in the morning and six hours later I put my foot on Brunei soil and took the buss in to Bendar, the main city. The closest thing I can resemble the journey in was that it looks like a well off suburb in England somewhere and I'll let you be the judge if that is nice or not.
Once in the main city I booked myself into a hostel and then proceeded to check out the town. The town itself was quite tarted up since the sultan was about to have his birthday in another two days so there were colorful lights everywhere. I took a boat taxi out to the village on stilts outside of Bandar which was a really cool place. The people were really friendly and as soon as the kids saw me (we're talking regardless of distance) they started shouting "Hello". Soon I was walking down the planks with voices of the kids everywhere and had to turn left right and centre to reply to them all.
After a couple of hours I decided to head back to land and check the the palace and mosques. Big mistake, it had been raining earlier and after I had waived in a water taxi and tried to walk down the slippery stairs to get into it I went flying. Just managed to stop on the last step before going into the water but my spectacles went flying into the water and sank to the bottom of the Brunei waters before I even noticed they were gone. Well, there wasn't much to do than getting back to shore and make the most of it.
The mosques looks fantastic, the palace is grand beyond belief but there's was somethign missing, something didn't feel right. The closest thing I can resemble I to is that the place lacks soul. Everything is clean and in proper order. There's no alcohol or evening entertainments. I ended up sitting in a cafe playing cards in the evening waiting for the hours to pass so I could justify going to bed.
Maybe it was due to the fact that I've been traveling trough chaotic countries that I got that notion but still, my end conclusion was Brunei is incredibly boring. I guess there's a lot going on beneath the surface (in the calmest waters...) but I decided I didn't have time to find out.
Kota Kinabalu was quite calm but in comparison to Brunei it's Vegas.