My Awesome Gap Year

First off, let me say that I LOVE Australia! There’s such an amazing vibe in this country, with its ruggedly beautiful neverending landscape, its quirky wildlife, and its genuinely friendly people.

More people ended up coming to the hostel in Cervantes (thank goodness), and after realizing that the next bus out of there was either the 26th (Friday) or the 29th (Monday), I knew I had to skip seeing the Pinnacles during sunset to save my sanity by leaving the desolate town asap, seeing the pinnacles in the daytime instead. So on Friday morning I hitched a ride over to them with a nice Slovenian couple and ended up having a really great time. On the way there, we saw an emu! The pinnacles were just stunning, and we looped around the park in the car, stopping often to take photos and bask in their breathtaking views. Like most of nature’s sites, photos do not do them an ounce of justice, but I’ll post one anyway.

Read the rest of this entry »

G’day mates! Okay, I haven’t actually heard any Australian say that yet, but I just know they do.

The days really flew by in Perth! It was a blast. I bought a Greyhound bus “explorer” ticket that will allow me to travel all the way up to Broome with stops along the way, so long as I don’t take more than 183 days (which won’t be a problem). I boarded the bus this morning after saying my goodbyes in Oneworld Backpacker’s, and disembarked 4 hours later in Cervantes.

Cervantes is a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere. The only reason any traveller goes here is to see the pinnacles (natural rock formations that are supposedly amazing at sunset). Right now it is absolutely miserable. It’s raining so hard you can barely in front of you. This is no weather for pinnacle viewing, so instead of leaving this ghost-town tomorrow, I’m staying an extra night in the hopes that there will be a dry sunset. I am literally the only person in the 8-room hostel. I get a 4-bed dormitory to myself. It’s so quiet it’s scary. It’s a huge change from the bustling circus that is Oneworld. I hope more people come tonight; I don’t want to get lonely!

Over the past few days, I flew in to Singapore, spent 2 full days there, then flew to Perth, Australia, where I am now!

Singapore was amazing. It’s an island, a city, and a country all rolled in one. Chewing gum is strictly banned, and there are 4 main languages. To my relief, most everything was in English. The zoo there is top notch. And upon arriving there, I had a used, 5-year-old Lonely Planet guidebook. My advice to everyone is to never use a 5-year-old guidebook, ever, no matter how cheap it may be. The first hostel listed in the book I searched for was located in a construction site, and the second one’s prices had literally doubled since 2003. Right now I’m staying in a youth hostel dorm room, and it feels exactly like summer camp. Bunk beds, staying up late, a communal kitchen, tv room. It feels very weird especially after staying in actual rooms for the past 2 1/2 months, and the most expensive room I stayed in cost less than one dorm bed in this place. But that’s Australia for you- the prices have taken some getting used to.

Perth is a great city. It’s big but not too big, and has a great free bus system. The weather’s been cloudy and a little chilly, which has made me feel a bit homesick for Washington! Today I’m going to the art museum.

My next goal is to buy a greyhound bus ticket to travel up the country, stopping at interesting places on my way to Broome, where I need to be by the 12th of October.

Bangkok truly is the port to everywhere. I have arrived here for the 4th time, awaiting my flight to Singapore on the day after tomorrow. Every time it’s different, but it’s always chaotic and hot.I have mixed feelings about leaving Thailand. I’ve loved every part of my journey here, though some places more than others; Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai, Koh Tao, and Ko Samui. My first stay in Bangkok was by far my best. I stayed with my friend Cindy’s generous relatives and got an insider’s view of the capital. Her relatives went so out of their way to make me comfortable that I feel truly priveleged to have stayed with them! Tomorrow we are meeting up once again.

Chiang Mai, the capital of the north, is a very cool city with a lot of history. I ended up staying there for longer than planned due to a package that needed to arrive and the fact that I got sick. The guesthouse I stayed at was owned by a joyful English-Thai couple who went above and beyond to help me recover- giving me free juice and water, hailing down taxis to drive me to the clinic, letting me use the AC for free, and providing comforting company. When my shower heater didn’t work, they even let me go into their personal room for a hot shower! I really liked Chiang Mai and all the activities I did there- bike riding, culinary classes, temple visiting.

Pai was alright; I mainly went there to ride on an elephant. And it was worth the journey- we went on a 2 hour bareback trek through the jungle and then played in the river.

Koh Tao was definitely my favorite place. I spent a good 2 1/2 weeks there, earning my Open Water and Advanced scuba certifications. Ko Samui lags far behind Koh Tao when it comes to peace and beauty in my honest opinion. Maybe it was just the area I was staying in that wasn’t so grand, but the taxi rides to get around the island are so expensive that I didn’t look elsewhere.

Next up: Singapore, Western Australia, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco… and then hopefully Sweden to visit my relatives. Christmas break will be from December 8th to January 2nd, and then Tanzania for volunteering at a Massae girl’s school. Now I am about to embark on a more expensive journey. Singapore and Australia are pricey compared to China, Laos, and Thailand. I hope my budgeting skills are up for the challenge. Wish me luck!

Hello! I just arrived today on Ko Samui, an island that’s huge compared to Koh Tao. I can already tell that I like Koh Tao better- here it’s more hectic and Bangkok-y. Well, I’m just here for a few days until I go to Bangkok for the 4th and final (for this trip) time. I need to catch a flight out to Singapore. I’m not sure how the political tensions are right now in the big city, but tourism’s dropped 30 % from pre-emergency rule numbers.

Yesterday, I went snorkeling in ‘Shark bay’, hoping to see some 2 meter long black tip reef sharks swimming around me, perhaps to the theme song of Jaws. Sadly, I didn’t spot any. But the other awesome fish more than made up for it! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been spending my time on Koh Tao for the past few days being lazy. The kind of lazy where you lay on the beach, read your book and sip fruit smoothies. Last night at a pancake cart, I met a group of Swedes. I impressed them enough with my poor Swedish skills to be treated to dinner, followed afterwards by a fruitless search to find a non-existent live music scene. Tomorrow, I will go on a dive to Chumpon Pinnacle, where I hope to spot some sharks. Not the dangerous kind! Fun dives here are incredibly cheap- $21 includes all the gear, the boat, and snacks.

I don’t know when or where I’m going next. Possibly Ko Samui. On my round-the-world plane ticket, I was originally supposed to leave out of Bangkok 2 days ago to go to Singapore. I’m glad I changed it to the 14th, because there are protests going on in Bangkok right now against the government, and apparently a lot of flights were cancelled. I’m sure it will be less chaotic in 2 weeks time.

I’m unstoppable. After I received my Open Water certification, I signed up for Advanced Open Water. I got certified today. I can now swim 30 m under the water’s surface with a tank full of air on my back and survive. To become Advanced, I completed 5 dives: night diving, navigation (using a compass), buoyancy (so I don’t float away!), deep diving (30 m), and photography (hence all the pictures). Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, let me say I love, love, love scuba diving. It’s just amazing.

Before I could scuba, I had to see the local clinic to make sure the medicine I’m taking is okay to dive with. While there, I also weighed myself and found out I’ve lost a bit of weight- I think that when I pay for my own meals, I tend to feel less hungry all the time. Today was my 3rd scuba class, and it was the first time we dove in the actual ocean (not just a swimming pool!) We went on two 40 minute dives and practiced stuff like taking off our masks underwater and buddy breathing. After the classes (I feel like I’m in school again) we got to explore the reefs.

One of the coolest feelings I’ve had in my life is being able to stand with both feet planted on the ocean floor, fish swimming around me, and look up to see the surface of the water 50 feet above.

I saw a giant manta ray, pairs of butterfly fish lovers floating next to each other (apparentley they couple for life), a giant clam, a baby boxfish, and a school of tiny barracudas. At one point I swam over a rock into a flock of 20 very strange fish with gigantic black eyes that looked like martian fish. They just floated there, all facing the same direction, unmoving.

When I wasn’t diving, I layed in the sun and played with the boat’s resident kitten, Meow.

Where we dove:

Meow:

Yesterday, I arrived here in Koh Tao, an Island off the east coast of Thailand.

This place is better than I imagined.

First of all, it’s genuinely stunning here. I wish I could post pictures but I’ve lost my camera cable (along with my jeans, my guidebook, my shirt,  my ipod wall charger, and the novel I was reading.) *edit: got a new one, so I added pictures* The beach is a stone’s throw from where I’m staying, and I can see the ocean and palm trees from my window. This morning, I took a pre-breakfast swim. I signed up to become PADI certified in scuba diving. My first lesson starts today! And that means my accomodation is free (for now). 🙂

Here is the view from my balcony (day and evening. be jealous): Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Last night, I collapsed on the perfectly normal looking bed that took up half my tiny hostel room, fully clothed, and fell asleep. 12 hours later, I woke up and noticed my knuckle was itchy. Oh, no! A bite? Then I looked around my hand and noticed that it was much, much more than one bite. My hands and arms, my left hip, my right stomach and my cheeks are dotted with tiny red bites. My right hand alone has over 35 bites. Now, I can’t be 100% sure, but what else would be the cause but bed bugs?

I’m so angry. I should have slept in my silk sleep sheet, which is supposed to keep bed bugs out. But I thought it was too hot. I’ll never make that mistake again.

The only thing keeping my spirits up is the thought that by tomorrow morning, I’ll be on an island paradise.