Livin’ the Dream

Without every traveler, internet site, Lonely Planet guidebook, bootsnall user, etc. that’s offered us advice and suggestions we would not have had the trip we did.  So since karma can indeed be a bitch, and it’d be selfish to not share some of our experiences and advice, let me offer up a brief rants and raves discussion for some of the places we traveled.

— Raves —

MagicBus in New Zealand – This hop-on, hop-off traveler’s bus service was exceptional and makes any trip to NZ fun, easy, convenient and affordable.  Aside from transporting you around, they also arrange accommodations and activities and provide a great atmosphere to meet other backpackers.  Definitely check em out if you don’t have or want your own transportation.  Ask about Richie, our badass bus driver who got us kicked out of the only open bar (and only entertainment) in Greymouth!  I should mention that MagicBus in particular had more sophisticated travelers compared to the younger Kiwi Experience clientele who generally seemed stuck in permanent party mode.  http://www.magicbus.co.nz/

The Mountain House, Arthur’s Pass, New Zealand – A charming hideout at the only main stop on the TranzAlpine railroad.  If taking this train, seriously consider staying over here for a night or two.  Once all the trains have passed through, the tiny town and surrounding areas is all yours to enjoy.  The Mountain House consists of a hostel and a series of shared cottages which define tranquility.  The owners are exceptionally hospitable but be fair warned as rumor has it, the cottages may be getting torn down.  http://www.trampers.co.nz/

Featherdale Zoo, Sydney, Australia – Not just for kids, this zoo has every living thing you could hope to see and play with in OZ.  Kangaroo’s, wallabies and emus actually hang out on your side of the fence and wander around the zoo with you. Avoid peak tourist times of the day if you can.  http://www.featherdale.com.au/

Dream Village, Gili Trawangan, Indonesia – Angelo and Gabriel make this bungalow getaway a true paradise.  Towards the nicer end of accommodations on the island, this happy retreat still remains an affordable luxury.  The place is well sized and decorated but the staff really make this place what it is.  They are well respected, trustworthy and cater to your every need.  Apparently, they’ve spruced up their website as well.  http://www.dreamvillagetrawangan.com/

Sam, Siem Reap, Cambodia – Sam is a professional tour guide for the many temples of Angkor.  He is without doubt, one of the best tour guides you can get.  It’s possible to hire many tour guides once you get to Siem Reap, but I promise you none will be as knowledgeable or speak English as well as Sam.  Plus he can also help with transportation and hotel booking.  Book in advance as he’s getting pretty popular and be sure to not be stingy on the tips.  He should be charging a lot more than standard going rate of $20/day but he doesn’t. email:  kao_samreth@hotmail.com phone: 855-12-763-463

Star Fashion, KSR, Bangkok, Thailand – If you must, Mr. Kriss and Star Fashion put together some great suits and clothes.  He’s located at the Star Dome Inn just off Khao San Rd.  He’s professional and super fun to work with.  Don’t expect Versace quality fabrics but getting a suit custom made in Thailand is an experience worth indulging for.  My pair of last minute linen pants he put together on just a few hours notice are still going strong.  http://www.khaosanroad.com/directory/comment.php?listing_id=772

Ban Kwan Chang Elephant Camp, Koh Chang, Thailand – Of the 3 elephant trekking operators on the island of Koh Chang, only Ban Kwan (also know as Klong Son) is supported by the Asian Elephant Foundation, a highly reputable organization.  So if you want to go elephant trekking with a good conscious and avoid supporting the abuse of elephants go with Ban Kwan.   http://www.jungleway.com/elephant_camp.htm

— Rants —

Biting Flies, New Zealand – Why didn’t anyone warn us?  These little buggers were everywhere and penetrated our beloved Space Ship every night we camped.  Mosquito nets proved to be our only successful defense.  http://www.wildwalks.co.nz/sand_flies.htm

Board Rider Backpacker Hostel, Sydney, Australia – “Quite possibly the dirtiest youth hostel we’ve ever been in.  The main corridors looked like a teen surf shop but between the lack of pillows, filthy sheets and puke in the sink, it was vial.”  Avoid this cesspool in Manly Beach unless our journal notes somehow intrigue you.  http://www.boardrider.com.au/

Istanbul:
Though it may be hard to believe we actually met compatriots in Istanbul. What i mean is that we met fellow American travelers and they were cool, liberal, and had travelled alot more than us. In fact we met one couple that was taking 10 months to travel around the world  for their honeymoon. In the end we enjoyed the company so much that instead of spending a single night in Istanbul before heading on to Goreme we ended up staying for 4 days. Check out Anthony and Shan’s blog at http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Shan+Lee if following our blog has gotten to boring.  So some of the highlights include:

The Sultan’s Palace: Here we saw the royal jewels which included gems so large you were convinced that they were fake. What I found the most impressive was a pill box cut out of a single giant emerald, just like in the Count of Monty Cristo. We also saw the infamous harem which was quite lovely though perhaps not as enlightening as I would have hoped. But we still ended up with some cool photos.

The Blue Mosque (and every other important mosque in Istanbul as they didn’t charge entrance fees) The blue mosque was stunning, decorated entirely in blue painted tiles it is beautiful to see and is a nice  calm and cool respite when looking to avoid carpet dealers.

The Egyptian spice bazar:  which surprisingly did not have great spices but did have plenty of people trying to get you to visit their cousins carpet shop. The craziest part is that the central isle of the bazaar  had stand that sold only jewelry it ended up looking like a turkish rodeo drive.

But perhaps the most fun we had was sitting at a cafe on a bridge over the Bosphorus, the meeting point of Europe and Asia, drinking beers and playing team backgammon while the waiters just laughed at us.

Goreme: Smurf Village ok not really but it sure did look like it. Goreme is a village in one of the valleys that was used by early christians to hide from persecution. In order to avoid detection people lived in caves carving entire churches and monasteries into the rocks. Even today many of people continue to live in caves, we followed their example and stayed in our one cave hotel room. It was really nice although a little damp and mildewy. while in goreme we went on a great hike through three of the valleys, Honey Valley, white valley, and Love Valley which was absolutely beautiful. We also went to a Turkish night, a performance at a cave restaurant which consisted of an all you can eat meal plus 5 hours of traditional folk dancing including the famous whirling dervishes. We happily joined in the fun and joined in dancing around a bonfire.

Olympus: Site of the eternal flames and referred to in Lonely Planet as summer camp. Well we had to go because that was where you can catch the blue cruises. It was fun though unremarkable we stayed in a tree hous, hung out at the beach and then hiked up to the eternals flames at night. The flames form naturally as gas escapes from the rock it combusts, a really cool phenomenon but in actuality they just looked like campfires.

Blue Cruise:  Our 4 day cruise along the Turkish coast ended up being somewhat of a hit and miss adventure.  Extremely fun and gorgeous scenery but a bit of an uh.. eclectic crowd.  A brief description of a few of the sailors on board sums it up.   Captain. only had one arm, named the ship “Mr. Hook” and consistently worried about the coming storm which is why we never stayed in one place long enough to enjoy it. Jerre. questionable alcoholic who ended up with a 150 lire bar tab.  Beers were only 3 lire so you do the math. Teresa.  60 year eternal hippie woman who only talked about spirituality and everything Berkeley.  Honey.  20 year old hot Iranian girl from Canada who belly danced her way around the ship and into the crews quarters every night.  Yeah so it was an interesting but fun crowd and some of our swimming spots were as scenic as could be.  Steve also caught some fish one day using only string and bread and had em pan fried for dinner.  Yum yum!