Bali road trip – lot’s of road

Sticky rice on the rice terraces

For some reason Indonesia (Bali) seems tougher to get around in than Thailand. There’s a lot more ‘services’ that just blatantly rip you off – with a friendly smile. Once you get a feel for the prices though, you can get good deals – so we booked ourselves a trip around Bali, mixing and matching the ‘standard tours’ and going off the tourist trail a bit. I’m not sure if the mixing of different sights was a good idea, as we ended up spending quite some hours in the car getting to the sights… But I guess that a road trip involves being on the road… lots of road… Pics below.

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Preah Vihaer border temple

The traditional 'I was there' pic ;-)

One of the must-sees on my trip and the reason for hopping over the not so common Thai-Khmer border crossing, was the Preah Vihaer temple. It is not only declared UNESCO world heritage (since 2008) but it is also the subject of vigorous quibbles between two oh-so peaceful countries. So if even two zen countries fight a war over it, it must be amazing (pics below).

So I asked well around before setting off to this well hidden temple at the Thai border. The holy guidebook told me that the trip involved having dollars ready to ‘support’ the Cambodian soldiers (so that they let you through). My guesthouse girl (who looked very much like a boy though) told me that there were shared taxis from the one and only Anlong Veng roundabout going to the road crossing at the foot of the hill/mountain. From there I would need to take a motorbike up the steep slopes (because no common vehicles would manage).

Border crossing from Thailand into Cambodia

Chong Sa Ngam TH-KH border crossing

The guidebook said it was possible, the Internet that knows it all too. So I decided to try the most remote border crossing from Si Saket (TH) into Anlong Veng (KH). A little adventure, especially as I started off in the wrong direction. Actually, I didn’t have a clue which direction but still pointed the motorbike taxi in the wrong direction. Wrong wrong wrong…

How to get sunburn for double the price?

1. Get a (completely undetailed) map of the area in Thai language (the only map I could find in Si Saket)

Traveling through Thailand

Spaceship buses: imagine light coming out of every crevice

As I would be going up to Bangkok later, I decided to head straight for the North-East: the real Thailand: Isaan, where hardly any tourists go (unless they get lost or want to go to Laos). That also means that people don’t speak English, but they help you all the more ;-) But what really impressed me was the public transport: the buses and the trains.

Volcanic Travel Woes

A few days before i was scheduled for Thailand

The EU conference wasn’t badly organised enough as it was, the Icelanders decided to add a little challenge for the organisers and participants: a beauuuutiful ash cloud that made all travelling virtually impossible. I was grinning a bit with the panic of the people. I was staying on a few days with friends anyway. But then my flight got also cancelled – and I joined all the European chicken running around without head…

• An Odyssey journey to get back home – but at least I arrived home…
• Cuz I was scheduled to go to Thailand – and that was an appointment not to miss!
• Even if that meant doing the crazy things I did.

Where is Tony – Asia trip 2

Recovering big time, from 2 days traveling, or was it from an operation?

Just in case you wanna keep track of my wherabouts:

• WANTED – new SALTO Inclusion colleague to work with me (apply before 31 January 2010)
• Looking back: I gained 2500€ by traveling 1 month to Asia – Also see funny Pinoy things & pics

• 28 December: back home (sigh) – back to normality – but what is ‘normal’ after such a trip…?
• 27 December: in the afternoon I was lying in my skimpy Thai swimwear at the pool, being flirted by the locals – in the evening I was amongs completely covered and anti-gay men and women in Abu Dhabi airport – and in the morning back to the Belgian cold.
  Another lovely trip came to an end…
• 25 December: A very merry crazy christmas! Having a cocktail up in the sky and giving myself white teeth as a xmas present (see pictures).
• 24 December: bracing myself for Xmas alone in BKK ;-( or maybe not? It was the most A-typical christmas ever.
• 18 December: Cambodia: a few days Phnom Penh and then Siem Reap – like the good old days ;-)
• 17 December: and to Bangkok again (a bit of luxury) – bringing my computer to hospital (new screen) and having it repaired in no time – wow – that’s service
• 16 December: back to Manila – how sad – the end of Phils
• 15 December: a surprise visit to neighbouring island of Guimaras – mango country – and being converted on the boat by an adventist
• 14 December: discovering Iloilo-jeepney city before flying back to Manila – having a private cinema session…
• 10 December: my last days under the Boracay sun

• Christmas atmosphere is really setting in here – even though it’s 30 degrees and running around in swimwear – strange. I even got invited to my first Xmas party already

• we bumped into a photographer doing an art project – so all of a sudden I find myself in an ‘universal love’ bubblegum photo shoot.

Iloilo Xmas tidings

Iloilo cultural heritage - hidden very well

I found a flight back to Manila for a ridiculous price – so I didn’t think about booking it twice, even if that meant flying from Iloilo – a 6 hours bus-race away from Boracay. There wasn’t much to do or see in Iloilo, unless you looked very well. But we managed to bump into some pleasant surprises when there:

• Going to a private cinema
• Indulging in the local Christmas speciality: bibingka
• And a crazy & holy boat trip to Guimaras mango island