Fat Camp in Indonesia – (Part 1 Continued)

So when we last left our brave volcano-climber, I had reached the top very tired but happy to have done it, and grateful for the beautiful sunrise and cute monkeys playing on top of the volcano and acting as great photography subjects. We wandered about on the top, taking photos, saying wow wow, then having a nice breakfast.

(editor’s note: you may get grossed out by the following, but if you don’t mind and need a laugh, read on. I debated whether or not to post this, but hey, let’s get personal.)

After breakfast though, I immediately felt ill. I had to go to the bathroom but of course there was no toilet at the top of a volcano. “Should I wait until I get down to the bottom?” I thought. But then I realized, no, that would not be possible, I had to go, and I had to go now. And I didn’t just have to pee, I had to go to the bathroom. Like, ooh, breakfast is not sitting quite right, stomach cramps kind of have to go to the bathroom. I’ve never shat in the woods, or on the top of a volcano for that matter, or really anywhere other than a toilet before, so my mind (as well as my stomach) is churning. Oh god, how will I bury it on the top of the volcano? What if I don’t have enough tissue? What if someone comes around the corner? Oh bugger it, I have to go! And you know, it was actually kind of refreshing. I mean, it was better than going in a really grungy public toilet. And one of my friends agreed to stand guard for me so there were no close encounters with strangers descending the volcano.

Shortly after my first contribution, we started our decent, which should take about two hours. But unfortunately, I didn’t feel any better. I’d be walking and walking, or in some cases, trying not to slide down the volcano, when the pain would return. In fact, I had to visit the outdoor little girls’ room twice more on the way down the volcano. What a mess. Could my stomach not have picked a more opportune time to get sick? I have no idea what it was but I assume it was the spice in the food again that did it, because that was not nice poo. Not nice at all. It was horrible, such a horrible experience. I should be enjoying nature and the views and the experience of this volcano, but all I concentrate on is not getting sick. But at least there were some woods for me to do what I needed to do, and hey, there was a nice cool breeze on my arse. Oh it’s funny how we can make light of things days or even hours after they happen, while at the time all you want to do is roll over and die.

So I guess, in addition to the fat camp exercise regime, the travel gods decided to bless me with a little stomach malfunction to try to get me back to my normal size. That’s been going on now off and on for about two weeks, and strangely enough, I am just about back to my normal size. I guess you have to be careful what you wish for, because damnit, I'd love to eat some food now without wondering if it is going to make me sick soon after.

Anyway, on the bright side of all of this, after we made it down the volcano and having a brief lie-down in the shade whilst waiting for the others to descend, I got just what the doctor ordered. We went to hot springs just around the corner from the bottom of the volcano (conveniently placed, no?) and man, they were fantastic. It was a beautiful place, with a massive swimming pool, plus two hot pools to rest and rejuvenate our tired muscles. The hot pools even had little waterfall spout thingies that we could strategically place ourselves under for instant shoulder massages (or leg or foot massages, if you could position yourself just right.) It was a great way to end the tiring morning, and nice just to float around and decompress, and thankfully, feel a bit better.

More again soon. I am actually back in Thailand now but am still catching up on my Indonesia stories. Mom and I are having a great time catching up, and, stomach-permitting, are trying to take Bangkok by storm!

Fat Camp in Indonesia (part 1)

I think, since I’ve started traveling three months ago, that I’ve gained about 10 pounds. It could be less, it is definitely not more, but it could be 10. TEN POUNDS. How does this happen to a normally small girl who usually goes to the gym several times per week? Ohhhhhhhhhhh, wait a minute, that’s right. Remove the gym element (because really, how lame would that be to seek out gyms when I could be walking around seeing stuff) and add at least one sugary fruit shake per day, in addition to the best food in the world, and there you have it, 10 pounds in three months.

I know, I know, you are probably saying, but how can you gain weight, aren’t you walking around all the time? I am, but it’s more like ambling than power walking. The ambling is partly because it is so hot, you just don’t want to walk any faster and get any sweatier, and partly because, what’s the rush? Relax. And I have mentioned the quality and quantity of available yummy food right? So I amble down the street, wander through a temple, amble over to a fruit seller, amble over to a banana pancake, you get the picture.

I mean, okay, to be honest, it’s not that bad. I’m not blowing up; I still fit in to all of my clothes. I still look like me, but I wish I were back to my normal slightly-smaller-and-healthy-looking self. So the other day I said to myself (whilst looking at myself in a bikini in a mirror) “right, time to start exercising again.”

Well, I’ve come to Indonesia and gotten my wish. It’s like fat camp around here. In the past nine days, I’ve climbed a (really freakin hard, steep and somewhat scary, active) volcano, I’ve gone on two long walks through the jungle (leeches included, but thankfully not on me) to find some freezing cold yet beautiful and refreshing waterfalls, and one (even scarier, slipperier and more terrifying) trek up a mountain that was meant to last two days, but got rained out on the first.

So, fist things first, Gunung Batur. This is the second most holy volcano on Bali. And in true torturous style, I agree to wake up at three am so we can climb it. What the hell was I thinking? But everyone else was doing it (famous last words) and it didn’t seem like it would be too terribly difficult, so why not. We got up at three, had some toast and tea at 330 and were on the road to the mountain by four. We started climbing in the dark, of course, since the goal was to get up there by sunrise. It was dark, but we had flashlights, and the sky was actually relatively bright with stars. The guides didn’t use flashlights, as they do this every day so they know the route like the back of their hands.

The walk started out not so bad. We walked through what was similar to a coarse black sand beach. Then the sand turned more to rock and carried on climbing. The first hour was not too bad, but then we started going up, and up, and up, and up, and have I mentioned up.

Partway up we stopped so our guide could make an offering to the volcano - not of us humans, silly, but of some rice and fruit, typical Balinese offerings you see scattered throughout the island. They are often on door steps or in front of shops, I think mainly to keep the spirits happy and bring luck to the givers.

After the offering, we carried on with one of the guides insisting I go right after him, and he’d take my hand and nearly drag me up the volcano. He was motoring – it was like he was on a mission or something. I kept saying, slow down, I can’t go so fast, but he’d say, just a little bit further then we can rest. Crikey! I thought I was climbing the mountain, not running up it!

There were lots of tall steps, big steps, the kind where you wanted to have a railing to help pull yourself up because you didn’t think your quad muscles could do any more work. But we carried on. I’ve never bee very good at uphill or stair climbing, my lungs just don’t like that. So I had to stop frequently, more frequently as we neared the end. The climb was hard! I wasn’t sure I was going to make it at the end, and I think a few others were feeling the same. But we pressed on because, really, we had no choice.

The most frustrating part (besides not being able to breathe and having a massive burning in your quads) was that if someone asked how much further the guide would always say "15 more minutes." Maybe they didn't like us asking, but it must have been "15 more minutes" at least four or five times!

But once we got to the top, phew, thank god that was over, was my first thought, haha. But then I saw the sunrise (which we all know this late-sleeper hardly ever sees), and the monkeys playing around on the top of the volcano, and my legs stopped burning for a while, and I felt okay, and the last two and a half hours of occasional agony were worth it. The sunrise was beautiful, of course, and I could stand up there and say "I just climbed a volcano!"

Going back down was another story entirely, but that will have to wait until my computer battery recharges ... more soon!

(PS sorry I've been MIA, I've had no access for two weeks!)

Is it strange to write about toilets in a blog?

Back when I was in my guesthouse in Bangkok, they had signs in the toilets that said "please don't stand on the toilet seat." I thought to myself, well isn't that obvious. The only reason I'd stand on a toilet seat is if I were trying to hide from some mass murderer and thought maybe he wouldn't see my feet if I were standing on the seat in the stall (do I watch too much tv?)

But I digress. As I've carried on through more of Thailand, and Malaysia and Singapore, and I've gone in to public toilets in various train stations, etc, and I've seen very distinguishable black footprints on various toilets seats, I now understand why the signs are up there. I guess if you are used to only seeing squat toilets, then all of a sudden there's this big white thing up off the ground, you'd be confused as far as what to do as well. The same way I wasn't quite sure how to manually flush the squatters when I first saw them.

But more about toilets another time.

I am supposed to fly to Bali in a few hours, but there appears to be a monsoon outside - it's just white with rain. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

more photos are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82584&l=449f1&id=791230081
and i've added some to the ones that were already here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76270&l=f8c11&id=791230081

I Like Singapore

Imagine my surprise. Everyone told me all there is to do here is shop, and that three days was more than plenty to see everything. And while that last bit is pretty true, this city is actually really liveable. Streets are clean, public transport is efficient, bus maps actually exist and are easy to read, people want to help and talk to you, not in a two-legged shark kind of way, but just to be nice.
Yesterday I found the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, one of the nicest Buddhist Temples I have been in to, including 100s of gold Buddhas lining the walls, a photography exhibition, a museum showcasing the life of Buddha and a roof-top garden with gorgeous flowers and a giant prayer wheel.

Chinatown is clean and has plentiful food options. Little India is somethin'. The river is nice, the Durian (the performing arts center) has lots of stuff to see; there are tons of restaurants, shopping, or just places to duck inside from the heat or rain, etc, etc etc. It's a good place. I am pleasantly surprised.

Just thought I'd share.

The Curse Is Lifted

It's hard to figure out where to start a blog post when I haven't properly updated for weeks. Oops. Well first, the Mandy and Paloma's Travel Curse is lifted, finally. After her nearly-not-making-it-to-Thailand debauchle and aside from the minor mouse incident, we had a brilliant time. Her delay in the beginning allowed me to explore the finer points of Bangkok vegetarian cuisine (including overdoses of fresh pineapple and fruit shakes) with my new vegetarian friend!!! Then the three of us cried laughing over silly faces and fruit shakes for three days, while exploring new bits of Bangkok together (Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, was very cool, for those who have not yet been and are not templed-out).


Paloma and I then went to Ayuttaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, and cycled around the old ruins (What's a little heatstroke amongst friends? Don't all smart people hire bicycles in 100 degree heat?) including some temple climbing and than a (much cooler) evening night cruise arund the city. Then we had the best pizza in Thailand courtesy of an Italian man who spoke English with a Thai accent.

Then, as you know, it was on to the islands for Christmas. After the islands we flew to Kuala Lumpur, which, I gotta say, was ... disappointing. The Petronas Towers were amazingly beautiful and the Orchid Garden was nice too, but the rest ... what is there to see? Chinatown was a poopoo hole and the smell of durian permeated our noses in the most unsettling way. If you've never heard of nor smelled durian, it's a ... how shall i say ... FRAGRANT fruit. Some people say it smells like shit but tastes like heaven. I agree with the first part. It smells like rotting fruit mixed with a sewer. Not so nice. Lots of hotels/hostels designate themselves as durian-free zones because the stuff is so powerful (mom, remember the rotting noni fruit in my bag, yeah, similar to that).

But I digress.

Other than the aforementioned, there's not a whole lot going on. We went to Batu caves (after asking at least 6 different people and getting 10 different answers as to which public bus to take and where to get it). The caves were okay but not well-maintained. But we saw lots of monkeys - they were cute, but relentless; I saw one take a drink box out of a girls' hand. Crazy! There were 272 steps to the top, and lots of Hindu shrines inside. Afterwards we ate authentic (and strange) Indian food. We were the only ones not using our hands, but I just couldn't work out how to not make a mess, so ... oh well.

The planetarium was nice and cool (as in, freezing, but a nice way to escape the heat). I was chased down the markets by people wanting to sell me everything, and we were constantly stared at because we were white tourists -Which I don't quite get, because there were a fair few tourists, and ex-pats living there as well, so white skin is not such a rarity. I even had to look at one guy in the train station and say "what!?" because he wouldn't go away.

But we did encounter a lot of nice people who went out of our way to help us, like the Indian man who walked us to the hard-to-find bus stop after prolaiming "I like white people. I always try to talk to them because they are nice." And another lady who chased us down to tell us some bus information she had forgotten. Everyone wanted to talk to us. I was glad to have helpful locals. So KL was interesting, but not a place I need to go back to. I would like to see other bits of Malaysia that I missed, but we ran out of time.

And now, after saying bye bye to Paloma and taking a night train, I am in Singapore, where I spent a very religious afternoon (no I am not searching) - I have been inside Buddhist and Hindu temples and a mosque as well. The new Buddhist temple was amazing with hundreds of buddhas inside and great exhibits. And another nice person I met outside (whilst escaping the rain) tole me about the FREE vegetarian food inside the temple. Apparently all the Chinese temples in Singapore offer free vegetarian food - that's a goldmine find for a shoestring traveller!!! I only have a few days here and was expecting to be bored, as I'd been told all there is to do is shop, but I was pleasantly surprised today. Tomorrow, a night safari at the zoo!

So that's me. I think that covers everything. Phew! Sorry if I bored some of you.

Oh, and mom will be here this month - yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

Happy New Year

Hi Everyone
I know I haven't written in a while, not much internet time these days. I am fine and safe and sound. I spent New Year's Eve in Kuala Lumpur (not the most exciting city on the planet, but they put on a nice fireworks show right behind the Petronas Towers). Paloma leaves today and I am off to Singapore for a few days before flying to Indonesia. I will write more soon. Happy New Year, I hope everyone had a great time!
Mandy