Day 126 to 129 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Multi Culture, Multi Food andMulti Shopping Malls

22 to 25 March

My very first impression about KL is that it's a big, happy family of Chinese, Malay, Hindu and Middle Eastern people! I wonder how did the government achieve this success - if everyone can live happily after in Malaysia, surely they can live peacefully in the world. Anyways, that's another story, I should not get into d difficult topics such as religions and politics ...

Next, I noticed the variety of food available in KL and this made me very happy! I guess I should not be surprised given the multiure. And finally, I am convinced that KL is a city designed for shopping. It has so many shopping malls and different brands! 

Day 1 - After we checked into our modern hotel in the City Centre, we went to the Pavilion Shopping Mall nearby to buy some contact lenses. This shopping mall became the most frequently visited site by us in the following 3 days. :) There are so many international brands in this mall - not only the usual suspects from the US, the UK but also Italy, Spain and China! The best part is, of course, the food court! Lots of choices. I felt I was a kid left in a candy store! I wanted to eat everything, but we settled on the Teppanyaki. It was good for the price. 

That night, we also found out, the hard way, that the clubbing street is right behind the hotel! We later conceived the hotel to give us a free upgrade to a room on the other side of the building.

Day 2 - We checked out the KLCC complex and park, and saw the Petronas Twin Towers in awe. They do stand out compared to all the other buildings nearby - their design is quite unique. Since we cannot dive, I dragged Lars to the KL Aquarium and it exceeded my expectations by a wide margin! It has 4 types of sharks, lots of sea horses (including many pregnant ones), big and rare Amazon river fish (including cat fish), electric fish, stone fish, lion fish and many weird looking Malaysian fresh water fish! We were the last ones to leave the Aquarium.

For dinner, we went to the famous Jalan Alor for some street food. It was quite touristy. The skewers are good, especially the BBQ'd Sting Ray (I know, my bad), but the fried noodle from the Chinese restaurant was not good.
  

Day 3 - We were glad that Uber also works in Malaysia and we took a Uber taxi to Batu Caves. The main caves are average and there is not much to see. By chance, we ended up taking a guided tour for the adjacent Dark Cave. It was a bit scary for me at first! I can hear thousands of bats above me and we saw some cave insects such as cockroaches, spiders and centipedes. The rock formation is also quite amazing. By the end of the tour, I was no longer afraid of bats, as I learned they only eat fruit and insects! Phew, I am safe.     

Day 4 - Last day at KL was a food day for us (Lars said everyday is a food day for me LOL). we went to Lot 10 Alley under the recommendation of a local taxi driver. We were little disappointed with the atmosphere in this food court - the ceiling is very low and it felt claustrophobic. I tried the roasted duck - it tasted good but the portion was tiny. Lars did not like his Thai Chicken Curry. But he did discover something amazing - Shaved Ice Cream! Okay, it's really just sliced, taro-flavoured frozen ice, topped with real Taro pieces and other candies, but it looks and tastes good. I had traditional tofu pudding, which Lars mistakenly thought was custard! He had a bite and almost spit it out again! For dinner, we had Shanghai steamed buns and dumplings from the famous chain (from Taiwan) Ding Tai Feng on the 6th floor of Pavilion Mall - yeah, most frequented place by us in KL!

Overall, I feel KL is a big modern city that is quite affordable and tourist-friendly; free tourist bus, easy/cheap transportation, good English in most places, and little risk of being ripped off. It's especially a good place to visit for foodies and shopholics. 

Day 108 to 125 Island hopping in Bali, Indonesia - hardly any non-touristy spots left

5 to 22 March

Apologies in advance that I am about to ruin some of your ladies' dreams of going to Bali. But again, these are just my personal experience and opinions, so don't let that get in the way if you are determined to see Bali for yourself!

Okay, in a nutshell, I feel Bali is overrated. The problem is not because it absolutely lacks natural or cultural beauty but the "commercialness" just spoils everything. Simply put, the island is overdeveloped for tourism and it's hard to find any peace, tranquillity and, more importantly, authenticity. It didn't jive at all with my mental image of a soul-enriching paradise as portrayed in Eat, Pray and Love. In fact, the movie is part to blame for the deterioration of Bali. Two Australia couples we met said Bali was very different many years ago and the most rapid and drastic changes came after 2008. So, now it's more like Eat, Pray and Leave. :P

The same has happened to the surrounding Gili Islands (e.g. it changed a lot in the last 2 years) and, to a lesser extent, Lembongan as well. The worst bit is that tourists are always faced with the risk of being ripped off in Bali - from the speedboat tickets to bottled water. But there is a silver lining - most things are cheap, so even if you get ripped off, it won't do much damage to your bank account.

Day 1 to 5: After being warned by many people about the trashy Kuta area in Bali, we decided to stay in Ubud to better experience the Bali culture. It also turns out that it's much easier to do sightseeing trips from Ubud as it's quite central. We stayed in a quiet spa resort north of Ubud centre. When we first opened the door to our balcony, we were stunned by the beautiful rice field in front of us. The room is decorated in typical Balinese style and fit for relaxation. But after a few days, we start to notice the little cracks here and there, the cars driving behind the rice field, and the not-so-little ants crawling inside of the shelf. As it was the rainy season, we only got about 2 days (out of 5) of sunshine and managed to squeeze in some sightseeing in between showers: 

* Day 1: After a long journey from Brisbane, we didn't get to the hotel until late afternoon. We were happy to find out that our hotel provides free afternoon tea/coffee and dessert! :) Over the next few days, we had so many Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) or Mie Goreng (Fried Noodles) from our hotel and other restaurants that I feel sick just hearing the word Nasi!

* Day 2: We visited the Monkey Forest and surprisingly, the monkeys are not as aggressive as I expected. We did see monkeys stealing food and even post-it notes from other visitors though. There are a lot of monkeys roaming freely in the sanctuary - the classic moment came when a male monkey was doing "monkey business" to a female monkey all while eating a banana! Too bad we only got a blurred picture. The sanctuary also has a few nice temples and beautiful forest area. The monkey sanctuary is one of my favourite sites in Bali. 

We also checked out the famous Yoga Barn. Although the set up is quite nice, I couldn't help but thinking that this is not original at all. All teachers are expats and all classes are taught in English. When we asked our local driver, he said the locals are too busy making a living to practice yoga. Again, there is a silver lining though, you will meet other like-minded people there - as another Swedish guy we met pointed out, he met his girlfriend there!

There are a number of Healthy/Organic restaurants as well as shops selling spa products (soaps, incense etc.) in Ubud. In fact, the Ubud Centre is filled with touristy shops which, if anything, damage the original atmosphere in my opinion. But there is indeed something special - the family temples. We learned that every family and every village has a temple in Bali and these beautiful temples are most visible in Ubud compared to the resortish areas. I am no temple expert, but the architectural style looks different than that of Chinese or Hindu temples. We even went inside one family's temple and found out that they rent out rooms of the temple for £10 a day!   

* Day 3: I was having a hard time getting used to the large money denomination in Indonesia. Our bank slip showed that we are millionaires, of course in Rupiah! LOL I always had to count money very carefully (much to Lars' embarrassment) when we paid for things. Since it was raining heavily, we decided to just stay in and relax for the day. After I carefully worked out that the massage in our hotel only costs £11 for 90 mins, we ordered one each. The girl doing my massage seems to have a cold and I was constantly worried that, judging from the noise she made, whatever she had in her nose would fall onto my back!!

* Day 4: A major sightseeing day - we hired a car and a driver from our hotel to take us to all the major touristy sites:
 - Tegallalang Rice Terrance: it's nice but not as big as I expected. There were also "organised" school girls chasing us to buy post cards for £3 each! One of them kept lowering the price as we walked away. They seem to be at all major touristy attractions ...   

 - Tirta Empul Holy Water Temple is my second favourite site in Bali: very holy and spiritual atmosphere with mostly local prayers bathing in the spring water. My favourite has to be the giant gold fish in the pond next door! I even fed them and allegedly it's all the tourists who made them so fat!!
 - We had a short break at a small local coffee plantation and tried various coffees and teas - my favourite is the Lemongrass tea and Lars' is Coconut Coffee

 - Kintamani Batur Volcano and Lake: nice view from the platform, but the best view is from the restaurant terrace at the end of the road.
 - Pura Besakih or Mother Temple: the largest temple in Bali. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful. But the temple association, which I think is just the local mafia, follows a disgusting practice of asking tourists for mandatory donations or fees for local guides (in addition to the entrance tickets). They even suggested the amounts to donate - £20 to £30 in our case. We gave all the cash we had but learned from another couple that they only gave half of what we gave. Our assigned guide looks as old as the temple and spoke incomprehensible English ... Silver lining is that we were taken to the top of the mountain and had some decent views. We didn't see the couple who "donated" less in these better viewing spots ... Just as you thought it won't get worse, the guide asked for additional tips at the end of the trip. He told us that he is not getting any of the money we gave earlier ... 

 - Our last stop is Gunung Kawi or Rock Temple: it's quite beautiful especially the rice paddy leading to the rock carvings

Throughout the trip, our driver (an employee at the hotel) didn't speak much, partly because of his limited English. When he spoke, he was only interested in finding out where we were going next and if we wanted to buy more tickets or tours from him ...  

*Day 5: On our last day in Ubud, we checked out the Ubud Palace, which is supposed to be the culture centre. It turns out to be nothing but a basic, out-dated and slightly run-down square. The daily dance is held there and we had a glimpse of it the night before. Personally, I found it too touristy and even a bit scary! :P We also went to the famous art market, which is again nothing but a large flea or souvenir market. Yes, I was disappointed ... Julie Roberts didn't warn me about this!

We stayed at Padangbai overnight to catch the fast boat the next day to Gili Air, one of the three islands northwest off Lombok. Padangbai itself has nothing interesting except one hidden beach, but it is the hub for the various fast boats. The fast boat tickets are a big business in Bali and the price vary significantly, depending on your negotiation skills! We almost paid £30 each online, but our hotel owner got it for £12.50. One couple in our Ubud hotel warned us about "Bali Prices"! 

Another interesting thing happened in a local restaurant in Padangbai. Lars and I ordered Grilled Marlin and Grilled Barracuda for dinner. What the waitress brought to us were two identical dish. She paused for a moment and then pointed to one, "this is Barracuda" and then pointed to the other, "Marlin". The cutting mark from both pieces of fish are exactly the same. She did not even blink her eyes when she lied - she would be a good actress! :P 

The kindest person we had met in Bali is the taxi driver we hired in Ubud to take us to Padangbai. He made sure we were dropped off at the right place and tried to call the hotel several times for us. He also explained many culture and traditions to us. The true Bali culture evolves around the Temple, as you would expect. Balinese stay where they were born and they value community very much and help each other within the same community. They do not go on holidays or travel abroad. Whatever time, energy and money they have, they spend on their temples. They worship, worship and worship. That's why we see the flowers and trays of offerings are everywhere. There are traditional religious and sacred dances, but they are only performed inside of the temple for locals. What the tourists see are for entertainment only ... He admits that some of the local people are not honest with tourists, but he is not one of them.   

All in all, Bali did not impress or inspire me. Far from it, I felt it was a place overloaded with tourism and filled with hawkers. Many local people are only interested in making money off tourists. But, there are nice landscapes and temples to visit, and if you are lucky enough, you may meet kind locals who demonstrate the friendliness and helpfulness as described in every travel brochures. 

Day 6 to 12 Under the recommendations of our friends, we decided to visit Gili Air, which we thought to be a paradise island for relaxing. When we arrived after a hour and half on the speed boat, we saw an island with average beach and mediocre water visibility. Some parts even have floating rubbish. The pathway leading to the dive resort seems busy. Although no motor vehicles are allowed on the islands, there are horse carriages and bicycles squeezed in one narrow road. Along the way, there are plenty of souvenir shops, ticket offices and restaurants. Overall, I would not say it is an inviting island.

But, it was a good place to get certified for diving. The price was very reasonable and it was very convenient as we managed to secure a place to stay at the dive centre. Even though we had to change our room 3 times, the standards are much better than all the other hotels nearby. The only annoyance was the rooster next door, who always shouted at 1am and 5am in the morning! I was very close to going over the fence and kill the damn rooster! One of the dive masters told us that it took him a year to get used to the rooster noise on the island ...

Although I was not a big fan of my dive instructor (the manager of the dive centre) and the two other Americans doing the certification, I managed to survive the process. I discovered that taking multiple-choice questions is my strength, but swimming is not :P I did not know that I had to jump off the dive boat 200m away from the beach and swim to the shore! I somehow swam in the wrong direction for at least half way, so I basically swam 400m because of  the current - everyone on the boat was laughing at me! When I finally arrived at shore, I was very exhausted, but relieved. Yay, I didn't drown! I still remember the time that I wore a safety jacket when snorkelling in Cancun, Mexico 3 years ago! :)

The island has decent food. Our favourite is a restaurant called Chill Out, where I had Parrot Fish! I know, I did feel sad afterwards and decided not to eat any more Parrot Fish. :( We also run into our favourite stalkers Sue and Katrina, the beautiful Irish ladies who we met in Whitsunday in Australia! WooHoo! We spotted the weirdest cat together in the bar and watched the smallest bonfire on the beach! LOL

Now, as for the dive sites, mostly are reasonably nice - some had better visibility than others. I saw a few sea turtles, lion fish (for the first time), puffer/box fish and the usual suspects of tropic fish family. The corals are of average condition. As the weather improves (it rained for the first 2 days), the water visibility also got better. When the Sun finally shines in the blue sky on the 3rd day, the island does look much better. 

Day 13 to 16  Given the suggestion from our dive master in Gili, we decided to head to Lembongan, an island 30 mins southeast of Bali, for more diving. The boat ride there was long, partly because we got semi ripped off by the ticket agent in Gili Air. But we were glad we took the dive master's recommendation as the diving was super - the corals and water visibility are much better than Gili's. For the first two days, we stayed in the main harbour area and did 4 dives each. We saw:
- 1 Manta Ray
- 1 sea horse
- 2 Bamboo sharks
- Plenty of nudibranches, mory eels, gigantic puffer fish, cute box fish, trumpet fish, unicorn fish, trigger fish etc. 

Not only the diving was better, the islands are more beautiful in my opinion. Nusa Penida is still undeveloped and the cliffs/rocks formation is beautiful near the mangrove side. There are also amazing blow holes along the sea shore. At the moment, only locals live on the Penida island and I reckon it's a matter of time before tourists from Bali flood in.

After the last dive, Lars felt some pain in his upper abdominal area so the hotel called a local doctor immediately. After the local doctor failed to convince us that he knows what he is doing, we did our own research and eventually reached out to the dive chamber in London. The experts in London recommended Lars to rest a few weeks before resuming diving.

For the next two days, we stayed at a boutique villa resort on the cliff side of Lembongan to rest. We watched beautiful sunset from there. On the last day, we took the speedboat back to Bali to catch our flight to Borneo island. The ride to Bali was quite bumpy and we saw rubbish floating in the water near Sanur (a habour in south Bali). When we arrived at the Sanur, I was underwhelmed by the beach. So far, we have not seen a nice beach in Bali.  

Since it was the day before Balinese new year, we took the earlier boat transfer just in case if the roads in Bali get blocked. Balinese New Year is a big celebration for the locals, who will burn ugly and scary looking statues (symbolizing bad spirits) in the afternoon. The day after the ceremony (burning) is the New Year Day, or a day for the locals to reflect and a day of silence. Everything including the airport will be shut, so we decided to get out before we get stuck in Bali. 

Day 17 to 18 We stopped over for 2 days at Balikpapan, from where we originally planned to go to Derawan islands in Borneo for diving. Since we cannot dive for the next few weeks, we decided to head to Kuala Lumpur instead, for some modern city entertainment. The only highlight about Balikpapan is the nice seafood restaurant by the pier. It has shark and box fish on its menu! A little sad indeed. 

In summery, I prefer Lembongan over the other islands for relaxation and especially for diving. Don't get me wrong, Bali does offer a better variety of things to do - it has something for everyone. If you can secure a cheap airfare like the Australians do (as cheap as $100 from Brisbane), Bali is a great option since food, drinks and accommodation can be super cheap. The fancy resorts won't be a steal but you can definitely afford more luxury in Bali. However, if you are coming all the way from Europe, you better do your research and sharpen your haggling skills beforehand. Just remember to visit Bali fast, since whatever culture that's left (less than 20%) won't be there for long ...

As for me, I will only return for more diving in other parts of Indonesia.  

The haircut I just got in Penang, Malaysia turned out a bit better than the one I got in Santiago... still not really that great, but it only cost me 5 Ringgit (£0.90)...

via Facebook

Decompression sickness...

I'm feeling quite sad today... yesterday Li and I were actually supposed to check in for 10 days into Nabucco's Nunukan Island Resort for some chilling out and scuba diving. The island is a tiny island in the Maratua Atoll which is located east of Kalimantan about 3 hours away by speed boat from Berau. The island is in an area which is supposed to be one of the top dive spots in the world and I've always wanted to go diving there. 

Instead of diving around the Maratua Atoll we are now sitting in a hotel in Balikpapan (Indonesia) and flying out to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) tomorrow. Unfortunately I cannot... well, I'm not supposed to dive for at least 4 weeks after I've been diagnosed with a mild case of type 1 decrompression sickness (DCS) after my last dive on Nusa Lembongan (Indonesia).

What happened? Well, I don't really know. I have about 160 dives under belt and never had any problems in relation to DCS. I've even done a few dives in the past that were beyond a normal dive profile, i.e., requiring deco stops, etc. All the dives I've done in the past few weeks in Australia and Indonesia were all fairly shallow dives with a normal dive profile (no rapid ascends, no forced deco stops, etc.) including safety stops.

About two hours after the last dive when I was back at the hotel I started feeling unwell with pain and swelling in my upper abdominal area and with something that looked like a rash or bruises on my chest and belly. At that point we had no idea what that was and decided to call a doctor which turned out to be total waste of time. The local doctor had no clue about diving and diagnosed me with a stomach infection and prescribe me lots of antibiotics and pain killers... and told me to not eat any fried rice and chilli for the next few days.

I had the suspicion that it was diving-related, because I remembered that I had a very mild form of one of the symptoms at least twice before after diving the previous days. At that time it was so minor that I dismissed it as just a sore muscle... but because I kept diving I made it worse. Only after talking to a doctor from the London Dive Chamber (via phone/email) he confirmed that my symptoms are consistent with the symptoms of a mild form of type-1 DCS. His recommendation is that I shouldn't be diving for at least 4 weeks.

I already felt better 24h after the dive and the DCS symptoms were mostly gone (i.e., recompression treatment was not required)... if you are a diver you will probably understand that I was very tempted to ignore the doctor's advise and only give it few days to recover. Especially given that my next dive was already planned on Nunukan island 5 days later and we already had all the flights booked. Well, it was a very hard decision, but I decided to play it safe and follow the advise from the doctor although it destroys my dream of going to Nunukan for scuba diving. Yes, we can always go another time, but given that we are currently in Indonesia anyway it would have been the perfect opportunity.

I should have more opportunities to dive in Thailand in a few weeks and I will definitely go diving again. Especially now that I can enjoy diving together with Li. Nevertheless I'm still wondering how I got the DCS symptoms given that I had no accident or any other issue during the dives, and certainly never had any issues for all my previous dives. Given that I also had trouble with high-altitude sickness on our round-the-world trip maybe I should limit my future activities to just chilling at the beach bar or hotel pool. :-(

Well done Li for becoming a certified diver!

Day 92 to 107 South and East Coast of Australia - A mixture of fun

17 Feb to 4 March

Australia is such a big country that we didn't attempt to replicate our road runner approach in New Zealand. :P We focused mainly on the South and East Coast. We also managed to spend some quality time in Sydney with our dear friends Martin, Jen and their little one! Despite hitting mostly the touristy spots, we had a good time doing a variety of activities. For Australia, it is the wildlife we encountered and the corals at the Great Barrier Reef (Bait Reef only) that left me with the most impression and memories. Of course, the icing on the cake was having the long overdue Dim Sum with the Zierer's at the authentic Marigold in Sydney after utilizing my queue jumping skills LOL

Day 1 & 2: We arrived in Melbourne quite late the first day so we only had time for a stroll in the city centre before heading down to Philip Island on Day 2. My first and quick impression of Melbourne is that it's a mordern and artistic city with interesting building designs. 

After we picked up our rental car, we head straight down to Philip Island for penguin spotting. My research didn't quite prepare us for just how touristy this event (called Penguin Parade) is. The beach area were all divided and boarded up, leaving only the path, through which the Penguins normally walk. Rows of seats are set up for viewing and of course you need to pay higher price for VIP seats. People, especially the Chinese, elbow each other to grab the best seats - I was of no exception of course and managed to get two good spots near the walkway. Then the waiting game started ...  Gladly our neighbours, local Italian-Australians, were very friendly and time flew by while we chatted. They shared good tips about Great Ocean Road. 

Finally, the first penguin appeared just after sunset around 8.30pm. The penguins here are the smallest of its kind in the world. They are only about 6 inches talk and weigh about 1 Kilo. Over the next hour, about 50 penguins came onshore in groups of 2 to 5. We were expecting hundreds as they are 34,000 of them on or near the island (but only about 10% may come onshore depending on the season). Of course, they didn't tell us before we bought the tickets that it's currently moulting season, meaning only a small number of penguins will go out to the sea hunting.

With the binoculars from our neighbour, I got to see these little creatures more clearly - they seem to be quite intimidated when they first came out of the water and they do walk funny. The best part only came on our way back to the parking lot as the penguins walked along the pathway so we got to see quite a few really close. They don't look that tiny up close and some of them are fat and fluffy (because it's feather shedding season). We also saw two penguins kissing (or at least it looked like they were) and found one lost in the parking lot! The best one was the penguins sleeping on its stomach on the top of a tall bush - how did it get up there?! We tried to take pics but got told off so we have nothing to show you guys. 

Day 3 to 5: We did The Great Ocean Road drive in 3 days. The best scenery for me are the 12 Apostles and Bay of Islands lookout. For the former, it was very touristy with large tourist buses constantly shipping people in. The Gibson Steps (where you can see 2 Apostles) are much better. For the latter, we accidentally went to a more hidden lookout and really enjoyed the view of the rugged coast line, all by ourselves. 

However, what we enjoyed the most are the wildlife we encountered along the way:  

- we, like the Chinese, went on a pursuit of koalas and managed to see quite a few wild ones in various places. The best one was near Cape Otway Lighthouse where one Koala decided to climb down the tree and crossed the street next to me. I was quick enough to take a video of it!  We saw 3 other Koalas in the area and saw another 3 in Kennet River, on the tree right beside the Koala Cove Cafe. 

- there were also beautiful but greedy/aggressive parrots near the cafe. They are used to tourist feeding and fight each other for the food! They also have sharp claws as I discovered ...

- Kangaroos were next - we got quite close to 4 of them by chance at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, although I was a bit scared of these big animals :P

- There were also Emus roaming freely in the reserve 

- we saw Wallabies (similar to Kangaroos but smaller) in both Philip Island and Griffiths island near Port Fairy.
- The first time we saw Sulphur-Crusted Cockatoos was at Teddy's lookout in Lorne

Our stay at Wytonia Hotel at Point Fairy was also memorable. Our apartment was right next to the beach and facing the ocean. That night, we slept at the sound of waves.

Day 6 to 8: Our dear friend Martin picked us up at Sydney airport and welcomed us with a box of doughnuts :) Over the next 3 days, we utterly enjoyed spending time with old good friends for the first time in 3 months! We enjoyed home made Pancakes, Australian BBQ (including kangaroo steak), Oriental Fusion Salads by Chef Martin and Jen. We also did the typical sightseeing: 

- harbour bridge was nice to look at from the ferry and to walk on!

- the opera house is quite impressive in design 

- there are so many beautiful beaches in Sydney! We hiked up to one in Dee Why and passed by Manly beach, which is full of surfers 

- of course Chinatown cannot be missed; it reminds me London's Chinatown. Thanks to Jen, I had my long needed doze of Dim Sum at an authentic Chinese Restaurant. Many items on the trolley were foreign to me but the consensus is  that the Mango Pancakes are the best - we had 9 for 6 of us :) 

Our last day in Sydney concluded with a nice dinner by the beach at Bather's Pavilion. We had nice view of the beach and even nicer company. I tried the local Australian fish barramundi for the first time. Delicious.

After washing our clothes 10 times at the house of Zierer's (to get rid of the smell  from Rotorua in NZ), we decided that it's time to go before we cause further contamination :P Because of the looming cyclone and bad weather in Brisbane and nearby areas, we decided to head north to be safe! Poor Martin drove us to the airport at 6 am in the morning to catch the only flight we could find. 

Day 9 to 13: We went on a 3 day sailing trip in Whitsunday after we got off the plane. It was a little more basic than what we expected since we were spoiled by our Galapagos and Greece sailing trip experiences. We were limited to 1-minute shower each day and eventually not allowed to shower after we ran out of water. 

The bright side is that we got to visit the beautiful Whiteheaven Beach (the finest white sand which makes the slipping sound when you rob your feet against it, the beach is about 98% pure silica and about 7km long), the Bait Reef (the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef) and the Blue Pearl Bay in Hayman Island (also known as the fish bowl of Whitsunday). The highlights are: 

- the stunning corals at the Bait Reef (best I've seen). I can only imagine how beautiful the rest of the Great Barrier Reef is. 

- swimming with lots of fish at Blue Pearl Bay where we can nearly touch them (the corals there are also impressive considering they are just by the beach).

- We saw a white tip reef shark while snorkelling. 

- Everything in Australia comes in big sizes including fish! I wonder how they grow so big!

On top of that, we met some amazing people from all over the world! Anna and Oliver, you two are the first people/couple that I met who are "foreigners" but can speak fluent Mandarin! Sorry for the eavesdropping lol Once we came back onshore, we spent next 2.5 days relaxing at Airlie Beach, enjoy the view from our apartment hotel and home cooking. 

Day 14 to 16: We were positively surprised by our service apartment rental in Brisbane. Meriton Serviced Apartment turns out to be the tallest building in Brisbane and we had a nice view over the city. The furnitures, décor, layout of the apartment are super modern. We wish we have a flat like this in London :(  

Okay, now on Brisbane, it reminds me of London big time! There is Brisbane eye, the river is a bit like the Thames, and lots of river cruises and ferry rides available. The north side of the river is much like Canary Wharf (but bigger) and the southern side is more like the city. And there is South Bank where the famous Street Beach (the fake beach) resides. I was surprised that how many things are free here such as the ferry rides and access to Street Beach! All the bridges are modern and artistic looking and are also equipped with free water fountains everywhere. Overall, Brisbane is much nicer and bigger than what I expected as we were told by various people that it is a boring city. The city is quite business oriented with lots of skyscrapers, but there are things to do and the night view of the river is fantastic. My experience of getting an express order of contact lenses from Specsavers was surprisingly good. 

Overall, we had a good mixture of fun in Australia and had more dozes of wildlife and sea life! Next time when we visit, we will make sure to visit the western part, which seems to be less touristy and has more dramatic landscapes. Like in NZ, we saw many Chinese tourists in OZ and I even got asked to help with translation in some cases. I think I should be able to find a job if we move here. But 90% of all the poisonous animals live here ... :P 

After Australia we started our open-ended South East Asia tour and first stop is Bali! 

Day 77 to 91 New Zealand - Beautiful, beautiful and beautiful!

2 to 16 Feb

I have never come across any negative comments from anyone about New Zealand’s natural beauty. I can safely say that all my high hopes about NZ came true. In my opinion, NZ definitely lives up to its reputation. Since Lars and I only had 2 weeks in NZ, we followed an extreme sightseeing schedule – I made poor Lars drive 3,400 kilometres in just 12 days. We visited a number of places in both the North and South Islands, and we were constantly awed by new landscapes and sceneries everyday!

The following is the itinerary we followed but do not attempt to repeat this; otherwise, you will feel extremely exhausted afterwards! 

Day 1 & 2: Auckland - after almost 3 months of travelling in non-English speaking countries, we felt coming home when we stepped out of the air plane. I felt especially welcomed when I saw the Chinese signs at the airport! We spent 2 nights/1 day in the city to recuperate and met up with Lars' friends for dinner. They turned out to be my alumni from University of Waterloo in Canada!

Day 3: We drove to our first stop Hot Water Beach in Coromandel, where we had to dig up our own "hotspot" (we rented showel for this). It's basically hot springs on the beach but the best time to go is during low tide. Some spots are really hot - I almost burnt my feet. Our second stop was at Cathedral Cove in Coromandel. We didn't hike to see it up close, because it started raining (luckily the only rain we got during our stay), but we can still appreciate the beauty from the lookout point. We then drove to Bay of Plenty and booked a rather interesting accommodation... I made the mistaking of not checking the room type before showing up.

Day 4: In the morning, we went for a hike on The Mount at Mount Maunganui and had nice views of the two beaches, rugged cliffs and lots of seashells. In the afternoon, we arrived at Rotorua and the first thing we noticed was the rotten egg smell! Persuaded by another couple in our motel, we went to Hell’s Gate, a local mud spa and sulphur spring. What a mistake! Our clothes smelled like hell for weeks and it took many washes (and ammonia) to get rid of the smell! On the positive side, my skin did feel better after (or is it Placebo effect?) The same guests also told us about Skyline Gondolas and the buffet dinner at the top of the hill - this was a major discovery and marked the start of our over-eating journey in NZ! That night, I overdosed on lamb chops and sashimi!   

Day 5: In the morning we rushed to Wai-O-Tapu to watch the Geyser erupting. We were already wondering how can it erupt precisely at 10:15am every morning. It turns out that the staff put chemicals into the geyser's mouth to provoke eruption! It felt very touristy especially given the large viewing platform built around the Geyser. We were also surprised to see lots of Chinese tourists there (and at all other major attractions in NZ during our trip). Nonetheless, the rest of the site was impressive. This was the first time I saw geothermal formations - boiling mud, colourful and steaming mineral lakes and rocks all look very interesting to me. The highlight for me was the champagne pool.

In the afternoon, we drove to Waitomo Caves and I saw, for the first time, glowworms! The Glowworms Cave was quite magic with at least 2,000 glowworms glowing in the dark. I was moved when I first saw them at the ceiling of the cave as it does feel like staring at a starry sky. Later that night, we checked into the only hotel we could find, even though it looks like it belongs to the Adam's Family...

Day 6: We spent a whole morning at the Kiwi House in Otorohanga and saw the Grey Spotted Kiwi, who happens to be in her mating season. She was apparently a bit confused about her friendship with the care taker. We also saw many birds, ducks, Geckos etc. We then drove to Hukafalls, which is not quite the waterfall we had in mind (it's tiny) but we saw people on the jet boat trying to go upstream - looks like great fun! Later that afternoon, we arrived at Lake Taupo and had a relaxing dinner by the lake at Edgewater Restaurant. For the first time, we saw black swans with red beaks swimming peacefully with the ducks! After dinner, we headed towards Tangariro National Park and the drive was lovely during sunset.

Day 7: In the morning, we first took the chairlifts to go up to Mt Ruapehu and then hiked the Skyline trek. It took us 4 hours to go all the way up and down! It's a quite challenging climb, but the view from the ridge at the top was worth the efforts! Poor Lars then drove to Wellington which was 4 hours away. I have to say that without Lars' driving skills (especially overtaking), we would have never made it to all the places we (or I) wanted to go. :)

Day 8: We took the ferry from Wellington to Picton in the morning and shipping through the mountains in the South Island was quite nice. After we picked up our new rental car, we drove towards the Gold Bay, passing through Nelson. It was a really beautiful coastal drive with different stunning scenery every half hour. Lars claims that he had the best steak sandwich in the Boat Shed Cafe near Nelson. When we reached our accommodation in the Northern part of Golden Bay in the evening, we were surprised that our bathroom was outside... we did have a lovely and helpful host though.   

Day 9: We got up early and went to the Wharariki Beach during low tide. This is by far the most interesting and charming beach that we have ever seen. It has a bit of everything - archways, tunnels between rocks, seals, lots of little mussels on the rocks, and blackish sand. When the wind blows, it was cool to see the sand moving creating horizontal lines. The best part is that there was almost no one else on the beach! We then drove to Cape Farewell to see the rugged coast line before reaching the cafe at Farewell Spit which offered a stunning view of the Spit. We learned that whales sometimes get stranded here - the last one happened in 2000. We were shocked to find out that nearly 200 pilot whales got stuck at the Spit 3 days after we left!

In the afternoon, we went to the Pupu Spring (I know, such a funny name). It has the clearest water you will ever see - the visibility can reach up to 18 meters. Snorkelling is no longer allowed to preserve the lake. We stayed overnight at Totaranui, the northern tip of Abel Tasman. The owner of our B&B is from Essex! 

Day 10: We explored Abel Tasman by taking the water taxi (we got on the wrong taxi at first but it turns out to be a better one) to Torrent Bay. We then hiked from there northbound to Bark Bay, from where we got the return taxi. To be honest, I don't know why people say that is the best walk in AT or even NZ ... we had better walks elsewhere :P But the beaches are quite nice - white sand, green water, and best part is that they are not crowded. I feel AT is where you can relax and switch off as there are no cars, bikes or mobile receptions. The only transportation are kayaks and water taxi.

The highlight for the day is that we saw a large school of dolphins (at least 20) from the water taxi and they swam really up close. Since they were in a playful mood, many of them jumped out of the water to show off! The captain said it's unusual to see them - the chance is a dozen times a year.

After we got back to our car, we drove south, passing by Grove Cove (some interesting rock formation) and finished our visit to Abel Tasman with fish & chips on the Kaiteriteri Beach. We continued driving southwest during a beautiful sunset and stayed overnight at Owen River, Murchison.   

Day 11: Driving along the West Coast, we visited Cape Foulwind for its beautiful rugged coast line and seal colony (but we only saw 3 seals from far). The Cape Foulwind Walkway was nicer than Abel Tasman Coastal Walk in our opinion. :P In the afternoon, we stopped at the Pancake Rocks & Blowholes, which were spectacular with various blowholes and rock formations.

For the evening, we stayed over at Heartland Hotel at Fox Glacier, purely because there was literally nothing else available. We seemed to have timed our trip to NZ at the busiest time. At 11pm, we were trying to hunt down the noise in our room and only found out it was our neighbour snoring... 

Day 12: Having seen pics of the mouths of Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, we decided to take a helicopter ride to go up to Fox Glacier & Mount Cook. It seems to be the right decision as the view is much better higher up and we stopped at the top for pics. My first helicopter experience was smooth and I even get to sit beside the pilot! After the ride, we went to Lake Matheson for lunch followed by a hike around the lake. We were slightly disappointed that the reflection of Mount Cook was not picture prefect - there are little ripples in the water :P

We continued driving towards Queenstown and were wowed by the view along the way. The drive through Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka was breath-taking and is one of the best drive we've had in NZ and elsewhere. When we finally got to the Hilton, we were relived - we can finally stay in one place for more than one night and relax. :)

Day 13: We fully enjoyed our stay at Hilton in Queenstown. It even had a little fire place which was very nice to turn on in the evening although it wasn't that cold. Since I got hooked on Gondola ride and more importantly the buffet dinner at Rotorua, I called the same chain restaurant in Queenstown 3 times to secure a booking. You'd be surprised that small talk sometimes works! - it was a Saturday, Valentine's day and Chinese New Year Celebration all at the same time. When we arrived at the Skyline Restaurant, we were speechless, because of the amazing view! That night, I overdozed on grilled salmon and prawns. I don't think they made money any money on me!

Day 14: We reached Lake Tekapo just before 2pm. Our B&B owners Barry and Dawn were super nice. Barry can do the most funny cross-eye expression and he even helped with our laundry when we were away. When I first saw the turquoise water of Lake Tekapo against Mountain Cook in the background, I knew this is my all time favourite view of NZ. The turquoise colour of the lake is just surreal especially compared with the white snow caps in the distance. I felt I was in a different world... The view from the top of Mt John, where the university built observatory, was also spectacular, because of the contrast of the two lakes!

Around midnight, Lars and I decided to be creative and drive to the lake to watch the stars, but only to find out many other people had the same idea! We could see the stars and the Milky Way very clearly that night.  

Day 15: We took the scenic route to reach Christchurch and had a quick lunch in the City Centre and a brief walk in the Botanic Garden - a nice place to rest and relax! On the way to the airport, I was very sad to leave this beautiful place ...  

All in all, I am impressed by the variety of breathtaking landscapes and sceneries in NZ. It is especially suitable for hikers and nature lovers (and apparently hitch hikers). We have only scratched the surface of this stunning country and there are still so much more to see - I can't wait to come back! Sam and Andrea, you guys are so lucky that you get to move there in the future. The friendly people (everyone says hello), high hygiene standards in the hotels/motels, good infrastructures and service levels all make travelling in NZ easy. It may be a bit out of the way, but it's definitely worth a visit!

Day 71 to 76 Bora Bora, French Polynesia – A paradise island!

27 Jan to 1 Feb

With Bora Bora, you do get what you pay for. It is the most expensive part of our trip and in return, we were rewarded with an amazing experience.

We first flew to Tahiti for an overnight stay to catch the flight next day to Bora Bora. When we arrived in Bora Bora, the first impression is that it feels like a luxury version of Hawaii! We got picked up by a fancy boat from our hotel Le Meridien. The boat ride to the resort was beautiful against the late afternoon sun - it felt particularly good to be with Lars at that moment. :)

We also saw fancy boats from Four Seasons and St. Regis. The word that came to mind was Luxury. To my surprise, there are many Asians (Chinese and South Koreans) visiting Bora Bora - it shows the financial powers of the rich Chinese! 

Over the next few days, we met other fellow honeymooners - one couple said they felt important back home, but in Bora Bora, everyone is on their honeymoon! In fact, the single travellers or friends/siblings travelling together are the "unusual" ones. 

Day 1: When we checked in, we were very pleased with the view from our over-water bungalow. It's near the end of the walkway on the deeper end and it has a direct view of Mount Otemanu. We stayed in to watch the beautiful sunset in the first evening. I also had to get used to walking over the glass floor - all a bit scary for me at first :P

Day 2: After breakfast, we went to the turtle sanctuary in our resort - they are tiny compared to the ones in Galapagos, but we learned that these Green sea turtles (actually yellow in colour and eat fish) will become vegetarian when they reach 20 years old! I was getting worried when it started to rain heavily at lunch time. Luckily the weather cleared up in a few hours and held up for the rest of our stay. It was the rain season after all. We then went for some swimming and snorkelling in the resort - there were so many sea cucumbers and sea urchins! Lars told me not to eat them...  

Day 3: I went along with Lars for his 2 dives. While he is diving, I snorkelled around and saw a manta ray (although the belly side only) and a large lemon shark! The water in Bora Bora was super warm (must be 27 or 28 degrees) and had very good visibility. In the evening, we watched a Polynesia dance performance over dinner at the resort and we were convinced that the Polynesians and the Hawaiians must belong to the same family! 

Day 4: After what I saw while snorkelling, I decided to do a trial dive and what could be better than doing my first dive in Bora Bora! I saw some beautiful corals and small fish (but no sharks or rays) and discovered that my ears are not so good for diving. After the dive, we did some kayaking around the resort where the corals were clearly visible from the kayak because of the shallow water. We spotted an eagle ray along the way. I also tried the stand up paddle board, which is easier to play than you think! 

Day 5: We took a day trip with Lagoon Services and this is the highlight of our trip as we saw and touched string rays (the small tails have already been removed for safety) and swam with more than a dozen of black tipped reef sharks. The sharks were literally in front of my eyes and I can nearly touch them. I am proud that I was the first one to jump into the water with the sharks! The others wanted to see what happens to me first before they jumped in as well LOL We were also taken to a secluded private beach for a typical Polynesian lunch - the scenery was stunning as the water changes colours in the horizon! Our guide (wearing nothing but some leaves) gave us a coconut tree climbing performance...    

Day 6: We went for our last snorkel in the morning before leaving this beautiful island. We spotted a gigantic sea star and groups of fish all just under the jetty of our hotel.  

Thinking back, what makes Bora Bora so special:

• Super white sand (but not as fine as the Whiteheaven beach in Whitsunday, Australia) 
• Multi-coloured water because of the colour of sand, depth of the ocean, and the sunlight - this was best seen from the plane! 
• Nice corals and very colourful clams (but of course, the corals are nothing compared to the Great Barrier Reef) 
• So many sea urchin, sea cumbers and sea stars all in very shallow water

Best travel advise that I can give on Bora Bora:

1. Decide if you prefer low or high season. There is more chance of rain in the wet season but the water and air temperature is higher (around 30 degrees) and the resort is much quieter (I was very surprised to see the restaurants are only half full). The dry season will have guaranteed sunshine, but it may be colder (the guide told us it's only 20 degrees in winter). 
2. There are cheaper accommodation available on the island, from which you can explore the beautiful sea life.  
3. Good food was limited on the island and even when you pay double the price as you would pay in London, you don't necessarily get good food. The food at Le Meridian was very poor.  

Overall, a beautiful and luxury honeymoon stay that I will never forget - nothing can beat the experience of swimming with a dozen of sharks next to me. The multi-coloured water is just beyond imagination. Bora Bora is a true paradise!

But I reckon most people will be bored or broke after a months of stay. :)

Day 70 Conclusion to South America - A land of natural beauty

Finally get to publish an old post drafted on the plane out of South America!

26 January

Today, we are flying out of Santiago, Chile to Papeete, Tahiti. Even though travelling in South America has generally been difficult (due to our lack of Spanish, general lack of infrastructure and lower service standards in the less developed countries ), I feel a bit sad to leave this beautiful Continent! Or, is it Stockholm Syndrome kicking in? :) 

To reflect on the travelling we did in the past 2 months, the most beautiful / impressive places we visited in SA are the following, in the order of my own preference (I am sure others would disagree: 

1. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador 

2. Salt flats and the surrounding areas (especially pink lagoon), Bolivia 

3. Iguazu falls, especially from the Argentinian side 

4. Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate, Argentina 

5. Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia

6. Machu Picchu, Peru
7. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

8. Ilha Grande Island, Brazil

9. Colca Canyon and Sacred Valley, Peru
10, Paraty, Brazil 

For me, the best cities in SA are: 

- Rio de Janeiro for its city landscape 

- Buenos Aires for its culture and entertainment 

- Santiago for its food and lifestyle

On the other hand, the most overrated places for me are (it's probably just our bad luck or we didn't go to the right places so don't let this list puts you off):

1. Inca Trail, Peru

2. Pantanal area, Brazil 

3. Bonito, Brazil
4. Nazca Lines, Peru
5. Potosi, Bolivia

Overall, SA is a beautiful continent with diverse natural landscapes as well as cultures. If I ever come back to South America, I would explore more in Chile, followed by Brazil. Travelling in SA definitely opened my eyes and allowed me to have a better understanding and appreciation of this mysterious continent. The poverty we observed in certain parts also gave me a better perspective on life. One thing I will do in the future is to follow more news on the 6 countries we visited. Funny what travelling does to me - it made me realise how little I know! 

Day 66 to 70 Santiago, Chile - Seafood heaven & my favourite city in SA

22 to 26 January

If I have to pick a city to live in SA, it will be Santiago in Chile! Of course, that's only if I can speak Spanish by some miracle and I can still earn a salary in pounds :)

We were pretty exhausted from travelling in SA for 2 months by the time we reached Santiago, our last stop before heading to French Polynesia. Maybe because of all the parks and surrounding mountains, the City gave me a calm and relaxed feeling right away. It also helps that our hotel room overlooks a park in downtown. We took our stay in Santiago slow with limited amount of sightseeing; somehow this seems to be the best way to enjoy what the City has to offer.

The only sightseeing we did was joining two walking tours with Tours4Tips.  We learned a lot of interesting facts and local history on the tour. What I liked the most / found most interesting are:

1. The central seafood market (Mercado Central) and various other food markets nearby (selling veggies and fruit) offer a good vibe. There must be 4 or 5 markets all next to each other in the city centre and they can get quite hectic and crowded. Mercado Central has the best atmosphere in my opinion and they have the largest pieces of eel and squid on display that I have ever seen! Apparently, Chile's eel (called Congario) is quite special as they are much thicker and taste much better than what you expect of a typical eel! We had a great seafood lunch with our walking tour guide Liz and her visiting cousin in the market. They shared more interesting tips and facts about the city.

2. The general cemetery in Santiago is even more interesting than the one in Buenos Aires. The large cemetery is divided by the class of people - the poor vs. the rich. Poor people's section is characterized by small tombs stacked on top of or next to each other in any given block. It's a bit like mailboxes (only slightly bigger) of an apartment building. Sometimes one slot is for an entire family of 8 or 9 people. Paying for the slot is not as easy for the less fortunate - if you don't pay off the 50% remaining balance (50% due at deposit) in 3 years, you lose the slot. In contrast, the tombs for the rich and famous resemble mansions and modern houses. In some cases, a particular section is designated for a certain community or a profession. The most interesting one is a shopping-mall-like building with a lift for the local Italians and the building's keeper is a guy who's been working there in the third generation already! Lars was joking and asked if there is a section for IT professionals as well ... the answer was of course no. It would be online anyway, says Lars.

3. We passed by the grave of Salvador Allende and the presidential palace. The stories about his tragic/heroic death on 11 Sept 1973 (Military Coup) nearly brought tears into my eyes. It was also interesting to know that the dictator Pinochet was a controversial figure - the Chilean population is equally divided when it comes to their love/hate for Allende and Pinchot. I still need to listen to Allende's last speech on YouTube!

4. Santa Lucia hill offers a good panoramic view of the city! I got to appreciate the fact that Santiago is surrounded by Andean mountains.

5. The students in Chile had undertaken various demonstrations in the recent years, asking for better education (referred to as the student movement). Some of them have written their wishes in paper and thrown them into Allende's grave. Their desire to learn makes me ashamed - time to learn hmmmm maybe German :P

6. Guys, listen up, coffee shops are where you want to go! It's not like the ones in Amsterdam ... Some of these coffee shops have black windows and some have no windows at all! We almost walked into one but were put off by the black metal door. We saw a couple of single guys coming out of one shop in a hurry, and thought it was a bit strange but didn't think too much of it.  We only found out on our last day that in order to introduce the coffee culture, the coffee merchants had to offer a bait - since drugs are illegal, it will have to be naked women serving coffee! Poor Lars didn't get a chance to go as we found out too late :P

Guess what we did instead of sightseeing? No, stop being so dirty minded! We (especially me) spent most time eating and shopping!

• Lars always started the day with at least one cheese while I stuffed myself with a roast beef sandwich (after consuming a large fruit salad and 2 croissants) every morning 
• We almost tried all the restaurants in the Barrio Lastarria area - I will always remember the best tempura Congario eel I have ever had ... :P 
• Tried various ice cream shops and the best value is a cone with 6 scoops for £2.60! It was so big that we had to ask for a separate cup. 

Because we were heading to Bora Bora next, I didn't want to look like a bum. My vanity kicked in and I was determined to make myself more presentable. To my surprise, I managed to sort out my nails, waxing and haircut all in one afternoon! It's not all without risk though - my hair was cut badly by a woman who doesn't speak English nor knows how to cut hair. Luckily another younger hairdresser in the saloon eventually rescued my hair. I gave her a 25% tip and the haircut only costed £5! If I ever come back to live in Santiago, I already have my beauticians and hairdresser sorted! 

I cannot quite explain why I feel so special about Santiago. Maybe because the green spaces, strong/growing economy, improving service standards, fascinating political history, friendly people etc., but Lars think it's all about food (I admit the delicious seafood is the hook) and shopping (prices in Chile are very reasonable for good quality stuff). 

If I get to pick only one country to live/return to in SA, it would be Chile. There are so many different things to do/see: the Atacama dessert in the north, the Patagonia/Glacier in the South, beautiful vineyards, the long coast line and the mountains for skiing etc. The mysterious Easter Island is another major attraction. The only drawback is that the water is too cold to dive/swim in Chile. All in all, we love Chile for its diversity, good food and relaxed lifestyle.

Day 64 & 65 El Calafate, Argentina - Gateway to the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier

20 & 21 January

After getting advise from people we met on the trip, we managed to squeeze in a short trip to El Calafate in Argentina, the gateway town to the famous Perito Moreno Glacier. When we arrived at the National Park after more than an hour of bus ride, the Glacier stood in front of us just as how we imagined- it's magnificent!

There were some surprises of course:
1. Some parts of the Glacier were not icy white - some were blue (because of the sunlight reflecting on frozen ice) and some are grey (the wind carry dust which make the snow dirty);
2. We happened to hit an usually warm and calm day (the tour guide said that there are only a dozen days like this each year), so we could just wear short sleeves - normally jackets are needed because of the strong wind;
3. The Glacier is not actually silent! On the contrary, you can always hear "thunders", because some bits of ice are constantly falling off! It's definitely worthwhile to wait for a large piece of ice falling off!

The tour package we booked includes a boat ride as well as walking on the glacier with crampons. I think I have natural talents for walking on ice - even the tour guide said I have good techniques. The mini trekking experience was concluded with lots of whisky on ice (Lars' favourite part of the tour), with the ice sourced locally of course :)

Some interesting facts about the Perito Moreno Glacier that I learned on the trip:

• It's one of the few glaciers in the world that are still advancing/growing 
• It's much younger in age than the glaciers in Alaska & Green Land
• The Chileans think that the Argentinians stoke it from Chile, but again, the Peruvians claim that the Chileans stole a lot of land from them ... 

Our day at El Calafate became even more memorable when we watched sunset over Lake Argentino near our hotel. Another highlight for me was the tender Patagonia lamb stew and Calafate Sorbet (made from a local plant called Calafate) I had for dinner :P

Overall, we were impressed by the views at the Perito Moreno Glacier (thanks to Argentinians who seem to enjoy building platforms around natural wonders - just like the Iguazu Falls). For anyone who is pressed for time or don't enjoy hiking for days through the Patagonia area, head to El Calafate.

Day 60 to 63 Buenos Aires, Argentina – A European City w/ Steak +Tango

16 to 20 Jan 2015

My first impression of Buenos Aires is that it feels familiar, and then it occurred to me, it reminds me a bit of Madrid, a bit of Rome, and a bit of London! We welcome this much more developed and friendly city in SA after travelling through its less developed neighbours. Thinking back, the two things I associate BA most with are Steaks and Tango! We spent four days like a proper tourist:

Day 1: Had lunch at the famous Cafe Tortoni and returned later that evening to watch an intimate tango performance. In between, we went shopping on the Florida Street.

Day 2: We joined a walking tour of the City Centre (including the Ministry of Justice, Avenue de 7 Julio, Pink House, Cathedral, Obelisk etc.) during the day. In the evening, we went to Porto Moreno (feels just like in Canary Wharf!) to have our first steak – the rib eye steak was so tender that it can be mistaken as tenderloin!

Day 3: Visiting San Telmo market seems to be THE thing to do on Sunday in BA, so we wandered around the market and only found ourselves surrounded by Mafalda T-shirts. There was a long queue in the market to take pictures with the Mafalda statue! Because I didn't have enough Tango on the first night, I dragged Lars to watch another Tango show with me at Senior Gardel, which is more like the West End show biz standard. The calibre of the dancers and the choreography (with a lot of modern twists) were top notch.

Day 4: On the last day, we visited the renowned La Boca area in the morning – I quite like this retro/Bohemian area until I found out many attractions were just made for tourists... I joined another walking tour for the more posh Recoleta area in the afternoon, passing by the famous cemetery. The story of Lady Evita is sad and interesting at the same time. In the evening, we went to Puerto Madero (the new town) for our last steak in BA – another good steak with much better price!

Overall, it was BA’s culture and history as opposed to its architect that fascinate me. The political history of the city/country left me much bigger impression than the physical look (but I have heard that it was once much more beautiful – before the political problems started.) The Portenos (that’s what the people in BA call themselves) are proud people – they are proud of many things:

• Football
• The Pope
• Mafalda
• Tango
• Steak
• Wine
• Widest avenue / street in SA (which is no longer true because there is a much wider street in Brazil) ...

I am sad to learn about Argentina's dictatorship history and troubled economy. The history about Lady Evita and the battle about Falklands are all very interesting! Argentinians are very involved in their politics and most of them speak reasonable English, at least in BA. Finally, the best advise that I can give is to bring lots of US$ in cash ($100 bill is the best) and head to the black market in BA!