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as a treat to myself after a few stress-filled months, i flew to lombok - my first ever solo holiday! i can't really tell you why i chose this as my destination... it could be because i've always thought of coming here when i heard that it is the untainted bali, it could also be that i really wanted to do nothing at all for two days and this place is the perfect setting to do just that. i arrived on the island at sunset - the kind of sunset that is breathtaking and humbling. and by the time i arrived at my fabulous villa, it was pitch dark and silent, though it was only 7.30pm. the silence and the lack of modern distractions had some getting used to. i knew when i booked my room that there wasn't going to be a television in the resort, but being there made me realise how i am so accustomed to white noise and other modern pollution. here, i was forced to do away with such distractions and concentrate on relaxing. i must admit that doing just that was rather difficult - i usually use the tv to relax!
 
as you can see from the photos, the resort (www.quncivillas.com) is rather deserted. not sure if it's beacuse it is off season or because not that many people know if it. i must say it is very affordable for such a high standard of accomodation. i chose the garden villa not knowing that it is one of the few villas without an attached room above. this means that my villa's room boasted a high ceiling and a huge outdoor bathroom. if you ever go there, ask for room 15. the photo with the outdoor tub was taken at the spa. the treatments there are super affordable; US$20 for massages. i was tempted to stay there the whole day. there's something about bathing outdoors that is comforting.... very strange, i know. i dunno if it was because i was alone and they pitied me, but the staff here are super nice. most of them knew my name and they were never too kaypoh, knowing when to leave me alone when i looked like i wanted to be alone. some of the waiters are cute too! so i didnt mind talking to them. hahahaha
  the rest of my time there was spent baking at this particular daybed. those ang moh tourists didnt even attempt to come near me because sitting there means one would have to deal with the constant taunting of roving hawkers selling knick knacks and diving packages. i think i have gained enough experienced in bali on how to say no, and yet remain nice. the trick is to say no a couple of times and then pretend to be engrossed in a trashy magazine. heh. i wanted to go on a snorkelling trip to the gili islands on my last day there - my flight was in the evening - but the excursion starts at 8am and ends at 4pm. so unfortunate, but when i return im gonna try that or even scuba dive! the waters are so clear. oh and i dunno if you can see from the picture above, below the mass of clouds is mt. agung, bali's highest volcano. on clear days, you should be able to see it. i didnt because i happened to be there on their "rainy season", which is weird because there was only a slight drizzle on one of the days i was there... 
 
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| If I sound jaded writing about Bali, it¹s because I have somehow seen the undoing of this once-enchanting island. To me at least. My first two visits to the island were magical. When I was 17, Mom and Dad took me to this beautiful, postcard-perfect island to stay at the amazing Novotel Benoa. It is an intimate hotel seemingly off the beaten path located in a charming village that is away from the ra ra of touts and packed street stalls. Everything in the hotel—from the rustic décor to the genuinely friendly staff—was perfect. Up till today, I remember my family making friends with the front desk staff named Made (second child), who was positively jovial and ultra generous with information and jokes. The beach at the hotel was amazing—the water was the clearest I had ever seen. It goes without saying that I instantly fell in love with the place. Over the next couple days, Dad rented a jeep so that we could self-drive around the island. I don¹t remember how the weather was like, but we were there in January and everything seemed saturated in colour. We went all the way up to the mountains, pass the water logged paddy fields, to visit the beautiful Pura Besakih in Mount Agung. The next day, we drove up to the cliff side of Uluwatu to watch the hypnotic Kecak dancers chanting in their eerie voices. It was my first time there, and every literature that I have insofar read about the idyll of Bali seemed true. My parents knew I loved the island so much that they brought me there the following year to celebrate my 18th birthday. That presented me with the chance to get reacquainted with the charms of the Indonesian island once again, and I had a great time.
That was in 2000 and 2001. I was wrought when I learnt about the bombings in 2002. It is indeed a very sad event, and perhaps it contributed to the rapid change administered to the island thereafter. It seems like a race to rebuild the tourist destination has stripped the landscape of its unique identity and replaced erstwhile charms like makeshift stalls and family run businesses with gleaming, glorified retails chains. In fact, when my tour group drove past Kuta, I got slightly confused to where I was at—was I in Phuket or Penang? It is scary what a little regional help can do for your thriving commercial growth. More so, it is sad that South East Asian towns are slowly morphing into hamlets of ubiquity where Krispy Kreme and Thai Express signage float against the backdrop of breathtaking sunsets. Or maybe it’s just me. For the past couple of years, I’ve been travelling to various cities in SE Asia and I must say that all of them are starting to meld into one destination. I sure hope I’m not beginning to feel jaded about this region. After all, budget fares means I get to slipaway for a quick respite from the craziness of Singapore. Perhaps, I should throw away my weariness of visiting neighbouring countries and try harder to probe into the unique charms each destination has to offer.
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| after two years in the making, i finally get to realise my fantasy of going to hanoi. finally! many sqaubbles and whingeing episodes later, i've convinced mayo to go somewhere with me. i was actually very surprised he was so acquiescent when i announced that i have decided to go to hanoi. (for the record, i was going to with or without him anyway) because we originally agreed to go to bangkok. anyway... i'm so excited! i have no idea why i want to go there so badly. it might be due to an article i read in time in 2005 about how vietnam is one of the few Asian countries without McDonald's and i vowed to get my ass there before the arches were planted. it seems like im going to get my wish, as of now, there is nought a single McD in the country... yet. hey it's a big deal okay. there are thousands of forum threads just concentrating on the fact that vietnam is one of 73 countries in the world without one. in case you are wondering, it is because of vietnamese franchise law does not allow 100% foreign owned companies into vietnam and in a WTO treaty signed earlier, such companies are only allowed to begin franchising in 2009. methinks any vietnamese worth his salt will stick to yummy banh mi made fresh on site than to succumb to frozen patties made from unknown parts of a cow flown in from god-knows-where. besides street food are so cheap there, who would bother about a McD EVM? thinking about vietnamese food is sending my gastric juices on overdrive... man the only place that sells banh mi is all the way in town! sigh | | |
| It is easy to take Chiang Mai for granted. When we were zipping around the perimeters of the Old City in a songthaew, we noted that this northern Thai city resembles most partially developed South East Asian citiesot holed roads, bales of vehicle emissions, clouds of dust, etc. And of course the throng of people/ traffic oozing out of every crevice. Tourist traps galore advertise ridiculously cheap massages and unabashedly display ubiquitous souvenirs. At first glance, it isn that much different from Siem Reap, Bangkok, or even Bali. The feel is more or less the same: hot, humid weather with wonderfully clear skies, all accompanied by the din of revving engines. However, all the cacophony gives way to another layer?a layer that makes Chiang Mai different from the rest. With bells ringing in the near distance, I came to realise that Chiang Mai charm is in its layout of a road system that allows commuters to view a few of the many temples embedded in and around the Walled City as they travel around in gridlock precision. It was always a surprise to see a grand stupa peeking out between cramped clusters of greying three-story buildings. And when we walked into the grounds of Wat Chedi Luang, a relic of the ancient Lanna Empire rises up amidst a concrete jungle, as if claiming its place in the inevitably changing landscape. The scene is quite humbling; simply because you realise that these reminders of an opulent past can co-exist with jarring reminders of commercialism. Grand displays aside, northern Thai people are unexpectedly genuine. Where Bangkok is redolent of toothy smiles and over enthusiastic greetings, northern Thais brandish all those unnecessary fa蓷des of nicetieshey truly mean it with their inviting gestures and curious prodding. One of the reasons I wanted to travel there (besides my parent frequent visits-slash-curious fascination with the city, which in turn got me curious) is because I heard about its thriving arts/ crafts scene. Choosing to stay in Nimanhaemin Roadmack in Arts Hub Centralnsured that we were walking distance from the many enchanting independently owned boutiques. Offering wares as varied as celadon, handmade clothes and (in particular) tasteful interior decorations, these boutiques are not cheap to patronise. In fact, I hear some of them are internationally regarded. Unfortunately we didn enter any of the galleries that purportedly line this enclave, nor did we plonk ourselves in any of the rowdy bars heaving with fashionable hipsters. Because the boutique abode we chose to stay in on our first night was so beautiful, we practically mucked around the 8-room converted property the whole day. The other days, we were just exhausted from the walking and climbing from the visits to the wats and chedis (and not to mention those temple compounds of epic proportions) Chiang Mai is so famous for. As I reminisce about the dusty, quiet streets of the city replete with glistening peaks of stupas, there is this urge for me to revisit Chiang Mai again. I don know what it is. It is same with my parents, they keep returning, without really knowing why. But maybe because, as a Canadian couple who have made it their second home said, Chiang Mai is simply beautifulway from the madding crowd, yet supplying all the comforts of a modern city. | | |
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