23-26 April 2010 - Mekong delta trip, or life on the water. Part 1.

Our next destination was Cambodia, and we thought that the best way to get there and explore a bit of Vietnam would be Mekong delta trip. It lasted for 3 days and two nights, and I am so grateful to Thierry for persuading me into the trip as I had some doubts due to my most-likely-seasickness. All went well! No seasickness victims onboard.
Here are some shots of what I saw. More to follow.

19-22 April 2010 - Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam

Early in the morning we took another AirAsia flight, now to Ho Chi Minh, with a transit in … Kuala Lumpur. Third time in Malaysia! Visa and passport control was smooth and quickly (we used "visa upon arrival" with a LOI arranged in advance). Welcome to Vietnam!

I was not particularly enthusiastic about going to Vietnam, and I never thought that Vietnam would become a country I will miss, and where I want to come back to. Now that the trip is over and we have 9 countries behind us, Vietnam is my No.1 in the wishlist of future travels in that part of the world.

The most amazing thing about Vietnam for me is its people. Vietnamese start their day with sunrise (where else you can find a travel agency open at 7 a.m?) and work till late, and even though they work so hard, I can’t remember an instance of seeing someone grumpy or impolite. Vietnamese are strong in spirit. We saw many people physically handicapped: they were selling cards, books, but none of them was begging for alms. I do hope that economy in Vietnam will grow, and so will the standards of living. Vietnamese deserve it.

We arrived in the evening, and I could not help taking a picture of evening Ho Chi Minh:

13-18 April 2010 – Indonesia, Bali, Kuta

We took an AirAsia flight from Singapore to Denpasar, provincial capital of Bali. After a short taxi ride we were in Kuta, a former fishing village, now a popular tourist destination, especially for surfers.

We stayed in a lovely budget mini hotel on the Poppies Lane 1, close enough to the beach and far enough from the clubs and bars not to be bothered by party noise. There was a nice swimming pool and a patio area…

8-13 April 2010: Singapore. Clarke Quay, meeting old friend and the night safari

You have seen some pictures of my favorite place in Singapore, Clarke Quay, in the previous post. We came back there again, to have a dinner at Hooters' - the food was yummy! Later, in New York, we came to Hooters' hoping to get the same delicious food - and see the girls, of course, and none of them was as good as at Clarke Quay.

8-13 April 2010: Singapore, an overview

I should tell you, I was leaving Kuala Lumpur with sadness. For some reasons, I felt so comfortable in that city. And at the same time, I was excited to go to Singapore, the country (or city?) I was dreaming of for so long. So, we finally arrived to Singapore. Chewing-gum free country. A country of 4 official languages (hello Kazakhstan, it is possible!).  A country with the lowest corruption level in Asia and the lowest crime level in the world. It is the second country in the world by population density, with at least 3 major ethnic groups and no major ethnic conflicts. 

18 March – 9 April 2010: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I fell in love with this city immediately. When I hear its name, it sounds for me like a melody coming from a xylophone, “Ku-a-la-lum-pur”. And when I look at the buildings near Merdeka square or close to China town, I think of sweets - those caramel colors are... mouth-watering. Add modern buildings made of glass and steel, and you will have an idea of this vibrant city. 
We stayed in Little India (yep, could not say goodbye to India!), which is only a few blocks away from China Town. Kuala Lumpur has a very efficient public transportation network, including metro and monorail lines. However, if you stay close to the city center, you may not need public transport that much, as the city is fairly walkable. English is widely spoken, and we had no problems at all (even a lady at the post office was fluent in English). 

25 February – 18 March 2010 - Varkala, Kerala - the town and places around

Varkala, the town, is noticeably cleaner than any other Indian city on the north. It is also very colorful and I may not be objective, but I think that Varkala buses are the most colorful! Some architectural items and signboards on the streets had made me smile quite a few times... 

One day we made a tour around the town. There is a beautiful lake within a few kilometers from the town and we saw picturesque fishermen houses around it, built just between the palm trees. 

Also between the palms is St. Sebastian's church, beautiful and big enough to admit all Christians of Varkala town. 

Back at North Cliff, we took a cooking class one evening. So now Thierry knows all the secrets of fish molee!

I did not mentioned in my previous post that I visited a homeopath doctor (as he calls himself) at North Cliff. Note the only book on his table, the Lonely Planet Guide... 

Soon we will leave Kerala and India. And like many other places we have been to, people we met in Varkala will always stay in our minds. 

25 February – 18 March 2010 - Varkala, Kerala

Another overnight train and here we are, in Varkala, North Cliff.
Varkala is a small town of about 40,000 inhabitants in the state of Kerala. But our final destination was so-called North Cliff, a purely touristic spot on the top of a cliff adjacent to the Arabian Sea, about 5 km off from Varkala town.
The first line on the cliff is a chain of hotels, shops, cafes, restaurants and Internet cafes. Behind them you will find various guest houses, jewellery shops, drum and joga classes, and numerous ayurvedic spas. Life here is quiet. Unlike Goa with parties-all-night, Varkala is for families and health-conscious people. As our Lonely Planet book says, “It seems like every man and his dog has an Ayurvedic-related product to sell”. This is so true!
For me Varkala smells
Ocean….
Incenses from the shops…
Fresh fish and sea food in the evening from nearly every restaurant…
And it sounds
Reggae music (and don’t ask me why it is so popular here!)
Coconut fall that can make wake you up in the middle of the night
Invites from the shops with an unforgettable accent, “Have a look! Come to my shop!”
I should admit that food in South India is the one I prefer the most. It is less hot than in the north but still full of mild spices like coriander, fennel, cinnamon and a lot of coconuts. The specialty of Kerala is fish molee, fish stew with coconut milk, and for me, fish has never tasted so sophisticated! If you did not manage to go to Nepal, here in Varkala you will have a chance to taste Tibetan food as many restaurants here are hold by Nepalese.

17-21 February 2010 – Udaipur, Rajastan

With curved, airy palaces, narrow streets, lakes, trees in blossom, Udaipur is called ‘the most romantic city’ in India. I totally agree. Udaipur is fabulous. We spent 4 days there and in spite of forthcoming trip, we did not want to leave.

15-16 February 2010 – Jaipur, Rajastan

Having arrived in Jaipur, we immediately realized that we were in a completely different part of the country. The city is cleaner and greener, and the traffic is not as crazy as it is in Delhi. Once we got off the bus, a rickshaw driver approached us.

AMAR

I should admit that it is him who will always remind me of Jaipur. He has been living in Jaipur all his life and knows the city like the back of his hand.

On the way to Atithi Guest House Amar proposed be our driver for tomorrow. Amar showed us not only those places that were not even listed in the Lonely Planet but also guided us against tourist traps (‘do not take a guide, there are plates in English everywhere and you will understand easily”, “do not buy water there, it is not safe”).

­­So in the morning Amar started our tour. Long time ago Jaipur got the name of ‘Pink City’, so are all buildings in the old city center. The most beautiful architecture is certainly in the City Palace:

CITY PALACE

14 February 2010, Agra - St. Valentine's day at Taj Mahal

We left Delhi with a morning train. At first, we confused the trains (got into 2002 instead of 2002b) but kind local people noticed a big number of foreigners (that are not supposed to be on this train, or at least not in this quantity) and sent us to a correct one.

3 hours later we were in Agra. We made a mistake by not booking a room in advance (for example, in Delhi there is no need to book a room without having a look at it as rooms are normally available). So we had to accept what was available. The room in Taj Mahal was quite dirty, with no glass in the bathroom window and with a swarm of mosquitoes. However the guest house manager was a nice man and we got our bed clothing changed, a fumigator. The window in the bathroom was securely closed with a plastic bag and scotch tape that I took from home. Result: all mosquitoes were dead.

In the afternoon we headed to Taj Mahal. The security check at the gates was fairly serious, every person should be inspected as well as his or her belongings. No guns, knifes, laptop accumulators, any food and chewing gums are allowed. The last two points are aimed at keeping the territory clean.

Taj Mahal is fascinating. So far it is the most beautiful building I have ever seen. Officially, no photography is allowed inside the tomb. Unofficially, everybody were flicking with their cameras. It was shocking to watch people taking pictures with the graves on the background, kids laughing, and all that noise.

There are lawns in front of Taj Mahal with the plates “no entry to the grass” that are totally ignored by people. There were families and companies of friends on the lawn. So we did too for a couple of minutes to take some pictures. Sorry grass. 

February 11 to 13. Delhi, India

My feelings about Delhi are so mixed. Right now all I need is to leave the city. It is not because I disliked Delhi but during these 3 days I got so tired of noise, dust, smog and people screaming. And also people peeing EVERYWHERE.

Fairy India for me started with Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb. The architecture was such a pleasure for my eyes that are used to Soviet blocks. President’s House and Ministry of Finance are fabulous.

February 9 - Almaty

Yahoo! I got my visa to France! This is the main event and I am so so blindly happy that forgot how I got terribly cold in the morning. Did I say it does not feel like cold in Almaty? Forget. It is just a weather trick: no wind and just when you leave a warm place you think it’s fine. In 10 minutes you will realize that the warmest shoes you have are not good enough.

Here are some pictures from my wandering around the city center: