Window shopping in Dubai [YQrtw Day 10 Apr 17]

Location: Dubai, UAE [Day 2]

I have a self-imposed budget of S$50 a day to spend in Dubai. (This does not include my accommodation which has surely surpassed S$50.)

Why do I impose such a strict budget? It’s because I really do not need–or maybe cannot–buy anything extra.

This budget also means that I cannot participate in many activities, such as desert adventuring (AED 109=US$30), skydiving (AED 1,750=US$476) or hot air ballooning (AED 995=US$270).

Many travellers would argue that it’s worth paying money for experience. But I guess for me, the experiences listed above just aren’t my cup of tea.

Instead, I focused on the free and cheap.

First stop today was the Gold Souk which was walking distance from where I stayed. I didn’t have a physical map but I memorized the location the Souk was and tried walking in that direction.

I knew I was there, not from the all the gold shops or the large sign that announced Dubai as the land of gold, but from the tourists from tour groups. If you see any tour groups, you know you are at one of the Must Visit spots.

Not that there’s anything bad with Must Visits. I saw lots and lots of gold hung on mannequin necks. The souk was shaded and even though it wasn’t air-conditioned, the cool air from the different shops helped make the walk very pleasant.

After the Gold Souk, I was supposed to visit the Spice Souk but I forgot where the exact location was in my mind’s map. I passed a few shops with spices and decided that it was enough spice for the day.

Then I realized that I’ve ticked off all the Must Visits I had for the day. That means I am free to do whatever I want.

Coincidentally, there was a direct bus to IKEA. I persuaded myself that I need a door stop so I should go. IKEA is located within Dubai Festival City Mall which was (as usual) freaking gigantic.

At the cafeteria, I had the most amazing meal of Chicken Shwarma. There were two pieces of pita bread, loads of chicken and fries (?), along with the non-meat stuffing. I used my hands most of the time since it was that good.

Super delicious Chicken Shwarma from IKEA Dubai

After IKEA and a grocery trip to the hypermarket, I walked aimlessly around the mall. It turned out to be my luck day as there was free screening of films thanks to the Gulf Film Festival.

I watched A Fallible Girl since it was the only feature film at that time slot. When the film ended, I wanted to ask for my money back but realized that I just watched it for free.

Luckily, the director/producer/script writer was there.He explained that he wanted a film about non-locals in Dubai and how the mushroom farm symbolizes a doomed dream (Hello, growing mushrooms in the desert?). I felt less cheated about spending two hours of my life watching the shaky camera doing close ups in the faces of the women.

The organizer kept wanting the director to say that he will make another film in Dubai but it seemed like there would be no chance. (That director totally didn’t give face.)

After the movie and an aimless walk, I found myself at M&S Cafe with an expensive tea time snack of cake and coffee as well as FREE WI-Fi.

Sometimes I do wonder if a round-the-world trip is meant to be filled with reading e-books and coffee. I could have done the same in Malaysia and Singapore.

Hello Dubai [YQrtw Day 9 Apr 16]

Burj Khalifa aka (current) tallest building in the world

Location: Dubai, UAE [Day 1]

I reached Dubai late last night and only got to see lots of street lights and bright signboards.

Oh, I did get to see the inside of the airport and it was modern and clean. (I even feel that it’s surpassing Changi Airpot in WOW! factor.)

Back to the day’s activities. In the morning, I allowed myself to sleep in a little more because I slept quite late last night (a combination of a late flight and excitement).

First stop was Dubai Museum. From the outside, the museum looked tiny. But on the inside, it’s quite spacious because they have most of their galleries underground.

The underground museum part reminded me very much of National Museum of Singapore. In fact, a lot of Dubai reminds me of Singapore. I even think that Dubai is Singapore on steroids.

After the museum, it was back under the sun. I walked aimlessly and found one of the airconditioned bus stops. Unfortunately, the air conditioning of that particular stop was broken and I sat in the heat but sheltered.

Bus C07 came. I took a bus to nowhere (to Dubai Healthcare City, to be more precise). On the bus, the driver asked me where I was going. I told him I didn’t know where I was going. I think that confused him a little.

We chat a little about Malaysia and how many petroleum companies from Malaysia have set up business in Sudan where the driver came from.

Dubai buses are a wonderful escape from the heat. The air conditioning was so powerful that I could hear the wind blowing from the vents.

Besides the nice cool air, the buses are great to see what Dubai looks like. Some parts of the metro are underground so it’s not as good a choice.

Lunch was at a Filipino place I spotted when the bus drove by. My bottle of 500ml water cost me about S$0.60. Yikes!

After lunch, I decided to head to Dubai Mall because I have no idea where else to go.

From the metro, it’s a long walk to Dubai Mall but I didn’t have to worry about the heat because they had this passage connecting the metro to the mall.

The mall was crazy big and just plain crazy. Some of the touristy sides were like Resorts World Sentosa but 10 times more expensive and perfumed.

I saw a humungous aquarium, a gigantic indoor waterfall (more like water trickling down the wall), a gigiantic indoor ice skating rink.

Dubai Mall’s layout also reminded me of Singapore because the escalators are positioned awkwardly. I suspect the architects for Vivocity had a go at Dubai Mall too.

After walking aimlessly around and getting a not-so-cheap local SIM, I sat at a not-so-cheap coffee place (there is no such thing as cheap in the mall). There, I tried to finish Game of Thrones which I have been taking too much time to read.

Before 6:00 p.m., I went to sit outside to wait for the fountain show to start. This show is the top attraction on Tripadvisor for Dubai so I just had to find out how good it is.

Turns out, it’s very good. But it’s better to see the show after the sun sets. I saw two performances while the sun was still out and they were alright.

After the show, it was time to head back. I think I’m staying in Mobile Phone Accessory Land because there are just too many mobile phone accessories stores around.

Until tomorrow, safe travels.

Bye Sri Lanka [YQrtw Day 8 Apr 15]

Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka

I’m writing this post in the airport’s Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. My plane leaves for Dubai at 6:25pm.

Quick summary of today: I watched Inglorious Basterds well into midnight. In the morning, I went back to the “hotel” I ate yesterday. They didn’t have hopper or khottu roti in the morning so I settled with something that looked a little like mee siam.

It was pouring when I left the hotel. I wanted to take the train to Katuyanaka but the train person said the next carriage wouldn’t be until 2:30pm and suggested that I take the bus.

By the time I switched to the bus from Colombo Fort to Airport, the rain had stopped and the air was cool. I like this sort of weather although clothes will take forever to dry.

The bus passed by familiar sights I saw on my first day. I’m most interested in the Christian shrines that dot the road. I know that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country so it was surprising to see Mary hold a baby Jesus by the roadside.

I have mixed feelings about Sri Lanka. I dislike the touts and the crazy heat. But I like the curious children (“Where are you from?”), yummy food (Khottu, I love you!!) and cheap travels. It’ll probably take me a few days to digest and share my views of the country.

Until then, safe travels.

Happy Sri Lankan New Year! [YQrtw Day 7 Apr 14]

This morning at around 4 a.m., I was startled by what seemed like gun shots. I was too lazy to get out of bed to check out what it was but my extremely myopic eyes saw bursts of color at the window.

Fireworks!

Later in the morning, as I was packing for check out, one of the caretakers of the hostel told me to go down for New Year celebration.

A glorious spread of sweet things were on the table when I got down. I’m most glad that I didn’t have to worry about where to find food for the morning.

Everyone got a chance to light the oil lamps.

The sweets were really really sweet. I had a hard time biting off some of the pastries but it was a great sugar rush.

Look! The president even sent me (and probably millions of others) a message for the new year. Haha!

[Today’s summary: New Year feast. 3rd class train to Colombo, during which some passengers confronted a monk who might have harassed me. It’s complicated! Stayed in new hotel room after late-lunch/early dinner. Off to Dubai tomorrow night!]

Sri Lanka: Doing nothing in Kandy [YQrtw Day 6 Apr 13]

After yesterday’s mild sickness, I wasn’t ready to jump into extreme-tourist mode. Instead, I told myself that I could go out in the morning when the sun was not too hot and come back to snooze around noon.

The slope from the hostel to the main street is rather steep. I imagined that it would be fun going down on a bicycle (if only there were no cars at all).

Near the hostel (actually, a bit far) is a supermarket. Upstairs is Dine-More which has a great view of the hillside. The restaurant was closed but the bakery downstairs (Perera & Sons) was opened.

I bought a pastry filled with potatos and sardines. As I walked down the slope (there’s a lot more walking to be done), I spotted another bakery. This had indoor sitting so I bought two other fish pastries and a coffee.

After devouring my pastries, I continued my walk to town. After checking Google Maps, I decided to risk getting lost and take a shortcut. The slope was even more challenging and I kept imagining myself tumbling down.

…More rambling…

Today was the Sri Lankan new year and a lot of families visited the Temple of the Tooth. I was glad to find not that many touts and fake-guides around, it’s good to know that they celebrate the new year too.

At Kandy Lake, next to the temple. I saw something strange in the water, it was swimming quite fast and looked like a plank.

After walking a lot more, I spotted a great big monitor lizard. It looked like it had either swallowed a turtle whole or was pregnant. I decided that it was pregnant and wondered what this would mean if my life were a novel.

At the edge of the lake, very close to the entrance to the temple, a family was feeding the ducks and fishes chunks of rice. Maybe it’s a new year tradition. The animals seemed like they had too much to eat previously and weren’t fighting over the food.

Next to the temple is the Kandyan Cultural Association. Usually there are handicraft on sale but today the place was closed. But there was a young man selling tickets to the Kandyan Dance at 5:30 p.m.. I bought a ticket (500 rupees) and looked forward to the fire eating. (I didn’t go in the end because of the rain.)

After a lot of walking, I headed back to the hostel. I stopped by the main Perera & Sons branch for a lunch of rice and curry.

I walked all the way up the hill because I was too cheap to pay for a tuk-tuk. At least that was good exercise.

I napped until it was time to leave for the dance. It was raining at that time.

When I got out of the house, the rain fell even heavier. I decided to skip the dance and stay in my room. Good choice since lightning and thunder appeared later in the night.

I sat on the floor of my room, typing and reading stuff from my Google Reader.

Tomorrow, Colombo!

Sri Lanka: To Sigiriya and back [YQrtw Day 5 Apr 12]

[Heat stroke on Friday meant more sleep and no posts. But here it is, a day late.]

My hostel lady recommend that I visit Sigiriya on Friday since the weekend was the New Year holiday when buses are not as frequent.

I woke up at 6:00 am for my tuk tuk. It only came at about 7:00 am and charged me an extra 100 rupees (~S$1.00) as he came because of hostel lady’s call. It’s pretty ironic since I could have caught any other tuk tuk during that time.

Anyway! At the bus station, I was pointed to a general location at the upper right corner for the bus to Sigiriya. The conductor for another bus said the Sigiriya bus leaves at 7:30 am and pointed in the general direction of a roofed building.

So I waited and waited. Finally, a man came up and asked if I was heading to Sigiriya. He guided me to the right bus.

On the bus, a family of four’s two young girls giggled at me and pointed me to their dad. Later at Dambulla station, the father came over and talked about the Temple of Tooth and his family (wife’s from Sigiriya while he’s from Kandy). He also gave me an ice cream. Thanks kind Kandyan man!

The bus was quite empty when we started our journey. However, it got pretty crowded soon.

It took about 3 hours for me to get to Sigiriya. The conductor told me to hop off at the unpaved road leading to the rock castle. Unfortunately, that was the exit and I had to trek for about 10 minutes to the ticket counter.

There was a small stream by the road where I washed my feet. The stream turned out to feed into the moat. How cool is that.

Near the gates, a man asked if I was going to climb the rock. I ignored him because he felt like a tout. Instead, I asked the security lady where to buy the tickets. She pointed to somewhere further down. As I walked to the ticket area, the man said: “You have to buy your ticket first.” Hello sir, that is just what I’m doing.

In case the tout was following me, I headed to the public toilet. Outside the ladies, there were two men lurking. That’s not good news.

Turns out, the man was holding some tissue to try to scam people into paying him for his “service”. I used my own supply instead and was indignant when he dared hold out his palm–with a 50 rupee note on top.

The ticket for Sigiriya is slightly more expensive compared with Anuradhapura. US$30 but it’s worth 10 times better than Anuradhapura.

The walk to the castle on the rock is gruelling, especially in the heat. I ended up with heat stroke later in the day.

A quick summary of The Rock. Cool rock. Not so cool weather. Very few left of half-naked-half-cloud-clad fairies (used to be 500 but were vandalized). View from top of rock amazing. Going up and down not so great.

After the visit to The Rock, I haggled a tuk tuk ride to Dambulla (from 300 to 150 rupees). At Dambulla, everyone gawked at the Chinese tourist (that’s me!). Brave ones come up and suggest a tuk tuk ride to Dambulla (that would be crazy money, no thank you).

The bus to Dambulla came. I gave 100 rupees to the conductor who didn’t give me any change back. (Hey! That ride should be less than 30 rupees.) Maybe that’s the universe’s way of getting me to pay the difference of my tuk-tuk haggling.

At Dambulla, I ate a meal of rice and curry (featured on Food Friday!) along with a malt milk tea (tea with Horlicks).

After lunch, it was time for the bus. The sun was crazy hot but I had to stand by the road for the buses that head to Kandy. An air-conditioned bus zipped past. A bus packed to the brim with people stopped. I didn’t want to be squeezed like a sardine so I waited.

The guy who pointed me to the site to wait for Kandy-bound bus told me that all buses will be packed as it’s the new year. I sucked it up and boarded the next Kandy bus.

Luckily, I had a standing space right in front of the front row. I stood there, holding on to the railings for one and a half hour, all the while trying not to fall on the passenger.

Nearer to Kandy, a lady told me to sit at the seat which she “reserved”. I demurred but she insisted. She dropped off a few stops afterwards and I am forever grateful.

However the passenger next to me thought the area around my hip bone was an elbow rest and decided to put his elbow there for the entire trip. This wasn’t as bad as having someone’s crotch on my shoulder during my ride to Mihintale.

The bus finally rolled into Kandy at about 7:00pm. I caught a 200 rupee tuk-tuk (I seem to remember things involving money) back to the hostel.

I didn’t have an appetite as my head was throbbing from the heat. After a few tumblers of tea, I went to bed at 8:30pm.

[Summary: Went to Sigiriya. Ate first pain killer of the trip.]

#FoodFriday: The many rice and curries of Sri Lanka

[I know it’s Saturday now (and probably Sunday where you live), but I had mild heatstroke on Friday so the post is only up now. Bon apetit!]

When I first heard of Sri Lanka’s rice and curry, I thought it was a plate of rice accompanied by a bowl of thick curry (like Chinese curries in Malaysia).

Even after looking at pictures of rice and curry online, I still had the same old impression.

So I was kind of surprised when I was served my first rice and curry at a hotel (a “simple restaurant” in Sri Lanka, not the usual definition of hotel) next to Colombo Fort train station. It looked very much like a regular rice and side dishes served at Chinese places back in Singapore and Malaysia.

The vegetarian rice and curry I had in Colombo had a huge heap of rice with four sides: chickpeas, fibrous vegetable, dhaal and another veggie.

The rice was not the usual Thai rice I have back home, but small barley-like grain that were round and fun to chew. (Later I found out that other rice were also used in different places.)

The best rice and curry I had was in Anuradhapura. It’s a small shop called “Highland Cold Spot” (or is it Cold Station) that gets its packets of rice and curry from another vendor. The best part about the place was that the rice and curry along with a glass of papaya juice cost only 160 rupees (~S$1.60).

Other rice and I curries I have cost less than 250 rupees and every one of them had too much rice. I wonder how the locals manage to keep all that rice in their stomachs. I usually can’t move after having one. (Maybe because I also drink while I eat and this expands my stomach by a lot.)

Ii’ve made it a point to have one rice and curry dish each day but I have a feeling I have had too much of it and my stomach does not want any more.

While we’re at the topic of food, I am ashamed to say that I have not tried a hopper yet. Uh oh… It’s just that I’ve only seen pre-made hoppers at a food counter and that didn’t look too appealing.

Anyone knows where I can get hoppers in Colombo or Kandy?

What other food should I eat in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka: Entering Kandy [YQrtw Day 4 Apr 11]

Guesthouse owner in Anuradhapura brought me to the old bus stand on a tuk tuk this morning. I was stuffed into the back of an airconditioned minibus.

During the 4-hour ride to Kandy, I juggled balancing my large backpack on my left thigh, my messenger bag and small bag on my right thigh and the head of the passenger next to me on my shoulder. Now I am prepared to become a sardine in a tin in my next life.

When I first got into Kandy, I had a great shock. There were so many buses, noise and people!

I got back into Kandy’s center after checking into my hostel and got another shock. There were so many people on the streets. I think I almost hyperventilated from the crowd.

Kandy is pretty. The view of the hill side from the diner near my hostel is fabuous (lower left). The lake next to the Temple of the Golden Tooth is peaceful and calm. The air is a lot cooler than Anuradhapura which is great since I sweat buckets every night there.

Despite all the good things, it’s business as usual as every one tried to sell the Chinese person on the street everything they have. I got so fed up that I even accidentally ignored an official temple employee because he shouted, “Madam! Madam!”

I remember that touts weren’t so bad in Indonesia but maybe it’s because I’m travelling with another person so it was better.

One day, I might just carry out my plan and talk to an invisible person next to me. Hope the touts get freaked out by the crazy Chinese tourist. That’ll show them.

Sri Lanka: Anuradhapura Sacred City [YQrtw Day 3 Apr 10]

You would think that after I have 3G on my phone, I would stop getting lost? Nope, I got plenty lost today too.

Good news is that I’ve probably cycled an extra 5km everyday so I will return home fit and lean.

Back to today’s programing. I decided to visit the real Sacred City of Anuradhapura. This means buying an entrance ticket, instead of cycling into the sites that do not require a ticket.

Unfortunately, the ticket was 3,125 rupees. That’s US$25, according to their exchange rate. I only prepared 2,500 rupees (based on SGD conversions) for the ticket and didn’t bring much extra.

I managed to pay for my pricey ticket which was only checked 3 times at rather boring sites. If I had followed the advice of a travel blogger and cycled in without a ticket, I would be 3k rupees richer and can have 19 sets of curry and rice plus papaya juice.

The sun was unbearably hot. I rode the bicycle with an improvised riding hood made out of my purple pashmina and a safety pin. I look like purple Casper, floating on the village roads of Anuradhapura.

It’s rather a miracle that I have not passed out from the sun.

I brought along a 1.5-liter bottle of drinking water (60 rupees) and a tumbler of coffee from the morning.

I also brought along three bananas, two of which were conjoined. I snacked on the banana for a temporary sugar rush while sightseeing in the heat.

The best part about today’s visit was my cycling. Even though I got lost many times, it’s fun to be able to set my own visit times. I saw a lot of tourists on tours who got off to take photos and zoomed to the next site. Or maybe I’m having a case of sour grapes.

Sri Lanka: Lost in Anuradhapura [YQrtw Day 2 Apr 9]

I am proud to say that I have a good sense of direction. However, this skill turns out wonky whenever I travel. I would walk the opposite direction of what is the real destination and will have to walk back a long way after I realize my mistake.

Today was no different. The guest house owner gave me simple directions to Anuradhapura sacred city–turn left at police station and go straight.

I hesitated when I reached the “go straight” part. I took a left and ended up in a very different part of the sacred city. The sign taunted me as it showed “Sacred City 3km”. I was only 1km away previously.

I took a break and got a big bottle of cold water at an eatery. I asked for the right direction and cycled hard.

As I cycled, I realized that the left side of the road was a lot higher and I suspected it was one of the ancient water reservoirs.

Jackpot! Next to the bank was a large lake. The view was gorgeous and made my stupid directional mistakes worth the trouble.

I cycled on the bank. At one of the trees, I saw what I thought was an arm dangling. I have an overactive imagination and immediately thought that a child was murdered and parts of its body thrown in different places.

It turned out to be a man sleeping in the tree. Although I’m not too sure if he will ever wake up.

I also manage to sneak into one of the sites: Ranmasu Uyana.

The rock pools were fun. If I have a house, it would be awesome to have pools made out of rocks–as long as mold doesn’t cling to it.

[Today’s summary: Got very very lost. Bought 3G package to stop getting lost. Napped. Took bus to Mihintale. Missed stop at Mihintale, walked half an hour. Didn’t got up Mihintale. Came back to Anuradhapura before sunset. Ate Chinese at Casserole Restaurant.]