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.]

Sri Lanka: Colombo-Anuradhapura train ride [YQrtw Day 1 Apr 8]

Missed the 1:45pm train from Colombo to Anuradhapura by 15 minutes (or 30 minutes if you count the time it takes to elbow myself to the ticket counter).

Reached the ancient capital late at about 9:00pm. Guest house has one hidden electrical plug in my room.

At some stops, a little person in the front carriage would blow bubbles. I didn’t manage to catch any of the bubbles on film but it was a nice distraction from the same old view.

[Today’s summary: Missed train. Bought Kandy-Colombo train tickets. Took 4 hour 40 minutes ride to Anuradhapura. Guest house’s Wi-Fi wonky.]

Packing for a round-the-world trip

I’m in Singapore for a night before I head out into the world. My bags are packed and my mind is calm…as if before a storm.

The night before my flight to Singapore, my mom made me pack my bag. (I wanted to pack it the next morning.) Thank goodness I did because there were a lot of things.

As I packed, I felt depressed by the size of my luggage. It was a lot more than what I had envisioned. I had wanted a feather light backpack with everything I need. Even My travel idol Nellie Bly only had a small carry on.

For this 4-month trip, I have packed a lot more than I would for a 10-day trip in Southeast Asia. For Indonesia, I wore a dress and brought along another two for my trip to Yogyakarta and Solo.

I included more things this time because I anticipate a lot more activities: running on treadmills on a cruise, swimming, sleeping on grimy beds.

Clothes for a 4-moth RTW

Most of my clothes:

It includes: 3 tops, 1 pair of pants, 1 long skirt, 2 dresses, 3 camisoles, 1 t-shirt, 1 pajama pants, 1 cardigan and etc.

I also have a sleeping sack made out of two pieces of sarong sewn together. I have another sarong as my blanket, towel, curtain, skirt…

IT stuff for a RTW

Surprisingly, my chargers and friends turned out to be more heavy than my computer and phone combined.

In the end, my bag turned into a bursting-at-the-seams backpack with a heavy accompanying handbag and laptop. The total package is about 15kg. Tomorrow, I will need to convince Tiger Airways that my backpack is as light as a carry on.

Luckily, D helped me repack my bag when I got to Singapore. After folding–instead of rolling–my clothes, a miraculous amount of space appeared. Like magic!

Now I will be able to bring only one backpack and my messenger bag. Less things to carry means less chance of things getting lost.

Well, that backpack will be with me this whole trip. Let’s all hope that it will not give up and burst halfway around the world.

Until next time, safe travels.

YQrtw: Why Hong Kong

Hong Kong. Panorama of the harbour, Old timey Hong Kong

Today is the end of my stream of posts of countries I am visiting while on my round-the-world (RTW) trip.

The last stop of RTW is Hong Kong!

Credit: The National Archives UK

Confession: I’ve not been to Hong Kong. [Insert surprised gasp from the audience here.]

In Singapore, Hong Kong, along with Bangkok, seems to be taken for granted as a place everyone has been to. Not sure why these two locations are so popular among Singaporeans.

While I’ve not been to Hong Kong, I have been to Macao. Many people tell me that having been to Macao does not make up for not having been to Hong Kong.

My plan for Hong Kong is simple: Rest, shop and eat.

Since Hong Kong will be my first East Asian stop after many months, I will probably gorge myself with loads of Chinese food. YUMMY!

I was thinking of visiting Tim Ho Wan, dubbed the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world, but after reading The Telegraph article about how horrendous the queue is, I think I’ll pass.

I’ll settle for a regular ole dim sum place and Hong Kong cafe where they serve cheese baked rice and milk tea.

Any Hong Kong eating tips for me?

YQrtw: Why South America, Central America

Out of all the places I am going to on my round-the-world (RTW) trip, South America and Central America are least familiar to me.

For me, South America’s allure is its mystery and affordability. (Sort of what western tourists think about South East Asia.)

I’ve wanted to visit the continent but never did because it’s expensive to get there for no reason. Since I’m doing a RTW, I might as well visit South America along the way. Besides that, South America is most likely cheaper than Europe or the United States.

I have only 2 months in South America. That’s very little time so I won’t be visiting some countries.

For example, I won’t go to Brazil because they speak Portuguese there. (A rather strange reason but I want to practice Spanish and not get muddled up.)

I’ve put Central America into the blog title, but I’m only visiting El Salvador. My flight from Lima to Los Angeles had a stopover at San Salvador so I requested an extra 7 days there.

Argentina

National Capital at Buenos Aires, — old timey buenos aires

Credit: OSU Special Collections & Archives : Commons

I stop at Buenos Aires after a transit at Dubai airport from Istanbul (yes, the connection is terrible). I don’t plan to spend too much time in the capital because I’ve heard that things can be as expensive as the US or Europe.

I want to be able to speak Spanish so I might take a week or so of lessons here. I’ve read that Argentinian Spanish is very different from the rest of the Latin American countries but it would be quite cool to speak differently from others.

From Buenos Aires, I plan to head to Iguazu Falls to see the magnificent waterfalls. I’m thinking if I should take the chance to step into Brazil and Paraguay since they are near the falls.

Bolivia

Mountain gorge near La Paz, Bolivia
Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution Archives

I didn’t know of Bolivia until I started reading up on South America. I fell in love with the name Bolivia and want to visit the place very much.

Another reason I want to visit here is because I’ve heard that living expenses here is really really cheap. If I can handle the high altitude, I might even take Spanish classes (if I haven’t done so in Argentina).

[Side note, while in search of La Paz, I found a photo of this posed skeleton.]

Peru

Credit: Epsilon31

Can you go to South America without heading to Peru? (Well, technically yes but my plane leaves from Peru so I must be there.)

Top on my list for Peru is MACHU PICCHU!!!!!! OMGWTFBBQ!!! I haven’t made any bookings for the site. I wonder if I will be able to get into the place when I am there.

El Salvador

I have a week in El Salvador to recover from my 2-months in South America. Since my flight from Lima has to make a stop in San Salvador, I requested Airtreks to let me extend a week here for an extra US$60.

I have no plans for San Salvador but I will probably stay in the country for the whole week despite it being the smallest country in Central America. (It might even feel like Singapore without the tall buildings, great public transport and airconditioned malls.)

What tips do you have for South and Central Americas?

YQrtw: Why turkey

Interior of St. Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey, 1914 Hagia sophia

We’re almost at the end of YQrtw Europe edition. My last stop in the continent is Turkey and I will head to South America afterwards.

Credit: Brooklyn Museum

I’m glad that Airtreks suggested I add Istanbul as a stop because I didn’t realize how wonderful the country is. Just the photo of Hagia Sophia (picture above) has convinced me to see Istanbul.

Mom will be joining me in Istanbul so that makes it even more exciting. My mom’s never been out of Asia before and it’ll be quite a culture shock to send her straight from Malaysia to Turkey.

While mom’s quite open to adventure, she has told me that the hamam (Turkish bath) is a big NO. I replied, “But mom, you’ve went to the onsen in Japan before.” Turns out, for mom, not wearing anything in a public bath is still ok but getting scrubbed by another person is not.

Aside from Istanbul, we will head to Cappadocia for the cave hotels. I want to bring mom to take a hot air balloon ride. The recent hot air balloon crash has made my father nervous about the rides but he doesn’t have to know if we don’t tell. ;)

Have you been to Turkey? Any travel tips?

YQrtw: Why Greece

[We’re back on schedule with my round-the-world warm up posts thanks to my mom’s mobile broadband.]

Today, we’re going to visit Greece and say “Hi!” to all my patron gods and goddesses.

Image credit: Brooklyn Museum Archives

Greece was no. 1 on my list of countries to visit ever since I watched Disney’s Hercules: The Animated Series. That’s why I listed Greece as a must-visit when I planned my RTW.

I will land in Athens after an EasyJet flight from Rome. I plan to spend most of my time in the capital before making my way over land to Istanbul.

I want to visit Acropolis Museum and the other Greek ruins. I will also make a pilgrimage to the Parthenon to visit Athena’s temple.

Apart from the museum and the temple, I’m pretty much plan-less so I will read more on Athens when I travel.

I’m glad I’m going to Athens after the Olympic Games because this means that the public transportation has been upgraded.

I love train rides so I am excited to take the Athens to Thessaloniki route. But I’m kind of disappointed that the overnight train to Turkey has been cancelled.

Have you been to Greece? Any visit tips to share?

YQrtw: Why Italy

Old Timey Florence, vintage, florence, commons

[I’m stealing my mom’s mobile broadband to post these posts. Thanks mama! Let’s get back to our regular program.]

After floating about at sea for 15 nights for my round-the-world (RTW), I will be in Italy–the land of gelato, cappucino and pizza. Buon appetito.

Photo credit: Library of Congress

I must confess. Italy was not in my “MUST VISIT” list when I was first making plans. [By now, I know most of you will be like: YQ! Stop telling us you didn’t want to go to a country but ended up going anyway.]

Hear me out! I didn’t want to go to Italy because I felt that it was too touristy and would be more expensive than the other countries.

Besides higher-cost, I felt that since I was headed to Greece, I could skip Italy. My theory was that the Roman Empire followed the Greek Empire so I can see even more ancient stuff if I head to Greece. Of course, I did not take into consideration my lack of knowledge in ancient European grography and history.

In the end, Italy fell into my lap because it was the last stop of the cruise I will be going on.

Turns out, Italy is more exciting than I thought it would be.

I have 10 days in Italy (to divide my 30 days equally among the three European country I am visiting). As I like to travel slow, I plan to base myself in Florence for most of the time. If I get too bored in Florence, I’ll take a day trip elsewhere.

I’m not too keen on Venice because of the flock of tourists that will be there. Plus, I heard that Venice is not the cheapest Italian city to be in.

Travel plans for Italy

My travel plans for Italy is the most concrete among my other plans (including Sri Lanka which I will be heading in about a week’s time.) I’ve booked two 19 euro tickets, which is kind of a bargain.

My cruise will land at Civitavecchia. After a night there, I will head to Pisa before taking the train to Florence.

I plan to spend most of my time in Florence to look at the beautiful things they have there. My only regret about Florence is that I didn’t manage to finish Assassin’s Creed 2 which had a walking map of old Florence. I blame my old computer for that.

For the last three days of my trip, I will head to Italy’s capital Rome. I am not very sure what I want to do in Rome but I’m sure I’ll be able to pack all three days to the brim.

In Italy, I want to eat a lot of pasta, gelato and pizza. My stomach is hungry just thinking about these three food.

Have you been to Italy? What do you recommend doing there?

YQrtw: Why a repositioning cruise

We’re sort of back on schedule with my daily round-the-world (RTW) posts.

Today, we are talking about my 15-night repositioning cruise from Dubai to Europe.

Image credit: Australian National Maritime Museum

The cruise was the first booking I made for my RTW. After paying the deposit, I felt that the RTW was going to come true. It also helped with choosing travelling dates for the rest of my trip.

I planned to cross either the Atlantic or Pacific ocean on a cargo ship but the price wasn’t cheap enough.

In the end, I found out about repositioning cruises which are ships that travel during off-peak season back to popular starting points.

Pros and cons of a repositioning cruise

Pros

Cheaper per night than the usual cruise
Long sailing period (so much water! and sunsets on the ocean)
One-way (so I do not need to backtrack)
Full of retirees (so I don’t have to see party animals)
Unlimited food (vs cargos with three meals)
Stops at a few important locations (one-day excursion!)

Cons

Large one-time payment
Long sailing period (with few stops at shores)
Full of retirees (who have the time to travel on a long stretch of time)
Expensive (not the usual price of a budget flight and not recommended if you are on a round-trip journey)
High single surcharge (vs budget flights)
Short stays at shore

Cost of repositioning cruise

When I made the booking for the cruise from Dubai to Italy, my booking charge was around S$2,000. I felt it was a reasonable price since it included transportation and lodging.

I paid the final fees in early February. However, I was shocked when I did a search and found out that the type of room I booked for was going at an even cheaper rate.

My friend advised me to call up the cruise company and tell them that I am upset about the price difference. I did make and call and was surprised when the operator told me they would refund the difference.

The refund turned out to be S$599.75 which is a really hefty sum and could help me with many nights in a cheap location.

I still need to pay about S$200 of tips for the whole trip but I haven’t made the payment yet.

While I’m very excited about the cruise, two of my friends who have been on cruises told me that it is actually really really boring. Gulp! I guess I’ll have to find out myself.

Category: RTW