Surat Thani

Finally managed to get online. Am in Surat Thani, Thailand at the moment. Got off the night train at 6.30 this morning and now we're waiting for a bus to take us to the next stop. Will be spending the next two days at a remote rafthouse near the National Park with no electricity etc. Should be fun.

Bangkok was pretty good. HOT though. Khao San Road was very.. interesting. Was coming down with a cold when I first got here a couple of days ago, and I'm not feeling my best now. Better not get sick!

There's only 6 people in our group. All girls. The tour leader is a Thai girl called Noot. Haven't got time to write much now but will try to get online again once I get to Ko Pha Ngan.

Bandung

Am in Bandung now, at my brother's place. At least he's got broadband here. Oh and the weather here is lovely. A lot cooler than Semarang. Supposedly because the city is surrounded by mountains..

I arrived on the night train yesterday morning. It was a LONG ride... what was meant to be a 7-hr journey turned out to be nearly 9 hours because the train kept stopping everywhere. And they didn't have sleepers, so all you've got is regular, well, reclining seats. I probably only slept for half an hour overall. Oh, and it was riddled with mozzies. Indonesia, you know.

I slept through the entire morning yesterday. Went out for lunch when my brother and mum picked us up in the arvo. Then we went shopping for a bit and spent the rest of the arvo at my brother's office. Went to another mall last night, then watched DVD before bed.

Slept in again today (just like every other day) and haven't done much since, apart from playing Harvest Moon on my brother's PS2. Had a little nap (yes I can sleep as much as I want to), and a long shower and then this.

Apart from the nice, cooler weather (and decent internet connection 24/7), there isn't much more that I like about this place. The traffic is even worse than Semarang, and probably just like every other city in Indo.

Will write more sometime soon.

Semarang

Ahh, back in Semarang where it's stinking hot with not much to do. No internet at home so I've hardly been online since. In fact, this is the second time I've been online since I got to Indonesia.

Am not enjoying the weather that's for sure. Pretty bored here.. I know I'm supposed to be doing my website and stuff, but just haven't been motivated. I'm still waiting for my cholera vaccine to kick in as well so I haven't been eating off street stalls. So boring, boring, boring.

Not much to write in a journal when all you do is sleep, eat, and watch DVD's is there? Just over two weeks til Thailand. I've just sent my passport off to get my Cambodian visa today. Yes, I thought we could get it on arrival but apparently you're supposed to get it before you leave. Great stuff.

Anyway, am off now.

In Malaysia

It's been a while. Well not really, but it feels like a long time already.

I'm in Malaysia now.. well, Selangor, near my hotel. Not far from KL. Haven't even been to the city yet. Waiting for my brother to arrive this arvo. Just been shopping at the mall next to the hotel.

Didn't really do that much in Singapore either. Shopping, mainly. Oh, I got to catch up with Mei Ee and KK so that was good. Haven't seen them in years. Since early 2003 for KK, and since Contiki Europe for Mei Ee. Actually my evening out with Mei Ee has been the highlight of this trip so far. She took me to this bar/cafe up on the 70th floor of this hotel (can't remember the name) near City Hall where you could see the view of the whole city. It was pretty cool. Apparently it's a popular hangout of a lot of Westerners too.

After that we took a walk to Esplanade and down to Clarke Quay before catching the cab to the bus terminal, then for dinner and home.

Other than that it's been kinda boring. Well, actually not kinda - it has been plain boring, apart from the shopping. In Singapore I've been hanging out with my parents (who are not too bad on their own), my auntie and her friend and her friend's family. What can you say when their favourite topic of conversation involves their cholesterol level? *sigh*

Oh, another thing to remember. We got ripped off at dinner that night, after I parted ways with Mei Ee. The old gang and I went to this hawker centre in Newton and ended up paying bloody $190 for dinner. I mean fair enough the prawns were huge and all (I didn't even have any), but still.. $190 for dinner at a hawker centre. Not even a posh restaurant. A bloody hawker centre. I was like, you've gotta be kidding me. My dinner with Mei Ee cost less than 10 bucks.

Anyways... moving on. We got here yesterday arvo by bus. By we I mean only my parents and I, thank God. The rest of them had flown home the day before. The bus was a VERY comfy bus for the price - $25. And it's got reclining chairs and everything. Awesome. Although it wasn't quite the same as some of the buses I'd checked out with Mei Ee the other night. They've got massage chairs, individual screens with movies and games and shit. Too bad they were all booked out.

The weather's been stinking hot here, I can't stand it. I started to think "what have I got myself into?". But I suppose I'll get used to it. No I'm gonna HAVE to get used to it. And I mean, indoor with aircon is fine.. but once you step outside.. God sometimes it's like walking into an oven even at night when there's no sun. Bloody hell. The thing is I don't suppose it's gonna be much better in Thailand either. At least I won't be hanging out with old people who talk about their medication and their deteriorating health all the time.

What a boring journal entry eh. Nothing like when I was in Europe, where there was always exciting stuff to talk about. Don't expect it to get any better anytime soon either. At least I hope it will be much more fun once I travel on my own.