Bali Day 2: Hiking up a semi active volcano, Mount Batur

Upon reaching Hotel Surya we divided ourselves to the rooms that were allocated to us. Because Wai Seng fell sick and had to forgo the trip, we had an extra room. We all decided to give the room to our driver and our guide, Yoga

I can still remember clearly that Yoga kept asking me if i was sure of giving him the room. The driver himself was baffled, LOL. Since both of them will be with us for the next few days, why not give them some proper place to rest since we have one room extra.

We were later awaken at 3 in the morning and it was freaking cold ! It wasn’t as windy as Genting Highlands but the temperature was cold.

Most of us were still in daze and once we got into the van, we dozed off.

After a short drive we arrived at the starting point of the hiking trail. If you are wondering why are we even hiking in Bali, well that’s because most of us here love hiking and when i was told that it’s possible to hike up Mount Batur, i thought no further and requested it.

A normal hike is nothing compared to hiking in the dark where visibility was minimum. So i requested for a few guides to help us out, if any required assistance.

It started off by walking through a paddy field lookalike and after half an hour, we started ascending.

We finally arrived at the top after a grueling 3 hours hike, just in time for the sunrise. Hiking up in a terrain that used to be lava is just crazy. Not as stable as i thought. We were greeted by the caretaker who had a hut which was over looking the lake and Mount Agung.

One of the guides that sold Coke as well as helped some of us carry our bags

The ladies

The guys

In Cambodia, Ai Ling stepped in a puddle of water at the 1000 lingas river and this time around Emily had a broken shoe. We took a similar photo to the one in Cambodia. So in Philippines it’s gonna be Angeline’s turn? *hides*

It was really windy and we were far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It was simply peaceful. I even spotted a foreign couple just laying there on the grass enjoying the cool breeze and scenery that this place had to offer.

After resting for a while, Daniel and David decided to hike up to the peak while the rest of us climbed towards the semi active crater.

Besides having the chance to hike up a semi active volcano, we also had the chance to meet several extra members when we were there. Codenamed, the Volcanic Dogs. I can’t described how tired some of us were but the minute these dogs ran around us with their waggling tails, we were all just pumped up again. The two golden retrievers were owned by the caretaker. They were given the name Kiki and Oza.

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My 2010 starts now, hello !

I am finally back !

Gosh the last time i updated my blog was last year, hahaha. One of the main reasons for my no-action is because i was on a backpacking trip in our neighbouring country more than a week ago. Unlike the rest who followed me, i never had the energy to write an entry right after i got back.

I was vomiting profusely upon arrival and decided to rest for the whole week and here i am, strong as a stallion *coughs*

It’s 2010 ! and it’s sad to see what has happened to Haiti. Imagine 1/3 of the population gone just like that, which simply shows 2012 is getting momentum XD we will never know what will happen next and best if we spend our time wisely especially with our loved ones

My backpacking trip which is currently in the 2nd year running has definitely opened my eyes wideeeee. One shouldn’t procrastinate

All in all, the trip was excellent. Everything that Angeline and i planned, turned out just like we wanted. Probably we need to trim the size of the group cause as expected, the bigger it is, the harder to control.

My 2010 will start from now ! Yes January is almost ending and i have a lot of catching up to do

Here’s a snippet on what’s coming up soon !

Borobudur

Prambanan Temples

Water Castle – Taman Sari

Stay Tuned !

The Chronicles of Cambodia 3: From south to north

Now that my blog is finally UP Arghhhh for some reason this entry disappeared no thanks to the propogation delay -_-! Anyway i shall continue where i left on Phnom Penh. We were still on the Killing Fields and i didn’t feel all that confortable reading signs after signs indicating what had happened here during the Khmer Rouge. The cold breeze just made matters more eery than usual. This particular tree had a loudspeaker on it for a purpose …

… which is to drown the voices of the victims as they were executed in mass.

We later went into the building that stored all the remainings of the victims. Here’s William snapping with Angeline observing the skulls. I didn’t take any though I had to ration my memory card so that it could last me the whole trip which didn’t happened as i had to borrow 2Gb from Aaron.

Having barely 2 hours or so before our bus departs for Siem Reap, we rushed back.

Since we had time to spare, we roamed in Phnom Penh to find for lunch. We agreed to go to the Central market since it would be a good place to seek for food. But the thing is, the market in Phnom Penh isn’t exactly how we would see back here in Malaysia. The market was basically a market only, selling meat, vegetables, everyday utensils, previous stones, etc. There was no sign of hawker food, ROFL.

We left the market and walked to a few nearby mainroads.

We then came across this shop and i heard someone said, let’s have lunch here.

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The Chronicles of Cambodia 1 – Food in Phnom Penh

The long awaited trip was finally here and to be frank i was more scared than excited. Imagine having the responsibility to make sure all six others were taken care off but at the same time enjoy the planned backpacking experience. I had request from a few on what they would love to do and see. So trying to please everyone was close to impossible. But i did try my best to incorporate all

The idea of Cambodia was actually first conceived when a few of us were in Redang and after scouting around for tickets on AirAsia, we finally found a suitable date. I have gone through tonnes of iternaries from different agencies, trying to a get an overall view on what is normally organized. But having pledged that i am gonna make it a backpacking trip instead, i had to make sure that the budget was kept to a bare minimum.

I had to read on main historical points in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap so it would be easy for me to set the route on where to go and when. After reading a number of blogs on how they experienced their trips to Cambodia, i decided to fly into Phnom Penh and fly out from Siem Reap. It cost slightly more compared to the typical Siem Reap first then Phnom Penh, if i am not mistaken about twenty five ringgit but it was a very wise decision. I would explain it in my coming entries.

Upon checking AirAsia’s website i could have snapped return tickets for Cambodia for a mere 280 ringgit but because i had to make sure the rest confirmed which took them an extra 24 hours, the price ballooned by an extra 100 -_-! Nevertheless, it was still considered cheap.

With the plane ticket finalized, all i had to do was get accommodations and have a drafted plan in coming months before the trip.

Google maps, lonelyplanet, blogs after blogs, all checked, double checked, triple checked to make sure where we would be stay and visit.

All communications for accommodation was done solely via email and though i had bookings before hand, i brought a few numbers as backups in case any miscommunication happens.

We had 7 people in total, 5 from Penang and 2 from KL. From Penang were Ai Ling, Emily, Lee May, Angeline and myself. From KL, it was William and Aaron.

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Back from the Killing Fields

I am finally back !

My head hurts …

My arms and legs are aching …

… but my stomach is FULL.

Full with good nutritious Cambodian food, hehehe. Simply love their bread and pork !

I have tonnes of things to do but so little time to finish them >.<

Keep an eye on Malaysian Dream Girl as my write up should be published in the next few days. Nothing extra ordinary, just simple reporting on the auditions which was held in Impiana KLCC not too long back.

Btw, anyone watching Obama’s Inauguration as the 44th President of United States ?