The Sorrow of Ten Thousand Raindrops

When you plan a holiday months in advance like me, you never know if mother nature is going to be on your side or not. However, if you're heading to Asia in August when its either monsoon season or just hot, humid or rainy, your luck gear switches from hopeful to better luck next time. It's something we should have prepared for but due to how the academic calendar works in the UK, we have no choice but to travel in August.

An Umbrella - Key part of your packing list if you're going to Asia in August. Being able to pose with one is optional.

Now we didn't have it so bad in Korea. The sun was shining during our whole trip in Jeju-do, Busan was cool in the evening but dry when we went to the beach and even when it was spitting in Sokcho, it was more of a silver lining for a hike. It was in China that we saw the cold shoulder of mother nature.

Hangzhou was our first stop for China. A city located in eastern China, it is the largest in the Zhejiang province and only an hour away from Shanghai by train. The number one reason tourists flock to Hangzhou is to see the beautiful West Lake, which is also a UNESO heritage site. The fresh water lake is scattered with tombs, pagodas as well as gardens and its scenic both at day and night. There are other attractions in Hangzhou such as the Long Jing tea farm but we came exclusively for the West Lake because quite a few people had recommended us to go there.

The West Lake also has dedicated "scenic spots" and each of these are named by a four character "epithet" such as "Remnant Snow on the Bridge in Winter" and "Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon" (can see you see where the inspiration of the blog title came?). Some may say these names are beautiful... others might not take them so seriously but what I can say is that there is a "medal" station at each of these spots so that you can reward yourselves and prove to people who did not doubt you in the first place. Tourism taken too far but I would lie if I didn't admit they made tempting souvenirs. 

One of the "ten scenic spots" just before Su-Di

However, we had a slight hitch in our plans. It was pouring down as if the clouds were in their terrible twos and decided to throw a stubborn tantrum. Seeing that the weather turned to blissful sunshine on the day we were leaving... maybe it was throwing a tantrum about us?

Now the rain is nothing to us Brits! Me and Elaine marched out with our English Pride determined to see the West Lakes. We're here for two days and we weren't going to give in and spend it in a hotel room! First thing's first, we needed an umbrella. Luckily we found one for 20 RMB (£2), but as the price suggests, they didn't have enough strength to return with us to the UK. Second thing, I needed to leave back my camera, no way was a risking a new camera for the rain (hence the poor photo quality, sorry!). Third thing, we set off.

I'm a sucker for pathways that are lined with arching trees

I'll admit, the first twenty minutes or so wasn't very enjoyable. Between trying to figure out were the damn Su-Di was and if we should prioritise finding the ten scenic spots as opposed to leisurely walking around, we were getting very soaked. Elaine's shoes couldn't bear the moisture and had to be thrown away due to the mould a few days later. My walking sandals survived but with a strong stench that Rae couldn't deal with. Was a drenched walk around the West Lake really worth it? The strong detest in a wasted day kicked in and we finally reached the point that we liked walked down the Su Causeway.

Elaine will always look lovely in photos, whatever the weather, location or the situation with her shoes!

The West Lake is beautiful but the weather didn't help but make it look a little dull. I enjoyed walking on the causeway and I enjoyed it more at night with the lamps illuminating the pathway, the temples light up and us playing a little with of KPop out loud (like the hooligans on the back row in the London buses but adults were doing it everywhere in China). It distracted us from the most painful mosquito bites I have ever received (beware in Hangzhou) and the worst food I've eaten in my life (red sauce eggplant and "stuffed" beancurd which ended up being sick sauce and greased crisps).   

However, the highlight of our trip was definitely the hostel we stayed at. South Korea maybe be new to the whole backpacking scene and the hostels we stayed at ranged between pleasant to the worst thing I have ever slept in. So when we first arrived in Touran Hostel, I wasn't expecting a cosy yet quirky decor or atmosphere that Korea made e forget the hostels had. Our room? AMAZING (compared to what we had in the last two weeks), the staff were friendly and the breakfast was the best we had yet. The hostel also hosted movie nights every evening, a chance for us to watch something really bad... but it was always a good way to break the ice with new people. If you stay in Hangzhou, I definitely recommend Hangzhou Touran Backpack Hostel. 

The Chinese version of "James, Nuzhat & Elaine".

Prague, the sightseeing continues: Day two

The plan was to wake up at 7:15 am to see the magnificent Charles Bridge at Dawn (you see why we wanted to go this early later). Now how likely was it that we'll be able to get up and ready that early? Breakfast wasn't being served yet and it was still dark outside... more reasons to stay in...! We made a compromise and made sure we left by 8am no matter how hard it was to get out of bed.

The Old Town Square Christmas tree, just a little less blinding

The snow has settled from the night before: too little for it not make the scene pretty but too much for it to make the streets slippery and annoying. It doesn't help that the streets are cobbled and it was so early that that they just started laying grit. Luckily my new boots managed to pass the grip test and I didn't slip once (Nuz 1: Snow 0).

First view of Charles' Bridge. Doesn't it look inviting?

As a person who can't stand snow or the cold, I was lucky that we lived in such a convenient location. I can roll out of bed and into Old Town Square and I'm only 10 minute walk away from Charles Bridge and the Jewish neighbourhood. I'd definitely recommend Central Hotel for anyone considering going to Prague.

Now why did the guide book suggest we see the Bridge at Dawn? Because a couple of hours after, it becomes this:

Most blogs tell you to avoid this bridge during the day. Yes, it's too crowded to take pretty photos but its not busy that you can't cross the bridge as it would normally take you without the tourists, though this might vary during the year.

Our next stop was the Prague Castle, though not without a detour by the Gingerbread museum (which is really a shop...)!

Another tip for visiting Prague is that if you are a student, bring your student ID with you! You don't need an international student ID to get the student discounts and literally all the attractions we visited were happy with it.

I just found out Prague Castle is apparently the biggest (coherent) castle in the world and hence a UNESCO heritage site. Though it was founded in approximately 880 by a Prince, it's evolved continuously under different rulers which you could tell from the diverse range of architecture. 

There are so many buildings to see, we could have spent half a day there... or at least to see the Change of Guard. Sadly, I just don't like staying indoors to long when I'm travelling and off we went again.

We went back to Old Town Square via Wenceslas Square, which had its market in full swing. Two parallel lines of food stall lined the path, trying to entice all the passer-bys. I'll admit, I was starving at this point and the point looked tempting, BUT every dish had some sort of pork added to it. My stomach did grumble in defeat. 

Luckily Old Town Square has other meaty alternatives! Actually... just one, chicken shish kebabs. Damnit Prague, you need some more street food options!

KPopping, Forbidden Palace & lots of Noodles... We're off to China andS. Korea!

Tickets have been booked, itineraries are being made and the excitement keeps on growing!

Elaine and I have been planning this trip over our year, especially since our best friend Rae is studying in Beijing right now. Actually, we've always wanted to go to both those countries for a while now. When you have Korean Pop culture obsessed friends (half my friends school in school were, including Elaine), its inevitable you would get swept up by the frenzy at least once in your life. I'll admit I've watched the odd K-Drama (per year...) and I did go to a KPop concert once (Big Bang, no regrets), so there's no doubts about wanting to immerse myself in the culture a little.

So how did China come into this? Well, it's a combination of having many of the classic wonders of the world, the convenience of it being near S. Korea and because we haven't seen our closest friend in a long time! We love you Rae!!

Now I say that it is convenient that China is RELATIVELY near S. Korea but I didn't anticipate in the drama over booking tickets an organising an itinerary. To be fair, I greatly underestimated the giant that China is. The country has an area of about 9.6 million km² whereas the UK is a measly 244 thousand km² (China is forty times greater!!). Living in the UK gives me a poor perspective in distances and travelling.

So what exactly is the dilemma with China being so big? It's choosing the ideal route. We have two weeks to see as much as we can. Beijing and Shanghai automatically goes on the list for us. Maybe have a day trip to Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors. Now we have a room for one or two more more places to stopover and see. What I usually do is google itineraries that other people have suggested: Thorn Tree forum have members that are well travelled and make a good alternative to a trip to a travel agent. TripAdvisor will always have something and there are online travel blogs to inspire you. What most places mentioned, what I immediately fell in love with, was a region called Guilin.

Look beautiful landscapes that make you want to visit Asia! The limestone karsts, the rice terrace fields, the traditional architecture! I'm surprised I never heard of it before. The problem is...

19 hour drive, 22 hour train ride... lets not get started on how difficult it is to find a decent flight! Inconveniently, we booked our flights out of Beijing, making it difficult to fit in Guilin with into our schedule.

The question lies... do we give it a miss for next time? Should we bear the 22 hour train rides or... should we take the bullet, and let our bank accounts suffer? I hope a better solution appears soon!

Prague, the Winter Wonderland: Day One

It hasn't been 24 hours since I've arrived back from Prague but I couldn't wait til I got writing about it, telling my friends and family what I've been up to and sorting the photo. I'm use to thinking that 2 months of travelling passes quicker than the blink of an eye, imagine how quick this weekend felt!

Such a pretty view despite the weather below the clouds!

 The journey started at about 5am on Friday morning. I have to admit, waking up and getting to the airport was easier than I expected, though as I've always aimed for the cheaper flights, this isn't something new. We weren't in Prague until 1pm, where we had the most unpleasant greeting from the winter winds blasting our face along with the snow. I already think that I'm not made for the british climate, I can't handle the winter here, so I had my doubts spending my winter in east Europe. The minute I stepped out the airport, I thought I was going to give up: "I'm going to spend the rest of this trip in the hotel" I thought. I guess it's unsurprising that the first thing we did was snooze in our room...

Attempt at wrapping up warm without looking like Bibendum (the Michelin Man). Look at how warm and toasty my room looked, wouldn't you rather be in there than the cold?!

Guilt crept in when we woke up at 5pm. How could we waste our trip already? Fortunately, we were living close to the Old Town Square. It wasn't long until we were greeted by the Square's sparkling Christmas Tree (from afar, we were wondering if the tree had any leaves or if it was just made out of christmas lights) before we indulged ourselves into the warmth of the Christmas Market.

The image doesn't capture how much of a monstrosity/legendary this Christmas tree was. From afar, you'd doubt there were any leaves (and if there were, how have they not burnt off?).

Mulled wine, crepes and roasted chestnuts stalls surrounded us but no complaints there! It didn't take us long to try some Czech delicacies. We began by trying some Trdelnik, which is made by wrapping some dough on a stick which is then grilled and sprinkled with a walnut and sugar mix. Alright, my mouth is watering just by describing the way this is made!

Can these Christmas stalls look any cuter?

Rolls of Old Czech Cake being grilled (more like roasted?). Sprinkle it with my spices, they taste amazing served warm!

I was a little disappointed with myself for not trying enough Malaysian and Singaporean food this summer. I've been reading some food blogs just to make sure I don't miss out on the Czech side. Now three days isn't a lot of time to try enough delicacies, but one thing we couldn't stop having is fried cheese. How could you have a main dish of just cheese?! I think the fact that we had it every day that we were in Prague suggests how tasty (and addicting) they are.

Never thought I'd miss Prague food!

Pilsner beer and hot chocolate to accompany our dinner. Quite thick for a hot chocolate but not as sweet as I expected (to my disappointment).

 We decided to check out Wesceslas Square. It didn't compare to the atmosphere back in Old Town Square, especially the Christmas market. It reminded me of a tamer version of Oxford street with either side of street lined with boutiques and western chains. Other than the impressive national museum at the end of the square, I wouldn't say there's much here other than for shoppers. Surprisingly, this is the first trip I've made where I wasn't enticed to go shopping. Shock! Horror!

Not as blinding as the Old Town Square tree...

 By the first night, I was already in love with the Christmas market (couldn't wait to hit it again), addicted to taking photos of the Town Square and surprisingly took a liking to my experience with Czech food. Couldn't ask for a better start to the trip (:

Next stop... Prague!

The last time I went travelling during the winter vacations was probably... back during my GCSEs? Back then, travelling meant visiting relatives. If it wasn't Bangladesh or India I was travelling to, it was certainly to visit relatives who lived elsewhere in the world. Sometimes we'd be lucky to go somewhere else for a few days before hitting BD, in the past it's been Saudi Arabia or UAE, a country that's en route.

However, after starting Cambridge, it's been really hard to take vacations as a "break". Like a former student once told me, vacations in Cambridge means "to vacate Cambridge", they still expect you to continue working. My 2nd year Director of Studies told me that I could only take Christmas Day off (even if I don't celebrate it). See how seriously they take it? Realistically, that's not going to happen. You catch up on your favourite series, take up a temporary job or SLEEP (finally). For those who can afford it, they travel. I've never considered it before because I rather save up for the big summer freedom, but I need to save up for the places I want to go to. Thailand, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Madagascar, Fiji, Kenya.

This year, I'm doing things differently. While I've opted for Asia, a few of my friends have opted to travel closer and know the rest of Europe pretty well. Some of them prefer to take city breaks for a few days whereas I prefer to travel all over a country over weeks. We've enjoyed the way we've done it so far but I want to see why they enjoy their city breaks, what's the pull with Europe?

Initially our plan was to go to Dublin, Ireland. It's close-by and more affordable in the short term (I'm still saving up for summer!). But then someone suggested that Prague would be a better Christmas time destination. I'll be honest, if any European city (other than the mediterranean countries) interest me, it's Prague and that's because of all the hype behind it. One of my friend said it's the most beautiful city in the world... although she's not been there. Another couple I know said they loved their time there, not only do they want to go back but they prefer it to Paris.

So, I want to go to Prague to see what the hype is all amount. I know it's not the best reason to go travelling (I've always had a natural pull to the countries I've travelled to independently) but this is an experiment. I want to know if I'll enjoy this short break, will I feel satisfied even though I'm only scratching the surface of a country? Is Prague that beautiful, a word that people constantly associate with the city? I'll find out in December!

22.

I turned 22 on the last day of my travels. It should have been a sad day but I had a permanent grin on my face. The fact that I was going to be flying away the next day didn't touch my thoughts. For the last two months I'd been on non stop adventure and I was ending it on a bang. I've anticipating this trip for a whole year, planning it whenever I could before the exams hit and it turned out more than what I hoped for. I was incredibly happy.

The start of the day was the best part! One thing that I learnt about myself this summer is that I love animals. It started with when I first came across the cheeky macaques in Nepal but it peaked the moment I saw the semi wild orangutans. I loved watching out for Proboscis monkeys in Borneo and when I heard I could have breakfast "in the jungle" with Orangutans at Singapore Zoo. We booked it for my birthday assuming that it sells out quickly (it didn't), which meant we reserved the best seat next to the orangutans. I didn't move my eyes away from them, in fact, I didn't have breakfast (which was excellent, by the way) until they had to leave. I love orangutans! I had to make sure we came back for their feeding time...

I actually heard a lot of raves about Singapore Zoo but I never prioritized it prior to the trip. Now, I've joined that crowd and if you're going to Singapore, DO NOT GIVE IT A MISS! Imagine running to through the Zoo because you're late for your breakfast with the man of the wild, but hey, something swings across your path. Wait, is that a... Gibbon? Yes people, that's how open singapore zoo is! Orangutans playing freely in a treehouse, flying foxes dodging your head and elephants walking on the same path as you as they go to their show. Don't worry, the zoo is planned in such a way so that the potentially dangerous animals cannot leap out at you. It's the best compromise between an animal's well being and your enjoyment.

We made sure to see every part, sit in a few shows and take advantage of the La Sadina (lomo camera) that we hired. I advise people to make as much as the morning or evening as possible. It gets pretty hot during the afternoon and some of the animals take this as a chance to have a snooze (we ended up not seeing the Kangaroos in action). I didn't want to leave. I just wanted to sit and watch the Orangutans play. Alas, we had to back to give back the camera!

You cannot leave Singapore without being taken in awe by its beautiful skyline. Next on the itinerary, after a hearty Italian meal, was the Singapore iFlyer.

Walking along the Helix bridge, you get an amazing view of the city along the river. It's so bright, so perfect, I didn't want to leave. We decided to have a little peek at the Mariana Hotels, but it turned out to be Ladies' Night at their bar, Ku De Ta. What a way to end the night than to dance away to "What Makes You Beautiful" in your last night in Singapore.. (:

Meeting the man of the wild

The storm is following us everywhere we go, it seems. In Langkawi, it's early monsoon season so it made sense for the night to be filled with heavy rain and the mornings to be beautifully dewy. However in the Perhentians, when we saw the dark stormy clouds lighting up the night sky every minute in the west, we thought we were in the comfort of the high season and that the storm would stay over mainland. Within a few hours, we felt the cool wind and the waves get louder and within a few minutes of that, we were all running indoors and barricading our doors with towels. It wasn't until this Saturday in the early hours that I was convinced the storm was stalking us as it refused to let me sleep in Borneo with its thunderous banging.

Of all days, it was probably one of the worst to keep us awake. I had to be up early, at 6am at least because we had to catch a 7.15 am bus. We were on our way to Semenggoh to see the orangutans! Definitely had a big day ahead of us and we needed to wake up early because the next bus would have been too late. The continuing rain and the gloomy skies didn't help us keep up with the day either, but something did brighten our mood: it was the day before independence day and schools were blasting our national songs as children came in their traditional clothes. They were in a cheerful mood and they put us in a cheerful mood too as they waved and said hello to us. Patriotism looks good on Malaysia.

Semenggoh is one of Borneo's orangutan sanctuaries, though not as famous as Sepilok. It is home to 27 semi wild orangutans, all of which have been rescued, named and let to roam as freely as they can be under human care. The reserve is huge and hence it's hard to spot the orangutans unless you come during the feeding times where the orangutans come for their twice-daily dose of bananas.

It was an hour journey to the reserve the the rain only seemed to get heavier. I tried not to think of the implications, "I will see an orangutan today!" I thought. There was a quick talk before the feeding, telling us a little about the orangutans and how to behave. Surprisingly, the rain didn't put off the tourists and there was a big group of us even though we were only likely to see a few orangutans (they don't like to move when they are wet because their fur is heavier). We walked to the main feeding station and it didn't take long before we saw trees swaying in the distance. Only minutes later did we spot a bundle of orange fur jumping across the trees. It was a young orangutan but in the eyes of the tourists, he was a rock star, a celebrity and us tourists were comparable to the paparazzi as we shamelessly snapped away. He approached our guide and accepted a banana before climbing back up to eat from a distance. I was happy to see one orangutan, I was already in awe of how they move when we saw a mother orangutan arrive with her baby. Then another mother & baby came and another! I can't describe how taken I was with the sight, watching them move and interact. I moved closer to the front. I was soaking in the the rain but I didn't care. The highlight of the experience was watching an orangutan approach the platform of bananas as the guide turned away, put one huge bunch in her mouth, grab another bunch and run (climb) off before the guide could see her. They are so sneaky!! That's what makes them even more adorable.

10 minutes before the feeding session was suppose to end, we had an announcement that the alpha male, 'Ritchie' (I initially heard Rishi and couldn't help but laugh), was in the other feeding station. The whole crowd started to migrate to the other end of the trail but they weren't moving fast enough. I snaked my way through, it wasn't hard to spot the huge intimidating mass sitting on the platform and munching away. He moved very little and kept his face straight ahead like he was contemplating. Even as other orangutans tried to climb down near him, he wouldn't let go of the rope. The others kept their distance from him and we could see the power he held over the others. Sitting still but nevertheless, very feared. The orangutans here liked the attention of the crowd and some came close... One was just over my head, dangling upside down. Day made!

The sanctuary also has trails but two of the orangutans (Delima and Ritchie) had attacked people recently, supposedly because they were mistreated in captivity, so we couldn't walk about. Pity, but I will get the chance to see these amazing creatures again soon, I hope.