Traveling the World

1. The best way to enjoy an experience is to go into it with no expectations.

2. It’s great to travel on your own because you learn a lot about yourself. (Shanghai, Malaysia)

3. It’s great to travel with friends because you can strengthen your bonds and share new experiences. (Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, China)

4. It’s great to travel with strangers because you never know what’s going to happen. (Malaysia/Singapore)

5. Not all locals want to screw you over!

6. When people recommend something to do or somewhere to eat, you should listen.

7. Only eat at places where the locals are eating!

8. Couchsurfing.org is your friend!

9. You will ALWAYS regret later on the things you didn’t do but wanted to do. (i.e. sitting in the hotel with an injured foot while your mates are swimming around the island where the movie “The Island” was filmed).

10.You don’t need to be rich to travel often. (9 trips in 1.5 years to 4 countries including 11 out of 23 provinces in China for a total time of about 4.5 months at a total cost of $3,500 USD)

11.You don’t need to stay in hotels with room service to enjoy yourself. Sometimes a bus, train, or chicken truck are just as good! (33 hours by train to get close to the Vietnam border? No problem!)

12.Don’t be afraid to rent a bike/scooter and take a map and explore the areas outside of cities or towns. (2 hours outside of Krabi town has beautiful scenery and deserted white sand beaches)

13.Travel is what you make of it. (Trains are better than planes because you meet cool characters)

14.Traveling to developing or poor countries gives you a real perspective on life. (China will blow people’s minds).

15.Life is very precious, and it’s a shame that those with power and money do pretty much nothing to help those with nothing.

16.Every chance you take now is another story to tell later on. (But some stories are meant to be kept a secret!)

17.Don’t ask what the food being put in front of you is. Eat it now and ask questions later. (That was a pig’s heart? Not bad!)

18.Always have your credit card, debit card, and a backup source of funding in case of emergencies (getting robbed of all your money while sleeping on an overnight bus from Krabi to Bangkok).

Before Malaya came together to form the country of Malaysia, each “state” had it’s own Sultan. The word Sultan (سلطان)‎ is an Islamic title given to people, which comes from the word سلطة sulṭah, meaning “authority.” Later, it came to be used as the title of certain Muslim rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms. Many Sultans abused their rights, but not the Sultan of Johor Bahru. Once Malaysia gained independence and embraced democracy, the Sultans lost most of their power but kept the name and wealth, and continued to live amongst the people.

Singapore Strait

I went to the Sultan’s residence to see how he lived. To show he was a man of the people, he opened his estate to the public during the day so they could relax, jog, and view the beautiful scenery. His estate is situated on a hill above the Singapore Strait, which separates Malaysia and Singapore and provides for a somewhat romantic break from the day-to-day stress of life. Interestingly enough, he has several very old cars rusting away in the back of the residence, as well as an ostrich and several other animals for which I don’t know the names.

As I began writing this post after I returned to China, Evelyn informed me that the Sultan of JB had passed away, and the entire nation was grieving. What I found quite interesting was this passage from an article on the internet:

During the mourning period you are required to wear a 3″ black band on your left arm. There is no specific rule or law stating you need to comply with this, but you could be hassled by the police if you do not do so since it shows a lack of respect for the late Sultan. This applies to both Malays and non-Malays, and should especially be adhered to if you enter public and government buildings. There have already been reports of fines up to RM$2000 for several shop owners not wearing the black arm band.

Sultan's Domain

Just as a side note, RM$2000 is about $600 USD and most people don’t even make that much each month in Malaysia. Continuing on, I found that even though Sultans in the Middle East are associated with absolute power and rule, this Sultan caused the “Gomez Incident,” which involved passing a bill which allowed rulers who violated Malaysian law to be prosecuted. Furthermore, he amended the Sedition Act of 1948 to allow public criticism of the rulers. Quite a few crazy events in his lifetime, but I have to admit I’m impressed with his style. RIP Sultan Iskandar Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail.

Despite my brief two day stint in southern Malaysia, it was a great learning experience I’m glad I can look back on and appreciate. If you ever get the travel bug and want to explore this area or possibly even Singapore or Indonesia, let me know and I can put you in contact with my friend Evelyn.

As I arrive, I see a shirtless man screaming F*** at the top of his lungs, and I know I’m in the right place. Next up is a girl who screams and tries not to flash everyone. I then go in to the office and happily pull $99 out of my pocket. I am weighed to make sure the cable is of the appropriate strength, to find either I’ve been a pig or the scale is off. The guy marks me off at 65kg, the heaviest I’ve ever been. The last person in front of me is a Viet girl raised in Germany and living in HK. She is really nervous and doesn’t want to jump. When she does, she covers her mouth. As she comes wooshing down through the air, I mentally prepare myself by taking off my shirt and shoes.

It begins to rain as the box descends towards me. My heart beats faster. The rain turns into a storm as I feel the rain beating down on me. I climb into the box and it slowly ascends 12 stories into the sky. The man talks to me to help me deal with my nerves, and he tells me what to do. We arrive and the button turns green. He opens the door to hell and asks me quite politely if I would step to the edge. I comply and do the one thing you are told never to do: look straight down. I look back up and tell him I can’t do it. He says, “yes you can, dammit!” I tell him he’ll have to push me.

Falling. Weightlessness. Disorientation. I scream not in fear, but in shock. My body is plummeting towards the ground at a speed faster than I’ve ever experienced. Nothingness. Excitement. The line reaches it’s maximum length, and my body snaps back upward towards the heavens. Wet. Exhilarated. Pumped. The rain continues to soak me as the man on the ground tries to grab my arms and pull me down to the ground. I’m released from the shackles around my ankles and am left feeling only that I can’t wait to do it again.

(PS – I have no pictures or video of this because of the rain, and their machine that records DVDs of the event was broken).

I feel nervous as I enter the lane marked “Foreigners,” because this is the first time I’ve ever gone to gaol. I approach the guard and he badgers me with questions. “Where are you coming from? Why are you coming here? Why were you there and not China if you claim to be living there? What do you do there? Do you like it there?” I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn’t tolerate those kinds of questions like I was back in China, because I definitely wasn’t there anymore. I answer the questions with confidence and he half-asses a smile as he collects my things and shows me in.

“Welcome to Australia, mate.” I’m moved to a large cell with all the other prisoners and made to wait. It seemed like forever when I was finally allowed to collect my new items from the conveyor belt. I cringed at the thought of how slow life is here. Something that would get done within minutes now seems to be done at a snails pace. After picking up my allotted items, I moved to another line and waited some more.

I quickly discover that gaol here is strict. If you are caught bringing in foreign items (like dried fish or plants) they can seize the item and throw a fine at you and extra time in gaol! Because of this, I removed my unopened chocolate bar and asked the quarantine checker if it was okay. He said to me, “It’s my not favourite brand mate, but it’s okay to bring in.”

Being a smart bloke, I formulated an escape plan while on the transport aircraft. About the time they led me through to the cell I was meant to spend the next month in, the other prisoners began a riot. Around 9:30am, I escaped from the clutches of the Australian government, slip past the guards at the entrance, and jumped into the moving truck. The driver asked where I was headed, and I said “Gold Coast, my good mate.” I didn’t know if I would make it, but I had hope. In Gold Coast I’d find safe passage and a warm meal. It’s best to move as fast as possible, so I’ll move on with haste to a safe house in Deception Bay. I only hope this message reaches you. Wish me luck.

The Great Wall is the single most touristy thing someone could do when in China. I tried my hardest to make it more intrepid, and I feel I succeeded. My hostel was trying to get us to book with them, but their trip involved a huge bus, food, and worst of all going to Badaling. This is the the most boring and crowded section of the wall, not to mention it would have cost almost $100 USD per person.

My friend Ewa from the hostel told us about another way to get there. This involved first going to the Dongzhimen long-distance bus station (located right off the Dongzhimen metro station). When we got off the subway, there was a Chinese woman waiting for people who wanted to go to the Wall. She showed us to the public 980 bus, which costs 14rmb to go to from the city limits to Miyun. She gave me a card and said her friend would be waiting for us at the Miyun Tai Yang bus stop and he’d take us to Simatai for cheap. I didn’t ask how much because I knew I’d do better to bargain with him.

An hour and 20 minutes later, we were rudely woken up to the shrills of a man screaming we had arrived at Miyun. When we got off we were immediately bombarded by touts, yet thankfully we found our man. Like most people in China, he didn’t speak a word of English, so I had to test my skills. He immediately started off with 70rmb a person each way. I told him his friend said it’d be cheap and I knew 70 was a ripoff. He said fine, 65. Then I said I was Chinese, not a tourist. He said it was really far from where we were and gas was expensive. Since I live here, I know he was lying, so I told him I liked him and didn’t want to screw around, and I only wanted to pay 30 per person each way.

Thinking he was slick and I would fold (he didn’t know he was dealing with a Jewish person), he went to 60. I told him there were many other people standing there who would give it to me for less, and he said none of them had a van for all 5 of us, but went to 55. I finally said the hostel would have been easier, but I chose this method because I thought it’d be cheaper, so he agreed to 45 per person each way. Total negotiation time took 6 minutes, and I know this because Melba timed it.

Another hour and 20 minutes later, we were at Simatai. We exited the van and he presented us with the entrance tickets, valued at 40rmb each. This guy seemed really nice and was on the ball with these things, so we were happy with our choice.

Map

Climbing Higher

As we approached the end and the highest point possible, we all sat down and took a photo. The wind was picking up, and the clouds were moving so fast, it felt like a fairy tale. As a species, humans are so accustomed to the sounds of electronics in their ears at all times, so that being in a place like this with absolutely no sound in your ears besides that of the wind is quite freaky.

Top of the Wall

Path of Doom