Recess week

Ok, I'm very much behind the schedule with my posts. I've been a bit lazy writer lately, sorry for that. Anyway we had a recess week in the middle of the semester right after the Formula 1 GP (check the previous post). As we didn't have any midterm exams, Ryan, Essi, Maiju, Jaana, Holly and I decided to go for a trip. In my part the trip lasted from 24th September until the 1st of October. We visited Vietnam and Cambodia.

Vietnam

I was the last one to arrive in Vietnam. All the others arrived on different days and Holly and Ryan were waiting for me in Ho Cho Minh City. In the same night we had booked a bus to Mui Ne that is a coastal resort in southeastern Vietnam. It is pretty much one country road that goes along the coast and there are small hotels and restaurants all the way. Jaana, Maiju and Essi wanted to make a short tour in Vietnam so they left HCMC before I arrived. We met in Mui Ne later on.

So my first three nights in Vietnam we spent in Mui Ne. The first guesthouse was okay, but quite far from all the action and I think we were the only guests. Ryan, Holly and I shared a room with several gekkos but it's alright as they are harmless and eat all the bugs.

Mui Ne

I lost one of my sandals in the bus when we arrived so very first thing to do in the morning was to find flipflops for me (as the the ground was burning hot with bare feet). The days in Mui Ne were pretty much about laying on a beach, throwing frisbee, eating in different restaurants and enjoying the cheap prices in a nice bar called Joe's. (I can fully recommand that place if you ever go to Mui Ne. Good food, nice prices, live music and very great atmosphere. Slightly Western tho...) We also rented a motorbikes for 24 hours and spent some time to drive along the coast. Rental was 5 USD for a bike.

My first one which got broken

On the 3rd day in Mui Ne we met the Finnish ladies finally. At the same time it was Ryan's last day before going back to Singapore because of some studying he had to do. Holly and I wanted to level up our accommodation and therefore we changed to a pretty nice beach house with a private beach, pool etc. We wanted to have some peace of a luxury and it all costed only for 70 USD a night in total.

The terrace of our beach house in Mui Ne

As it was Ryan's last night and the girls finished their tour and joined us, we decided to have a pool party at our place. Girls brought some Vietnamese wine they had found on their trip. Ryan took a bus to HCMC at 1 am. We also left Mui Ne next day and headed back to HCMC for one night. Yet again me and Holly met plenty of new friends on District 1. Very good place to meet backpackers. One of them was Edvin with whom we shared a bus next day to Cambodia (and actually we met later again in Singapore with three of us).

The last night in Mui Ne

Cambodia

The bus trip from HCMC lasted from the early morning to the latenight. The only place I really visited in Cambodia, despite having a two-hour-long break in the capital Phnom Penh, was Siem Reap. There I had practically two full days to stay. The Finnish girls arrived before me and Holly. We tried to book a room from the same hotel with them but it was full. Therefore we had to find another one and ended up in a really nice hotel with great service and a pool. We paid together 20 USD a night that included typical Asian breakfast (= rice with something). We also had a personal tuk-tuk driver who drove us anywhere anytime with a ridiculously cheap price (after the first day we paid 5 USD + 1 USD tip for 3-4 rides.)

Enjoying the Tuk-Tuk ride

The first day we spent mostly walking around the town and did some shopping. We also spent a couple of hours at the pool and in the evening we wanted to see a sunset on a temple but unfortunately it started to rain - we climbed anyway and saw the temple without the sun. It was quite funny anyway. After that we met the girls for a dinner and some drinks. Beer costed 50 US cents for a bottle in a bar. Siem Reap is quite touristic but yet cheap and it was off season. Therefore we enjoyed space and free prices.

The second day we spent totally seeing the temples. We saw temples everywhere and visited four or five. The most notable ones were the most known temple in the area called Angkor Wat and the one that was used in the movie Tomb Raider (2001) called Ta Prohm. These were some of the most amazing constructions I have ever seen in my life. In Angkor region there are hundreds of temples in total and it's protected by UNESCO.

Me at Angkor Wat

After the tour I headed back to the hotel and said by to the girls who stayed a couple of more days. I took a sleeping bus back to Phnom Penh. In the sleeping bus I met three backpacker girls from USA and had some good talks before fell asleep for a couple of hours. In Phnom Penh I caught a flight in the morning and returned in Singapore in the afternoon. Cambodia was the best place I had visited so far in Asia.

Jaana at a temple

Formula 1 - Marina Bay

The Marina Bay GP was driven in Sinapore on 23.9. We went to see it with the finnish guys Joonas, Aki, Ville, Juha and Aki's friend Tapsa. We paid 107 euros for the tickets. They didn't allow us to sit at grand stands but we had access to the wide area and the best corners. The day included four races and the concert of Katy Perry as the official afterparty in the area.

The day started in the afternoon with Ferrari Challenge. That was quite impressive to see those sports cars doing the thing they are designed to do. Right next to us there was an incident and spin after about half of the laps had been driven. Unfortunately the circuit staff were unable to get the wreck out so the race was finished with the safety car on the track.

Ferrari Challenge

180 degree spin

After Ferrari Challenge the next race was GP2 race. During the race we were walking much around the area and didn't really follow the race that much. The cars looked very much like F1 cars.

GP2

Lotus F1 team merchandises

Since the GP2 was finished we were hungry. As everything in the race area was very expensive and our tickets were multiple entry we decided to go outside to eat. We missed the whole Porsche Cup race because of that but we wanted to be ready for the F1 race. Once we got back we looked for a good spots to view the race and went there to wait the race to begin. The race was cool and surprisingly easy to follow once you learnt to recognize drivers from their helmets. I hardly saw the screen so I had to count the standings in my head. Our spot between T7 and T8 was good as we saw some nice overtakes and the Schumacher's accident was just behind the corner. The winner of the race was S. Vettel and Kimi was 6th. It was really hard to take good photos from fast cars in the dark.

It was hard to get a clear shot.

After the race we were all quite tired because of standing for long time. We went to see Katy Perry right away but didn't really watch it to the end. Next day we all had flights to take and didn't want to risk it with too hard partying. I flew to Vietnam and from there I got to Cambodia but I'll write about that later.

The concert

Made in Hong Kong

I haven't written for awhile. Have been busy with travelling and studying. It feels like a double life already - half of the time backpacking, the other half studying.

14. - 17.9. we went to Hong Kong with my Finnish friends Ville and Juha, also exchange students in NUS. The only agenda for the trip was to see Hong Kong and we did no planing in advance. We just had our flights and hostel booked. Hostel was quite expensive comparing it to other Asian travels so far. We paid about 18 euros per night each for a small 3-person room. Still the hostel was livable and well located.

Me and Ville in the hostel room

Eventhough Singapore and Hong Kong are both huge cities with high population density, they look very different. Hong Kong didn't look that much like an Asian city, in some points I felt like being in USA or so. Comparing to Singapore, Hong Kong is very much cheaper. Goods don't have taxes which makes Hong Kong a very tempting place to buy electronics and brand clothes (I bought some Calvin Klein and bluetooth headset). Also food is cheaper and better (as it includes a sufficient amount of meet and vegetables). Especially food on streets was really cheap and tasty. With 80 euro cents you got some grilled octopus with tasty sauce.

Ville and Juha having some local food

Delicious food on the street

The most markable sight we visited was totally Victoria peek. It's a mountain located in the western half of Hong Kong island. You can get to the top with a traditional Peak Tram. The trams have been taking tourists to the top for a hundred years now.

Victoria Peak

Very nice view over Hong Kong

Another interesting thing we saw during our visit was the Central–Mid-levels escalators. It's the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The entire system covers over 800 metres in distance and elevates over 135 metres from bottom to top. It was built in 1993. We went the whole thing from the bottom to the top.

Central-Mid-levels

The city seemed to be very wealthy. The cars were way more newer and fancier than in Singapore in average. My roommate Ryan told me before the trip that there are the most Rolls Royces per capita in the whole world. We saw some and also plenty of nice sports cars such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porches.

Ridin in style

Nightlife was also nicer than in Singapore. Mostly because of the prices. Drinks and entrances had reasonable prices and the clubs were nice. We went out at the second night with all three of us. At the second night Juha didn't feel very good and he stayed at the hostel. Ville and I met my friend Wendy from Hong Kong. She was an exchange student in my home university TUT last year and I was her tutor. We spent the whole evening together talking and drinking. She also showed us the light show at the harbour where some of the skyscrapers were programmed to blink their lights by the music. That was amazing! It was very nice to meet her again!

Wendy and Ville

The light show

All in all the trip was very nice and my very first with any of the Finnish guys. We all enjoyed the good food, nice people and great nightlife. I think Hong Kong is a must visit if you come to South-East Asia.

Three nights in Vietnam

The last weekend (Fri - Mon) we visited Saigon (a.k.a Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam. It is the biggest city in Vietnam with population of over seven million people.

I was there with four Canadian friends including my roommate Vincent. We all stayed in a very nice, small and cheap hotel called Phan Lan Hotel in the district 1 very near the city center. The service was some of the best I've ever had in any hotel with the same price class. The room had aircon, flat TV, own bathroom and the breakfast and wifi were included in the price. Also the streets nearby are full of nice bars and restaurants.

Me and the Canadians on a tank from the Vietnam War

Saigon is an interesting place. A big city with just a couple of skyscrapers and without a metro system. Actually the city was very flat and widely spreaded. Near the city center streets were full of tourists and local people trying to sell all kinds of stuff to them. Roads are full of mopeds all day long and the traffic is a mess, still you get used to it pretty quickly. Taxis are very cheap and a ride with a moped (if you dare) even cheaper.

All the highest buildings in the city center

There are plenty of tiny streets and alleys in Saigon

One of the places we visited was Bến Thành Market. The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and one of symbols of Hồ Chí Minh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, áo dài (Vietnamese national costume), and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine. Bargaining is a normal procedure and as a tourist it's important to realize that.

Another places we visited in the city were post office (Bưu điện thành phố), city center in general and the riverside where we took a short cruise with a big restaurant boat.

One hour car ride away from the hotel are the tunnels of Củ Chi. The tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces.

The tunnels were mostly very narrow

One of the nasty traps of Viet Cong

The Canadiens went back to Singapore on Sunday so I had one day to go solo. I met a lot of nice backpackers (mostly from England and USA) and I spent most of my time with them. On Monday I did a tour with one of the many moped guys (they call themselves tourist guides) who are everywhere trying to get tourists drive with them. I spent two hours for sightseeing with him and I saw the country side and interesting areas of the local people. It is very important to make a deal about the prices and terms beforehand and remember to bargain. On Monday evening I had my flight back to Singapore. After all the trip was interesting as Vietnam seems to be way different from Malaysia and especially from Singapore. It was also my very first visit to a socialist country.

Balut (a fertilized duck embryo) is typical food in Vietnam, mostly sold on streets

Tomorrow I'll have my last pill of antibiotics. After over three weeks of being ill, I really hope this thing is gone for good. At least right now I feel good. I'm looking forward to a party on Saturday!

The first visit to Malaysia

Last weekend (actually from Fri - Mon) we made quite a spontaneous trip to Malaysia with my roommate Ryan and the two Finnish girls Jaana and Maiju. The girls had planned the trip quite well in advance but with Ryan we made the decision to go at midnight previous night. It was easy tho, just booked the buses and hostels that the girls recommended for us.

The Buses we used to go to Singapore and back were the most comfortable ever. Ask Ryan!

From Singapore we went to Malacca (Melaka in Malay) which is a nice and quite small historic place with European heritage. The bus trip took about 3,5 hours including the border control. We spent our first night in Voyage Guest House we (or actually the girls) found in Lonely Planet. It's located in Chinatown where were in that night a night market with lots of goods to buy and some live performances to see. In Malacca we looked for the sights and enjoyed a good and very cheap local food. A regular meal on the street costed around one euro.

Maiju, Jaana and me in Malacca

Chinatown

Next day (Satuday) we continued our journey to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, where we stayed for the rest two nights. The first evening was pretty much just seeing sights and eating. As I was on antibiotics I wasn't able to drink any alcohol and therefore clubs and nightlife in general was pretty much no go for me. On Sunday me and Ryan went to MegaMall for some shopping. I bought a local movie and a tablet PC (as it was WAY cheaper than in Finland). In the evening we met with the girls again and got some drinks outside. One Dutch girl from the same hostel (Backpackers Travellers Inn, also in Chinatown) joined us.

Cheap and tasty food in Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur

On Monday Ryan, me and the Dutch girl went to Batu Caves once we woke up. This is a breathtaking place in Kuala Lumpur and easy to go with a local train. Batu Caves is a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India.

The entrance to Batu Caves

Somewhere inside the caves

After visiting Batu Caves our paths with the Dutch girl got separated. Ryan and I started started to kill time and spend the rest of our money. Killing time with the new tablet was quite easy. The bus to Singapore left a little bit after midnight and we were back at home in the morning.

Btw, I got sick again. The same thing that I had earlier came back yesterday... Should have some time to write the blog now I guess.

Two weeks behind

First I thought not to write any blog while staying in Singapore but after all I find this an easy way to keep my friends and relatives in touch. Especially now that I've been four days sick (my throat is killing me), I have nothing but time to write.

So here we go. As this is my first post and I've already been here for two weeks now, I have a lot to say. Still I try to keep it short and relevant. These first two weeks were mostly holidays and the time was spent making new friends and getting to know Singapore. We are surprisingly many people from Finland and with a few of them we've been hanging out quite a lot going all around Singapore. I also have three roommates now that the third guy, Vincent, also arrived. Ryan and Vincent are from Canada and Mike is from Holland. Nice guys!

Here are some places I've visited in Singapore so far...

Sentosa

The beach

Jaana, Maiju and Mike

Last week we visited Sentosa with Ryan, Mike and a few girls studying business. Sentosa is a resort island in south. It has the nicest swimming beaches of Singapore. The beaches are actually all artificial and made out of sand from Malaysia and Indonesia. It's a lovely place to enjoy sun and warm sea water.

Pulau Ubin

The map of Pulau Ubin, the island is just 10.19 km²

This fellow was waving for us

Me and a Alstonia angustiloba

We visited Pulau Ubin last weekend with some Finns, Ryan and a couple of German girls. It is a small island in the north east. Pulau Ubin is kind of a nature park with abandonded granite quarries. It's a place where you can mostly hike or rent a bike and see stuff.

Singapore Downtown, Marina Bay

The Finns in front of the club Avalon

We had the first real party in a quite fancy club called Avalon. Clubbing ain't cheap for guys as 20-30 dollars (S$ 30 being about 20 €) seems to be quite a typical price to get inside. Usually it comes with a free drink tho. Beer is usually more expensive than most of the coctails. I already started prefering Mojito. Wednesdays are ladies' nights meaning that girls get free drink vouchers and free entry to almost everywhere.