Belgium and Norway, home...

Cold, cold, jetlag, and more cold. This is what Europe feels like after Australia and its 35 degrees in the shade. I need some time with family and friends and try to digest these past five months. I have been to such different countries with different languages, cultures, economical situations, religions… My conclusion so far: the world IS biútiful; everywhere is beauty, but also poverty, misery and illness. People can live under the most extreme conditions, and still be happy. In fact, those who have the least are often the happiest. I think back on the Nomads in Mongolia, they didn’t have much, but shared what they had with us, was it horsemilk or Arag. The street children in Katmandu with their huge smiles on their faces when we taught them a new game and they understood it, isn’t that happiness? I want to see more of it! Next up is Argentina and the end of the world, can’t wait. In the meantime, you can have a look at the photos taken during a walk in the Norwegian mountains… Isn’t there a saying that says: “no place like home?”

no place like home...

Cairns

Wendy awaits me in Cairns, we are going couchsurfing together, it is her very first time… I wish I could go back to my first time. It was a little bit awkward, but also delightful, like when you try a new flavor of ice cream, the first bite surprises you with its novelty until you realize that you actually like it. I have found us the perfect host! Christopher is a true gentleman, lives in a beautiful house a little outside of Cairns and tries to make our stay as comfortable as possible for both of us. We spend two great days together hiking in the mountain behind Chris’ house and going for swims in the jungle or in the outdoor swimming pool at the harbor.

Despite the nice company, after two days in Cairns I decide to fly back to Belgium. Fate decided that I needed a break. Diving course will have to wait for a next time, as will the Koalas and the Platypuses…

photos Cairns

Volunteering in Batchelor

I have hesitated for a long time before writing this part, because it is the most difficult of my whole trip. I found this banana farm on a website called HELPX (help exchange) and I thought it would be a good idea to help out on the farm for a couple of weeks before moving on to the east coast of Australia. It is quite tiring to move from place to place all the time and with New Year’s Eve coming up, I hoped to find some nice people to celebrate with. You can all imagine my surprise when I arrived to the so-called farm to find out that the banana trees were all dead and the job was cleaning a petrol station, and all other things I could find too: cars, dogs… Not that I don’t like cleaning, actually I do. I feel a strange satisfaction when a place goes from dirty to clean thanks to my action, but it was not at all what I had expected. But, I thought it would be an interesting experience for my job (dear colleagues of Belcco, if you read this and I hope you will, this part is for you). How many square meters can I clean in one hour? If I have to clean a surface of approximately 100 square meters, how long will it take? What if the floor is full of everything you can imagine from rusty screws, broken-down electrical machines, old tires, to a movie screen and a film projector that doesn’t work? Anyways, I’m a stubborn person, and I said I would do this, so I did. Who said this trip would always be easy?

In Northern Australia, there are two main seasons, the dry season, nice and dry, and the wet season, with tons of rain splashing down on the vegetation giving it new life, but also wets our heads! The sky suddenly turns almost black and the best thing to do when you’re out in the open: run for cover! We experienced this almost every day during my stay. All the cleaning works from before the rain had to be done again… kind of depressing, isn’t it?

There were some good moments though, like when we went to Litchfield and Kathy (the 17 year old daughter of the couple I was working for) showed us a secret place to swim behind Tolmer Falls, or when Kathy and I spend New Year’s Eve making drawings with firecrackers, or when Joe (one of the most fascinating persons I have ever met) took me to swim in a lake where an Uranium mine used to be and a huge reptile watched us from the shore, or when Joe let me drive his car, a white pickup truck, and I flew on the highway on the “wrong” side of the road, or when Joe showed me his camp where he lived four years cut off from civilization. Actually, without Joe there, I think I would have left. Ok, it could have been worse, but it could also have been much better. I am happy when the two weeks are over and go to the airport to catch my plane to Cairns.

photos Batchelor

Kakadu and Litchfield for Christmas

Since I have to spend Christmas away from my family anyway, I might as well do something really different!  Outback Adventures organizes 3-day tours to Kakadu and Litchfield national parks. I decide to join one of these, and hopefully see some crocodiles in the wild and learn more about Australian fauna, flora and its original inhabitants, the aborigines. Our guide, Luke, guides us through the bush to show us the most wonderful places, with waterfalls and little lakes (totally crocodile free he assures us) where we can take refreshing swims in between the driving and hiking. We also visit a small museum and have a look at giant termite mounds. There are two types of mounds. The first type looks like a huge brown-reddish castle and the second one is called magnetic termite mound, due to the fact that it faces north. The second type is smaller and flatter than the first one, it actually looks a little like a gravestone.

The absolute highlight of the trip is for me a place called Ubirr… The rocks here are all painted with artistic drawings of fish, turtles and hunting humans. Actually, the aborigines didn’t paint them for art’s sake, but to communicate information or tell educative tales. For example, in this river there are many long-necked turtles, or the tale about the three sisters who didn’t listen to their parents and were turned into fish and caught by their fellow villagers… We hike through different sites with layer upon layer of paintings, slowly ascending towards a plateau overlooking Kakadu National Park. On top of that plateau, I understand why aborigines chose this place to express themselves; it is the perfect place for connecting directly with nature. I am standing there, surrounded by miles and miles of land, with the wind blowing from all directions, swirling around my body, whispering tales from forgotten times in my ears. I feel the wind, its strength, so powerful I could swear I become part of it…

Before driving to Litchfield National Park we go for a “cruise” in the Mary Wetlands. The place is beautiful, with tons of birds and plants growing in the water, and…the highlight: crocodiles in the wild! We see a small freshwater crocodile sunbathing on the shore and several pairs of eyes from saltwater crocs observing us from the depth.

Litchfield is fun, smaller, and not as wild as Kakadu. We swim in Florence Falls, check out the photo, is it a Santa I see in the water? Tolmer Falls, Wanggi Falls are closed because of the crocodiles. In Buley Rockholes we can swim, actually the small river is like a natural SPA with small waterfalls that massage every part of your body. Strange Christmas altogether, I miss everyone so much. Luckily the group was nice, and I got to meet Wendy, a Dutch girl traveling on her own too. We decide to meet in Cairns in two weeks.

photos Kakadu and Litchfield

Darwin

Down Under. So that’s how it looks here. Darwin is a tropical Paradise! It is not allowed to swim in the sea though, too dangerous. There might be crocodiles (they already caught around 200 in the harbour in 2012) and a special kind of jellyfish with meters of stingers. My host lives in Palmerston, about half an hour from Darwin, a quite little suburban area with wide alleys and comfortable houses. The first thing that hits me though is the prices. I was used to Asia, and even though Singapore already set the tone for higher prices, this is like Europe if not more. Cassie can’t pick me up before in the afternoon and I’m so tired from the trip that I cannot say I’m displeased with my little nap at the airport. The rest of the day goes by with shopping and sending Christmas cards to my family. I miss them so much; this was harder than I thought. It is the first time that I celebrate without them and it doesn’t help to see Christmas trees lined up with palm trees or girls dressed up with thigh-short Santa outfits. This is definitely NOT a Norwegian Christmas! In our house in Palmerston we are 4; two germans (Felix and René), Cassie (Aussie girl) and myself. Later on Patrick joins us and when I leave, Rod arrives. Chris is our host, but he is in South Africa on holiday and lends us his house. There is not so much to see in Darwin, but I do manage to find some nice spots. One of them is Waterfront, with Stokes Hill Wharf in the distance and a nice little beach protected against crocodiles. Big is my surprise when I stick my foot in the water and it is TOO HOT! I can’t believe it! I thought water was supposed to be refreshing.

Another Darwin attraction is the fish feeding down at the end of the Esplanade. It cost 15$, but I get to hand feed the fish with my feet in the water, the fish sometimes mistake my feet for food so there is some nipping at my legs too. Look, the fish are even quite big!

The Northern Territory Museum is also a nice place to visit, especially the exhibition on aboriginal art. Unfortunately it is not allowed to take any pictures in there, and there is no catalogue available either so I can’t share what I saw there. You can have a look at this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_art

but please bear in mind that the real stuff is much more beautiful than any picture. I also got an interesting insight in how aborigines consider the world. For instance, indigenous man does not see nature as white man does. To him, nature is sacred and has to be protected. He listens to nature and tries to be a part of it instead of trying to dominate it. We can learn a lot from him I think…

In the NT Museum, there is also a section about cyclone Tracy that devastated Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974 and another one showing all the animals that inhabit the Northern Territory. Crocodiles are well represented, both freshwater and saltwater (the most dangerous ones). On display is the mounted body of Sweetheart, a 5 meter long saltwater croc responsible for a series of attacks on boats in the 1970’s, caught alive but drowned during transportation.

Remember I went to a crocodile farm in Malaysia? Well I couldn’t resist visiting one in Australia too. In this one I come in time for the feeding… which is quite a scary experience. Seeing these huge animals jump more than a meter up from the water to catch the meat gives me goose bumps down my spine. The pictures cannot render the extreme power with which the jaw closes over the hook and the meat. I am truly fascinated by these animals!

Felix has a boat and agrees to take us for a daytrip in Darwin Bay. The tour is going to be a little more dramatic than we thought. Read on for details of our adventure: danger, storm, fish attack and laughter are the main ingredients of this day. Cassie and I have done the shopping, at least one thing is certain, we will not die of hunger. Hummus, guacamole, chips, salad, chocolate and beer are only a few of the things we bring with us. Surprisingly, we even manage to eat almost everything! The weather is great, the boat is fast, what more can we wish  for? A swim! But what about the crocodiles, and the stingers? Cassie and René stay on the boat to monitor the water, Felix and I jump in, only for a few seconds though, who wants to be eaten by a crocodile! Then comes the storm, we flee back to the harbour and decide to stay on the boat to be closer to the events. It is truly impressive, the rain pours down in buckets and the sky is dark grey from all this water falling down. Cassie then decides it’s a good time to fish! Why not? Haven’t we all heard that fish are easier to catch when it rains? Or is it that the water is warmer when it rains? Nobody knows but she does catch a fish! As she pulls it inside the boat, the mean catfish wriggles its tail and sting, into Cassie’s belly! The fish is still moving and we are unable to move, we cannot believe our own eyes. Felix then draws his knife: “I will cut it out of your belly” he shouts. Cassie’s scream tells him not to. I grab the fish, but what to do next? Finally Cassie manages to draw out the fish from her stomach herself, while I’m still holding the fish. She’s so angry at the poor beast, she throws it back into the ocean where it belongs.

photos Darwin

Singapore and Malaysia

When I planned my trip, I thought I would have a short stopover in Singapore, a couple of days maybe. I am really really happy that I changed my plans and stayed for a week with Wayne and his family: Rose, his wife, Courtney and Conan, their children, and their nanny from the Philippines, Regina. I was their first ever couchsurfing guest, my favourite plot. We got to discover together the delights of cultural exchange made possible by couchsurfing. This however was a very special experience which I will remember all my life. Wayne is the most hospitable person I have ever met, and he is very enthusiastic and eager to learn new things. Rose runs a hairsalon, and if you happen to go to Singapore, I highly recommend you to go to Turnstyles (Joo Chiat Place), where Rose’s magic scissors make miracles on your head! And if you go there, you can even have a glimpse of my sofabed, which is in the back of the salon.

Singapore is a very modern city, with skyscrapers and futuristic architectural creations everywhere. The most spectacular one is probably the Marina Bay hotel with its swimming pool on the roof. It looks like a ship and if you want to stay there, the cheapest room is around 400$... Luckily you can see the swimming pool even if you don’t stay there, that's what I did! Another place I went to is the newly opened botanical garden with its supertrees. They look like aliens but they actually produce oxygen like normal trees do. And guess who I saw one evening? Shuyi, from the singapore gang!!

photos singapore

Singapore is only half an hour from Malaysia by car and I took advantage of that and did two excursions there. The first excursion I did on my own, to the jungle and to a waterfall resort near Kota Tinggi. Quite interesting to walk in the jungle, I even found a nice spot to refresh myself in the stream. The day after, I visited a crocodile farm. The only way to get there was by taxi. Big was my surprise when we arrived there and…no one! Not a single other tourist. Actually my guide was the taxi driver! We walked through the farm, taking our time and I got to photograph these fascinating animals from every angle. It is exciting to think that they lived at the same time as the dinosaurs.

The second excursion was with Wayne and his family, and we decided to go to Melaka two days, famous for its red houses and laid back atmosphere. We stayed at Tang House, nice and central. Melaka offered us all the best it had: beautiful weather, delicious meals at various restaurants (Wayne definitely knows how to pick them), markets, even a night tour in rickshaws, all playing the same song: Gangnam style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0 , over and over again. Day two was spent in the botanical garden surrounded by plants and trees in every shape. The children loved it, and so did we! If you read this Wayne, thank you again with all my heart for my fantastic stay!  

photos Malaysia

Vietnam with Lionel

After almost four months of separation, I finally get to see Lionel again! He has prepared two weeks of city, culture, adventure, trekking, nature, sun and some rain too. Read on to see what we discovered in Vietnam, formerly part of Indochina. 

Hanoi

Hanoi is certainly the closest I get to “home” during my trip so far. Jose and Mai make sure of that. They live in the Hanoi suburbs in a very nice apartment in which the best food in the whole of Vietnam is being prepared, by José and Mai themselves! Fried tofu, vegetables, nems, delicious mushrooms, soup and other delicacies make out taste buds wriggle. Oh and the fruit, I have rarely seen and tasted so many interesting shapes and tastes. Hanoi is Lionel’s and my base during our two week trip in Vietnam. We go north, east, south, but we always come back to Hanoi in between, to get new energy, fresh clothes, and to fill up with smiles and kindness from our hosts. Jose is as a local here. Apart from being white, he bargains and drives his motorbike like the Vietnamese. We visit a few places in Hanoi too. The temple of Literature is a very nice one. Unfortunately I forgot the memory card to my camera at home so I don’t have any pictures. There are other nice temples too, one is even on an island on a little lake. There is supposed to be a turtle swimming around in the lake, but we don’t see it despite musing at the water for several minutes. José shows us some markets. I almost throw up when I see a decent sized dead dog without the head (you can still tell it’s a dog though) and with its fur burnt off…ready for Vietnamese cuisine. One day we go to the theater to see a water puppet show. The puppets are beautifully carved in wood and painted in bright colours. The story is also very beautiful; it tells the everyday life of Vietnamese people and also shows their beliefs and traditions. The puppeteers are actually themselves IN the water and they conduct the puppets with wooden sticks immersed in the water as well.

pictures Hanoi

Going to find the sun in Hué and Hoi An

Hanoi is not a bad city, but too big for our taste and the weather is also not so good; we decide to go south, to Hué first, then to Hoi An. Hué is the ancient imperial capital of Vietnam, and the imperial city is still standing on the other bank of the Perfume River with its citadel and gardens. There are even some elephants who witness of the past glory of the city. We only stay one night there, heading further south to catch some sun in Hoi An.

photos Hué

What a charming little city! Hoi An used to be an ancient trading port, and is still an important place for tourism and arts. A river runs through the city and we enjoy a trip on one of the boats that brings us out to see the fishing boats further out. The technique is very different from what we are used to. They have a huge round net that they throw up in the air and down on the water. The net sinks down and the fisherman then closes it round the fish that was swimming under the net. There are many places to visit in the area and we need to choose. Cam Kim sounds like the perfect place to spend a pleasant afternoon. A local ferry brings us there, with no other tourists, exactly what we hoped for! We explore the island on foot, wandering aimlessly around for a few hours.

photos Hoi An

On our last day, we book a tour to the ruins of My Son (pronounced Mi son), ancient temples constructed by the kings of Champa. The departure is at 5:30 in the morning by bus. Big is our surprise when we have to pay extra for the entrance to the ruins, and the price has almost doubled since…yesterday! We get into an argument but there is nothing to do, we have to pay if we want to enter (impossible to get the money back from the hotel too). It is worth it, the ruins are beautiful in the morning light. We reach the site exactly as the sun rises above one of the ruins…

photos My Son

Trekking in Sapa with the H’Mong

In Vietnam there are many ethnic minorities (over 50 in the whole country) and we went to meet some of them in the mountains up North, near Sapa. Sapa o’chau (http://www.sapaochau.org) is an organisation founded by a young H’mong woman. She helps educate young people from surrounding villages, trains them in English, guiding and cooking and offers them a job as tour guides for different treks which make it possible for us foreigners to discover their culture and traditions in a local and sustainable way.

We are lucky because there are no other participants to our trek so we get our guide and her trainee for ourselves. May has experience and she gladly shares all her stories and knowledge with us. Mr. Su is only 17 and accompanies us to learn from May. She reckons he can lead his own group in a year’s time. May and Su lead us through muddy rice fields and fog. We are not so lucky with the weather but May tells us there is supposed to be rice terraces and beautiful landscapes…behind the fog.

In the evening we stay at a homestay with a red Dao Family, another ethnic minority known for their expertise in medicinal plants. May cooks a delicious meal on open fire and we enjoy a herbal bath in a wooden barrel. The women gather around the fire to make embroideries to decorate their traditional dresses. The embroideries for one pair of pants take up to six months to make and the pants last three years! This is why as soon as the women have some spare time, they work on their handicrafts.

The next day the fog seems to have risen a bit, but it rains. At least we see the landscapes better. Before leaving the Homestay May performs a supposed-to-heal treatment on my throat. In fact, I have been coughing for about three weeks and the cough doesn’t want to disappear. She does it on her children, she says, so I let her try on me. It hurts so bad I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. Lionel has to leave the room as she pinches my throat again and again, and it leaves some serious marks (check out the picture in the Ha Long album) and the cough didn’t go away either… May then prepares some sticks for us to walk with. It is easier to keep our balance in the mud with the sticks and it prevents us from falling into it. The walk is shorter today and we return to Hanoi to José and Mai where they await us with another delicious meal.

photos Sapa

Quan Lan and Ha Long bay

Bai Tu Long Bay is less famous but has the same limestone rocks, less tourists and is as beautiful as Ha Long Bay or at least that is what we think. It is a bit more difficult to reach than its famous neighbour, but when we reach our 10$ “luxury” hotel on Quan Lan Island we don’t regret the extra hassle. There is a beach 13 km away from where we are staying and to reach it we rent a small motorbike. Nobody is there except some children playing on the beach and an eccentric all-in-white clad 75 year old from Nicaragua… The water is refreshing and the sun even makes a short appearance to encourage us. The evening meal at our hotel is delicious and we regret not staying longer in this little Paradise.

Departure at 6 in the morning with a local boat direction Ha Long city. We are the only foreigners aboard, again. The landscapes are beautiful! Look at the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. When we arrive in Bay Chai we see them, the tourists, and also the selling sharks trying to sell us cruises for 550.000 Dong. After doing some research, we find an official agency doing the same cruise for less than half the price. Half a day on Ha Long bay… We visit a floating village, some caves and most importantly, we plan our kayak tour for the next day. Our guide arranges everything, even a meal with a local family and the bus back to Hanoi. What a pleasant stay. The next day we leave the wharf in a local “ferry” full of local women playing cards and the men encouraging them. We return to the same floating village where we board our kayak. It is nice to paddle around on our own, we get to see more and at our own rhythm; a passage under a mountain, a rock that looks like a ship, two smaller rocks called two fighting cocks. After some hours of paddling we cannot resist the urge to plunge into the water, although it is not allowed (we were the only ones doing it but I thought it was because the water was cold…). Back to the village where the family awaits us with lunch. After eating they tell us to sleep, under a plastic tarpaulin. We do as they say and when we wake up, we are all surrounded by tourists coming to rent kayaks! Off we go, back to José and Mai, to say good bye to Vietnam, for now.

photos Quan Lan and Ha Long Bay