malaysia

malaysia was the first country where i chose to change my plans (as opposed to new zealand, where i was forced to change my plans..)

like i said, i was convinced to stay in singapore one more day, and if i did, i'd also have a travel buddy in malaysia.. so me and kasia (from canada) hopped on the bus to melaka the next day..

melaka is a tiny town, not a lot to do there.. but they do have an interesting a mix of chinese, dutch and portuguese cultures..

the highlight to me was the "flora de la mar", a replica of a 1500's portuguese ship.. i wonder if it looks anything like the ones that first came to brazil (year 1500)..

in the morning i went looking to buy some shampoo, but everything was closed.. ended up getting my first somewhat professional haircut in about 10 years.. she didn't speak english, so i said "machine, you know? 'bzzzzzz'" (gesturing it).. "number 4.. ok?".. we agreed on 10 ringgit (about 3 bucks), and history was made.

then we went to kuala lumpur, apparently a big city with lots of traffic.. we got off the bus before getting to the station, because the traffic just wasn't moving.. we took the monorail from there..

we had a few hours to kill before the night train to the northeast coast, so we went and had lunch at the central market, then headed to the petrona towers (the twin towers that were the highest buildings in the world from 98 to 2004)..

weather was heavy and it started raining.. we waited a little, then continued the journey.. we had time enough to snap some quick shots of the towers, then it started pouring again..

the sleeper train to kota bahru was really cool.. 13 hours passed by quickly (mostly sleeping).. from there, shared cab, then speedboat to perhentian kecir, small island on the northeast coast..

we stayed in long beach, a little piece of heaven, again with white sand, clear and warm waters, no waves, no wildlife trying to eat us (except mosquitoes.. lots of them)..

the accommodations weren't great.. first night was a dirty fan room with not even a mosquito net, cold shower and electricity only from 7pm to 7 am.. funniest part was the mosquito massacre before going to bed.. we closed all the windows and doors and began killing them one by one.. which helped a little.

couple of lazy days on the beach, sleeping in or waking up early for sunrise, good (and cheap) meals, nice vibe, good people.. that's what it's all about.. oh, and i finally learned to float!

kasia stayed there enjoying some diving, and i headed back to the continent to make my way to thailand.. but that's a whole new episode, still beginning as i write this..

malaysia also have lots of cats.. most of them with their tails intact though..

curious thing: the "asian english" (i don't know how else to call it): basically they spell english words in a way they can read as if they were in malaysian, but still sound like english..

good examples:

sosej sandwich (sausage sandwich)
aisi krim (ice cream)
farmasi (pharmacy)
muzium (museum)

and a lot of others i just don't remember right now..

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replica of "flora de la mar"

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scooter traffic, kuala lumpur

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petrona towers. weather was bad, so i had to improvise for a nice shot

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waiting for the rain to stop

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long beach, perhentian kecir

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more long beach, yet another tropical paradise

-- pt --

malasia foi o primeiro pais onde eu optei por mudar meus planos (ao contrario da nova zelandia, onde eu tive que mudar os planos..)

como eu disse, me convenceram a ficar em singapura mais um dia, e se eu ficasse, eu teria compania na malasia.. entao eu e a kasia (do canada) pegamos o onibus pra melaka no dia seguinte..

melaka e' uma cidadezinha minima, nao tem muito o que fazer por la.. mas la tem uma mistura interessante de cultura chinesa, holandesa e portuguesa..

o mais interessante pra mim foi o "flora de la mar", uma replica de um navio portugues do comeco dos 1500's.. eu fico imaginando se ele se parece com os navios que descobriram o brasil em 1500..

na manha seguinte eu sai pra comprar shampoo, mas tava tudo fechado.. entao eu acabei indo a um cabelereiro pela primeira vez em uns 10 anos.. ela nao falava ingles, entao eu disse "maquina, sabe? 'bzzzzzzz'" (fazendo gestos).. "numero 4.. ok?".. ela me cobrou 10 ringgit (uns 3 dolares) e a gente fez historia.

depois a gente foi pra kuala lumpur, uma cidade grande com bastante congestionamento... a gente desceu do onibus antes de chegar a estacao, porque o transito nao tava andando.. depois pegamos o monorail..

com algumas horas pra matar antes de pegar o trem noturno pra costa nordeste, fomos almocar no mercado central, depois fomos andando ate' as torres petronas (as torres mais altas do mundo entre 98 e 2004)..

o tempo tava feio e comecou a chover.. nos esperamos um pouco, depois continuamos a caminhada... foi o tempo de tirar algumas fotos, e a chuva voltou pesado..

o trem noturno pra kota bahru foi bem legal.. as 13 horas passaram rapidamente (a maioria dormindo).. de la, rachamos um taxi com um casal, depois pegamos um speedboat (barco rapido) pra perhentian kecir, uma pequena ilha na costa nordeste..

a gente ficou em long beach, um pedacinho do paraiso, mais uma vez com areia branca, aguas cristalinas e mornas, sem ondas, sem animais selvagens tentando nos comer (exceto mosquitos.. muitos mosquitos!)

as acomodacoes nao eram das melhores.. primeira noite foi num quarto sujo com um ventilador e nem sequer uma tela contra mosquitos, chuveiro frio e eletricidade entre 7 da noite e 7 da manha.. a parte mais engracada foi o massacre de mosquitos antes de ir dormir.. a gente fechou todas as prtas e janelas e comecamos a matar um a um.. o que ajudou um pouco..

dois dias sem fazer nada na praia, dormindo ate tarde ou acordando cedinho pra ver o sol nascer, comida boa e barata, uma energia boa, pessoas legais.. essa e' a vida... e eu finalmente aprendi a boiar!

a kasia ficou na ilha e foi fazer uns mergulhos, e eu voltei ao continente pra ir a tailandia.. mas esse e' um capitulo diferente, ainda comecando enquanto eu escrevo aqui..

na malasia tambem tem muitos gatos.. a maioria tem os rabos intactos..

curiosidade: o "ingles asiatico": mais ou menos como seria um ingles aportuguesado, mas obviamente no caso a lingua e' outra.. mas da pra ter uma ideia..

alguns exemplos:

sosej sandwich (sausage sandwich)
aisi krim (ice cream)
farmasi (pharmacy)
muzium (museum)

e varios outros que eu nao me lembro agora..

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(foto 1)
replica do "flora de la mar"

(foto 2)
transito de scooters, kuala lumpur

(foto 3)
petrona towers. como o ceu tava feio, eu tive que improvisar pra ter uma foto legal..

(foto 4)
esperando a chuva passar

(foto 5)
long beach, perhentian kecir

(foto 6)
mais long beach, mais um paraiso tropical

singapore

just like fiji was the perfect start for my trip, singapore was the perfect start for the asian leg of the trip..

singapore economy has been doing great, so it's a developed place, with good public transportation and modern buildings, side by side with old places and a mix of indian, chinese and malay cultures..

i stayed in a new little hostel (less than 4 months old, 26 beds only), and the owner was always there and always making sure all the guests felt welcome and at home..

my plan was to stay there for 3 nights only.. the city is so compact, you can actually see pretty much everything in one day..and that's what i did..

i walked from 10am to 5pm, went to little india, the arab street, the historic district by the river, and visited the asian civilisations (yes, with an "s") museum.. after that, i was pretty much done..

next day, the hostel owner and a some of us guests went to sentosa island (south) for a lazy day at the beach.. at night, we went to a club and had a good time.. so good i was convinced to stay another day..

up early, i went to the bus station to change my bus ticket to melaka (malaysia) to the next day.. relaxed the rest of the day, while the other people were walking about the city..

i met them by sunset time, took some cool night shots, then we went to this event named "on the waterfront", where they had bands playing right by the river.. saw a couple of good ones, then headed back to the hostel..

again, at night we went clubbing, and the next day i was on the train to malaysia, already missing singapore..

people in singapore are really nice and polite, the streets are relatively clean, there's a great mix of cultures even though it's probably the most expensive country in south east asia, it's well worth a visit, and i'm glad i did it!

curious thing: there's lots of street cats, usually thin (but not necessarily sick thin) and with no tail, part of the tail missing, or with messed up (crooked) tails.. didn't see a single dog.

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statue at the sri Veeramakaliamman temple

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the merlion, the symbol of singapore

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i totally forgot the name of this places... shame. i'll find them online at some point..

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brazil, argentina, canada, singapore

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tell ya this: wait until you see the one from the big camera!


-- pt --

assim como fiji foi o comeco perfeito pra minha viagem, singapura foi o comeco perfeito pra parte asiatica da viagem..

a economia de singapura esta indo de vento em popa, entao e' um lugar desenvolvido, com uma boa rede de transporte publico, arquitetura moderna, lado a lado com lugares antigos e um misto de cultura indiana, chinesa e malay..

eu fiquei um alberguezinho novo (menos de 4 meses, so' 26 camas), e a dona sempre estava por la, e sempre fazendo os visitantes se sentirem bem vindos e como se estivessem em casa..

meu plano era ficar la por 3 noites.. a cidade e' tao compacta que voce pode ver praticamente tudo que importa em um dia.. e foi o que eu fiz..

fui andar pela cidade de 10 da manha ate' as 5 da tarde.. fui a pequena india, a rua arabe, ao distrito historico as margens do rio, e visitei o museu das civilizacoes asiaticas.. depois disso, nao tinha mais muito o que ver..

no dia seguinte, a dona do albergue e alguns de nos, visitantes, fomos a ilha de sentosa, na parte sul, pra um dia preguicoso a beira da praia... de noite, fomos a um clube e nos divertimos tanto que eu fui convencido a ficar mais um dia..

acordei cedo e fui a estacao de onibus trocar minha passagem pra melaka (malasia) para o dia seguinte... relaxei o resto do dia, enquanto o resto do povo foi dar uma volta pela cidade..


encontrei o pessoal perto da hora do por do sol, tirei umas fotos noturnas bem legais, depois fomos a um evento chamado "on the waterfront", onde eles tinham umas bandas tocando na beira do rio.. vimos partes de 2 shows, boas bandas, depois voltamos pro albergue..

outra vez, de noite fomos a outro clube, e no dia seguinte eu estava a caminho da malasia, ja com saudades de singapura..

as pessoas em singapura sao bem legais e educadas, as ruas sao relativamente limpas, tem uma boa mistura de culturas e mesmo sendo provavelmente o pais mais caro no sudeste da asia, ainda vale a pena a visita, e eu fico feliz de ter passado por la!

curiosidade: singapura tem um monte de gatos de rua, geralmente magros (mas nao necessariamente desnutridos), e sem rabo, sem parte do rabo ou com o rabo estranhamente torto... nao vi um cachorro sequer.

(foto 1)
estatua no templo sri Veeramakaliamman
(foto 2)
o merlion, simbolo de singapura
(foto 3)
esqueci o nome desses lugares.. que vergonha. mas eu um dia acho eles na internet..
(foto 4)
brasil, argentina, canada, singapura
(foto 5)
vou te dizer: espera pra ver a mesma foto tirada com a camera grande!

australia - week two

as expected, the second week was (somewhat) more relaxing, but great as well..

it began with a night and a morning at a cattle ranch.. i'm not a fan of the cowboy lifestyle, but all i needed was a little bit of "encouragement" and a soon after i was learning to crack a whip (i was successful a few times.. but i also hit myself several times and got a blister in my hand) and even riding the mechanical bull (and doing a surprisingly good time, considering the circumstances..)

next day, we headed to hervey bay, where there's nothing to do, but it's one of the starting points to the 3 day / 2 night fraser island self guided 4wd tour..

fraser island is the largest sand island in the world, it has a 75 mile beach, blue oceans, white sand, crystal clear lakes, a shipwreck on the beach and abundant wildlife..

we were a group of 8 in our car: me, 2 canadian dudes, one british girl and 4 other swedish girls, plus other 3 cars with 9 people each.. each car has 3 tents, gas stove and coolers for foods and drinks.. we all followed an itinerary given to us, and that's it!

there's some amazing places in the island, like the maheno shipwreck, a ship bought by japanese that ended up stuck in the sand because of a cyclone, and that ironically was used as a training target for the australian army to fight the japanese during ww2..

indian head is the northernmost point we could reach on our tour, as driving is not safe past it.. it's a rock formation and we went to the top of it, and had a panoramic view of the 75 mile beach and the northern side of the island as well..

at night, we all set up our tents around the same area, and got together after "dinner" (most cars had canned spaghetti or sandwiches, while we had an amazing chili!).. later on, dingos came around looking for food, but they were only 2 and we were around 35, so they left empty handed..

main attraction in fraser island is the lake mackenzie, and it's a well deserved title.. crystal clear water, squeaky white sand, no animals trying to eat you (!).. beautiful place.. we stayed there all morning, before heading back to hervey bay..

bad thing about fraser island? 3 days and 2 nights with no shower, under a scorching sun, with sand in places you didn't know you had before, dozens of bug bites (around 20 in my back, 10 in my FACE, and several everywhere else), and the 2 worst nights of sleep ever (hot, noisy, bugs.. we had to drink ourselves to sleep!).. but worth it!

after that, i took a bus to brisbane for a relaxing, rainy night before my flights to melbourne and finally singapore, for a nice cultural shock and the beginning of the second leg: southeast asia!

yes, i did it.


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our pink land cruiser "wabby" getting stuck in the sand

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a failed attempt of recreating the famous titanic scene (very gay version)

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view from indian head

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nice dinner with "the family"

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lake mackenzie

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a goanna looking for food

-- pt --

conforme o esperado, a segunda semana foi (mais ou menos) mais relax, mas tao boa quanto..

comecamos com uma noite e uma manha numa fazenda de gado.. eu nao sou fa da vida de cowboy, mas eu so' precisei de um "empurraozinho" e logo eu estava aprendendo a usar o chicote (fiz certo algumas vezes, mas eu me atingi varias vezes e fiz uma bolha na mao) e ate' tentei o touro mecanico (e fiz ate' um tempo bom, considerando as circunstancias..)

no dia seguinte, fomos para hervey bay, onde nao tem nada pra se fazer, mas e' o ponto de partida para a tour de 3 dias / 2 noites em fraser island..

fraser island e' a maior ilha de areia do mundo, tem uma praia de 75 milhas, mar de aguas azuis, areia branca, lagos de aguas cristalinas, a carcaca de um navio na praia a vida selvagem abundante..


nos eramos um grupo de 8 no nosso carro: eu, 2 caras canadenses, uma inglesa e 4 suecas, mais 3 carros com 9 pessoas em cada.. cada carro tinha 3 barracas, fogaozinho a gas e caixas termicas pra comidas e bebidas.. nos seguimos um itinerario que nos deram, e e' isso!

a ilha tem varios lugares incriveis, como a carcaca do maheno, um navio comprado pelos japoneses que acabou encalhado na areia por causa de um ciclone, e que ironicamente foi usado como um alvo-teste para o exercito australiano durante a segunda guerra, justamente contra os japoneses..

a indian head (cabeca de indio) e' o ponto maximo que a gente podia chegar ao norte, porque nao e' seguro dirigir depois disso.. e' uma formacao rochosa e a gente vai ate' o topo dela, pra uma vista panoramica da praia de 75 milhas e do resto da ilha do lado norte tambem..

de noite, nos todos armamos as barracas na mesma area, e nos juntamos depois da "janta" (a maioria dos grupos comeu espaguete enlatado ou sanduiches, enquanto nos cozinhamos um chili maravilhoso!).. mais tarde, dingos se aproximaram, procurando comida, mas como eles eram so' 2 e nos eramos mais de 35, eles foram embora sem nada..

a principal atracao na ilha e' o lago mackenzie, e ele merece o titulo.. aguas cristalinas, areia branquinha e nenhum animal tentando te comer (!).. lugar maravilhoso.. ficamos la a manha toda, e depois voltamos pra hervey bay..

a parte ruim de fraser island? 3 dias e 2 noites sem banho, sobre um sol de rachar, com areia em lugares eu nem sabia que tinha, dezenas de picadas de insetos (umas 20 nas costas, 10 no ROSTO e varias pelo corpo todo), e as 2 noites mais mal dormidas da minha vida (calor, barulho, insetos.. a gente tinha que beber pra conseguir dormir!)... mas valeu a pena!

depois disso, peguei um onibus pra brisbane pra relaxar a ultima noite, antes dos meus voos pra melbourne e finalmente singapura, pra um choque cultural e o comeco da parte 2 da viagem: o sudeste da asia!

(foto 1)
pois e'...

(foto 2)
nossa land cruiser pink "wabby", atolada na areia

(foto 3)
tentativa frustrada de representar a cena de titanic (numa versao bem gay)

(foto 4)
vista de indian head

(foto 5)
jantar com a "familia"

(foto 6)
lago mackenzie

(foto 7)
uma goanna (que nao e' uma iguana) procurando comida

australia - week one

australia is the only country where i stayed for 2 weeks, and even though it's more time than i'm gonna spend anywhere else, it's still definitely not enough.. most people i met stays here for 2-3 months, at least!

so had to make the best of the little time i had..

this is some of the stuff i did during the first week:

- went to the opera house, saw the harbour bridge, walked the botanical gardens and partied in sydney
- did a 30m abseiling (rappelling) on the blue mountains
- had hard day after an awesome and very long night in cairns (i slept only 45 minutes until the next day)
- held a baby crocodile and a snake, hand fed kangaroos, saw a 5m/1ton crocodile, dingos (wild dogs, related to the wolves) and cassowaries (the most dangerous bird in the world)
- played some drinking games by the airlie lagoon
- snorkeled the great barrier reef with all sorts of fish and a huge sea turtle

second week was a little more relaxing, but no less exciting..

opera house and harbour bridge (view from the botanical gardens)

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blue mountains
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4m/500kg croc (not the biggest i saw)

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kangaroos

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the "cool crew" going ocean rafting (mostly british, one scottish and 2 canadians)
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 whitsunday island

ps: the photos i'm posting are unedited, unprocessed and straight out of my point and shoot camera.. i'm not touching the ones from the good camera until may... bear with the quality..

-- pt --

(obs: traducao preguicosa)

australia e' o unico pais onde eu fiquei por 2 semanas, e mesmo sendo mais tempo do que eu vou passar em qualquer outro pais, realmente e' um periodo muito curto... a maioria das pessoas que eu conheci fica aqui por pelo menos 2 ou 3 meses!

entao o que eu fiz foi aproveitar bem o tempo que eu tive..

na primeira semana, estas sao algumas coisas que eu fiz:

- visitei a opera house, vi a harbour bridge (ponte), passeei pelo jardim botanico e fui pra night em sydney
- fiz rapel de 30 metros nas blue mountains
- tive um dia dificil depois de uma noite otima e beeeem longa (so' dormi 45 minutos depois..)
- segurei um filhote de crocodilo, uma cobra, dei comida pra cangurus, vi um crocodilo de 5 metros / 1 tonelada, dingos (cachorros selvagens descendentes dos lobos) e cassowaries (a ave mais perigosa do mundo)
- fiz snorkeling na grande barreira de corais com todo tipo de peixe e uma tartaruga gigante

a segunda semana foi mais relax, mas tao boa quanto a primeira..

(foto 1)
opera house & harbour bridge (vista do jardim botanico)
(foto 2)
blue mountains
(foto 3)
crocodilo de 4m/500kg (nao foi o maior que eu vi)
(foto 4)
cangurus
(foto 5)
o "cool crew" indo fazer ocean rafting (a maioria britanicos, 2 canadenses, 1 escocesa)
(foto 6)
whitsunday island

ps: as fotos que eu to postando nao sao editadas nem processadas, sao do jeito que sairam da minha camerazinha.. eu nao vou mexer nas fotos da camera boa ate' maio.. paciencia com a qualidade..

new zealand

new zealand was great, but quite different than i expected.. i mean, not nz, but the plans..

as soon as i landed in christchurch, i called the tour bus company to make sure everything was ok with my pass. everything wasn't ok. they told me i booked my tour to begin only a week later.. well, a week later i wouldn't be in nz anymore! they said the best they could do would be cancel the pass and refund me half the money..

i headed to the hostel, checked my receipts and found out it wasn't my mistake, so next morning i call them and, since it was too late for any changes, i cancelled the pass and (at least) got a full refund..

with no plan b, i hopped on a bus to queenstown an hour later, and decided to stay there the whole week, which later (and again, too late) i realized wasn't the best idea... i could've spent a couple of days in some nearby town, like wanaka.. well, shoulda coulda woulda.. no problem, it was fun anyway..

now, about new zealand:

- possum: the aussies brought the cute furry friends to nz, but with no natural predators, their population grew to a ridiculous number (70 million = 20 per person!) and they are eating away the forest faster than it can regenerate.

well, long story short, kiwis hate the possums and even in the tour books, they actually suggest you "eat some possum pies", "buy some possum goodies", "go possum hunting with a friendly local farmer" and even run the fuckers over (no quotation marks there)!

- turquoise water rivers/lakes: nz has many, many lakes, and at least in the south island, the color of the water is nothing like anything i've ever seen.. it's a lite green/blue/turquoise, but if you just get a glass out of them, it's perfectly clear and potable..

the reason for that is because a long time ago, when the glaciers were making their way down there, they were grinding on the rocks on the bottom, turning them into this really, really fine powder they call "rock flour" (that's how thin it is)..

after the glaciers melted, they left this huge "footprints"  that were filled with rain water and melted snow, becoming the lakes (like tekapo, wanaka, pukaki).. the rock flour particles float on the water and when sunlight hits them, that's the color they refract.. pretty cool, huh?

- extreme sports: nz is the adventure capital of the world, specially queenstown. if you're coming to nz, chances are you're gonna be jumping off of something (skydive, canyon swing, bungy), or getting wet (rafting, rappelling waterfalls) or exploring the landscape (glacier walks, hikes)..

according to the plan (the only part that went accordingly), i did the canyon swing and white water rafting.. the swing is a short 3 second free fall and then a swing at some 150kph.. it's a great adrenaline rush.. the rafting isn't very intense (not the one i did, anyway), but there's great views and some quite nice rapids..

i was gonna go skydiving, but the weather didn't help and all the jumps were cancelled on the 2 days i tried to go.. so i guess jumping from 12000 feet is gonna have to wait...

sweet.

lake wanaka and the blue water

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i jumped from that little structure on the right!

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shotover river, where i did the rafting

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sunset in queenstown

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the vips =)

-- pt --

nova zelandia foi otimo, mas bem diferente do que eu esperava.. tipo, nao a nz, mas os planos..

logo que eu cheguei em christchurch, eu liguei pra agencia de turismo pra confirmar que tava tudo certo com o meu passe. mas nao estava tudo certo. eles me disseram que eu marquei a data errada pra comecar a viagem, e que o melhor que eles poderiam fazer seria cancelar meu passe e me devolver metade do dinheiro..

eu fui pro albergue, dei uma olhada nos recibos e descobri que o erro nao foi meu, entao na manha seguinte eu liguei pra eles e, ja que era tarde demais pra tentar corrigir o erro deles, eu cancelei o passe e (pelo menos) recebi o dinheiro de volta..

sem plano b, eu peguei um onibus pra queenstown uma hora depois, e decidi ficar la a semana toda.. mais tarde (e tarde demais) eu percebi que nao foi a melhor das ideias.. eu poderia ter passado uns dois dias em alguma cidade proxima, como wanaka.. bom, ja era.. mas sem problemas, foi bom de qualquer jeito..

sobre a nova zelandia:

- possum: e' um marsupial australiano.. parece um pouco com um gamba.. os australianos trouxeram esses bichinhos pra nz, mas sem predadores naturais, a populacao cresceu ridiculamente (70 milhoes = 20 por pessoa!) e eles estao devorando as florestas mais rapido do que elas conseguem se regenerar.

bom, resumindo, os kiwis (neozelandeses) odeiam os possums e ate' nos livros de turismo, eles incentivam que voce "coma umas tortas de possum", "compre produtos feitos de possum", "va cacar possum com um amigavel fazendeiro local" e ate' atropela esses fi di puta (sem aspas aqui)!

- rios e lagos de aguas azuis: a nz tem varios, varios lagos, e pelo menos na ilha sul, a agua e' de uma cor que eu nunca tinha visto antes.. e' um verde azulado bem claro, mas se voce enche um copo de agua dos lagos, ela vai ser cristalina (e potavel)..

isso acontece porque muito tempo atras, quando as geleiras estavam se movendo pela area, elas foram moendo as rochas no fundo, fazendo com que elas ficassem tao finas que eles chamam de "rock flour" (farinha de rochas)..

depois que as geleiras derreteram, elas deixaram esses enormes buracos, que foram preenchidos com agua da chuva ou neve derretida, se tornando lagos como o tekapo, wanaka, pukaki.. as particulas da farinha de rochas refletem a luz do sol, resultando nessa cor unica..

- esportes radicais: nz e' a capital mundial da aventura, principalmente queenstown. se voce vem visitar a nz, e' bem provavel que voce vai pular de algum lugar (paraquedas, canyon swing, bungy), ou se molhar (rafting, rapel nas cachoeiras), or explorar o terreno (caminhadas nas geleirass, trilhas)..

assim como o plano (e a unica parte que foi como o planejado), eu fiz o canyon swing e o rafting.. o swing sao so' 3 segundos de queda livre, depois um swing a 150km/h.. o rafting nao e' tao intenso (pelo menos nao o que eu fiz), mas tem vistas otimas e umas corredeiras legais..

eu ia pular de paraquedas, mas o tempo nao ajudou e todas as sessoes foram canceladas nos 2 dias que eu tentei ir.. acho que pular de 12 mil pes vai ter que esperar..

(foto 1)
o lago wanaka e as aguas azuis
(foto 2)
eu pulei daquela casinha no lado direito!
(foto 3)
o rio shotover, onde eu fiz o rafting
(foto 4)
por do sol em queenstown
(foto 5)
dando uma de vip =)

ps: minha mae falou que eu to esquecendo o portugues.. depois de mais 5 anos pensando em ingles, tem coisas que me confundem.. entao paciencia, e pode me corrigir nos comments que talvez eu conserte os erros... =P

fiji

fiji was a great first week of traveling...

i learned a lot about the fijian culture, went to beautiful places, met some wicked people and interacted with the locals...

some of the highlights were:

- drinking kava: it's a traditional fijian drink, made out of powdered kava root.. looks and tastes like muddy water and makes your mouth go numb.. they say is good for the livers, kidneys, blood pressure, stress, diabetes and sleep disorders.

fijians drink kava for everything (and apparently everyday): to celebrate, mourn, socialize, and during the cannibalism times, before eating an enemy.

the best part of the kava drinking is the (simplified) ceremony: we all sit around the big kava bowl, where one person mixes the powder with water. when the bowl is handed to you, you clap once, accept the bowl, say "bula!", chug it, and clap 3 times while saying "mada" .. everybody drinks until the big bowl is empty.

then you mouth goes a little numb and you give a nice "bula smile" =)

- meeting locals: we visited villages and a school. 8o% of the fijian land is still owned by fijians and the traditions are still very strong, specially in the villages.

we attended to a village's chief funeral ceremony and hung out with the villagers for a while after (the rain was pouring like a small cyclone and we couldn't leave anyway).

part of their tradition is to make sure visitors feel welcome and they did just that, showing interest in us and being receptive to our curiosities, talking to us, feeding us and making sure there was enough kava for everybody until we decided to leave!

sunset at the mango bay resort (coral coast)

--

having some stew, kasava and tea with the locals in one of the villages

--

visiting a school.. salome (in red) and wesley (in blue) were my guides..

--

view from beachcomber island.. treasure island in the background..

--

the people on the feejee experience (german, canadians, australian, norwegian and brisith. can you find the brazilian?)

--- pt ---

fiji foi uma otima primeira semana de viagem..

eu aprendi bastante sobre a cultura deles, fui a lugares maravilhosos, conheci muita gente interessante e interagi com os locais..

algumas das melhores partes foram:

- tomar kava: kava e' uma bebida traditional de fiji, feita do po' da raiz de kava.. tem gosto e aparencia de agua barrenta, e faz a sua boca ficar dormente.. eles dizem que e' bom para os rins, figados, pressao, stress, diabetes e insonia.

os locais tomam kava pra tudo (e ao que parece, todo dia): pra celebrar, socializar, quando estao de luto e na epoca do canibalismo, antes de comer um inimigo (canibalismo, gente... inclusive a uma coisa que teoricamente kava nao ajuda e' impotencia, ja que ele relaxa seu corpo e deixa algumas partes dormente..).

a melhor parte e' a cerimonia (simplificada): nos sentamos ao redor de um cumbucao, onde o po' e' misturado com agua. quando te passam sua cumbuca, voce pate uma palma, diz "bula", recebe a cumbuca, toma tudo num gole, e bate 3 palmas enquanto diz "mada".. todo mundo bebe ate' o cumbucao ficar vazio..

entao sua boca fica meio dormente e voce da um belo "bula smile" (sorriso bula?) =)

- encontrando os locais: nos visitamos vilas e uma escola. 80% da terra de fiji ainda pertence aos locais, e as tradicoes ainda sao bem mantidas, especialmente nas vilas.

nos fomos a cerimonia de funeral do chefe de uma das vilas, e depois ficamos por la por um tempo (ja que o ceu estava desabando, como um pequeno ciclone, e a gente nao tinha como ir embora mesmo).

parte da tradicao deles e' fazer com que os visitantes se sintam em casa e foi o que eles fizeram, mostrando interesse na gente e sendo receptivos as nossas curiosidades, conversando com a gente, nos alimentando e misturando kava suficiente pra todo mundo ate' quando a gente decidisse ir embora!

(foto1)
por do sol em mango bay resort (costa dos corais)

(foto 2)
sopa, macaxeira e cha com os locais em uma das vilas

(foto 3)
visitando uma escola.. salome (de vermelho) e wesley (de azul) foram minhas guias

(foto 4)
beachcomber island.. ao fundo, treasure island

(foto 5)
grupo da feejee experience (alema, canadenses, australiana, norueguesa, inglesa.. tente achar o brasileiro!)

final itinerary breakdown

usa to fiji: january 31st
to new zealand: february 9th
to australia: february 16th
to singapore: march 2nd
to malaysia: march 6th*
to thailand: march 12th*
to laos: march 20th*
to cambodia: march 29th*
to vietnam: april 3rd*
to hong kong: april 12th
to indonesia: april 17th
to south africa: april 27th
to egypt: may 5th
to greece: may 13th
to spain: may 19th

*approximate dates

the good, the bad (many times)

the good: even with the substantial delay with the australian visa, i was happy to find out i'd still have time to get me the indian visa, since their website says it takes 5 days to process it

the bad: after i mailed the application, my passport and the fees to san francisco, they told me it would actually take 10 to 15 days to process the visa and then return my passport. it would be way too late and i can't leave the country without my passport

the good: after losing the money i already paid, and paying yet an extra fee, i arranged so they will send me my passport back in time for me to leave the country

the bad: i'll get my passport, but no indian visa in it

the good: i did some extra research and realized there's no visa on arrival for india. it was gonna suck to get there and then find out i can't get in

the bad: without the visa or a possibility to get one, i can't go to india

the good: after freaking out for 5 minutes, i contemplated my options and decided to go to bali (indonesia) instead of india. the airfares are around the same as if i went to india

the bad: i had to cancel 2 flights and pay a fine for them

the good: indonesia is cheaper than india, and the money i'm going to save staying there should be enough to cover the cost of the fines i'll have to pay for the canceled flights

the good: from indonesia to south africa, i won't have to waste a whole day at the airport for my connection flight, which would happen from india to south africa

the good: indonesia is a paradise

the good: beaches

the good: i'm slightly crazy, so i can go from worried to upset to desperate to calm to focused to excited in a matter of minutes!

ps: a couple of hours after i changed the plans, canceled the flights and booked new ones, i got word from the indians saying my visa was granted and it's been mailed to me already. bummer. maybe i'll try to visit them later, before the visa expires..

here's a little bali for you:

the monkey forest (just in case you're tired of beach pictures)

--- pt ---

o bom, o ruim (varias vezes)

o bom: mesmo com o atraso do o visto australiano, eu estava feliz de saber que eu ainda teria tempo de pegar o visto indiano, ja que o site deles diz que o processo demora 5 dias

o ruim: depois que eu mandei os documentos, meu passaporte e as taxas pra san francisco, eles me disseram que levaria de 10 a 15 dias para processar o visto e depois disso, retornarem meu passaporte. seria muito tarde e eu nao posso sair do pais sem meu passaporte

o bom: depois de perder o dinheiro que eu ja havia pago, e ainda pagar outra taxa, eu consegui fazer com que eles me mandassem meu passaporte antes que eu saisse do pais

o ruim: eu vou ter meu passaporte. mas sem o visto indiano

o bom: eu pesquisei um pouco mais e descobri que a india nao da vistos no aeroporto. ia ser pessimo chegar la e descobrir que eu nao posso entrar no pais

o ruim: sem o visto e sem a possibilidade de pegar um, eu nao posso ir pra india

o bom: depois de enlouquecer por 5 minutos, eu estudei minhas opcoes e decidi ir a bali (indonesia) ao inves da india. as passagens sao mais ou menos o mesmo preco

o ruim: eu tive que cancelar 2 voos e pagar uma multa por causa disso

o bom: indonesia e' mais barato que a india, e o dinheiro que eu vou economizar ficando la' deve ser o suficiente pra cobrir os gastos com as multas que vou ter que pagar por causa dos voos cancelados

o bom: da indonesia pra africa do sul, eu nao vou ter que desperdicar um dia inteiro no aeroporto esperando pela minha conexao, o que iria acontecer saindo da india

o bom: a indonesia e' um paraiso

o bom: praias

o bom: eu sou meio louco, entao eu passo de preocupado pra triste pra desesperado pra calmo pra concentrado pra animado numa questao de minutos!

obs: algumas horas depois que eu mudei os planos, cancelei os voos e reservei os novos, eu recebi noticias dos indianos dizendo que eles ja tinham me dado o visto e que o passaporte estava a caminho. bummer. talvez eu tente ir pra la mais pra frente, antes de o visto vencer...

um exemplo de bali:
(foto)
a floresta dos macacos (no caso de voce ja estar cansado de fotos de praias)

(kinda) done planning

i'm finished with the planning! it's Tminus17 and i'm ready to go... as soon as i get my passport back (it's on the way to get the indian visa now)..

just to keep the flow, here's some more images:

victoria peak, hong kong.. great view of the island.. i'll try and get a nice nightshot just like this..

---

the taj mahal, in agra (india).. duh!

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the big five (leopard, lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant).. it's a hunting reference, and to me, it means "safari in south africa"!

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the pyramids of giza, egypt... duh! (part II).

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the temple of poseidon (sounion, greece)... my last stop before spain.. and then what?

--- pt ---

acabei o planejamento! faltam 17 dias e eu to pronto pra partir... assim que eu receber meu passaporte de volta (esta no caminho pra conseguir o visto da india)...

so' pra manter o ritmo, mains algumas imagens:

(foto 1)
victoria peak, hong kong.. otima vista da ilha.. eu vou tentar uma foto noturna como essa...

(foto 2)
o taj mahal, em agra (india).. duh!

(foto 3)
os "cinco grandes" (leopardo, leao, bufalo, rinoceronte, elefante).. o nome e' uma referencia de caça, e pra mim, quer dizer "safari na africa do sul"!

(foto 4)
as piramides de giza, egito... duh (parte II).

(foto 5)
o templo de poseidon (sounion, grecia)... minha ultima parada antes da espanha.. e depois, o que mais?

more hardcore planning

11 more hours of study and i have the outlines for another 40 days/6 countries: singapore, malaysia, thailand, laos, cambodia and vietnam.

i'm not going to be doing any organized tour (like i will in fiji, nz and oz), so it's even harder to decide where to and not to go.. but i think i made good choices..

here's a little taste:

the sri veerama kaliamman (in singapore), is a funky looking, brightly colored temple..

---

in kuala lumpur (malaysia), the petronas towers.. they where the tallest buildings in the world for a few years..

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koh samui (koh = island), in thailand.. recommended by a friend who lived there.. sounds like a good idea to me!

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near vang vieng, laos.. this is a lagoon by the phu kham cave.. reached by bicycle..

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angkor wat (cambodia).. the temple is so important it's on the cambodian flag..

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halong bay, vietnam.. 3 day, 2 night cruise aboard one of this weird boats called junks (their design dates from 200 bc).. caves and kayaking included!

--- pt ---

mais 11 horas de estudo e eu tenho o planejamento para mais 40 dias/6 paises: singapura, malasia, tailandia, laos, cambodia e vietnam.

eu nao vou fazer nenhuma turne organizada (como eu vou fazer na oceania), entao fica mais dificil ainda decidir onde ir ou nao ir... mas eu acho que fiz boas escolhas...

so' um aperitivo:

(foto 1)
o sri veerama kaliamman (em singapura), um templo meio estranho e bem colorido..

(foto 2)
em kuala lumpur (malasia), as petronas towers.. elas foram os predios mais altos do mundo por alguns anos..

(foto 3)
koh samui (koh = ilha), na tailandia.. recomendada por um amigo que morou la'... me parece uma otima ideia!


(foto 4)
perto de vang vieng, laos.. essa e' uma lagoa perto da phu kham cave (caverna).. a gente chega la' de bicicleta..

(foto 5)
angkor wat (cambodia).. o tempo e' tao importante que ele ta' na bandeira do pais..

(foto 6)
halong bay, vietnam.. eu vou fazer um "cruzeiro" de 3 dias, 2 noites em um desses barcos estranhos chamados de junks (que em ingles quer dizer entulho, e existem desde 200 a.c.).. cavernas e kaiaks estao incluidos!

--

rock!

@sapotb twitter

.sapo. travel blog is now on twitter.. you know, for those quick updates..
if you don't have twitter, you can always just check the side bar, right there to your right.. it will always show the three most recent tweets..

--- pt ---

.sapo. travel blog agora esta no twitter.. pra atualizacoes rapidas, sabe?
se voce nao tem twitter, voce pode checar a barra ali do lado direito.. ela sempre vai mostrar as tres entradas mais recentes..

fiji / nz / oz + portugues

for the last 2 days, i accumulated about 20 hours studying a little bit of my first three destinations: fiji, new zealand and australia.. it will take me a month to go through them, and as far as i planned, i'll be sleeping in at least 20 different places over this 30 days.. crazy huh?

the reason is i'm gonna be traveling with the feejee experience, the kiwi experience and the oz experience for this three countries.. they are hop-on/hop-off style backpacker buses, they have a variety of passes you can choose and usually you can travel up to a year with each pass.. but i only have a week in fiji, one in new zealand and two in australia, so i'm gonna do the best i can and visit some awesome places..

here's some examples:



this is beachcomber island, in fiji. is only 30 minutes off the northwestern coast and it takes only 10 minutes to walk around the island.. it's where the party happens!

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i'm planning on doing some canyon swing in queenstown, new zealand (the adventure capital of the world). you see that little white spot on the left? that will be me!

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and like i said, the blue mountains, in australia.. the plan is to do some abseiling (rappelling) there...

---

...and from now on, i'll try to translate the posts to portuguese as well.. here we go:

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nos 2 ultimos dias, eu acumulei por volta de 20 horas estudando um pouco das minhas tres primeiras paradas na viagem: fiji, nova zelandia e australia.. eu vou passar um mes viajando por esses tres paises, e pelo que estou planejando, eu vou dormir em pelo menos 20 lugares diferentes ao longo desses 30 dias.. coisa de doido ne'?

isso porque eu vou viajar com a feejee experience, a kiwi experience e a oz experience nesses tres paises.. eles sao onibus para mochileiros, que voce pode entrar e sair em qualquer das paradas, eles tem uma viariedade de passes e voce geralmente pode viajar ate' um ano com cada passe.. mas eu so' tenho uma semana em fiji, uma na nova zelandia e duas na australia, entao eu vou tentar o possivel pra ver alguns lugares maravilhosos..

por exemplo:
(foto 1)
ilha de beachcomber, em fiji. fica a apenas meia hora da costa noroeste e em 10 minutos voce percorre a ilha toda a pe'.. e' onde a festa acontece!

(foto 2)
eu estou planejando fazer um cayon swing em queenstown, nova zelandia (a capital mundial dos esportes radicais). ta vendo aquele pontinho branco no canto esquerdo? vai ser eu!

(foto 3)
e como eu disse antes, as blue mountains, na australia.. o plano e' fazer rapel la'..

e e' isso!

it's countdown time

december 31st.. while most people are getting ready for the new year's countdown, i honestly didn't realize it was already new year's eve!

i do have a countdown of my own, though... exactly a month from today i'll be heading to fiji for my first stop on this RTW trip..

so it's "Tminus31" day for me..

here's a little (meaning long!) text i translated from portuguese..
i always read it when i need help through hard times and it actually motivated me to be where i am right now (and where i'm gonna be in the future):

--

change,
but begin slowly,
because direction
is more important than speed.
sit on another chair,
on the other side of the table.
later on, switch tables.

when you go out,
try to walk on the other side of the street.
later on, change the path,
walk other streets, take it easy,
paying attention to the places
you pass by.

take another bus.
change for a while your dressing style.
give away your old shoes.
try to walk barefoot a few days.
take a whole afternoon to wander around
free on the beach, or in the park,
and listen to the birds sing.
see the world through other perspectives
open and close the drawers and doors
with the left hand.

sleep on the other side of the bed...
then, try to sleep on other beds.

watch other tv shows,
buy other newspapers...
read other books,
live other romances.

do not make the habit a lifestyle.
love what is new.
go to bed later.
go to bed earlier.
learn a new word every day
in another language.
fix your posture.
eat a little less,
choose different foods,
new seasonings, new colors,
new delights.

try the new every day.
the new side,
the new method,
the new flavor,
the new way,
the new pleasure,
the new love,
the new life.

try,
find new friends.
try new loves,
begin new relationships.

have lunch in other places,
go to other restaurants,
drink other drinks,
buy bread in another bakery.
have lunch earlier,
have dinner later or vice-versa.
choose another market...
another soap brand,
another toothpaste..
take a shower at different times.

use different color pens.
go for a walk in other places.
love a lot,
more and more
in different ways.
switch your purse,
your wallet,
your luggage,
switch your car,
buy new glasses,
write new poetry.

dump the old watches,
gently break
these horrible alarm clocks.
open an account in another bank.
go to other movie theaters,
other hair dressers,
other theaters,
visit new museums.

change.
remember you only live once.
and seriously think about getting another job,
a new occupation,
a lighter work,
more pleasant,
more deserving,
more humane.

if you can't find reasons to be free,
make them up
be creative.

go ahead and take a relaxing trip,
a long one, if possible to an unknown destination.
try new things.
then switch again,
change again,
try again.

you will certainly find better things
and worse things than what you already know,
but it doesn't matter.
what matters is the change,
the movement,
the dynamic,
the energy,
only what is dead never changes!

i will repeat it for pure joy in life:
there is only salvation through risks,
and without it, life isn't worth living!

love is only a feeling

the darkness is (was) a great band from the uk, and i love them no matter how gay they sound.. (or look).

check this video out:







i first saw this video when i started planning for the RTW trip, and back then i did some research to find out where it was shot..

guess what? the blue mountains, a few miles west of sydney, and i'm *so* gonna go there!

point of no return

and i've done it.

for my christmas gift (but not really), i finally booked the flights for the 1st and 2nd legs of the trip..

and i made some (literally) last minute changes, basically changing the departure date from feb 2nd to jan 31st, and skipping auckland (new zealand) on the itinerary, so i have the whole week on the south island...

i'm planning on booking the 3rd leg flights on the 1st week of january..

happy ho ho ho!

oh, the aussies

so i was bored out of my mind 2 hours after i woke up on my day off, and i decided to try and call the australian embassy to find out what the hell was going on with my visa processing. i thought they were just gonna say they can't give me any information, but they actually can verify the status of the application and give you updates...

turns out they thought i was applying for a short stay business visa (god only knows why, since they're completely different forms and document requirements), and haven't come to a decision about it yet.. now it's fixed, but now it's christmas week and i'm assuming they'll just be lazy and won't pick this up until next year..

bad news is with other 5 visas waiting, i did not have any margins for delays, and this problem messed up all my visa schedule. i don't know what i'm gonna do now. i just don't.

what i do know is that i'm gonna stick to the plans and make this work out...

let the worries begin

it's been over a month since i sent the papers for the australian visa.. and i need them back so i can send them to the other embassies..
but i haven't heard back from them yet..

bad, bad timing, aussies..

i'm thinking i'm going to get the 3 visas for SE asia (laos, cambodia and vietnam) on their borders, since i'm not going to have time to apply for them here..

*awesome*

packing is a pain

i obviously haven't started packing yet, but i started looking for the ideal backpack, and little did i know that before i decide how i'm gonna carry all my stuff, i have to decide what stuff i'm gonna carry... duh.

apparently i'll need a whole new set of clothes and accessories, head to toes (literally).. i'm a planner and i'm a neat freak, so i want and i will pack light and as efficiently as possible without having to sell a kidney for it..

i was gonna get a huge backpack and have it checked in for every flight, but after a few hours of study i realized i'm better with a backpack about half the size, so i can carry it with me, saving time and worries (not so much money, though..)

research, research, research... i'm getting stressed.

ok, now it's for real

15 countries, 4 continents, 30+ thousand miles (50+ thousand km), at least 7 time zones, too many cities to count now, god knows how many people, tons of pictures...

about 6 months from now, that's what i'll have added under my belt...

rough planning is done, itinerary is decided, 'to do', 'to buy', 'to sell' and 'to ship' lists are made, documents and passport are on the mail to get the 1st out of 6 visas (australia, laos, cambodia, vietnam, india and egypt)...

here's the itinerary:

leg 1 (4 weeks):
LA - Nadi (Fiji)
to Auckland (NZ)
to Christchurch (NZ)
to Sidney (Australia)

leg 2 (6 weeks):
Brisbane (Australia) - Singapore
by train through Malaysia and into Bangkok (Thailand)
by land to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam
Hanoi (Vietnam) - Hong Kong

leg 3 (4 weeks):
to Delhi (India)
to Capetown (South Africa)
to Cairo (Egypt)
to Athens (Greece)
to Madrid (Spain)

it begins on february 2nd and it ends (or begins again?) on may 18th...
roughly a week for each country, except for australia (2 weeks), hong kong (4-5 days) and india (9-10 days)...

this is it, baby!

training wheels

i'm a little behind schedule with the planning and the preparations for the trip, but all for a good cause..

last couple of months, instead of working on the RTWT, i was kinda training for it..
i went to see pearl jam play in seattle (their hometown, tour opening), salt lake city, la (2 shows) and philly (halloween, tour closing), and since i was in philly, i went for a week in nyc as well..

of course seeing the band was the main reason for all the traveling, but i took the opportunity to do some couchsurfing, meet people from all over the globe, practice packing efficiently and learn to be less neat-freak and more spontaneous with the planning...

this set me back a little with everything i have to get done for the trip, but it was a little experience that's going to be worth a lot later, and now i'm all focused on it, 100%...

more to come...