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ON THE ROAD
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2009: UK - SOUTH-EAST ASIA - AUSTRALIA
ROMANIA - Bucharest UK - London MALAYSIA - Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves, Pulau Perhentian, Kuala Besut, Jerteh, Melaka, Mersing, Tioman Island THAILAND - Bangkok, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, The Bridge over River Kwai, Tiger Temple, Pattaya, Ko Tao, Chumphon, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai VIETNAM - Ho Chi Minh, Cao Dai Great Temple, Cu Chi Tunnels, Mekong Delta, My Tho, Can Tho, Can Rang Floating Market, Chau Doc, Cham Village CAMBODIA - Nek Luong, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat SINGAPORE - Singapore, Sentosa Island AUSTRALIA - Melbourne, Brisbane, Beerwah 
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MAP MODE :
MOUSE - use horizontal scroll on the map to navigate on our trip
We've been informed that the AirAsia Company finally open a route to Europe, under the name of AirAsia X. This is the well known low-cost flights company trough Asia loved by budget travelers. We didn't have a second tough and bought our tickets London (UK) - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), an opportunity to visit the Asian countries, learn their habits and taste delicious Asian cuisine. UK London, a city with green grass year-round, lot of air traffic, Thames River, the boats and the bridges, Big Ben Tower, London Eye Wheel, red double-decker bus, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, blosom trees, people running on side walks and more, all that makes London unique in so many ways. One of the most important city in the World. We've enjoyed our short stay in this lovely city. MALAYSIA After a long flight we've reached Kuala Lumpur, a fascinating modern metropolis, home of impressive and iconic Petronas Twin Towers, sky-scrapers, impressive colonial and new design buildings, intoxicating aromas of sizzling satay, stinky durian, sweet incense, colourful markets and eye-boggling shopping malls. The best way to get a feel for Kuala Lumpur's vibrant atmosphere was by walk. As an alternative we use too that very handy services linking up many of the city's sightseeing areas: KL's zippy monorail and the LRT (Light Train Transit), a fast, frequent and inexpensive metro who saved us for the rainy moments and lack of walk sides. We've been trough Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Baru, one of the city's most atmospheric and colourful quarters. We were impressed by Petronas Twin Towers, the world's tallest building until 1999, especially at night. A visit to Kuala Lumpur just isn't complete unless you've been there. Anchoring the Petronas Towers is Suria KLCC a huge shopping center (the food courts from 4th level is one of the best places to eat) and the spacious KLCC Park with paddling pools and synchronized fountains. You can spend a whole day in this area. In one of those days we went to Thai Embassy to get our Thai visa in a simply matter of completing a form, presenting 2 recently photos and the passport with no cost for that because was a period of Free Tourist Visa. We get it in 24 hours. Mind the impossible lady from Thai Embassy in Bucharest and the amount of papers she ask for. After a visit to outstanding Islamic Arts Museum, seeing one of the best collections of Islamic decorative arts in the world, we've been to Taman Orkid (Orchid Garden) and Taman Bunga Raya (Hibiscus Garden), enchanting our senses trough beautiful nature's creations of flowers, colors and perfumes. Hibiscus flower is the national symbol of Malaysia. As Kuala Lumpur is a dining destination, all kinds of cuisine are available, from local Malay and Nonya dishes to practically every permutation of Chinese, Indian, Southeast Asian and European. There was no day we ate the same dishes. We had such variety of food and can't stop to try every time something else. It's all good and delicious. Yami! As an advice to not eat something "you don't know" choose rice with something. This combination is always a good choice. You can try the rice noodles and soups also. You can eat well with less than 2 euro. Ok, enough about food! Pleurp! About spoken languages, English seems to be the second most spoken language in Malaysia so it is quite easy to ask for information or to bargain at shopping. They can make you discounts even in the big stores, like photo gears, shoes, clothes, if they saw you hesitate about the price. Weird and cool, isn't?! Batu Caves, an impressive cavern in a towering lime-stone outcrop enhanced by an enormous golden statue of Muruga, also known as Lord Subramanian, to whom caves are dedicated. We've climbed the 272 steps spellbound by the cute macaque monkeys to the Hindu galleries. It's impossible to not love those monkeys. We were impressed by the decorative colored sculptures of various Hindu gods and psychedelic paintings and the peace that place gives you. After a long ride by bus we've arrived in Kuala Besut and took a speed boat to the Pulau Perhentian (Perhentian Islands). It was a hell of a ride over the big waves of South China Sea. We've felt like ridding a rodeo bull with ups and downs, laughs and yahoos. As for a complete experience, near the big island waited us a heavy storm who gave us an "I don't care about being wet" feeling. We've accommodated well in Pulau Perhentian Besar (the big island) where the pristine waters and sunbathe on the idyllic palm-fringed, white-sandy havens made our stay pleasant even the ending of monsoon season still "honored" us with his heavy worm rains from time to time. The tasty seafood and barbecues made our stomachs happy. The landscape was breathless. Over a narrow strait the Perhentian Kecil (the small island) enchanted our eyes too. The wild life saw on this island is what we've seen just on documentaries, like monitor lizards (close relative with Komodo dragon), flying squirrels, macaque monkeys, stick insects, tiny black birds, sand crabs, black big bats. Heavenly. We've took the fast boat again, this time on a splendid sunny day and calm waters of South China Sea to Kuala Besut. It was a ride of pleasure. We've watched the boats going in and out from the harbor, ate sea food and laze on the sun for the whole day. We didn't get the bus tu Kuala Lumpur, so we've stayed one more day in Jerteh. A chill town full of little stores, food markets, chinese hotels, but with nothing to do else. One more long ride by nightly bus to Kuala Lumpur and we were ready to board the plane to Thailand. THAILAND Ratcha Anachak Thai (The Kingdom of Thailand), officially named Siam until 1939, now it's also called "Land of Smile". Actually we didn't see so much smiling people but for sure more than other countries. Bangkok is the capital and largest city of Thailand. The full name of the city is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit (yuppie!!!!) or shortened to "Krung Thep" (City of Angels). It is a quite crowdie city for my personal taste but colored and filled with joy. We've arrived a few days before Songkran ("astrological passage"), The Thai New Year festival. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. Of course we didn't manage to avoid a couple of water loads. It was funny moments and wet clothes. Anyway, I can say is not my favorite type of celebration. A cruise along the legendary Chao Phraya River and some canals on the Thon Buri side is the most pleasant way to explore the city once dubbed "Venice of the East". On both sides of the Chao Phraya River are magnificent temples and architectural buildings like the Royal Barge Museum, the Royal Thai Navy Dockyard, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (highly detailed architectural features, a treasure house of Thai arts and houses the Emerald Buddha, the most revered Buddha image in Thailand), Wat Pho (contains a gigantic gold plated Reclining Buddha, 46 meters long and 15 meters high; impressive!), Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn, named after the Hindi god of dawn, Aruna). Another place when we've spend some green moments was Lumpini Park, where we also saw a monitor lizard walking and swimming freely. Speaking rapidly about local food we … rapidly  accommodated with it, now can say "we love Thai dishes" and rapidly tried, I think, most of all. Despite the rebellion of red skirts and the military around the city, we enjoyed our stay in Bangkok, most of all because we didn't see any rebellion live on places where we've been, only on CNN TV Chanel.Damnoen Saduak Floating Market located about 105 km from Bangkok is a very attractive place to see the old style and traditional way of selling and buying fruits, vegetables and other stuff from small boats. We took one of the small boats to experience the floating market and to see more like traditional Thai houses, the way they live and travel by boats. This is a worthwhile trip. The Bridge over the River Kwai is located in the quiet province of Kanchanaburi about 130 km west of the capital city of Bangkok. It gained notoriety during World War II when the Japanese needed a railway connecting Bangkok with Rangoon in preparation for an invasion of India. Thousands of allied troops were kept in internment camps and forced to work on a railway that connected Thailand to Burma part of which meant making a bridge over the River Kwai. This place gained worldwide attention when the fictional work of French author Pierre Boulle was made into a major motion picture of the same name. The one funny part is he had never been to Kanchanaburi or he would have known that the railway does not cross the River Kwai. It actually crosses the Mae Klong River. When the movie – which was actually filmed in Sri Lanka - became popular, Thailand faced something of a problem because many tourists came to see the Bridge over the River Kwai and they didn't actually have one. So, with admirable lateral thinking, they simply renamed the river (the second funny part). The Mae Klong is now the Kwae Yai - Big Kwai - for several miles north of the confluence with the Kwae Noi - Little Kwai -, including the bit under the bridge. We spend some time too in The Jeath War Museum in Kanchanaburi. Small but informative museum dedicated to the POW's who worked on the railway during the Second World War. Exhibits include various artifacts, photos of POW's as well as some moving letters written by the soldiers who were interned here. Yap, a little bit of history. Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, is more like a natural park than a Buddhist temple which keeps numerous animals, among them several tigers that can be petted by visitors. I think you all remember that TV commercial from Animal Planet Chanel with a Thai monk who said "Thank you Animal Planet". Yes, that's the place! Being animal lovers we were disappointed in a way or another seeing chained tigers posed for the photographs handled by untrained staff. We are also sad to hear that despite the fact that the tigers are still caged, the temple is still breeding cubs. Without a plan for the future, this is irresponsible and certainly not in the best interest of the tigers. Care for the Wild International has investigated the temple and recommends that Thailand's Department of National Parks confiscates the Temple's illegally held tigers and transfers them to a sanctuary facility, where the animals can be accommodated and cared for appropriately. Sad, sad, sad! We've took the bus 150 km south-east of Bangkok and riched Pattaya, a popular resort on the North Gulf Coast of Eastern Thailand. We've found accommodations on Buddha Hill, one of the highest points in Pattaya, just between South Pattaya and Jomtien in very grey area, near the place where the red skirts rebellion started and ended a few days ago. Don't worry about, we found the city in peace where local people still celebrated the last days of Songkran throwing prodigious quantities of water at anything that moves. As I said isn't my favorite kind of party. Apart from a handful of privately operated examples, Pattaya has no tuk-tuks, like Bangkok and most ad hoc local transport is undertaken by a flotilla of over 700 dark blue colored songthaews - pickup trucks converted to buses. Weird! There are some places that made our days pleasant like the biggest Buddha statue in Pattaya, the beautiful Chinese-style sacred area dedicated to Confucius and Lao-zi and, on the next hill, just across the road, the best Pattaya Bay coastline. We've made new friends in two Siamese cats that enjoyed our stay at the hotel. We've named it "Scartaila" and "Shy Guy". Absolutely lovely! Ko Tao (also often Koh Tao, "Turtle Island"), an island located near the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand, well known for scuba diving and snorkeling, was our place for PADI Certificates (here I can recommend you the Ban's Diving Resort nestled in beautiful tropical surroundings right on Sairee Beach and thank to our teachers Steve and Magnus for their professionalism). With spectacular view of crystal-clear, emerald green waters filled with rich marine life, soft powder sand laces with coconut trees and magnificent rocks with interesting formation, lots of bars, terraces and restaurants, over than 50 dive centers, sun, motorbikes and so on, make this island a place where we wanted to stay more and more and more. It's a fine place to live too, at least for a couple of years. After 3 hours of boat ride back to mainland, we've reached Chumphon, a small cute, clean town with cheap food, just to get our nightly train back to Bangkok, heading north this time. Ayutthaya, the old capital city of Siam (the old Thai kingdom) is on an island formed by the confluence of the Chaophraya, Lopburi and Pasak Rivers. The "Golden Age" of Siam came to a close when the Burmese sacked the city, setting fire to the temples, carting off the gold and leveling important buildings such as the king's palace. What remains today are a few ruins scattered among grassy fields. We stayed just one day and explored on foot the main historical sites lie in the northwest corner of the island like Wat Phra Si Sanphet (the temple stands almost in the center of the main area of the old capital), the towering prang of Wat Phra Ram (an excellent example of a Khmer style temple from the beginning of the Ayutthaya period), Wat Ratburana (hold the ashes of the king's two older brothers, who killed each other fighting over the throne) and Wat Mahathat (the story goes that the king had a revelation, and relics of the Buddha then suddenly appeared; the temple was built to house the relics). Very interesting day! We took again the nightly train to north. Chiang Mai, one of Thailand's prime tourist attractions, is a city built on the roots of a traditional heritage that dig deep into the soil of time. It's a city with a beautiful cultural personality of its own. In addition, it's been blessed with much majestic beauty in nature. VIETNAM The latest Asian dragon to awake from its slumber. Good Morning, Vietnam! As many westerners still imagine Vietnam through the lens of war, we hope will find in Vietnam a feast of culture and history, filled with captivating natural beauty and tranquil village life. Ho Chi Minh (Saigon city, as it's still called by all who live here) is Vietnam's largest metropolis. The first impression on sight was the chaotic mess of traffic-clogged roads and urban bustle, with nary a green space in sight. If every town had a symbol, Ho Chi Minh's would surely be the motorbike. More than three million of them fly along streets once swarming with bicycles. After all it is still a modern Asian city that waits to be discovered. The Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai is an attempt to create a perfect synthesis of world religions. It is a combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Geniism, and Taoism. Established in the Southern regions of Vietnam in the early 1920's, the religion was officially codified in 1926. The functioning center of Cao Daism is located in the Tay Ninh province. Cao Dai literally means "high tower" or "palace", a metaphor for the spender of spiritual growth. The central philosophy of Cao Daism pertains to the duty that the faithful perform for themselves, their family, society and the world at large. Much like Confucianism, this element of the Philosophy pertains to how the individual functions within the context of the community. The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Cu Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam's base of operations for the Tet Offensive in 1968. The tunnels were used by NLF 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 role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the NLF in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually persuading the weary Americans into withdrawal. After spending half a day crawling inside the Cu Chi Tunnels we were back to Ho Chi Minh, visiting the War Remnants Museum. It was an opportunity to see the "American War" through the eyes of the locals, evidence of the effects of Agent Orange, jars of deformed fetuses, people burned by napalm, photos of atrocities and other horrors of the Vietnam War, several captured US planes, tanks and helicopters, as well as bombs, including the huge B52. We heard much of the Vietnam War yet we knew so little about it! We have to admit that we were quite disturbed by all the images, so were many tourists, some of whom were shaking their head away in disbelief. This museum was once known as the "Museum of American War Crimes". The War Remnants Museum (Nha Trung Bay Toi Ac Chien Tranh Xam) is definitely the must-see. It was heart-breaking to see the pain and tears the victims have to go through for this war. Mekong Delta. After a couple o days we took a cruise to My Tho, the first bustling town of the Mekong Delta, provided us a look at a wide variety of the life and scenery, exploring the beauty and splendor of Saigon and Mekong rivers. In My Tho, hand rowing boats leaded us along narrow water way overhung with dense vegetation to the orchard islets, where we enjoyed traditional music, taste lots of tropical fruits and watch how they make Coconut candy and collect honey. At the end of the day, we've reached Can Tho (River of Poems), located on the south bank of the Mekong River, who is considered to be the "rice basket of Vietnam", contributing more than 50% of the nation's rice production. The next morning we took a motor boat to Cai Rang Floating Market, where hundreds of vessels gathered here to trade all kind of fruits. We saw sellers and buyers bargaining, exchanging fruits from their boats, beautiful scenery and daily activities of the local people who live along Mekong canals. After that we've been to a village to visit rice-husking mill and rice noodles making shop. It was a unique experience. Overnight we've stayed on a floating hotel in Chau Doc, from where we fought with many mosquitos enjoying a beautiful sunset time over the river. Thanks to mosquito nets installed on our beds. The next day we visited floating villages and floating fishing farms, learning how they rise baby fish to the ones later sold in markets. We've been to Village of the Cham, an Islam minority people of Vietnam, home of the Cham weavers and local mosque, where children learn Arabic. Charming people. CAMBODIA We took another boat to Nek Luong, Cambodia border, where we've waited our boat guy to bargain with border police to get ours visas faster. Faster means 1 hour. Hmm! Anyway, after hours spent on boats in the last days, a steady, non shaking place for our feet was welcomed. A couple of hours later we've reached Phnom Penh, the capital and largest city of Cambodia. ... soon about next on our route: MALAYSIA SINGAPORE MALAYSIA AUSTRALIA 2 days later, flying from Kuala Lumpur (MALAYSIA) with one stop in London (UK), we were back from where we started, Bucharest (ROMANIA). It was a long trip, unforgetable who created a need for more to see, to know, to learn about this amaizing planet, people, cultures, diversity, ourselves etc. FACTS BY THE NUMBERS: 3 months, 7 countries, over than 36 locations, more than 60000 kms, 10 planes, more than 20 buses, 12 vessels/boats, 11 trains, 3713 photos, countless types of food, experiences, informations and so on.  Picture from my journey: UK, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, VIETNAM, CAMBODIA, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA or navigate to Photo Journey page.
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