My travels through Asia and beyond

If there wasn’t already enough risk flying, you at least want your pilot to sober. A pilot from United Airlines has been arrested at Heathrow Airport for being over the legal alcohol limit.

The pilot was due to fly to San Francisco.

Source

I got a laugh from this story in the Jakarta Post, “A number of athletes competing in beach woodball at the Asian Beach Games and their team officials have started to complain about Bali’s scorching heat.”

Some of the athletes complaining about the heat include those from Singapore and Indonesia. You would think they would have been well prepared for the weather.

Having lived in Japan for around 10 years, I have a lot of experience riding on the trains and subway. Working long hours and going out for drinks every second night with your work colleagues, it is easy to nod off coming home from work. The problem is making sure you wake up in time to get off at the right stop.

A Japanese company is attempting to solve this problem by coming up with an eye mask, which displays which station you want to get off at. The idea is to let your surrounding passengers know where you want get off and for them to wake you up.

The mask looks pretty big and somehow I can’t see it taking off. Also, I wonder if people would actually go to the trouble of waking up a stranger on a train. Since trains in Japan run on a really tight schedule, I am surprised a company hasn’t come up with more of a advanced solution, like a program which runs on your mobile phone, that rings or vibrates when your stop is approaching.

Reminds me of the many books available on wacky Japanese inventions.

Via

Like most backpackers, I usually stay in Khao San Road when I am in Bangkok. Many people go out of their way to avoid the area, but if you are just looking for a cheap place to stay for a night or two, you can’t go wrong. It is also a convenient area for sights like the Grand Palace.

The downside is that it isn’t near a subway or train station. This time I decided to see if there were any budget options, that were close to the BTS.

Most hotels in the Sukumvit area aren’t cheap. The cheapest place I could find was Suk 11. It is a short walk if you take airport bus and close to Nana station.

A single room is 500 baht and 650 baht for a single room with ensuite bathroom. The rooms are basic, but clean and comfortable. They even include breakfast and the common areas are good for meeting other travelers.

It seems to be pretty popular place, so I would recommend booking in advance (no payment required).

Like in many parts of Asia, pick up something to eat from the many street vendors. The menu options include friend fish, deep fried bits of dough, corn and fresh fruit.

Arrived in Bangkok last night on a JetStar flight. The plane was surprisingly pretty full. I thought that news reports of trouble in Bangkok or the economic slowdown might make some people change their plans.

The airport in Bangkok was pretty busy with long lines at immigration. It is going to take a few days to get used to the humidity again.

With just a few days before I leave to Bangkok, protests continue which left two people dead yesterday.

With the economic crisis going on, I have hardly seen anything in the news. It seems like the protests are only taking place around the parliament buildings. From some blogs that I read, it sounds like it is business as usual.

I have to admit I don’t understand much about Thai politics. I can imagine there will be a few more people canceling their travel plans.

From the LA Times:

“I came to protest, and then the police used violence against the people. I saw my uncle and aunt hit with tear gas. It will only get worse and worse,” student Jakkapun Kaewsangthong, 21, said as tear gas canisters exploded outside parliament.

“The world should know the current government has no right to govern this country anymore — they should resign or retire,” Kaewsangthong said. “We will stay as long as the government stays in power.”

Only a few more days before I leave Bangkok and I see this headline on Reuters, Thai troops patrol Bangkok after clashes.

Not that I am worried, as I don’t think anyone not protesting or near the protests will be affected. Tourism is just too important for Thailand’s economy for there to be any trouble.

There are positives though, the baht has fallen 34.51 to the dollar and there might be a few less tourists, making it possible to get a bit of a discount on accommodation.

I just wrote the other day, I was planning to go to Bali. Australia is an expensive country to fly out of. The nearest country is New Zealand (at least from the east coast) and then Indonesia. Once you get into Asia, flights are cheap. AirAsia is basic, but suits me fine.

Jetstar seem to be the cheapest airline to fly out of Australia. The cheapest Asian flight I found was from Melbourne to Bangkok – $273 (plus taxes). Bali was over $400, so I have decided to go for the cheaper option. I really wish airlines would just include all of their charges in the prices they advertise. You basically take any price Jetstar advertises and double it, to get the final price.

I went to the Thai consulate today to get a two month (extendible) visa. Price was AU$45. Even if I don’t stay the full two months, it is nice not to have to worry too much about being somewhere up country and my visa running out. It is the end of the low season in Thailand, but reading travel forums, it looks like visitor numbers could be down, because of the current economic crisis.

More beach for me!

This blog was previously on another domain I own travelzulu.com. After much thought of where I want to travel and what kind of website I want to run, I bought this domain asiatravelguide.com and decided to move the blog entries I have made up until now to here. Since the blog was about my travel in Asia the past two or so years, it made a lot of sense. If or when I go to Africa, travelzulu will be a great name for a website!

I am in Melbourne now as I write this, but planning a trip to Bali now. Bali is the news a bit now because it is the anniversary of the 2005 (October 1st) and 2002 bombings (October 12th). In the 2002 bombings, 202 people were killed, including 88 Australians. It was the first time for Australians to be targetted by a terrorist attack.

I have been to the memorial in Kuta it was a somber experience. Having been to Bali a few times now, you can’t help thinking it could easily have been me. What is more disturbing is that the so called ‘Bali bombers’ are not repentant at all for their actions. They even laugh and joke with the media as they wait their death sentence.

Tourism has apparently started to lift again in Bali. Of course people get worried when you tell them you are going there, but the chances of being involved in any attack is slim. If people stop going to Bali, the terrorists win.