Mexico 2015 take two - Morelia & Tlaxcala

I stumbled out of Guadalajara's Miguel Hidalgo international airport at 5am on November 20th after a sleepless night of short-hop flights.  I was feeling a bit nervous and out of my element, but tried to put on that air of confidence that has served me fairly well in past travels as I walked the 5 miles from the bus station to the center of town.  It became immediately apparent that Guadalajara was a bit too big of a city for me, so I grabbed a cheap hotel and started my plan for the next day.  I wandered around town a bit, slowly adjusting to the flow of things, found a few bites of food, and then crashed embarrassingly early. 

The next day bus ride to Morelia was comfortable and quick.  How is it possible that Mexican buses are so much more comfortable than any mode of transportation back in the states?  I reclined my oversized seat, watched a bad movie on my personal entertainment screen, and rolled into Morelia refreshed.  Morelia was a great little town, but nothing too exciting happened.  I spent two days wandering from park to park, peering in the churches and old buildings, and getting lost in the market.  Food highlights included eating huge cups of vegetable and fruit gazpacho (with lime, chili, and orange juice added), way too much dessert, and more tacos than I'm willing to admit.  Also I've been missing the simple pleasure of a cup of esquite, which is surprisingly hard to find back home.

From Morelia I hopped a bus to mexico city, with the plan of making a quick connection to Tlaxcala.  I should have known that nothing in mexico city happens quickly, and my transfer ended up taking forever due to traffic.  I didn't get out of town until after six, which meant arriving in an unfamiliar city after dark, which I usually try to avoid.  I got that good old nervous feeling as I got off the bus in the dark, but luckily, Tlaxcala was a manageable size, and I found my way to the center of town without too much trouble. 

Since Tlaxcala is relatively small, i was able to do a good bit of exploring on foot.  More churches, markets, and parks.  Whenever I get tired of walking, I'm never far from a little park to sit down in and catch up on some reading and people watching. I'm about halfway through H.P. Lovecraft's "Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre" and sadly, my blood has yet to be curdled.  Maybe Chuck Palahniuk has ruined me.  I'd say the amount of mayonnaise and cheese slathered on my daily cup of esquite is far more horrifying than anything ol' H.P. has come up with.  The most entertaining people watching came from an old man with a strange box hanging around his neck with what looked like a copper handled jump rope sticking out.  Eventually three kids ran up to him, gave him a few pesos, and then all held hands in a line.  The two kids on the outside each grabbed one of the copper handles, and then they all screamed and crashed to the ground giggling.  Would this sort of thing take off in the states?  Can I get paid for shocking children?  A career change may be in order.

Beaches, Bangkok, and America

Before hopping the long train to Bangkok, I spent two and a half nice days on the island of Langkawi in northern Malaysia.  I got some nice sun, nice jungle hiking, and a few more good meals.  Despite my intentions to avoid leeches in Taman Negara, I found one on me while hiking here.  Though they're awful, I had to give the little guy credit.  If I got within about 10 feet of him, he could "sense" me and would come inching his way creepily along the forest floor in my direction.  Gross, but at least I can say I was attached by a land-leach!

The site of my showdown with the leech

A 20-hour train ride brought me to Bangkok for a few days of exploring before I had to call it quits.  Another great food city, I think I might have eaten myself sick.  I've started having trouble since arriving at the airport.  Totally worth it, though.  Khao San road is kind of a cliche, but it's easy, cheap, and there can't be better people watching anywhere in the world.

View from my hotel room

Random temple

I have a 10-layover in Seoul's Incheon airport, which is consistently voted one of the best in the world.  They've got free showers, free wifi (and computers), and even a small movie theater.  Unfortunately, I was feeling the effects of too much food, and pretty much just spent the whole time laying low and trying to recover enough to start eating a drinking again.  A 10-hour flight to Seattle while dehydrated isn't going to work for me.  Ok, that's about it.  In a few days I'll be back at my old desk, doing who-knows-what.  Maybe Seattle will welcome me with a bright sunny day?

The home stretch

KL.  Again

Due to a 30 day visa limit, I had to leave Indonesia at the end of November.  After a lot of time researching and pondering my options, I bought a ticket home out of bangkok.  I had 10 days to kill between leaving Indonesia and flying from bangkok, I caught a cheap flight to Kuala Lumpur and figured on making my way slowly north.  This would give me time to A) eat some awesome food B) visit some jungles and do some hiking and C) spend a few days at the beach before returning to rainy, cold Seattle.

Let's start in KL.  I'll try to keep it short.  Arrived at 1am and wandered around the area near the train station looking for a hotel.  I'd planned on using the free WiFi in the Bali airport to come up with a plan, but a delayed flight from Lombok meant that I arrived at the airport 42 minutes before my flight left, leaving no time for research.  It did give me the opportunity to finally be the guy running through the airport with that look of desperation on his face.  Luckily, the streets are fairly busy at 1am in little India, and I didn't feel at all uncomfortable walking around lost with all my gear.  I finally found a decent looking hotel, and since it was thanksgiving, I treated myself to a huge pigout meal across the street at one of the many buzzing restaurants.  $5 for far more roti canai, curry, and pulled tea than any one man should eat.  Wow I'm going to miss roti when I'm back in the states.

Dress shopping

I blame Malaysia for my growing obesity

After spending so long in Indonesia, I forgot that in Malaysia I don't get the rockstar treatment.  In KL I'm no big deal, and in smaller towns people are usually too polite and shy to strike up a conversation.  I also forgot how comfortable Malaysia is compared to Indonesia.  In my younger days, I probably would have preferred cheaper, rougher Indonesia, but cramped 4-hour long bus rides over winding, potholed roads just don't give me that same thrill anymore.  Also, since I'm incredibly rich, I can afford to spend $2 on a meal in Malaysia instead of $1.20 in Indonesia.  I spent a day walking, and found some super interesting looking houses/apartments in a back alley above the Chow Kit market.  It didn't seem appropriate to just ask someone to let me in, but as I was peering in some dark doorways, a man inside motioned me in.  My excitement was a bit premature, as it turned out to just be a creepy back entrance to the market.  The guy tried hard to sell me a 15kg bag of rice, and when I finally convinced him that it wasn't gonna happen, he moved on to the clip on hair extensions that were directly across the aisle from the rice.  Probably more applicable to my current situation than the rice, but sorry...still no.

I wanted to peek into these apartments

This is what I found instead...

Though it's only 10% Christian here in Malaysia, the
malls were decked out and pumped full of Xmas pop music.
I thought I was going to shoot someone.

From KL, I hopped a bus to Jerantut, which is the entry point for Taman Negara, and famous jungle park.  The small town of Jerantut was quiet, surprisingly pretty, and cheap.  I got a room for under $5, and spent the evening watching a japanese challenge show, Unbeatable Banzuke, with the old lady who ran the place.  I got a lot of insight into the racial tensions that plague Malaysia (most Malaysians haven't been shy about expressing a strong dislike of the Chinese).  I'm not in any kind of position to take sides, but the racial and religious issues in this region are interesting to me.  Another topic I'm nearly clueless on is the tension between Muslims and non-muslims, but I feel like I have a much better understanding than I ever could have had without visiting this region.  For the record, I'm in full support of the headscarves.

A fried chicken is a happy chicken.

Wow...just got really off topic.  When I arrived in jerantut, it was pouring rain, and didn't stop the entire 36 hours I spent there.  I met a group in the bus station who had just tried to brave the rain in taman negara, and had been thoroughly soaked for 3 days.  They looked absolutely miserable.  Though weather is hard to predict around here, the news said at least 5 more days of rain, so I decided to bag the trip in the park.  Even if I had a momentary break in the rain, it draws the leeches out in force, and leeches here are about the most terrible things ever.  They're not confined to water, like a respectable leech should be, but crawl across the ground to bite you.  And they wait on trees.  And they can somehow get through the fabric of your shoes and socks.  I was a little bummed about my last chance for some jungle trekking, but picking off leeches in a poorly constructed jungle hut while rain drips through the roof just didn't do it for me.

Last days in Indonesia

I'm ashamed that by the time I hit Ruteng on Flores, I was pretty much smiled out.  A quarter mile walk would take me over an hour because EVERY SINGLE person I passed on the street would want to stop and talk.  The guide industry on Flores is taking off, and I think about 90% of students here are stuyding English with hopes to work in a hotel or as a tour guide.  It got exhausting.  One poor kid only spoke about 10 words of English, but I could tell he wanted to hang out so I took him to get some soup with me.  I was also trying to outrun two ladyboys who were following me, and was thankful for the company.  This kid was so excited to be eating with me I thought he was going to hyperventilate. I actually skipped a meal because I couldn't bear to get drug along to someone's school or have to refuse another motorbike ride.

Hopeful tour guides near Ruteng

Traditional village

Labuan Bajo, like me, looks better as you get farther away.

My last stop on Flores was the port town of Labuan Bajo.  Though it's a fairly non-interesting town with no beach, it serves as the main gateway to Komodo and Rinca islands, where you can see the famous Komodo Dragons.  Surprisingly, I found it to be the cheapest place in Flores, though there wasn't much of a reason to stay.  I had booked a ticket out for the 29th, and due to being annoyed with the prices and tourist traps of Flores, I arrived 6 days early.  No way I was going to kill six days there, so I got a partial refund for my plane ticket and hopped a 3-day boat cruise from Labuan Bajo to Lombok island near Bali.  For about the same price as a flight, you get meals and accommodation for 3 days, a visit with the dragons on Rinca, multiple snorkeling stops, deserted island beaches, and a swim in a nice jungle waterfall (with ropeswing!).  Totally not worth the flight.  I've heard that often the dragons just lay motionless if you see them at all, but on our visit they were active and everywhere.

I'm not a very accomplished snorkeler, but the reefs around Rinca island were absolutely amazing.  I saw an incredible amount of fish, beautiful corals, seahorses (!!!), and even a sea snake that scared the crap out of me.  Later research shows that they are poisonous, but not usually aggressive.  At the time, it was enough to end my snorkeling for the afternoon.  Nights were spent sleeping out on deck, under the stars.  Very peaceful if you don't mind the rocking of the boat.

You can't tell, but this tiny fishing boat had a
guy inside cooking over an open fire.

We docked in Lombok, and a van took us out to the tourist beach of Senggigi to find hotels.  I stuck around on Lombok for 3 days, exploring the coastal roads, almost totally deserted beaches, and wandering back into the hills surrounding Mt. Rinjani.  I would have liked to climb it, but due to daily afternoon rains, I bagged the 2-day trek.  Lombok is Bali's less developed sibling, but I have a feeling that within about 15 years it will start to see almost as many tourists.  For now, I couldn't believe all the perfect beaches that have absolutely no people or development.

View from the coastal road around Lombok.
No one on the beach.

Beach on the edge of a mangrove forest.  Deserted islands
in the distance.  Nice.

Not sure, but I think this is a small temple.
This is just one of the many random sights on a trip
around Lombok.

In the south of the island, I found a huge beach with a nice bay for swimming.  I pretty much had the place to myself, and as I sat in the sand, a wandering coconut seller gave me the hard sell on a coconut.  I'd just eaten lunch, and generally don't care for coconut water much anyway, but he seemed really sad when he said "...no business today", and I had to give in.  What's a dollar, anyway?  Sensing a sucker, a girl walked up about 10 minutes later selling sarongs.  I tried to tell her that I didn't need one of those either, that I was leaving and I definitely wasn't going to wear it around town at home.  She sat and talked with me for almost an hour, and then I finally gave in and bought one for $3.  What do you want me to do!?  She was cute.  I'm not made of stone, you know!

I bought a coconut from this guy even though I didn't
want one.  He only wanted a dollar, and I was the only one
who visited the beach that day.  It's crazy to think that I
was his only business for probably a few days.

One beach had supersize sand.  Why was it so big?
Shouldn't nature take care of this situation?
Someone tell me what's up!

This guy carries this load 15km twice a day.  I tried to
pick up the baskets.  They're heavy.

Women planting rice.  I found a guide to walk me through
some rice paddies and down to a nice waterfall.  After two
months of traveling through them, most of my questions
about rice farming were answered.

I can't imagine that this sign really means what it looks
like it means.  Probably better that I don't know.  Readers
may be glad to know that I didn't fall to my death shortly
after passing this sign.

Flores and the tourist mafia

Flores from above

On my flight out from Jogja, I got more exited than ever to move on to the island of Flores.  Everything I'd read said that Flores was the best island for general adventures and off the beaten track exploration.  We pretty much flew over the entire length of the island, and I saw nothing but mountains and rugged coastline.  Arrival in Maumere on the east end of things was quick and easy, and I unexpectedly joined in a taxi ride directly from the airport with a couple from NY.  Winding our way through the mountains as the sun went down was downright magical, though we arrived in the town of Moni a bit later than I had hoped for.  I was shocked at the cost of a bungalow room for 250,000 rupiah (about $25), but as it was late and dark, I didn't really have much choice.  I awoke at 4am the next day to catch a motorbike ride up to the crater rim of Mount Kelimutu, with its famous multicolored lakes.  Again, crazy expensive at 60,000 rupiah for a 30 minute ride, but again, my only option.  The lakes and mountain were quite nice, and I spent about two hours up at the top taking pictures.  I bugged a local fellow for more information, and he said whenever there is volcanic activity, the lakes can change color, ranging anywhere from white to green to blue to red to black.  Apparently in the 60's, the lakes were red, white, and blue.  'Merica!

Two of the three Kelimutu lakes

I decided to walk the 7 miles back down to Moni, and enjoyed the quiet countryside and peaceful morning.  As I neared Moni, a lady called me over to chat for a few minutes, and eventually showed me some of the traditional ikat weaving that she does.  Not only does she do everything by hand with a backstrap loom, but she makes all her own dies and even her own cotton thread.  I'm pretty sure I overpaid a bit for a scarf, but she was nice, and I was impressed that she could make a finished product from raw materials.  How many people in the developed world can start from pure basics and make something?  On top of the scarf, she tried really hard to get me to buy a full body sarong.  It's the traditional outfit of people here, worn by both men and women.  They're beautiful, but I told her that I just didn't see myself wearing one around town.  I have a tough enough time looking respectable in regular pants and a shirt...I don't think I'm going to pull off a sarong.

I tried to trade this lady hats, but she
wasn't going for it

Typical country farmhouse on Flores

Ikat weaving.  Apparently this one would take over
two months to finish

As I wandered around Moni, I realized that everything was priced at least two or three times what I'd pay in Sumatra or Jogja.  I tried to find some information on the bus onward to Bajawa, but after hearing many different things (no bus on Sunday, only one bus very early, maybe one bus around noon, etc.), I finally got roped in by a few guys rinning a taxi/tourist van.  It cost a bit more, but I was assured that the bus wasn't much cheaper and that this was a faster, more comfortable option.  Conveniently, these guys had connections at a few hotels and restaurants in town, and tried hard to get the four of us in the van to continue with them to Ruteng the next day.  They said they had to go no matter what, and would give us a great price, but us tourists talked it over and decided to stay in Bajawa for an extra day to do some sightseeing.  Suddenly, their plans had mysteriously changed and now they could wait around an extra day to take us.

This is the internet access point in Bajawa.  3 computers
in a plywood shack.

Breakfast in Bajawa.  I think it was fried tofu, tempeh, a
hard-boiled egg, cabbage, and meatballs covered in
peanut sauce.

I really didn't plan to stick around Bajawa, but a pretty Italian girl wanted to explore by motorbike and asked me to stay instead of her having to pay for an expensive private driver.  She was a bit more high-maintenance than I usually like to associate with, but I figured what the hell, and we ended up having a really nice time zooming around and visiting the traditional villages.  The next day I hopped in what I thought was a shared taxi with two French ladies, hoping to get off the tourist mafia trail.  Turns out that it was a private car that they'd hired for seven days to drive them all around, and they were just nice enough to let me ride along.  I wasn't aware of this until much later, but was confused when the driver acted funny when I asked how much the fare to Riung was.  Looking back, I'm pretty sure he was trying to get me to pay for an expensive ride, but didn't want to discuss it in front of the ladies, because they'd instructed him to take me along for free since they'd already paid in advance.  I ended up leaving super early one morning, and he never got a chance to confront me about the money.  I bought the ladies beers at dinner the night before, so I felt OK about things.  Riung was uneventful except for some delicious grilled fish dinners and a great BBQ on a deserted island beach while on a snorkeling trip.

A stop on the tourist trail...

Lunch on the beach

Java!

I left Bukittinggi and headed for the airport.  I got a bit unlucky and must have found the slowest driver in all of Indonesia.  Somehow, it took us almost 4 hours to go about 40 miles on a paved road, and I barely made it to the airport on time.  My next destination was Yogyakarta (called Yogya or Jogja) for a few days to get a taste of life on Java, the world's most populous island.  Attitudes here in Jogja are a bit more relaxed compared to conservative Sumatra, but alcohol still isn't super cheap or as readily available as some other places I've visited.  I'm looking at you, Philippines...can't beat $1.50 for a 24oz San Migel.

Farmer with a sweet ride

I pulled the usual stunt of renting a motorbike and driving myself around to see the sights.  I had a particularly nice early morning ride through the countryside on my way to see Borobudur temple about 40km outside of town.  The temple itself was quite nice, but the best part was having it mostly to myself for a few hours before the tour buses showed up.  I was accosted by a bunch of English students who came to the temple specifically to meet native English speaking tourists and chat them up.  I'm pretty sure that this was actually a graduation requirement for many of them.  It's a bit strange to have people lining up to talk to you, but whatever, I'm happy to help.  Everyone's very friendly, and all I have to do is answer a bunch of questions and then take a few pictures.  Ok...a million pictures.  Here's a Borobudur photo dump.

The first of about a zillion photos with English students

Dragonfruit.  Picture stolen from internet.

I visited a few other sights around town, saw a puppet show (it's a thing here), and ate a bunch of good, cheap food.  While driving around the countryside, I found a dragonfruit farm and stopped to chat with the ladies selling them on the street.  For $2 per kilo, I couldn't resist.  Is there a more exotic fruit than dragonfruit?  I don't think so.

Delicious bakso.  $0.80 a bowl!

Sitting in traffic in Jogja

Possibly the most relaxed watermellon salesman ever?

Chili mania at the market

Photos of the temples and markets are fine, but I expect that most people are more excited to see pictures of the toilets.  I know I would be.  Below is a pretty standard operation in Indonesia.  The tub on the right fills up with water, and you use the little pink scoop to pull water from the tub to flush.  This hotel has a shower head right there above the toilet, but more basic places just have you use the scoop to shower as well. I'm not 100% sold on the squat toilets, but I'm sure that given enough time I'd come around.  One thing I do like is that since the shower and toilet are all in the same area, there's a drain in the floor to let the shower water drain away.  I assume this makes cleaning the bathroom a snap, as all you have to do is spray everything down, and just let it all drain away.  Fastest bathroom cleaning ever! 

Smiles + Durian = Sickness!

While leaving Padang, I got my first experience with the famed sense of Indonesian direction and time.  As I left the hotel, I asked the front desk which direction to the bus station.  The confidently pointed the opposite direction of what I expected, and when I acted surprised, they confirmed that indeed I did have to walk back towards town.  With no street signs and no map, I really had no choice but to take their advice.  I walked for about 15 minutes before stopping to use an ATM and ask the nearby security guard (my first full conversation in Indonesian!).  Of course, he pointed back the direction I had come and said I could walk there in 15 minutes.  I knew it had to be a bit farther than that, but walked on anyway.  90 minutes later, dripping sweat from the midday heat, I arrived at Minang station and hopped a van to Bukittinggi.

The driver immediately took off going way too fast for the crowded streets.  I've been in my fair share of seemingly dangerous transportation...Indian rickshaws, Philippine fishing boats, Thai tuk-tuks, West African bush taxis...but this was the first time I was actually convinced I might not make it out alive.  Catastrophic vehicle accidents are somewhat commonplace here.  Somehow, we made it without too much trouble.  We were only in two accidents (we were hit twice), which were handled quickly and surprisingly civilly.  As was standard in Indonesia, I was dropped off at a random intersection with no street signs, no map, and no one who could direct me.  I finally broke down and opened up my computer/GPS to figure out what I was doing.  I turned out to be about two miles away from the center of town, and again, walked it in the heat.  When I finally got my bearings and found a hotel, I took a cool shower and headed out on the town.

Taufik, Me, Haswin, Suyarif, and Adjiz.  I only look autistic.

In my first two hours of walking, I met Taufik and Suyarif.  They were English students in the local university and wanted to practice their English with a native speaker.  Ok.  Sure.  Let's go have some dinner.   Friends Adjiz and Haswin joined us, and the total bill for dinner and fruit juice came to a whopping $3.34.  My treat.  After that, Taufik suggested that I come visit their English class tomorrow.  Hmmm...well that doesn't really sound like something that I'd do.  What's that?  You have a beautiful English teacher?  I guess I could stop by.  And then we can take a tour around the town and we can show you all the sights?  I kind of had plans, but I guess I could use some help trying new foods and such.  And then you can stay at our boarding house tonight?  Ohhh...totally not on my agenda, but probably a good thing to do, right?  And then this weekend we can go visit my family in their village?  Way out of my plans, but an opportunity I shouldn't pass up I guess.  

Visit to the local river where we let fish nibble our feet.

And that was that.  The next 4 days were a whirlwind of activities with Taufik and Suyarif hanging on my every word.  Every bite of food I tried, they asked "Do you love it!?"  It was exhausting being the center of attention for days at a time, and when the weekend rolled around, I was kind of dreading spending two days with his family.  Unfortunately, I felt that I owed it to these guys to go visit the family, and I got the impression that Taufik didn't have a chance to go home too often (the bus fare is $2.75 each way).  Without getting into too much detail, I visited the farm, saw what life was like in a local village, and ate way too much food.  I even got an offer to marry his younger sister.  It was explained to me that she's only 12 now, but in six years, I'll be 34 and she will be 18.  Perfect!  The family approves!

Grandma and grandpa.  Very nice people.

Two days of sitting and smiling while the entire extended family chattered on in Indonesian was a little too much for me, and on the afternoon we were to leave, I finally came down with a bit of a cold/headache/dizziness.  I blame it on smiling too much.  Nonetheless, it was a good excuse to get out of there and also to have a hotel room to myself in Bukittinggi.  The thought of spending a night without sharing a bed with one or two other people hadn't even crossed these guys' minds, so I was glad for the excuse to get a room to myself for a few hours.  In the end, I learned a lot about Indonesian/Muslim culture, and hopefully made some lifelong friends.

This poor girl doesn't know what she's in for!

Durian.  King of fruits!