Ziggy's Travels

Day 0 - Newark to India

2011-12-23T02:11:00.002+02:00

I'm about to leave for a 13-hour plane ride from Newark, NJ to India.

The trip is going to be for approximately two weeks and will include visits to Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, Devigarh, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, and Varanasi.

Assuming the WiFi cooperates, I will try and update my blog daily.

Happy Holidays!

Day 5 - Qena and the Nile

2009-12-29T01:48:00.000+02:00

Every day I think that the splendors of Egypt cannot top thesites I have seen. However, once again I was just as amazed and full ofwonderment as I had been the day before. We started the trip with a viewing ofthe Pyramids, and each and every day has been more impressive than theprevious.

In the morning we viewed the Temple of Dendera at Qina. Thistemple still retained many of the colors that existed during the era of thePtolemaic Pharaohs. Perhaps the most impressive part of the temple was that itwas better preserved than any of the other buildings in Egypt. Furthermore,this was the only temple we had been to that still retained the roof and wasquite impressive.

The afternoon was spent cruising a beautiful portion of theNile. Our boat has a gun on the back of it to ward off potential pirates. TheNile looks much as it did four thousand years ago. The fertile fields of the Nile are lined withpalm trees and dotted with mud-brick houses. The locals must not see manyboats, because large crowds of children would run to the shore of the Nile towave and scream “Helllllloooooooo” to this boat of foreign visitors. I feltlike a celebrity as the children filled with excitement when the otherpassengers and I waved back. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading andtaking in the scenery as we made our way down the Nile.

This part of the trip required security and a large gun…

In the evening we visited the Temple of Luxor. Seeing thetemple lit up at night gave it a mystical ambience. I have yet to visit thegreat temples of Greece, however, my feeling is that these temples are moreimpressive and better preserved than the Greek ruins. It seems that the lack ofearthquakes and the dry sand preserved these sights.

Day 4 - Luxor

2009-12-28T01:47:00.000+02:00

Wake up call for today was at 4:00 a.m. We got up bright andearly and headed to the airport to leave for Luxor. Our plane was a small propplane run by a company called Petroleum Air Services. PAS, as they call it, wasprobably not the safest airline, however we arrived in one piece. Security atthe airport was an absolute joke. As Americans, we checked after the metaldetectors went off. It seems the Egyptians employ a method of profiling thatexempts Americans from any profiling.

We next went to Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. Althoughmost people imagine that the great pyramids of Giza are the jewels of Egypt,they have not been the highlight of the trip. The Karnak Temple was simply stunning. This temple has 134 columns allover 100 feet high. Pictures simply cannot do justice to he power of the hall.The temple, which is over 4000 years old, easily competes with more modernreligious temples including St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (the entirety of NotreDame Cathedral could fit the grand Hypostyle Hall, which is just one part ofthe entire temple). The final gems of Karnak were the enormous obelisks. It isdifficult to fathom how the Egyptians made these obelisks, which are made outof one beautiful piece of marble, without our modern technology.

The second half of the day included the famed Valley of theKings. Our tour company was able to arrange a special private visit to the tombof Pharaoh Seti I. The tomb was closed to the public in 2005 because the hoardsof people were hastening the deterioration of the tomb. The tomb was simplyremarkable. Not only was it deeper than any of the other tombs we had visited,but also it had beautifully detailed reliefs throughout the tomb. Being alonein the tomb made me feel much like Indiana Jones, entering a long hallwaycovered with Egyptian inscriptions. Although one expects this type of thing inthe Hollywood movies, it was incredible to experience this firsthand. I wasastounded to discover that they had not yet completed the excavation of thetomb and there were hidden treasures that still remained.

The day ended with a visit to the Valley of the Queens andthe Temple of Queen Haptepshut. While neither could compare to the previoussites of the day, they would have wowed a traveler who had not experienced whatwe had. Our visit to the Valley of the Queens was complemented by the fact thatalthough the Valley had already closed, we were able to have a private tour ofthe valley and experience it all for our selves.

For the next couple of days we will be staying on the SunBoat IV and cruising the Nile.

Day 3 - Cairo

2009-12-27T01:46:00.000+02:00

Wake up call was at 6:00 a.m. today so we could make it tothe museum. Our group had a private viewing of the museum before it opened at9:00 a.m. This experience has so far been one of the highlights of the trip. Asyou can see from the picture, it was completely empty. I felt much like BenStiller in Night of the Museum 3:Egyptian Museum. The museum itself was somewhat dirty and was not presentedwith the same quality and ambience of an American Museum.

We then went to Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Therewe found many larger than life statues of the great Ramses II (believed byscholars to be the Pharaoh from the bible. Ramses must have been a megalomaniacto demand such large structures in his name.

We ended the day with a trip to Sakkara. The pyramid ofSakkara was the first pyramid of Egypt and therefore lacks the grandeur andsplendor of the great pyramids. Nonetheless, it was amazing to imagine thatthis pyramid had lasted so well preserved for so many years.

The Pharaohs of Egypt built the pyramids so that they liveon past death. To ensure they would live a comfortable afterlife, they includedeverything they would need including food, servants, chariots, and clothing.While the Pharaohs probably did not end up living into the afterlife as theyexpected, they may have unintentionally achieved their goals. Thousands ofyears after their death, we still stand in wonderment and amazement at theirachievements. They have achieved immortality beyond their wildest dreams.

Day 2 - Cairo and the Pyramids

2009-12-26T18:00:00.000+02:00

Today was our first day inside Cairo. The fog returned andmade our viewing of the pyramids somewhat difficult. The pyramids were just asgrand as one would expect. What did surprise me, however, was there location.One always imagines the pyramids being in the middle of the desert. In reality,the pyramids jut up right next to a very poor neighborhood in Giza. In fact,there was a Pizza Hut and KFC that had a view of the pyramid.

The sphinx was also a lot smaller than I had expected. Inthe pictures, the sphinx always looks comparable in size to the pyramids. However,in reality the pyramids tower over the sphinx.

We also got the opportunity to go to the burial chamber ofthe Great Pyramid of Giza. The route was clearly not designed for hoards oftourists to visit. The route through the chamber either had a ceiling of 3 feetor a very steep incline. I bumped my head a few times, however it was worth itfor the Indiana Jones experience.

The second guide on our trip tried to convince us that thepyramids were not built by the slaves. I’m not sure whether Egypt is on amarketing campaign to rid themselves of this reputation, but the Egyptians havebeen making great effort to dispel this historical image. Our tour guide saidthat only love for one’s Pharaoh could create such beautiful buildings andartwork. While this romanticized version of history may help the tourismindustry, I am doubtful whether it has any truth. Love can be a strongmotivator; the whip can many times be even stronger.

We topped the day off with lunch at the Mena House. Thehotel, which is over 100 years old and had a view of the pyramids, felt like itwas straight out of the 1920’s.

Day 1 - Alexandria, Egypt

2009-12-25T18:00:00.000+02:00

Today we went to Alexandria. Alexandria was the capital ofEgypt from the time of Alexander the Great. We left bright and early in themorning and travelled over three hours to Alexandria. The weather was not whatone would expect of Egypt – foggy and damp. Upon arrival, we went to a numberof museums and sights.

One of the noticeable parts of Alexandria is the poverty.The apartments are victims of rent controlled pricing. The result is thatneither the landowners, nor the residents have an incentive to createimprovements, and the quality of the structures suffers.

None of the original sites from Alexandria exist. Anearthquake destroyed the famed lighthouse, a fire burned the 700,000manuscripts of the library, and the rest of the ancient city remains underground.Therefore the best way to see the city would be to scuba dive. Unfortunately, Iam the only one in my

family who scuba dives.

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the door of theTemple of Isis. The discovery of this door has been one of the biggest finds inrecent memory and we were there to see it. (See this article: Monumentlifted from Cleopatra's underwater city)

The trip back from Alexandria was incredibly difficult. Thetraffic in Egypt has been horrible. Unlike Asia, the driving is not so crazy asto force you to close your eyes as the cars shoot around. The gridlock,however, is unparalleled by any country I have visited. Cairo is a city ofapproximately 20+ million people, and it seems like everyone drives.

Egypt

2009-12-23T02:08:00.002+02:00

I haven't posted to this blog since I travelled to South East Asia. However, I'm finally reviving the blog for my upcoming trip to Egypt. We leave tomorrow (December 23) and will be gone through January 4.

I've been waiting to go on this trip for over a decade. We booked a trip to go to Egypt in December of 2001. However, after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, this trip was cancelled. We considered going again in 2003, however that was stifled by the looming threat of war in Iraq. Now that I am just 24 hours away from leaving, the only thing standing in my way is a massive blizzard in Los Angeles (unlikely).

I'm sick and tired of Blogger and have switched to Wordpress. You can follow my new blog at http://danziggy.wordpress.com/

Bangkok

2007-11-30T07:32:00.000+02:00

Just arrived in Bangkok and am begining the one month journey through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. I don't know how good the internet access will be in some of these countries, so this may be my last post for a while.

Expedition Borneo!!!

2007-11-24T09:34:00.000+02:00

(I haven't uploaded the pictures to my computer, so I will try and do so soon. Here is the text portion of our trip)

This week was reading week in Singapore, and while all the locals spent their week studying, Adam and I made a journey to the exotic island of Borneo.

Little did we realize that November and December are perhaps the worst months to visit Borneo. Borneo naturally gets a lot of rain by the fact that it is a rainforest, but November brings in Borneo's "rainy season." In reality it should be called the "downpour season" because the whole trip it rained and rained and rained...

Our first day there we went rafting down the Padas river. We were supposed to take a local train to the rafting location, but mudslides delayed the train and we had to take a train chartered by the tour company. The rapids were massive due to all the rain and our guide said that if the rains persisted they would have to cancel rafting trips the next day. Basically, we rafted on what was the maximum water level the tour company would "safely" let people raft on.

The next day, we made the great / terrible decision to hike Mt. Kinabalu. Mt. Kinabalu is the third tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, and the tallest on the island of Borneo. Here's how our trip progressed.

Wednesday:

6:00 AM - We wake, get dressed, and hop into a cab to Mt. Kinabalu national park.

9:00 AM - Start at 5,900 ft. ASL (above sea level) towards the top of Mt. Kinabalu wearing just shorts and a t-shirt. (Who would think you would need warm clothing in the tropics)

11:00 AM - Reach 8700 ft ASL and are freezing are butts off by now. It is raining, windy, and the air is quickly getting thinner and thinner.

1:30 PM - Reach mid mountain camp at 10,400 ft ASL and eat a light lunch / dinner. Although we are wet and freezing cold, they don't turn the heat on until 8:00 PM

4:00 PM till 2:00 AM - Sleep as much as possible as we shiver in the freezing cold.

Thursday:

2:00 AM - Wake up and grab a breakfast before heading up towards the summit. Some of the guides are refusing to take their groups up the mountain based on the unsafe conditions on the mountain. One by one we see people turning around saying the conditions were simply too harsh to summit.

2:30 AM - Adam and I decide to make a summit attempt.

4:00 AM - We arrive at about 13,000 ft ASL. Pretty much everyone has turned around at this point. We have reached a rock face that requires a rope to ascent. During good weather it is supposed to look like this:

But with all the rain, it might as well been back side of the waterfall. We made it a couple of yards up the rock face. There was no helmet, no harness, and no safety net. Simply my wet hands and the white rope. I turned my headlamp (it was pitch black) down the rock-face and realized how far we would fall if we slipped. With the conditions as they were, it was becoming too unsafe to continue. We turned around probably 1 km from the peak of Kinabalu.

5:30 AM - We arrive at mid mountain camp and try and sleep.

7:00 AM - Wake up and quickly make the 6 km trek down Mt. Kinabalu to the base.

12:00 PM - Adam is vomiting from altitude sickness and I can barely move.

It's a bit of an embarrassment that we were not able to summit Mt. Kinabalu. There were 70 Malaysian Air Force officers-in-training climbing the mountain that day and only 15 were able to summit. Of the rest of the people attempting the summit that day only one person made it further than Adam and I (he managed to summit). I don't regret our decision. It's easy now to think that we probably could have made it, but we had to make a decision based on the risks we thought we were taking. Had we slipped and fallen, we would have joined the dozens of people who have to be rescued off the mountain. The conditions were simply not conducive to an ascent. Coupled with a bad heel from my broken foot, I believe we made the right decision. Perhaps I am too risk averse to achieve an accomplishment like Mt. Kinabalu, but at least I'm safe back in Singapore. With just 1 km to the peak, deciding to turn back was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.

I'm in my last week in Singapore (just 3 more exams) and head to Thailand and Laos on Thursday!!!!!!!!!

Goin' goin' back back to Bali Bali!!!!

2007-11-18T18:38:00.000+02:00

On Friday afternoon I flew to Bali. I decided this about two hours before my flight. I had finished most of my work and couldn't think of a good reason to stay in Singapore. Everyone else had group projects and couldn't join me, but I could not possibly imagine spending 10 hours in class on Monday (my birthday), when the alternative was going to Bali. So, I bought my ticket and headed off to Bali alone.

Bali is paradise on earth. This beautiful island is almost a cliche of Southeast Asia. With beautiful rice terraces, crystal clear waters, smoking volcanoes, and gorgeous sunsets, Bali is the ultimate island paradise.

One of the highlights was "the mother temple" which was full of people celebrating some major Hindi holiday. I mistakingly wore shorts and had to wear a dhoti (similar to a sarong).

While I was at first a bit concerned about the safety of Bali( Bali has been hit by two bombings over the past few years that have killed over two hundred people--mostly tourists), I never felt unsafe. The state department has an advisory for Indonesia that deters many Americans from going. Not surprisingly, the people of Bali despise the terrorists who have committed this terror. The Balinese are predominantly Hindi people who have nothing in common with the Muslim terrorist groups. In fact, their tourist industry has been devastated by the terrorist bombings and you could tell many Balinese were struggling to make ends meet. You can see the monument to the Bali bombing below.

The highlight of my trip was scuba diving on my birthday. We dove at the USS Liberty in Tulamben, which was a World War II ship that was sunk by Japanese torpedos. The ship was almost 400 feet in length and still had the guns attached. I felt like James Cameron as I explored this immense wreck. The wreck had become a center of underwater sea life, and had an immense assortment of creatures. As my divemaster poked the sting ray to show me its tail, I couldn't help but think about Steve Irwin and his accident.

I had quite the 21st birthday on Monday night. On Tuesday I ended up vomiting at the airport and had to get a certificate from the airport doctor saying I had no transmittable diseases.

I am off to Borneo tomorrow to see the orangoutangs, sharks, and climb Mount Kinabalu (which is 14,000 ft). It should be quite the adventure...

Myanmar Red Tape

2007-11-07T12:04:00.000+02:00

So I was planning on going to Myanmar this weekend. I know. I know. You shouldn't go to Myanmar because it will help the military regime, which in turn harms innocent buddhist monks. Well it can't be helping the government that much, because it seems like they don't even want tourists. I had plans to leave on Friday to see Myanmar. Mike and I went to the visa office and were effectively rejected from going. They took our visa applications to the back for three and a half hours before they decided that we had to submit a formal request (alongside an itinerary) to Yangon, before we could receive approval. It wasn't because we were Americans either; a Swede in line ahead of us ran into the same troubles. Perhaps the man at the desk wanted a bribe or perhaps they were concerned Mike and I were journalists in disguise, but it looks like I'm not going to Myanmar. I guess there's a reason Myanmar is on the verge of collapsing.

The Singapore Open

2007-11-04T18:03:00.000+02:00

So Mike and I went to the Singapore Open today. Golf is huge here in Asia and Singapore is no exception. Fortunately Singapore is a small enough island that we were able to walk onto the course on Sunday and buy tickets the day of. On the whole the course was relatively empty and Mike and I got to get very close to a lot of the golfers. Angel Cabrera ended up winning the tournament, with Vijay Singh coming in a close second.

The golfers did not adapt to Asia well. Phil's first tournament in Asia was marred with complaints about the scorching heat and the food poisoning that lead to his caddy's early departure. Perhaps most interesting was Lee Westwood and Angel Cabrera's handling of the crowd. Early on in the tournament they and their caddies started yelling at spectators taking pictures. Rather than focusing on the game, they seemed more concerned that no one took pictures. Of course in Asia's camera obsessed culture, none of the spectators took note of their continual complaints.

I actually agreed with the spectators. These guys are professionals. If they can't handle a picture that makes no noise and has no flash, they shouldn't be competing in the game. Further, Angel spent more time pointing out disobedient spectators than dealing with his golf game. Nonetheless, the spectators should have stopped at the golfers' requests. Worse was the fact that there was construction right next to the tournament that was much louder than any cameras.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the tournament was when my Swedish friend got a "Caddy Pass" off a caddy leaving the tournament. We got to enjoy the last few pairings at the 18th hole in the VIP section with plenty of drinks and amazing food.

I got burnt of course, but overall it was a great day at the course.

China!

2007-10-22T06:59:00.000+02:00

So I'm back from my trip to China. It was quite the adventure. We started in Guangzhou and made our way north 2500 kilometers north towards Beijing with about 9 stops on the way. What amazed me was that although I had spent two months in China before, I had barely scratched the surface of China's treasures. Even after this second adventure I had still yet to see some of China's most amazing sights.
Our vacation was more of an adventure than a vacation. I packed a tiny bag (see below) and slept on trains and guest houses for five dollars a night. Because we came to China so ill prepared I got the opportunity to practice much of my Chinese as we struggled to get around.

Perhaps the biggest shock of China was Beijing. I had studied in Beijing during summer 2006 and felt that Beijing was one of the dirtiest and undeveloped cities in China. In about 400 days China had turned Beijing from a slum to one of the cleaner cities in China. The effort to clean Beijing up for the Olympics has been amazingly successful. The stadium progress looked like it was going well, yet it looked like they had a lot of work to do. You could see construction workers working in the wee hours of the morning. We had to sneak onto the grounds to get a glimpse of the new stadium.

One of the notable areas where Beijing still has lots of work is the prevention of counterfeit goods. China continues to claim that it is doing all it possibly can to curb the sale of counterfeit goods. Of course spending one day in Beijing's silk market paints a completely different picture. With over 1700 retailers and over 20,000 visitors daily, it is a running joke that the Chinese are making any efforts to stop it. The building is a monolithic building where you can find everything from Louis Vitton purses to North Face jackets. As you can see from the photos I took in the market, the vendors make no attempt to hide their sale of fake goods. Even more egregious was the fact that Beijing cops openly walked around the silk market past the hundreds of fake goods sitting out. Perhaps my favorite moment in the market was when a vendor refused to give me a price I wanted (Vendors usually start out with outrageous prices and then settle much lower -- for example my Columbia jacket started at $150 and I settled at $18). Because I was speaking in Chinese to the vendor I threatened to tell everyone in the store what they should pay for sunglasses (I paid $2.50 whereas the average person pays $10+). When I told everyone, they called the police to kick me out of the store. I laughed at the proposition that the largest crime being committed in the market was me informing westerners of the real price of goods.
Beijing was hosting the National Congress of the Communist Party of China while we were in Beijing. The NCCPC is held once every five years and is where many decisions about leadership and the future of China are made. Of course China had extra security around Tiananmen square (see below). Hu Jintao declared that China would never adopt western style democracy. What's most amazing about China is there unwillingness to free up the media. During the entire week it was nearly impossible to access any western media web sites. Additionally, with the Dalai Lama receiving a medal from Bush and coming to Emory, the Chinese media inundated the press with calls for the US not to support the Dalai Lama. They called the Dalai Lama a separatist who was trying to destroy China. Amazingly enough the Chinese media is effective in perpetrating their lies. In a long conversation on a train from Zhengzhou to Xi'an, three Chinese people thought Tiananmen was a myth of western media and Taiwan was rightfully theirs. Earlier in the week I was interviewed by the media, but couldn't honestly tell you what our conversation was about (it was in Chinese). I am sure they spun whatever I said to make America look bad.

The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the great wall. I had gone to a touristy section of the great wall before called Badaling and was very disappointed. Upon the recommendation of Frommers we decided to do a 7 mile hike of one of the unrestored parts of the wall (Simatai and Jinshanling). Mao Tsedong once said that "You're not a real man if you haven't climbed the Great Wall." Perhaps this is the only thing I actually agree with Mao on. One of the most exciting parts of the journey was zip lining off the great wall over a river that runs beneath it (You can see the video below).

Off to China!!!

2007-10-04T18:44:00.000+02:00

So I'm off to China the day after tomorrow. This may be my last post for a while as the last time I was in China nearly all my favorite websites were blocked (BBC, Wikipedia, blogger, etc.). At least I'm not going to Burma where the entire internet is shut down.

We're off for quite an adventure. Adam and I have to cover some 2500 miles of terrain in 16 days. We have 1 hotel booked and the rest of the trip we're going to play by ear. I'm excited and a little bit scared.

Before I leave, I have to take a test in business processes. I must say that being in Singapore gives me confidence that America is not doomed after all. We have now had two tests and I am amazed at the quality of education in Singapore. Our first test was open book, open note, and amazingly enough open laptop. The teacher also gave the students a practice test from the year before that was a near mirror image of the test he ended up administering. Rather than learn the concepts behind the questions, the students were more concerned with creating enormous excel sheets that could handle any scenario given by the teacher. If they would have just spent ten minutes thinking about how the concepts worked, they wouldn't need their fancy excel sheets and equations.

Further more, Singaporeans seem incapable of any creativity. When faced with creating a new business for entrepreneurial finance, the most creative idea my group members were able to come up with was a new restaurant. Needless to say America's entrepreneurial spirit and creativity will be our saving grace.

SCUBA!!!!

2007-10-01T03:09:00.000+02:00

Over the weekend I became a certified scuba diver!!! We went back to Tioman for four open dives that qualified us to dive. If you've never been scuba diving, it's one of the most amazing things you can ever do. The sensation of breathing 50 feet beneath the surface of the water is one of the most amazing experiences you can ever have.
Unfortunately we had a little bit more adventure than we bargained for. I apparently use a lot of air when I breath, and ran out of air on my first dive. Not realizing how quickly the final bit of air depletes from your Scuba tank, I had to share air with my buddy as we made an emergency ascent to the surface. In our second dive my buddy also had her share of problems when her tank was not properly turned on. While her tank was displaying full air pressure, the tank was feeding her less and less air as she slowly starved herself of oxygen. Fortunately we realized the problem and were able to avoid any sort of disaster.
Nemo did come out of his sea anenome for a quick photo.
There was quite a bit of wildlife on the island. Besides the monkey that threw coconuts at us, there were these giant lizards eating a shark. The shark was really far inland and I have no idea how it got there.
We also found an abandoned hotel on the island that was built as a first class resort, but never inhabited because of building code violations. It was a bit creepy walking through this abandoned hotel in the middle of the jungle. It reminded me a bit of those horror movies set at deserted island hotels (like I Still Know What You Did Last Summer).
The view from the hotel.

Disneyland with the Death Penalty

2007-09-13T12:39:00.000+02:00

So I've been writing a lot about the countries I've visited but I don't think I've actually done a blog post on Singapore. (I'll post about my weekend in Kuala Lumpur when I get the pictures onto my computer). This one is long, but hopefully worth it.

Ok... so if you've ever seen or read V for Vendetta, Aeon Flux, or 1984 you have a basic idea of what Singapore is like. Singapore is a dystopia at its heart. It's a place where everything works and everybody obeys (some people call it Disneyland with the death penalty).

In some ways Singapore is an economist's dream. It shows how incentives can be used to solve any problem. Singapore was the first to introduce a congestion charge by charging people who entered busy parts of the city. They also fine you for nearly everything. Do anything the government doesn't want you to do and you pay a fine. (I almost got a $120 fine for not wearing a seatbelt until the officer saw my cast and crutches and let me go).

For the most part it works. The city is the cleanest city I've ever been to (chewing gum is illegal) and everything runs very efficiently. Unemployment is at 2.4%, making it one of the lowest in the world. Unfortunately with so much order comes stifled creativity. People are so used to being told by the government how to save their money (they have a crazy social security system) and live all parts of their lives, that they are unable to think on their own. In one of my group projects we had to come up with new business ideas and all they could think of were restaurants and cleaning services.

The city also uses scare tactics to motivate its people. On the transit system they have a video of a terrorist blowing up a train to encourage people to report suspicious packages. To discourage jaywalking, Singapore has pictures of dead bodies with the words "Jaywalking Kills" beneath it.
Unfortunately this safety, cleanliness, and security comes at an expense. The country lacks the most basic political freedoms. If someone gets bitten by a mosquito in your apartment complex, they can report it to the NEA. The NEA then has a right to come into all the apartments in the complex and fine anyone who has standing water.
Further, politics are nearly nonexistent here. There have been three prime ministers in Singapore and it might as well be a monarchy. Lee Kuan Yew founded Singapore and ruled it for 30 years, and now his son, Lee Hsien Loong is the current prime minister. Lee Hsien Loong's wife is the CEO of the largest company in Singapore (which is paid for through social security), and it seems the Lee's have their hand in nearly every aspect of Singapore. The People's Action Party (PAP) is the only party that has ever won an election in Singapore.
(This is their cartoonish looking logo)
The leader of the opposition party has been bankrupted three times and Chia Thye Poh is the longest serving political prisoner in the world (beating out even Nelson Mandela).

Oh yeah, there is one place where you have freedom in Singapore. It's called Speaker's Corner. If you register with the police, promise not to talk about religion or race, and speak in an official language then you can speak your mind. The media aren't allowed to report on speeches there. It's pretty crowded as you can see below.
But with all these lack of freedoms Singaporeans are happy. They are willing to sacrifice their freedom in order to have security and safety. In a debate in one of my classes they simply did not understand the importance of freedom. Perhaps it is because things have worked for the last 42 years or perhaps it is because they have never eaten from the fruit of freedom. When things do start going badly, Singaporeans will not have the mechanisms to protect themselves from the government.

Maybe one day I'll wake up from the Matrix that is Singapore.

Malaysia and Indonesia

2007-09-03T03:07:00.000+03:00

So we up and went to Malaysia and Indonesia...
Perhaps we could have done with a little better planning.
On Thursday morning Adam and I woke up at 8:00 A.M. to go to Malaysia.
After tiredly packing my small bag we hopped (literally -- I'm on crutches) into a taxi to where the taxi driver told us we could take a bus to Malaysia. He was right and we hopped on some bus that promised to take us to the border of Singapore and Malaysia. At the border I negotiated with a cab driver (in chinese) to take us to the port that would take us to Tioman Island. The two and a half hour cab ride would cost the four of us $10 each.

Unfortunately you could see the ground beneath us as if it were a Flintstones car.We then hopped on a Ferry to Tioman Island. It had one exit and I could just imagine reading about us in the news the next day. We refused to buy a hotel room ahead of time because we thought we were being ripped off. When we got to the island we learned that most of the island was full because of a school holiday. The last ferry had already left. After being rejected from four "hotels" we found a group of chalets on the beach that were willing to house us. I was grateful because I had been doing all this "shopping" on my two crutches. It was a little third world but we had a great time. Tioman was gorgeous. We spent most of the weekend sitting in a hammock and snorkeling.

These are the shacks we stayed in.
This was one of the gorgeous snorkelling areas.

Our snorkeling boatand a monkey on a chain????

2 Bus rides, 2 taxi rides, 2 ferry rides, 3 nights of "hotel", a six hour snorkel tour, all our meals, drinks, and free fire twirling lessons = $115 (that includes tip and tax)

I am so glad we went to south east asia instead of Europe where a one way train ticket between London and Manchester would have cost that much

Indonesia was amazing as well.

I broke my foot

2007-08-15T16:17:00.000+03:00

Of course I'm the first to visit Singapore General Hospital. I broke my foot. I'll send more details later, but here's an x-ray for you to enjoy.

Angkor Wat!

2007-08-06T17:00:00.000+03:00

We saw the main temple in Angkor Wat today and it lived up to the hype. Frommer's calls Angkor the Disneyland of temples. Just one of these temples would be a destination in itself! Angkor seems to have an endless number of beautiful temples that go on forever.

We too have been hit by the rain in south Asia and it hasn't stopped raining for days. Unfortunately with rain has come dengue fever and the local hospital had warnings about a dengue fever epidemic. We spent much of the trip swatting mosquitoes to make sure we didn't get sick.

Off to Singapore tomorrow!!!! I hope I find housing pretty soon because right now I'm homeless.

Saigon and Cambodia

2007-08-05T18:04:00.000+03:00

Ahhhh... so we arrived at China Beach for some R & R. China Beach is where US troops went for rest and relaxation during the war. It was a nice break from the busy cities in Vietnam.
We then made our way south to Ho Chi Minh City, which is by far the most western city in Vietnam. Our tour guide had family in Orange County (as do all Vietnamese) and had actually visited there once. I got really depressed in HCM after visiting the War Remnants museum. I have been to third world countries before, but here in Vietnam I felt much greater guilt and shame knowing that my country was responsible for these atrocities.

Today we flew from Saigon to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. We have yet to see the main temple in Angkor, but I am already amazed by these ruins. I have been to many wonders of the world, including 4 of the new 7 wonders of the world, and I think Angkor Wat is more amazing than all the ones I have seen.
More amazing than the ruins of Angkor are the people. I now understand why Angelina Jolie adopted Maddox (and its not just because of his Mohawk). For a country that has been ravaged by the worst violence in recent history, the people here are some of the most gracious and peaceful people I have ever met. Being in Cambodia has been an eye opening experience for me. China and Vietnam are nowhere nearly as impoverished as Cambodia.

Central Vietnam (Hue and Hoi An)

2007-08-03T18:15:00.000+03:00

I haven't been able to post to the blog because it seems as though Vietnam has blocked blogspot. I finally figured out a workaround that is letting me post this. Free speech endures!

We spent the day in Hanoi where we saw Uncle Ho embalmed kind of like Mao or Lenin. The viewing was very strict and I seemed to be doing everything wrong. Everyone walked two by two in an amazingly orderly line. Wherever I put my hands guards yelled at me. Apparently you had to stand at attention with your arms at your sides. Of course no one could tell me this because speaking was not allowed.

Being tall in Asia is both a blessing and a curse. As I walk around, everyone stares at me thinking I'm part of the NBA. Unfortunately, the ceilings in Asia are too low for people of my height. I slammed my head against a beam yesterday and found myself on the floor. As I walked around with a bag of ice on my head all the locals made fun of my clumsiness.

When I asked our tour-guide later that day why he thought the US entered Vietnam, he said that the American's were seeking to steal Vietnam's natural resources -- primarily gold, coal, and oil. It's amazing how effective Vietnamese propaganda is. In some of the palaces we visited, the government points out bullet holes created by US troops.

We're off to Saigon -- err, I mean Ho Chi Minh City tonight and I will post soon!

Vietnam and Ha Long Bay

2007-07-30T17:27:00.000+03:00

So we finally arrived in Vietnam and made our way to Ha Long Bay.

It is a UNESCO word heritage site, and one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen
You can see below how beautiful Ha Long Bay is:
We took a cruise around the bay and ate lunch on the boat.
The country is really poor and you can tell it in all aspects of life here.
Over eighty percent of the population farms rice and all you can see for miles are rice paddies.
One of the most interesting things about Vietnam is their treatment of the Vietnam War.
They call it the “American War,” which reminds you there are two sides to every conflict.
They also claim that the Vietnamese were victorious against the American oppressors.
Fortunately, the Vietnamese love Americans and blame the government and not the people for the war.

Later in the day we arrived in Hanoi and shopped around a little bit.
The King of Kuwait is celebrating the anniversary of his crowning at our hotel and I got to see all the diplomats come into the hotel. There was a lot of security all over the hotel to protect the diplomats.

We tour around Hanoi tomorrow and I should have more photos later...

My First Post!

2007-07-26T06:18:00.001+03:00

Welcome to my blog! The day after tomorrow I leave on the World's Longest Flight for Singapore.

So why am I creating a blog?

I have enjoyed reading Dima and Nicolai's blogs about their travels and figured I would start a blog of my own.

If you know Singapore or me, you've probably realized we weren't designed for each other. Singapore is an authoritarian country that bans everything including chewing gum, failing to flush toilets after use, pornography, and jaywalking. This is the place where they caned Michael Fay for vandalizing a couple of cars. It has two nicknames: "Disneyland with the death penalty" and "a fine city."
If you know me, you know authority and I don't get along. Further, most of you know how I feel about communism (Vietnam, etc.) -- in case you don't know, I like communism as much as I like liberals, french people, hippies, and feminists.

(I swear I'm not becoming a communist)

So why go to Singapore?
To be honest, I don't know. I've now studied abroad in three countries (England, China, and Spain) and I figured I would try something new. They speak Chinese and English in Singapore, meaning I'll get to practice both of my languages. I only have classes two days a week and expect to travel for the rest of the time.

Anyway, I'm off to Vietnam and Cambodia on Sunday! Hopefully I will have some great pictures to share (I'll try and keep the posts short and picture intensive -- kind of like little kids books).

-董马各 (my chinese name -- Dong Ma Ge)