Vikingess Voyages

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The skies of Bangkok are crying for Japan

Anette 12:09:00 AM

The Norwegian government has requested that all Norwegian citizens leave Japan as soon as possible, and I don't know what will happen.. I just got a message that my university in Norway demands all students to return as well.

In the mean time the rain is pouring down here in Bangkok, even though it usually doesn't rain much at this time of the year. Another side-effect of the earthquake perhaps..?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Thailand

New Road Guesthouse, Bangkok - Thailand

Anette 11:17:00 PM

The place me and Adaora stayed at while in Bangkok, was a small hostel called New Road Guest House situated near the Sky Bar south-west in the city.

The main reason for us to stay there was the prices. We only payed about 7 dollars pr night pr person, and when you are travelling on a low budget that is just perfect. Arriving at the hostel it really looked like a nice place as well.

The entrance to New Road Guesthouse

And the reception

In the morning they hold information meetings here both in English and also Danish. In adition to this you can have them make phone calls for you. This costs 10 bath per minute, unless the phone call is made to a cellphone in which case they charge 20 bath per minute.

Also, they might try to rip you off when it comes to the length of the call, so I suggest you have a timekeeper avable so that you can make sure the call lasted as long as they say.

Another funny thing is that the evening we arrived the guy at the reception wanted 20 bath from us when we asked for a map of Bangkok, but we said no thanks. In the morning at the information meeting the lady who held the meeting gave us the same map for free.. Although it's not much money we are talking about, I still find it kind of strange that the other guy tried to make us pay for one the evening before..

They also have a nice little restaurant with a breakfast-buffet in the morning. This is not included in the price though.

Seperate from the main hotel building they have another building with a bar and a room you can rent for 200 bath (which you get back) where they have a TV and some DVDs you can borrow for a couple of hours (though this room was always taken already when me and Adaora wanted to use it).

If you want to use the internet they have computers here, and to use the computer they charge 60 bath/hour.
Anyway, the bar area is very cozy, here are some pictures of it:

They also have some books and games to keep you entertained during your stay.

If you go out from the back of the bar they have a small space outside as well.

Not to mention a billiard table!

All in all the hostel is quite alright, specially considering the price. The rooms are, however, not that nice.. There are mold in the walls and the rooms looks like it needs some re-decoration. Still, considering the price for staying here it is not that bad. You are probably not going to spend that much time in your room anyway.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Thailand

Exploring Asia: Bangkok - Thailand

Anette 10:13:00 PM

On Sunday me and Adaora left Taipei heading for Thailand's capital Bangkok. The plane was delayed by almost one hour, and when we finally arrived it was already late.

At first we were a bit sceptical to the place we were staying at: arriving late at night the area seemed kind of suspicious. Not to mention that our hostel, called New Road Guesthouse, was situated in what seemed like a dark back-alley. However, in the morning time on Moday the empty streets had turned into nice food markets, and in the area there was also a lot of small stores and things to see.

Adaora checking out local food at a nearby market.

Our hotel had an infomeeting in the morning, so after getting some tips about the area we headed out by Tuk-tuk (ตุ๊กตุ๊ก), which is a three-wheeled vehicle looking like a motorbike with seats for passengers.

This is an easy and cheap way to travel; tuk-tuks are basically everywhere, and they will NOT hesitate to try to convince you to take a ride with them. However, most of them has so-called "sponsers": souvenir- and tailor-shops gives them free petrol cards if they bring new customers to their store. so don't get confused if you end up in places you originally didn't plan to go.

Me and Adaora also experienced tuk-tuk drivers who did not want to drive us to a tailors store, because I had already already ordered the dress and was going back only for the fittings, which meant that the tuk-tuk driver would not get free patrol cards..

And yeah, as previously mentioned I ended up buying a new dress at one of the tailor stores. In addition to being pretty cheap (at least compared to what it would have costed back in Norway) it is an interesting experience as well.

Me being measured at the tailor-store.

After spending most of my dollars buying the dress me and Adaora continued our sightseeing-trip, heading for some of the smaller temples in the area. First stop was Wat Thepthidaram, a small temple in the west-side of the city.

Me and Adaora inside the temple.

And the temple from the outside.

Wat Benchamabophit

From the first temple we headed off to see the second for the day: Wat Benchamabophit. This temple was more interesting than the first one, not only because of it size but also because of the surroundings of the temple. Luckily the weather was nice (the only day in Thailand we had good weather), so we went for a stroll in the park there and just chilled out.

And here are some more pictures of the temple..!

.. Aaand a little close-up!

Picture of the temple taken from the other side of a small river in the temple area.

There were not that many tourists in the area either, so it was so nice and peaceful there.

After finishing the last temple visit we walked down to Chinatown, which was somewhere between the temples and our hotel.

The gate to Chinatown with a more traditional Thai temple in the background.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Taiwan

Last days in Taiwan: Taipei 101, City life and MTV

Anette 1:31:00 PM

Today me and Adoara are continuing our adventure with a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. So here comes my last blog post from Taiwan! We have had a really stay here, and much thanks to our friends Lois and Alan we have got to try a lot of interesting and delicious Taiwanese food, seen a lot and in general had a really good time here. I know I speak for us both when I say that we are really thankful.

On Monday we met up with Alan, our guide for the day. He and his friend took us around in Taipei to many different places, and thanks to them we got to see a lot of the city.

Me, Adaora and our travel guide for the day, Alan, in the middle.

Though our main goal was the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall, we decided to walk there from our meeting point at the Taipei Railway Station. Thanks to this we got the chance to take a look at the Presidential Office Building, which was build during the time the Japanese ruled Taiwan in the early 1900s.

Every day they have parades outside the building; one in the morning when the Taiwanese flag is raised and one in the afternoon when the flag is taken down, and we just got in time to see the second one. Lucky!

After a short walk, and after a quick stop at Alan's university, we arrived at the memorial hall of Chiang Kai-shek. This place was build after the president died in 1975, and inside the memorial hall you can see a big Chiang Kai-shek statue.

If you go up the stairs to take a closer look at the statue, you also get a nice view of the square in front of it. The building to the left is the National Theater and Concert Hall.

After our visit to the memorial hall Alan took us to Shilin market, which is considered the largest market in Taipei. The trip by the metro is easy and cheap, it usually costs between 20 and 25 Taiwanese Dollars to get there by metro depending on where in the city you are. You should try to avoid going there on weekends though, cause the place will be crammed.

Private cinemas in Taipei

Another interesting thing we tried out during our stay in Taiwan was a MTV cinema. When that is said, this MTV has nothing to do with the TV-channel most people probably would think of when hearing this word. On the contrary, a Taiwanese MTV is a place where you can rent your own room to watch movies!

It kind of felt like the Japanese karaoke-boxes where you hire a room for yourself and your friends, and then spend the evening there singing.

The MTV we tried out was situated in the top of the shopping center U2 in Ximending, and offered a wide selection of DVDs that one could choose from, including both old and new ones.

Since they had a special offer going on, we payed 210 Taiwanese Dollars to watch two movies instead of 180 Dollars for one.

You can order both the room and the movies you want to watch simply by using the machines here. Luckily our friend Lois handled the ordering, since its all in Chinese (I'm actually not certain if the machine has English text as well, since we let her handle it. But I'm pretty sure some of the staff should be able to help.)

Adaora, Lois and her boyfriend in our private cinema with two big and comfy coaches.!

A picture of Adaora, the screen and the table with our snack for the evening. Though we decided to bring our own snack with us, it is also possible to order snack and even some meals from the counter.

Here is one of the hallways where the private movie rooms are located.

Ohh, and by the way if you want to watch movies there in the evening, make sure to bring your ID! In order to prevent youngsters from watching movies all night apparently there has been made some restrictions so that people under 18 can't watch movies that ends after 12 o'clock.

Last days in Taiwan

We stayed in Taipei for a total of 9 days, which honestly speaking is more then enough to see what there is to see on the island.

Unfortunately the weather was not that good, so when we went to Taipei 101 we didn't get to see much.

Adaora in front of Taipei 101, which is a combined shopping center and observatory.

A closer picture of Taipei 101. Though it has an observatory in one of the upper floors we decided not to check it out. It wouldn't be possible to see much because of the weather anyway.

But we did walk around inside the building though! Mainly it consists of really expensive shops such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and so forth, but the are also an area where they sell food in the basement.

On our last evening here we met up with Alan again, and he and another friend took us to the National Palace Museum.

Every Saturday between 18:30-20:30 the entrance is free, so we just payed a total of 50 Taiwanese Dollars for the metro to Shilin and then 30 TD for the bus from there to the museum tour-retour.

Arriving at night, the museum looks more like a palace than a museum.

The gate to the museum.

And the museum itself lit up by night looks really pretty. The museum itself contains paintings, ceramics, calligraphy and much more, mostly originating from China. If you go on a Saturday to get the free entrance you sure have to hurry if you want to see it all!

A visit to the museum can easily be combined with a trip to the market in Shiling. Just beware that it is going to be crowded if you choose to go there on a Saturday;)

Related blogposts

All blogposts from Taiwan

Friday, March 11, 2011

Earthquake

Earthquake in Japan

Anette 6:32:00 PM

Today there was a big earthquake in Japan, just a couple of hours ago.
Here in Taiwan we haven't noticed anything, though there might be a tsunami coming later.

Anette

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Taiwan

A Shitty Experience at Taipei Modern Toilet Restaurant

Anette 11:18:00 PM

Today my travel buddy Adaora and I went on a visit to the restaurant with the flattering name "Modern Toilet". And yes, the name of the restaurant pretty much says it all - Your basically eating in a restaurant which is designed as a bathroom. Not to mention that the dishes looks like they have been taken directly from the toilet.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Taiwan

Sightseeing in Taiwan: Taipei & Tainan

Anette 1:19:00 AM

Me and Adaora started our Asia-trip on Friday the 4th of March, and our first stop was Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Arriving there in the evening, we were greeted by Adaora's friend Lois and her brother, which by the way have been so kind to us. They have showed us around the city and made us taste a lot of special Taiwanese food (though Adaora don't want to admit it after knowing what it was, I'm pretty sure she liked that snake-soup deep down inside.. Hahaha:p).

First thing we did after arriving in Taiwan, was to check out one of Taipei's many street markets. In the street markets you can find anything from clothes to strange food, and among others we got to try the so-called "stinky tofu", which basically is fermented tofu.

The things they sell in the markets are really cheap, and most clothes costs between 100 and 390 Taiwanese dollars. I guess we will be doing some shopping before we leave for Thailand..

A temple right next to the Raohe St. Night Market.

Our second day in Taiwan was spent in the city center, where they have a lot of fancy stores and stuff like that (and an area called Shibuya, just like in Tokyo..). Again, a lot to see and new food to try out.

One thing we have noticed here in Taiwan, is that the influence from Japan is strong. We see a lot of Japanese products, food, manga characters - and maids in the street.. For some reason we haven't seen any Japanese-styled hosts though:p

Adaora in front of Chingshan temple, which even has a digital clock built in it.. Practical, huh..

Flowers inside the temple

A local lady in Taipei making dumplings, which we had for breakfast on Sunday. After breakfast we drove out of the capital, heading for the city Tainan, which is the fifth largest city in Taiwan.

The city of Tainan is among others known for some alleys with this special style of the houses. Above the entrances the name of the owner used to be written, but nowadays people prefer houses in western style so only a few houses like these remains.

The Daxi bridge is also known as the Valentines Bridge. If you cross it together with your loved one this is supposed to give you a strong and lasting relationship.

Later that day we visited a small park where statues of the late President Chiang Kai-Shek in Cihu. The statues has been collected from all over the country, and there are basically hundreds of them.

Right by the memorial park there is a place called Daxi Flower Ocean Farm Ranch, which is known for beautiful flowers and not to mention a lot of Taiwanese dramas. Personally I haven't watched a single Taiwanese drama, but Adaora was really happy about visiting this place.

Now we have five days left here in Taiwan before we leave for Thailand, and I'll probably be back with another update before that.