SE Asia Travel Destinations Advice

I know its been a while since I last wrote in my blog but yes, I'm still in Singapore. The Fulbright is long over and I'm finishing up my MSc in Building.

For the sake of my buddy Kevin who will be traveling to SE Asia, I thought I would outline all the places I've traveled to since I've been here to give him an idea of the must see places! No sense in only sharing with him though so here we go:

Indonesia
West Java - Mt. Bromo and Ijen Crater - Magnificent and well worth it! Only problem is getting there. I was in a big group and we went through a tour company which was around $100 USD per person. Probably cheaper (but a much bigger challenge) if going by bus or even hitch hiking.

East Java - Jakarta and southern coast - I had a friend who is from Jakarta and we drove down to this little fishing village called Sawarna on the southern coast which was insanely awesome and no tourists. Awesome surfing if you could find a board down there. Once again it is really tough to get to. Jakarta is huge, dirty and uninteresting unless you know someone there. I have some friends there so ask me if you want a hookup.

Bali - Bali is VERY touristy in some spots. We stayed in Kuta which is the "party" area which I don't recommend unless that is what you're there for. Better to stay in the north or the west if you want quiet and culture. The temples and culture there are unbeatable.

Malaysia
Kuala Lampur - just another big city but the food is good and it is interesting if you know someone there.
Penang Island - supposed to be the food capital of Malaysia but I was unimpressed. Skip this one.
Malacca - cool little colonial style town near Singapore. Great history and vibe.
Borneo - Sarawak - Kuching is a charming city and the jungle that surrounds it (Bako National Park) is fun to explore.

Thailand
Phuket - Tourist central. Beaches are not that good. Skip this place.
Krabi - Near Phuket but much better in my opinion. Still quite touristy. Try getting a boat to one of the adjacent islands.
Bangkok - Culture is awesome and the bars are fun and cheap. Kao San road is a must to hang out with other back-packers. There is a weekend market in the northern part of the city with is worth going to

Cambodia
Phnom Phen - Interesting city if you dig in a bit. A lot of crazy history from the Khmer Rouge.
Siem Reap - A MUST SEE in Asia. The temples will blow your mind. My strategy there was to go to the smaller temples to get away from the mobs of tourists and just chill with a little picnic or something. Siem reap as a city is probably the most touristy place I've ever been in my life.

Vietnam
 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - This city is crazy, fast, and the number of motorcycles on the road will blow your mind. Lots of really awesome food and a few things to see. I have some friends there as well.

Philippines
Manila - a big, dirty city. Not much to see
Cebu Island - lots of amazing beaches, food, and the people are the coolest in Asia. This culture is the most similar to Latin America that I have seen

Now for some places that I'm dying to go to:
Sumatra - Lake Toba
Kota Kinabalu - Climb Mt. Kinabalu
Laos
Burma
Beaches in central Vietnam
Philippines exploring
Langkawi, Malaysia
Tioman, Malaysia
Perhentians, Malaysia
Koh Samui, Thaliand

What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of Singapore?

So a couple weeks ago, I was having a slight debate with a few of my Singaporean friends regarding the world's perception of Singapore - what is the first thing people think of when they think of Singapore?

My guess was that most American, specifically mid-westerners, wouldn't know too much about Singapore, and what they did know would probably be based on two things: Banned Chewing Gum and Caning (from the infamous American kid in the 90s who got caught spray painting cars). My argument was that if Singapore did something as simple as just lift the "ban" on selling chewing gum - they would be more successful in attracting foreign talent from developed western countries. No matter how silly the chewing gum ban may seem, I see it as a symptom of the fundamental authoritarianism that exists in the gov't here.

So the results of the survey came out a little more random that I thought - I didn't get many "chewing gum" or "caning" responses like I anticipated but the responses were very much varied and interesting. There was about 70 total responses:




When focusing only on Nebraskans, the results are highly skewed towards neutral and negative. I think a lot of this is due to Nebraskans having absolutely no clue what to think about when someone mentions Singapore.

Philippines and Fulbrighters

It was a busy last couple weeks as I headed to Manila for a Fulbright Conference and presented my research.



Afterwards, my fellow Fulbrighter Lauryn and I took a trip to Malapascua on the northern edge of Cebu Island. Pictures are here. Plus a few videos a I took on the way there:

Me chillin' and waitin for a Mango shake in a beautiful resort on the island.


Our awesome bus ride complete with interesting smoke coming from the wheels.


Little kids on the island making their own fun!

Quick Survey

Ok, so I have a very easy favor to ask of everyone - please take ten seconds and fill out this two question survey:  http://goo.gl/AvPU

Lots of Work to do! Such a nice day outside! Dilemma?

With my project in full swing after a 3:45AM EnergyPlus conference call last week and fifteen million other obligations which I have committed myself to, I have a lot of stuff to work on this weekend.

But it's sooo nice outside! Probably around 75F, sunny, and breezy. Dilemma? Nope:

"Singapore's producing far too few babies"

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! Last week was the first of the Chinese New Year! It is officially the Year of the Tiger now. While I think that it would be pretty awesome to be born under such an awesome animal - the Chinese disagree and probably plan to have fewer children as the Tiger is seen as "inauspicious".

The Prime Minister even had something to say about that in his address for the new year.

For those of you that aren't familiar with Chinese New Year festivities, its bigger than Christmas for the Chinese, a time to visit family and friends and wish them "Gong Xi Fa Cai!" (literally "wishing you enlarge your wealth" - here are some good examples of the meyhem:

What do you know about the world?

I'd like to consider myself pretty passionate about learning about the world and I thought that I was doing decent job by traveling, talking, meeting people from different cultures, etc. While all of these things are very important in developing an accurate perspective, my viewpoint is still skewed by preconceived notions and it is still very difficult to see the big picture when one can only be exposed to a relatively small view of an new environment and is left to form an opinion from that experience. That is why it is important to also understand the actual facts from behind the scenes - facts which are usually hidden in survey, statistics, and databases which one must search for, aggregate, normalize, visualize, etc, etc - things the average person isn't going to do or be interested in. 


Earlier this morning I watched a lecture by Hans Rosling, a Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institutet and Director of the Gapminder Foundation. He gives an amazing demonstration of a statistical visualization software which he has helped developed for the purpose of "Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view." After watching his lecture I was really blown away at the potential for this type of data visualization in the energy field and haven't gotten a single thing done today besides read about Gapminder.


I encourage you to spend twenty minutes to check out the lecture - it's well worth it.

The Singapore Solution — National Geographic Magazine

Thanks to my fellow Fulbrigher Lauryn, I was clued in on an article from the latest issue of National Geographic magazine. If anyone out there wants to understand the atmosphere of the place I'm living right now then you must read this article! Lee Kuan Yew, the youth, the food, the culture, everything is spot on.

The following picture is an awesome diagram of how much Singapore has changed over the last 44 years. I'm not using this with official permission but don't turn me in. :)

Also, if you have a chance and are interested in Asian politics, check out this interview with Singapore's very own Lee Kuan Yew. He has really seen it all in this region and his views are fascinating. The video below is the first of a series on youtube:

Saigon

The next December trip which I will chronicle is my adventure to the Mekong River delta in Cambodia and Vietnam with my old roommate from Omaha, Kyle. Kyle stopped in Singapore on his way back to London where he studying to take over the world at the London School of Economics. Our adventure began after a rowdy New Year's Eve in Singapore and a victorious Husker bowl victory. The latter was all that more sweeter since I was able to enjoy watching it with a fellow Husker fan - a rarity in Singapore.

Our journey began in Saigon (the communists named it Ho Chi Minh City after the war but Saigon sounds cooler, in my humble opinion). We arrived in good shape, found our guest house at the end of a weird narrow alley and started to explore. Later that evening we met up with one of Kyle's old coworkers, Dan, from Omaha who moved with his family from Vietnam almost 20 years ago and was just visiting his home for the first time since then. Dan also hooked us up with one of his friends, Calvin, who also is a native but has since moved to the US and became an American citizen. Between these two guys and their nieces and nephews, we were given as full of a tour of the city as one can get in two days!!

View Saigon in a larger map

Below are a few of the main pictures from our escapades around Saigon. The rest can be found HERE.

The war remnants museum from the Vietnam War was one of the most fascinating places that we visited. It was essentially the Viet Cong's propaganda-filled account of how the war went down. There were numerous references to the "War of American" aggression and the "Liberation Armies" march towards Saigon. After the war, the city was renamed after the father of Vietnamese Communism, Ho Chi Minh.

This is our tour guide group - the nephews and nieces of Dan and Calvin. They showed us around and helped us understand the culture and we helped them practice their English.

An example of the prominently posted quotes which filled a majority of the museum.

Some less than pleasant descriptions and photos of what war can do.

"Reunification Palace" aka the Presidential Palace of the old South Vietnam

The President's Conference Room

The helicopter pad on the roof that was utilized during the Fall of Saigon

And now for some entertaining videos from our adventure in Saigon. The first one gives an example of the RIDICULOUSly crazy moto traffic that can be encountered in Vietnam and the other is an amazing Vietnamese BBQ meal which we shared in our first night in town.

West Java, Indonesia

The month of December began with final exams for my courses and then a series of adventures around the region combined with many attempts at making progress on my project. I was able to cover parts of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia over three trips with many good friends, epic scenery, and mind-blowing cuisine. In an effort to document these trips, I'm going to start doing a weekly blog post on each of the destinations from my holiday adventures. This can help make up for the lack of excitement that the next few months will probably entail as the project will get priority over the fun.

The first adventure that I'll cover is my journey to Jakarta and West Java Indonesia to visit my friend Fitria who was such an awesome host to me in her home country. For the geographically challenged out there, below is a map of the destinations.

View West Java Adventure in a larger map

We spent the first few days hanging out in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Jakarta is a massive, crowded, chaotic city that you really need to have a local guide to appreciate. It is the largest city on the island of Java which has a population of over 124 million people. Java Island itself seems sort of like one huge village; the population density is 979 /km² (2,540 /sq mi). Compare that to the state of Nebraska at 8.88 /km² (23 /sq mi); almost 100 times more dense!! We explored Jakarta for a couple days and ended up going to one of Fitria's friend's wedding which was a neat experience for a westerner like me.

Old Dutch Colonial Headquarters in Jakarta

Me chillin downtown with some Indonesian dudes

The Bride and Groom at the wedding just after finishing the reception line

Street Performer in Jakarta who didn't quite have his act perfected

After Jakarta we headed for the coast to an awesome beach village called Sawarna to meet up with a bunch of other Indonesia friends. It was a seven hour drive despite the fact that its only about 100 miles away - the crazy traffic and roads are hard to describe but we made it in one piece thanks to Fitria's driving skills. We stayed at a family's home in the village for a few days with all meals cooked for us and motorcycle transportation provided to beaches, caves, and other random places in the village. It was truly an awesome experience to hang out in a really non-touristy area with local people, food, and deserted beaches. Someday I plan on coming back to this place!!

Enjoying a Bintang on our own beach

Mind-blowing lobster fresh from the sea

Java cave exploration

The whole Sawarna crew!

Sawarna Beach