Hitch-hiking Guide for Amateurs

I often read about adventurous backpackers hitch-hiked their way through their trip to save on transportation costs. I never had the guts to do that until I got my chance in Vietnam.

I took a train from Hue to Danang. I was hoping to meet some backpackers who would share a taxi with me to the Cham museum in Danang, then continue on to Hoi Ann from there. Unfortunately there were no lone backpackers around nor any others who were interested to share costs with me. I had no choice but to just take a taxi from the train station to the museum first, before I came up with another solution. My Lonely Planet guide stated that there are mini bus service from the museum to Hoi Ann. When I asked at the museum, the people there either didn't understand my English, or they have totally no clue on the public transport in that area. They all advised me to take a taxi. However, I was quite determined NOT to take a taxi on my own. The taxi cost was over my cheapskate budget.

Desperate, I started to look around at the museum for potential tourists who might let me hitch a ride in their car (if they rented one) for a small fee. Luckily, I really made a very wise choice, I got it right the first time! I approached a Swiss guy in his 40s who was travelling with his wife on a private tour. I asked if they would let me share their car to Hoi Ann for a fee. He was kind enough to offer me the ride for free! Besides that, I even got the chance to drop by at 2 other sights along the way to Hoi Ann - MyKhe and China Beach (a popular beach getaway for soldiers of the Vietnam War before they went for yet another battle). I wanted to buy them coffee to return their favour but unfortunately the cafes by the beach were all closed because it was the super low season.

Without spending a single cent, I arrived in Hoi Ann safely by hitching a ride. For that, I can now claim that I've hitch-hiked in Vietnam! :D

So my tips for amateur hitch-hikers are:
1) Look for older men who's either travelling alone, or with just 1 companion, preferably a woman
2) Women are ok too, but women are usually more careful and wouldn't like to share their car with strangers
3) Look for rich-looking tourists
4) Chances of getting a safe ride is higher if you hitch a ride from tourists, than with locals (just an opinion, I'm sure there are many kind-hearted locals out there, just that I've yet to meet one)
4) It helps if you are a girl. :)




*The hitch-hiker and the Swiss guy at China Beach*

Sleeping in Airports

I am not a morning person, so naturally, I hate early morning flights. I usually choose to 'camp' in airports if I couldn't avoid early morning flights. But of course the ultimate reason is to save on accomodation cost for such a short night.

So far, I've slept overnight in 3 airports throughout my life. My first experience of sleeping in airport was in Miami airport with a friend after our Florida trip. Now that I think back, we were really brave! We just found a corner of the airport, rolled out our sleeping bag and slept soundly. We woke up to a surprisingly busy airport the next day. It was so different as compared to the night before, where it was quiet and dark. Our rucksacks and everything were not tempered with, and we were not harassed by anyone. It was quite a painless experience.

From that first fairly good experience, I felt confident with spending a night at airports. So when I was taking a 5am+ flight from Taipei, I decided to just hang out at the airport the night before to wait for my flight. This time I was alone. Unfortunately I did not get much sleep because I met a guy who kept chatting with me throughout the night! As Taipei airport was quite dead at night, I didn't mind a companion to talk to. When the guy finally left me alone, I managed to get a bit of shut-eye but sitting upright. Taipei airport didn't offer any long cushioned benches which are ideal for sleepers either. So it wasn't too sleeper-friendly.

I overnight at an airport again recently, this time in Lima, Peru. I heard so many scary stories about how unsafe the country is etc., so I was quite apprehensive in sleeping in the airport. But it just didn't make sense for me to leave the airport since my flight was around 5am, and I only arrived from New York around 10pm the night before. I wore my moneybelt underneath 3 layers of clothes (it was quite cold then), used my daypack as my pillow, tied my backpack to my daypack and slept on the cushioned bench. It was surprisingly a good sleep, although we had to bear with the speaker which kept blaring out announcements after announcements of night flights. I must compliment my companion here. He travelled almost 30 hours from Malaysia all the way to Peru, and then had to suffer another bedless night in the airport for the layover. I really respect his perseverance to rough it out with me!

If you ask me, would I do it again? Well, I think I'd do it until one day when my old bones not able to take it anymore... :D

*Tips: Check out this website: http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ before you decide whether to sleep in the airport. It's got airport reviews for sleepers. Very helpful indeed! *

On Queuing Up (Part 2)

I always wonder why Chinese from Mainland China are so uncivilized when it comes to queuing. It seems like there's no such thing as queuing up in their dictionary. In airports, in ticket counters, in train stations, at entrance gates etc. you'll get to have a feel of these barbarians elbowing and pushing you, or quietly slipping infront of you at a long queue like nobody's business. This is a true reflection of 'siapa cepat, dia dapat' mentality!

There were a couple of bad experiences in China that I could recall:

In Lijiang at the queue for cable car, a woman cut-in infront of me out of nowhere.

I scolded: 'PLEASE QUEUE UP!'
Barbarian: 'If you are not happy, you can always cut queue too. Who asked you to queue up? Stupid!' (sneered, quited cutting my queue but instead squeezed into the queue way infront of me)
Me: '....'(shake head)

In Kunming airport, 2 well-dressed men in business suit cut infront of me.

I scolded: '请你们排队!'
Barbarian A: '...'(ignore)
While his friend Barbarian B felt embarassed and moved behind me.
I turned to Barbarian B and asked innocently: '请问一下，在中国的学校里是不是从来没有教过你们什么叫排队？'
Barbarian B blushed: '呵呵，有。。。'
I looked at him innocently again: '那为什么你们似乎不懂得排队呢？'
Barbarian B shrugged, even more embarassed.
I grabbed this opportunity to insult more: '唉，怎么你们不懂得丢脸? 我身为一个海外华侨，见到中国人如此没有文化的争先恐后，我都替你们觉得羞耻呢！'
Barbarian B: '...'(词穷)
He then talked to Barbarian A: '人家说你没文化啦，还不排队？！'
But Barbarian A still ignored his friend and stayed put infront of me. Although I didn't manage to get him to queue up, I felt sooo good with my insult! Muahahahaa...

On Queuing Up (Part 1)

I hate people who jump queue. (except when driving, as I'm one of those who 'cut' queue hehe) At Tesco today, there's this Middle Eastern tourist who jumped queue and just sneaked infront of me like nothing happened. Unfortunately for him, I'm not a person to bully, especially when it comes to lining up.

I looked at him and asked: 'Excuse me?'
He said in God-knows-what language: 'kee kee ku ku kee kee ku ku' (pointing at the other counter and then this counter)
I smiled at him and shaked my head: 'No, please queue up' (pointing behind me)
He said something else again in his language, probably cursing me. I still shaked my head and insisted he got to queue up.
When my turn came, I put my stuff on the cashier counter. At the same time, he threw his stuff onto the counter to show his anger. Too bad, I wasn't scared at all. I turned, glared at him, rolled my eyes and snorted. I believe I must have shown a really 欠揍 face to him but who cares?! Anyway, luckily I didn't end up being beaten up by him. Haha...
Now that I think back, I might have just spoilt Malaysian's 'friendly' image to tourists. However, jumping queue is just plain wrong. Why should we give exception to tourists right? This reminded me of another incident where the local jumped my queue when I was in China, and we got into an argument... but that's another story....

Chao Kiasu at Petra

Pressed for time? Limited budget? Desire to see as much as possible? Strong determination? Those 4 elements are the essentials of my kind of travels.

Today let me teach you how to see Petra in 1.5 days, the chao kiasu way!

I arranged my trip in such that I arrived in Petra at noon on the first day so that I could at least get half a day extra to see more sights of Petra. Usually people only go to Petra for 1 day. I think it's not a good idea if you want to trek around Petra and if you prefer some solitude in this tourists-infested site.
*The tombs at Bab as-Siq*

So on my first day, I explored the Monastery, Bab as-Siq (gate of the Siq) and the Siq itself. You can't escape from walking this 2.5 km long path known as Siq as it is the only way to Petra! The Siq is a narrow and winding gorge that eventually lead us to the mysterious Petra. Some parts of the Siq is as narrow as 2 meters like in the photo below!

Interesting fact: The Siq is technically not a gorge, as it was formed not by erosion but tectonic forces, which caused the rock to split dramatically in half, forming the 150m high sandstone cliff that we see today.

We eventually emerged from the Siq and what greeted us was the awe-inspiring Treasury, carved entirely by hand out from the sandstone! It was like discovering the golden pot at the end of the rainbow! *That golden pot at the end of the rainbow! Impressive*

After marvelling at the Treasury, we headed straight to the Monastery to catch the sunset. To reach the monastery, we had to climb up a hill. The journey upwards took around 1 hour+. If you are not fit enough to climb, there are always donkeys available to carry you up. Up on the hill of the monastery, we were rewarded with a birds eye view of the surrounding wadi (desert).

Tips: We climbed up to the monastery in the late afternoon, when the path were all shaded. The best time to see the monastery is the evening, when the setting sun shines on the monastery and turning it into golden colour.

We left the Monastery before it got too dark as there is still a long way to walk before we could get out of Petra. I took my last glimpse of the Treasury for the day. Without sunshine, the colour of the Treasury has turned to pink! It was orange in the afternoon! How cool!
*The lovely Treasury dressed in PINK!*

The next day, we were the first few early risers to enter Petra before bus loads of tourists invade the silence of Petra. I had the whole siq to myself! I walked through the Siq quickly to reach the Treasury. Again, this grand entrance to Petra never seized to amaze me! Actually many people were misled by the Indiana Jones movie. Inside the Treasury, there's no hidden cave with long lost treasure. In fact, there's nothing interesting inside the Treasury except 4 walls and 1 high ceiling. Not forgetting the ceremonial guard who supposedly 'guarded' the Treasury, but ended up more like a tourist attraction.
I believe everyone who visited Petra would surely has a photo of that guard! :D


I waited at the Treasury until the facade was completely lit up by the morning sun, which would only happen once in a day (or so I read). It was 9.40am (during april) then. It was also the best time to photograph the Treasury bathing in golden hue, with no shadow of the surrounding cliffs upon the facade. My Chao Kiasuness ensured that I didn't miss that moment.

Next, we climbed up to the High Place Of Sacrifice. It is recommended to make this trek early in the morning,before it gets too hot as there's no shade in this trail. From here, we could see the top of the Monastery on the opposite side of the hills and the sweeping view of the surrounding Wadi. It was breath-taking!
I came up with this wild idea to trek the Wadi Farasa below. As we entered the Wadi, there's a signboard saying 'Do not cross the Wadi without guide'. I do understand trekking in the desert is no laughing matter but I trusted my Lonely Planet guide would not bring me to 'Holland'. We did trek across Wadi Farasa, following the trail map on my trusted LP guide, passing by many abandoned tombs, homes and sheds. We even had our picnic lunch at one of the abandoned home in the desert. We eventually ended up at the Colonadad Street of Petra. It was a 20km walk!
*Royal tombs on the hill, clearly seen on the Colonadad Street*

We pressed on to explore the royal tombs. Actually there are many trekking opportunities in Petra. We took another one which was off the beaten track, where we followed a small path passed the royal tombs up the hill towards the top of the Siq. The view was rewarding. We got to see the Roman amphitheare and the Treasury from atop!
*The Roman Amphitheatre as viewed from top*

*Our feet from the rock cliff opposite the Treasury*

If you continue on, you could also walk the Siq, from up above! The whole journey took around 2 to 3 hrs, and you could have the whole place to yourself in solitude as not many visitors know about this place! One word of caution, do bring enough water as there are no stall selling water anywhere off the beaten track!
*The many interesting caves/abandoned homes off the beaten track in Petra*
With a heavy heart and even more heavier feet(my poor feet,had carried me for around 30km walk that day!), I left Petra. To me, Petra deserves more than 1 day, it's very interesting to explore the surrounding areas, not just the major sights. Just bear in mind, there are a lot of walking to do, you would appreciate it tremendously if you wear a pair of good sturdy walking shoes.
*The colours of Petra would leave indelible impression in your heart...*

My Submarine Experience

I first heard that there's such a ship which can completely submerge in water and cruise underwater when I was about 7. This strange ship is called submarine, my then 6 years old cousin told me. I was fascinated.

In high school, I learnt that submarines are usually used by army for defence purposes. That didn't leave much space for my wild imagination then. After I graduated, I read that nowadays even normal tourists like you and me are able to take a leisure submarine ride! My heart started to race again! Oh... how cool it would be to be able to ride a submarine! It has then etched a mark in my 'Ultimate Dreams' list!

I finally came across the opportunity to ride a submarine when I went to Hurghada, Egypt! And guess what? It's a submarine ride in the Red Sea! At that time I haven't got my diving license yet, but Red Sea is one of the top diving spot in the world! So to see the underwater world, taking a tourist submarine is THE way to go then, so I thought. I was very eager for this trip and didn't mind paying the exorbitant amount of USD65 for just a 45 minutes submarine ride.

The following photos can tell a better story than me so check them out:

*The Sinbad submarines before it is submerged into the water*

*This is how you get into a submarine*

*The engine part of the submarine*

*Remember the principle of Periscope from high school physics? We can see what's happening above water even when we were 20m below water by using periscope*

*Our view from the submarine, the unnaturally 'new' wreck at the route of the submarine really made me feel like a stupid tourist!*

In the end, I was not too impressed with what we managed to see from the underwater world of Red Sea. In fact, I kind of felt cheated as there were divers hired by the submarine tour company to usher fishes nearer to the submarine so that tourists inside the submarine could take photos. There was also a sunken ship and some other wrecks along the route of the submarine that looked too 'deliberate' to me.
In conclusion, I can summarize my submarine experience as 'been to Red Sea, done the submarine tour', that's it. But hey, people are still impressed! 'Ohhh... you've ride in a submarine before, how cool!'
Haha...ya, it's like paying USD65 to buy the 'coolness' eh? :p

Chao Kiasu at Machu Pichu

If you are tight on budget, have limited time but still would like to explore Machu Pichu (MCPC) as much as possible, one piece of advice - you need to have very strong determination!

I only had one day for Machu Pichu because I could only afford the 1-day pass(122 Soles which is approximately USD42), in addition to the monopolized 'only-for-tourists' train from Ollantaytambo(Olly) to Aguas Calientes(AC) which costs USD124 for a return trip. And that is already the train for backpackers... Once you got to AC, there's another bus ride up to the mountain of MCPC that brings you to the entrance gate, which costs USD12 for return. All these add up to quite an exorbitant amount for a poor backpacker like me.

The night before, we already took the train to AC so that we could get to MCPC first thing in the morning. It's also advisable to purchase the entrance ticket before hand so that you do not waste any time on the morning itself. Trust me, it pays to be chao kiasu in Machu Pichu.

We woke up early at 4.30am and by 5am, we arrived at the bus station to queue. I thought nobody would be as crazy and chao kiasu as me, wake up so early just to grab the permit to climb Huayna Pichu (only 400 permits are issued each day to visitors to climb this mountain which serves as the backdrop of the MCPC ruins). Good grief! The queue was already VERY long!!! There were approximately 390 people beat me to the queue! That means we could barely make it! Kin cheong loh!
*Look at the queue at 5am! Unbelievable!*

After we arrived at the entrance gate to Machu Pichu, we had to bear with another long queue. They scan your bag for sharp objects, even walking sticks are not permitted into the premise. We had a walking stick so it took another few minutes to queue up at the left luggage counter. I heard the clock in my heart ticking. Tik tok tik tok... After all the hassles, finally we have cleared all obstacles and towards Huayna Pichu we ran! Actually I didn't even know the direction, but since everyone else were running towards the same direction, I just headed the same way. This is not exaggerated at all. These people really ran like crazy! I felt like in a competition of Amazing Race! Luckily enough, we got to the gate of Huayna Pichu at around 6.15am. The gate to Huayna Pichu will only open at 7am and permits will only be given out then. I sent Chris to count the number of people infront of us. I was no. 298! Yippeeee! Never had I felt so relieved in my life. All the running and hard work was well worth it! I made it! I cannot imagine how miserable I'd feel if I also missed getting the permit to Huayna Pichu. I already missed getting the permit for Inca Trail since my Peru trip was kind of a last minute thingy. Another piece of advice - if you plan to trek the Inca Trail, you MUST book for the permit at least 6 months in advance! For the benefit of people who doesn't know about Inca Trail, it is a trail where you need to trek for 4 days to reach Machu Pichu, just like how the ancient Incan did to arrive at their mountain town.

After obtaining the permit, we leisurely walked around the ruins and climbed up to the guardman's hut, which has the best view of the ruins. From here, you can take in the whole ruins with Huayna Pichu as the backdrop.

*The luckiest guardman in the world. They get the best view of MCPC from up there at the hut*

*And this is the BEST view I'm talking about, pardon my bollywood*


The clouds sometimes envelope the ruins and Huayna Pichu, adding a mystic feel to this already mysterious Incan ruins. At 10am, we began climbing up to the peak of Huayna Pichu to get a bird's eye view of MCPC. It was breath-taking! I could see the ruins and also the surrounding mountains and valleys, all the way to Intipunku - the Sun Gate, which is the real entrance to Machu Pichu in ancient times.

*See! MCPC was at my feet! I've conquered MCPC as well as Huayna Pichu!*

*See how steep are the terraces! My legs already shaking while climbing it, imagine how the Incan built it without any aid of modern equipments!*

We spent quite some time on Huayna Pichu, climbing up and down ancient Incan steps and rocks, traverse a couple of grottos, and sat in solitude on the cliff at the edge of the peak, just to gaze at the beauty of MCPC with the wind blowing in my face. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

*On the left is the winding road for the mini bus, and the Inca steps and terraces hanging on the spire of Huayna Pichu on the right*
*Me trying to act brave while climbing up the Inca steps, one false step and I'd be down in the valley below*


Chao kiasu as me, since I did not get to trek the whole Inca Trail, I MUST at least step on the trail, just that very 1 step is enough to satisfy me. To get to the trail, we need to climb up to the Sun Gate from MCPC ruins. It wasn't a very steep climb as compared to Huayna Pichu, but we were already exhausted from our morning climb. Worst of all, we were running out of time as we had a train to catch at 6pm so we need to leave MCPC by 4pm! So I ended up running towards the Sun Gate. Yes, running again! And did I mention there's no stalls selling food or drinks, nor toilets inside Machu Pichu at all? Our breakfast and lunch were only energy bars and bread. Luckily we were running and climbing around a lot, so I didn't really need the toilet since all liquid was already out in the form of sweat! Haha...

*My half-dead face at Intipunku, the Sun Gate*

Anyway, we did dragged our half-dead bodies up to the Sun Gate. Completely knackered as I might be, I got to print my footprint on the Inca trail to satisfy my 'been there, done that' chao kiasuness. Happily, I pretended to be an Incan and drank in the beauty of their beloved mountain town Machu Pichu from Intipunku (Sun Gate), that's where the Incans had their first glimpse of MCPC after so many days of trekking through rough terrains.

*This is the view of MCPC from the Sun Gate, the ancient entrance to MCPC*

After enough day-dreaming, we had to really gallop down the slope towards the 'modern' entrance of MCPC to catch our bus back to AC. Later on, we made it to the train station in the nick of time to catch our train back to Olly! Phew...

*My bag of food for the day*

For me, the Machu Pichu trip was really a race against time. I really respect myself for being able to walk (or run) from 5am to 6pm, with limited food, drinks and toilet break.
I got gastric after that for just eating 2 slices of bread,2 energy bars and some raisins for the whole day of hard work. Somehow all these sufferings have made the trip even more memorable and meaningful. Can't help it, besides being chao kiasu, I'm also a masochist! :P