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We slept until 11, we had set alarms for 9 on both of our phones but neither of them went off. We had been invited to an Eid celebration that was being held by the government but they left at 10.30 so we missed it!! Absolutely gutted! I was really looking forward to it as I will probably never get to do that in a Muslim country again. I may throw my phone at the wall.
From what I understand Muslims celebrate Ramadan in the 9th month of the Islamic calendar which is different for different countries. It's a month of fasting between sunrise and sunset where you can't eat, drink, have sex, speak sinfully or act sinfully. Muslims increase prayers and readings of the Quran. Eid is a celebration at the end of Ramadan.
Fasting is supposed to cleanse the soul by freeing it from harmful impurities, teaches muslims self discipline, self control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate. Muslims start fasting at puberty so long as they are healthy, sane, and have no disabilities or illness. Exemptions include travel, menstruation, illness, old age, pregnancy and breast feeding.
At 12 I went to pay for tonights room, the receptionist told me they had sold it to someone else!!! What a joke! So we had to change rooms, she gave me various keys and I had to choose one as Michael was still snoring! They are cheaper but we have to share a bathroom. Urghhhhh
Packed, moved then unpacked on the floor below. Went to the courtyard to get some food and actually found the bread that you eat with noodle soup in cambodia! We have I only had it about 3 times since then and it's beaut! It sounds horrible but it's fried bread that you dip in the soup. Looks a bit like a yumyum.
Went out for tea, we went to the restaurant downstairs that we ate at the first night as Michael likes the pork in special sauce. It literally is one and a half pigs! I don't know where he puts it! He had about 3 grains of rice and all this pork! His muma would be proud! I told him he should enter a competition called 'man 'vs' meat'. He would win.
There is this larger then life Korean lady that stayed in our hostel. She is always rounding people up for all sorts of things! She came and sat with us while we ate and picked all of the mushrooms out of my meal to eat them! Gotta love her! She looks about 40 but when we asked her she is 60. There is no way! Asians have so much better skin than us! She is still crazy though! She is stranded in Kuala Lumpur as her visa for England had been rejected because Malaysia is building a building there! Her words not mine?! Ha chilled for the rest of the night.
This is a short blogs so I'll add something special in...
What I hate about travelling... If you are a traveller it's a must read, if your a wanna be traveller don't let it put you off! I wouldn't change anything!! It's in no particular order! Not that I'm one for complaining ;)
Missing my friends. I would give anything to go home and see everyone for a few days then come straight back! I miss all my friends so much! It's difficult to speak to people as well as I'm 7 hours ahead and people work during the day! :(
Missing family. I think I speak to my mum more now I'm in Asia as at home I worked every day. Hah when she tells me about family get togethers I'm so jealous! :(
Travellers. We hate most of them, whether they are trying to fit in to much (wearing face masks, wearing cone hats, gypsie pants and cloth bags) carrying around expensive cameras like they don't care. All wearing the same stupid beer Tshirts and stinking as they don't wash. We especially hate it when the posh travellers talk about how daddy paid for them. A lot of travellers we have met have only come to SEAsia to get drunk and have sex. They see none of the sights and dont care about the culture or the people. People who read our blogs will know we like to party, I'm not saying we don't, but we never miss any of the sights and never disrespect the culture or people. We also saved long and hard to travel so we should be able to do what we want... And we want to party our way around Asia.
HSBC. Banks in general are rubbish when you go travelling! I searched high and low for a travelling card everywhere and chose Caxton as it seemed the best, you can use it all over the world and it's free at all ATMs... Or so we though. We have had to pay at every ATM! Joke. I may try and claim it back once at home.
Holiday makers. These idiots are the burden of my life! Paying stupid amounts for crap they don't need. It makes the locals think everyone is a holiday maker and the prices for everything sky rockets! It's silly! I mean who would bring your young children to Asia! They won't remember any of it, would rather go to Disney land and will get bullied at school for being in a hippie family.
Rats. These are everywhere we go! Literally the size of small dogs! They arnt really that scared of humans as well and will come really close to you! One hasn't actually touched me yet but I would just commit if it did! A guy once picked one up!! He belongs in the looney bin!
DVDs. In popular holiday maker places, we get offered DVDs all the time! I tell every single one of them if they buy me a DVD player I'll buy ALL there DVDs! A couple of them have agreed to this! Score! I live out of a bag though so this idea may not work?
Restaurants. We usually eat at food stalls or food stall restaurants so going into proper restaurants is weird! They think you can afford everything! Eating at the stalls is a lot better, it's made in front of you, tastes better and you can see everything they do. In restaurants I imagine this cockroach and rat infested hole in the ground with a fire lit in the corner.
Hostels. They are usually ok! We love meeting new people all the time, getting advice on where to go and what to see. You would never get this in a hotel. Everyone speaks to everyone! But lots of hostels are dirty. You have to check the room and bathroom before you accept and a lot of the time we say no. Its the same price a few doors down for a clean room so why pay for a dirty one? Dust everywhere, suspicious stains on the sheets, dirty bathroom, mucky floor, broken toilet, broken bed and fixtures.
Short change. We get this a lot more in Vietnam and Malaysia then anywhere else! They don't give you any change and think its ok! They look shocked when we wait for change! Usually it's only £1 ish but that's a meal and drink here so it's worth it!
Meat in every meal. I'm a vegetarian that eats fish. I ask for veggie meals though and about 80% of the time they have meat in, have been cooked in meat, or have had the meat picked out. In the first week I didn't like it but after then you have to get used to it. It's funny when there is vegetarian pages of the menus and all of the dishes have pork, chicken or beef in! They don't quite understand!
Different price for tourists. Everywhere we have been, locals get things for a lot cheaper then we do, whether its the sights, attractions, food or transport! I understand that a lot of Asians don't have enough money but if Britain ever charged foreign people more all hell would break loose! I'm talking if the locals want some rice they pay 2 but we pay 5 for the same thing.
Different queues for tourists. Tourists and locals queue in different queues. Even if we are all going to the same counter and the local queue goes a lot faster! Even if we are all getting on the same bus, locals are always offered the best seats and tourists are shoved in the back with no air con.
Men staring. So many men stare at places they shouldn't. Malaysia is by far the worst for it! Seriously I don't think any guy has looked at my face! I wouldn't mind if there was something to actually look at or if I flaunted it but it's not even worth there time.
Cockroaches. They are everywhere! Worse then rats! We always get rooms on the first floor or up as there are not as many of them! They are in all accommodation, restaurants, stalls and shops! I really really hate them!
Rubbish smell. As its really hot in Asia the rubbish gets collected daily. The locals leave all the rubbish at the sides of the roads and it absolutely stinks! One of the worse smells I have ever smelt apart from durian. It smells like sweet and sour s***. There is no other words to describe it. It makes the hairs on my necks shudder.
Durian. Durian is a spiked yellow fruit that STINKS! I mean not even stinks like normal, you can smell it from one end of the street to the next. No one buys it so why don't they just destroy it. Durian is banned in a lot of places in Malaysia! It's indescribable, you have to just know. It is the Malaysian kings fruit though.
Spending money. We seem to spend loads of money. I am half way through my budget now so I guess in 4 months that's not bad but I hate it. I guess each day we are spending about £20 including accommodation, meals, drinks, alcohol, shopping, transport, entrance fees, laundry and any extras.
Watching your belongings. Pick pockets are everywhere, neither of us have had anything stolen yet though, touch wood. Having to keep checking it keep your hands on everything and keeping everything hidden is a right chore! I guess there is pick pockets in Britain as well though. It's funny when I produce my phone or money as I don't carry a bag any more so it's always in some weird place!
No bags. I haven't carried a bag since being in Phnom Penh where I was not allowed to carry one outside for the safety of me and others around me. I keep my money in the back of my phone and my phone in some weird place! You name it, my phone has been there. When I pay for stuff, people always laugh at the places I put it! It's awkward at night when someone points to me and I'm lit up and ringing! Awks.
Thieves and insurance. Thieves think that they can steal your stuff and it's not that bad because all westerners are rich and have everything insured so we can get our belongings back through insurance. I hate when we walk through mugging central at pick pocket o'clock.
Leaving people we love. I hate leaving places! It's especially bad when we are leaving the country. We have met some amazing people we will never forget in are whole lives! True friends for life!
Leaving places we love. We always fall in love with everywhere we go and say we never want to leave or we will return! We really do love everywhere though. I think Asia has stolen my heart. We have been to some beautiful places and seen some breathtaking sights!
Mosquitoes. Everyone is constantly itching some sort of bite somewhere! I don't know how they get to some of the places they bite! Although most of the time we forget to put deet on! Ohwell! No other travellers wear it.
Doxycycline. My malaria tablets are the burden of my life! I hate them! They give me horrible dreams, make me feel sick and I always forget to take them! (not really mum, regular like clockwork).
Night buses. These are pure hell. By far the worst one was the 27 hour bus we were on with one stop at the border crossing! They have the air con on all night and every single person is freezing, I think the driver does it to keep himself awake but I would rather crash. Not really. (Michael told me off for putting that) Asian people always get the best seats, it's cold, the beds are dirty and Asian people snore and burp all night.
Air con. At first we couldn't get enough of it! Now I would rather die. I'm currently sat on a bus with air con and I might have to resort to hugging Michael to get warm!! All shopping malls, cinemas and buses have it. Urghhh
Humid. The humidity here is something else!! It's ridiculous! We get ready, walk outside and you are wet. It's doesn't have to even be that hot! All your clothes stick to you, hair goes frizzy and forget about make up!!
Idiot drunks. This goes mostly to the English. You are all disrespectful morons. You know who you are. Need I say any more! Think of Magaluf and Malia and you will get the picture.
Old western men young Asians. I hate this. This is the 'mail order bride' thing and makes me sick! Western men like Asian girls as they are tiny among other reasons. Asian girls are beautiful.
Travellers drinking. Some travellers openly admit they only came to Asia to drink. They don't see any of the sights and don't care. So if any of you think me and Michael are bad for going out around 3 nights a week you can think again! We never miss any sight and are always mixing in with culture and with the locals.
Writing blogs. Oh my! I hate writing blogs! It's takin over my life! I have to write bullet points on what I did that day as I know I'll get around to writing the blog two weeks later! It may take 5 minutes to read but it doesn't to write! You have to remember what you did, try and make it funny and interesting and make sure it makes sense. It's hard as well as family and friends read them, my family don't want to know about my nights out and my friends probably don't care about the culture. So they have to be appropriate. Which is difficult.
Living out of a bag. I do hate this, although I don't know if I could stop living out of it. It's weird. At home you don't know what to do or wear, here all you can do or wear is in a bag so you don't have much choice. It currently weighs 20kg which is a right pain! I love it though, it's so useful even when your waiting around, just sling it on the floor and sit on it.
Washing my own clothes. We try to wash our own instead of doing a laundry all the time as its cheaper. The laundry only works out to be £2 for 2 kgs though but when you only need a few things to be clean its not worth it. I'm a top washer woman now though!
Feeling bad ordering a sandwich. We ALWAYS eat Asian food. Rice and noodles every single day, but sometimes you just need a bit of bread, or a potato or something from a supermarket not a stall. I love Asian food, since we have been in Malaysia we had overdosed on western food as no where else had it, but it's not agreeing with us if you know what I mean. It's going to be hard going home, I've had like 4 western meals since landing in Malaysia and its shocked my body. It makes us feel really tired all the time!
Squatting. I hate this, getting used to it took a while, not weeing on your feet while balancing on two planks of wood above a pool of HIV is a skill, believe me!! A lot of places have sit toilets now though but I'm not dumb enough to sit on those either.
Traffic. Asian traffic is something else!! No way would anyone drive the same in Britain! Although, I bet no one at home will agree but I think Asian drivers are better then any other! On a two lane road, there is 6 lanes in use, all criss crossing and everyone is so aware! I know there is a lot of crashes here but there is also a lot more people on the road! Its when Asian drivers come to Britain and drive how they drive in Asia is a problem as the British aren't as aware. You don't have to agree with me.
Shared bathrooms. There are vile at best! Smelly, sticky, hairy and unclean. Some of them are ok but when you get a bad one, I would rather wee outside. People leave there stuff everywhere then complain when it gets stolen or thrown away, they spend far to long in the toilet/shower cubicles, don't flush, the shower goes all over the seat, flushing the toilet lets water come out of the sides and run down the floor and the locks are made from a rotten old chop stick.
Wifi. Seriously, sometimes I couldn't care less about where we go or what we do as long as I have had a bit of wifi for the day. It sounds bad but it's true and all travellers are the same, we get maps, work out currency, write blogs, talk to friends, look up attractions, book transport and do basically everything on the Internet so it's essential. So many times we have been close to caving in and buying sim cards but we have only had them in Thailand and Vietnam so far. What I would give for 3G though. Wifi is the slowest thing ever!
Working out money. You soon get used to it but when going to a different country it's difficult. When buying everything we have to work it out, change it to sterling, work out how much we would pay, work it out in Asian then haggle. For everything.
Asian time. Asians are the worst at time keeping, we have been on one bus that set off on time in the 4 months we have been travelling and I think they driver was mentally ill. You get used to it though, if it takes 3 hours expect to take 5. If its going to be there at 1 expect 1.45 - 3.
Children on the street. Kids that live on the street or sell things on the street break my heart. It's so hard not to take them for a meal or buy things from them or for them. Kids do insane things, 7 year olds dancing like the gypsies off Big Fat Gypsie Wedding. 5 year old boys breathing fire and doing tricks. It's horrible. Most of them are happy as they don't know any different.
Beggars. There are a lot here! All with some sort of limb missing! Some of them look fine and healthy though! We get told not to give them money though!
118 days with Michael. This boy is a diva! We know each other inside and out! Its weird! We worked out the last time we didn't share a bed was in Siem Reap!! We have had the best time travelling! It has been absolutely hilarious! We have our own language that we are spreading across Asia! We love to party but we also love the culture! When one of us is having a bad day the other one knows how to make it a good day! Love him!
Despite all of this, I could stay in Asia forever! I love it, and the list of things I love is a million times longer then this!
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