The Chinese visa saga

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong

Will get the visa? Won't get the visa? We'll see!

I thought it would be more simple to get the chinese visa in Hong Kong... Faster maybe, but simpler, I'm not sure.

I flew from Sydney to Taipei, then to Hong Kong. Long enough to lose the notion of time. I got in Hong Kong in the morning with the intention of getting my visa during the day.

After some verifications, the office which receive the resquests is close to the hostel. You can walk there (and be hot because of the humidity) in 25 minutes.

Note : the office is open between 2 and 5 PM. Closed on the week-ends (I didn't think of that and we're friday). Closed on April 4th because of a holiday. It doesn't leave me a lot of time since my flight for Shanghai (if I get the visa) leaves on April 5th... The three working days they need to process the visa are starting to scare me a little bit.

Note : we are in Hong Kong. Finding an address is not always easy. But I got there around 3 PM.

I start filling the forms, but oh, misfortune, I don't have the address of the hostel I booked in Shanghai. And I haven't booked anything in the other cities. But I must declare everything.

Got back to my hostel really fast. Booked hostels. Printed proofs. Back very fast to the office, getting lost on the way... Not being sure what I should have answered to some questions. But... those forms are now in the hands of the chinese authorities. Gave them away at 5 PM on the dot. They didn't ask for any photocopy. *sigh*

I'm now without my passport. I will get it on Monday, hopefully with a visa, because I asked for the express treatment. I'm crossing my fingers and every other parts of my body for luck.

Hell... (but not really)

That first day in Hong Kong wasn't a easy one. Because I needed to apply for the visa. But also because I need to adapt to this first country where I have a hard time making myself understood. Also because my brand new bottle of soap for my laundry exploded in my luggage on the way to Asia. But also because my razor broke down... while I was starting to shave my hair. Doesn't work anymore... Needed to search for a new one I could buy.

That also mean my new "permanent" and "irreversible" look was inevitable. No more hair. And I didn't get to visit anything on that first day.

Paradise... (but not really)

Karma came back for that second day. I went for touristic places to get use to the area. From the top of Victoria Peak, where Gilly is on the picture, I got a 360 degrees view of Hong Kong.

After a while, you become used to the crowd. You start finding your way. You find out how transportation works. And fears go away until you need them again.

For the second time in three years, I walked randomly on THE place in town where a giant pillow fight happened to celebrate the International pillow fight day. I saw the same thing in Krakow in 2009.

Tidbits

When, in the restaurant, the waitress ends up bringing you a fork and a spoon, that probably means you don't look like you can handle the chopsticks...

Saturday was the event "One hour for the Earth". So instead of seeing the light show they usually have on the skyscrappers at night, around 8:30, I saw Hong Kong getting darker. The only thing I didn't get was why they had a show with microphones and speakers to celebrate it... You know, when you tell people to use less energy... do the same with your show.

Temperature wise, under the neverending grey sky, it's around 22 to 28 degrees for now. That's hot.

For the language, I'm ok, even if I'm starting to feel a wall in front of me. Hong Kong is bilingual and almost everything can be read both in english and in cantonese.

Note to myself : stop ordering chicken. When they give you the meat with the bones and the only things you got are chopsticks, you need to work hard to be able to eat...

The end of Oceania

Sydney, Australia

Don't tell me it was too short. I know. 35 days in Oceania is short. Especially to visit both New Zealand and the enormous country Australia is. But the intelligent choice, in the circumstances, was probably the one I made : concentrate on Melbourne and Sydney.

No Uluru's Rock, no West Coast, not even a minute in Brisbane or Cairns. Too bad!

That said, since I didn't have a cultural shock yet, Australia share the comfort of a society very close to ours. Same for New Zealand.

Especially since there are numerous occasions to surround yourself with nature, everywhere, minutes away from downtown or in the middle of nowhere. It's probably a necessary cure before diving in a sea of people in Hong Kong and, eventually, in Beijing.

I'll remember that even if Australia is the home of eight of the ten most dangerous snakes in the world, three species of sharks, spiders that can seriously handicap you, the real dangers, for most people, are really small.

The memories I'll keep, probably like everywhere I traveled to, will be the people I met. Unexpected friendships, sometimes, with people way younger or way older. People I saw, saw again, and then left with a simple handshake on the corner of the street. More goodbyes. Those to new friends. Those to the places I might never see again. Melancholy the next handshake will chase away, a handshake to a stanger who walks with me for a while before more goodbyes.

The blues won't last. I'll change gear and it will be fine. Even if after a complete week in Sydney, I felt nostalgic, in a park under Harbour Bridge, before going back to my hostel to get my luggage. In a day where I was always a little bit out of time, I at least could stop and take a little bit of sun.

From there, I took a shuttle with a crazy driver who unbelievably brought us alive to the airport. "I'm more than scared" said a passenger. It didn't cost us a lot to tip the driver.

Tired of my day, I will easily fall asleep on the 9 h 40 flight from Sydney to Taipei for a stopover.
Great news. As soon as I'll get in Hong Kong, I will rush to get my chinese visa. I already feel it's gonna be a big adventure.

I'll see if the chinese wi-fi and internet allow me to give news from day to day.

This koala is not sleeping

Here is a video of a koala who is not sleeping. It's pretty rare.

The Guy Who Smoked

There are a lot of things you shouldn't do as a backpacker, even in a hostel : turn on the lights of the dorm at 4 AM to find your bed, play loud music even if nobody wants to listen to it, not wearing clothes to go to the shared bathroom, share a bed and make noise on the mattress even if everybody can hear you, play with a plastic bag for hours while others are sleeping, etc.

At some point, I had enough. I can stand the noise. Even if you're the only one watching a movie on your computer and even if you're beating the record for the noise at 4 AM. I can do with lights. Even if there is three of us asleep and you've decided you need lights to watch a movie without headphones. But dear mister, when you decide to smoke marijuana at 2 AM, in the bed under mine, you're facing danger. (It's already not a great idea to smoke in the bed...) I know, the window is far to blow your smoke away. Going down three sets of steps to go outside, it's hard.

Too bad. The director of the hostel wasn't too happy when she learned. Not happy at all. Because it's already forbidden to smoke in the room. So your marijuana made her angry. "I will kick him out", she said. It's sounded angry.

Sorry to learn you have been kicked out, dear flatmate. Well, not really. Tonight, I'll sleep better.

The lizard

In the "Almost" category... I thought I almost saw a snake today. On THE day I decided to wear my flip-flop for a stroll in the forest. I saw a big snake head (about 12 to 14 centimetres) about 30 centimetres from my foot. First reflex : I need to take a picture. First thought : would be better to back off.

It happens that this big snake head was a lizard head, attached to a big body with really small paws.

He ran away, the lizard. But I watched the trail until the end of my walk (with breathtaking views on the way) to ensure I wouldn't come across some other beasts.

Almost! But almost, it doesn't count.

Road Trip, take two

What day are we? Sunday? Monday? 24th? 25th? Don't know!

Time goes by at a fast pace but stays suspended at the same time. When you have fun... and you're not really ready to go back home... I don't know yet if I could go on for years, but I'm not afraid that I will need to give up before the end of the six months I planned.

The last week was very intense. And I need a little bit of time to recuperate and think. I'll make sure it happens in the next week.

Blue Mountains

After a road trip on the Great Ocean Road, the one between Melbourne and Sydney was unique too. Exactly 24 travelers in a bus for three days... you make friends. We drove through the most southern point in Australia and the longest beach of the country. From there, we walked up the highest australian mountain before stopping in Canberra parliament.

Even if all the travelers I had fun with are now in different hostels in Sydney, we stay in touch and we try to meet again for an activity. Five of us have went to the Blue Mountains together today. Those mountains were named because of the eucalyptus steam above it. It's the Grand Canyon of Autralia. There, you can find a cable car which leans to an angle of 50 degrees... That is something.

When we came back, we shared a kangaroo and cranberries pizza before spending the evening next to the Sydney Opera.

I have now booked my hostel in Hong Kong where there is not a lot of places when you search for a dorm. I still need to plan the time I'll spend in China and Japan to plan how I'll get my visas.

I'm under the impression that I'm throwing all my money by the windows, but I still hope that Asia will be cheaper. I haven't checked yet the amount I have in my bank account since I left home. And I don't want to.

Tips

- For those who wish to book a hostel online, hostelbookers and hostelworld are the most popular websites. If hostelworld is easier to use, there are booking fees of 2 $ each time you use it... unless you get a gold card, which costs 20 $ and will cancel all the booking fees for a year. For a round-the-world-trip, it's totally worth it.

- Talking of surcharge,  most hostels add 2 or 3 % to your bill if you pay by credit card. You must know that your bank would add some fees anyway if you were going to an ATM. Both end up costing the same thing most of the times.

- To get to know a new city, the best way is often to go on a free tour. You can find some in a lot of cities in the world. Most of the times, they are offered by students or young adults who only get paid by the tip you give them according to your appreciation of the tour. Don't hesitate to ask them if there are cheap ways to travel with the transportation system. They know most hints needed to save on train tickets, trams, buses or subways. They will also be able to tell you what event is going on at that moment.

One month - Assessment

For those interested, I have been gone for a month now. I'm happy to realize I used EVERYTHING I have in my luggage, excepted some medicine. Nothing useless then. 

I had some problems, like I have told already. The most recent one is my ticket for Hong Kong I bought online but the company refused to approve it because of supposed problems with my credit card. On the other hand, the amount was billed on my credit card as soon as I bought it. It was removed afterwards. Now, everything is ok. 

Here are the cities I've been in in the forst month : 
Sherbrooke (CAN)
Burlington (USA)
San Diego (USA)
Los Angeles (USA)
Auckland (N-Z)
Rotorua (N-Z)
Taupo (N-Z)
Wellington (N-Z)
Queenstown (N-Z)
Milford Sound (N-Z)
Queenstown (again) (N-Z)
Franz Josef (N-Z)
Christchurch (N-Z)
Melbourne (AUS)
Phillip Island (AUS)

The koala scam

Sleepy koala in Ballarat, Australia

Short words to tell you about the koala scam.

Without any predators, sleeping all day long, those small cubs are still protected in Australia. It seems it's totally forbidden to touch them. If you do, the police could track you.

But you can touch a koala in a natural reserve. There is the entrance fee, between 15 and 25 $, usually. And, if you want, you can buy food to feed to kangaroos, which you can touch as much as you want. But for the koalas... the koalas...

Touching a koala? They will charge you 10 more dollars (or 25, maybe). A picture with the koala? They will take it for you for another 10 $... And the price keep on rising if you want the whole family on the picture.

We, on the other hand, went around that rule in Ballarat. Around 2:30 PM, an employee took the koala out of it's enclosure so we could pet it. We could take pictures. For free. There you go. That is called magic.

Driving on the left

Great Ocean Road, Australia

Monday night. End of thre road trip. Ready for another road trip, but a little bit tired of those four days of driving. Poor me...

No, I didn't get involved in an accident by driving on the left... but on the right. Left side of the road, steering wheel on the right.

Friday, I got my hands on a gleaming blue Holden Cruze, opening roof, a/c, leather seats, electric windows and too many controls on the steering wheel. Not that bad for the cheapest car I could find in Melbourne.

With a French guy and a German girl, I left on the Great Ocean Road, starting in Melbourne and stopping in Geelong, Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Cape Otway and Warrnambool. Other than the rain that would start every time we were stepping out of the car on Friday, the remaining of the week-end was perfect. From sunny day to sunny day. From opened roof to opened roof.

True, I often activated the wipers instead of the flashers. I often searched for the stick on the right. And I drove one little time, early in the morning, in the right lane instead of the left lane. I got mixed up.

But everybody got back alive. Friday, the beaches were the most popular thing. Saturday, we saw koalas in the trees and the popular Twelve Apostles.

During the evening, we met with a French girl who was sleeping in the same hostel we were in in Melbourne. She was traveling with 4 other girls. The seven of us left for the Grampians, beautiful mountains. The next evening, while driving down one of those mountains, kangaroos were everywhere along the curvy roads. Danger! But nothing happened. And today, on our way back, we stopped in Ballarat, in an animal sanctuary where we could touch an alligator, a koala, some kangaroos again, and a wombat.

Leaving those new friends after four intense days was heartbreaking. But everyone has to go their own way.

I'm leaving early tomorrow (6:30) in a bus that will go to Sydney in three days. On the way, we'll stop on the highest mountain of Australia and we'll see Canberra.

This time, I'm not driving.

Karma is a b****

Melbourne, Australia

It cannot always go wrong. I mean that the unexpected events, at some point, must stop.

Still, the next unexpected thing cost me two deposits for a room in a hostel. I took the time to plan everything. I chose a tour that would bring me from Mebourne to Sydney in three days, instead of taking a boring bus or a train that would link the two during the night. With that tour, I'll stop in some other cities on the way, one of them being the capital Canberra.

The problem is, that tour goes three times a week. And the day I wanted to leave is already fully booked. Thanks Grand Prix!

After choosing to leave Melbourne earlier to book that tour (that's why I lost my deposits on the rooms), I stopped to eat. I bought a dessert in a small shop where you pay your frozen yogurt  based on it's weight... unless you guess exactly the weight of your own little cup. And guess who got it totally right, right on the dot? ME!

Ok, karma is like income taxes. You give, you give, and when it's time to get something back, you always get less than you gave. A free frozen yogurt in the Grand Prix frenzy? Makes my week. Karma! (I hear Marie-Eve say : he won something again... damn!)

Karma in action, the travelers stuck to leave Melbourne because of the Grand Prix are now all searching for solutions and plenty of them are offering to share the rent of my (small) australian car. I thought it would cost me so much... I might be able to get away with it for less than 20 $ a day for the car. Not too bad!

I'm leaving tomorrow for the Great Ocean Road, driving on the left side of the road as much as possible. And I'll be back in Melbourne on Monday. Departure is on Tuesday towards Sydney. One week later, I take off to Hong Kong for the beggining of my asian adventure. The ticket is freshly booked.

And I didn't say anything about the kangaroos I fed. And the penguins I saw. I will do next time.

Meanwhile, it has been a month since I'm gone. Five to go. Time goes by very fast and I still have so much to see. Looking forward to explore Asia and to get good exchange rates...

Race... to leave Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia

Country number 3 : Australia. Here I am in Melbourne, where the adventures are... interesting. Let's say it that way.

Lessons are coming in at a fast pace.

Lesson "number" Z (!) : When you say to the border patrol that you don't have a return ticket, try to refrain from looking nervous. That one was nice and saying "no worries". But the fact that I couldn't tell where I would be three days from now bothered him. I will make sure I have an answer to that in the more sensitive countries. Consolation prize : the border patrol in Christchurch wouldn't stop calling me "My Love". 

Lesson number 12345.1.2.3 : when you buy a flight ticket, make sure you get in a city you don't know while the sun is still shining. Or let's say not after 8 P.M. Looks like having to walk all Prague around midnight, without any money, last year, wasn't enough to convince me. Here, the shuttle I was told to take to get to my hostel is not running after midnight. And since I spent a lot of time trying to cross the border... Plan B : another shuttle and a tram. BUT... no more tram. Plan C : share a taxi with another stuck traveler and have the hostel worker welcome me with « I was wondering where you were... »

Lesson that goes with the pink TZ form you can find on the 12th floor : when you choose a destination, make sure there is not a very big event in that city. Just in case you would have missed out on booking a hostel or a hotel two years ahead.

It's just that the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place this week-end. It's just that the track is... right across the street, in front of my hostel. It's just that there are no rooms available anywhere starting Wednesday. But my hostel got a cancellation for Wednesday and Thursday. I will be able to stay at least until the action begins.

So, in the list of things that make me say "I don't like Melbourne, but only for the wrong reasons", we can add : 1. Having a dog smell my luggage in the airport, while I was standing on a painted line on the floor. 2. Having another dog peeing on me while I was sitting on the ground, in a park, trying to eat my lunch. 3. The owner of the dog whispering "I'm sorry"... Well, you better be "sorry", because there is nothing more you can do but control your freaking dog. 4. Being in a hostel where decibels are at all time above the legal limit, where people knock very hard on the door in the middle of the night to greet their one-night partner. Youngsters... 5. A wi-fi with which you need to fight for ten minutes before being able to use it.

So, nothing too important. Nothing I can't forget in a few minutes. Nothing to make me forget the beautiful 23 degrees of this end of summer. And the anticipation of seeing penguins and koalas tomorrow.

Before Wednesday, I'll try to see if I can rent a car for the week-end to run from the frenzy of the Grand Prix. Kaching! You have to do what you have to do. Trying to get over stuff by thinking I'll be able to find a room for 5 $ in South-East Asia.

The sun and a big ice cube

Franz Josef

Free wi-fi in the airport. Woot! Rare in this country. Which allows me to post an update.

I made my way, earlier this week, between Queenstown and Franz Josef and had to go through the eight hours bus trip between them. The bus company stops in every little village on the way. And it pauses for 30 minutes in the middle of nowhere so we have to buy food sold at very high prices. We abandonned or bus in one of those nowhere city for a restaurant made of wood logs. The noodles and vegetables soup was recommanded. Only 9 $ for a bowl. And you couldn't eat the bowl, I should say. (Not a bowl made of bread for Jeannot... and no grapes either.)

When I got in Franz Josef, I was hoping to book a hike on the Franz Josef glacier for the next day. Since once again, me getting somwhere enabled the city to get rid of the rain they had for two days, everybody had already booked that expedition. No choice : have to stay one more day at the bottom of the mountains.

The choice was interesting, allowing me to relax and explore the trails in the nearby forest. The next day, a very bright sun was shining on the glacier. Doesn't happen too often I was told. That's why they give us a raincoat. But we didn't use it. We had short sleeves on the glacier. That's special. Between that and a museum, I would choose the glacier all the way.

That adventure was followed by another day of traveling, first on a bus to Greymouth, going throught a weird wild food festival in Hokitika, and on a train, to cross from the west coast to the east coast, across the New Zealand Alps.

Finally, I spent a day in the mostly destroyed center of Christchurch, where the earthquake pictures are breathtaking.

One lesson : always make sure the bus stop isn't hidden somewhere close when you get out of the train station. That can prevent you from paying too much for a taxi ride.

I need to go now. My plane for Melbourne is calling.

To conclude, I'd like to say to my colleague Serge that my striped t-shirt, which he thinks is ugly, is very popular everywhere I go. When you're the only one not thinking like the others... (I hope you miss me on Sundays Serge...)

Snack-blog

I'm about to leave New Zealand for Australia.  Maybe I'll add another update from there where they'll stop charging us huge fees to use the internet connexion. While waiting, here's the recipe to stay zen.

A moutain+the noise of a river+a sunset+this song = telling myself it's worth it to throw all my money away for this trip.

To conclude, I need to wish a very happy birthday to Lisanne...

** For an unknown reason, it is possible the song won't play very well. That's not normal.

A ride on board of the Tranzalpine Scenic Train

My videos are never too complicated, but they are worth what they are worth. Here is the panorama the Tranzalpine Scenic Train has to offer. I know, it's moving and noisy. But you were warned.

Another video of Tangariro

Here is a second video of the walk on Tangariro Alpine Crossing. It's in the south crater, not on top yet.

Pictures of New Zealand

Auckland

Devonport

Rangitoto

Tangariro

Here are some pictures for those who are not on Facebook and haven't seen those yet. It's a small preview of what you can see in New Zealand.

Going with the flow

Queenstown, New Zealand

I'm speaking more and more in english. I will soon have been gone for three complete weeks, which is about 10 years in a dog's life and six months in a round-the-world traveler's life, and the little voice in my head switches slowly from french to english, without stopping. That's how it is when you surround yourself with another language.

Well, I say surrounded... Even if I like our French cousins, there are freaking everywhere. You cannot go around the corner without meeting one. BUT, not a lot of "French Canadians".

« You're my first French Canadian » I was told today. Woot!

All that introduction was a way to apologize for using an english title on the french version on this blog. But it was the first title that came into my mind.

So... Going with the flow... Because I tied my cartesian-planning self at the very bottom of my luggage, I accept that I don't know, two or three days ahead, where I'll be and what I'll be doing. Unless I'm in high season, it's probably the best way to see the world. And it allows to have last minute plans.

That's what I did when I figured their was a Nostradamus sign in the cancellation of my ferry. No ferry? Ok, then I'll fly to Queenstown, all the way down the south island, where everybody says you need to go. Too bad for Picton, Nelson and the other northern destinations.

Didn't need to fight to get my refund for the ferry, that's already something. And I flew, like a little bird, early this morning. The capital, with it's neverending grey sky, rainy and windy city, was left behind. One hour later, I found sun and just a little bit of wind.

Queenstown, I love you! Just for your sun. But also because now I understand why everybody says you need to go there. Some will prefer the hundreds of bars and pubs, way too many for the number of people living here. But I also fall for the huge mountains, the lake, the nature with a capital N, a little bit in the middle of nowhere.

I've seen the huge mountains in Innsbruck, Austria, with snow on top. But here, there is a lake. It's almost silent when you go up anywhere. There is a feeling that this nature is really stronger than everything.

So, listening to the gossips, I'm emptying my bank account tomorrow to explore Milford Sound fjord. 120 people live there. And seals (guaranteed). And maybe dolphins too.

I just realized I chose expensive countries. More time in Asia would have helped save money. But one cannot miss New Zealand.

Gone for a stroll

As promised, here it the address of Troy's blog. Troy is that Australian who travels around the world to gather money to fight against breast cancer.

www.goneforastroll.com

Stuck in boring Wellington

Wellington, New Zealand

My "aura of sun" has left me. New Zealand's "bipolarity" is stronger.

Happy, this morning, I booked a shuttle and the ferry that should have brought me on the South Island, in Picton.

When I got in my hostel in the evening, another guest told me a storm and huge waves were expected for the next day. Result : no ferry. Stuck, I am!

Zen, me? Not really. But when you leave for six months, one unexpected event is not that bad. Only, I had enough of Wellington, where, to be franc, they is not a lot to do if you travel on a budget. Especially when it rains. Because when it's sunny, you can find something to do.

Not out of solutions, I booked a flight to Queenstown (far from here) for Sunday, after adding a night in my hostel, unfortunately the most expensive of the trip yet.

I still need to track the refunds I hope to get. Yeah!

On another topic, I met a 21 year old Australian who travels the world to find places to trek or hike. He walked on the Himalaya, already, and he confirms he found the Tangariro Alpine Crossing difficult. So there I am, proud of what I accomplished.

That Australian guy uses his walks to find sponsors and get money to fight against breast cancer. I'm trying to get the address of his blog to add it to my links page. It would be an excellent article in the newspaper if he had chosen to climb mount Bellevue in Sherbrooke instead of the Rocky Moutains this fall.