Viva Las Vegas

Warning : Gilly is blurred on the picture. It's because of the camera... and the photographer.
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I got in Sin City. After a delay on my flight to Chicago, two change of gates and karma (him again) which put me in the only row of the plane where a passenger went missing (more room for me), the plane landed in Vegas.

And the luggages got here too. Even with just a one hour layover. Take that, TAP! One hour, it's enough to transfer luggages. Even in an airport as big as Chicago's. But how can American Airlines possibly do it?

Enough with being bitter.

Fact : Vegas is freezing. Yes! Even with a winter coat on, it's cold. And for those who shaved their heads before leaving, a hat is a must.

So I got my rental car wishing to find traveling partners in the hostel. No luck! I'll be alone in my Mitsubishi Galant for two weeks.

Hostel wise, mine was under a big "Strippers" sign. And it had that little dirty feeling. But I slept well. With the prices of the hotels, people traveling with a group or those with a little money have an easy choice. It leaves the poors and the adventurers.

Not wanting to loose myself in sin, instead of walking the "strip" or getting married in a chapel with a fake Elvis as a witness, I went to Red Rock Canyon, just outside of the city. Had I planned a little more, I would have hiked all day. It seems like a good place to do so. But spending a few hours in the car there was also nice.

Anyway, I walked on Las Vegas Boulevard, visited a few casinos without really having fun. I tested slot machines and I'm still not sure I fully understand how they work. Playing one cent at a time is not a good way to win big anyway. Still, I saw a couple win 1000 $ in a poker slot machine.

In the end, I went to say hi to Cirque du Soleil for Love first, and Zumanity at the end of the evening. Not without getting lost between the casinos (with the car). Seeing all the empty seats made me wonder if January is the problem in Vegas or if we should be worried for the shows.

Lot more for the larger public, Love is worth seeing and is more impressive.

Tomorrow : sunrise over the Grand anyon (and freezing weather). We've seen worst!

Tips

To get cheap tickets for shows, Tix4Tonight offers better prices than the official websites. You can find a couple of their deals on Las Vegas Boulevard. If January is not an exception, you can find las minute tickets.

For Zumanity, prices at the door are cheaper than the ones online on New York New York website. All the seats available were not on the website either. Getting there 10 minutes before the show, I could choose the place I wanted. Went for the cheapest one. Got upgraded near the stage anyway. Had I wanted that ticket, I would have paid twice the price... Be careful folks.

Leaving again

Gilly is ready to go.

After a five months hiatus, the time to leave again has come.... Already? Not too soon I'm tempted to say.

They say the best way to conquer a fear is to face it. The best way to get over a trip might be to travel again. We'll see.

In a few hours, I'll be flying to Las Vegas. Not exactly an adventure like the one I lived last year. But the concept was a road trip across Nevada, Arizona and California. With an Australian friend I met traveling. That sounds more like an adventure.

But things happen and I'll go solo. Too bad! Same road, same destinations. Can't wait for others to come with you they say.

I still have some fears. Irrational ones, like being afraid of boredom and the discomfort to leave alone (!), and the more rationals, like being afraid of being a grandpa in a Vegas hostel, where other guests will probably be wilder than me. Hostel in Vegas, we'll see what it's like. With a little luck, I'll find some partners to share the road to the Grand Canyon.

Also in the plan : a detour in Death Valley, a stop in Los Angeles, where I should spend some time with a friend I met in Jordan, and a drive on the californian coast to San José, where I should reunite with a friend I met in Greece.

If I was really lucky, the Los Angeles Kings would start their season on the day I get in LA. Everybody, let's ask the Universe! Haha!

Tip

In the category "search for promo codes on Google before booking anything", I found the website broke.travel which, for now, helps me save the booking fees on hostelworld.com

Vietnam visa

Hanoi

Since I got in Hanoi, Vietnam, I can confirm the electronic process to get the Vietnam visa works. But it is possible you encounter some problems on the way.

First, you need to register on www.myvietnamvisa.com. With a credit card or a PayPal account, you pay the fees. It is not the amount for the visa itself, but the service fees.

Two or three days later, by e-mail, you receive an acceptation letter and a list of the people who are part of your "group". Because the company makes requests for groups. So don't be surprised to see so many names on your acceptation letter.

You need to print the documents and two copies of a form you need to fill. You also need a passport picture.

That process is possible only if you get in the country in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City airport. Otherwise, you need to get help from a travel agency.

In Hanoi airport, the desk where you get the visa is clearly marked. You give all the papers, pay the 25 $US in cash. No ATM to be seen anywhere. So make sure you have the money. Afterwards, bingo, you get a visa for 30 days.

However, in Tokyo-Narita airport (where I was leaving from), the employee at the desk clearly had never heard about that procedure. Seeing no visa in my passport, she got worried. When I showed her the acceptation letter, she needed to talk to her boss. The boss looked as surprised as the employee.

She finally made photocopies and decided to let me go. I don't know why, I was getting worried too. Keep smiling! No panic. Deep breath.

Other anecdote : the flight to Hanoi had a stopover in China. Never as easy in China, since I needed to wear a sticker on my clothes to prove I needed to change plane. Instead of identifying the luggages so they get directly to our destination, like everywhere else in the world, we needed to fill a really small coupon with our name, final destination and a phone number to reach us.

Me : Euh... I don't have a phone.
A surprised woman : REALLY?
...
...
(Big silence)
A surprised woman : Put the number of your hotel then.

GET OVER IT! Some people still don't have a phone when they travel, even in 2012!

It is true the payphones are harder to find almost everywhere in the world and some hostels now reduce the time they have someone at the desk. They put a sign on the front door saying you can call 24 hours a day to get in. Like if you're stuck outside at night. That is them assuming everybody has a phone...

Tip

In Vietnam, like in China, Syria or United Arab Emirates, for example, Facebook is censored. It is necessary to install a proxy on your computer BEFORE you get in the country itself if you want to poke you friends while you're there. The most popular one seems to be Freegate. Other than a problem that lasted for a couple of days in China, the software worked well.

Nagano, nothing to do

Monkey Park, near Nagano

Well, it is said. There is nothing, or almost, to do in Nagano. The might have hosted the Olympics, but the downtown area has no exciting attractions.

I booked for two nights, had one more before I got in Tokyo. The road to mount Fuji seemed complicated. By pure laziness, I chose to stay one more night in Nagano.

First afternoon, I visited the only interesting temple in town, two minutes away from my hostel. For 500 JPY (!), it was possible to go down in the absolute darkness of the basement. Walking along the wall, one wishes to find a metal  key hanging on one wall. It is said that touching it garantees the salute of your soul. The salute of mine is assured since I got scamed in a temple in Pingyao, but I didn't want to risk anything. After all, the Lonely Planet says that 500 JPY for your salute of your soul is worth it.

I then used Nagano as a base to visit Matsumoto and the Monkey Park. Monkeys there are not afraid of humans. They are not tamed, but they are used to see us.

Karma is back. In Matsumoto, a nice old man offered to guide me around the castle for free. He had so many things to tell me. And I could see every room up close because of what he was saying.

What is nice, also, is my hostel. It is a true hostel, but in the house of a nice Japanese woman. She always offers food or suggestions on things to do. It's like sleeping at a local's house, without disturbing them.

Tip

Note that most japanese ATM won't take the north-american or european bank cards. How to survive? Some ATM in the post offices, convenient stores, especially 7-Elevens, work most of the times. With a little bit of luck, you'll find some in Lawson and Familymart. But it takes luck.

And then there were two

*Please note that the chinese internet refuses to let me upload pictures. Gilly's pictures will have to wait.

Happy anniversary to you... That is what Marilyn would sing, this Sunday, to celebrate two months of globe-trotting between time zones.

Two months, a third of the trip, are now just memories. But remember, that's about a year in the life of a round-the-world traveler.

No real health issues yet (fingers crossed) even if the lack of sleep and the chinese food are sometimes having their effect on me. Nothing to traumatise me either. But a lot of little discomfort. That's normal.

In the assessment mode, like expected, China is the biggest challenge on the language and culture side, even if there is nothing too surprising since everything is shown on tv and on the internet. I only needed to get rid of my north-american reflexes, and of my preconceived ideas on the way things should be done.

Anyway, I wonder about the energy I'll need for the asian portion of my trip. We'll see.

Here, for those who are interested, are the cities I visited in that second month :

Australia : Melbourne, Geelong, Apollo Bay, Kennett River, Warrnambool, Halls Gap, Ballarat, Lakes Entrance, Threbdo, Canberra, Sydney, Blue Mountains.

Hong Kong 

Macao

Hong Kong

China : Shanghai, Hangzhou, Huangshan, Xi'an


Tip

Always try to know how much the others paid for an object you want to buy in Asia. It'll help you negociate. Booking a room online allows you to save money too. I paid 40 RMB for my room in Xi'an through hostelworld.com. Behind the desk at the hostel, it's written a room costs 60 RMB...

A great wall of language

Hangzhou

China is without a doubt the most tiring country I visited yet. Because you need a lot of energy, especially when you travel alone, to make your way around a country where you can't be understood. Or almost.

One needs to try to understand, on top of all the usual stuff you encounter in a new city : avoid getting lost, how does the metro works, watch the wallet, find a supermarket...

I had a similar experience in Europe, in Poland for example. But at least, there, the alphabet was the same. Or almost. I could read stuff on the street signs or on a map.

By chance, Hong Kong and Shanghai have bilingual signs : cantonese (or mandarin) and english. But it's not as easy when you get out of the big cities...

That's when tips come handy. First tip : always have a business card of the hostel or hotel you're staying in. The address is often written in chinese on it and it helps being understood everywhere. Lost? A taxi will bring you back where you belong.

Tip number 2 : Bring a guidebook (like Lonely Planet) that offers a translation of all the proper names. Lost? You can show the symbols in the book and people understand immediately... At least, it's to wish for...

I experimented that in Hangzhou today. There, english, and even french, can be read on signs in temples and parks. But to take the bus or order in the restaurant, nothing you can do. My book could at least help me when I boarded the wrong bus... and to find one by trying and making mistakes...

I can also confirm it is very important to listen to that little voice inside of yourself that says you need to go back. I paid to get in the park that leads to the Lingyin Temple. But oh surprise, you need to pay again to get in the temple of the same name. The ticket I got only allowed me to see other attractions. The problem is I was running out of time. I paid for everything, but I definitely haven't seen everything. The little voice in me was telling me to go back to the bus, just in case. Because I had a train to catch.

The decision was a good one. Took me one hour to get to the train station. Squeezed like sardines in a public bus, the Chinese won't hesitate to walk on each other and to push each other to grab every free room. After one hour, I was starting to feel bad in there, especially because of the heat. It was time for me to get out and to breath fresh air.

Scam

There we go. I confirm you need to distrust the young chinese couples in very touristic places. They target white people, ask them to take a picture for them, engage in a conversation and end up inviting them to share a tea ceremony. A very expensive one. If you say no, they will insist. Three times yet I got invited. Always the same process. Lying is very not nice, but I use the excuse of "Oh! The tea? Been there yesterday..." Like that, they are reassured and think my money was already stolen. And they leave me alone.

Octopus card

Little tip about Hong Kong.  You can find the Octopus card, very useful, that is the exact copy of a project we had in Sherbrooke a couple of years back. It's a "paypass" type card you can recharge as you wish to pay for public transportation, restaurants and grocery stores.

In the metro, for example, the cost of every trip is lower with the card. Cheaper than buying tickets one by one. Only problem is since you never put the hand in your pocket to pay, you lose track of how much you spend. Money goes away very fast.

You can buy that card in the airport and you will get a complet refund (except for some fees) when you leave.

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.

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...)

Thousands of questions

A baptism. Funerals. Lot of work to do. There is a long list of tasks I have to take care of before I can do my check-in in Burlington Airport.

But yet, I spend my time asking myself stupid questions. Will I get a haircut somewhere on the road or do I shave it all? (Stupid questions, I told you) Where do I find a map to find my way in Osaka? Is there an ATM in Petra's airpot? Will I encounter a place cold enough so I need to bring a warm jacket in my luggage? Should I bring my sleeping bag? Should I cancel my cell phone plan? Should I buy a bus pass in New Zealand or should I find my way as I go? Where is Jean Charest's forest in Adelaide? Will Olivier stay one more week on Star Académie? How can I find my way around if I was told not to talk to strangers? 

And there is all those people who wish to see me before I go, while I have so much to do. Maybe I'll need to use Skype to satisfy everybody.

Luckily, there are those nice people coming to me with suggestions. Vicky and Daniel told me about the JR pass in Japan, which is made especially for strangers. Marie Eve reminds me I should buy it fast before I leave. Louise, who tells me it is totally possible to get the chinese visa in Hong Kong.

Oh! And another thing. I need to review my itinerary, already, to limit the problems. And I need to make sure the plane tickets will stay as cheap as possible, even if I improvise on the way. Plan A, to link Sydney and Osaka, becomes Plan B : Sydney Hong-Kong. But I still want to go to Japan. We'll see how often it'll change before I get there.

Tip
This one is very simple. But still. It seems impossible to get anywhere without making a list. List of things to do. List of stuff I need to put in my luggage. List of the credit cards, bank accounts and other financial resources. But the most important is the list of things to buy before the departure date. Be smarter than I was. Put that stuff immediately on the list of things to bring too. I took notes left and right and I'm now very afraid of forgetting something because I didn't put it on the list. Probably for nothing.

Three Little Needles

Voila! It's done! I got my vaccines against most of the really bad diseases which could attack me in the far corners of the globe.

The Traveler's Clinic, it was an excellente idea. With the list of the countries I wish to visit, they looked at all the diseases I could get. The future tourist, me, can than choose if he accepts or not the vaccines recommended. Because some of them are really expensive.

Meanwhile, the nurse gave me a lot of flyers on what to do and what not to do to prevent myself from getting infected by anything. Diphtheria, tetanos, whooping cough, hepatitis, typhoid, yellow fever, etc. could all be combined in three vaccines.

Very expensive, the rabies vaccine can prevent you from getting a sort of blood transfusion you might not want to get in some countries that are less developped. You need three injections, the last one being 28 days after the first one.

Once I got my vaccines, I saw a doctor who gave me a flyer for each country I want to visit. Each one describes the risks for malaria, for example. The doctor filled a list of prescriptions to renew the medicine I already am taking.

They include Imodium, Cipro and Zithromac against diarrhea, Malarone to prevent me from getting malaria, and gastrolyte. They recommend to bring Benadryl againt allergies and pristine, a pouder to treat water to make it drinkable. Don't forget the spray against mosquitos, Gravols, sunscreen and Polysporin.

Tip
For prevention, you can bring syringes. If you need an injection, you could demand that the doctors use your clean and sterilized syringes. It is better if you can get a letter from your doctor which confirms you are allowed to transport syringes.