#then i got lost and ended up in the jungle/mangrove area

[konakoro]

Started a new world in Minecraft for the first time in years just to feel something, and spent most of the session going from a jungle to a plains to crossing the ocean because there was a cool mountain, only to see it was mostly just jungle again, then walked through mangroves for 15 minutes, got stuck in a desert, hunkered down in a temple, and finally found a spot for my base.

Also the first jungle I spawned in I found a parrot and immediately befriended him. His name is Bird Friend and he makes skeleton noises to constantly to put the fear of death in me

[1wngdngl]

Let's Play Crash Bandicoot 3 - Part 1

So, rather than make you all wait until I had totally finished Crash Bandicoot 3, I thought – why not make smaller posts about each section of the game as I go through it, since it’s all a new experience for me?

[cut for spoilers]

Packaging

First off, I really like the holographic cover :) My old Crash Bandicoot 2 game had lost its cover/instruction manual ages ago, so I don’t even remember what that looked like.

Speaking of instruction books, I really miss when games came with them. Modern games are all about “intuitive controls” and “pop-up hints”, but I do kinda like having all the important info in one handy reference guide, especially since they are often humorous and feature unique artwork.

Opening cutscene

So, this is the game where Uka Uka makes his first appearance. What, you didn’t know that Aku Aku had a brother, and that he was secretly giving orders to Cortex all along? In terms of narrative it’s pretty similar to Crash suddenly having a sister in CB2. Also, Aku Aku can talk! I don’t know if he talked at all in CB1, but he certainly didn’t in the second game. But now he provides exposition and gameplay hints, and address Crash and Coco as “children” like a kindly grandfather.

Crash and Coco now have a house too, whereas in the intro to CB2 they were just hanging around outside. There’s at least one other house nearby, so do they live in a human village? Maybe that’s where Tawna lives? I do wonder why the siblings have the baby polar bear living with them – is it because we made its parent fall into a pit during the chase level in CB2? Also – and I had this question in the last game – but where exactly did Coco get her laptop? Is there a Circuit City out there in the jungle?

Time Twister

Why doesn’t Uka Uka have any minions guarding this thing? The bandicoots were able to just waltz in and start using it!

…Anyway, the hub level is very similar to CB2. You’ve got different worlds/areas, each with 5 levels, and a boss at the end. There’s no real consistency to the levels in each world – you might be in medieval times first, then underwater, then back with the dinosaurs. CB2 was a bit like that too, and I guess it’s designed that way to maintain variety, but I would probably like it more if each world had a unique theme that applied to all the levels in it.

One thing that’s a bit different from CB2 is that you are actually notified - right at the start of each world - of which boss you’ll eventually fight, and the boss will sometimes send the player messages. I do like that touch, as one of the problems I had with CB2 is that the bosses largely came out of nowhere. CB3 also represents the crystals, gems, and relics as already being in the enemy’s hands at the start, and each one you win gets moved from their side to yours, which is a satisfying feeling.

The basic movement controls are very similar to CB2, and the music has a similar vibe too. I like Crash’s new idle animation where he plays with a yoyo and gets tangled up in it ;)

I’ve finished the first world, so here’s my thoughts about each level:

Level 1-1 Toad Village

This is a medieval-themed world, with a very different setting and music from anything I’ve seen in CB2.

You can check at any time how many total crates there are in a level, rather than having to wait til the end.

There’s more background animations than in the past, with butterflies and birds flitting about, banners waving in the wind, smoke rising from chimneys, etc.

The “rotating” crates are a new experience. From what I understand, they’re a kind of roulette where you can pick what you get, but take too long and the crate becomes unbreakable.

The whole level design feels more open and you can see a lot more of the landscape than in CB2. The camera will pan to highlight views like the castle in the distance.

The Bonus platform has a new red/white/blue color scheme.

Bounce crates only have 5 bounces that give two wumpa each. I did think that bouncing 10 times could get a bit tedious…

Lab assistant appear right from the start, whereas in CB2 it takes a while before you see any.

While Crash largely controls the same, he does seem to have more forward momentum when bouncing on crates than I remember.

The crate gem was quite easy for this level – I wonder if there’ll be lots of hidden crates or split paths later.

Crash still does the Crash Dance when you get a gem :)

This is my first experience with the legendary Crash Bandicoot time trial relics. I wish it was a bit easier to keep track of how you are doing during the level – there’s no ghost to race against, and you can’t check the target time until you finish.

Time trials disable the bonus room and checkpoints. Fortunately, if you die you can start right again without losing a life.

After a few tries I was able to get the Sapphire relic. I’m not going to bother with the Gold relics right now, as they seem very difficult – maybe I need the speed boost power up for that?

Level 1-2 Under Pressure

First underwater level! I’d heard about these. The controls are a bit less precise, more “floaty”, than in the normal platform stages, but at least the steering makes more sense than CB2’s jetpack levels.

The music in this level is subdued and ambient, almost a bit eerie.

I’m not sure what time period this is supposed to be – the design of the tunnels is a bit Jules Verne-esque.

The jet sub is very fun to control, with its high speed and powerful torpedoes. I like blowing up the crates and sharks with it, and it produces a nice “bubbly” vibration while you’re riding it. It’s hard to come to a full stop though, and really frustrating when you lose the sub, as there are certain crates you can’t break otherwise.

There are eels and sharks and pufferfish enemies in this level. I wonder if we’ll see any cyborg animals at some point?

I was sure the Sapphire relic would be a huge pain on this level, but it actually wasn’t too bad, as the Aku masks and sub allow you to power through enemies.

Level 1-3 Orient Express

First level with Coco! This one takes place on the Great Wall of China, with very “oriental” music.

This is a “animal ride” level. The baby tiger is ridiculouslycute, and I feel so bad whenever it gets hurt o.o

The normal level isn’t too bad, but the only way to get the Sapphire relic is to use the “boost” button the whole time, so you’re playing in super-fast speed. Dodging obstacles with barely enough time to react, so you basically have to memorize them, isn’t how I normally like to play, but it is rather exhilarating.

Level 1-4 Bone Yard

This is the first prehistoric level. It alternates being chased by a triceratops with normal platforming. I’m not usually crazy about dinosaur-themed levels, but this one’s pretty good. It has a pretty unique aesthetic, where the ground is black and shiny like it’s obsidian (or oil?) interspersed with bright red lines of magma, there’s big mangrove-like trees towering above you, giant dinosaur skeletons littering the ground or buried in the walls…a bit creepy actually.

I found a red gem silhouette here, so I guess colored gems are making a return.

There’s also weird enemies that look like lab assistants, but they’re hiding out in the water? Are they supposed to be fish?

I like how there’s a separate crate tracker for bonus rounds, since once you leave them you can’t go back.

Level 1-5 Makin’ Waves

This is one of those Coco jet ski levels I’d heard about. The jet ski goes really fast, which makes it tricky to control, but makes jumping over ramps and doing flips very satisfying. This is the first level so far where the camera follows you as you turn, making the world feel dizzyingly large and open. Fortunately, there’s different colored buoys on each side, and even a giant arrow at the top of the screen, to make sure you’re going the right way.

I’m not sure why Cortex has an island cave shaped like his head, or why he has pirate ships with his face on them – are we to assume that the scientists actually spent months conquering each time period in order to get the gems/crystals?

I was sure this level would be another one where the Sapphire relic was a pain, but it wasn’t too bad!

World 1 Boss – Tiny Tiger

For some reason, this takes place in a gladiatorial arena, where Cortex watches on like an emperor. Tiny is also wearing gladiator armor. There’s even a crowd of lab assistants in the background who boo whenever Crash is winning.

Tiny starts the fight by jumping around trying to catch me, like in his CB2 fight, but this time I find it harder to predict where he’s going to land without the defined platforms.

He alternates that with sending out hordes of lions to attack us, and those can be a bit hard to dodge too. It reminds me of that one Mario Party minigame where you have football koopas trying to run you over.

Speaking of Tiny, why is he working for Cortex? I thought he was a boss sent by N. Brio in the last game…

After beating Tiny, I got the “Super-Charged Body Slam” powerup. Not sure how useful this will end up being.

Okay, that's all for now! We'll see if World 2 ramps up the difficulty ;)

[sueboohscorner]

OUTLANDER S3 Ep 11 : "Uncharted" .....New version of Survivor

FIrst....Diana Gabaldon wrote about a short bit about a man on a tropical island that talked to a Coconut named "Coco" LONG before Tom Hanks had Wilson to keep him company.  Just an FYI.

So, Claire jumped ship and the water was supposed to carry her to the Grand Turks where she could get a ship to Jamaica.  That is not what happened. Claire floats for god knows how long and then sees land and barely makes it to the beach. 

The next 12 minutes is her drying her clothes, walking through the middle of the jungle, getting eaten alive by fire ants, having a boa constrictor slithering over her when she wakes up one morning, and basically trying to find water and survive.  In my opinion, 10 minutes too long, especially since there WAS a HURRICANE in the books which we did not get to experience.  I mean Claire hanging in a mangrove holding onto a tree for dear life in dangerously high winds is much more exciting to me.

Nevertheless, she passes out as she just starts to hear a voice and a dog barking.  She wakes up sometime later, convinced she is dying and trying to figure out where she is and then realizes she is tied to the bed hand and foot with a nice glass of water nearby. 

A woman comes in with a poor bedside manner in my opinion and gives Claire the water, but nearly drowns her in doing so.  She tells Claire in Spanish that she is tied up for her own good.  Claire passes back out.

She wakes up again, some time later, and there is a man sitting on the side of her bed and announces to "Mamacita" that their guest is awake at last.  He unties Claire and hands her some water and introduces himself as Father Fogden and asks how she got there.  Claire asks where "here" is and the Father is very pleased to hear she is English. The Father tells her she is on the island of Sam Domingue, three days from Jamaica.  He is shocked to hear that she not only jumped off a ship into the ocean, but is also a doctor.  "It is much more common in the colonies" she tells him lamely.  

Claire learns there is a small village on the other side of the island, a days walk from there.  She could get a boat to the next island over and then to Jamaica.  She is eager to go but the Father says that it is not a good idea in her condition and this is where he gets even weirder....consults with "Coco" his coconut friend for advice.  Oooooookaaaay then.  The Father asks Mamacitia if they have any clothing for Claire, perhaps one of Ermengilda's, but Mamacita says no in a big way and calls Claire a whore really not worthy of the clothing.  Mamacita takes Claire out back and gives her a towel with some soap and a robe.  She can take a bath and she relishes in it.

Back inside, Claire is seated to dinner with Mamacita and the Father.  He tells his story of being a missionary in Cuba and fell deeply in love with a woman there....Ermengilda.  She returned his affections, which surprised him.  However, she was already married to a powerful and dangerous man named Don Hernando and the Father, being a priest is never supposed to become involved with a woman, especially a married one.  So the couple fled together and ended up on the island where they are now.  However, shortly after arriving, Ermengilda became sick and died.  She was Mamacita's only child and is convinced that this "whore" is here to take her daughter's place.  Claire says she wishes to depart as soon as possible.  Of course, Mamacita is more than happy with that plan.  Father Fogden and Mamacita start to argue and Claire excuses herself and sits down the hall next to a room and sees a beautiful dress hanging.  Just then, the Father comes and tells her that it was his Ermengilda's dress.  

Claire listens to the Father talk about this woman he loved.  He turns to Claire and says, “When you loved someone as much as I loved Ermenegilda, it never leaves you."  . He looks at Claire and having heard her tale of woe about Jamie, he understands. “You have loved someone so much that you would risk everything for them,” he says.  Ummmm.....yeah.....that is why I am trying to leave NOW.

The only one left to convince is Coco to which Claire makes a brave, albeit lame attempt at having a conversation with the coconut when she hears the Father approaching.  However, we don't know if this would have worked, because Mamacita starts screaming for the Father.

When the Father and Claire arrive outside, Mamacita says that a "China man" killed and ate Arabella, their favorite goat.  She hands the Father the skinned head which he gently puts on top of a barrel and grabs a jar and dumps some flesh eating beetles on top.  “Voracious little fellows,” he says to Claire, “from a cave called Abandawe."  Claire immediately gets a flashback of Margaret Campbell in Edinburgh warning her about that cave.  I just call it the "other" stone circle.  Yes, people.....there is more than one worldwide and there is usually stone involved, but not always a standing stone circle. The Father says that it is highly regarded as a place of great power by the locals and that there is a history of people "just appearing there".  Hmmmmmm.

Claire asks for more information when she hears the work "China man" again.  Could it be?  She is told that there are sailors on the beach as some damage was done to their ship.  Claire is pointed in the proper direction and she takes off running.

Meanwhile, we finally see Jamie, sitting on the beach.  Apparently some strong winds (again....HURRICANE people...it IS hurricane season the same time every year) came along and they lost several crew members, like Captain Raines and Mr. Murphy (the cook).  They are busy trying to fix their mast and sails.  Marsali is even asked to help as she is good with a needle and thread.

Claire, running as fast as her feet can run through the jungle, convinced that it is Jamie (hey...it COULD be the same ship you jumped off of...but okay).  There is a montage of men working to get things fixed and picked up and Claire running.  Question becomes, will she make it on time? She cuts open her arm pretty good on the way through, but manages to keep going.  When she finally arrives on the beach, she sees the Artemis out in the ocean.  The ship hasn't left yet, thank goodness, but they are too far away to hear her screaming.  They are not ready to sail just yet, they are still adding the finishing touches to their repairs.  

Claire had pocketed a small mirror earlier at dinner time when she went to sit by herself.  She thinks of it now and uses it as a beacon which catches Jamie's eye.  When Jamie looks through the spyglass and sees his beloved Claire there, the next thing we see is Claire running toward the beach and small boat arriving at the beach, but Jamie is already out and running towards Claire. 

A beautiful reunion moment, where Jamie tells her he thought he lost her again and he thanks God that they have found each other.  Kissing of course comes with this.

A little later, Jamie and Claire are talking and Jamie confesses he has given his blessing to Fergus and Marsali to be married.  He has seen that Fergus loves Marsali like he loves Claire.  He thinks it a good idea to have a wedding as a way of lifting the mood of the men and a celebration (they found each other again!).  Claire just happens to know of someone who could help out in that area. Oh, and Mr. Willoughby stitches up Claire and she approves of his work.

Back at the "ranch", Marsali is trying to get herself ready for her wedding.  She is having difficulties with her corset and Claire comes to help her.  She asks Claire if she knows of a way to prevent pregnancy.  Claire asks why a young girl like Marsali would not be pleased to start a family right away.  First, Marsali says she just wants to have her and Fergus time to enjoy each other (very future modern of her).  She then confesses that when Jamie would pull her mother close, her mom would shrink back.  But, she sees Jamie with Claire and it is different.  Claire loves the touching, etc.  Claire admits she does and as she finishes up the corset on Marsali, tells her once they are back on the boat, she will tell her how it is done. 

Marsali is pleased that there is actually a way and that maybe Claire is not the devil after all.  Gee....thanks girl.

The wedding happens....well....for the most part.  LOL!  Father Fogden is high, crazy and possibly drunk (but there was none of the famous drink in the show).  He turns to the wrong man and asks him if he chooses to marry this woman and the poor man says no and points to Fergus.  The Father asks if he is sure as this "one" only has one hand a “I suppose it’s fine unless he’s missing his cock. He isn’t, is he?” asks the priest. To which Marsali responds, saucily, “I could tell you if you’d up and get on with it.”  Marsali is getting impatient and speaks her mind a few times.  When it comes to Fergus's turn, the Father asks his WHOLE name.  Fergus tells him that Fergus is his name. 

Jamie speaks up that his name is Fergus Claudel FRASER.  Fergus is more than pleased.

Back on the ship, we don't get to see Fergus and Marsali, but we get our Turtle Soup scene, although it isn't quite as good as the book version IMO.  Claire is slurping up soup and telling Jamie how good it is.  She is obvious drunk (from the soup) and Jamie also sees she is burning up of fever. 

She tries to get him to help her inject her with the penicillin.  Jamie gets close, but can't do the final deed of stabbing her with it.  Claire does it herself.  She comes on strong to Jamie and tells him to bolt the door as she is climbing over the table to him. 

Jamie thinks it is wrong to take advantage of a woman who is drunk and feverish.  Claire disagrees and says she is not drunk.  What follows is a hot sex scene (they finally do it like "horses" like Jamie thought on the wedding night), but Mr. Willoughby knocks to see how "first wife" likes the soup and if she wants anymore.  Jamie is trying his best to do his deed, and keep his wife quite but she isn't that easy to handle.  Mr. Willoughby gets the message when he hears a couple of sounds and walks away.

That is a great way to end an episode.  At least this week, they are together and not in danger.  However, we still have Jamaica and for one, I am NOT happy they chose to do it in only two episodes.  Jamaica is almost HALF of the freaking book and quite a bit happens while they are there.  Well, I guess we will see.

What are your thoughts or opinions on this episode?  I give it a FOUR as they once again spent too much time on something where they could put something they are leaving out IN.

[vietnamtour-blog]

A young and enquiring mind takes to travel

A young and enquiring mind takes to travel

Were it not for the pandemic, my daughter Wolf and I would have spent the summer travelling to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chongqing. But with borders closed, we came up with Plan B: visiting five national parks from Vietnam’s north to south: Cat Ba and Cuc Phuong in the north, Phong Nha and Bach Ma in the central region, and Nam Cat Tien in the south.

THROUGH A CHILD’S EYES: Ten-year-old Wolf loved Lan Ha Bay and the ‘secret valleys’ surrounded by limestone karst mountains. VNS Photo Thu Quynh

The return of COVID-19, however, also put a stop to that. But not before we had at least enjoyed the beauty of Cat Ba National Park.

Cat Ba National Park

Every summer we plan to go somewhere, so little Wolf can experience the life, culture, and people of different places and pick up the skills needed to live close to nature.

We embark upon a trip whenever possible, and Wolf’s first was when she was just a few months old.

Spanning more than 150 square kilometres, Cat Ba National Park is one of the best protected areas in the country in terms of biodiversity, with the tropical and sub-tropical ecologies common to Asia. It also has the karst geology typical to the region — a vast area of rainforest on limestone karst structures, with mangrove forests, large coral reefs, tidal zones, and salt water lakes.

The park has all that’s necessary to become a global geopark: beautiful pristine beaches, unique caves with stalactites and stalagmites, and a diverse biological gene pool. It’s a whole world for nature lovers to explore.

Tours and treks are available, and no entry tickets are required, despite what many people think.

But it is, however, a protected zone, for it contains protected flora and fauna, and you need a ticket to get in.

On Cat Ba Island you can walk from one ecological zone to another within a day. You can move from rainforests on limestone karsts to mangrove forests in mountains (at Ao Ếch). You can also walk from a mangrove forest by the seaside for a swim around coral reefs near the shore. You can then explore caves to search for the home of thousands of bats or take a walk through fields of crops grown in valleys by local farmers.

Such biodiversity makes Cat Ba National Park worth a visit any time of the year.

IDYLLIC SURROUNDINGS: The ‘butterfly valley’ is the best spot to explore nature. VNS Photo Thu Quynh

When little Wolf was six years old, I started to let her do a little web searching to choose where we would stay on our trips. She always looked for somewhere with distinctive features and attractions, and even decided where we would eat.

To avoid busy Cat Ba Town, we stayed in chill bungalows in a pine forest 15km away, which felt like another world.

Each bungalow is hidden under tall pine trees, with dried pine needle making a soft carpet for you to step on. In front of each is a hammock, where you can lie and look up at the sky through the foliage.

The back of our bungalow looked out over a small stream, where it was possible to bathe in the cool water. There was also a little trekking route, for those keen to stretch the legs but wary of the harsh sun.

TAKING CARE: Beware of whirlpools when kayaking around ‘Three Giant Peaches’ on Lan Ha Bay. VNS Photo Thu Quynh

Green island, white clouds

After some thought, we decided to get around Cat Ba by motorbike, which is the best way of doing so. Though we rode around under the scorching July sun, the sea breeze kept us cool.

Walking up Mt Ngu Lam turned out to be more challenging than we expected. It was only a kilometre and a half, but there were no steps. It was so steep we had to grab on to rocks to climb. It turned out to be too much for ten-year-old Wolf. The surface was slippery and more dangerous than she or even I could handle. Though she wanted to give it a try, I decided we should turn around.

We stopped at a café shortly after, where the owner told us we had made the right decision. Just a few days prior, a young girl older than Wolf had slipped and ended up in hospital. Needless to say, I felt quite lucky. I always want my child to take on a challenge, but only if it’s actually within her abilities.

Having missed out on the peak of Mt Ngu Lam, Wolf learned what she could about rare and precious wood trees like lát hoa (Chukrasia tabularis A.Juss), which provides a beautiful finish thanks to its wavy grain. She also learned about ironwood and menghundor, which are just some of the many valuable woods found in tropical jungles.

She had a fun time trying to poke at the bushes. Whenever she touched them, the leaves would slowly fold. When they opened up again, she made them fold again. She also came across a butterfly with quite strange colours.

For those of you who like a bit of a thrill, there’s a peculiar sight in the park — an abandoned house near the entrance. Park employees used to live there, but they had to move elsewhere out of respect for the protected zone.

Under a rotting roof, all doors and windows had long since been lost and the paint on the walls had faded. It had a vintage yet gloomy feeling, like a haunted house in a ghost story. It would have served well as a background for ghost-themed photos too, but those rotting tiles could literally come crashing down at any time.

Later that day we found ourselves lost in a “butterfly valley”. Located in Lien Minh Commune, the valley was exceptionally tranquil — a large flat expanse surrounded by tall karst mountains. Thousands of butterflies fly about around noon, creating a beautiful and appealing scene for a curious child like Wolf.

It’s also a popular spot for expats and foreign tourists keen on rock climbing. Wolf also got to see cattle drinking water for the first time, and enjoyed watching buffaloes take a cool bath. If you ever find yourself in Cat Ba, remember to spend a few hours or even an entire afternoon just hanging out in this wonderful valley. It has a distinct vibe and aura not found elsewhere.

Reaching it requires navigating a few steep slopes, which always gets the heart racing. But I’d taken on steeper slopes in the northwestern mountains, so these were quite manageable.

The path leading to the valley starts out in Cat Ba’s main street, stretching for 35km and connecting the town with Cat Hai. We fell in love with the beautiful landscapes we encountered along the way, and came to the conclusion that motorbike is by far the best way to take in everything the island has to offer.

Once in a while, we had a bonus — giant white clouds fluttering overhead like enormous cotton candy. It felt like heaven!

During our days on Cat Ba we had cloud parties, with white cloud dawns and pink cloud sunsets. We felt like rubbing our heads in these soft bundles of joy and wanted so much to somehow reel one in and keep it. It might seem silly, but we’re not ashamed to say it out loud!

Seas around Cat Ba and Lan Ha Bay

Cat Ba’s beaches are known for their spectacular white sands, crystal clear waters, and soft waves lapping ashore. But the island has so much more to offer than just lazing on the beach.

SERENE SPOT: The Cat Ba Ecolodge, where we stayed while exploring the national park. VNS Photo Thu Quynh

We decided to rent a small boat and set sail. The sky was a deep blue at some point, but quickly turned to grey and then became quite dark. The sea began to swell, but retained its beauty.

The waves were making it a rough ride for Wolf. She became tired and a little bit seasick. But the sight of Cai Beo Village — one of Vietnam’s oldest and largest fishing villages and still fit for purpose — lifted her spirits.

Boats have bobbed up and down in the waters here for, historians say, as long as 7,000 years. Their different colours make Cai Beo simply beautiful. As our boat approached, it felt as though we were heading towards a 3D image.

Wolf got to see lives different from her own, all happening on the limited space of a boat’s deck. Her jaw dropped at the sight of kids her age swimming like fish or rowing boats with such skill and ease. The kids jumped quickly from one boat to another, each of which seemed to have one or two dogs, who barked cheerfully when the visitors — Wolf and I — arrived.

After passing Cai Beo Village we were in Lan Ha Bay. The karst islands that dot the bay come in more shapes and sizes than you could possibly imagine and are a true wonder of the world. Nestled on some of the karst islands were small beaches that have remained untouched by tourism all these years.

It’s also heaven for rock climbers and those who like to dive into water from great heights. The most famous rock — known as the Leaning Tower — has a steady stream of people climbing up and then plunging into the sea. A group of bungalows nearby house the rock climbers and other adventurous types.

TRIED & TRUE: Cai Beo fishing village, one of the country’s oldest, where you can enjoy giant garupa. VNS Photo Le Thu Quynh

Some of the karst islands have “secret valleys”, which can only be accessed by passing through caves. When the tide is high, though, grottos can also become submerged, and our destination, Coca rocks, became out of reach. So we rowed into one of these secret valleys instead.

There you can keep rowing or stop and take a break. There was a tree high above in full bloom, its white flowers exuding a sweet fragrance. Wolf fell asleep after the rough boat trip, perhaps dreaming of new destinations to come.

I lay down, contemplating our surroundings. It was like being in a place with no connection at all to the “real world” we occupy every day of our lives.

(Source: VNS)

Le Thu Quynh* (Le Thu Quynh is known among the travel community in Vietnam as Kìn Còi, the influencer)

Source: https://blog.evivatour.com/a-young-and-enquiring-mind-takes-to-travel/

[andy-abroad]

Mumbai_02

June.13.2017 Hello, hello-- What a long day it's been... although long, I feel as if I haven't done much! This morning when my alarm went off at 7, I was unusually tired. I knew I was probably still a bit tired from traveling, but I didn't think I would be that tired. I got up, brushed my teeth and got ready for the day. While brushing my teeth and trying to figure out what time it was back home, I realized I was also probably a little jet lagged. I'm 3.5hours ahead of Egypt, which is enough to make and difference! I got dressed rather quickly and headed out the door. I learned my lesson from yesterday and wore a dri-fit t shirt, as I knew I would be soaked in sweat, but the material would help keep me cool... or at least dry quicker! After all the intense rain, I was surprised to see there wasn't that much water to be seen. It was explained to me that there is actually a pretty good irrigation system, that carries the water to the mangroves outside the city. It made me kind of interested in seeing these mangroves, or at least researching about them because there are literally piles of garbage just around the street. Mumbai is incredibly impoverished and as a result, not the cleanest. I walked to the train, same as yesterday, and some how ended up at a different station. It was okay, as it was just the next stop up from where I wanted to go. I got a ticket to the end of the line, found my train, and got a seat. It's really interesting that I've seen everyone get e ticket, but no one come around and check. It would be difficult when there are literally hundreds of people in a train car during busy times, where one can barely breathe, let alone move. But I think they know that if no one pays, the trains won't run. When it was time to get off, I was slammed by a wall of men trying to get on. I think it was time to work, and it was kind of horrifying. I saw someone get off the train (while still moving, as is normal) very early in terms of the platform. I now realized he did this to avoid how crazy it got later. After I got off the train, I realized that my water bottle had fallen out of my backpack's pocket. The pocket is pretty loose and it's happened before, but the once empty train had now filled up. I was absolutely devastated, as that bottle always allows me to have a source of clean water and be a little prepared. I asked around if anyone could see it, and someone joked that I would never get it back. Miraculously, someone had put it on the luggage rack, and I spotted it as it's bright green. After some hand gestures and locals translating, they passed my bottle to me and I cheered. We all cheered! It was great. I turned around and began my search for breakfast. I got another samosa and some kind of bread with a really good sauce at a stand, and bought an extra water to be careful. I scarfed my food down and made moves to the park entrance. On today's list we're these caves that Buddhist monks carved a monastery into. Over a hundred caves were found and preserved! I got to the gate of the park and paid an entrance fee. I read online that there was a bus to take passengers to the caves, as it's about 7 kilometers away. I got on the bus but was told it wouldn't be leaving for a long time, as the bus had to fill up first before it left. I waited for 20 minutes. The man then kept trying to get me to take a local car for 20x the price of the bus, and so I decided I would spend the day hiking through this park to get to the cave. Stubborn. On my walk, I noticed that there were bicyclists and people riding mopeds. I figured you could rent them, and regretted a bit not poking around to see if I could find one. I walked through a lush forest/jungle. It's the largest nation park of this kind in the world, and is bordered on all sides by the city. There is a tiger preserve and a lion preserve inside. Both were closed, unfortunately! During my walk I made sure to take some breaks and to drink water - I didn't want heat stroke, as I was sweating so much. It didn't take long before my shirt was a different color, and I had to shake out my hat from all the sweat! It wasn't that hot, but the air was so still and very thick with moisture. I saw river crabs, herons, and even monkeys on my walk! Something I didn't really understand was that within this park, there were little compounds of houses, that seemed like slums. India has a huge population, and not all of them can be housed in houses like we think of, so they sleep in sheds, more or less. After about and hour and a half, and much sweating, I made it to the top! It was a pretty nice view, and I took a well deserved break at their little shop. I bought a water, as I had finished all of mine, and filled my bottle back up. The caves themselves were interesting, in that they were all of different uses, so they were all of different architectural styles. The biggest meeting hall and the classroom were all beautifully decorated with carvings and paintings, while the smaller rooms and living areas weren't as ornamented. I'm always so impressed by the power people have to do such great works that take such an insane amount of man power. The caves are scattered all through the side of the mountain, and I wandered for a good amount of time. Some of them smelled like pee, and I later saw one of the guards peeing on one, which is rather unfortunate. The mountain was also pretty dry, despite all the rain, which again made me wonder: where did this water go? Something weird and kind of funny was that a man and his daughter starting talking to me, telling me to go to this temple or something, and I didn't feel like bothering, so I started speaking Korean. They assumed I didn't speak English and left me alone. They talked Hindi to each other and all I could understand was "Chinese" and I lost it! I'm so tired of being asked if I'm Chinese. I told them promptly that I spoke English, I was disinterested in their temple, and that they should learn the difference between Asian races or not comment at all. When I felt that I had seen all I wanted to see, I headed back down. I was going to take the bus no matter what! I waited at what I thought was a bus stop for a bit, until someone told me that this was the old bus stop, and the new one is further down the mountain. I walked a bit more down and found the bus had just arrived. On my walk to the bus, people were buying these sliced melons from street vendors. I really wanted to try some, but I know that unwashed fruit, or fruit from the street is the easiest way to get sick. So I resisted and drank water! I got on the bus and waited for 20 minutes. The bus wasn't full, but we left anyways. I was very glad to have taken the bus this time. I also discovered that I had some pretty bad mosquito bites. I didn't itch them, and they didn't bother me too badly, but I will be spraying myself with some before I leave from now on out. At the exit, I really wanted to find a small shop or something to buy post cards. I realized that I hadn't seen a shop like this yet, but also realized that this might not really be a thing in Mumbai! I can always try the airport, which I will if I have to, but I will also keep my eyes open. From the entrance, I took a rickshaw to Borivali station. When I had tried to get one earlier in the morning, I couldn't get anyone to take me because they didn't know where I wanted to go. Maybe language barrier, maybe they just didn't want to do it because it was more difficult. Regardless, I figured it wouldn't be that hard to get me to the central train station. It was such a cool experience to be zipping in and out of cars and in just a giant mass of rickshaws! And it was very cheap! I got on my train, found my seat, and started back to the hostel. Originally I was going to try and walk the famous bridge, but my legs were too tired, so I decided to go and explore Bandra West instead. I got to the hostel of searching some things on wifi, dropping my things off, and leaving. My plans changed however, when I was told there were some issues with the wifi and it wasn't working... even if my cell signal was spotty, I had enough to do some quick research. I found a cool area I would want to walk around, and decided to go. But wait! It was 4:30, and everything is closed until 6-7, as it's the dinner prep. I was a bit disappointed but had plenty to do, as my laundry came back. I repacked my bag, and sorted out some things, and was so joyed to see all of my underwear clean and ready to go! I am missing my white dri-fit shirt. I looked at my photos and found that I wore it in Cairo, the day before I went on my camel ride. I also remember counting 21 articles of clothing, but only got back 20. I don't know whether or not to ask about it, or just assume that it's lost forever. I only brought the essentials, and after today, that shirt is an essential essential! After the packing, I still had some time so I took a quick nap to recharge and then I wrote the first half of this! Around 7 I called an Uber. My wifi was still down so I was using really spotty data. I would have about 30 seconds before it would turn off and I had to reconnect. Luckily, I got a car to drive me to dinner, although it took about 20 minutes to get here. Apparently he tried to call me a bunch of times, but my number is the 703 number. I tried to change it but my service wasn't strong enough. I was standing on the corner constantly refreshing, watching his car get closer and closer! I was very thankful my data didn't act up during this kind of stressful time. Anyways, I got to where I needed to go, and I wasn't disappointed. I found this restaurant through google. It got decent reviews and was near some of the bars my friend told me I should check out. I wanted to find someone I could go with, but I couldn't! It didn't stop me, haha. I went and I had a nice dinner. I had some shrimp soup to start, that tasted a bit like ramen! Then I had chicken curry with rice and naan. I had a beer and water as well. The whole thing, including tip was around 30 USD. A bit more than I was looking to spend, but nice atmosphere, very clean, and really cool location. The theme was vintage and they played a lot of frank Sinatra, big band type music. They even put the food on my plate for me, which was kind of fancy. Even the menu was in perfect english! During dinner, I used their wifi to download a few shows and to catch up with people. I'm much more connected than last time, and I think it's because I'm alone, but also the locations are not as.... industrialized as Europe! I paid for dinner and went just around the corner to a few bars. Beer was surprisingly expensive, and I didn't want to get drunk by myself in a foreign city. If I was closer to the hostel then maybe, but I was about a 2 mile walk (complicated streets) so I didn't want to risk it. I had a beer at two bars and then decided to call it a night. I might return tomorrow to explore in the day time, because there seemed to be a lot of little cafes and cool places to explore. There were also a lot of tourists at where I ate dinner, but none at the bars. If there were, I would have definitely tried to have joined them, haha. I used the last bar's wifi to call an Uber. Luckily there was one close by and he came to get me within 5 minutes. I got in the car and before I knew it, I was almost at the hostel. He dropped me off and I said thanks. I saw some people hanging out and chatted a bit, but they weren't really my type of people so I excused myself for bed. I am planning on running tomorrow morning! I brushed my teeth and washed my face, but didn't shower. I am a bit sticky but also lazy. I am not as sweaty as I was before - night here is cool, but also I was in a car the entire time... Anyways, I am going to bed now and will hope to have a fun and relaxed last day in Mumbai tomorrow. Then it's off to kerela/Cochin area! Until whenever--