Walking and Hiking Tours of Busan

Funny thing happened TODAY .  I went out into the backyard, and saw the head of a mouse.  Turns out my cat left it there and ate the body.  It's cat culture to leave the entire kill, or at least a portion of it for the master, namely me.  I also had a great Triceps, back, calves, abs, and gluts workout this morning. Turns out I didn't go out on THURSDAY NIGHT after all.  I am committed to keeping in shape, and with the AFL Grand Final Gala and the Thursday night party only two days apart, I couldn't justify it.  Anyways, my waistline is thanking me now. SATURDAY I skipped dinner on FRIDAY , in preparation for the five star hotel champagne buffet breakfast.  It was pure Australian fare; oven baked tomatoes, beef and chicken sausages, an egg and juice station, hash browns, bacon, bread, fruit, baked beans, but for me, the cereal corner was the main treat.  I had Raisin Bran and All Bran mixed together, and man, it was good.  I don't...

Carol and I both had an excellent week long vacation with Carol's Mom (May), and two nephews, Leo (17 years old) and Lee-Koon (Ken) (eight years old).  We went to a water-park, biked down a mountain for four hours, went white water rafting, played in the waves at Dreamland and Legian, checked out a zoo where an elephant kissed my cheek and put a wreath around my neck, witnessed a rooster fight, shopped a bit, went to a lounge-pub rooftop with Leo, went swimming a lot in our villas in Seminyak (near Kuta) and Ubud, saw a Hindu or Buddhist temple or two, went to the Monkey Forrest, watched Balinese dancing, ate and introduced international food to the boys (they liked Shwarmas, fries, steaks, burgers, and chicken the best; no surprise there, huh?).  Leo learned how to swim, while Ken tried his best to overcome his fear of the water.  Overall, it was an excellent trip.  Leo and Ken started to better understand the importance of English, since Ken made friends with kids...

MANADO / BUNAKEN ISLAND, IN NORTH SULAWESI We had high hopes for this place, the tropical island report we had been looking forward to.  Spending the last week of our vacation in a very classy place, drinking cocktails on the beach, blah blah blah.  Well, let me tell you that Bunaken is BLAH!!  For starters, there is no electricity on the island from 5AM to 6PM, so most places do not install AC in the rooms.  If you are not a diver, you need to pay about 20 Euros more per person, and even when we said we were divers, the rates for low end mid-range was U.S.$25 per person.  We stayed for one night at this place run by an Italian diver instructor, whose Indonesia girlfriend was a cheap person.   She found us a massage lady for 12.50$.  We had already found one for $7.50 (who is actually just a walking tee-shirt seller), so she told that lady to never come back onto their property.  We had to go to the beach at a hotel next door for our massag...

MAKASSAR, SULAWESI The airport here rocks man.  It's full on 21st century,.a big deal for anything / anywhere in Indonesia! We spent two nights here after a direct flight from Kupang.  Stayed at a crap hotel near the airport our first night, and then found a back backers to drop our stuff of at and nap until the night bus to Tana-Toraja.  Carol slept, so I checked out Fort Rotterdam, built by the Dutch. There are a lot of Chinese people in Makassar, so you see lots of those Malay / 'Spore style restaurants around town.  One dish that is famous in Makassar is beef inerd soup.  The broth is good, the soup cooked in cauldrons and the place was packing in the people!!  The place was right behind a Chinese temple.  The bus station had a very funny guy working as the toilet collection guy, asking me questions about have to work out.  Little kids kept running over to me to give me a high five and shake my hand.  Carol said: ...

PART 2.  KUPANG, WEST TIMOR We checked into a 6.50$ a night place with breaky included.  It wasn't the Ritz, but it suited out needs and saved us $.  Our mission on day 1 was to apply for an East Timorese Visa at the consulate.  Normally it takes 10 working days to apply for the visa online, so we thought we could get it quicker in person, and with 20$ passed to a man in an office, turns out you can get it in three days.  Later that day, Carol took a nap, so I went out for some exploring.  Turns out Kupang is Tainan 1998 on steroids.  In the words of Borat: "IT'S NICE!!".  All the Angkots (Indo Jeepenys) are full of paint jobs and music, unlike the boring ones in Jakarta.  I took one to the sea, where they had set up about 35 corn BBQ stalls (talk about killing the competition aspect??!!).  Then I walked back through an expensive night market where I found Lovona's Tourist Information Center and Bar.  There was a somewhat lethargic ...

PART 1. My dad's Canadian friend from childhood, Gary Ross, came to visit us from Australia, where he lives, in Jakarta one week before our one month vacation.  We checked him into the Grand Kemang Hotel and went to the bar to watch some World Cup matches and catch up.  The next day, I met him for the buffet breakfast at the hotel, and then we went to the dentist, so he could save major $.  I bowed out early, as I was dealing with food poisoning.  Over the next few days, we visited several malls, so he could buy clothes, billiards equipment, glasses, and electronics, plus, it was a chance to see where Jakartianese hang out, since there are no parks or other recreational places here.  We also visited FEZ bar and a Korean restaurant, where we socialized with Carol's co-workers.  Once day, we visited M.O.N.A.S., Jakarta's Monument, which was boring, and we also went to Jalan Jaksa the same day to sit in a terrace, play pool, and talk about Ottawa.  On the...

EAST TIMOR We went to Dili where taxis are either 1$, 2$, or 3$, depending on the distance, no meter.  (After a 5 hour journey from Mariana), we checked into the only backpackers in Dili, East Timor Backpackers.  Rested most of the day, then went to the beach to look at Aussie UN soldiers slather sun-block all over their friends.  Some over-priced terraced places catering to the UN salaried aid workers, which looked nice from far, but far from good, unless you are OK to pay 15$ for a 2$ meal.  Luckily, there are local places that sell the same food for 2$, which of course, is where we ate.  Anyways, on the beach, we saw local Timor men and families drinking two fours of Carlsberg, Heineken, etc., right on the beach. Some Portuguese hotties in bikinis, too!!  I said to Carol:  "Dewi, we aren't in Jakarta anymore!!"  I did some snorkeling right there, in a city beach!!  Visibility was "dusty", because when it rains, the dusty streets of DI...