bye bye blue

A good walk and a whole lot of getting lost, and we finally found a havaianas outlet store in Semanyak, Bali. Outlet, as in a lot of different colors and styles, and also a bit cheaper prices! So my blue 6-year old flip flops were left in the store's garbage, in exchange for a pair of new black slim model with silvery straps. Hope they too will last for 6 years. They have a lot to live up to.

24 hour stopover in NZ

Landing 4.30 in the morning in NZ, for a stopover, I somehow had to stop up, and with very tired eyes study my flight ticket one more time. At the customs declaration it finally dawned to me, and I told the lady that instead of 3 hours in Auckland, I apparently had 25 hours. I guess traveling has disconnected my brain, and dates are unreadable to me, forme to have missed this. I always wanted to go to New Zealand, but not for 24 hours, and certainly not unprepared! I was supposed to be in Japan that day, not Aukland!

Well, there was nothing to do about it, but to drag my tired butt to a bus, and on the way grab a free guide of Auckland, to get into city. Note, is was 6 o'clock in the morning, on a Sunday... Getting into city was easy enough, but finding a place to stay, a hostel, was just that much more of a challenge. Auckland's hostels were fully booked due to some concert AND a cricket game that weekend. Wondering around 6 in the morning wasn't part of my plan, but somehow I managed to get into a closed hostel, and sleep on their cough until the receptionist woke me up around 9, to tell me good news. So I went back to bed, this time in the top bunk, in a room that seemed to be full of 15 smelling sleeping guys. But I did NOT care. Problem number two in Aukland was my phone. My bellowed iPhone had stopped cooperating with me, already back in Fiji, so I was pretty much alarm lock-less. This is quite bad when you are traveling by yourself, are not a morning person, and have a flight to catch in the morning.

With disaster lurking around the corner, I took the day to explore Auckland, and do some shopping...hehe. NZ was cold, and Japan was going to be even more so, so my shoppings for hoodies and stuff turned out great. I had a pretty nice day in Auckland, I went down to the harbor and treated my self to some deliciously expensive gelato. And then to some Jelly Snakes. (A moment of appreciation for Jelly Snake;, they are the best candy I've ever tasted! If you ever stumble across Jelly Snakes from 'Natural', get them, they are seriously yummy! To think I'd have to travel across the globe to find my favorite craving...what will I do from now on? Almost two months without Jelly Snakes and I'm already trembling...must.have.more!)

The next morning was where the fiasco of not having an alarm clock took place. Two staff members from Cozy Kiwi hostel was supposed to wake me up, and I even asked a fellow traveller in my room to spare me some alarm on his phone. None of them succeeded in remembering that I had a flight to catch, to Japan, and when I panicking woke up at 7(yes, by my self!?) I was very late. A tearful bus drive later, I was at the airport, 45 minutes before my international flight. But I made it. And only because the flight was delayed! But the other fiasco of the day was, that I had to spend 3000 nzdollars on a flight ticket back to NZ, because I didn't have my out of japan ticket with me. Great. Air New Zealand policies. Screw you.

But with all odds against me, I made it, 11 hours later, safe and sound to Narita airport, where nobody wanted to see my 3000 dollar onward ticket.

Here, a glimpse of Auckland.

my worldwide zigzagging

Back to my traveling, I know I have been side stepping for a while. But hey, at least I update:)

Just to try and clear things up; I still have a LOT to show you. And I have so many pictures it's ridiculous. So now I will actually try and post something as often as I can, and when I have time, I will do my best to stick a real travel post in as well. So bear with me.

I thought I'd make a resume of my travels so far, so you don't get lost and confused in my very misleading and bewildering order of posts. Therefor, I will make a list of all the places I've been, in that precise order. Easy enough. Here goes.

- Australia; Melbourne, Phillip Island, Great Ocean Road, Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise, Sydney, Cairns, Airlie Beach and Withsundays, Hervey Bay and Frasier Island, Byron Bay again, Brisbane, Perth, and west cost oz roadtrip.

- Fiji.

- Samoa.

- 24 hour stopover in Auckland NZ.

- Japan; Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

- Malaysia; KL, Penang, Langkawi and Perhentian Islands.

- Bali, the Gili Islands and Lombok, and back to Bali.

Now I'm in Thailand, in the touristic hell of Phuket. From here we will do south west Thailand, Krabi, Koh Phi Phi and Khao Lak and Similan Islands. Then the route leads up to Bangkok and Chiangmai. We have a flight ticket to Myanmar on may 17th, where we will spend 14 days. Then we fly back to Bangkok and go downwards to the south east cost of Thailand; Koh Samui, Koh Pagnan, and Koh Tao, and yes, we are including the full moon party. After that the plan is to get down to KL again, from where we fly to Malaysian Borneo, to see some orangutans and do some diving in Sipadan. From Borneo we fly back to KL, so that we can take a bus to Singapore, where I will end my trip.

Spending a couple of days in Singapore before I go home, will probably ruin me for good (they have numerous Forever21 and other luring shops!), but it's good I have a flight ticket home on the 30.6, so I can get back home and do some hard core money earning.

Does this make any sense?

So when I post a travel post from somewhere, you can go back to this list and see the actual order. Again, easy enough I'd say. Well, enjoy! Or something...

change of scenery

Today we are changing scenery, from one monkey invasion to another. Route: Bali-Phuket, Thailand.

Bali has been one of my most favorite travel destinations so far, but bye bye Bali! I will miss you! 

reading atm

Rehab from TV, and I have learned how to read a book again. So battling through at the moment; Midnight's children. Together with Malaysian Bazaar and a quick guide to photography, for new tricks and ideas.

I had to buy Malaysian bazaar, since it's 1/10th of the price of the magazine I really wanted, like Elle uk, or american Vogue, because the magazine will probably not survive my trip. I have a thing for magazines, and to the horror of my dad, I save all of my magazines (a big burden when you're moving, but a big bonus when you need them). Lets face it, a magazine is an investment, and a source of inspiration, and I hope never to give them up. But after buying the cheapest magazine I could find, Malaysian Bazaar, I can conclude that it is not the price ending my malay magazine's days, it's the context... Which is crap. Thank god for Scandinavian style, I can't emphasize that enough, for were I ever to move to Asia, and live by lets say Malay fashion, I'd commit fashion suicide.

I'm sorry Malaysian Bazaar, but your magazine is worse than average. I know you can do better than that.

China for that matter, they have an awesome Vogue! I just don't have a clue what it says...

new in snakeskin

My self discipline failed me, as soon as we stepped into that bewitched store of stunning snake leather goods. My eyes caressed items one at a time, while my hands were occupied grabbing things, forcing on shoes, fiddling with phones into covers.

Long story short; broke backpacker sold her soul for deadly beautiful snakeskin. The deadly beautiful came home with her in the disguise of a pouch/wallet and a iPhone cover. Her soul is now being sold somewhere in Ubud Bali, cheap cheapcheap, and probably for a special price...

nail polish fetish

Some things never change; my nail polish fetish has not been cured, and will probably never be. So instead of fighting it, I just have to live with my it. I'm in Asia, maybe this is not the place to try and cure nailpolishmania anyway...? There are too many cheap nail-polishes around not to be tempted, and when I say cheap, I mean cheap! Something like 4DKK/0,5€ a piece, and with all the colors of the rainbow, and some more in metallics, I just can't help myself.

I can't go all in shopping for clothes bags n' shoes, because I don't have the room (read; money) to carry it around, so a new nail polis is a good substitute to the urge of buying something new... So adding to my collection, I have during my trip got to scrape seven new polishes together. Oops.

I did throw out one of the original ones I brought with me, does that count...?

indonesian BFF

Indonesian goat; a mans best friend. Aaawh.

Southeast Asia and how to sweat properly

I've chosen to travel in Southeast Asia, because I like the sun, blue clear waters, good weather, excellent diving opportunities, cheap living and good food. But, what I didn't consider was the fact that for 4 months, it was going to be hot. Hot as in +35 'C at the least, all the time, day and night, and with a humidity that could by breathing drown a fully grown desert rat. This heat is unbearably hot, and again, all the time. Being hot all the time results in sweating. Man, the only thing you do here is sweat! Well, the bright side is obviously the nice weather; it's sunny all the time and super warm in the nights as well, so the only things you need are shorts and a top. BUT, I need a lot of tops and shorts... Coz I tend to sweat a LOT. Taking into consideration the amount of sweating I do there, it's incredible that I'm still standing, that I haven't glided off the surface of the earth!
How should one address the issue of sweating all the time, constantly, continuously? One doesn't. There's nothing you can do about it. Did you seriously think I'd give an appropriate answer to that? Sweating is part of the life circle here, and if you are a white tourist from the northern parts of Europe, with the max tolerance of humidity and heat of a true Scandinavian cave-person, you sweat even more. So better get used to it. You sweat when you sit, stand, walk, sleep, breathe, take a shower, are in the shade, even when you swim for crying out loud! And you can forget about makeup, it will only melt off your face minutes after applied...My advise is; let the sweat run, it's not gonna help fanning or blowing, to drink something cold, to seek rescue in the shade or ignore it. To get a room with aircon, is the only true solution/salvation.
Snoop Dogg sings 'I just wanna make you sweat'. Uhm no you don't.

Conclusion; sweat hard or go home...

change of color

I want to make something drastic with my hair, before it falls out completely. So I want to let it grow just a bit more, and then color it. I have known for a long time what my new hair color is going to be, but it's all in my head. How do you you explain this hair color to a hairdresser? A little gray, silverish, wash-out purple? So I'm so glad I finally found some pictures showing exactly what hair color I want! I have to go all copycat in this one, but it's the only picture that truly shows the exact color. So when I come home, my hairdresser will choke on her scissors when I show this picture and tell her to make me look like this.

I stole the images from the blog Love Aesthetics, one of the most inspirational blogs I read. I love Ivanas style, her looks and the creative DIYs. She is my muse, and with great hair!

I just hope this hairdo will look good on me:) But I still have some time before I get home. Maybe I'll change my mind. Not likely though.

wanted in the heat

I have a thing a for Ray Ban sunnies, and so far I have in my collection; a pair of Aviators and a pair of Wayfarers. As in, not enough.

Since I started my trip I wished to add a pair of Clubmasters to my collection. That wish has gradually grown into a wanting, and then escalated into a must-have. The must-have has now grown into a fully blossomed obsession of; if I don't get them soon, someone's gonna get hurt.

And to make matters worse, I have discovered a new wish amongst the Ray Bans, to supplement my agony of not owning a pair of Clubmasters. The new wish, that has already grown into a wanting, is the pair of RB3447-02. Black in color, round in shape, probably not cool on my face but who cares, that's the new wanting. But Clubmasters not to be sided, I want both!! Maybe Asia can provide me with a solution to my problem...? If I can find a place that sells something else than (fakefakefake) cheapcheap specialpriceforyoumyfriend stuff...

asia getting on my nerves

I am confused. I am homesick. I have never felt this "homesick" before, what is this strange feeling?
The thing is, I'm not homesick per say, but there are feelings bubbling up inside me I can't deny. Asia is truly getting on my nerves.
Asia is not fulfilling all my cravings and longings, my passion for everything fashionable is being suppressed and my daily dose of glamour and street chic is non existing. There's only so much beach-look and Asia worn-downess I can take... I find my self wanting things more and more, and I dream about how I'm going to dress when I come back home, all the things I would like to buy, and all the healthy food I'd like to cook. The hardest thing is not to be able to have internet all the time, and I miss being updated on the latest news in fashion and happenings. I need my daily dose of fashion, an inevitable fact I've come to learn down here. I just learned how to cope without it for a period. That time is running out and I hate my flip flops and raggy tops more and more everyday.
I am not saying I want to come home now, I just REALLY look forward to it when I do.

Materialist forever, there's no denying it. I came here to 'discover myself', and yes, I have. I love fashion, more specifically, I love our Scandinavian fashion, everything luxurious and artsy, and even more so, I love my stuff. I am maybe not the meant to be backpacker, who will travel with a pair or worn down hiker boots, hippie shirt and fallen apart rucksack who sits in a hammock all day, staring at coconuts falling down, rotting... I like my things to be new and nice, and I like the places I stay at to be the same... The word cheap is starting to give me a bitter taste in my mouth, and I'd love to not have to bargain for every stupid little thing. Don't get me wrong; I still, and will always love to travel, but from now on (or you know, my next trip), I will do so with just a little bit of style.
So until I actually do get home and get to exchange my Havaianas for heels and worn down shorts for a blazer and skinny jeans, I will continue what I started, to discover Asia and work on my tan.

dreamjob dreaming in paradise

Hey and a hi from paradise. I'm in Malaysia, and more specifically on the Perhentian Islands on the east cost of Peninsular. This is something close to (tourist) paradise and me and Simone have been here for 7 nights. But today we are catching the 12 o'clock boat to the mainland, so that we can catch a fight to our next destination. Which is (drumming); BALI! And guess what, I'm turning old tomorrow, so we will arrive just in time for a big b-day celebration. And guess what also? I just read about my dream job online! So the time on the flight will be used for application writing and dreaming about what ifs... Fingers crossed! And keep them crossed for the whole of April and May:)
Gotta run, got a bag to sit on before closing it and catching the boat! Bye xx!

apia to faofao -and back

As I mentioned in the earlier post, I stayed some nights at Faofao. To get to Faofao, I first of all had to get to Upolu, the main island of Samoa. From Regina's it's quite easy. You either take a taxi or the local bus to the ferry terminal on Savai'i, but being sick made the task a wee bit more challenging. Luckily a car of adventurous half Samoan New Zealanders gave me and (my) nurse Michael a ride to the ferry terminal, so I didn't have to be piled up with others in a wooden bus while having a pretty heavy fever. On, and from the ferry, the road got more challenging for whimpering me, but thank the lord I had Michael to look after me:) We arrived in Apia, after the ride from Regina's to the ferry, the warm ferryride, and a bus ride into town, around 4 something PM. Next on the agenda was to find a doctor, a pharmacy, a cheap place to spend the night and find something to call dinner. I was not feeling up for any of this. But not wanting to just sit down in the gutters of Apia, I found a taxi driver willing to help me and drive me around for 2 hours back and forth, and for a reasonable price. So a doctors verdict of a serious throat infection, zigzags in the city between pharmacies, accomodation hunting and buying sick supplies from various supermarkets, I finally passed out in a room at Valentines Motel in Apia. Overdosing on the superstrong antibiotics worked miracles on me during the night, so the next day I was up for finding another place to stay, OUTSIDE Apia. Recommendations lead my decicion to Faofao. I had some time to stroll around the uninspiring markets in Apia before I took a local bus to the beautiful beach fales of Fao Fao. The busride was long and hard (it was a bus made of wood...?!?), but it rode through stunning mountain landscape and small villages, and this made my butt feel much less numb. A man sitting behind me in the bus with no teeth, very eager to talk, told me all kinds of interesting and uninteresting things about what we saw while driving, and he even let me in on some info about he tsunami a couple of tears back, and the destruction it had had on faofao and all the land around it. Sad news, but faofao seemed to have recovered ok, so defo worth a visit for any kind of sun loving hippie of hipster.
Here are some pictures I took while getting to and from Fao Fao.