Travel Europe | Exploring Southern France

11:14 PM EUROPE, FEATURED, FRANCE, GUEST POST, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY 3 Comments

One of my favourite places to visit is southern France, along the Spanish border where the Pyrenees Mountains form dramatic scenery and wine villages buzz with the seasonal activities associated with harvesting the wine. This area is known as the Maury wine region. And it is located just west of Perpignan France. 

The Maury wine trail is a road that goes due west through the town of Maury and the other wine villages. Driving along the Maury wine road, there are tall and enormous trees that were planted during Napoleon's era that create a beautiful landscape as your car takes you further west. On one side of the road is the Maury River that feeds the vineyards and on the other side are the foothills of the dramatic Pyrenees Mountains. The terrain is chalky and wine vineyards zig zag along the edge of the hills. Each village has numerous wine tasting rooms where you can stop and try the wine. 

Every so often along the top of the ridges of the mountains, you see a ghostly castle draped in the fog and clouds that swirl along the landscape. The castles are the remnants from the Cathar era and they were built to protect their citizens; who lived in this rugged terrain, from the religious wars that engulfed Europe during the 12th Century. 

As a single woman traveling alone through this area, I never had any problems driving and visiting the sites on my own. There were never any unwanted stares, glances or creepy remarks or conversations. I enjoyed zipping through the countryside, tasting wine, exploring landmarks and meeting new people. 

However, being an American did put me at a disadvantage when driving. One evening, I was driving back to where I was staying, I stopped at a roadside park to enjoy the view of the countryside. I stepped out of the car so I could walk along the road while looking out over the mountains and turned my back to the car. I immediately became distracted by the sound of gravel being crunched under the weight of the tires. I had left the car in neutral and it was slowly making its way down the hill without a driver. Panic set in as I tried to stop the car by sheer force while hanging onto the door knob and digging in my feet. The car did not even slow down. My next attempt was trying to out run the car and get into a position to where I could open the door and jump inside. For some reason this worked and I slammed on the brakes and for good measure added the parking brakes. 

There I was, half on the road and half on the shoulder. Luckily, it was a remote area and cars were not common. Being parked in the middle of the roadway did not present any immediate danger. I gathered my wits, and drove back to where I was staying the night. And that evening, I had a great story to tell during dinner.

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Written by Linda Jenkins
Linda Jenkins is the CEO of Vacations-Abroad.com http://www.vacations-abroad.com A travel website with vacation properties located in Italy, France, Spain and England

Makiko Saba is preparing for solo backpacking adventure across Asia & Europe. Featured posts will share a glimpse of countries that will be covered along the year-long expedition route. 

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MakikoStory : The day I quit a promising career to travel the world

12:30 AM EXPERIENCE, INSPIRATIONS, THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY, UPCLOSE AND PERSONAL 2 Comments

Growing up in Asia, boys and girls are ‘brain-washed’ with the idea that you need to be one of the very few successful executives (who works in big companies) if you want to travel the world. Naturally, I ended up working with an international company. That job did bring me onboard a plane where I painstakingly spent an almost 24-hour before reaching the other part of the globe.

“I never said that life as a full time travel writer is easy”

The day before I was supposed to depart for my business trip, I was still at work until late afternoon. Since it was a morning flight, I was rest assured that I could have the whole evening packing and perhaps a little rest. Just as I was going through my checklist and stuff, then I heard a loud scream, “Fire!! Fire!!”

I tried my best to keep myself calm although I had all reasons to be panic. I quickly put everything in the luggage and ran outside the house. My house was not on fire, but unfortunately the raging fire engulfed the next-door house. Five hours of packing and resting were gone.

With no sleep and a brutal seven plus sixteen hours of flight, the moment I reached San Francisco airport, I realized how stressful business traveling can be. Despite of the excitement that I was finally in California, I could not help from consoling myself to try and enjoy that business trip.

That one-week meeting in California became a significant turning point for me, both professional- and personal-ly. I sat foot on the Golden Gate Bridge, saw the famous tram and the steep hills of San Francisco, ate lunch at the Pier 39 and sailed passed the notorious Alcatraz (it so happened that we arrived on the weekend after Thanksgiving). On a personal note, all the places and things I experienced during that business trip slightly had influenced the choice I made today. Unfortunately, the real story behind my actual decision to leave a promising career in that company had also begun during that first business trip to California.

In less than two years, my journey at that said company became a burden physically. I began to wonder if there is any logic behind people saying, “Oh, I am so jealous of your work. You get to travel and make so much money at the same time. You must be very happy.” 

Psychologically, I was about to become a victim of my over-ambitious career. I was so obsessed with professional accomplishments that I had also become greed – I was famished of finding ‘happiness’. At about the same time, I came to a realization that it was too much pressure of trying to be someone else – thanks to the surrounding ‘support’.

The California business trip made me go back into writing. Every detail of that journey was jotted down in a journal. I found much satisfaction reading a story behind my travels since then. Writing was no longer my therapy; it (has always and) became been my passion.

“…so much of life ahead, I will find a place with room to grow..”

It took me another two years after California before I finally quit.

Albeit people blaming me for leaving a promising future in the so-called corporate world; I am now definitely happy.

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[Travel Asia] Mabuhay!! City of Baguio

8:09 AM AIR ASIA, ASIA, BACKPACKING, PHILIPPINES, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY No Comments

One of the most delayed travel promise I had was a trip to the Philippines. Although I was basically based near to the country, there were so many times that plans were left untouched or abandoned. So, when I finally confirmed my attendance to a dear friend's wedding, it was really excited. The last thing that I had to do was to convince my family that the Philippines is safe for a solo lady traveler like me - MISSION SUCCEEDED!!!

Despite having to change the original travel plan, I basically had so much fun discovering and experiencing a new country, new places and new culture. Over the years, I have heard so many people saying that I look "soooo Filipina" and immediately after I reached Clark, it was confirmed - I do look Filipina. The best thing about having the face of a local, is all my anxiety of being treated as a tourist was immediately dismissed. Thus, making my entire journey more exciting, as I could embrace the local culture and its people without much reservation.

Upon the arrival at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, it was an easy task to look for a jeepney to get to the main bus terminal in Dau. Before I went to look for the jeepney, I took the opportunity to buy some snacks and water at a small sundry shop at the airport - I was informed that the journey by bus to my next destination is a long long one. The Air Asia flight from Kota Kinabalu arrived in Clark slightly passed four in the afternoon. With my next destination located way up north of the Luzon Island of the Philippines, it was expected that I could only be arriving slightly later at night.

Dau bus terminal is a big terminal, which I didn't get a chance to actually discover. Immediately after I jumped out of the jeepney, a good samaritan actually helped me to stop a moving bus that was bound for Baguio City. It was a comfy, but super cold, coach bus. I was also happy to know that even on a moving bus, there was internet connection available. The entire bus journey was about 5 hours, with a couple of stops in between. Every time the bus stops, there will be small traders coming on to the bus to sell some food and snacks. Since I already bought buns and snacks from the airport, that became my late lunch and dinner.

At around 10pm, the bus arrived in Baguio. That weekend was the record breaking lowest temperature for the city. Baguio is the summer capital for the country. I was merely lucky that a friend of mine reminded me to put on warm clothes, the night before I flew to the Philippines. Else, I would have frozen like crazy assuming that the place share the same weather like the other Southeast Asia countries. 

Filipinos are kind and nice people in general. Even when I was looking for hot drinks at the bus terminal, I was greeted with smiles and with a few short sentences, I was already on a taxi heading to the place that I was supposed to stay. Extremely hungry upon reaching the guesthouse, my request to get something to eat was greeted with kind hospitality - finally I had rice and fish soup for supper.

~Where did I stay?
Iggy's Inn - 25A, South Drive, Baguio City
~How much did it cost me?
US$100 for 3 nights stay inclusive of breakfast
~How was the guesthouse?
Pleasantly surprised by the hospitality and the service received. Read detailed review here.  

I had a day to roam the city, so the next day I chartered a taxi for 5 hours and began my discovery adventure. I was amazed by the amount of experience that I had gained despite being a bit low on cash. These are the highlights of my self adventure:

Mines View Park

There is no need to travel to Greece or to Italy to experience such weather and beauty. It was one of the most breathtaking view I have ever seen in my entire life. It is said that here is the highest point of the city where people could see the entire city from such height. 

Philippine Military Academy (PMA)

Not only I could see cute army-to-be, I was mesmerized by the beautiful surrounding. With its panoramic views as well as its lovely pine forest, it is hard to believe that the whole area is actually a military academy. 

Camp John Hay

As a legendary and historically important, this area is now a country club with variety of amenities available alongside its 18-holes golf course. Also, I had a chance to do some window shopping at the branded outlets inside the camp area.

Lion's Head

This huge monument of a lion's head is actually at the side of the main road heading towards Baguio. Located at the edge of the escalating road, I was amazed by the size of the monument as well as the surrounding view.

The Mansion

The main building itself is the official summer resident for the president, but the landscape and the area nearby are so beautiful in addition to the horseback riding activity that are openly available for people.

The following day was my first time attending a Christian wedding. It was a new experience and of course I learned more about the culture of the Philippines' people - goshhhh...they do know how to party and have fun. The wedding reception was held at Baguio Country Club. Since the party ended late, I was only able to meet up with my awesome friends, whom I have not met in 10 years, the following morning - for breakfast.

Before I departed down to the city of Angeles, I had great experience discovering Session Road (the heart of the city) as well as had a uniquely great time at Oh My Gulay, enjoying tasty vegetarian meals with my friends.

  

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Help me to raise fund for this special project. I will be traveling specifically to complete certain voluntary and charity mission across Asia in 2014.

For every dollar raised, I will spend them to help those needy throughout the entire journey. Click HERE to for details and donate.

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[Travel Asia] Backpack and Indochina

6:32 AM ASIA, BACKPACKING, CAMBODIA, CHINA, FROM KL to TAIWAN, HONG KONG, MACAU, MALAYSIA, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY, VIETNAM 1 Comment

For anybody who loves traveling but still are thinking about “how-to-do-it” without burning their pockets, you can now easily find information via reputable travel websites as well as reliable travel bloggers who shares more than their experiences about traveling. 

In 2011, I began a journey that is one of the most memorable to me. Immediately after I resigned from my job, I packed my bag and began a two months exploration trip across the Indo-china route. Starting from this post, I will share (more likely continue) the story behind that travel.

I went to seven countries via land – alone. It is true that I did not have anybody committed to the traveling route from day one next to me. However, later along the solo journey I realized that I was not completely alone, I was able to meet with so many interesting, friendly and awesome people. 

The backpacking trip was my first adventure. I began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the next two months, I had managed to discover:

1. Thailand (Ayutthaya and Bangkok)

2. Cambodia (Siem Reap and Phnom Penh)

3. Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, Danang, Hoi An, and Hanoi)

4. China (Nanning, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Fuzhou)

5. Hong Kong

6. Macau

7. Taiwan (Nankan and Taipei)

Along the trip, I had actually written the journey and experience. Due to certain circumstances, the entries halted half way. Now that I am fully recovered, I shall continue the story and republish a freshly view of the existing entries of the said journey.

To begin with, why not go through the original posts made for the first part of the said journey? Below are the entries of the places I discovered after I cross over the starting line:

Packing and unexpected change of plan

Ayutthaya on Foot

Ayutthaya on Water

Pit Stop in Bangkok

Crossing Thailand to Cambodia

Revisiting Siem Reap

It’s all about history in Siem Reap

Going to Cambodia city center, Phnom Penh

A recovering city, Phnom Penh

The bachelor, the King of Kingdom of Cambodia

An interesting bus ride, entering Vietnam and meeting someone

Cu Chi Tunnel, living proof of Vietnam’s strength

Subscribe to my Facebook Fan Page to get the latest update when I publish new entries here. Also, check out my Youtube channel to watch the previous and new episodes of “Makiko Travel Journal Series”.

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[Travel Asia] One day in Brunei Darussalam

3:36 AM ASIA, BACKPACKING, BRUNEI, FLOATING VILLAGE, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY 18 Comments

Last December (2012), I traveled by sea to visit Brunei Darussalam. Check out my entry on traveling by sea from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei via sea, http://makiko-saba.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-from-kota-kinabalu-sabah-to.html for details.

Since I only had a solid one day to roam around the country and with limited budget, it was indeed a scary adventure. Nonetheless, it didn't stop me from having so much fun exploring the city; mainly Bandar Seri Begawan as much as I could. Compared to Malaysia, the Brunei currency exchange rate is higher. Thus, everything in Brunei is more than double of everything in my country. Having said that, I was slapped with almost having to pay an equivalent of RM90 for a taxi ride from Muara Ferry Terminal, soon after arriving in Brunei. Fortunately, there was a bus waiting at the same time.

Anyway, if you only have one day to visit a new country, please do take time and browse information of where and what to do while you are there, in advance. This, would definitely save you time and money but at the same time maximizing your experience within the limited amount of time you have. Brunei is famous for its ecotourism. There are loads of interesting floating villages that would allow you to experience nature and culture while cruising on speedboat along the beautiful river. 

I stayed in Gadong, an area that is about 20 minutes taxi ride from Bandar Seri Begawan. The hotel I stayed is more or less for business traveler, so the services offered are pretty much basic. Surprisingly, this is one of few hotels that offered cheap rates. With very little option of public transportation, I recommend you to find hotels in Bandar Seri Begawan itself to gain easier access to places of interests as well as public transportation. 

I was advised by a fellow friend to ask the hotel reception counter for a private day tour. Basically there are individuals who offer drive-around services; much cheaper than the organized day tour by travel companies. Me and my friend were picked up by the driver after our breakfast and we went around the city for several hours. 

Since Brunei is a Muslim country, it is a MUST to visit significant mosques that are known to be the landmarks of Brunei. We visited two very beautiful and unique mosques that are highly recommended in travel websites; the 1) Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque and 2) Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque. Each mosque is unique by design and architecture. While Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque has a very distinct and bold design with beautiful landscape surrounding, the Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is located next to the famous Sungai Kedayan with its own articifial lagoon. Luckily for both my friends and I, later that evening one of our friend drove us to visit both mosque again - giving me the chance to experience the beauty of these landmarks after the sun down.

After the visit to these mosques, our driver made a pit stop in front of Istana Nurul Iman, the home for the Brunei royals. It is said to be the biggest residence building in the world, with more than 1000 people residing in the 'palace'. If you happened to be in Brunei during Eid'fitr, probably you would be able to enter the palace area, as the Sultan will open the gate and invite people to join him and the royals for feast. Nonetheless, a visit to the entrance of the palace would also bring a lot of amazement, at least to me. 

Soon after we left Istana Nurul Iman, we had the chance to learn a bit about Brunei history at the National Museum. The museum itself is not that big but at least I was able to learn more about the country. Coming back to town from the museum, I was able to see floating houses - it was the famous Kampung Ayer. Some reviews said that Brunei's Kampung Ayer is the Venice of the East. The riverbank were in the process of beautifying, that would allow better infrastructure and more comfortable sightseeing to be done. We made a stop at a newly built rest area, facing exactly towards the floating village. I was approached by a guide asking if I would like to ride on a boat and tour the village. I didn't have enough time at the time, so I had to skip the offer. It was a bit unlucky, but a river tour is actually recommended.

Our day tour ended early, since we had to get ready for a dinner on board a cruise ship at Muara Port. My schedule was so tight we had to skip lunch and had snacks instead. The area nearby the main Bandar Seri Begawan bus terminal has many choices for food. If you are planning to tour by foot, which is relatively safe and comfortable, just take note that Brunei's weather can be quite hot and humid. 

For more information about Brunei, check out the official Brunei Tourism website. 

Here is the episode for this short travel from the Makiko Travel Journal Series.

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[Snippet] Catching a Moment - Finding way to a hidden island

4:51 AM ASIA, FROM KL to TAIWAN, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY No Comments

I have been trying to recall memory so I could start writing something about my first and previous adventure in Taiwan. Here is a short snippet of the story that I wrote for an application to another opportunity.

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It was already day 41 when I arrived in Fuzhou. Next stop on my travel list was Nankan Island. The only ONE online guide found mentioned about ferry service between Fuzhou and this small island. As I was struggling with the hotel receptionist in Chinese, suddenly a guy, who was sitting on the couch next to the counter, said, “Do you want to go to Nankan?” in his weird Chinese accent.

Soon, I found myself so nervous and agitated.
This big and serious looking guy suddenly appeared next to me with so much determination trying to convince me that he could bring me to Nankan the next day. I was not ready to follow a stranger while traveling alone.

Read more at WorldNomads.com

The awesome pictures of this magical island are available on the MakikoS & Thumbelina@KL Facebook Page in "Discovering Nankan Island, Taiwan" photo album.

Due to the messy traveling schedule I am currently dealing with, I have to delay (slightly) the writing and posting of new travel stories. 

NEXT DESTINATION: Indonesia

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[How-to] From Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to Brunei Darussalam by SEA

8:05 AM ASIA, BACKPACKING, BRUNEI, SABAH, TIPS, TIPS AND ADVICE, TRAVEL, TRAVEL AND JOURNEY 9 Comments

This is a delayed post for a short travel journey completed in December 2012.

After so many years being in Borneo, I finally had the chance to make my way and get my passport stamped. For those who are wondering why am I making it such a big fuss over passport-stamping while I am being in the famous Borneo Island, here is a question for you - Do you know that Borneo, the third largest island in the world (minus the continental landmass), is home for people of three countries?

Did you manage to google the fact? YES. Borneo Island is the home for Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneian. Enough on geography trivia, here is the travel story of Makiko sailing the South China Sea and exploring Brunei Darussalam.

With only three (3) days of working holiday given in December, I wanted a quick yet convenient method of traveling for me for this trip. I was in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah MY. It is not a hidden secret over the options available for Kota Kinabalu - Brunei route. For many people who loves traveling by land, hiring a car or getting on a bus from the capital city of Malaysia's land below the wind state to Brunei are probably the best choice. Whether you do it by car or bus - both are popular options.

Making your way to Brunei from Kota Kinabalu by wheels will take few hours (approximately half day). However, the roads conditions are something that you need to be concern of. Those who are not used to driving on narrow roads with big vehicles passing (a lot), may want to rethink of self-driving. Buying bus ticket would probably a better choice - this of course would include you sitting in a bus with adventurous drivers using the same roads mentioned; if you were to drive on your own.

When it comes to traveling, I have this weird obsession with doing it differently (or in other words - following less popular methods or/and routes). I have heard about going to Brunei by ferry; so I began to surf around the internet hoping to get usable information about this. After reading few blogs and recommendations, I decided to take the sea for this Brunei's adventure. 

This is what you should do if you decide to follow this option:

• Make sure you wake up very early* on the day of departure,
• Find your way to Jesselton Point in Kota Kinabalu,
• Buy a ticket at the designated counter at Jesselton Point,
• Walk straight up to the jetty,
• Wait for the ferry until being called for embarkment.
• After 3 hours of ferry trip, you'll arrived at the Labuan International Ferry Terminal.
• Disembark the ferry - you'll have a short break here.
• Before going back to the terminal, make sure you head to the ticketing counter - you need to pay terminal tax separately.
• Hop into another ferry (but before that you'll need to go through immigration scanning and check),
• Another one and half hour journey on water; and you'll see the Muara Port  out the window of your ferry.
• Disembark at Muara Ferry Terminal and go through the immigration procedures. 
• You have arrived on the land of Brunei Darussalam. 
• Oh!!! Just in case if you felt dizzy after you stepped foot on the ferry terminal - don't be surprised. You've just travelled a total of four and half hours on sea.

Important notes:

When I say wake up very early; this is because there is ONLY two ferry services available from Kota Kinabalu to Labuan (required transit before heading to Brunei) in a day. If you want to arrive in Brunei on the same day, then you MUST take the first ferry - that departs at 08:00hrs. For more information, you can check out Jesselton Point official website.

If you missed the first ferry, you could still get on the next one in the afternoon, but you would need to spend the night in Labuan Island. The day I went to Brunei, the second ferry to Labuan was cancelled. Had I missed the first ferry, I probably would have to run to the bus station).

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Brunei is probably one of the few small countries in South East Asia, but that doesn't mean it is easy to travel from point A to point B.

After arriving at Muara Ferry Terminal I had to find my way to the capital city of the country - Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB). There was a taxi waiting outside the terminal building. Although I kinda knew that the taxi would be a bit expensive (due to the exchange rate between MYR and BND), I went on to ask the taxi driver. The journey from Muara to BSB would be about half an hour, and the expected taxi fare would be around BND 42-45. Of course I immediately panicked - my brain started to make the calculation. If I choose taxi, probably I would end up starving the next day. 

Lady luck was on my side. While my head was spinning from the exchange rate calculation, I saw a small purple bus ahead of me. I said thank you to the taxi driver and walked up to the bus. I asked the driver and he said the bus fare from the ferry terminal to BSB's bus terminal was (ONLY) BND1.00 - thank god!!! He also mentioned that the I need to change bus at Muara bus station (which is more like an empty parking lot where many busses rest); that doesn't cost me anything - I just had to show the same ticket to the bus conductor.

My general opinion on the local bus ride - If you are not an adventurous person, you might be taken by surprised by the comfort level of the entire 45 minutes journey from Muara to Bandar Seri Begawan. The bus was small, soon packed with the locals, cruising relatively fast on regular bumpy roads and of course with no air-conditioning - natural air flowing from the opened windows. By the time I arrived at BSB bus terminal, it was already almost 4pm.

On that day alone, I have taken two ferries and two busses; but my actual pit stop was a hotel in Gadong - another 15 minutes' drive from BSB bus terminal. Since my friend from Kuala Lumpur was already waiting for me at the hotel, so we could both go for some food (she was waiting for me for her lunch, errkkk...late lunch I supposed); I had no choice but to take a taxi instead of looking for connecting bus. In the end, at least I only spent about BND15.00 for the taxi fare (I did cry in heart while paying). The taxi driver, however, was kind enough to recommend me few places to visit and gave his contact card, just in case I needed transport while I was in the city.

If you all are wondering how I felt when I reach the hotel, I must say that I had so much fun while traveling from Kota Kinabalu to Gadong district in Brunei. It's just me, "when Makiko travels, she always look for challenging ways doing it".

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