Well I'm currently writing this latest update from a hospital bed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I've had a fever and haven't been able to leave the hostel for the past few days so decided I really should go and get it checked. Luckily a really lovely girl from my dorm, Maren, came with me to hold my hand whilst they gouged out my veins when taking blood and even went back to the hostel to pick up some things for me - absolute STAR! So seeing as it looks as though I'm going to have some time on my hands for the next day or two I thought I may as well update my blog!
So following on from my last post we flew from Darwin to Cairns three days before we were due to fly out to Asia. The first afternoon in Darwin we wondered around (there really isn't much to see!) before cooking dinner back at the hostel and sat around by the pool chatting for the evening. We stayed in Dingo Moon Lodge, a really friendly, lovely hostel not far from the centre of town. The following day we sat by the lagoon where I managed to get burnt! After that, looking like a lobster, I didn't really fancy doing much else for the rest of the day but we did manage to book a trip to Lichfield National Park for the following day. Lichfield was AWESOME!! We started the trip by driving out to the Adelaide River where we got into a rather small boat and set off in search of some crocodiles. Within minutes we found them and soon our guide was dangling bits of meat over the edge of the boat, before long a huge crocodile was jumping out of the water in search of the meat. It was all pretty good fun until one started eyeing up the people in the boat rather than the meat and we had to make a swift departure away from him. Some of the crocodiles were up to 5 metres long and pretty scary when they are within an arms length from you, as they grabbed the meat you could hear the crash of their jaws chomping down...amazing!! After the crocodiles it was into Lichfield to see some giant termite mounds up to 2 to 3 metres tall, and then it was lunch time. After lunch we headed to Florence Falls for a swim in the the water, very refreshing after climbing down 137 steps, the way up was pretty tough in 30+ degree heat! However we did get to see a rock wallaby on the way back up which was really cute! Then we headed for a swim in Wangi Pools, and finally it was back to Darwin to pack and prepare for flying out of Australia the following day: Jude flying out at 4:30pm to Bali (supposedly...delayed until 7:30pm) and my flight was at 6:30pm to Singapore.
I landed in Singapore at around 9pm and found Nina waiting for me at the arrivals gate, it was soooo good to see a familar face from home after 6 months of being away and we had lots to catch up on so made our way to the airport hotel that Nina had arranged - LUXURY compared to the dorms that I've been used to, no bunk beds and just the two of us, we got fluffy towels and a huge bathroom with all the little mini shampoos and conditioners. We finally went to sleep before getting up early the following morning for the flight to Bali. We landed in Bali and made our way to the Hotel (Green Garden Resort). Again a lovely hotel with a pool and more fluffy towels - so nice after using a travel towel for so long. We also had an amazing buffet breakfast which we made the most of and saved on lunch that way! After we'd settled into the hotel we set out to find Jude on Poppies Lane II. She showed us her little room with ensuite bathroom that she managed to get for around £4 a night, she even had a resident cockroach in the drainage hole in her sink. We had three nights in Kuta before heading over to Gili Trawangan, on the first the three of us found a restaurant for dinner and had a couple of drinks. The next day we went to Waterbom, a waterpark just up the road from our hotel. It was brilliant fun and we spent all day going down the water chutes and on the crazy 'Boomerang'. The following day we had a chaeuffer and after some confusion over what we'd paid for (he took us on a tour rather than where we wanted to go) it was actually good fun and we got to see Ubud and the monkeys in the Monkey Temple - including one which stole Nina water bottle), the volcano, rice terraces, a coffee plantation and a temple. It was a good day and that evening it was more drinks with dinner before bed.
The next day was the boat ride over to Gili Trawangan, Nina and I got the fast boat becuase we couldn't lose two days going there and back on a boat when we only had 9 days in indonesia whereas Jude got the slow boat and met us on the island that evening. The boat took around 2 hours after the drive to Padang Bai and when we arrived we set off in search of accommodaton. Edy's Homestay was out first choice but was unfortunately full so we settled for a bungalow not far from the beach that the three of us could share, it was also opposite Buddah Dive dive centre (not difficult on Gili T!) so after dropping our bags we went in to book Jude and I on a fun dive and Nina on a Discover Scuba Diving course becuase she hasn't done her Open Water. That evening we had a few drinks with some friends Jude had made on the boat, Megan and Amy. We were booked to dive at 2pm the following day but Nina needed to go earlier to do her DSD course in the pool so Jude and I went along to watch. We were bought ice creams by one of the divers at the centre whilst we waited, possibly the best coconut ice cream ever! Then it was time to get on the wetsuits and get our fins, weight belts and masks ready. We played around in the pool for a bit taking photos with Bruno's underwater camers (our dive guide) before going out on the boat to Shark Point Reef. The current at Shark Point was unbelieveably strong and once we were under the water we were just swepted along, magaging to cling to bits of coral to stop and see the turtles, we saw at least 8 to 10 which was incredible!! After 30 mins the visibility dropped to 1 to 2 metres so we had to surface and the boat came over to pick us up. It was a brilliant dive and Bruno took his camera along so I finally have some diving photos!! Once back at the dive centre we played around in the pool some more before collecting hte photos on our USB sticks and heading back to shower, ready for 'party night' on the island. We had a pretty fun night that night and by the time we left the Gilis we had done three nights until 3am and were in desparate need of some sleep... The last day that Nina and I had on Gili T (my last day with Jude) the three of us walked the perimeter of the island, non stop it would probably take 1 and a half hours but we stopped to sunbathe and go snorkelling so managed to fill most of the day, plus we also stopped to see a newly born goat - adorable and les than an hour old. But it was SO hot! Think I'm slowing starting to adjust to Asian climate but its definitely taking its time - and a fever for the past 3 days really hasnt helped!
The following day Nina and I said our goodbyes to Jude and headed back to Bali to stay in Legian for two more nights before going back to Singapore. We found a really nice bugalow to stay in for £4 each a night and it even had a lovely pool. We didn't arrive until 7pm so headed out for diner and then straight to bed. The next day we went down to see the beach and walked around town shopping before going back to swim in the pool for a bit. Then the following day it was back to Singapore. It was Easter weekend so the flight was packed but we arrived by 7pm ish and got the MRT to our Hostel on the edge of Little India. The next day we wanted to explore as much of Singapore as possible so saw most of the main sights - we went to the financial district, Chinatown, walked along the Esplanade and just seemed to walk a lot. We also had to pop into the travel clinic at the hospital to pick up my antimalarials for Asia - I've seen my fair share of Asian hospitals so far! That evening we went to the Night Safari which was good fun, maybe slightly over rated - that or we are just too old for things like that these days...we did get to go on a bus around the park in the dark and then watched a show about creatures of the night. The following day we went to Singapore Zoo which was much better and we had a great time! After the zoo we popped into Chinatown to see the nightmarkets and had some dinner before going back to pack ready for Nina to fly out the next day (and me to give her a tonne of things from my backpack to take home - it was slightly worrying at the airport when they had to put a 'heavy' tag on my bag due to it being 23kg, whoops!). That evening was pretty depressing once Nina had left, it was the first time I'd been on my own for quite some time and suddenly having no friends was pretty lonely. Especially when that night was when the fever started and I felt like death warmed up. I did manage to get on my bus to Kuala Lumpur the next day, drugged up on paracetamol and spent most of the 5 hour journey sleeping. Arriving in KL I had to walk with my backpack for about a kilometre in the boiling hetat to get to my hostel, I finally made it, checked in and collapsed on my bed. From there I didn't really move apart from for breakfast each morning and it was climbing the stairs this morning and having to sit down once I reached the top to prevent passing out that I really realised I needed to see a doctor. I reasearched the best private hospital in KL and Maren and I got a taxi. We didn't wait long to been seen and within an hour I was having blood tests although the nurse couldnt find my veins so a lot of digging took place with me finally getting her to stop before I passed out. Nightmare!
So now I've just had a vist from the doctor and he's taking more bloods tonight to check my platelet count as it is still likely to drop over the net few days before it rises...then begain talking about the possibiltly of platelet transfusions if necessary - sounds delightful! Just what I expected when I left England 7 months ago...Anyways I'm sure I will make a swift recovery, although I have been told not to expect to leave the hospital until Thurday at the very earliest - fabulous...there goes most of my plans of Malaysia - good job I hadn't booked anything! The worst part about it all is being attached 24/7 to an IV line that seems to get stuck on absolutely everything and do the opposite of what I tell it to, most inconvenient. However on the plus side I do have a window to look out of which is one up on the dorm room that I'm currently paying for!
More Photos:
Australia: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150615670006491.385651.516011490&type=3&l=45e9216663
Some of Indonesia: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150640921301491.389145.516011490&type=3&l=c4935130f7
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