the great wall

today i hiked the great wall - it was amazing!! exhausting, but definitely worth the trouble.

i was really lucky and our tour group was the only one hiking that particular section (tin shan ling to simatai). everyone who thinks walking on a wall is a piece of cake is wrong. for one it is not just straight but up and down and mostly extremly steep. the steps sometimes have erroded, so it is also quite dangerous. but other than that the view is amazing. so after 6 km, 22 watch tours and 2 hours i finally reached the end of our tour. it felt good to get some exercise while also walking on one of the most impressive man made structures in the world.

first impressions of china

so far china doesn't impress me much. when i first arrived in shanghai i was still in a bad mood, cause i had to say goodbye to everyone and leave bali, i was tired/exhausted, i had a cold, it was raining the whole day, almost no one speaks english here and people are rude and reckless. to top it off they also block facebook and blogger. finally i have a vpn connection, so i can connect again.
you see it wasn't a good start. but on the second day i was well rested, my cold subsided and it stopped raining. i wandered around the city with su, a dutch girl, and we saw a lot of stuff, especially in the old town. but i have to say i don't like shanghai that much and i'm glad when i'm moving on tomorrow.
due to the national holiday on october first i was not able to get train tickets to xi'an and to beijing. so unfortunately i have to skip xi'an (terracotta army) and will be in beijing until october 6th. after that i'm off to tokyo.
here are some impressions of shanghai (notice the change in clothes in comparison to bali):

the bund



i'm off to see the expo now

last day in paradise

it's a sad day today - my last day in bali!
during the last three weeks i got to know a lot of great people, learned (or at least tried to :) ) how to surf and was also able to overcome some fears. although the weather wasn't what i expected (it rained a lot) it truly is paradise here. wish i could stay in this bubble i'm in for a bit longer, but everything has to end at some point. i can't put into words what i am feeling right now - i'm sad, but also excited about 4 months to come, most of all i'm gonna miss the friends i made here. being at the same place for 3 weeks makes it even harder to say goodbye. i hope i'm getting better at this in the next months.
but at least i was able to end my last surf session with catching my first green wave - thanks to certain people who didn't give up on me and pushed me ;)
tomorrow i'm gonna fly to shanghai (with a 10 hour layover in kuala lumpur). gonna be a flash to be in a busy big city again, after bali.

so thanks to everyone who made my time in bali such a great experience. i'll miss you all and see you on the next wave!

paradise

i'm in bali since saturday now and i can't imagine ever leaving again :) it truly is: eat - sleep - surf (motto of the surf camp i'm staying at). the people are great, the atmosphere is extremly relaxed and everyone just goes with the flow.
surfing is a lot of fun, although i have a couple of bruises and scratches. surprisingly i am not as exhausted as i thought i would be. it's great getting a lot of exercise while having fun at the same time.
unfortunately the weather is not as good as expected. it is cloudy and raining a lot (it is still pretty warm though), but when the sun is out, it is awesome!
don't have any pictures to show yet, it would be too much effort to take them :)
so much for now, i'm off to a 3,5 hour spa treatment for about € 30.

singapore - the short version

today is my last day in singapore. although i could imagine living in this city, there is not really much to see.

however here are some impressions of singapore:

boat quay

china town

view from the roof top of my hostel

typical hawker center

the only picture i was able to take of the night safari, because my camera is not the best...

sentosa - siloso beach

some general things about singapore:

• the heat is almost unbearable due to the high humidity, which is why everyone trys to stay in the shade or inside most of the time
• a lot of older women run around with umbrellas for sun protection, looks really funny sometimes
• i personally love the air condition, although a lot of people complain that it is too cold. but if you are able to not get too sweaty outside, it actually is quite agreeable
• most of the subway stations are in shopping malls, which gives you a good picture how many malls they have here

that's about it. i had a lovely few days here, but i'm looking forward to bali, where i'll spend at least the next 2 weeks. we'll see if i'm able to manage to surf this time and if i'll be able to move after the first days :)

... hello singapore

finally arrived in singapore after a nearly 18 hours, but uneventful journey.

singapore greated me with perfect weather: sunshine, blue sky, about 30° and a low humidity.
since i was totally beat from the plane ride and lack of sleep, i only took a short stroll through orchard road today (main shopping street, pretty amazing for every shopping serious woman :) ). but i have to say: singapore is as awesome and exciting as i expected it to be. can't wait to see the rest of this amazing city.

so i need some sleep now, in order to be able to enjoy my next few days ;-)

goodbye vienna...

so finally the day has come and my adventure begins - 5 months travelling asia and oceania. in a few hours i'm on my way to my first stop in singapore. i still can't believe that i'm not going to be home in a while, it's probably gonna hit me after some time. anyways i'm totally excited about my trip and looking forward to see a lot of cool stuff and meeting new people.

packing posed a bit of a challenge yesterday: my suitcase seems way too small for all the things i want/have to take with me. i am a woman and i do need a lot of stuff for such a long time ;-) think i got everything though, but i have to take an extra bag for handluggage with me (a big one of course :-) ).

for the few people who don't know my plans already, my approximate route will look something like that:

so you see i have a lot to look forward to. i'll try to keep you updated with my blog. can't promise though that i have the time and notion to write regularly. there probably will be other, more exciting things occupying my time ;-) but i'm sure there are going to be quite a few status updates and pictures on facebook, just to make you all a bit jealous ;-)

see you all soon!