April 2008: Kaohsiung to Taipei, Taiwan

Two acronyms have been added to the transport lingo in Taiwan recently: KRTC and HSR. That's Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation and High Speed Rail.

In Zuoying on the outskirt of Kaohsiung, the KRTC line and HSR line crosses the Taiwan Railway. As you step out of the KRTC ticketing gate, you will meet with sign to get to the HSR and Taiwan Railway Zuoying Stations.

From Zuoying in the south, it takes about 1hr40min on the white-orange HSR to reach Taipei in the north. There in the north, the Taiwan rail, and the HSR cross path with the Taipei underground under the hugh Taipei Station complex.
No more than a year in operation, the HSR is fast and clean. If not for the houses outside the window that looks nothing like those in Japan, you may be forgiven that you are on the Shinkasen. The sound-proofing needs some improving, though, if you use the Shinkasen as the standard. In case the sound-proofing don't bother you, here's another reminder that you are not in Asahi or Kirin bi-ru land:


















追加(春天吶喊):To 墾丁to catch 楊乃文

Kenting, now made famous by the Taiwanese movie Cape No. 7 heats up in April when the beaches in the area hold various concerts. The main reason for the crowd must be the lineup of the artistes that turns up alongside many of the independent rock/pop/whatever groups. The only name that matters to me in the Spring of 2008, however, was Faith Yang 楊乃文. Took a long distance bus from Kaohsiung to Kenting. And the main street in Kenting was jampacked with tourists, mostly young dudes and dudettes.
But the concert was further away from the madding crowds, in the Erluanbi Lighthouse Area. Once I reached there, handed in the concert fee to get a Spring Scream stamp on my wrist. The ticket seller there actually reminded me that the day's event is actually coming to an end, so I might like to come back the next day. In my mind I was thinking, hell, Faith Yang is up next, so it is still early, MY night has just began.
Faith Yang came on slightly later than advertised. I was a little bit worried about missing the last free shuttle bus back to town. But once she start doing her thang, I just couldn't care less about the bus. The first couple of song was a bit of a disappointment, but as she warms up, it was the clean strong vocal that I have expected. And it was obvious who were there specially for Faith. Those who listen attentively when her ballad came on, and then rocking hard when her signature rock anthem came on. I had a tall girl right behind me who rocked so hard her chin almost cracked my scull. Standing at 166cm, my head was just below her chin.
By the time the concert was over, it was the morning of 5th April. All the places in Kenting was booked, so I just spend the night on the beach. Listening to the crashing wave, pretend to be sleeping as I observe how the Taiwanese dudes romance their dudette under the stars. And I did found out Sex-on-the-Beach isn't just the name of a cocktail drink. The whole night, the partying crowd was shotting firework into the sky until the crack of dawn.
When the sun was up, I walk out onto the deserted street of Kenting, searching for a breakfast shop. A great trip, I will say.

Febuary 2008: Phnom Penh to Battambong, Cambodia

The Cambodia Railway.....or the Royal Railways of Cambodia, as it is officially known, probably runs the most beat-up trains in the world. Maybe not in the world, as I have not been anyway near Africa and South America; but definitely the most beatup in Asia, North America and Europe combined.

The time table for the service is also shrouded in mystery. Depending on when a blog/webpage was written, you will find told different things. If you ask Cambodians in Phnom Penh, they either tell you they don't even know the train is still running,; or, if they knew it is, think that you would be more sane just to travel by the many bus services running out of Phnom Penh. So, for the record: at least in Feb 2008, the Phnom Penh to Battambong line runs only on Saturday, at 6:20am. There. Be prepare to pay 23500 Riel if you a) don't look like a Cambodian and don't speak Khmer or b) don't look like a Cambodian.

And don't bother asking about the other service running out of Phnom Penh. The PP->Sihanoukville line don't round anymore. In fact, I think the only reason the 6:20 is still running on Saturday is the logging industry. Be prepare to share your passenger train with lumber in, and on the roof of, the cabin.
Bottom: Lunch on wheels. I skip these and came with bread and cans of food.


--KIV--

January 2008: Jakarta, Indonesia...again

Third trip to Jakarta. A short one. The system in JKT went down in the morning, the ticket was issued late in the afternoon, and by the evening.....back in Jakarta. This is a short trip. No time for a train ride. Jakarta has began to grow on me. To be honest, Jakarta has many buil,ding that I can only describe as 'handsome'. Here are a few:



--KIV--

December 2007, Bangalore to Mysore, India

Here's one of the heavyweight of the world's railway: the venerable India Railway. By one estimate, it is the largest railway company in Asia, and the biggest employer in the world.

When I first show the Bangalore engineers my hardseat ticket to Mysore, all warn me to give up the idean and go by other mode of transport. But once on the train, it was a relief that things aren't that bad.

Top: The hardseat doesn't look that bad. It was a comfortable ride from Bangalore to Mysore, though frill-free.
Bottom: Journey's end. At the Mysore station platform, a young man being investigated for ticket fraud.
Bangalore and Mysore, not only does the two city names rhyme, they have similar nickname: Bangalore the City of Gardens and Mysore the City of Palace. The main Mysore Palace is the first Raj Palace I was ever in. I must say I was impressed.





--KIV--

December 2007: Bantar Sri Bangawa, Brunei

The last time I was in BSB, I was a 19-year old army boy, looking at the town from the back of a 3-tonner truck. I was back in December 2007. From the shotgun seat of a car, BSB looks as boring as before.

There are no train service in Brunei. Here's a picture of a mosque in BSB.




--KIV--

April 2007: Bandung, Indonesia

Second trip to Jakarta. I wouldn't say I am charmed this time round. Anyway, ran out of places to go on weekends. So....escape from Jakarta.....to Bandung. I wasn't expecting much, so didn't even bother to wake up early to catch the morning train. By the time the train to Bandung pulls out of Monument Station, it was past noontime.











Bandung itself doesn't much interest, although some guide books do mention some old buildings of interest. I could have take in some of them and be charmed if I had arrived early. I didn't, and so I wasn't. After finishing my bowl of noodle (a late late lunch), I checked with the boss what she would suggest for places of interest, given that I have no more than 3 hours before the train back to Jakarta. She suggested a mall. Psst, looks like no escaping the malls even after running out of Jakarta.

While the town itself didn't offered me much, the trip up did. Bandung is on a highland, and the trip up at least offer a landscape that differs from the flatland of Jakarta.



Top: Bandung Station.

--KIV--

March 2007: Danang, Vietnam

No time for a train trip this time. Was in Danang for 3 days. It is supposed to have nice beach. No time to check it out.On a previous trip, I have travelled the lenght of the Vietnam Rialway, from Ho Chi Min City to Hanoi, on the so-called Unification Express. More on that in a future posting.




View from the hotel cafe, on the upper floor. Check out the tower shooting up from a sea of low-rise.


--KIV--

September 2006: Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta, on my first trip in September 2006, holds no charm to me. It is devoid of green parks and the only place of interest Indonesians could suggest was the shopping malls, which were coming up all over the city. The malls probably has something to do with the lack of parks.

Since I was already there, I decided that I should at least spend one weekend out in the town, visiting some touristy place. And when in Jakarta, there is nothing more touristy than the Monument. Up the lift I went. At the top of the Monument, on its observation deck, here's the view of the Monument train station:


After the Monument, I took a short walk to the train station. Here's what looks like a commuter train pulling out of the platform. The train looks like it was shipped in from Japan. The Kanji (Japanese) writings for "Weak Air-conditioned Cabin" is still visible on the train. That would mean the cabin doesn't have the air-conditioner turned on to full blast.....at least back in Japan where it came from.

























--KIV--

July 2006: Beijing, China

When the ice storm descended on China during the Lunar New Year season of 2008, it gave the world a feel of the kind of loading China Railway has to take on.

Beijing was on a stopover between Ulaan Bataar and Singapore. There was no need to leave the Chinese capital, the sights easily took up one week of my time. Anyway, I booked myself into a budget hotel next to the Beijing Station. The window offer a view of the station track. Sound-proofing was well-done though, I didn't lose much sleep. Everyday, on the way in and out of the hotel, I would have to walk by the station. Though it was not the peak travelling season, the station area was a mass of humanity, sometimes late into the night.
















People, people everywhere, in the day (top), and the night (bottom.)

--KIV--

June 2006: To the Russia-Mongolia border, Mongolia Railway

The Mongolia Railway is one section of the Trans-Siberia railway that takes one from Asia to Europe. I never did make it across the border from Mongolia to Russia. I was close though. So close that the morning I was at the dusty border town having breakfast, there were three Russian ladies in the same restaurant. The Mongolian at the boder suggested that it was just a few kilometer down the track into Russia. But the track looks narrow, and I don't have any plan B should a train comes hurtling down the track if I were on it too.

Anyway, when I was in Ulann Bataar, and Mongolian working with me was given me different versions of how easy or difficult it is to get a visa into Russia. What I did confirm though, is that I would need an EXIT visa to get out of Mongolia. That means a trip into Russia means an EXIT visa for Mongolia, and an ENTRANCE visa for Russia.

Below: The northernmost station on the Mongolia Railway, any further.....Siberia.




--KIV--