Check Out This Amazing Bubble Foam Party

That night I was pleasantly overwhelmed by a magical bubbly paradise!  As you can clearly see. 

3 days in Hong Kong is not enough

I really was unsure at first how to title this post. Sometimes it's hard to organize and categorize the memories that I wish to write. but perhaps at least partly, that's because I'm not usually a very organized person. 

Hong Kong is a place I really need to go back to to see more of! 

My Western Ignorance of the orient was beginning to fade as Hong Kong was my first introduction to a China but not China place. There seems to be quite a bit of those. Seriously, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tibet. In China's point of view, China owns them. Yet Many people really seem to want to be independent from China particularly. 

I once thought Hong Kong was just a major city in China, but was surprised when I learned they have different visa requirements than mainland China and a different currency!

A very colorful currency.

We Try Satay Jellyfish On A Stick

I've been continually writing unusual food posts more frequently and now it's time for yet another. But what's more unique about this one is that this was definitely one of the least favorite things I've ever tried.  

Weird Border Crossings: Too many Stamps!

Geo-political crap tends make things more difficult than they need to be.. and also more time-consuming as well.

Today, I'd like to share my strangest border crossing experience yet. 

Advice and Reccomendations For Travelling Brunei Darussalam

Friends and family often write me online asking "Where are you now?"  When I told them Brunei, I'd often get a response like, "Where in the hell is that??!"

Some other travelers told me that there isn't much to do there...

I suspected that maybe they said that because their style of travel wasn't as authentic when compared to mine. But in Brunei, locals told me the same thing! >.<

But fear not!, there are a few things in Brunei that make it worth visiting! I actually really loved my time there. 

I was surprised how different it was than Malaysia, especially considering how small it is and that it's almost completely surrounded by Malaysia. It would be landlocked if it wasn't for one side touching the ocean. 

Eating Ambuyat(A Bruneian Sticky Goo Dish)

I've always considered myself fairly open minded when it comes to food. I've eaten stuff like brain and bugs and actually thought they were tasty. I can eat about anything and I like most things.. but there are a few that I find strange.

 Ambuyat is a Bruneian food and it's basically a goop made with sago tree bark and water.
 As you can see, it's very sticky.

Monkey Trouble

The monkey pictured above is an asshole. I saw many monkeys that day, but that one was the worst.

Cat City

There's a city in Malaysia called Kuching, which in Malay language means Cat.  Wow, I wonder what is the deal with names in Malaysia?? In Malaysia, I also visited a National Park named National Park!

Kuching had quite a few cats in it, it also had cat statues around the town.

My Shitty Experience of Singapore Which Literally Involves Shit

I'm not saying Singapore is a bad place, but I did have a bit of bad luck while I was there..

In fact, My bad luck started as soon as I crossed the border!

Singapore is a dot on the map. I didn't know much about it except that it's a city and a country, and I've heard it's strict.

It's a big crime to spit gum on the sidewalk and you can be sentenced to Death for marijuana.. at least that's what I hear people say a lot. 

Spicy Frog Meat and Pig Organ Soup

My first meal in Singapore was frog meat covered in some kind of spicy sauce. I ordered it because it sounded unusual and I had never eaten frog before. It tasted like chicken.

But because of the slightly chewy texture of it, it was a bit more difficult to eat than chicken would be. The sauce was thick and dark and made it messy to eat. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Ok, So A little later as I was exploring the city. I noticed that many places had signs reading "Pig Organ Soup", It didn't sound too appetizing to me at first but as I continued to walk around I also continued to see restaurants selling that dish! Since it seemed to be heavily advertised, I thought maybe it was a Singaporean thing and I should try it to experience part of the local culture. So I walked in and, OMG Seriously,

Visit the World's Oldest Rainforest and Walk the World's Longest Canopy Walk

Taman Negara literally means "National Park" in Malay. Yeah, they seriously named a national park, national park! 

Anyway, It's also the world's oldest rainforest and I saw so many bizarre, freaky bugs. One of the Main reasons I went was because it's also home to the World's Longest canopy walk! good, so I could knock out 2 World's most something at once!

this big butterfly or moth was in the vehicle on the way there

My Favorite Mall in the World

Kuala Lumpur is a city of malls. It's kinda ridiculous. I've never seen so many malls in one city before.  I seriously saw 3 malls right next to each other!

And Petronas Towers, the majestic and famous symbol of KL, I was surprised when I walked inside and found a shopping center.   -___-

Petronas Towers

Going to a Big Marijuana Festival: Nimbin's Mardi Grass

Yep, I went a big annual weed event..

But before I describe all of the wonderfully interesting things about the fun and hippie-filled festival, let me explain how I happened to end up there.

Well, I was trapped in a small desert town in the middle of the Outback for a few days..

It sucked.  I was in the middle of nowhere and a bus ticket and plane ticket to Anywhere was really expensive.  I tried to find a rideshare, which is how I got there.

And I tried to hitchhike out, I had a sign and everything, but many people drove by while laughing at me.  I stood there for hours but then gave up. Then the next day I tried hitchiking again, but still no luck..  

Then Finally, I was rescued by 3 German guys who I managed to find on Gumtree.com They owned a van which was previously a wicked van rental company van and had Tarzan painted on it..  and they wanted another person to join them and split the cost of petrol. 

"Hey We are going to Nimbin, want to come?"  Yes YES!  I was desperate to go anywhere! 

Visiting the sacred rock in the middle of nowhere

 I had managed to find myself a ride to Alice Springs. Which is a town with a decent amount of establishments surrounded by a land ocean like much of the overwhelmingly vast outback is.
Like most who come to Alice Springs, my next goal was to visit the famous Uluru.
But unlike many, I did not want to take a tour.  But I wasn't able to find a rideshare so I ended up taking a tour. However, I'm so glad that I did. I met a lot of cool people on that tour and made some friends. 

  Uluru is way out there and to my surprise, tours were good priced.. I went with Mulgas adventure company and It includes more than just Uluru, There's King's canyon and a few other sites as well.
Like this place for example:

  

                                                                                                        Our guide seemed to be super uncomfortable whenever I stood close to edges.. which I did alot.

Land Ocean

Tips For Travelling Australia On A Budget

Australia can be an expensive place and it's also very big. Big places take time to explore. and more time is more money!  

Since  I want to travel the world for a long time. I needed to save $$$. 

I traveled Australia pretty cheaply and still was able had a good time.  

How I Stowed Away on a Ferry

Disclaimer: I am not recommending that you do this.

Wild Tasmania

While in Melbourne, I made a spontaneous decision to go to Tasmania. The plan originally was to spend a few days checking it out. But as usual, I ended up staying a lot longer.  

Hobart

I met a local man named Sam on Couchsurfing.org and joined in a roadtrip along with a few others heading north to Launceston. I soon learned that Tasmania was full of wilderness and nature. It's home to a lot of wildlife that I had never seen before. like this echidna below.

When we spotted this echidna, I was full of excitement because I'm a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan and the character Knuckles is an echidna. although the real life version of an echidna looks a bit different.

  Anyway, I was told that echidnas have terrible eyesight.. and that's why I could get close to it while it was eating. 

Actually, I don't really like referring to animals as "it" but I have no idea if it was a male or female. Ok, I'll just say He because Knuckles the Echidna is a male and that's what I correlate echidnas with.

perhaps, I wasn't able to get close just because of the bad eyesight because I also touched him and he didn't run away, he only flared his spikes slightly.

Another thing that excited me in Tasmania was this super blue lake..

Look how amazingly unusually blue it is.. LOOK AT IT!!

I'd never seen any lake like that!

By the way, here's a pic of a map with the blue lake labeled on it..

Septic. Household. Industrial. Tank.
Hahahahaha

We also visited a few more places... 

A Sponge

looks like spaghetti

Many who I met in Tasmania seemed very outdoorsy. As you probably can tell by now. 

Sam told me that his favorite place in Tasmania was Maria island. I took his recommendation and took  a ferry there. 

So, Tasmania is an island near mainland Australia, and Maria island is an island near mainland Tasmania.  Also the entire Island is a national park.

Which also means there's an entrance fee. But I, Mr. Bridgeford, the Great Vagabond found a way around it.

Well, actually no I didn't. I owe my free entrance into Moria Island to a man named Maxeem. He was travelling around by bicycle and also loved to visit communities. 
He also had a national park pass that he borrowed from someone else. 
The park ranger at the entrance was nice enough to let us both in under "his" pass. 

In this picture is a wombat

Maxeem

We walked for a long time before finding a place to camp. Maria island had a ton of wildlife. Especially wombats, which are well known for pooping in a cubic shape despite having a round butthole. 

One of the first things that probably pops up in someone's mind when hearing the word Tasmania is Tasmanian Devils. The animal is an icon of Tasmania and even has "Tasmania" in it's name! So, I was a bit surprised to learn that a disease identified in 1996 has endangered the population. :( 

To learn more about the devil's and the devastating disease, click this link.

These pics below were known as the painted cliffs.

No one lives on Maria Island except for park rangers and maybe ghosts. There are many old buildings around where people once lived. 

my arm looks a little weird in this picture?

After Maria Island, I was back in Hobart again.
But it wasn't long before I went on another road trip. This time with a Swedish guy.

There is one last highlight of Tasmania I must mention, The Gordan Dam.
One thing that I was extremely interested in doing was Abseiling the Gordan Dam as it is the world's highest commercial abseil.

But it costs about $200 and a minimum of 2 people is required to make the reservation. Also there is no public transportation to it and they require you to find your own way there. 

I wasn't able to find another willing to do it with me while I was there but someday I want to return.
I had done many adrenalin filled activities recently in New Zealand which caused a blow in my bank account so perhaps, later is better.  It's nice to leave a place sometimes with reasons to return.
While on the road trip with my Swedish friend we did make a detour to the dam.
It was far out in the middle of nowhere. We were the only people there when we arrived, no workers.

Alright, do you those things along the left and right sides of the dam. Those are  steps on something like a big ladder. So we decided to do some urban exploration and climb down the dam.  But, Of course there was a locked gate we had to dangerously climb over first to get to the steps..

the ladder

Well, that's all I got to say about Tassie for now. It's a great place and I'm sure I'll be back.. thanks for reading.

Oh yeah, and I also peed down the dam!