Trip 2 - Southeast Asia

24 September 1998 to 26 October 1998

This trip was largely prompted by the All-Asia Pass - a splendid offer by Cathay Pacific Airlines that allowed me to travel round-trip to all of the above countries, and then within southeast Asia, for only $899. I'd had a desire to visit Indonesia for a long time, ever since I studied Indonesian gamelan music. Hong Kong was on the itinerary because it's a huge city with a fascinating Chinese-English culture (and of course there is the wonderful dim sum). Though I didn't know that much about the other countries, I knew enough to know that I wanted to go there, and they were easily accessible on this trip.

As the trip progressed, this seemingly unrelated mishmash of countries did develop a theme: colonization. Indonesia was Dutch for centuries, the Philippines were Spanish, and Malaysia and Singapore were British (though all of those countries were colonized by others at some point). Hong Kong had recently been handed back over from Britain to China, and Macau had just a year left of being Portuguese before it would become Chinese again. And Thailand was the only country of the seven that had never been colonized.

Part 1: Indonesia
24 Sep	Subway: A line, 42 St-Times Square to Howard Beach-JFK Airport
24 Sep-25 Sep	Air: Cathay Pacific #889, New York JFK to Vancouver
25 Sep	Air: Cathay Pacific #889, Vancouver to Hong Kong
25 Sep	Air: Cathay Pacific #777, Hong Kong to Jakarta
25 Sep-28 Sep	Jakarta
28 Sep	Bus: Jakarta to Bogor
28 Sep-29 Sep	Bogor
29 Sep	Bus: Bogor to Bandung
29 Sep-30 Sep	Bandung
30 Sep	Bus: Bandung to Yogyakarta
30 Sep-2 Oct	Yogyakarta and Borobudur
2 Oct	Air: Garuda, Yogyakarta to Denpasar
2 Oct-3 Oct	Denpasar
3 Oct	Bemo: Denpasar to Ubud
3 Oct-5 Oct	Ubud
5 Oct	Car: Ubud to Denpasar
5 Oct	Air: Bouraq, Denpasar to Surabaya
5 Oct-6 Oct	Surabaya
6 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #780, Surabaya to Hong Kong
6 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #903, Hong Kong to Manila
Part 2: The Philippines
6 Oct-9 Oct	Manila
9 Oct	Jeepney, bus, jeepney, and boat: Manila to Lake Taal
9 Oct	Lake Taal
9 Oct	Boat, car, jeepney, and bus: Lake Taal to Manila
9 Oct-10 Oct	Manila
10 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #906, Manila to Hong Kong
10 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #751, Hong Kong to Bangkok
Part 3: Thailand
10 Oct-13 Oct	Bangkok
13 Oct-14 Oct	Train: #35, Bangkok to Butterworth
Part 4: Malaysia
14 Oct	Ferry: Butterworth to Penang
14 Oct-16 Oct	Penang
16 Oct	Ferry: Penang to Butterworth
16 Oct-17 Oct	Train: #9, Butterworth to Kuala Lumpur
17 Oct-18 Oct	Kuala Lumpur
18 Oct-19 Oct	Train: #SM11, Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
Part 5: Singapore
19 Oct-23 Oct	Singapore
23 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #710, Singapore to Hong Kong
Part 6: Hong Kong and Macau
23 Oct-25 Oct	Hong Kong
25 Oct	Foilcat: Hong Kong to Macau
25 Oct	Macau
25 Oct	Jetfoil: Macau to Hong Kong
25 Oct-26 Oct	Hong Kong
26 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #888, Hong Kong to Vancouver
26 Oct	Air: Cathay Pacific #888, Vancouver to New York JFK
26 Oct	Subway: A line, Howard Beach-JFK Airport to 42 St-Times Square