Kuala Lumpur

After abandoning my original plan of getting an overnight bus or train from Singapore I got up early and got a bus to the border, before getting on another bus to KL from the Malaysian side (where it's much cheaper). By the time I'd checked into the hostel there wasn't much time in the day and I was left cursing Lonely Planet as the museum I tried shut earlier than they said, and they got the location of the post office well wrong. I did eventually manage to post my package that I'd been waiting to post since Chaing Mai, but that was all I did before meeting up with some people.

Both the Czech couple I'd met in deepest Laos and Paul and Maureen the Scots of Ko Lanta fame happened to be in the city and I'd arranged to meet them all for dinner. Who should I also meet in the hostel I was in but the Dutch guy from Melaka, who said the Dutch girl was arriving the next day (the next day I also met another Dutch guy in the hostel, who I'd met in the hide in the Taman Negara AND bumped into again in Melaka, talk about a small world!). We went for some noodles before returning to the rooftop bar of our hostel where the drinks were cheap (for Malaysia) and they were showing the Man U Chelsea game. It was a very friendly atmosphere there and we also ended up meeting a St Johnstone fan from Perth (Tory voting bastard though).

The next day I set out ridiculously early despite the late night as you have to get there at 830 am to get a ticket to go up the Petronas Tower (worlds second tallest building, or tallest twin towers as they like to bill it). I bumped into Floor (the Dutch guy) again there and stole his place in the queue and we got tickets for going up to the "skybridge" at 1115, which gave me time to go and see the KL tower, which is a communications tower which is actually even taller, and you can go much further up, as the skybridge linking the two towers of the Petronas is less than halfway up. I enjoyed these both, thought the Petronas towers was more of a case of just to say you've been there. Attached to the twin towers is a huge mall, where I wandered for a while looking at gadgets and salivating, before having lunch and getting the subway south where I visited the half empty National Museum, whose patriotic displays were really more aimed at locals, before passing through some very pedestrian unfriendly parkland to get to the Islamic Art museum, which had a very nice collection in a nice building. I then walked back to the hostel passing by the central mosque and through the central market (where I conveniently sheltered from some rain).

In the evening I'd agreed to meet Paul and Maureen to try to watch the old firm game. I got the monorail out to an Irish pub where we'd heard they show a lot of sport, but they didn't have it, and after much searching (including finding a British pub with Irn Bru) we found it was not on in Malaysia. After a Chinese dinner we walked back to Chinatown where the hostels were. The only real bar around was the 'Reggae Bar' (complete with picture of the queen and suspected ladyboy barperson (don't get too excited dad!)) and there we bumped into Floor and Wendy (the Dutch) again along with a Swedish girl. We had one drink in there before heading back to the hostel's rooftop bar (the reggae bar was more expensive than Britain!) where a few more beers were had along with a slightly later night than befitted my 8am bus booking.

Photos:

Main square in KL.

Petronas towers from the KL tower.

In a the Reggae Pub.

Singapore

Well Singapore should really get it's own country post so here goes:

Time spent: 2 nights
Mosquito bites: not that I know of
On budget/time: It's expensive there but I expected that
Lost/stolen: I think I left one of my nice beer Lao T-shirts in the Hostel when waking up in the dark
Sound of Singapore: Well the hostel played really lame music, Real Radio style
Taste of Singapore: I had a very nice pizza with real Gorganzola on it
Drink of Singapore: Couldn't afford beer, but all the tea you can drink included with the hostel. Result.
Highlights of Singapore: The Merlion statue and the battle box, see below.

The bus there was comfy bus there was a lot of waiting around at the border post (Singapore side) and I was worried they were going to arrest me when they found my Thai whisky I still hadn't managed to get rid of!

Found a nice hostel in little India, paying more for a dorm than I usually pay for an en-suite room. First evening I just had time to eat and do some interneting and tried to get some sleep before an early start to do the city all in the next day. Make your own breakfast was included at the hostel then I walked into the centre, wandering through the old colonial district before visiting the Merlion statue by the mouth of the Singapore river. This is obviously a creature with the head of a lion and tail of a fish that spouts water from its mouth, an emblem for the Lion city dreamed up years ago. It's certainly different. I then wandered to the Asian Civilisations museum, which was very well presented but didn't enthrall me too much as I've now seen many of these civilisations and their own museums first hand. For lunch I had a very nice cheap Indian meal before wandering along the Singapore river past the very swish Clarke Quay, home to many trendy bars in the evening, including the Highlander bar, replete with bekilted staff.

Next up was more wandering through Canning Park, including to the Battle Box, an underground bunker used as a base by the British in WWII which now has an excellent audio-visual exhibition on the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese. Afterwards I pushed on to Orchard Road, home to many oppulent shopping malls. All I got was an orange juice and a postcard but it was fun watching the fashion victims (it was noticeable in Malaysia that it had lots of fat people, unlike the rest of SE Asia, whereas Singapore had lots of Painfully thin women and Victoria Beckham wannabes).

I wandered the city a bit more and killed some time before 6pm when I could get into the art gallery for free! I enjoyed the exhibitions here, including the worl of a Chinese artist, Xe Bingheng or something like that, who was great in a number of diverse styles. Then dinner and back to the hostel. I must say that the hostel here was unlike anywhere else I stayed: when I went to the bathroom to do my teeth before going to bed it was full of girls putting on their make-up and straightening their hair before hitting the town! Certainly not what you get in Laos, and in the Cameron Highlands the dorm had a definite reading before early lights out vibe. Singapore seemed to have a younger crowd, many of them just on stopovers on there way back/to Australia.

Anyway, Singapore was clean and modern, and I'm sure you could spent a long time there and have a lot of fun, spending a lot of money in the process!

Photos:

Me, by the Merlion statue.

The Singapore river.

Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of the city.

Melaka

An early morning start from Jerantut got me to Melaka at about 230pm, or rather to the massive out of town bus station where I ate before getting the local bus into town. Had a slight problem finding accommodation, but ended up pretty happy at Tony's place, where I met a nice Dutch guy and girl and agreed to meet up later for dinner. It was getting on when I headed to see the old town, built in a Dutch style, with a (recently added) windmill. Near by there was a strip with around 15 different museums. I chose not to go to another history museum, not the democracy, stamp, architecture or Islamic museums, but instead to the beauty museum. This had very interesting displays on the various tortures people put themselves through to look attractive. While there were many items on tribal practices, such as scarification, lip plates and (the one I couldn't cope with) tooth filing, there were also other more modern items, such as Chinese foot binding, corsetry and, of course, tattooing. After this the other museums were closing so I visited the ruined church on the hill and went to view a reconstructed ship in harbour. Then, rather more importantly, I bought a dashing hat to replace the one I'd lost in Bangkok.

After meeting up with with the two Dutchies, we also met up by chance with another Dutchie and an English girl (the Dutch guy having cyled 20000kms to get here) and we all went for dinner at a great tandoori place before going for a few beers (my vows of abstinence in heavily taxed Malaysia shattered) before it degenerated into One hen couple of ducks three etc etc.

The next morning after a leisurely breakfast (where I first discovered baked beans are plentiful in Malaysia) there was only time for us to visit the vast Stadhuys (townhall) with museum (where much was learned about admiral Cheng Ho) before I had to head off to the bus station, having a quick lunch there before catching my 130pm bus to Singapore.

Photos:

Old Square.

Ship in harbour (now a museum).

Street lit at night.

Taman Negara

Taman Negara is Malaysian for national park, and it is a huge swathe of ancient rainforest the middle of the Malay Penninsula. After arriving from Jerantut in the evening I stayed the night in a dorm (actually the first dorm of my trip so far, though since I have often dormed, they're quite common in Malaysia). My plan was to spend the next night in the Kumbang Bumbun hide, a 6 hour 11km trek through the jungle, see some animals, and trek back the next day. I took over 4 litres of fluids and some food to get me through and set off from the park headquarters. On the way I went on the Canopy walk, the longest canopy walk in the world apparently (it's a walkway suspended between the trees at canopy level). I was the first on it that day, and thought this might afford me a better opportunity to see some animals, but all I got was the opportunity to walk through all the spiders webs from the night before. I then continued on my trek, passing a sign telling me I'd gone 3.5 km very quickly. At this rate I'll be there in no time, I thought, so I decided to take a diverision up a hill. This was not a wise idea as lugging my 4 litres of water and other stuff up the hill proved draining, as the hear and humidity were starting to get overpowering. Back on the main path for a bit I came to another sign that said I'd gone 3.5 kms. I was not pleased. By this time I was really soaking in my own sweat, and it seemed an age before I got to the 4 kms marker. By this point I was really starting to go through my water.

Well on with the trek, I got a bit slower, and hadn't seen any animals except perhaps a big squirrel and lots of ants and leeches. I did then meet a huge lizard, just sitting in the middle of the road, which wouldn't budge so I had to go around. It didn't seem to move, so it may have been stuffed for all I know. By 6 kms I was soaked with sweat, including the entire contents of my bag, and I'd drunk nearly half my water for the two days. My thoughts turned just to getting to the village marked on the map at 9kms, where I could maybe get a drink, or the boat back if it came to that (I was also was feeling a bit funny in my innards and had to rush of trail and bare my bum to the leeches!!). Eventually I settled in to a sustainable slower pace and made it to the village about 3 in the afternoon. Turns out the village was really just an abandoned resort with not a soul in it. I did however find Kat, my dorm mate, who I'd passed a few times on the trail waiting on the Jetty for a boat as she had walked one way and planned to just get the boat back to town, as the guide book listed one at 330pm. I felt pretty shitty at this point and was inclined to go back myself, especially as I only had about a litre of fluids left. Come 330 no boat stopped, indeed, a few boats passed later in the afternoon, but none stopped despite our waves and shouts! about 6pm it was clear that if we wanted to goto the hide before dark we'd have to leave soon. I managed to persuade Kat that it was not a good idea to risk spending the night alone on the jetty, or to swim down the river through the rapids and she'd be better of coming to the hide as well. I'd also found a burst pipe during a foray into the neighbouring native village (full of naked children and bare breasted women and men giving us very funny looks) to look for another jetty) and had refilled my bottles, though didn't know how trustworthy the water was. We got to the hide in time and found quite a few people already there. Darkness came and some people spent time watching out the window towards the salt-licks and watering hole where the animals should appear, though I was surprises that quite a few of us (there were 7 in the hide I think) just slept the whole night without really looking. I did a few long shifts watching and so no animals at all, nor did anyone in out hide, though everyone else I've met who'd been saw something. I did enjoy it though, watching the fireflies, the moon rising and seeing the tricks the brain plays in constantly convincing me that I could see something. I slept more than I thought I wood on the hard wooden bunk, and the next morning we returned to the jetty to try again for the boat (though the water seemed okay, I hadn't enjoyed the second half of the trek the day before, and the 2km trek to the jetty reminded me of the heat and humidity though it was still early then, so I'd be damned if I was going to walk back, especially with such a paucity of animals, except leeches and web-spinning spiders). A few boats passed without stopping, and we feared the worst, but about 11am one stopped and took us back for only 10 Rinngit apiece (less than 2 quid, I'd have paid much much more!). We'd never been so glad to see a boat pull up in our lives. Back at the town it was to the shower and a cold drink as soon as humanly possible!In the afternoon I got the boat to Jerantut, since I'd only got the minibus on the way. I Had the whole boat to myself, which was nice . It was around two hours downstream and there was a thunderstorm and downpour most of the way (the boat was covered, and I was even more glad I was not still trekking through the jungle then as the paths would have been treacherous!). I got to Jerantut early evening and checked into a guest house. It had certainly been an experience, but the lack of animal, and even exotic insect life was disappointing. I won't be doing any more jungle trekking as as after Laos I was worn out. Those paths in a cooler climate would be fine though!

Photos:

On the canopy walk.

Best not to grab the guide rope!

This guy wouldn't get out our way.

Thailand

Time spent: 12 days
Mosquito bites: more than I'd hoped, + bed bugs!
On budget/time: made up some time but spent far too much!
Lost/stolen: Lost my hat in Bangkok
Sound of Thailand: Eh, Job2do's Lantan reggae, especially the match of the day song!
Taste of Thailand: Phad Thai and Green Curry
Drink of Thailand: Beer Chiang, watch out for the Chiangover
Highlights of Thailand: Grand palace in Bangkok, Songkran and Chilling on Ko Lanta

Thailand was a bit of a let down to me. It was quite expensive and everyone goes there - backpackers, package tourists, divers, sex tourists and so on! Wasn't that bad though! It was good to have a holiday in Ko Lanta and then I was ready to go a bit more off the beaten track.

From Ko Lanta to The Taman Negara

Leaving Ko Lanta I was heading for the Jungle in the middle of Malaysia. This meant quite a journey as it was not easy to get to. On the first day I set off from Ko Lanta with Mike for Trang, where he was going to stay, and I would go on to Hat Yai. When we got to Trang after much delay waiting for ferries to get of Ko Lanta we happened to bump in to Paul and Maureen again, who'd gone there the day before to get there camera fixed.. small world as ever. We all had lunch and I satisfied my Feta and Olive cravings with a Greek Salad. I really enjoyed it! I then headed off to Hat Yai on another 4 hour bus run and stayed the night there. It was a bit of a sleaze hole, catering to Malaysian tourists escaping the countries strict Muslim laws. There was definitely an overabundance of "massage parlours" with pictures of the masseuses posted on shopfront so you could see before hand!

Next day I got a train from Hat Yai to the border (6 hours) where it was relatively simple to cross into Malaysia and then get a local bus for one hour to Khota Baru, the local state capital where I spent an afternoon and a night as I wanted to catch the Jungle Railway to Jerantut at 6am the next day. In the afternoon I went to free cultural show, which was enjoyable and not something I'd seen before on this trip. First up was local music with an oboe like instrument and various kinds of drum. Some boys then performed a dance that was part martial art, and culminated with them trying to wrestle each other. Then there was another drum group, this time with just a selection of large standing drums, which the visitors were also invited to take a turn at. There was also a demonstration of spinning tops, where men launch a heavy top from a wound glued up rope to see who can get it to spin for longest (usually a few hours). Though I enjoyed the show I got very annoyed by tourists taking photos non-bloody-stop, not actually listening or watching, going right up in peoples daces with their cameras. At one point the compere said here is a guy making kites, and there was an old guy tying some pieces of cane together with string. Well some people thought this was the most amazing thing ever and took photo after photo! I couldn't understand it! It turns out that at the cultural centre I'd already missed the "Royal Go-kart tournament" and was to early for the " Monkey-plucking coconut competition" (their hyphenation not mine) and the "ASEAN Bantam Chicken Beauty contest". Can't be helped.

Next day I was extremely early for the Jungle train to Jerantut (especially since I'd lost another hours sleep coming over the border). The train was cheap, but hot and sweaty and the jungle views didn't impress me much. When I got to Jerantut I found I could still get a minibus transfer so I wouldn't have to spend another day on the journey to the Jungle. I got to Kuala Tahan, the base for trips to the jungle that evening and checked into a small hostel, my first dorm accommodation of the trip so far, but I'm going to have to get used to it before Australia which'll be expensive!


Dancers at the culture show.


And drummers, i had a go!


Chucking the top thingies.

Ko Lanta (and Phi Phi)

Oh great, I get to start by adding to the litany of heinous bus journeys. The first part wasn't too bad, despite the Mark Wahlberg double bill on the TV. Once safely on the bus it was nice to watch the soggy celebrations ensuing outside. The bus charged through to Surat Thani, where people were to go separate ways depending on which Island they were going to. The worst thing was the frequent changes of transport and waiting around. Not to labour the point, after the big bus came a Sangthiew (susceptible to water attacks!) a minbus, two ferries (one of them the slowest ever, must have had about 1hp, I could have swam faster) and a tuk-tuk (extremely vulnerable to water attacks) before getting to Lanta over 20 hours after I left, just as soaked as when I got on the bus, and my passport doused again.

But why Lanta? Well I was traveling to the islands when I saw a message on the Partick Thistle message boards from a fan asking if there would be any other jags around in Thailand trying to watch the game against Rangers in the Cup Quarter final on the 13th April. Turns out he was 2 years below me in the same school, so I though why not head for Lanta where he was, with his girlfriend. Turned out to be a very good decision as even though we lost the football, we got on great and they were in a lovely place. We'd soon discovered various connections and mutual friends, and I got the chance to wield my Glasgow accent and phrases again.

Lanta seemed cheap among the islands (not that cheap!) and the accommodation was fine, the water lovely but the beach a little rocky and the beer flowing. There were some other nice people at the same place, including Mike who was traveling despite having lost and arm and a leg years previously and Richard from Switzerland. I stayed 5 nights in the end and suffice to say I didn't do much. There was drinking, chatting, swimming, eating and little else. It was nice to have a holiday from traveling - no evil bus journeys!

On my last day I went on a Snorkeling trip to the neighbouring island Ko Phi Phi, supposedly the most beautiful of the Thai Islands (some say the most beautiful place in the world). With a build up like that it was no surprise I was a little underwhelmed, but the snorkeling was excellent, I met some nice monkeys, and the main town has recovered well from the Tsunami and to me seemed more expensive with an older crowd than Lanta. I really enjoyed our beach at Lanta, which was laid back with a nice atmosphere I didn't really find in Goa.

I also managed not to get hit on the head by a falling coconut, supposedly the second biggest killer of tourists. I'd write a little more about my time here but it might just make y'all jealous, and I've waffled on enough already tonight - I have to get up at 515am for a bus tomorrow morning, and that's on top of losing an hour crossing the border today.

Photos:

Sunset from the resort.

The gang.

Our boat and monkeys at Ko Phi Phi.

Clear waters at Phi Phi.