Travelog

Lazy day, so not much to report. Got up in the morning with the intention of going for a run on the beach, but it was raining lightly . Did some reading (there’s a good book I want to swap with in the library), then when the rain stopped, I hit the beach. Very soft sand, definitely not for running. I walked to some rocks, that and climbed over them, reaching a small secluded beach, followed by some more rocks. These rocks looked a little trickier, so I let them be, and walked back the way I’d came, and headed south down the coast.

After a lot of walking in the bright sun, with no sunscreen on, I figured it’d be wise to head back to the resort and put some on. I oiled up and hit the resort pool for a bit of reading. Robin and Jolina were already in attendance. When the sun came out from behind the clouds, it got terribly hot, so I jumped in the pool to cool down a bit. My day repeated a similar pattern for most of the day. Substitute pool for sea on occasion, but you get the gist.

We tried to get some dinner in the evening at the same place we’d had lunch earlier, but they were closed. We had been discussing an island tour, and settled on a 4 islands snorkeling tour for the next day.

Back at the guesthouse, I retire to bed early as we want to get an early breakfast before the islands tour.. There was a big party at the resort, but it seemed pretty tame. Apparently it’s low season at the moment, although that normally isn’t the case until May.

In the morning, the Swedes and I headed for breakfast at a place John recommended. A little pricey, but we’re starting to figure John wasn’t as frugal as we’re trying to be. I had a pancake, hoping it would look as glorious as the ones we saw at the night market, but it was fairly underwhelming.

Another travelling day, this time to Ko Lanta. Ko = Island here in Thailand, so we’d be taking a boat at some point. We were supposed to be picked up at 10, but our taxi did not arrive until closer to 11. We piled in, and headed to the bus terminal, where we hopped on a (blessedly) air-conditioned minivan. It was a little crowded, and I ended up sitting on Robin’s suitcase for the first fifteen minutes or so. I was nearly at the point of cursing the lack of meat on my posterior, when we dropped off the mother and daughter I was sitting next to, and I had two seats to myself.

We picked up a couple of more people on the way, and dropped off some others, but I managed to retain my seat. The young girl in front of me was pretty cute, and seemed quite taken with Robin’s camera. The Canadians I met in Te Anua had given me some Canadian pencils to give to kids on my travels, but they were buried in my luggage, otherwise I’d have given one to her.

We got on a ferry to Ko Lanta Noi and drove across the island, and got onto another ferry – this time to Ko Lanta Yai. There were some police inspecting vehicles, but we managed to make it through without much incident. The bus dropped us off at the bus depot, and we went through the never pleasant task of trying to figure out where we wanted to sleep for the nights (or at least one night) on the island, We told the guy in charge of the taxis we wanted to be dropped off in the middle of one of the beach areas. He told us it would be 50 baht each. Steep ($1.60), but a twenty minute taxi drive.

The taxi was a pickup truck with two benches running along its side. To our surprise we were dropped off nowhere near where we wanted to be, about 5 minutes later. We tried to tell the driver that we weren’t where we wanted to be (there was a decent resort, but nothing around). He had no clue what we were talking about, so we had to negotiate another 30 baht to get further down the beach.

Now where we wanted to be, we tried to find a place to stay, but the places in the area weren’t really what we were after, price wise. The driver, whose company we didn’t like was still following us around – hoping for a commission from the resort, no doubt. Jolina and I left Robin with the bags, and headed towards the beach to check out the next place, but it too wasn’t what we were after. When we got back, Robin was talking with someone who had a good place down the road. He offered to drive us there for free, but changed his tune when he spotted our taxi driver. The taut for the resort made haste and took off, and we decided we’d eat some food, hoping the taut would return.

Had a great lunch at a place near the main road. As we waited, a truck pulled up and another taut from another resort offered us a room. We haggled him down to half the price, on condition of seeing the place, and went to check it out.

Blue Andaman Resort turned out to be nice. Robin and Jolina definitely got the better of the two rooms, but I certainly feel I got my money’s worth. 300 baht (less than $10) for my own bungalow with private shower and bathroom.

I headed to the beach and had a look. Low tide, so the beach looked a little rocky, but the beach faces west, and before long we were hit with the nicest sunset I’ve seen in forever.

Grabbed some muesli and fruit for breakfast from the guesthouse. Pretty tasty, but probably a bit pricier than I could get elsewhere in the city. Even still, the difference is probably only $1 or so.

Met up with Jolina and Robin, and headed to the Tiger Cave. About 8kms outside of the city we rode in the back of the songthaew with some locals – many who seemed to just hop on and hop off at random. The songthaew is just two benches at the back of a truck, but it serves its purpose.

At the cave, we looked at the sign announcing “1,237 Steps To Top Mountain” with trepidation (and maybe hoping their counting was as poor as their English), but it was still early, so we figured we’d better tackle it before the sun started to really heat us up. Accompanying us on our journey was a mutt that I christened Scabby, because he looked like he’d been in a few too many scraps in his day. He followed us up the stairs, and stopped when we stopped. He also helped keep the monkeys at bay.

Like the Batu caves, the lower stairs of the climb were clambering with monkeys. I took some photos as three of them sat on a garbage bin only a foot away from me, but was quite surprised when one leapt onto my bag and attempted to steal my water bottle. I shooed it away, and promptly put the bottle in my bag to deter any future attempts at thievery.

The climb was grueling, steep, hot, and humid. The stairs were numbered occasionally, which didn’t serve to help things. Near the top, someone passed us on his way down and assured us it was worthwhile. He was right.

Great views from the top, and a giant statue as well (who knows how they got it up there). We sat there for an hour or so, to recover from the climb, and drink some water available at the top. We tried to give Scabby some, but he didn’t seem too interested.

After descending the steps (Scabby stayed up top – maybe he climbed up to die), we headed to the Tiger Cave, which was a smallish (compared to Batu) cave in the jungle. It began to pour rain while we were in the cave, so we used it as shelter. Rain in Asia doesn’t seem to ever die down, though. Even when it does seem calmer, it’s probably as bad as our worst storms in Canada. Eventually we figured the rain was light enough and we headed to the songthaew and got a ride back into town.

Sat around in the guesthouse to wait out the storm, and had a (proper, not nature endowing) shower. Headed out for some food with Robin and Jolina, at a restaurant around the corner, and then back to the hostel. The school next to the guesthouse is having some sort of performance night, so I was able to listen to some off key singing – but they seem to be having fun.

Headed to the night market later to get some more food, and some pancakes for dessert, but ended up skipping the pancakes. Tomorrow I am off to Ko Lanta, which ought to be a nice change from the city life.

A travelling day. The train took us over some interesting terrain, and eventually we stopped at the Thai border, where we had to all disembark with all of our belongings, and pass through customs. There was a sign stating “hippies” were not allowed into the country, and then a list of things that made one a hippy. Long hair and wearing a singlet are apparently not very good. Wooden shoes are also frowned upon, as well as poor looking shorts. I thought about taking a picture, but didn’t want to run the risk. Despite my drab appearance, I managed to get through immigration without much trouble.

Talked with the older man, John from England, who slept in the bunk across from me, and he was heading to Krabi, which was one of the places I planned on going to too (I still wasn’t 100% sure where I would go in Hat Yai). He said he spoke a bit of Thai, and offered to share a cab with me to the bus depot from the train station. We had about an hour to wait while Thai immigration took our bus away, and brought it back to us, and in that time we managed to wrangle two Swedes, Jolina and Robin to join us on the trek to Krabi. Since our numbers were now four, John thought it might be cheaper and quicker for the four of us to take a cab.

Back on the train, we got to Hat Yai at about 11:15 (an hour later than we were supposed to), and headed to the taxi depot. They wanted 4500 baht ($146 Canadian) to take us to Krabi (about 5 hours away), so we told them we’d just take the bus instead. Got an offer for a minibus for 270 baht ($8.75) each. We decided to do that instead, but had an hour to kill. We were pretty hungry so we grabbed some money from the ATM and got some food at a small restaurant (I use the term loosely) in Hat Yai.

At 12:30 we took the minibus to Krabi. Fairly uneventful – but interesting to pass entire families on a motorbike (quite common to see – I’ll get a picture eventually). Our driver drove like a maniac, but the price was good, and the bus was air-conditioned (although poorly).

In Krabi we overpaid for a taxi to a local hostel that John knew of. They were fully booked, but John knew of another place. This place was a tad more than myself and the Swedes wanted to pay, so we parted ways with John and the three of us found another place up the street for 220 baht ($7.13) per night. Checked out the room, and it was clean and more than I needed (two beds for little old me), but who can argue for the price? I had a shower, then turned my laundry in to be cleaned for me. Much needed, I assure you.

In the evening Robin, Jolina and I headed to the night market to meet up with John and get some food. Had some nice bbq fish, chicken, and pork (with rice of course), and washed it down with a banana shake. Total came to about 85 baht ($3.50 Canadian) per person.

Managed to make it through the night without strangling to death the two Taiwanese girls in my room, who came in late, switched on the lights and babbled incessantly to each other and on the phone for about an hour. The rest of Asia should be dorm-free, so I’m sure I’ll appreciate my privacy even more now.

Since I now had an extra day in KL, I decided to take the bus from Central Market to the Batu Caves. Bus took about half an hour, and as usual I was the only white person on it. Batu Caves is a Hindu Temple, not far from KL. There’s a pilgrimage out to the caves from the centre of the city every year. There’s a giant statue of Murugan, a Hindu diety at the foot of the stairs leading to the caves.

The cave was huge (biggest I’ve ever seen, but I’m not much of a spelunker) with the Hindu temple inside, and people doing some sort of Hindu ritual. I thought I saw some people carrying a dead baby in a sheet hanging from two bamboo poles, but thankfully it was alive.

Perhaps cooler than the caves were the Cynomolgus monkeys that ran up and down the stairs. It was my first interaction with monkeys in the “wild”, and these guys were not as aggressive as I’ve heard some can be. People were feeding them, which probably won’t help, but they were cute.

Took me some unnecessary walking to find the bus stop back (pretty much right in my face, not sure how I missed it), but headed back into the city next. Was beside Central Market, so I headed in there for lunch. Quiet market, which was not what I was expecting. Thought I’d be experiencing the crowded markets of China again.

Thunder claps abound, so I headed to the hostel after that, and hung out there for a while until it was time to catch my train. KL Sentral was busy, and I managed to spend the last of my Malaysian money on deodorant and cookies (essentials of travel?). Sleeper on the train was good. I knew I had top bunk, so I was prepared to cable lock myself in again, as I’d done in Europe – but this wasn’t too high, and there was a railing, so I was pretty safe untethered.

Read for a bit on the train, and then tried to get some sleep. Loud and rocky train, but I managed a bit of sleep. The light was on in the cabin the entire trip, and even though we had a curtain for privacy, it was fairly bright.

Up bright (actually dark, on account of the no windows thing) and early, and ready to embark on my first KL subway journey. The fun thing about getting up early is that you get a bit of hot water (5 to 10 seconds), and you discover that the guy who is always sitting in the stairwell leading up to the hostel (which is about 6 flights of stairs up, then another two flights to the room) actually lives (or at least sleeps) in the hostel stairwell.

Subway took me to KLCC Station, and from there it was a short walk through the mall to the Petronas Towers. Queued up in line and read my book. After a little less than an hour, I’d secured a ticket to the tower. Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to go up until 2pm, which meant I had to find something to do in the meantime. I had hoped I’d be able to see the tower and then head to the Batu Caves, but alas, it was not meant to be.

I opted instead for the Lake District, and more precisely, the Bird Park – which I’d heard was pretty nice. Took the subway, and managed to find my way to the park pretty easily. Helped that it wasn’t swelteringly warm yet.

The park was quite nice, with loads and loads of birds. I spent an hour and a bit there, before deciding I better head back to the towers. Finding my way back to the subway station was a little less challenging than leaving it, but still not completely easy. It was a nice clear day, but thankfully the sun wasn’t beating down to hard.

Had some time to kill before my 2pm climb, so I grabbed some lunch and headed to the bookstore to figure out the best way out of Kuala Lumpur.

It wasn’t until I walked onto the Skybridge of the tower that I realized it was now pouring rain outside. Visibility was pretty much nil, so I chatted with the tower guide, and watched as the rest of the group tried to take pictures. Who needs a travel companion when you’ve got rain?

Headed to the bookstore again, to kill more time while waiting for the rain to die. After about an hour and a half I gave up and made my way back to the hostel – happy to have packed my raincoat this morning.

Stuck around at the hostel, then headed to KL Sentral to book my train to Thailand for tomorrow night. Looking forward to some train travel. We’ll see if I am singing the same tune this time Monday.

Back at the hostel, the large group of deaf people are watching a movie on mute, and reading lips.  Beats the group before them that had it cranked.

Note: I’ve given up on uploading photos for now.  Will try later.

No windows in the room, so it was easy to sleep in. Eventually I got up, and decided to walk to the KL Tower area. It was about a 15 minute walk from the hostel, and fairly simple. No hot water in the shower (damn you, Lonely Planet), but it wasn’t so bad. There’s a Buddhist temple behind the hostel, which had a bunch of shirtless and barefoot men in it – and a live broadcast of what was going on inside on display outside.

Not a lot near the tower, and it was too early to go in, so I headed to the Petronas Tower. Thought I might luck out and get to go up to the skybridge, but all the (free) tickets were accounted for. Wandered around at the KLCC park for a bit, then headed to the Bintang Walk, which just appeared to be the Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, in KL.

Headed back to the hostel to cool off for a bit, and then it began to rain and rain. Waited out the rain for a while, and when it finally stopped and blue skies appeared again, I headed back to the KL Tower. Got there for 5pm or so, hoping to catch the sunset from the tower (which, according to the video I saw later – is very romantic and will make anyone you see it with fall in love with you). Took some pictures, but it was a little too cloudy for the sunsets full effect. I figured I’d wait till night, but then it started to rain again, so I eventually gave up and headed down. Still raining, so I read in the lobby for a bit, and then a bit longer, and then at about 8:30pm decided I ought to just bite the bullet and grab a cab.

Bullet bitten, I hung around in the hostel, did some reading and watched the new (and from the parts I’ve seen, pretty horrible) Knight Rider movie/show. Headed to bed reasonably early, as I wanted to get to the Petronas Towers early to secure a ticket.

Note: I’ve given up on uploading photos for now.  Will try later.

Blessed with what looks like a nice day. I got a map from the hostel after I checked out, but it was in Malay – so a little difficult to use. Managed to find the sites I was after, though. First stop of the day was the reconstructed 15th Century Malay palace, Istana Kesultanan. I checked out the gardens first, but they weren’t all that special. As I was entering the palace a couple of school kids approached. In flawless english they told me they were doing a survey, and asked if I’d fill it out. Nothing too taxing, just where I was from, and how long I’d been in Malaysia, etc. They took a picture and seemed quite happy to be talking to someone from Canada. Pleasant kids. Shortly after, I realized my wallet was missing. Just kidding. It was refreshing having someone approach you on the street and not want money.

Climbed up to St. John’s fort next, and then descended on the other side of the mountain to the Dutch square. From there I wandered into China street, walking mostly along Jonker Street. Came across a bakery that had some Portuguese tarts, but they didn’t compare with the English variety.

After covering most of Melaka, I figured it was about time to make my way to Kuala Lumpur so I headed back to the hostel and grabbed my luggage. Took a cab to the train station, then managed to find a bus ticket pretty easily, with a departure time that was only twenty minutes away.

Bus wasn’t very crowded. Had a buddhist monk behind me, that made some odd grunting noises on occasion, but otherwise it was a fine ride. Passed some nice terraced hills, and generally nice terrain.

As a lesson in contrasts, the scene in KL was chaotic. The driver had opened the door to the bus, so people were simply grabbing their bags and getting off. I figured I’d do the same, and followed the line of foot traffic towards a bridge that came across the street. I had no map, and no idea where I was in the city, but wonder of wonder, my hostel was across the street. I ignored the tauts asking if I needed a cab, and took the bridge over the street and checked in.

The hostel was rated quite well in the Lonely Planet guidebook Adam had, but things have apparently gone downhill since. A little dirty, and very smoky in the main room, but it’ll do for a couple of nights. I hope.

In the evening I headed over to Chinatown and Petaling Street. A huge market, and jam packed with people, which was kind of fun. Headed back to the hostel and did some reading. As I was about to go to bed, a new roommate arrived, Eveline from Switzerland. Ended up chatting with her, and two hours later finally managed to get to bed. She is leaving in the morning, but we’re both heading to Thailand next, so we’ll try and keep in touch and meet up at some point.

Note: I’ve given up on uploading photos for now. Will try later. Although I only have one for this day

I decided on Melaka, Malaysia – about a four hour bus ride from Singapore. I had some stuff to do in the morning so I settled on a 2pm departure time.

Got my ducks in a row, and headed to the bus depot for about noon. I only had $19 Singapore dollars left, and I was determined to make it last. $2.10 went to the subway, and I was counting on $11 of it to go to the bus ticket, but the ticket was $16. Thankfully, I had enough, but now I still had lunch to worry about (and didn’t want to take more Singapore dollars out). To complicate matters, it had decided to start pouring (and I do mean pouring) rain. I threw the raincover on my bag, put on my jacket and ran across the street in search of a food vendor that took credit cards. No luck, but at a convenience store I found a steamed bun, filled with vegetables, for 80 cents. There was an Esso across the street, so I waited patiently for the rain to die down before crossing over. No such luck. Throwing the bag over my head, I darted across the street and into the Esso. Thankfully they took credit cards, so I grabbed some snacks for the bus, and headed back to the depot.

We had to disembark the bus twice – once to go through Singapore customs, and once to go through Malaysian customs. Both went very smoothly (think Canada/USA crossing on a good day), and then back on the bus to Melaka. The rain came and went throughout the drive – quite hard at times. The bus also bounced about, but I had a nice seat at the back with plenty of room, so it was pretty good. I replied to some emails, and did some reading (back to “Next”), and before long we were in Melaka.

Grabbed some Melaka Ringlits (cold hard cash) from the ATM at the bus terminal, and caught a cab to the hostel. Cab wasn’t as cheap as China, but not too bad. Hostel is pretty cheap and not particularly nice. Clean enough, but a few too many rules. No footwear allowed in the hostel, no pork or beef products, no Chinese food (muslim owners I guess). Things like that.

I grabbed some chicken and rice at a place near the hostel, but because of the rain, I figured I’d stay inside. Read a bit more, and wrote this, but it’s getting late, so I’d best get off to bed. Hopefully I can hook up to the internet in the morning and get this uploaded – already I miss the free wifi I had in China and Singapore.