Posts
A note to say that our less detailed blogs go online at www.mytb.org/lauradom
Eventually I will write them up all neat and tidy here.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Monday, 24 November 2008
22. Cameron Highlands.
You'll be glad you packed those warm clothes if you visit the Cameron Highlands.
The bus from Melaka back to Kuala Lumpur is best experienced from the front seat of a double-decker coach. The road fills the window, and it's like you're watching The World's Most Horrific Driving Caught On Tape. People have rearview and wing-mirrors, but you wouldn't know it. Mopeds are like cats weaving in and out of your legs as you try to walk.
Haggling.
Everyone loves a good haggle, but how do you know if you actually have a good deal? In Malaysia it seems that you can't really, and you'll generally feel like you've paid too much regardless. As if it needed saying, don't haggle with the food stalls or tiny independent shops. You may get money off, but you're taking it from people that really need it.
Markets are a different story. In big ones, especially in KL, make a big show out of your haggle and you will find yourself paying between 1/3 and 1/2 of the asking price. Be charming, cheeky and confident and those 65RN trainers become 30RN, the 85RN shirt becomes 20RN and so on. Walk off if the last offer is within 5-10RN of yours and you can probably expect an agreement pretty quickly.
It's a lot of fun.
Eating.
Backpackers are curious creatures, aren't they? They seem to cluster together in restaurants. We actively sought a place to eat which had to tourists in it, because we assumed it would be cheap and good. It was, but as soon as we had been there for ten minutes we were among a large group of similar tourists. It's like some people need a white face as a seal of approval.
Let's not get started on the guide books. Seriously, who needs places to eat in a guide book? Hostels come in handy if no-one is touting at the bus station, but you can buy food and drink absolutely anywhere. Gangly Gary and Pasty Pete stood in the road staring at the guidebook for restaurant recommendations should be ashamed!
Anyway, five hours North from KL is a welcome break from the heat. The Cameron Highlands sit at the top of a windy mountain road and offers temperatures in the 20s instead of 30s. It's picturesque, surrounded by rainforest, and home to some enormous tea plantations.
Cheap places to stay outnumber expensive ones, and everyone is very willing to help. Our 25RN double room came complete with staff willing to help us plan our entire 5-month trip and make recommendations for Japan as well.
The problem with staying in the cheapest places is that they tend to be cheap for a reason. Rats can be one reason, as can beds with wooden crates for support. I fell through mine straight away.
The town we stayed in went by the name Tanah Rata, and was the starting point for many one-day treks. I ambitiously decided to conquer all of them, but managed four of ten before we moved on.
Walking through the forest was great, but to call the walks treks was a bit of an exageration. They were tiring, but generally pretty easy and simple to follow. One trek even offered 100 Chinese highschool students coming the other way. Albiet they were having a lot of difficulty, and one of them had to be carted off on a stretcher after getting 'cramp'. The problem with the popularity and ease of use was that there was virtually no wildlife to speak of. Anything which lived around had been scared off long ago, though I did see one snake, and one large milipede, or centipede, or something during the 20 hours or more that I spent trekking. Bird-sized butterflies were quite common though, and a butterfly and insect farm was nearby for those who were discontent.
Our adventures took us on a long walk through the jungle to the Boh tea plantations, and attempts to hitch-hike back were immediately successful to our elation.
The plantations themselves roll across the hills in clumpy lines almost like heather on the English moors. Little figures make slow progress snipping the bushes to process into tea. The walk there also blessed us with a very close sighting of a huge eagle, possibly hunting some of the same family of rats that sniffed around our hostel.
Apparently there was an indigenous tribe nearby called the Orang Asli, but our friend at the hostel told us that they were over commercialised and only worth visiting to buy sourveniers.
We ate so much curry that I was in heaven, but Laura but thoroughly pissed off with the endless naan breads and chicken-knee kormas. There seemed to be very little variety in the food, and after a few days we left for Panang island.
The bus from Melaka back to Kuala Lumpur is best experienced from the front seat of a double-decker coach. The road fills the window, and it's like you're watching The World's Most Horrific Driving Caught On Tape. People have rearview and wing-mirrors, but you wouldn't know it. Mopeds are like cats weaving in and out of your legs as you try to walk.
Haggling.
Everyone loves a good haggle, but how do you know if you actually have a good deal? In Malaysia it seems that you can't really, and you'll generally feel like you've paid too much regardless. As if it needed saying, don't haggle with the food stalls or tiny independent shops. You may get money off, but you're taking it from people that really need it.
Markets are a different story. In big ones, especially in KL, make a big show out of your haggle and you will find yourself paying between 1/3 and 1/2 of the asking price. Be charming, cheeky and confident and those 65RN trainers become 30RN, the 85RN shirt becomes 20RN and so on. Walk off if the last offer is within 5-10RN of yours and you can probably expect an agreement pretty quickly.
It's a lot of fun.
Eating.
Backpackers are curious creatures, aren't they? They seem to cluster together in restaurants. We actively sought a place to eat which had to tourists in it, because we assumed it would be cheap and good. It was, but as soon as we had been there for ten minutes we were among a large group of similar tourists. It's like some people need a white face as a seal of approval.
Let's not get started on the guide books. Seriously, who needs places to eat in a guide book? Hostels come in handy if no-one is touting at the bus station, but you can buy food and drink absolutely anywhere. Gangly Gary and Pasty Pete stood in the road staring at the guidebook for restaurant recommendations should be ashamed!
Anyway, five hours North from KL is a welcome break from the heat. The Cameron Highlands sit at the top of a windy mountain road and offers temperatures in the 20s instead of 30s. It's picturesque, surrounded by rainforest, and home to some enormous tea plantations.
Cheap places to stay outnumber expensive ones, and everyone is very willing to help. Our 25RN double room came complete with staff willing to help us plan our entire 5-month trip and make recommendations for Japan as well.
The problem with staying in the cheapest places is that they tend to be cheap for a reason. Rats can be one reason, as can beds with wooden crates for support. I fell through mine straight away.
The town we stayed in went by the name Tanah Rata, and was the starting point for many one-day treks. I ambitiously decided to conquer all of them, but managed four of ten before we moved on.
Walking through the forest was great, but to call the walks treks was a bit of an exageration. They were tiring, but generally pretty easy and simple to follow. One trek even offered 100 Chinese highschool students coming the other way. Albiet they were having a lot of difficulty, and one of them had to be carted off on a stretcher after getting 'cramp'. The problem with the popularity and ease of use was that there was virtually no wildlife to speak of. Anything which lived around had been scared off long ago, though I did see one snake, and one large milipede, or centipede, or something during the 20 hours or more that I spent trekking. Bird-sized butterflies were quite common though, and a butterfly and insect farm was nearby for those who were discontent.
Our adventures took us on a long walk through the jungle to the Boh tea plantations, and attempts to hitch-hike back were immediately successful to our elation.
The plantations themselves roll across the hills in clumpy lines almost like heather on the English moors. Little figures make slow progress snipping the bushes to process into tea. The walk there also blessed us with a very close sighting of a huge eagle, possibly hunting some of the same family of rats that sniffed around our hostel.
Apparently there was an indigenous tribe nearby called the Orang Asli, but our friend at the hostel told us that they were over commercialised and only worth visiting to buy sourveniers.
We ate so much curry that I was in heaven, but Laura but thoroughly pissed off with the endless naan breads and chicken-knee kormas. There seemed to be very little variety in the food, and after a few days we left for Panang island.
Monday, 17 November 2008
21. Melaka.
One of the most surprising things about Kuala Lumpur, apart from how developed it is, and how old most of the tourists are (40+), is the incredible amount of rubbish everywhere. Street corners are piled with the stuff, and tourist attractions fare no better. Jenga-like stacks of plastic bottles are everywhere you look.
Before leaving the capital we decided to visit the caves of Batu just outside of town. They are the site of the annual self-mutilation ceremonies that many of you have probably read about, or seen in pictures of hoards of people whipping their own backs to get over their sins. That's in February, so all we got to see were some monkeys and a massive golden statue.
The caves were large and small at the same time. The roof was supposedly something like 100 metres above us, though I don't believe it. But there was only one short chamber, followed by a second, open-roofed section with an Indian temple and several hundred empty water bottles littered around. The floor had been concreted and all possible passageways off into the world of speleology sealed. Only one section of dark caves was accessable, but the cost of 35RN was enough to turn us off the idea, especially when the value of the pound drops by the day.
Our savings have dropped by something like 5-10% since last time I checked the exchange rate a couple of months ago. That's good news for our jobs in Japan, which now have a wage which translates as more than 20k each after tax, but means our travel budget is becoming tighter and tighter by the day.
Another thing which keeps falling is the rain. It is definately wet season in peninsular Malaysia. If it isn't cake-spoilingly hot it is flooded. In the end we left KL to see if the weather was any better elsewhere.
Melaka
You sucessfully navigate your way to the bus stop, get on the right bus and get off at more or less the right stop. You have a hot tip for a cheap place to stay in town, just a short walk from the famous chinatown district. You follow the directions impeccably, and after only a little confusion you find the hostel. It's nice. The staff are informative, welcoming and overly friendly. The heavy bags drop off your back into your spacious, clean room with large double bed, high ceiling and powerfull fan. You open the door to your own personal balcony overlooking the street. The sun does a happy dance on your face as you count the number of budget eateries on your road - Indian, Chinese, non-descript. Fantastic so far, but the litmus test is the bathroom and shower. It's communal because you paid just over 2 pounds for your room. No problem. The toilet is clean, smells fine and has toilet paper. The shower is powerful, and there is even provision for washing your own clothes in there.
Everything is great. You try the bed, and suddenly the sensation of opening the fridge and taking a huge gulp of cold, refreshing milk, only to end up with a mouth full of sour, milky lumps shatters your dreams.
URRRGH!
The bed sinks in the middle and is full of holes. It's a double, but unless a belt is worn to bed and used as an anchor to the wall, it may just as well be a single. Then things start biting and the tears well up. Well, at least this place is on the coast.
A walk to the seafront brings misery and pain. A stern signs advises no swimming or fishing, and to beware of crocodiles. The 'beach' is a mudbank created by the sewerage of the city and the rubbish in the river which flows through town and out to sea.
Not quite as expected.
However, comic relief comes from the sight of thousands of mudskippers flopping about on the mud. What curious creatures.
Melaka is apparently an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was difficult to really grasp why at first. In fact I'm still not sure if we understand it. Friday to Sunday features a glorious night-market in chinatown, the variety of chinese snacks there enough to satisfy even my hunger. On our way through we came accross a strange man doing stretching exercises in the middle of the street. A sign proclaimed he was the current world record holder for sticking his finger in the most coconuts in a given time period. Malaysians love their world records, and have their own annual publication for them which is not associated with yeasty Irish alcohol in any way.
So this guy was apparently trying to sell some kind of tonic for rheumatism, and his exagerated show was drawn out to about an hour for the puncturing of one coconut. He didn't even use his finger. He punched it twice and then stuck his finger in the hole. Completely dissapointed, we bought more snacks.
At the end of the second day we found some of the things in the town that were worth preserving. There is a 500 year old Dutch fort at the foot a hill, on top of which sits a large roofless building, and nearby a replica of the Sultinate palace stands impressively and is filled with period costumes and information.
A lot of the stuff around, however, was somewhat inapropriate for European tourists. The Maritime museum featured a preserved trading vessle and dioramas of Dutch sailors. We've both seen that kind of thing a thousand times before, but the local children and asian tourists had their pictures taken with virtually everything, including replicas of old maps.
A 30-minutes bus ride from town is a selection of attractions including a zoo, reptile and buttery park, aquarium, ostrich farm, 'recreational forest' and a crocodile farm. The latter was not very good. At 5RM to get in you can't really complain, but crocodiles don't really do anything at all. Having said that, we did see one or two move almost 6 inches.
Melaka wasn't as good as we had hoped, but we got to catch up with a friend of ours who lives nearby, and learned a little bit about the Dutch which we didn't know. We also ate some great stuff. The Chinese really have their fingers on the pulse of culinary delights.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
20. Kuala Lumpur.
KL is hot!
Today the sweat drips down my everything as I sit under two fans. Damn.
Kuala Lumpur is a confusing city. This isn't helped by poor directions to hostels, but that aside the real problem with the city itself is the lack of a codefied identity. First impressions bring to mind Spain, Turkey, and any number of places. There is no real sense of individuality as a city.
It is a cocktail of a place. The population is a mixture of Chinese, Indian and Malay. This is reflected in the foods and sounds of the city. A visit to the National Museum taught us how the three races have successfully cooperated together to rid themselves of several varieties of imperial rule. That's great, and I love multi culturalism, but it seems like KL's character doesn't show any sense of the nationalism that has been such a success story.
Having said that, it's a great place.
The streets are amazingly busy and ferociously loud 24/7. Crossing the road is a game of chicken. Just like in South America, taxi drivers slow down and beep at every tourist. Also like South America, the pollution is choking, and ths smells from the open drains can be as oppressive as the heat.
But the people are the most social we have met. Wander around looking lost for five minutes and someone will come and ask you, in English, if you need help. Walk down the street and people will practice their English on you (in a nice way).
It's also cheap. A room for the night is about 10RN (about 1.80 sterling). A good meal can be had for less than 5RN and busses from KL to anywhere in the country work out at under 5RN an hour.
Artractions can be much more expensive though.
The beautiful Lake Gardens area to the South features several days worth of activities. The butterfly park (18RN) is full of fist sized flying leaves and bright colours, and the bird park (59RN) has the largest walk-through aviary in the world, and thousands of exotic birds. The National Museum (2RN) is also well worth a visit if only for the very welcome air conditioning.
Also within the gardens is a deer park, an orchid and an hibiscus garden, a planetarium which we spent all day walking to in angry heat only to find it closed on Mondays, a museum of police, a mosque and a museum of Islamic art, and more. Monkeys swing about on the side of the road for tourists to photograph and feed.
The rest of the city is not without its sites either. The twin towers of Petronas, previously the tallest buildings in the world, stand in the 'Golden Triangle' area of tower blocks, shadowing shifty men trying to sell expensive watches. You can go up to the 42nd floor of the towers, for free, and stand on the suspended walkway there, but it is less interesting than it sounds.
KL communications tower is visible from our hostel window, and can be climbed for 20RN if you can justify the expense. Next year it will be home to the highest bungee-jump in the world.
The food in town is great. Many backpackers find themselves bedding down in Little India, just next to Chinatown, where all kinds of suspiciously fishy snacks and meals can be purchased for next to nothing. The Central Market, just around the corner, features a food hall with a variety of asian menus mostly for around 5RN a plate.
For the more cultured diner, there's a Subway in town. There's also a Nando's, Marks and Spencer and about seventeen billion 7-11 stores. You can buy cups full of more sweetcorn than you have ever eaten at any one time, and ice-cream sticks featuring "black gluninous rice" grains. Strange, but ncie. A huge Mall by the KLCC subway station homes every designer label you can think of, at designer prices. A mall down the street features an actual rollercoaster (38RN) inside it. Now that is ridiculous.
Apparently there is an aquarium somewhere, but the 38RN price is a real turn-off. It's strange how expensive it is to do thing compared with the cost of living. Bear in minds that a worker in 7-11 gets 5RN an hour.
Water is also a hole for money. 1.5 litres costs 2-2.50RN, but you need three bottles a day. It's best to come prepared for the taste of Iodine and purify the tapwater lest you find yourself 900RN out of pocket at the end of your trip.
The next part of our journey is up for debate, but a few more days exploring the surroundings of KL is a definate.
There's so much to do here that you may never want to leave, but bear in mind that extensive touring of the area may well have you flying back to KL several times as it is a great budget flight destination (a one-way ticket to Manila, The Philipines, is 70$US).
Let's not forget the Cute Fish Foot Spa! 10 minutes with your feet in a fish tank. Removes dead skin, improves circulation and various other probably factually incorrect things. But it's great fun, and at 5RN one trip a day should keep anyone happy.
Today the sweat drips down my everything as I sit under two fans. Damn.
Kuala Lumpur is a confusing city. This isn't helped by poor directions to hostels, but that aside the real problem with the city itself is the lack of a codefied identity. First impressions bring to mind Spain, Turkey, and any number of places. There is no real sense of individuality as a city.
It is a cocktail of a place. The population is a mixture of Chinese, Indian and Malay. This is reflected in the foods and sounds of the city. A visit to the National Museum taught us how the three races have successfully cooperated together to rid themselves of several varieties of imperial rule. That's great, and I love multi culturalism, but it seems like KL's character doesn't show any sense of the nationalism that has been such a success story.
Having said that, it's a great place.
The streets are amazingly busy and ferociously loud 24/7. Crossing the road is a game of chicken. Just like in South America, taxi drivers slow down and beep at every tourist. Also like South America, the pollution is choking, and ths smells from the open drains can be as oppressive as the heat.
But the people are the most social we have met. Wander around looking lost for five minutes and someone will come and ask you, in English, if you need help. Walk down the street and people will practice their English on you (in a nice way).
It's also cheap. A room for the night is about 10RN (about 1.80 sterling). A good meal can be had for less than 5RN and busses from KL to anywhere in the country work out at under 5RN an hour.
Artractions can be much more expensive though.
The beautiful Lake Gardens area to the South features several days worth of activities. The butterfly park (18RN) is full of fist sized flying leaves and bright colours, and the bird park (59RN) has the largest walk-through aviary in the world, and thousands of exotic birds. The National Museum (2RN) is also well worth a visit if only for the very welcome air conditioning.
Also within the gardens is a deer park, an orchid and an hibiscus garden, a planetarium which we spent all day walking to in angry heat only to find it closed on Mondays, a museum of police, a mosque and a museum of Islamic art, and more. Monkeys swing about on the side of the road for tourists to photograph and feed.
The rest of the city is not without its sites either. The twin towers of Petronas, previously the tallest buildings in the world, stand in the 'Golden Triangle' area of tower blocks, shadowing shifty men trying to sell expensive watches. You can go up to the 42nd floor of the towers, for free, and stand on the suspended walkway there, but it is less interesting than it sounds.
KL communications tower is visible from our hostel window, and can be climbed for 20RN if you can justify the expense. Next year it will be home to the highest bungee-jump in the world.
The food in town is great. Many backpackers find themselves bedding down in Little India, just next to Chinatown, where all kinds of suspiciously fishy snacks and meals can be purchased for next to nothing. The Central Market, just around the corner, features a food hall with a variety of asian menus mostly for around 5RN a plate.
For the more cultured diner, there's a Subway in town. There's also a Nando's, Marks and Spencer and about seventeen billion 7-11 stores. You can buy cups full of more sweetcorn than you have ever eaten at any one time, and ice-cream sticks featuring "black gluninous rice" grains. Strange, but ncie. A huge Mall by the KLCC subway station homes every designer label you can think of, at designer prices. A mall down the street features an actual rollercoaster (38RN) inside it. Now that is ridiculous.
Apparently there is an aquarium somewhere, but the 38RN price is a real turn-off. It's strange how expensive it is to do thing compared with the cost of living. Bear in minds that a worker in 7-11 gets 5RN an hour.
Water is also a hole for money. 1.5 litres costs 2-2.50RN, but you need three bottles a day. It's best to come prepared for the taste of Iodine and purify the tapwater lest you find yourself 900RN out of pocket at the end of your trip.
The next part of our journey is up for debate, but a few more days exploring the surroundings of KL is a definate.
There's so much to do here that you may never want to leave, but bear in mind that extensive touring of the area may well have you flying back to KL several times as it is a great budget flight destination (a one-way ticket to Manila, The Philipines, is 70$US).
Let's not forget the Cute Fish Foot Spa! 10 minutes with your feet in a fish tank. Removes dead skin, improves circulation and various other probably factually incorrect things. But it's great fun, and at 5RN one trip a day should keep anyone happy.
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