Blogs from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, Asia
Singapore, the boat on top of a building, Buttons front wing, and bear beer
Published: March 29th 2012Asia » Malaysia » Perak » Ipoh
March 29th 2012
Welcome to Asia! Where the people are friendly and the beers are cheap(er). We started in Singapore, the state of many rules. A night in the cells for spitting on the street seemed to me to be a little extreme, but then I was warned. We spent our time here in what was an awesome hostel, apparently in asia things are done for you. For example the free breakfast toast was toasted by the receptionist, the pool table in the bar paid for and racked by the bar maid, the hawker stalls get a water out of the fridge for you, the list goes on! We also splashed some cash in an outdoor 50m pool, one whole singapore dollar. Singapore as a whole is pretty clean, and the centre in particular is ridiculous. Think upside-down sydney ... read more
October 13th 2011
Almost losing track of the days! It is Thursday night here in Malaysia, which means I have been here just about a week. It feels like I have been here forever though. I can’t decide if that is a good or bad thing. Anyhow, today was another action packed day. Last night when our bus pulled in there were literally five different tour groups ready to sell their tours. The tours I saw were only half day tours but I really wanted a full day tour since a) they were only about $13USD more and b) there isn’t a whole lot else to see in this town without a car. I got to my hotel and luckily they were selling full day tours and it was off season, so it only cost $25USD. And it would ... read more
January 5th 2011
David here... We set off from our wonderful Hanoi hotel at 05:20 and made our way to the Vietnam Airlines office where the $2 bus to the airport departed from. This was much more preferable then spending $15 on a taxi to the airport. We are on a budget after all. We arrived at 06:45 and checked in successfully and bought a a few things to use up our last remaining Dong as you are not allowed to take Vietnam currency out of the country. The flight left about 20 minutes late, but it was no big deal. The flight lasted 5 hours but felt much shorter than that and was quite comfortable. I felt quite sad about leaving Vietnam. It wasn't because I had loved it so much and didn't want to leave. In reality ... read more
Religious Undertaking with the Ipoh Sams
Published: September 21st 2010Asia » Malaysia » Perak » Ipoh
September 9th 2010
At 6:50 a guitar sounds. 6:55, samba music blares. A telephone rings at 7:00, and I finally wake up to the multiple alarms set late last night. I knew I would have trouble waking up. I stayed up late writing my KL blog and packing. Leaving my old bag in the room, I check-out. I want to give it to charity or a fellow traveler, but the lack of time will leave it to its fate. Maybe I should have written my email on it, so I could see how far it travels. Hauling my bigger, cheaper bag on my back, tennis shoes tied to the front, I cradle my smaller bag to my chest and walk down the stairs. I opt for a teksi and make it to KL Sentral in 10 minutes with no ... read more
June 25th 2010
In Ipoh habe ich mich mit einer weiteren Gruppe von Couchsurfern getroffen. Drunter waren vier chinesische Malaysier. Ich habe übrigens den Eindruck, dass unter den einheimischen Couchsurfern überdurchschnittlich viele Chinesen sind. Anscheinend sind diese oft die fortschrittlichsten Malaysier. Chinesen tragen beispielsweise häufig moderne, westliche Kleidung, während bei den Malaien die Männer häufig die islamische Kutte und/oder die dazugehörige Köpfbedeckung tragen. Malaiische Frauen tragen fast immer einen etwa hüftlangen Schleiber bzw. Kopftuch, das allerdings das Gesicht frei lässt und in verschiedenen Farben vorkommt. Indische Frauen tragen meist Sari und haben einen Punkt auf der Stirn. Letzteres teilweise auch die Männer. Chinesen tendieren bei der Sprache auch eher dazu Englisch zu verwenden und sprechen dieses auch besser als viele Malaien (das, nachdem die Chinesen... read more
February 5th 2010
George Town - Penang Bin erst gegen 7 in Penang angekommen und musste erst mal wieder meine Liquidität mit der Bank klären.. wieder flüssig und glücklich kehrte ich bei Starbucks ein, um mir einen Rasberryshake zu genehmigen und vor allem deren kostenloses WIFI zu nutzen.. Weil ich mit dem Gepäck nicht großartig rumsuchen wollte, buchte ich ein günstiges Hotel in Chinatown übers Netz. Um nicht schleppen zu müssen holte ich mir ne Fahrrad-Rikscha, dessen Fahrer vor der Tür stand und mir bereitwillig mit meinem Gepäck behilflich war.. Im Schritttempo gings zum Hotel.. wenigstens musste ich nicht schleppen und für umgerechnet 1,50 war’s gut! Chinatown erinnert mich mit den vielen, einstöckigen, leicht angeschimmelten Häusern an Observatory in Kapstadt, nur ohne Gitter vor, bzw an den Häusern.. Wer mich kennt, weiß, dass das ein gutes Zeichen ist.. füh ... read more
July 11th 2009
Hi all, We got the bus from Kuala Lumpor into the Cameron highlands. The trip took us about 5 hours and we had to change buses on the way as I dont think the first bus we were on would have made it up the hills. The Cameron highlands is a mountainous area in the centre of the Malaysian peninsula. It's much cooler up here, around 20 degrees C and is such a relief to the 30+ degrees C everywhere else! We stayed in the Cameron highlands for 3 days. Theres a lot to do and see there. Me, Steve, our guide and 2 other Brits went on a 3 hr hike into the rainforest. We stopped off in a village and had a go at shooting a blow pipe. It was suprisingly accurate and easy ... read more
May 26th 2009
We left Georgetown at 6am and spent the next 4 and half hours winding our way up into the Cameron Highlands. We were both feeling a little car sick by the time we arrived at Tanah Rata and were wandering whether we had chosen our destination wisely as it wasn't anything like we imagined it would be. The highlands were renowned as a vegetable, strawberry and tea growing area, as well as a popular tourist destination. We had passed dozens of vegetable farms which were really ugly as the plants were all covered with white plastic roofs so the 'green' hills were actually glowing white. The first town of any size we came to was full of tall apartment blocks, all of which appeared to be vacant. We found out later that they were holiday apartments ... read more
December 11th 2008
Hey, where's your tie? I asked Lawrence when I arrived at his wedding reception. He blurted something but I think he was too preoccupied with thousands of thoughts in his mind to care. As usual, Lawrence, being the most handsome friend I have need not do much and yet still look good! The bride, Lai Fun was spectacular in her wedding gown. Ah..... 'Thin Sang Yat Tui'. Haha.... The wedding went on smoothly. Met a number of people whom I have not met for quite sometime. There's Molly, as pretty as ever. Adrian, Vincent, Ben, Victor and more. Oh yeah, met even my 'cousin' sister, SIew Yee! Lots of fun as we shouted Yum Seng the loudest in the whole hall. The next day is when the real action begins. I was supposed to help Lawrence ... read more
December 1st 2008
Phew... That was a long flight. We started from Calgary at 6:30 am on Friday and got to Ipoh Malaysia at 9pm on Sunday. We are happy that all the bags arrived with us. All family is waiting for us at the parents' house. The first thing we do is go and get some food. Inga is happy to get Ikan Baka. Ikan Baka is a grilled fish with spices. Stingray. David gets his curry noodle soup and we all share chicken sate. Inga decides (again) that she could live in Malaysia just for food. We sleep through the night and decide that the time difference is not that bad. We should thank Japan Airlines as we got to spend a night in Narita (Japan). This time in Narita we decide to try a "real" Japanese ... read more
