Magnifying Malaysia

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Well well well, new day new county to discover! I purposely booked an early morning bus to take me from Krabi down to Penang in Malaysia as I was informed it would would take around 7 hours, well, 12 hours later I finally arrive in Penang! Kate was taking a flight down from Phuket and was landing at a similar time, there was me hoping I would be settled in and have mooched around by the time she arrived, not a chance! The journey was a lot easier than the last time I had crossed the Thai/Malaysian border, for one it was during the day and a lot quicker, this time around I knew what to expect. What I didn't know to expect was just how different Malaysia would be. Throughout this trip it has ceased to amaze me just how different each country is after only crossing a land border! My first thoughts of Malaysia were how different it was, the buildings are very colonial looking, the public transport systems are impressive, the people look different and are extremely nice and helpful.

We were both starved by the time we arrived and all I could think about was curry, I knew Penang was known for its food and boy was it good. An English guy that worked at the hostel took us to a restaurant where he goes each night, the manager treated us like royalty, took the menus off us said he would make a vegetarian special and ordered us a mango and strawberry lassi each. When the food kept coming out we didn't know what to do, there was vegetable roti with curries, garlic naan and chickpea dall and another dish which was lush. I did not let it defeat me and it was so so delicious and only cost around £2 each. Winning. With this being our first impressions of Penang we already decided to stay for a further night.

The following day we toured round the city, first stop was the Komtar tower where you can go up to the 60th floor and see a panoramic view of Penang, pretty cool. The island of Penang is in the Northwest of Malaysia and is connected to the mainland by the impressive Penang Bridge, all of this visible from the top of the tower. With our map we then took the free shuttle bus to the esplanade to take in some of the cultural sights. Whilst waiting for the bus we were approached by a Malaysian guy asking where we were from, how old, if we were married, you know the normal questions you get asked whilst waiting at a bus stop! He then said that I looked like Madonna and Kate looked like Kate Winslet! When on the bus he proceeded to shout "Madonna, Madonna" at me till I turned around. I told you the people were nice.

Everywhere we go here people want to know where we are from and really stare, we are conscious with what we are wearing as it is a muslim country and the majority of females are covered up with headscarfs, burkas, eyes covered so I think it is a curious stare as we do look so different. When we say we are from England they say "London?" "Manchester? Hey Manchester United?!" Sometimes its easier just to say yes and agree. It does make you feel very selfconscious and make you realise how we look to others, especially on the beach in a bikini whilst the woman are going into the water covered from head to toe, very different to what we are used to seeing.

We met a dutch girl in Siem Reap, Evelyn, who happened to also be in George Town at the same time as us and luckily we managed to get her a bed in our dorm. It was lovely to see her again and catch up on all our travels, we went for an expensive drink and then gouged ourselves on street food, so good. The drinks are expensive because of the different religions here most people do not drink and when I say expensive its not as near as pricey as back home, just expensive on our budget! There is lots to see and do on the island, mainly cultural things. I really wanted to visit the Kek Lok Si temple, it is the largest Buddhist temple in SE Asia and it was so beautiful. It had different temples for different religions - Buddhist, Chinese, Hindu, Indian it was incredible. It has been a while since we had done some templing and myself Kate and Evelyn really enjoyed it, my favourite temples are Pagodas, I love the shape, height and design of them, I don't know why but I am drawn to them. I went all the way to the top where again you great view of the island and it shows just how huge this temple was.

We went down to the Bora Bora night market in the evening as we had heard there was a huge food market, the bus there took forever and I was ready to eat my own hand by the time we arrived. The market was pretty big, all along the main road and the food court was huge. It had eveything you could want, Malaysian, Indian, Italian, Chinese and western food, which kind of ruined it a bit! I ended up getting a variety of food, sharing a pizza with Kate and getting a curry with roti too! Stuffed! It was really good and still so cheap too!

The next day we were moving onto Kuala Lumpur, we decided to get the 1pm bus so we could have the morning to get stuff sorted and have a decent sleep. We were getting picked up between 12.30-12.45, whih turned out to be 12.50, we got into a minibus and were driven to the stationwhere we were told to sit outside and wait. Patiently we did untill gone 2pm when a bus finally arrived to take us to KL. Over 5 hours later we arrive at our destionation. TIA! I have spent time is KL previously when I flew home from my travels before so it was all coming back to me. We stayed at a hostel that had been recommended by my brother - Reggae Mansions, they had hostels in Penang and after a lot of kerfuffle we managed to book it through them. When we turned up they had the booking completely wrong as we were not Kimberley and Sarah from Holland! Luckily we were still able to stay there. It was unlike any place I had stayed in before, it is a huge hostels with massive dorms, 24 beds, but they are not cramped in like you would expect, they are private cabins almost, quite similar to capsules. There is a large "living/social" area in the room so you do not feel like sardines in a can. It is a party hostel with a roof too bar where you can see the KL tower and Petronas Towers. Pretty cool. We got and bearings and headed straight out for some food in Chinatown, Petaling Street, again another night market which is so cheap it is hard not to buy things! So with nicely full bellys we headed back to the hostel to join in with the party. Throughout this trip we have drank and partied, yes but not nearly as hard as most of the people we have met. Know we are slightly older and maturer it is harder to handle the hangover in the heat and especially if you only have 1 day in the city to explore. So we decided to take it slow and started off with a rum bucket!! This is actually our first bucket of the whole trip as we missed out on the full moon and the buckets can be extremely lethal over in Asia, so we have been staying clear. But hell why not , Kate and I only have a few days left together before we go our seperate ways, sad face. Feeling slightly worse for wear the next day we walked up to the Petronas towers to see them in all their glory. As always they are so over powering, but in a good way. We spent some time taking it all in , photos and chatting to fellow backpackers around. We then decided to get out of the heat and into the airconditioning or the shopping mall located under the towers. Ahhhh bliss. This mall is absolutely massive and it contains most highstreet shops such as Topshop, Bodyshop and M&S, so we mooched around, up to the food court and then stopping at M&S for some Percy Pigs on the way out. As we only really had the day here we walked around the city and then went back to the towers in the evening to see them lit up in the dark. It is a major tourist attraction with everyone posing in front of the towers, camera tripods set up everywhere, it is a great place to people watch!

The next day we were taking the bus to Singapore for the last stop our tour!! It feels very weird to know this will be coming to and end and I will be going back to western civilization!

We booked the bus the day the day before and it was a crazy hectic moment where everyone was shouting at us asking where we were going, then dragging us to their desk to book a ticket, it was unreal. Ticket booked we headed there the following day, half an hour early to catch our bus, we were prepared for it to be a little crazy but what we encounted was an absolute nightmare. First of all we were told to go to Platform 22 so we waited by there untill we could go down to the platform then when we went down we were ushered outside and told to wait there, so many people kept coming over to check our ticket and ask us where we were going "Singapore" getting louder and angrier! Someone then said our bus had gone, we should have been at Platform 22, well that was it!! We had been there before being ushered out here in the stifling heat. Finally after much back and forth and just being told to wait we were finally put on a bus that we hoped was going to Singapore, fingers crossed!! 6 buses later and a border crossing we make if here, yay! Probably one of the most stressful joirneys we have had this whole trip as we literally had no idea what was going on, no one told us what go do, filled out the arrival card in my green pen which was wrong we had to hunt for a black or blue! Got questioned as to our intent of stay at the border andfinally arrived in Singapore, however we had no Singapore dollars so we couldn't get a taxi, no wifi to get maps, so we started to walk and we found a mall. Let me paint a picture, Kate and I dragging our bags through a shopping mall looking a bit sweaty and bedraggled all to find an ATM, which thankfully we did. Step outside back into the humidity to waif for a taxi. Roughly 3 hours late we arrive at our hostel, ahhhhhhh. So we headed out for food in the local hawker centre, once agan dirt cheap, so much choice and soooooo good! We went there every night we were there to save money and eat well. We spent the 3 days we were here being tourists, literally, we got the sightseeing bus round the city, hopping on and off and the hotspots, taking it all in, well recommended by Kate's parents. It was really fun, had the headset on too so we can learn! It was very odd to be in a city again as it has been a while, getting public transport, the tube it was all very strange. It really reminds me of Melbourne or a quieter London, big city, bright lights lots of people, but no hassle. No one is trying to sell some Thing or get you in their shop, it took a while to adjust to it all. The city is great but so expensive, to drink it was really expensive but we treated ourselves to a Singapore Sling cocktail, in Singapore, got to be done!! The nightlife was good, we went out for a night and ended up in a bar with a live band playing all the songs we have heard from our travels, it was nice to have a dance as it was one of our last nights traveling together.

We hit Little India for lunch the next day, cure the slight hangover, it was raining so Kate and I decided to go to the cinema, we haven't done that the whole trip so it was a treat, popcorn and all.

Malaysia has been differently interesting, like I said it was strange to be in cities again but also really good, it really has a different feel over here, it feels safe and clean. It has only been just over a week we have spent here but I have really enjoyed it, different culture shock, a good one and its so nice to experience new people, new sights and new things.

Once again I would love to come back over here and discover more, especially the islands...I am missing my beach action!

So this is it Boom & Hollis over and out, I fly to Australia and Kate is going back to Thailand to spend some more time there. It has been a very emotional day to say goodbye to the person who has been with me 24/7 for the past 2 months, the highs and lows, sickness and diarrhoea, the amazing times, great times, silly times...I could go on! I have never travelled with just one other person before so it has been an experience and I want to thank Kate for making this trip such good fun!!

So now the next installment from me will be in Australia!

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Photos

Komtar Towers
The panoramic views from the 60th floor

Penang Coastline
Look at that view!

Kok Lok Si Temple
This is part of the temple with the Pagoda in the background, it was huge!

Luck ribbons
You can donate towards the temple by buying these ribbons each one has a different meaning, I went for "coming and going safely" thought it was appropriate

Buckets!!
Reggae Mansions cheap buckets!

Petronas Towers
Kuala Lumpur's famous conjoined twin towers

Percy Pigs!
We had a good look round M&S before raiding the food hall!

Tourist Alert
On the sightseeing bus around the city, so worth it!

Botanical Gardens
Another waterfall shot, we love them!

Raffles Hotel
The famous Raffles hotel, we went to see how much a Singapore Sling cocktail was...out of our budget!

Comments

[Nigel O Mahony]

Travel Twosome!
Hey Boomer! I can't believe your finished Asia already! Time has flown here with work! I know that while travelling it's like you're in a time warp, because you have no monotony of work and plenty of new experiences. You just live more, right? Ya like I told you, travelling with one or two close mates was my favorite way to travel. India with Richie was just great!!!