Part 1: KL to Santiago

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We know, we know... here it is, then...

So Amy went tripping about in the countryside in the Cameron Highlands, handling all manner of bugs and creatures and treking over carefully grown tea plantations. Unfortunately, since I´ve been designated the first half of this monstrous blog-gap which we need to fill you in on, I can´t give you much more information than that. I can however tell you that I bussed to KL to get stuck into its “eclectic charm” (the Lonely Planet phraseology is slowly creeping in to our everyday language) and have my fill of all the fabulous Indian buffets, claypot chicken rice, laksas and such on offer in its Chinatown and Little India. After excursions to the biggest open-air bird park in the world, biggest collection of Islamic art in the world, biggest twin towers in the world (the glitzy Petronas towers) and the Hindu Batu caves, which were not the -est of anything, but were pretty darn good with their monkeys and cavernousness, and of course after lots of shopping, it was time for Singapore.

We´d been warned about Singapore and it being a drain on the old wallet, and that it was. We only had 4 days to explore the city/island/country, of which the overall impression was "clean". The lady in the camera shop said it all, really (a trip to Sim Lim Square being needed due to cameras being abandoned on buses), when she offered, "Singapore is okay but it´s just shopping, and you can do that at home." True say. It also boasts some beautiful buildings and some mean curries, colourful temples and great museums, but yeah, it´s basically all about the gigantic shiny shopping malls. It has a pretty great airport too, where we said goodbye to Asia, its ease, its weather, its food, and enjoyed a luxurious Quantas flight to Sydney, Australia.

Basically. We hadn´t really planned on going to Oz, Asia and South and Central America being more our cup of tea. But the flight had to stop over in Sydney anyway en route to Chile, so we thought, when are we going to be in a position to go to Sydney again? (looking at the bank balance, not for years and years and years...) So we decided to spend 6 days taking a breather, being generally understood when we spoke, stocking up on things made by brands we recognised, self-catering (!!) and tentatively exploring our new neighbourhood, Kings Cross. It seems that not only is the name pilfered from England, but its character too. Both of us were also delighted to find both a Guildford AND and Lewisham on the Sydney map. Anyway, we took in the must-dos, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and had a couple of good nights out in the Cross, and appreciated the cooler weather. On our last day we took a lovely train journey to Gosford, a bit north of Sydney, to pay a visit to some more of my relatives, my aunt Susie, uncle Peter, cousin Geraldine and thier two excitable puppies. We were spoilt rotten and treated to a great barbeque, champagne and a much desired evening of Sky tv, pizza and red wine. Sadly it was time to pack our massive bags again, and head off to pastures new, the Big Scary South America.

Now we DID know we needed to speak Spanish, but after all my uploaded Spanish mp3s got brutally drowned by some Lao river, and since we did just have so much food to eat in Asia and not enough time to do it in, the Spanish learning went a little to the weyside, and we rocked up to Santiago airport only to be very, very confused. It was different in Asia, which thrives on English speaking tourism, and even in China, where they don´t speak a peanut of English, but at least they in turn don´t expect you to speak Mandarin, and conversations are nicely dealt with over picture menus and lots of pointing. But in South America, you´re very much expected to understand Spanish, and to this expectation we very much fell short. So after to-ing and fro-ing outside the airport, we happened upon a couple of helpful, English-speaking travellers, one from Chile the other from Argentina, who had just flown back and offered us a ride into town for free. Yes! This we have realised, that whenever you´re in a bit of a muddle, there is always, always someone about to lend a hand. Which is quite a warming thought, no? So on our way into Santiago we were treated to a guided tour of the surrounding area... “this, this is a very poor area called *****, don´t go here. And that over there, that is a very poor area also, you shoudn´t come here. Over here is a really poor area...” etc. etc. Ok. Nerves aside, we found our beautiful hostel (Chilli Hostel in Providencia, very much recommended) which had been arranged by Amy´s best friend from home, Ashlee. Ashlee is living in Valparaiso, an hour and a half away from Santiago, on a year abroad studying Spanish and, it is fair to say, is some sort of Spanish language God.

We´d heard some bad things about Santiago, but they proved a little harsh. We visited the lovely Museum de Belles Artes, ate lots of great cheap sushi, empanadas and steaks and got picked by a street “comedien” in front of loads of Chileans. A couple of things really stand out though - a ride up San Cristobal hill which overlooks Santiago on a funicular in the late afternoon to see all of Santiago and the Andes in the background; and the rather dodgy ride on the clearly-built-in-the-70s-and-not-terribly-safe Teleferico pods over the city as it became dark and Santiago lit up. Also a visit to the late Chilean poet Pablo Neruda´s house in Bellavista. Neruda isn´t very well known outside South America, but is a well loved celebrity here, especially in Chile. He was famous for his collections of anything and everything from all over the world, which he installed in his built to specification houses, one in Santiago, another in Valparaiso, and the third in Isla Negra. It was a really wonderful tour and we became instant hardcore Nerdua fans.

We journeyed from Santiago to Valpo, a great little town with lots of character and windy streets. My birthday rolled around again as it does every year, and after settling into Ashlee´s flat in Valpo and visiting the second of Neruda´s snazzy houses for our Pablo fix, we got on a bus to Santiago and enjoyed a night of electro to celebrate my 22nd, and also the halfway mark of our travels. Muchas gracias for all my feliz cumpleaños messages, Chile was a lovely place for a birthday!

End of Part 1, go nourish yourselves in readiness for Part 2.

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