Blogs from Pahang, Malaysia, Asia - page 7

I stopped at my local fruit stand today. The supermarket nearest to me doesn't have a lot of variety and I really wanted something besides apples and oranges. From a distance I knew I would not be disappointed. A chatty woman who helped me showed me the mangos. In the US, there's only one kind for sale usually, and it's red and green. Since moving to Asia I've discovered there's yellow mangos. Now I know that Malaysia has three types of mangos. Probably more. But she sells three kinds. She showed them to me and told me their names. (Which I didn't write down, of course.) And how they're each a little different. And how I should try one of each to see what I like best. I think that was the most easily I've been ... read more

House hunting when you live abroad is always a bit different than you're used to. In the US, I asked friends for recommendations of leasing companies that they liked, called one, and was shown an apartment or two. Not a lot of leg work required. In Bangkok, a Thai friend and I went door to door in a neighborhood I was interested in, asking to see apartments. More work than in the US, but, still, not too difficult. If I'd tried to do it on my own (ie, without a Thai friend) I most likely would have needed more time and spent more on the apartment. Malaysia is a whole different game. While I'm sure KL might actually have a similar process to Bangkok, outside KL the game has changed. For one, there are no apartments, ... read more

After spending a few days in a nice hotel in Kuantan, we've been herded to a resort an hour and a half away, down in Chini, right on the lake. It's a lovely, wooded location and I hate it. I've been living out of suitcases for a while now and I would have greatly preferred to stay in the nice place with the good location, where I've finally been sleeping, rather than be stuck deep in the woods with no wifi and poor mobile service. The scenic winding road to get it here is a deathtrap waiting to happen. But I also understand why we're here: this location is much closer to our schools than Kuantan—our driving time is under an hour instead of over. We left Kuantan around noon and headed south. Driving was much ... read more

Friday, 19th September 2014 I signed up for a day tour through my guesthouse to cover a couple of places around the Cameron countryside. As it was raining the night before, I was praying hard that the rains would not repeat itself as we drove towards the highest point on the highlands, the Gunung Brinchang (2,032m). Along the way, our rover paused for a photo-taking break at the Boh Tea Plantations where the guide gave a brief introduction of the tea harvesting processes. I loved tea plantations as it gave a peaceful outlook against the backdrop of rolling hills in the countryside. The scenary was featured again and again in the travel literature that I came across while researching for this trip. It was nice to picture myself within the wide green expanse against the clear ... read more

Thursday, 18th September 2014 Good morning Cameron Highlands! The time was 7am as I disembarked from my coach bus as it pulled into Tanah Rata Bus Station. I was welcomed by a cold gush of morning breeze as I made my way slowly to the guesthouse, located at the edge of the town. Still, the walk took no longer than 10 minutes as I soon reached the doorstep of url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g1497917-d4697044-r231340879-Arundina_Cameron_Highlands-Tanah_Rata_Cameron_Highlands_Pahang.htmlArundina, my home for 2 nights. As it was still too early for me to check-in, I left my luggage with them after a quick breakfast to commence my own exploration of the town. I was thankful that I managed to catch some wink on the bus the night before which gave me the energy to embark on the trail to Parit Falls. Starting from Century Pines ... read more