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Published: April 18th 2007
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Arrived in Singapore late in the evening and managed to navigate our way through the absurdly clean underground system to our little hostel. The next few days were spent exploring the city, including Little India (visited a fish market where they appeared to be selling a whole shark!!!), Clarke Quay and Orchard Road (huge great shopping malls selling every designer label under the sun - not quite backpacker shopping territory). Managed to find extremely cheep and yummy food, including traditional puddings which consisted of a lump of ice with coconut milk poured on it and fruit. Unfortunately, Barcely's fraud department were a little eager and blocked Bekka's card, so a great deal of time was spent trying to unblock it (we did not seem to be able to engage with Singapore phonecards - v.frustrating!!!). After three nights we caught a bus up into Malaysia and aimed straight for Kuala Lumpur (KL) to meet Jo, Katy and Lou. We stupidly arrived right in the middle of the F1 race, so had a bit of a nightmare finding a room, but fortunately, along with a German girl we met on the bus, we managed to get the last room in KL. Prior
to our big reunion, we managed to fit in a few sights, including the KL Tower, Butterfly Gardens and a bus tour around the city. We were staying in Chinatown, and the markets were jam packed with hundreds of stall trying to sell fake handbags, watches and sunglasses. The food stalls were in abundance too, selling a huge variety of food, most of which I had no idea what it was, though the chicken satay and coconut pancakes were a particular fav of mine and Jos. It was so lovely to meet back up with the girls and catch up, it had been 3 months since I last saw Katy and Lou. The next day we attempted to get to the Thai Embassy early to obtain our 60 day visas, but still had to que for 3 hours, and return the next day to collect them. Apart from Singapore (which doesn't really count as its so bloody clean), KL is my first real experience of an Asian city. It was extremely humid, smelly and bustling, but I actually quite liked it. I think the cities are only going to get more crazy, but we'll see.
The next night we took
an over night train to Kota Bharu heading for the Perhentian Islands. Arriving early in the morning allowed us a full day in Kota Bharu. Me, Bekka and Jo explored the local markets which from afar looked lovely, a large array of colours, but up close were disgusting, foul smelling and covered in flies. In the afternoon me and Jo headed for the culture centre where we watched a group of men play a traditional Malaysian instrument, and then got the opportunity to have a go ourselves. We also joined in on a couple of Malaysian games and watched some marshall arts. It was really interesting and everyone was so friendly. That evening we went to the night market and I ate a very yummy rice dish, prepared in front of me for less than 50p. The puddings were amazing, so much so I felt obliged to try 3. Whilst queuing for their food, Bekka and Jo chatted to three Malaysian students who then joined us for a while and seemed really enjoy speaking to us, many many photos were taken though due to the language barrier, not a huge amount of chat exchanged. They were very sweet though and
as we were the only westerns there, it was nice for them to approach us and chat.
The next morning we boarded the boat to the Islands. We had opted for an afternoon boat and as we set off, it came clear that this may not have been such a good idea. Me and Lou were sat at the front of the boat and as we speeded up and began to fly off the waves, we began to really wish we'd sat at the back. The sea was very choppy and at the speed we were going, every time we hit a wave, I swear the boat lifted fully off the water and then slammed back down. Me and Lou were thrown off our seats constantly and it actually began to get a bit scary after a while as the guy refused to slow down, I thought we we're going to loss Lou over the side several times. Some how were made it to the island without the bottom of the boat splitting in two or losing anyone over board. We were very fortunate to find two nice chalets in a resort called Panorama and the beach was lovely. We
all agreed that this was what we had imagined Fiji to be like, white soft sand, clear blue water and palm trees. That evening we had a very taste meal and then went out for a few drinks at the local bar. We were immediately introduced to the local drink of Monkey Juice (a mild whisky) and Coke, to be drank from a bucket. After a few of these and chatting to a large group of people who had all been on the island for a while, we headed for a party at a nearby resort. Few more drinks later and we were dancing to a mixture of MC Hammer, Beyonce and some NZ group i'd never heard of. It was a good night apart from someone stole Katy's shoes, she was not impressed!!
One day we went on a snorkeling trip where in our own little boat we visited several amazing underwater worlds, including swimming alongside a turtle, hunting for sharks (I was the only one that didn't see one though which was disappointing) and floating pass thousands of beautifully coloured and shaped fish. I saw a huge fish which I attempted to chase but it was having none
Back together again (plus Agnus)
We met Agnus on the bus up to KL and she also didn't have anywhere to stay so she tagged along with us. Really lovely girl. of it. We stopped at a village for a coconut smoothies and then went to an gorgeous secluded bay where we swam and just chilled out. It was a really good day. We spent 6 nights on the island though it went to quickly. Its crazy how much time you can waste worshipping the sun. One our last say me and Katy ventured round to the other side of the bay and found a few quite shady beaches. We snorkeled and saw more cool fish, though I was stung by a jelly fish which wasn't much fun. The whole island was just so so pretty and it was really nice to completely relax and do little. Coming back to the main land we caught the earliest boat possible and fortunately it was a gorgeous flat day, so we whizzed along (sitting at the back of course) no problem and attempted to race other boats.
Our next destination is Panang, and we are beginning a bit flash by flying there with a new Asian airline called Fireflies. This is the first time I have ever rocked up at an airport without a ticket hoping to purchase one for that evening, but
we managed and at the bargain price of 9 pounds too.
We spent a day in Panang and saw the Snake Temple and the largest temple in Malaysia which was so beautiful, the detail on every building was amazing. Tonight we are heading to the night market in the hope of trying out some traditional Panang dishes, this place is well known for its yummy food - v.exciting. Tomorrow we are off to Langkawi for a little more beach action before heading up into Thailand.
More to come....
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