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Published: January 5th 2008
MALAYSIA
Arrived in Malaysia in a minibus from Thailand. It was certainly a slow way to cross the border as the driver decided to take the minibus into the garage for the tyres changing after we had been going for about 5 minutes. Obviously being Thailand he didn't explain this to anyone, not even the locals and left us locked in the bus for about an hour without being able to get out. You can imagine the mood I was in!? Eventually we made it to George Town which is the main town on the island of Penang.
Penang - George Town Stayed in a lovely little hostel in George Town with the friendliest two managers you could wish for - Jimmy and Mr Low. They would do anything to help you and were always making sure that I didn't get lost which is quite handy.
Visited the amazing mansion of Cheong Fatt Tze also called the Purple Mansion who was called the Asian Rockerfeller as he was such a successful business man in the the early 20th Century. He was from China but built a gorgeous home in George Town solely based on the principles of
Feng Shui. The tour of the house was really interesting but couldn't take pictures inside which was a shame. The decoration was quite a mixture of chinese and other countries, the floors were mostly Victorian tiles which really reminded me of England. Strange to see in the middle of Malaysia.
As a result of the tour of the Purple Mansion I met Joanne my tour guide of the mansion. She also did walking tours of the city so that you can take in the architecture of the city. The tours only lasted a morning but they were really really worth doing as got to learn lots about the city - felt like I needed to use my brain slightly after all the beach time in the last few weeks!
Cameron Highlands - Tea, tea and a little bit more tea HEAVEN for a tea addict like me! Stayed in a cool hostel called Fathers Guest House which was really chilled out and had did really yum western food. I know it's naughty of me to be eating spag bol in Malaysia but I'm so sick of rice/noodles!
On my first day here I thought it would
be a good idea to explore the local towns and countryside with a nice little walk. Walking is obviously a strange concept for Malaysians because I had about 3 ore 4 cars stop to ask me if I wanted a lift!?! Obviously I politely declined! Also for some reason I thought that sun cream was no longer required on my walking adventyre!?! What was I thinking?! After walking up hill for about 8k my face, chest and arms were radiating redness which really isn't a good look! Had to go and buy a hat to try and make it all better! didn't really help!
Next day I did a tour organised by the hostel of the tea plantations, the highest view point in the area at Gunung Batu Brinchang and the jungle which was amazing. Saw lots of wildlife and even the foot prints of a tiger that had recently passed through there. SCARY! The views of the surrounding valleys and farms were amazing.
Kuala Lumpur Arrived in to KL on a plush VIP bus which had so much leg room. Decided to treat myself to a hotel in KL because I heard that the hostels were
Fort Corn Wallis
Yes I am a tourist - I couldn't resist the dressing up!really awful in KL and its still not expensive. Spent my first afternoon exploring the city with Cat and Laura who I met in the Cameron Highlands. We went to the KL Tower to get a good view over the city. There is a free shuttle bus up to the entrance to the tower and the guy driving obviously thought he was the Malaysian Michael Schumacher which was quite scary. We got thrown all over the minivan and he just laughed and carried on! NICE!
Went to the Petronas Towers in the evening which was really cool, they look amazing all lite up. We all went slightly mad trying to get the perfect photo of the towers which are hard to get them in one shot. I even went as far as lying down on the floor on my back - tad excessive! I was very offended when (after 2 hours of taking photos) the security guard told us the park we were in was closing. I would probably still be there if he hadn't!
Next day we did a hell of a lot of walking round the city which is the best way to see if but
really tiring. We went to the National Mosque - see attractive photos below! Being women we had to fully cover up, luckily I was wearing enough to only have to use the head scarf but the other girls had to wear the full cloak etc which was very funny even though it shouldn't have been.
Next went to the Aquarium which was back near the Petronas Towers which gave me the opportunity to take yet more photos! Nice! Aquarium was really good, although disturbingly saw about 6 massive fish eating another massive fish alive which was not good. They also had lots of tame sting wrays which would come half out of the water. The massive shark above the tunnel was pretty scary, glad I wasn't in the water with him!
BORNEO - SABAH Flew from KL to Kota Kinabalu which is the main town in the Sabah region of Borneo to meet my new Intrepid group. The group was lead by Ryan (an Aussie) and in total there was 12 of us which is a really good size for the group.
Jungle adventure Second night of the tour was spent in the jungle near
Funicular Railway
Taking photos of trains - you can tell I'm my father's daughter! the Kinabatangan River which is the longest river in Borneo. Didn't realise that I had signed up for camping in the jungle so was slightly apprehensive about all the creepy crawlies! Decided that the best way to deal with this fear was to get some leech socks which are a very attractive item of clothing that are meant to stop leeches from getting onto your skin. Luckily for me they worked and I was leech free in the jungle! WHOOP!
The jungle was amazing, we put up our own hammocks to sleep in and went on lots of jungle walks/boat rides to check out the wildlife. Saw snakes, lots of different types of monkeys, crocs, lizards and amazingly colourful birds. It was worth the fear of creepy crawlies! Getting on and off the boat on the river was always an experience because the banks of the river are really muddy and you just sink down into the mud! There goes the nice, new, clean walking boots! At least I managed not to fall over!
Slept surprisingly well in the hammock although for the first half an hour I kept turning my torch on every two minutes just to
Cameron Highlands
It was like being back in England for a while! check whether any bugs had come to join me. Luckily they didn't join me and I slept really well despite being made to get up at 5.45am for another walk!
Home stay Next night was spent within the Batu Putih village which was pretty cool although the mum in our family hardly spoke a word of English and just kind of stared at us as we played cards. There house was really nice though, much bigger than I thought it would have been. It is def a lot wealthier in Malaysia compared to Borneo.
Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre - Orangutans Galore I have really been looking forward to getting to see the Orangutans and this day did certainly not disappoint. We got to see so many of them at two different feedings over the day. They are much fun and their faces tell you so many things. It was especially cool when the babies came out from the rehab centre and they were obviously nervous and were hugging and holding each others hands - adorable.
Later on we went to a proboscis monkey sanctuary which was also good. Lots more monkeys here. They would all sit
Tea, tea and more tea
Tea plantations as far as the eye can see. can you tell that I was excited about this?! in their families and the males would sit and guard everyone. They are very odd looking with massive noses and bellies. They also have a 24hr erection (!) which they are happy to show to the world which is quite amusing. We were even lucky enough to have a monkey sex show performed which was a real highlight!?!
The challenge to climb Mount Kinabalu This was something I have been dreading and looking forward to at the same time because I could only imagine how hard it was going to be.
Ryan told us that we are climbing the Mesilau Trail which is slightly longer and harder but more beautiful. Wasn’t so keen about doing this but having come back down via the normal route I am so glad that we did because it was so much more beautiful despite being harder.
Climb started on a beautifully sunny day at 9 am in the morning. Took me 6 hours, which is average to get to Laban Rata (the base camp) where we would be spending the night. Was really tough going especially the last 2k which were really steep and where the altitude really kicked in
TEA!!!
Yummy tea making me tired and my eyes go funny. Very strange feeling. Was completely at base camp but so pleased that I had made it.
Next morning, sorry middle of the night, at 2am my alarm went off to climb the next 2.7k to the top of Mount Kinabalu. On go the layers and attractive thermals because it was seriously getting cold at this height. Started the climb at about 2.30am in the pitch black with only my head torch to guide me. It was a really hard climb, some of it had to be done on sheer rock face with only a rope to help you which was fairly scary. You are told to climb at this time so you can see the sun rise but I think it is so that you don't get too scared at the massive drop behind you!!
Made it to the top at 6am, the last section was really slow going and Edwin (one of our guides) had to literally pull me up the last bit. I was really tired and suffering from some altitude sickness - my eye sight was def going funny which was a weird experience. The views at
The famous pticher plant
Bit of an evil plant that entices insects with its sweet smelling scent and then they can't escape! the top were breathtaking as you can see below, worth all the effort to get up there. Stayed up there for about half an hour because it was freezing cold, we were all hungry and the thought of doing all the walk back down was on our minds!
Had breakfast back at the base camp at about 9am and then set of back down the mountain at 10am. I made it to the bottom at about 2pm which was fairly ok going although it pissed it down for the last hour which was really demoralising. Had a good feed at the bottom and then went out with the group for a celebratory dinner which consisted of some (but not too much!) rice wine which was fun. We were all too tired to cope really! Plus I was getting to the point where I could hardly walk for the old muscles seizing up! Very funny to watch us all walking around!
Beach time Last 3 days of the tour were time for us all to relax by the coast near Kota Kinabalu which was just what we all needed after all the madness over the last few days.
The Petronas Towers
You would not believe how many photos I have of these towers! They are so amazing though but I am going to have to delete some of them! The place that we were staying had a lovely pool and massage facilities which although incredibly painful really helped the old aching body. Had a really good final night out as a group in KK in a local club where obviously we all had a little bit too much wine/beer as you can tell from the attractive photos!
SINGAPORE
Only had 2 days in Singapore before my flight to Melbourne. Stayed in a really nice hostel called the Inn Crowd in the Indian quarter of the city. Did a walking tour of the city taking in some of the areas that were prisoner of war camps during WW2 which was pretty emotional but really interesting. Also did the night safari. Haven't got any photos because you can't scare the animals, it was interesting to see them but not convinced that they had a whole lot of space so was a bit annoyed that I went.
Did the obligatory visit to Raffles and even treated myself to a Signapore Sling which was tasty but so expensive!! Needless to say I only had one. Also visited the Botanical and Orchid Gardens which were impressive. Took lots more photos of
Excitment at the Petronas Towers
Kat, me and Laura at the Petronas Towers looking rather over excited. plants because I have now convinced myself that I am a semi-professional photographer which is just ridiculous cos they are just not that good! oh well!
Off to Melbourne next to check out some new adventures on the other side of the world. Hopefully it won't take too long until I next fill you in on my blog! x
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anonymous
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LOVE IT! Can't wait to see all the pro photos TUr! See you real soon- yeyay x x x x x x x x x x