The Asian Flush

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Melacca

Well we arrived after a long coach journey and a spot of immigration into Melacca which is where Malaysia began. We checked into the Kancil guest house which was v cute and being temporarily looked after by a Belgian called Rob however, we were slightly concerned that we were the only people staying there! None the less we dumped our things into our room and went for an exploration around the town. We soon found ourselves in the Chinese night markets which gave us our first experience into market life with people trying to sell you junk left right and centre - this was nothing compared to what was to come though. We were also introduced to a malaysian popularity - kareoke - no jokes there was a stage set up in the middle of the street with open air seating and malaysian after malaysian was getting up singing there hearts out - some of them even dancing - to the entertainment of the others! We nourished ourselves at a nearby stall - not entirely sure how it worked and there was quite a language barrier - we just put stuff in a bowl not sure what it was and they cooked it for us - some was nice - some was a little odd - and we learnt the hard way that we dont like tofu! We took a slow wander back indulging in some more delicacies before heading to bed. In the morning after a spot of brekkers lovingly cooked for us by rob we went off to see the sights. We walked up to St Pauls cathedral which was a cathedral with no roof then went to another famous church which we felt to be quite a non-event - we then went to the peoples museum where they had an exhibition of kites from around the world, a load of spinning tops (and we learnt that spinning competitions have some weird rules including only being able to drink water provided by the competition leader!) and an exhibition about enduring beauty which showed the lengths people go to in different cultures to be beautiful - including foot binding, lip plates and neck rings - was quite shocking some of it particularly the foot binding as you could see the shoes they used to wear. We then went and looked round a reconstruction of the sultanate house which was all made out of wood (ive forgotten what type) and quite impressive really and full of lots of history about melaka and the creation of malaysia. In the evening we went to see the 'legendary' sound and light show. It was basically a 45 minute talk on the history of melaka lighting up certain buildings at strategic points - needless to say I fell asleep in the middle however I must admit the buildings looked beautiful all lit up but unfortunately neither of us had a camera. We then headed to capital satay for dinner (obviously food was a highligh for us!) - here you were given a bowl of boiling satay sauce on your table and you selected things on skewers to cook (loads of stuff inc prawns, chicken, eggs (pam), veggies, pork - all for 60 sen each which is about 8p. We stuffed our faces and had a couple of drinks - we also got talking to the owner who decided he liked us so gave us some free drinks - (thai coconuts, soya milk which was rank and some lime juice!) he also told us about a girl who ate 70 sticks and said if i could eat 71 i could have my dinner free - however i was stuffed after 12 - i have no doubt however that pam could manage it! We then wandered very full back to our hostel while finishing our coconuts - unfortunately by the time we got back everyone had gone to bed so we had to get poor Rob out of bed to let us in! The next morning we headed back to the bus stop for the bus to Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur 1

Oh MY GOD - kuala lumpur bus station is mental - we got stuck in a huge traffic jam so had to get out on the main road and walk to the station - it was then literally a meat market - people everywhere either coming off a bus, on their way to a bus, trying to get you onto a bus to somewhere rubbish, trying to get you in a taxi you dont want, trying to sell you useless crap, just hanging out with the aim of getting in your way....you get the picture! Anyway we quickly left and headed to our accom - which was in what appeared to be an aquarium - with fish everywhere!We then went for an exploration of the night markets - which were more manic than the bus station and it was literally impossible to move for people asking if you wanted this that or the other which no one in their right mind could possibly want - none the less it was entertaining! However after all the excitement we had to head round the corner for a couple of beers and just watch the world go by! The next day was spent sorting out our Visas so a little trip to a few embassys before catching the bus up to the cameron highlands (where the driver went at a snails pace and the air con was broken and half way up it became a school bus so more people got on who literally sat on your head!) - Aahhh the joys of budget travelling!

Cameron Highlands

What a beautiful place and amazing climate and lovely hostel! We met an American girl called Laura on the bus who it turned out we had been following for the last few days and just missing each other by a few hours. The three of us checked in to fathers guest house and got ourselves some dinner. The next morning we went on a tour of the area where we saw a rose garden (with lots of exciting flowers), a strawberry farm (with amazing milkshakes), a honey farm, a temple, a butterfly garden - with lots of other exciting critters in too - I got to hold a ghekko - then our guide went to show everyone the scorpions and got people to hold them - leaving me with this ghekko for ages! We also went to the 'Boh' tea plantations which is also known as the green carpet - super beautiful - we had a tour of the factory and sampled some of its wears while taking in the view. We then returned to the hostel and chilled out for the afternoon watching films and chatting to hostel people.

The following morning we went on a full day tour in a big Land Rover - this began at the tea plantation again but with different guides we learnt different things. We then went on an hours walk through the mossy forest where we encountered a green pit viper as well as lots of interesting plants - we were taught about their uses as medicines or food etc - our particular faves were these cup shaped plants which look like used condoms! The walk was very wet and slippy and a lot of entertainment was provided by an old German man on the walk with his family who kept slipping over and was very vocal about it! We then returned to the tea plantation (for another factory tour which we skipped to go straight to the cafe) where I sampled a teacino which was surprisingly delicious and Jon had a traditional leaf tea. We then returned to town for lunch before being recollected for the second part of our trip. In the afternoon we drove to the village of the Orang Asli people who were the original people of Malaysia. Many of these people have abandoned their traditional lifestyle in favour of the modern life but this tribe remains living as their ancestors did. The camp was quite humbling to see how self sufficient they are and how they live a very happy existence without tv's, ovens and washing machines etc that we take for granted. We had a look round the village then went to the chiefs house for a blow pipe demonstration. I think i found my calling in life as I managed to hit the centre of the target first time - Jon didn't hahaha - just to rub it in some more however he got his revenge inside the chiefs house where we found out Jon was very talented at the nose flute and I wasnt. We sampled some of the chiefs tea and some tapioca which tasted like potatoes then returned to our hostel via a road which wasnt finished and we were in the boot so made for quite an uncomfortable journey in the rain but was good fun! In the morning we were up early for the bus to penang.

Penang

After a long bus journey (where we had to change buses half way as ours was broken) we arrived in a hot humid penang and walked to our guest house where we were greeted by very enthusiastic managers (one of whom keeps telling me I light up his life!) and checked into our dorm. We then went for an exploration of the town before heading to little India for a delicious dinner where we went for the tactic of just picking things at random to order, the hige meal came to about 3 Pounds! In the morning we planned to go up penang hill to do a canopy walk above the trees however after being told the wrong bus to get on we ended up at the botanic gardens. Rather than waste the trip we had a look round and took some snaps of the wild monkey things! We then missed the bus back to town after waiting ages as we'd dissapeared to find some shade. We began to walk to a main junction where we were told busses were more frequent and on the way managed to pick up a bus - however due to an error in communication we ended up at the wrong bus station so had to wait for another bus from there to the bus station we wanted. When we finally arrived we had to wait for a bus to where we wanted to go - after getting stuck in a lot of traffic we finally arrived at the foot of penang hill only to discover that cable car rides to the top of the hill were sold out - needless to say we had to wait and get the bus back again - all in all a fantastic sample of penangs bus systems! BUS BUS BUS BUS BUS BUS BUS! In the evening we headed to 'food paradise' which was a little outdoor food market near our hostel selling all sorts of Asian cuisines which we did our best to sample!

The next day we finally made it to penang hill and up the cable car (after some sensational toast!) - was quite a slow car and we didnt realise quite how high up we were going but once there there was some spectacular views. We then headed towards the canopy walk which was a 300m or so set of rope bridges over the top of the canopy - very frightening particularly as we discovered the bridges were largely made of ladders with wood over the top and swung about a lot - but it was all good fun and we got some good views of penang island as a whole and the canopy of the hill. Sue (Jon's mum) would have not liked this one bit). We then came down and headed to Kek Sok Li temple which was huge and very impressive - the temples we have seen have all been so ornate - they must take ages to build. After that we got yet another bus back into town. In the rain we attempted to find khoo kongsi which was a chinese meeting house (in the rain) but not sure if we found it or not. We then had another indian (adopting the same tactic of picking stuff at random) before heading through town and then to a mansion - the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion - which was very pretty and lit up.

Finally we must summarise our slightly odd hostel, it is very cheap and pleasant and the owner is very friendly and knows all of the guests by first name which is nice and makes a change from the usual. However, it is a little like stepping into an old peoples home / a saga cruise since the average age of the guests is about 60. Our dorm has 10 beds 2 of whom are occupied by suspected Harri-Chrishners, another who looks like Nasty Nick from BB1 (Debbies description) and whom keeps on making clicking noises, one who last night woke up and seemed to be searching for someone but who was actually having a live-nightmare/dream (very odd) and the rest are either very odd or eccentric or just plain old. But it is quite entertaining and as we said - cheap!

Kuala Lumpur

After a stupidly long bus journey (where the driver decides to stop in random places for about an hour without telling anybody and then drives off without checking everyones on board) we finally arrived back at our favourite place in malaysia - the bus station! Luckily our hostel wasnt too far away so we checked in and tbh were too exhausted to do much. The next day was spent admiring the petronas towers, collecting visas and exploring the markets (or tackling I might say - we have almost perfected our no faces though! - I do however think I may have been sending out a different message as when I said no to a man trying to sell me a handbag he started shouting bananas at me and as we were walking down the road all I could hear was this man going "bananas bananas"!!) and surrounding areas as well as getting some much needed souvenirs. The following afternoon we were to fly to Hanoi but the airline only had a 15kg baggage limit (which we have obviously exceeded) so we took a little trip to the post office sending some little (large) boxes home! They we caught the bus to the airport. I would like to add that passengers on AirAsia know no rules - seatbelts for landing apparently means if your in the aisle seat you must take your seatbelt off and stand up for landing leaning over the 2 people to the side of you so you can see out the window. Mobile phones must remain switched off until inside the terminal means turn on your mobile phone as the plane is landing and make a couple of calls to whoever may want to listen!

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