Advertisement
Published: October 6th 2005
Beach outside Abdul's
The beach outside our hut on the Perhentian islands.Hello again. I know, it’s been a while. My initial concept of updating this thing weekly (if not daily) appears to have been a tad optimistic. Anyway- apology over, on with the blog…
As you can see from the location, we are currently in a cold and wet Auckland (the change in temperature, it has to be said, is not one of the highlights of the trip so far…). As you can imagine, much ground has been covered since last I wrote, so best to crack on.
After leaving Koh Samui, we headed south, in the direction of Malaysia. Heading south in Thailand, the country becomes more Muslim- lots of Islamic schools, and virtually all the women wearing hidjabs. It would no doubt be an interesting region to spend some time, but unfortunately it is not advisable- there are regular bombings and shootings and, whilst not targeted at foreigners, it is not a risk we felt worth taking. We did overnight in Had Yai, a town close to the Malaysian border, and although it is not one of the troubled areas, there is still a ghost town feel to the place.
Heading in to Malaysia, we spent our
first night in Khota Bharu, on the north east coast. Nothing to recommend the place, other than an excellent night market where we had a rather delicious dinner. It is one of the things I actually do remember from the last time I was in the region. After two days hard traveling from Samui, we felt it was time for some R&R so we went to the Perhentian Islands the following day (also, one night in Khota Bharu was more than enough). It was time to hit the beach (again).
The islands are beautiful. Their remoteness is part of the reason for the lack of development, which has left them relatively untouched. There is no space for an airport of either of them, which means the package holiday market will not make incursions in to the area. There are two islands- Besar and Kecil- both covered in rainforest leading down to pristine, white sand beaches. We stayed on Besar at a place called Abdul’s. For just over GBP10 per night, we had a hut right on the beach with unimpeded views of the sea. The sea was calm enough and shallow enough here for the kids to run in
and out of and about 10 metres off shore was the first of the coral, which made for adequate snorkeling. The primary attraction of the islands, other than the doing-nothingness, is the sea-life. We went on a snorkeling trip one morning, where we managed to see a turtle, but didn’t get to see any of the black-tipped reef sharks. Jake and Mia were more interested in the boat driver and were quite happy to stay on board whilst Claire and I swam. Not sure he was the best role model, as we clambered back on board after one stop to find them practicing smoking. Fortunately they were using lollipop sticks rather than cigarettes, but if we’d have continued any longer with the trip, it may only have been a matter of time.
As a punishment we forced them both to eat a duty free box of cigarettes. That’ll teach ‘em.
I also went diving. I did a refresher course in the morning, as it had been at least 8 years since my last dive, and then went on a proper dive in the afternoon. It was excellent, my chest didn’t cave in, and I saw all sorts of
View from our balcony
Our view from the balcony of our hut at Abdul's, Perhentian Besar creatures (sea-dwelling ones) including triggerfish (gave them a wide berth as they are territorial and prone to biting things they don’t like- which is pretty much everything except other triggerfish- and even they need to be careful), clown fish (think Nemo), trumpet fish (think trumpets) and various corals (think bookmakers). Everyone else saw a black-tipped reef shark, but as my fin had come off and I was busy trying to rescue it, I missed it.
Much as we hated to, we had to leave the Perhentians as we had booked cheap flights to Kuching, in Borneo, and so had to make our way to Kuala Lumpur (hereafter referred to as KL) pretty quickly. We stopped in the Cameron Highlands for a night, after a stomach-churning speedboat ride from the islands to the mainland followed by a 6 hour minibus ride, and the following morning headed in to KL- which was in the middle of a torrential downpour when we arrived. As introductions to a city, we’ve had better.
We went to Kuching the following morning. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, which is part of Malaysian Borneo, along with Sabah. Think of Borneo, and you tend to think of primary rainforest, Orangutans, rivers as roads, traditional peoples with unchanged ways of life. I didn’t really expect a traffic jam on the way from the airport, surrounded by Mercedes, BMWs and various other brand new 4WDs. But Kuching confounded all expectations. It is a lovely city, the centre of which is very compact with plenty to see. There is money in the place, from what I don’t know, but the Kuchingians (?) are very proud of their city and it is certainly one of, if not the, cleanest, calmest, most orderly cities I’ve ever been to in Asia.
Except Claire’s bag was nicked the day we arrived. Glossing over that unfortunate event, the rest of the time there was great. We visited the Orangutans at the Semenggok sanctuary on Claire’s birthday where we amused ourselves throwing bananas and papayas to a mother and child (Orangutans, not Claire and Jake). We wandered along the riverfront admiring the river and stuff. And, as a birthday present, we went to a place called Damai Beach, where we stayed in a tree house for the night and went dolphin watching. This place is also home to the Sarawak Cultural Village, which is billed as a “living museum”. Despite the irritating dance show at the end, the village itself was well worth a visit, as it portrays the style of house of all the different peoples living in Sarawak (built by the respective people). So you have a Chinese farmhouse, an Iban longhouse, an Orang Ulu longhouse, a Malay house, a Penan shelter (the Penan are a shy, nomadic tribe and don’t tend to stay in one place too long), a Melanau longhouse and a Bidayuh longhouse. As we were unable to venture in to the interior, this was a good way of getting a small insight into some very different ways of life to our own.
We did go back to KL after Kuching. Took a trip up the Petronas Twin Towers, to the Skybridge which was not that impressive considering the effort we went through to get up the bloody thing. Mia and Jake were not overly impressed either, but did like the bird park, to a certain extent. Particularly the playground. In fact, Mia and Jake have been unimpressed by most things we’ve seen, instead wanting to spend all their time on the beach or playing in the park. Sometimes they act like such children.
Our taxi driver back to the hotel launched, apropos of nothing, in to a diatribe about Muslims (he was Hindu). According to him, the Indonesians (by which he means the Muslims) get favourable treatment in Malaysia- they pay less for houses, cars, loans, whereas the Chinese and Indians, who have been in Malaysia for many generations, get no incentives, no special deals, nothing. The claim that Malaysia is some shining example to the world of a peaceful multi-cultural society is, apparently, rubbish. And whilst the government claims the Muslim population is 60%!,(MISSING) it is actually 40%! (MISSING)
Is there any truth in what he was saying? Who knows. He was certainly an angry man, but I’d like to think that not all non-Muslims in Malaysia are this way inclined. It wasn’t something we’d come across previously, or subsequently, which is probably why it sticks in my mind.
Our final Asian port of call (rest easy, reader(s), for we are almost at the end) was Singapore (after another brief stopover, this time in Melaka which might have been interesting but we didn’t stay long enough to find out).
What can I say about Singapore? It was good for a few days- plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained- but at the same time, a little sterile and lacking in atmosphere. We stayed in Little India, which is probably one of the better areas to stay in as it is like a mini version of India (given the name, you may have worked that out) except clean. And without the cows. Or auto-rickshaws belting out fumes. Or beggars. Or monkeys.
Our first night there we went to the Night Safari- which the kids loved (and so did Claire and I). Lives up to the hype, it was probably one of the highlights of the trip so far. Actually hearing lions roar in real life is an exhilarating, if slightly unnerving, experience. We took a trip to Sentosa Island, which is Singapore’s (man-made) leisure zone. We went by cable car, and whilst Mia and Jake were quite at home swinging through the air hundreds of metres above the sea, for Claire it was not one of the more enjoyable journeys we have taken. The island itself was okay, apart from the Underwater World which is billed as a fantastic aquatic experience but is actually a bit crap. The beach was nice enough- not a patch on the beaches of Thailand or Malaysia, but it did the job. Mia and I also stood at the southernmost point of continental Asia. I have pictures to prove it, too.
And so, after blowing the budget and spending our last night in Asia in a beautiful Studio room at Perak Lodge (if you’re ever in Singapore, I would highly recommend this place), we flew to Auckland, where we are staying with John and Maria (thanks both!). This afternoon we are going to the Coromandel Peninsula for the weekend, before heading to Christchurch on Tuesday where we pick up
The Beast - (check out the 4 berth van).
So that’s what’s been happening. As for us, well, we’re all still here. The tans are rapidly fading in Auckland’s harsh winds, and we are certainly pleased we sent out some warm clothes to John and Maria prior to leaving the UK. Shorts and t-shirt wouldn’t be quite enough at the moment.
Mia’s braids have now all gone- the last two were removed yesterday, after we discovered a small family of chipmunks living in them. During a conversation somewhere (in Singapore, I think), the topic of London came up and we asked Mia if she missed anyone. “Yes,” she replied sincerely, “I miss Dean and Katy.”
For those who don’t know, Dean and Katy are a couple we met on the Perhentian Islands.
She did then qualify that (with a little prompting) and, rest assured, she does miss manma, papa, Nadia, Amina, Holly etc etc…Children can be so fickle sometimes.
Jake’s hair is ever-longer as we prepare to enroll him in surf/ beach-bum school in Australia. He also has the world record for the number of times someone says “why?” in an hour (293).
That’s plenty for now. Next update should arrive before 2006.
PS Lau- Happy Birthday for the 18th. Card hopefully on its way…
Advertisement
Tot: 0.131s; Tpl: 0.035s; cc: 9; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0568s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Mum/Sylvia/Manmar
non-member comment
What a nice long blog - all sounds fascinating. Also sounds as if Mia and Jake are learning a lot in the primary school and nursery of life. Glad Mia was persuaded (how, I ask myself?) to remember us. We most certainly remember her and Jake. Glad you found your fin Matt, even though you missed the shark. Or did it miss you? I agree about Singapore. I liked it, but it seems in some way unreal. Hope you've adapted to cold NZ by now - think you'll enjoy it. Love and kisses to all of you.