From Thailand to Malaysia to Singapore to Indonesia.

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Wow! I Can’t believe how much I have done since I last wrote.






I did eventually move out of the crazy hotel with all the “ladyboys” as the locals call them, the screaming to each other just got too much.



There were another couple of placed that I was interested in but they had both suffered from the incredible downpours we had and were not taking guests.



I eventually found a place called the Samui Mermaid at Big Buddha beach – with a name like that I should have gone there in the first place, and it was lovely. I had a clean and tidy little cottage with T.V. and a fridge for just a couple of dollars more than the last place. Much better value. Two swimming pools, lots of places within walking distance, which is important and not a ladyboy in sight. One snag for some people would be that the hotel is directly under the flight path, boy the noise, but I loved it. I find planes exhilarating!



There was still lots of rain but with more breaks in between so I could still swim and go for walks.



I met a lovely girl called Kwan and she introduced me to her Indian boyfriend. Here is an excerpt from my diary…….

“I went and had a meal and a beer at a restaurant nearby last night and ended up talking with a few young girls. Not hookers – I think. Although from the conversation we had I think the line is very blurry. Kwan said that she has an 8 year old boy and the father said that it may not be his as she has guys in the bar where she worked. She said no, she only let them buy her drinks. For every drink she gets someone to buy her she gets a ticket and at some time a ticket is drawn and the winner gets something. She got a gold(?) chain with a heart on it. She showed me this proudly. Her parents look after the boy so that she can work and support then all. When I said that all the prostitutes made me sad she sounded as if it was in a way understandable. It seems that so many women here feel that they need security and usually from a foreigner. There is so much more poverty in India than here so how come things aren’t the same there?”........



Time to move on so I booked a flight to K.L. with an airline called Firefly. I would have liked to have travelled down through Surat Thani to K.L. by train but the roads were a mess because of all the heavy rains and I didn't want to chance getting stuck somewhere.



It was a bit like a toy plane with propellers and you really knew you were flying.



In K.L. I had booked a hotel in China town and what a good choice. The only problem being that I arrived at night when the market was in full swing and the taxi couldn’t get me right to the door. So I had to fight through the crowd of shoppers with my big suitcase and a backpack. I did it though.



The atmosphere was vibrant. I went out and found the railway station where I bought my bus ticket to Penang for the next day. I then had a great meal of prawns with asparagus and tofu with crabmeat and watched the world go by. I got a couple of boys working on a watch stall to change the time on my watch as it had me beat then wandered through the crowds back to my hotel ready for an earlyish night in preparation for the trip to Penang.




The bus to Penang was beautiful, only about 35 people with comfy reclining seats, cushions, blankets and snacks but the trip was not like one in India. In India there are always so many diverse things to see, to Penang it was miles and miles of coconut palms being chopped down to plant miles and miles of palm oil trees. Grrrr!




Penang was lovely and very relaxing. I stayed in a little homestay place which really was like staying in someone’s home. It was a 2 minute walk to a very quiet beach with gentle waves, perfect for swimming which I did often. The bus stop was near too and the buses were frequent, very clean and easy to navigate.



I have decided that I like Malaysia, the people I find friendly, the place is clean and the food is a wonderful combination of all Asian food and cheap. But that is not necessarily good, I’m getting fat again!



I had to leave by taxi at 6.15 a.m. to get to the ferry. On the ferry and to the main land, then a short walk to the train station. I made it in plenty of time. I had been looking forward to this part of the trip as the trains have supposed to be excellent and I had bought a first class ticket. Well they’re not. They have aircraft type reclining seats but they are very narrow and the air con was set on “Deep Freeze”. Luckily I had heard that the food was terrible so I brought things to eat. But why do they have to make it so cold. I ended up with a brain freeze headache, couldn’t feel my feet and wrapped my shawl around my head in an attempt to keep the little heat I had in my body from dissipating. It was a longer 13 hours than it needed to be.



At the border stop, immigration officials came onto the train to check our passports and at the next stop we all got off and walked into what looked like an airport terminal. Then into a taxi and off to the hostel that I had booked for Fra and I. Yes, a hostel. Singapore is far too expensive on a budget like mine and I thought it was time I tried one. Let’s face it, I have lived in every other type of accommodation. And it didn’t say “youth” hostel, just hostel!



Fra was sitting on the pavement and it was great to see her again, we had so much to catch up on.



The Hostel was fine, we were in a 4 bedded room and it was clean and had really comfortable beds and pillows – I am an expert on mattresses now but the woman running it was a bit of a dragon. She backed off when challenged though.



Singapore was fun but…..can somewhere be too clean? The hostel was 2 minutes from the MRT (train lines) so getting around was easy. I visited the Asian Civilizations Museum which is awesome, a must for anyone in Singapore and the art gallery and had my eyebrows re tattooed, they call it “embroidered” in Bugis Street. I must be crazy.



Now I am on home ground in Bali with Toby and Inda and 2 of my wonderful grandchildren. And now I have to start thinking about what comes next. Could be the most difficult question for me to answer.

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Photos

An aircraft coming into land, the pilot had blue eyes!
I think there may be tire marks on my roof!

Comments

[Sue DeLeo]

Hi there, Thankyou for sharing your extraordinary adventure. It really ended up for me ,checking impatiently for your next instalment. Seems to me its time to set up shop in Bali, ponder your adventures and write that book. I reckon all you'd have to do was "polish" your diary. I would like my copy signed please. Have a wonderful time with your family. Suexxxxx