My Trip To Australia, New Zealand and Asia

Jungle Railway, Kota Bahru, Penang

Location: Georgetown, Panang Island
Weather: Hot and humid, as usual in this place

After desperately searching for Pekeliling bus station, which is on no maps of KL or even on the Internet, I eventually found it thanks to a woman at one of the train stations and this very helpful Chinese bloke who even helped carry my bags. Considering it is the only bus station that goes to Mentakab - the Jungle Railway trainstop, this was very useful.
Stayed a night in Mentakab, yet another small town, where the people were genuinely helpful and the hotel I stayed in pretty good. They also had a reasonable market and shops and the train station was only just down the road. I've even drawn a map of Mentakab which I'm going to sell, because the useless Rough Guide doesn't have one.
Anyways, despite the doors hanging off as you're going along, I enjoyed the Jungle Railway and unsurprisingly it is mostly through the jungle! lots of palm, tea and rubber trees, a few mountains and some brown coloured rivers. It stopped many times at the various jungle villages and it was interesting to see that they are a mixture of ramshakle tumbledown huts and brand new houses. The seats on the train weren't fantastic (100% plastic), but I didn't find them too bad for the 11-12 hours it took to get to Wakaf Bharu station(far north west of Malaysia) and my whole time on the train was very pleasant. I then got a taxi to the town of Kota Bahru. Stayed at the Ideal Travellers Guesthouse - ideal if you like mosquito infested rooms(which also have bed bugs, allegedly), although at least the staff were good. Ended up staying there 2 nights running because the buses to Penang were all full up. So visited a couple of rather good museums, including the Sultan's Palace - where the Sultans used to live and the Royalty Museum. Also ran into my Dutch friend Kara and her new travelling partner Mark from Malaka again!

After forgetting to pick up my laundry the night before, I had a bit of a rush to retrieve it and then get to the bus station for 9am, but as it happened the bus wasn't even there. Had to wait another 20mins or so for it to turn up. Anyways, after a reasonable journey of 8 hours I finally arrived in Penang. Penang is an island, but is connected by a 8km or 13km long causeway (dunno the real figure because it various on different maps). Anyways, after being dropped at the Komtar (a hexagonal shaped landmark tower in the middle of town) I lugged my backpack to the Blue Diamond hotel and stayed there for one night. The rooms in this place were huge, very clean and even had a wash basin, but parts of the windows were missing, which is not good in mosquito land and the bathrooms were harrowing - I'm sure they haven't been altered since the 1930's. I went out for something to eat that night and ended up chatting to a friendly northern couple and they told me about a good hotel down the road. So the next morning I moved there, this Western Oriental Hotel place was much better. OK, so the room was smaller, but they even had a hot shower! which is virtually unknown in this country. Also they served the best breakfasts with real bacon!

So Penang...well in the town there are some old buildings from the colonial days - HSBC & Chartered Standard banks and Fort Cornwallis - the British fort (we used to own the island) which isn't bad for a look around. One day I hired a motorbike and drove to a huge Buddist temple in the hills, which was good, then after getting lost I found the Snake Temple which had live green snakes living in it. I also took the bus to Batu Ferringi which is a famous beach and saw some Muslim women wearing their full veils on the beach, it must've been over 30degrees that day, they must be nuts.

My nights in Penang were mostly spent hanging out with that northern couple and Kara & Mark who I met up with again in a couple of bars around town. Walking back to the hotel was always fun because just past the 7-11 on Love Lane(a few 100m's away from my hotel) was where the various hookers hanged out (yes, I thought it was very illegal in Malaysia as well), I say 'various' because most of these women of ill repute were actually men dressed as ladies, some of them so blatently men that I think Eddie Izzard does a better impression of a woman. My mind boggles at what kind of a person would pick one up.

My last highlight of Malaysia was a daytrip to Langkawi island - which is a 2.5 hour ferry journey. This was a nice place, but I got rather wound up there. Even though it's a prime tourist spot (it's a duty free island), there aren't any buses and because there isn't any information anywhere, I stupidly didn't hire a motorbike and therefore ended up wasting tons of cash on taxis. I did have an excellent trip on their cable car though, which must be one of the steepest in the world and gave spectacular views of the coast, I had a foot massage up the mountain as well to relax me a bit. BUT this didn't prepare me for getting mugged for my food by a gang of monkeys on my way to some rock pools. It was unBOLevable - they jumped out the trees and walked threateningly towards me, especially this big one who took no notice except for scowling when I almost smacked him with my bag. The only way I could escape without injury (I'm talking seriously here, in all the years of wandering the streets of South London after midnight, I've never been so concerned for my own safety as with these monkeys) was by chucking my crisp packet at them! They all then ran after that and left me alone. Talk about dangerous.

By JamesReed on 28.01.05 @ 05:02 AM GMT [As Web Page] [Archives]

Malaka and Kuala Lumpur

Location: Kuala Lumpur
Weather: Hot n'humid

Well I eventually left Singapore and got the bus to Malaka - the original centre of Malaysia. This wasn't a bad place, with a rather interesting history. It's where the Sultan used to live, where the Portugese and Dutch invaded and was finally in the hands of the British Empire from the 1800's until after the 2nd world war.

I stayed at a guesthouse called the Eastern Heritage, after running into the owner Mr.Yen at the bus stop. In town they had a nightly light and sound show, the ruins of a Dutch church and the wall of an old Portugese fort (which us Brits destroyed when we took over). The people there were also very friendly and helpful. On the first night I was walking back when I got hijacked and kidnapped by Mr.Yen, Neil from York, two Aussies and a Dutch girl and driven in Mr.Yen's car to a bar in the Portugese part of town where we met some of the locals, drank Tiger beer and played pool. What's crazy is those locals still speak a kind of 1600's Portugese!

Ater 2 nights in Malaka, I got the bus to Kuala Lumpur. I stayed in the Traveller's Inn in Chinatown, which is not a plush place and the surrounding area is one of those 'oh what a fun,interesting area' - YES TO VISIT but a chaotic dump to live in - traders selling dodgy DVD's, cheap nic/nacs, fake watches and t-shirts harrassing you everywhere, people all about cooking mystery meat and every space taken up so you have to walk on the ultra busy road. Through sheer luck, I discovered a train station and went to the excellent KL City Centre shopping centre(wish I had been staying there). This is also the location of the Petronas Twin Towers - my reason to visit Malaysia - the 2nd tallest buildings in the world(note:must go to Taipei sometime to see their tower) and I was not disappointed! Quite staggeringly amazing structures. One day I got up early and got a ticket to the Sky-Bridge between them - this was a good view of the city, but I also went to the KL Tower which was better, because the Sky-Bridge is only half-way up the Towers and the KL Tower is higher than this.
Other highlights were the Bird Park - that was cool - tons of colourful birds such as hornbills, eagles, parrots, toucans, an albino crow and ostriches(which I got to feed). I was seriously bitten by a big yellow hornbill and a miner bird, but I spose that was my own fault for putting my fingers in their cages. oh the Islamic Museum which was quite interesting. Being an Islamic country, there are lots of Mosques here and you hear their calling to prayers regularly, this museum had a load of Islamic artifacts.

10 Impressions - The ups and downs of Malaysia so far:
1) Road names change at random and signs in general are a nightmare
2) Everything is VERY cheap - You can get a quality 2 course meal + drink for two quid. Saying that I watch where I eat in this place. Also unless you're real hard-up for money you get your own room(it costs about 4quid a night) instead of a shared dorm(that costs about 1.50pounds).
3) Pirated software, CD's and DVD's(all the latest in-cinema films) are all the rage here! you can get anything you want for 5RM (about 80pence). How good is that.
4) The LRT train which takes you round the city, it's pretty good, except for when buying a ticket.
5) People - I've had a lot of comments from total strangers about my fine haircut, some trying to sell me some rubbish or other, others just being genuinely friendly. It's bizarre, it's a guess whether to trust anybody.
6) The Buildings - some are very modern, while others I would gladly dynamite.
7) Most things are half-finished, from the pavements to the Post Office system(they don't sell envelopes for some reason) to the railway ticket machines(which ALWAYS run out of tickets or change). It's annoying considering Singapore was the opposite...good preparation for London I suppose.
8) Most areas are cleaned regularly, but they still look dirty. KL is very polluted with the millions of cars that drive around, I think I've only seen worse in China.
9) The bogs - most of them you have to pay to use and goodness knows who designed them. They all have water hoses attached - still haven't figured out why! also they are fans of open-sewers over here - it is most harrowing.
10) Post Offices(my main gripe at the moment) and various other things shut at random times for random bank holidays - I'm only still in KL because the flipping Post Office was shut for some random day.

Note: I've also decided the 'Rough Guide' is nowhere as good as the Lonely Planet. It's maps are useless, quite a bit of essential info is left out and there aren't prices for hardly anything.

With luck today I should be off to Mentakab, to catch the Jungle Railway tomorrow, which goes to Kota Bahru. Then I head to the island of Panang, then to Thailand.

By JamesReed on 24.01.05 @ 08:11 AM GMT [As Web Page] [Archives]

Hello Asia

Location: Singapore
Weather: Humid and warm 24 hours a day

Well, the flight to Singapore was much shorter than I expected and quite pleasant, except they cut short the film The Terminal with Tom Hanks that I was just getting into.

Upon landing at Singapore airport, I got a shuttle taxi to the Orchard Road YMCA - I was recommended this place and it is pretty good, despite it being more like a hotel than a hostel - no kitchen or laundry, not too good for a backpacker.

Anyways, I've now been here for over a week. Many folk say Singapore is boring and 'sterile', because everything is so clean and tidy and safe and hygenic (presumably some people prefer crime, grime, vandalism and salmonella type environmens). Personally my observation is that Singapore's atmosphere isn't what I'd describe as exciting, like Hong Kong. But there is plenty to do/see though. Highlights :

The Fountain of Wealth at the giant Suntec Plaza - Singapore has numerous giant shopping malls called Plazas - but Suntec is the biggest and has a lucky fountain of wealth. You can touch the water and it is said to bring wealth! At night they put on a laser & light show and this is the first thing that impressed me here. A load of kids were also dancing to the music, which was pretty cool.

The Night Safari - this was really excellent - probably my favourite thing of all. It's a zoo you visit at night, you ride on a tram to see the animals and walk on some paths by foot. You get to see Lions, rhinos, tigers, giraffes, wild pigs, otters and exotic creatures like the fishing cat and the slow lorris that are only active at night. They also have an enclosure you can walk around where bats are flying about and flying squirrels leap around the trees as you stroll around - it was crazy, never seen anything it.

Singapore Zoo - next to the night safari there is an excellent zoo where the animals are kept separated by moats of water rather than cages. Spent a whole day there.

Santosa - an island just off Singapore, connected by a fantastic cable car ride. Nice beaches, including one with the furthest point south on continental Asia, a military fort museum and an excellent laser + fountains show at night. Also has a giant Merlion (the symbol of Singapore) statue that offers truly great views from the top - a really nice place indeed.

Me & A Monkey On Santosa

Sipping a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in Raffle's Hotel - what! what! what!

I've enjoyed my time in Singapore, a lot more here than I was led to believe, food is very good and cheap as (about 2quid for a full chicken curry + rice + pompodom meal). I plan to go to Melaka in Malaysia tomorrow. This is on my way to Bangkok, where I have to purchase a ticket home. I've a good mind to fly instead, as I visited Johor Bahru just over the causeway border yesterday and wasn't impressed with that dump of a place at all, being conned by some taxi driver almost immediately (ok this was entirely my own fault and it was only for about 3.50 pounds) didn't heighten my initial Malaysian experience.

Note: must be a record, first time this blog has been up to date for months!

By JamesReed on 15.01.05 @ 02:33 PM GMT [As Web Page] [Archives]

G'Bye Australia, Boo Hoo

Location: Singapore
Weather: Humid, some sun today and hot/warm

Well all good things must come to an end and whilst my round da world ticket was good, it had an expiry date of 5th January. So on this day, I prepared to say Goodbye to Australia and fly off to Singapore. To be honest it was all a bit of a blur. I've always said this, don't plan ahead and you'll be rushed off you feet, but who took any notice? not me. After going out to the pub till 2am two nights in a row on the 3rd & 4th with my friends (a wild occurrance in Darwin) I had to hurry up rather quickly that morning to buy my final Aussie souvenirs and get to airport. Leaving Oz wasn't as tragically tearful as I expected, I guess I've still got a while to go before I go back home and I have to go back sometime to finish the bits I missed on my loop of the country. I expect this is why the hoards of Australian women that the Samaritans expected to be phoning when I left weren't such a problem

oh well, doesn't seem like I've been away a whole year!

By JamesReed on 14.01.05 @ 03:37 PM GMT [As Web Page] [Archives]

Christmas & New Year In Darwin

Location: Singapore
Weather: Rainy but still warm

Thanks to lovely Liv from New Zealand, I ended up going out on Christmas Eve to the Shenanigans Irish bar and had a few beers. After getting up reasonably late I discovered that Darwin really livens up on Christmas Day. Absolutely EVERYTHING closes, except the cinema and the takeaway Thai place opposite the hostel. So, my Christmas lunch consisted of Thai noodles followed by a late outing to see Ocean's 12 (which was dead good).

New Years was a bit more happening, I hanged out with my 2 German friends Daniel & Marris and my Israeli friend Dave who incredibly I've run into about 10 times on the East Coast and now as co-incidence would have here he was again!
Anyways as luck would have it, the hostel banned alcohol for some reason (there were a lot of Australian yobs around, probably why) so after we went out and bought a load of beer and Bundaberg Rum (not my choice) the security guard told us we weren't allowed it, even though we were obviously decent blokes, how useful. Anyways eventually we managed to smuggle the Rum in bottles of Sprite and Coke and drank it in our room. We then went outside and drank some beers in the carpark where the security guard told us was a "secret" place where we could drink! then we went to the Darwin
Mall where there was a big party, lots of people, good music, they even had a DJ and did a countdown! Didn't stay out particularly late, but it certainly was not a bad night.

By JamesReed on 10.01.05 @ 02:10 PM GMT [As Web Page] [Archives]

Kakadu and Litchfield Park

Location: Singapore
Weather: Warm n'humid

So I had arrived in Darwin with 3 weeks to kill. The main reason most people go to Darwin is for a 3 day Kakadu tour. This is hyped as THE northern tour to do, I reckon it's 3rd on the "I'm a backpacker with no idea so I'll just follow everybody else" list just after Fraser Island and the Whitsundays. Well since it was cheaper than I expected and you got a free day tour to Litchfield National Park thrown in, I decided to go. Highlights were:
1) My group + our guide Sean - a great bunch - covering the USA, Scotland, Germany, England and Canada. We all got on well together, well except perhaps at the beginning - Steve from Canada who was a Dr of physics and the most eccentric bloke you've ever met, he even became famous with other groups at the campsite. Once carried a tray of food & an umberella up a mountain one time and wanted to know the philosophy of the rock paintings - our guide got quite miffed by all this.
2) Seeing a giant termite mound - I'd seen plenty of these along the road to Darwin, but this one was very big.

3) the Aborgine rock art sites at Ubirr and another place. Yes, these were good and very interesting.

4) the plunge hole by the waterfall - probably the most fun time on the whole trip. A waterhole and waterfall that was very deep so you could jump/dive into it with no worries + there weren't any crocs about.

5) The food - the food on this trip wasn't bad. Kangaroo steaks first night, T-Bone the next!
6) Being stuck in the back of a Toyota Landcruiser for hours of driving - the same vehicle used on Fraser Island (except there I managed to usually get a decent seat). The 10 of us were packed in and the continual raining on the 2nd day didn't help. After 3 days my back was wrecked for a good week.

7)) Drinking beer at the camp motel because it had rained so we couldn't sleep in tents and had to makedo with a big cabin sleeping 20, which I and the others couldn't face. Had the bonus of meeting the owner of the place who was a truly classic Australian bloke. He and his wife told us some absolutely hilarious stories + jokes.

8) Almost forgot - the jumping crocodile cruise - this was good stuff! drifting down the river, the man then gets the crocs to jump for food or feeds passing sea eagles.


In summary: To be honest I wasn't incredibly impressed with Kakadu, I think I was expecting it to be as good as last year's 3 day Ayers Rock tour - it wasn't and I wasn't alone in this opinion. In hindsight we did visit an awful lot and the rock art, croc cruise + plunge pool ruled, but none of it was too amazing. Perhaps it's why most people go in the dry season.

Anyways, the next week I went on the Litchfield trip and found this much better to be honest. We had a cool 4 wheel bus like for Ayers Rock (why they didn't have this for Kakadu is beyond me)!! OK so there was no Aborigine rock art, but we saw truly amazing termite mounds - there was a field of them that really looked like a graveyard. Also the waterfalls were more spectacular, although the swimming hole wasn't quite as good and the Archer fish that kept biting my feet and legs weren't much fun. We also visited an Aboriginal shop where my mate Israeli Dave bought a bonefide Didgeridoo and I bought some music sticks.

By JamesReed on 09.01.05 @ 02:43 PM GMT [As Web Page] [Archives]