Friday, November 07, 2003
OK then - the 24th
My last day in Malaysia
After getting some breakfast we had arranged for Ronnie to pick us up at 11 and take us to Times Square with Megat
Times Square is a big shopping centre - the biggest in Asia (second only to one in Seattle apparently)
It opened shortly after I left KL the first time although only about 10% of the 900 shops are actually open
Pretty interesting place to wander round though
They have a theme park inside including an enormous rollercoaster
Incidentally - although it was a Friday on the 24th - as Im sure you will have worked out
It was a national holiday because of the Deepawali celebrations
The Indian population all celebrate this festival and they had a big rice mosaic thing in the shopping centre as well as dancers doing a show
The dance we watched was all based on the Malaysian wedding ceremony - where guests throw rice and confetti on the bride and groom
Ronnie set Jules and I up however and when the "audience participation" section came along we found ourselves dragged on stage to throw rice - I really had no idea what was going on.
So anyway everyone had the day off - we met Mariam for drinks and then headed over to one of Ronnie's Indian friends houses for food and drink.
The tradition in Malaysia for these national holidays is that whichever community is celebrating offers an open house to everybody else. So the Indians do it at Deepawali, the Moslem Malaysians do it for Ramadan and the Chinese do it at new year
Theoretically apparently you can go around to anyones house, whether you know them or not, get fed and have a drink and go on your way
Which is pretty much what we did
great food as well
Anyway I then got dropped at Putra Jaya Station to get the KLIA transit train and catch my plane
goodbyes done
ready to say hello to Max and Nicole
I guess thats the end of a chapter really
My last day in Malaysia
After getting some breakfast we had arranged for Ronnie to pick us up at 11 and take us to Times Square with Megat
Times Square is a big shopping centre - the biggest in Asia (second only to one in Seattle apparently)
It opened shortly after I left KL the first time although only about 10% of the 900 shops are actually open
Pretty interesting place to wander round though
They have a theme park inside including an enormous rollercoaster
Incidentally - although it was a Friday on the 24th - as Im sure you will have worked out
It was a national holiday because of the Deepawali celebrations
The Indian population all celebrate this festival and they had a big rice mosaic thing in the shopping centre as well as dancers doing a show
The dance we watched was all based on the Malaysian wedding ceremony - where guests throw rice and confetti on the bride and groom
Ronnie set Jules and I up however and when the "audience participation" section came along we found ourselves dragged on stage to throw rice - I really had no idea what was going on.
So anyway everyone had the day off - we met Mariam for drinks and then headed over to one of Ronnie's Indian friends houses for food and drink.
The tradition in Malaysia for these national holidays is that whichever community is celebrating offers an open house to everybody else. So the Indians do it at Deepawali, the Moslem Malaysians do it for Ramadan and the Chinese do it at new year
Theoretically apparently you can go around to anyones house, whether you know them or not, get fed and have a drink and go on your way
Which is pretty much what we did
great food as well
Anyway I then got dropped at Putra Jaya Station to get the KLIA transit train and catch my plane
goodbyes done
ready to say hello to Max and Nicole
I guess thats the end of a chapter really
Im close to being up to date now..
so while im on a roll.
The 23rd saw our little band reduced to just Jules and I
we got up late and then wandered over to KLCC to see if we could get Petronas Towers tickets
No go - sold out by the time we got there
It really was just not meant to be
We then had to head to KL Sentral to sort out tickets for Julias sleeper train to Singapore the following night
I also tried to get in touch with Amy but her phone number was not recognised and i havent had any response to emails
Im a bit worried about her to be honest
Anyway we then met up with Ronnie and Megat
They decided to take us to see the Fireflies at Kuala Selangor
On the way we stopped at a night market to see all the various food and craziness that gets sold at these things - getting some odd looks as the only white folks about these parts - We bought some Rambutan and Megat bought a load of Durian
Not sure if I have mentioned Durians but they are a large fruit - about the size of a pineapple - with a green spiky skin - inside their flesh is the most bizarre thing I have ever eaten
It is incredibly gooey and sticky - around a stone - and the taste is, well, odd.
It kind of has a Cheesy taste, but also fruity
Better men than I have tried to describe it and, i would suggest, failed - so im going to leave it there.
The other thing with Durians is that they stink.
Like Sewers.
Really bad - the car still smelt of them the next day
We were in rush hour traffic for hours but eventually got to the place where the Kelip-Kelip (as they call fireflies) where - to my amusement the direct translation of Kelip-Kelip is Bling Bling
but i didnt hear any of the flies humming gangsta rap..
It was beautiful actually - you get taken on this little boat down the river where on either side there are bushes which these flies just light up like christmas lights
a few fly around as well and we managed to grab one
(apparently Ronnie used to catch these in a jar because his uncle had a bush that attracted them in his garden - or something along those lines)
The sky out there was so clear as well - the stars were out and bright and it was incredibly peaceful
entirely different to KL then...
We then headed over to Klang for some food - along possibly the bumpiest road in the world
There were times when i thought we were going to flip the car over it was that unstable - there was at least one occasion where we completely left the ground - Dukes of Hazard style
(Ronnie was on the phone)
Anyway - we survived and got to the seafood restaurant (Klang is on the seafront)
Ronnie and Megat picked the uncooked fish out of troughs and we sat down to a feast of Snapper, Squid and Stingray
Apart from Jules who went for the veggie option
gutted
Anyway we were back at the hostel at about 1AM
not that we got to sleep though - Jules had had a nasty case of Bed bugs and we ended up changing rooms and generally fucking about until settling for some restless sleep at about 3AM
Shattered
so while im on a roll.
The 23rd saw our little band reduced to just Jules and I
we got up late and then wandered over to KLCC to see if we could get Petronas Towers tickets
No go - sold out by the time we got there
It really was just not meant to be
We then had to head to KL Sentral to sort out tickets for Julias sleeper train to Singapore the following night
I also tried to get in touch with Amy but her phone number was not recognised and i havent had any response to emails
Im a bit worried about her to be honest
Anyway we then met up with Ronnie and Megat
They decided to take us to see the Fireflies at Kuala Selangor
On the way we stopped at a night market to see all the various food and craziness that gets sold at these things - getting some odd looks as the only white folks about these parts - We bought some Rambutan and Megat bought a load of Durian
Not sure if I have mentioned Durians but they are a large fruit - about the size of a pineapple - with a green spiky skin - inside their flesh is the most bizarre thing I have ever eaten
It is incredibly gooey and sticky - around a stone - and the taste is, well, odd.
It kind of has a Cheesy taste, but also fruity
Better men than I have tried to describe it and, i would suggest, failed - so im going to leave it there.
The other thing with Durians is that they stink.
Like Sewers.
Really bad - the car still smelt of them the next day
We were in rush hour traffic for hours but eventually got to the place where the Kelip-Kelip (as they call fireflies) where - to my amusement the direct translation of Kelip-Kelip is Bling Bling
but i didnt hear any of the flies humming gangsta rap..
It was beautiful actually - you get taken on this little boat down the river where on either side there are bushes which these flies just light up like christmas lights
a few fly around as well and we managed to grab one
(apparently Ronnie used to catch these in a jar because his uncle had a bush that attracted them in his garden - or something along those lines)
The sky out there was so clear as well - the stars were out and bright and it was incredibly peaceful
entirely different to KL then...
We then headed over to Klang for some food - along possibly the bumpiest road in the world
There were times when i thought we were going to flip the car over it was that unstable - there was at least one occasion where we completely left the ground - Dukes of Hazard style
(Ronnie was on the phone)
Anyway - we survived and got to the seafood restaurant (Klang is on the seafront)
Ronnie and Megat picked the uncooked fish out of troughs and we sat down to a feast of Snapper, Squid and Stingray
Apart from Jules who went for the veggie option
gutted
Anyway we were back at the hostel at about 1AM
not that we got to sleep though - Jules had had a nasty case of Bed bugs and we ended up changing rooms and generally fucking about until settling for some restless sleep at about 3AM
Shattered
The 22nd
Got up and went out with Julia for breakfast at about 11
We must have missed Dan because he went out to get tickets for the Petronas Towers (which i never did get up) early - he actually got 4 so Jules and I could have gone as well - but from what they said it wasnt really worth it anyway
Jules and I walked over to the Lake Gardens - a nice walk actually wandered round some bits and had a bit of a picnic before going over to the planet arium
Now id been before obviously but for the 50p it cost to go in I wasnt going to deny Jules the opportunity
we went into the show and promptly both fell asleep (i think the aircon must have been too cool)
Anyway that was all good
we wandered back to town in time to say goodbye to James before he set off for the airport
Then we met Ronnie and went for a curry in a place he recommended just round the corner
Dan was leaving for Singapore and then home that night as well so he wanted to do a bit of shopping for presents
after that we went and had a few drinks (joined by Mariam, Maya and Aiee) at KLCC (outdoors but underneath the twin towers)
We then saw Dan off at Puduraya bus station before heading to bed.
Got up and went out with Julia for breakfast at about 11
We must have missed Dan because he went out to get tickets for the Petronas Towers (which i never did get up) early - he actually got 4 so Jules and I could have gone as well - but from what they said it wasnt really worth it anyway
Jules and I walked over to the Lake Gardens - a nice walk actually wandered round some bits and had a bit of a picnic before going over to the planet arium
Now id been before obviously but for the 50p it cost to go in I wasnt going to deny Jules the opportunity
we went into the show and promptly both fell asleep (i think the aircon must have been too cool)
Anyway that was all good
we wandered back to town in time to say goodbye to James before he set off for the airport
Then we met Ronnie and went for a curry in a place he recommended just round the corner
Dan was leaving for Singapore and then home that night as well so he wanted to do a bit of shopping for presents
after that we went and had a few drinks (joined by Mariam, Maya and Aiee) at KLCC (outdoors but underneath the twin towers)
We then saw Dan off at Puduraya bus station before heading to bed.
The following morning we were booked on a mini bus to head back down to Penang - we had a deadline to get back to KL for James's flight (both James and I moved our flight dates by a few days but even so..)
Ten cramped hours later we arrived in Butterworth across the water from Penang and found ourselves being driven onto the ferry across rather than the bridge - which was quite cool - its no P&O job just a barge with cars on it really zig zagging to the other side
Anyway we got dropped off just up the road from Love Lane and were given a warm reception again by Jimmy and Amy which was nice
After getting some food we played some cards and drank 2 bottles of Thai Song we had left with Jimmy to look after when we left for Thailand
We seemed to attract people that night and there was quite a big group of us playing cards
on and off
Fiona and Phil from England were the first to join us but when they wet to bed we were joined by Owen from Ireland and then an Austrian girl who's name i forget
(she was absolutley stunning though and i was up chatting to her till about 4.30)
Lucky really that the following day we were taking the Super VIP bus to KL
Beautiful - as good as James had suggested and then some
the seats on these things are big enough for about five people
really - its like having your own massage chair
Fantastic - i almost wished the journey was longer than the 5 hours it took
We met a guy called Dan on the bus and he was also looking for somewhere to stay in KL
together we found a friendly little place called Le Village
Friendly but frankly a shithole - but ill come to that later
that night we grabbed some food in Chinatown and then went for drinks in the Reggae bar up the road from the hostel
I was knackered though despite the bus and the room i was in was right next to the lounge area where people were up until the early hours playing cards and playing the guitar
I had been feeling ropey again as well (couldnt eat the food) so not the best
Ten cramped hours later we arrived in Butterworth across the water from Penang and found ourselves being driven onto the ferry across rather than the bridge - which was quite cool - its no P&O job just a barge with cars on it really zig zagging to the other side
Anyway we got dropped off just up the road from Love Lane and were given a warm reception again by Jimmy and Amy which was nice
After getting some food we played some cards and drank 2 bottles of Thai Song we had left with Jimmy to look after when we left for Thailand
We seemed to attract people that night and there was quite a big group of us playing cards
on and off
Fiona and Phil from England were the first to join us but when they wet to bed we were joined by Owen from Ireland and then an Austrian girl who's name i forget
(she was absolutley stunning though and i was up chatting to her till about 4.30)
Lucky really that the following day we were taking the Super VIP bus to KL
Beautiful - as good as James had suggested and then some
the seats on these things are big enough for about five people
really - its like having your own massage chair
Fantastic - i almost wished the journey was longer than the 5 hours it took
We met a guy called Dan on the bus and he was also looking for somewhere to stay in KL
together we found a friendly little place called Le Village
Friendly but frankly a shithole - but ill come to that later
that night we grabbed some food in Chinatown and then went for drinks in the Reggae bar up the road from the hostel
I was knackered though despite the bus and the room i was in was right next to the lounge area where people were up until the early hours playing cards and playing the guitar
I had been feeling ropey again as well (couldnt eat the food) so not the best
the 19th
James and I had planned to go on this safari thing involving Elephant trekking white water rafting and all that sort of gubbins
unfortunatley - when we tried to book it we discovered we were the only 2 people who had shown an interest - and you needed a minimum of 3 to do the trip - from what i hear though it wasnt the best place to do this kind of trip so we probably saved a bit of cash from not doing it
Plus James had the shits and it was pissing it down
As it was we just dossed around all day - met a Canadian girl called Tanya who was a chatterbox to put it nicely.
Jules and I went to check out a temple in the afternoon
It was a pretty cool place - first there were a load of caves - complete with bats and shrines which we crawled about in - well i did while jules hid outside
then we went to see the "Big Tree" which admittedly was pretty big but its impact was spoiled by the fact that it was lying on its side...
Then we back tracked through a load of Monks' washing (they must get confused with all those robes...)
I think we had been trying to put the next bit off though because the main Temple bit was up some steps
1267 of them.
we started climbing with good intentions but it was incredibly knackering - and slippery
some of the steps were practically vertical as well..
and it was getting dark
You can see where these excuses are heading cant you?
well we did make it up more than 700 steps before turning back - and it was a good job we did really because by the time we got to the bottom it was nearly pitch black and quite dangerous - although there were lights up the side a lot of them were not working and some of the sections were so steep you had to go down backwards.
So in hindsight we should have gone to the temple earlier in the day
Fantastic views though
That night we went to O'Malleys to watch Leicester go bottom of the Premiership with an extremely unlucky 2:1 defeat against Spurs
Considering we were leading virtually the entire match and they scored the winner in the last minute i was a bit pissed off
Tanya rabbiting on didnt help (no one cares about ice hockey!)
James and I had planned to go on this safari thing involving Elephant trekking white water rafting and all that sort of gubbins
unfortunatley - when we tried to book it we discovered we were the only 2 people who had shown an interest - and you needed a minimum of 3 to do the trip - from what i hear though it wasnt the best place to do this kind of trip so we probably saved a bit of cash from not doing it
Plus James had the shits and it was pissing it down
As it was we just dossed around all day - met a Canadian girl called Tanya who was a chatterbox to put it nicely.
Jules and I went to check out a temple in the afternoon
It was a pretty cool place - first there were a load of caves - complete with bats and shrines which we crawled about in - well i did while jules hid outside
then we went to see the "Big Tree" which admittedly was pretty big but its impact was spoiled by the fact that it was lying on its side...
Then we back tracked through a load of Monks' washing (they must get confused with all those robes...)
I think we had been trying to put the next bit off though because the main Temple bit was up some steps
1267 of them.
we started climbing with good intentions but it was incredibly knackering - and slippery
some of the steps were practically vertical as well..
and it was getting dark
You can see where these excuses are heading cant you?
well we did make it up more than 700 steps before turning back - and it was a good job we did really because by the time we got to the bottom it was nearly pitch black and quite dangerous - although there were lights up the side a lot of them were not working and some of the sections were so steep you had to go down backwards.
So in hindsight we should have gone to the temple earlier in the day
Fantastic views though
That night we went to O'Malleys to watch Leicester go bottom of the Premiership with an extremely unlucky 2:1 defeat against Spurs
Considering we were leading virtually the entire match and they scored the winner in the last minute i was a bit pissed off
Tanya rabbiting on didnt help (no one cares about ice hockey!)
