Mike's rambling travel updates - from the hidden pubs and country lanes of the UK, to the never-shrinking list of "must-see" destinations in Europe and beyond.
I tried to avoid the "hey, watch my 300 picture slideshow" routine, but there are still a fair number... no liability expressed or implied if your boss catches you watching at work. ;)
Wow – talk about contrasts. The Malaysian Tourism Board is always going on and on (and on...) about all the varied delights the country has to offer. I chalked it up to mere hyperbole but upon arriving in Melaka, I threw in the towel. You win, tourist marketing people, you win.... from the islands to busy/busy KL, and now Melaka, that was three vastly different experiences in as many destinations.
Sweet.
So, the story behind Melaka is pretty interesting – it was originally a far more important city than KL, and would have faced a similar rush to development, but for changes in colonial rule and trade that relegated it to a second-tier trading city.
But hey – that actually works out perfectly for the tourist today. Now a sleepy, relaxed town, Melaka has taken pretty good steps to preserve its historic downtown – a collection of tight-packed maroon-painted storefronts, as well as a fantastic Chinatown.
Throw in some of the best food Malaysia has to offer, and you've got a great recipe (yeah, sorry about that, I just couldn't resist the pun) for a few days of concentrated downtime.
After catching an early morning bus from the massive tent city that serves as the temporary bus station in KL, I plopped my stuff down at Number Twenty Guesthouse, an immaculate hotel in a 1670 structure in Chinatown. Three years in the UK or no, I still get a kick out being in buildings that are far older that the US, and are still in use – not merely as a museums. Awesome.
Then, it was time to brave the seriously hot weather and go for a wander. My first stop was some of the spicy/sweet Malaysian specialty soup – laksa. Man, this stuff is fantastic. Coconut milk, noodles, curry, shrimp, and who knows what else – all for about $1. Plus, they have a dozen varieties of the stuff from town to town, so as a tourist I was never sure what I was going to get yet they all were equally delicious.
Chinatown itself was great – a bustling neighborhood, but still far more relaxed version that any that you might find in big cities. It's a small town in feel, complete with neighbors exchanging gossip across the street, busy artists painting on silk, and the ever-present knick-knack and tourist souvenir stores. Throw in a mosque, a Buddhist temple, and a big church, and you've got the multi-cultural landscape of Malaysia in a nutshell.
Even the bicycle taxi drivers got into the vibe:
I escaped without serious damage to waistline or wallet, although I did get sucked into buying a handmade t-shirt from a local artist named Charles Chan at his garishly painted store:
...and then, to quote the Princess Bride, I “fell victim to one of the classic blunders”... nope, I didn't get involved in land war in Asia. Instead, I tried a seemingly innocuous fruit named durian. Durian fruit in a shaved ice concoction called cendol to be precise.
Mistake. Big mistake. Stomach-churningly, “I nearly tossed my cookies”-type bad mistake.
Durian's the Marmite of the fruit world – you instantly either love it or hate it. The taste and odor? I can't even begin to describe it – but it's as far from the sharp, clean scent of an orange as it's possible to get outside a lab. It's funk is so nasty that some hotels even go so far as to ban it entirely from their premises.
So, after manfully trying (and failing) to eat more than one bite, I covered my dessert with a napkin and beat a hasty retreat from the store.
Then I got to check out the main plaza, where dozens of taxi trishaws were lined up awaiting customers. Unique to Melaka, each taxi driver takes great pride in 'tricking out' their rides – complete with artificial flowers, lights, and even a booming sound system rocking out to the latest Usher song. It's all good fun, and they're also great tour guides as well.
By this point, I was pretty much wilting, so I retreated again the blissful coolness that only a modern mall can bring, taking advantage of their free wi-fi, before heading out in the early evening on a quest for Melaka's best satay fondue.
At Capitol Satay, I think I might have reached culinary heaven. Not in any super posh, gourmet sense, but just for really good, unique food, all for an amazing price.
First, a quick primer – the way satay fondue works: take a circular steel table, put a near-boiling gas-heated pot of satay sauce and broth in the middle (let's just say Malaysia's a bit looser on health/safety issues than the UK). Toss in any number of fresh fish or vegetables on skewers. Cook for 1-3 minutes, and eat. And eat. And eat.
You basically just hit their buffet bar, take whatever squid/fish/beef sticks look good, and bring them back to your table. At about $.25 a stick, it's a great deal, especially when they throw in a massive 5-6” tiger prawn as a bonus.
Packed, friendly, and seriously hot – it was a blast. The locals got a kick out of watching me try to figure things out, and the friendly staff were great at showing me the ropes.
Stuffed after 20 sticks, I gazed in awe at pictures of the record-holders – a couple from the UK devoured 81 sticks-worth, complete with 4 beers to wash them down. Unreal.
My second day was a bit more athletic, as I hooked up with a mountain bike tour company to check out the countryside outside Melaka. It turned out to be a great decision – a nice easy ride through winding worker footpaths and backroads. We even encountered a guy waiting to trap birds that he trains as songbirds for the city folk.
First word that comes to mind? Green, green, green - the rural landscape of Malaysia is an ever-varied mix of plantations and small villages. From watching the locals cut the bark and bleed the liquid from their rubber trees, to checking out the palm oil and pineapple plantations, Malaysia is a seriously fertile climate. I'm exaggerating a bit, but I'm thinking that if you close your eyes and throw some seeds behind you, something will pop up growing, even from a non-green thumb guy like me.
The other bonus is that each village house also has its own amazing herb garden. Lemongrass, chinese ginger, and a dozen fruits besides – I can only imagine how tasty the cooking must be with such fresh ingredients on the doorstep.
Back in town, I just ended up cruising around town a bit more, and finished the night with a whisky and an odd dessert – apple pie baked in a glass – at the local ex-pat cafe. Odd, but tasty indeed.
I have to admit it; after leaving the islands, I was really looking forward to checking out Kuala Lumpur. The capital of Malaysia, "KL" is a city that is aggressively seeking to join the ranks of the first tier of cities of the world. Ever since 1998, when the iconic Petronus Towers skyscraper opened as the (temporarily at least) tallest building in the world, the city has been dramatically raising its game - upgrading its infrastructure and image.
And it's worked. The city is an absolutely fantastic place to wander around, with an intoxicating mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese cultures, all with a backdrop of 21st century technology.
The best part, though, is that KL hasn't lost its soul, or unique sense of self, in the process. Whenever I wandered around, even in the most basic of street vendors or the poshest of malls, the city had a great energy, plus I definitely got a sense of the pride that the Malays feel for their country.
I was looking to setting up shop for a bit, as my plan was to actually spend a few days here, split between the touristy thing and getting to play in an ultimate frisbee tournament of all things.
After catching an early morning ferry from the islands, then a bus to Kota Bharu, my flight arrived at KL's LCC terminal for low-cost airlines (think RyanAir's Luton). Fierce competition meant that an immaculate air-conditioned bus drove the 70km for about $2.25. (Grumble: the bus company back in SF that takes me to my parents' could take notes... for the same distance, they charge $26!!!)
Right, I headed to the cool district of Bukit Bintang. Sweating in the serious heat, I dropped my stuff at Red Palm Hostel, a cheap and cheerful hostel, with fantastic staff, clean rooms, and the only downside of seriously thin walls. But, hey, for about ten quid a night, who can argue?
Then, it was time for dinner. Now, especially in Asia, I normally try to check out some of the more upscale options, since the dollar goes so much farther.
In this case though, it was all about the street food. Jin Alor is a street jam-packed with dozens of mostly Chinese eateries, with everything from the freshest of seafood to the oddest of animal product entrees, all for a song.
Lonely Planet steered me to an absolutely fantastic eatery called Wong Ah Wah – with legendary BBQ Chinese chicken wings. Basically, you just flag down a waiter, hold up the number of fingers for the number of wings, plus mention “big beer”. Then, add a polite “tamira kasih” (thank you), and wait for culinary goodness.
And... they're THAT good. I ended up going here 4 nights in a row.
Stuffed, it was an early night, where back at the hostel with superb air conditioning, I had an unusual problem of it being TOO cold. In Asia, that's a nice issue to have!
The second day was my big 'tourist day', since most of the other days would be taken up with ultimate. I got up early to wander up to the Petronus Towers in order to get tickets for the skybridge connecting them. Sure, it's cliched, but what the heck – I really wanted to get inside this amazing office building/mall named after the nation's massive oil company.
Alas, everyone else seemed to have the same idea, so even an hour before opening, there was a massive queue (uh, that's “line” to us Yanks). But, eventually, I got through and my ticket for a 30 minute slot in the later afternoon.
All sorted, I got down to some serious wandering.
First stop was the Indian quarter and Central Market. Lonely Planet came through again, suggesting a meandering walk that started in some of the oldest buildings in KL, then over to the massive Independence Plaza, where the Malaysian flag first replaced the British Union Jack. On a 50 meter flagpole, that's not a trivial matter! As a side note, their flag's red/white stripes kept throwing me for a loop – there are definite similarities between the American flag and theirs; I'm curious to know if there was a story behind that.
Then, after finding a little Taoist temple tucked down an alley...
...it was time to hit the tourist handicrafts area. Miraculously, I somehow avoided the temptation to buy anything for my backpack.
My feet, however, demanded some love. Walking past a stall advertising “Doctor Fish”, I had to give it a shot. For a pound, my feet were treated to 10 minutes of serious nibbling by hundreds of tiny fish, who each took bits of dead skin.
Sure, it sounded freaky, but it actually turned out to feel really, really good. Um, that was after, of course, I squealed like a little girl and kept laughing at the sensation...
The rest of the afternoon took me to an amazing Islamic-inspired skyscraper, which stands elegantly above the hectic KL skyline...
… before a solid wander throughout Chinatown. Dodging touts with all sorts of designer knock-offs, I had to stock up on things for the “Wacky Green” ultimate party the next night. KL didn't let me down, as I found a garish feathered mask, a grass Hawaiian skirt, and a hideous green striped knock-off Polo shirt, all for about $10. Sweeeet.
And... I came across this outfit - winner of "What the @#$! were you thinking making this???" award. Scarily bad taste:
After dodging the afternoon rain storm, and hitting up the rare liquor store for gin & tonic makings for the tourney, I headed out to finally go to the Skybridge viewing platform at the Petronus Towers. Great views of course, although the self-congratulatory corporate promo video we had to watch beforehand was a bit much.
And to refuel after all that viewing, what else to do but view some more? There's a rooftop bar called SkyBar at a hotel nearby that has cold Guinness (2 for 1 no less!) and a great vista...
A much-needed shower, some more wings, and then it was time to meet my teammates for the weekend at a local Irish pub.
My friend Kim in London used to live in Bangkok, so she arranged for me to play with the team at the Malaysian Open. They were bringing two teams, the SoiDawgz and SoiCowboyz (soi = street in Thai), and needed another lazy handler. Perfect.
Great bunch of folks, and several of us ended up closing the pub down with a fierce game of “Bawwwk”. Confused? Just watch the video:
Then, it was time for a whopping 4 hours sleep before our early wake-up call and bus ride to the tournament.
As for the tournament itself, it was a blast. Twenty teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia, playing on immaculate pitches at a private school.
The only downside is that I re-tweaked my injured calf muscle, so could only hobble around on offense, and if we ever turned it over and had to play defense, let's just say I was a liability...
But, two days of ultimate were great, punctuated by copious amounts of drinking on the sidelines. I brought some gin & tonics, and the team introduced me to the tradition of “Apple Pie” shots. Think vanilla vodka, apple juice, cinnamon, and whipped cream poured into your mouth. Shake vigorously and swallow. Deee-licious.
As an introduction to Asian ultimate, playing in 95 degree heat with 90% humidity was... humbling. It seemed that no matter how much liquid you kept drinking, you just sweated it all out. Coming back into town, I was wiped out, and committed the rookie blunder of “taking a brief nap” before the party... waking up at 3 in the morning.
So, no party for me – plus serious heckling from the team the next day...
We ended up winning only one of our games, but at least it was the last one – a super spirited and fun match against a local Malaysian team.
After that, it was beers and G&T's watching the final, before saying good-bye to all my new teammates.
Another night in KL with more chicken wings (I know – I just couldn't resist), before crashing early.
After a few days in Singapore's ultra-modern metropolis, I was more than ready for my next leg – the quiet small islands called the Perentians.
You know, the holiday business and restaurants are pretty similar in one respect – a new place opens up, amazes, and the word starts to spread. In this case, the islands have become pretty famous - one backpacker to another. It's still pretty early days, but I'm guessing the big package tours aren't far behind. Get there while you can...
… because they've still got the “Goldilocks” amount of development. Just enough so there are decent beach bungalows, a bar or two, and snorkelling/diving options, but not so much that you can't get away to enjoy some isolated beaches yourself.
The other plus side about a few days on the islands is that it makes blogging much, much easier. Pretty much every day was very similar: wake up, grab a bit of toast/eggs on the beach, read a bit, snorkel, read some more, have some beers at sunset and then dinner.
And it was perfect. After a ten hour overnight bus ride that turned into 13 with a traffic jam and bus breakdown, I was more than ready to chill out. I ended up sharing a taxi towards the ferry with a gregarious Aussie couple (or is that just being redundant?) and a Polish girl who'd be travelling about and had been living on the islands for the past month or so. Nice!
A ferry ride got us there in time for drinks and a lounge on the beach, before I called it an early night. The next morning, I got in a snorkelling trip, which was delightfully informal – just a handful of backpackers in a boat, gettting dropped off at four spots around our island of Pulau Besar. We got to check out everything from seriously colorful coral, to 1.5 meter turtles munching on sea grass, and even a 5-6 foot black tip sharp cruising around. Awesome.
(And, much as I like diving, snorkelling is just so much less complicated – and you STILL get to see a lot of the same sights for practically zip.)
My pics underwater never seem to do the scenery justice – but here's a sea anemone hiding a few Nemos/Clown Fish:
That night also got a bit messy in the bar, when I met up with two Brits from Essex. One beer led to another led to eight or nine, and soon I was taking their advice on trying some world-class chicken satay, Malaysia's signature dish. This led to some fun with both food and cameras:
Three days of this were grand... such a nice way to relax and unwind, and the only downside is that it's very much a couple's island. The other one, Perhentian Kecil, has more of a backpacker vibe, but also the repetitive techno music at all hours.
Alas, eventually, I had to head out again, this time to Kota Bahru and a flight to Kuala Lumpur. Normally, I'm a bus guy, saving my limited budget for more important stuff like the odd beer or sight-seeing. In this case, though, thanks to the business model of Ryanair and Easyjet, Asia has gotten into the cheap flight racket – and flights can be as low as $25. Sweet.
Four days in Malaysia's capital coming up – with an ultimate frisbee tournament to boot!
Days two and three in Singapore – what to do, what to do...?
One of the problems about a round the world trip is that even with three months off, you still never have enough time to see everything at each stop. Singapore was no different, as I had only two and a half days all told to explore what's an entire country (albeit a tiny one).
I started with the best of intentions – getting out of the hostel by 7:30am, and enjoying the very short early morning window where the city wasn't roasting. A bus ride and a walk down to the bus station sorted me out logistically for the next leg of my trip, and then it was a chance to stroll through the Muslim quarter of the city – a cool district of old single-story building and mosques under the gaze of the downtown skyscrapers.
Interesting place – and another sign of how the multi-cultural nature of Singapore seems to work really well. Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists are all scattered through the city working and shopping without anyone raising an eyebrow. I did hear that the Malaysian portion of the population is under-represented in the elites, but overall, my impression of the city was of a pretty tolerant place, religion-wise. Litter? Chewing gum? Totally another story.
I ended up having breakfast in the same hawkers/food court as yesterday, since it was such a reliable air-conditioned place, plus it served every Asian food under the sun. This time, it was a Japanese food place, where rice, corn, veggies and raw meat are served on a sizzling hot iron plate. Three minutes later, it's good to go, and man, was it delicious.
As a business idea, it's a good one, although my thoughts of bringing the franchise to the States or the UK were derailed by a quick thought of how easy it would be to sue. If the lady can sue McD's for super hot coffee, imagine how easy the legal exposure with placing a seriously metal platter on each and every customer's tray?
Recharged and cool, at least for the moment, I headed to explore Little India. Just like Chinatown, it's another place whose personality seems to break free of Singapore's normal vibe. Lots of markets and crowded sidewalks, the air redolent (shamelessly going for bonus points for SAT word there) with exotic spices – it's a fun place to wander around.
Singapore tends to get a short, but heavy afternoon deluge. Since the skies were getting dark and stormy, I decided to take refuge in a bar and ended up talking to a cool Scottish guy who has been living in Brunei for 20 years. Nice gig, as he's been able to raise his family in the sunshine and an international environment AND save serious money due to the low cost of living.
Once the rain stopped, I had to go check out Orchard Street – Singapore's Regent Street and Fifth Avenue combined. With something like ten multi-story malls in a half-mile strip, it's shopping Mecca to the locals.
I ducked into a few malls before getting completely burned out – but the newest, a twelve story monstrosity, was... different. With a climbing wall and a five story woman statue (see the little girl at her feet for scale) among other things, you definitely didn't lack for things to look at.
By this point, my rumbling stomach was telling me quite firmly to start sussing out dinner plans, so I had a great meal at Epicurious in one of the lesser-known Quays along the river. With a fusion philosophy, they recommended the Vietnamese spaghetti bolognese, complete with lemon grass. Strangely delicious. Dessert was a traditional, but oh-so-tasty apple crumble.
The walk back was fantastic, since it took in a succession of riverside developments, all chock full of bars, restaurants, and who knows what else. They made for great people watching, and some good night-time photography as well, before I called it a night.
A ride on the fast and efficient metro, and a long awaited cold shower, before crashing to the techno music beat of the cheesy pub downstairs. I forgot to mention – while food is cheap, everything else is fairly pricey on a backpacker's budget. I ended up hostelling it at a super-friendly, if poorly located hostel. Thankfully, my ear plugs and the Hawkins family legacy of being able to crash whenever and wherever came to the rescue and it was a good night's sleep at last.
The next day was basically spent at the world-class Singapore Zoo. I was initially hesitant about going – how different can a zoo be, after all? But, man, was I glad to be wrong!
The design of everything was spot on; from enclosures that seem entirely natural, with cleverly hidden moats and fences out of sight and mind of the tourists.
And then there were the animals... starting with a pair of white tigers, to a number of Malaysia's endangered orangutans, cheetahs, and who knows what else? But it was fantastic – entertaining and informative all at once, with thick glass allowing you to be within 5 feet of the animals.
I was winding down my visit, before deciding to stop in for the polar bears, which turned out to be the highlight of the day, since the zoo had an underwater viewing area for when the polar bears take a dip to escape the heat.
In this case, I set up shop with my camera right at the corner of the tank, and the same huge bear kept swimming in a loop, before approaching our nook at pointblank range. A few kids were right at the glass, and they were enthralled as I was...
Finally, I had to pull myself away, and headed back downtown, ducking into the famous temple dedicated to the Golden Tooth of Buddha. Amazingly ornate, it was packed with believers chanting, chatting, and just looking around. My camera couldn't do the interior justice, so I had to settle for close-ups of the intricate details that lay at every turn:
A food court meal and then a shower and packing at the hostel – all in time to show up early for my twelve hour bus trip up the east coast.
Next stop? Some super chilled out and beautiful tropical islands called Pulau Perinthians...
