Bangkok

Back in Bangkok... hard to believe; it seems like I was just here!

The flight went smoothly, and Singapore Airlines definitely lived up to the hype. A hot meal on a 2 hour flight? Spacious and comfortable seats in economy class? I wanted to see KLIA, Singapore International's main terminal, and Singapore Airlines first hand, hence my booking... but I wasn't actually sure if it'd be worth the extra cash I had to shell out over Air Asia (a discount airline with very cheap rates for flights in and around SE Asia), but it definitely was. I can see why it's rated the world's best airline!

Anyway, upon arrival in Bangkok, I caught the shuttle to my hotel, then grabbed a taxi off to Khao San Road for some last minute souvenir pick-ups. There were a couple things I wanted to grab that I didn't buy last time, and Betty had requested that I pick her up a couple items as well. Had a little more phad thai from a street stall, and then it was back to the hotel... or so I thought! The cab I caught couldn't figure out where the hotel was, even though I had a little map to it as well as the directions written in Thai, so the driver passed me off to her husband or friend(?) who attempted to drive me there in his personal car. He didn't really know the way either, though, and was on the phone for most of the trip getting directions (or something)... I could only make out a bit of his frantic Thai, but in the end, we made it here, much to the relief of both him and I. In fact, I think he may have been happier than I was when we finally arrived!

I was planning on getting to bed early, but I ended up in the hotel bar (well, outside... it was 34 C when I arrived, and it's still 29 C with 80% humidity--"feels like 40 C"--at 11 pm) having a few beers. They had a big screen projection TV which was, oddly enough, playing a DVD with live concerts of Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and amazingly, Sarah McLachlan! It was like I was back in Canada already!

I'm catching a shuttle back to the airport (5-10 minutes away) at 6 am, and then that's it, I'll be on the plane headed for home. See you at the airport!

Singapore

I was up early this morning (about 6 am, out the door at 6:30) in an attempt to see as much of the city as I could before my departure--plus I wanted to get some pics of the Merlion at sunrise. It turned out to be cloudy, then overcast, but it was still very hot (~30 C) and humid (~85%). Even at 9 am, I was dripping with sweat! And here I thought I was getting used to the heat. (Truthfully, though, it didn't bother me much, my shirt was just soaked.)

Anyway, I walked around the city for a few hours, then got back to the hotel at about 10:30 am to shower, pack my bags, and head off to the airport, where I am currently. It's 10 minutes past noon, and in two hours my flight leaves for Bangkok. One more night there, and then I'll be flying home. Hard to believe this trip is almost over!

Singapore

So, the express train was smooth and easy, and despite the fact that my hotel was 5 minutes from the airport, I was up at 6:00 to ensure I was there on time for my 9:00 flight. Let me say right now that KLIA is a million times nicer than the KLIA LCCT (where we flew in from Bangkok two weeks ago)! But anyway, it was really quiet in the morning and I probably could have showed up an hour later and been fine, but better safe than sorry.

Flying from KL to Singapore takes about 50 minutes from gate to gate, so it was practically over before it began. I thought KL was really nice compared to Bangkok, but Singapore blows them (and probably most cities) completely out of the water. The airport was amazing (and spotless), the train system is incredibly efficient (and spotless), and really, the entire city (from what I've seen) is clean, organized, and beautiful.

I had booked a tour of the Tiger brewery today, which ended up turning into quite an interesting event. When I got there, it seemed the rest of the group going on the tour was a group of students from somewhere in Asia. I wasn't sure if they were high school students, but thought it a bit odd in any case that a school group would be going on a tour of a brewery. Now, I was there at about 1:30, and the tour started at 2:00, so we were all waiting around for it to begin, when one of the students, after some discussions with his friends and a few glances in my direction, approached me and asked if he could get a picture with me. Of course, I agreed, and after that it was like I was a Hollywood celebrity. I probably had 20 pictures (or more) taken of me with various students or groups of students before the tour began. (There were actually two white couples there, but they didn't get asked for pictures... must be the blonde hair)

So after the tour, a few more pics, and then we were off to the Tiger Tavern where (unlike what I heard about the Guinness brewery) you could drink unlimited beer for about an hour. I had three Tigers over that span, and these students were also drinking and, unlike myself, who didn't really feel them at all, they were definitely starting to get a buzz going. (If you've ever drank with Asians, it's typically not that surprising.) Anyway, I found out they were students at a Singapore university. Most were from China, but some were from S. Korea, Taiwan, etc., with ages ranging from about 21 to 25. More pictures ensued in the tavern, and then afterwards, when we were leaving and I was debating my options for returning to the city (the brewery was about a 30 minute taxi ride, ~S$20) their instructor, or group leader, offered me a ride back on their motor coach, for being so nice and indulging the students throughout the entire trip.

So as it turned out, on the ride back, the students wanted me to come out to dinner with them, so I figured why not and we took the train to a restaurant serving hot pot not too far away from my own hotel. It was really good, and then afterwards they wanted me to come out and do karaoke with them! By this time, though, it was past 6:30, and I still wanted to see the sights of the city. I probably would have gone along if any the songs were in English, but from what I could tell, they were all Chinese songs with subtitles in Mandarin. I declined, and set off to explore the city.

The sun was going down, but I wandered around and saw a ton of amazing sights, including, of course, the Merlion in Singapore's Marina Bay. I also had a Singapore Sling (delicious) in the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel.

Anyway, I'm spoiling all my good stories so I'll stop at this point. Of course, I got a ton of pics. I do plan to go back to some of the locations to try and get some shots in the daylight, though, and then explore a few more areas before catching my 2:10 pm flight to Bangkok. Then, one more night, and I'm on the plane back home... I can hardly believe it!

Kuala Lumpur

The hop-on, hop-off tour was fun, except I didn't have nearly enough time to hop off at all the stops I would have liked to see! It didn't help that I started at 1:00 pm or so, and spent a little while debating whether or not to buy a new camera. It's really sweet (Canon SX1 IS), but in the end I decided to just wait until it comes out in North America (probably a month or two) and pick it up then. It wasn't like it's any cheaper here; in fact many camera- and cell phone-related items were more expensive! For instance, the SX10 IS (the previous model) was around 1700-1900 RM, which works out to be around 600 CDN. At Future Shop, it's only $400! Of course, you can get them to lower the price and throw in a bunch of additional items like cases and 4 GB memory cards, which sweeten the deal, but even still, those are "cash only" prices.

Oh well. No big deal. So I'm staying at one of the hotels at the airport tonight, and will be taking an express train out there later this evening (the airport is about 75 km from the city center). Then, it's off to Singapore at 9:00 am tomorrow!

FYI, the weather in KL is currently 31°C, with 79% humidity. Supposedly, it "feels like" 44°C.

Kuala Lumpur

The dinner last night was great, and afterwards I managed to score a few sweet deals in the Chinatown night market. Despite going to bed the latest I have since I've been here (1 am), I was up at 6 and have already been up the Petronas Towers. Pretty cool. Right now I'm in a pretty sweet mall at the base of the towers, and will be heading out to find a "hop-on hop-off" bus tour shortly. Should be a good way to see the sights of the city.

Homestay / Kuala Lumpur

Well, we're back in Kuala Lumpur. The trip to the lake where we had the homestay wasn't so bad, aside from the fact that the bus was two hours late! Other than that, it was pretty uneventful... it rained in the morning and most of the journey, but clear skies awaited us when we arrived at our destination. The island and the lake which contained it were both beautiful--the glassy water and scenic backdrop really made me want to get out and waterski, and when you see the pictures I think you'll agree.

Our hosts (Aziz and Asiah) at the homestay were very hospitable and introduced us to many aspects of traditional Malay culture. Plus, the food cooked by Asiah was delicious! Yesterday, we went for a walk through a very simple village on the lake shore with Aziz as our guide. He was an excellent guide and shared many interesting stories and facts about Malay architecture, plants and herbs, and culture in general. Afterwards, a few of us went for an additional walk (which involved walking through rivers at points) up to a waterfall, which had a nice pool at its base where we were able to swim.

It rained a bit that afternoon, but other than that, the weather was very nice. In the evening, we had a traditional Malay dinner, sitting on the floor, wearing sarongs, and eating with our hands. Again, the food was great! Today, we took a quick tour through Kuala Kangsur, the capital of the state we were in, then boarded buses for a 4-hour trip back to Kuala Lumpur. We're having a farewell dinner tonight in 1.5 hours, and then that's it for the tour! I'm planning on looking around the markets tonight, then taking some sights in tomorrow.

Khota Bharu

So, it rained again this morning, delaying our departure from the island for about an hour...! From what we've heard, this rain is pretty atypical for this time of year, but what can you do. We haven't had much bad luck this trip, and if this is the worst we get then I can't really complain. But yes, our 9:00 departure from Perhentian Besar was pushed back until the rain let up at 10:00. It's a good thing we left right when we did, because as the boat was pulling out another storm appeared over the island, bearing down on us from the south. Compared to the calm waters on our trip TO the island, these rough seas were quite a change! We caught a bit of it, with the driving rain and large swells rocking our boat, but we were able to outrun it and get back to the mainland in one piece. The waters were still pretty rough, though, with swells of at least 5 feet at times! Personally, I didn't mind it at all, but some of the people on the boat were none too happy about the weather.

From there, we took minivans into Khota Bharu, about 2 hours away. We checked into our hotel, and headed out into the city for a look around. Walked through a mall and then several street markets. We also saw a couple historic buildings, but then it started to rain again so we headed back. The group was supposed to walk through a night food market, which is normally quite lively and with many different food choices, but it's an open air market and was closed due to the rain. A few of us stopped at a nearby Chinese restaurant for a good meal.

Tomorrow, we've got a 7-hour bus ride to our next destination, a homestay on an island in the middle of a lake. Sounds quite nice. After that, it's back to Kuala Lumpur, and the end of the tour--I can hardly believe it's almost over already. And, in one week's time, I'll be back home... crazy!

Perhentians redux

Snorkeling yesterday was awesome! Having never snorkeled anywhere aside from the Vulcan pool (and that about 15 years ago), I didn't know what to expect. Of course, the waters here at the Perhentian islands are amazing for snorkeling and diving, and the weather was perfect. We saw a ton of tropical fish, as well as coral, urchins, rays, a sea turtle, and even some small sharks! Pretty incredible--I was really wishing I had a waterproof camera for the day.

The rest of the day yesterday was spent lounging around, lying in hammocks by the beach, and eating! Today, though, it rained all morning and early afternoon, finally clearing up around 2 pm or so. It's still cloudy and not *hot* like we've been used to, so that's too bad. Again, a lot of sitting around, but a few of us did go for a boat trip around the smaller island, and stopped at a Malay village, where our boat driver showed us around.

We're leaving the island tomorrow at 9:00 and will be off to Khota Bharu, a city, of about 1.3 million people, near the Thailand border.

Perhentian Besar

The internet here seems to be quite sketchy, so this might end up being a short post for fear of getting cut off and not being able to even update at all.

Anyway, we left by speedboat from Kuala Besut at a leisurely 10:00 am this morning. The ocean was very calm, so it was a nice 30 minute trip out into the South China Sea to the Perhentian Islands. There are two islands, a larger one (Besar, which means "big"), and a smaller one (Kecil, which, yes, means "small"). We're staying at Flora Bay Resort, on the larger island. Both are very beautiful, though, with powdery white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water. We lounged around for the morning, then a few of us decided to take a boat taxi around to the other side of the island. Some people wanted to get massages at the spa over there, but I just relaxed in the sand, went for a swim, and grabbed a bite to eat at one of the restaurants. It's very tranquil here, and not at all "touristy". It's definitely a change from the previous island I was on (Ko Samui), which while still relatively peaceful and beautiful was far more developed than these islands. If you check out the Perhentian Islands on wikipedia, you can get a little bit of an idea of what the view looks like from the beach. Of course, I have many more pictures that I'll show when I get back. (I don't have my camera cord so I can't upload anything...!)

Tomorrow morning, we're going on a three-hour snorkeling trip around the island. The waters, as I said, are crystal clear, and you can see fish swimming from above the water, so getting right in and looking around should be very interesting. We're here for a total of three nights, and aside from the snorkeling trip there are no planned activities. I might need to find a book to read!

Kuala Besut

We're staying at a small hotel, for the night, in a small town (Kuala Besut) in northern Malaysia. The northern part of Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, and the people here follow Islam the most rigorously. That's not to say it's like being in the Middle East, or anything, but you can definitely tell.

Anyway, not much to really say right now because we spend pretty much the entire day in minivans travelling from Taman Negara to Kuala Besut. It was a nine hour journey, but it actually seemed to go by fairly quickly. I was planning to sleep, but unfortunately the road was just rough enough to prohibit such luxuries. Oh well.

We checked in, then ate dinner at a little place on the waterfront here which served good Malay food. Once I'm done here, I'll probably get to bed early. Until next time!

Taman Negara

Hello! I'm posting, once again, from a small internet cafe in the village across the river from the Taman Negara national park. We've been here since my last entry, taking it pretty easy for the most part. Yesterday morning we were up for breakfast at 8:00, then headed across the river to the park for a "trek" (hike) through the park. It was quite easy, and about 2 hours long, but interesting to see the jungle (rainforest, really) up close. At the end of the hike, we reached the canopy walk, which is a series of narrow bridges between platforms up in the treetops of the forest. Apparently, this is the longest canopy walk in the world, and it was pretty interesting! We had free time for most of the rest of the day, so we ate lunch on a floating restaurant, then relaxed for a while, cooling off. At 4:30, we met up for a trip in longtail boats through the rapids in the river upstream of the village. We were told we might get a little wet, but we got soaked! It was a lot of fun, though. Afterwards, our hosts back at the guest house provided us with some snacks, and later we went back to another floating restaurant for supper.

Today we were up an hour earlier, had breakfast, and again were off to the park for a hike. This time, though, it was supposed to be a bit tougher, and would take four hours. Whereas the last one had well-defined trails (and even a boardwalk-type path in some points), this was essentially hiking through thick jungle! Sure, there was a "trail", but it was pretty loosely defined at many points. It had rained quite heavily the night before, so the path was very muddy, and the leeches were out in full force. We had been advised to tuck our pants into our socks, the day before, to prevent the leeches from crawling up and getting onto our legs. The previous hike, though, didn't feature any leeches, so people weren't too worried about it this time. However, I probably flicked or pulled about 100 leeches off the shoes of Betty and myself alone! They were incredibly persistent, and incredibly sticky. Fortunately, only one or two people actually got bit--and it's not really that bad if you do. Definitely annoying, though! I was dripping sweat by the end of the hike (moreso than even normally) when we reached a little camp kitchen, of sorts, for lunch. From there, we boarded (smaller) longtail boats and cruised down a tributary of the main river back to the village. This river was really quite beautiful, with the tree canopy forming a tunnel in several places. The jungle was so thick and lush, it was a sight to behold. I had a cold shower (well, there are only cold showers here) and a nap after returning to the guest house.

It's about a quarter to 6 right now; dinner is at 7. Tonight should be another early night, because we're up for breakfast at 7:00 again tomorrow before heading out for a nine-hour day in minivans en route to our next destination. We'll spend a night at Kuala Besut, then take a boat to the Perhentian Islands for three days of relaxing!

By the way, Dad, the longtail boats here are not exactly like the longtail boats we had been talking about (or like those seen in "The Man With The Golden Gun"). They're just as long, and just as narrow, but instead of having a motor with the propellor at the end of a very long shaft, they're equipped with standard two- or four-stroke motors, ranging from about 15 to 30 hp depending on the size of the boat.

Melaka / Taman Negara

Sorry for the lack of updates there for a bit. We went out for dinner, checked out the night markets, and spent the night in Kuala Lumpur before heading out the next morning at 8:30 am on a bus bound for Melaka. The bus trip was quick (actually only 1.5 hours) so before we knew it, we were there. Melaka is a UNESCO world heritage site, so it was chock full of history and such. It was founded by the Portugese in the 16th century, then taken over by the Dutch, the English, and so forth. Very interesting city. We saw some old architecture and a cathedral, did a trishaw (like a rickshaw, but powered by a bicycle) tour of town, went out to eat for a couple different Chinese Malay meals (quite delicious), then spent the night in a historic old hotel.

We headed out the next morning at 7:00 for a day full of travel: two hours by minivan to a train station, waited an hour, then four hours on the FREEZING cold train (the AC was cranked up to levels beyond what could reasonably be tolerated), then a half hour bus ride to a boat dock where we boarded longtail boats for a three-hour trip up the river to the small village of Taman Negara, adjacent to the national park and nestled in the rainforest (both) of the same name. It was a long day, but nothing too grueling. We'll spend the next three nights in a very simple guest house here in the village, and do various treks and excursions in the national park. On the morning after the third night, we head out early for the Perhentian Islands.

Our tour group, as previously mentioned, consists of 12 people: three Australian couples (two of which know each other and are probably in their mid-sixties, while the other couple seems a bit--but not much--younger), a German lady of 36 along with her aunt, two British girls, each about 30, and then of course Betty and myself. So far, everyone's quite easy to get along with, and it's been a lot of fun.

Kuala Lumpur

We're now in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It was an early morning, but we made it to the airport with time to spare. So far, I haven't seen any traffic jams in Bangkok--could be just the parts of the city in which we've been travelling, but who knows. In any case, it was a two hour flight to KL, and then about a two hour taxi ride to the hotel! Kuala Lumpur International is a major airport, but we flew into the LCCT (low cost carrier terminal) as we were flying with Air Asia, a discount airline. This terminal was pretty basic, and was a LONG ways from KL proper. That wasn't the biggest problem, though... it was the trip THROUGH downtown KL that really slowed us down. Traffic was murder! Anyway, we found the hotel and checked into the rooms the tour had arranged for us.

So, tonight (in about an hour), we meet the rest of the tour group and then head out to check out the street markets here in Chinatown. I've actually already strolled around (and got interviewed by some KL TV network?) but apparently it gets a lot livelier at night. The markets here, as in Bangkok, sell a wide range of knock-off brand name merchandise (shoes, shirts, watches, bags, sunglasses... you name it), pirated DVDs, band (e.g. Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix) and brand (Heineken, Versace, Ferrari, etc.) t-shirts, and so on. Don't get me wrong, this is no Khao San Road, but you get the idea.

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 we catch a bus for Melaka, a port town about 2 hours away. Looking forward to it!

Bangkok - Khao San Road

We're back in Bangkok for the night. Our flight to Kuala Lumpur leaves early tomorrow morning (9:00, but we'll have to head out at about 6:30 or so to make it to the airport in time), but we got a hotel just off Khao San Road--Betty had visited it with her previous tour, and thought it was a must-see. Basically it's a road in Bangkok packed with street vendors, merchants, shops, restaurants, bars, and PEOPLE. That doesn't really do it justice, though. There was even an elephant. Of course, the surrounding streets are pretty much the same thing, so it's one lively atmosphere.

It was sad to leave Samui, but the flight here was smooth, and I'm looking forward to Malaysia!

More Samui

Well, since my last post we've spent some time on the beach and wandering around the shops and so on, as I said, of Chaweng. I've been feeling a lot better since that first day. I had a Thai massage, a foot massage, and a pedicure, all of which were awesome! Plus, my ear is better. I just hope it doesn't act up again on our flight back to Bangkok, which is tonight at about 6:00 pm. The time here on the island has sure flown by. A few days was nice, but I could definitely stay for a couple weeks... it's just so relaxing to get up, eat breakfast overlooking the ocean, wander around the beach for a while before finding some new restaurant or resort at which to enjoy lunch (and maybe a couple drinks), then lounge around for a while until it's time for supper, and so on. Last night after eating we walked down the beach and just sat there for an hour or so watching the stars... definitely a nice view.

For the first two nights here we stayed at a relatively "inexpensive" place, which was still nice, but definitely simple. For last night, however, I had booked us in at a much higher-end place (still not too expensive by north american standards) and, wow! You get the full resort treatment here, and the room is amazing! Definitely the nicest place either of us have ever stayed. I'm sad we have to leave after only one night.

Like I said, tonight we're back to Bangkok. We're going to look for a hotel in the Khao San Road area, which is supposedly very popular with backpackers. Betty was there on her first tour and said there's a ton of stuff to see, so I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow will be an early morning, we have to be at the airport bright and early to catch our 9:00 am flight to Kuala Lumpur. The "Circle Malaysia" tour officially starts tomorrow, but really it's just a meeting in the evening, before we actually begin on the following day.

Thanks for all the replies; sounds like you guys are having great weather! Will post more when I get the chance.

Bangkok / Ko Samui

Well, I'm here in Ko Samui. It's 31°C with 70% humidity, so as you can imagine this is a far cry from the weather back home!

My flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was nothing too special; the United Airlines 747-400 wasn't nearly as nice as the Air Canada 777-300 that I took from Vancouver to Tokyo, but I ended up sleeping most of the time anyway. Landed in Bangkok at about 11:30, and made it to my hotel by about 1:00 or 1:30. The heat and humidity when I stepped out of the airport was unreal! The metroway from the airport to Bangkok wasn't too different than one of our own highways, but when we pulled into the city streets, especially Chinatown (where the hotel was located) it really hit me that I was halfway across the world in a country very different from my own! Even though I haven't seen much of it so far, Bangkok is definitely an interesting/crazy city.

The next morning, I packed up my stuff and headed down to the lobby to meet up with Betty. We went for a stroll around the surrounding area, and she showed me some of the local markets, shops, etc. Grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed back to the hotel to catch a cab back to the airport for our flight out to the island where we'd be spending the next three nights, Ko Samui. Our flight was at 2:40 pm from Bangkok, and we got to the airport a little early, so we had plenty of time to catch up. I started off strong in the morning, but by this point the heat and the travel had really taken it out of me and I was feeling pretty tired and out of it. The flight departed just a little behind schedule, but it was only a 45 minute trip. Surprisingly, they fed us (sandwiches) and provided drinks, even for such a short flight! Unfortunately, upon landing at Samui, the same problem with my ears that happened in Vancouver happened again. I think I avoided it on the previous two flights by taking decongestants, OR it might have been helped by the fact that the pilots of the bigger planes made slower descents, allowing time for the pressure in my ears to equalize, but anyway, it was back to the same plugged up feeling again!

Samui, though, is really nice. Totally a "tropical island resort": palm trees, beaches, beach chairs... the water wasn't perfectly calm and blue, but what can you do. It's been a little cloudy and windy, which I honestly don't mind... it's still hot enough as it is! Yesterday after we arrived, we caught a taxi to our accommodation (Sandy Hotel and Resort), a collection of bungalows just up from Bo Phut beach. The room is small but it serves its purpose. We took a stroll up the beach and back, then I relaxed (read: napped) on a beach chair for a bit while Betty got a pedicure and foot scrub at the resort. You can get a massage for 200 baht or so (about $6), and I might partake in that tomorrow. We'll see.

Anyway, afterwards, we chilled out for a bit, then had dinner at another one of the many establishments located along the beach. I was really starting to fade by the end, so afterwards I just headed back to the bungalow and went straight to sleep, even though it was only about 10 pm.

Had a pretty good sleep and enjoyed breakfast on a sheltered patio overlooking the beach and ocean. This morning I was feeling pretty good, but the heat wears me out pretty quickly! Not that I'm feeling ill or anything, it just makes me tired quicker than I'd like! Oh well, I'll get used to it. My right ear is clear now, which is good, I just need this left one to get back to normal, and I'll be fine.

Today we're going to head over to Chaweng (the main and "best" beach on the island and take in the sights, as well as browse the shops and markets) After that, who knows!

Tokyo

Hello! I'll be especially brief, because my first post didn't successfully go through and now I'm out of time! I'm in tokyo waiting for my flight; all is well so far!