Batu Caves

Spent the afternoon missioning it up 272 steps to Batu Caves, a limestone hill just outside KL with a series of Hindu temples.  It felt pretty good to finally do some exercise, until a couple of Malaysian guys started gunning it up and down, again and again. Nutters.  The actual temples are pretty cool, and there's an impressive giant gold Buddha at the foot of the steps, but you're greeted by an army of monkeys just past it who are after any food you've got.  One little kid got attacked by one and cried. 

Can't really argue with value for money here either.  There is no entry fee, and the train only cost 1 ringgit (20p).  Having said that I'm pretty sure we were being pulled up the track by a donkey or mule of some description, and probably could have walked there faster.  We sat in an all ladies carraige on the way which was bizarre.  Liss pointed out 2 girls who were slyly trying to get a picture of us and giggling.  It's strange that even girls want a photo.  I dread to think how many Malaysian facebook albums I now feature in.  The token white girl.

Saw my first dog since arriving at KL too.  Muslims believe dogs are dirty and spread disease, and so the streets are run but cats.  We also randomly bumped into the Leeds girls Lau and I met at Koh Phi Phi which was nice.  

Laura, Maisy, Kate, Alicia, Me, Vera & Hana at bottom of steps - after the climb!!



Had dinner at Little India. Love it there. The streets are full of bright colours, sounds of bollywood, and smells of curry.  The shops sell beautiful dresses.  The food was dead cheap and tasty.  Paid 5 ringgit (about a quid) for a plate of 3 vegetarian curries, in a restaurant with a fan and lots of staring diners.  For desert we had some selecetion box of weird sickly fudges and fried doughy things.  Enjoyed the curry main, but think I'll stick with apple crumble for afters.... (which by the way Scarlett, I miss greatly!!)

A roundabout in Little India

Liss has given me the photos of our day out.... This is us with our high-fashion umbrella hats in China Town:

We also held an Iguana.  After asking the park ranger what it's name was I was told politely 'Iguana miss'.  Poor little idiot English girl. 

Apparently Wayne, a dive instructor at Matahari, told Alicia that alcohol is illegal on the Perhentian Islands!! & all the Monkey Juice has been smuggled there.  He said that Black Tip, the beach bar my bag got stolen from, gets burnt down a few times a year when the police travel over!!  Having said that, a police man now co-owns the island and spot checks have become less frequent/thorough.  Not that slack though, Appy got put in jail overnight the week before I got there during a drugs check after he was urine tested for Weed!

Speaking of getting my bag stolen, a girl in Sophs team said she was lucky only her purse was nicked on Saturday.  This girl went out the night before and from her taxi saw a white girl run out into the road crying, with no bag etc on her on her, and clothes covered in blood.  She ran to a police car and got in.  I am so shocked by the crime round here!

On a brighter note, this is our song of KL, shown to me by Appy on  Perhentians: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkH_koweeEY

Sophie Moves In

Yesterday evening we moved Sophie into my room.  The apartment is going to be rather cosy for a couple of months as Soph and I will be sharing the master bedroom, and Sepideh will be in the 2nd bedroom.  Means our rent is less than 200 pounds each a month though, and I've always got time for a bit of goodnight spooning!  We're going to have international cooking come dine with me too, and introduce Sepideh to raost dinners, beans on toast, and marmite (that'll be my meal!). 

 

 

Alicia arrived back to The Hilton at 6am this morning, after going to The Perhentian Islands for a couple of days to get her PADI.  We're off to Batu Caves to walk up a million steps and see a giant gold buddah.

 

 

She had a pretty crazy journey there....  First off was an absolute nightmare getting her on the nightbus.  After about 5 drivers telling us the Jerteh 21:05 was 'next bus miss, next bus', we found out it had been and gone.  Most people were pretty rude and un-helpful, but one guy was lovely and got her onto another bus which would take her to meet her bus in 5 minutes - supposedly!  About 4 hours later the bus pulls into a cafe and the driver threw Liss off!!  Luckily Liss got chatting to a nice Malay man who was getting onto her next bus to Jerteh.  After being hounded by a load of Malay men who'd never seen a white girl before at the end stop, the nice guy took her to his house for breakfast with the whole Malay fam, and then drove her to the ferry jetty.

 



Friends

Many of the friends I made in the Perhentians and Koh Phi Phi have been in KL this week.  It's been brilliant.  They've mostly stayed at the Reggae Mansions in China Town - THE place for backpackers, apart from the lucky few who've bunked in the Hilton with me. We've had a great week of drinking the night away at the hostels rooftop bar, and spending the day in the mall/cinema to nurse the hangover.  

 The rooftop bar at Reggae Mansions, with Arjun, Nik, me & 'the exotic girl'

Vera treated me to a cocktail at the Skybar, 33 stories up in the Traders Hotel. Thanks Ver :-)

Alicia (Scarlett's sister) has been in KL for a couple of days this week, and we had a right laugh.  On Tuesday we got caught in a massive rainstorm.  Thankfully a nifty little Malaysian dude cracked some quality umbrella hats out of his bag and we happily purchased 2 at 3 ringgit a pop (about 60p), only to be told 'nice umbrella miss' by every subsequent local we met.  Liss has the photos, they'll be on facebook soon.

Good though the umbrella hats were we decided to go up the KL Tower to escape the rain.  The views of the city were great, and it's cheaper than going up the Petronas Towers (47Rm as opposed to 80RM).  The visit really highlighted how quickly the city is developing.  Images showing what the buildings are where were seriously out of date and lacking LOADS of new sky scrapers!  Most hilariously an Indian guys asked to have a photo with us up the tower, and within 5 minutes we were participating in a mini-photo shoot with all his mates. Literally felt like a celebrity.

Vera has been staying with me in The Hilton and we had a little fun with the Umbrella Hats.

What's really annoying is the people I have been hanging out with are all traveling through South East Asia, and so either leave to go home this week or go on to Thailand or something.  It really sucks to have to keep saying goodbye.  Having said that, last night we went out to celebrate my birthday in KL and with a wicked crew of some of Sepideh's friends from Iran, and some Portugese construction workers we met at a bar a couple of weeks ago.  Proudly I introduced them all to my friend, Sam Bucca, and we danced like nutters. At the end of the night Sophie and I met some Irish and Aussie guys in a bar called Havanah, and they have invited us to start playing Gaelic Football with them.  They train and play matches each week and then go on socials at weekend.  It sounds pretty bloody perfect as a way to meet people who will be staying in the city, although Soph and I youtubed the sport earlier to discover a bizarre mix between football, basketball & rugby.  Hmm.... Patrick (Irish guy) assures me it is female friendly, so we're going to give it a bash.

The night was really fun, until the end when Sophie was mugged!!  Just like Sepideh had warned us, a motorcyclist drove past her, pushed her to the ground, and stole her purse.  Luckily Soph was not hurt, and did not have her passport, phone or camera on her, but in the space of a week we have between us had a bag and a purse stolen.  It's really pretty scary when it happens half way across the world and Soph and I seriously need to be careful with our stuff, and somehow get streetwise to the city to counteract being white and female.


In the day Soph, Vera & I went to Changkit Market.   Was such a cool place, selling crazy fruits, vegetables, spices, chillies, cows heads, trotters, tongues, eels, and other disgusting 'foods'.  The colour was incredible, and stalls were piled high with produce and stall tenders balancing on the corner.  The smells were pretty intense, varying from gone off fruit, to meat, to fish, to general shit. We saw a cat with its insides hanging out, and a couple of rats.  It's not really a very touristy spot, so we stood out like a sore thumb.  The locals shout beautiful at us as we walked by.  One even provided a rendition of 'isn't she lovely' in Malaysian as we strolled past a cows head stand, and another gave me lychees. Going to have to find somewhere like Changkit close to our apartment and start doing some house meals with Sepideh.
 

YUCK!

Vera & I are off to Penang for a couple of days, to stay in the Reggae Mansions there.  I might go to another island called Tioman after as well.  IBM have had another delay in getting my visa sorted, so my start date has been pushed back to September 10th!!  I've been in KL over 3 weeks not, and am really itching to get started, but hey ho.  Going to make the most of my final few days off.  Really need to get re-acquainted with Excel too!!

Perhentian Islands

Have spent 4 days on the most beautiful island in the world.  The Perhentians are 2 tiny islands off the North East coast of Malaysia. There are no cars or roads on the island, the signs on shops and guest houses are all hand painted, and you only get electricity during certain hours of the day.  Life on the island consists of sun, sand, diving, chilling out at beach bars listening to reggae, meeting people, watching live music, and drinking the local island alcohol 'Monkey Juice'.  I love it there.

Monkey Juice

Monkey Bar left where they have live music, Ooh La La restaurant on the right.

I spent my birthday with 2 new friends that I met on the way to the island.  A French Canadian guy named Joseph, and a German girl called Vera.  At midnight on Saturday 18th Vera got the band at Monkey Bar to play 'happy birthday' for me, and I was supplied with endless shots of tequila & monkey juice. Not a combination I appreciated the next day, but had a ball that night.  After chucking some serious shapes and cutting up some major rug on the beach we stumbled home to bed at 7am.  Would have been earlier had we not stopped to help a friends find his clothes and camera, which vanished from the beach when he went for a cheeky early morning skinny dip.  The sunrise was beautiful.  I treated my hangover with a birthday dive with Matahri (dive school).

 Jo, Vera and Me enjoying a cheeky glass of Monkey Juice.

Sunday 19th marked the end of Ramadan, and the beginning of the Malaysian new year.  During the day people greet each other saying 'Salamat Hari Raya', translated literally as 'happy day of celebrations', and Muslim families open up their homes for people to come and celebrate the festivities.  The women cook incredible feasts of curry, sticky rice, chicken satay skewers & sweets, and as you enter each home you are told 'makanan, makanan' which means 'eat, eat'.

My Malaysian friend on the island called Appy, who I met last year with Scarlett, invited me to the fishing village on the island to join his families celebrations.  Appy took me to a market on the mainland (where children shouted 'minahsalleh' at me in the street, Malaysian for 'female Westerner') to buy a traditional Malaysian dress, called a baju kurung, which I wore for Hari Raya.  It's a completely covered dress and I was boiling!

Appy is in the White. The guys in the red are in the same family, and so all wore the same colour.

By 9am on Sunday I was sat on the veranda of Appys house on a hill, tucking into some curry with my hands, trying desperately not to spill it on my new white baju kurung.  Whilst I ate, hoards of local Malay children visited the house on the hill, all in the dresses, to receive money from Appys Mum to congratulate their months fasting.  The kids visit most houses in the fishing village on the morning of Hari Raya, receiving a few ringgits at each place.  Appys sister collected 112RM in total, equivalent of about £25!

Appy and I spent the morning visiting all his friends and family in the village, all desperate for us to 'makanan makanan'.  It was such a cool experience, and people were so friendly and welcoming.  I left very full and hot.

Unfortunately I have no photos of me and Appy during Hari Raya, because the next night my bag was stolen.  Crime seems to be surprisingly common on this tiny island with no roads.  I guess as a bunch of Western tourists who are quite often drunk(!) we make easy targets.  I've had to say goodbye to my camera, pictures of the trip (hurts more than the camera), purse, cards, money, phone, 3 lip balms, and a chocolate bar.  Vera, on a significantly smaller scale, had her flip flops pinched.  I definitely need to have my wits about me a bit more, and realise the world is not always as trustworthy as Devon and Cornwall.

So bit of a shitty end to an otherwise awesome weekend, but it didn't ruin my trip.  Met some really cool people and can't wait to go back there.

Ko Phi Phi

Had a great 4 days in Ko Phi Phi with my friend Laura.  The island is so beautiful, but sadly quite crowded and Westernised.  There are guesthouses blanketing the beaches, restaurants called 'Little Britain' advertising 'Full English Breakfasts', strips and strips of bars hosting drunk guys in vests flirting with drunks girls in mini skirts, and promoters line the streets handing out '2-for-1 bucket' promotions for various venues. Pretty shocking given that less than 10 years ago the island was devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami!!

The Thai locals have certainly seen us tourists coming too.  As you arrive on the island you are hounded by locals asking you 'where you want go miss?'.  Some one is always trying to sell you something.

Really hate to say it but I think the Joni Mitchell kind of sums Koh Phi Phi up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwUJH70ubM (copy and paste into URL). Kind of like Asias answer to Magaloof! 

Sunday 15th August was the Queens birthday - or mothers day as it is known in Thailand - and everything on the island closes down.  Laura and I traveled to one of the un-inhabited islands with a group of about 30, and some wicked Thai tour leaders.  We spent the night on Maya Bay, the beach where 'The Beach' was filmed.  

Paradise!

Amy, Laura, Me, Laura & Kate. Really nice group of English girls we met on the trip.

Wit & Art, our tour leaders. Art would NOT stop stealing my sunglasses, so when we got back to Phi Phi Don (inhabited island) I bought him some as a present.

After snorkeling, watching sun set, enjoying a delicious Thai curry, making new friends, drinking far too many buckets of a savage local alcohol - Samsung, singing to Arts (Thai guide's) guitar, racing land crabs (hmmm!), and midnight swimming, we slept on 'THE beach' under the stars. We were stupidly under the illusion there might be a tent or 2 kicking about. Don't be ridiculous; Mat, sandy sleeping bag, hard pillow, and the most beautiful sky. I saw 4 shooting stars.

Next day on Koh Phi Phi Don we had a Thai massage, and Lau's masseuse was a Thai Lady Boy!! Hahahaha.

On Phi Phi I was re-united with Fruit Shakes, an ice blended smoothie type drink. Scarlett and I fell in love with Watermelon Shakes when we traveled here last year.

 
On the journey home the ferry caught fire! Not even kidding. No one came and told us why the deck had filled with smoke or why flames were coming out of the machine room, the ferry just stopped for 5 mins and then started again. Smoke still filling the deck.  Health and safety is literallty a non-existent concept over here.

Thought this was lovely.....

Rather than individually pricing items, this shop has pinned sheets of A4 paper to the shelves, listing the prices of items. Some of the customs here are quite bizarre.

The driving here is terrifying! There are no rules, no civilised etiquette, not always seat belts, and no one even minds.  Yet weirdly there are apparently very few accidents.  So far I have been in a car that drove the wrong way up a main road in order to make a U-turn, been dropped off in the MIDDLE OF A DUAL CARRAIGEWAY by a taxi (sorry Mum and Dad) and, most offensively, ridden with a driver who insisted on spraying bubblegum air-freshener all the way home.

Taking a cab here is a massive struggle for a Western blonde girl. They try adding all sorts of extra charges, such as for the journey back to their pick up because the cab will be empty! Looking forward to the days when I can behave and speak more like a local, and know what they should be charging, to stop being ripped off.

The taxis are either all blue (and slightly fancy) or red & blue/white. Blue are mega expensive. Red are MUCH cheaper, but it’s a game of roulette as to which will be equipped with air con.  Taking a red taxi for about 15 minutes costs about 9RM (2 quid), whilst a blue is about 20RM (4 quid).

Lesson 1: Don't take a blue cab. 

Lesson 2: DON’T travel at rush hour, as it starts at 4, lasts for about 10 hours, and doesn't move.  I learnt lessons 1 & 2 in the same journey, when I took a blue cab to the LRT (train) station at 4:30 and had to pay 30RM for an 8RM journey.

Lesson 3: Always ask for a journey on the meter or the driver will invent his own price, correlated to how foreign and naive you look.  If they refuse take the next cab.

Day 7.

Meeting the Team went really well.  There are 5 of us in learning analytics, with 2 more joining next week.  My role will be pretty analytical, and I definitely need to brush up on my Excel skills before I start in September! 3 of us went for lunch. I ordered a soup that was SO hot, still such a menu novice! But they seem very nice, and very kind.  They have taught me some simple, but critical, Malay… Makanan (pronounced makan) means EAT. From my observations quite possibly the most frequently used word in Malaysia.

The food here is Cheap, delicious, everywhere, mulch-cultural, & SPICY!! Tonight Sepideh and I went to China Town for food, joining tables of Chinese & Malaysians eating with their hands, because they believe this provides additional nutrients to the meal. I think I just left with sticky fingers.

We ate from a stall packed with kebab sticks, spearing all number of fresh seafood, meat and vegetables.  The sticks are colour coded, which determined the price of your stick. Meats were about 4 Ringgit (80 pence) and vegetables around 3RM (60p).  All sticks on the left are the stand are for the BBQ, which the stall owner mans, whilst sticks on the right are for steaming – the customers job. Central to every table is some boiling water, which can be seen in the bottom left of my photo above, and this is where you boil your food.  It was so much fun, and so tasty.  In the photo I am tackling a BBQ’d squid. For desert we had Lychees and Watermelon from a fruit stand.

Yesterday I sampled a Taiwanese desert,  with Sepideh, and a Malaysian friend I know from University, Ben.  It seemed to be coconut milk poured over crushed ice, topped with jelly balls that clogged my mouth up and a sweet potato. I realise I am not exactly the lady in M&S advert in my description of the dish, but it was yummy.

We have spent a couple of days exploring the city.  I absolutely love the Petronas twin towers here, in KLCC area.

Obtaining this photo involved being yelled at by a Malaysian park tender, whilst his park tender mate aggressively blew his whistle at me… A telling off a which I took to mean I was not allowed to stand around the lake with my shoes on.

One thing I have really observed in Kuala Lumpur is that they have a lot of people working on what in the UK would be considered one job.  For example, 2 park tenders; 1 for yelling, 1 for sounding the siren.  Similarly 2 check out assistants in supermarkets; 1 for scanning, 1 for packing. 

Another is that I have barely seen any elderly people, even on the buses!!  Worlds different from the 177 to Newton Abbot where you can’t move for the oldies.  Perhaps it is the heat which keeps people indoors.

On Saturday I leave for Kho Phi Phi, an island in Thailand where ‘The Beach’ was filmed.  I am going with a friend called Laura.  The next Wednesday I will travel on my own to the Perhentian Islands in North East Malaysia, where Scarlett and I got our PADIs last year.  I will hopefully squeeze a couple of dives in amongst the sunbathing, snorkling, night time reggae at the island bar and, most excitingly, celebrations for the Malay New Year.  It is on Sunday 19th August – the end of Ramadhan.  The islanders will open up their homes, and a friend from last summer has invited me to join his family for feasting and festival.  I am to wear a Baju Kurung, a traditional Malay dress. I’m so excited about it all.

Photos and tales will ensue.

Day 4.

After a somewhat traumatic flight, spent predominantly on the floor of the plane puking and fainting, I have enjoyed getting settled in to life in KL. It’s hectic, humid and humble.  The people are wonderfully friendly.  The food is painfully spicy. The city is incredibly cosmopolitan and surprisingly advanced, with a huge Western influence.  On Saturday we went to the cinema and people laughed, clapped and whooped.  One boy in the front row even let out a ‘Phwarrrr’ when the lead girl started dancing.

It is currently Ramadan, and many locals fast during the day. We had dinner in the food court on Sunday, joining tables of Muslims sat in front of plates of food, waiting for dusk to start their meal.

As for living – I have a lovely new Iranian housemate and acting-guide, Sepideh.  Our apartment is very spacious and clean, with an amazing view of the city.  Sepideh has been so friendly showing me around the city and helping me to settle in.  Yesterday Sophie (the other Brit joining IBM MY) and I went for dinner with two of Sepidehs friends, Amir and Ghazaleh, at Jalan Alor, a bustling Malaysian street selling all sorts of Asian foods.  Below are some photos from our evening.

Dinner at Jalan Alor.

Local fruits from a stall in Jalan Alor. Lychees.

 Swimming pool on the 36th floor of Amir’s flat.

Tomorrow I am journeying to the office to meet my team. I'm very excited to meet them, and a tad nervous about the language differences. Whilst people here mostly speak very good English, I really struggle to hear and remember names correctly. I don't want to look rude! Updates on this trip and other adventures will follow.  I miss everyone at home so much, but I am settling in well with great thanks to Sepideh. So please don’t worry. Keep in touch.