KL-Cameron Highlands-Penang, Malaysia
Anna's entry:
KUALA LUMPUR
We touched down Kuala Lumpur International Airport close to midnight, so it really made sense to spend the night at one of the airport quieter areas, plus we were exhausted from the prior flight, and just laying down in a safe place felt good. As always, the flight from Ambon to Kuala Lumpur on a local Indonesian carrier (nicknamed by Rob "Lying Air") had not been normal, except for that
occasionally malfunctioning engine - the latter part was quite normal. For whatever reason, the connecting flight had been divided into two sections forcing all the passengers to change planes in Surabaya on already delayed flight, which caused even further delays. When we finally landed in Jakarta to connect to our flight to Kuala Lumpur, we were already hours behind schedule and had only 20 minutes before the next flight take-off. If we took a "normal" route going through various traffic-jammed terminals (30 minutes apart) and various security (what security?) areas, we would most definitely miss the plane. We were fully prepared to be re-routed, or be put on the next day flight, when, to our surprise, some airport representative "bumped" into us to inquire about who we were. The representative was holding the board with our names. He pulled us from the regular passenger line, and took us back on the landing field. A few minutes later, a "special" bus appeared, and we were off to the international terminal. Wow, unusually thoughtful and impressive for the "Lying Air" to do that, we thought, little knowing what lied ahead... As soon as we stepped into the international terminal building, we were told we had to RUN (fast and long distance) through various restrictive areas, behind the check-in counters, and security areas causing the bewildered looks on other passengers' faces - were we running WITH the airport officials, or FROM the airport officials, and was this an episode from the Amazing Race series?? At that point we did not know ourselves... Periodically, we got passed around from one airport worker to another, periodically being asked for a tip. Whaaaaaaaat tip? The airline was running planes four hours late, we had to run for miles with our backpacks, tired, dehydrated, clothes soaked in sweat from the humid tropical conditions - only to save the airline two unused seats? Eventually, we boarded the plane only to find out we would be sitting for another hour and a half waiting for the plane to be cleared for take-off. Eventually, the plane took off, and minutes into a flight passengers were blasted by powerful, unusually cold air-
conditioning. It would have been a nice change from the excruciating tropical heat of the past two months, except that by the end of the flight every passenger had blue lips, purple fingernails, and felt like an icicle - the last courtesy and a send-off gift of the Indonesian air carrier...
The latter may have been the last drop for Rob, who had already not been feeling well. As soon as we checked-in in our hotel in Kuala Lumpur, he collapsed and started running high fever for the next three days. Luckily, the hotel was quite comfortable and turned out to be a timely treat for Rob to stay in bed and recover from the illness. I had gotten a super deal of $16/night by booking the room months prior - the centrally located hotel was modern, with super comfortable bed and mattress, slim furniture, contemporary hot water shower, super clean ironed linen, free computer and internet terminal, and it was quite walkable to all major sights. So, I let Rob recover in bed, and decided to take Kuala Lumpur by storm all by myself.
This time around Kuala Lumpur seemed more enjoyable to me; during the previous visits it had seemed grittier. It looked like some areas may have been gentrified, and after Indonesia, the traffic was not as intense; public transport may be a contributing factor to less congested car streets. Our hotel was located between the Little India and Chinatown, in a more ritzy enclave with lots of Western chains, boutique stores, cafes, and expensive department stores. The area drew various crowds: the "new money" Malays - who spent their earnings relentlessly on overpriced bakery items and coffee; Western tourists - who may have been feeling "safer" in a more cleaned up area; consumption driven shoppers - looking for a good deal; and regular residents - who would come here for anevening to enjoy "the other" life. We ended up here only because of our hotel location, but I must admit it was a welcome change after a super basic two-month life on remote Indonesian islands. I knew it would feel old very quickly, but for that moment it was great to recover in a more modern setup. Plus, very close by I located great cheap Indian restaurants (Indian is my favourite food), a welcome change to the palette after weeks of more basic diet.
While wandering around various neighborhoods and markets, several cute things popped up. One of the new things were the street musicians who performed every night in front of the local shoppers. Some were quite good actually, and their performances were well organized - groups and signers will take their turns throughout the evening attracting many fans. The other thing was an unusual change in the Muslim women's attire. Some looked almost like a rebel to the traditional black colour - they had an unexpected military look to it - camouflage colour, for example; while others would be personalized, with BIG English letters "NERD" printed across the chest, for example. A little different for those girls, that's for sure.
I myself had to take an unusual approach towards attire. As I have written in my prior posts, my beloved swimming top had been lost back in Indonesia. Since that time, I've had a hard time finding a replacement - it was either a non-existent item, or unreasonably expensive. So, Rob encouraged me to make one myself. When I shopped for an acceptable fabric, the closest one found was ...... a ..... Muslim hijab - that's the special layered scarf that Muslim girls would wear. The fabric was light, with multiple pretty colours, and it was cheap. So, I bought a hijab for $2, and after several hours and some creative thinking, a part of which was dissected and converted into my new swimming top (as much as possible of the original hijab fabric has been preserved), and the other part can still be worn as a regular head-cover. So, I was quite happy about being able to swim again in my new acquisition.
Several days later Rob began feeling better, and it was time to leave KL, just for a few weeks; we will be back here again in early March.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS
We have avoided this place for years due to the fact that it is well known by Western tourists - in our experience once the place like this has been discovered, it is almost always ruined. However, we wanted to break our journey from Kuala Lumpur, plus we both were longing for cooler temperatures. Located high up in the hills and famous for its tea plantations, Cameron Highlands have definitely cooler climate, and are quite picturesque in many places. Unfortunately, the area's natural beauty was clashing a bit with Western tourists who are usually loud, smoking, and stupid (most of whom - I am sorry to admit - are Europeans); in addition, after two months in the remote Indonesia, it was a culture shock to see so many tourists around. But, it was still possible to find some peace - perhaps, due to the fact that it was raining most of the days we were there. Overall, the highlands were pleasant enough to spend a few days around. The temperature was refreshingly cool, the place had some decent walks and trails (my favourite was walking around the plantation hills covered in the lush carpets of tea bushes), and offered great, cheap, tasty Indian/Malay food - we're talking dosa, tandoori, roti canai, thali, curry gravies, and my favourite comfort tea teh tarik. I might even add, that it is quite possible we will return back here again to get cooled off after the tropics, but likely a couple of days will do it.
PENANG
Georgetown/Penang has become one of our headquarter bases of sorts. For years travelling in this area, we have stayed in the same hotel in Chinatown district run by "shirtless" Chinese brothers. It is a cheap (if not the cheapest) hotel in town, reasonably clean and comfortable; due to the value, it is almost always full by noon. We know the owners well, and they know us. They effectively (and for
years) have been using bug spray, so we are yet to encounter any bed bugs. See, how an alternative travel changes you? At home, we would expect the high standards, in this part of the world not finding bed bugs is already a big victory. Some Western expats have been frequenting this place; some are super nice people, some are quite creepy, probably hiding their dark past, which I even
don't want to know about. Though the UNESCO World Heritage City - and not without a charm, with arguably best food scene in the entire Malaysia (fantastic variety, super tasty, and cheap) - Penang has been getting on our nerves. The traffic is outrageous, drivers rarely stop on red lights, pedestrians are completely powerless, sidewalks are barricaded by sellers' boxes, motorbikes, repair kits, Chinese greasy stalls, tables, pujas, garbage bins, plants, and occasionally passed out drunken locals. In other words, forget walking on the sidewalks - hurdles and obstacles will drive you crazy, and you might be even better off taking your life walking alongside with cars in the narrow streets and corners. We know our way around here, and yet, by mid-day, we start cursing like sailors (no
offense to sailors, of course) - it is inevitable, especially if one spends here more than a few days (or weeks in our case).
To avoid the urban "delights" there are a few gorgeous hideaway places. My personal favourites are Botanical Gardens (with pleasant trails, hide-aways, and waterfalls) and picturesque Kek Lok Si Temple complex, both accessible by public transport. Several types of monkeys could be seen around the Gardens, primarily mischievous macaques, and very shy whitefaced monkeys (they remind me of Costa Rica's whitefaced capuchin monkeys). Macaques, if given a chance, will steal away food from visitors (I blame the people who reinforced them to do that, not the animals). This time around, Rob managed to bewilder the macaques though... He saw them with a large plastic bag full of fruits (no doubt recently stolen from tourists). Unexpectedly, Rob changed his walking direction, entered "the monkey zone", took the bag from the primates, selected an orange for himself and an apple for me, gave the the bag back to the monkeys, and walked away like business was as usual. You should have seen the look on the macaques' faces - they were left confused and shocked with what had just happened, but had to accept it. I am not sure it was the right thing to do, but the message was loud and clear - Rob wanted an orange.
This time around, we also dedicated additional time to the famous Thaipussam Festival - a huge Hindu religious ritual accompanied by self-sacrificing (repenting the sins) - tongue and cheek piercing with a long spear, putting hooks through the skin in the back, inflecting bodily pain, walking barefooted on the hot pavement (or even sharp nails) for days (without food and water), and other sacrificial modes. It is a fascinating event, but quite graphic... First time we witnessed it briefly in Singapore about four years ago, this time we spent two full days observing the festivities (with the first day starting before the sunrise). We watched people preparing for the "great" walk having their bodies pierced and penetrated with all kinds of hooks and accessories, under the live loud drums and music, seemingly in trance, supported by friends and family members. It was also a great opportunity to photograph unusual, colourful, memorable images, and the event in itself was certainly worth attending. I was surprised, how patient and courteous many accompanying Indian family members were - some would even step back and offer us space for a better closeup photo shot. We tried to be very discrete, but the kind gesture was very appreciated. Unfortunately, we observed some Westerners taking a full advantage of the courteous offer, and behaving quite disrespectful towards the pilgrims. The Thaipussam festival went for several days, with thousands coconuts crushed along the pilgrims routes; streets were covered with coconut shells and sticky water; and the procession ended up with a long, steep, ruthless stairs climb to one of the hill-top temples.
As much as we enjoyed the non-conventional cultural festivities, we needed a break from Penang. So, the next stop is Southern Thailand.
Thank you, Rob, for the excellent photos and photo lessons!
KUALA LUMPUR
We touched down Kuala Lumpur International Airport close to midnight, so it really made sense to spend the night at one of the airport quieter areas, plus we were exhausted from the prior flight, and just laying down in a safe place felt good. As always, the flight from Ambon to Kuala Lumpur on a local Indonesian carrier (nicknamed by Rob "Lying Air") had not been normal, except for that
occasionally malfunctioning engine - the latter part was quite normal. For whatever reason, the connecting flight had been divided into two sections forcing all the passengers to change planes in Surabaya on already delayed flight, which caused even further delays. When we finally landed in Jakarta to connect to our flight to Kuala Lumpur, we were already hours behind schedule and had only 20 minutes before the next flight take-off. If we took a "normal" route going through various traffic-jammed terminals (30 minutes apart) and various security (what security?) areas, we would most definitely miss the plane. We were fully prepared to be re-routed, or be put on the next day flight, when, to our surprise, some airport representative "bumped" into us to inquire about who we were. The representative was holding the board with our names. He pulled us from the regular passenger line, and took us back on the landing field. A few minutes later, a "special" bus appeared, and we were off to the international terminal. Wow, unusually thoughtful and impressive for the "Lying Air" to do that, we thought, little knowing what lied ahead... As soon as we stepped into the international terminal building, we were told we had to RUN (fast and long distance) through various restrictive areas, behind the check-in counters, and security areas causing the bewildered looks on other passengers' faces - were we running WITH the airport officials, or FROM the airport officials, and was this an episode from the Amazing Race series?? At that point we did not know ourselves... Periodically, we got passed around from one airport worker to another, periodically being asked for a tip. Whaaaaaaaat tip? The airline was running planes four hours late, we had to run for miles with our backpacks, tired, dehydrated, clothes soaked in sweat from the humid tropical conditions - only to save the airline two unused seats? Eventually, we boarded the plane only to find out we would be sitting for another hour and a half waiting for the plane to be cleared for take-off. Eventually, the plane took off, and minutes into a flight passengers were blasted by powerful, unusually cold air-
conditioning. It would have been a nice change from the excruciating tropical heat of the past two months, except that by the end of the flight every passenger had blue lips, purple fingernails, and felt like an icicle - the last courtesy and a send-off gift of the Indonesian air carrier...
The latter may have been the last drop for Rob, who had already not been feeling well. As soon as we checked-in in our hotel in Kuala Lumpur, he collapsed and started running high fever for the next three days. Luckily, the hotel was quite comfortable and turned out to be a timely treat for Rob to stay in bed and recover from the illness. I had gotten a super deal of $16/night by booking the room months prior - the centrally located hotel was modern, with super comfortable bed and mattress, slim furniture, contemporary hot water shower, super clean ironed linen, free computer and internet terminal, and it was quite walkable to all major sights. So, I let Rob recover in bed, and decided to take Kuala Lumpur by storm all by myself.
This time around Kuala Lumpur seemed more enjoyable to me; during the previous visits it had seemed grittier. It looked like some areas may have been gentrified, and after Indonesia, the traffic was not as intense; public transport may be a contributing factor to less congested car streets. Our hotel was located between the Little India and Chinatown, in a more ritzy enclave with lots of Western chains, boutique stores, cafes, and expensive department stores. The area drew various crowds: the "new money" Malays - who spent their earnings relentlessly on overpriced bakery items and coffee; Western tourists - who may have been feeling "safer" in a more cleaned up area; consumption driven shoppers - looking for a good deal; and regular residents - who would come here for anevening to enjoy "the other" life. We ended up here only because of our hotel location, but I must admit it was a welcome change after a super basic two-month life on remote Indonesian islands. I knew it would feel old very quickly, but for that moment it was great to recover in a more modern setup. Plus, very close by I located great cheap Indian restaurants (Indian is my favourite food), a welcome change to the palette after weeks of more basic diet.
While wandering around various neighborhoods and markets, several cute things popped up. One of the new things were the street musicians who performed every night in front of the local shoppers. Some were quite good actually, and their performances were well organized - groups and signers will take their turns throughout the evening attracting many fans. The other thing was an unusual change in the Muslim women's attire. Some looked almost like a rebel to the traditional black colour - they had an unexpected military look to it - camouflage colour, for example; while others would be personalized, with BIG English letters "NERD" printed across the chest, for example. A little different for those girls, that's for sure.
I myself had to take an unusual approach towards attire. As I have written in my prior posts, my beloved swimming top had been lost back in Indonesia. Since that time, I've had a hard time finding a replacement - it was either a non-existent item, or unreasonably expensive. So, Rob encouraged me to make one myself. When I shopped for an acceptable fabric, the closest one found was ...... a ..... Muslim hijab - that's the special layered scarf that Muslim girls would wear. The fabric was light, with multiple pretty colours, and it was cheap. So, I bought a hijab for $2, and after several hours and some creative thinking, a part of which was dissected and converted into my new swimming top (as much as possible of the original hijab fabric has been preserved), and the other part can still be worn as a regular head-cover. So, I was quite happy about being able to swim again in my new acquisition.
Several days later Rob began feeling better, and it was time to leave KL, just for a few weeks; we will be back here again in early March.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS
We have avoided this place for years due to the fact that it is well known by Western tourists - in our experience once the place like this has been discovered, it is almost always ruined. However, we wanted to break our journey from Kuala Lumpur, plus we both were longing for cooler temperatures. Located high up in the hills and famous for its tea plantations, Cameron Highlands have definitely cooler climate, and are quite picturesque in many places. Unfortunately, the area's natural beauty was clashing a bit with Western tourists who are usually loud, smoking, and stupid (most of whom - I am sorry to admit - are Europeans); in addition, after two months in the remote Indonesia, it was a culture shock to see so many tourists around. But, it was still possible to find some peace - perhaps, due to the fact that it was raining most of the days we were there. Overall, the highlands were pleasant enough to spend a few days around. The temperature was refreshingly cool, the place had some decent walks and trails (my favourite was walking around the plantation hills covered in the lush carpets of tea bushes), and offered great, cheap, tasty Indian/Malay food - we're talking dosa, tandoori, roti canai, thali, curry gravies, and my favourite comfort tea teh tarik. I might even add, that it is quite possible we will return back here again to get cooled off after the tropics, but likely a couple of days will do it.
PENANG
Georgetown/Penang has become one of our headquarter bases of sorts. For years travelling in this area, we have stayed in the same hotel in Chinatown district run by "shirtless" Chinese brothers. It is a cheap (if not the cheapest) hotel in town, reasonably clean and comfortable; due to the value, it is almost always full by noon. We know the owners well, and they know us. They effectively (and for
years) have been using bug spray, so we are yet to encounter any bed bugs. See, how an alternative travel changes you? At home, we would expect the high standards, in this part of the world not finding bed bugs is already a big victory. Some Western expats have been frequenting this place; some are super nice people, some are quite creepy, probably hiding their dark past, which I even
don't want to know about. Though the UNESCO World Heritage City - and not without a charm, with arguably best food scene in the entire Malaysia (fantastic variety, super tasty, and cheap) - Penang has been getting on our nerves. The traffic is outrageous, drivers rarely stop on red lights, pedestrians are completely powerless, sidewalks are barricaded by sellers' boxes, motorbikes, repair kits, Chinese greasy stalls, tables, pujas, garbage bins, plants, and occasionally passed out drunken locals. In other words, forget walking on the sidewalks - hurdles and obstacles will drive you crazy, and you might be even better off taking your life walking alongside with cars in the narrow streets and corners. We know our way around here, and yet, by mid-day, we start cursing like sailors (no
offense to sailors, of course) - it is inevitable, especially if one spends here more than a few days (or weeks in our case).
To avoid the urban "delights" there are a few gorgeous hideaway places. My personal favourites are Botanical Gardens (with pleasant trails, hide-aways, and waterfalls) and picturesque Kek Lok Si Temple complex, both accessible by public transport. Several types of monkeys could be seen around the Gardens, primarily mischievous macaques, and very shy whitefaced monkeys (they remind me of Costa Rica's whitefaced capuchin monkeys). Macaques, if given a chance, will steal away food from visitors (I blame the people who reinforced them to do that, not the animals). This time around, Rob managed to bewilder the macaques though... He saw them with a large plastic bag full of fruits (no doubt recently stolen from tourists). Unexpectedly, Rob changed his walking direction, entered "the monkey zone", took the bag from the primates, selected an orange for himself and an apple for me, gave the the bag back to the monkeys, and walked away like business was as usual. You should have seen the look on the macaques' faces - they were left confused and shocked with what had just happened, but had to accept it. I am not sure it was the right thing to do, but the message was loud and clear - Rob wanted an orange.
This time around, we also dedicated additional time to the famous Thaipussam Festival - a huge Hindu religious ritual accompanied by self-sacrificing (repenting the sins) - tongue and cheek piercing with a long spear, putting hooks through the skin in the back, inflecting bodily pain, walking barefooted on the hot pavement (or even sharp nails) for days (without food and water), and other sacrificial modes. It is a fascinating event, but quite graphic... First time we witnessed it briefly in Singapore about four years ago, this time we spent two full days observing the festivities (with the first day starting before the sunrise). We watched people preparing for the "great" walk having their bodies pierced and penetrated with all kinds of hooks and accessories, under the live loud drums and music, seemingly in trance, supported by friends and family members. It was also a great opportunity to photograph unusual, colourful, memorable images, and the event in itself was certainly worth attending. I was surprised, how patient and courteous many accompanying Indian family members were - some would even step back and offer us space for a better closeup photo shot. We tried to be very discrete, but the kind gesture was very appreciated. Unfortunately, we observed some Westerners taking a full advantage of the courteous offer, and behaving quite disrespectful towards the pilgrims. The Thaipussam festival went for several days, with thousands coconuts crushed along the pilgrims routes; streets were covered with coconut shells and sticky water; and the procession ended up with a long, steep, ruthless stairs climb to one of the hill-top temples.
As much as we enjoyed the non-conventional cultural festivities, we needed a break from Penang. So, the next stop is Southern Thailand.
Thank you, Rob, for the excellent photos and photo lessons!
posted by Rob and Anna @ 9:06 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home