Saturday, August 16, 2014

Penang - Sumatra, Indonesia - KL

Anna's entry:

PENANG, MALAYSIA
We have visited Georgetown/Penang numerous times over the past five years, and posted a whole plethora of entries about the city on this blog.  Thus, not to repeat myself, this entry will be a little different, let's call it THE NEW, THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY.  So, here it goes..

Penang, THE NEW
Festivities.  This was our FOURTH New Year celebration this year.  The first one was on December 31st in Ambon (Indonesia); the second was the Chinese New Year on January 31st in Trang (Thailand); the third was also the Chinese New Year celebration on February 4th in Hat Yai (Thailand); and this one is the Hokkien New Year on February 7th.  It was an interesting one - Chinese people of Hokkien descend celebrated it in several ways:
-- with colourful fireworks display which we enjoyed watching from a temple build over the waterfront in the community living in houses on stilts;
-- with huge fires set up along the streets (they were burning stacks and stacks of papers with written wishes on them), that almost burnt the city to the ground due to the strong winds blowing the sparkles all over people's vehicles, roofs, and roads;
-- and with a LOT of dead roasted pig bodies (all parts, including the heads, were preserved) displayed all over the streets and temples.  The latter seemed to be used as a background of choice for taking pictures with.  Chinese people posed in various positions right in front of the pigs' bodies - we are still not sure if the roasted pigs were eventually consumed by families, or they were used strictly for visual "good luck" purposes?  We tried asking a few locals, but never got a clear answer.

The festivities continued at (my personal favourite) Kek Lok Si Temple - which for 15 days exactly at 7 p.m. was transformed into the temple of 200,000 lights.  It was a little gaudy (and certainly wasteful), but also surreal... 

The end of Chinese New Year's was celebrated on February 14th that coincided with the Valentine's Day.  The tradition on this day is for singles (and these days, not-so-singles) to throw the oranges into the ocean - apparently, in the past the oranges had the name and the contact information of a person looking for their "beloved", but these days it's just a fun way for locals to waste a perfectly good fruit.  Then, at around 11 p.m. we were indulged in the most impressive, jaw-dropping,  close-up (right above our heads) fireworks display.  The best one was in Ambon (Indonesia) on the New Year's Eve, but the most close-up range was definitely here, in Penang.  At some point, we started to wonder if it was safe to be that close to fireworks, but looking at hundreds of other seemingly calm locals, we accepted the destiny, and saw to the end the unique display of lights.  Believe me - there is NO WAY in a sane state of mind any city government in any of the developed countries would have ever considered administering the fireworks at that close of a range...

Penang, THE GOOD:
-- Fantastic food scene.  The best Malay-Indian food you could find anywhere.  By now we know the places to go and specific people to see, and those locals treat us in the most friendly, family-like manner.  From the Tamil-run Tandoori House to Malay-Muslim-run Nasi Kandar, from Chinese Vegetarian to Tea Tarik makers, from night snack stalls to the specific jack-fruit sellers - all good people who we enjoy.  For the record, the Muslim-run establishments come close to the top best.
--Good value accommodation.  Yes, it is a cell-like room in a hotel run by two Chinese shirtless brothers, but it is still cheap at $8 a night, and by now we are used to "the brothers" and their peculiar sense of humor.

Penang, THE BAD
--horrible, dangerous, careless, disrespectful driving;
-- congested streets;
-- no road rules either followed or enforced (one way streets mean nothing, red lights mean nothing, sidewalks mean nothing, pedestrians (including blind people) mean nothing;
-- blocked sidewalks (illegally placed sellers' boxes, stalls, motor-bikes, chairs, tables, unwanted garbage, a whole range of barricades of anything you can imagine (including flat laying bodies of drunken individuals), make the city walk-unfriendly.  In addition, greasy splashes and waste from (often) Chinese-run stalls make the surface slippery and unsafe. Combine the above with uneven steps, pot-holes, and hanging exposed electric wires, and you've got a perfect recipe for disaster.  Pedestrians have no choice but walk along busy streets along with traffic, hoping that they won't get hit.  I spoke with a few legally blind locals (I met them at a massage-by-the-blind clinic), and they shared candid heart-breaking stories with me describing their lives "as a pedestrian in a city of Penang".

PENANG, THE UGLY
-- the city has sold out, meaning the Penang I used to love is gone.  Penang sold its soul, culture, and history for a cheap success - meaning trashy bars, coffee houses, and obnoxious night clubs.  The latter attracted the UGLIEST of tourists - disrespectful, narcissistic, self-centered, stupid, loud, smoking, and mostly (sorry to say this again) - THE EURO-TRASH (both the Western Europe and Eastern Europe tourists).  The latter brought out the worst of human traits.  It is embarrassing to be associated with travelers any longer - the behavior has no excuses.  And, I also blame the Penang locals for using it for a short-term profit.  In the long term, it is a loss for everybody.
We've had more than enough of Penang - time to move on!  

















SUMATRA, INDONESIA

 BANDA ACEH
We rarely return back to the same places (unless it is practically necessary),  but this time we've made an exception.  A few years ago we had a fantastic time on (island) Pulau Weh off the North Sumatra coast, where we spend almost one month (and wrote a long blog about), so we decided to give it another try.  For a detailed blog about the city of Banda Aceh and its tsunami devastating history, please see the blog entry published in September 2013.  This particular entry is a very brief synopsis.
We landed at the Banda Aceh International Airport surrounded by Muslim passengers (Sumatra is predominantly Muslim, and the region of Aceh also has introduced a strict Sharia law - which scared a lot of foreign tourists away).  After Penang, the locals seem so much happier and mellower - a lot more smiles, jokes, hello-Mr's, etc.  When Rob went shopping for groceries supplies to take to the island with us, a local stall lady actually returned back to him an over-payment.  We also managed to find an honest labi-labi (type of a small truck turned into a taxi) driver to get us to the ferry port.  It really helps to pick up some Indonesian Bahasa phrases and numbers - it is really hard to cheat someone when one understands the numbers.  Many tourists hate Banda Aceh, but for us it was quite OK.  The only unpleasant incident we witnessed was at the hotel.  When we were checking-in, an upset Western tourist was having an argument with a front desk - insisting he was burglarized and robbed in his room.  It spooked us - we had stayed at that hotel a couple of times before and never heard about incidents of this kind.  So, just in case, one of us stayed in the room to "protect" our belongings before the departure to Pulau Weh.


PULAU WEH
After a ferry crossing we took a scenic drive from the port of Sabang to get to our beach accommodation.  The driver had to pull over on several occasions due to the burning breaks failing to handle the steep mountain passes.  The driver was a jolly Sumatran fellow, kept teaching me Indonesian words and phrases, pointed out some interesting geographical and historical landmarks, but when we started talking about the Boxing Day tsunami, he immediately froze up.  "Anna, look!" he said, and pointed out to his arms - the arms were covered in goose bumps.  "P.S.D," he told me.  Even after a decade after the devastating tsunami, his reaction to the topic was quite severe...

We arrived to our beach, and settled at the same place (and even at the same bungalow) built on stilts right over the ocean.  We had the sweeping view of the ocean from our large wooden balcony with a hammock.  Sometimes we would see a large monitor lizard (size of a crocodile) right under the stilts warming up on the rocks during a low tide.  In the evening, large bats (likely flying foxes type) would fly back and forth along the ocean shore, and at night the tree with smaller bats would come alive when we turned the light on outside.  Frequently, the monkeys would make an appearance.  On one occasion, they stormed an attached open-air restaurant, and scared senselessly the resident cats; and on another occasion, we found a male monkey staring in our windows while "indecently exposing himself".  So, it was never a dull moment.  The bungalow price remained an excellent value - around $8 a night.

However, there were a few things that had changed for the worst.  The invisible wall between the locals and tourists got even thicker - there was a clear notion of "them v.s. us".  We knew some local people from a previous visit, and it helped us to feel "more accepted", but nevertheless, it felt different.  Another big (and the saddest) change for us was the obviously decreased marine presence.  In two years, it seemed like the fish variety had decreased by about 50%.  We spoke with the local residents, and our "fresh-eye" observations and their suspicion were confirmed.  Further over-fishing, larger tourist presence and, as a result, increasingly damaged coral contributed to an even further loss of marine habitat.  We still managed to compile an arguably impressive marine blog during our ten-day marine exploration, but this time around snorkeling compared to the previous two years was a sad reflection of reality. 

Anyway, here is our marine blog of encounters (includes a swim-crossing to, from, and around RUBIA ISLAND):
Daily encounters:
Blue-spotted sting-rays, anemone and clown fish, crocodile-needle fish, pipe fish, giant and clown trigger fish, seal-faced puffers (occasionally a group of 6 at once), banner fish, bat fish, butterfly fish, parrot fish, razor fish, lobsters, oriental sweet lips, lion fish (red, orange, black, grey types), scribbled file fish, boxed fish, trevallies, cornet fish, unicorn fish, long-nose wrasse fish, raccoon butterfly fish (family of 25 at once), lobsters, moorish idol, surgeon-fish, A.D.D. Fish (nicknamed for its ever-twisting fidgeting restless behaviour - need to look up the formal name0, other tropical variety.
Occasional encounters:
Squid, shrimp, peacock mantis shrimp, octopus, mini sea-slug, stone fish, 2 cuddle fish (a male and female together), porcupine fish, honeycomb eel (leopard colour) hunting in the open (watched him for at least 10 minutes); starry eels, moray eels (once together with a lobster; also adults and a baby eel), peacock flounders, tuna, long fin bat fish, barracuda, groupers, horned box-fish, squamosa giant clams, Solander's toby, ocellated dwarf lion fish, frog fish; octopus and lion fish and sting-ray all together.
Other encounters:
Tsunami affected laying-on-a-side coral (this is the only place in the world we've seen it), 6-legged sea star, brightly coloured crowns-of-thorn, cone-like sea shells, coral spiny worms, Christmas tree worms, fantastic display of anemone (various colours including brightly red, orange, purple, white, brown, pink); and a NEW thing (still need to research what it was) - a large ornamental "Faberge-like" egg laying inside of the coral. 

Prior to leaving Pulau Weh we made a stop in the port and town of Sabang.  What a refreshing change it was after being in a more isolated foreign enclave...  The locals seemed genuinely interested in us, they wanted to chat, practice English, asked us questions, kids were smiling and waving at us, etc. - this is the Indonesia we've learned to know...  It also happened to be a place for Rob's hair-cut.  A little group of local men gathered to watch the event.  The professional hair-cut was followed by what seemed like a chiropractor manipulation and head-and-shoulder massage that made Rob's neck make all kinds of sounds.  The hair-cut was under $2, and when we gave a little tip for a job well done, the hair-cutter (a young guy) offered to buy us coffee with his tip.  We thanked him, but categorically refused.  I purchased a freshly brewed Sumatran coffee from the next-door stall run by a local Muslim lady, and greatly enjoyed it.  She also seemed to be very proud to have a foreign guest enjoying it that much, and kept smiling at us. 

Finally, it was time to board the ferry.  We loaded up our large backpacks and boarded.  During the two-hour ride back to Banda Aceh, we chatted and took photos with several groups of giggling Indonesian youngsters who were quite curious and happy to talk with us.  I also spoke for almost an hour on various topics with an Indonesian military guy whose English was excellent.  He shared with me a lot of his local knowledge, observations and opinions that Westerners normally do not come across.  It was interesting for me to discover that even uneducated ignorant rice-paddies villagers are  aware of the climate change and global warming - while our "enlightened" politicians and businessmen, who are supposed to know better, pretend to be ignorant about the whole thing.  What a shame!  The planet is screaming for help, and we just stand by, and are killing it with both hands. 

During the decade of travels we ourselves have noticed so many changes, and not for the better...  The over-population, deforestation, ocean depletion and damage are apparent.  It has only been two years since we visited this part of the world, and I am scared to think what it would be like in the next ten... 



















BACK to KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

 I've already posted a detailed blog a few weeks ago about KL. This trip had more of a friends' re­-union connotation.  Rob and I have two university friends from years ago (we went to the same school back in the U.S.) who are the natives of Kuala Lumpur, and with every visit back to KL we try to get together and enjoy going back on the "memory lane".

 Prior to KL, we had to make another stop­over in previously-loveable-and-now-annoying Georgetown/Penang (I've vented on this town often enough in my writing, and not going to repeat myself); and a peaceful stop­over at Cameron Highlands.  This was the second time around on the same trip we went there, which is unusual for us ­ - detailed blog about Cameron Highlands had been posted earlier.  The only thing I would add is that according to Rob "I ran him ragged" by making us walk 15 km a day to explore "Cameron Highlands' environs" (I just thought it was quite pleasant to do that, especially with lowered mountain temperatures); and that it was so nice to return back to a super­ delicious Malay-­Indian food after more limited choices in Sumatra (Indonesia).

 Having said that, our visit to KL went quite well, except for the very unpleasant encounters with the rude city bus drivers who treated passengers like cattle (I had to stand up for passengers' rights and dignity on several occasions which resulted in several cordial exchanges with the riding local passengers who seemed to be appreciative of my efforts); and the most aggravating, vulgar, and rude behaviour of the employees serving the KL Central­-LCCT airport route.  So, our last impression about KL was left on the bitter note (though locals tried to apologize to us for the witnessed rude behaviour of the employees and a driver).  In either case, we had to "kick some ass"...again...











posted by Rob and Anna @ 8:18 PM 0 comments

Friday, August 08, 2014

Southern Thailand

Anna's entry:

SATUN
What a refreshing change after congested Penang!  We have been to Satun before and liked it.  Southern Thailand still remains on the list of "places to avoid" due to occasional religious and political squabbles (and bombings in early 2000's), which helps to keep the tourist crowds away and preserve the genuine Thai hospitality.  One example to share - ­ one afternoon we were waiting outside a store and happened to stand next to a digital weighing scale.  A local lady brought her young son to step on the scale. The machine was acting up, so we helped the lady with the reading.  She thought we might also like to use the machine, and with a smile offered us the coin so we could join the activity.  Naturally, we declined the kind offer, but the genuine gesture was certainly noticed.  Another example is a seemingly lacking double­-tier pricing (prices are posted and remain the same for both locals and outsiders). The third example is honest transportation pricing on government buses ­ which are becoming increasingly obsolete (the biggest ripoff bus station seems to be in the neighbouring Hat Yai, ­ which quadruple­-overcharges foreigners).  So, yes, Satun definitely remains refreshingly honest and easy going.

When we arrived in Satun, bloody anti­-government demonstrations were on the rise in Bangkok; however, their version in Satun manifested itself in a couple of out­door political gatherings and speeches accompanied by a picnic and dancing afterwards.  Over all, locals still remained quite mellow and laid­-back.  AND, the traffic is so much better behaved here, with local drivers actually stopping on red lights and not blocking pedestrian walkways (Penang - ­ take a lesson from your northern neighbour!).

We stayed at the same hotel as four years ago - ­ room was clean, bright, with working TV and less than $7 per night price tag. The night food market was relatively small, but we were able to locate a popular stall run by young Muslim ladies where we ate freshly fried crispy chicken accompanied with sticky rice and sweet chili sauce ­ all for about $1 per person.  For desert, we would pick up fresh local sweet jack­fruit or a grapefruit-­like juicy fruit pieces from another stall.  And, as for the drink of choice, it was definitely our all­ time favourite Thai tea ­ - an icy-cold sweet milky tea-­based product from THE so-­cherished Thai 711 store.  Thai tea costs about 50 cents here compared to the $4.50 plus tax equivalent in North America.  Both Rob and I love the 711 Thai tea so much, that it would have been a reason enough in itself to cross the border to get it.

After a few days of R&R we were ready to make our way to the city of Trang.  We took a simple government bus which looked beat-­up on the outside, but came with a few super cute features on the inside: ­ polished up (real) wooden floor, and glistening stainless steel ceiling (and, of course, local love songs on the TV screen).  It felt like were were riding an antique bus!  The back door stayed opened throughout the three-hour journey bringing fresh air and allowing us to observe the real life of so many places we went by.  We were joined by a local chatty lady on our back seats, who was eager to converse with us and show us her basket of vegetables and herbs she was transporting.  We shared with her and another smiling ­man passenger our bags of peanuts (one salted, one chocolate covered), and overall had a great bus ride.










KO KRADAN
The city of Trang (see detailed blog about the town following this entry below) was our connecting point for the island of Ko Kradan.  Supposedly one of the prettiest island in the Andaman sea, it had been frequently over­looked by us in our previous journeys in Thailand ­ - as we do not trust places known to general tourism.  However, we had some time to spare during this trip, so we dedicated four days for the island detour.  As it turned out, we had been correct to question Ko Kradan's "worthwhile­ness".  For independent adventuresome travellers Ko Kradan is a waste of time. The negatives are - ­ the island accommodation options are over­priced (we had reserved our beach bungalow prior to the arrival and got an OK deal, but still very high for Thai standards at $23 per night); restaurant food prices are a rip­off (we brought all our own food supplies with us, and saved a good deal); too many Western tourists (lazy-smoking-fat­-and­-stupid type mentality); snorkeling is bad and the reef is in a very poor condition; boat and van transportation to get to the island is fixed by a local cartel and is over­priced as well.  The positives are ­ - when tourists are away, the island could get quite peaceful in the evenings and early mornings; the landscape and white sand beach are picturesque, it also changes with a tide; the sunrise is pretty; the island is a good base to combine a visit to the famous Tham Morakot (­ the Emerald Cave), as long as you don't mind to be ripped off by the hotels and/or boatmen.  I was able to book our boat ride to the cave with the National Park guys for about 30­-40% less than the hotels charged.  Actually, our hotel owner tried (but failed) to intercept our transaction with the National Park Office - ­ the boatman was his drinking buddy, but the boatman had to report to his boss at ­ the National Park Office; guess who won that game?! 

We ended up going to the cave like VIPs ­ - Rob and I (and the boatman) in one boat, with the National Park Officers dressed in the serious military-­looking uniforms escorting us in their official boat.  Not sure why exactly they decided to escort us, but it was nice of them. They also waited for us at the cave entrance for over an hour (most people go in and out quite quickly).  Other tourists didn't know what to think about us and all that "escort service", but we certainly felt protected, and no shenanigans of any kind happened on the N.P. Watch.  The cave experience was new for us - we had to swim/snorkel in the complete pitch-black darkness for about 80 meters along the cave tunnel that sometimes would take unexpected turns.  The end of the cave tunnel had an opening, and during the low tide served also as an access to the secret lagoon surrounded by rocky mountain walls, ­ just like a grand chimney, ­ with the blue sky right above us.  It was pretty cool!  In old times, the cave had served a secret hide-away for pirates (presumably including the (in)famous Sir Francis Drake), who used the cave for hiding their treasures, so it gave a special mysterious touch to already an unusual place...  We had the time, so we swam that cave tunnel passage a couple of times, and at one point had the entire lagoon to ourselves (which is quite unusual as the cave trip is quite popular around here).  The cave experience was definitely the highlight of the Ko Kradan detour.  As for the Ko Kradan island itself ­ - no interest to return.












TRANG
We based ourselves in the city of Trang for about five nights before and after our Ko Kradan detour (see above), and actually enjoyed it.  Most of the Western tourists seemed to be either in­-and-­out of town in an hour, basically seeing only a bus station and/or travel agents' kiosks; or those who "braved" themselves to stick around, and preferred to spend their hours in the "Western enclaves" consisting of coffee shops or bars.  So typical...  What those tourists missed out on were three main things - ­ the real Thai city, fantastic night markets, and extravagant Chinese New Year celebration. The city was brightly decorated with numerous lanterns, colourful light displays and sculptures, had several nights of festivities, and even turned several streets into pedestrian­-only food night markets. Trang has probably THE largest/best food night scene we've seen in Thailand ­ - on week­ends they actually offer two grand markets with tons of food items and live entertainment.  Rob and I have spent a good amount of time in Thailand, and do not care too much for the real Thai food (the REAL one, not the one modified for Western tourists, or what we cook at home).  By "real" Thai food we mean pigs' intestines, stomachs, kidneys, hearts; chicken blood cubes, feet, head; fish head with eyes staring at you, and other body parts that would be impolite to write about, followed by bitter bamboo shoots and excruciating injection of hot chilies and disgusting/offensive stink of shrimp paste­, when a question comes up - what seems to be dead around here?).  Even for us, Trang had tons of super delicious food choices ­ and we could spend hours wandering around night market food stalls and indulging ourselves in the tasty options.  It was also our second New Year celebration - ­ the first "normal one" was in Ambon, Indonesia.  This was the second celebration of the New Year 2557 (yes, Thai calendar is ahead of all of us; and no - it is not year 2014 as you thought), it's almost like we were in the time machine.  In either case, we enjoyed it quite a bit.  Over all, good stop-­over and good positive 2014 (2057) memories.












SONGKHLA
We have been here so many times (with several blog entries posted of the years), so this visit was another "walk along the memory lane".  It is actually fun to compare our photos from years ago - ­ with a mermaid, or the cat­-and-­mouth sculpture, or on top of the hill overlooking the sweeping ocean...  We stayed with the same local lady who owns a cute (good value at $8 a night) hotel in a peaceful garden.  It is nice and easy to be in the familiar environment and re-­visit with people we have known over the years.  I also was able to indulge into a full­-body Thai massage for $6 an hour.  The Thai lady (or possibly lady­-boy, not sure exactly) was very skillful, did an excellent job straightening my achy muscles; ­ my body was making strange cracking noises, and was twisted in all kinds of stretching positions making me think I was groomed to join the gymnastics team.  The massage lady utilized her hands, arms, legs, and feet.   At one point my body was lifted up by pulling my arms and shoulders from behind, and then twisted in an arch over the massagist's shoulders.  So, yes ­ after the Thai massage techniques, it is quite boring to go back to the Western practitioners...

There was also one negative change to Songkhla - ­ the transportation in and out of town was taken over by cartel (we suspect running by Hat Yai corrupt transportation management).  In the past, there was a perfectly good, reliable and inexpensive government bus going to Hat Yai, but it was pushed out by filthy private songthaew drivers and mini­vans. The price was still reasonable, EXCEPT that majority of drivers refused boarding to the farang (foreign tourists), insisting to either over­charge them or leaving them on the road with an only expensive option - ­ charter.  We faced this situation ourselves and were quite disappointed.  Luckily for us, there was a local Thai man who flagged out a local passenger van for us, and we got actually lucky to get a rare honest driver who charged all passengers (local Thais and us) fairly, and dropped us off exactly where we needed to be, without any issues.  If the transportation situation remains corrupt, however, Songkhla will remain just that ­ "the memory lane".  We hope it won't be the case - ­ the town is certainly a lot better alternative to a near­by soulless Hat Yai...












HAT YAI
Years ago, Hat Yai used to be our base for crossing from and into Malaysia, however, due to the hotel bed bug scare several years ago, we "traded" it up for a mellow and easy­-going Songkhla.  This time around however, we had to spend a night in Hat Yai because we had an early morning transportation booked up for crossing back into Malaysia.  Hat Yai has not changed - ­ food options are not that great and over­priced; it is over­-touristed (Malaysians come here for shopping and "sin city" activities); there isn't that really much to do...  Fortunately for us, the timing of our visit there coincided with the week-­long Chinese New Celebration.  So, here it was ­ our THIRD (this year) New Year celebration.  And, again, we welcomed the New 2557 Year (according to the Thai calendar), also known as the Year of the Horse.  During the festivities, we ran into an ex­pat lady living in Hat Yai for over 20 years. She shared with us a locally known secret - ­ a great panoramic observation area located on the 33rd floor in the city center.  We went to check it out - ­ the views were fantastic, and to our pleasant surprise, there was also a decent (and reasonably priced) dinner buffet.  Too bad, we had already eaten at a night market, otherwise, it would have been a good choice.  Perhaps, we'll try it the next time we are in Hat Yai...

This concludes the Southern Thailand entry - ­ next stop is back in Malaysia, or as Rob calls it - Ma-LAZY-a...


 

posted by Rob and Anna @ 1:38 PM 0 comments