Day 12: Wed 27th Oct 2010 - Bangkok

To make up for yesterdays failed attempt to go on a boat trip up the river we set out early for a second attempt. We discovered there was a pier further south which tour boats started and decided that would be a better starting point than our local excuse for a pier. With this being our last day in Bangkok we knew there was one mode of transport we still needed to try. We had seen the crazy driving they do from the pavement and we had been offered their services every few minutes since being in the city. I haggled briefly with the driver and once I'd more than halved his original price we boarded his tuk tuk. The journey was pretty fun and didn't feel as dangerous as they looked. However we did do a fair amount of driving on the wrong side of the road. I certainly think Boris should consider rolling them out in London.

 

The cruise up the river was very pleasant as the sun had decided to come out and light up all of the buildings nicely. We couldn't be bothered to wait for the boat which had the commentary so we didn't know what most of the things we were looking at were but they all seemed very nice. Once we had been on-board for about 30-40 minutes the interesting looking buildings seemed to run out so we jumped off at the next stop.

Luckily I think we had probably got off at one of the most unique of all the piers along the river. I noticed as we were pulling up there seemed to be a lot of fish in the water around the pier. Now when I say a lot of fish I don't mean 10 or 20 or even 100, there were literally thousands of them all clustered together just swimming against the flow of the river with enough power to stay in the same place. I found it really strange how they all just hung out there when there was a whole river and their disposal. As we left the pier I found it really strange that in the path that leads to the road there were loads of people selling shredded bread crusts and it didn't click until we went back to the pier and I saw that people were buying the bread to feed the fish. For 20-30 pence you could buy a whole carrier bag of crusts to throw in the water and a fair number of people were buying. When I hand full hit the water the fish would go ballistic for about 10 seconds all trying to get a scrap. They would flap about in the water so much that anyone near the water would get soaked. Once the fish had been thoroughly watched we got on a boat and headed back down the river to where we started then headed back to the hostel.

Our few days in Bangkok were all but over now and we boarded a sleeper train to southern Thailand to do some island hopping. The sleeper train was new to both of us and although it shows signs of age it seems pretty good. You get a bed made up with fresh sheets, blanket, pillow and curtain, and the air con blows at a good temperature all night. I say it blows at a good temperature but this is just a guess. I was pretty cold laying in my shorts and t shirt as I had to lay on top of my blanket which I was using to soak up the half can of beer I'd spilt all over the sheets.

 

I've really enjoyed Bangkok even though it doesn't feel like I did a huge amount during my stay. It's such an intense city to visit and I think when you're not used to it it can be hard to get a lot done. Many of the different sights to see seem so spread out and a vast amount of the city isn't connected by the metro system which makes it tough for first timers. I will be heading back to Bangkok on several occasions before I head home and I'm already looking forward to coming back and seeing more of the city.

Day 11: Tues 26th Oct 2010 - Bangkok

As yesterdays trip on the boat went so well we decided that today we would take a long cruise along the river and properly take in all of the sights along its banks. We set off along the streets of Bangkok to catch the boat from the same place we had got off the day before. A few minutes down the road from the hostel we had to keep changing our route due to flooded streets. Once we had navigated our way to in sight of the river it became obvious why some roads were flooded. The river was higher than street level and was being held back by walls and sand bags lining the banks. It wasn't too much of a surprise the river was like this after all the rain and thunder we had listened to during the night. Rather than wading through the water to get to the boat pier to see if it was even running we decided to change the plan for the day.

We headed to Siam which is one of the main shopping districts of Bangkok. The area has several shopping malls all within spitting distance of each other but all very different inside. They ranged from top designer shops to what seemed like make shift cubicals all packed together selling tat. It was quite nice to walk around the shops as it felt a bit more like home was a relief from the bustling streets.

Consulting the guide book for what else was in the area we found we weren't too far from Jim Thompsons house. Jim Thompson it turns out is famous for more than just having a chain of restaurants named after him. The American was sent to Thailand while serving in the army and fell in love with the country so made a permanent move. He started exporting Thai silk and became very wealthy off the back of it. With his wealth he bought several traditional Asian houses and fashioned them together into one to create the house that still stands there today. For a couple of quid we were given a guided tour of the house and gardens with here really beautiful yet also fairly humble for a man of great wealth. The place had a really tranquil vibe about it and was an excellent escape from the city.

In the evening we searched for some western food to give our stomachs a little bit of a rest from all the spices. Our attempts failed and more Thai food was eaten.

Day 10: Mon 25th Oct 2010 – Bangkok

We did not welcome the coming of our first morning in Bangkok. The Chang consumption of the previous night had left us both feeling a little worse for wear. Eventually we dragged ourselves out of bed and got ready for a day in the capital of Thailand. The main thing to see in the city is the Grand Palace and it looked like it was about 3km our hostel. As people who like a good walk this didn't seem like too great a distance so we set out with various maps of the city. It took all of about 5 minutes to realise that the map which had so little detail (only showing major roads) would not be much help. After about an hour of walking hoping we were going in the right direction we managed to find one of the roads on the map that we could follow to the palace.

The streets of Bangkok are like no other city I've been before. All the shops seem to be grouped into districts, so one minute you pass tens of shops all changing car tyres, then a row of identical plumbing shops, then maybe a shops selling coffins and so on. These shops are very unglamorous with space used to a maximum, most interesting are the car part shop which just have huge piles of oily hunks of metal in every space available. Due to the over crowding if the shops all business is conducted on the pavement or even the road which makes walking all the more difficult as you have to weave around some metal being cut or a car wheel being changed.

About two hours into the walk my GPS on my phone finally found a satellite and was able to point us in the right direction. En-route we passed an outdoor gym in a park (very cool), a temple which we went in and had a look and were amused that half of it was now a tacky gift shop and we also started to encounter the scams. Bangkok seems too be a hive of scammers from what we had read. The number one scam being Thais saying things were closed as it was a Buddhist holiday. As we grew close to the Palace we started to experience exactly what had been described. A apparent university professor who taught English but didn’t seem to speak it amazingly well told us the Palace was closed for a Holiday. A short distance later we were told the ministry of defence had closed the road to the palace but there was a different route we could take. Then a bit further on a man approached to let us know we wouldn't get into the palace in what we were wearing.

It wasn't too much surprise to use that the palace was open and we got in fine. I wont say too much about the palace grounds except the architecture was stunning, the buildings were all in pristine condition and there was a very peaceful vibe around the place, the pictures will say the rest.

Day 9: Sun 24th Oct 2010 – Kuala Lumpur > Bangkok

I won't bore you with the details of the flight from KL to Bangkok but I will say my first experience of Air Asia (Asia's answer to Easy Jet) was very pleasurable.

By the time we had checked into the hostel it was late afternoon. As we were in a new country we thought it best to start trying some local food for dinner. We both chose the classic Thai dish that everyone at home loves, Green Thai Curry. When ordering the waitress asked us what “spicy” we wanted the food. Charlotte instantly expressed that she didn't want it to be too hot. I though had to accept when I heard the words “you want it Thai spicy?”. Shortly after we started eating our server who was obviously observing my face turn bright red with the first few mouthfuls brought me a plate of cucumber and explained that Thai people use it to cool their mouths. Being English I endured the pain but it didn't take long for me to acclimatise to the heat of the dish and ended up almost licking the plate clean.

Once dinner was finished and my face had returned to a normal colour we set off for our first taste of Thailand, and where better to start than the old red light district. When Charlotte mentioned about the area she had just read about in the Lonely Planet book I got the thought in my mind that as it was the old district that none of the sex trade would be there any more. I thought that maybe it might be more like one of the areas in London that was once a dive but is up and coming. Anyway I was shocked when we got there as to how red light district it actually was. I've passed through red light districts in a couple of places but have never experienced anything quite like this. Now in Bangkok being hassled by people is something that happens every few minutes but not quite like this. Even though I was walking down the road with Charlotte close behind I was still being offered all sorts of services. When I declined half of them then offered Charlotte selection. Once we had ignored or waved away as many as we could handle we though it best to stop and find a place for a few drinks. After staking out a few of the roadside bars we picked one and sat looking over the bustling road. The barmaid came over to take our order and we soon figured out this barmaid was actually a barman. Within seconds we notice the other barmaid working there was also a man although this one was far more obvious. We sat drinking Chang (a local lager) and watched the world go by. At first we didn't realise that Chang packs a mean 6.4% alcohol which would explain our level of intoxication.

Once we left the bar we checked out a few more of the areas delights including a Thai kick boxing show. It didn't take me long to realise it was a show and not actually proper fighting which didn't bother me too much considering my state of merriness. I also have a vague memory of some kind of a strange talent show we were coaxed into seeing.

Tonight was an interesting and drunken introduction to Thailand.

Day 8: Sat 23rd Oct 2010 - KL

 Today was our chance to make up for our previous days inability to get out the house and explore KL. We got up early (well early for us, Wilma had already run 18km and Doug had had a gym session) and headed down to one of the city's parks. We strolled around for an hour or two in some blistering temperatures looking at the tropical trees, the lake, an oddly placed deer enclosure and an Orchid garden. It's a very beautiful park but the heat was starting to get to us. From there we looked for the next closest attraction which is the old KL railway station. Architecturally it's a great building but I don't think I was at an ideal temperature to enjoy it to the full. So I took my snaps and we jumped in a cab to a place bound to have air con. A short taxi ride took us to the foot of the Petronas towers which has a large shopping centre at the foot of it. We explored the area for a while taking photos and trying some local food.

 

The venue for our evening was over an hour out of KL in more rural Malaysia. Our first stop was a hill where a group of silver leafed monkeys lived. We had the chance to get up close and see them going about their cheeky monkey business. I bought some green beans and handed them out to the excited primates.  

 

Next stop was dinner at a Chinese restaurant which seemed to be half on land and half over a river. We ordered mounds of food including my favourite “Marmite Chicken” and ate as much as we could but even with my best efforts we were defeated by the amount of food. I'll try not to feel too bad about the waste though as the bill was in the region of £3 a head.

The main event of the evening was a cruise along the river in a rowing boat to see fire flies. We were only a short distance from the dock when we started to see the bushes along the side of the river light up. They very much resembled those Christmas tree lights which pulsate but obviously a lot more impressive. It was a great experience to see these fascinating little insects do what they do. As a side note it was also very interesting to see the amount of rubbish that floats down rivers in Malaysia, drinks bottles seem a very common sight and I even saw a few whole bin bags.

Thanks to the Websters for another great evening.

Day 7: Fri 22nd Oct 2010 - KL

Very easy going day today. Got up and went to the pool, came back after a few hours planning to do some more sight seeing but felt too lazy to bother. We slothed about the apartment until Doug arrived back from a business trip in the early evening. Wilma cooked another fine meal which set us up nicely for bed.

Day 6: Thurs 21th Oct 2010 – Kuala Lumpur

 

After a very good nights sleep in our new room it didn't take too much encouragement from Wilma to go and sample the apartment complex's pool. Luckily very few of the residents actually seem to make use of this facility so the glare from our lily white skin out in the sun didn't blind anyone. We spent a few hours bobbing in the pool and laying about reading before our host showed up offering to bring us down some lunch to eat at pool side. Over lunch Wilma laid out the plan she'd come up with for the rest of the day, starting with a session at a Thai massage parlour.

This was to be my first professional massage ever and I now look forward to many more when I get to Thailand. Our feet, heads and necks were serviced for an hour, we all left in a very relaxed state and our feet felt like we were waking on a clouds. There wasn't too much time to dwell on this though as we had too head home to get ready for our the next event that had been planned for us.

The most famous landmark in KL is the Petronas Twin Towers. Standing just over 450 metres tall they dominate the skyline and my first idea of experiencing the towers would be to go there and get a lift to the top. Unfortunately this can't be done as the highest public viewing platform if the bridge that connects the two towers together which is only about half way up. The next part to the plan was centred around the towers but rather than going in them it involved looking at them, from a height, in a high class environment, with alcohol. We chauffeur driven to the Traders Hotel a few hundred feet from the towers where we ascended 33 floors up to the hotels pool bar. At night it's transformed into a very cool kind of lounge bar/night club which faces straight at the towers. We chilled for an hour or so soaking in well lit towers and making the most of the Kodak moment. Once we finished our beers and cocktails we were taken for a drastic change of scenery.

From the swanky Traders Hotel we made our was to a more typically Asian part of town. We rocked up to a Chinese restaurant owned by a couple that Wilma and Doug know. For those of you that haven't been to Asia I will try to describe what the restaurants here are generally like. They are generally open front shop spaces that look like that haven't been decorated in decades, mismatched furniture that all ways spills out onto the street if not the road too and all the cooking seems to be done somewhere within the view and not in a kitchen.



Deep fried ducks tounge

So anyway we had been warned that this place doesn't even have a menu, you just have too make a request and they do their best to accommodate. We ordered a selection of food trying some old favourites and and a few things we hadn't tried or heard of before. During our meal we were joined by the owner (who was a real character) and her son (who was so well spoken and came across so intelligent he almost seemed like some kind of a cyborg and I mean this in the kindest possible way). Although the owner is Chinese and her son half Chinese half Welsh I got a feel that we were mixing more with the locals and what its like living in Malaysia. Once all the food had gone we were exhausted from our tough day so headed home. Thanks for a great day Wilma.

Day 5: Wed 20th Oct 2010 Singapore > Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

I was expecting to have very little to say today as the day was set aside for travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur but I have a couple of bits to cover. The mode of transport was a coach which involves stopping a passport control buildings at the boarder. One arrival at the Singapore boarder control there was a barrier blocking the entrance road. Somehow the coach driver failed to see it and just ploughed straight through, much to the displeasure of the Singaporean police. Due to the drivers sever lack of observation a boarder crossing which from observation of other coach parties should take about three of four minutes ended up taking an hour. Fortunately our driver know how to drive his coach in a very fast risk manor which meant even after an hour delay we were only five minutes late getting into KL. On arrival we were greeted by the owner of the hostel for the next few days. By hostel I really mean luxury apartment suite and by hostel owner I mean family friend Wilma Webster (Mum of my oldest friend Mark). Wilma and husband Doug have a pent house apartment over looking KL and I think Charlotte and I will be very comfortable during our stay here. This evening Wilma fed us a delicious meal and suggested some great places she may take us, and things we can do over the next few days.

Day 4: Tues 19th Oct 2010 - Singapore

The big plan for today was a trip to the fairly newly opened Universal Studios Singapore which is situated on Sentosa Island which is a stones throw from the main land.. This is one of our only big treats planned planned where we expect spend large amounts of our hard earned money. To get to Sentosa island there's a monorail link over the small stretch of sea. While queueing for monorail tickets Charlotte noticed big screen saying Universal Studio's tickets were sold out for the day. “How!?!?” we were asking, we had got up early and it didn't even seem busy at the monorail station. After quickly whipping out the Lonely Planet book and our map we soon had a plan together for the day.

 

Even though we couldn't go to the main attraction on Sentosa Island we decided it was still worth going to see what it had to offer. If you look at the guide to the island you would see a long list of attraction that can be found here but we picked one of the least advertised. Having seen theme parks, cable cars, go kart’s, giant statues just to name a few things in view out of the train window we found something far more spiritually rewarding. A beach. It was a small beach with a row of nice wooden shack style bar looking out to the sea with ample comfortable seating shaded by palm and other exotic style trees. We sat for an hour or so sipping ice tea (a new experience for both of us and made far more pleasurable once we discovered adding copious amounts of sugar) and looking over the white sand beach to the sea which was cluttered with huge cargo ship waiting to go into port. We then strolled across the island looking at some of the other attractions costly but decided our money would get us far better value doing other things.

 

The next port of call for the day was the banking district. We made our way through the skyscrapers to the bank of the Singapore river in search of the famous Merlion (half mermaid, half lion). After a fair amount of walking and dealing with getting caught in our first tropical down pour it turned out the Merlion looked better on the tourist map but in retrospect it was a pretty impressive piece. We stopped for coffee and the caffeine perked us up and drove away any feelings of jetlag.

 

The last sight seeing of the day was a walk down Orchard Road which is the main shopping district of the city. It housed many stores I wouldn't dare going in even if I was still working in banking in London let alone a poor traveller.

 

As the day had been much cheaper than expected with no trip to Universal Studios we treated ourselves to curry in little India.

Day 3: Mon 18th Oct 2010 - Singapore

Although its day three of the travels things only really feels like it start today. The plan for the day was to go to the world famous Singapore Zoo. Over breakfast (toast and coffee sat round a little table on stools in the little hostel foyer) we planned our route which involved the metro and a bus. On arrival at the required metro station a girl asked if we were going to the zoo and pointed us in the direction of a free bus. This sounded great. We bought zoo tickets from a man and boarded a packed minibus. It was only then that we had our first panic and thought why hasn't this ideal bus service been advertised. It only takes a third of the time of the regular bus and it's free!? Thankfully with it being Singapore, the safest country in Asia we arrived at our destination and even more surprisingly the tickets were perfectly valid.

 

We spent a few hours walking round the Zoo checking out the animals. For me the what sets this zoo apart from any other I’ve been to is the setting. The grounds are still basically rainforest just with paths linking the different animal areas. Even then animal enclosures are very subtle on the whole by just making it look like they are just on the other side of some thick forest plants rather than behind a fence.

After the zoo we made our way to Chinatown for some dinner. After a meandering through the streets taking in the sights of Chinatown we stopped at a hawker centre for some grub. For those of you not familiar with a hawker centre, its basically a collection of fast food stands selling an array of foods. From what we understood these were the places to eat if travelling on a budget and we soon discovered why. We had set a fairly big budget for Singapore as we knew it will probably be the most western place we visit but we were both very pleased when our total food bill was 7 SGD which is roughly about t £3.50.

 

We made our way back to the hostel via Little India (just for a quick look) to get some sleep and ease our symptoms of jet lag (yes we were starting to feel it, we couldn't fool our body clocks and to put it nicely we we're being difficult to be with each other). Getting to sleep initially was easy at 9pm but after waking up at midnight getting back to sleep took several hours of tossing and turning.

Day 2: Sun 17th Oct 2010 – Dubai > Singapore

The flight to Singapore involved a transfer in Dubai. So we got off the flight still feeling in good spirits as it still just felt late in the evening to us (it was about midnight at home). We walked a few lengths of the terminal building and with it being about half a mile long took us a little bit of time. Slowly the realisation that attempting 30+ hours a wake wasn't going to be as easy as first thought. The strong coffee we got from Starbucks was more effective at making me feel disorientated than awake. I soldiered on and we boarded the flight to our destination. Shortly after take off the air stewardess handed out the little menu showing what they will be feeding you. After yesterdays excellent Thai curry I was looking forward to some more Emirate food. Even once I read the menu and saw breakfast was Indian curry and lunch Malaysian curry I was still looking forward to having only having curry for 24 hours. Even the sandwich I had in Dubai was tandoori chicken.

Once in the air the Starbucks, my empty stomach and flying weren't mixing well. I gave up my strategy and decided sleep was needed if I didn't want to use the sick bag I'd already located. I drifted off and was woken up for meals and landing.

We had arrived in the far east and were happily greeted by purely English signs and advertisements. This is fairly comforting at half nine at night local time especially when you have a 'latest check in' time at the hostel to make. After admitting to our exhaustion from the flights we gave in and looked for the taxi queue, obviously things weren't supposed to be easy and there was a line that cant have been too shy of 100. To our surprise the metro system (MRT) is very easy to navigate and we got to the correct station in no time. Obviously my train map skills are better than my road map skills and we ended up taking a long route from the station to the hostel. Once checked in we had no problem sleeping.

Day 1: Sat 16th Oct 2010 - London > Dubai

After not just months but years of planning or for the most of it dreaming about taking a long break from life in the UK today is the day that these ideas would start becoming reality. The idea of travelling was initially planted in my head close to a decade ago when my oldest brother spent a month one summer in Thailand. What appealed most at the time was the stories of alcohol fuelled parties on beaches, trekking in jungles and chilling on paradise islands. All of these still appeal just as much when I first heard them. Now now I also hope to gain just as much pleasure from the cultural and natural beauties the countries have to offer. Not doubt I will also see some of the uglier sides of the far eastern world which I also look forward to in a way (no doubt when I have things stolen or sit on a boiling coach for 24 hours I will see a different side to things but no doubt these will create the best stories of my travels).

 

After the obligatory philosophical chatter I can actually explain a little about the trip. I've decided to go with the proper travellers approach (or just the lazier way) to the next 4 and a bit months. The plan pretty much is there's no plan, well to an extent. You could probably fit the current plans on a beer mat and still have some space left for a doodle or two. The initial plans are; outbound and return flight dates (to and from Singapore), hostel in Singapore, coach and lodgings in Kuala Lumpur, flight to and hostel in Bangkok. After that there's a rough order of countries to visit starting obviously with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand followed by possibly Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, back to Thailand, Indonesia and possibly at some point to the other part of Malaysia that hadn't been seen, then ending up back in Singapore to fly home. Over the next four and a bit months we shall see what actually happens and what I actually do and gain from my little holiday.

 

Before I go further I should introduce my travel partner who I will hopefully manage to stay on good terms with despite the close quarters we will be in for the near future. The lady I will be travelling with is my girlfriend of two and a half years, Charlotte. She is a less experienced than me on the travelling front and my well planned one week holidays a year can't quite compare to constant uprooting we have ahead. Even though I may have more experience being in foreign places Charlotte has done a hell of a lot more reading than me so no doubt will be teaching me everything along the way.

 

So Saturday 16^th arrives, flight takes off at 5pm, for me this means I have to get up at 9am to get ready to go. Having spent two weeks not working prior to this date it was an early start for me but by no means I though it essential to get up nice and early. I got up and realised my bag was packed, all my documents had been organised, my lift the the airport arranged, I’d even laid my clothes out to wear for the day. Everything was all nicely in place for a minimum stress day which is what I got. The journey to the airport was smooth, check in was quick, terminal 3 was mobbed and the Smiths didn't even sell Muscle & Fitness or MuscleMag, boarding and take off were as expected. I had decided the best way to avoid jet lag in Singapore was to stay awake as much as possible. With the thought being that I could completely shake up my body clock then reset to Singapore time so no sleeping on this flight. The in flight dinner was curry and red wine and beer was freely available, what more could I need?