Ruthie On The Road

I had met up with Shukor last year in London and told him that I was planning this trip to include Malaysia. I was hoping that he would be around while  I was here maybe to meet up and for him to show me his city.  Texts, emails and facebook messages followed andeventually all the months were gone and we were meeting outside central market.  He drove to a coffee shop and over breakfast we discussed what I had done the previous day and basically what I had already seen.  When I told him that I had already seen a few things in the city and Batu caves I could see that these were the places he would show me so I had immediately trashed his plans for the day, great!

It didn’t take long to formulate a new plan and we were on the road to Genting highlands.  He told me the story behind this place, which is really interesting but a little long winded, so basicallyit is like Malaysias version of Las Vegas but at 6,000 ft.  It has the largest hotel with more than 6000 rooms.  It has  theme parks, bowling alleys, cinemas and climbing walls. Everything you could want, and more.  It has

ticket queueing for check in and check out due to the sheer volume of people coming and going all the time.  We wondered around the complex and in the theme parks, went on the antique cars, that I got to drive, and had photo’s taken with the London bus, why not!

My tattoo, it's already fading

Inside they has a Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, Petronas

Towers, Venice with gondolas and the Statue of Liberty riding a motorbike.  We both got a temporary airbrush tattoo and had a good laugh.  The road was a ride in itself.  It wound it way up the mountain side and was incrediably steep in places, I was pleased I wasn’t in charge of this car.  We passed other cars on the road that had crashed and looking at the scid marks on the road and I wondered how many near misses there had been.

From one extreme to another and we travelled from here to Putrajaya.  This is the new Federal administrative centre that has been moved out of the city but is fas more than that.  It has amazing architecture from the bridges to the mosques and even the street lamps.  The way it has been designed, there is one main strip with the Perdana Putra building at the head.  This is the offices of the Malaysia’s PM and Deputy PM  and it is absolutely stunning.  The Putra Mosque sits to the right of the Perdana Putra. We took loads of photographs and Shukor laughed at me for noticing the hundreds of different street lamp designs. From here we finished the day off with a bang and went to the Skybar.  On the 33rd floor of a hotel directly opposite the Petronas Towers and KLCC.  It was dark when we arrived so the view was great and the bar was really nice and had a pool inside.  I have to say having spent the last month as a backpacker, I didn’t seem to fit in here but with a view that great and good company I tried to forget that I was completely undressed for the occasion and go with it.  We drank cocktails and sampled chicken satay, soft shell crab and had a good laugh.  It was really a great way to end the day and another memory to keep and treasure.

Following on from the last post where I was stranded in Nakhom Pathom, I eventually got on the train at 15.10. 30 minutes after the time stated and I could tell where this was going.  The first part of the train journey was interesting until it got dark!. Its wierd because there are constantly people up and down the train, the guys from the restaurant car with portions of this just cooked up, people selling drinks, and then at every station there is an influx of people trying to sell what they can before the train sets off again.

I was sat next to a guy from Brazil.  He originally sounded French then we started talking and he said he had been travelling round Asia for the past 6 weeks and had 4 more to go so he was heading towards the beach.  I don’t know how he did it but he had been travelling non-stop from Laos to Bangkok (14hrs in a minibus) to try and catch the early morning train from there to Champnon but like me found the train full so ended up sitting around Bangkok station for a few hours then the train to Champnon which was another 10hrs, then an overnight ferry to an Island near Ko Samui (no wonder people fly between places here!).  He said he lived near the sea and hadn’t seen it at all in the past 6 weeks and was really missing it.  When it came into view from the train he got really excited, as did I actually.  The view soon went with the light about 7pm and the rest of the journey passed in darkness and with one fan broken and someone constantly turning off the other one. The windows were right down so I was thankful for a little warm breeze coming in and out.

At about 11pm I got to the stage where I really needed to sleep but kept thinking of the horror stories in the guide books about not trusting other travellers to look after your things if you go to the loo or people putting things in your water and waking up to find all your stuff gone so that kept me awake.  Other people travelling in pairs/groups seemed to be taking it in turns to sleep. 

We eventually arrived in Surat Thani at 2am and I was dead on my feet.  I quickly caught site of a couple that looked lost and completely out of their depth and it turned out we were heading for the same hotel so shared a taxi.  This hostel was more like a hotel, the rooms were really spacious and clean but I was just interested in sleep.  The next morning I got up and got to the bus station to start the 6 hrs journey to Phuket.

Fast forward 6 hrs and I arrived in Phuket town after seeing some fantastic scenery and my first elephants of the trip.  I really wanted to be free of my rucksack so desperately tried to find my way to the guest house. It had said it was within walking distance of the bus station but, in the madness of the past couple of days I hadn’t printed out the directions or remembered the name of the guest house.  I ended up trying to find an internet cafe so I knew where to go.  This place was basic but what more do you need than a bed if you are staying only 1 night.

Thanks for the comments and keeping me posted on things back home.

Another couple of days gone and still discoverying new places to visit.  It was raining yesterday and I was most disgruntled. I went to the Western market which is a beautiful old colonial building.  It looked almost as if it was in England but they decided to add the 2 old red phone boxes and the giant wooden soldiers to make it really authentic.  1 floor was entirely devoted to a cloth market.  Fabrics of every texture, pattern and size that you could possibly imagine and then there was a model bus and plane shop, Jade shops and a restaurant, which I have to admit seemed like a bit of a strange conbination.

I have been swept away with the novelty of the trams and the fact that they actually take you to places you want to go while the drivers play a giant game of bumper buses, its great fun!  So I got the tram back from Sheung Wan to Causeway bay.  The tram costs the same no matter if you go 1 stop or to the end of the line, a bargain 2 HKD which is no more than 15p.  The rest of the day I went from book shop to book shop making plans for Thailand.

Today was nice again and I have taken to going to the ferry terminal first thing.  It is a good place to go to assess the day.  From here you can see across to Kowloon and see what the sky’s are doing.  It might sound wierd but with all the skyscrapers around, you can’t see what it looks like beyond.  It was nice and probably about as clear as it was going to get so today was the day for The Peak.

From Central Pier there is a bus that takes you directly to the lower peak tram terminus near St John’s Cathedral.  It was an open top bus so I took the opportunity to take a few more photo’s, paying particular attention to the building in central with round porthole style windows that I have been reliably informed, the expat locals affectionately call ‘the building of a thousand arseholes’!

Arriving at the lower peak tram station I waited in line with all the other english, american, japanese, chinese, russian, france, canadian, scottish and a few I couldn’t decide where they were from.  Basically the Peak tram is a really old tram (funicular railway really) in operation since 1888.  The journey is far too short but it takes you up Victoria Peak behind the city on the north side of Hong Kong Island.  At some points the incline is a 40 degree angle.  Like everything that draws tourists in Asia they feel the need to dress it up in americana. People dressed in silly costumes and a Madame Tussauds that had ‘engrossing interactive entertainment’. What is wrong with just appreciating the fabulous views.

I managed to get someone to take my picture with it so I actually have evidence that I have been here now and not just a loads of shots of buildings, boats and beaches.  The view took a lot of digesting actually, you could see the planes flying in the out along the harbour from Lantau, the shipping freight cutting great paths through the water, the star ferries backwards and forwards  between central and tsim sha tsui, the skyscrapers and high rise buildings that were dwarfed by the land, but from this far up there was no sign of the millions of people that were going about their daily lives oblivious to the people looking on from high above. Wow.

First day in Hong Kong and over the ordeal of the flight.  As a bit of a parting gift the air conditioning from the plane has given me my usual cold.  I feel a bit shit but getting on with things. 

Whenever I go somewhere new I like to have a bit of a walk round on the first day to orientate myself with the area.  With that in mind I got up had a shower and headed out.  It was 19 degrees again today and although warm not too over powering and setting me up nicely for warmer places to come.

I walked around causeway bay (where I am staying) and then through to Wan chai and central.  I was initially amazed at how few people there seemed to be around at ground level, then when the road diverted and forced me up one of teh plaza’s it was evident that most people walked around the city at least 20 meters about ground level or on the MTR underground.

I walked past loads of little shops selling specialist glass with wonderful designs on and wood and tile shops much smaller local businesses than in England.  I knew that english was spoken here but I has not expected that most people speak very good english and they will try their best to help you if they can.  All signs are in english as well as cantonese and they talk in english on the public transport which is good because I don’t have to keep asking people.

So, I had reached central and headed down to the pier, I have some lunch and watched the ferries coming in and out and the swaths of people off and on them.  The guide books and everything I had read or seem about Hong Kong mentioned Star Ferries across Victoria Harbour as an essential thing to do when visiting so I decided now was a good a time as any.  Used by locals and tourists the ferries are a practical and beautiful way to see both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon ( see I could write for the guide books too!) although it was a little disappointing that it was misty. My boat was called the celestial star.

The exploration continued in Kowloon getting off the ferry at Tsum sha tsai pier and walking through Signal Hill gardens to the MTR station.  Everything about Hong Kong screams shopping and everywhere you look there are designer stores with even more designer prices, none of which were visible so they must have been expensive.  Luckily I also have the excuse that I cannot carry anything!

As I got on the MTR with my new travel card, the octopus card, to head back to the hostel I was left with one question unanswered, which came first the octopus or the oyster???