Thought I had made some blog updates recently but obviously not. Here comes the last few days!
New Years Eve
We hold out little in the way of hope for a party here in the highlands, it is very sleepy and relaxed, anyway that is for the evening so for the day we decide to hire a scooter and check out the area – we realise that you can save a lot of money by looking where the organised tours go and doing it yourself instead. The bike is a classic ancient Honda with clutchless manual gear box. Gear changes are facilitated by stamping down on a plate with your left foot, this takes some getting used to and for a while I’m gingerly going about in 2nd gear, however eventually I get up some confidence and hit 3rd and 4th gear.
We progress through steep winding roads in and out of the local towns, all with a similar strange European feel, until our first stop at cactus point which is a massive cactus farm on the hill and a decent photo-spot. Further, we progress to Kea where there are various things to see, we go first to a strawberry farm up a steep track to the left. Perhaps due to the British weather there are lots of strawberry farms here in the Cameron highlands, the farm itself isn’t very interesting just row after row of vines and greenhouses, however we do enjoy some very fresh strawberries and an excellent view over the valley.
Next we head to the rose garden through the vegetable market and down a narrow steep track. When we reach the bottom where the rose garden is we see a mob of local people with crates of beer and bonfires sat drinking and eating out in the street. They seem very merry and laugh and joke as I ride past tentatively at slow speed. As we walk past them to get to the tourists spot they beckon us over and demand we join them for a free beer, I try to protest but soon have a can of tiger thrusts into my hand and we are offered the seat of a local. We chat for a while although we speak no Malay and the men have broken English – with the gist of the conversation often eluding us. Unfortunately we have just eaten so can’t take advantage of an offer of free food but we do eat a plate of tasty pork and chilli sauce. The men laugh and joke, hopefully not at our expense and it is a funny experience. When we try to leave to carry on our sightseeing they insist we stay for another beer, I explain I’m driving the bike and can’t have another (this idea is scoffed by the locals who obviously drink drive everywhere). I don’t get why the man is saying “O’tel O’tel – take” and start telling him which guesthouse I’m at, eventually I realise he’s giving us a can to take with us and drink later. Although embarrassed I can’t understand much, it is really unexpected and fun to spend some time with real people, Malaysians are friendly and genuine, very different to the Indians.
We proceed to the rose garden which has a wide variety of bright and sweet-smelling flowers on display- many birds and insects fly among them enjoying the nectar and pollen. The gardens stretched high up on to the hills and from the top the view is nothing short of spectacular, which is more than I can say for the walk back down the hill!
We now ride off through the steep mountain passes in search of a tea plantation, I stat to enjoy the bike – it has much better handling than the scooter and a safer solid foot break which is stable when going downhill. I start to get up some speed and keep tight behind the local traffic. The tea plantation itself is a beautiful sight, a sea of vibrant green tips covering the hillside. Lean young men head up and down the fields – I assume picking the tea which is sold throughout the local area. It is interesting to see where the stuff we love (so much so drinking it is a national pastime) comes from and it is even better to sample a nice hot cup of tea on this cool and moist afternoon.
We head back to town and return the bike enjoying on the way amazing views once again, the landscape here is very dramatic with lush valleys and dense jungle vegetation the likes of which I didn’t expect to see until maybe Cambodia or Vietnam, the Cameron highlands has been a great destination and a real surprise.
In the evening I am determined to get drunk given that it is New Years Eve, but the locals don’t seem to realise that this is obligatory given the occasion. We walk from bar to bar but they are just as dead as yesterday – apart from one terrible karaoke bar, but I’ rather put pins in my eyes than drink there! We eat dinner and hope it picks up after – opting for a strange tandoori chicken egg roti thing, which is sort of like a kebab and omelette mixed together; it is the most filling thing I have ever eaten. I buy beers from the shop and Kath has a lychee spirit (which is proper cheap) with lemonade. We stick to having these ‘til about 10.30 to save money. Eventually the bars start to get busier and we bump into a Swiss couple who we saw at the coach station in KL. We learn they are called Jasmine and Luca and enjoy an evening chatting about our retrospective experiences in India. In the end we get pretty smashed and enjoy the party poppers and whistles given out by the wasted barkeep, but it isn’t a patch on a party back home. I wake up in the morning at 7.15 without even having a hangover, so it can’t possible have been much of a session. Still, I think of all you guys suffering back home and it makes me realise I’m glad I don’t feel too rough!
JAN 1st 2011 To George town Pennang.
We rise early and head to the unititi express again, this time fortunately it is on time and we get moving. We are absolutely knackered but it is hard to sleep with the coach winding and bumping its way through the mountain passes. It is a long 5 hour journey and we are glad when we finally arrive. Pennang is Malaysia’s smallest state and consists mainly of an island connected to the mainland by a bridge. There is a lot of confusion on the coach as the driver tells us to get off and catch a ferry, a lot of people thus head out but we are told the coach should go across the bridge to the island by another couple. Eventually, in a mad dash, we put our bags back on the coach and head back off not sure what is going on. Luckily we do get taken into the town but for a while we don’t have clue what is going on, this is one of the worst things about travelling in foreign lands, unless you’re going to a major city it is almost impossible to know when to get off the train or bus.
We arrive dressed for the highlands – me with full waterproof gear and Kath with her jogging bottoms and coat – only to find that it is scorching and humid here in Pennang. It is an unpleasant trek with our bags all the way to the hostel (called banana), and by the time we get there the sweat is dripping off the inside of my legs. Thankfully we find the place with little difficulty and find it to be clean and spacious with excellent wi-fi: a bargain with the double room costing just 25R (£5).
We don’t get up to much this evening as we only have half the day, I want to watch the united west brom match and set about a mission to find a food court to watch the game. There are mazing food courts all over Malaysia and Singapore where street stalls cumulate to offer many types of food under one roof: this is where the local men drink beer, eat and watch the sports. However, on this evening when I really want to watch the game we can’t find a single place with a screen. Stressed we traipse around town looking for an hour, eventually the only place we find being outside KFC of all places. We don’t want to eat KFC but have no option but to watch it here so end up getting a take out of laksa and chicken rice (which turns out to be pretty shit) and a few cans of chang from the shop and watchi it sat on a concrete building support across from KFC. It isn’t a great atmosphere but at least it is cheap and I finally get to catch a united game, it seems all the kick offs have been 8pm which is 4am here so I haven’t seen a game for ages. Importantly we win the game ( after they miss a pen, pretty lucky) and it puts me in a good mood. We also catch the Liverpool game and get some free food near the hostel as the local people celebrate New Year.
Jan 2nd
Today we spend In the blazing sun of pennang, exploring the island on a scooter. There are things like museums and temples in George town itself but we prefer to check out the scenery, as we have seen many museums and structures before. We head out towards the coastal road, eventually finding the right one after some troubles, the crappy map we has doesn’t provide much use once again but luckily the locals are very helpful and get us on our way. We stop on the outskirts of George town for breakfast and get a spicy mixed meat noodle soup called curry mee, it is excellent and just 3 ringgit, the food in Malaysia is awesome.
We enjoy amazing views along the winding roads and I enjoy all the long curves and hills, getting up some decent speeds. Taking the scenic route to the back side of the island, we make many stops to see the sights, a highlight of which was the tropical fruit farm where we got amazing fresh honey-dew melon juice. Our aim is to reach a very authentic small town called Baku Pilau – it is very quaint with traditional Malay houses bordering the rivers, the place is sleepy and rural and a refreshing chn age from anything else before. It is annoying though when we try to find a beer stop but everywhere is shut, although eventually we manage to find a small cafe. Strangely when we ask to use the toilet he leads us to a room with some lobsters in a water pit and no hole in the ground, I figure you’re supposed to pee on them but unsure I don’t risk it! We also get some more noodles in the centre of town at a very rustic eating place.
Pennag islands itself is a beautiful place with diverse environments like the bustling Georgetown and quiet little villages. There are some spectacular beaches along the coastal road and beautiful tree covered hills in the centre of the island make for wonderful views. As usual there are many temples and pagodas round every corner and you are seldom short of things to see. Given this we often just set off without any plan and see what we find, always managing to see some good stuff on the way; this was proven as on the way back to Georgetown we stumble across an awesome Chinese style temple on the hill which housed a statue that was surely 20 metres high. The red and golden pagoda and massive oriental gate were spectacularly set into the trees above a small town, we don’t know the name of the place but it was absolutely stunning.
In the evening as it goes dark I find it difficult to manage driving through the busy roads and get stressed out, eventually making it home to return the bike. Malaysia is much more organised and less chaotic than India, but still it seems a bit mad on the roads, especially at night time. Although it is very westernised and clearly quite rich it still has some authentic Asian feel t it unlike Singapore, conveniently also everyone speaks English which makes life very easy. I think Malaysia would be a good destination for anyone worried about travelling in Asia alone as it is so easy to get around and people are so friendly.
For the evening entertainment we find one of the amazing food courts I was talking about and catch Chelsea vs Villa. It is a wicked game to watch especially as Villa pulled of a miracle to snatch the draw at the end of the match, I’m so glad the cockney rent boy’s season is falling apart. We enjoy lots of food from all different stalls, and there is a really good atmosphere for the footy, gutted I didin;t find it yesterday, these places are the best!
Jan 3rd
Not much to report – we have a 24 hour train from Butterworth to Bangkok. We play silly games like hang man and 20 questions to try and pass the time and Kath gets mad when we play squares because it baffles her head. We worry that they will let us starve as no drinks or food are offered, and we start talking about what Bear Gryls would do in the situation, I said he’d already be drinking his own piss and catching flies to munch on!
Eventually after a sketchy border crossing they come round with food and beer, and in the evening we have a laugh chatting to a sound fella from London called Miles. He is on a shorter trip but gives us some tips about Vietnam and Thailand. We end up getting pretty merry and the time starts to pass a lot quicker.
Everything passes without much incident and we sleep pretty well in the spacious bunks. On to Thailand!
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