Jan 2005

Pretty much as soon as Michelle left, I was back on an MRT cross-island to pack for my weekend jaunt to KL. Due to bad taxi management, we managed to be late for the meeting at Kranji, and I nearly lost my phone. Thankfully everyone waited for me, and the taxi driver was honest.

So off I went, with my phone, and 29 of my closest friends (some the same as Langkawi, many new), to KL via JB and a 4hr coach ride.

This was my first real long-distance bus ride outside of school camps. It was fantastic. If only school camps had business-class coaches with reclining seats and leg rests. Apparently in the longer bus trips (8hr+), you are served refreshments!! It's like a plane trip without pressurisation problems. The only downside (aside from the time) is the temperature on the buses - its freezing!!!. We all brought jumpers, but that wasn't really enough. It was still cold. You have been warned!

I have a habit on this trip of arriving before my room is ready, and KL was no exception. We arrived at the hotel at 4:30am, to find reception closed till 7:30am! I found the nearest couch and slept soundly for 3hrs. Many others went to the pool and refreshed.

Day 1: KLCC; Batu Caves; Times Square; Lot 10; Chinatown; Beach Club.
We began our assault on KL early, queueing from 9am to get tickets to the Petronas Twin Towers. The Petronas Twin Towers, the official name for 'what was until recently the tallest buildings in the world', are definitely a must-do for tourists in KL. They are now referred to as the tallest twin towers in the world, and are definitely a point of national pride for the Malaysians. On the way up you are treated to a promotional video outlining such useful facts as the number of car park spots in KLCC (5400), and the percentage of local material used in the buildings' construction (60%). As you can see, it was riveting stuff, and definitely left you in no uncertainty as to why it was built - nationalism. It was, after all, constructed during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, at a time when every other ASEAN country was crying poor. Malaysia was as well, it just chose not to show it.

The view from the skybridge (the bridge linking the two towers, and the highest point the general public can reach) was again, a let-down, namely because of the weather. I can imagine on fine days it is unbeatable. From up there, KL looks just like any other modern, congested city - which it is. For me, it just wasn't enough - I wanted more culture, less shopping centres; more distinctly 'Malay' or 'Muslim' architecture, less bland office blocks. For that I'd have to wait until Sunday.

Our next stop was the Batu Caves, which are the main pilgrimage point in SE Asia for Hindus during the festival of Thaipusam. We visited it the week after Thaipusam, having seen the festival in Singapore, and there was still rubbish and remnants of kavadas scattered around the caves. Many people found that disconcerting, and, from a Singaporean perspective I can see why it would. At the time I didn't really pay much attention to it - I guess time spent in Denpasar and Bangkok desensitise you to congestion and rubbish. It's strange - I felt more at home in traffic jams in KL then I do on MRTs in Singapore. Well maybe not more at home, but at least the same. They remind me of being on holiday!!! Strange, huh! (For those of you reading this who don't know my history - I have been on holiday with my family three times to Thailand, twice to Indonesia, and once to Hong Kong).

The caves themselves were fantastic. The temples are sometimes carved into the rock, other times positioned in front of the enclaves. They clearly represent a focal point for Hindu's in the region, as my guide mentioned. When I post the photos it will have more meaning.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at various shopping centres, including the 'largest shopping mall in Southeast Asia' - Times Square. If a shopping centre could ever be considered too big, then BTS (Bertaya Times Square) would definitely be a finalist. It's massive!! 8 levels, one rollercoaster, no supermarket to speak of, and a million clothes stores - all selling the same things!!! Not to mention the 'entertainment centres' selling fake DVDs. Where we were staying, KL Plaza, was located in Lot 10 - another big shopping complex, with one hotel, and two shopping centres on the one block. It had a great food court in the basement, and an Isetan (Japanese department store).

The real shopping began in Chinatown that night. We walked down Petaling St (KL's Pagoda St), and realised immediately why people say KL is fantastic for shopping. Every stall had cheap, good quality fake clothes, DVDs, perfume, handbags, shoes...the lot! I think perhaps Bangkok's Pratanum Market maybe outdoes it for space and variety, but I like the 'crush' of a busy market, so it did it for me. Purchased enough to keep me happy - 3 Polo's and 3 Billabong t-shirts for RM99 (about A$30, S$50!), and some Hugo Boss Dark Blue (yes, Michie, that's 'my smell') for RM20 (about A$8). The single most popular item purchased was the Tiger Beer t-shirts - which I think will be replaced by Singha Beer ones after everyone comes back from Thailand! We are so predictable!

Saturday night was spent at Beach Bar, on the main clubbing street in KL (I don't know what its name is). Hmm....the less said about this place the better I think. The covers band were laughable - no one should attempt to cover Metallica, please!, and the atmosphere was ... interesting. It was a meat market, as someone delicately put it. Seedy old Western men with underage Malay girls. Not exactly the best club I've been to, but with 40 of us there, we made our own fun. Got to bed at some ridiculous time in the morning - 4am I think.

Day 2: National Mosque, Central Market, KL Railway Station, Merdeka Square.
Sunday was far more cultured than Saturday - mainly because we were all bored of shopping, and wanted to see a more Malaysian side of KL. We began our journey at the National Mosque - a geometrical masterpiece (Muslim art cannot depict human form, so it must be abstract - hence all the shapes). It was closed for visiters, but just walking around the building was great. Everything had 8 sides and 5 levels - representing the eight states of Malaysia, and the 5 pillars of Islam. Even the Petronas Towers have this - 5 distinct sections, and if you look at the buildings from above, they form an 8-sided star. Interesting, huh?

Our next stop was Merdeka Square (Indpendence Square) - a large expanse of green in the middle of KL. It's really nice, except there is no shade at all. I think it could be a lot more, but there are more pressing things on the minds of those in power. Like transport, and the economy, and health, and education, and well ... everything else. Merdeka Square also has SE Asia's tallest flag pole. They are obsessed with having the " 'est " aren't they!!

From there we walked (in the midday sun I might add) to the Central Market (well initially what we thought was the Central Market, and ended up just being another few clothes stalls) with all the native arts and crafts in all their touristy glory, and across to the old KL Central Railway station. Usually railway buildings don't do it for me, but this one did. The main building, and the railway offices opposite are both Muslim-style buildings, and just look so distinct against a backdrop of modern skyscrapers. This was exactly what I was looking for!

Then it was back to KL Plaza, and packing...two very busy days were over. I feel like I've definitely learnt from going to KL, and I'm really glad I went. But I'm also glad I went for two days, and not a week...I would have to leave and go somewhere else.

As I've said many times, I could live in Singapore, I couldn't in KL.

Howdy all!

Two weeks ago my peaceful stay in Singapore was interrupted by the arrival of Michelle! She stayed here for one week - from the 24th Jan to the 28th. For most of the week Michie managed to be tired, sleep ridiculously small amounts, and read! We still managed to do a fair amount however, visiting the Night Safari, Orchard Rd, Chinatown, the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Botanic Gardens. Oh, and of course Raffles!

The problem lay with jetlag. Michelle woke up around 3am most mornings, after only a few hours sleep, whereas I woke up at 9 or 10. This meant that by the time Uni was over for me for the day, Michelle was dead tired, and very little could be done.

Despite all that, I forced Michie out to Chinatown for satays at Smith St on her first night. I think that a visit to Singapore so close to Chinese New Year without seeing Chinatown is criminal, so it just had to be done. That and I hadn't had satays in a few weeks and was beginning to feel cravings

Mmm.....satays.....mmmm....peanut sauce. Ok, stop!

We ended Monday night at Orchard Rd, walking along almost all of it (from Dhoby Ghaut to beyond Somerset MRTs) just as all the shops were closing. It was strange, seeing so many people still out and about at 10pm on a Monday night. Just one of the many subtle differences between Sydney and Singapore. Also, had a really nice mixed fruit juice...almost as nice as at the awful restaurant in Langkawi.

Tuesday daytime I had class (that's right, I'm at uni here - a fact that seems so easy to forget!), and so I left Michie to her own devices. This turned out to be a great idea, and Michie spent most of the morning at the Botanic Gardens (kudos to Michelle for making her own way there on public transport!!), which I have yet to visit. I've heard its amazing though, and I'm particularly looking forward to the new Orchid Garden, with all the 'VIP' orchids.

Tuesday night brought the Night Safari with John and a friend of his from the States. Having done the NS before, I found it quite predictable, but still awesome. It's a completely seperate part of the Singapore Zoo, and houses all the nocturnal animals. There is a road-train (like Darling Harbour) that takes you around the complex, complete with amazingly cheesy commentary ("I wonder what creatures will be staring back at us"). Unfortunately we missed the recycling show. Damn, I really wanted to see that. Not. Being a night safari, none of my photos came out (again), so I can't really show you anything special from it, suffice to say that it is pretty much a must-do in Singapore now as far as the tourist trail goes.

Wednesday Michelle came to visit me (again using public transport! yay!) at Uni, and got to see a bit of NUS and PGP where I live. I will leave it to her to describe it, as you've heard enough from me already.

Thursday saw us visit the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) at Empress Place - known as ACM2. Of all the museums I have been to (aside from those in the UK, its unfair to compare with those - they have far more money and time to build up impressive collections), this takes the cake. The building, once government offices, was gutted and rebuilt during the 1990s to make room for a new musuem. It was decided a new ACM would be created, to supplement the one already existing in Armenian Place. Whilst that ACM deals with Peranakan culture and history (native Singaporeans/Malays), ACM2 has a much broader focus, encompassing all SE and South Asian cultures and races - incl. the many religions, races, histories, and arts the region includes. As I said to Michelle, it is pretty much my Migration and Diaspora in SE Asia class in a museum. I love it there - so peaceful, and there is so much information. It's quite easy to lose track of time, as we did!

We finished the week on Friday afternoon with a spot of tiffin at Raffles Hotel with Sharmila, one of Michelle's online friends from Singapore, currently studying at UNSW. This is the life! We arrived slightly late, so we had our entrée (so to speak) at the Long Bar - Singapore Slings and peanuts under those fans! Raffles is very old-school, and embellishes it. It knows it, and flaunts it no end. Even the shops in the Raffles Arcade are exclusive - Tiffany, Hermes, Louis Vitton.

Raffles Hotel in Singapore is an institution. It has been around since the Colonial period, and remains one of the few 'old' hotels in the world. In a city dominated by skyscrapers and fast-paced living, Raffles stands alone as a low-rise hotel, with afternoon tea, and greenery. It is like stepping into a totally different city. It is another of the 'must-do's in Singapore - have a Singapore Sling at Raffles.

After the Sling, which by all accounts was very nice, we headed downstairs to the Tiffin Room for some High Tea. This is no ordinary afternoon tea - full hot, cold, Asian and Western crudetes and desert are available. It's very nice, and very refreshing after 4 weeks of noodles and rice. Don't get me wrong, I love cheap Asian food - I wish Sydney had more of it - but every so often you just crave a 5-star meal. One where waiters refill your water, hand you your napkin, and hold out your chair. It's worth the price just for that! I miss being on holiday with my family!!! Hehehe!

To end the week, we rushed back to Michie's hostel in Outram Park, and then on to the airport. We made it - just!

From the 21st to the 23rd, 30 of my closest exchange friends descended on Palau Langkawi (Langkawi Island) off the North-west coast of Malaysia for a long weekend of relaxing, and generally bumming around under the sun.

We did far more exploring than I anticipated, and it was awesome. I had no idea one small island (it is slightly smaller than Singapore, and has a population of 60,000) could hold so much...not to mention the 98 islands that make up the Langkawi archipelago!

To get to Langkawi from Singapore, you have a few options - bus (it takes about 20 hours in two bus trips, and then a ferry), plane (the most expensive is direct sgp-langkawi, but we did it differently), or ferry from Penang (and a bus from sgp to Penang). The route we chose (because of time and monetary constraints) was Singapore - Johor Bahru (taxi x2) - KLIA (plane) - Langkawi (plane).

Now, whilst this may have been the cheapest method given time constraints etc..., my ears really don't appreciate so much up-down-up action in one day. One long plane flight gives me time to adjust. Two 45min flights (when I have a cold) are never fun. However, having said that, my head only felt like it was about to explode once, on the flight from KL to Langkawi.

PGP-JB
From the moment we left PGP (5:30am!!), we were all pretty excited. For most of us going, this was the first real sidetrip, and was going to be one of many. I had never seen Langkawi, aside from a few pics in a general guidebook to Asia. Having now seen it, I can definitely recommend it.

Johor Bahru (JB) looked stunning at 6am. The city was dead, the water still, and the boats docked in makeshift piers reflected perfectly. The old, fading look of JB without neon lights added so much to the atmosphere. There is an old-school amusement park on the water, which at night (as I learnt afterwards on the way home) looks perfectly normal and lively, has an eerie quality with the lights out and the gates locked.

The airport was dull and would probably not exist was it not for the low-cost airlines like AirAsia. Taxes leaving JB are nothing compared to those leaving Changi (Singapore).

JB-Langkawi
Flights were non-eventful, aside from aforementioned brain explosion. At KL we had an interesting conversation over some strange cheese croissants of the merits of certain aspects of Singapore's sex policy, but we shall leave that for another time. For now, let's just refer to it as 'equal opportunity'.

Langkawi - Day 1 (Friday)
Upon arrival at Langkawi, we hired cars and drove straight to our accomodation, and then the main tourist beach on the island (Cenang Beach). At the time, we all loved Cenang. It represented the picture-perfect beach, and was great for watching the sunset. We stayed there for the entire afternoon, and discovered the cheap beer waiting for us at 7-11. RM3 for a Tiger Beer. That's just ridiculous!!! We're all hoping Singapore can instigate a duty-free policy similar to Langkawi, so all the exchange students can enjoy cheap alcohol. For those interested, cigarettes are also RM3 here ($A1!!).

A fair few of my photos from the trip come from this time at Cenang. It was the only time (aside from a few hours on Saturday night) that we had the whole group together, so we took the opportunity to take the obligitory 'group photo' about 5 times!

Dinner was, shall we say, interesting. Ah, forget it, it was dreadful. Really really bad. We chose the restaurant spontaneously, having realised that it was 8pm and we hadn't eaten. We picked an empty restaurant (mistake no. 1) on the main street (mistake no. 2), which advertised seafood (mistake no. 3). It turns out the restaurant was brand new, and had just opened. The problem was we didn't find that out until we were leaving. Of a menu of about 10 pages, only 5 items appeared to be available. Again, that would have been OK had they informed us it was the case. It was not until half an hour after we ordered that we realised our food wasn't coming and found out the chicken had finished, and there was only fish. This was after I had been told the fish was unavailable.

Eventually, around 10pm, I had really nice (and quite spicy) fish. It was unbelievably cheap (RM2.5 a fish, cooked), however the whole lack of atmosphere, and stupidness that went along with actually getting dinner meant the evening was a write-off.

Langkawi - Day 2 (Saturday)
For many of you who know me well, this won't come as much of a surprise, but today I slept through my alarm. It was set for 8am. I woke at 10, when we were supposed to be leaving. Luckily two of the three drivers were in our room, so we had to wait for them.

First stop was the waterfall at Durian Peragin. Silly Tristan had forgotten proper walking shoes, but luckily the path didn't go too high, and the waterfalls were quite small. Still a very nice place to visit, and well worth it, but I can imagine it gets hugely busy in peak times, judging from the carpark and the shop set up at the bottom.

From the waterfall we continued to cross the island to Gunung Raya, the 2nd highest mountain on the island, and the only one you can drive to the top of. The Malaysian PM visits here every 2 years for a meeting, and the guard at the top was kind enough to show us around. The place is quite large considering its rare use, and it has amazing views of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The day we went though, was quite cloudy, and the views didn't allow us to see Indonesia. Just saying that sounds crazy! Obviously the Malaysians agree and have placed a satellite station there. No prizes for guessing what it is there for.

By that time it was lunch, which was eaten at the most 'local' place on the island, right beside an open sewage ditch, near Black Sand Beach. Really added to the atmosphere. I felt sure that if I was going to be sick from anywhere on the trip, it would be there, but we were all fine! Malaysia is definitely not Indonesia in that respect.

The afternoon was spent driving around the island, from one side to the other, and visiting the Cable Car at Gunung Machinchang ("Oriental Village"). I 100% recommend anyone who gets the chance to ride on the cable car. You get the most awesome views over the island of Langkawi, and of the surrounding islands and reefs. It's just unbelievable. When I post the pictures you'll have a much better idea.

Our last stop before the beach BBQ was Tanjung Rhu, a beach in the North East of the island. If I thought Cenang was amazing, it has nothing on Tanjung Rhu. Unbelievably soft sand, a long, wide beach, and really shallow water. The only downside, coming from an Aussie perspective, was the complete lack of waves, or surf. Other than that it was most relaxing. Not to mention the tasty battered bananas we had (see mum, I am eating fruit!).

Langkawi - Day 2 (Saturday) [Part II: Beach Party]
The beach party, organised by Leong, was awesome! He supplied the food, we supplied the alcohol, and Langkawi supplied Cenang Beach, almost deserted. The reason for the island being so quiet was the tsunami that hit the West coast of Malaysia on the 26th of December 2004. Although it hit Langkawi very very mildly, it's impact on tourism could definitely be felt. Many places were very quiet, and this is meant to be the peak season. If anyone out there is reading this, and is wondering about Langkawi, just go - they need you and there is nothing wrong with the island!

The beach party was hampered by the efforts of the owners of the bar we were at to kick us out if we didn't spend money, and by a few other things, but all in all, it was a very cool night. Believe it or not, I think it was my first beach party - and I live in Sydney! Got to bed at 3:30am, which compared to Soren and Laura, who arrived at our room at 7am, was quite good going!

Langkawi - Day 3 (Sunday)
Today's itinery revolved around doing the 'must-do's that we didn't get around to doing on Saturday - namely island-hopping.

On our 4hr speed boat trip, we had an amazing view of Palau Langkawi, and through some of the many surrounding islands. We visited three - Palau Beras Basah, Palau Dayang Bunting, and what I think was Palau Singa Besar.

The first and the last were known for their v.v.nice beaches - with crystal clear waters (shallow as always), and lovely sand. Once again, I forgot something - this time it was a towel. At least I had a camera and sunscreen - the other two necessities.

My writings here won't really do these beaches justice - when I post the photos, you'll have a much better idea. Also, I will soon (as in, in 10 minutes) be able to add photos as single blogs very easily, so I'm looking forward to that!

The 2nd place we visited (Palau Dayang Bunting), contains the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, which is a fresh-water lake, exisiting within an island surrounded (obviously) by salt water. It exists because of a natural 'wall' seperating the ocean from itself. Cool huh!

Believe me, its very refreshing!

No discussion of this trip would be complete if I didn't mention the monkeys. Being a tourist spot in Malaysia, there are many of them, and they have become quite adept at stealing and eating food left on beaches and on decks! Within about 30 seconds of Xavier putting some biscuits down on the beach, they were gone. For some strange reason, at PBB, they have erected a small, useless wire 'fence' around the monkeys, which does absolutely nothing, as monkey's can climb!. Who was the doofus who thought of that. Actually, come to think of it, maybe its to stop humans going into the monkey's habitat. That makes more sense.

From the island-hopping trip, we went straight back to the hotel (Kondo Istana btw, in Kuah Town), and from there to the airport, and back home. We were all so tired by the time we got back to PGP (at midnight), that I think everyone just crashed.

January 2005

Instead of doing a day-by-day approach for the rest of my six months here (which even I would find boring), I will let my photos tell a story, and supplement it with a week-by-week thing...hopefully posted every Wednesday morning [I am most likely to be away for all or part of the weekends]

So...where to begin...

Wednesday 12th January
Had my cluster welcome tonight [a cluster is the corridor in which I live - there are 15 rooms in each cluster]. Met about 5 of the 10 occupants of my cluster, and they all seem quite nice. None of them I expect to be best-buddies with, but it is finally refreshing to feel like I am not living in a vacuum. As I have mentioned on here before, it does feel at times that there are no other people in my corridor - only shadows that disappear when I open my door. From now on, that should not happen

Also enjoyed a free beer at Munchie Monkey's (the only place licensed on campus, and even then it isn't anything like Manning). This place only opened this year, and it is only allowed to sell beer and pre-mixed drinks, and even then, only in glasses, so that they can't be taken away. How stingy is that?!?!? Aussies would go crazy if they got rid of our Uni bars - they are such an important social venue...Singaporeans: take note. Get a bar on campus.

Ended the night at Insomia, a bar in CHIJMES, a converted Church compound. It was fantastic until they started playing Lu & I's songs, and I got very home-sick.... I also had the misfortune of missing the last cab from PGP there, so I got to take public transport on my own...really cheap night though.

Thursday 13th January
Had an interesting experience tonight at the 'Cross Cultural Exchange' session, with various staff members and students attempting to explain and define Singapore over the course of two hours. To their credit, I think they managed it quite well - all the basics were covered - the four official languages and cultures, the pluses and minuses of Singapore, the food etc... and of course, Singlish. We had a lesson in Singlish which was really fantastic. A Singaporean Chinese representative from PROSE (Promotion of Standard English) stood up and spoke in perfect Queen's English (i.e. nothing like Aussie slang) for 10 minutes about Singapore, and then read us the first poem written in Singlish. Immediately, her accent changed and she became a natural Singaporean, complete with emphasising 'lah's at the end of every sentence. It was surreal.

Also ate durian again....ugh! Whilst I feel I *should* like it, as I know I looove the ice-cream, I just can't take it....it tastes a lot like it smells in my mind. The ice-cream though, is still one of the nicest things in the world. mmmm....

Friday 14th January
Went shopping for a large part of today, and visited Suntec City with Shirl & Lauren (US). Suntec was quite cool, and the laser-water show at the World's Largest Fountain was pure kistch. Great touristy fun.

Saturday 15th January
Tonight I was meant to go out and see the hall play 'Romeo Loves Juliet'. No that isn't a typo, the play is a comedic adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. Yes, yes, I know that alone should have sent my running, but when in Rome....

There were also strong rumours that it was going to be done in Singlish, so this I could not miss.

However, it was not meant to be - the person who was meant to get me tickets didn't get them in time, so we ended up not going. I heard later that it was laughable and supremely stupid (unintentionally it seems), and was so bad that just before the interval they announced the English Premier League score. And to top it off, there was no Singlish!

Instead, I went to Chinatown for the light-up ceremony, marking the start of the Chinese New Year festivities with some new friends. Mark, Andy, Caroline, Mercury, Erik, Thilo & I met in Chinatown and managed to watch the fireworks from obscure angles, as we expected the fireworks to be later than they were. It turns out this was the first time in over 20 years that Singapore has had firecrackers for the CNY light-up. From there we walked from Chinatown to Robinson and Clarke Quays, and then over to Boat Quay. Singapore River at night looks amazing, but still has nothing on Sydney. Only one view matches it, and I have yet to take photos from there. It's on the ECP (East Coast Parkway), and it offers a panoramic view of the Singapore CBD & Esplanade.

Sunday 16th January
This was the day we had all been looking forward to....the Grand Final of the ASEAN Tiger Cup. The Tiger Cup represents ASEAN's intra-regional football competition, and each country fields a team. The 4 finalists were Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The final, between Indonesia and Singapore, was nowhere near as interesting and dangerous as the semi between Singapore and Myanmar, but the turnout was unbelievable.

For starters, it was the first non-European football (soccer) match that had sold out in Singapore for over 20 years, and 95% of the stands were filled with supporters wearing red - Singapore's national colour. All 50,000 tickets sold out in under 2 days. It was also great to see so many Singaporeans of different nationalities as one was great, as I have heard many state the inter-racial harmony may not be as deep as it seems.

The match itself was rather uneventful, with Singapore winning 2-1, and thus winning both final matches 5-2. This was to be expected, especially with such a vocal home crowd.

What was more interesting, however, was the complete lack of local support after the game. Once it was over, everyone spilled out towards the MRT and home. Given that it was a Sunday night, I would have maybe expected street parties until say midnight, but there wasn't even that. No ticker-tape parade either... it's so different to Australia, where we go crazy after small victories. Nothing is too small for a parade!