KL – the city of the roach

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
24th-26th October 2014

After a lot of debating over whether we should stay in Singapore and work we finally decided to continue on our way, with the comforting thought that we could always return. We got a coach from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur that took around six hours, maybe more. The coach was actually really comfy with seats you could basically lie down in and that had buttons that when pressed started a massager in the chair. Much more desirable than the English mega bus!

Here is Elise demonstrating just how comfy the coach was 😎

Having just been in Singapore, a highly developed and clean city, and before that being in rural Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur came as a bit of a disappointment. Looking back, I do just think we just weren’t in the right mind frame to really appreciate KL. And on top of that whichever place followed Singapore would have a hard time impressing us! The main issue I had was that it was somewhere in the middle of under developed and developed and it just didn’t seem to have a strong identity of it’s own. However having said that KL is currently undergoing a lot of changes and it’s clear it has high expectations for itself by 2020, the year all the work should have finished. Furthermore our hostel being pretty grim didn’t help matters, especially when one morning Elise and I woke up with a cockroach in the bed, directly inbetween us!!!

On the Saturday we decided to do the ‘hop on hop off’ tour bus. I think this was a good call on our part! We went all around KL getting off at the stops we wanted to. Firstly, we saw the royal palace which was a beautiful building and had grenadier guards outside it, so basically the Malaysian version of Matthew! After that we went to a butterfly sanctuary then had food at the bird sanctuary. We had a few stern looking birds watching us as we ate which was rather unsettling but also very humorous! After that we mainly stayed on the bus to see the sights such as the twin towers, which were actually pretty impressive. Our final stop was at Times Square, a humungous shopping centre with over seven floors and a roller coaster inside. In there we decided to do the Escape room. Our rooms were Alice in Wonderland themed and we were given 45 minutes to crack the codes and get out of the room and escape. I realised that you need a lot more collective common sense than we had and definitely more people to be able to crack it and get out in time! Although we unfortunately ran out of time we did have a lot of fun trying to escape.
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On the Sunday we met up with a group of young people Elise’s pastor had told her about. They’re a group of six and are from Hope City church in Sheffield and are over in Kuala Lumpur to start up a new church! We met them at another church called City Harvest as every Sunday they go to other services at different churches to see what they’re doing and talk to them about their plans. This was definitely my highlight of Kuala Lumpur. The people were really inspiring to talk to, as they had all just uprooted their lives in England and fully dedicated themselves to this cause! They were so welcoming and friendly and ironically in awe at our backpacking plans, which seems absurd with their plans! The people from City Harvest were equally as warm and friendly and one of the guys there even gave us a lift back to town, which was so helpful. I’m really intrigued to see how the Hope City guys journey unfolds.

That night we got the sleeper train to Thailand. It took twelve hours to get to the border, and then an extra two hours to get to Hat Yai in Thailand. From there we got a six hour bus to Krabi, which is where our adventure continues…

Gardens by the Bay, or ‘the performing trees’ 🌳

23rd October 2014

Yesterday turned into a solo adventure as unfortunately Elise wasn’t feeling good. In the evening for a few hours I went out to see the Gardens by the Bay at Marina Bay.

When I heard gardens I was expecting a lot of green and maybe some lilypads, presumptuous I know. However what I came across and could see for miles as approaching was the ‘Supertrees‘. There are eleven Supertrees which have environmentally sustainable functions to be able to harvest solar energy. The trees are fifty metres above the ground, and are so noticeable from a distance because of the lights powered by them and the OCBC Skyway – a 128 metre long walkway with a height of twenty two metres that connects two Supertrees at the Supertree Grove. Again, this spectacular sight was totally free of charge, if you wanted to stroll amongst the trees and explore the gardens. However I did end up paying $5 to enter the OCBC Skyway, not because I had to, I just really wanted to see the view from up there! To be honest the view of the city from there was no better than on the walk way over to the gardens. However it did provide an alternate view of the trees! As I slowly made it across the Skyway and had exhausted all photo opportunities I decided it was time to drag myself away from the gardens. However just as I got down from the Skyway and was about to leave an announcement came on saying there was about to be a light and musical performance from the trees called the ‘Garden Rhapsody’. At first I was so annoyed I hadn’t loitered on the bridge for that little bit longer to see it from up there. Though I guess if I hadn’t have paid that money and gone up I would have left the gardens long ago, and would have completely missed the rhapsody. The rhapsody is apparently a journey through the worlds rainforest’s with accompaniment from ‘Rainforest Orchestra – Australasia and Oceania’. I’ve no idea if this is what I saw however it was amazing! The trees really came to life as a dazzling myriad of lights danced across the sky. I lay down on a bench at the bottom of one of the trees and just watched it as it went on. I so wish I could upload my videos onto here but I can’t so the photos will have to do.

I couldn’t help but join in with locals here and take a selfie – if you can’t beat them join them. (Notice the weird napping man on my shoulder!)

The Marina Bay Sands hotel which you have to go through to get to the gardens. It’s infinity pool is apparently world famous, and with the views surrounding it I can see why.

The views of the city from the OCBC Skyway and the walk there.

Performing trees, I commend you.

HALLOWEEN HORRROR NIGHT @ UNIVERSAL

22nd October 2014 – Universal Studios, Singapore

Anyone that knows me, will be fully aware of how bad of a reaction I have when it comes to being scared/jumped out on. So obviously the sane thing to do, being me, would be go to a Halloween horror night… Right?

Before even leaving England we’d both joked about the idea of universal studios for Halloween. But when we finally booking our transport to Singapore last week we stopped just toying with the idea and booked it.

In Singapore the universal studios is on the other island called Sentosa, which is basically full of theme parks and such things. You can either get the sky train over, the monorail or walk it on the boardwalk, and we chose the latter.

Our first stop on island was to get food, and seems as this was our treat of the trip we went to a pancake house where you make the pancakes yourself on a hot surface attached to the table. (I know this is off topic from the horror theme of the post but it was too exciting not to include).

Still buzzing from the sugar rush the pancakes provided we made our way into universal. The place was crazy, there was thousand of excited teens wearing flashing devil horns, flashing lights everywhere, a red eerie mist and extremely loud and fun music playing. As you got in you came across the ‘Demontator’ who was the star of the ‘Demoncracy’ show. He was chained up and snarling, a pretty scary sight!

We thought the night would consist of lots of haunted houses, which it partly did. We went into three of them, all with different themes such as ‘Jin’s revenge’ which was a haunted school, and one which was a lab gone wrong. The guys in front of us in Jin’s revenge were hysterical, in the scared and funny way! One got so scared he backed me right into wall as he tried to get away, which made it a bit more comical – to my relief!

To make my heart rate that bit faster, they also had actors hiding throughout the park. My reactions did cause me to get chased a few times, one where I ran in circles to get away. I’m sure if you’re picturing this, you can see the funny side however at the time I did not. It was like living in constant fear, knowing when you get off one thing having just been scared, something’s lurking in the dark to scare you all over again. Though I will admit it, that was definitely part of the fun. And full credit to universals choice in actors, you picked a terrifying bunch!

However not only were there haunted houses but also rides open! We got to ride the Transformers ride (AMAZING, my love for Bumblebee has only grown as a result), the Mummy roller coaster, the Jurassic park canopy ride, the Shrek outdoor roller coaster, the Madagascar boat ride and we watched the 4D Shrek show! Money well spent.

To top all of the fun off we saw a scary circus show. It was hosted by an evil clown and he and his circus gang made people (fellow actors) perform to be in his show! In bits it got a bit too much, like when a man put a hook through his nose and out of his mouth, but it was a great show with some amazing dancers!

Big thanks to my hand holder for the entire night, Elise Bigley.

Singapore – my new home

Singapore – 20th-23rd October 2014

After a VERY CHOPPY boat ride, a car journey, a five hour wait in the airport and a flight we finally made it to Singapore at half eleven on Monday night.

Within the first few minutes of landing we realised this place was a world away from our last stop. In just twelve hours we had gone from being on a tiny island with only push bikes and horses as means of transport to being in one of the worlds major cultural hubs – a definite culture shock. In the (very calm) drive to our hostel from the airport the driver very quietly played classical music, a perfect partnering for the sights we could see from out the window, of big lit up sky scrapers.

We’ve done a lot of exploring since arriving. We’re staying in Little India, which is exactly what it says on the tin. When we arrived the place was extremely busy because of the Diwali celebrations taking place. The streets are all lit up with lights and their was a huge market going back down one of the streets full of vibrant and colourful stalls. On our first day we ate in Little India in the market. The woman who served us didn’t seem to like us very much but the curry was delicious! Although it was really interesting to be here at the time of the religious celebrations it was also a bit overwhelming with the amount of people always around!

On our first day we got cards for the metro or MRT as it’s called here. It’s basically a cleaner and much better run version of the London Underground. We explored the street notorious for shopping, Orchard Street. It’s full of huge shopping centres and has stores for the big names such as Gucci and Victoria Secret.

Just behind this huge commercial high street is a place called Emerald Hill, where part of the ‘old’ Singapore remains. The houses along here are beautiful, with painted shutters, and cute personalised decorations outside each one. They’re definitely occupied by the rich as we spotted a few very nice cars parked alongside them! This street has definitely made it to the list of places I want to live… I just need the money first.

Next stop was Fort Canning park. Again in the heart of the bustling city this place is just there! There was lots of lush tropical greenery surrounding the park, and sculptures scattered around, all on the outskirts of the remains of an old fort. What really struck me here was how peaceful a place it was.

Another place we have explored is China Town. After discovering Elise’s very big love for the stationary at Chinese markets, this place seemed a great fit. We went to a beautiful Hindu temple there, everything from the walls to the ceiling was beautiful and intricate. We did a lot of exploring in the market stalls, and I even purchased a $3 phone charm, which I love way too much and makes me far too happy. Again the food there was AMAZING.

One of my favourite things we’ve seen whilst being here, is the light show at Marina Bay – which was free! Although a lot of people like to bang on about how expensive Singapore is, as a tourist it really isn’t bad as they put on so many things like this for free! Just opposite the financial district on right in front of Marina Bay’s highly extravagant shopping mall and hotel, they have the light show on the decking overlooking the water. Colourful and bright lasers are cast across the night sky and projected images of people are shown through the lights and water spray. All of this is done to powerful classical music, and also Louis Armstrong’s classic hit ‘what a wonderful world’, which always reminds me of my dad! Who knew a bunch of lights and music could be so breathtaking?!

An area of the city I really liked was the Clark Quays. It’s basically like any cities quay area in a way, with nice restaurants and bars. However what really makes it special is the coloured shutters lining the streets.

I can’t even begin to describe how much I’ve fallen in love with Singapore. The only thing that proves just how much is the fact we spent a very considerable amount of time looking I to working visas and possible jobs!

I know this post is pretty hefty but it’s also leaving out two very special parts of my Singapore experience. Fear not, they’ll have their own posts soon!

Gili Trawangan

Gili Islands, Gili Trawangan
14th-20th October 2014

From Ubud, Elise, two people from the hostel and I got the fast boat to Gili Trawangan. The boat ride there was really chilled as we sat on the sun deck and sunbathed for the whole journey. We also spotted LOTS OF DOLPHINS, jumping in and out of the water which was an unexpected bonus!

We’d heard a lot about Gili T before we came from people in the hostels and the general vibe we got was that it was a full on party island. So we initially planned to go to Gili T for a few nights then when we were sick of it go on to Gili Air one of the other Gili Islands. However upon arrival we quickly realised that our initial ideas of the island were a little wrong. There’s definitely a party scene but it’s such a chilled out place that it’s not full on at all.

Since being here we’ve seen three amazing sunsets, for the second one we biked to a point to watch it at a vintage style bar. We’ve also been snorkelling, and not just snorkelling but snorkelling on a hangover. That was a really good trip, it went round all three of the Gili Islands – Gili Meno and Gili Air. We got to see so many of the different fish and the coral underneath! We’ve been out a few times to the bars which has been really fun, especially for Elise who seems to be at one with the dance moves of the local people. One night we even watched The Life of Pi on a big screen at the beach which was different.

After being here for basically a week we finally leave on Monday to fly to Singapore, where our travels continue up to Malaysia. I’ve really loved what I’ve seen of Indonesia and I would definitely return to see more of it one day.

Ubuuuuuud

Ubud – 11th-13th October

Our next stop after Nusa Lembongan was Ubud, described by Lonely Planet as Bali’s ‘cultural hub’. After we got over the initial heartbreak of discovering our hostel – In Da Lodge – didn’t have a pool we realised what a gem this hostel really was. It was decorated very typically Balinese style, with multicoloured hanging lanterns, and hammocks hung from trees. It also had a great social area by the bar, with cushions and sofas around wooden tables with books on them.

We did a lot of wandering around Ubud and so many times we accidentally came across big Hindu celebrations taking place. In fact sometimes it was hard not to as they had parades down the main street. I really liked seeing this going on as it was a really new thing to me and their traditional clothing was all so nice.

I had my first experience of feeling unwell whilst travelling in Ubud so I unfortunately missed out on a few activities, but I did discover that other travellers in the hostel are so nice to you when you are feeling bad. I did manage to squeeze in a Balinese massage one afternoon. Elise, a boy we met from England and I went to a cheap massage place in town and it ended up being an experience to say the least! Firstly, we all had to go in the same room, which meant for a fast friendship between us as I had only met Josh ten minutes earlier. Secondly it was a family who did the massages. Elise got the mother, Josh the father and me the eldest daughter! It however a pretty decent massage despite me being very giggly everytime a ticklish part (feet, tummy, underarm) was touched.

On our final day in Ubud, after a visit to the markets a group of us went to the monkey forest. I’d heard so many stories flying about the hostel of people being bit and attacked so I was very nervous to go. The monkeys mainly stayed away unless you had bananas, water bottles or wanted a picture. The mum’s would put their hands up to stop you taking pictures of their babies, which was adorable!! Also I made pals with a big monkey lying on the path who seemed to be blind in one eye.

Ubud, we love you

Lembongan, you beauty

10th October – Lembongan
After four nights staying in ‘the big pineapple’ in Sanur we caught the boat out to the island of Lembongan. The first thing I noticed as the boat pulled up was the colour of the sea. It’s literally turquoise. Along the coastline are lots of Palm trees and huts. Just to fit in with island life here we decided to stay in a hut ourselves for the night. It’s definitely different from the hostel, with our own bedroom, and private outdoor bathroom!

Because the island only takes about three hours to drive around we decided to get a scooter (sorry mum!) so we could fully explore. We spent hours driving around the little island. We saw a seaweed farm, which I loved as I still haven’t gotten over seeing people wearing the little straw hats, and we saw plenty of women on the seaweed farm wearing them. We also drove across a narrow wooden suspension bridge which was an experience in itself, especially passing other scooters! We drove through so many local places with school children playing and encountered a lot of cows and chickens! There was a big religious celebration going on at a temple so we saw all the local people going there in their religious outfits with offerings. We also unfortunately came across two pigs that would later be used as sacrifices in the ceremony!!! I think this has been my favourite day so far just because we saw so much and we had the freedom (in the form of a scooter) to go anywhere we wanted, and of course it’s the local vehicle of choice!

Tanah Lot

8th October 2014 – trip to Tanah Lot

One of the things I’ve really wanted to do since getting here is see a great sunset, cliche I know but the sun just seems to suddenly disappear here!

A girl staying at our hostel told us that a lot of people go to the temple Tanah Lot to see the sunset as it’s by the sea and meant to be really beautiful! For literally £4 each a group of us from the hostel got a car AND DRIVER for six hours, so we told the driver we wanted to be at the temple at sunset but until then could he take us places he thinks we’ll find interesting. Which was the best decision.

Firstly he took us to a waterfall – I wish I knew the name of it – that was brown from the rice fields.

Next we stopped at a temple, again I don’t know the name. It was a really interesting day to be driving around as it was a Hindu celebration, something to do with the full moon, so there was lots of local people waking to temples wearing traditional clothing. I also saw a lot of impressive balancing skills, as tonnes of women had offerings in baskets on their heads!

Our third stop was a coffee plantation. I’m not too sure how much of the site we went to was there for show. However it was interesting and a little disturbing to find out that the Luwak coffee was made by feeding this little furry animal coffee beans and then they later collected his poop and peeled the beans and ground them to make the coffee! At the end of the tour round the different types of beans growing we got to try all the different types of coffee and tea they make, which was a lovely treat and also a huge caffeine buzz.

After our unexpectedly lovely tour around we made our way to the temple. The temple itself was closed, although you could walk right out to it, and looked so picturesque on the cliff edge! To get a good view we walked far out to some rocks on the edge of the sea and sat and watched the sun go down with the Tanah Lot in the distance. It was honestly so beautiful and I think it will be up there in one of the best sites!

Yoga in Sanur

Sanur, Bali – 7th October 2014

We’ve been spending a few days in Sanur, which according to Rough Guides is nicknamed ‘snore’. It’s basically full of fancy beach resorts (which we’ve considered sneaking into) and is extremely peaceful and relaxing.

Yesterday we found a little beach hut type thing where they sold cute gifts and juices downstairs and ran yoga classes upstairs. So this morning we got up at 7am to go to the 8am yoga class. Because I’ve only done it a few times before I can’t say my opinion on how good the yoga teaching style was would count much! But it was such a nice way to start a day and was definitely harder than I had initially anticipated.

Oh and just so people don’t think we’ve got it too easy, I’d like to report that I’ve now seen my first cockroach and had some rats above my head while eating.

Kuta – ‘the Australians answer to Aiya Napa’

Kuta – Bali, Indonesia

October 4th-6th, we stayed in Kuta as it was close to the airport and we knew it would be full of other young tourists. Before I came out I had been warned that it’s the Australians Benidorm but because of the mainly young crowd it draws I changed that to ‘the Australians answer to Aiya Napa’.

Because of all the bad mouthing about Kuta we had heard before hand we were actually pleasantly surprised. Yes, you could see the McDonalds arches from the beach, yes, there was a washed up nappy, BUT that was pretty much it in terms of grossness.

The place we stayed in was called Warung Coco, and was such a gentle easing in to life as a traveller. For a double room (it was the same price as a dorm?!) with our own toilet and shower (which because of the close proximity you could have used at the same time) and a breakfast, it only cosy us the equivalent to £5 a night! Which is a little more than we plan to spend in the future, but was so worth it for the first few nights of adjusting!