It was a slightly tearful departure from Brunei but not as many were shed as i thought might be. It's only my second time in Brunei but i really hate leaving. Not just because it is such a nice place but because i have to say goodbye to Victoria. I have had such a fantastic time and i hope for many more exciting times in the future.
At the airport immigration i had a bit of an argument with the woman because she told me i entered the country on the 29th feb which i hadn't and i've been in and out of the country since then. It turns out that immigration at the border on thursday had their stamp on feb instead of march. Not that it makes any difference because you can stay in Brunei for three months.
The flight was awful. We had to take a different route because of bad weather around India. It was so turbulent and i do not like that. Out of the window you could see lightning storms and at one point in the middle of the ocean we obviously went around something because there was a kink in the flight path. This made us late so we spent what felt like forever circling Dubai and landed eventually. Then after we took off from Dubai we circled again. I started getting a bit twitchy especially when the plane started heading back towards the airport. After a while the pilot managed to point it in the right direction. I didn't really sleep on the first leg of the journey, maybe an hour or so. On the second leg thanks to some tablets i managed 3 or 4 hours. I woke up to see the sun rising and it was such an amazing sight from above the clouds. I had a bit of a moment on the plane and had a bit of a cry. I'm far to soppy. Anyway because we were running late we circled around London and i saw the Olympic Stadium, Thames Barrier and the Millenium Dome. I didn't see them on my last trip because it was cloudy. We headed towards Heathrow and started circling there. I had just got to the point where i wanted to get off the blasted thing. We finally landed about 1.5 hours late. The flight home wasn't as bad as i expected it to be. I just remember my awful experience of the return leg from last time. As we were getting off i used my new found confidence in Malay to say thank you to one of the cabin crew who looked at me with surprise before replying in Malay. It'll be a while before i can practice again.
I knew i'd be cold but i am freezing. I'm sure such extremes of temperature can't be good for your health. I was stood outside in direct sunlight with a jumper on and a blanket wrapped around me in an attempt to warm up. It feels weird being home but i couldn't stay forever however much i wish i could. At the minute there are no signs of the dreaded jet lag but whether i make it to bedtime is another question.
My adventure is over and i am so grateful for Miss Bicki a)letting me go over a little earlier and b)putting up with me for so long. Now it's back to reality.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Goodbye Brunei
The last couple of days have been hard because I've know my trip is coming to an end. Yesterday we didn't do a lot mainly due to the after effects of Thursday night. In the evening we went out for a meal with a couple of other people which was nice. Then we went over to someone's house. Another late night. I didn't get much sleep last night due to a very itchy, angry bite on my forearm. It's not looking particularly attractive being red, swollen and blistered. My body has obviously got tired of being bitten and is staging a protest. I've never had bites so bad.
Today I packed and we went shopping because Vicki had a little lunch for a couple of her friends. It was nice until I was asked how I felt about leaving and promptly started crying. To be honest I've felt like that all week and even now as I write this. My bag weighs a tonne and was close to the limit which is unusual for me. I'm very sad to be leaving but I know I'll be back. I've had such a fantastic time and I hope Vicki has too.
Right now I'm eating chocolate cake until I have to make that horrid journey to the airport. I expect there will be tears. It's becoming more of a struggle to hold them in. In a few hours I shall be on my way back to reality. At least I have got my window seat.
Today I packed and we went shopping because Vicki had a little lunch for a couple of her friends. It was nice until I was asked how I felt about leaving and promptly started crying. To be honest I've felt like that all week and even now as I write this. My bag weighs a tonne and was close to the limit which is unusual for me. I'm very sad to be leaving but I know I'll be back. I've had such a fantastic time and I hope Vicki has too.
Right now I'm eating chocolate cake until I have to make that horrid journey to the airport. I expect there will be tears. It's becoming more of a struggle to hold them in. In a few hours I shall be on my way back to reality. At least I have got my window seat.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Food roulette
What has happened in the las few days? Well on Tuesday we went to an area of Brunei called Seria because Vicki needed to find a school she has to go to later in the year. It took about 1.5 hours to get to the there. It was sad to see on the way parts of the jungle are being chopped down. Seria is where the Shell HQ is and that is where the oil refinery is. It's like another planet. We drove around for a bit trying to find the Billionth Barrel monument. Eventually we did. It was built to commemorate the production of the billionth barrel of crude oil produced in 1991. Not something I would visit if we hadn't of been going to the area anyway. There is also a discovery centre which I presume tells you the history of oil production etc. We didn't go in there though. It was nice to see another part of Brunei but if I'm honest it kind of all looks the same. Lots of green.
In the evening I drove to the shop to get a pizza. I've never had an issue with communication before. There's always a first time. I pointed to what I wanted and the girl it turned out spoke little English. I heard her say makan masuk which means eat in. I understood what she had said but I was unsure of the reply but I managed to utter makan keluar which was the right reply as it means eat out. I felt really pleased with myself for managing the situation although I did feel slightly panicked by it. Having my confidence boosted by our initial encounter I said terima kasih (thank you) when she gave me my order. I did say a little while ago to Vicki that I wanted to have a go at speaking Malay but I wasn't expecting that. It makes me feel relieved that I have spent time working out what certain words mean. If I hadn't I'd have been stuck. I do believe that if you go to a country for a period of time that you should at least attempt to learn the basics. Malay seems quite easy to pick up. They don't have pleurals for a start so person is orang and people is orang orang. You just repeat the word to make it a pleural. Also we have I, me, mine, I'm whereas in Malay they just use saya which means all of these. Keluar which I used to say out also means exit. It does make it quite a simple language. Although my limited Malay was no use when we went shopping on Wednesday when I had to try to explain what cous cous was.
Last night a group of us went over the border into Malaysia. It doesn't take long to get there but the main difference between Brunei and Malaysia is that there is alcohol in the latter. If you are not Muslim you can bring in 2L of wine/spirits and 12 cans of beer/alcopop and no cigarettes. We walked over the border so once we were stamped by immigration at Brunei to say we had left the country where were we? We hadn't entered Malaysia so I guess we were in no mans land. Vicki asked what would happen if you were to commit a crime in this in between area? Who would deal with you? Probably best not to find out. The area we sat in has changed since I was there last time so I didn't recognise it initially. I started on the sprite because it was too hot for beer. I dread to think how much booze was consumed by the ten people sat around the table. I joined in eventually with my two beers. I was offered wine but that would have been messy. A lot of food was ordered some of it nice some of it not. Some 'duck' came round which I tried and it didn't look like any duck I'd ever seen or tasted like it. The bones were not that of a duck. It was a strong flavour almost liver like. The bones looked like they were from a mammal. I have never seen bones like that come out of a duck. I just hope that the word wasn't lost in translation and it was dog and not duck. Some pork came round too and it was delicious, so tender. I almost went back for more until Vicki told me that I had just eaten pigs trotter. I was almost sick. I don't know why because it tasted really nice, I think it was the thought of eating pigs feet. I didn't have any more. Another dish I tried was jungle fern. There was one in a fermented fish stock which was pungent and tasted a bit like smelly socks would taste I imagine. It wasn't too bad though. I also had normal jungle fern which is exactly what it is, bits of foliage. It was like eating grass. Apparently you can't get this dish outside of Borneo. We had squid, chicken, fresh fish, noodles, satay and some meat kebab thing too. It was nice to try different foods. I'm not sure I would again.
There was a moth the size of my hand in the toilet which was shaped like an arrow head. That wasn't a problem it waste flying monster outside that were the issue. Every now and then you would see something huge flying out of the corner of your eye and wonder if it was a bat. There was a humongous cricket and then when I was talking to someone a massive bug of some description. This massive bug decided to land on the other persons head. Whatever it was it was about 4 inches long with huge wings. The calm that was shown by the victim of this flying beast was amazing. I would have been screaming like a 5 year old girl and probably crying. Unfortunately as the monster was brushed from the persons hair it landed under my seat. I was terrified it would fly at me if I moved but I couldn't stay where I was. I jumped up and a kind, brave soul shooed it off. It is probably a good job my jungle trek was cancelled in Langkawi because I would have been a jibbering wreck with mega insects like that flying around.
You have to get over the border before 10pm of you get locked out essentially so we made a move but not before a rendition of My Way by Tony and his backing singers in the karaoke bar. We all went back to Vickis and carried on where we left off and the Singstar was unleashed. I went outside and Tony was playing with his stargazing app so I asked what these two stars were. It turns out that actually one of the 'stars' was Saturn. All this time I had been wondering what the two random stars were and in fact I was looking at a planet.
In the evening I drove to the shop to get a pizza. I've never had an issue with communication before. There's always a first time. I pointed to what I wanted and the girl it turned out spoke little English. I heard her say makan masuk which means eat in. I understood what she had said but I was unsure of the reply but I managed to utter makan keluar which was the right reply as it means eat out. I felt really pleased with myself for managing the situation although I did feel slightly panicked by it. Having my confidence boosted by our initial encounter I said terima kasih (thank you) when she gave me my order. I did say a little while ago to Vicki that I wanted to have a go at speaking Malay but I wasn't expecting that. It makes me feel relieved that I have spent time working out what certain words mean. If I hadn't I'd have been stuck. I do believe that if you go to a country for a period of time that you should at least attempt to learn the basics. Malay seems quite easy to pick up. They don't have pleurals for a start so person is orang and people is orang orang. You just repeat the word to make it a pleural. Also we have I, me, mine, I'm whereas in Malay they just use saya which means all of these. Keluar which I used to say out also means exit. It does make it quite a simple language. Although my limited Malay was no use when we went shopping on Wednesday when I had to try to explain what cous cous was.
Last night a group of us went over the border into Malaysia. It doesn't take long to get there but the main difference between Brunei and Malaysia is that there is alcohol in the latter. If you are not Muslim you can bring in 2L of wine/spirits and 12 cans of beer/alcopop and no cigarettes. We walked over the border so once we were stamped by immigration at Brunei to say we had left the country where were we? We hadn't entered Malaysia so I guess we were in no mans land. Vicki asked what would happen if you were to commit a crime in this in between area? Who would deal with you? Probably best not to find out. The area we sat in has changed since I was there last time so I didn't recognise it initially. I started on the sprite because it was too hot for beer. I dread to think how much booze was consumed by the ten people sat around the table. I joined in eventually with my two beers. I was offered wine but that would have been messy. A lot of food was ordered some of it nice some of it not. Some 'duck' came round which I tried and it didn't look like any duck I'd ever seen or tasted like it. The bones were not that of a duck. It was a strong flavour almost liver like. The bones looked like they were from a mammal. I have never seen bones like that come out of a duck. I just hope that the word wasn't lost in translation and it was dog and not duck. Some pork came round too and it was delicious, so tender. I almost went back for more until Vicki told me that I had just eaten pigs trotter. I was almost sick. I don't know why because it tasted really nice, I think it was the thought of eating pigs feet. I didn't have any more. Another dish I tried was jungle fern. There was one in a fermented fish stock which was pungent and tasted a bit like smelly socks would taste I imagine. It wasn't too bad though. I also had normal jungle fern which is exactly what it is, bits of foliage. It was like eating grass. Apparently you can't get this dish outside of Borneo. We had squid, chicken, fresh fish, noodles, satay and some meat kebab thing too. It was nice to try different foods. I'm not sure I would again.
There was a moth the size of my hand in the toilet which was shaped like an arrow head. That wasn't a problem it waste flying monster outside that were the issue. Every now and then you would see something huge flying out of the corner of your eye and wonder if it was a bat. There was a humongous cricket and then when I was talking to someone a massive bug of some description. This massive bug decided to land on the other persons head. Whatever it was it was about 4 inches long with huge wings. The calm that was shown by the victim of this flying beast was amazing. I would have been screaming like a 5 year old girl and probably crying. Unfortunately as the monster was brushed from the persons hair it landed under my seat. I was terrified it would fly at me if I moved but I couldn't stay where I was. I jumped up and a kind, brave soul shooed it off. It is probably a good job my jungle trek was cancelled in Langkawi because I would have been a jibbering wreck with mega insects like that flying around.
You have to get over the border before 10pm of you get locked out essentially so we made a move but not before a rendition of My Way by Tony and his backing singers in the karaoke bar. We all went back to Vickis and carried on where we left off and the Singstar was unleashed. I went outside and Tony was playing with his stargazing app so I asked what these two stars were. It turns out that actually one of the 'stars' was Saturn. All this time I had been wondering what the two random stars were and in fact I was looking at a planet.
Monday, 26 March 2012
Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix
On Saturday we flew from Langkawi to KL. I was both sad to be leaving such an amazing place but excited at the prospect of what lay ahead. The flight was ok and we managed to get into KL about 15 minutes ahead of time. We hoped that we might make the F1 qualifying but it took too long to get from the airport due to a lot of waiting around. Our hotel was literally a couple of minutes from the airport. When we got to the room I must admit I wasn't impressed. It was tiny. There was just enough room to fit the bed in never mind two people and two suitcases. I went downstairs to see if there was another room but as I thought they were fully booked. In the evening we went into KL to meet a couple of Vickis friends at the Hard Rock Cafe. The taxi driver was practicing for the race I think. He was driving at 80mph touring car style. Cutting across lanes, tailgating other cars, it was literally bumper to bumper for 45 minutes. I have never felt so scared about my safety in all of my life. Fortunately we got to KL in one piece. We drove under the Petronas Towers and got an amazing view. We ate, listened to a band and everyone but me danced. I don't do dancing. The weird thing is seeing everyone smoking indoors. I'm so used to it being smoke free inside that it felt odd seeing people light up. Anyway it must have been half one by the time we made a move. We walked down the road and found a taxi. By the time we got to the hotel it was about half two. I was hoping to have a decent nights sleep before race day.
I woke up on Sunday feeling very tired. We ate at the airport before getting on a shuttle bus to the circuit. I thought that we would get dropped off at the circuit. Well we did, on the other side of what can only be described as a motorway. There were streams of people being dropped off and we all had to run across three lanes, clamber over the central reservation then run across another three lanes. Not how I expected to arrive at Sepang! We then got a bus to the main entrance. After the mission of trying to find where to get our tickets we finally got them and proceeded to wander through the mall area. If you look at a map of Sepang it is situated at the wide end of the V shaped grandstand. We had to leave the central area to get another bus so e could get to our ticket area. This seemed to take forever. We were at turn 11 but could see from turn 9 to turn 14 and some of the following straight, give of take a few trees blocking the view. For me it was a fantastic view and as the weekend ticket only cost £15 it was definately value for money. In the distance we could see a storm and it was thundering quite a lot. We weren't sure if it would actually hit, this was about half an hour before the race started. Well by the time the race was red flagged on lap 8 we were drenched. I took some video of the cars going round behind the safety car because the spray coming off the cars was unbelievable. You see it on the tv but when you can actually see it for yourself it is something different. We eventually got a rain mac but it was too little too late although it did keep us warm. It was such a surreal experience, we were at the Malaysian GP. I couldn't quite believe I was watching F1 cars flying passed me. We had a tv screen in front of us but it was just too far away to see the names on the screen so I was counting the cars as they came round to work out positions. I could recognise some of the drivers from their helmets. You know the drivers push the cars to the limit but seeing the back ends twitching as they accelerated out of turn 11 was awesome. It looked like they were going to get a tank slapper going but they quickly got the car under control. The engine noise was deafening as they screamed passed. I actually thought my ears were bleeding at one point. I knew they were loud but that was something else. It was disappointing to see Button have a bad race but towards the end I was cheering on Perez as I could see he was getting closer to Alonso every lap. At one point I thought he was going to pull it off but sadly not. I don't know where Perez ran wide but I did see a Sauber in the gravel at turn 9. The crowd was entertaining. At one point the whole of our section and the next were doing Mexican waves. Our section which was undercover were doing it properly but the next was uncovered so they were just lifting their umbrellas up. There were people rolling down the bank and running with banners. It was a fantastic atmosphere.
Getting out of the circuit was hideous. We walked all the way back to the main entrance which was miles but the buses were crammed. They were so full I'm surprised people didn't have their faces pressed up against the windows. Clearly no health and safety in Malaysia. We paid for a bus rather than get the free one because otherwise we would have been there all night. There is a garage across from the main entrance which was rammed. The motorway was at a standstill heading into KL and people were making a dash across the road as we had to on the way in. Eventually the nightmare ended and we got dropped at the hotel. I have been going through my photos of the GP for three days now and I still haven't finished erasing all of the rubbish ones. I must have taken a thousand.
On Monday we left KL and headed back to Brunei. For someone that's scared of flying you do not want the captain to tell you that the flight is delayed because of a problem and that there's going to be turbulence then hear lots of odd noise coming from somewhere on the aircraft. It turned out fine and we landed in Brunei to rain and cold. 25 degrees may not sound cold but when you are used to 33 degrees and blazing sunshine it is. I also saw my first snake. Unfortunately it had just been flattened by a passing car.
I woke up on Sunday feeling very tired. We ate at the airport before getting on a shuttle bus to the circuit. I thought that we would get dropped off at the circuit. Well we did, on the other side of what can only be described as a motorway. There were streams of people being dropped off and we all had to run across three lanes, clamber over the central reservation then run across another three lanes. Not how I expected to arrive at Sepang! We then got a bus to the main entrance. After the mission of trying to find where to get our tickets we finally got them and proceeded to wander through the mall area. If you look at a map of Sepang it is situated at the wide end of the V shaped grandstand. We had to leave the central area to get another bus so e could get to our ticket area. This seemed to take forever. We were at turn 11 but could see from turn 9 to turn 14 and some of the following straight, give of take a few trees blocking the view. For me it was a fantastic view and as the weekend ticket only cost £15 it was definately value for money. In the distance we could see a storm and it was thundering quite a lot. We weren't sure if it would actually hit, this was about half an hour before the race started. Well by the time the race was red flagged on lap 8 we were drenched. I took some video of the cars going round behind the safety car because the spray coming off the cars was unbelievable. You see it on the tv but when you can actually see it for yourself it is something different. We eventually got a rain mac but it was too little too late although it did keep us warm. It was such a surreal experience, we were at the Malaysian GP. I couldn't quite believe I was watching F1 cars flying passed me. We had a tv screen in front of us but it was just too far away to see the names on the screen so I was counting the cars as they came round to work out positions. I could recognise some of the drivers from their helmets. You know the drivers push the cars to the limit but seeing the back ends twitching as they accelerated out of turn 11 was awesome. It looked like they were going to get a tank slapper going but they quickly got the car under control. The engine noise was deafening as they screamed passed. I actually thought my ears were bleeding at one point. I knew they were loud but that was something else. It was disappointing to see Button have a bad race but towards the end I was cheering on Perez as I could see he was getting closer to Alonso every lap. At one point I thought he was going to pull it off but sadly not. I don't know where Perez ran wide but I did see a Sauber in the gravel at turn 9. The crowd was entertaining. At one point the whole of our section and the next were doing Mexican waves. Our section which was undercover were doing it properly but the next was uncovered so they were just lifting their umbrellas up. There were people rolling down the bank and running with banners. It was a fantastic atmosphere.
Getting out of the circuit was hideous. We walked all the way back to the main entrance which was miles but the buses were crammed. They were so full I'm surprised people didn't have their faces pressed up against the windows. Clearly no health and safety in Malaysia. We paid for a bus rather than get the free one because otherwise we would have been there all night. There is a garage across from the main entrance which was rammed. The motorway was at a standstill heading into KL and people were making a dash across the road as we had to on the way in. Eventually the nightmare ended and we got dropped at the hotel. I have been going through my photos of the GP for three days now and I still haven't finished erasing all of the rubbish ones. I must have taken a thousand.
On Monday we left KL and headed back to Brunei. For someone that's scared of flying you do not want the captain to tell you that the flight is delayed because of a problem and that there's going to be turbulence then hear lots of odd noise coming from somewhere on the aircraft. It turned out fine and we landed in Brunei to rain and cold. 25 degrees may not sound cold but when you are used to 33 degrees and blazing sunshine it is. I also saw my first snake. Unfortunately it had just been flattened by a passing car.
Friday, 23 March 2012
Langkawi: Part two
Well after sitting in the lobby to blog the other day I had a rather traumatising experience on the way back up to the room. As I was walking along the corridor I came across a three inch cricket. It was huge so I took a photo of it. This must not have gone down well because as I walked passed it I heard its engines start up and before I knew it I was being chased down the corridor by what was now a flying monster. At one point it disappeared and I thought it had landed on my back. A hilarious sight for any onlookers.
Yesterday we went on a mangrove tour. Which involved yet another boat which we had to clamber out of at regular intervals. I don't have very good sea legs so this was not nice for me. Our first stop was a walk to a bat cave. We had to walk along a raised platform along the cliff edge. In the mud below us were some fiddler crabs and above us was an elephant palm. It's called this because it grows off the edge of the cliff and looks like an elephants trunk. The guide told us that they only grow something like an inch a year which made the tree were looking at approximately 1000 years old. After the little talk we had to walk through our first cave but it was so small I nearly thought I'd have to go on hands and feet. Fortunately it wasn't low for very long. This cave had no bats in it. When we got to the oth side there was another raised platform that meandered through the mangrove. It was here we encountered monkeys. It's a strange sight seeing monkeys appearing through the trees. It was like seeing an ant, once you've seen one you then start to see all of it's little friends. We walked along the platform and came to the bat cave. Bats don't bother me in the slightest so I was quite happy in there. Some of them were swooping around and they were quite noisy. It was only when I got to the other end I realised I was missing something, Vicki. It took her a little while but she walked through the cave to the other end.
We floated down the river and came to an area where there were boats moored. The guide told us to moor at the harbour would cost around £400 per month, to moor in the geopark which is a lot more scenic as it's in the middle of the jungle was more like £100 per year. I know which I'd rather. Anyway there was a floating fish farm where we made a stop. They showed us all the different types of fish they had and the stingrays. The young chap asked if anybody wanted to feed the stingray. I really wanted to do it and after a while I plucked up the courage. By feeding it I don't mean throwing food into the water, I actually held the food in my hand then place my hand in the water and this stingray flapped it's way over my hand until it's mouth was over the food then essentially vacuumed it up. It was a bizarre sensation to say the least.
After this we went to a place called crocodile cave, so called because they used to find lots of crocodiles there but because of the tourism they have moved on. In this cave were two boats full of loud Americans and they had tv cameras etc. Initially I thought they were filming the area but it turns out we bumped into an American reality tv star from American Chopper of something. He looked like Hulk Hogan to me. They filmed our boat so I wonder if we'll end up on the show? We couldn't go in the cave because it was high tide and our boat was too big. We moved on and watched some eagles. Our guide explained that he doesn't agree with the eagle feeding do he doesn't do it, which is good. We stopped by some monkeys and watched them clambering all over another boat then stopped by an old charcoal oven. They used to chop down the mangrove trees and put them in the ovens and make charcoal. The whole process from chopping down the tree to final product used to take about two weeks. They've stopped it now so the brick ovens are now a part of the jungle and it's history.
Not long after this we got abandoned on a beach. The sea was lovely and full of little fish. The sand however was burning hot. I don't think I have ever walked on sand and thought my feet were going to blister. I can only imagine that is what it feels like to walk across hot coals. It was not nice. Vicki sat in the sun but I went and found some shade in the trees. We could just about make out the outline of Thailand from our little piece of paradise. After this we went to a floating restaurant and had lunch which was really nice. It was simple home cooking apparently. Going back to the mainland the driver up his speed and we bounced across the waves getting soaked in the process. Looking at the islands it just reminds you of the scenes in Jurassic Park when the helicopter flies over. It is an amazing place.
On the way back to the hotel I saw my first monkey road kill and had to sit next to a crazy taxi driver. He was having a good old rant about some nationalities and how rude they are. It was funny but slightly unnerving especially when you want the driver to concentrate on what he's doing. We went for Arabian food in the evening which was yummy. That was Thursday.
Today we went up to the cable car. Now I haven't been looking forward to this at all because I don't like heights. When we got there and I saw how steep it was I really wanted to chicken out. There is no way I was going to come all this way and not go up. I gritted my teeth and up we went. I don't like cable cars at the best of times but this was something else. We got to the first platform and got off. We had a look around and took pictures then I had to brave another cable car but fortunately the journey was a flat one rather than something so steep it's almost vertical. According to a notice we were nearly half a mile above sea level, it looked a lot higher than that! It is from this second platform you can walk across a bridge. This is no ordinary bridge but one suspended between to peaks. I really did not want to do it as it scared the living s*** out of me. Unlike most people who were sauntering across stopping and looking around I basically charged across especially when I realised that there were gaps in the floor so you could see straight down. I got to the other side and calmed down a bit, I had to walk all the way back across it. On the way back there were areas in the walkway that were far wider than I liked and I stood on one bit and it rocked. That was it I was off like a rocket almost in tears. How I didn't have some sort of mental breakdown there and then I do not know. I was terrified. To be honest the views were stunning but I can't say I'm glad I did it. Nevermind having to cope with the cable car back down. I did do it though and I am quite pleased I faced my fears but I would never do it again.
After we had eaten we went for a ride on an elephant through the jungle. I sat at the back and soon started to regret this. I didn't know my legs could stretched that wide. It was a rather large beast not to mention uncomfortable and very slow. It was quite amusing being smacked in the face by tree branches because I was too busy looking around to pay attention to what was in front of me. At one point the elephant decided it was hungry so started to trudge off towards these plants. I must admit I did start to panic slightly as I was stuck on the back of it but the little man got it under control eventually. When we got back we got to feed it to say thank you.
When we had finished we went and had a walk around the shops and it was at this point I noticed the sunburn. Oops. To make it worse I have a strap mark across my chest where my bag had been. The taxi driver told me that this is the hot season and lasts until May so there aren't many tourists. I can understand that! When we got back to the hotel Vicki went for a spa thing and I went to sleep and this ends our visit to Langkawi as we leave tomorrow.
Yesterday we went on a mangrove tour. Which involved yet another boat which we had to clamber out of at regular intervals. I don't have very good sea legs so this was not nice for me. Our first stop was a walk to a bat cave. We had to walk along a raised platform along the cliff edge. In the mud below us were some fiddler crabs and above us was an elephant palm. It's called this because it grows off the edge of the cliff and looks like an elephants trunk. The guide told us that they only grow something like an inch a year which made the tree were looking at approximately 1000 years old. After the little talk we had to walk through our first cave but it was so small I nearly thought I'd have to go on hands and feet. Fortunately it wasn't low for very long. This cave had no bats in it. When we got to the oth side there was another raised platform that meandered through the mangrove. It was here we encountered monkeys. It's a strange sight seeing monkeys appearing through the trees. It was like seeing an ant, once you've seen one you then start to see all of it's little friends. We walked along the platform and came to the bat cave. Bats don't bother me in the slightest so I was quite happy in there. Some of them were swooping around and they were quite noisy. It was only when I got to the other end I realised I was missing something, Vicki. It took her a little while but she walked through the cave to the other end.
We floated down the river and came to an area where there were boats moored. The guide told us to moor at the harbour would cost around £400 per month, to moor in the geopark which is a lot more scenic as it's in the middle of the jungle was more like £100 per year. I know which I'd rather. Anyway there was a floating fish farm where we made a stop. They showed us all the different types of fish they had and the stingrays. The young chap asked if anybody wanted to feed the stingray. I really wanted to do it and after a while I plucked up the courage. By feeding it I don't mean throwing food into the water, I actually held the food in my hand then place my hand in the water and this stingray flapped it's way over my hand until it's mouth was over the food then essentially vacuumed it up. It was a bizarre sensation to say the least.
After this we went to a place called crocodile cave, so called because they used to find lots of crocodiles there but because of the tourism they have moved on. In this cave were two boats full of loud Americans and they had tv cameras etc. Initially I thought they were filming the area but it turns out we bumped into an American reality tv star from American Chopper of something. He looked like Hulk Hogan to me. They filmed our boat so I wonder if we'll end up on the show? We couldn't go in the cave because it was high tide and our boat was too big. We moved on and watched some eagles. Our guide explained that he doesn't agree with the eagle feeding do he doesn't do it, which is good. We stopped by some monkeys and watched them clambering all over another boat then stopped by an old charcoal oven. They used to chop down the mangrove trees and put them in the ovens and make charcoal. The whole process from chopping down the tree to final product used to take about two weeks. They've stopped it now so the brick ovens are now a part of the jungle and it's history.
Not long after this we got abandoned on a beach. The sea was lovely and full of little fish. The sand however was burning hot. I don't think I have ever walked on sand and thought my feet were going to blister. I can only imagine that is what it feels like to walk across hot coals. It was not nice. Vicki sat in the sun but I went and found some shade in the trees. We could just about make out the outline of Thailand from our little piece of paradise. After this we went to a floating restaurant and had lunch which was really nice. It was simple home cooking apparently. Going back to the mainland the driver up his speed and we bounced across the waves getting soaked in the process. Looking at the islands it just reminds you of the scenes in Jurassic Park when the helicopter flies over. It is an amazing place.
On the way back to the hotel I saw my first monkey road kill and had to sit next to a crazy taxi driver. He was having a good old rant about some nationalities and how rude they are. It was funny but slightly unnerving especially when you want the driver to concentrate on what he's doing. We went for Arabian food in the evening which was yummy. That was Thursday.
Today we went up to the cable car. Now I haven't been looking forward to this at all because I don't like heights. When we got there and I saw how steep it was I really wanted to chicken out. There is no way I was going to come all this way and not go up. I gritted my teeth and up we went. I don't like cable cars at the best of times but this was something else. We got to the first platform and got off. We had a look around and took pictures then I had to brave another cable car but fortunately the journey was a flat one rather than something so steep it's almost vertical. According to a notice we were nearly half a mile above sea level, it looked a lot higher than that! It is from this second platform you can walk across a bridge. This is no ordinary bridge but one suspended between to peaks. I really did not want to do it as it scared the living s*** out of me. Unlike most people who were sauntering across stopping and looking around I basically charged across especially when I realised that there were gaps in the floor so you could see straight down. I got to the other side and calmed down a bit, I had to walk all the way back across it. On the way back there were areas in the walkway that were far wider than I liked and I stood on one bit and it rocked. That was it I was off like a rocket almost in tears. How I didn't have some sort of mental breakdown there and then I do not know. I was terrified. To be honest the views were stunning but I can't say I'm glad I did it. Nevermind having to cope with the cable car back down. I did do it though and I am quite pleased I faced my fears but I would never do it again.
After we had eaten we went for a ride on an elephant through the jungle. I sat at the back and soon started to regret this. I didn't know my legs could stretched that wide. It was a rather large beast not to mention uncomfortable and very slow. It was quite amusing being smacked in the face by tree branches because I was too busy looking around to pay attention to what was in front of me. At one point the elephant decided it was hungry so started to trudge off towards these plants. I must admit I did start to panic slightly as I was stuck on the back of it but the little man got it under control eventually. When we got back we got to feed it to say thank you.
When we had finished we went and had a walk around the shops and it was at this point I noticed the sunburn. Oops. To make it worse I have a strap mark across my chest where my bag had been. The taxi driver told me that this is the hot season and lasts until May so there aren't many tourists. I can understand that! When we got back to the hotel Vicki went for a spa thing and I went to sleep and this ends our visit to Langkawi as we leave tomorrow.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Our trip to Langkawi
So we are in Langkawi now and boy is it hot. I actually thought I was going to melt today. We left Brunei yesterday and flew to Kuala Lumpur where we had a long wait. I'd rather that than the mad dash we had the last time we flew in to there. It was rather stressful. The first thing we saw as we walked into the airport was a Caterham F1 car. Obviously not one that they will be racing this weekend but I was still as excited as a kid in a toy shop. What was even more impressive was our plane to Langkawi. It was painted in Caterham F1 colours and even the seats inside were green and yellow. I think that's the closest I'll ever get to a F1 car. I just hoped it didn't have a mechanical problem like one of the cars did at the Australian GP.
It's difficult to describe Langkawi. It hasn't quite been bombarded with tourists so it's not covered in all the western takeaway places like you might find elsewhere. It looks very run down and almost abandoned in some areas. Where are hotel is it looks like what might be left after an apocolypse. It's very strange. There are areas that do seem more tourist orientated but it all seems very local if you know what I mean? There are areas that are being developed and modernised but mostly it seems like little may have changed. One of our taxi drivers told us that originally only 20,000 people inhabited the island and there are now 75,000 due to the increased tourism. It is definitely not what I expected. The driving skills are a little on the scary side. There are a lot of scooters and they very rarely indicate or look before pulling out into the road.
We didn't really do much yesterday as we only got here at about 6pm. We did go for a walk and then ended up having to get a taxi back to the hotel. It is not a very pedestrian friendly area it would seem. We sat in the hotel bar and had a few drinks and put the world to rights as you do. As for the hotel, it looks impressive but once you get up close the awe starts to vanish. The views from the balcony are impressive looking over the bay. The rooms are tatty and the bed linen stained. For the price it is ok. The staff are really polite and helpful. It could be an amazing hotel.
Today we had to get up at the crack of dawn or so it seemed. Breakfast was bizarre. Most people were eating curry, which I might try tomorrow. The reason we had to get up early was to go island hopping. It was amazing. The holding pen we were sat in before we got on the boat on the other hand was not. Row upon row of plastic seats in a run down building. The boat was tiny. There were six seven of us all together, a nice size group. We all had to don fetching life jackets which in this heat were stifling. I'm not a fan of boats and I wasn't too impressed with some of the steering of our driver but I survived.
The first island was just what you would expect of a tropical island. It was gorgeous. The sea was clear enough to see the shoals of fish swimming around. There were however monkeys. I didn't have a problem with them until this trip. There were a lot of them from big males to tiny babies. People feed them so they have become quite brave. One even snatched a packet of nuts from a woman's hand. A group of people were stood under a coconut tree whilst watching them and suddenly there was a thud and shouts of surprise. A coconut had fallen and how it missed every one I do not know. I walked of up towards the jetty and it was at this point a monkey came charging at me baring its teeth. I turned and ran to the amusement of another couple. They told me it wouldn't bite but to be honest I didn't really want to take the chance.
We left this island and went to another where we had to walk through the jungle albeit on a man made path passed lots more monkeys. These were a little less aggressive so it wasn't so bad. After going uphill and then back down we came to the lake of the pregnant maiden. It is called this because from the sea if you look at the hill formation of the island it looks like a pregnant lady lying down. The lake is huge and we discovered it used to be a huge cave. The roof collapsed and eventually it filled with rain water, creating the lake.
We also went to an area where they throw food into the water just off an island so that the eagles swoop down close to the boats. I don't necessarily agree with this practice but seeing the eagles so close is very impressive especially because of their size. When we got to dry land again we went to a place. Called Underwater World which is basically like a Sealife Centre. It was good and there were some absolutely humongous fish in there but my highlight was stroking a shark. It was only about a foot and a half long but it's something I've never done before.
In the evening we watched the sunset and had a drink. It's early to bed tonight because tomorrow we are going on more water based adventures and then in the evening I am going for an evening trek in the jungle. Slightly nervous!
It's difficult to describe Langkawi. It hasn't quite been bombarded with tourists so it's not covered in all the western takeaway places like you might find elsewhere. It looks very run down and almost abandoned in some areas. Where are hotel is it looks like what might be left after an apocolypse. It's very strange. There are areas that do seem more tourist orientated but it all seems very local if you know what I mean? There are areas that are being developed and modernised but mostly it seems like little may have changed. One of our taxi drivers told us that originally only 20,000 people inhabited the island and there are now 75,000 due to the increased tourism. It is definitely not what I expected. The driving skills are a little on the scary side. There are a lot of scooters and they very rarely indicate or look before pulling out into the road.
We didn't really do much yesterday as we only got here at about 6pm. We did go for a walk and then ended up having to get a taxi back to the hotel. It is not a very pedestrian friendly area it would seem. We sat in the hotel bar and had a few drinks and put the world to rights as you do. As for the hotel, it looks impressive but once you get up close the awe starts to vanish. The views from the balcony are impressive looking over the bay. The rooms are tatty and the bed linen stained. For the price it is ok. The staff are really polite and helpful. It could be an amazing hotel.
Today we had to get up at the crack of dawn or so it seemed. Breakfast was bizarre. Most people were eating curry, which I might try tomorrow. The reason we had to get up early was to go island hopping. It was amazing. The holding pen we were sat in before we got on the boat on the other hand was not. Row upon row of plastic seats in a run down building. The boat was tiny. There were six seven of us all together, a nice size group. We all had to don fetching life jackets which in this heat were stifling. I'm not a fan of boats and I wasn't too impressed with some of the steering of our driver but I survived.
The first island was just what you would expect of a tropical island. It was gorgeous. The sea was clear enough to see the shoals of fish swimming around. There were however monkeys. I didn't have a problem with them until this trip. There were a lot of them from big males to tiny babies. People feed them so they have become quite brave. One even snatched a packet of nuts from a woman's hand. A group of people were stood under a coconut tree whilst watching them and suddenly there was a thud and shouts of surprise. A coconut had fallen and how it missed every one I do not know. I walked of up towards the jetty and it was at this point a monkey came charging at me baring its teeth. I turned and ran to the amusement of another couple. They told me it wouldn't bite but to be honest I didn't really want to take the chance.
We left this island and went to another where we had to walk through the jungle albeit on a man made path passed lots more monkeys. These were a little less aggressive so it wasn't so bad. After going uphill and then back down we came to the lake of the pregnant maiden. It is called this because from the sea if you look at the hill formation of the island it looks like a pregnant lady lying down. The lake is huge and we discovered it used to be a huge cave. The roof collapsed and eventually it filled with rain water, creating the lake.
We also went to an area where they throw food into the water just off an island so that the eagles swoop down close to the boats. I don't necessarily agree with this practice but seeing the eagles so close is very impressive especially because of their size. When we got to dry land again we went to a place. Called Underwater World which is basically like a Sealife Centre. It was good and there were some absolutely humongous fish in there but my highlight was stroking a shark. It was only about a foot and a half long but it's something I've never done before.
In the evening we watched the sunset and had a drink. It's early to bed tonight because tomorrow we are going on more water based adventures and then in the evening I am going for an evening trek in the jungle. Slightly nervous!
Monday, 19 March 2012
Random fun
It's been a little while since I last wrote a blog so there are a few days to catch up on. Let's start with Friday. We were invited over to one of Vickis friends for holiday drinks. Now as I don't drink all that much I half volunteered to drive later in the day so Vicki could drink. It was quite amusing and turned into a bit of a gathering in the end. So I ended up driving us to have something to eat which could have gone slightly better. There is a junction which I wasn't happy with and my fears were realised. It's the only time I've felt uneasy in the car. Anyway I drove us to Jerudong Park and we went to the gardens to watch a waterfall show. It was actually alright. The music was a mixture of Disney and pop. A few of Vickis friends joined us part way through and once it had finished we went back to the park. This turned out to be highly amusing as we ended up going on the pedalo boat things and tried racing each other around the lake. After that we wandered over to these hovercraft type things. They were a bit like dodgems but you were say on an inflated rubber ring. I couldn't go on these as the handles looked like they were made of rubber. We did go on the dodgems which was entertaining until a bloke flew at me head on at the same time someone smashed into my side and I ended up with a rather sore neck.
On Saturday I woke up with a very sore neck after the dodgems incident plus I felt poorly so we didn't really do anything. We ended up watching Saw 6 which was disgusting. When we went to bed I hid behind Vickis door and had closed mine to make it look like I had gone to bed. As she walked passed my room she said goodnight, walked into her room and that's when I said goodnight quietly behind her. This resulted in her turning round, hands to face and screaming in shock. I actually nearly wet myself through laughing so hard. In fact I'm still laughing now. Apparently she is going to get her revenge. I really wish I had recorded it because it was hilarious.
On Sunday I felt really poorly so did absolutely nothing. I felt a bit bad for Vicki but it felt like my head was going to explode.
Today I felt much better and after going shopping for walking shoes we went for a walk to try them out. After this we went to the Empire for a swim. Now I hate water and haven't been swimming since my school days. Not only did I have to contend with that but I had to brave a public place in my newly acquired swimwear. It took a while but eventually I was brave enough to recline on the sun bed albeit tensely. After a little while we went to the pool. It may sound strange to most people but it was really difficult for me to get in but I did. I didn't swim more bounced across the pool. Eventually my confidence grew and I stayed in whilst Vicki got out. I'm quite pleased I did it because it's something that I have known I had to do but was dreading. Let's put it this way, when we went to Corfu I wouldn't even dangle my legs in the water. That's how much I hate it. Maybe I'm becoming braver in my old age?
Tomorrow we are off to Langkawi and I can't wait. It looks like such a beautiful island. There are definitely going to be plenty of photo opportunities. I'm really looking forward to going but it is slightly overshadowed by the fact that on Sunday we will be at the Malaysian GP. So in the next week there will be lots to talk about.
On Saturday I woke up with a very sore neck after the dodgems incident plus I felt poorly so we didn't really do anything. We ended up watching Saw 6 which was disgusting. When we went to bed I hid behind Vickis door and had closed mine to make it look like I had gone to bed. As she walked passed my room she said goodnight, walked into her room and that's when I said goodnight quietly behind her. This resulted in her turning round, hands to face and screaming in shock. I actually nearly wet myself through laughing so hard. In fact I'm still laughing now. Apparently she is going to get her revenge. I really wish I had recorded it because it was hilarious.
On Sunday I felt really poorly so did absolutely nothing. I felt a bit bad for Vicki but it felt like my head was going to explode.
Today I felt much better and after going shopping for walking shoes we went for a walk to try them out. After this we went to the Empire for a swim. Now I hate water and haven't been swimming since my school days. Not only did I have to contend with that but I had to brave a public place in my newly acquired swimwear. It took a while but eventually I was brave enough to recline on the sun bed albeit tensely. After a little while we went to the pool. It may sound strange to most people but it was really difficult for me to get in but I did. I didn't swim more bounced across the pool. Eventually my confidence grew and I stayed in whilst Vicki got out. I'm quite pleased I did it because it's something that I have known I had to do but was dreading. Let's put it this way, when we went to Corfu I wouldn't even dangle my legs in the water. That's how much I hate it. Maybe I'm becoming braver in my old age?
Tomorrow we are off to Langkawi and I can't wait. It looks like such a beautiful island. There are definitely going to be plenty of photo opportunities. I'm really looking forward to going but it is slightly overshadowed by the fact that on Sunday we will be at the Malaysian GP. So in the next week there will be lots to talk about.
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