Mersing
Trip Start
Feb 03, 2009
1
7
9
Trip End
Aug 05, 2009
Mersing,
Johor,
Malaysia
Thursday, April 9, 2009
We are sitting in a caf waiting for a ferry to Pualu Tioman. Last time we wrote we were in Phuket, Thailand, so we got some catching up to do!
All we did on Phuket was go the see the movie the Watchmen in a cinema that had couches, very nice although the movie sucked harder than the Dyson under the stairs at home!
we then made our way to thhe beaches of Krabi which were ok, had some Barracuda on the BBQ, swam in the sea, got breakfast from a longboat and explored some caves. We got to see some Thai Boxing here too!
After Krabi we got a ferry down to Ko Lanta, an island of long beaches where there is little to do apart from.... you guessed it .... sweet FA!!!
caught the rugby while it was on, Wales lost to Ireland so big boo for Mike and after four days we decided we could no longer be arsed with Thailand as there wasn't much left to do!
So we left the island by minivan which boards a car ferry... some of you may know this story, but basically we got on the ferry to stretch the old legs when we witnessed a baby being born on the back of a Toyota pick-up truck! mid ferry crossing! little baby was delivered by taxi driver, who, throughout the delivery puffed on his fag and basically co-ordinated umbrellas to keep the sun off them. BIZARRE & RANDOM.
coach to Trang, racist French women asked where we were going at bus stop, we said Malaysia, she said boo hiss they wear head scarves and are weird in MY, we said jog on you crazy hairy armpitted frog (ok so i wish we had said that!)
stayed in Satun for one night, went to Night market for a last taste of Thai culture, was pretty cool , we were the only westerners around for once, we had coca cola out of a plastic bag with a straw (a very common practice in thailand) and bought Donna doughnuts. Donna happy yum yum.
we got the ferry from Satun in Thailand, to Langkawi, Malaysia's duty free island where super cheap beer, cigs, even McVities Digestive Biscuits can be obtained! Goodbye Thailand, Hello Malaysia! or as they say here, Selamat Detang!
was pretty beach, very hot, although the clouds did come over and stop doing a cable car ride!
Mike had a motorbike drive into him (no broken bones, just a bruised leg, sorry Mum for any drama) and that kinda sucked. we rented a motorbike here which came in very handy for nipping about, although a) it broke down and had to wait for a replacement and b) when we parked it outside our hotel it got trashed overnight and subsequently had to pay for new wing mirror and brake lights! luckily again it didn't come to much, although that day the ATM's went on the blink and we couldn't even get the money out! so we had to bomb it over the airport to get money there! al in all hectic but we left unscathed and in search of adventure!
we travelled down to the Colonial historical island of Penang, to it's state capital Georgetown. This place was pretty cool, we found a place to crash in Chinatown and explored it's Little India and went to the E&O (Eastern & Oriental hotel) famous for it's visits in the day by Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling et al... it's a majestic place that does Tiffin of tea, scones and salmon sandwiches... very civilised and unfortunately a little out of reach in budget!
we hired bicycles and rode over to Penang Hill for an amazing view 800 metres above sea level over Georgetown... checked out temple and mosque and then planned our trip to the Cameron Highlands!
we caught a bus up there the next day, and appreciated the cooler temperatures up there! it's a place surrounded by rolling green hills and mountains, they grow the country's tea here and is very laid back! we bumped into some people we met in Chiang Mai and hung out with them a few times here,we visited a tea plantation and factory, a bee farm, a strawberry farm (where they did luscious fresh shakes) and a place with butterflies! funny little day out, quite sweet
after our two days we were pretty much set on our next stop..... Kuala Lumpur and the Formula 1!!!
well KL is one cool city.
hot as hell, more style than Bangkok, an amazingly tasty Chinatown, the tallest twin towers in the world, Menaras Petronas, and of course it was Grand Prix weekend!!!
the shopping here is so good ridiculous. we ended up buying Ed Hardy T-shirts and a Portable DVD player (63 quid) with a bunch of movies so we can chill with a film in the evening after a hard days slogging around or lazing on the beach! Petronas Towers were beautiful at night (see pics) and we got aroung by sky trains. pretty futuristic out here!
of course we booke our GP tickets as soon as Mike heard Jamiroquai were playing for free at the after race party! (big fan) as you all know we went to the only Grand Prix to be rained off the last 18 years or something stoopid and we got proper soaked - but did we care? hell no! it was amazing to watch anyways. the Jamiroquai gig was better than we coud have hoped for too, they really really rocked! supported by a cappela hip hop/soul act Naturally 7 it was a great evening. we down in the pits with masses until by sheer luck we gained access to corporate hospitality to get a place up on the podium to watch the gig with a cracking view!!! right place right time knda moment!
we spent another day in KL window shopping and saw people having fish spas (where you dip your feet in an aquarium in the mall and hundreds of fish literally eat you... apparently it's exfoliating... i just thought it was plain crazy!)
from KL to Melaka, steeped in history and colonial architecture it was a pretty place to hang for two days while we ate cheap chinese and baked like potatoes!
now sitting in a place called Mersing, heading to tropical island Tioman which apparently is where the shot the old movie South Pacific (it doubled as Bali Hai) i mean i aint seen it, but it sounds pretty.
much love to all, hope you are all well, please write back and let us know how YOU are doing!!!
Mike & Donz xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
