Kuala Lumpur
Greetings from Kuala Lumpur. This is the capital and largest city in Malaysia. I am in a nice hostel called the Green Hut. I will probably stay for 5 days or a week. I am liking this clean modern city.
After leaving Daniels lodge in Tana Rhata Cameron Highlands, I went to Perhentian Islands and stayed on a little island called Pulau Kecil (pulau means island). I was there for 8 days and should have stayed for 10. Un-beknown to me, it was a Sunday that I chose to leave. I never seem to know what bloody day it is anymore! Yes I inadvertently violated the first rule of Avidan, which is never to travel on a Sunday. The rule is because the transit systems are always most crowded on this day. Well. They sure were! Not only was it Sunday but it was the culminating weekend of the week long celebration of the Kings 79th birthday (who knew???).
I arrive in Khota Baruh on the mainland at the main bus station to learn that all busses are sold out Sunday night, and Monday and Monday night as well. The "Jungle train" was also full up!! Shit. So the taxi driver took us to the "outer" bus depot but, alas, all busses there were full here too... except...at one ticket window there was an argument in progress between a Malay man and the ticket sellers.
It seems he had bought a ticket for Monday morning to Kuala Lumpur and changed his mind and now he didnt want to go and wanted his money back but they didnt want to refund him his money. So I bought his ticket and was able solve his problem and mine as well and leave the next morning. So here I am in K.L.
I was stuck for the night in Khota Bharu, which is a town that I would much rather have not stayed in and the Menorah Lodge was a very... oh how shall I put this, uhh un-inspiring place.
I stayed there because the Good Old Lonely planet said it had a nice roof garden and it is only a 15 minute walk from the outer bus depot. The roof garden was probably nice some time ago but it has been horribly neglected and Honest to Buddha my feet were dirtier after I took a shower than before!
The dirtiest bathrooms I have ever seen that werent in India. I got a private room for $US4.00(15 Malaysian Ringet) so I cant complain seeing as there were no bed bugs, no rats, no roaches, no windows, and no services for the guest what so ever!! Oh wait they had drinking water and an "automatic back scratcher". This is a matress where when you lie down the springs poke through and scratch your back!! Lovely.
Perenhentian islands were fabulous. I stayed at a little place called D'Lagoon on Pulau Kecil and had a wonderful relaxing 8 days in Paradise. D'Lagoon is the only thing on its end of the island. It is a 90 minute walk through the jungle to Long Beach which has about a dozen other hotels and some mini markets and the like, but where I was, was isolated. They had a restaurant but no store, no TV, no Internet and no liquor. Cool. Way Cool.
What they did have was a beautiful, calm, little inlet on the sea, with crystal clear waters and lots of coral and an unbelievable, below the surface world, of neon colored tropical fish. They also had a nice little pond with a bunch, maybe 20, baby sea turtles that they will release when they get bigger and super beautiful full moon rising and great lightning shows over the calm seas right before a night of tropical rain and great roaring rolling thunder. Nice sun rises too, I might add...
I rented snorkel gear from the staff and got a great view of some fine ocean life. Black tip sharks, rays of many sizes and too many fish to count including clown fish, parrot fish, tiger fish, giant clams, snappers, needle fish, sea anomelies and who knows what!!
I went out on the turtle boat with 4 nice french people and swam with 6 giant sea turtles in about 3 hours of snorkelling. These magestic and endangered creatures have no fear of man (partly why they are endangered!)and you can get right up to them and look them right in the eye. Each turtle has a little escorting fish which is orange with black stripes which I believe is called a tiger fish and if not, well, it should be!!! They also have a couple of other fish stuck to the under side of their shell sucking them clean(lucky little buggers). Perhaps my dear friend and sometimes travlling mate Kimmy (the Guacomole goddess)will take heart here and follow some turtles instead of dolphins on her next sojourn in the tropics. Shahh I recommend this to all of you in fact!!
Other than snorkelling I hung out in the hammock and walked through the jungle and read a couple of books. Saw lots of giant Monitor lizards. These guys are almost 6 feet long (1.8 meters) and weigh in at 70 pounds (32kilos)!! They scared the heck out of me the first time I came upon one in the jungle, but no wories mate, they are harmless.
So out of paradise and into the city. The traveler just keeps on keeping on. Now I will close here with two quotes from two friends of mine who are chefs and are named Greg
"Travel well, tread softly and love without fear." Greg Holt
"Even if you win the race you are still a rat for having run" Greg Riley
Peace and Love to al who read these words.
Robert
After leaving Daniels lodge in Tana Rhata Cameron Highlands, I went to Perhentian Islands and stayed on a little island called Pulau Kecil (pulau means island). I was there for 8 days and should have stayed for 10. Un-beknown to me, it was a Sunday that I chose to leave. I never seem to know what bloody day it is anymore! Yes I inadvertently violated the first rule of Avidan, which is never to travel on a Sunday. The rule is because the transit systems are always most crowded on this day. Well. They sure were! Not only was it Sunday but it was the culminating weekend of the week long celebration of the Kings 79th birthday (who knew???).
I arrive in Khota Baruh on the mainland at the main bus station to learn that all busses are sold out Sunday night, and Monday and Monday night as well. The "Jungle train" was also full up!! Shit. So the taxi driver took us to the "outer" bus depot but, alas, all busses there were full here too... except...at one ticket window there was an argument in progress between a Malay man and the ticket sellers.
It seems he had bought a ticket for Monday morning to Kuala Lumpur and changed his mind and now he didnt want to go and wanted his money back but they didnt want to refund him his money. So I bought his ticket and was able solve his problem and mine as well and leave the next morning. So here I am in K.L.
I was stuck for the night in Khota Bharu, which is a town that I would much rather have not stayed in and the Menorah Lodge was a very... oh how shall I put this, uhh un-inspiring place.
I stayed there because the Good Old Lonely planet said it had a nice roof garden and it is only a 15 minute walk from the outer bus depot. The roof garden was probably nice some time ago but it has been horribly neglected and Honest to Buddha my feet were dirtier after I took a shower than before!
The dirtiest bathrooms I have ever seen that werent in India. I got a private room for $US4.00(15 Malaysian Ringet) so I cant complain seeing as there were no bed bugs, no rats, no roaches, no windows, and no services for the guest what so ever!! Oh wait they had drinking water and an "automatic back scratcher". This is a matress where when you lie down the springs poke through and scratch your back!! Lovely.
Perenhentian islands were fabulous. I stayed at a little place called D'Lagoon on Pulau Kecil and had a wonderful relaxing 8 days in Paradise. D'Lagoon is the only thing on its end of the island. It is a 90 minute walk through the jungle to Long Beach which has about a dozen other hotels and some mini markets and the like, but where I was, was isolated. They had a restaurant but no store, no TV, no Internet and no liquor. Cool. Way Cool.
What they did have was a beautiful, calm, little inlet on the sea, with crystal clear waters and lots of coral and an unbelievable, below the surface world, of neon colored tropical fish. They also had a nice little pond with a bunch, maybe 20, baby sea turtles that they will release when they get bigger and super beautiful full moon rising and great lightning shows over the calm seas right before a night of tropical rain and great roaring rolling thunder. Nice sun rises too, I might add...
I rented snorkel gear from the staff and got a great view of some fine ocean life. Black tip sharks, rays of many sizes and too many fish to count including clown fish, parrot fish, tiger fish, giant clams, snappers, needle fish, sea anomelies and who knows what!!
I went out on the turtle boat with 4 nice french people and swam with 6 giant sea turtles in about 3 hours of snorkelling. These magestic and endangered creatures have no fear of man (partly why they are endangered!)and you can get right up to them and look them right in the eye. Each turtle has a little escorting fish which is orange with black stripes which I believe is called a tiger fish and if not, well, it should be!!! They also have a couple of other fish stuck to the under side of their shell sucking them clean(lucky little buggers). Perhaps my dear friend and sometimes travlling mate Kimmy (the Guacomole goddess)will take heart here and follow some turtles instead of dolphins on her next sojourn in the tropics. Shahh I recommend this to all of you in fact!!
Other than snorkelling I hung out in the hammock and walked through the jungle and read a couple of books. Saw lots of giant Monitor lizards. These guys are almost 6 feet long (1.8 meters) and weigh in at 70 pounds (32kilos)!! They scared the heck out of me the first time I came upon one in the jungle, but no wories mate, they are harmless.
So out of paradise and into the city. The traveler just keeps on keeping on. Now I will close here with two quotes from two friends of mine who are chefs and are named Greg
"Travel well, tread softly and love without fear." Greg Holt
"Even if you win the race you are still a rat for having run" Greg Riley
Peace and Love to al who read these words.
Robert
posted by Rambling Robert | 7:48 PM
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