It's Raining Cats and Cows

Check us out on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAwGsLma4JY


It's not always sunny days here on the road!

Malacca

What did we do for six days? I have no idea. We had a pretty slick bus trip from Tanah Rata to Malacca (with just a little speed bump in Kuala Lumpur, but we won't go into that...o.k. the girl who sold us the bus ticket told us to stay on the bus until the last stop where we would change to a bus that would take us all the way to Malacca. At the last stop we found out we should have got off earlier but no big deal we would just have to navigate our way through the rapid transit system back to the central bus station. Oh well, just another day on the bus) Once in Malacca we went straight to a guesthouse that was recommended to us by the Polish couple on our tour in Tanah Rata. The Travellers Planet Hostel was clean, cheap (less that $20 w/aircon, including breakfast) and far enough away from town to be nice and quiet. But six days! they went fast. Really. We walked around town checking out China Town, went to a movie (Dead Man Down, we gave it a 9), we also went to the night market and walked the beautiful canal...twice...once at night and once during the day. We also tried a lot of the local foods...everything on the Lonely Planet's list of "don't leave without trying"...at least once!

The entrance to China Town is easy to find with this flying boat overhead and a steady stream of people heading down the street.

Obviously the seat on this guys bike is not comfortable enough for his long trip!

Malacca is known for its trishaws, a little out there!!!  They are all decorated to the max and usually have music blareing.  

We saw these weird looking fish that are just as comfortable out of the water as in the water at the zoo at Chang Mai.  In Malacca we saw them during low tide on the banks of the canal.

Another culinary experience at the 'Royal Satay' restuarant.  After picking your choice of  many different types of satays (food on a stick) you bring them back to your table and cook them in a hot pot filled with a spicy peanut sauce. 

It doesn't look that appetizing but it is actually really good.  Maybe a bit heavy on the sauce but it was an experience.

On the banks of the canal there is a whole strip of restuarants, guesthouses and private buildings that are painted with all kinds of art.  Graffiti art.  

We caught a glimpse of a monotor lizzard swimming in the canal, he was about 1 meter or 1 1/2 meters long.  They live right in the middle of the city.

More great food, in the back a banana leaf special and in the front a thosias, served with several dips and sauces, along with a couple fresh orange juices.

At night the trishaws light up the roads with their fancy lights, music and charismatic drivers.

Teatime

Boh Tea Plantation, views of the Giant Green Carpet of Malaysia

Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

It's cool, fresh and more than welcome...that is Tanah Rata, our base for exploring the Cameron Highlands. We stayed at the Hillside Guesthouse which was just a stones throw away from the center of town but relatively quiet. Jungle trekking and tea, that is what we thought the highlands were all about but as we found out there is a lot more to see. There are many hiking trails that can lead you up steep jungle hills, we picked one that took us along a small creek to a waterfall and a little beyond...a short hike of maybe an hour and a half (nothing too strenuous). We decided the best way to see all the sights that are quite spread out around the highlands was to take a tour, a whole day...see it all!

We started our day at 8:30 with 6 of us loading into an old Land Rover (they are the main choice of tour transportation) and drove 40 minutes to a spot where we picked up our "jungle man" who would take us up into the mountains on a 2 hour trek to see the Rafflesia flower, the largest flower in the world, although larger varieties are found in Sumatra and Borneo. Actually as we learned, the Rafflesia is not technically a flower but really a fungus (as in mushroom), and it takes 9 months for a bloom to develop then only a week for it to die after the petals have opened. It goes from big and beautiful to black and slimy (looking and smelling like elephant shit) in a very short time. We were shown examples of a bud in early and late stages, a bloom, and then totally expired. The trek down the mountain took half the time as going up and after crossing a couple of small creeks and trudging through the very red mud we wondered if our shoes and clothes would ever be clean again. At the end of the trek we took a look at an traditional Malay village and had a demonstration of shooting a blow dart gun and after got a chance to try blowing it ourselves. Ken showed up the tour guide (who we nicknamed "Cellphone" because we couldn't understand his real name that was kind of pronounced like that) by hitting the bulls eye on his first and much farther back second shot...did it have anything to do with "hot air?" I asked. I on the other hand I could barely get the darn dart out of the gun, it dribbled to the ground a foot or two from where it started. It's a good thing I have Ken to provide for me!

From the village it was off to the Boh tea plantation to see how the tea was grown, picked, processed, and then how it tasted. Both the tea and the view from the architectural award winning tea house was amazing. By the time we finished our tea we were starting to get a little behind schedule, visiting with Frank and Marika from Holland, and Thomas and Natalia from Poland, during the day was fun.

The next stop was at the Butterfly Farm, I know...it sounds kind of...not exciting, but...the butterflies were very beautiful but the best part, for Ken at least, were all the other strange and wonderful creatures they had on the premises. For example, snakes, spiders, weird bugs, and reptiles inhabited cages which 'Cellphone' was allowed (or not?) to open and let us hold the critters. Ken loved it! I had a great time with the camera.

By the time we finished with the Butterfly Farm 'Cellphone' was rushing us on to the Strawberry Farm...we had all seen strawberries before so it was a quick stop there, just long enough for Marika to purchase some strawberry filled cookies for our teatime together the next day. We all decided to enjoy a 'steamboat' dinner at a local restaurant that night because we enjoyed each others company so much during the day. A steamboat is like a big fondue pot with a broth inside, you are served all kinds of veggies, noodles and meats (in this case we got a lot of mystery meats like fish balls and pork balls) that you cook in the broth then eat like soup. It's not really filling but the experience was local and fun.

The three days we spent in Tanah Rata was such a nice reprieve from the heat and humidity of the coast. At night I had to wear a fleece to bed and ended up asking for an extra blanket after after the first night and...a hot shower actually felt good, we even had a thunder shower one afternoon. Who'd a thunk? We'll have to remember those temperatures when we are back in the heat.

In Tanah Rata, we enjoyed a dining experience.  The banana leaf special!  Two kinds of rice with 5 different condiments and chicken masala, naan bread and some spicy chip things...$2.75 each.  Way too good!

Dr. Doolittle had nothing on Ken.  He loves all animals etc. , here he is letting a millipede take a walk up his arm.

The Rafflesia, up close and personal.

O.K. now you can really see how big the Rafflesia really is, this one is nearing the end of its lifespan so it is starting to droop a little.

Cellphone hold the blow dart gun (stick) while he explains how the people here in Malasyia traditionally used it. 

Ready, Aim, Fire! 

A view from the tearoom at the Boh tea plantation.  It looked as if it was manicured as nicely as a golf green.

One of the workers picks tea by hand, even though today it is mainly harvested by machine.

Can you see the Leaf Bug on this tree?

Does this help?

Can you find the Stick Bug on this bush?

Take a closer look at it here on Kens arm, now can you find it?

They won't sting if you are very still!

Can you find the frog?

Look very close!

Snakes, snakes and more snake.  Many a poisonous here but we haven't come face to face with any in the wild...yet.

They may not be exciting but they are very beautiful.

At the strawberry farms they grow the strawberries off the ground in a greenhouse.  It may be convenient to water, fertilize and pick but to tell you the truth the taste doesn't stack up to our garden back home.

Here's the gang after our big day of touring enjoying the "Steamboat" and a beer.

I just about forgot about this guy's picture, a huge rhinosorus beetle.

Enter Malaysia, Georgetown

The sleeper train from Thailand into Malaysia is the way to go! You get your own little cubicle to sleep in during the night and in the morning they convert the beds into seats..easy. The train stops at the border for an hour to clear customs, then it is back on the train for the ride to Butterworth where it is a 10 minute walk from the train-station to the ferry dock where you are whisked across the water to Georgetown. Too easy, something had to give. Once again we arrived in a new, very full city with no accommodation booked. We finally decided on a guesthouse that we thought was o.k. (however, the guesthouses in Malaysia are not up to the same standards as the rest of SE Asia for the money you have to pay) our room didn't have a private bath, but we were finding many did not, but it did have aircon and a fan. The room was fine until we noticed our window in the room was about 30 metres from a mosque, even with earplugs this was not going to workout. The next day we were off in search of a new guesthouse...to make a long story a little shorter-the first 4 nights we spent in Georgetown we spent in 4 different guesthouses. Finally we slipped into Gary's room at the Stardust when he left, guaranteeing us the room was the best in the place...and it was. We spent 6 days in Georgetown wandering the streets and seeing the sights. Gary had been to Georgetown several times so he served as tour guide until he left. While in Georgetown we visited Fort Cornwallis, the Georgetown Heritage Museum, the Penang National Park, and the night before we left Georgetown we took the cable-car up Penang Hill to 833 metre where we had a great view of the lights of the city.

The people in Malaysia are very friendly and always willing to help, they are a real mix of origins coming from China, India, Arabia and Europe. Their religions have mixed together quietly for centuries, Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, and Christianity. This mix of nationalities makes for some excellent dining experiences, on the street or in restaurants...we love the food here, something different every night. The next 6 weeks should be interesting. This country is a little different than the others we have seen here in SE Asia, it has more modern infrastructure but is also a little more expensive. I know...wait until we get back home!

Ken gets ready for a long winters nap.

From the ferry to Georgetown you can't help but notice the contrast between the modern and the traditional.

Always a intricate entrance to one Hindu temples.

Practicing for a parade later in the month, these guys throw the flagpole into the air catching it on their forehead.

At a temple next door to one of our guesthouses one of the many street drawings overlook the courtyard.

Ken and Gary checkout the beach at the Panang National Park.

On our walk into the Panang National Park we walked along a path that one time guided the local loggers through the jungle.  It looks like the path has been worn away by erosion buy actually it was made from the years and years of buffalo dragging trees along the path.

A quick look up the cable car track shows how steep the tracks are.  This ride used to take 30 minutes to the top but now with this new modern system install last year it only takes 10 minutes.

Look at these cute little guys we met on top of Panang Hill, the Dusky Leaf Monkey.

The view of Georgetown, at night, from Panang Hill

Thai boats

Two Week Visa in Thailand

When crossing into Thailand by land tourists are only offered a 2 week visa, 14 days, that is really not very long...at least by our standards. The crossing from Cambodia into Thailand was very easy, after our taxi ride from Battambang we had only to stand in line for a few minutes to obtain our free 2 week tourist visa, just long enough to meet Bill (lets call him that for lack of understanding or remembering his real Cambodian name). Bill offered us a ride from the border to a small town about 2 hours away, he was generous and we felt very bad when he had to endure a bit of a hassle when some taxi drives decided that Bill had stolen a fare that was rightfully theirs. When we finally got on the road Bill told us his story of life growing up in Cambodia and the struggles he endured during the Kumar Rouge war as his family and he snuck across the Cambodian border into Thailand and eventually to the U.S.A.. Now in his 50's he has moved back to Cambodia and is rebuilding a better life for himself there. Incredible!

With only 2 weeks in Thailand we had to decide what exactly we needed to see in the south, the #1 thing was Pattaya and our friend Tony, who spends most for his winters in Thailand. It was great to see him, he played tour-guide for 4 days showing us what he does with his time. We visited the Walking Street and checked out all the lady-boys, bars and that whole scene...what a mess. We spent an afternoon at a private club where we swam and soaked up the steam in the sauna and later that day had our last massage in Thailand, 200 Bt for an hour ($7 :). One day he took us to a waterski park where people waterski around a small manmade lake being towed by a rope on a cable overhead (very cool but Ken and I decided not to try it and remained spectators...we are too out of shape-we would hurt too much the next day or two after all that excursion!). Tony made it look way to easy!

We said goodbye to Tony after 4 days and moved farther down the coast to Hua Hin. The recommended form of transportation was minibus, we were leery but went for it! The minibus driver racked up the hour and 20 minute drive at 140 km/hr and dropped us off at the Victory Monument in the middle of Bangkok where we picked up another (somewhat slower) minivan for the 3 hour drive to Hua Hin...easy. Hua Hin, where we were told to visit by a guy in Cambodia, should have been a nice quite beach but it was mostly the same thing as Pattaya...lots of bars, Thai ladies looking for a Farang to take them away and more lady-boys. Not our scene, we stayed for 3 nights thinking that we were missing something and surely there was more to the place than met the eye...not! We visited a viewpoint, a temple or two then we were out of there. One of our sightseeing stops was at the train station, here we decided to take the train on the next leg of our trip...3 hours and 120 km on the train to Prachuap Khiri Khan cost us 19 Bt, about 60 cents each. The train was good to travel on, the views were great and the people were nice.

We arrived in Prachuap Khiri Khan (PKK) on a Saturday and at the beginning on a 10 day music festival, great for our entertainment but not good for finding a room...once again, everything was full. We eventually got the last room in town (I'm sure of it!), a very small single bed room with barely enough space to walk through to the bathroom, well at least it had a bathroom, even with a Western toilet. Oh, and it was over the only bar in town, The Small World Bar run by some Thai hippies. Ken and I spent a cozy somewhat sleepless night, next morning we were out it find a new room...someone must have checked out somewhere! We eventually found a great small hotel with a/c and a pool, we were starting to like this town. PKK is a "Thai" city with only a few tourists and ex-pats living there, a long beach with a nice walkway along it, and on this week lots of entertainment with the music festival and market that went with it. What a nice surprise! Tony decided to take a break from Pattaya and joined us in PKK for a few days, so we had fun renting scooters, eating, visiting the market, eating, swimming in the pool, playing cards and eating!

Five days in PKK and holy crap our Thai visa is running out and we have to head for Malaysia. After the previous pleasant experiences on the train from Hue Hin and then to PKK, we decided to take the overnight sleeper-train to Butterworth in Malaysia. I guess it is a popular way to travel this route because we tried booking our berths 4 days in advance and had to settle for 2 of the last 4 upper berth beds (we were told to take the lower berth because the beds were much bigger but actually, and it was a good thing, the upper berths ended up to be quite comfortable). So once again we said goodbye to Tony, he headed north again to Pattaya via Bangkok and we head south to Malaysia, a new country for us. One last stop, switching trains in Bang Sapan gave us enough time to visit with Greg, who we met in Laos, and to see what he and Guylaine had been up to in the past 3 months since we had last seen them. It is so cool running into fellow travelers time and time again along the road. I wonder who we will met up with in Malaysia????Gary?

Pattaya, from Buddha mountian.

You just don't know which way is up on the sleezy Walking Street in Pattaya.

Tony gets ready for take-off at the waterski park, notice his little shoe-boards he is wearing...the next best thing to barefoot skiing!

This guy took his jackrussell terrier on the board with him.  After getting off on his board he put the dog down to ride it out...and the dog loved it!

Good thing I'm not a big shopper, I wouldn't trust the gals at this bar.

Just a little street food at Hua Hin.



The old time train stain in Hua Hin.





Ken finds a new friend at the view point overlooking Hua Hin.



We don't know the name of this game but it was good entertainment.  Each 7 player team tries to put the leather ball into the 3 sided basketballish net overhead.  Doesn't sound too hard but...they can't use their hands.  They must use their heads, feet, knees, or shoulders and...they get more points if they hit the ball from behind their heads.

A view of the waterfront, full of marketstalls,and the hill with temple behind, in PKK

Ken and Tony are happy with their rented set of wheels.  Notice the stretch of beautiful beach and islands behind them.

The view of the bay at PKK from the temple on the mountian.  396 steps take you to the top with one heck of a view.