So our return to Kuala Lumpur was soured by us both picking up the flu! We stayed a couple of days to organise a few things (like our Indonesia visa and picking up the fixed Sony Camera) but then once both us could survive without being next to a toilet we headed to Melaka! Melaka was where we chose to recuperate and as we were both still a little ill, we decided to spend almost a week there – almost unheard of for us to stay somewhere so long! It’s a nice little town, full of history of English, Portuguese and Dutch invasions, full of culture having a China town and a Little India and it had nice cafes, a big shopping mall and home comforts such as Pizza Hut for when we started to eat again! We didn’t do a lot but the week went quickly and soon we were feeling well enough to move on again.
Our next destination was Singapore. We had been very lucky and met a lovely English couple (hello Alice & Con) when we were in the Perhentian Islands and they very kindly offered us their spare room in Singapore! This was great news as Singapore is expensive. As any good house guest we brought a bottle of wine with us as thanks; not realising that you are not allowed to bring anything over from Malaysia to Singapore! So we got stopped at the border, Chris got taken into a room and after some form filling the great ‘fine city’ issued him with a $8 bill and we were on our way...or so we thought! The bus had only gone and left us there! And we had only 1ringgit and 1Singapore Dollar (courtesy of Canadian Kyle) and not an ATM in sight. After a minor panic, lots of pacing up and down and worried looks, a coach driver took pity on us and let us on his bus for the measly 70p we owned! Sadly his bus went in the opposite direction to where we wanted to be – but we made it into Singapore and to Alice & Con, only a mere 2hours later than planned – they appreciated the wine too.
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| Pulau Ubin |
We had a great few days in Singapore. We enjoyed a walk, hawker food, beers and some drunken tree climbing on our first night at the East Coast Park. On the 2nd day Alice & Con took us to the beautiful Pulau Ubin. We went over on a bumboat from the mainland and then hired bicycles to explore the island. We admired the scenery, from turquoise lakes to the mangroves and we saw plenty of wildlife; hornbills (!) monkeys, lizards, fiddler crabs with their one huge pincer and lung fish - it was great. The 3rd day we explored the marina area to see the skyscrapers, shopping malls, theatres and huge casino that has 3 hotel blocks with a huge boat lying on the top of them on the 57th floor – it was very Vegas! Our last day we decided to go to the zoo as so many people have told us how good it is and it didn’t disappoint. The enclosures are all quite big (the Orang-utans are free roaming) and the animals seem well stimulated. We spent the whole day there, mostly entertained by the various monkeys, gibbons & apes! We also saw Komodo Dragon being fed, Giant tortoises, White Tigers and Pygmy Hippos to name but a few! For our last evening we were spoilt by Alice & Con and we got taken to an Ex-pat place that did amazing egg, chips & beans and had a big cider collection! We enjoyed a Westons Cider & a Hobgoblin – oh how we’ve missed them!
Over to Java and back to haggling Asia! We had almost forgotten what it was like after being spoilt in Malaysia! Everyone has been very friendly so far, although they normally want to sell you something! We have done a lot of travelling so far, as we didn’t want to spend much time in Jakarta. The trains have been really nice as we’ve plumped for slightly more expensive business class (less chickens & goats!), the journeys scenic – paddy fields, hills, volcanoes and coconut trees and the temperature has been surprisingly pleasant, not nearly as sweaty as we expected! We are now in Yogyakarta which has a nice backpack feel to it. We went to Borobudur today, a cool Buddhist Temple which has dozens of latticed stupas (look like bells) which each contain a Buddha. The scenery was amazing with volcanoes in the distance and the early morning light (we were there at 6am!) made it look all the more impressive.Next we head to Mount Bromo (a volcano) and another early morning wake up; as every tourist knows – you need that sunrise picture for your collection!
Lots of Love K&C xxxxxxxxxxxxx
