MELAKA (MALACCA) - The Final Part

continuation from Part III

Satisfied that we'd had our fill of the capital, it was time to continue south to Melaka or Malacca. Our sailing date was nearing - March 9th beckoned and we'd still got Singapore to get to. A lot of the buses continue straight through to Singapore and it felt so good to see the city listed on street signs - our last point in Singapore was within a day's travel - we'd almost made it.

Melaka sits on the south-west coast of Malaysia, a city with a turbulent history of Portugese, Dutch, British, Japanese, British (again) and finally Malaysian influence, going back over 600 years. Like it's northern neighbour of Penang, it was well located for nations vying for strategic and commercial influence over the region - hence it's frequent changing of hands. The dominating landmark of the Melaka Fort up on the hill overlooking the town is well worth a visit - fortunately saved from destruction by the British (it posed a formidable fort) when Sir Stamford Raffles stepped in and managed to save at least the entrance. Inside the fort were several gravestones going back to the 1600s, including one with a skull and crossbones, making the mind race imagining tales of piracy on the Melaka Straits. Some were for families with English names and we wondered about what kind of a life they must have travelling from Britain, with nothing to prepare them for the heat and the alien life of the tropics.

In the town square is the old Dutch Christ Church - bright red and dating back to 1753 it still welcomes worshippers today. It sits in the town square, opposite the Dutch Stadhuys Building - the former residence of the Dutch Governor in the 17th Century. This building houses an excellent town museum where a guide took us around, giving us an insight into life in Malaysia and particularly Melaka - and how the different cultures have intermingled and thrived.

Whilst walking around, it's impossible to avoid the cycle rickshaw drivers, plying their trade and hoping to transport you anywhere you want. Normally it's good fun to do at least one ride somewhere, but these offered something special. I'd never seen such pimped rickshaws as I did here. They were covered in garish tinsel - pinks, yellows and greens, with flashing lights and car radios providing the entertainment. There was no way we could miss a ride in one of these so we jumped in and were whisked along in a surreal journey through the streets of Melaka, to the strains of Guns and Roses "Sweet Child Of Mine". What naturally follows is the "up-sell", so we booked the chatty driver for a tour of the town the following day. He turned out to be a great guide and took us to a traditional Melaka house and out to sample the health-giving waters of a nearby spring, but perhaps best of all was the ride in his rickshaw, slicing through the traffic like only rickshaw-drivers know how.It was then back to the hostel to make a halal-based sandwich and to plan our onward journey.

The following day it was time to leave and head south again for our last stop in Asia - Singapore awaited. It felt funny getting on that bus - it marked a significant journey in a melodramatic way. Asia had been so much fun and our last country was coming up, before Australia, but we knew further adventures lay around the corner and as we pulled into Singapore, the heavens opened and we hit a tropical rainstorm. Lightening flashed around the skyscrapers as we crossed the bridge into the city, jumping into a cab and on our way to see Cherry, a friend from home. The cab took us past the port and we craned our necks, looking at the gantries that we'd next see from our cabin window in a few days' time. We arrived at a very plush condo to be met by Cherry's smiling face waiting for us - a lovely welcome after another long day. We stayed with Cherry for 5 days, enjoying the hospitality and lifestyle that this city has to offer. Whilst Cherry worked,the next day we headed out to see the famous Singapore landmark of Merlion Park - a curious statue of half-lion, half-fish that has become the symbol of Singapore. I had long planned a couple of Singapore Slings to mark the end of the Asian leg and it wasn't long before we all made our way over to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel to sample the traditional monkey nuts (you are obliged to throw the shells on the floor like a bizarre ritual), washed down by a Singapore Sling. (It was so good, we visited twice!). Cherry made us feel very welcome at her home in Singapore and took us up the Asia Tower with the highest nightclub and bar in town for an amazing night-time view, whilst working our way through the various cocktails on offer! We hit the town a few times in Singapore, anxious to leave Asia with a bang but it was as our stay was coming to an end - ready to finish it off with a visit to the Ministry of Sound, that the shipping agent told us that the boat was due to leave for Brisbane a day early.

We were packed and ready to go - Cherry managed to get back from work in time to wave us off as our cab arrived and whisked us away to the huge port. We were taken through the gates and after having our pictures taken and documents checked, we were driven to the side of the biggest ship I've ever seen. It towered above us as we unloaded our bags from the car and as the cab disappeared into the maze of gantries, we made our way up the stairs to our transportation to Australia, completing my long-held dream of getting to Australia without flying.

I hope you've enjoyed this blog - it's rather longer than normal! Anyway, the next one will cover

Australia - from the Great Barrier Reef to the desert town of Birdsville. Bye for now.

Texts and photos in this posting are copyright of Andy Horsman - Andrew Horsman. Click this link for more adventures of Andy Horsman.

KUALA LUMPUR (Part III)

continuation from Part II

We decided to head upwards and see the view of KL from the Twin Towers - you can get one of the limited tickets up to the Sky Bridge - literally a bridge connecting the two towers, 170m up. It gives an amazing view across the city, but it felt especially surreal once our group had been ushered into the lift lobby and we had the bridge almost to ourselves - and all of a sudden we felt every bit of 170m up - it was definitely time to get in the lift and head down! The Petronas Towers complex is also home to a huge shopping centre, where it'd be very easy to come away with various expensive watches, silk scarves and clothes - we however settled on some bubble tea which was about as far as our budget stretched! Danielle was able to take advantage of the shopping and buy a dress to wear to her brother's wedding in a month's time.

Whilst in KL, we caught a local bus to the Batu Caves, home to the biggest place of worship for Hindus in Malaysia. Every year the Thaipusam festival is held here, where upto a million devotees congregate to worship - including some who serve penance by piercing their skin with large hooks to either hang fruit or even pull cords attached to frames, including some who skewer their cheeks with large rods. The festival happens every January and it seemed hard to imagine how claustrophobic it must feel with so many people climbing the 272 steps to the cave. The area is also home to lots of monkeys who make a grab for any food that they think you have and once you've reached the top, you're greeted by a beautiful cave system with various Hindu paintings and effigies hidden in the rocks.

On heading back to KL, we made our way over to see the National Mosque, although we completely mistimed it and realised it was Friday and of course, closed for prayers. Ah well, it gave us an opportunity to wander around the bustling market nearby. Various hawkers yelled out to the throng, anxious to sell watches, food and even miracle cures for disfigurement and erectile problems. Backed up by pictures of disfigured faces, powder was sold that could be taken as a cure for all kinds of ailments, accompanied by pictures showing the resultant "transformation". One stall sold VCDs and DVDs showing grainy pictures of military action - Chechen rebels and fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Saddam Hussein's beheading.

From the mosque we wandered over to Merdaka (Independence) Square, a nice combination of British and Muslim architecture - domes and minarets overlooked a cricket square in the city entre. From there we made our way back to take the obligatory night-time shot of the Petronas Towers from every imaginable angle, finishing up by watching the latest Rocky film!

KL turned out to be one of my favourite cities so far - I think it was because it was our first city for a while (Bangkok was too smelly, hot and humid) and it just felt good to have a bit of a change - to see western names on shops and treat ourselves, maybe it became more of a holiday destination for us - and it felt good for that. The people in KL also seemed to stick in our minds and we met a fair few people on the streets who would stop for a chat. One such character was a Hindu who we nicknamed Cosmic Ray. Whilst we were waiting to cross the street, he came up to tell us which way Chinatown was. Although this was very friendly, we were actually on our way to Little India and sensing he had an audience (the road was very busy and we couldn't get away), he seized his opportunity and told us how important it was to carry a little Buddha with you at all times. Luckily for us, he happened to have a collection of just such Buddhas with him as he sold them down the road - and we'd be doing him a huge favour if we brought one from him. In return, he'd be selling us something that, via cosmic rays that come from the sky, we'd have such good luck that we'd want to come all the way back to Malaysia to thank him. Indeed, some American tourists had done just that, when after rubbing the Buddha's belly, they'd won the lottery and come to tell him. After parting with what turned out to be at least double the cost of a normal little Buddha and finding out how to get somewhere we didn't want to go, we headed off on our merry way, rubbing the belly and waiting for the cosmic rays to hit us.

to be continued in Part IV (final)

Texts and photos in this posting are copyright of Andy Horsman - Andrew Horsman. Click this link for more adventures of Andy Horsman.

Cameron Highlands (Part II)

continuation from Part I
From Penang we caught a bus southwards and up into the hills of the Cameron Highlands. This area is famous for growing tea, as well as different types of fruit that can't grow in the hotter climes by the coast - and it provided a welcome respite from the 35C humidity of Penang. The main town of Tanah Rata is a former hill station, nestled amongst the misty hills of central Malaysia and is a great area to get out and about to walk some trails through the forests. Whilst out walking, you come across beautiful waterfalls and plantations of crops in the middle of nowhere and it felt good to make the most of the cooler weather - and when it rained (and it really knows how to rain here!) it provided a great excuse to sit in cafes and gorge ourselves on cream teas!

The town of Tanah Rata is a quaint, small town very easy to wander around and chill out and we spent many an hour just relaxing and chatting - making friends with the owner of a curry house eager to invite us to try his food every night. The local speciality was a real hit - a large plate full of meats, seafood and veggies arrives at your table which you then add into an increasingly steaming hotpot.

It's quite a busy area with tourists so it's very easy to organise a trip out of the town to see some of the sights. One day we headed out to visit the Boh tea plantation - one of the largest in the area with big plans to export tea all over the world. As we wandered around the plantation, women in colourful dresses dotted amongst the different shades of short, green bushes picked the leaves and placed them in large baskets strapped to their backs. Most of them live on the site as it is a major employer for the area and we passed a school and church next to the entrance. After making the most of the free samples and buying some flavoured ice tea to take home (gotta make the most of these travelling memories somehow!) we moved onto an insect house, containing various native beasties found in the area. It was a very hands-on place - the guides are keen for visitors to touch the residents, from gigantic rhino beetles (we were convinced this was plastic until it moved) to having scorpions run over your arm. Danielle took a very deep breathe and held a huge stick insect and a lizard. I had my hands full taking the pictures, of course ;-) . It's also home to a butterfly farm, where you can walk amongst hundreds of butterflies fluttering around your face, whilst trying not to squash any of the ones that have decided to take a breather on the path in front of you. We then moved onto a strawberry farm where we did our best to demolish several plates worth of said red and juicy fruit in various tarts, jams and cakes.

Having made the most of the fresh hilltop air in the Cameron Highlands, we realised we were a bit over being cold and damp, having to wear socks at night and hankered after some more tropical heat! It was time to move on and head south again, moving ever closer to our goal of Australia. Bus travel in Malaysia is so easy and we bought a couple of tickets to Kuala Lumpur, the cosmpolitan capital. With it's name usually shortened to simply KL, it felt a world away from sleepy Tanah Rata and Georgetown. Big name shops dominate the CBD, whilst expensive cars whisk past the sky train metro, transporting passengers high above the roads. KL is a swish, modern city and with it's flagship Petronas Twin Towers dominating the skyline it has a very comfortable (if expensive) air to it.

to be continued in Part III

Texts and photos in this posting are copyright of Andy Horsman - Andrew Horsman. Click this link for more adventures of Andy Horsman.