Fri 28th Dec - Chiang Saen

Today I decided to get a haircut. This is always a bit of a hit and miss affair in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. I found a hairdresser but as expected he didn’t speak any English. When he started he appeared just to be randomly snipping at chunks of hair without even using a comb. I managed to convey to him that I would have the number 3 razor at the side and he could cut the top with scissors. He progressed much better after that and I think I got a pretty good haircut in the end. 50 Baht.

I met young guy from Singapore this morning who is traveling to Laos. He has just been to Pai and recommended it, he spent 5 days there. We had breakfast together before he went to get the Songtail.

I decided to buy $50 in the bank for my Loas Visa n Arrival. It wa pretty straight forward and there wasn’t any commission.

I am reading a Salman Rushdie book at the moment Shalamar the Clown. Only just started it but it looks good so far.

On walking round the local Market I noticed quite a few cooked insects and frogs for sale. I had seen a little of this in Chaing Rai but I wasn’t sure if it was just for the tourists. Definitely the real thing here. The frogs actually looked quite tasty but I didn’t try them. I would need a witness for proof.

I spent most of the day in the sun on the banks of the Mekong reading. I also had a Thai foot massage, sitting watching the boats go by. The method is to use a cream and the massage covers the foot and lower leg. Its more of a relaxing massage than reflexology although there was a point where a rounded wooded implement is pressed against a number of points around the foot. The massage was finished of with a 5min on the head and shoulders. Nice and relaxing and at 110 baht (1 pound 60) for an hour extremely good value.

Thurs 27th Dec Chaing Rai to Chaing Saen

Chaing Rai was just a smaller version of Chain Mai to me, another busy city. I decided to take a gamble and head for a town called Chiang Saen. This proved a good decision. It’s a nice riverside town on the Mekong with a bit of a seaside resort feel. There aren’t to many western tourists but I think quite a few Asian. Laos is on the other side of the river but the only crossing with Visa on arrival is in a town 50km south called Chiang Kong.

I’ve found a good place to stay with an old Chinese landlord from Singapore called Andrew. 250 baht. He’s a bit of a character. He told me he was in the Merchant Navy and had spent some time in Ardrosan. The place is full for the weekend as many Thais from Chaing Rai will be here for New Year but I can stay for the next couple of days.

I had my first Thai massage here open air on promenade on the banks of the Mekong. Lots of bending, stretching, pushing, pulling, elbows and standing on. Good but a bit of an ordeal not too relaxing. I think I’ll try a Thai foot massage next.

An old American guy stopped me and asked me if I was “coming or going”. When I asked where he said China. He had apparently had an amazing experience on a 5 day boat trip down the Mekong from China. I explained I was going to Laos and he recommended this journey for a future trip.

There is excellent food here in the night market, I had a green curry followed by a red curry, the portions are small, followed by an egg Roti.

The river front was full of boisterous drunk Thais on the way home, friendly. The drink of choice is here either beer or whisky, 100 pipers.

Wed 26th Dec Thaton to Chaing Rai

After a few beers last night I decided I needed to climb the hill to the big white Buddha, starting at 8:00. It was worth it. It turns out that on the road up the hill above Thaton there are 9 places of interest to visit. Monasteries Buddha’s, Chidis and a ship at the end all looking down onto the valley below. The ship must have some significance in Theravadan Buddhism. All in all it takes about an hours walking to get to the top.

On the way up the hill I notice a little village accessible only by a dirt path. So on the way back down I decided to investigate. After about 15 min walking I got to about dozen wooden shacks on the side of the valley. This was a real mountain village no road no electricity and just a standpipe for water. There were pigs roaming around and people in normal clothes i.e. not traditional dress, going about there daily business. The main obstacle in getting there were the dogs which barked at me but I kept my head down and didn’t make eye contact so got through safely. It was a bit of a challenge to get through 4 or 5 barking dogs around my heels. The people offered to take me to a cave and waterfall from what I could gather. This would have been a good trek but I had decided to get the 12:30 long tail boat to Chaing Rai so didn’t have time.

Alberto was also getting this boat so we went together. The scenery was stunning and on the way we encountered a few minor rapids. The long tail boat is not really built for this so by the end of the trip we were all a little wet, except Alberto who miraculously got there dry. To my surprise we stopped half way at an elephant sanctuary. About ten elephants were wandering around or bathing in the river. As we waited a group of 4 elephants with tourist on board walked up the river to us, quite a sight. One of the male elephants was a bite excited and I have an impressive photo of it.

The boat stopped about 5km from town and we had to get into town with a Songtail (Sawngthaew). This is the local means of transport, a pickup truck covered and with two wooden seats in the back, 20 baht. On the Songtail we met a 64 year old Swede with his young Thai girlfriend who told us where to go for accommodation.

We found a nice Guest House in Chaing Rai for 450 baht a bit of luxury for me. Air conditioning a TV and a comfortable bed. We then headed out to town for some street food and a couple of beers.

The LP recommends the night bazaar but this turned out to be populated only by a small amount of tourists. The main market had much nicer and a greater variety of food.

Tues 25th Dec – Thaton - Mae Salong

Christmas day.
It was a beautiful morning and I had breakfast in the restaurant in the orange grove beside the river. So lovely in fact that I decided to stay another night and explore here a little.

I noticed an enormous white Buddha on the hillside above the river which looked rally impressive shining in the sun.

However I decided to leave that till later and took a local bus to a the net town 46km away Mae Salong. The journey was through some beautiful mountain scenery wit Orange groves, tea plantations, palm trees, banana pants and quiet roads.

On the way a guy got on who was dressed in what I think is one of mountain tribe traditional costumes. I’m sure he wasn’t dressed like this for the tourists, his clothes were too worn and dirty. We were pretty much face to face and I could see him looking at me and thinking what is this strange creature and my look surely told the same story. Anyway few miles down the road he pulled out and ancient filthy mobile phone and started to check for any texts. Perhaps he was trying to show me he wasn’t that primitive after all.

The bus stopped 16km from Mae Salong and I was told that I would need to get another bus the rest of the way, also I would have only half an hour there before the last bus back to Thaton. It turned out that half an hour was enough for me. Mae Salong is a stopping off point for many of the tours. It has an interesting Wat and the streets are lined with people dressed in mountain Tribe clothes selling souvenirs. Its in a lovely position in the mountains but for me the best thing was the scenery on the way there.

When I got back I met an Italian guy called Alberto. We decided to meet later for dinner. Christmas dinner in fact.

I phoned Sally who wasn’t feeling very well. A very bad cold by the sounds of things. It was nice to here her voice again that is what I could hear of it.

After a Christmas dinner of Chicken and cashew nuts Chinese style we headed out on the town to find out we were the only ones about. We did find a couple of French people and an English guy is a guest house bar however. The French were only really interested in talking to themselves and the English guy ended up getting into an argument with the owner when she wanted to close at 10:30. I left before things got to hot. The next day she told me that she called the police to get rid of him. She told me he was luck because she had a gun in her car. Which was a surprise.

Monday 24th Dec – Chaing Mai to Thaton

Took the bus to Chaing Dao. The main attraction here is a Wat and cave in the hillside about 5k from town. There were no buses but fortunately I didn’t have to walk the whole way. Thai people stopped to give me a lift both on the way there and the way back. Took pity on me struggling in the sun. Although the weather is just about perfect for me now high 20s C and not a cloud in the sky.

The Chaing Dao cave and Wat were in a beautiful location and the countryside around was lovely. After having a look at a few Buddha’s I found a little temple which had a row of fortune telling machines, one for each day of the week. I had no idea how to work them but gave it a go, choosing Wednesday as my birthday. After I put the money in the machine started chant and some lights went round and eventually stopped at 2 numbers. There were some numbered cubbyholes with sheets of paper inside but it wasn’t clear which one I should take so I picked randomly. The following is the prediction.

Like Being dumb. Difficult to express yourself clearly. Feeling uncertain. Forthcoming child shall be a baby girl. Lost items could never be recovered. Illness condition unfavorable. Discovering a mate who could be satisfactory. No lucks. Should be careful.

Clearly not for me, I hope!

I then picked another up from a pile on the floor.

Enjoyable life. Despite any illness, need no worry. All in family will be happy and have good lucks. Long journey will be undertaken safe and sound. Desires will be fulfilled. Patient recovering. Legal case in your favor. All is good for you.

I think I’ll have that one. Or is it for Sally?

I then went into the cave. There are no lights so you need to hire a guide with a lamp for 100 baht. It was quite an extensive cave and the guide pointed out various features which looked like; Elephants, curtains, chickens sleeping Buddha’s etc. Quite good fun really but very hot in the cave.

I decided to get the bus on to a place called Thaton on the river Kok about a couple of hours further north. You can get a long tail boat fro here to Chaing Rai.

Taton turned out to be a really nice town in the mountains by the riverside. There is a monastery there and a number of large Chidis and Buddha statues on the mountain side.

I found a great little chalet to stay in. The chalets were built in an old orange grove which had been planted up with lots of flowering plants, really lovely. (300 baht)

The town however was dead at night. Surprising as there were a few expensive hotels with restaurants, all empty.

Fri 21st Dec – Sun 23rd Chiang Mai

Arrived in Chaing Mai at 9:00 by sleeper train
Found a nice quite guest house outside of the old city 250 baht
There are lots of package tourists here with a number of large international name hotels.
The night market is much more expensive than others I have been to and mainly filled with westerners.
There are lots of young and old westerners here with Thai girl friends. A fair amount with children.
Some of the older guys look very strange hobbling along with there young Thai girlfriends.
There appeared to also be a lot of older western couples. It occurred to me that the old guys may be doing an old for new deal.

Most the bars are full of young Thai girls beckoning in any passing westerner. I can’t say what happens when you get in. I managed to find a Blues bar with no Thai girls.

The weather here is now very hot and sunny. Too hot for waling around at midday.

Chaing Mai is too big a city for me I will need to get out in the country soon.

There are some interesting Wats to see but I’m getting a little Wat weary.

Reading Ian McEwan – Atonement – very good book
And Terry Pratchett – The Truth – more of the same fun and fantasy from him

Saturday – took a day trip to Mat Tang. Not a particularly interesting town but I had a nice lunch of Duck and rice. I decided to take the same bus the following day into the mountains to a place called Chaing Dao, on the advice of an English girl I met on the bus.

Had a nice Pad Thai for dinner. Stir fried noodles with shrimp etc and a nice raw vegetable salad. I’m beginning to get the hang of the chop sticks but I may have seen a few of the locals sniggering.

There has been another ban on alcohol sales this weekend with another election taking place.

Wed 19th - Thurs 20th December - Ayutthaya

So the night sleeper train to Bangkok. This was the first time I've taken a sleeper train. I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it was. Two seats facing each other convert into bunk beds, with curtains. The guard makes your bed with new clean sheets when you ask. The bed was pretty comfortable, the only problem is the noise of the train and the constant stopping and starting. I didn't really get much sleep but I was comfortable in the bed. I would recommend the lower bunk, which you have to pay a little extra for. It has a little extra space with two shelves, where I put my rucksack. An MP3 player is also a good idea to drown out the noise.

Having left Chaiya at 18:45 I arrived in Bangkok at around 6:30. From what I could see Bangkok didn't look too bad. I didn't hang around though, I got the 7am train to Ayutthaya, which took about 1.5 hours.

The main area of interest in Ayutthaya are on an island which is surrounded by the meeting of 3 rivers. The train station is on the mainland about 50m from the ferry. When I reached the ferry I decided to stop and have a coffee. While sitting in a riverside cafe I noticed that directly next door was an attractive looking guest house called Baan Are Gong. They had some rooms free so I decided to stay there, instead of following the Lonely Planet.

The Guest house is built on stilts beside the river just at the ferry crossing point. The upstairs part looks very old with some nice wooden floors and beams. The owner later told me that this part of the house was over a 100 years old. The woman who ran the place spoke a fair bit of English and we had an interesting conversation later that night. She had recently moved back from Singapore, with her son and husband, where she worked for Seagate Hard Disks, in their factory. The guest house was their family home and the meaning of the name is something like Family Guest House. She was of Chinese decent, her father having escaped China when he was young. He was never allowed to return.

I asked her about the various shrines in the building. There are two Chinese ones and a Thia style one, with offerings of incense sticks, food, flowers and strangely a bottle of cherry coke. She explained that she was a Buddhist and that one of the shrines was something to do with Fung Shue and the others were meant to bring good luck. When I asked her about what it meant to be a Buddhist in Thailand she said that it mainly involved having a good heart and being nice to other people. She didn't do any meditation or visit a Wat very often. Meditation, she said, is generally just for Monks although she did say that her house keeper did some. The female equivalent of a monk wears white robes instead of the usual saffron of the men. She also mentioned you had to be careful these days as there were many fake monks looking for alms. She said if you wanted to give it was best to give directly to the temple.

Ayutthaya island is a bit of a Wat graveyard. There are numerous ancient Wats, Chedis and stuppas, in a poor state of repair. There are also some newer Wats with giant golden Buddhas. It was very hot maybe 37c so walking round was a bit of an exhausting experience, especial after the train journey.

I'm not sure how much more Wat visiting I plan to do. There will also be plenty in Chaing Mai and Laos. The newer ones are all very similar and I feel a little awkward walking round someones place of worship, as a tourist with a camera. Asking myself the question of why I was there, I suppose the answer was just to see it and get the pictures. While the giant golden Buddhas are impressive I didn't get any spiritual feeling from being there.

I'm not sure where all this fits in with the Buddhism I learned about in Glasgow. There appears to me to be some form of worship of these golden Buddha statues and the ornate golden temples contrast dramatically with the state of most peoples houses. The impression I get is that of the Christian worship of Jesus and the virgin Mary, at least from the lay people. Of course, what do I know.

It was very hot last night and I didn't get much sleep. I've booked myself on the night sleeper to Chaing Mai, 12hrs 856 baht. Hot again today so I'm trying to keep cool in Cafes and this Internet joint until my train leaves at 19:00. Hence the length of this post.

Tuesday 18th December – Chaiya, still

I decided to stay another day in Chaiya. It’s a nice village and I like the atmosphere here.

I visited Wat Suanmokk yesterday, a 10 min minibus ride from Chaiya. It more of a meditation centre than a Wat. There are none of the usual traditional ornate Wat buildings and statues. Instead there are a number of rather strange concrete buildings including one which is the shape of a ship. The accommodation is more traditional wooden structures, where the monks stay. There are also wooden and concrete dormitory buildings for visitors attending the meditation classes. The centre covers 120 acres and is in a lovely woodland jungle setting. Unfortunately the peace and quite is disturbed by the main highway which about 100m away. There is an interesting open air lecture area, where a monk delivers his talk, via PA system, to an audience which sit in a multi leveled circular wooded area. As I mentioned before the 10 day meditation regime seem pretty severe. No talking, no outside food, no reading, no even thinking about sex and a strict diet of meditation. To make it more difficult outside the gates there are about a dozen stalls selling food, sweets and all those terrible goodies. Also I was rather badly bitten by mosquitoes in the hour I was there. I don’t suppose you would be allowed to kill them.

I’ve visited a couple of other nearby Wats, they’re everywhere. I saw some young monks there playing football and volleyball. They also appear to love dogs. There were plenty around the Wat and a young monk was walking a puppy on a lead, bit unusual for this part of the world.

Breakfast in Asia is a bit of a problem. The options are curry and rice or a kind of noodle soup with vegetables and chicken, neither of which are really to my taste for breakfast. It’s sometimes possible to get an egg Roti as mentioned previously, which is much better.

I managed to get a few Christmas cards today, to my surprise. There isn’t much evidence of all the Santa and Christmas tree stuff here but some shops appear to be selling Christmas hampers. The usually contain fancy food stuff and maybe some coffee of whiskey.

Another thing I have noticed about South East Asia is that people don’t like to do much walking. They usually get around by mini bus or motorbike. This can possibly be explained by the heat and humidity. Another reason is that the drains, and I think by the smell the sewers, run directly under the pavements. These are covered by concrete slabs with air vents, so the smell can be awful at times. All part of the experience I suppose.

I hired a motorbike and rider today, to take me to the beach and a nearby village. The beach is about 7km away and really isn’t up to much, at least compared to the magnificent beaches in the Krabi area. The village was more interesting with some
old wooden houses a nice riverside dock area for fishing boats. I gave in and actually bought a souvenir. A nicely patterned batik sarong from one of the village shops, 220 baht.

I’m off on the sleeper train to Bankok for real tonight. I’ve already changed the date for my train ticket twice (50baht a time) so I can stay here but I think I’ve seen all I can now.

Time for a late afternoon Singha beer now. It's a hard life.

Sun 16th – Mon 17th December Chaiya

I got the bus from Krabi to a town on the east coast called Surathani another busy concrete city. Surathani is the main departure point for boats to the islands in the south east. Both the bus station and the train station are inconveniently located on the outskirts of town but not together.

I decided to head for Chaiya, a town which was on the map in the Lonely Planet guide but not covered in it, except to mention a near by Wat. For once one of my hunch seems to have paid off. Chaiya is an attractive, small town, with lots of old wooden buildings. There are only a couple of tourists and the people seem to be very friendly. They perhaps aren’t as jaded by tourism as people appear to be in other areas of southern Thailand. I have found a nice hotel (250 baht) near to the train station, where I have booked my ticket for tonight’s sleeper to Bangkok. I may change it until tomorrow if I feel like staying another day.

The main attraction here is Wat Suanmokk which apparently holds 10 day guided meditation classes in English. The girl at the hotel told me that up to 200 people appear at a time for the classes. Its 1500 baht ( 23 pounds) for the 10 days including food, I’m not sure about accommodation. You have to show up on the first of the month to take the classes. They don’t do reservations. I’m off to check out the Wat this afternoon so hopefully I can get more information.

http://www.suanmokkh.org/ret/ret-sm1.htm

Fri 14th – Sat 16th September – Krabi

Disaster has struck. Because of the Thai elections there is a ban on alcohol sales over the whole weekend, on the few days I decided to spend in one of Thailand’s beach resorts. You can get a beer if you try hard enough but all the bars are closed, away from the remoter beaches at least.

Krabi is a not very attractive town which is the hub for a number of fantastic beaches and islands in the area. Phi Phi apparently being the most spectacular. I didn’t make it there as the weather was very changeable and it is a 1 ½ hour boat trip. Instead I visited Oa Nang beach, about 20mins by bus from Krabi. This is a real resort town typical of any around Mediterranean Spain etc. From there I took a 15min longtail boat ride to Hat Rei Leh, which is only accessible by boat. The scenery here is fantastic. Lime stone cliffs and islands. Exactly the type of thing you see in Thailand tourist brochures at home.

Thai massage is a big thing here. There are dozens of open air massage areas and you are constantly asked if you would like a massage. I didn’t, after walking around in the heat all day I was a bit worried about being sweaty. Although I’m sure it wouldn’t have mattered. Thai massage was 200 baht an hour, that’s less than 3 quid.

Well I think I’ve had my day on the beach for this trip. While it’s all very well for a holiday with other people, I’m here to do a bit of traveling.

Next stop Surat Thani on the east coast.

Wed 12th - Thurs 13th December – Songkhla Thailand

Songkhla appears to be a seaside holiday town for the large town of Hat Yai about 25km away. There are very few western tourists. I have only seen 4 or 5.

I'm staying in a guest house along the road from the Amsterdam Guesthouse. A single room with fan and shared bathroom is 280 baht, around 4 pounds ( 68.3 baht to the pound). It’s clean and the woman who runs it seems friendly. Although the extent of her English is “hello”.

It is much hotter here with sunshine at times but still wet and very humid.

The food here is definitely not as good as Penang. It’s of a similar price but the variety and quality are much poorer. It looks like language will be a problem for me here. All the food stalls have their wares advertised in Thai script, which is impossible for me to read and most of the stall keepers don’t speak any English. It’s back to scratch then, after getting the hang of a little Bahasa in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Somehow I don’t feel the same friendliness and willingness to help that I found in Malaysia. It is probably because of the language barrier. However people generally don’t show the same interest.

Costs are generally a little dearer here as far as I can tell however beer is half the price so that evens things out.
Songhkhla has a large sandy beach about 1km from where I am staying which I visited this morning. It’s nothing special but there were lots of seafood restaurants which I may visit later.

I managed to get some nice food from a Hawkers stall this evening. Pork with Pork Liver, Chilies and rice, cooked while I waited, 30 baht (45p). The guy cooks big batches and people queue up to get it, either carry out or at tables round the stall. I didn’t manage to eat many of the chilies as they were blindingly hot, but the rest of the food was great.

I followed this with egg Roti and coffee at another stall (10 baht each).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roti_canai

So there are good places to eat here if you take the time to find them.

After being at these stalls a couple of times people appear to be much friendlier. It may be that the Thais are naturally reserved and like to get to know people slowly.

Sun 9th to Tues 11th December – Penang

The weather has been pretty poor over the past few days. Showers and warm. There are a few beaches around Penang island and Penang hill to climb but the weather has been too poor to do this.

Fortunately Penang has other things to offer, mainly the food. I have spent the last few days eating. Mainly in the hawkers stalls and food court around the Hotel Sunway, west of the Komtar centre. Amongst the things I have had are Mie Goreng (fried noodles with meat and veg), Oysters in a sort of omelet, roast Duck with rice and Satay. I have also been having lunch in a great little Chinese place which does a excellent buffet. A full plate of rice and selection of meat and vegetable dishes comes in at about 60p and it is delicious.

I also moved Guest House to get a single room and get away from the noise of construction work. Unfortunately I am now staying across the road from a Music school and it appears its practice time for the brass band. It usually starts with “Land of Hope and Glory” at about 8am and continues all day and into the evening. They even have a bagpipe player. It was a bit of a novelty at first but was wearing a bit thin by the time I left.

I have visited a few Chinese temples around Georgetown and went to the movies. The Golden compass from the Philip Pullman book. The special effects were fantastic but the book was much more entertaining. because the Band Practice.

Overall I had a great time in Penang even although the weather was poor, I would recommend it to anyone willing to experiment with the local food.

Saturday, 8th December - KL to Penang

Went to Puderaya bus station at 8am only to find out all the busses were full. It's a Saturday and a school holiday so everyone must be heading to Penang. I decided to try and get there any way. First I got a bus to Ipo which is about half way and from Ipo I took a bus to Butterworth which is the town on the mainland next to the island of Penang. I met a Malaysian guy on the bus who spoke good English, he's a tour guide. He helped me find the ferry to George town and the Hostel I wanted to stay at, 75 Travelers Lodge.

I'm staying in the dorm in the hostel at the moment, 8RM. Rooms are also cheep so I may change if I decide to stay any longer than a day. At first glance Georgetown looks interesting. Lots of two story colonial buildings. Georgetown is in fact the Chinatown of Penang and it also has its own little India. The food is supposed to be excellent so I'm heading out to sample that now.

Friday, December 07 - Rest Day

Having a well deserved rest in KL today after 6 days of either traveling or trekking.
Staying in the mixed dorm at Pujangga Homestay. It's new and much better than the male dorm. There was only one guy there last night so pretty quiet.
Went out for some Nasi Lemak for breakfast, tasty. Spent the rest of the time either sleeping or wandering around the shops.
Christmas is ,surprisingly, in full swing here with all the shopping malls having a christmas display and some shop assistants wearing Santa hats. I supose it's just another marketing ploy.
I plan to head for Georgetown, Penang towmorrow with the first bus I can get.

Thurs, December 6th - Back to KL

It had rained all night and was still raining in the morning. The conditions were too wet for treking so we decided to leave. I was heading for KL for a day and then Penang. Alexander was going to Melaka and Lind was going direct to Penang before crossing to Medan, Sumatra, to catch a flight to Lombok to meet up with her Indonesian boyfriend.


We took the first part of the trip together a 2 hour fast boat ride down the Tembeling River to the exit from the park. It was raining but still a great trip. We managed to see a few big water snakes and some coulourfull birds.


At the bus station we split up to head our seperate ways.


It rained all day and was still raining when I reached KL. I was again very happy I wasnt being eaten alive in the jungle by leaches etc. It would have been a great experince but only in decent weather conditions. I hope Shanita was ok.

Wed December 5th - Taman Negara Trek

We decided to do the Canopy walk followed by a trek though the jungle to Teresek hill and back. A total of about 4.5 hours walking. The Canopy walk was great though not as scary as I had expected. You walk across a series of ladders and planks suspended on trees about 30 - 40 feet above the jungle. Its a little bit shaky but very safe.

We then climbed Teresek hill to a view point. The main problem is the humidity. Any sort of exercise in these conditions makes you sweat profusely. Within the first few minuets you are soaked.

On the way back down the rain started and shortly after the leaches attacked. Little brown worm like leaches sprang from the undergrowth onto our shoes and then made their way to our socks and inside our shoes to suck our blood. You don't really feel them until they get a good grip on you. They can be removed by simply pulling them without any problem except they then try to stick to your fingers. Myself and Alexander must have had about a dozen bites each and it was a bit of a blood bath when we took our socks of at the end. Lind had sprayed some deet on her socks and shoes and although she had leaches in her socks she didn't get bitten.

We were all pretty soaked by the time we got back. Not so bad as you are only wet not cold.

We spent the evening trying to recover the photos from Linds digital camera which she accidentally deleted.

It rained all night and we very were glad we weren't spending the night in a jungle cave.

Tuesday December 4th - Tanah Rata to Taman Negara National Park

A long day on the bus to Taman Negara National Park, 8 hours.

with Shanita, Lind and Alexander a German guy who worked in Norway

Weather fine on arrival

We had planned to take a 3day 2 night trek with a guide. The itinerary for this :

Day 1, Trek 8k through jungle

Night 1, sleep in a cave, where there are jungle rats. It is apparently also visited by elephants and tigers on occasions, so the guides say.

Day 2, Trek 8k through jungle

Night 2, Stay in native village watch villagers make poison darts and try out blow pipe.

Day 3, Spend the day with the tribe and get a boat back .



On speaking to the guide we weren't too impressed. Shanita went ahead with the trip but the rest of us decided to do some day treks ourselves.

Mon December 3rd - Tanah Rata Day 2

Had breakfast at fathers Homestay. Bacon (rare in a Muslim country) and eggs on toast with coffee. Sitting in the sun with beautiful view. The weather was perfect on the two days I spent in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands. Hot and sunny with a cooling breeze during the day and cold at night. A big contrast to other areas where it is always hot and humid. Fathers Homestay was a great place to stay, helpful staff, good food, well situated on a hill, sold beer, lots of info on walks, guided walks if required and a good common room with TV etc.

A group of us decided to go on a trek today:
Simon - England
Paul - England
Ichi - Japan
Lind - Belgium
Shanita - Holland

A hard 4 hour walk encompassing 3 of the marked routs. This essentially involved climbing a hill in the jungle and descending to a waterfall on the other side. We saw a large black snake within the first 30min which put us all on our guard. However on the rest of the trip we so very little. Just a frog and a few birds. It was a hot hard days walking. I'm beginning to fell a bit fitter now. I've even moved down a notch on my belt.

We all had a few beers in the bar in town that evening.

Sun, December 2nd , Tana Rata

trek 9 Jungle walk
Home made strawberry Jam
4km uphill to to tea plantation and factory
Japanese guy Ichi falls
Shortbread, scones tea and cake
beautiful views
Lift with Malaysian news anchor lead

Night at Indian restaurant with Canadian guys Gerry and ?

Lots of beer consumed and photos taken by them for some reason

Sat, December 1st , Padang to Tanah Rata

Had an early start today up at 4:30am for a 5am taxi. I was going to Padang airport to head back to KL Malaysia. The only reliable way to get the airport from Bukittinggi was to get a taxi. I thought it was best to get the Hotel Kartini organise this, just in case there were any problems, they could phone up to see why the taxi hadn't arrived for instance. The cost 180,000 rupeea (9 quid) for a 2hr taxi ride what a bargain.

When I got up in the dark the mosques were calling for prayer. I went down the stairs to the foiay and there were 10 women in the having a little prayer meeting. It was all a little spooky at that time in the morning. The landlord had offered to make me some breakfast, very good of him at that time and I had it while the women were praying next to me. I was a bit worried that I'd disturbed them but when they finished they were very friendly with the usual "Hello Mista" and explained they were from Jakarta.

The taxi trip was a bit of an experience in the dark. First of all many cars don't seem to have tail lights only head lights for some reason. I expect they just don't replace the bulbs when they fail. So cars suddenly appeared out of the dark in front of us. Also road works don't have the usual traffic cones and flashing lights. Indonesians make do with a couple of big rocks stuck in the middle of the road a few yards before the hole in the road. Of course it's really hard to see them in the dark. Still we made it safely enough. I suppose if you know that these things can happen you make sure you drive accordingly.

The light to KL LCC was on time and I a got the bus into town. I headed straight to Puderaya to see about a bus to Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, 5hrs 18RM. There as one at 13.30 but I decided to take the 15:30 so as to get some lunch and buy a Lonely Planet, South east Asia on a Shoestring. In retrospect a bad idea as the last part of the journey may have been quite spectacular if it was light.

When I got of the bus I met a girl from Belgium, Lind, who was also looking for Fathers Homestay. Luckily as we wandered around trying to find it Fathers Homestay bus stopped to pick us up.Once we got checked in we headed into town for something to eat, Satay. After that we went to the only bar in town for a few beers.

Lind had been to Lombok, an Indonesian Island, and was in Malaysia to get here visa renewed before heading back there to see her 20 year old Indonesian boy friend, she is 28.

We were sleeping in the dorm which was an old Nissan hut with about a dozen beds in it. It was cold and damp that night and I had to sleep with all my clothes on to try and keep warm. I didn't get much sleep because of the cold. In the next couple of days the place seemed to dry out and it was a bit warmer. I think it had been raining a lot before we arrived.

A Week in Bukittinggi

Fear of Flying – Erica Jong. It would be interesting to here a womans take on this book

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate - Alexander McCall Smith

Valley of the Wild Horses- ZaneGrey

Getting my constitution backing order

Trouble getting back to eating street food

Good hotel breakfast

Markets

Chinese Food

The gorge

The Zoo

Sun, November 25th Earthquake

Sun, November 25^th Earthquake

At about 10am this morning I was in my hotel room having a brief rest after breakfast, that’s the life. The room started to shake a little and I could clearly see the curtains move. It lasted little more than 5 seconds but was like nothing I have ever felt before. A little like a large lorry or train passing the house you are in, but not quite. I was fairly sure it was an earth tremor. Later in the day I checked the internet and sure enough there had been a pretty large earthquake just off the coast of North Sumatra. 6.4 on the Richter scale I believe. I wasn’t frightened at the time and feel fairly secure up here in the mountains of Bukittinggi, a long way from the centre of the quake. Still I’m a little concerned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7112471.stm

Generally had an easy day today wondering around the markets and reading.

Sat, November 24th Back in Bukittinggi

Goodbye to Eddy and wife

Direct bus to Padang fro Eddys

Good idea to know bus trip prices beforehand

Immanuel hotel not great

Crashed car on plinth

Friday, November 23rd Sick

After Last nights sickness I spent all day in bed without eating. However I did try to drink as much water as I could and tried to get some rest. Eddy checked up on me now and again and asked me if I needed to go to hospital. I tried to explain that this was par for the course for a travel and I would be alright. By the end of the day I was much better.

Thurs, November 22th Kambang

Eddy was heading South on a business trip, I think he is some sort of construction contractor. He asked me if I would like to go along and I could stop anywhere I fancied. So we headed south at about 9:30 with a friend of his and they dropped me off at Kambang beach. This is a fantastic sandy beach stretching for miles. Only occupied by fishermen it would appear.

I spent an interesting couple of hours watching them fish with nets. First of all they take the nets out about 300m from shore and then take ropes, which are joined to each end, to shore. They then start to slowly pull in both ropes. Eventually the net is brought ashore and the catch is ushered into the end of the net. The result of the catch I saw was only about 50-60 small fish. Not much reward for about 2 hours work for 10 people.

I took a quick look at Kambang town which was much the same as other small towns I had seen, got some lunch, Nasi Padang and headed back to Painan by minibus.

On the way back I spotted a fantastic beach just 1km south of Eddy’s place. I asked Eddy later and he said it was called Sungainipa. Worth a visit at some later date.

Later that night I visited one of the islands at the other end of the bay and had a couple of beers, out of a fridge!!!!. Beer seems to be readily available here but fridges aren’t. Hot beer wouldn’t do and the only alternative they have is to put ice in the beer., not for me.

Later that night I started to feel sick. It was pretty obvious from the start it was food poising. Where from? It could have been from any one of three or four places. Not Eddy’s I didn’t eat there. I must have had to be sick etc at least 6 times that night. Not pleasant in a dark Mandi when you are imagining 8 foot crocodiles coming out the water vat.

Wed, November 21st Painan sights

The Odjek driver Vino had arranged was called Andi which was convenient. We quickly agreed a price of 60,000 rupeea from 9am to 4pm,including petrol.I would cover lunch. Vino had set the route detailing the local sights which required transport to get to. These were :

Waterfall – Timbulun

An impressive waterfall not far out of town.

Hydro plant - Dam – Salidokecil

Climbed about 500 steps in this heat and humidity to get to a great view point but no lake as I had expected, just a tunnel and some water routing and feeding water down the hill to the turbines. A good bit of exercise.

Root bridge - Jembatan Akar

Guess what a bridge made of live tree roots and tendrils. About 30km out of town. This sits about 20 feet above a river and is a fair length. I can’t imagine that this occurred naturally. When I asked Andi he said god had made it. It is supported by some steel wires but Andi says this is a recent thing, for safety only. Quite an impressive sight either way.

Waterfall 2 – Bayangsani

We didn’t quite make to the last sight, we were running out of time and it had been a very hot day.

By far the most interesting thing was traveling through the small Sumatran villages away from all the traffic. It really is a paradise once you leave the Cars Busses and Motorbikes behind.

On the way Andi Took me in to see his family. We saw a guy training a small monkey to through coconuts down from a coconut tree and saw some enormous fruit bats as dusk fell.

Andi didn’t speak much English but we managed to have a laugh. I gave him an extra 20,000, he seemed pleased. A good trip.

Tuesday, November 20th Teaching English Painan

On getting up I had a look at the map and planned to take a trip to trip to Kambang, a town on the coast about 60km south. However on reaching Painan the rain started in torrents. I took shelter in the market for an hour or two and had lunch in a stall there. Centre of attention again. “Hello Mista”

When the rain stopped I tried to get an Odjek to the nearest Internet café. Eddy had taken me to one the previous evening but it was very very slow and expensive ( Mahal). The Odjek guy didn’t know where the internet cafes were ( Eddy says there are 3) instead he took me to the Master English School where I met Asral.

Asral asked if I would be willing too help with some conversational English later that day. I agreed but specified I wasn’t willing to teach a class alone. Given the English couples experience. He said he would pick me up from Eddy’s nearer the time.

Later that day Vino, one of Asral’s teachers showed up to take me to the class. On arrival Asral took me into the class, explained that the class would ask me some questions and that I only had to reply. He informed me when I had had enough to come and see him. I didn’t really have time to complain.

There I was in front of a class of 20 14 to 19 year olds. Anyone who knows me will realize this is my worst nightmare. So, this wont be too difficult? Hi my name is Andy I come from Scotland would you like to ask me some questions. Silence……… Try again…..Silence…..Oh dear…. I decided would take them through some basic phrases , counting and telling the time. Asked them to tell me how many brothers and sisters they had in English etc. I managed to last about 40 mins before running out of ideas. Not bad I thought since I hadn’t even considered any preparation. Thankfully the children are much better behaved than at home I only had some sniggers when I attempted some Bahasa Indonesia. Asral was quite happy with 40mins.

He later told me that he ran this private English school and had another in Kampbang which his brother ran. Apparently he learned his English in a 4 star hotel in Bukittinggi which was run by someone called Sir Stewart George Priston. I had a quick search on the internet but no luck. You could tell with certain words that Asral said he had those marbles in the mouth, old boy.

He was not the first person to speak to me about the danger of Earthquakes and Tsunami. He said the Painan area was at risk and drew me a map showing me how the whole of Western Sumatra was predicted to sink into the ocean. He asked me with a certain amount of glee, similar to previous questioners, if I wasn’t frightened. I explained I was only there for a few days and the chances of anything happening to me were remote compare to someone who is living there like himself. I asked him why he stayed there and he didn’t appear to have an answer. I would certainly be frightened if there was an earthquake and have no wish to feel even a small one, as other travelers have said for the experience. Painan and environment have never had a Tsunami.

Vino arranged for a friend of his to Odjek me around some sights tomorrow.

Monday, November 19th Bukittinggi to Painan

Decided I had spent enough time in Bukittinggi and I would head for Pianan. I had been warned by Jefry that this may involve 4-5 bus changes. He wasn’t wrong, at least he didn’t exaggerate. In all it took 7 buses or Odjeks.

1. Mini bus to Bukittinggi Terminal. 2,000 Rupeea 2,000

2. ANS bus from Bukittinggi to Padang – 15,000 Rupeea

3. Minibus to Padang central – 2,000 Rupeea

4. Minibus to bus stop for Painan – 2,000 Rupeea

5. Public bus to Painan – 10,000 Rupeea

6. Minibus to Painan central – 2,000 Rupeea

7. Odjek to Eddy’s Home stay – 2,000 Rupeea

Quite a trip. It wouldn’t have been possible without the good will of the guys at the bus stations and helpful locals, given my limited Bahasa.

On the way down from Bukittinggi there is, helpfully, a mangled car placed on a plinth to warn of the dangers of the road. It may be that my first bus driver was particularly mad but the driving appears to be safer now. Although I have learned not to look out the front window, unless I’m looking for some excitement.

The coastal road from Padang to Bukittinggi is spectacular. You climb up and down to successive bays with sandy beaches.

Arrived at Eddy’s home stay by Odjek. Eddy’s had been recommended to me, and others, by PPamela from on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum. On arrival Eddy was sitting drinking with some friends in his café. I spotted him straight away from Pamela’s pictures and went up to him and saying”hello you must be Eddy”. He looked a bit surprised at first but quickly said “Pamela Internet”. Over the next few days he repeated this story to his friends explaining how Pamela promoted him on the Internet.

I noticed that he and only he appeared to be drinking alcohol, of some sort, from a Jar which contained something strange. On further examination I discovered the jar contained a Deer fetus and a sea horse. Apparently these had been in the jar for seven years and he kept it topped up with local brandy. I can only assume this imparts some flavour. He offered me some but I politely refused.

Eddys home stay is a pretty basic affair and perhaps not for everyone. Guests stay in a spare room which contains a mattress on the floor and a fan. This room is beside the road and can be extremely noisy. Covers and a towel are provided if you ask. This was my first experience of the Mandy toilet shower. It consists of an outside squat toilet which contains a large vat of water. The idea is that to get a shower you strip off and pour buckets of cold water over yourself. Not as bad as it sounds in this climate.

I quickly discovered that Eddy seems to keep a small zoo. Two crocodiles!! and I mean full size 8-9 feet crocs in a dirty little pool at the bottom of a pit. Apparently one of his dogs had been eaten by them recently when trying to get to some pig meat they had been fed. He also has some dogs and a poor little Bear which is kept in a cage. I’m no expert on animal welfare but this bear seemed to be exhibiting signs of distress. It was repeatedly walking up and down its small cage making the same movements on the bars with its paws. I could hear it whining at night outside my window. I don’t know the circumstances of why theses animals are there so perhaps it’s unfair of me to judge.

On the good side Eddy’s Homestay is clean and nicely located on the edge of Painan bay looking onto the small town, a snip at 40,000 rupeea, and I didn't bargain. This was a great opportunity to stay with an Indonesian family. Although having two crocodiles and a bear in your garden may not be typical even in Sumatra. Eddy and his wife are really nice people and Eddy fully justifies the name of “Clownen”. To explain, he showed me an article from a 1989 Swedish magazine in which he was pictured, with the title “Clowen Eddy”. I guess this means joker. I ended up staying 5 days and really enjoyed it.

Sunday Nov 18th - Hunt the Tourist

A Sunday would appear to be a very dangerous day in Bukittinggi. Packs of children accompanied by there teachers hunt down poor tourist and force them to perform conversational English, make them sign their school books and then, worst of all, take pictures of them with the pack. Seriously on a Sunday it’s hard to get down the street. Today I have been stopped at least a dozen times by groups of three or 4 children. I was even interviewed by one group who had a tape recorder.

A group with their teacher helped me find an English to Bahasa phrase book. The book shop wasn’t near at hand so we all jumped in a Bendi (horse drawn cart) to get there. Later we went back to the main square, her whole class of about twenty had turned up by then. They all wanted to take photographs with me, using the mobile phones. Apparently they had come from the town of Paya Kumbuh, about an hour away by bus, with the main intention of meeting some tourists they could practice their English on. I was the only one they could find. I hope I didn’t confuse them too much with my Scottish accent. To be honest I learned more Bahasa from them than they did English from me. However at least they managed to tracked down the strange beast that is the tourist.

The teacher was telling me that it is her dream to visit USA or Germany, but she thinks it is highly unlikely. She asked me how long it had taken me to save for my trip and I told her 2 years, exaggerating deliberately. She was shocked at this because it was such a short time. She told me a school teacher’s salary is only around $100 a month.

Anyway I got off lightly an English couple I met were asked by a teacher to help out in a class last Sunday. They went out to a nearby small town on the Monday to discover they were expected to teach a class of about 30 each, on their own. They said it was a great experience.

Sat 17 the November - Lake Maninjau

Decided to take a day trip to Lake Maninjau today. By myself on the Public bus system.

It can be quite an arduous process getting anywhere by Bus\Minibus. First of all the Bus station ( Terminal) is about 3km away and the mini busses manage to take about ¾ of an hour to do this, the traffic is horrendous and they tend stop at a couple of points to wait for the bus to fill up. The journey is hot, noisy and the diesel fumes are terrible. Then you need to wait for the Public bus to fill up which can take half an hour or more. Today it took me about 2 hours before we were out of Bukittinggi. Of course I picked a bad day, Market day, but it’s not much better on other days. However once you get into the country the scenery is stunning and worth it in the end.

On the public bus today we stopped to pick up some ducks. About 20 of them stuffed into 4 sacks with holes cut in the sack for the heads and necks to stick out. They were then put on the roof of the bus. They looked quite comical up there but I felt sorry for them.

Lake Maninjau is in the middle of a gigantic volcanic crater. I decided to get off the bus at Embun Pagi before you descend to the lake, as suggested in Emma’s blog. There are some fantastic views of the lake from here. I then started to walk down the 44 bends which are required to get the road to the bottom. It was a lovely hot sunny day and it wasn’t long before I realized that 9km may be a little too far to walk. Bend 39 I think. Each bend has a sign with the number on it. The good thing about transport in Sumatra is that there is always a mini bus or Odjek coming along. I stopped a Mini bus and descended the remaining bends with it to the town of Maninjau, a spectacular journey with troops of monkeys crossing the road.

I visited a couple of beach side chalets which were sign posted from the main road. The first one ( I don’t remember the name) was a little run down but in a fantastic position right on the beach and surrounded by Palm trees, 40 000 rupeea a night (2 pounds). With free use of a canoe, one carved out of a single tree trunk. There were at least three chalets but no customers at the time. The next one was a bit further along just after the town of Bayur. I think it was called Arlens Homestay. Really nice chalets, again in a beautiful location on the beach with a well maintained garden and of course Palm trees. These were 100 000 rupeea and the guy I spoke to either wouldn’t negotiate on the price or didn’t have the authority. Still I am tempted. The only problem is that there were no guests here either. I’d get a bit lonesome staying there on my own I think. It’s the low season and I’m told things are much better in July and August.

On the minibus back to Maninjau town I spotted a guy with a wheelbarrow full of coconuts and a large monkey sitting on top of them. I assume the monkey is used to gather the coconuts, now that would be something to see.

The bus back was much easier and I probably got back to the Hotel in about half the time.

Anyway off for a few Bintangs now

I

Fri 16th Nov - local markets Bukittinggi

It was a bit rainy today so I had a nice lazy day. Burned a couple of mp3 CDs for Jeffrey, he’s into blues music. Visited the local markets with him, purely as a friend i.e. no charge. You can buy just about everything there. I got a few batteries a set of sunglasses (15,000 rupea 0.75 pounds) and a nice short sleeved shirt (30,000 rupea 1.5 pounds). It definitely helped that Jeffery was there to handle any bargaining. He said that the shirt would probably have cost me around 50,000 which I believe. We then went and had some Sate to eat, very nice.

I’m looking forward to the Scotland Italy football game tomorrow. It doesn’t start until midnight here but the guys in the Bedual café have said I can use there internet machine all night if I want. You never know I may see some of it on the TV. The England Australia game is on TV tonight so there may be a chance.

I think I’ll probably stay here a few more days before heading for Painan. After that maybe Harau Valley.

Thurs 15th - Minang Kabu Tour

I decided to take one of the tours on offer in the Bedual café with a young Indonesian guy, surprisingly called Jeffery. He insisted that was his real name, one of the other guides is called John so maybe some Indonesians have European names. The price was 135000 Rupea about 7 pounds, for the full day 10am to 5pm.

Trip was called the Minang Kabu Tour It covered:

Visiting some small villages where we saw lots of coconut trees, cinnamon trees, Papua, cloves, chilies and of course lots of rice paddy fields.

Stopping of at some lovely view points in the mountains.

A stop at an ingenious but very basic waterwheel powered coffee mill.

A visit to some very old traditional Sumatran houses and a look inside the Queens house.

A stop for Lunch at Lake Singkarak.

All in al a very good tour. Jeffery was really good guide and spoke very good English. He was very pleased at the end to get some of the MP3s off my player. I ended up having quite a few beers with them afterwards with me behind the bar doing my DJ from the MP3 player. Really nice people and I had a great night.

The Bedual Café is apparently owned by a Scottish woman, from Aberdeen and her Indonesian husband. They stay in Scotland and only visit every couple of years. There was an interesting photograph of them on there wedding day with the Indonesian Guy in a kilt.

I’m going to take it easy today and maybe just visit the local markets.

Wed 14th Nov - Harau Valley

Hello again from Western Sumatra,

I had a very interesting drink from a stall in Bukittinggi last night. I consisted of hot Ginger water a beaten egg, pine nuts, pomegranate, bread cubes, condensed milk, sugar and what looked like roasted lentils. I think it is called Sekoteng. Quite pleasant but very sweet, as many of the drinks are here.

I had a great day today. I decided to try and get out of the busy town of Bukittinggi and take a bus to get to one of the smaller towns. I planned to go to Payakumbuh which is about an hour or so away. On telling the landlord of the hotel he suggested I go to a place called Harau Valley. To get there involved getting a mini bus to the bus terminal a public bus to Payakumbuh and then a Odjek to the Harau valley. You may ask what n Odjeck is? There would appear to be 5 maybe 6 main form of road transport here:

Bendi – a Horse driven cart for very local journeys.

Odjek – A motorcycle or motorcycle with side car for slightly longer direct journeys.

Opec – Small minibus often a Suzuki which follow a set route

Minibus - Bigger faster bus for longer journeys

Public Bus – for longer journeys

Executive bus – longer journeys in more comfort. Do they exist?

Haru valley is a peaceful little oasis away from the noisy and busy main roads. It is one of the tourist sights but there weren’t many tourists there, either Indonesian or European. It’s a spectacular gorge between the mountains.

There are wild macaque monkeys there. These came as a bit of a surprise. I had climbed a path, which lead to a view point above the gorge and a monkey suddenly walked across the path in front of me. On walking about a bit I found that there were troops of them. They are fairly shy and keep their distance from you.

There is some great accommodation in Haru . Echo Home stay consist of wooden chalets, ranging from the luxurious (300 rupea 15 pounds) to a small shack (50 rupea 2.5 pounds).It is set completely on its own with a fantastic view of the gorge and surrounding paddy fields. I am seriously considering going back there to stay a few days. The guy who I spoke to there is called Ikbal. It appeared to have few residents at the moment but I spoke to a Dutch woman who was traveling around Sumatra with a 4x4 and a guide. Now that’s the easy way to do it.

I got some great pics there of beautiful butterflies with 4 inch wing spans, paddy fields with buffalo ? and farmers in their pointed hats, Vietnam style. I’ll need to find out the correct name for them.

So far I have found the people of West Sumatra very friendly and willing to help without looking for anything in return. Even the guides will tell you what they have on offer and then leave you alone. Walking along the street numerous people will shout “hello mister” and if they can speak any more English will only be inquisitive about you and willing to help where they can. In my previous experience once you leave the tourist areas you almost everyone is genuine and this would also appear to be true here. I have even been asked by group of young Indonesians if they can take a photograph of me, with them in it. Fame at last. At least I hope so, it could have been a similar situation to the one in La Gomera where a German went out of her way to take a photograph of Sally.

I have arranged with a guide to go on a day trip tomorrow. We will go to some villages and view points including lake Singkarak.

I have definitely missed lots out from what has been an amazing day but I can’t cover it all, at least not at the speed I type\compose.

Let’s see what happens tomorrow

Monday 12th Tues 13th - Padang and Bukittinggi

Arrived safe and well in Sumatra .

I had a hair raising journey from Padang to Bukittinggi, the standard of driving here is really poor. I’m usual quite sanguine (joeism) about bus and taxi drivers driving. This was different. I was in one of these small minibuses which was full. The driver had no qualms about overtaking round blind corners and overtaking and then having to force his was into his lane to avoid on coming traffic. I nearly called out involuntarily on a few occasions, “NOOO don’t do it”. However I survived but I’m not sure he will for much longer.

There were some amazing sights on the way up here Palm trees, Paddy fields, waterfalls, jungle and shanty towns. Bukittinggi is a fairly large town up in the mountains.

Indonesia is clearly a much poorer than Malaysia and the state of the streets and buildings shows that. However the people appear friendly although English is not as widely spoken as in KL but I am managing to get by so far.

I’m staying in one of the hotels recommended by the Australian girl Emma who stayed here for 3 months. At first I had a room on one of the lower floor which wasn’t great, a bit damp and the bed was solid. However an English couple who were staying in the “penthouse room” (recommended by Emma) moved out today. So I now have a great room with a view over the town for 4 pounds a night.

I’m hoping to get out into the countryside for some day trips soon. I have already been approached by a number of guides but they are not at all pushy so I may take them up on one of there trips. Tomorrow I think I’ll jump on a bus to one of the nearby smaller towns an see what the countryside is like.

Sun 11th November - Deepavali festival

Sun 11th November Went down to KL Sentral to check out the SYE buses for tomorrows trip to KLCC. It would appear they are every half hour approx and KL sentral to KLCC takes arounf 1 hour 15mins. On my way there I came across a mass celebration of the Hindu festival Deepavali (festival of light) the idea is that this festival brings together the three communities Hindus, Malays and Chinese. There was music and dance on a number of stages and free Indian food roti, rice and curry. Some of the performances were really good. One Indian dance troop in particular had fantastic costumes and a nice trick where the female lead sat on a large double up rope supported by the cast of men. Unfortunately the rain came down really heavy and the PA was deemed too dangerous to use, I think. The also deputy Prime Minister turned up so there was lots of fuss for that.

Sat 10th November - Bus trip to Melacca

Sun 11th November Spent yesterday on a day bus trip to Melacca, a coastal town which has lots of Portuguese buildings and, even now, a small Portuguese community. It was nice to see a bit of the countryside and some traditional Malay houses on the way. I'm off to Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia tomorrow which I think will be a lot different. I'll probably head for a town in the mountains called Bukittinggi so It will be a lot more rural. I'm not sure what the situation with Internet access will be so It may be a few days before you hear from me. I liked KL so if Sumatra isn't great I can always get a cheap flight back here and then head north to Panang by bus.

Friday 9th Nov Day 3 - Massage etc

Friday 9th Nov Day 3
Shared dorm with a Malaysian guy called Nasir who works in the government in a town close by. He says he comes to KL for the weekend to go to Night Clubs etc.

Waking around the tourist areas you are often asked if you would like a massage by touts. The main type offered appears to be reflexology. Although there is a range of others available, including special I’m sure. I decided that a bit of a back massage might be a good idea after the long flight. While walking through a rather grubby little shopping mall I spotted a little massage place which looked professional and the masseur was a man so decided to give it a try. Back head and shoulders message for 30 mins 28RM (4 pounds). The method he used was a little different to yours but there were lots of similarities. First of all the bed is wider and lower allowing him to sit astride the client, which must make it easier to apply pressure. He started off with no oils and applied pressure with the thumbs to various points on the back for the first 15min. He then applied some oil and used some of the techniques you use, effleurage I believe one of them is called. He then finished off with 5mins of head massage applying pressure to particular points. All in all it was a very good massage, I think, I certainly felt that every muscle in my back had been worked and my back pain seemed to have disappeared. Almost as good as the Sally massage.

Thur 8th Nov Day 2 - Flight from Dubai to KualaLumpur

Thur 8th Nov Day 2 - Flight from Dubai to KualaLumpur Dept 9:55 Approx 6 hrs duration
1 Pound = 7 MR
A 9.5 hour stop over is not a good idea - note. If you spend more than 4hrs and less than 8 in a transfer with Emirates in Dubai you are entitled to a meal. So visited the Safari restaurant for some rice and curry followed by ice cream. This filled half an hour or so. The Dubai transfer terminal is a pretty impressive building. Shaped like an aircrafts wing and about 500 yard log with multiple levels. Plastic palm trees, loads of Indian? guys sleeping, shopping mall etc. One problem was money. I was thirsty but didn’t want to change 20 pound into Dirham. Fortunately I had found 2 Dirham on the plane, which was just enough for 2 small bottles of water - result. managed to get maybe 30min sleep on the floor. My back was a bit of a worry however it seemed to hold out reasonably well. We eventually boarded at 9.55 only to be told that there would be a 1 hr delay because of a rehearsal for an air show at the airport. Watched a little of the film The Sun and part of Harry Potter film.
Landed in KL around 10 pm local time. Took KL express train for Airport to KL Sentral no stops . This takes 28min and costs 35 MR runs all day except 1-5 am. Very modern and comfortable train. At KL Sentral took a taxi to the Guest house, arrived around 12 . Shared dorm 28 MR per night (three nights for the price of one). The place is a bit rough. However Anuar the owner seems friendly enough and it is only 3 quid a night. Went for a short walk to get some water etc and to bed around 2 am, managed a few hours sleep. I haven’t really had a proper sleep since I left but seem to be getting by on an hour here and there.

Wed 7th Nov Day1 - Flight from Glasgow to Dubai

Bottle of Sun tan lotion was confiscated at security in airport. As I had only hand luggage.
The air journey wasn't too bad. Emirates appears to be a pretty good carrier to go with. Good food a liberal supply of cold white wine and a very good in flight entertainment system (ICE). You have a screen on the back of the seat in front of you and have the choice of over a hundred recent moves to watch and just about every music artist you can think of. So that kept me entertained on the plane. Watched the Transformers Film Aisle seat with free seat next to me so a pretty comfortable trip.
Arrived in Dubai 12:30 local time only 9.5 hours before my next flight