Singapore twirl

As the travel bible says (The Lonely Planet), Singapore is the nicest place in South East Asia. It's clean, polite, orderly - and expensive! Having a great time. Outings have included a boat trip on the river, Chinatown, Little India, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and a few fab eating and drinking places around Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. There's a food festival on too - good timing or what!

View from our hotel

Clarke Quay

Monkey mums, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Thian Hock Keng Temple

Night view

I visited Orchard Road this morning, a great time to go shopping - none of the shops open before 11am. This afternoon we're checking out Marina Bay Sands. Then tomorrow it's home!!

Can I finish a blog in the time it takes M to have a shower?

Melaka was great, very much a tourist town but a place that is still a working town and feels like it has a distinct identity (not just a tourist show home). Back to being sweaty so we made use of the hotel pool. We did some of the many recommended Malaka sites. My favourite was St Paul's Church, on top of a hill, full of old Dutch and Portugese tombstones. Felt like being back in England admiring a castle. However, both of us were feeling a little like that Gary Larsen cartoon character, the fat kid with a little head sitting in a classroom, who asks the teacher 'Please sir, may I be excused? My brain's full.'

Currently about to have breakfast in Johor Baru before we get back on the spaghetti junctions to return the hire car, then get to the bus station to catch a bus over the border to Singapore. Luckily M is a fearless driver. 

highlands to sea

Yesterday afternoon, after a white knuckle car ride due to a very windy narrow road, we reached Mount Brinchang and took a walk. 

The drive was worth it. The place was beautiful, although the view was mostly shrouded by cloud and mist moving over the mountains. We also saw a couple of pitcher flowers hanging high in the trees. 


We left the highlands early this morning. 

a short stop at Port Dickson

Although the journey from the mountains to Malaka is only about 300km, it took most of the day to travel here. 

strawberry field forever

One of the features of the Cameron Highlands is the number of strawberry farms and souvenir shops selling strawberry themed products: umbrellas, magnets, keyrings, hats, slippers, bags, pillows ... and ear warmers. 

There are also A LOT of 'big' strawberries and some amusing signs. 

Big

On our final full day in Penang last week, we paid a visit to the Khoo Kongsi clanhouse, a stunning building which houses a shrine, artworks painted on the walls, two rooms dedicated to the high achievers of the Khoo family, and an informative display of how the building and nearby clan opera house were restored. Also worth a visit is the improbably named Beach Blanket Babylon, a bar with a lovely sea view.

First night out of Georgetown we stayed at a magical location, Malihom. High in the Penang hills, we had the place to ourselves. Each multi-levelled bungalow is built out of recycled wood from Thailand teak houses and Malaysian railway sleepers. The bathroom was a feature – open-sided, looking out to the valley. On the way we passed so many durian sellers we lost count – it’s durian season, and the ones grown in this region are considered especially good.

Since leaving Penang on Wednesday in the hire car, we’ve travelled south, usually getting lost once we get off the North-South Freeway, as inexplicably none of the names or places marked on our map seem to correspond to the signs on the road. The air quality was bad too for the first few days, partly due to burning off in Sumatra, so visibility was low. On our way to Ipoh, we were looking for the Kuala Gula bird sanctuary, but found the Big Durian instead. 

We took a brief stop in Taiping, to check out the Lake View Gardens.

Our night in Ipoh was very enjoyable – the manager of the proprietor of the budget hotel where we were staying was very helpful, and there are a number of very good maps of the town available. Ipoh is known for its food and I had a wonderful meal of noodles. We checked out the night market, and a beautiful teashop selling Taiwanese and Chinese tea.

The drive from Ipoh to the Cameron Highlands took longer than expected, mostly due to the vast numbers of weekend visitors to the area. The roads between the main towns were like carparks. But eventually we got to Tanah Rata.

We have an excellent view of the mountains from our room, and have had clear blue skies since we arrived. Yesterday we attempted some bushwalking – it was hard work finding the path. Signs pointed us along two roads, past a rubbish dump, through a building site and then the overgrown path wound through someone’s market garden. We also visited Parit Fall (sic) (hehehe).

The Big Veggie Patch, Tanah Rata 

Today it was a visit to the tea plantations, most of which seem closed on Monday, but we saw wonderful views of the terraced hills at estates near the towns of Brinchang and (tee hee) Ringlet. At the Bharat Plantations (‘Anytime is tea time') tea room we enjoyed some mint and cardamom tea while enjoying a view down the valley. 

Funiculee Funicular

Had a lovely day trip to Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill), via the famous funicular railway. We had a tip from a trishaw driver not to go there on the weekend, because of the crowds. Good tip, as even on a Monday at 10.30am it was quite busy.

We arrived at the top and had a coffee on the verandah of the Bellevue Hotel, which was a wonderful spot.

We went on the nature walk (once we found it) and saw some beautiful scenery, flowers and even some monkeys. 

shee!

Blogger trouble, falling behind again...


So here we are in Penang - the hills are magnificent.


Friday we paid a visit to the Peranakan Mansion, a magnificent 'rich merchant' house of which there are some wonderful examples in Penang. The women were not allowed out much so perfected the arts of embroidery and beading, including making shoes for themselves. The framed crescents are shoe tops. 

I also found myself the perfect silly English t-shirt (one for the film/sci-fi mavens). 

While walking around, we came across an old cemetery which looked like a film set - all mossy and overgrown. 

On Saturday, we had a great lunch at New World Park food court , including my favourite dessert, chandol. 

Loved the sign on the back of the loo ( a mass produced sticker...).

 Then a visit to the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, another fabulous example of Penang architecture. Apparently this place has been certified perfect by Feng Shui masters. It was also the location for some of the scenes of the film Indochine.

We also visited Fort Cornwallis, the base of the East India Company and the British presence in Penang. One of the cannons was a work of art. 

Then we checked out the night markets at Batu Ferrengi, which is about 12km from George Town. 

We had a fabulous meal at Lebanon Restaurant, and wondered if there were any Arabs anywhere else in the world but in Penang. The main tourist markets were disappointing - but on the way home on the bike we came across a local market which was much more interesting. 

Today's entertainments included a trip to the Botanic Gardens, which were lovely. We particularly liked the juxtaposition of relaxing in nature with a rifle range, which was next door. 

We stood around these orange blossoms for ages, watching about 6 different kinds of butterflies flittering around.