| MALAYSIA |
| Truly Asia |
| As I was in KL a number of time I stayed in lots of hotels of all standards. My first experience of accomedation in Malaysia was in Anuja Backpacker Lodge. This place is dirty and not that cheap at 40rm per night for a double air con room. Its not really a nice place to stay a long time but ok maybe for a day, especially if on a tight budget and you need to get up eary to catch a bus- its right near the Pudu bus station. The resturant below is one of the best I found in KL. The hotel I stayed at most ofter was the Puduraya, a respectable place but prices recently went up to 110rm. Its clean with air con, tv and nice veiws of the towers. Its also in a great location in Chinatown and near both MRT and the LRT stations. While in KL for the Grand Prix I stayed at the Bestotel, not the best hotel and the area around the hotel is skanky, this hotel rents by the hour, but it was in a good location next to a KTM station so it was easy to get out. The room was small but respectably clean with good facillities and breakfast. It was an ok deal at 84rm per night for a double. The last hotel I stayed in KL was the Corus Hotel. This is a top quality hotel for 240rm per night for a double which is clean, spacious and with good facillities. You also get a delicious breakfast and its in a great location right next to KLCC. |
| places we ate malaysia Kuala Lumpur- anuja, chillis, melaka, looney planet, satey, |
| Malaysia's my favourite country out of all the ones I went to, simply because its got a bit of everything- beaches, jungle, cities, fantastic hot weather, its relaxing, its exciting... etc, anything anyone could want. And its also got loads of culture and the people are by far the friendliest I met. It just a great place to be- I recomend it to everyone who wants to go away- and Im definatly going back there. |
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| The first thing we did in Penang was rent a car so we could drive around the island ourselves, it wasnt that expensive so we figured it would be worth it to be able to see what we want at our own speed. First we went to the snake temple where theyve got pit vipers (very poisonous) hanging around- I touched one. They're supposed to be put into a trance from all the incense so its pretty safe (i hoped) but there we got ripped off quite badly because they have all these things you can do like lighting incence and stuff, some is free some isn't and they lead you on to do all the things then tell you how much it is! |
| Melaka was a great town, historical and very beuatiful. I looked around all the old colonial buildings, like St Pauls church and fortSt John. I also saw the maritime museums which were interesting and showed all about the sea trade and naval history. One of the highlights was the river tour as we had a very funny guide and he showed us all the sights of Melaka from the river, lots of monitor lizards, lungfish and the shanty towns used in the film Entrapment was filmed as well as lots of other things. It was an entertaining trip and worth going for only 8rm. I also went to the Insect and butterfly farm in the outskirts of the town- this was mush more interesting than the name let on as it had not only insects but reptiles, birds and mammals of many kinds. My favourites were the poisonous mangrove snakes (you could actually walk through the cage but I chickened out as the snakes were looking at me funny and they are deadly after all!) the cute baby tapir and the crocodiles, especially the one with the messed up face that growed at me very hungrily. After the farm I went to Melaka zoo, which is said to be the best zoo in Malaysia, and it was great- having animals of all kinds. Check out me with the orang outans (complete with huge bruise on my chin thanks to Bukit Rengit's waterfall) And I loved seeing the Malayan Sun bears too as I had heard them in the jungle. |
| WEST COAST because I went to so many places in Peninsula Malaysia Ive devided it over two pages, click here for the EAST coast. |
| Cameroon Highlands |
| Langkawi is a beautiful island. Theres jungle and beautiful deserted beaches, the air smells of flowers and the scenery is stunning. I went up the new cable car to one of the mountains, Gng Machinchang, and drove up the other one, Gng Raya, and the veiw was spectacular from both. James and I rented a car again because we stayed in quite an isolated spot so we needed it to get around the other attractions. We drove all the way round the island looking at the beaches and the main town, Kuah, and we saw the giant eagle, langkawi is derived from helang, the Malay for eagle. |
| The Cameroon Highlands were the first place I visited in Malaysia the weekend before I went off to my placement. Its a lovely area, hilly and foresty and the journey to Tanah Rata was fun, having to go up a spiraling road with over 200 turns in a old bus, some of the turns were seriously hair raising as the bus seemed to almost swing over the egde! The veiw up there was amazing and I had my first experience of being in a cloud. |
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| Melaka |
| Kuala Lumpur- the capital city |
| Penang |
| Langkawi |
| Quite cheeky really so watch out. But then we went to Kek Lok Si temple which is very beautiful, by now I you have thought I'd be fed up with temples but this one was great as it was so big with a huge buddha statue, a inclined lift to go up to it and a really high pagoda which I climbed. It had some beautiful stone carving and decor too- i like the chinese style temples much more than Thai style. After that we went round the island, stopping at the botanical gardens where we saw some pretty plants and cute spectacled langur monkeys, and at the fruit farm where we stuffed ourselves with fruit and went on a tour around the farm seeing different friuts and being told about where they came from. Then we saw the airport and went over Penang bridge which is very long- 13km! and we saw some stunning storms from that. at night we saw the best storm ever cos the lightning was pinkish and the bolts were massive, one went right accoss the sky, it was the best ever! Georgetown (the main town) is a nice town, its got a pleasant colonial feel and there are a few things to see like the esplanade and clocktower- mainly historical stuff though there is the Komtar to see too- a big shopping complex complete with cinema and you can go up the tower to the veiwing deck for only 5rm, it has some marvellous veiws over Penang and is a great place to watch storms. |
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| In Penang I stayed at the Oriental Hotel, a good buget hotel at only 60rm per night with a central location. The room is spacious and clean but can be noisy in the mornings as its next to 3 mosques. There is a fantastic Indian resturant under it, the Kashmiri, which though expensive serves some of the best Indian food Ive found anywhere. |
| One of the poisonous vipers at the Snake temple. |
| Kek Lok Si Temple- The tall white pagoda and the veiw of the main temple from the top |
| The resort we stayed at, the Tanjung Sanctuary, was gorgous, very isolated and and in the middle of the jungle on a beautiful beach with rocks and sand. Our chalet was a wood beach hut and it was very luxorious with a great bathroom and a huge main room. As we were stuck at the hotel most of the time, a shame because the food there was poor and a rip off- its much better at the local food courts scattered around the island. We often went fishing off the rocks and saw some lovely fish and crabs, didnt catch anything though. There are monkeys here too, very naughty monkeys- they stole my shoes. While we had the car we went to see the set for Anna and The King, which is a really nice building with displays about the film and the real Anna, and then we went to a snake sanctuary which wasnt nice as it was more like a snake prison, the snakes were kept in appalling conditions. But Langkawi is, on the whole, a very beautiful island and unspoilt as it doesnt have the masses of tourists like Phuket and other island like it. |
| The veiw from Langkawi's second highest mountain |
| The summer palace built for the film Anna And The King. |
| The veiw of the beach from our hotel. Lovely private beach. |
| Fishing off the rocks |
| While in Melaka I stayed at the Hotel Hinley, |
| While I was there they had a special sound and light show going which was a bit rubbish to be brutally honest. It told the story about Melakas founding with the aid of lights and sound and while an interesting diversion for an evening not exactly top notch entertainment. |
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| Cute baby tapir, we were allowed to pat his head and he loved it, closing his eyes blissfully. Awww, bless. |
| Me with orang outans |
| Malayan sun bears |
| In the Cameroon Highlands I stayed at the Anjina Hotel. It was a small room but good quality and comfortable with a central location, friendly staff and as it was only 60rm per night it was a good deal. |
| Once in the town and after settling into the hotel we looked about the town- theres not too much to see within the town but there are some great places to eat, namely the Indian resturants on the main road and the satay stalls where I had my first taste of satay, and it was delicious. The next day we signed up for a tour of the attractions in the highlands, it was very good value for only 15rm and we had a tour of; Sam Poh Buddhist Temple, insect and butterfly farm, a market, a rose garden, a vegetable farm, the farm where they grow the famous cameroon strawberrys (tasty!) and the Boh tea plantation. All of these sights were very interesting, especially seeing how tea was made in the Boh plantation. After seeing all this though there is not much else to do so Id only recomend staying here for a weekend or so, though there are some lovely walking trails (which I didnt do as James had a toe infection and Im lazy) so if you're into waling stay a bit longer to take them all in. The climate in the highlands is cold compared to the rest of Malaysia at only about 25 degrees but it is pleasant. |
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| The Boh tea estate. So much tea. |
| The veiw from my hotel- jungle right outside my window |
| Scorpions at the insect farm |
| Kuala Lumpur! My first taste of Malaysia and it is the most beautiful city ever. It just feels totally designed- most cities are just put up any old how but to me KL feels like its all perfect, even the sprawl of China town. And now that Putra Jaya is being built, a truely architectured city, this feeling will be enhanced even more. |
| KLCC- towers |
| Chinatown- market |
| KL grand prix |
| Batu caves |
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