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Singapore & Malaysia 2020

February - March 2020
A 16-day adventure by Darren and Janet Read more
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  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    1
    11
    Day 11

    Cave temples and concubines

    February 25, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Our last day in the highlands and we started with more tea plantations. We revisited one from yesterday to do the factory tour, and pick up the 2 caches there!

    We began the trip down the mountain after a quick stop at a roadside market to buy some sweet potatoes for Rosli's mum (and had some for morning tea that they cook ready for the shoppers).

    We stopped enroute at a waterfall and hot spring, which isn't very popular with the locals as they charge an entrance fee (5RM = $1.66 each), so we were the only one's there... or it could be that hot springs aren't popular when it's 35 degrees and humid!

    Ipoh is the 3rd largest city in Malaysia and was built on limestone and tin mining. It still has an industrial feel, but they are trying to increase tourism by promoting the limestone caves and food culture.

    On the outskirts of town we visited one of a number of cave temples, before heading in to Concubine Lane for lunch. The town has a large Cantonese population who came for the mining boom, and many of the businessman housed their second wives in this street to visit when they were in town for business.

    After a walk around the old town, we visited Mural Arts Lane, an otherwise drab alley that's been transformed by local artists, before walking back to our hotel.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    Day 12

    Castle and caves

    February 26, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    We departed Ipoh at 9am and headed to Kellie's Castle on the outskirts. Kellie's Castle is a partially completed mansion built by a Scottish businessman in the 1910/20's, which has a six storey tower and was to have the first elevator in Malaysia, an indoor tennis court, rooftop entertainment area, and escape stairways and tunnels from most rooms.
    Unfortunately he died before it was complete, and his wife wasn't interested in living there, so it was sold and was neglected for decades, until it was opened to tourism.

    The road to Kuala Lumpur is mostly freeway, so apart from a lunch stop at a large outdoor food venue, we headed to Batu Caves, on the northern edge of KL. Batu Caves are a series of cave temples dedicated to the Lord Murugan, the Hindu God of War. It is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, and is entered via a colourful 272 steps.

    Our accommodation for the next 3 nights is on the 33rd floor of Berjaya Times Square, the 12th largest building in the world (by floor area) 😁    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    1111
    Day 13

    The streets of KL

    February 27, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    With nothing particular planned today, one of us had a sleep-in 😁... so we were a bit late getting going.

    We caught the monorail towards town, then walked a circuitous route toward Chinatown via a number of caches, Malaysian Scout Headquarters, coffee shops and numerous drink stalls.

    After navigating the metro and monorail, we arrived back at our hotel in time for a late afternoon swim, and a quiet night in.    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    2
    Day 14

    Muddy Confluence

    February 28, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Another day exploring the streets of KL, but this time we were out the door by 7.30am in an attempt to beat the heat.

    We caught the monorail and metro to the city centre and arrived just before 8am, with the peak hour crowds. The area around the train station transforms in the morning into a temporary food court, as stalls pop up to feed the arriving workers with sandwiches, rice, drinks and the national dish, Nasi Lemak (rice, sambal, cucumber, egg, peanuts and dried fish, wrapped in a banana leaf).

    We spent most of the day exploring the area around Merdeka (Independence) Square, where the national flag was first raised in 1957.

    Kuala Lumpur (literal translation, muddy confluence), was built where the rivers Klang and Gombak merge. Along these rivers the locals once bathed, washed laundry, and buffaloes wallowed. Crocodiles were also sunning on the banks, prompting the British Administration to offer rewards to capture them, dead or alive. The capture of a crocodile measuring 15 feet would return $15.00 Straits Dollars in 1912. Looking at the rivers today, it's difficult to imagine.

    We returned for a late afternoon swim, before tea in the local food court (nasi lemak of course, $1.66 each)    Read more

  • Darren and JanetSingapore & Malaysia 2020
    Day 15

    Leap Day

    February 29, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Our final day in Malaysia, and it's a leap day... so we have arranged a geocaching event at the Petronas Towers, to meet local and visiting cachers. Having previously been warned that any event in Malaysia where you're not alone is a good event, we were very pleased to have 9 attendees.

    One of the local cachers then escorted a group of us to complete a nearby NFC cache (Near Field Communication), and as we don't have any of this type of cache in Adelaide, it was interesting to see it in action.

    After morning tea at the towers, we found a few more caches with the locals, and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe before catching the monorail back to our hotel to collect our bags, then the train to the airport.

    We had plenty of time to spare, so bought a lounge package where we could have a shower and a meal before our flight home.    Read more

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