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South East Asia

April - August 2023
A 133-day adventure by Sharpisons travels & Mr Read more
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  • South East Asia
    1111
    Day 127

    Sri Lanka, Doha and Copenhagen

    August 25, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    After leaving Yala in a taxi with a flat tire, we arrived at our tranquil hotel over-looking a lagoon on the south coast, aptly named Simply Peace! Well that was until our kids arrived! We hired some scooters and day tripped around, it was really nice to have our own wheels! At times we have felt restricted relying on taxis and Mitch and I have become pretty adept scooter riders during this trip! We enjoyed the day visiting an impressive blow-hole, which was hard to drag ourselves away from. I reckon we could have stayed all day waiting for the the next big one to spurt out, despite the heat!! But, we had beaches to visit, so with difficulty we dragged ourselves away. By pure chance, we had stumbled upon a lovely part of the south coast near Tangalle with palm fringed beaches and only little boutique hotels/restaurants. This good fortune was further highlighted to us on our next journey to Galle, as the coastal stretch that we traveled along (and nearly stayed at) was so built up with countless resort hotels that you could no longer see the sea from the road. This was a very different side to Sri Lanka, with a far more developed and western feel to it!

    We stayed in Galle Fort for 2 nights in an old colonial house, which we all really loved. We explored the small and brilliantly preserved Dutch Fort, with its laid back local vibe and we all took a real shine to it. Every evening all the locals would come out to the green nestled in the ramparts, to fly kites and play cricket.

    Last stop Colombo. We only bothered with a small amount of sightseeing while here as it was scorching hot and we had an infinity rooftop pool! But what we managed to see we liked. We were also lucky to go on a Sunday so the city was at its quietest and was pretty easy to tuk-tuk from place to place.

    We have loved our short time in Sri Lanka, it is a beautiful country and while
    travelling here it’s easy to forget it’s recent terrible and devastating history. A civil war which lasted on and off for over 30 years, in 2009 it all came to an end in an extremely controversial and bloody fashion. The Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 which claimed over 30,000 Sri Lankan lives and on Easter Sunday in 2019 when they suffered multiple, ISIS suicide bomb attacks. Then Covid (!!!) and unfortunately, as Sri Lanka relies so heavily on tourism, the impact is severe. The loss and suffering is unimaginable, and at the helm of a tortured country has been an extremely corrupt government, taking all that was left, squandering any aid received and finally helping to cause a financial crisis!

    The people though seem so proud of their country, shouting ‘Sri Lanka’ as we pass and confirming with us everywhere we go how beautiful their country is. It’s so culturally rich, with fantastical historical stories, boasting century old temples, carved in to caves and built upon rocks. Their natural world (like everywhere) is suffering, but still remains diverse and wild in places, often respected and cared for. We have seen an abundance of animals and beautiful birds, peacocks have been a bit hit with the kids. We’ve sat out watching fireflies dotted around palm trees as huge fruit bats fly over looking for food. One night while enjoying a beer we witnessed well over 20 Hornbills coming into roost just next to our hotel swimming pool.
    I hope one day soon this fractured land finds it’s peace and starts to have some better luck.

    So that was it our Asian adventure was coming to an end, but we still had two last counties to stop at!!! Qatar, where we had a two night stop over in Doha, staying with some lovely friends of Mitch’s. On arrival we walked outside to and were hit by 42 degrees heat, Freda moaned that her eye balls were burning, which wasn’t too far from the truth, we couldn’t be outside in the day for more than 5 mins!!! It’s like no place I’ve ever been, I admire peoples ability to adapt and live here, I couldn’t do it.
    We used our one day to take a trip around some of the museums, the Qatar National Museum was really interesting and great for the kids. We took a walk through this small country’s history of pearl diving, international seatrade to hitting the jackpot with oil and gas.

    The last stop, less than 24 hours in Copenhagen! We thought as a final treat we would take the kids to Tivoli Gardens. Set right in the heart of Copenhagen lies the world’s second-oldest amusement park. It was a good idea on paper, but in hindsight after a 5am start to catch a 6 hour flight, Otto was not in the best place! His behaviour got so bad that we nearly called it a day as we queued at the Parks entrance. But poor Freda was so excited we braved it, resisting the urge to push him off a rollercoaster, but then couldn’t drag them out till nearly 10pm! Way too much stimulation for two tired kids, but hey, it was our last day!!

    This trip has been amazing, but just so I don’t leave you all feeling completely green with envy, let’s not forget travelling with kids brings about a lot of challenges, especially with our beautiful children, where relaxing is a dirty word! With almost zero time to ourselves, I think we are now very ready for a rest!

    So that’s it, back to reality, I’m just signing out as we land in Gatwick! Thanks so much for all of you who have read my ramblings and sent messages, it’s meant a lot. We can’t wait to see you all.    Read more

  • South East Asia
    11
    Day 113

    Sri Lanka

    August 11, 2023 in Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    After some very late flights, and a stop in KL, we arrived in Sri Lanka in the wee hours!! We had only booked our first night in, but everything was in control, we had a Rough Guide, first hand knowledge, as Mitch has been before and, as luck would have it, the guy who owned the guesthouse we were staying in was a retired guide. That morning he helped plan our route and it went as thus….

    That afternoon we were on a train up in to the hill country, heading to Kandy, a very busy little town, with a famous temple. Apparently a real tooth of Buddhas is guarded there! Being newbies we rocked up not realising all skin has to be covered, so we were sent packing like heathens! We took solace in the Botanical gardens and were amazed by 1000s of fruit bats all hanging out in the trees, very cool but a tad smelly! A tourist must see is the traditional Kandyan dance, thoroughly enjoyable and the kids loved the fire eating! We then tried our luck with the temple again, coverings at the ready! We were allowed in this time, but it was so busy with everyone trying to get a glimpse of the tooth! Which obviously isn’t really Buddhas, silly believers, we made a hasty exit. Otto was pretty disappointed, he’s decided to become a Buddhist, his first choice was to be the main man Buddha, but I explained that wasn’t possible! So he’s now following the main commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication and so far he’s doing very well!
    We left Kandy, the kids had kind of become disinterested and disappointed on day 1, when they learnt it wasn’t a town full of Candy!

    Our next few stops were primarily to take in some of the amazing wildlife that resides in Sri Lanka, starting with Kaudulla National park. Every year around this time ‘The elephant gathering’ happens. Most make their way from all the national parks around the country to hang out with other herds, sole purpose to mate with other blood lines. We saw a lot of elephants, 100s, in fact so many Otto was bored of them by the end of our safari. This area is also home to the awe-inspiring Sigiriya Rock, a very big and hot rock, which you are obliged to climb! We passed plenty of crying kids on the way up, all gasping for water and begging their parents to let them turn back!!! Luckily our kids knew better, stoically climbing the 1200 steps in over 35 degrees heat and not an ice-cream in sight!!!

    Next stop was Trincomalee for a spot of Whale watching. They aren’t seen daily out there so we got lucky. It did mean yet another sunrise start, so 5.30 for us and then on a small boat for 4 hours! Totally worth it of course when 4 blue whales made an appearance. We chased them around for a while never knowing where they were going to breach again, it was very exciting. In the space of two days we had seen two of the largest mammals on the planet! Very special.

    We hung out on the east coast for a few days with its wide, palm-fringed sweeping beaches. Here tourism is back in its infancy again, as this area was pretty much out of bounds during the war, which only ended in 2009. We lucked out and stayed in the sole hotel on a 40km stretch of beach, it was amazing, not sure how long they can hold back the developers though.

    The kids have been amazing again, as we have done no more than 2 nights in each place, with long journeys every 2 days. Sometimes in a nice van, but more often than not in a cramped, badly maintained and extremely small taxi. Our longest journey was back into the mountains for a few days in Ella, a mountain town with very scenic views! But, scenic always means very windy roads, steep drops and scary taxi drivers! We did have a lovely day exploring the sights, from picking tea to climbing big peaks, we even fitted in some train spotting!

    Next up Yala, Sri Lanka’s most famous National Park. Of course to do a safari you have to get up before sunrise!!! Really??? So Boring!!! Apparently you have more of a chance of spotting a Leopard before they sleep in the afternoon! Lucky them I say, Mitch and I were desperate for an afternoon nap after the whale trip and the safari, the kids however were not!!! Those kids it appear can never tire! Unfortunately this time we didn’t get lucky, so no leopards for us. We did see Elephants, and lots of other cool animals though, and got to stay in a tent in the bush, glamping style of course.    Read more

  • South East Asia
    1
    Day 100

    Flores and Lombok (Indonesia)

    July 29, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We embarked on a very exciting trip with Aimee, firstly to the island of Flores, arriving in Labuan Bajo. Here millions of tourists depart on boats to explore the famous Komodo National park. We were no exception, we had decided like the rest of the town to do a 2 night live-aboard trip.

    Komodo national park is made up of dozens of islands with beautiful hills and gleaming white (and some pink) sandy beaches. The water in the tranquil bays are all the blues you could possibly imagine, it is a beautiful area of the world! Although we did feel like we had set sail as part of the Spanish Armada as a fleet of hundreds of boats all left the port.
    We sailed towards a popular sunrise spot, with a few stops on the way, so it was to be another very early start!! I’m now well over sunrises, give me a sunset any day! Next morning at 5am we all piled out of the boat in darkness and we’re dropped off with the 1000s of other keen sunrise seekers at Padar island. After a long climb to the top, we nestled amongst our fellow travellers to watch the sun fill the sky with beautiful colours. It was a spectacular view but was difficult to fully appreciate with all of the crowds.
    Back on the boat for breakfast and we set off to see the famous pink beach! It really was pink and here while snorkelling Freda spotted a turtle which we had the joy of watching for ages as it fed and came up for air. It was a real treat.

    Otto has not grasped the art of snorkelling yet, so it was quite a logistical nightmare taking it in turns to stay with him. Like when we stopped at Manta Bay for a chance to see the Rays, I went in first with Aimee and Freda! Mitch stayed aboard, with Otto, or so I thought, turns out a load of rays swam past the boat and he was told to jump in, leaving Otto with a couple of random boat guys!!! Suppose it’s not every day you get to jump off a boats with Manta Rays!
    It was a great trip, too much to bore you all with, I nearly forgot to mention the main event! Seeing the unnaturally large Komodo dragon, only place in the world it lives. Two facts for you a) they eat their own young and b) if they bite you their bacterial will slowly kill you! Charming things!
    Now I could just lie, but the reality of doing a trip like this isn’t all plain sailing!!!! Our cabin was so grim, next to the engine and the generator, so either it was full of fumes or was so noisy, sleep was problematic. It didn’t help when I found a ton of cockroaches tucking into a packet of crackers carelessly left open next to my pillow!!!
    Things also got a little desperate on the boat as they slowly ran out of ice, losing the capability to chill our Bintang! Can’t have it all I suppose we had to suck it up and make do with some under chilled beer!

    With our feet finally back on dry land, we traveled into Flores to stay in a mountain town called Ruteng. Unfortunately it was a 4 hour drive, We arrived late, weary and feeling very dirty, still rocking from the boat. We stayed in a hostel Aimee and I got the top bunks and it made us slightly nostalgic about our round the world trip we did together back in our 20s! Felt like the good old days. Until we realised the hostel didn’t have hot water!!! Normally this is manageable, but add very cold mountain town and 2 nights on a grubby boat into the mix! Not the best! However, the owners turned out to be maybe the nicest hosts in the world and great cooks! So we made do, rented a couple of scooters the next day and set out to explore the area, which was beautiful, very local and very very friendly. We visited a traditional village and tried our hand at being traditional Mangarrai people. The outfits were mandatory before any one starts getting upset about cultural appropriation. We also checked out the crazy Spiderweb Rice fields, a method of dividing up land.

    Then on to Lombok, for our last week in Indonesia. This week has been hugely anticipated, as we were meeting my family. I swear Freda has been counting down the days for the whole time we’ve been away. It was finally here and the kids could not contain their excitement.

    We booked a lovely villa on the south Lombok coast, which is just beautiful. For now largely unspoiled, allthough dotted around the hills are large developments and I don’t think it will be long until it is filled with resorts. But we kicked back and had the whole valley to ourselves.
    The kids had such a great time, it was great for them all to stop and relax! Of course where there are kids there are also colds, so they all started coming down with something one of them had probably licked off the aircraft! Dirty buggers!
    After some beautiful days by the sea we had to say goodbye to Aimee and nervously waved her off on the back of a small scooter with her massive rucksack! She made it to the airport I’m pleased to report. We headed up to north Lombok, which is not so picturesque but stayed in another lovely place.

    After an amazing few weeks with my best friend and my wonderful family we had to part ways! Tears and sadness, but great memories forever.    Read more

  • South East Asia
    1
    Day 83

    Java Indonesia

    July 12, 2023 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Suddenly we were on our way to Indonesia, minus a plan, not even our first night was booked!!
    A little panicked, we decided to get a connecting flight from Jakarta, not feeling ready or prepared to face the capital, we flew to Yogyakarta. I hastily booked us a place slightly out of the town, bad idea! Java is Indonesia’s most populated island and traffic is a major problem!
    However, we battled through and wasted no time visiting the two famous temples of Prambanan and Borobudur. On our first morning we visited Prambanan, a Hindu temple, the second largest in South East Asia, only being pipped by Angkor Wat, it was pretty impressive!

    The next day we decided to get the hell out of Yogy, we didn’t find much to like about the town so stayed near the temple of Borobudur, escaping the traffic clogged streets. Borobudur temple is amazing, definitely another highlight of our trip! Brief history, it was constructed around the 9th century, then buried under volcanic ash from about 1000AD and overgrown with forest and vegetation until it was re-discovered by that Raffles bloke from Singapore in 1814. It’s the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
    We stayed put in Borobudur for a few days, allowing us time to arrange our onwards travel. Giving us the opportunity to do a fun tour in a cool car around the local villages! It was nice to be in a car that was moving, until it broke down!! We also did a little cycling and took a look at a chicken church!! Not going on the highlight list, but was pretty amusing!
    After a couple of late nights, drinking Bintang, we finalised our Java adventure, settling on 3 main attractions. The temples (done), Mt Bromo volcano and Karimungawa island. It turns out that Java is way bigger than I realised, travel is slow and we knew to complete our round-trip was going entail some very long journeys.

    Travelling from the temples to Mt Bromo was a slog! 4 hours on a train, stop over in a grim hotel, transfer pick up in the morning, 3 hours up to the mountains, stop over in the mountains (another grim hotel). 3am wake up, 30 mins in a jeep up a mountain, watch the sunrise over the volcano, followed by an hours walk to look inside the crater and back to the hotel in time for breakfast. Was it worth it! Hell yeah it was bloody amazing! And this time the pictures really do do it justice.
    Also, as a sweetener on the trip up to the volcano, we stopped off at a very beautiful waterfall, walked underneath it and stood at the bottom of a 200 meter cascade.

    Unfortunately our next destination wasn’t much easier! After the 3am start we spent that night at a hotel in Surabaya following a 3 hour cab down from the volcano. Next day 3 hour train, 3 hour cab, finally arriving in the small town of Jepara. Here we would catch our boat to Karimungawa island. It didn’t leave for a few days so we found a very nice Airbnb by the sea.

    The boat ride was a mere 2 hours across to the island!! Turns out though it can get pretty rough and take significantly longer! Freda and I got very sea sick, it was a really grim few hours. But we made it and it again was totally worth it. A really beautiful island, we arranged ourselves a snorkelling trip, although I was a little reluctant when the boat rocked up at our jetty! Basic, is an understatement, no seats and not really any sides! They did chuck in a bean bag so at least one of us could be comfy for the day!! The boat did its job and stayed afloat and Otto didn’t end up over board. Win win. We even managed to leave him on board with the captain and enjoy a snorkel, as he’s not that keen on snorkelling in open water! Unsurprisingly! I kept popping my head up to see the poor guy trying to entertain him as he threw himself all over the very small and rustic boat!! We spent another day on a couple of scooters and explored the beaches but unfortunately after a very relaxing four night tropical island break we were on the move again. As this it was not the end of our epic travel days, another boat back, (travel sickness tablets bought and taken), 3 hours in a cab to another busy, traffic clogged city, Semarang, followed by a flight to Jakarta!! Was it worth it? Hell yeah we were meeting my bestie Aimee!!!

    So far it’s been an eye opening time, we’ve seen some of the most incredible stuff on this one leg of our whole trip. But, unfortunately it’s not all rosey. As a developing country, the grim reality of the causes of climate change, pollution, and poverty, are impossible to ignore. It has made me feel, at times, very hopeless. With Java’s lack of any government funded waste management, all rubbish appears to be burnt. Be it on the side of the roads, on beaches or just where it’s been put in the bins. It’s really hard to see it and then justify being here and being part of the problem. As an example, when we visited the amazing waterfall, the people there sold plastic ponchos. On the way out of the waterfall the other visitors threw them in the bin, where in horror I noticed they were then burnt! Hundreds, every day!!! I’ve had a hard time explaining to Freda there’s no money and no other way here at the moment and that in our country we bury our rubbish, which isn’t a much better solution?

    The beaches as well are cleaned religiously every day, as every night tons of plastic washes up, it’s then swept to the back of each beach and burnt. Karimunjawa island that we visited was beautiful of course, but I can’t not mention the horrible impact we are having everywhere. The less money the less options people have to deal with the unbelievable amount of single use plastic being created.
    Sorry it’s the grim reality, we find it too easy to ignore it at home, because we can pay for someone else to deal with it. Here there’s no getting away from the fact we are in a right old mess!!!
    I write this, hypocritically on a flight, out of an unbelievably smoggy Jakarta.

    On a more amusing note, after converting to Islam in Malaysia, we have had to reconsider. Mitch has been majorly put off after every morning at 4 clock at least 2 or 3 mosques, in the immediate vicinity of every place we have stayed blurt out the call to prayer! Seemingly in a rather competitive way, becoming louder and more out of tune as they go on! It’s very disrespectful and disruptive to our sleep patterns!!    Read more

  • South East Asia
    21
    Day 73

    Sarawak

    July 2, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We decided to go back into Borneo Malaysia to check out Sarawak. Starting with a fly and flop at a Marriott, which was booked for its huge pool, located just outside Miri. We allowed the kids one full day of pool time, and after resisting our urge to drag them out and about (Mitch was desperate to see the grand old lady) we decided we can’t do it all! As the day afterwards we ushered them on to their next flight, a pretty cool 30 mins flight over to the rainforest of Mulu National park landing on a tiny airstrip.

    Although you have to fly, it was extremely enjoyable and was very cheap to stay in the National Parks HQ. Top things to see here are caves and bats, throw in a few waterfalls, boat rides and wild swimming, all pretty amazing. The highlight of perhaps the whole trip so far for me, was watching 2 to 3 million bats fly out of a cave just before dusk (called the bat exodus!). We got so lucky as some days they they have a lie in and don’t venture out. It was unimaginably spectacular, picture a bird murmurations but with bats all in lines snaking across the sky, you can hear the sound of their wings fluttering. No pictures can do it justice, well maybe someone’s with a better camera than mine could! The kids once again were amazing as after a long walk to the caves, then watching the bats we had to trek another 4km back to the HQ. (that said, Otto did fall off the boardwalk into a big bog!!). We are pushing them, but they are coping so well now it’s hard not to try and do as much as we can!! As I write this we just booked ourselves in for a 3am volcano sunrise trip!!! So wait for the next instalment to see what a nightmare that was!!!

    After 2 truly memorable days spent in the park we flew down to Kuching, Sarawaks capital. We stayed right in the centre and really enjoyed the city. An interesting place with a lovely relaxed vibe, a mix of all cultures dotted around. From old colonial buildings dating back to a bygone era (yet another upper class English bloke who took over for a while!!), to floating mosques, shiny new shopping centres and an illuminated waterfront. Most people come to check out Baku national park and Semenggoh orangutan centre, so we ticked both those off.

    Baku was fun, we needed to get a boat there and then embarked on a gruelling hot and steep 8 k walk, spotting a few proboscis monkeys on the way, once again pushing those poor little legs to their limits. Neither of them could do much walking the next day. Freda complained to me whilst walking around the town that her legs felt weird and tired! Poor things.

    Lucky for them the next day we went to see the Orangutans, or hoped to! As these ones are very much semi-wild, they have a very large area and mainly don’t come to the feeding station where they can be viewed. They have enough food in the forest so tend to stay clear. We however, got very lucky and two males swung down, avoiding each other as apparently it won’t be long till they have to have a scrap for the territory. They are such amazingly impressive creatures. The ranger got pretty close to the massive male, (who’d he known since birth), I asked him after if he can be dangerous. His reply was ‘Oh yes depends on his mood, I know just by the way he looks into my eyes’! Apparently he was in a bad mood that day so the ranger didn’t hang on the platform for long.

    We enjoyed Kuching at night, with another very impressive water fountain spurting along to music, Ottos new favourite since KL. Pleased we stayed in the centre of Kuching, a place, I think often overlooked but easily deserving of a good few days.

    As mentioned, we had been pushing our little angels a little hard over the last few weeks, so we had a little treat up our
    sleeves and stayed at a lovely hotel, Cove 55 on the coast. It’s advised not to swim around this area, due to saltwater crocs, but there was no need to enter the water as we had a pool on top of the sea instead and a palatial garden bungalow to recharge our batteries. It was very tranquil, until I had a minor altercation with an older lady! It turned out she was unimpressed with our loud children around the pool, so decided to play her own music very loudly to drown them out!!! I enquired if she could turn it down! After losing the verbal fight with her (Aussies are far more rude than I could ever be!!) I told the kids to scream as loud as they could around her sun bed, So grown up!!! We have generally found that the problem with posh places, the more money people have the ruder and more unfriendly they become! Money don’t buy you manners!!!

    I will love you and leave you on that profound note. This is the end of our Malaysia mega trip! Loved most minutes of it and will miss it dearly. Especially Laksa. Next stop Indonesia, steering clear of Bali as don’t want to bang into any more Australians!!    Read more

  • South East Asia
    Day 70

    Singapore

    June 29, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    A very quick stop in Singapore, staying for 3 nights, which was about all we were prepared to pay for. It’s an extremely expensive place and accommodation costs are crazy. But, as our luck had it, our timings coincided with the arrival of my sister and fam on the first day of their travelling trip. Freda was so excited and Otto couldn’t wait to see what mischief he could get up to with Jude.

    We tried to cram in as much as we could in our 2 days, walking around the quayside, taking in the new and very impressive gardens on the bay and observing with bewilderment the new building sitting right on the bay, which looks like it has a long boat plonked on top of it. Every night there is a showy light display which lights up the whole bay. Which we enjoyed on our first night.

    Amongst all this amazing infrastructure, my highlight was seeing wild otters in the quay, probably why I live in rural Devon. It’s a very impressive city, but maybe it’s all a little to much? A canal through the basement of a shopping mall, where you can get ripped off and ride on a small boat, when a whole harbour is sitting outside!!!! Call me old fashioned but surely the real boats are better???

    Next day the wait was over and we met up with Leonie, Spencer and the kids for a fun packed day at the zoo, a quick go in a splash park and finishing off with dinner in Chinatown. We all had a great time, although there was a tad of jet lag in the air! Only a brief reunion, but we are looking forward to hooking up again, for a little longer in Indonesia.

    Next day we were on the move again. We had been advised to spend some time at the airport as, of course in Singapore there is the worlds highest man made waterfall!!! Piercing it’s way through the centre of a shopping mall! It’s all a little silly, a bit OTT
    and very very expensive. But it was fun.    Read more

  • South East Asia
    Day 70

    Malaysia Mainland

    June 29, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    We flew into Kuala Lumpur and checked into a swanky hotel (for us) which was quite a treat. Although, even with such luxury we all agreed we missed Turtle Island! The hotel’s infinity rooftop swimming pool had the most amazing view of the whole of the KL city skyline, attracting a heaving mass of Instagrammers!! Top tip, best way to enjoy a pool in Asia, swim in the middle of the day, no-one seems prepared to sacrifice themselves to the blistering heat! Apart from us, don’t worry the kids have rash vests!

    On our first day we took the kids to the Petronas towers. I visited Malaysia (and the Twin Towers) over 20 years ago, yikes, makes me feel old.….the skyline has completely changed. They are also currently finishing off the 2nd tallest building in the world, we were gutted we couldn’t ascend!! However we carried on our tradition of going up every tall building we could and went up both the Petronas Towers and the KL Tower!

    Underneath the Petronas Towers there is a very large Western-style shopping centre featuring the Petronas science museum. Just in case anyone is unsure Petronas is an oil Company and seems to own a large portion of KL. Rather ironically we went on a tour in the museum about how to save the planet and use renewable energy, at the same time as taking a trip around a mock up Malaysian oil rig, but it was very informative and the kids loved it. Otto has come away very concerned to learn there is too much rubbish on the planet and he wants to know what we are going to do about it. Since then if he’s in a shop and they ask if we want a plastic bag he gets very cross with the shop assistant.
    That evening we went out to Chinatown, here we started a game called spot the rat, this fun game has continued throughout our trip in Malaysia. Otto made us walk down a very dark alley (renamed rat alley) just so we could check out the rat activity, there was a lot! Such a pleasure seeing urban wildlife, especially when it is running all over the restaurants kitchens we were planning to eat at.

    Next day we dragged the kids out in the scorching heat, on mummy and daddies walking tour, trying to fit in as much as we could! Once you escape the high-rise areas of KL the old parts of the city are really interesting, and have undergone quite a lot of recent gentrification. The kids did quite a lot of moaning, as usual, but it was hot, so as a treat we took them to watch a fountain Lightshow synced to music outside the Petronas towers. Otto said it was the best thing he’s ever done and wanted to move to this county! Big hit.

    Sadly we left the next day trying our luck with the Malaysian bus system, which has turned out to be a winner!! I’m writing this on our last bus journey to Singapore. The buses are so cheap and its such a nice break, we can shove the kids on their devices for 4 hours and not feel any guilt. Bliss, I’m going to miss the down time and the crazy interior designs.

    Malaysia has been our cultural highlight so far, we made a decision to stick to a few interesting towns, Ipoh, George Town and Malacca and save the beach time for our leg in Indonesia. Rich with history, from Chinese immigration, through to European colonialism, a melting pot of cultures that have made Malaysia so unique. These towns, 2 of which are UNESCO world heritage sites, have managed to keep their old worldly, decaying charm. Preserving and embracing their heritage, rich with beautiful architecture and decorative crafts, but all the while welcoming tourism to keep the money flowing in. Unlike some places where we’ve been, like the theme park of Hoi-An in Vietnam, they feel real and captivating, encouraging creativity to flourish. The street art has been a favourite, we have all loved seeking it out, you never know what gem you’re going to find down a little alley! We explored a handful of the 100s of temples in the towns, all religions, seemingly cohabitating side by side, peacefully. In Melaka we walked past the oldest functioning Mosque with its minaret taking on the form of a Japanese pagoda, built by the Dutch during their occupation. Only a few steps away, we visited the oldest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. Carrying on, we passed by one of the first Hindu temples built in Malaysia. Goes to show how culturally rich a society can become when they welcome immigration and embrace it!

    Finding the right balance of tourism can be tricky as we found on a flying trip up to the Cameron Highlands, a place I visited 20 years ago. This time round I had continued expectations of cooler, beautifully manicured hills, and quaint tea plantations dotted around. No longer the case, as it is now Malaysias number one domestic tourist destination, mainly to escape the coastal heat. Unfortunately this has brought with it the mass destruction of the beauty I remember. According to one cab driver he dosn’t even work weekends when a 10 minute drive takes two hours! Bonkers! Luckily we went mid-week!

    Our charming hotel looked out over a shopping mall where a London bus drove past Big Ben until midnight playing music. But then, who am I to sneer, this is early tourism in a new world for Malaysia. As long as you can get a ‘Devonshire cream tea’ and pick some strawberries, no one cares about the epic views that are now littered with ugly high rise hotels and polytunnels.
    We did do a very lovely walk in a mossy cloud-forest and had a cup of tea in a picturesque plantation! Couldn’t bring myself to have cream tea though, too weird! Did get me thinking though that all these tea farms used to be jungle, what was the difference between this and the endless palm plantations? Tea? The fact the British built some pretty Tudor style buildings, while they colonised the county. Any way, I digress…..

    Malacca, our last destination, turned out to be another great place to play spot the rat and ogle at beautifully crafted Peranakan houses.

    One gripe with Malaysia, there is a lot of open drainage, in fact all pavements have an open drain running along side. Good for rat spotting, but bad for Otto. We have had lots of near misses, some more dangerous than others, then finally he put his foot down one, open sandals and all!! It was truly grim. Also with open drains, unexpected wildlife can pop up, other than the rat, as we found out in a riverside bar the other night! When people started jumping on their chairs. I gathered up the kids, sensing danger, then caught a glance of a very large snake frantically winding its way towards us. No idea what type it was but the locals seemed pretty panicked, i shouted at the kids to run! Mitch lingered to gather up our belongings, we all have different priorities!!!

    As we approach the Border of this brilliant country, I’m going to miss it, the local food has been amazing, the kids have learnt a lot and seen so much, As have we.    Read more

  • South East Asia
    2
    11
    Day 55

    Sabah Borneo wildlife week

    June 14, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    After leaving KK we had a jam-packed schedule ahead of us. It was nice to get back on the road, everyone was refreshed and ready for an adventure.

    We went to Sepilok, and stayed near a few conservation sanctuaries, for Orangutans, Sun bears and Proboscis Monkeys. Also there was a lovely area of jungle with a canopy walkway, where we did a night walk.

    Our first hotel was very cool, we stayed in a outdoor wooden stilt, hut style room and had all the nature joining you. It was lovely, although one night everyone did end up standing on their chairs as a huntsman spider roamed around! We met a lovely family there and Freda instantly hit it off with their daughter.

    Our trip to the Orangutang centre was unforgettable! The centre rescues and rehabilitates orphaned and injured Orangutangs. We had the privilege to watch up close these amazing primates both in the nursery, where the juveniles learn how to fend for themselves (slowly making their way out in to the wider forests) and the jungle where we saw the large adults, who although fed, are distanced from humans, with the hope of them becoming self sufficient in the wild. Amazing to see. The sun bears were also a real treat….here once they are ready the the centre releases them back into the wild, so interaction with humans is kept to a minimum.

    After seeing semi-wild and rehabilitating animals, the reality that so many species are no longer able to live alongside us in this inhospitable world we have created, was extremely apparent. With the hope
    of seeking out some (fully roaming wild) wildlife we made a trip out to the Kinabantang river. After 2 hours of constant palm plantation, we arrived at a small protected area for wildlife.
    We decided to go very basic for our stay here, bit of a mistake!! Say no more. We checked-out in the morning after a 6 am boat ride down the river and stalked our new found friends from Sepilok to where they were staying. We did another boat trip in the afternoon seeking out the wildlife that has become so scarce. We saw lots of monkeys and some cool birds, and just as the sun was setting at the very end of the trip we finally saw a wild Orangutang, (really the reason why tourist’s flock to Borneo) it was right up in the trees making its nest for the night. It felt very special to see it.

    Next on the itinerary was a trip to turtle island, another conservation area for nesting turtles. An hours boat ride off the mainland. Arriving at a beautiful island surrounded by turquoise waters, coral reefs and sandy beaches, we spent the day snorkelling and basking in the sun waiting for the main event! That evening we watched a turtle lay her eggs and gawped in awe at hatchlings being released into the sea. It was a very special day and we all had the best time. We did have to avert our eyes for the (very discrete) armed police that patrol and guard the island in case of Filipino terrorists!!

    This area of Borneo has been a mixed bag, it’s easy to be in love with the tourist areas we visited, but the days of Borneo being a magical jungle habitat for the most amazing wildlife is a fantasy. It’s impossible to overlook the devastation that has been caused here by deforestation and the now abundant palm plantations that feed the global need for cheap, brown food!.    Read more

  • South East Asia
    11112
    Day 49

    Sabah Kota Kinabalu

    June 8, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    We have been lazily lounging around KK (as the locals call it) for a week now, rather unexpectedly! After putting the kids to bed on the first night, they were both in tears from pure exhaustion.

    We had planned to do a few nights at an apartment, which was basically on the runway, but had a pool for the kids! However, after a few days we got a bit sick of feeling like we were living at the airport, we hadn’t booked any onwards travel and the kids were still hanging so we went to a new apartment in the town, and ended up staying for a further 5 nights. Having more space was lovely after sharing a hotel room together for 3 weeks.
    Funnily, KK hasn’t got all that much going for it, little culture, average food and no green spaces, lots of building work and a lot of rubbish. But, because of that it didn’t feel like we had to do too much here, which worked.

    First few days we hung out with the locals at the city beach, near the airport, the sea was warmer than the outside temperature so wasn’t very refreshing. Everyone flocks down to the beach at the weekend to watch the sunset, there was a lovely atmosphere, with tons of family’s all hanging out.

    The main draw in KK is a few islands just off the coast, Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine park. For the next few days, we hopped on a boat, and did some snorkelling and beach bumming. The reefs are protected, but with the sheer amount of visitors that flock there, boats, pollution etc, the reef is pretty damaged. (I know we are part of the problem). However, we did see some lovely fish and some corals. Freda was amazing at snorkelling and Otto managed to do a little bit, both of them got to see clown fish, parrot fish and some great coral, which was very special.

    The kids spotted a water park out there, so we decided to stay on another day to do that. It was a lot of fun, we were the only people there, it can have up to 150 odd people on the pontoon on a busy day, so we were pretty lucky. They had an activity called sea walking, like old school divers, where you put on a 37kg helmet which they pump oxygen into! I’ve done a bit of diving back in the day, which I loved, but this was quite weird. Mitch hated it, Freda loved it, she was so brave, as we stepped down in our flip flops to around 6 meters under the water with our funny helmets on.

    As we’d been too busy bumming around we missed booking a flight and had to stay another day. We had an educational day and took the kids to visit a mosque. They were most unimpressed about having to wear muslim clothes. I love a bit of dressing up, it’s was a bit sweaty though!

    We did manage to get night out in the town and unfortunately found a bar that did cocktails 2-4-1, turned out to be bad timing, as the next day was the water park day, and I felt rough! Sea walking and hangover, not the best combo!

    Anyway, we finally got our act together and booked a flight across the country so we can go and check out Sabah’s main attractions, the Orang-utan’s and other cool animals. Unfortunately they have very little habitat left since it’s very rapidly being replaced with palm oil plantations, but we’ll see what we find!    Read more

  • South East Asia
    3
    2
    Day 41

    Taiwan

    May 31, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    After escaping the sex hotel we had a long journey up to the mountains, Alishan, I read, is a popular place for people who like mountains but can’t be arsed to trek up them, sounded just right! It was a really nice break from the sweaty cities as the temperature dropped to 16 degrees! Dodging the rain, (apparently it rains there more than it does in Devon!) we sat on the back of a fast bouncy bus, on a very windy, steep mountain road, into the National Park. On arrival (after recovering from nearly being sick), we did the rounds. Consisting of riding an old logging train track, a few lovely walks with 1000 yr old Red Cyprus cedars dotted around (the ones that the Japanese hadn’t logged back in the day) and enjoying an atmospheric cloud forest. It truly was a stunning place, we watched the sunset/sunrise over the mountains, and topped it all off with some traditional, mountain hot pots!

    Next stop, a town called Sun Moon Lake, via another extremely windy bus ride down through the mountains! We arrived at the large man-made reservoir (that as its name sake suggests is the shape of a sun and moon, questionable) 🤨!! We hired bikes, cycled around, went on a few boats and finally a cable car with a glass bottom, which Otto was very unsure about!!.

    Heading back to the west coast, we stopped for a few nights in a city called Kaohsiung. Dubbed, in our guide book, as the Birmingham of Taiwan, I can’t comment on that as I’ve never been to Birmingham! Anyway, it must be a lovely city because we really liked Kaohsiung. Once an industrial port horror with little to offer, (according to the Brannt guide that we stole from a hostel), it has now rebranded itself with really interesting art spaces and some great museums. So, we first ticked off the must see tourist stuff, big glass ceiling in a train station, a very kitch temple on a lake where you have to go through a massive mouth of a Dragon and out through that of a Tiger (for good luck……Otto loved it). Then we spent the rest of our time exploring. I was experiencing a craving for western food so (no judgement), we ended up in a British bar and felt very at home in an Asia style take off of a pub that resembled Cheers, somewhere in the 1990s! So that satisfied that!

    After Kaohsiung we tripped down to the southern point of the country, Kenting, a Taiwanese beach and surf resort. Unfortunately, we turned up to our hotel and there was obscenely loud pneumatic drilling in the attached building, it was insanely noisy, not the most relaxing few days by the sea. I had a mixture of feelings here, it was a bit like 90s Europe with a Chinese flavour. Banana boats, jet skis, grim hotel complexes and the usual ugly architecture that blights Taiwan. Not selling it in the best light, but we did have a good time. And yes, (Freda insisted), we got on a banana boat!! A first for all of us…..

    We then spent a day on the train going up to Hualien, the gateway to Taroko Gorge, Taiwan’s number one tourist attraction! And it didn’t disappoint, a truly spectacular natural wonder. A highlight amongst many.

    We were on our last legs in Taiwan, and we thought maybe the kid’s deserved a posh hotel with a pool, also an amazing sea and mountain view. So we had a one day blow out and enjoyed the finer things in life. The beach was a non swimming beach, this we found out mainly when we took a short stroll along it. While I was in awe taking pics, Otto finding shells in the sand, we realised the almighty forces of nature and had to run for dear life away from an extreme wave. We had no idea! Happened again a few minutes later!!! I’m not sure Otto will step foot on a beach again! Later that evening, Mitch found out there was currently a super typhoon off the coast (see Mitch for details as he spent most of the night looking it up). However, it was one of the strongest typhoons on record in the mouth of May and was only sitting a hundred miles or so off the coast, outside of Taiwan!!

    With the wind picking up we felt we needed to get out of there before it was too late, so we jumped on the train for our last two nights in Taipei. We a had a few more things to tick off the list, bubble tea, one more katsu curry, one last soup dumplings, Photo Booth, poo themed restaurant and national palace museum.
    All done, so we are off to Sabah!!

    If you’ve made it this far, well done!! We really enjoyed Taiwan, main complaint is that there is a law that you have to wear swim hats in pools!!! Which sums up the culture of extreme rule abiding people. God forbid if you sit on the wrong seat on a train! The system starts malfunctioning. But that aside, maybe it’s us who are at fault? Lovely place lovely people.

    When the kids are grown up I’m coming back, then I’ll get a motor bike and ride around the Taiwanese mountains.    Read more

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