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We have been thinking of home a lot since hearing about the earthquake so would love to hear from you all.


xxxx

Johor Bahru to Kota Bharu

Well, we are sitting here in the Perhentian islands, relaxing. But how did we get here? This next post tells of our trip from Singapore to here via Johor Bahru, Taman Negara National Park, and Kota Bharu.

Johor Bahur

Only a quick bus ride across the border from Singapore, Johor Bahur (JB) didn’t offer much except a place to sleep the night before taking an early morning train to Jerantut—the entry point into Taman Negara National Park.

Filled with shopping malls, JB is where Singaporeans go for cheap shopping—making use of the advantageous exchange rate to buy clothes, watches, and haircuts. Claire even got in on the act, albeit with some trepidation, as she took the opportunity to get her own haircut. Despite a few more layers than desired, she came away happy and with a much lighter ponytail. I was happy too as it cost significantly less than a haircut in Sydney—albeit I was slightly concerned by the content of the womans’ magazines that I was forced, by lack of choice, to read!

Sleeping in and missing the train was not a good way to start the morning. Fortunately the next train was just a few hours later, so we took that instead.

Malaysian trains are almost everything Indonesian trains are not. They are clean, comfortable, and smoke free. They do not, however, run on time—an infliction common to Indonesian trains as well.

Our train, the ‘next train’, was over an hour late. But that’s not the troubling part. Rather, the troubling part is that the train still managed to make it to Jerantut by its scheduled arrival time. This suggests one of two occurrences. One, the train company knows the time it arrives in Jerantut, but somehow—after all the years it has been operating this train—does not know or intentionally misrepresents the time it arrives in JB. Or two, the train driver knew the train was running late so made up the time by driving extra quickly—which sounds extraordinary given the limits placed on trains. Either way, the occurrence is baffling.

Taman Negara National Park

The train ride to Jerantut was scenic. Colloquially referred to as the ‘jungle railway’, the train line heads north from Johor Bahru through the Malay Peninsula’s semi-mountainous interior. It passes palm oil, rubber, and banana plantations, jungles, small towns, and various mills. It crosses rivers and winds around limestone outcrops. We read mostly, enjoying the comfort and looking up every so often to see the changing scenery or alighting passengers.

Arriving in Jerantut just before 5pm, we raced to get the last public bus to Kuala Tahan—the small laid-back village the sits directly across the river from Taman Negara National Park. Making only three trips a day, the rickety bus took 1.5 hours to reach the village. We climbed hills and passed misted rainforest as we drove. The air cooled noticeably.

That night we stayed in the Tembeling Riverview Hostel and ate at one of the floating restaurants that line the river bank. We stayed for two days in Kuala Tahan before heading north to Kota Bharu.

Taman Negara is touted as the oldest rainforest in the world—it remained unaffected by ice ages, bush fires, and volcanic activity for at least 130 million years. Although a sanctuary for rare animals like the Asian elephant, tigers, leopards, and rhinos, sightings are rare. Instead, explorers like us seek the pristine extant primary rainforest and a break from urban jungles.

Our first day started slowly but ended with a four hour trek. We climbed Bukit Teresik (344m), balanced along a canopy walk, and swum in the muddied waters of Sungai Melantia—a nearby river. The looped trail was well used and signposted.

Day two was longer. Starting early, we set out on an 8 hour trek to cascading rapids and back. Our trip was uneventful until we were attacked by leeches—Claire’s second brush with the blood-sucking critters. More of an annoyance than anything, our socks we drenched in blood and our feet covered in small lesions. We ate fried rice on rocks for lunch and I swum while Claire read.

The next day we returned to Jerantut and took the jungle railway to Kota Bharu—a night stop before our trip to the Perhentian islands.

Kota Bharu

The sun was setting as we arrived at the train station, 5km from Kota Bharu. We intended to take a public bus to its centre, but that plan failed as no buses came. We then tried to haggle our way to a cheap taxi. But that failed too as most taxi drivers were praying at a local mosque.

Frustrated after wasting almost two hours, we finally split a more expensive taxi fare with two Swedish travellers. Lessons were learned!

We all stayed at the Ideal Traveller Hostel and went out to the night market for dinner. Cheap and with a large selection of local food, the market had many mobile stalls. We ate steam buns, murtabak, and blue rice. We slept easy.

The next morning we took an early morning mini bus with our Swedish travellers to Kuala Besut. Here we boarded a fast boat to Palau Perhentian Kecil—the smaller of the two Perhentian islands.

* * * * *

Our next post will be about the Perhentian islands. Until then, love to all,

X X X

Melaka & Singapore

Hi Everyone

Apologies for the gap between posts. Internet access has been patchy since Singapore. Heres the update for Melaka and Singapore. Eli will follow very shortly with the next post.

Melaka (or Melacca)

Our search for a hostel in Melecca was undertaken without darkness or rain; I loved it already!

The hostel we found was one of the best so far.  Sitting in the middle of Chinatown, Voyager Hostel offered a welcoming feel with plenty of other travellers.  Our room had heaps of natural light, there was warm water, and the coffee at the cafe came from an espresso machine.  Melecca was getting better by the minute!

For our first evening, the hostel hosted a shared dinner.  So we joined our fellow backpackers for an Indian meal.  The ethnic mix of our dinner party included Dutch, Nepalese, Taiwanese and an Australian who worked on several state politicians’ electoral campaigns.

The next morning we set off on a wander around the city taking in some of its historical sites.  Given its strategic importance as a port city, Melecca was colonised at various stages by the Portuguese, Dutch, and English before being incorporated into Malaysia.  Each coloniser added its own buildings—churches, forts, docks, and administrative facilities were built new or refitted.  Easily viewed, it is this history that lead to Melecca being named a world heritage city.

Like much of Malaysia, Melecca now has prominent Chinese and Indian communities that commingle with the local Malays.  Chinatown is particularly large; a popular spot for tourists from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, it is more thriving than little India—and separated by the river that divides the city—with its red-lantern-lit streets and food stalls making for a pleasant stroll.

Not finished, later that afternoon we grabbed some bikes from our hostel to find St Johns’ fort—formally a Portuguese chapel, converted to a fort by the Dutch, and now a relic with cannons and a view of the city.  Our ride was directionally challenged (due to the absence of a map), but rewarding nonetheless.  An inadvertent detour to the largest Chinese cemetery outside of China was a welcome surprise; so exiting that we did a complete loop—again inadvertently.  

Our return was better managed—passing Melacca Island, the port, and a replica trading ship from the 16^th or 17^th centuries.

I love food—which is probably stating the obvious.  But I also love reading about different places to eat.  So, later that night, after reading about Satay Capitol, I knew we definitely had to go there.  Satay Capitol consists of tables with buckets of boiling peanut sauce in the middle and a chiller full of meat and vegetable skewers.   How it goes is you grab a tray full of whatever skewers you want.  Take it back to your table.  Then cook the skewers in the bubbling sauce.  It is yum!  Very, very yum—except when you accidently get a skewer of liver.

The next day we started slowly, making use of the free wifi and good coffee.  In the afternoon we bussed to a recreational park just outside the city, but got off at the wrong stop.  Undeterred, we walked the rest of the way to the park.  A replica jungle with a tree-top walk, herb garden, and dinosaurs, it catered for locals who sought an outdoors with concrete paths.  It was nice, but nothing special.

That night we slept easy—we were off to Singapore tomorrow on an express, air-conditioned bus. 

Singapore

Our four nights in Singapore were splendid.  Entering Singapore over the 1 km causeway that connects the city state to Johor Bahru in Malaysia, we made light work of the on-again-off-again process of passing through two immigration checkpoints via bus—our first overland border crossing.

Having stayed in Chinatown in both Melacca and Kuala Lumpur, we decided to give little India a go.  Close to the city centre and with a large food selection, it was a great choice.  We stayed at the Inn Crowd with about 50 other ‘dorm-roomers’—a helpful, clean, and generous hostel that offered free internet, breakfast, and instant coffee.  That night we ate Indian curries and chapatti at a local market.

The next day—after a shopping mission to replace my lost fleece (I think it’s on a bus in Medan)—we met Debra for lunch.  Eli met Debra when she came to Jemena on an exchange from Singapore Power and worked in his team for two or so months.  

Debra took us to a food court.  Unlike those in other parts of the world, Singaporean food courts are great dining experiences—well, at least for us foreigners.  They offer many local traditional dishes at very reasonable prices; and this was one of the ones where Debra ate lunch regularly.  Debra generously guided us to sample (and brought) a range of dishes—some we probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise.  

Eating with a local was certainly a great way to try new things and learn more about the culture.  Thanks Debra!

Our afternoon began with a walk through the old colonial part of Singapore—which sits near the mouth of the Singapore River.  Eventually, and to avoid the heat, we ended up at the Asian Civilisations Museum—a truly fascinating place.  It contained a vast amount of information and artifacts from all parts of Asia.  Focusing on South East Asia, the collection helped put context around where we’d been and some of the places we were going.

The next day we landed at Sentosa Island—Singapore’s playground.  Sitting at Singapore’s southern most point, the island contains beaches, an amusement park, an old British fort, hotels, restaurants, and a horde of people—mostly locals and expats taking their kids for weekend outings.  We spent the afternoon swimming and enjoying New Zealand Natural ice cream before heading back to Little India for a quiet evening;  I had boysenberry ripple, Eli had hokey-pokey.

Of course we could not go to Singapore without going to the zoo—Eli made sure of that.   On our last full day in Singapore, we got up early to beat the crowds to see animals watch animals.  Located in the north west of the city, the zoo contains a sizeable collection of flora and fauna from all continents.  White tigers, baboons, cotton-top tamarins, and giraffes were all hot favourites.  Well sign-posted and shady, the zoo layout was simple and we left satisfied.

After a quick wander around Chinatown the next morning, we were back to Malaysia.

Don't forget to check out the photo gallery, we've added new ones

Love to all

xxxx

Medan to Malaysia

Sitting in Voyager Cafe, Melaka, we contemplate our impending express bus trip to Singapore. Having left Bukit Lawang, we made it to Medan before flying to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and then busing down to Melaka.

Below I discuss how we got to Melaka.

Medan

We arrived in Medan, buzzing from our brush with hairy orange / ginge orang-utans and eager to jump across the Straights of Melaka to Malaysia later the next day. The Residence looked after us that night—the eve of Chinese New Year. Surprising, Medan had no formal celebrations, despite its large Chinese population.

Rested, we walked the 5 kms to the Sun Plasa to kill some time—our flight was not until 9:30pm and there is only so much you can do in Medan. Finding little in the way of entertainment, we returned to the Residence to collect our bags, have a bit to eat, and head to Medan’s international airport, 1.5 hours earlier than necessary.

A little known fact about Claire is that, when it comes to flying, she is overly punctual. Rather than risk missing a flight, she would easily have us sitting next to a check-in counter an hour before it opens. Curiously, this ‘punctuality’ is confined mostly to flights—and international flights in particular.

Arriving at the airport, we quickly mastered AirAsia’s electronic check-in then waited for the bag drop counter to open. Although we only have carry-on sized bags, we carry items that are not permitted as carry-on, such as a pocket knife, a lighter, and assorted liquids. These items are checked in with one of our bags as part of a well-established routine.

After passing immigration, we were left with a challenge: how to spend our last 100,000 rupiah, roughly AUD11 or NZD14. Settling on postcards, water and some sweets, we set about devouring a raspberry log, brought with our remaining rupiah—airy in texture, strangely sweet, and sized for a family of four and a dog, it was hard going and, in hindsight, a bit of an error.

Final boarding call made, passengers seated after some debate, and safety briefings completed in both Malay and English, AirAsia—a budget airline—left on time for the 50 minute flight to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Welcome to Malaysia

Similar to Indonesia in many ways, Malaysia is still unique.

• · Transport is efficient, punctual, and, for the most part, non-smoking.
• · Roads are maintained and lack the distinctive feel of pot holes—primarily because of the large number of toll ways.
• · Streets are clean, touting is minimal, and signs are large and helpful—being in both Malay and English.

Malaysian society is more ordered than Indonesia’s, but its natural beauty remains surprisingly similar. Palm oil and rubber plantations still dot the landscape and lush national parks, white-sand beaches, and a treasure-trove of exotic animals are waiting to be found.

The official language—Bhasa Malay—is almost identical to Bhasa Indonesia, save a few variations owing to differences with their respective English and Dutch colonial histories. Helpfully this means that the little Indonesian that I learnt earlier was not entirely wasted. Primarily focusing on numbers, learning some language is useful for two reasons: it lets you:

• · negotiate prices in the local language—which is helpful when locals struggle with English
• · detect whether locals are trying to rip you off by price fixing with other touters—which was common in Indonesia but, as of yet, nonexistent in Malaysia.

With a population of about 28 million, Malaysia is a mix of three main ethnicities: Malay (50.4%), Chinese (23.7%), and Indian (7.1%). A ‘Chinatown’ and ‘little India’ grace most cities and offer a chance to enjoy these cultures—including, to our salivating delight, food.

Offering all of this in a tourist friendly country, we were keen to explore Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur

After jumping across the Straights of Melaka, our AirAsia flight arrived early in Kuala Lumpa just before 11pm. Passing quickly though immigration and customs, we took AirAsia’s skybus to KL Sentral—the transport hub of central Kuala Lumpur.

A taxi man helped us find the Red Dragon hostel in Chinatown—an old cinema converted to a hostel with several dorm rooms, a large number of windowless single and double rooms, free wifi, and a range of TV options. Although infested with cockroaches and a little too industrial for my liking, the staff were friendly and the location perfect. We stayed three nights—giving us two full days to explore the city on foot.

Day one: starting in Chinatown, we walked north east through little India to the Petronas Towers—Malaysia’s tallest buildings—the Suria KLCC shopping complex, and the city centre. Stopping for a late lunch, we returned to Chinatown via the Kuala Lumpur Tower and the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve—literally ‘pineapple hill’. AJ Hacket had erected a system of flying foxes around the outside of the tower, but unfortunately no one was using it.

Day two: we headed west to the Lake Gardens. Missing the bird sanctuary, we stumbled across a large tropical and surprisingly educational butterfly sanctuary, Malaysia’s national monument, a chocolate shop, several lakes, and a small mousedeer enclosure. That night we dined on Thai with hawkers in Jalan Alor on the outskirts of the golden triangle—Kuala Lumpur’s CBD.

After our two days of walking, we were off to Melaka—an old city steeped in colonial history; a world heritage city in fact. Hearing great things about Malaysia’s buses, we were eager to endure the two hour express, non-smoking bus trip to Melaka. It was a painless experience.

* * * *

Claire will update you later on Melaka and our trip to Singapore. We will upload more pictures at the same time.

Peace out,

Orang-utans!!

Orang-utans, orang-utans, orang-utans!  Since we started planning this trip, I have been a little bit obsessed with seeing orang-utans in the wild.  In fact, it was pretty much the only thing I wanted to do in Indonesia.  I have since discovered there is much to do and see in Indonesia.  But I was still extremely excited to make our way to Gunung Leuser National Park.

Gunung Leuser National Park—in North Sumatra—is one of the few accessible places in the world where seeing wild orang-utans is possible.  In the 1970s, an orang-utan rehabilitation centre was set up to reintegrate orang-utans who had been kept illegally as pets or displaced by illegal logging back into the jungle.  The centre was closed in the 1990s as the national park had reached its capacity in terms of how many orang-utans it could support.  However, park rangers still provide supplementary feeding of bananas and milk two times a day at the feeding platform for any orang-utan who wants to come.

We arrived in Bukit Lawang at the edge of Gunung Leuder National Park on the afternoon of the 31st and got ourselves set up at Bukit Lawang Indah Guest House—a basic but clean guest house with a restaurant serving really great food at a low cost.  The next morning we set off early to get our park entrance permits and head to the feeding platform for the 8:30am feeding.

When we arrived at the platform there were no orang-utans in sight.  The ranger banged on the platform with a hammer to let them know we were there.  The next minute, branches moved high in the canopy above.  Flashes of orange soon followed and finally two orang-utans made their way down to the platform to feast on bananas and milk.  It was incredible to see them up so close and to observe their many human like traits and their amazing ability to climb and swing through the trees using all four limbs.

Reluctantly after about an hour we had to leave.  Park policy restricts the length of contact with humans—this encourages the orang-utans to be as wild as possible whilst still ensuring they have adequate nutrition.

The rest of the day we explored the village.  We spoke with different guides about booking a trek into the jungle to see the orang-utans in a more natural state.  We finally decided on a one day trek for the next day with the option of rafting back down the river at the end of the day.  Our guide’s name was Leng.

The next morning, we were joined on our trek by two English girls from Manchester and their guide as well as a young trainee guide.  This meant that one or two of the guides could go off ahead scouting for animals while the other led us through the jungle.

The walk started off fairly easy.  Within the first hour we had seen two orang-utans swinging high in the trees; however there were a lot of other groups around and it was difficult to get a great vantage point.  It also seemed there were some unscrupulous tactics going on with some of the other guides—luring the orang-utans away with bananas so their group could get a better view.  These types of tactics are not allowed, but unfortunately with an economy so dependent on the tourist dollar are bound to happen.

We then headed a bit more off the beaten track and had the pleasure of seeing one of the largest males up fairly close.  Weighing in at about 90kg and seven times stronger than a human, he was a magnificent sight.  He was accompanied by a much younger male who was very curious—and more than happy to come right up close and pose for photos.  They bored of us before we bored of them, so off they headed back into the tree tops.

We also encounter a moon snake sleeping on a branch and a Thomas leaf monkey who allowed us right up close.  We glimpsed white gibbons high in the trees.  And I was the only one lucky enough to have a close encounter with a leech!

By late afternoon we were feeling pretty weary from the steep climbs and slippery descents.  We were happy to get to the river where we swam in the refreshing water before jumping aboard large tyre tubes tied together to raft all the way back to our accommodation in Bukit Lawang.

I was tired but elated at the end of the day.  Seeing orang-utans in the wild was probably a once in a lifetime experience and one that we will never forget.  I think the most amazing part is just how human like they are.  You really get a sense that we aren’t all that much different...

The next day (the 4 year anniversary of the day we met) was spent enjoying the peacefulness of the village and avoiding the rain which came frequently and heavily. We toasted our anniversary with a beer at the Jungle Boarder Bar and watched the river rush by.

The next morning we jumped on the bus to Medan. We will spend the day in Medan today before flying to Kuala Lumpur tonight to begin our Malaysian adventure.

Love to everyone, all emails and comments greatly appreciated

xxxx

Parapat to Bukit Lawang

The rainy season: wet. Beautiful and lush, but wet. As I write this post, the rain is streaming past our window in Bukit Lawang—the site of a major flood that killed over 300 people on 2 November 2003 in a village no larger than 300 people now.

Bukit Lawang is one of the few places in the world where one can see wild orang-utans—our red-headed cousins. But I wont blog about that. No, that is for Claire in the next post. Instead, I will blog about how we got to Bukit Lawang from Parapat: starting in Tuk Tuk, then onto Medan before hitting orang-utan central.

Tuk Tuk

Mist rolling down the thick forested hills, a cool air. We arrived in Parapat early morning. Taking a small public boat, we motored across Lake Toba to Tuk Tuk on the island of Samosir—we spent three nights there, exploring the island and swimming in the clean, volcanic waters.

We stayed at the Carolina Hotel with its thatched roofs, water problems, and slow but friendly customer service. Nestled against the lake, the hotel was homely—especially compared to our 40-plus hour bus experience from Palembang to Parapat!

The first day we explored Tuk Tuk. Small tourist shops selling Batak carvings and paintings, and renting bikes and fishing gear, and eateries offering a range of pizzas, were all the rage in the small village. We swam in the lake, enjoyed the slow but free wifi of Carolina, and listened to a local band warm up for a gig playing Tracey Chapman and U2 covers.

The next day we tried our hand at bike riding, again. Heading north around the island, we cycled 19km to Simanindo and back. Along the way we stopped at a Batak site previously used for sacrifices and ate at a vegan cafe come Buddhist sanctuary. We passed rice fields, mango and corn plantations, kids playing soccer, and many carp fish farms dotted along the coast. Claire even saw her first ‘wild’ snake scurry off the road after being woken from its afternoon sun bake.

Tired, sore, and wet from the rain that pelted us on our way back to Tuk Tuk, we had an early night; off to Medan the next day.

Medan to Bukit Lawang

Checking out of Carolina, we took the boat back to Parapat and a public bus to Medan—the largest city in Sumatra. We spent one night in Medan before heading to Bukit Lawang.

The bus trip to Medan was eventful. About five minutes in, the bus was involved in a minor nose-to-tail crash on the small, windy and congested road to Medan. The bus was the lead vehicle, but was followed closely by a mini-van and several large coal trucks. It stopped to allow an oncoming bus passed a tight bend. The mini-van stopped ok, but two of the trucks did not. Luckily no one was injured so we carried on our way.

Then about two hours in the bus got a flat tire—not that uncommon in developing countries like Indonesia where assets and infrastructure are pushed beyond capacity. The bus staff worked tirelessly to fix the problem, while—in the usual Indonesian way—the men on the bus sat beside the road watching the action, smoking. That was 30 minutes wasted!

Arriving at Medan’s Amplas bus terminal, we took a small opelet—mini public bus—to central Medan. We stayed only that night at the cheap and clean Residence Hotel. The next morning we did a spot of shopping at the Sun Plasa to replace a shirt that I had lost earlier in our trip before taking the public bus to Bukit Lawang.

This 3 hour bus trip was an experience also, but for different reasons. After leaving the sprawling suburbs of Medan behind, the bus quickly entered into rural Sumatra as we headed west towards the Gunung Leuser National Park and Bukit Lawang. But along the way we passed plantation upon plantation of rubber and palm oil trees.

A semi-symbiotic relationship, the palm oil plantation owners grow the palms—which have a 10 to 15 year life span—while the locals graze their cattle underneath, apparently at little or no charge. This relationship sounds promising until you hear about how the plantations came to be.

Sumatra, like Borneo, is a major producer of rubber and palm oil. And like Borneo, Sumatra producers these products at great cost to the environment and lives. To plant these trees, pristine rain forests are cleared and habitats destroyed in the short term and landslides and devastating floods caused in the long term. The fertility of the soil is permanently retarded.

As noted above, Bukit Lawang was hit by a flood in 2003 that killed over 300 people. One of the causes—palm oil plantations.

The problem with these plantations is that they offer little to no resistance to large build-ups of water, which are common during the rainy season. Rain forests are thick, with long established root systems that hold the soil in place and drink their fair share of water. Palm oil plantations are not, and struggle to soak up a thing. And as a result, the plantations can only watch as the water cascades down hills into tributaries that turn into crusading rivers—as was seen in Bukit Lawang when the Sungai Boharok (river) burst its banks in 2003.

Anyway, like I said, the bus ride was an experience.

* * * *

Well, that gets us to Bukit Lawang. Claire’s up next.

Love to all,

xxx