Around The World

Malaysia has a goal to be a first world nation by 2020; and one look at its capital, Kuala Lumpur and you will see it is well on the way. Kuala Lumpur is different to any Asian city I have even been to.

I stayed at the Maytower Hotel, in the city, and it took me an hour and a half to get there from the airport. A shuttle from the airport is about half the price of cab, but both are inexpensive and it is probably easier to get a cab, as the shuttle ride seems to take forever. It doesn’t help that airports don’t get much further away from the city than in Kuala Lumpur.

The Maytree was a lovely hotel, located in the Little India part of town; it was a high rise with a fantastic view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. Apparently HI5 had stayed at the same hotel a week earlier. Malaysia is an Islamic country, and I was there during Ramadan so each morning there was a buffet in the restaurant before sunrise.

 The Petronas Towers dominate the skyline and are the image people have of Kuala Lumpur. From completion in 1998 until the Taipei 101 was finished in 2004, they were the tallest buildings in the world. The iconic skybridge, still the highest in the world, in between the 41st and 42nd floor is a sightseeing must and is free to visit. It does however only allow a limited number of people on per day so you are advised to get there well before opening or you will miss out on a spot. It was before sunrise when we woke and walked to the towers, which took about half and hour, and stood in line.

 We stood there for two hours, from 7.00am and were able to secure a spot on the second viewing, which was at 9.15am. You have to go through security checks before watching a ten-minute video on the towers. You then get elevated up to the skybridge and have ten minutes to look around. This will give your camera a work out.

 After viewing we went down the bottom of the towers where they have a department store, Suria KLCC, and restaurants. We had breakfast and I sat there constantly amazed at how modern Kuala Lumpur was. It was, I felt, very Western, and living here would be easy.

We got a cab to Chinatown, which most people consider to be the highest quality markets in Asia. We all made a few purchases and then went into a massage parlour. This was no ordinary beauty parlour – you get a massage and put your feet in a fish tank. There are fish which nibble on your dead skin. I don’t like my feet being touched and this was the most uncomfortable thing I think I had ever done.

 Officially known as Resorts World Genting and a self-proclaimed City of Entertainment, Genting is Malaysia’s low budget, family-friendly, sanitised attempt at Las Vegas. The primary draw is that Genting is the only place where you can gamble legally in Malaysia and on Saturday night we made the ninety-minute ride to the casino.

We had an interesting driver, from India, and he gave us a brief run down on Malaysia. Going up to Genting was amazingly scenic and apparently there are still some tribes living in the forest near here. I am not one to gamble but thought I would make the most of it. I used 10 Malaysian Ringgits (approx $3AUD) and kept winning money on the poker machine, aptly called one armed bandits. The drive back took over two hours as we hit traffic which meant that we got to the Kuala Lumpur tower about ten minutes too late to go up in the needle for dinner. We then went to a restaurant in the city for dinner.

 We had a quick plane ride home to Coolangatta, mainly because I found three good movies and watched them back to back. Being the hub of Air Asia, Kuala Lumpur is set to increase its tourism market and the city is a great place for a stopover on your way somewhere. Such and easy city to navigate, it no doubt will be a first world place very soon.

Bali is awesome. It is one of over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian Archipelago and is just over two kilometres east of the island of Java. Eighty per cent of tourists to Indonesia visit only Bali. Indonesia did experience I massive earthquake when I was in Bali, on the island of Java, and I was fortunate enough to be safe from this.

It is a right of passage for every Australian to make their way to Bali, and I thought this would be one large, touristy craphole. Many people come back again and again and you can see why.

 I stayed at the Oasis Hotel, in Kuta. It was a funky little hotel just off JL Legian and an easy five-minute walk from the centre of Kuta. There is an abundance of restaurants, markets, entertainment here and you could see the place pumping. I had a sore throat and felt horrible after the plane so I took some painkillers and I woke up fine.

I had a look around town the next day. I found my way up the legendary Poppies Lane before I became the victim of a scam. Looking back it was one of the best things that could have happened. A local came up to us with win cards. One of the cards told us we had won either: $10,000; a free hotel accommodation voucher; a voucher book or $1000. The catch was we had to go to Nusa Dua, a town 20 minutes drive from Kuta and we were almost pressured into an intense sale of time-share. The local’s name was Abus and he was so thankful as he got a bonus for taking us there that he became our tour guide for the duration. The hotel we went to was nice and Nusa Dua is somewhere I didn’t think I would go to.

 I did end up making it back to Nusa Dua on the last day for some of the cheapest jetskiing you will find anywhere in the world. I had never been jetskiing before but was given free use of the port for fifteen minutes. Some of the best fun you can have on water.

Bali is not just all chaos and party. The next day we had a cultural day. Abus picked us up and took us to Ubud. Ubud is almost smack bang in the middle of the island and it where all the carvings are made. We were taken to some markets where all the wholesale products were. After this we went further up the mountains to have a look at rice paddies and tea plantations. After this we went up the top of a volcano lunch. I highly recommend anyone do this as you sit on the edge of the volcano overlooking the rim. The land is so arid that there are actually some townships there. Ubud is also the location of the monkey forest – home to thousands of monkeys. The place garners a lot of tourists and the monkeys are happy to accept bananas of people. They are greedy creatures however so make sure you indicate you don’t have any food on you or they will attack you.

Another must do is to have dinner at Jimbarayan Bay – about fifteen minutes south of Kuta. Abus dropped us off to shower and picked us up. You overlook arguably the nicest beach in Bali where there are hundreds of tables on the beach – I was with my friend Craig and his parents Barb and Tunney – and we enjoyed some drinks while the beautiful sun set over the beach as planes came in to land at the airport. We were able to go and pick out our fish, which had been freshly caught, for dinner.

A lot of people say Bali is a shopper’s Mecca. I think it is overrated. It is different from Bangkok in that the markets are all around the streets and not in sectioned areas. I think if you weren’t interested in Bintang shirts, fake Louis Vuitton and penis shaped bottle openers (“Bali Bananas”) then there wasn’t a lot of offer. I did have a changed mindset by this stage of travelling though, where I was less interested in souvenirs – would rather save the money for the next trip. It was fun though testing my bartering skills for Craig’s parents – and the sales people seemed nice enough – except for one woman who took my hand and started cleaning my nails, without me asking, then demanded money. I was quick to tell her where to go. I did spend money on a custom-made leather jacket while in Bali though as the price was around $70 and that is cheaper than I could ever buy it for in Australia.

There is so much to do in Bali that five days is not enough to cover anything. I think you could stay for a month before getting bored and as I said, people go back year in year out. I was determined to go for a swim everyday in the beach. Famous for surfing, Kuta Beach is popular for its close proximity to the town. You can’t go to the beach without being hassled for surf lessons or a massage. The water inst particularly nice and you need to watch out for rips in the water. It is nothing like what is on the Gold Coast – in fact the sand it quite gravelly. I didn’t get to learn how to surf which was a bummer – but there just wasn’t enough time to do everything. I did however manage to swim in the Indian Ocean, which meant I have now swum in the two of the three largest oceans and the world’s longest river.

Indonesia has a tough stance on illicit drugs. Many high profile foreigners have been locked up and even killed by capital punishment for drug offences. One night we were offered mushrooms, ice and marijuana from men who pop out behind the bushes. Usually these people are working with corrupt officials who will them bribe you up to $20,000 to stay out of jail. It is not worth getting involved at all.

Perhaps the most famous prisoner in Bali is Australia’s Schapelle Corby. A beauty therapist from the Gold Coast who was caught and convicted with 4.1kg of marijuana in her bag at Ngurah Rai airport and is serving a 20 year sentence in Kerobokan Jail. The news story has captured Australia like no other, with people divided over whether is she is innocent, as she has vehemently maintained or guilty. The book I read on the plane was her biography and one morning Abus took us to the prison, 30 minutes from Kuta, to visit Schapelle. Once there, I was informed that Schapelle had a list of 103 people she would see – people like her family and lawyers – and that these people only were allowed to visit. I then asked if she could sign my book but was told by the prison guards that this was not possible. I gave up trying and went back to the hotel.

One of the best parts of travelling is the people you meet. In Bali, we met some interesting characters. One night whilst having a swim in the hotel pool I was invited to have a few glasses of Moet by four Vietnamese boys who were staying in the same hotel. They spoke varying degrees of English and were in Bali studying. After about an hour of drinking and talking it became apparent that they wanted something more – kept offering there beds to us to sleep in, asking us to keep the door open while we went to the shower etc. We were both beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable so made up some excuse to leave.

It would be amiss to go to Bali and not pay some respect to bombings. In 2002, Kuta was the scene of a terrorist attack. In the main part of town, one night a bomb went off in one of the main nightclubs and also a car blew up on the street. Hundreds of tourists died, a lot were Australians, and it affected the tourism in Bali for years. They have made a really nice memorial in the centre of Kuta district.

Poppies Lane is magical, and the memorial is only at one end of it. A narrow street, which is cramped, busy and somewhat dangerous – it somehow works and keeps people coming back. It was pouring rain for my last day visit to Poppies Lane and I needed to fund a bottle shop for some alcohol. That night we went to a restaurant we hadn’t been to yet. We had some alcohol, got massages from the locals and also bought some CD’s from some guy selling them on the street. I remember this restaurant for the $4 jugs of Long Island Ice Tea. After Barb and Tunney left we decided that we will never drink with this value again – there was a karaoke machine set up which we both gave a go at singing.

It does take a lot to get me to sing so I must have had a few. There were two Russian people at the restaurant that seemed to be entertained. After the restaurant closed we went out clubbing – Paddy’s Bar and The Discotheque were the two places – I drank so much alcohol, namely Jungle Juice, that I don’t remember getting home that well. I did have KFC in my room from the journey home, and managed to pick up a padlock somewhere along the way. Looking back, I can say this is probably the best night I have ever had out at the nightclubs so far. The next morning we had to leave, and it wasn’t feeling well until well beyond the airport. All that aside I look forward to going back to Bali and doing it all again.

For the first time I planned a trip without a travel agent. I wasn’t 100% happy with the how my previous trip had been handled and thought about all the money I had spent for their commission. I decided it would be fun to do it myself. It was a decision, which probably had a big part in me leaving my high paying bank job to be a travel agent.

Generally, airline tickets are the biggest expense for any traveller and finding the best deal can potentially save hundreds of dollars. Budget airline, Air Asia has opened up travel through Asia and has a model that has been successfully copied by many other airlines.

Air Asia’s hub is the low cost carrier terminal in Kuala Lumpur. It flys into Australia, Europe and Asia. Unlike full service airlines, Air Asia is a point to point carrier only. To make up for the cheap fares, you pay money for your baggage, meals and in flight entertainment. You can also pay extra money to pick your seat and purchase insurance. If your flight is delayed at one point, it is a case of ‘too bad’ for your connecting flight.

It was exciting; hoping all would go to plan. We had to be up in the early hours of the morning as we had a limousine picking us up to drop us at the Gold Coast Airport. Limousines are surprisingly good value when you consider the cost of a cab and split between four people they are excellent value. Splash out and get to the airport in style. Why not I say?

The plane was comfortable and on time. As I got to Kuala Lumpur LCCT I had to race through immigration and customs to catch a connecting flight. This part didn’t go so smoothly. The world was going through a swine flu endemic. I must have run a fever and the thermal scanning had picked me up and I was led to a cordoned off area for further testing. I was nervous, and not completely aware of what was going on. The last thing you are told on the plane is that Malaysia has a death penalty for drug offences. Was there drugs found in my bag? Horror stories of Schapelle Corby were running through my head.

Anyway, it took about ten minutes before they cleared me of swine flu and I got in the line for immigration. I suggest the airport change this system. I got in a line, which had two immigration officers serving it. All the other lines had four or five people serving it. I was getting very stressed about missing the connection. Ah, the airports. Sometimes, they are half the fun of the whole trip.

The Africa trip was drawing to a close and I couldn’t wait to get to the Novotel Sukhumvit in Bangkok for a good nights sleep before flying again. We had spent a month away, mostly camping, and a five star hotel seemed on the cards. I didn’t want to waste time in Bangkok though – I had money to spend and was in the city to do it. Bangkok, however, was in a state of emergency. The hotel was in lockdown.

I was there when the below (copied from wikipedia) was going on.

In March 2009, Thaksin Shinawatra claimed via video broadcast to a UDD rally that Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda masterminded the 2006 military coup, and that Prem and fellow Privy Councilor members Surayud Chulanont and Chanchai Likhitjittha conspired with the military and other members of the ‘Ammatayathipatai’ (aristocratic polity) to ensure that Abhisit became Premier. Although Abhisit denied the accusations, thousands protested in Bangkok early April demanding that Abhisit resign from the Premiership and that Prem, Surayud, and Chanchai resign from the Privy Council. Thaksin called for a “peoples revolution” to overcome the alleged aristocratic influences of the Abhisit government.2009, 100,000 UDD demonstrators, rallied at Government House and the nearby Royal Plaza by the evening. The government decided to declare the State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas, and military forces were brought into the capital. Fighting erupted between anti-government protesters, government supporters, and the general population. At a demonstration in front of Prem’s residence, a yellow shirted driver plunged her car into a crowd of UDD protesters injuring several before driving away; she was not arrested. Abhisit denounced the UDD protesters as “national enemies”. Abhisit also issued a red shirt decree that empowered the government to censor television broadcasts.

In the pre-dawn of Monday 13 April, Army soldiers used tear gas and fired live and training rounds to clear protesters from the Din Daeng intersection near the Victory Monument in central Bangkok, injuring at least 70 people. The Army later claimed that live rounds were only fired into the air while training rounds were fired at the crowd. However, Human Rights Watch confirmed that there were some cases where the Army fired live ammunition directly at protesters. The UDD claimed that dozens of protesters died from gunshot wounds sustained during the military’s attack. However, the Army later claimed that the wounds were not caused by an M-16, the standard Army rifle. Also on Monday the government ordered the red shirt blocking of satellite news station D Station, an affiliate of the UDD which, at the time, was broadcasting the clashes. Several community radio stations were shut down and searched upon suspicion of supporting the UDD. I truly believe that there will always some sort of unrest somewhere in the world for the rest of our lives. Why cant we all just get along?

If there is one airport in the world you want to spend some time in; chances are it is Changi Airport, Singapore. A frequent winner of the world’s best airport, Changi is renowned for its shopping, eating, design, efficiency and atmosphere.

It’s a perfect come down to the high you are on when you are on Singapore Airlines. Chances are that if you had to spend time in economy long haul, it would be Singapore Airlines.

Singapore is an island county off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres north of the equator, in the Southeast Asian region of the Asian continent. It is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north, and from Indonesia’s Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. A city-state, Singapore is the world’s fourth leading financial centre and a cosmopolitan world city, playing a key role in international trade and finance.Airports excite me. People going, people coming. I think I could spend all day there. I dream of getting an airport job just people watch. I left the doors of Changi Airport only once – to get a tobacco hit – and my few hours spent here were no where near enough.

Getting upgraded on a flight is one of the goals of all travellers. Due to flight cancellations, my flight got re-routed and I had to catch a flight from Bangkok to Thailand on Thai Airlines. This flight let me achieve the ultimate – a free upgrade.

I didn’t notice it was an upgrade till half through the flight when I peered through the curtain and saw economy class, with their plastic cutlery, three seats in a row and alcohol rations. Too bad this wasn’t the worlds longest flight.

Now once we landed in Hong Kong, we had 7 hours to kill – not knowing much about the place prior, we looked at a train which took you through the city – the logistics of the city however made this option unavailable. We got out the airport, a bit of mission, and saw there was an expo on in a convention centre about a fifteen minute walk away. The convention centre proved quite boring so we made our way back to the airport. All the stores were closing, and we were starving and thirsty so bought water. It was some sort of replenishment water so I didn’t drink it and remained parched.

We went to check in, the first in line, however due to some mess up, we were not confirmed and had to be placed on stand by. We waited nervously until about two hours later we were told we would be on the plane.

Hong Kong airport is probably bigger than some small countries. I still think there is a lot more to Hong Kong, and to China than this airport – due to my definition on countries being UN recognised I do count this as a visit –eventful at that – but likely to back again.

[THAILAND 21MAR09-22MAR09] 

 Alas, I was back in Thailand, one of the worlds great areas to travel and one of my favorite places to be. I embarked on my first multi destinational trip and had to stopover in Bangkok due to a Thai Airways cancelled flight. Now the first time I was in Bangkok I did not enjoy it as much as I could have. A big culture shock, a bit tired from Chaing Mai and a guess a little home sick. I didn’t really want to stop in Bangkok overnight but as is always the case in the developing world, you can’t be in too much of a rush because you will inevitably have something go very wrong and keep you grounded for a few days. Southeast Asia is certainly no exception but there are far worse places to be stuck, no matter where you are and especially Bangkok, Thailand.

As Lonely Planet eloquently puts it, “Bangkok is the cockiest city around”. This is perhaps true and it is also one of the worlds most exciting cities. Anything can and will happen and as the classic Murray Head 1980’s hit “One Night in Bangkok” says:
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster, the bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a God in every golden cloister, and if you’re lucky then the God’s a she.
I can feel an angel sliding up to me.

One night in Bangkok makes the hard man humble, not much between despair and ecstasy.
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble, can’t be too careful with your company.
I can feel the devil walking next to me.

I stayed for one night in Bangkok, free of charge, at the five star airport hotel – Novotel Sukhumvit. We never got to the famous Patpong district the first time we were in Bangkok – for a variety of reasons, one of which was being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city, the second of which was alterior motives of the cab drivers.

Patpong Road is quintessential Bangkok. Whether it be a designer suit, fake ID, any type of clothes, jewelry, massage (legit), lady friends or lady boys, tuk tuk’s, etc., you will certainly be offered by tons of hawkers and enterprising Thai’s trying to pry away your Baht. We first wanted a bite to eat in McDonald’s and had 4 lady boys sitting next to us – preparing for a big Saturday night – casually going about there business. I went to some stalls and had a look with the cries of “please sir, first customer” – I bought some sandals for Africa and some underpants. Then we realised all the bars on the side were full of dancers, trying to make some money with ping pong balls.

By the end of the night I had seen thousands of prostitutes, lots of tourists coming back again and again, male prostitutes coming onto us, illegal DVD’s, an abundance of food and bright lights and neon signs. We went back to the hotel and got ready for our flight to Hong Kong the next day – I don\’t know why but having such a 180 turn around about my feelings of Bangkok have put me in good stead for the holiday.

People say to me it is one of those places you just want to go back to again and again. I am fairly sure it will be on my travel list once again.

St Augustine once said that the world is a book and those that don’t travel read only one page. My first trip abroad made me want to read the whole book – prologue to epilogue. Thailand is a Mecca for the tourist and a great place to set the first chapter– the most popular of South East Asian destination – it blends an exotic mix of culture, food, history and temples.

The national carrier, Thai Airlines, gives an excellent preview into this country – hospitable hostesses, great food and unlimited entertainment. We transited through Bangkok’s main terminal – the escalators echo ‘end of the walk’ – we then caught a domestic flight to our first destination – Chiang Mai. 

We were met at the airport by Aki, who would be our tour guide whilst in Chiang Mai. He transferred us onto the Novotel. Chiang Mai is the second biggest city in Thailand and is in the north. Founded in 1296AD the city is separated into two parts – the walled ‘old city’ or the new city. Chiang Mai offers an exciting mix of both the old and the new – a quick walk around the hotel and you can find a modern supermarket, some modern stores, and universities. Up town a bit there were shopping malls. Nestled in the streets were thousands of people on scooters, tuk-tuks, monks and temples. Being my first trip abroad it was amazing to see things like electricity lines wired in a mess, food for sale in carts and what seems like no road rules.

We had a few tours booked for us in Chiang Mai – it was good as it made us do some things we would not have thought of. Here we were feeling completely unsafe – hiding money in the kettle of the hotel room and at the end of the trip we were bartering like we had been doing it forever.

 A Kantanoke dinner and dancing show was one of the tours – I tried a few different foods but it was nothing like the deceiving Thai restaurants in Brisbane. A lot of tourists were at this dinner and the local girls treated us to some traditional dancing…by the end of the night we were up dancing with them.

Shopping is a real treat in Thailand – on the first day we were buying clothes for a real cheap price – little did we know we were getting ripped off – the shop owners must have had a guilty conscience as they ended up giving us a complimentary beer. We discovered a market place is the best the do your shopping and spend some time buying gifts and souvenirs.

I was in Chiang Mai for the local election – in Thailand alcohol is forbidden on election day – Unfortunately I didn’t get an endless supply of Singh beers but it was good because the next day was the highlight of the trip – early start to see the orchid farm and then onto the elephant park about an hour out of Chiang Mai. The elephants were people friendly and put on a show. They were able to paint, play basketball, and do a little concert. I was actually called up the stage to get a massage off the elephant. We fed the elephant’s and then were able to ride them. It went for about half an hour and was bumpy. We saw some really poor kids selling bananas. We went though the park. Afterwards we got to go on a bamboo raft up the river before being taken by bull and cart to a smorgasbord lunch, which overlooked a beautiful setting in the mountains. Hard to believe that only an hour away was the hustle and bustle of the big city

A big draw card in Chiang Mai is the trip up the mountains to see the Karen tribe. The ladies have ‘long necks’ and they are immigrants from Burma escaping the conflict and live in homesteads in the mountains. They speak a dialect that no one around could understand but we did get the idea they were preparing for a wedding that night.

Bangkok is a huge city with high rises for suburbs on end. We stayed in the Classic Palace, which was about 2kms from the city centre and about an hour from the airport.

Bangkok is the capital city and central business district – it is also one of the major hubs of Asia. Tuk Tuk drivers work on commission here and take you indirect routes to your destination – to places like suit tailors or jewellery stores where they try to sell you their products. Unfortunately the traffic is ridiculously bad in Bangkok and getting taxi is not worth it – thankfully, we discovered at the end that Bangkok has an excellent public transport network and the train station was near the hotel.

We did a few tours of Bangkok – the temple tour is a must for any tourist in the city – Thailand has thousands of temples – the Grand Palace being the most famous. My favourite was the one that housed the reclining budda. Our guide, Helen took us to a legitimate jewellery-making store before dropping us back at the hotel. We learned that the king is so revered in Thailand that it is illegal to say a bad word about him.

The night markets we went to were bigger than those in Chiang Mai but had the same sort of stuff. We went to the same restaurant two nights in a row and both nights forgot to pay for the beer.

One the last day we did a tour of the floating markets – these are traditional fruit and veg markets an hour and a half from Bangkok where the locals barter and sell with each other – it is all on the water in a river and must make some tourist revenue. Its worth mentioning that this tour takes you to a snake charmer or something similar on the way where you can put a snake around your neck.

Thailand is the kind of country which wets your appetite for travel – a place many tourists come back to again and again. I highly recommend going and saying Sawdawsee, bartering at the markets and having a Singha or two at the end of a hot day.