Woooooosh!
Well, I tell you what! I blinkin' whirlwind of a fortnight I have had! Many an unexpected thing has happened, but it has been amazing - for a change.
So, Langkawi, Malaysia. Yippers, had amazing times with new peeps - namely Paula from Liverpool (but lived in Spain for the last 5 years) and Leeroy from Cambridge (lived in Cambodia for the last 5 years). And we were team 'Sigmoid Collectomy', respectfully named after my delightful tummy operation which we decided would be an excellent name for a rock band. HARDCORE MAN. We mooched about on the beach and caught some rays in the days and munched on local delicacies in the evening - although we did have to persuade the local Muslim restaurant that it was cool for us to drink our lovely bottle of wine in their restaurant....we bought our own glasses! Perhaps the most memorable outing was in fact on the Friday night, where we ventured out to the local Reggae bar', much to Lee's joy since he (allegedly) despises this class of music. But, after a few lovely crisp white vinos, I was soon hitting the dance floor with a circle of Malay rastas accompanying me! Hehehe. All the action was being avidly shot by our new friend, EK (lovely guy from Kuala Lumpa who was on his holidays), whilst we wiggled along with the locals. Comedy.
The next day, fully armed with extensive hangovers, the enthusiastic EK persuaded us that it would be a good idea to escape Pantai Cenang, and go on a nice big cable car to the top of Gunung Machincang. A three tier system, the cable car staggers the viewing of the gradually ever increasingly impressive views of the surrounding areas. It allowed a spectacular 360-degree panoramic view of the Langkawi islands as well as dramatic views of the deep chasms, overhangs cliff walls, isolated pinnacles and some caves. Wasn't so great for Lee (again) since he is mortally terrified of heights and had to take Valium or something to chill out!
Next stop is Geargetown, Penang. Sigmoid Collectomy landed and went straight to the delightful Mr.Ken's. Mr. Ken is indeed the most crazy Chinese chap I believe I have ever encountered. And he is a legend. He drove me around for hours trying to retrieve my passport (issues with Chinese visas - don't ask) and then proceeded to take me out on a day trip of the back of this rented motor-bike. Lovely times. We went to a beautiful temple, Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram (Thai:วัดชัยมังคลาราม), and is a Thai Buddhist temple in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, most notable for its Reclining Buddha statue. Then we ventured forth to his favourite place on the island, Titi Kerawang Waterfall. It was very nice, but I think what made it was his little dance in the water which I videoed, which includes him singing a song to our dear Paula who wasn't there (and was in fact having her handbag stolen at a restaurant at the time with all cards and passport in). Bless him.
And then it was time for me to go and rejoin my lovely ladies in the land of Thai and to crack on with some full moon party entertainment. They, however, actually managed to go the wrong way after leaving me in Malaysia and so had spent many a drunken night in Kho Samui with some lovely chaps we met in Singapore. After a gruelling 24hours of travel and broken sleep, I finally arrived on Kho Phangnan and found my lovelies on Ban Tai beach - and got straight on the beers. Well, we definitely started as we meant to go on.
FULL MOON PARTY! Comedy value. Got boozy on our beach and then sang all our way to Hat Rin (beach where the party takes place), and we were greeted by excessive amounts of Samsung buckets (yes, the rocket fuel concoction of Thai whiskey, coca-cola and THAI redbull), and my god, it knocks your proverbial hat off!! Recall finding a few of our buddies that we met in Bali, covered ourselves in glow-in-the-dark paint and danced the night away until the sunrise. And Klo was laughing. She laughed a lot. And so did Sami. Special shakes all the way, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann. So - been up for 24hours at this point as I wiggled on the sand as the sun rose....and then we went to find Colin and Adam, the guys who we met in Singy-pore and KloSam chilled with in Kho Samui and basically spent the day monged on the beach and drinking banana milkshake. DELICIOUS!! And then I realised I had been awake for 39 hours and it was time for bed.
As the 'tards didn't go to Kho Pi Pi the first time round, they decided that was to be their next destination. But being the well versed traveller that I am, I've already been and couldn't face the prospect of another 24 hours travelling...so Klo, Sami and Colin mooched off to the Pi Pi, whilst Adam and I headed for Kho Tao. It is sooooooo beautiful. Stayed on Sariee beach for the first couple of days...and got a quad bike to explore the island! And my goodness, I'm glad he didn't tell me that he'd never driven one before until AFTER we arrived at Mango Bay because those roads were more than rocky!! Snorkel, snorkel and then watched 'Knocked up' back at the beach...SO FUNNY! Then we scooched down to Chalok Baan Koa to do a spot of scuba scuba! Yippers, went back to Buddha View diving!!! Hurrah! However, I have never been out on such a rocky rocky boat. And Adam was sick. But the diving was nice. Some some wicked corals, but unfortunately, no shark.
Then came the journey from Hell. Returning back to mainland Thailand (Champhon) in order to be reunited with the ladies. A boat. Delayed. After already being rocked dans le matin for diving, and then two hours of rough sea. I was sick. In public. In a clear plastic bag. The shame. Followed by a 12 hour bus journey to Bangkok to arrive at 5am.
And then It was Sami's last couple of days. Sob. So we spent the entire time on Khao San road. Shopping. She didn't have any presents. But then we got drunk. And offered roles as extras in a Japanese movie!! So, as Sami Sami walked off down Khao San for the last time (I felt a stab of sadness to see her little back wander into the crowd, for it was the first time she was actually on her own), Klo, Colin and I headed off to a 5 Star hotel to shoot a movie! Nope, not that kind of movie....And it was wicked!! 1920s style hairdos and amazing dresses and make-up! The nicest we've looked the entire time travelling!!
Alors, a little bit longer in Thailand. But without our dear Sami. WE LOVE YOU SAMI!!! We'll miss you - and your random comments, your cheeky smile and, of course, Janet's phone calls.
The next chapter begins...
Thursday 26 June 2008
Thursday 12 June 2008
Dante's Divine comedy. And some.
Yes, yes. the classical tale of heaven, hell and purgatory, but with a KloSamFlynn twist in Asia. Sweeeet.
Well, Jakarta was fine. Lovely. Had a Manchester United restaurant and I got my nose pierced. Lovely.
Then we landed in Purgatory. More affectionately known as Singapore. To those in the know, 'The Inn Crowd'. The coolest little hostel to grace this side of the hemisphere. Free Internet, dvd player, breakfast included and a lovely dorm full of lovely people...rearing to get on the lash. It was like coming home. And that is what it became. We successfully managed to squander 5 great travelling days doing precisely nothing (yes, that is when all those photos bombarded facebook). Lush. Sami and I even bought stilettos for the occasions of boozy times. Vodka in the dorm (illicitly, of course) and then minimal dollar spendage once out and about. And the bars were amazing. There was the reputable 'Clinic' which sported bar staff in nurse and doctor uniforms, and...wait for it...wait for it.....wheel chairs for, well, chairs!!! I got a wicked handbrake turn down on the old bugger, only to be told by a somewhat ruffled doorman, "the chair is not for fun." What?? A gold air sprayed chair with wheels not for fun?! haha. I wheeled off into the clinical horizon (and then was caught and ejected from said non-fun chair). But this is not all...our dear Sami indeed live up to her name of 'Sami the Saviour' by being the bearer of FREE STUFF! Basically, got into this club for free, chatted to the owner (of 1/3 of the bar) and gt free champers, vodka and vino for the rest of the night! Sami, we salute ya!! Flash packers are us!
Once we finally managed to tear ourselves from our lovely abode in Singapore (quite reluctantly, it must be said), it was to Kuala Lumpa, the capital of Malaysia for us. Again, a lovely city with some striking towers, but we'd seen enough of cities, so we moved on pretty sharpish. It also appeared to have a strange effect on our Sami. She decided to bless us with a lovely breakfast - of frosties and strawberry milk (surprisingly, she didn't find it went down that well). Sami moment.
Hell.
Well, not really. Mostly for Sami. And Teresa (lovely Hong Kong girl that joined us). For now we we in Taman Negara. The oldest rain forest in Asia. Claiming to possess elephants and tigers...but we found leeches and ants the size of your thumb. Lush. We decided to laugh in the face of organised fun (mainly cos it cost a blinkin' wedge) and so, Klo, Sami, Duke (dutch chappie) and Teresa (as above) and I caught a boat up into the rain forest and began our own trek, complete with vague map and vague notions of what jungle might be like. We eventually arrived at our hide (big hut on stilts) after being soaked by what is obviously the reason for the name, 'rainforest' (which was particularly unfortunate for Chloe, as she didn't have a water-proof. She didn't have her blanket in a plastic bag. But her main concern was keeping her sandwich dry. Excellent priorities). And that night....whilst rats tap-danced on the roof of the hide and tiger roared (nope, both Klo and I mistook the rumbling roar of the hide whilst people walked about to be a tiger. Oh dear.), we saw an ant eater come out into the open and munch - official name being Tapir. COOL. And saw fireflies buzzing about. The sound of the jungle too...blinkin' cool.
The next day, we battled through thick vegetation, I ripped my trousers to the crotch, 5 mintues after proclaiming the at her 1 Pound Indonesian trainers were the best investment ever, Klo found that they had actually disintegrated and that her sandwich bag wasn't going to keep the leeches out. And there were LOADS of leeches. Got a good picture of a juicy one on my leg. Yummy.
Heaven.
After taking on the trials and tribulations thrown at us by the jungle, we felt that we were in need of a little holiday. Quite right. Tough work this travelling bloody malarkey. So to the Perhantian Islands we went. Long beach - paradise. Crystal clear waters, white sands and cheap accommodation and food. Lush. And the tans had pretty much vanished so a good top up was in order. Then some diving. SO CHEAP! Yes, yes, I managed to actually swim next to a hawks bill turtle and saw a crazy tiger fish, and then on the second dive, all three of us saw a ship wreck! A Vietnamese fishing boat covering in lovely corals, and we saw sea serpents and poisonous rock fish. Uber cool!
But heaven was fleeting, and after only 2 days in paradise, due to a short time schedule, we headed to Kota Baru. Checked out some Malaysian culture, and I tried out Malay drums and top spinning and was enchanted by 'The art of self-defence', whilst Sami and Klo were on their way to Thailand. Yes, we are no longer together. But only for a little while, do not despair. They are off to Kho Pi Pi and since I have already graced those paradise lands (yeah, yeah, showing off), I decided to head west to the island of Langkawi by myself. Terrorised by young children on the bus for 9 hours, I escaped onto the last ferry and arrived at Cenang beach just in time for a much needed glass of Chardonnay and a tuna salad. Lush. Since then I've slept loads on the beach, been awoken by a) the LOUDEST snoring man I've ever heard (my bed shook. Honest). b) drunken lads after the football, and been island hopping around three of the 99 islands around Langkawi. And getting boozy with some lovely peeps ce soir on duty free Voddy. 5 quid for a litre bottle of Smirnoff.
Thank you very much.
Well, Jakarta was fine. Lovely. Had a Manchester United restaurant and I got my nose pierced. Lovely.
Then we landed in Purgatory. More affectionately known as Singapore. To those in the know, 'The Inn Crowd'. The coolest little hostel to grace this side of the hemisphere. Free Internet, dvd player, breakfast included and a lovely dorm full of lovely people...rearing to get on the lash. It was like coming home. And that is what it became. We successfully managed to squander 5 great travelling days doing precisely nothing (yes, that is when all those photos bombarded facebook). Lush. Sami and I even bought stilettos for the occasions of boozy times. Vodka in the dorm (illicitly, of course) and then minimal dollar spendage once out and about. And the bars were amazing. There was the reputable 'Clinic' which sported bar staff in nurse and doctor uniforms, and...wait for it...wait for it.....wheel chairs for, well, chairs!!! I got a wicked handbrake turn down on the old bugger, only to be told by a somewhat ruffled doorman, "the chair is not for fun." What?? A gold air sprayed chair with wheels not for fun?! haha. I wheeled off into the clinical horizon (and then was caught and ejected from said non-fun chair). But this is not all...our dear Sami indeed live up to her name of 'Sami the Saviour' by being the bearer of FREE STUFF! Basically, got into this club for free, chatted to the owner (of 1/3 of the bar) and gt free champers, vodka and vino for the rest of the night! Sami, we salute ya!! Flash packers are us!
Once we finally managed to tear ourselves from our lovely abode in Singapore (quite reluctantly, it must be said), it was to Kuala Lumpa, the capital of Malaysia for us. Again, a lovely city with some striking towers, but we'd seen enough of cities, so we moved on pretty sharpish. It also appeared to have a strange effect on our Sami. She decided to bless us with a lovely breakfast - of frosties and strawberry milk (surprisingly, she didn't find it went down that well). Sami moment.
Hell.
Well, not really. Mostly for Sami. And Teresa (lovely Hong Kong girl that joined us). For now we we in Taman Negara. The oldest rain forest in Asia. Claiming to possess elephants and tigers...but we found leeches and ants the size of your thumb. Lush. We decided to laugh in the face of organised fun (mainly cos it cost a blinkin' wedge) and so, Klo, Sami, Duke (dutch chappie) and Teresa (as above) and I caught a boat up into the rain forest and began our own trek, complete with vague map and vague notions of what jungle might be like. We eventually arrived at our hide (big hut on stilts) after being soaked by what is obviously the reason for the name, 'rainforest' (which was particularly unfortunate for Chloe, as she didn't have a water-proof. She didn't have her blanket in a plastic bag. But her main concern was keeping her sandwich dry. Excellent priorities). And that night....whilst rats tap-danced on the roof of the hide and tiger roared (nope, both Klo and I mistook the rumbling roar of the hide whilst people walked about to be a tiger. Oh dear.), we saw an ant eater come out into the open and munch - official name being Tapir. COOL. And saw fireflies buzzing about. The sound of the jungle too...blinkin' cool.
The next day, we battled through thick vegetation, I ripped my trousers to the crotch, 5 mintues after proclaiming the at her 1 Pound Indonesian trainers were the best investment ever, Klo found that they had actually disintegrated and that her sandwich bag wasn't going to keep the leeches out. And there were LOADS of leeches. Got a good picture of a juicy one on my leg. Yummy.
Heaven.
After taking on the trials and tribulations thrown at us by the jungle, we felt that we were in need of a little holiday. Quite right. Tough work this travelling bloody malarkey. So to the Perhantian Islands we went. Long beach - paradise. Crystal clear waters, white sands and cheap accommodation and food. Lush. And the tans had pretty much vanished so a good top up was in order. Then some diving. SO CHEAP! Yes, yes, I managed to actually swim next to a hawks bill turtle and saw a crazy tiger fish, and then on the second dive, all three of us saw a ship wreck! A Vietnamese fishing boat covering in lovely corals, and we saw sea serpents and poisonous rock fish. Uber cool!
But heaven was fleeting, and after only 2 days in paradise, due to a short time schedule, we headed to Kota Baru. Checked out some Malaysian culture, and I tried out Malay drums and top spinning and was enchanted by 'The art of self-defence', whilst Sami and Klo were on their way to Thailand. Yes, we are no longer together. But only for a little while, do not despair. They are off to Kho Pi Pi and since I have already graced those paradise lands (yeah, yeah, showing off), I decided to head west to the island of Langkawi by myself. Terrorised by young children on the bus for 9 hours, I escaped onto the last ferry and arrived at Cenang beach just in time for a much needed glass of Chardonnay and a tuna salad. Lush. Since then I've slept loads on the beach, been awoken by a) the LOUDEST snoring man I've ever heard (my bed shook. Honest). b) drunken lads after the football, and been island hopping around three of the 99 islands around Langkawi. And getting boozy with some lovely peeps ce soir on duty free Voddy. 5 quid for a litre bottle of Smirnoff.
Thank you very much.
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