Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Penang
So KL was a total hideous nightmare, my days consisted of hiding out in a shopping Mall, cinema and hotel room, because i was to scared to be out on the streets or on public transport in broad daylight, let alone at night. i booked myself into a fairly luxurious hotel for my last night as i think i may have suffered some kind of break-down otherwise, i was really at my wit's end and about to get on the next flight home. KL was dirty, smelly and really intimidating. Maybe i was in culture shock, maybe the place is just horrible. You can decide if you ever have the mis-fortune of being there.
Life has improved quite a bit the last few days, the hostel is nice AND clean AND has HOT WATER (very excited about that) AND free breakfast! All for a very reasonable price. And i've been making friends too. Yesterday i did a tour of Penang, saw a few temples, went up Penang Hill etc. Today i went to a buterfly farm and lazed on the beach. The food is good and super cheap.
And in other news, Australia has apologised to the Aborigines which makes me very happy.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Gong Xi Fai Chai!
Happy Lunar New Year from me to you!
So things in Asia are a bit crazy due to the New year Celebrations. But the decorations are soooo beautiful. And everyone is super excited about the celebrations. It's busy busy busy though.
My trip in Singapore didn't start off well, as the airline lost my luggage. Luckily it was just delayed in Sydney and i'd suspected that it would happen, so i had packed a spare set of clothes in my carry on. And i got some compensation for it, which i used to buy myself a ticket to see The Police in concert. Which i think was rather jammy of me. Sometimes during concerts there will be a moment when there is such an atmosphere that i get goosebumps, and this is what happened when they played 'Every Breath You Take' and it was worth going to the gig just for that.
Singapore is small and i found it really easy to use the MRT system to get myself around and saw most of the sights including the Zoo, which is the best i've ever seen, and had lots of animals i've never even heard of and the night safari. Lots of cool architecture, especially the shophouses in Chinatown. Good shopping and good food. i also loved that there was such a mix of cultures, most signs were in 3 or 4 different languages.
Kuala Lumpur is another story altogether, it's dirty and smelly and vile and i can't wait to get the heck out of here, and i've only been here half a day! Unfortunately i can't get a bus for a few days due to the celebrations. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. And in the meantime i have plenty to think on, like what i'm going to do when i get home!
So things in Asia are a bit crazy due to the New year Celebrations. But the decorations are soooo beautiful. And everyone is super excited about the celebrations. It's busy busy busy though.
My trip in Singapore didn't start off well, as the airline lost my luggage. Luckily it was just delayed in Sydney and i'd suspected that it would happen, so i had packed a spare set of clothes in my carry on. And i got some compensation for it, which i used to buy myself a ticket to see The Police in concert. Which i think was rather jammy of me. Sometimes during concerts there will be a moment when there is such an atmosphere that i get goosebumps, and this is what happened when they played 'Every Breath You Take' and it was worth going to the gig just for that.
Singapore is small and i found it really easy to use the MRT system to get myself around and saw most of the sights including the Zoo, which is the best i've ever seen, and had lots of animals i've never even heard of and the night safari. Lots of cool architecture, especially the shophouses in Chinatown. Good shopping and good food. i also loved that there was such a mix of cultures, most signs were in 3 or 4 different languages.
Kuala Lumpur is another story altogether, it's dirty and smelly and vile and i can't wait to get the heck out of here, and i've only been here half a day! Unfortunately i can't get a bus for a few days due to the celebrations. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. And in the meantime i have plenty to think on, like what i'm going to do when i get home!
