Whats happened since............. well there has been a couple of developments, a trip to Max's sports club established Sue as 10 pin bowling champion despite the best efforts of Max and myself she came out clear winner in a best of three, we will have to schedule a return trip here before we leave KL to sort this out.
We also took a trip down to see the fire flies close to Kuala Selangor, this involved a short boat trip on the river to see thousands of flies light up the bushes overhanging the water like Christmas trees, not only this but the flies somehow managed to coordinate their lights so they flashed on and off at the same time. The motor on the boat was electric so we drifted down stream in near silence broken only by the ominous cracks of thunder of the approaching storm and the various jungle bug noises that provided the ever constant background hum.
Thursday was the start of Dewali so a national holiday here, it started with a lazy morning which like all good lazy mornings involves a large slow breakfast, this was followed by a swim before packing the car for the long weekend. Max an Joanie have taken Friday off so we headed north east to Teman Negara national park a massive area (4000 kilometers sq) of dense rain forest in the Malay peninsular interior. The idea was to do a bit of jungle hiking and spend a bit of time out of the city, the first night there was torrential rain which clattered down onto the roof of our little chalet. The next day was dryer and we decide to hike to a small waterfall called Lata Berkoh where we could swim, we booked a return long boat to pick us up for the return journey. Four hours they told us at the information office, this couldn't be too bad we thought and packed three litres of water between the four of us and set off following the narrow muddy trail through the thick bush. It didn't take long before we began to get an impression of what we were really in for, soaked in sweat and then the leeches hit, no sooner than you stopped to remove the three crawling up you socks than there would be another six on your shoe! We have since learnt that if you can avoid the jungle the day after heavy rain, wear heavy dernier ladies stockings tucked into you
long trousers and gaiters if you handle the heat you stand a better chance against these parasites. Leeches detect there prey by heat so the more things you can wrap around your legs to prevent them radiating heat the better. We sang all the jungle songs and told as many jungle jokes as we could think of, the highlight of the walk had to be seeing the monkeys leaping down over 20ft from one high tree to another. Anyway after the 16th leech was removed from Max and we managed to find the waterfall we were much relieved to take the long boat back down stream to where our chalet was. The river was in spate after the heavy rain and swimming seamed like too risky an operation.
The next day we followed a much more popular hike (less leeches for some reason) up a nearby hill called Teresek where we managed to see out through the dense jungle for a brief moment to the vast expanse of rolling rain forest which seemed to go on and on for ever, three black winged hornbill birds flew by and I thought I saw an elephant but couldn't say for sure. As the saying goes you couldn't see the elephants for the trees! From here strolled down to the canopy walkway where Joanie who is afraid of heights stunned us all as she strode confidently along a swaying rope bridge 45m above the ground suspended from tree to tree.
On Sunday we drove back to KL just in time for a bowling rematch however Sue won the best of three again this time scoring over 150 points!. Monday morning and its time to say goodbye to Max, Joanie and the comforts of their KL apartment and swimming pool! Today we fly to Kota Kinabalu in Eastern Malaysia at the north end of the island of Borneo.
Since we have arrived here, Sue has completed her scuba diving course, I went along as a refresher, its been a few years since my training in Australia. One day in a class room followed by two days diving around the islands just off Kota Kinabalu; Pulau Gaya and Pulau Sapi. This was great fun with lots to see, large fan corals, corals shaped like huge urns, a green turtle and a couple of colour changing cuttlefish right in front of my nose. Now that we are both qualified we have booked a flight for Friday to Tawau on the east coast and we hope to spend a few days diving around Pulau Sipadan next weekend. No sharks yet but there should be plenty there however although dangerous they are not aggressive and it is a very popular place for divers from the world over. This week we plan to climb Mt Kinabalu which lies not far from here, all going well we should reach the top in order to see the sun rise on Wednesday morning.
What else have we been up to, the food here is sumptuous. We have been eating wonderful meals in street side 'hawker' cafes. Generally they occupy a open fronted street side shop and the plastic tables and chairs spill out onto the pavement outside, at the back of the premises there will be a couple of hard working very sweaty chefs with towels wrapped around their heads to stop their sweat seasoning the woks below. They churn out at high speed delicious meals of noodles, soups, sweat and sour, seafood porridge, laksas and all sorts of other things that we haven't been brave enough to try. These are washed down with Chinese tea (hot or cold), barley water or some other mysterious drinks with a red jelly like substance made from berries suspended in fluid at the bottom of the plastic cup.
That's all for now, hello to you all.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Take off and Landing
As we squeezed the last few items into the storage boxes and tested the weight of the bags it hit us. ' We are leaving our cosy home in the basement in Fitzwilliam Square! We are now folk of no fixed abode!'
Coffee and cake were the order of the day. Ma Long's suggestion of last nibbles in the Boulevard Cafe was the plan. Just like any other Baggot Street munching, but as we wandered back to the flat I did feel the tears. The flat was still quite complete, ready for our friend Ruairi to move in, but the enormity of the whole situation was hard to get our heads around. Last dash upstairs to say goodbye to Vasco & Sonja, Cillian & Tess, now the only Purser Fitzwilliam Square dwellers. Bags on backs, we left all our keys on the hooks and marched down to the bus stop. Ma Long waved us off and Barry Long photographed us; worlds on our backs.....Farewell Baile Ath Cliath.
A short flight to Germany later, we feasted on Burgers and beers before the 8 hours to Singapore. Taxi to the hotel and then....oh surely its breakfast time now....oh, what we're going to a Japanese restaurant for dinner?....but I want scrambled eggs on toast... oh ....noodles will be fine...isn't it breakfast time?........oh 7pm ......already?????
Singapore was hot hot hot. English spoken everywhere and we managed to get a taxi to a bus depot, buy tickets and get a fancy bus to Kuala Lumpur. I think I watched my film allocation for the whole of '07 over the last few days!! Max, Joe's brother, was waiting patiently at the bus station for us in his car. A quick journey on the crazy roads and we were behind the locked gates of Max & Joanies apartment in the embassy district, close to the centre of Kuala Lumpur.
Friday 2nd November and we were left to our own devices in KL. Taxi down town, where high rise buildings tower above the streets and road crossing is only for true dare devils. ' Yes Sir, This way Sir, ' everyone so eager to help. Fashion is important and only the holiday maker is seen wearing flat shoes. Everyone has a phone/ palm top. Strange how we just don't miss them at all......Subway, monorail, light rail, shopping mall. Outside super hot, inside air conditioning, jumper on, jumper off. Umbrella???? Ah to deflect the heat...it is monsoon though....rain....never.
KLCC is a huge development in the centre of Kuala Lumpur. Home to the Petronas Towers standing 452m high and linked by a bridge at the 41st and 42nd floor (88 in total..auspicious number to the Chinese). Petronas is the state owned oil company which spent US$2 Billion on this development!! One tower built by a Japanese firm the other by a Korean firm. The Japanese topped out first but the Koreans built the bridge.....The cross-section of the towers is an eight-pointed star (Islamic art) and the facade is made of stainless steel. It is all lit up at night and helpful to wandering travellers, who have stopped for cocktails and then gone on a random trip on the Monorail (Sue's first) , to find their bearings again.
20km from the city centre we wandered into the jungle. Massive vines and trees and all the world of creepy crawleys. Such a pleasant wander we were having..until...the sky darkened..and then opened. Monsoon season is upon us and discovering that we had walked off our map and that shelter was not forth coming, we scrambled into the bush to look for those big leaves that David Attenborough always found so helpful. Not a hope in hell in finding them, we huddled under the best cover we could find and waited. 40 minutes of downpour later it stopped. We scrambled from the bushes and brushed ourselves down. I had encountered my first leech. A small one but none the less attached to my leg. 2 days later and its still a open wound! Now we understood the umbrellas. Definition of Monsoon: violent and prolonged downpours of the wet stuff!!!!!
China Town deserved a visit and we wandered through the market and resisted all the sellers chants. Spent our afternoon in the gardens by the government buildings which house an orchid and Butterfly park. Sushi is our fave fodder at the moment, and boy am I glad I can manage chopsticks. Noodles with what ever your having yourself are also going down well, not to mention Joanies fabulous home cooking.
Last few days in KL for the moment and a few things planned. Thursday sees the start of Dewali, the Hindu festival so Max & Joanie are off work. We travel to Taman Negara national park for a few days with them and then we say goodbye and fly on to Sabah (on a separate island) until December 23rd when we return to KL for Christmas.
27 to 30 degrees C is where it is at these days and I admit to a small fear of getting struck by lightening when using an umbrella. I think I am winning the 'most swollen mosquito bites' competition but final tallies will be assessed on leaving Malysia. Mental preparation for bugs has begun and once I don't encounter any stag beetles I think I'll be content. Also monkeys, not too fond of them , and that grass hopper thingy that landed on me last night....and there was quite a few bugs on display in the butterfly park. I'm hoping they are all extinct. And leaches, they leave a perfectly circular mark, but not really my thing. Spiders? erm, haven't seen any, maybe I'm not looking close enough... oh they could be anywhere!!! What about those juggernaut bumble bee things that I heard crashing into the side of the vine....! Do you think they sting??? or bite??? " Joe.....Joe...did you check for bugs?" ....." All bugs of course!!!! " Wheres that Deet spray??????"
Coffee and cake were the order of the day. Ma Long's suggestion of last nibbles in the Boulevard Cafe was the plan. Just like any other Baggot Street munching, but as we wandered back to the flat I did feel the tears. The flat was still quite complete, ready for our friend Ruairi to move in, but the enormity of the whole situation was hard to get our heads around. Last dash upstairs to say goodbye to Vasco & Sonja, Cillian & Tess, now the only Purser Fitzwilliam Square dwellers. Bags on backs, we left all our keys on the hooks and marched down to the bus stop. Ma Long waved us off and Barry Long photographed us; worlds on our backs.....Farewell Baile Ath Cliath.
A short flight to Germany later, we feasted on Burgers and beers before the 8 hours to Singapore. Taxi to the hotel and then....oh surely its breakfast time now....oh, what we're going to a Japanese restaurant for dinner?....but I want scrambled eggs on toast... oh ....noodles will be fine...isn't it breakfast time?........oh 7pm ......already?????
Singapore was hot hot hot. English spoken everywhere and we managed to get a taxi to a bus depot, buy tickets and get a fancy bus to Kuala Lumpur. I think I watched my film allocation for the whole of '07 over the last few days!! Max, Joe's brother, was waiting patiently at the bus station for us in his car. A quick journey on the crazy roads and we were behind the locked gates of Max & Joanies apartment in the embassy district, close to the centre of Kuala Lumpur.
Friday 2nd November and we were left to our own devices in KL. Taxi down town, where high rise buildings tower above the streets and road crossing is only for true dare devils. ' Yes Sir, This way Sir, ' everyone so eager to help. Fashion is important and only the holiday maker is seen wearing flat shoes. Everyone has a phone/ palm top. Strange how we just don't miss them at all......Subway, monorail, light rail, shopping mall. Outside super hot, inside air conditioning, jumper on, jumper off. Umbrella???? Ah to deflect the heat...it is monsoon though....rain....never.
KLCC is a huge development in the centre of Kuala Lumpur. Home to the Petronas Towers standing 452m high and linked by a bridge at the 41st and 42nd floor (88 in total..auspicious number to the Chinese). Petronas is the state owned oil company which spent US$2 Billion on this development!! One tower built by a Japanese firm the other by a Korean firm. The Japanese topped out first but the Koreans built the bridge.....The cross-section of the towers is an eight-pointed star (Islamic art) and the facade is made of stainless steel. It is all lit up at night and helpful to wandering travellers, who have stopped for cocktails and then gone on a random trip on the Monorail (Sue's first) , to find their bearings again.
20km from the city centre we wandered into the jungle. Massive vines and trees and all the world of creepy crawleys. Such a pleasant wander we were having..until...the sky darkened..and then opened. Monsoon season is upon us and discovering that we had walked off our map and that shelter was not forth coming, we scrambled into the bush to look for those big leaves that David Attenborough always found so helpful. Not a hope in hell in finding them, we huddled under the best cover we could find and waited. 40 minutes of downpour later it stopped. We scrambled from the bushes and brushed ourselves down. I had encountered my first leech. A small one but none the less attached to my leg. 2 days later and its still a open wound! Now we understood the umbrellas. Definition of Monsoon: violent and prolonged downpours of the wet stuff!!!!!
China Town deserved a visit and we wandered through the market and resisted all the sellers chants. Spent our afternoon in the gardens by the government buildings which house an orchid and Butterfly park. Sushi is our fave fodder at the moment, and boy am I glad I can manage chopsticks. Noodles with what ever your having yourself are also going down well, not to mention Joanies fabulous home cooking.
Last few days in KL for the moment and a few things planned. Thursday sees the start of Dewali, the Hindu festival so Max & Joanie are off work. We travel to Taman Negara national park for a few days with them and then we say goodbye and fly on to Sabah (on a separate island) until December 23rd when we return to KL for Christmas.
27 to 30 degrees C is where it is at these days and I admit to a small fear of getting struck by lightening when using an umbrella. I think I am winning the 'most swollen mosquito bites' competition but final tallies will be assessed on leaving Malysia. Mental preparation for bugs has begun and once I don't encounter any stag beetles I think I'll be content. Also monkeys, not too fond of them , and that grass hopper thingy that landed on me last night....and there was quite a few bugs on display in the butterfly park. I'm hoping they are all extinct. And leaches, they leave a perfectly circular mark, but not really my thing. Spiders? erm, haven't seen any, maybe I'm not looking close enough... oh they could be anywhere!!! What about those juggernaut bumble bee things that I heard crashing into the side of the vine....! Do you think they sting??? or bite??? " Joe.....Joe...did you check for bugs?" ....." All bugs of course!!!! " Wheres that Deet spray??????"
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