Surfing in Bali

Flying into Bali was exciting for I only saw the sea getting closer and closer and suddenly we were down on the landing stripe. When I got my luggage I met a Swiss girl from Zuckerriet who had been teaching in Singapore for the last three years:) So, it’s possible.
There were many taxi drivers to choose from but they all said it would be $50 and I knew I shouldn’t be paying more than $15. Of course they said that the gas prices went up 6 weeks ago. In the end, we settled for $20.
It was about a 40min drive to get to the camp. I was a little confused when he stopped on a hill, far away from the sea, because I somehow expected the surf camp to be right at the beach. But there it said “Kamafari Surfcamp” and I knew this should be the right place.

The camp itself was very picturesque and exactly as pretty as on the pictures I saw on the internet. All the houses were made out of wood with straw roofs, in a green garden. There’s a hammock, other sun loungers, a tv with loads of new movies and a nintendo with Mario Kart, a billiard table and all that with sea view:) A good place to stay for a week! Especially because of the nice bathrooms that all look like fancy caves and the shower is half roofless so that I have some jungle feeling again:) But the only real jungle I had when a frog sat on the shower head cable the whole time I showered.

The only way to get around on the island are car or scooter. Luckily, I had a short scooter lesson with Jack and that had to be enough for me to drive here. To get to Padang Padang beach it takes about 5 min by scooter and the roads around here are no problem because there aren’t many cars and only two way streets.
I love the beaches and the cliffs, I thought Bali was a lot more flat!
I wished I could stay here longer to surf more and get better. It’s so awesome to watch and a lot of fun to do it myself too.

The first day was EXHAUSTING though! We had big boards which were padded with foam so that we couldn’t hurt ourselves and had more buoyant force. Paddling against the waves to get out far enough to surf back in takes so much energy. Luckily, once you’re out behind the waves you can just sit on the board and bathe in the sun 🙂 Our guide, Made, pushed us into the waves, so that we didn’t have to do all the paddling ourselves. I already stood the second time and after that I surfed most waves 🙂 So much fun! But like I said, so exhausting to get back out. So much water rushed through my nose and ears that even later in the evening, water would suddenly start dripping out of my nose, like having a nose bleed. The second day I managed to get around the waves and didn’t swallow so much water. The third day, I received a big hard board. That was a lot more wobbly but since I stood the first one I was encouraged to go on after the ups and downs after the first wave. The fourth day was a disaster, nothing worked. The fifth day (already my last L) was much better again. We went to a different beach (Balangan), where the waves were a little crazier but the location is beautiful. I finally managed to stand up again and even take a few waves alone, without getting a push from Made 🙂

I bet these surfers have already practiced a few hours more than I (Dreamland beach) :

I hope that I’ll find a perfect surf-learning spot again soon!

When I wasn’t surfing, I was either resting below a palm tree or in my cute bungalow, on excursions with my friends from the surf camp or in massages 🙂 The camp owner recommended Tara massage to me, it’s right on the road down to Padang Padang. 75000 IDR for the best 60min massage I’ve ever had!

Cave at Uluwatu beach

One day, I drove my scooter to the Bali surf outlets (on the way to Kuta). I didn’t find anything to buy because by the time I arrived there, all the cars had made me so nervous that I just wanted to get away from that big road. Back on the two way road I found a salon to get a haircut. I asked in several salons because in the first few they didn’t have a hair dresser, although it said so on the sign and another one said it would be 165000 Rupiah. It was in a nice spa but still, that’s a lot more than the usual 40 to 50 thousand. Finally, I found Island Spa. I’m happy with my haircut for 50’000 Rupiah but the cream bath I had first (one hour of putting beauty products in my poor dry beach hair and then a wonderful head massage) for 40’000 Rupiah. I’d go to a spa here at least once a week if I stayed here longer!!!

Cliff at Uluwatu temple

Sunset at Uluwatu

We also went to visit the temple in Uluwatu. The temple itself is nothing special (we weren’t even allowed to go inside the real temple) but the view up there is amazing!!! Steep cliffs with the ocean below, really reminded me of Ireland. So, I guess we paid the 20’000 entrance fee for the view and not the temple. There’d also be a fire-dance show we could have watched during the sun set. I was glad we were too late to buy the tickets for 60’000. There were so many people that I doubt that they all saw it really well and they missed the cliffs being painted in orange and red while the sun was descending.

Our gang

All the restaurants I’ve tried (mostly for lunch, since we had dinner at the camp) were delicious! In Jiva Juice I even found a gazpacho (my savior in these hot days!) that lived up to the standards of my mum’s 🙂 And most importantly, they had self-made brownies. Exactly the daily dose of chocolate I needed. With all the surfing, I needed a lot more sugar anyways. Luckily, if you order sugar in your tea or coffee on Bali, it’s rather sugar with tea than the other way around 🙂 So sweet…

Sunset at Uluwatu

Singapore

Getting to Singapore from KL was no problem. I boarded the bus at Puduraya and we left with a 30min delay (who knows why). At the border, I first had to carry my stuff through the Malaysian customs, get back on the bus and then do the same thing at Singapore’s boarder again. Remember your bus nr. and a few faces of the people who were on the same bus with you or you might have trouble finding the bus again, since nobody explains to you what you have to do. Before I could enter Singapore, I once again had to fill out a paper which asked for the same information several times. They took it very serious and I actually had to look up the address of the hostel on my iPod. They weren’t satisfied with just Grace Lodge.

Singapore flyer

Finally in Singapore after an about 5 hour drive, it didn’t take long until the driver said “ok, final stop” and we all had to get off, somewhere at the side of a road nobody knew. Luckily, there was a bank close by and I could get my first SGD out of an ATM. Then, I had to walk about 700m to a metro station. In that heat and with my backpack you do not want to walk 700m! I eventually made it and purchased a ticket to go to Tai Seng. Luckily, I didn’t throw the paper ticket away because you need it to get out and you can use it up to 6 times (to get back the 10 cent deposit and a 10cent discount on the 6th ride).

busy rodes

Nobody at Tai Seng station could tell me in what direction I had to walk but to my shoulders’ relieve, I chose the correct one on the first try. With the house nr., finding the hostel was very easy. I passed a few Indian restaurants and then rang the bell at otherwise unremarkable Gracelodge. A guy opened “may I see your reservation?” Well hello to you too…All about business here in Singapore.
I showed him the reservation and he let me inside. He showed me the room and bathroom and explained the house rules to me (no food and only water in the room, leave the shoes at the door, only wear house slippers, etc.). I was just glad when I could finally put my bag down.
I think it is the same type of bunk bed which I had in Taman Negara. Quite comfortable and there were fans AND a/c in the room.

I cooled off for a while and then decided to go back into town to do some exploring.
I took an MRT to Esplanade, walked to the Raffles hotel to take a picture and then made my way to the Singapore flyer. Just because I somehow wanted to get to the water and that was my only point of orientation. I had to pass through a mall and realized that the prices weren’t even that expensive here. Still cheaper than in Switzerland.
The ferris wheel wasn’t very interesting, now that it was still light out but the area at the bottom is very nice. There are a few cheap food stalls (and also expensive restaurants) and a small rain forest park. I bought an iced coffee since I heard that the coffee in Singapore is really good. I saw that the guy freshly prepared it but it then didn’t live up to my expectations. Perhaps I tried the wrong food stall.

I walked to the bay and had to cross what looked like a road. I carefully looked for coming cars but only saw black tire traces and then realized that this must be part of the formula 1 track. Now, there were people jogging on it. A little later, I went back to the street food area and bought a plate of fried egg with oysters for $5. The oysters were good but it was a little too much egg for me. What’s up with Asians and eggs anyways? You can buy eggs at EVERY corner and if you eat hot pot they give you whole eggs to boil in it as well.

Egg with oysters

After dinner, the sun had set and now all the buildings ignited the night. Again, it looked beautiful and very inviting to stroll around some more. I crossed the bridge over to the shopping center at Gardens by the Bay. I’d have liked to go look at them but I didn’t find the way towards it, wasn’t sure whether it’d still be open and I wasn’t much feeling like walking around in the dark alone.

I took the MRT back to the hostel. I was pretty tired and would have liked to sleep but some people just don’t get that they shouldn’t have a conversation above whisper volume after 11pm in a dorm. Is that too much to ask for?

Shopping Center at Gardens by the Bay

My second day in Singapore was filled with excitement. I took the MRT to Ang Mo Kio and from there bus 138 to Singapore Zoo. It took me over an hour to get there and considering this, about 4 SGD is a very fair price for public transport.

The zoo was better than any zoo I’ve ever been to! I mean, I heard that Singapore Zoo is pretty and amazing but I didn’t expect it to be that awesome! The cages all look very natural and most of them are only divided from the visitors by plants and moats. Therefore, you get very close to the animals! You can follow a feeding time schedule and therefore will be ensured that the animals are awake and active. In addition, the employees tell you many interesting facts about the animals. There are also fact boards everywhere in the zoo and the amount of writing on it is exactly right so that you don’t get tired of reading them.

Why go to the orchid garden if they also have nice flowers here?

What I liked best, was something like a rain forest hall. You can walk through a forest on paths and the animals move freely around you. It was sooo cool that I actually got goose bumps being in there! There were this cute miniature deer that didn’t even reach to my knee, colorful birds, butterflies, monkeys, lizards, tortoise and huge bats (I was so mesmerized that I forgot to look what they are called). Above all they were impressive, when they spread out their big, thin wings and then suddenly hang back on a tree branch again. I could have stayed in there all day but there was so much more to see.

Smile for the camera

 

I also really enjoyed watching the polar bear hunt for food pieces. I didn’t watch any of the shows though because by 2.30pm I had seen all the animals and I thought I probably should head back to the city center, to see some more things. I was also pretty hungry by then and since the food at the zoo is quite expensive and the portions are small, I preferred eating at a food center in town. The entrance fee to the zoo is 22 SGD for adults. You could pay $5 more to use the tram in the zoo but since the area is mostly flat, it was no problem to visit everything on foot (however, it rained in the morning and so it was a colder day than usual, perhaps with the sun shining it could be exhausting walking around).

On the way back with the bus, I met a guy who lives in Singapore and like so many other Asian people I’ve met, he was very happy to talk about food and wanted to show me the food center. He then really wanted to invite me for lunch. As a European, I am not used to this, that a stranger would just invite you to food but here it seems to be common. I think I could get used to that 😉 Afterwards, my friendly acquaintance went home and I took a train to HarbourFront to get to the boardwalk to Sentosa Island. It was 5pm by then already. You just need time to get around Singapore, it’s not as small as I still feel it is.

There is a monorail you could take to get to the island but the distances are so short (and there are conveyors and escalators) that you pay too much for the trains. I had to pay $1 to enter the island. Sentosa is basically a dream world that fulfills any of your childhood wishes. There is Universal Studios, big resorts, a waterpark, the aquarium, theaters, look out towers, beaches etc.

It was a bit confusing to find the correct way to the beach I wanted to go and all the employees just told me to take the monorail because it would be “very far”. However, I eventually got to the big lion statue and from there it’s easy to have some orientation. It’s really worth it to walk because the paths are very pretty. A fountain reminded me of Park Güel in Barcelona. Down at the beach, you can take free trams or buses to certain parts on the island. But it actually only took me about 20min to get from the entrance to the southernmost point of continental Asia. I can’t believe how much I’ve seen in 6 weeks all the way from Chiang Mai down here traveling on foot, by bus, ship, bicycle, tuktuk, elephant, bamboo raft, taxi or train. And I’d do it again 🙂 Actually, I’d like to go on longer but I guess that just means I’ll have to come back soon 🙂

That woman really wanted to get on the picture with me 🙂

The beaches on Sentosa are very picturesque and if I had more time, I’d definitely come back here to take a swim. But it was already getting dark and so I decided to walk back and find some dinner.

I found a supermarket that sells lots of products from all over the world at a reasonable price, which would make it agreeable to live in Singapore.

Once again, I couldn’t resist the sushi (how much raw fish can you eat until it gets unhealthy?). I didn’t have enough money anymore to buy my favorite flavor of Ben&Jerry’s (Phisfood) but I thought it would be enough to try a hot chocolate at Max Brenner’s (I’ve always wanted to go there and yes, the chocolate really is delicious but just as good as at my favorite (cheaper) places in Switzerland). I cut it very close with the money because I didn’t calculate that the tax would be so high. I had exactly the $2 I needed to ride back to the hostel afterwards. Luckily, I got back my $10 deposit for a locker key and so would have something for breakfast and to get to the airport the next morning.

I loved the white tiger! Never seen one before…

Singapore makes it very easy and affordable to get to the airport. Just board the green line Metro, ride to the final intersection before the airport (Tanah Merah) and change to the airport train on the middle track. It took me about 40min to get to the airport from Tai Seng.

There weren’t many people and I checked in my bags at the Air Asia counter at terminal 1 in no time. I didn’t have to wait long to board my flight but for the short waiting time, I had free wifi at the airport, which is always a big plus 🙂

Then, off to a short 2h 30min flight to Bali, my one week escape before going home. On one hand, Air Asia doesn’t offer any food or drinks (except if you pay for it) but on the other hand, they have their announcements in all the often used languages. It was weird and comforting at the same time to hear German on an Asian plane 🙂 And I thought it was very nice that they said “welcome to Bali to all our visitors and welcome home to all the Indonesians.” As far as I remembered, all the airlines usually only address the people as tourists. But sometimes it’s nice to fly to a place you call your home 🙂

 

How to escape the heat in KL

The best way to do this is by staying inside malls, which are always very air-conditioned. Here not as much as in Bangkok. In KL, I was never freezing, even in short clothes. It was the perfect indoor temperature.
So, I basically spent two days inside all the different shopping centers of KL. There are so many that you easily could fill a week with just walking through malls.

A whole building full of electronics (Low Yat)

I also learned that sometimes you can buy a metro coin to your final destination even with having to change trains somewhere. But not even the Malaysian people could tell me for sure when I had to do what. You probably have to pay twice when there is a dotted line.
I wanted to rest my foot a little and not walk too much. This didn’t work out too well the first day since I think that you see so much more of a city by walking and so I walked and walked and walked.
Plaza Low Yat really is a place just for electronic devices. I got lost inside Sungei Wang Plaza because it’s like a huge bazaar on several floors. Finally, I ended up at the Pavilion, the newest mall in town. It contains brand stores on the rather expensive side but I liked it for Tokyo Street (a section with only Japanese stores) and all the international restaurants. Surely not the cheapest place to eat in KL. But the place to go if you crave a good European beer, sushi, Spanish, Japanese, Turkish or Mexican food (the guacamole there was really good!). There even was a salsa bar, which I unfortunately discovered too late.

Pavilion

Despite all the walking, I think my foot is healing properly.
The second day, I spent more time sitting in restaurants eating, drinking fruit smoothies or tea and writing post cards. The funny thing was when a Malaysian family asked me whether they could take a picture of me writing the post card. They thought it was very cute that I still do that. Well, I love receiving them and so I think I should keep up sending them too. Plus, when I send them home, I can always look at the places I’ve been to hanging on our wall 🙂
After two more days in KL I was slightly worried that not everything would fit inside my backpack. However, I seem to have a very good packing system because it was no problem.

mmhhhh

Before I left Switzerland, I packed everything into separate plastic bags, sorted after themes (things I need to sleep, towel and bathing suit, proper clothes, used clothes,…). Like that, I just have to grab the right bag from the backpack without searching for too long. In addition, I left some space in the beginning and I brought a few things I knew I wouldn’t bring back home, like sun screen bottles and toilet paper. So, I actually gained more space to buy new souvenirs over time 🙂 I just hope nothing breaks until I’m home.

sushi again and again 🙂

Back to civilization

When I got up at 8.30 I was glad to see that the weather and the paths were dry again. Now I also knew what that loud noise was. There were big geese walking around in the yard.

I took all my things (they really get heavier every time), handed in my key, said “terima kashi” for their hospitality and walked the path to the bus station. In Switzerland, I always make it to the train station right on the dot. Here however, I thought I should be there at least half an hour early if not 45min, since I didn’t know for sure if there was a bus at all or whether it would come early or late. So, I was relieved when I saw the green minivan. I wasn’t so happy about all the backpackers that waited already though. We’d never fit in it! Luckily, they had all pre booked tickets with tour company buses. The same driver I had talked to two days ago arrived and recognized me and so a few other tourists and I loaded our bags into the car. I asked the driver whether I could go buy some breakfast and asked another tourist to keep an eye on my backpack. I just wanted to make sure that they’d notice if they left without me. Sometimes, it’s annoying to be on your own and it would be useful to be able to split in two. I ran up the hill to the only open restaurant and got my 3 slices of toast with jam to take away. I was thankful that these people opened up their place for the tourists during their holiday. Otherwise, I’d have had to eat chips and cookies for the past 2 days. They probably made a fortune though, since everyone HAD to come eat there.
I quickly walked back to the bus, which to my relief was still there. The driver nodded at me, told the others to get on and off we were at 9.40am. 20min before everyone told me that the bus was leaving.
The official tourist bus had arrived as well by then and all the other tourists were still waiting to get on.
The drive to Jerantut (7 RM) took about 2 hours and all I saw were green trees and palm trees, a few monkeys crossing the road, cows and some other cars or houses. We picked up a Malay at a bus stop half way there but other than that, the drive was quick and without stops. By the way, I only decided to go to KL by the land route because I already arrived by boat. In case you arrive by bus, you should really leave by boat and then bus because the boat ride is beautiful, relaxing and fun! However, if you take an official tour company, you will pay way too much (75 RM to get to KL). Therefore, you don’t have to stress yourself because you can be sure that you will get there.
Usually, there is a direct bus from Jerantut to KL. But of course due to the holiday there was not. At least the bus driver knew that we had to take a bus to Temerloh (6.50 RM) and then go to KL from there. Two German girls and I arrived just in time to hop on the other bus (a normal public bus with mostly local people). After an hour, we got off at the main road in Temerloh (the bus drove on) and had to walk 100m to the bus station. A guy walked me to the counter with buses to Singapore. The next one was at 2.30pm only. I asked whether there was an earlier bus anywhere but they said no. It was my luck that I spoke German and heard that the same girls from before just purchases two tickets on a bus at 1pm. I managed to get a ticket as well and so we were off on another maybe 2,5 hour ride to KL (17 RM). We stopped at the Titiwangsa bus station from where I took the metro to Plaza Rakyat, which is right at the Puduraya station next to Chinatown. I was starving by then and therefore I just needed something to eat I knew I’d like as quickly as possible. Sometimes it’s comforting to know that McDonalds tastes the same all around the world! It tasted even better now, but probably because I was so hungry. And it’s fun to pay only a third of the price I’d have paid in Switzerland.
I checked into the dorm of Oasis hostel again.

Lake Gardens KL

After relaxing for a while and catching up with the people, I decided to go for a walk to the Lake Gardens. It’s a nice park, obviously with a lake. I’d come here more often if I lived in KL. Surprisingly, there were hardly any people in the park. I’ve heard that about other parks too. Either, Malays don’t have time to go to a park or they just don’t really like sitting outdoors. In Europe, a place like this would be packed with people!
Two British girls and I figured out the way to KL Sentral (it was quite complicated because everything was under construction) where I bought a milk tea. But first, the vendors at Chatime gave me all kinds of jelly things to try, which I could have put inside the tea. They couldn’t believe that I didn’t like these very artificial gummy pieces and thought it was very funny how I grimaced about things they thought were delicious. The tea was very good though 🙂

The real stonehenge is actually in KL

Back at the hostel I joined some other people around a table. A Malay girl had brought some left-overs from Hari Raya and again, I was offered delicious food.
You’d think that I should be tired after such an eventful day. But I caught up on so much sleep at Taman Negara that I only had a very light sleep that night and woke up every time someone walked past my bed.

Alone in the Taman Negara forest

Due to Hari Raya, there was only one place to eat breakfast. So, that’s where I got my three slices of toast with jam, a fried egg and tea. They were out of watermelon which would also have been part of that set but apparently they ate all the fruit during the feast last night. Anyways, if there was something wrong, slow or missing Hari Raya was the excuse. It was past 11 when I finally made it on the other side of the river. I could have joined a guided group but they only stayed on one path, are too loud and therefore scare all the animals away and they can’t take a break when they like. So, I wandered off on a path myself. I thought I’d just do a circle up to Bukit Terisek and then walk back to the canopy walk (it was only open from noon to 4 that day, due to Hari Raya. Usually it’s open in the morning already). My guide book said that it would only take me 45min to get to the summit. The first 45min was all on a wooden walkway and I then realized that I probably started the circle in the unusual direction because I reached the swimming hall first. There were a few children in the water with their parents but first of all, I forgot to bring my bathing suit and second, the brown red water didn’t look too appealing to me. It was very clear but just such an odd color.

I walked on, unknowingly that I would not see any more people for quite a while. At an intersection I took the path to Jenut Muda because it looked closer (it was extremely hot and hard to walk already) and because the wood path only continued in this direction.

I thought that it might be smarter to stay on the safe path. However, sometimes it was impossible to stay on it and then suddenly it stopped altogether. I must have been walking for an hour at least and therefore I thought I should be on the peak soon. It got quite steep too. Therefore, I decided to go on through the forest. There was an obvious and official path but I still felt somewhat uneasy, walking through the jungle all by myself.

Sometimes it wasn’t possible to stay on the walkway

Luckily, I didn’t see any scary animals. Only a few bigger lizards, butterflies and colorful birds. Spider webs but woohoo, no spiders 🙂 After about 30 more minutes, I finally reached a wooden walkway and it announced 800m to Bukit Terisek. I was very glad to see a father and his son walking towards me. I asked them whether the view was worth the walk up here and they said probably yes, but they didn’t make it because the son had trouble breathing. But at least they could tell me that from now on, I’d meet many more people because all the groups are walking up these stairs. And so I crossed about 50 people in different groups, all looking at me with pity, knowing how hard the way up was. Under normal climate conditions, this would probably have been a walk a 70 year old could do. But in this heat it’s just exhausting. I finally made it up there and enjoyed an ovomaltine bar under the shade of a tree with a quite stunning view over the valley.

I then realized that there was a second look out point and that I’d have to walk another 5 minutes to get to it. Luckily, the group I crossed the river with this morning now reached the summit too. The guide encouraged them to walk to the second point and his speech luckily also infected me. Surprisingly, the two kids from the Netherlands (probably around 6 and 8) were still running and full of energy. They didn’t seem to feel the heat. The second view point was even nicer than the other one and I was glad I came here. That’s where I’d have arrived if I had done the big circle through the forest.

Now, I had to walk back the same way until the point where my forest path met the wooden walkway and from there continue on to the canopy walk. Now, it was me who was encouraging the overheated and exhausted people on the way up. A nice surprise awaited me at the canopy walkway because the nice German couple I met on the bus to the national park and two guys who slept in the same dorm at Father’s Guest house reached the entrance to the walk at the same time as me. We were the only people there and there was no sight of the long queue everyone warned us about. They had been in the park since 9am and it actually took them so long to do the big circle walk. They said that the part near the view point was extremely steep and they wouldn’t do it again. But, on the other hand, they saw a snake, which must have been quite exciting. We were lucky anyway, that the forest was dry and we didn’t meet any leeches. I only saw dead ones.

We did the canopy walk together (5 RM). I think it’s a must do when you go to Taman Negara, just for the fun and the adventure of being so high up in the trees (40m and the bridges move a lot when you walk on them, so nothing for people who are afraid of heights). Unfortunately, they were doing maintenance work on part of the walkway and so we had to leave it at an exit somewhere in the middle. By that time, our stomachs told us to get something to eat, so we walked back to the start of the paths.

After another delicious sandwich at the resort, we took the boat back to our side of the river. I planned on simply drinking tea and updating my blog but when I got back to the Masheer chalets, the family was there eating the Hari Raya food. They started talking to me and made me try all kinds of cookies, rice and meat. The cookies looked colorful mostly tasted the same but the cooked food was very good! They said I could come back and eat more even if they weren’t there but once I was hungry enough for dinner, I didn’t want to exploit their hospitality and therefore walked to the one open food stall with seating area again. It had rained heavily while I was in the bungalow and I realized how lucky we were that the paths were so dry today. When I was on the way to get my dinner, I hardly needed an umbrella anymore.
I was actually looking forward to rice now but they ran out of it two people ahead of me so it was brown noodles instead. Which was alright also. I sat at a table with a couple from France and two girls from Germany. At informal places it’s very easy to get in contact with people:)

When I walked back, I saw some of the jeeps for the night safari. They were overly packed with people and I couldn’t imagine that it was safe to sit on the roof of a jeep without really being strapped to it.
I pre-packed my backpack once more – by the way, Taman Negara is the first time I was really glad not to have a suitcase. But I think at all the other locations I’d have been fine with a trolley suitcase too. A new travel day full of incertitude because of Hari Raya would come soon.

Boat ride through the jungle

I could have slept longer in that nice cold room. It actually was too cold to get up! I was almost shivering. Time to get out of this place.
I went to have breakfast at the deaf peoples’ place again (I asked for take-out and it was no problem) and before I left, the woman showed me a sign and said that it was “I love you”. That made me want to stay there and eat there again.
Then, at the mini market, I found her husband, who was waiting in line to pay and when he saw me, he let me pass in front of him to pay for my water. Just such nice people everywhere!
I started my breakfast at the bus stop but our mini bus arrived soon and I was glad to leave. You’d think that you get good and clean air in the Cameron Highlands. But there seem to be a lot more car emissions up there, or they are just stronger. It smelled like burned fuel everywhere and since all the restaurants are along the main road I started feeling sick by just sitting there. But it was only me who was so sensitive; everyone else just shrugged their shoulders.
The ride in the minivan felt a lot safer than the one in the bus. We left Tanah Rata at 8 and got to Kuala Tembling Jetty at 11.30.

There, we first had to buy a visitor pass for the park (1 RM) and a license for each camera we were bringing (5 RM, God knows why).
Then, we had to wait for 2,5 hours, for our boat to arrive. Why couldn’t we just leave later?!
I had a very basic rice and chicken lunch (it said with vegetables but I think it was just warm salad).
The boats luckily arrived a little early and so everyone was down at the pier, waiting like for a boat ride at the Europapark. Ah, yes, have I mentioned that it was extremely hot again, ever since we got out of the van? But I didn’t want to complain after that freezing weather we had in the highlands.

My minivan group and I were really happy when the guy we signed in with told us to get on the 2^nd boat that arrived, although we were the last ones who got to the pier. We sat behind each other in pairs and were off on a 2 hour ride upstream. The boat ride was really cool and only because of that already the trip to the jungle was worth it! But an hour would have been ok, afterwards it got a little hot and I almost fell asleep.

We arrived in a floating restaurant, where they informed us about all the tours we could book and they also mentioned several times that we probably chose the worst time of the year to come here, since it was Hari Raya and everything would be closed because they would be eating and feasting the whole time.

When he was finished with his little introduction, I had to carry all my stuff up a small hill to get to the area where all the hostels are. Quite straining in this heat! And then I had to knock on three reception doors (nobody was around) to finally be able to talk to someone. The first and second one were full, at the third nobody came and it looked more expensive anyways and a t the fourth a woman told me I could stay there for one night only (the dorm was just a corridor everybody had to walk through but it would only have been 10 RM. However, I thought I couldn’t bear going through the same troubles of carrying my stuff again tomorrow after the forest and so I told the woman I’d try to find a place where I could stay two nights. When I walked past the place where nobody showed up before, a woman was there now and actually told me that yes, they had a dorm (15 RM) and space in. So, I actually got a room cheaper than expected and the bathroom was in the chalet too! So far, I was the only guest in the dorm but three more people would arrive in our 6 bed dorm and there were only 2 people staying in the 2^nd dorm. I think the owners didn’t want just anybody to stay there, so when other people arrived who didn’t seem too happy with the chalets they saw, they just told them that it was full. I was extremely relieved that I had found something so quickly and I think it was actually the best guesthouse on that strip. They had a little kitchen too, which we were allowed to use and for example make tea.

After a nice cold shower, I was already hungry and I was glad that the guide told us to go eat before 7.30pm, because afterwards the places would be packed with people eating from the buffets. However, nothing was open!!! All the floating restaurants, dark and nobody in them. There was one restaurant and one mini market on top of the hill which were open. I met the nice German couple from the bus again, they were eating there. But it actually was exactly the same food I had for lunch, except triple the price. I could not see chicken and rice again. So, I finally decided to take a boat for 1 RM to the other side of the river and go eat in the Taman Negara resort. There also was a good looking buffet (50 RM without drinks but the waiter offered it to me for 40 RM since I probably looked like a bum in this place) but I didn’t feel like having to walk for my food and so I finally went for one of these club sandwiches. All the burgers and sandwiches looked really good and they tasted delicious too! Well, they should, for the Swiss prices they have there (7 RM for a sprite or ice tea and 23 RM for a sandwich).

Such steep roads…

Afterwards, I took the boat back to the other side (so much fun, I hope they never build a bridge :)) and “hiked” back to the chalet. There were fire torches along the way, so I didn’t even need my flashlight. Finally, a night with at least 9 hours of sleep 🙂

How about a cup of tea?

The people at the hostel recommended us to have breakfast at a food place just down the road of the hostel below plastic tents. Very warm hearted deaf people were working there. We had to write on a paper what we wanted to eat but they also tried to communicate with us about more than just food. It was very cute! And the pancakes (more like crêpes) with fresh strawberries were good and cheap!

Breakfast place

Typical view in Tanah Rata, not exactly the green tea carpet valley I expected

Afterwards, I walked to the tourism office, where I had booked the basic country tour (25 RM). I just wanted to see the tea plantation anything else would not have been necessary. But alone it’s hardly possible to go to the plantation and therefore I didn’t have any other option. We were on a spacious bus with about 20 people and a nice guide that spoke clearly but it sounded very well learned by heart. I felt like on a tour in Turkey, where you have to go to carpet and leather factories if you want to see a waterfall. First, we stopped at the butterfly farm, which was an additional 5 RM. It was worth it though because they also had other insects and reptiles. I loved the walking sticks and leaves because they looked like creatures out of the Neverending Story. Plus, I saw my first alive scorpions. They even took some out for the visitors to hold up but I wasn’t too set on touching the sting of one of these animals.

Do you see the walking leaf? It actually climbed from the right branch to the big one when I took the picture

 

Then, we went on to a strawberry farm. Just a quick look to take pictures and then enough time to buy something at the restaurant or in the shop. The freshly pressed strawberry juices looked too delicious and they really tasted the way they looked 🙂

Viev from the back side of the tea farm

Afterwards, we finally reached the tea plantation. Here also just a quick stop to take some pictures. Then, we could walk through the factory, which was interesting but only took a few minutes. It strongly smelled like tea though, the whole time. Of course, there was another shop and a restaurant with a beautiful terrace from where we had a view over a tea valley. Very pretty and the picture every tourist is going to take 🙂

Then, the tour wasn’t finished. We drove on to the rose garden, which also would have cost another 4 RM. I didn’t go inside, since there already were pretty flowers at all the other places we had seen today and the ones who went inside said I didn’t miss anything.

Another stop (with a shop) at a bee farm and then a short stop at a Buddhist temple before we got back to Tanah Rata. I first had lunch at Rosette (they had chicken with ginger and spring onions, which was so delicious in Cambodia). Afterwards, I thought I should show my foot to a doctor. I’ve had a blister for more than a week now and two more from the hike to the waterfall and they seem to get worse every day. And I’ll need my feet for surfing in Bali! Moreover, a very nice British couple on my tour told me that their daughter, who is a doctor, told them that the hospitals in Malaysia are very advanced and that if you got sick in SEA, you should do that in Malaysia. So, I thought better show it early enough because my foot really started to hurt. I walked to the 2^nd clinic I found because the first one was closed. There were many woman and children in it (some smiling at me) that I thought this might not be the right place for me. I asked a woman who looked like a nurse (they were also wearing head cloth but she just looked more official than the other women), whether I could show my foot to a doctor here. Her eyes became big and she said “Not here, this is only for mothers and babies, you have to go to the hospital.”

So, I walked the 1,3 km to the hospital (I felt like in Africa, where the people have to walk really far to get to the well or a doctor). Wasn’t a very pleasant walk on a hurting foot, although I passed a really nice park and walked by the road that would lead to the Robinson Waterfall. At the hospital, I wasn’t really sure where to go but there was something that looked like a counter. I had to tell them what was wrong (I’m glad they spoke English and took me seriously) give them my passport, pay 15 RM and take a waiting number. Then, I sat on a chair next to some other patients and waited for my number to show up. At least I could watch some Asian soap opera on a tv. Then, I could go to a room where they measured my pulse and blood pressure. Afterwards, I had to wait for my number again until finally, a room with a doctor was free (I think a couple in the tv show got divorced 3 times during the time I was waiting). But actually, I didn’t have to wait that long. I showed my foot to a doctor and he decided that it was infected. A nurse cleaned it properly and he gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and other medicine. I had to walk to the interne pharmacy, where I had to take a number again. 5 min later, I received 3 kinds of tablets, all for FREE!!! Included in the visit. How advanced! In Switzerland one tablet package would have been more than 15 RM!

I still had to go to a pharmacy in town to buy gaze pads. Good that I went to a doctor that day because the pharmacy would close for the next three days because of the festival.

Then, I went to relax in the room for a while. Sandra was there too and so I later accompanied her to meet some other Germans she had met on her tour. They wanted to meet in front of Starbucks (I had to laugh when I saw a Starbucks next to all the local shops) and since they weren’t there yet, we profited from the 2 for 1 Ramadan coffee promo 🙂

When they arrived, we looked for a restaurant where we could eat Steam Boat (fondue Chinoise). We found a good place on the back side of the buildings behind the central area. The dinner was delicious and the German couple extremely nice! Therefore, we decided to go for a drink after dinner (although I wanted to go to bed early, since my bus to Taman Negara was leaving at 8am the next day). Now, it was probably about 18 degrees but we were all freezing. It’s no fun to be on vacation and feeling like you are at home.

I finally got into my bunk bed and actually partly used the thick blanket over my sleeping bag that night 🙂

On the road to the Cameron Highlands

Before the bus left to the Highlands, I just had a slow morning and then walked through Chinatown by day, where I had lunch in a restaurant. I packed my backpack (I really need to pack with a system now or not everything will fit) and walked to Puduraya. At the ticket counter, they exchanged my ticket and told me which bus nr. I had to go to. I had to walk downstairs and there are doors and stairs to every bus number. However, the door to Nr. 14 was closed and there were many people sitting on the chairs around it. Luckily, I asked them whether I had to wait also and then a man showed me that I had to push a bottom and the door would open. I could go straight down into the cooled bus which was waiting already. I had to put my backpack into the luggage compartment and had the front seat again. A little later, I wished I hadn’t…The drivers way of driving wasn’t exactly calming to watch. He never checked the left side when he switched lanes. So, every time he moved from one lane to the other, I heard honking or screeching tires. Then, he often turned his eyes away from the street. Unfortunately, I asked at the first toilet stop whether there were any food stands. Since then, he pointed out any supermarket we drove by and ask whether he should stop. He also offered me one of his cigarettes. And every time he talked to me, he turned his head to look at me. I felt like in a movie, when the characters who are driving in a car and talk to each other never watch the road. And then, the curves started. It was a very winding road to get to the Cameron Highlands and often it looked like we’d hit the rock or drive off the road. So, I was really glad once we made it to Tanah Rata. The scenery on the ride was beautiful though! So much green forest and already some tee plant carpets. There also were quite a few bamboo huts with Orang Asli people living in them.

It was already dark when I arrived at about 8.30pm but a tourism office was still open and they pointed out the way to my guesthouse. I received a thick blanket and linen and was guided to my room. German Sandra (a different one from the one I already knew) arrived at the same time as me and so we just put the stuff in the room and walked back to the main road to get some dinner. The temperature was quite agreeable, almost a bit chilly.

We had dinner at the first place we found but it turned out to be very delicious and the prices are ok (Rosette). I could just as well have been on Mallorca though; German everywhere you listened. I’ve mostly spoken German during the last few days.

After dinner, we walked back to the hostel and I was glad that I wasn’t alone because there was a short section without street lights. Quite spooky. I wanted to go to bed early but the wifi was so good and so I tried to figure out how the rest of my trip should look like and it got pretty late until I finally turned the light off. What a good night’s sleep at temperatures below 20 degrees. We didn’t even need to turn on the fan 🙂

From a puddle of mud right into a prom dress

In the morning, I knew why I didn’t want to make any appointments here. I just didn’t want to have any stress and it was so captivating to talk and listen to the other people at the hostel, with all their interesting stories. I ended up being very late and actually didn’t think that David would still be there. But there he was, overly excited to see me. He said he was worried that I had fooled him but he didn’t want to believe it so he just went to buy food and mosquito candles 🙂

We took bus 43 (two streets after the end of Chinatown at Petaling street, on the left side) for 2 RM. With a/c of course:) Half an hour later, we had to get off. The ticket man on the bus told us we had to walk back a little. We were stranded next to a 4 lane, two way highway, where the cars (many cars) were driving with at least 80 km/h and there was no pedestrian road crossing aid. But the entrance to the park was on the other side and so we had to make a run for it somehow. I’d probably still be standing there now if I didn’t have an experienced road crosser with me. Phew, adrenalin rush of the year.

Once we survived that, I had to pay the 5 RM entrance fee (he only 1) and we started walking on the concrete path, guarded by a lot of monkeys who wanted to steal the food in David’s bag. I was glad that we were in a forest because the sun was shining brightly and here the temperature was a lot more agreeable. The first three levels of the waterfall were nice and easily accessible, even with flip flops. Later, I really regretted that I didn’t bring my sneakers. The Malays were swimming in their clothes, plus there was some litter in the water and therefore I wanted to just climb to the top and swim there. After level 4 the concrete path stopped and from level 5 to 7 we had to climb using all our hands and feet. It was a lot harder than in Thailand and I didn’t even want to think about the way down. Luckily, the ground was dry so it wasn’t an additional challenge for my flip flops. David said he only went to the 3^rd level so far and he was worried that we wouldn’t find the way back. But there were obvious paths you had to follow! And due to the garbage along the way, I guessed that we weren’t the first people to ever go there. But the adventure was worth it!

The waterfalls looked impressive and beautiful (not colorful like the Erawan waterfall, but above all cool because the water dropped from so high) and the water up there was much cleaner. And the only other person we met was swimming in pool 6. When we reached pool 7, I was really glad David had brought along food because I didn’t think we’d need so long to get up there. Swimming in the water was wonderful! Exactly the refreshment I needed. David didn’t want to come into the water because he also couldn’t swim (why don’t South East Asian people learn how to swim?) but there was a more shallow place he could also sit in the water with all his clothes on. I then showed him the movements you needed to know in order to swim but the pool was too small to really try them. In the end, I at least managed to show David how to float on the water. It was so much fun watching how at first he was so afraid when his head got within 10cm of the water and then how happy he was when he managed to lie in the water without touching anything. I might also become a swimming teacher for beginners 🙂 It’s so easy that anyone can learn it and I really liked how thrilled David was about that little achievement. I was more thrilled about the climb we achieved. You had a nice view to the opposite side of the valley from up there. Unfortunately, the pictures didn’t come out too well.

The climb back down was quicker than I expected it to be but just very tiring because we had to be so careful. Result of my stupidity of bringing flip flops was three new blisters to the one I had already. Good that I’ll be on a mountain and in the jungle for the next 5 days and I won’t be tempted to wear flip flops anymore. Back at level 3 a group of boys asked whether they could take a picture with me. So, several boys wanted to have their photo taken and then we took a big group picture in the end.

While I waited for David who was getting changed in the changing room at the exit, I sat on a big swing. Another group of boys came by and the same thing happened again. It’s still fine with me but I see how stars could get tired of this. If you had to get somewhere it really would hold you up.

This time, we didn’t have to cross the road and to our luck, a bus was arriving exactly when we walked out of the gate. Someone had told me that the planetarium was free from Thur to Sun and so I’d have liked to go there. David still didn’t show any signs of wanting to leave although his feet must have been hurting too. So we both got off at the stop the bus driver told us to get off. I had no idea where we were and David just knew that we were somewhere in Soho. There were many very cheap (cheaper than Chinatown) stores. But it was very hot and I wanted to find the planetarium. When we still didn’t knew where to go after about half an hour of walking through the booths (and it was already 3.30 after all) I decided that it was easier to just go look for a prom dress instead. Ever since I saw these cheap dresses in Thailand I set my mind on it that I would find one while I am here. And who had known that David often accompanied his female friends to go shopping?! He knew exactly where to go! We took the Metro from Chow Chit to Imbie and walked directly into Times Square Shopping Center (had to be a good place for me :)). First, we had sushi though. I was actually able to eat a normal amount of it. Cold food in a cold room, everything else is overstraining my body. David also made me try a cold fruit tea, which was really sweet but delicious.

A monkey who stole a can of beer

Afterwards, I went shopping until I was worried that my backpack would be too full. I tried on at least 30 different dresses in different stores and I finally found one I liked 🙂 I loved, how in the morning, we were climbing around in the dirt and in the afternoon I was slipping my feet into beautiful fabrics. I love this place.

I’d have loved to go buy some matching shoes but I couldn’t do that to David and so we went to eat some cake. Then, it was past 9pm already and they would close the center at 10. We took the metro back to Pasar Seni, where I said goodbye to David. Has been a really great day and I am glad he was so insistent on showing me around 🙂

Fun park inside the shopping center!!!!

I just quickly wanted to put my stuff back to the hostel and then go back to the bazar in Chinatown and buy my bus ticket for the following day. But when I got to the hostel, they finally had a bed for me in the dorm and so I put my things upstairs and when I got back outside after 11, they were closing all the booths. I need more hours in the days here!!! Puduraya is open until midnight and so I went to buy a ticket for the 3.30pm bus to the Cameron Highlands the next day. I was a bit unlucky because the next day, was the day the celebrations around Ramadan started for a month and the whole month you had to pay 10% more for the ticket. So, it was 40 RM to get to the Highlands.

I walked back to the hostel, where I talked to the other guests for a while and then finally dropped into bed. I had a much better night being in a room with about 9 other people but therefore with more fans and open windows. The colder air came with the price of several mosquito bites though.

KL, the little sister of NYC

In the morning, I was still too hot. I felt better after a shower and breakfast (as much toast and jam and coffee or tea as you like). Everyone in the hostel seemed to know each other, they said some guest stay so long that it’s like a family. Someone told me about a nice waterfall near KL. I might go there tomorrow. Today, the Batu Caves are on my plan.

I walked through Chinatown for a while and tried not to go into too many shops because I rather wanted to do that in the evening. I tried to find out whether it was better to take a bus or a train to the caves and in the end they told me that the bus I needed to take only ran in the afternoon and it would cost 3 RM. So, 3 Belgian girls and I tried to find the train (not metro) station. It’s very close to my hostel and there they told me that I had to cross the road to get to it. But there were no signs (only to the metro). But once we crossed the road without knowing where we’d get, we saw the stairway to walk to the ticket booth. It only cost 1RM to go all the way to the last station. We just missed the train and had to wait for about 20min but there were benches and fans.

The train then was like heaven. The air-con is turned up very high but doesn’t make you freezing 🙂 That’s why, when we arrived at the Batu Caves, I’d almost have liked to stay on the train and just ride back and forth. But my sense for exploring was stronger. It was a 3 min walk towards this huge rock just towering in the otherwise flat surroundings. You can’t miss the big golden statue at the beginning of the stairs. It was mesmerizing, standing at the starting point of about 350 steps, leading into a big cave. There were three lanes you could walk in and then go up the stairs. I thought I’d have to buy a ticket somewhere but you could just walk up. I couldn’t believe this place is still free! Phew, it was HOT. Not a day to exercise. Just take your time looking at the monkeys (don’t go too close or they get aggressive) and enjoy the view of what you’ve already accomplished. I saw quite a few people not looking too well anymore because they were too hot. Luckily, I had a coke with me 🙂 At home, I don’t like coke but here it seems like “a coke a day keeps the dizziness away” :).

I finally made it up to the top and always kept bumping into the same people again. The girls from Belgium and an American and Chinese guy. I walked through the cave and up into the second, smaller cave, with a temple inside. Beautiful Indian girls were standing inside, waiting to receive a blessing from the monk.

I then slowly walked back down. The steps are really small and the stairway very steep. Anyone who doesn’t walk carefully really must like hospital tubes. I wonder whether people got hurt already.

The typical animals you see in Malaysia

Back down, I wasn’t really hungry but I thought I should eat something. Unfortunately, there was only Indian food around and so I thought I’d try that again. I came to the conclusion that I still don’t like Indian food. But I only managed to eat half a portion anyways, since I just cannot eat any warm food in this heat. I didn’t step on a scale but my pants start falling down, so I think I’ll have to do a serious weight gaining program when I get back 🙂 And I’ll just stick to ice cream and fruit for now.

I tried the bus again because it would have taken me directly to Petronas Towers but it was a waste of time and energy because it was still not running. So, I just walked back to the train station and took the train and then the metro. When you buy a metro ticket and you have to switch the train somewhere it’s different to any other city in the world with a metro system. You have to buy the ticket for the first train, complete the first leg, go out of the building at the place you have to switch trains, buy a new ticket to your final destination there. I’d have bought a ticket to my final destination at the first machine and would have ended up paying double if a Malay hadn’t pointed this out to me.

In my guide it said that you could visit the bridge between the Petronas towers for free if you get a ticket in the lobby of the 2^nd tower. However, they just laughed at me and said it’s 80 RM to go to the bridge and the top. Later in the park, I met a friendly Malaysian woman who also told me to go to the bridge for free. She was very surprised to hear that it costs now. Quite a high rise from 0 to 80…

It didn’t seem worth it to me and so I just went inside the shopping mall in the tower. Wow, again. Huge, with many designer stores and of course food and cinema again. Here a 3D movie cost 23 RM. I didn’t go see one but the world in this city is so small, that I bumped into the American and Chinese guy from the caves again while they were waiting in line at the counter.

I walked around for over an hour, just because the cold air felt soooo good. Then, I went outside again, to the back side (ugh, now the heat was even worse than before I had the pleasure of being in an a/c room). There is a beautiful pool with fountains and behind it a park with rainforest trees and you have a really nice view on the towers. I wanted to see the towers lit up when it was dark, so I went for a walk to the KL tower. It looked like a really good area to go out in the evening, with pubs and restaurants.

When my feet began to hurt, I decided to go have dinner back in the Petronas towers. I sat next to a nice man from New Zealand who taught at U Mass and now at the university in Malaysia. Will be my first contact when I get a profile on a teacher’s network page he told me about 🙂 (I’m always on the lookout for a job at an international school in the US :)).

After dinner, the towers and other buildings were shining brightly against the dark night sky. It was beautiful! It’s impressive if you stand in front of such a huge building during the day but during the night it’s even more glorious.

I sat down to watch the fountains, when David (from Kuala Lumpur) started talking to me. He told me that there would be a fountain show with lights and music at 9pm and that I should wait for that. Somehow, the 50min passed really quickly while we were talking about the differences between Europe and Malaysia and beer. The show was nothing spectacular but I am still glad I watched it. Then, David insisted that he could be my guide the next day. I actually didn’t really want that since I already had some things in mind, which I wanted to do but no matter what I said, he wouldn’t back down on his offer.

He also made it clear that he didn’t have any wrong intentions. “Just pen pals and if I ever come to Switzerland you can show me your city.” He seemed nice and didn’t really look like he could hurt anyone, it was just a little weird that he WANTED so much to spend the day with me. I told him that I wanted to go to the waterfall because I thought that this way, we could just meet after breakfast and spend half a day at the waterfall and then both go our ways again. We set a date for 9.30 at the bus stop the next morning.

I took the metro back to Pasar Seni, passed by a KK market to buy water and then went back to the hostel. My feet wouldn’t let me stop at the Chinatown booths anymore.

I now had the room to myself, so at least I could point the fan directly at me. But it was still way too hot. I need a window. Before I went to bed, I wanted to get a tea in the kitchen. So I rode up to the 4^th floor and there were so many hostel guests eating, cooking, talking, playing the guitar or watching tv. I’d have loved to stay up there for a while but I was just too tired.