Singapore

Getting on the Air Asia flight, I thought something was amiss, what appeared to be Dry Ice smoke was billowing out of the aircrafts air con. No one looked concerned so I didn't concern myself.








Smoke billowing on the Air Asia flight to Singapore


A short 50 min flight from KL's "poor people's" airport and I've landed in Changi Airport, Singapore. It is luxury compared to KL LCCT. Carpets, wide marble floored malls, proper air conditioning and plenty of space.

I passed through immigration and then got stopped at customs, but in a very 'smiley' way. Up to now all the people I have interacted with have been jolly....

To keep the cost down I decided to take the MRT into town and straight to the stop in Little India, a charming man at the ticket machine not only showed me how to use it, he also changed a 50 Singapore dollar bill I had just extracted from an ATM.
The journey into town was quick and efficient. As I was sitting on the train I happened to look down at my feet, I had travelled from Borneo in flip flops.

1) because they are comfortable
2) the daily 5k yomps with Bill had given me blisters from wearing my walking boots.
3) bastard sand flys had taken a liking to me and I had a number of bites. The twats always seem to go for my ankles or knuckles and they were itching like mad.

As I glanced down at my feet I noticed my toe nails had been painted!
Not some bright pink, rather a clear, albeit very glossy nail polish. The girl at the pedicure must have done it while I dozed off. A bit embarrassing, I'm a backpacker for fucks sake! She had asked if I wanted it on my hands and I had gracefully declined.






According to the hotel location, I had a choice of two stations to alight the MRT. Both, it claimed were only 10 mins walk from the hotel. Of course, I got off at the wrong one and ended up in a huge shopping mall, struggling to find an exit. When I did find an exit I could not reconcile my position on my map so guessing I was quite close thought I would jump in a cab. Although in my 'backpack' I had less for a month travelling than I would usually take for a weekend away:-

5 t shirts
Walking boots
I pair of shorts
Swimmers
5 pairs of underpants
3 pairs of socks
1 waterproof jacket

In 100% humidity and 38 degrees one does tend to overheat a tad and after only a few minutes I was soaking wet.
I wandered over to the taxi rank and told a rather pissed off looking driver I wanted to go to the Madras Hotel in Madras St, Little India. He looked at me as if I had just asked him for a shag.

' Don't know it'
' OK' in said,

I took out my iPhone and showed him the location

' No' he muttered

' No what?'

' Still don't know where it is'

' Do you have GPS'

' Yes' he replied.

At that point I decided he probably was not interested in a fair and moved onto the next Taxi. He didn't know it either, but at least tried to be helpful. He told me to hop in and 10 mins later I was outside the hotel with a list of local attractions he had shared with me.

My hotel is in Little India, I'm now going to try and stay within budget after splashing out in KL staying at the traders. It is positioned right in the middle of Little India with loads of backpackers places around and. Quite basic inside but clean and free WiFi.

Sorted....






The room at the Madras hotel.

Off for a bit of exploring and dinner out. Might plump for an Indian curry me thinks.
Tomorrow I need to sort my train tickets out and do the Singapore Hop On, Hop Off bus.


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Location:Madras St,Singapore,Singapore

Borneo to Singapore

I was awake nice and early this morning.....
1.00am....
I'm not sure if it was due to the jet lag (I should be over it by now) or the excitement.
I did my packing and updated the blog, then dozed until the alarm went off at 6.00am.
I was getting a taxi to Miri Airport as Lesley was letting the kids have a lie in. It was (another) public holiday. I said my goodbyes and headed towards the airport.

I'm not sure if Mr Ling, the taxi driver was on a go slow but he never went over 25 miles per hour all the way.

My flight to Singapore was via KL but to the LCCT airport rather than the international.
LCCT stands for low cost carrier terminal and is the main Air Asia hub.
It is certainly not as nice as KLIA and brought back memories of Deli train station.
The lady in was sat next to coughed, sneezed and snorted like a bacon pig for the whole 2 hour flight. If I don't have avian flu I will sleep out.....

Check in was easy enough, a bite to eat at Taste of Asia and then to the gate.
Next stop Singapore......


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Location:Jalan Klia S4,Klia,Malaysia

A few days in Miri

Saturday night was a great party. Sunday should have been write off but I was out of bed at 10.00am yomping across the camp site in 35 degrees and 100% humidity feeling like a bear had beat me up and shit in my mouth.

As is usual, it felt like such a good idea at the time, as is usual, in the cold light of day the Beer, Champagne, wine, vodka and gin was paying me back. Big time...

The party was Lesley's friend, Karen's 40th birthday and was to be hosted at the camp boat club.
Met some lovely people, many who I'd met on my previous trip.and plenty of new folk. The ex-pats life seems sweet.
It was great getting to know the kids again. Not so great when Finlay jumped on my bed at 10.00am sunday morning saying we were going for a walk!
After the walk Bill, Fin and I went out for breakfast and to get Fin his birthday gift from 'uncle steve' I had not wised up and Fin had not told me that I had been here since his last Birthday, why would he tell me.... I wouldn't!. We settled on a toy story 3 thingy and he was as happy as a sandboy









Fin playing doctors....

In the afternoon we had a traditional Sunday lunch, a couple of the teachers joined us. As one might suspect, after a skin full of alcohol the previous night, I was not in a drinking mood and was in bed by 9.30. The ecstasy of sleeping was short lived. By midnight I was wide awake again... Shit......jet lag.......

Little Emily, my new niece is just the sweetest kid, She is a Chinese Malaysian and Lesley is really mischievous out, as people appear to be intrigued seeing a European with an Malay baby. We went shopping in town, coffee at Starbucks, lunch at sushi king.








Emily Grace Dillon, the latest addition to the family

My part time job here is resident IT expert, it took a few hours during the day to upgrade Ross's iPod Touch so he was happy.
This time I did sleep. Thank god....

Tuesday I was up with the Kids for breakfast, Lesley had planned to take me for a full body massage, she left me there while she went shopping. It was bliss...
Not that I have ever visited one, but the place looks rather like a brothel. On arrival I was given a cup of green tea and asked what oil I would prefer. I had had Jasmine on my last trip so plumped for Citrus oil. I was then led into another room to get changed. On the massage table was a sarong and a pair of paper pants. As I undressed I did wonder, how the fuck am I going to get into those pants?
I doubt that they would have fitted an action man doll, nevertheless, I had a bloody good go, I squeezed myself into them. I then dutifully put the sarong around my waist and sat on the bed awaiting my treatment.

It was bliss, aside the fact that I had slept so little in the last few days I was soon drifting off to sleep as I was gently pummelled to a pulp.

'too small" She said, referring to the paper underpants (I hope) as she massaged my buttocks.

'too fucking right' I thought.... My bollocks are sitting just below my tonsils...

Despite that minor discomfort the massage was just perfect...

For lunch we visited street restaurant in Lutong, just outside Miri. I have eaten there in the past and it is just the best Indian food ever, and very cheap.

Lesley's friend, Karen the Australian birthday girl had her sister and partner,Bret visiting for a few days. They were leaving on Wednesday to head back to Perth via KL.
We all went out for dinner and had a loverly evening. Bed by midnight and a fairly good nights sleep.

My last day in Borneo for a month was relaxing. A manicure and pedicure. Lunch of noodles and duck, a long walk on the beach....


















Lunch in Miri.....

It all starts tomorrow for real, a month touring as a backpacker.
I leave Miri airport for KL at 10.00 then an onward flight to Singapore. I have booked a budget hotel in Little India where I will be staying for a couple of days...






A long walk on the beach in Miri, Borneo.
Bring it on.......



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Location:Miri,Malaysia

Don't tell anyone........

Cure for jet lag.....
Kiwi, Aussie, European ex pats, a mad australian and copious amounts of alcohol.

Happy Birthday K....
A fantastic night.....


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Location:Jalan Pantai,Miri,Malaysia

Miri and a reunion.

Arrived safe and well in Borneo.

The flight over was good save the 1 hour delay. I did find out what the bank holiday in KL which had put paid to some of my plans was all about. It is the celebration of the end of Ramadam.

It is the most significant celebration for Muslims. It signifies the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Known locally as Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, the celebration is determined by sighting of the new moon on the day, before the next month on the Muslim calendar, Syawal.

Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid across the Muslim world.

Every day a school day!!!!

Great to see middle Sis and the kids again, especially the new addition to the family.
Sat on the veranda, sipping cool red wine looking over the jungle.
Went out to lunch after a nice flight over, we have spent the afternoon catching up and chilling.

Apparently the local monkeys were skimming the cushions from the patio furniture into the jungle yesterday like small frisbees.......

They also seem partial to picking their noses and smearing it on the windows......

Off to a 40th Birthday party tonight at the local boat club. It's Karen, a rather mad Aussie ex-pat's birthday and she is having a big bash.

I suspect I may have a lie in tomorrow..... If I ever get to sleep with the fucking jet lag.




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Location:Jalan Pantai,Miri,Malaysia

Next stop Borneo

Up at 4.30 this morning to once again head out to KLIA for the two hour flight to Miri, Sarawak on Borneo.
I am really looking forward to seeing my sister, Lesley, her husband and the now three kids, Ross, Finlay and the new addition to the Dillon household, Emily Grace.
I'm particularly looking forward to catching up with the latest Ben 10 and Dora the Explorer episodes. In fact, I am Dora the explorer!

I had a great evening last night. I ventured out to ChinaTown once again to see it at night.

It was quite exciting during the day, but at night it is absolutely manic. Stalls of fake t-shirts, watches, bags videos are just everywhere. I spent a couple of hours wandering around. At almost every stall someone was trying to tempt me with their goodies.





A fruit stall in China Town.







ChinaTown by night.

Feeling a little thirsty and hungry I took the opportunity to recharge myself with dinner and a beer. Nasir goring, I national dish, served on a banana leaf. Tasty it was too.





The Malaysian national dish - Nasi Goring.

At 10 I headed back to the hotel in anticipation of an early night. Packed my bag and hit the bed. I must have slept for 90 mins then was wide awake. I had set the alarm for 4.30. I had a taxi booked for 6.00am for the 45 minute journey to KLIA?

At 1.00am I was wide awake. Fucking jet lag........

And the flight is delayed.....bollocks


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Location:Jalan Pantai,Miri,Malaysia

Sightseeing in KL.

Today I will be mostly taking in the sights of KL.......

It is a bank holiday in KL and as such quite a few of the things to do and see are in fact closed. I did quite fancy going up the Petronas towers but that was just one of the attractions that was closed. After a nice latte in Starbucks, I made my way outside in search of the KL hop on -hop off city tour bus. For a very reasonable 38 ringet (about £8.00) the bus will take you around the major tourist attractions. The ticket lasts 24 hours and you can get off and on at will. I was going to be limited what I did and saw due to the bank holiday, but no problem. Once on the bus you get a running commentary in English so get to learn about the city.

My first stop was ChinaTown. This in a number of streets bustling with stalls selling all sorts. The specialism is fakes. Anything that could be bought in the branded designer shops of the Suria shopping mall could also be bought here!

Up to now I had had a very sanitised experience of KL. Airport, nice hotel, shopping malls. I really wanted to get underneath all that on this trip and see the real city (OMG I sound so pretentious!)

China town was as real as it gets... A hub hub of people, of course lots of tourists but also a lot of locals too.

A friend had said that they were disappointed with it. I certainly wasn't, I loved it.






The infamous smelly 'durrian'






The hustle and bustle of China Town

As I wandered through the busy streets I stumbled upon a 'fish spa' my sister Lesley had told me about them. You put your feet in these tanks of water and fish come and nibble the dead skin. This one particular establishment offered a fish spa and reflexology for 56 ringet. In for a penny, in for pound!
I had had reflexology some years ago when I was in Egypt. The hotel had a resident Thai masseuse. I understood that reflexology was all about the feet. Consequently I did get more than a little anxious when the rather rotund Egyptian/Thai lady got closer and closer to my crotch area. Apart from it not being my cup of tea, she quite scared me. Typically English, I didn't say a thing, but clearly she got the message and refrained from what I beginning to think was the inevitable....

So, it was a a little trepidation that I signed up for this fish spa and reflexology double.
The treatment started with payment... There was a sign at the counter advising 'value customer that payment was in advance and there would be no refunds.' The lady who took my money had only one arm!
The fact that 'Pirana' is doing then rounds at the cinema did cross my mind.....
The next stage was obviously to remove ones shoes and socks. Thankfully another lady washed my feet as by this time I had been walking around for some hours and would have felt more than a little guilty if fish from the tank had started to float to the top.

There were a series of tanks, each holding fish that were bigger than the previous tank.






I have quite sensitive and ticklish feet so, on placing my feet in the first tank I was both cringing and laughing as a whole fucking shoal of little one inch fish made a beeline for my pinkies and started nibbling. After about 5 mins I moved up the 'food' chain to the next tank and so on. Apart from the size of the fish increasing so did the sensitivity of my feet. The girls in the shop thought this was highly amusing and were positively encouraging me to move up to the largest tank and the largest fish (with the largest teeth!!)

The treatment should have lasted 30 mins. 25 mins in the one armed lady presented the girls with lunch and giggling like school girls they, one by one said 'food' and disappeared outside to take a lunch break leaving me alone at the mercy of these clearly also hungry fishes. From time to time I noticed in my peripheral vision that they were pointing at me and calling their friends over..






Little fish






Big fish

The fish in the largest tank were the most aggressive and as I was not willing to risk hobbling around South East Asia minus a couple of digits, when no one was looking I edged my way back along the tanks and put my feet back in the tank with the tiny fish. Much better.

Once lunch was over for the fish and the girls I moved into a seat and had the remainder of my treatment. It was bliss... 15 mins on each foot and I actually fell asleep several times.

I fair floated around for the rest of the day.....

Tonight I plan to return to China Town to see it by night.

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Location:Jalan Binjai,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia