Shayaan's blog

Days 10 & 11

2010-10-02T20:35:00.002+03:00

Day 10

The felucca ride was amazing. I sailed, I made friends, we chatted, we swam in the Nile. We only sailed about 7 KM and then we took the bus to Kom Ombo (temple of Sorbek) and Edfu (temple of Horus) before driving to Luxor.

Terry and I joined another guy, Derek, and checked into a triple room. It took a few hours of searching before we found a place we liked.

At night we checked out Luxor Museum. It was excellent!

Day 11

I took a tour that covered the highlights of Luxor. A little rushed but well worth it. Visiting the sights in Luxor independently is a nightmare. I paid the tour company to arrange my transport back to Cairo. I haven't had any confirmations yet, but hopefully I should be on a train (or possibly bus) back to Cairo tomorrow evening.

Day 7-9

2010-09-30T11:26:00.003+03:00

Day 7

I spent the day relaxing with Padi. I underestimated Cairo traffic and almost missed my train to Aswan. Took the 14 hour train to Aswan.

Day 8

I made a friend on the train - Terry is a pretty cheerful Australian baby boomer. We decided to share accommodation and transport to save money.

Terry and I took the ferry to Elephantine Island and we checked out the Aswan Museum and the Ruins of Abu. The ruins covered thousands of years, starting from the Ancient Egyptians, through the Roman, Coptic and Modern Day. We then went to the Fatimid Cemetery and checked out the Nubian Museum. The Nubian Museum was amazing; the best I've seen in Egypt. It's no surprise as it was only opened in 1997.

In the evening we went looking for a felucca captain to sail us down the Nile towards Luxor. We met one we liked and paid our deposit.

Day 9

Terry and I went to check out the Aswan and High Dams. Wow - they're huge. So huge that I couldn't get the width of Lake Nasser even if I took three pictures. On the way back to the hostel we stopped by the unfinished obelisk.

We're just waiting till mid-day when we are mean to meet our felucca captain. The trip to Luxor should last 24 hours - partly sailing and partly by bus. We should make a stop or two along the way to visit a temple or two.

Day 6

2010-09-27T16:59:00.002+03:00

Went to Ramses station to buy my ticket for Aswan tomorrow night. The lady wouldn't sell me a second-class ticket so I had to stump up for a first class. I leave at 10PM for a twelve-hour train ride. And no, it's not the sleeper. I'm supposed to have a seat (hopefully).

Checked out the Citadel complex, Ibn Tulun Mosque and the Gayer-Anderson Museum. Interesting.

I hope to relax for the rest of today. I need a break from sightseeing.

Egypt Days 3 - 5

2010-09-26T18:40:00.002+03:00

Day 3

I spent half a day with Tim. It was great catching up. Then I walked around Zamalek for a while. I stopped by Dewan bookshop, which is one of the premier bookshops in Cairo. After living in Saudi for a year, it was rather refreshing to see the much broader selection of books. Politics. Philosophy. Joy :)

Day 4

I tackled the monster that is the Egytpian Museum over a few hours. I get taken for Egyptian a lot so I decided to see if I could obtain a vastly cheaper entry ticket reserved for Egyptians. I managed to convince the guy at the ticket office. Next came the card checks, which presented the problem. I tried to brag my way out of it but the guy at the gate was adament that I show proof that I was Egyptian. I had to go back and buy another ticket for foreigners. Damn, so close.

I had Koshari for lunch. Pretty good.

Next I headed to Maadi to meet a travel agent to arrange a tour of the Pyramids in Giza, Memphis and Saqqara. On the way there, the guy sitting next to me on the Metro had the most bewildered look on his face when I took out my guidebook. He was surprised that I wasn't Egyptian. Trying to be helpful, he actually took me to where he thought I was headed (and paid for me on the microbus). It turned out that I ended up at Maadi Public Library. Since I was there, I thought I'd have a look around. Again, a refreshing array of books. Then I went to the travel agent and sorted out my tour for Day 5.

Next I went to Al-Azhar Mosque and University. It was awesome. I was moved. Walked around, prayed and then headed back towards the hostel. I stumbled upon a cinema on the way back to my hostel at night and decided to watch the only English-language film they had on offer: Splice. Awful. But it was nice to be inside a cinema again (they're banned in Saudi).

Day 5

Tour of Memphis, Saqqara and Giza. There were a couple of detours to a carpet school and a shop selling painted papyrus art.

My sister Sana got me in touch with one of her friends. He invited me over so I've checked out of my hostel for now. I should be meeting him within the hour. I might head to Aswan tomorrow evening. Let's see.

Egypt days 1 & 2

2010-09-24T07:53:00.002+03:00

I'm in Egypt for two weeks, so time to revive the old blog. Here's what I've been up to for the first two days:

Day 1 - Wednesday
I arrived at the new Terminal 3 of Cairo International Airport. As I waited for the transit bus to the main bus station, I started chatting to a man who worked for Egypt Air. It was two o'clock and shifts were changing. He was very helpful, gave me tons of good advice and pointed out which bus to take to downtown.

I waited for the bus for about an hour. The guy sitting next to me, Tamer, was also very helpful. The bus ride was about an hour long and we chatted the entire time. The guy is 27 and works two jobs - one at the airport and one in downtown. He takes the daily hour-long trip from the airport to downtown to start his second job. He was very cheerful despite working so hard. Once we got off in downtown, he bought me some Tamarind juice and asked me where I would be staying. He actually went looking for it with me (we didn't find it). After that, he gave me his number and asked me to give him a call if there was anything I wanted during my stay. Wow. As it would turn out later, Tamer was a fair representation of Egyptian hospitality.

Hustler watch 1: I was wearing my old backpack that I took to Malaysia so I attracted some people rather 'eager' to help me. The first one was a guy who said that the hostel I was looking for was full and that he conveniently knew a place that wasn't. I knew that the first part was a lie but I was quite amused at his suggestion so I went along. He took me to a grubby crash pad with no hot water and an over-eager receptionist. I walked out without committing. He continued following me and suggested that he take me to a 'Duty Free shopping mall that only foreigners are allowed to shop in' that was nearby. I said goodbye to him.

Hustler watch 2: Someone else offered to act as my guide by showing me Islamic Cairo. No thanks.

I finally checked into a hostel called Wake UP! Cairo Hostel, a short walk from the Egyptian Museum. Friendly staff. After that, I went wandering around downtown, sampled the street food and crashed. I hadn't had much sleep.

Day 2 - Thursday
The morning was spent trying to acquire an International Student Identity Card (ISIC card). The major tourist attractions provide serious discounts to people who have one. I attempted to negotiate the wonderful Egyptian bureaucracy for a few hours. Went to a few hostels and even found myself asking some immigration officials to no avail.

It was time to meet up with a friend from university, Tim, for lunch. Tim is a wedding photographer and works crazy hours photographing elite wedding in Egypt. He showed me some of his work and allowed me to sit in through a meeting with his assistant. Wow, photography is hard work. I hope to meet him again on Friday.

Tim's assistant gave me a lift. I didn't know where I wanted to go so she offered me a few suggestions. I decided to walk down the Nile. It was amazing. The weekend had started. I first went to the West Bank of the Nile and walked along a serene enclave. There were lots of couple sitting along benches.

Next, I crossed a bridge and went to the more lively East Bank. There were music blasting everywhere and street vendors selling everything imaginable. Amazing. After soaking in the atmosphere, I decided to go back and crash. I asked a kid for directions and he walked along with me for about ten minutes until our paths diverged.

Went back and crashed. Plan for Friday: get ISIC card (I finally found out where to get it) and meet Tim.

New blog

2008-07-29T02:33:00.002+03:00

Okay, I've decided to try something new. My new blog (if you can call it that) can be found at http://unusualorthodoxy.wordpress.com. I've had 53 views since I started it a couple of days ago, which is not all that bad.

This blog will also migrate to wordpress, if I can still be bothered to write it.

Back in the UK

2008-07-16T12:50:00.003+03:00

I took the coach back up to KL and then took a flight back to London. Then the coach up to Nottingham to visit my sister. Back in London tomorrow for graduation. My holiday's been fantastic. Thank You to all my friends that made it great: Farah, Jonathan, Amna, Ginger, Chung Lee, Brian, Wee Shen. I really owe you guys!

I had my graduation ceremony yesterday. Feels weird to be a graduate.

Singapore 2

2008-07-13T18:59:00.006+03:00

Had amazing mutton biryani (I finally gave into my craving for more familiar food) in a Malay wet market. Basmati rice damn good lah! It was also the cleanest and driest (no water on the floor) I've ever seen. This is Singapore. Nothing's dirty. Not even the toilets.

Went to Asian Civilisations Museum in the morning. Pretty good. Stayed there till 4pm. Then went to Lau Pa Sat and had sweet potato fries. Yummy. Took the mandatory picture of the Merlion. Finally went to a music concert in Esplanade. The music, soprano and tenor were all good, though the place felt a bit like a high school sports hall. Memories of lousy school productions were the last thing I wanted while attempting to enjoy music. Then more biryani. Now sleep. Early start tomorrow.

Change of plans

2008-07-13T04:26:00.002+03:00

I'm staying in Singapore for another day. I changed my ticket to 9AM tomorrow morning instead. So the plan is to arrive in KL on Monday afternoon and take my flight back to London on Tuesday morning. That should leave enough buffer time for problems.

Singapore

2008-07-12T19:58:00.004+03:00

Wow. Singapore is fantabulously dazzling. I didn't know what to take pictures of. Every few seconds there's something stunning. I took the Singapore Airline Hop on Hop off bus, which took me around to most of the tourist attractions (except the bit where the Merlion and Esplanade are because those roads were closed for national day parade rehearsals). My day included viewing impromptu Singapore airforce rehearsals for national day, fireworks above Esplanade (a stunning building itself), an art-house play, hanging around the legendary Raffles hotel (maintaining its c. 1915 colonial architecture), Singapore Art Museum (modern South East Asian art) and the usual tourist sights. And yes, I did go to the shopping malls. Very little shopping though. I'm skint.

My bus back to KL is due to leave tomorrow at 3pm. But I might end up staying in Singapore for another day. We shall see.

Arrival in Singapore

2008-07-11T20:16:00.003+03:00

After submitting my passport to the Singapore High Commission in KL yesterday, I spent last night in Melaka. I'm pretty broke so took a dorm bed and hoped no one would steal my stuff. Went up to KL this afternoon to collect my passport and then took the bus down to Singapore. The bus there was pretty standard price (RM30) but the bus back (which I had to buy in advance for immigration purposes) cost RM75! I was badly ripped off but that was the only place I found that sold a ticket back.

I was singled out and had to spend 45 minutes in a separate room in customs, where I had to fill in some form. My bus almost left me behind. Its only because my new friends in the bus pleaded to the driver to wait for me that I the driver waited for me. The joys of holding a Pakistani passport. Bus arrived outside this rauncy Thai mall at Beach Street. Awful. Staying at Nazir's place. Plan tomorrow is to head down to Orchard MRT and take a SIA Hop on Hop off bus.

Pulau Kapas

2008-07-10T07:26:00.003+03:00

Day trips to Redang were too expensive so I went to Pulau Kapas instead. Beautiful! Rented a canoe and snorkeling gear and paddled around all day. Only to lose balance and fall into the water while coming ashore, which ruined the camera (sorry Sana!) but the memory card and photos survived. Then trekked through the forest that runs to the other side and back. Even ran into an LSE Alum. Didn't expect Crush! to come up in a tiny island 6km off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia but it did.

Handed in my passport to Singapore High Commission and am due to receive my passport with visa at 2pm tomorrow. Will probably head down to Melaka to hang out with Farah in the evening (I really do not want to spend another night in KL).

KT

2008-07-08T17:49:00.003+03:00

Farah got me in touch with her cousin in KT and he showed me around. Saw Pasar Payar, where there was batik and all sorts of food on sale. Although its neither as big as Chow Kit in KL nor has as much variety, I liked it better. I was compelled to try eating a tortoise egg. Got very grossed out and didn't do much except lick it. And one of the aunties selling stuff gave me lots of Malay sweet dishes for free when I seemed intrigued at what they were. She kept of saying 'try this, try that' and I ended up taking home things I couldn't eat there.

Plans for Taman Negara have been scrapped. It would take me two days just to get to camp headquarters from KT. I was thinking of scrapping Singapore plans instead but looks like I'll end up going. After my poor exam results yesterday, I'm not too keen on making the prolonged trip to TN and then spend another two days there. Maybe for another time. I'd like to return to Malaysia to go to Sabah and Sarawak. Maybe then.

So, I'll stay in Terengganu for another day. I hope to take a day trip to Pulau Redang tomorrow and then head back to KL in the evening. The amazingly efficient Singapore authorities, after taking only two weeks to process my visa application (sic) will take two days to give me my now-approved visa. So I have to give my passport on Thursday morning, only to get it back on Friday afternoon. Which means bumming around in KL for another two days. Oh well. I think I've had enough excitement for one trip. TN would've been nice if I was still in the mood.

The last 7 days

2008-07-07T15:29:00.002+03:00

Sorry for going AWOL on you guys, and thanks for the concerned phone calls! I'm alive and well. I just haven't had the time to blog. So, here's a summary of my last week:

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - Penang was awesome! I stayed at Ginger's parents' beach house in Batu Ferringhi, which was brilliant. We ate amazing seafoood, including crab, oyster, squid and the best Char Kuay Teow I've tasted. Water sports were great too. I was scared shitless while parasailing but it was still fun. And that was followed by four of us on a banana boat, which included a plunge into the river when the boat took a sharp turn. Saw the sights, including Fort Cornwallis, Khoo Kongsi (the Khoo clan's meeting place and temple), Kek Lok Si (a huge Buddhist temple with a pagoda made of three different levels of different styles and huge bronze statue of the goddess of mercy), Penang Museum, Air Itam dam, and climbed a little known waterfall just behind the beach house.

Thursday and Friday - Cameron Highlands. Saw a tea plantation, a strawberry farm (where I had fried ice cream - not bad), a butterfly farm, a bee farm, an orchid farm, and went to Gunung Berinchang (at 6666 ft, the highest part of Cameron Higlands that can be reached by car) where our guide took us for a short hike through the mossy forrest. Made my bus to KL in the nick of time (had to pay the taxi driver extra to get me there on time).

Saturday - Genting Highland. Don't know how I agreed to go to an amusement park. The queues were really long so we only got on four rides (a twisty roller coaster, a really sharp dropping thing, a water slide and a moving cinema thing). Saw the casino. Nothing special.

Sunday - Went to Melaka with Farah and chilled. Came back to KL in the evening.

Monday - I'm in Kuala Terengganu to take advantage of the beach and snorkel if I have the chance. Plan to do that tomorrow and then head to Taman Negara (national park) for some serious jungle trekking.

Road trip and Penang

2008-06-30T14:36:00.002+03:00

I had planned to leave Kuala Selangor yesterday morning but ended up taking a tourist tram up the local hill. I was in a museum when it started raining really hard so was stuck there till it stopped raining a couple of hours later. I met a couple of more Pakistanis, one of which drove me to the bus station so that I could head to Cameron Highlands for a half-day trek. That is when things got interesting.

The dude manning the information desk told me to take a bus to Sebak Bernam (bus 1), then a connecting bus to Teluk Intan (bus 2) and then a third bus to Cameron Highlands (bus 3). But he didn't mention that I wouldn't make it in time to catch bus 3 from Teluk Intan. I was only informed when I got to Sebak Bernam at 6:30. I was stranded.

I asked around and found that there was a Penang bus from Sebak Bernam leaving at 11pm. So I walked around town looking for a cybercafe, when I bumped into another Pakistani (looks like many of the carpet stores in Malaysia are run by Pakistanis). He was a real pleasure to talk to and made a mean daal. We chatted for a few hours till I headed down to the bus stand at 10:30.

The bus ride itself was pretty awful. The driver drove like he was rehearsing a scene from the film Speed. Didn't get much sleep in the bumpy ride. Arrived in Butterworth at 4 and hung around until the first ferry for Georgetown left at 5:30. Once on Pulau Penang, I headed down the Masjid Negeri to get some sleep. Upon waking at 10, I got to witness a traditional adat nikah (Malay Muslim wedding).

Then Ginger drove by and drove us around town. Saw Fort Cornwallis and planning to go watch a film as well as head down to the Pasar Malam (night market) to buy souvenirs. Plans until Thursday include water sports and a hike up Penang hill.

Fireflies

2008-06-28T17:54:00.003+03:00

Kuala Selangor is a little hamlet with nothing to do except to go and see the fireflies. The taxi drivers here were asking for RM30 to drive me to the mangrove swamp of Kampung Kuantan where the fireflies are so I asked around how I could get there cheaper. I chanced upon a couple of Pakistanis. One of them drove me there on his motorbike for free. We both went on a 30 minute boat ride to see the fireflies. The guy wasn't very impressed as apparently he sees fireflies all the time in the mountains in North-West Pakistan where he's from. I, on the other hand, found the flickering fireflies very cool. Plus the boat ride in pitched dark (except for the fireflies) added to the experience. My new friend was quite keen to show me around tomorrow evening but I don't want to hang around with nothing to do in the day. I'll flick through my guidebook to see where I can go tomorrow before I head out for Penang on Monday.

Batu Caves and Kuala Selangor

2008-06-28T13:12:00.002+03:00

Went to see Masjid Negara and prayed Friday prayers there. Then headed off to Batu Caves, which were quite stunning. The temples themselves were nothing fantastic (I think my fascination with the architecture of places of worship is weakening) but the scenery was brilliant.

Came down to Kuala Selangor today to see some fireflies.

Real KL?

2008-06-26T20:57:00.003+03:00

Got to see more of the human side to KL today. Jon borrowed his mum's car and drove us around. Went to see a couple of buddhist temples (one Chinese, one Indian). Went to see an Indian temple but it had been demolished (like the old one standing where Mid Valley Megamall now stands). No wonder the Indian community in Malaysia is agrieved (Indians rioted earlier this year against government policy prefering ethnic Malays). Wanted to see Batu Caves but traffic has been clogged up. To avoid the jam, I hope to take the LRT to Putra station and either walk to the temple area or take a taxi.

After the temples, we went and ate an Indian meal served on banana leaves instead of plates. Eight little courses. Had fried squid as one of them. Goood! Then we went to the Thursday night market with Jon's mum. Bought all sorts of tropical fruit (dragon fruit, jackfruit, tiny golden bananas, etc) but no durian! Tried camomile tea (I'm loving the Chinese herbal teas) and real soy milk. Also bought my two-year-old sister a couple of Disney DVDs. The DVDs are supposedly genuine but when you open the sliding paper cover, the disk holder is a tacky plain black one with no printing on it. Not sure what will happen if I get stopped at customs in London.

Jon's mum picked up some braised duck, which we had for lunch at Jon's grandparents' place. It was only the second time I've had duck (the first time, when I was a kid, had put me off) but it wasn't all that bad. Thicker meat than chicken. Then we went to listen to live music (disappointing) and played some pool. Plans tomorrow are to go to Batu Caves, come back to KL for Friday prayers in Masjid Negara (National Mosque) and meet up with with a couple of friends. I intend to drop by Kuala Selangor and Klang over the weekend before heading North to Penang on Monday.

KL

2008-06-26T05:08:00.006+03:00

Went around the centre of KL to see all the sights. Jon and I went to a mall and played some arcade games. On the sixth floor there is the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia. It has its very own rollercoaster. But we decided against going there. We went to the 13th floor to take photos. Then we tailgated a guest into the guest floors (card access was required for the lift to work) in the Times Square hotel and peered out of the emergency stairs windows from the 32nd floor. Had lunch and then we went to look at laptop prices in an IT mall. They're a fair bit cheaper compared to England. I'll have a look in Singapore as well.

The really fun part of the day was after dinner. Jon's schoolmate, who we met for dinner, suggested that we sneak into their secondary school. We jumped the gate and sneaked around in the dark (avoiding the security guard's attention). As a Malaysian state school, there was a lot of propaganda as well as slogans about being good moral citizens everywhere. Came back, exhausted, showered, and crashed. Still have to work out today's plan.

Breakfast: toast with kaya (a spread made of coconut milk and caramel), Cameron Highlands tea followed by kuay teow
Lunch: chicken noodle
Dinner: (fake) shark's fin soup

Photos are up on facebook.

Melaka end and return to KL

2008-06-24T20:29:00.003+03:00

Overslept. Bought a t-shirt because the dirty clothes were really pissing me off. Then bought another one when I realised that the first one was too touristy to wear (touristy clothes attract thieves and poor bargaining power). By the time I got up, picked up laundry, showered and finally got to wear clean clothes it was already noon. Had brunch in the Geographer Cafe in Jonker Street. It was a refreshing change from the roadside hawker food and dingier cafes I've been eating in.

Went into the museums in the Stadthuys complex. Took a fair few photos as the galleries were empty and there was no one to stop me snapping! Didn't have much time to see all the 5 museums that are housed in the Stadthuys complex (I missed out on the Literature Museum, Governor's House and Democratic Government Museum) as Wee Shen came by at 2:30. He drove me around most of the major tourist attractions and I jumped out to take photos and jumped back in. My very own hop-on-hop-off tour! Thanks Wee Shen! But there were a couple of major attractions we didn't get to see because we couldn't find a place to park. It might be worth returning to Melaka later in order to see them.

Wee Shen dropped me off at Melaka Sentral at 4:30 and I took the 5 o'clock transnasional coach to KL. As I arrived in China Town, I went back to Petaling street to actually have a look at the fake clothing and whatever else was on sale (not the messages). The stuff is really cheap. You can get fake Billabong, Quicksilver, Nike, FCUK clothing (you name it) for about two quid if you haggle. I think I've finally got the hang of haggling. What seemed to work was when I looked really disinterested, browsed casually asked the price, said "too much ah" and walked away. The inevitable reply was always "how much you want?" Then quote a third (yes a third!) of what you were quoted. The worst I found was a third lower than the original quote. The best was what I offered. Didn't buy anything though. It was more fun practicing haggling.

After Petaling Street, I had a road-side burger. It was a concoction of your standard beef burger with a fried egg and some brown pepper sauce that tasted great. Then I headed down to Pesar Seni station to take the Komuter to Taman Bahagia, where Jonathan was to pick me up. Just before I boarded my train, I noticed that my belt's buckle had come off but was still attached to the other side. I spent fifteen minutes repairing the damn thing in the train using my penknife.

In the meantime I managed to lose my ticket for my journey. So the fear of having lost my hidden money was replaced by the fear of being fined for not having a valid ticket for my journey. Great. Luckily, both fears were unfounded and I only had to pay face price of the ticket again (about 35p). But, it was close. I'm pretty sure that someone must have attempted to wrench off my belt in Petaling street. The buckle is strong enough to handle normal your orginally tug.

Couldn't upload pics... will try again later.

More Melaka

2008-06-23T17:53:00.009+03:00

Ugh... today was one big mess. It took me an hour to find the local 'laundry.' It turned out to be a dry cleaners, which means another day without clean clothes (didn't have time to wash my clothes yesterday).

The nicer part of my day today was a 40 minute guided river cruise in the afternoon. Most of it involved showing delapidated houses that were due for demolishment or radical repair as part of the government's plans to build a long walk along the river. That won't be done until 2010 at the earliest. Disappointing. I took a video of most of the cruise and probably won't get to upload it till I get home.

Disappointment didn't stop there. I was quite tired so I bought a 'blue line' hop-on-hop-off tour bus ticket instead of renting a bicycle. Turns out that the locals use it as a communal taxi service. Which means the buses don't go where they're supposed to. Frustrated, I rented a bicycle as originally intended. So it was 6 before I got to do any other touristy stuff. That invovled getting lost again before I made my way to the Portugese settlement. There is a catholic festival on so there was a live show, though it was nothing special. The Portugese square is nothing great but it is next to the coast and serves decent food. I finally got to try the famous red devil curry, which was good but not quite up to expectations.

I cycled to a fort which is meant to have a good view of the city. The entire lane and the summit were empty, which made me wonder why, so I left without having a look around. Better return in the day. On the way back to the hostel, found some live music (Soldier of Fortune is a huge improvement on Santana, that seems to play everywhere in Melaka). Malay pop sounds just like Chinese pop to me. Same rhythms and sentimental vocals. But I guess that goes for pop everywhere. Will deconstruct it properly when I have time.

Plan tomorrow is as follows. Go to the eye of Melaka and Portugese ship replica in the morning. Then pick up laundry. Then meet up with Wee Shen, who will drive me around. Then back to KL in the evening, to meet up and stay at Jonathan's.

A catholic priest in the Portugese settlement bringing around a flame to light candles in each house

Two girls lit green candles, which in turn lit white candles in each house

Gluttonous blue and white rice with a yellow sweet wrapped in banana leaves. Yummy!

My rented bike

Red devil curry

These shells were alive and wiggling about. Cooked to your fancy (grilled, steamed, boiled, etc) in front of you.

Alive

Its alive!

View of the sea from Portugese square

Another view

Statues of Mary and Jesus as well as crosses and other catholic ornaments up for sale

My tour boat

Delapidated houses

The square where the Dutch governor used to reside

Melaka

2008-06-22T17:44:00.006+03:00

We had brunch and headed down to Melaka. Tried durian. Couldn't stand its taste or smell. Been a quiet day. In Melaka we went to the weekend market on Jonker Walk. Had ginger rice and chicken for dinner with Santana's Shaman album on repeat in the bar next to where we were eating. Food was good but the music could be better. Then Farah and I parted ways. For her its back to the maternity ward (med student) and I'm continuing on my own. Will try to meet up with Wee Shen in Melaka when he's free.

Checked into Sama Sama hostel in China town. At RM17 a night and with a jungle feel its cheap and genuinely charming. There's no running water in Melaka at the moment so that's a bit annoying. But the couple that runs the hostel gave everyone a bottle of mineral water each to make do till the water is up and running again. The internet in this cafe is fast so I'll spend some time on MSN and catching up on the news. I plan to rent a bicycle tomorrow and cycle around.

A chic art shop on the same street as my hostel

The entrance to my hostel

Lobby

Wall painting in the lobby

Fish pool

Stairs on the side of the fish pool

Wooden stairs and flooring. We have to take our shoes and slippers off before we go upstairs.

My room

My window

Last couple of days...

2008-06-21T20:03:00.006+03:00

Didn't have time to post last night. So... here goes an account of my last 48 hours. I went back to the Singapore High Commission yesterday morning and submitted my visa application. They asked me to call them in 7 working days to check whether my application has been processed. I'd never heard Singlish spoken by a man in a turban before. Odd. Very odd. Then the food (chendol) from the day before hit me.

Diarrohoea and thunderstorms. My Malaysian honeymoon was over. Spent most of the day running from toilet to toilet. Eastern-style toilets in some places made it even more challenging. Went to Chow Kit market. Not much of interest. Running late for Friday prayers, I couldn't get to Masjid Negara (National Mosque) on time, as originally intended. Masjid Jamek was rather cool, I wish I was allowed to take to pictures. It is right next to one of the rivers that run through KL and has palm trees as well as marble flooring and pillars. There is no 'inside' of the mosque as the prayer area has no walls (except the ones for the main complex). On my way to the train station, I passed by Pesar Seni (central market) again and saw a live performace of a Javanese instrument (forgot what it was called) and some art. Loved the local variations to modern art. Made a mental note to see art exhibitions.

I'd stumbled upon the cinema section of my guidebook yesterday and found out how cheap tickets were (around a quid and and a half). I decided to go to Mid Valley megamall to look around and catch a film before Farah arrived in the evening. RM8 for the Bank Job was an absolute bargain! The film is worth watching. Although, the language censorship was rather off-putting, especially as they were not clean cuts (pardon the pun). Before and after frames were pixellated and merged into one another rather like poor satellite signals on tv. I had another hour or so to hang around till Farah arrived and stumbled across an anime store. I had to really fight the desire to buy the store and luckily ended up buying nothing from it.

As Farah had gotten lost again, I met her and her friends at KLCC. We went for sheesha and food. Got back quite late so I just crashed and slept for ten hours straight. After waking up in the afternoon we went to eat in the food court in Giant. I had hot plate and cendol to drink. Amazing! Then we went to One Utama mall and looked around. Got the compulsory touristy picture with a snake (there was a reptile exhibition on) and beer (well, root beer). No longer able to tolerate the heat, I bought some shorts and almost bought some sandals until I realised that my slippers were good enough to get around in.

Went back to have dinner with Farah's dad. We had Kuey Teoy and Satay, as well as teh tarik. Teh tarik is the same as what we call doodh pati in Pakistan. It is tea boiled in milk with no water, so it is pretty strong. My favourite! As usual, the food didn't disappoint either. The satay was the best I've had so far.

All full, we went to the night market where I could finally afford FCUK clothing (hehe). RM15 for a shirt that looks pretty real. Then, back to Syed for supper. ABC for dessert. It was absolutely massive. I don't think I've ever seen a dessert serving that big. I couldn't finish it (quite difficult to believe if you know the size of my appetite).

Then we headed down to Putrajaya, Malaysia's new administrative capital. It had all the sterile charm of a completely new, well-planned town. The ministries and mosque were brilliantly built. Unfortunately my camera doesn't work well at night so the photos were disappointing. I might return sometime during the day to take better photos.

So now, signing off for the evening. Plan tomorrow is to watch another film and then head down to Melaka with Farah. I'll stay in a hostel and meet up with Wee Shen. Afterwards, the plan is to return to KL to see the sights. So far KL has only been shopping and food. Having picked up my souvenirs and lahs, I'm keen to see the real Malaysia.

Shopping

2008-06-19T18:41:00.006+03:00

After I wrote my last post, I went to Petaling street (China Town) in search for a cheap hostel. I ended up inundated with offers of 'cheap message' and ran out of there like my life depended on it (but not before buying a couple of necklaces). Luckily my friend Farah called at that precise point of time and offered me a room at her house. As she goes to university in Melaka and all her family except her dad is away, her dad came and picked me up from their local train station. Farah's dad is really friendly, took me to dinner and breakfast and even dropped me to the Singapore Embassy today. He has a thick accent and his speech is peppered with Manglish phrases, which was quite unexpected.

So, my day began with a quintessential Malaysian meal, which consisted of very random courses that somehow got together on one plate. My breakfast contained white rice, unskinned peanuts with anchovies, fried chicken and some sauce. Quirky yet strangely enjoyable. But I have to say that the Nasi Goreng and Satay I had for last night is in another league of its own.

Next, I was dropped off to the Singapore Embassy and owing to my unlimited wisdom, I had forgotten to make copies of my passport which the visa application required. As I'd arrived just before the consular section closed at noon, I didn't have time to make a photocopy there and then, so I'll have to go again tomorrow in order to apply for my Singapore visa.

Then I went to meet up with Brian in Subang Jaya and he took me to Pyramid mall. The Tom Yam he ordered for me was too spicey for me to handle. Imagine the embarassment! As a Pakistani, I'm supposed to be able to handle it, but it was way too much. Brian couldn't stop laughing as I attempted to slurp the hot soup. Afterwards, we strolled around the mall where I ended up buying a new Billabong wallet (half price!). My day of shopping had just begun.

After Brian dropped me back to the Subang Jaya station, I went to central market to do some souvenir shopping. I couldn't resist buying my favourite beady bracelets and necklaces made of coconut shells and bits of bamboo (I have way too many now). Then I got a necklace made for my sister, with her name spelled out. Seeing as I'd spent a fair bit of money on jewelry, I bought a little KL desk souvenir and then fell in love with a few t-shirts with Manglish phrases written on them. I'm now the proud owner of 5 new t-shirts (hey, they were only 80p a piece)!

Then I headed to KLCC to see the Petronas towers and stroll around in another mall. As soon as I got out of KLCC station, the twin towers were right in front. For a few moments I stared in wonder, not realising what I was actually looking at. I spent a good half an hour taking pictures of the towers because my photographs just wouldn't reflect the beauty of the damned things. Then, knackered, I headed back to Farah's place and after finishing this post I'm going to tuck in. Good night!

The non-halal section in Giant supermarket

You even pay for the non-halal stuff (i.e. Pork) seprately to everything else. I have a feeling that this has to do with not making muslim cashiers sell haram goods. But the cynical side of me screams out "this is for Islamic finance purposes!"

The Cincau that I had with my lunch. Sublime!

Lizards up for sale

These reminded Brian and I of Omar (rule 34 baby!). Guess how you switch on (or should I say 'turn on') the lamps?

First day and my Malaysian number

2008-06-18T14:43:00.008+03:00

My friend couldn't pick me up today so I'm staying in KL until Friday. I ended up taking a coach to KL Sentral. I ran into a couple of Jordanians on the coach and got to practice my (now even more) broken Arabic after quite a while. and hang out around there. I sampled some hawker food (yum!) and then went hunting for Indian food. That search took all of 3 minutes as there was a south Indian place just a couple of shops down. The guy who served me spoke good Urdu so it was good to have a full conversation with someone after a few hours.

Next I went and bought a Hotlink prepay SIM card. My Malaysian number is now +60176684185. I will only be checking my UK number sporadically for messages but to actually speak to me in real time, you'll have to call my Malaysian number.

After hunting around for an hour or so, I finally found a money changer that gave a decent rate for Sterling and got about 85 quid changed into Ringgits. The joyful feeling of RM500+ in my hands sent me heading straight to the local flea market, where I bought a bracelet, got a keyring with my name and a much-needed haircut.

I've spent the last hour sitting next to some Welsh dude who's been trying to convince me that the Illuminati is taking over the world (and that G W Bush and the CIA are in the Illuminati payroll). Joy! Anyway, now I have to find a hostel to stay the night. Would have gone to a trendy(ish) place to hangout but the big Karrimor packpack is too heavy to lug around for much longer. Besides, it makes me look too much like a tourist!

On the way to KL Sentral.

They don't just have these in London!

Hawker food!

My Indian buffet!

Haha... barber shops look the same everywhere!

Pets up for sale

More pets up for sale

Even more pets up for sale

Names on key rings

Kuala Lumpur International Airport

2008-06-18T09:00:00.003+03:00

Just arrived in KLIA. Couldn't help but notice the distinctively Malaysian influence in the architecture. The roof is slanted at a 45 degree angle on either side and there are these huge white pillars that meet the roof at a 45 degree angle on either side. Reminds me of Dubai airport but less glitsy. Which is good. A little bit more authentic.

My flight arrived in KL 40 minutes late but no worries. What's 40 minutes of a month huh? Besides, I got 40 minutes extra sleep, which I desperately needed. So now I'm going to call my friend Farah and arrange to meet up with her this evening. The original plan was to meet in KL but a quick look at the map of the peninsula made me realise that it made more sense to meet her in Melaka (she lives in Melaka). Anyway, will write again this evening with my Malaysian number and details about what I'm going to do until the weekend.

All set!

2008-06-17T13:59:00.003+03:00

All packed and ready to go. My flight leaves in 3 hours so must rush to the airport!

Leaving today

2008-06-17T06:31:00.000+03:00

Okay... so I'm all set to leave for a month's worth of backpacking in South East Asia. My packing is almost complete and my flight to Kuala Lumpur leaves in ten and a half hours. The extent of my preparation so far has been:

Speaking to friends and friends of friends about places to stay and things to see
Buying the lonely planet guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Buying and filling a 65 litre Karrimor backpack with all sorts of travelling goodies
Getting a multiple-entry Malaysian visa in advance (I'd rather not get the single-entry at the airport)
Buying 120 Ringgits at an extortionate rate
Looking up some Manglish/Singlish phrases

But apart from that, I have little clue what I'm actually going to do or where I'm going to go. I'm not even sure where I'm going to go from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, except that I'll take the train into Kuala Lumpur. I know I'd like to go to KL, Malacca and Penang in Malaysia as well as visit Singapore.

But all that should not take anywhere near the four weeks I have till my return flight from KL on 15th July. Some skimming through my trusty guidebook during my 15 hour journey should give me a better idea of what to do. Let us see how things pan out. At least my minimal planning means that I don't have high expectations.