Day 211 – 212: Back to Singapore

After a unexciting night flight from Bali we arrived in Singapore airport at about 1am. Unfortunately, the airport is not as comfortable as it would have been had we stayed in the transit area. When you pick up your bags and go through customs there are not as many comfy places to sleep – anyway we still slept at the airport (on a cold floor) but it was not as comfy as we had hoped!

We were only in Singapore for a day – we posted home some stuff we had bought from Indonesia; Stu got some electrical stuff and we had dim sum in China Town. We also bumped into the friends we had met in Laos so had some beers with them in the evening.

Singapore also saw us stay in our first dorm room of the trip (not anyway near as exciting as it doesn’t sound) and we also managed to taste some durian, which I suppose is a must – but actually we did decide that it DID stink and it was not that nice – definitely an acquired taste!

As Singapore airport is such a posh place we went there super early for our flight (on the very impressive A380) to Oz. They have free internet there, the nicest toilets, a cinema (that is free), lovely shops and TV screens everywhere that you can just sit and watch.

Then Asia was over and we were on our way to Oz………………

Day 201 – 210:Ubud and Legian beach (culture and surfing)

Ubud is the cultural home of all things Balinese in Bali. We had a great time there (made better by staying in some fantastic (and cheap) accommodation) wandering around the town and taking in the culture and wandering around the markets. While we were there was a massive Hindu festival on (Galungan) – where lots of kids would be walking round the streets pounding drums and gongs with some dressed up as cows/horses or something similar. It was great as you would be sitting having dinner and all of a sudden loads of kids would appear and make loads of racket for a bit then leave!

Anyway, we enjoyed spending time in Ubud and managed to buy some Indonesian masks, paintings and spices (safron was so cheap). We also ate some amazing food and had the specialty smoked duck! We did try to book a cooking course for day but the courses were not that hands on so we decided against it.

The best part of Ubud was the cultural dance that we saw one night – we went to see the Kecak dance which was a lot of fun and really clever. Basically a dance telling a story but done to the sounds of chants chant (about 50 men chanting). Don’t really know what was going on but there was Rhama, a bad guy, an arrow that turned into a snake and some monkey soldiers. I loved it and would recommend anyone to go. It was very touristy but definitely worth going!

Before leaving Indonesia we wanted to get some surfing in so we had been researching the best places to go. Unfortunately, the best places for people who do not want to kill themselves on reef breaks are the places that Ozzie tourists like to go (think Costa del Sol but with Ozzie’s). Anyway, we bit the bullet and headed for Legian beach the quieter end of Kuta. We got ourselves a nice little bungalow (with a pool) and did some surfing. I had a lesson on the 1st day as I had not surfed since Biarritz (about 4 years ago) but by the end of the week we were both getting the hang of it – despite my bad rash burns and bleeding hands from the boards!

Apart from surfing we did not get up to too much. We did some planning for NZ and read books and did some runs on the beach. I also managed to get my cocktail in a coconut (after 5 months of trying)!

Day 195 – 200: Labuan Bajo, journey from hell and Padang Bai

There is not that much to do in Labuan Bajo, Flores so after a good wash (after our boat trip) and a good meal we booked our trip back to Bali. We really wanted to see Kelimitu in Flores but on learning it takes 17 hours to get there we gave it a miss (especially as the journey back to Bali is 36 hours). We also decided against some diving to save money for NZ so given that we headed straight back to Bali.

The day started with a 8 hour ferry ride over to Sumbawa – not included in the timing is the 2 hour wait on the boat before it moved! The boat ride was OK but I felt like I had passively smoked 40 cigarettes as every person on the boat (or so it seemed) chain smoked for the whole journey. What followed was a 12 hour journey on an alleged ‘VIP’ bus across Sumbawa. It was not comfortable – indeed the seat in front of Stu was broken so that if anyone sat on it they would end up horizontal in the seat on Stu’s lap – funny now but not funny on a overnight bus ride. I managed to get some sleep but then was very perplexed when we stopped at 3am to have some ‘dinner’!

The next ferry ride to Lombok was not much fun either – Indonesian techno being blasted out at 7am. Sumbawa is very Muslim and I noted the difference from how I was received by the men here. Indeed, I had a bit of an incident in the ladies toilet but appart from being denied to go nothing awful happened.

Another 5 hour bus ride (and a 2 hour wait in Mataram) we got on the ferry back to Bali – When we got to Padang Bai we were so tired and payed extra for hot water – my word did we need a shower!

We had not planned on staying in Padang Bai but we quite liked the place when we arrived so we decided to stay 2 nights to recharge the batteries. Padang bai is basically a harbor town with a couple of nice beaches so we made use of these and ate some lovely seafood.

Day 191 – 194 : Boat trip to Komodo, Rinca and Flores (Dragons, paradise and seasickness)

We were very sad to leave the Gili’s but very excited to be setting off on our adventure on the waves! Day 1 saw us on a mini bus getting to the east coast of Lombok picking up various things for our trip – pineapples, beer, rice and chickens (live ones that were then promptly strapped onto the front of the bus for the journey – much to the vegetarians horror). These chicken were then kept in a basket at the back of the boat for the whole trip and Yoyo (our lovely guide) would come and announce (whilst yielding a rather sizeable knife) when the chickens were about to be killed – quite amusing but not for the chickens (or the vegetarians).

When we arrived at the harbour I was a little horrified by the size of the boat – lets just say that it was small. However, once we got on and put our bags underneath it was fine. We managed to secure a ‘bed’ (piece of foam and blanket) up on the deck and were settled. The toilet was a hole in the floor (no pooing while the boat is stationary and especially if others’ are snorkelling)! There were 19 tourists on the boat and about 6 crew so in all a cozy affair!

We set sail at around 3pm on the 1st day and stopped at sunset near a little island for dinner. It was so cool as you could see bioluminescents in the water but we were not allowed to go swimming with them because of sharks! In the end we had a couple of beers then snuggled down (on the floor) for sleep.

The boat started up again early the next morning (5am) and by 9am we were in Moyo. We set off for our walk to the waterfall (but first we had to swim to shore) which was lovely – we forgot our soap but some used the water for a shower (remember only a toilet on board)! We then sailed a bit more taking in some fab scenery and then stopped to do some snorkeling and lunch.

Unfortunately, the next part of the trip involved a 15 hour straight journey through some pretty rough sea. needless to say (with my rubbish sea legs) I was ill – I had to lie down for the whole thing and made sure I took a seasickness tablet to know me out at bed time. Boy it was choppy (Stu did not even feel slightly sick)!

The next morning we saw the sunrise from the boat (it’s hard to sleep with the boats engine) and I was very pleased to feel that we were over the worst of the waves! We also saw some dolphins swimming near the boat which was amazing (but we were not quick enough to get some pictures). We stopped at another small island (Gilli Banta) and hiked to the top of a big hill to see some amazing views of Flores (coming down the hill in flip flops was also very interesting)!

After more sailing we arrived at Komodo to see the dragons. They were quite lazy but it was really cool to see them and we managed to get quite close! At dusk we were docked just beside an island with lots of Mangrove trees – we were just in time to see all the Flying Foxes (bats) leave their home for the night – there were millions of them – quite amazing.

We also got to see more Komodo Dragons on the trip the next morning at Rica island. This was a much better trip as we saw more dragons and they seemed to be a bit more lively (and we also saw water buffalo)- the walking was also fab as we got to see Rinca from the top of a hill!

After Rinca and a few hours ride we stopped at Kalong island (which was one of the highlights for me) – a tripical paradise with excellent snorkelling and no people living on it. Amazing. We stayed there for about 3 hours and had the best time – lying on a spit of sand (looking like a bounty advert)!

At the end of the trip we decided to sleep on the boat another night in the harbor at Labuan Bajo (to save money)! This turned out to be a very interesting evening – people stopping to look at you on the boat, small children singing their lungs out in the middle of the night and very loud ferry horns. After the 4th day of using the drop toilet and no shower I was pleased to be on dry land and have a room in a hostel.

Day 185 – 192: Gili Air (the Best Island in the World)

Leaving Kuta was the usual rigmarole! You pay for a minibus transfer but what you get is a complete shambles. You would think we would be used to this by now. I don’t mind a 6am pickup because I like to get on the way. But when you are made to wait in two different cafes for a total of over three hours, then you start to get annoyed. Anyway we arrived at Gili Air at about 7pm in the dark and had to wander around looking for somewhere to stay. Despite what people were trying to tell us, we didn’t have any problem finding somewhere nice to stay (170,000Rp including breakfast), run by a very nice couple, one of whom occasionally got drunk and rode around in circles on his bicycle.

Gili Air is a beautiful island paradise. We are both in agreement that it is our favourite island of all that we have visited. It had just about everything perfectly. It is quiet – there are no mopeds at all (only horse and traps) – but there is still a decent selection of restaurants to eat at and the beer is pretty cheap – horrrahhhh. Not to mention the lovely beach and excellent coral. As a consequence, we didn’t do a whole lot while we were there; we mostly just lay about on the beach, did a bit of swimming and read lots of books. We did do one dive while we were there and saw a 2.5m white tip reef shark, which was pretty cool (and a bit scary for Gem) but we have done so much diving recently that we decided to save our pennies and just do some snorkelling instead (and I don’t recommend Dream Divers at all – sneaking added weights into my BCD because they didn’t believe I only needed 2kg – naughty people).

We really loved Gilli Air and a wander round the island (it only takes 3 hours) is well worth it.

Day 181 – 184: KL and the start of Indonesia

It was only a 5 hours journey back to KL and, because we knew the city, it felt really good to be going back to somewhere we had been before (quite strange when for the last 6 months you have been going somewhere new all the time).

Anyway, we did not do anything exciting in KL apart from buy stocks of toiletries and sort some things out on the internet (Oz visa etc). More importantly we got a travel Scrabble so will be making good use of that on long journeys!

After a day sorting stuff and a massive internet session in KL we had a relatively easy travel day to Bali, Indonesia…..bus from KL to airport, spending our last Ringgits in airport (a feat in itself), a 3 hour flight to Indo and taxi to our accommodation. We had decided to stay at least a couple of nights in Kuta, Bali (basically the Australian equivalent of out Costa del Sol (think wife beater vests and beer swigging men) but with surfing) just to say we had been. We went out on the beers straight after arriving (especially after abstaining in Malaysia) – this resulted in some very odd pictures some of which we could not explain in the morning!

The next day we spent shopping for cheap clothes and got some good stuff (although it was hard work bargaining – you have to have a sense of humor). We then hit the beach on the afternoon.

One full day was enough for us in Kuta so we were off again (at 6am) to the Gilli Islands off Lombok (island next to Bali).

Day 176 – 180: Cameron Highlands (Tea and curry)

We left the Perhentians with heavy hearts but knew, after 10 days, it was time to move on (there are only so many seafood BBQ’s you can eat)!

After a day of uneventful travel we arrived at Fathers Guesthouse in the Cameron Highlands – our room being in a WW2 Nissen huts! What a funny place it is. A bit like Switzerland but not! Lots of swiss style houses and curry houses!

Anyhow, we noticed straight away the change in temperature and cool air and at first this was a lovely change. However, there were some evenings I was wearing all my warm clothes as we had some heavy rain!

The guesthouse we were staying in was really chilled out and had a good social area so we spent most evenings drinking tea, eating scones, watching movies, reading books and playing scrabble (and before anyone thinks we are ‘dweebs’, we could not drink much alcohol in Malaysia as it is quiet pricey)!!!!! We also managed to get through an awful lot of curries (I have especially grown a deep love for tanoori Naan)!

We did quite a lot of walks here. One day we walked to the Boh tea plantation which was fab and really interesting to go to (and the cup of tea while there was also good). We had to hitch a ride back to the main town which was interesting (sharing a back seat with 2 people from Burma). Another day we treked through the jungle up a big hill (Gunung Berembun – 1840m) and back – and would you beleive I did not complain once!. It was really cool to be in the thick of the jungle and see all the bugs of the forest – we heard lots of russlings in the trees but did not manage to see any bigger animals.

After a few days relaxing we were then ready to head back to civilization and KL.

Day 165 – 175: The Perhentians (another tropical island)

Day 165 saw us wake up to some fuzzy heads (far too many Chang beers) and to find that the weather had turned a bit rainy. Anyhow, we managed to sort ourselves out and get packed (just) in time for checkout. We did feel very sorry for Mel and Chris who had had to get up for a 8am ferry that day.

Anyway, when we got to the jetty, to get our boat, we were most perturbed when they started to give out sea sickness tablets and laughing. Needless to say, the ferry ride back to Chumphon was a tad rough (especially with a hangover)! Once back on the mainland we had a few hours wait for our train so we just got some food at a local restaurant. When we got on the train our seats had already been converted to beds (much to my delight) so we just snuggled in and went to sleep.

The next morning we awoke on the train but were quite alarmed that at every stop the Thailand military got on the train and checked every carriage – also at every station and all along the line there were loads of military personnel (with very large guns). We were told later that people had been shot on a train in southern Thailand a few weeks back (I was quite pleased I did not know this at the time of our journey)!

Anyway, we reached the Malaysian boarder safely and at the other side decided to get a taxi to Kuala Besut. From there we jumped on a fast boat to the Perhentian Islands. We got off the boat at Long Beach (where the backpackers stay) and tried to get some accommodation. However, this was a feat in itself as it was the weekend and very busy. We ended up just paying more for an aircon room for the 1st night.

Getting accommodation in the Perhentians was not much fun (we actually spent the 1st 3 days there trying to get something nice as everything is quite expensive and not very good value for money) – the second place we stayed was OK (we thought) until Stu saw a rat in our room one night (Stu did not tell me it was a rat until we had moved out). Anyway, to cut a long story short we ended up staying at Senja which was lovely (and a bit more than our budget) but we had the best view from our balcony!

The Perhentians are lovely islands – we stayed on the small one (Kecil). The water is so clear and the snorkeling there is amazing. We went on a snorkeling trip one day and saw so much that we did not even bother to go diving. In fact, I saw baby sharks (x15), a turtle and a sting ray by just snorkeling from outside the hotel one day – amazing!

We did not get up to much on the island really apart from sunbathe (well we had to stay in the shade as it was so hot in the sun), eat seafood BBQ’s, wait to be served in restaurants (one day we waited 1hour and 30 mins for breakfast) and dive off the pontoon in the sea – heaven! One day we did rent a canoe for 1/2 day and paddled around the island. we got some really cool pictures and found some beaches that were our own…..

We did have somestorms whislt on the island. On our last night just after ordering our BBQ the heavens opened (luckily we were sat inside) and people who were eating on the beach had to be squeezed into the resturant. However, the roof then started leaking in – in the end we ended up eating the shop that was linked to the resturaunt which was fun (even the rats joined us)!