On arrival in Singapore we didn’t really know what to expect. We had spoken to several fellow travelers on our journey who all said it was expensive so we pencilled in 3 days. On a whole it stared off inexpensive with the hostel being cheap with free internet and breakfast, a luxury which was a nice surprise. After a loaf of toast we had a scout around the city, utilising the cheap and efficient transit system. We window shopped on Orchard Road, the shopping mecca of the city. Jonny having to avert his eyes and remind himself of the budget as he was teased by the Dior Homme store. We saw the expense came when purchasing alcohol. At 6 quid a pint we would be remaining sober for the duration.
A day was spent at the large Singapore Zoo. This impressive open plan zoo had animal enclosures on islands and the orangutans would frequently swing by overhead. Afterwards we went across the road to the Night Safari, a zoo based on nocturnal creatures. Here we spent little time as the animals were difficult so see in the night. A concept of zoo we failed to see how could catch on.
Our flight to Bali was at 1630. Arriving at the airport at 1500, we went straight into departures. A quick stop on the net we lost track of time and as we glanced at the departure and saw the gate was closing. We ran to the gate and to our horror the plane appeared to have left. The staff pointed out that we were at the wrong gate so we had to run back the opposite direction, our flip-flops getting in the way of our stupidity. We arrived out our boutique hostel and the magical free upgrade words were heard for the second time. That evening we went straight out and it was lost drinking Bintang in Sky Garden.
A day trip was organised from the hostel where we ventured inland stopping off at a huge beautiful temple where we wore our first sarong. We made our way to the Monkey Forest where we were persuaded to buy some bananas. Within seconds a battalion of monkeys descended on us snatching for the tasty treats. They lasted a few seconds as we flung them as far away as possible. Lowy got his barter on at the big market in town and haggled like a true hero over 20p, eventually ending up with some bargains. That evening we were shown a restaurant which became our second home as we systematically worked our way through the menu.
Our master plan of touring the island on scooters never materialised as we only made it a few hours out-of-town, tackling the daunting Bali roads as best we could. We extended our stay in the hostel to 9 nights and made use of our own private cinema which we discovered in the yoga room. A lot of time was spent on the beach as Jonny tackled the Legian and Kuta waves, dodging plastic bags in the process. The Sky Garden bar/club we spend several nights destroying brain cells with cheap beer as we enjoyed the company of our new Indonesian friends. After a 10 year absence for us both we rediscovered chess and became hooked. Bali was finished off with a complimentary 1hr massage. A first for us both but definitely not the last.
We arrived into Malaysia midday and got the bus straight into central Kuala Lumpur.. We spent the next two days sightseeing which included the once worlds tallest building, The Petronas Towers. We were in Malaysia as a few weeks earlier in New Zealand, a friend talked us into going to the Malaysian Grand Prix. This however left us with nearly a week to kill so we decided to get an overnight sleeper train to Langkawi.
Langkawi is an island of the north-west coast of Malaysia almost at the Thai border. Here we booked into a little guest house for 4 nights, enough to see the island. The first night we went overboard on the 60p cans of tiger and a bottle of Jim Beam which we regretted the next day as we went up the Langkawi Cable Car. The almost vertical ascent in a small 4 person car blowing in the wind wasn’t that enjoyable with the heebie jeebies. We were both struggling after 10 minutes, Lowy even more so as vertigo kicked in. At the top we had an amazing view over the island. Here Lowy shuffled around and worked up to the suspension bridge high above two peaks.
A day trip organised we set off on a small boat to two other smaller islands. Firstly the Lake Of The Pregnant Maiden. Here we dodged wild monkeys and had a strange tickly catfish massage. Afterwards we watched eagles diving into the bay for their afternoon meal. Our return train left at 2030 so we had a leisurely day before getting the ferry back to the mainland. On route in the taxi to the train station Jonny glanced at the tickets to discover the only train left at 1830! In the middle of nowhere with no hotels, we contemplated using Lowys tent for the first time. Our taxi driver, speaking very little english suggested we went to the next town to see if there was a bus and if not a hotel. Thankfully as we arrived into the bus station there was an overnight bus leaving for Kuala Lumpur in 1 hour. Panic over, we would be making the Grand Prix after all.
The Sepang circuit if the home of F1 in Malaysia. Eventually getting there for the first day at 2pm, just enough time to catch qualifying. Unfortunately not good times for the two british drivers. Soon the tropical heavens opened which made the monotonous ear bleeding viewing more interesting as cars began to spin-off. Second day was race day which we hoped would be more interesting. The hill became packed and there was a better atmosphere. After an impressive air show the race began. after 20 laps or so with the brits losing we began to lose interest. We left slightly early to avoid the horrendous traffic. Good experience however next time we agreed it was better viewing as we normally do, hungover on a Sunday morning..
