week six
nearly up to speed. we are in phuket tonight looking into tickets to fly north. as ever, more pictures now available.
Oct 9th.
we spend the day mostly in transit and arrive at our destination just too late to catch a boat to our desired hostel. we are in a tiny town built on a river that is a border to malaysia's largest national park. dropped our bags in our empty 6 bed dorm room and went to sample the local cuisine at one of the floating restaurants on the river and watched the rush of the muslims breaking their fasts since dawn.
Oct 10th.
woken up by sun and jungle sounds. get ourselves together to take on a huge day that we have no plan for yet. i realize my mountain equip co-op shoes are at the hostel back in singapore. after a greasy breakfast we make an arduous but successful search for rental jungle boots and head straight for the famed canopy walk back in the jungle. afterward we added another km hike to our tally up to 3 and doubled the total heading back to where we started.
since there was still time when we returned, we decided to try to fit in a cave exploration recommended by our book. most people pay 45 ringgits to take a boat down the river to a path very near the cave and do a short hike before being guided swiftly through the cave by an experienced malaysian. not us. armed with weak flashlights, a caffiene bolstered will of steel, only eating a handful of tiny peanuts for lunch, we hiked another difficult 3km to the cave and attempted it amateur style.
BATS.
obviously, right? but can anyone say they genuinely enjoy flashing a light ahead to reveal hundreds of bats at every turn? the cave didn't involve any major drops or climbing, but was tricky, wet and slippery.
our minds clouded by exhaustion, we marched back to the village at the same high speed we entered despite the terrain and at least 4 angry-sounding wild boars along the jungle trail. the last place we wanted to be at dusk or worse, nightfall, was on that jungle trail.
near the river there is a small village that the path runs through. the shacks house families, are mostly in disrepair and feature new mini satellite dishes for their large screen tvs. there is a confusing zig-zag on the path through the village and the local children are willing to point the way through.
stinking of sweat and bat shit, we arrive back at our hostel for a well deserved and appreciated cold shower.
Oct 11th.
much to our surprise, we had no trouble exiting the jungle village of kuala tahan early in the morning. a 2 hour ferry ride with views of water buffalo and monkeys shuttled us out to a nearby town with buses to KL.
wasting no time, we caught the first bus to the malaysian capitol, arriving late in the steaming hot afternoon.
it was decided after we found accomodation that we should make a trip to gather provisions before dinner. returning with some fresh fruit, 1 small bottle of local rum and 1 small bottle of local whiskey, the night turned into a card game fiasco with the obvious end result; hangover.
Oct 12th.
our exit strategy well in hand, hangovers weighing us down, we try to make some use of our single day in kuala lumpur. first stop, petronas twin towers. and what an unlikely source of hilarity...
upon our arrival we are issued free tickets with a one hour wait and we spent most of the time watching an info-video of the towers' construction. the second time through the short film provided us enough confidence that we now knew what there was to be known (ie. each tower has 20 escalators!). when our group was finally called, we were ushered into a cinema style room showing none other than the same info-video which we watched painstakingly once more for good measure, and then the start again, which provoked fits of laughter as we would rather have been in bed.
our fifteen minutes in the skybridge was barely worth the effort and the air conditioning had me in shivers so we took a nap in a shady park backing the towers.
doggedly, we made our way to a malaysian history museum containing some very interesting material and artifacts especially in the prehistoric section.
and then it was time to say goodbye to malaysia and on to thailand! krabi here we come.
Oct 13th. (friday 13th.. spooky)
our room in krabi is one of the nicest we've seen and at 350baht ($10CAD) it's a bargain too. a king bed, huge high speed fan, table and vanity, armoire, full western style bathroom. today we had the first real thai pad thai (phat thai) of the trip.
Oct 14th.
much deliberation. unsure about seasonal weather conditions, ie. end of monsoon weather.. we go ahead with a visit to the highly recommended beaches around krabi. it turns out to be a great idea.
south thailand, much like malaysia, has these rugged hills and mountains that shoot straight up hundreds of feet from level ground or ocean with sheer cliffs on all sides, trees growing on top and wherever else they can cling. our beach, hat ton sai is encased within a U shape of rock cliffs that face mostly south to the ocean, and the cliffs are such that the area is a rock climber's haven.
in awe of the scenery, we arrange accomodation and go seek out some beer. as we sip, we watch advanced climbers work their way up and across a popular inverted section of rock and their comrades cheer them on as they reach the highest and most difficult points. the sun begins to set and provides stunning views around the cliffs that i try to capture on camera. as night falls we notice a bit of rain falling, but it's not... looking up, the overhanging rocks more than 300ft high are dripping on us.
darkness sets in and some locals set off fireworks. working on our second chang beers, a loud swoosh above us materializes in the lights as a parachute. a guy has just base jumped at night from the same cliff dripping on our heads. everyone cheers and then yell out a countdown. sure enough, jumper no. 2 spirals in and lands on the beach to more applause.
already amazed, we decided to switch venues to eat. next stop, reggae bar on the beach. feeling adventurous, i order the waitor's suggestion of "spicy seafood" and a beer to wash it down with. the squid and shrimp and the spicy soup were alright. but i mistook green thai chillies as green beans. never has my face poured quite like that. after i recovered and finished we moved out onto loungers on the beach and slipped into a daze watching three fire dancers take turns with chains and a staff.
Oct 15th.
last night was a nightmare. danielle and i were tormented throughout by mosquitos and god knows what else. both our bodies are now covered in bites. first order of business is agreed to be a hostel change to one with mosquito nets.
we head out kayaking for the afternoon to other beaches and rock islands. as we approach the rock islands, some of them are so eroded and undercut by the water that they have the illusion of floating. there is a cave at one of the popular beaches with a large shrine with flowers, incense and large carvings. a plaque explains the symbolism of the cave as a holy womb and upon inspection.. all the carvings are phalluses offered to the cave for fertility.
as before the huge cliffs towering over us drip continuously and the stream of droplets can be seen against the crisp blue sky.
Oct 9th.
we spend the day mostly in transit and arrive at our destination just too late to catch a boat to our desired hostel. we are in a tiny town built on a river that is a border to malaysia's largest national park. dropped our bags in our empty 6 bed dorm room and went to sample the local cuisine at one of the floating restaurants on the river and watched the rush of the muslims breaking their fasts since dawn.
Oct 10th.
woken up by sun and jungle sounds. get ourselves together to take on a huge day that we have no plan for yet. i realize my mountain equip co-op shoes are at the hostel back in singapore. after a greasy breakfast we make an arduous but successful search for rental jungle boots and head straight for the famed canopy walk back in the jungle. afterward we added another km hike to our tally up to 3 and doubled the total heading back to where we started.
since there was still time when we returned, we decided to try to fit in a cave exploration recommended by our book. most people pay 45 ringgits to take a boat down the river to a path very near the cave and do a short hike before being guided swiftly through the cave by an experienced malaysian. not us. armed with weak flashlights, a caffiene bolstered will of steel, only eating a handful of tiny peanuts for lunch, we hiked another difficult 3km to the cave and attempted it amateur style.
BATS.
obviously, right? but can anyone say they genuinely enjoy flashing a light ahead to reveal hundreds of bats at every turn? the cave didn't involve any major drops or climbing, but was tricky, wet and slippery.
our minds clouded by exhaustion, we marched back to the village at the same high speed we entered despite the terrain and at least 4 angry-sounding wild boars along the jungle trail. the last place we wanted to be at dusk or worse, nightfall, was on that jungle trail.
near the river there is a small village that the path runs through. the shacks house families, are mostly in disrepair and feature new mini satellite dishes for their large screen tvs. there is a confusing zig-zag on the path through the village and the local children are willing to point the way through.
stinking of sweat and bat shit, we arrive back at our hostel for a well deserved and appreciated cold shower.
Oct 11th.
much to our surprise, we had no trouble exiting the jungle village of kuala tahan early in the morning. a 2 hour ferry ride with views of water buffalo and monkeys shuttled us out to a nearby town with buses to KL.
wasting no time, we caught the first bus to the malaysian capitol, arriving late in the steaming hot afternoon.
it was decided after we found accomodation that we should make a trip to gather provisions before dinner. returning with some fresh fruit, 1 small bottle of local rum and 1 small bottle of local whiskey, the night turned into a card game fiasco with the obvious end result; hangover.
Oct 12th.
our exit strategy well in hand, hangovers weighing us down, we try to make some use of our single day in kuala lumpur. first stop, petronas twin towers. and what an unlikely source of hilarity...
upon our arrival we are issued free tickets with a one hour wait and we spent most of the time watching an info-video of the towers' construction. the second time through the short film provided us enough confidence that we now knew what there was to be known (ie. each tower has 20 escalators!). when our group was finally called, we were ushered into a cinema style room showing none other than the same info-video which we watched painstakingly once more for good measure, and then the start again, which provoked fits of laughter as we would rather have been in bed.
our fifteen minutes in the skybridge was barely worth the effort and the air conditioning had me in shivers so we took a nap in a shady park backing the towers.
doggedly, we made our way to a malaysian history museum containing some very interesting material and artifacts especially in the prehistoric section.
and then it was time to say goodbye to malaysia and on to thailand! krabi here we come.
Oct 13th. (friday 13th.. spooky)
our room in krabi is one of the nicest we've seen and at 350baht ($10CAD) it's a bargain too. a king bed, huge high speed fan, table and vanity, armoire, full western style bathroom. today we had the first real thai pad thai (phat thai) of the trip.
Oct 14th.
much deliberation. unsure about seasonal weather conditions, ie. end of monsoon weather.. we go ahead with a visit to the highly recommended beaches around krabi. it turns out to be a great idea.
south thailand, much like malaysia, has these rugged hills and mountains that shoot straight up hundreds of feet from level ground or ocean with sheer cliffs on all sides, trees growing on top and wherever else they can cling. our beach, hat ton sai is encased within a U shape of rock cliffs that face mostly south to the ocean, and the cliffs are such that the area is a rock climber's haven.
in awe of the scenery, we arrange accomodation and go seek out some beer. as we sip, we watch advanced climbers work their way up and across a popular inverted section of rock and their comrades cheer them on as they reach the highest and most difficult points. the sun begins to set and provides stunning views around the cliffs that i try to capture on camera. as night falls we notice a bit of rain falling, but it's not... looking up, the overhanging rocks more than 300ft high are dripping on us.
darkness sets in and some locals set off fireworks. working on our second chang beers, a loud swoosh above us materializes in the lights as a parachute. a guy has just base jumped at night from the same cliff dripping on our heads. everyone cheers and then yell out a countdown. sure enough, jumper no. 2 spirals in and lands on the beach to more applause.
already amazed, we decided to switch venues to eat. next stop, reggae bar on the beach. feeling adventurous, i order the waitor's suggestion of "spicy seafood" and a beer to wash it down with. the squid and shrimp and the spicy soup were alright. but i mistook green thai chillies as green beans. never has my face poured quite like that. after i recovered and finished we moved out onto loungers on the beach and slipped into a daze watching three fire dancers take turns with chains and a staff.
Oct 15th.
last night was a nightmare. danielle and i were tormented throughout by mosquitos and god knows what else. both our bodies are now covered in bites. first order of business is agreed to be a hostel change to one with mosquito nets.
we head out kayaking for the afternoon to other beaches and rock islands. as we approach the rock islands, some of them are so eroded and undercut by the water that they have the illusion of floating. there is a cave at one of the popular beaches with a large shrine with flowers, incense and large carvings. a plaque explains the symbolism of the cave as a holy womb and upon inspection.. all the carvings are phalluses offered to the cave for fertility.
as before the huge cliffs towering over us drip continuously and the stream of droplets can be seen against the crisp blue sky.
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