So after another long journey we finally arrived to Taman Negara, which on the bus was one of the guys that me and Amy went diving with....random, so we were all chatting away and then got told off by this French girl who said we were making too much noise and it was appropriate to be talking on a bus??!!! so already me and Selina had made our first enemy! lol. We made a lunch stop half way which was a traditional Indian lunch where you eat with your fingers!!! on a banana leaf, messy business but was fun! after a lovely 4hr bus ride we then had a 3hr boat ride to get the the entrance of the park and where we were staying! It was a bit like a long tail boat but i always get a bit worried when they insist that you wear a life jacket! But the scenery was absolutely stunning! nothing i had ever seen before! When we arrived at our accomodation we had a traditional malay welcome, they sang us a song and played instruments whilst we walked to reception and then given a free drink, I felt like a celebrity, not a travelling gypsie, how i actually looked at this time! We had an 8 bed dorm to ourselves which was perfect!Throughout the trip all our meals were at a floating restaurant called 'mama chop', and can honestly say it was rubbish food.....plain noodles for breakfast, rice for lunch and dinner.....mmm after 3 days, this is definately not so appetising!
We went on a night safari on uor first night, which there was a thunder storm so the whole rainforest is lit by thunder! luckily no rain!altho i did have my rain mac on and trainers which was the first so far on this trip!me and Selina's torches were pretty rubbish but we did see some scorpions, huge ants, poisoinous caterpillars and some deer, nothing too exciting but was a good laugh.
The 2nd day we climbed 5k up a mountain, which doesnt sound too hard...right??? you try doing it in 35 degree heat and it was so steep we had to hold on to ropes to keep us up! so by the time i finally reached the top i think i had lost a stone in sweat, BUT the views were totally worth it, 360 degree view of the rainforest and you could see Gibbons flying through the trees, none of my photots truely capture this image!Unfortunatly i look a mess in the photos, but at least you can tell i climbed it hey! We then did a canopy walk through the jungle which was so good but not sure how safe, only one person allowed on at one time and one part was literately a ladder suspended on a net over the jungle but the views were good! In the afternoon we had a boat ride through the 7 rapids, we were totally head to toe drenched but was a good laugh, we were on our way to visit a tribe that live in the rainforest. Now this was a totally different way of life, they live and eat off the rainforest, there are 6 families tat live her in huts and shelters they have built themselves, the cheif taught us how they make fires and how they make and shoot the darts to kill their prey...the kids dont go to school and have to live on their own once they are 10 as they are classed as an adult, they all inter breed as well! you would see like 5 yr olds smoking because they think it is good for them as it keeps the bugs away....i suppose its one way to look at it??!! Anyway it was a really good insight into their lives, not sure if its me though lol! The one thing you notice when you are in the jungle is the noise, its like nothing you have heard before its soooo loud!all the bugs and insects singing in chorus! me and Selina were pretty tired after this day so we walked to a swimming hole and just chilled out which was absolutely beautiful!
And this was the last of Taman Negara as tomorrow we were off to the Perhtian islands :) cant wait! Taman Negara has been a definate highlight of my trip, its like nothing i had ever seen before and no picture can show this, a definate must do if you go to Malaysia...
About Me
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Kuala Lumpar...the start of the Malaysian adventure!
Hello! Havent updated this blog as much as I would have liked as over the last couple of weeks have been on the move quite a lot and not been able to easily access a computer! so I have a few entries to update, i keep a diary of notes so I dont forget to write anything down!...found it so helpful as you soon forget things!
Anyway, So I had a lovely 21hr journey to KL ahead of me, and being me only had 1 hr's sleep and was still slightly drunk! I should really learn not to drink on the night before I leave a place! But at least I slept well, i was travelling on a people carrier with 7 people and 7 backpacks all squashed on and we had to travel on this until we reached closer to the thai border! I met a girl called Gemma and Debbie who were cousins travelling together and they were both going to KL too so already I wasnt on my own. We eventually arrived at Hat Yai where we transferred to a bigger a/c coach...thank god! Was'nt able to get much sleep as we soon arrived at the thai border for immigration checks. Which, no-one tells you where to go or what to do so me and the other girls just wondered around and followed everyone else, got through that ok! phew! then back on the bus for like 5 min and then off again for malaysian immigration, this time had to take all of our cases off and walk through the border. Here they scan your luggage check passports etc. All a bit scary as you just done want to get pulled over, the Chinese girl in front of me got taken into a side room for questioning! but again i got through this all ok and now time for some sleep!
Arrived in KL at 5am, had luckily booked somewhere to stay in Chinatown, the other girls hadnt booked anywhere so were following me. The streets were full on homeless people laying on the floor which i didnt expect at all. We wondered around China town but as it was so early everything was closed, a group of men playing cards ended up giving us directions whilst trying to take photos of us. Im sure they thought we were hilarious - 3 white girls walking the streets of China town with back packs on and no idea where we were going! Got to Reggae bar where we were staying and luckily someone answered the door. They were so lovely, and made our beds up straight away so we had somewhere to sleep and a cuppa! The hostel was really clean and modern, free tea and coffee all day and free breakfast. I was put in the female dorm but when i woke up they moved me to the male dorm! As they said there was no room!! So after some sleep me and Gemma went for a walk and ventured on the train to the KLCC (where the twin towers are) - there is a shopping mall and a park which entertained us for a while and then we went to find the other KL tower, which we paid to go up (360 degree views of KL - definately worth it). KL is a lovely city with quite a lot of character, despite it having a large modern business destrict. The following day me and Gemma got free tickets to go up the skywalk of the twin towers, not quite as good as the other tower as its not as high and only allowed up there for 10 mins but there was a storm starting so we could see the lighting in the distance which was cool. My flip flops broke so ended up having to buy some new ones before we headed over to the bird and butterfly park. Really enjoyed this and totally had a snap happy afternoon with the butterflies :) but today was an unbearable heat!
In the evening I met up with Amy's Dad, Andy as he was in KL for business. It was so nice to see a friendly face and we had a good chat about the thailand adventure me and Amy had. My 3rd day in KL i had a realxing day of sleeping, watching films and shopping, some days you need to do not a lot! I still had no idea what i was doing after KL. On my last day I went to the Batu Caves which are on the outskirts of KL and most importantly finally sorted out my next plans!....
I met a German girl called Selina in the hostel and we decided to travel the next week together before she went to thailand and I went to Singapore. Bearing in mind we hadnt really ever spoke! But we booked a trip to Taman Negara which is a national rainforest/jungle and from there we were going to go to the Perhitian islands before going our separate ways.
KL as a city i really enjoyed, I think you only need a few days there and that is enough but China town is a must see while your there and has good shopping (esp of you are rich - lots of gucci, prada, louis vitton...unfortunately a little out of my price bracket).
Was really looking forward to Taman Negara, not sure what to expect but at least I would see a different aspect of malaysia! .........
Anyway, So I had a lovely 21hr journey to KL ahead of me, and being me only had 1 hr's sleep and was still slightly drunk! I should really learn not to drink on the night before I leave a place! But at least I slept well, i was travelling on a people carrier with 7 people and 7 backpacks all squashed on and we had to travel on this until we reached closer to the thai border! I met a girl called Gemma and Debbie who were cousins travelling together and they were both going to KL too so already I wasnt on my own. We eventually arrived at Hat Yai where we transferred to a bigger a/c coach...thank god! Was'nt able to get much sleep as we soon arrived at the thai border for immigration checks. Which, no-one tells you where to go or what to do so me and the other girls just wondered around and followed everyone else, got through that ok! phew! then back on the bus for like 5 min and then off again for malaysian immigration, this time had to take all of our cases off and walk through the border. Here they scan your luggage check passports etc. All a bit scary as you just done want to get pulled over, the Chinese girl in front of me got taken into a side room for questioning! but again i got through this all ok and now time for some sleep!
Arrived in KL at 5am, had luckily booked somewhere to stay in Chinatown, the other girls hadnt booked anywhere so were following me. The streets were full on homeless people laying on the floor which i didnt expect at all. We wondered around China town but as it was so early everything was closed, a group of men playing cards ended up giving us directions whilst trying to take photos of us. Im sure they thought we were hilarious - 3 white girls walking the streets of China town with back packs on and no idea where we were going! Got to Reggae bar where we were staying and luckily someone answered the door. They were so lovely, and made our beds up straight away so we had somewhere to sleep and a cuppa! The hostel was really clean and modern, free tea and coffee all day and free breakfast. I was put in the female dorm but when i woke up they moved me to the male dorm! As they said there was no room!! So after some sleep me and Gemma went for a walk and ventured on the train to the KLCC (where the twin towers are) - there is a shopping mall and a park which entertained us for a while and then we went to find the other KL tower, which we paid to go up (360 degree views of KL - definately worth it). KL is a lovely city with quite a lot of character, despite it having a large modern business destrict. The following day me and Gemma got free tickets to go up the skywalk of the twin towers, not quite as good as the other tower as its not as high and only allowed up there for 10 mins but there was a storm starting so we could see the lighting in the distance which was cool. My flip flops broke so ended up having to buy some new ones before we headed over to the bird and butterfly park. Really enjoyed this and totally had a snap happy afternoon with the butterflies :) but today was an unbearable heat!
In the evening I met up with Amy's Dad, Andy as he was in KL for business. It was so nice to see a friendly face and we had a good chat about the thailand adventure me and Amy had. My 3rd day in KL i had a realxing day of sleeping, watching films and shopping, some days you need to do not a lot! I still had no idea what i was doing after KL. On my last day I went to the Batu Caves which are on the outskirts of KL and most importantly finally sorted out my next plans!....
I met a German girl called Selina in the hostel and we decided to travel the next week together before she went to thailand and I went to Singapore. Bearing in mind we hadnt really ever spoke! But we booked a trip to Taman Negara which is a national rainforest/jungle and from there we were going to go to the Perhitian islands before going our separate ways.
KL as a city i really enjoyed, I think you only need a few days there and that is enough but China town is a must see while your there and has good shopping (esp of you are rich - lots of gucci, prada, louis vitton...unfortunately a little out of my price bracket).
Was really looking forward to Taman Negara, not sure what to expect but at least I would see a different aspect of malaysia! .........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)