Well my last few posts have been a bit all over the place, but here we go… Here’s a few of the contrasts in Brunei – a shot of a delapadated house in Kampong Ayer in the centre of BSB, the girl who welcomed me to Brunei in perfect English, the river taxis, a shot of the mosque I never saw, and my boatman for 30 mins (pointing…”School, School, house, fishing, school…lots of schools in Brunei…ad infinitum).
Well, you just can’t escape Raleigh folk, but I guess now everyone can be called friends rather than referring to them as ‘Raleigh folk’ – the Raleigh bubble has burst just now, but we’re all spreading ourselves across Asia for the moment. Here’s me just after having my few welcoming drinks in KL with Mia, and waving her and Kevin off on the bus to Singapore, with some ex-participants – Mia’s blog post.
As the heading describes…
You see, flying sucks really. Yes it’s quick, but around here, the bus is often quicker. Airlines (and your back) just aren’t geared for having a multi sport holiday in tropical climates…you know, the ones that as soon as you move your little toe, you’ve lost 2 stone in sweat…and that’s without a backpack on. Air Asia is great, but 15kg? Are they taking the piss? When are airlines going to start flying with a ‘total weight’ allowance. I mean, medical conditions aside, there’s a lot heavier people getting on those flights that me…..
At the end of the day, the easiest way is to have a diving holiday, a climbing holiday, a real holiday, or a trekking holiday. Trying to mix and match them all in one, where the percentage of days spent doing each are so small, makes it hard to justify carrying the gear. That is, until I walk out some beach hut, and lift the mask and snorkel out my bag without having to try and hire one.
Rant over.
Well it’s my last night in KL, and I think I’ve done the city. I’ve spent too much replacing my camera, and a wee hard drive to replace the overweight DVD’s I’ve lugged around (how’s that for an original excuse to purchase a new toy!). This is way too tempting a place to wander around if you’re anything like me – loads of toys to buy, and I’m meant to be in backpackers mode!
Over the last few days I’ve wandered around Chinatown, been in the Malaysia Natural History Museum (hey it was free, and I was wandering past, but I guess I’ll never bea museum type person), Merdeka Square, went for a mini jungle walk in the city, went up KL tower, and wandered around a few malls. The other night I went to Luna Bar, which sits on the roof of the Pan Pacific building, on the 34th floor. It must be one of the best views (bar mountain ones) I’ve had when I’ve went for a piss….although I’m sure there must be some weirdo’s in the hundreds of floors in the surrounding buildings with binoculars. Initially you feel like you are going to splat some unfortunate sod walking along the street below you. Definitely one of the best views from a bar I’ve seen. Check out that link.
So has my rose tinted glasses been removed for KL, or are they still there? Well…at the end of the day it’s still a big city, but like London, don’t be tempted to jump on the metro, mono or bus all the time as everything is walkable. I ended up wandering around the ‘rainforest in the city’ by mistake today, but that’s what I like to do in cities – there’s a lot to see in the centre, but to be honest, I’m not and probably never will be too fussed about some historical building or museum. The one thing that is great about KL is the location – you can fly anywhere from here, or escape up the coast, or into the highlands from here. Admiteddly I’ve not done any of that yet, but I’m enjoying the time just vegging out and not rushing around – I kind of promised myself I wouldn’t do that.
Anyway, Tracy arrives first thing tomorrow, then Tuesday morning we head over to the Perhentian Islands which I’m really looking forward to. I have another box packed, ready to be shipped tomorrow and I’ve had to be harsh. I’m convinced there’s not 9kg in there though, but the camelbak, the strong headtorch, and several other things I’ve not used much. I wish I had a lighter harness with me though as it’ll hardly (but hopefully) be used. I’ve kept the helmet, harness, rock shoes, underwater flash (if I can get a new housing!), mask, snorkel, and I’ve got way too many, but necessary, chargers!
I better go and find out how my Canon S80 works – not exactly a dinky camera, but came highly reviewed both online and from a mate….not had the chance to upload any more pics though!
