First day in perth!

Today after checking out of my hostel I went into town and took a walking tour. 

The tour was really good, I met a few Brits and saw the sights lead by a retired lady called June. June was hilarious, intentionally and un-intentially.

Some of her top lines were:

"Our concert hall is one of the best in the world. It is well renound for its fantastic autistics. When P!nk recently performed she said the building had the best autistics in the world."

She also started to talk about chinease food and thanked a couple on the tour who said they were actually from Taiwan and she said "ah yes, tileanise. You do good food too."

I made a tit of myself halfway through the tour. I wanted a drink from the water fountain. I went over and half bent over pressing the button. The thick jet of water shot with enough power to fire 3 foot vertically. Hosing me down and soaking me through. I couldn't stop laughing either!

After seeing the city Toni, another Physio from England, went and took some silly pictures with the kangaroo statues.

After that we went to Hennerson island to hunt for some real Kangeroos! Toni waited in the shade while I went tramping through the bush. After about 45 minuets I found a pack of them. Very excitedly I made a Steve Irwin documentary. Unfortunately in my excitement I forgot to point the camera actually at the Kangeroos for the majority of the video.

After that wild excitement we got the bus up to Northbridge, the trendy part of town, obviously I fitted in there perfectly. We were both ravenous so got some food. Here's a tip for people who like food, go eat with someone who's gluten intolerant. You get to eat loads of their dinner!

After the excitement of the day I collected my bags and got onto the bus to my couch surfing host.

Couch surfing is basically a website that matches people who need a sofa to sleep on with people with sofa's who are happy to have house guests. I've never done it before so I was a little apprehensive. 

Within about 10 minuets though I knew I was onto a winner. There were four other couch surfers staying in tents in the garden and 6 other people who actually live in the house. 

Being here is like being in a massive family. Everyone is so nice, friendly and outgoing. There is always a party somewhere or about to spring up, Dave pulled and amp into the corridor this evening and put on some music. Within five minuets everyone was raving in the corridor! Then it went back to normal as quickly as it had started!

The atmosphere is fantastic and exactly what I needed, I'm so lucky and so happy I found this place. 

Even if I am currently sleeping on an old sofa in the front garden of a old house on a main road!

To a land down under!

After a solid 3 hour sleep on the floor of Singapore airport I checked in and got into, the rather plush, Singapore airport proper.

I watched a couple of movies in the cinema there and had a nice long calf massage!

I had my most fun flight so far. I met a really nice chap called KP. KP and his family where on their way to visit perth on holiday. KP wanted to take his kids to a farm just outside perth and to where he and their mother met at university. We had a really interesting chat about his work, engineering new methods to decrease waiting times at theme parks.

I also met Alyssia, and American girl who was traveling through meeting friends in Australia.

Before long I arrived in sunny, sunny perth. I grabbed some chicken and chips and made for a walk into town. I was soo tired I kept veering all over the pavement as I fell asleep while walking! Time for bed I think!

Straight through Singapore

On my last morning in Malaka I woke early and me and the girls from the dorm went on a walking tour of the cities colonial history.

The guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his job. He walked us all around the river area and up around the old Dutch, Portugese and English colonial buildings. It really was most interesting.

Straight after the tour I grabbed my bags and said goodbye to my new friends. I was nearly run over by the first bus who refused to stop to let me board so I had to wait 20 minuets for the next one. I eventually got on a bus to Singapore. The driver was a most perculiar specimin. He had more ear hair than I had ever seen before in my life. What's more it was very straight and shot straight out horizontally from each ear. Quite the compliment to his well oiled slick haircut.

I obviously had to deal with my sleeping companion you will remember from my last post. I also met Sim; a very pleasant chap from Singapore. We bonded over talking about football before he became very concerned about me traveling alone, having no Singapore dollars and nowhere booked to stay. Although I assured him I had been in this situation countless times before he did not relent. In the end I agreed to take two dollars for the bus and promised I would let him show me where the bus to the airport was. He recommended I stayed there as traveling out of little India -where I was planning to go- would be hellish in the morning.

We arrived in Singapore, Sim and his brother Stephen took me to the bus stop and I arrived at the airport a healthy 14hours early for my flight. 

After I checked in my bag I wandered around landside for a while. After a mcdonalds supper I found myself a secret little spot to sleep. I found an elevator that didn't just supply the first three passenger floors of the airport. This lift supplied the much quieter offices up on the fourth floor. So I set out on the tile floor. Nice and comfy with my flip flops for pillows and my new pirate eye mask on for a few hours of slumber.

Melaka the end of Malaysia

Just before I get cracking on this entry it is important to know that I am on the bus to Singapore with a young Indian lad sleeping on my right shoulder. What is good bus etiquette? Do I let him sleep or give him a shove?

I will ponder this as I write.

As I arrived at the Malaka bus depot I met a English couple from up north. We found the local bus to the city and found a hostel.

After we arrived and found a hostel I jumped on a bike and followed one of the hostel workers down to the coast for some kite running. I grabbed a kite, soared it once, in 2 minuets it plowed down into the earth. I tried once, twice three times more. All to similar levels of success. So I figured 'hey, leave this complicated stuff to proffesionals, proffesionals and small children. So I played ball with the Hostel workers until it got too dark to see. We then wandered back into town, picked a few others up and went out for dinner.

We went to little India and I had a very nice, but very spicy -by my standards- served up on a huge pineapple leaf.

The next day I had a lazy day. I wandered into the residential part of town. I found a market where I bought a delicious pancake. Filled with chopped nuts and chocolate. It was soo good but in all honesty it was so thick it resembled a Victoria sponge more than a pancake!

I also found a church singing gospel music so I went in there and had a chat with some people and wandered along the river. Stopping now and again to read. I was warned at one point to be careful as some people around may try to rob me. I would have taken the advise a little better if the small man telling me this didn't have a large shiney coin in his left ear.

That evening Rich, Bek and I bought a bottle of vodka for £4 and wandered through the night market. The night market was cool but full of stinky Dorian fruit goods. There is also a huge stage in the middle of a junction solely for Karioke!

The old timers were loving getting up there and howling some chinease songs. A couple of people even got the urge to get up there as backing dancers. Including one lady who clearly didn't have her dentures in, that didn't stop her grooving and twirling, oh no!

I decided to have a rest day on my last full day in Malica. On my travels I had seen a large gym very close to my hostel with some very funny exhibits outside. Right outside the gym door was a 20ft gold statue of an Asian bodybuilder who was crowned Mr Universe in 1954. There was another bust of this chap, equally gaudy flexing his muscles and a gold barbel on a squat rack with 513kg written on the side. After lifting this huge weight -to the shock and awe of two chinease tourists who had agreed to take my photo- I suspect it was closer to 15-20kgs. I hammed it up all the same to get a real hilarious reaction out of the lads who ohhed as I labourously dropped the bar back into its rack.

I then went into the gym and had a really good, hard, workout.

I then returned to the hostel to meet a few new room mates. Yazmine from Zurich and Lila and Leiva from Holland. Yazmine hadn't eaten so we went out for some food then a walk around the river bank and up the Main Street to the gym. Where I had told them about my Herculean efforts for the chinease spectators earlier.

Whilst we were posing for timed photos infront of the bust a little old man came out and greeted us. He asked us in a very soft voice if we liked the statue. We said we did very much. A big grin spread wide across his face nearly connecting his ears. He elaborated on this smile. The statue, was a statue of him, when he was 19!

Gan Boon Leong was the 1954 Mr Universe. At the grand age of 84 he had now hosted the Mr Universe contest from his gym three times, he had several honorary degrees and doctorates and has been issued the key to the city of Yangoon (Burma). Even last week he had just returned from Hungary for an important meeting.

He invited us enthusiastically into his office, below the gym. Here he showed us photos of the famous people he had met. Trophys he had awarded and certificates he had achieved.

This man was really inspiring. From a small town in South Malaysia, with only a lot of hard work and enthusiasm he had travelled the world, changed the lives of the people around him and gained international recognition. He now runs his gym not for profit making a net loss most months but refuses to increase the price as he wants to keep it a space everyone can enjoy and utilise as he once did.

P.s. The guys sleeping on me got off the bus after the third paragraph so no more awkward spooning!

Deep dark caves

Kontsi, Tyron and I went over to Batu caves today. We went on a tour of Dark Cave, surprisingly when we all turned out tourch's off, it was very dark. The cave supported a host of creepy crawleys and bats that are rarely found anywhere else. While the guide was telling us this Kontsi got shat on. It was very funny. Even more so as the poo was green.

We were so tired we fell asleep on the deserted train back. I was very shocked to wake up in a rammed carridge where I was lying down taking up three seats! Kontsi was sniggering at me while Tyron continued to try and dribble on the small Asian man next to him. We know how to make friends.

That evening, invigorated by our impromptu nap, Tyron and I went for a wander to Medaka square, an old cricket field during British colonial days that now leads up to a huge Malaysian flag. We got trapped here a while by a crazy flash storm. Each raindrop could have filled a bucket I swear!

It passed as quick as it had come on, so on returning to the hostel Jen and Rich joined us for some cards and a couple of tins.

A few days in the big city

The next day Tyron and I had the same thought. Let's get out of here! Only on further investigation to find everywhere else in our price range was of a similar standard.

So we had a wander through the Chinatown day market, where we found a butchers stall with tabby cats in cages next to a man chopping up raw meat. I'll let you put two and two together. We then wandered over to the mosque again to find it was open to tourists. Having never been in a mosque before we jumped at the chance. We had a great chat about religion with an old guy who was telling us about the Quran and way of life as a Muslim. Very enjoyable, even when he went on a mini rant about how the government make it so difficult to cut a mans hands off these days, for stealing. But on the whole the religion is about inclusion and brotherhood.

The best thing about the mosque however, was that we had to wear long purple hooded robes. Tyron and I obviously, very respectfully, acted out scenes from Star Wars pretending to be Jedi knights.

We popped back to the hostel to pick up Kontsi, who had not been feeling well. We climbed the KL tower to admire the view of the city. Whilst I was reading about the tower on the wall I was jumped on!

Rich and Jen, that I traveled with for a whole month in China were visiting the tower at the same time! What's more we were staying in the same hostel (although they had paid out for a private room). After a long catch up we agreed to meet up later for a drink.

The lads and I then left the tower to go to the patronus towers also known as the twin towers. Although they are two of the tallest buildings in the world, we lost them and a 20 minuet walk took us nearly two hours! How the frig did we loose them!

We had heard they were amazingly lit up at night so we went into the mall on the first four levels to get some food from the excellent food court, where they had stalls selling food from all over Asia. 

Kontsi came back from the toilet a little glum, he tried to tell us what was bothering him but Tyron and I were busy singing Rudolph the red nosed reindeer in rounds. 

What had happened to Kontsi, we eventually found out, that after he had lost a couple of pounds in the toilet he pressed the flush button, which was very strangely on the side of the toilet. A few seconds later he had shot across the room. We calmed him down, you can't press charges on a toilet for rape. Even if it does shoot a powerful jet of water straight up your arse hole when you weren't expecting it.

The night display was well worth the wait, the towers looked magnificent. There was also coloured jets of water, twirling and spraying in different angles and shapes to the sound of music. Kontsi had a little relapse but even he had to admit it was quite spectacular.

That evening Rich Jen and I had a couple of beers and a good old catch up.

Kuala Lumper (probably spelt wrong but that's the least of my worries)

I woke, jolted by a bump in the road and a turn of a corner. I was surrounded by skyscrapers, well I must be in KL!

I wiped the drool from my chin and chest, don't laugh, like I'm the only one who has woken up soaking wet! You know you've been there too!

Anyway, the bus came to a stop at the side of a road and the driver ushered me briskly off the bus and closed the doors behind me. "WAIT! You've still got my bloody bag on there!" The driver stopped the bus and rolling his eyes came and helped me get my bag from under the bus.

As he got back in the bus I called in "umm, where am I?" Brandishing the map in my guidebook. "Kuala Lumper." He called back slamming the doors and driving off. 

Cheers mate.

Anyway, the trusty compass saved the day again. My orienteering skills got me to my hostel. 

I checked in the same time as two German lads; Tyron and Konstantine and we went up to the dorm together.

Now bare in mind I paid two pounds a night for this hostel. It was like a military hospital. Grey walls, grey floor, one small window. There was a hot sticky atmosphere and bodies everywhere. The bodies as well were a who's who of weirdos. A guy who had been there a month rarely leaving the dorm because he 'loved the city' even though this was only his first stop on his trip. A gaunt looking Irish guy. A old English man with long grey dreds and a Asian dude who seemed to meditate all day.

Tyron, myself and Andrew (the guy who'd been there a month) went for a walk around the Chinatown market and over to the national mosque. The red hue to the sky made the mosque look quite cool.

We then returned to the Morg where I barely slept as I had a very creaky bunk and Andrew apparently likes to stay up all night.