Pulau Pangkor

After a few days in the big city we were really looking forward to heading off to a beach again. We picked Pangkor since it was closest to KL and since Lonely Planet gave it such a great review. Boy did they miss the mark on that one! The beach closest to us was a building site and the place we stayed at a dump! After a short walk though we found a lovely beach that saved our day, and after a few days of eating mystery stew at the ¨resort¨ we managed to track down a Chinese restaurant with savage food! Even so we decided to leave a few days early and we're now back in the big smoke waiting for David's visa for Vietnam to come through. Also we get to spend the Malaysian national day in Kuala Lumpur, should be good!

Looks nice from the outside......

David with his new hat

We heart Kuala Lumpur

Leaving Tioman we were a bit skeptic as to what city life would be like. Our previous city experience in Malaysia left a lot to be desired. Glad to say we were proved wrong! Kuala Lumpur turned out to be a versatile city with a lot to offer. A compact city center made it easy to get around. A lot to see and do, but to us the highlight was the Petronas Towers, even more spectacular at night from the sky bar in the hotel opposite the towers.

View from the Sky bar.

View from the Towers.

But the best thing about Kuala Lumpur, and it has to be said, is the shopping! The centers are big, everywhere and have everything!

Last day on Tioman

Went snorkeling today. Cost us our whole budget for the day so had to eat noodles from the shop for dinner. Still had money for 4 cans of Chang though. Do we know how to prioritise or what?

It was a great trip though!

Pulau Tioman

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Tioman island is two and a half hours by ferry off the east coast of southern Malaysia.  Around the coast of the island are many beaches and even more resorts and restaurants. One of the best things about this place is that it's not as commercialised as many of the other islands in the region, so we are basically on our own here. The resort we are staying at is popular with people from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, but since it is not the weekend and in the middle of Ramadan, the resort is more or less empty. 

The island is basically a jungle on the interior with paradise style beaches all around. At first it reminded us of the island off of Lost. The mountain behind us was covered in mist when we arrived, it was almost as if the black smoke would come thundering over the peak at any second! The antenna on the beach next to us also added to the effect!

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 It is further away from the equator than Singapore, but nevertheless it feels even hotter! We spend our days lazing on the beach giving our pasty faces a lovely red glow! Some might say, lobster like. When we are not burning our skin we like to splash around in the south china sea, lovely stuff! Since it is in the tropics, it rains everyday, but it's never too long before the sun comes back out again. 

We are staying in a beach hut, its small and simple but it's ON the beach!!

 

Long walk to the beach

 

From Sinapore to something completly different.

We left Singapore on a rainy day and headed for the border.
The passport control leaving Singapore was in a building that reminded me of a futuristic fortrress.
It was quite an imposing sight, enough to make you feel nervous even though you hadn't done anything bad.
The Malaysian side, after crossing a long bridge, was a lot less scary, plus they didn't even check our bags.
    Next stop was Johor Bahru a dismal looking place. The buildings we passed, a good deal of which were abandoned and
falling down, gave the impression that paint was a valuable commodity. The bus station was awful, stray cats everywhere,
people falling over themselves trying to get us on to different busses. All this combined with the city's open sewers, which lined the streets, made us feel like we had come a million miles from Singapore. Acccording to the Lonlely Planet however, Johor Bahru is undergoing a massive
redevelopment project, with the aim being to create a city which rivals the grandour of Singapore.
    The hostel was nice and we had a room to ourselves which was a nice break from the dorms we had previously. The
next morning we had to go back to the bus station from hell, where I had a toilet experience that will stay with me for many moons to come.
From here we embarked on a journey on the death bus which was propelled along by a suicidal driver. After two and a half hours of near misses and tight corners we made it to the port  at Mersing.  
Still, all this this was endured as a necessary means to a beautiful end.
That end was Tioman. Oh, sweet Tioman!

Singapore

The start of our trip began in Singapore.

We arrived late in the evening, but thanks to the time difference our bodies
were only waking up. The first thing we noticed about singapore was that it was very clean, the airport was new looking and spotless.
The second, and most important, thing we noticed was the heat. The dead swealtering heat of a busy city
We spent all 3 nights in a hostel close to little India, which did not resemble the picture that we had of Singapore at all. The neighbourhood was noisy and bustling, but kinda cool! It took us a day or two to get over the jetlag and the heat, but after that we were ready to see the ¨real¨ Singapore.

Not a piece of chewing gum in sight!
Even though Singapore was a cool place the heat was a bit overwhelming so we decided it was time to head to a beach. Here are a few more photos of Singapore.

hindu temple

buddhist temple

'dress'ing up

chinatown