My Trip

Since I’ve returned from my trip, I’ve been mulling over exactly how to share my experiences with everyone and exactly how to write it out. But then, I am not just doing this for you… but for myself as well. This was my first experience of backpacking alone through three Asian countries…. Needless to say, I won’t soon forget the experience - it's the details that I want to capture.

I did keep a little book of random scribblings, musings and sketches as I wandered around, some of which I have included here written in purple. For example, my first comment in my little journal was: The air over Japan is brown.

Since my itinerary and on-the-road posts are mostly chronological, I’ve decided not to give a play-by-play of each day. Think that would be excessive.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Japan Air Lines = bliss I love airplanes with birdseye cameras, and free beer, and ice cream and personal TVs. Remember landing in Beijing?

Let's talk about the transportation! Whoa! In Asia, compared to North America, they know how to travel! And nicely too. Right, so you arrive at a bus station in Malaysia and you have 12 people try to sell you a ticket by asking you "Where go?" followed by a list of city names. The whole thing here is that there are about a gazillion bus companies, all competing with each other. Advantage: You arrive at any bus station at any hour of the day, and you are pretty much guaranteed a ride anywhere you need to go. Of course, I also happened to be travelling on one of the busiest days of the year (August 17 - first day of school vacation): Kuala Terrengganu - All buses sold out because of school holiday....bus terminal full of buses, people, extra buses. Imagine trying to find your bus by the license plate number! Fortunately, looking lost helps.... Folks just help you when they know you need it.

And Japan is just something else. The train system (subway, local, inter-city, etc) just blew me away. I mean, it's a bit confusing and all, but once you get the hang of how to buy a ticket, where your train might be leaving from and where you want to go, you're laughing.

People

A brief listing of the people I met, how, where, when etc.

Alex: Bartender at rooftop bar in Kuala Lumpur (Backpackers Travellers Inn). Very nice, cute Malaysian guy - enjoys photography.

Arnold, Sarah and Maya: In the Kancil Guesthouse in Melaka, Malaysia. Maya is Arnold and Sarah's daughter - just a little one. And Sarah is pregnant again - and they were travelling through Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia!

A forest of palm trees - how is that possible?

Yahya: Met on the bus to Singapore - went for Indian. Walked through Raffles Hotel then saw fireworks. Waited for taxi FOREVER. He met up with Brent and Stephanie and I on Sentosa Island and again, the next day, on Orchard Road. Then, a few days later, I ran into him again on Pulau Kapas. He made a great snorkel partner (I can't see with my glasses off), keeping an eye out for jellyfish, sharks etc. Oh, and I got to practice my French a lot (he's French).

Theresa: Brent's friend. We stayed at her place in Singapore, and she showed us around town too. She also let us in on the secret and wonderful destination of Pulau Rawa. We got to hang out with her friends too, most notably at a (catered!) rooftop BBQ in downtown Singapore.

David: In Cherating, David, an aeronautics engineer from England, gave me a Reiki treatment, then told me all about his lifetime of living and working overseas. Supper with David. Can live anywhere.

Andrew, Joe, David, Jim, Ross, Mark, Alan, Mike: Group of guys whose boat was currently undergoing some maintenance in Cherating. These guys were from all different countries and are currently diving to check the state of underwater oil pipelines around Malaysia.

Met Barcelonan guy on bus. Can't remember name. Starts with A?

Jill: Irish girl who is currently teaching in England. Like me, she was wandering around Malaysia on her own. Met her on Pulau Kapas, where she'd unfortunately stepped on a sea urchin with one foot and a chunk of coral with the other!

Animals

I was really struck by the plethora of animals that I saw just about everywhere.... and not just at the zoo either!

Geckos: little brown lizards everywhere. It's okay... they eat bugs. I watched a gecko catch a dragonfly, using stealth and numerous attempts. Running in circles. Then, he had to keep his prey away from the others - it was too big to swallow.

Cats: Also omnipresent in Malaysia. Stray cats everywhere. In Cherating, they even outnumbered the people! And, some of the cats have very stubby or kinky tails. It's a genetic thing/

Monkeys: On the side of the road from Singapore to Pulau Rawa

Civet: In Cherating - I saw him crossing the electric lines over the street - saw his shadow.

Praying Mantis: In Pulau Rawa - very aggressive. Took my camera hostage.

Huge Lizard: On Sentosa Island, walked by while we were eating lunch.

Clown fish: Yeah - like Nemo! What a cool experience, except for being viciously attacked by one.

Huge swimming lizard: Walking on beach on Pulau Kapas with Yahya. He spotted something in the water. It was a huge lizard (like Godzilla, but bigger) who swam the other way when he saw us. So, we jumped in to try to catch up with him, which is how we ended up in the middle of five circling....

SHARKS: Very very very cool! Black-tipped reef sharks. How do you know a shark is coming? First, a pile of fish swim by, all in the same direction, then you see the shark coming after them. Oh my god! It was really amazing.

Too many meduses everywhere. Makes water dangerous. Yes, jellyfish are more dangerous than sharks.

Deer: In Nara, there are gangs (herds? flocks?) of deer that wander through the temple complex. If you are an idiot and buy deer cookies for them from the deer cookie selling kiosk, they will follow you and bite your bum. And it hurts!

Pink dolphins: Yes.... and got to swim with them too!

Sentosa Island Aquarium: Too many sea critters to mention. I was most impressed by the sea horses that look like sea weed. And the giant crabs. (Quote from Brent: "I'm naming that one 'Delicious'.")

Singapore Night Zoo: Imagine a zoo at night... very awesome. Anteaters are flammable.

Places I visited

Hmmm... you might be a bit confused as to where and when I was in various places. Let's just take a few minutes and clear it up.

Aug 5: Arrived Kuala Lumpur
Aug 6 - 8: Melaka, Malaysia (Bukit St Paul, Dutch Square, Ringo's Pub, Junkor Walk, Little India -- bought a saree, Museum of Enduring Beauty...)
Aug 8-11: Singapore (Raffles Hotel, Merlion waterfront, Sentosa Island, Orchard Road, Little India, CHIJMES, Night zoo, Arab Street...)
Aug 12-13: Pulau Rawa, Malaysia
Aug 13 -15: Cherating, Malaysia
Aug 15 - 17: Pulau Kapas, Malaysia (snorkelling with sharks)
Aug 17: Kuala Terengganu
Aug 18: Kuala Lumpur (Petronas Towers)
Aug 19: Osaka, Kyoto, Nara - Japan (Todaiji Temple - built in 8th Century, largest wooden structure in the world), Isetan station/mall (WOW), Namba Walk, Fushimi Inari shrine - where some scenes of "Memoirs of a Geisha" were filmed.)

Places I slept

• Craptastic hostel in Kuala Lumpur. Ugh.
  
• Awesome guesthouse in Melaka
• Theresa's hammock (attempt thwarted by night rain)
• Beach on Pulau Rawa (you know when you wake up and you don't know where you are? Yeah, try that on a beach.)
• Hammock on Pulau Rawa for an entire afternoon (there is possibly a picture of me too - it was a hard night, okay?)
• Luxury resort (for only 1 night) in Cherating
• A-frame on beach (Cherating and Pulau Kapas)
• Night bus from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Lumpur (surprisingly not very restful sleep!)
• Very nice Japanese hotel (don't want to see the credit card statement for THAT one - of course, it was great to walk into the hotel lobby looking like a dirty sweaty backpacker in 2-day old clothes, not having showered, carrying a plastic bag, and get a room.)

What stood out for me in Malaysia

The food, everyone spoke English, Islamic influence - Am only blonde in entire city. Feel I should cover arms. - How horrible Kuala Lumpur was. KL is confusing and frustrating. Get lost, but not in fun "Hey, I'm lost. What will I discover next?" way. Just lost. Different cultures meeting and mixing... You can walk past a Chinese temple, a mosque and a bible school on the same street.... East coast and west coast are very different.

What stood out for me in Singapore

How clean and well-organized the city seemed to be. Watching the butchers in the Indian market. Dodging cockroaches the size of kittens in Little India. Brent and Stephanie are way cool to travel with. Ex-pat lifestyle is better than Korea, but they work much harder too. Watching a Bollywood movie being filmed on Orchard Road. Prata = breakfast yum.

What stood out for me in Japan

Being able to visit three cities before 4 pm. The temples of Nara.... wow. Wish I'd had more time. Very clean. So much like Korea but What? Nobody is staring at me? The noise - you think the downtown street is noisy and lit up and then you walk through a Pachinko parlour and you think that your eardrums will explode. Getting around is so easy. Fushimi Inari Shrine: This place is holy to the point of being eerie. Can't eat here. Silence, but for the cicadas and prayer bells. Hello duck. Standing by pond. Colours of the forest are intense. Orange arches marching through are surreal.

What I've learned

• I can travel on my own to three different countries and not forget anything (except that I lost my Chinese "Rolex" watch).
• I'm never truly alone - and lonliness is too rare to bother about.
• It's possible to wander around looking like crap and still have fun - there's nothing wrong with wearing the same thing for 3 days.
• It's a big small world.
• As a Caucasian woman, travelling alone: I am a minority.
• Freedom is grand.
  

This summer, I have been fortunate enough to travel to China, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. And, I feel... yes... I know... this is just the beginning for me.