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WE ARE BACK IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. This is where we began our Eurasia-African adventures back in January 2000, so it is only fitting that we end our 2 Go Global safari here in this magical region. Besides, we have to fly home from here anyways. Join me in my travelogue as we revisit Malaysia to explore the Cameron Highlands and other areas which we missed out on last January. Where will we go after Malaysia? Your guess is as good as mine. MALAYSIA INDONESIA: TRAVEL TO THAILAND: THAILAND: TRAVEL TO SINGAPORE ON ONTO USA: KUALA LUMPUR: IT IS GREAT TO BE BACK Thursday, December 7, 2000 I am very glad that we had the opportunity to come back to KL. We chose to return to the capital of Malaysia only because it was very cheap and easy to fly here from London. However, I am so glad that we did come back, because I can see the city in a whole new light. When we visited KL last January, I was not impressed. Yes, I loved our introduction to Malaysia and, yes, I loved the amazing festival of Thaipusam. However, I thought that KL itself was dirty and chaotic. Yes, much of KL is dirty and chaotic. However, after 15 months on the road, I have learned to appreciate that atmosphere and embrace it. It was wonderful to get into KL and find a decent and clean hotel for $12. We are staying at the YWCA. When we arrived, they were having their Christmas party. They invited us to join them for dinner. We did, and it was a delicious Chinese feast. Afterwards, we went out into Chinatown. It was bustling with markets, people, restaurants, people, people. Malaysia is made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians. There are is so much diversity in culture which makes for great food and architecture. I love KL for everything that it is and everything that it is not.
Still a transient even after all this time.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE AND TEA FOR 2 Saturday, December 9, 2000 We have always heard wonderful things about the Cameron Highlands, and now we believe it. We took a 5 hour bus ride from KL into the Highlands yesterday. Towards the middle of the ride, the views became more and more breathtaking. The countryside went from flat to hilly to mountainous. The vegetation became emerald green and the palm trees grew in number and were joined by more trees and mossy vines. We came to a point where we were driving up and around mountains making sharp turns at every corner. It was a great ride. We are staying in the small town of Tanah Rata. Today was a very full day. We woke up early and walked over to the Cameronian Holiday Inn where they offer free jungle walks. Thirty eager backpackers showed up. Our leader was George, a jovial Brit and ex-60s military man. He fought in Malaysia. He explained that he did not know a lot about the flora and fauna, because in the 60s, were not looking for trees and animals, they were looking for Indonesians. George took us up through the jungle through steep trails all the way up to the top of Gunung Brinchang mountain which stands at 2000 meters above sea level. It was not a jungle walk but a treacherous, yet rewarding rumble through the jungle. When we reached the top, we were rewarded by wonderful views and a 33 cent Coca Cola. Malaysia is so cheap! After our rumble through the jungle, a nice Chinese Malay man, Kim, offered to drive us down to the teal plantation. Four of us took him up on his offer. He was very kind. He stopped and let us take photos. He also stopped at one point and brought us down to where some people were picking tea and asked them if we could pick some tea too. And so for a few moments, I was a Malaysian tea picker. It was great. If we were not with Kim, I would never had the guts to ask one of them if I could pick some tea with their clippers. We were glad that we met Kim. He is only one example of the kindness that we have been shown by the Malay people. We had a wonderful time at the tea plantation, and then we made our way back to Tanah Rata. Before going back to our room for a shower, which we badly needed, we stopped for some satay, a Malaysian specialty. Yummmmm. After our shower and short rest, we went back out and had a pretty good Chinese dinner and then went out to Brinchang to see the Saturday night market. It was a real market. Only a few other tourists and lots of locals buying fruit, vegetables, flowers, clothes and pirated movies on CD-rom. An eventful day. Tomorrow we are setting ourselves up for more torture. We are going to join our friend, George, on another Rumble through the Jungle..
BUKIT LAWANG, INDONESIA: ORANG-UTANS IN THE RAINFOREST December 14, 2000 Here we are in Indonesia--country #40--believe it or not. We are very happy to be here. It is a beautiful country with so much culture. The people seem to be very friendly too. We arrived in Medan, Indonesia yesterday afternoon by ferry from Penang, Malaysia. We jumped onto the complimentary shuttle from the ferry docks, and we were approached by Ivan. Ivan befriended us and took care of us. Normally we try to ignore these offers for help, but he seemed nice enough and we wanted to get to Bukit Lawang that same night, so we let him guide us in the right direction. The mini-bus ride to Bukit Lawang was beautiful. We drove past small towns and through thick jungle. We arrived at around 7:30 pm. As soon as we got out of the mini-bus, we were approached by mobs of young Indonesian men telling us to stay in their guesthouse. We tried to ignore them, but that was of no use. So in the end, we followed two men to the guesthouse that we wanted to see anyways. We liked it, but we wanted to see more, we were able to lose them there and go on our own. We ultimately found the Wisma Bukit Lawang Cottages. This place is great! We have a huge room with tile floors, bed on a platform, bamboo furniture and a huge bathroom that is open air with a beautiful garden. guess how much....go ahead guess. It cost less than $4 usd. It is just a few meters above the river. There is also a nice dining room that overlooks the river. The town of Bukit Lawang itself is also very adorable. It is in the jungle and follows the path that winds around the river. You have to come here to see it for yourself. This morning we went to the Orang-Utan rehabilitation center to see the orang-utans come for their morning feeding. The rehabilitation center takes orphan orang-utans who have gotten lost or stolen from bad people, and rehabilitates them so that they can go out to the jungle and live on their own eventually. Visitors are allowed to stay at the center for only one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon for feeding time. The orang-utans did not come out at first. In fact, they did not come out until just before the hour had passed. The surprise made it all worth it. Three orang-utans came out and got some bananas and water from the young Indonesian men that work at the center. They were so beautiful. They look like old orange men. The fact that it took so long for them to come and that there were only three is that the orang-utans are learning to get their food for themselves. This is a very good thing. My experience of seeing three orang-utans is plenty. I feel very fortunate. Saturday, December 16, 2000 Went out into the primary rainforest today with our friend, Nasib. He knows so much about the flora and fauna of the Southeast Asian jungles and rainforests. We were fortunate enough to see five orang-utans today. One adult male, three adult females and one baby clinging to her mother. The adult male played in a tree very close by. He had a wonderful personality. These orang-utans were out in the rainforest in their natural habitat gathering fruits and leaves for themselves. It was a wonderful experience. After returning from our six hour trek through the rainforest, we jumped into the clean and fast moving river. It was refreshing and fun to be pulled down river with the currents. Once again, I feel very fortunate.
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