A summary of my travels between Nov-Dec 2018
I have now completed according to my calculations 8% of my travels. There are so many accomplished travel blogs by so many talented travellers covering destinations in great detail that made choosing the direction of my trip summaries very difficult.
After much thought, rather than detail the top things to do in each location, I will try and give you a taste or flavour of what I felt.
Singapore (Singapore)
It was my second time in Singapore after a 30 year gap. My first impression was that not much has changed apart from new buildings. The Marina Bay area with the new hotel and gardens were quite a sight.
The top two local pastimes of shopping and eating to this day still take centre stage. The shopping side of things I have little interest in as my backpack is small and therefore I only replace items as needed (a hat and new t-shirt so far).
With eating however, food courts and hawker centres which are full of food stalls are my hunting ground. I look for stalls where locals queue up as I have covered in a previous Facebook post.
When at Boat Quay, it became apparent that Singapore has a British colonial past which left a bad taste in my mouth. Colonization means death and pillaging of the native population. Having been to Raffles Hotel for afternoon tea 30 years ago I would not choose to go now that I understand it's connection with Stamford Raffles. I won't dignify by prefacing his name with his official title of "Sir" either.
I did however, get to briefly experience the expat lifestyle in that Marcia, a friend from London and her husband John, invited me to my first dragon boat training and race day which was tons of fun. There was also a social element afterwards meeting all those that had taken part.......this taught me to be open to the hospitality offered by others...... thanks Marcia.
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Staying in the Bukit Bintang trendy shopping and entertainment district of KL turned out to be a little disappointing. Yes, this area has the Petronas Towers
and numerous flashy shopping centres, but for me it lacked soul.....apart from the religion of consumerism!
Chinatown however, had small roads with less traffic and felt alive with real local life. Shops were independent and I felt I made a small contribution to a family's life with my purchases. From a photography point of view, there were many more opportunities for my style of photography.
I also spent time visiting new property developments which over here are called a "gallery" which had mock-ups of rooms. If you are in need of some TLC due to the heat, enter these showrooms to receive air conditioning, cold towels and water. Prices are approximately a third cheaper than London/Singapore and the amenities of some of the flashier developments put London to shame. For a monthly service charge of around £100 you get a 50m pool, jacuzzi, sauna, bbq terrace, party room, office, library, reading and gym areas plus parking.......seriously the list goes on and on.
Penang (Malaysia)
Another outpost of the British Empire with Victorian era architecture with a really nice feel. Hard to describe exactly what I liked,
Georgetown is compact enough to walk everywhere with some nice restaurants together with great street food which Penang is known for.
Watch out for the fake alcohol though. A friend I was with, asked to see the bottle when asking for a gin and tonic only to be shown a bottle of pure alcohol. This occured at three different bars, I was shocked. It was only when we went to a more upmarket bar that we were served genuine spirits from bottles with government taxation seals.
One night, I headed to an indoor market for photography purposes.....I was not disappointed. Rats the size of cats were everywhere, whole families of them......crazy. Unfortunately I don't believe I got any good photos as they were so quick!
Langkawi (Malaysia)
The hostel I stayed at was really friendly as the social area was very compact and therefore easy to strike up conversation with others. Consequently, I was invited to join a group on a scooter day trip.
Having not used one since my 20s, to say I was apprehensive was an understatement. Luckily there were no boy racers in the group, they were all female. We went to an uncrowded beach in the north and a waterfall which unfortunately was running a little dry.....I was still able to have a swim and feel a gentle cascade of water rather than a pounding......which was enjoyable.
The pounding would however hit us all on the journey back. A massive thunderstorm struck and we all got drenched to the skin. A hour in a service station allowed the storm to pass and our clothes and skin's to dry.
Langkawi has a long beach with a main road to match. My first hostel was on this main road but it didn't feel as though as I was on an island so I transferred to a second hostel located in a more natural setting with trees, grass, free roaming chicken's, hen's and the occasional monkey family. This was another super friendly hostel where one of the backpackers offered a free EDM Yoga lesson on the beach. I'm not a great fan of yoga, but felt pressured as everyone and I mean everyone, in the social area stood up, at which point I decided to join in too. To say I enjoyed the session is an understatement. Jihyeon Won from Bali, kept us all interested and motivated throughout the 1 hour class....then into the sea for a cool down..... brilliant and far from my previous experience of traditional yoga.
Koh Lipe (Thailand)
Such a cute small island with three beaches all a 10 minute walk from each other. If you're wondering which beach to go and view the sunset...... it's very easy. One is called sunset beach, the other sunrise......."simples"...as Aleksandr Orlov would say.
I saw a glimmer of hope against the damage that I as a tourist cause on islands where waste has to be taken away by boats. While having a sunset cocktail on the beach, I spotted a couple of girls with a large bin bag collecting rubbish that had washed up onto the beach. I quickly finished my cocktail and joined in, after 15 minutes, a retired French lady in her 80s, joined us too.
I have never witnessed a pure implementation of Gandhi's words "be the change". I asked the girls what were they going to do with the rubbish bag...... they hadn't figured that part out. It turned out, that was my role. I walked into a 5 star hotel and explained to the concierge what we had done, after some confusion, they happily disposed of the bag.
Koh Lanta (Thailand)
The speedboat journey to my next island of Koh Lanta was a wet experience as the heavens opened up. Although partially under cover, the speed of the boat and the cross winds made sure pretty much everyone got drenched. My next hostel hosted a bbq party which helped everyone meet fellow backpackers as an ice breaker. I love the random conversations that occur. A girl from Sweden was talking to her boyfriend about becoming a flight attendant. That naturally led me to interrupt and mention my history as one in my twenties. A barrage of questions came my way which I was more than happy to help with.
I didn't quite get the vibe on this island which had one very long main beach and a corresponding road of sorts with big gaps between shops and restaurants. I therefore reduced my intended length of stay by a couple of days......this is the flexibility of backpacking.
Krabi: Aolang (Thailand)
Krabi strangely wasn't on my radar but I'm glad I adjusted my plans to include it. Aolang is very touristy with a lovely curved bay with stunning cliffs as a backdrop. Being a big resort does however have it's advantages with a huge choice of restaurants, bars and shops.
Krabi: Railay (Thailand)
Railay beach was also recommended. A short £2.50 boat taxi ride to the next bay would be my home for a few days.
Phra Mang Beach was stunning, it catered to mountain climbers which was a fascinating sight watching tourists climb the cliff only to be shown by a local how it's done in a tenth of the time.....I should have signed up, maybe next time.
I headed out early one day for a swim out to the huge rock formation off the beach. It was pretty special being completely alone. I sat on some shallow rocks with my feet in the water where I saw at least 12 different types of fish and crabs around me, such a beautiful experience to see nature at its finest and a very serene moment.
My evenings would start with a few cocktails at my favourite bar on the main road down to the beach.The u shaped bar was condusive to talking with others with me meeting some lovely people.
The Mai Tai's were the best I have tasted to date......and I have had a few since, including many in posh bars and even 5 star hotels.....cudos to the barman.
Koh Phi Phi (Thailand)
I heard this was a party island, but that is just one aspect and only if you want to join in to the late night dancing on the beach. Being by yourself can be hard but I was fortunate to be offered a sip from a cocktail bucket which belonged to a couple from Brazil that I had met at the "u" shaped bar on Krabi. This led to me joining their large group of friends. It was then my turn to buy the bucket and share. Lots of dancing and drinking turned into a great night out.
Phuket: Phuket Town (Thailand)
I arrived to Phuket Town via ferry from Koh Phi Phi. To go to Patong Beach, the main party area is a long 1 hour slow bus ride away. For this reason I decided to spend 2 days in Phuket Town. I'm really glad I did. It's quite compact to walk everywhere and has a good range of food and café options including a liquid nitrogen ice cream shop which I had to try....not cheap and in my opinion, overrated. From a photography point of view, I think I may have gotten one worthy shot, where a combination of events aligned perfectly.
Phuket: Patong Beach (Thailand)
This main attraction is a tourist haven with everything available. A decent long beach with a few trendy beach clubs and a huge array of restaurants.
One of the main reasons people come here is for is the nightlife. A huge quantity of the racier type bars and nightclubs ensure the night can be a long one. Vodka & Red Bull buckets can be purchased for 150 Baht/£3.75 which are a steal. This allows you to spend at least part of your night people watching with an unfolding street scene.
Phuket: Karron & Kata Beach (Thailand)
For a quieter pace of life I headed to these two beaches to the south of Patong Beach. Karron caters to a more upmarket clientele, while Kata has a slightly more village feel. I stayed in Kata but it's easy to walk the full length of both beaches in two hours. One of my random encounters was when I placed my shoes on a dingy on the beach only to have the owners arrive literally a few seconds later. Gary & Noelle were very gracious and we naturally struck up a conversation. Gary had sold everything and purchased a sailboat and was also traveling around the world like myself......but for the next 30 years..........I had just been "Top Trumped"....by 28 years. We had a great conversation before they headed back to their boat.
The next night was random encounter number two. I went to eat in a street market but purchased a beer from outside as the previous night my beer was warm. As I sat down with my food, a semi-official looking person said I couldn't sit down because of my outside beer. I wasn't having any of his nonsense, so simply moved to another table out of sight. A little later a chap sat opposite me, we started talking and it turned out he was from a neighbouring town from where my family originate from in Italy. On the same table was a group from China. As the Italian guy left we also started talking with the night progressing to a bar. We brought in the small hours playing pool and beer ping pong........ what a great random evening all because of a beer!
Koh Samui (Thailand)
I would describe my first three days on this island as "Groundhog Days" with a constant barrage of rain and storms and flooding.....I was a prisoner of my hostel. Fortunately my plan prior to arrival was to catch up with paperwork that needed completing and website updates - the weather was not too important as I was planning on staying in anyway. However, simply not being able to leave the hostel due to flooding became a grind, especially as I like to go searching for street food. Fortunately the hostel was extremely friendly so met many people with the food being excellent too.
Moving north from just south of Lamai to Chawang and the weather magically improved. This location is also livelier with scores of restaurants and a modern shopping centre. I got talking with a fellow Brit from Brighton and we ended up hiring a car and seeing more of the island including beaches, a waterfall and the famous Fisherman's Village.
Another night and another cocktail bucket at a bar ensured another random encounter. A fantastic bunch of English Teachers who were really inspiring as they had chosen to leave the dismal pay in the teaching profession back in the UK. Instead, they were pursuing a more fruitful career abroad where they were paid well and respected by not only their employer, but importantly, their students......good for them.
I then moved to just outside Fisherman's Village in the north to a hostel constructed of shipping containers. The owners had clearly hired architects that had put a lot of thought into the design. I met up for drinks with one of the teachers from the previous night which was really nice.
Koh Pha Ngan (Thailand)
I stayed in the north near the pier for a few quiet days before heading south to The Full Moon Party. Not much going on in the north apart from a nice enough beach with some small beach bars and a very good open-air food court which had an amazing selection of food stalls to choose from.
My plan for the full moon party was to have a large carbohydrate meal which I had at an Italian restaurant and then a sleep between 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. which is when I headed down the beach.
There were thousands upon thousands of fellow revellers dancing to the techno and dance music from various sound stages.......brilliant.
People were mainly drinking buckets of cocktails which I had already learned is the backpacker way. It was a spectacular memorable evening with fire shows and people just having fun. I managed to stay awake until sunrise which was my plan, it turned out to be a great decision as sunrise was quite amazing.
Koh Tao (Thailand)
I was originally planning on taking The PADI Open Water Diving Course but ended up having a chilled time instead.......there is always time available on a long trip.......no need to stress.
At a Mexican restaurant I sat next to a Thai girl from Bangkok that wants to be a professional photographer. She had just graduated and was going to Melbourne for 2 years to do her PhD in photography. We were talking and I couldn't believe she hadn't heard of Henri Cartier Bresson or Fan Ho. These two gods from the photography world I regard as essential to understanding composition and timing. It just goes to show, what you learn at university is just academic.
I went to one of my favourite restaurant stall owned by a couple of women which was very popular with backpackers. Today however, there was clearly a problem in the kitchen, as the food took a very long time to come out. While waiting I got talking to the guy sat next to me. Harry, a carpenter from Wood Green in London, which coincidently is just a mile away from where I live. We ended up having a long chat as the problems in the kitchen continued - however, this no longer mattered as the conversation flowed easily......what a small world it is.
HOMEPAGE
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