Exploring Georgetown

Joel, Tomo, Lisa-Marie and I spent the day exploring the sights of Georgetown.  In the afternoon Lisa-Marie and I had planned to go to a nearby national park.  We agreed it was way to hot to venturing on some hike in the middle of no where.  I pointed out the high possibility of multiple mosquito bites.  That sealed the deal.


So, instead I wrote a bunch of postcards and enjoyed an early dinner with my friends.

Thai visa succcess

I was the first to drop my visa at the consulate that morning.  Not knowing what to do before I picked the visa up that afternoon I went strolling around the neighborhood.


I found two really nice temples and spent some time in each.  One temple was dedicated to Myanmar and the other to Thailand.


In the evening I met up with a Chinese guy, Joel, and a Japanese girl, Tomo.  We went for dinner at the Red Garden, famed for serving dishes from all over the (Asian) world.

To Georgetown

The hostel I checked into, Love Lane Inn, was charging 30 Ringgit to do the Thai visa application.  I thought bugger that, that's a lot of money for something I can do myself for free.  So off to the Consulate I went.  Lo and behold I could do the visa myself for free.  Except I had to come back the next morning to drop off my visa, which I could pick up that afternoon.


Walking back to the hostel I was surprised at how similar the old parts of Georgetown were to parts of Johannesburg.  You could have lifted it up and dumped it next to Houghton and no-one would see the difference:  wide tree lined streets, old colonial houses, posh schools with grand buildings.  I guess the biggest difference is that the properties didn't have 10 foot walls baring a view of the house.  The no wall thing made me fell that occupants have no privacy and any fool could have a look inside.

Highland walking

The Cameron Highlands are definitely a special place.  It's very scenic and life roles over at its own pace.  I was happy to be there to escape the heat of the low lying areas.


I spent the day hiking in the mountains (more like rolling hills) and enjoying being in a rain forest.

Exploring Ipoh and a haunted castle

The bus from Kota Bharu arrived on the outskirts of Ipoh at 5am.  This was a drag also.  I had to get a local bus to the city from which I could get a long distance bus to the Cameron Highlands.


But I decided to make the most it while in Ipoh.  I had read about an abandoned castle a little further out of Ipoh, Kellies Castle.  It once belonged to a wealth rubber baron.  Now it's incomplete and derelict due to his untimely death.  There have been rumors that it's haunted.  I didn't see or hear any ghosts.


Back in Ipoh I just missed the 11am bus by a minute.  The next bus was at about 2:30.  In hindsight, I'm glad I missed that bus.  It gave me a chance to explore the city of Ipoh.  There is a lot of grand colonial architecture in the city.

Back to boring town

After I left D'Lagoon Bay and the Perhentian Island I discovered I had to go back to Kota Bharu to get a connecting overnight bus to the Cameron Highlands.  That was a bit of a ball ache because I'd have to while-away a few hours in boring Kota Bharu.


What has to be done has to be done!

Happy diver

While on the islands I did three dives.  They were more fun than the dives at Ko Tao.  I think the main reasons were that I saw more things (a turtle and a big ray amongst others), the groups were smaller (max of 4 people), few groups at the dive sites (only on one dive were we not the only group) and the dives themselves were more challenging (currents, not being a student anymore).


I met a bunch of really cool people.  First was Deni Mayet.  A few years back he did a four years long around the world trip with his family.  His children were about 4 and 6 when they started.  All along the way they did home schooling so they didn't miss out when they got back to France.  The family has been back in France one year now.  We worked out that they were in Brazil at the same time that I was, just on opposite ends.  Deni told me a very fascinating story while on their travels.


Then there was Celion and Pauline, a French couple.  They were at the tail end of a very long trip. I enjoyed chatting with them over many meals at the resort restaurant.

To the islands...

I couldn't take much more time in a boring town so I went straight to the Perhentian Island for some r'n'r and more diving.  I have my OW1 now don't you know?


As I arrived at the resort I was staying at a huge legavaan (the Malaysians use the same word for monitor lizard.  I wonder, like boboutie, if it came to South Africa from Malaysia) appeared in a stream running through.  It was the biggest legavaan I'd ever seen.


I stayed at the best (and cheapest) place on the Perhentian islands, D'Lagoon Bay.

Boring town

I started the day ambling around town and found myself at the morning market.  After exploring for a short time I found my way upstairs to the food court.  As I ascended the stairs I was bombarded by the sweet smell of fresh curry being cooked.  I inhaled the welcome scents deep into my nostrils and tried to find the source.  I couldn't settle on one stall so I sat at a roti stand and ordered an egg roti with sweet black coffee.


After breakfast I did some more exploring through the market and further beyond.  I landed up in an area with a few museums.


One museum I went to was the Sultan's old palace.  It wasn't very posh for a Sultan's palace.  Quite small actually.  I saw two funny things in the palace.  One, the a palace guard was sitting at the head of a 20 seated dinner table.  He was a skinny guy reading a newspaper in his off white wife beater, uniformed shirt draped over the back of his chair.  Chuckling to myself I wondered what the Sultan would say if he saw that.


Two, wondering into the Mrs Sultan's bedroom another guard had just turned on a kettle placed on the bedside table of the royal bed.  What would she think?


The war museum was the most interesting for me.  I learned a lot about Japan's involvement during WW II in SE Asia.

Goodbye Thailand, Hello Malaysia

I made it an early start to the day because I was crossing over into Malaysia and I didn't want to get caught at the boarder and spend the night there.  Two nights before there were three bomb explosions.  The bus driver took us post one so we could see the devastation.  Much of the area had been cordoned off.  On the opposite side of the road we could see where the blast had shattered a large window of a hotel.


I got to Kota Bharu in mid-afternoon.  It took me a while to find Zeck's Guesthouse.  After checking in I explored the town a little.  I soon discovered there was much to discover.


I did notice a lot more sealed building for the swallow nest.  In a way I think its a good thing because its mostly the old building with character that are sealed.  By doing this they are preserved for stupid tourists like me to admire.  I'd rather that than have them demolished and replaced by garish new buildings.

Narathiwat Town Parade

I had planned on leaving Narathiwat today.  But as it turns out it was the town parade this morning.  And what a parade at that.  It seemed to go on forever with legions of kiddy brass bands, people in costume, soldiers and fairly ok floats.


It was interesting to note the number of Muslim ladies taking part.  They were by far the largest population group in the parade.


On the way back to the brothel, oops hotel, I bumped into Hans, a German who spent all of his adult years in America.  Another retire, at 71, he has lived in Narathiwat for many years.  He befriended a school teacher whom he convinced to retire early.  She now looks after him as a live in nurse/girlfriend.


On the way to tea with Hans he pointed out a number of buildings that were sealed off.  These are "factories" to produce swallow nests.  The nests are processed for the Chinese medicinal properties they contain.  When you look you'll notice a lot of the buildings are sealed for these factories.  Where do the people live?


Hans explained to me a lot of the violence that was happening in the area.  It's quite horrific and I can't say I could side with either side.


When I went to retire to bed upstairs I greeted the ladies.  They were playing a game on the floor which I'd heard them playing for a few nights.  I sat down to watch.  It turns out it was Bingo they were playing.  I was invited to play and then only realised it was for money.  Damnation!  I lost 3 games in a row and went to bed.

Rene's bike

Rene offered to lend me his bicycle for the day.  It was very kind of him.  I wasn't surprised when he pointed out the mamachari in the foyer was his.


I cycled out to a temple in the countryside, which was huge.  When I came back to town someone commented they were happy to see me alive.


I then cycled through town to another beach where I found a clothes market in full swing.


That evening I was planning my trip through Malaysia.  I wasn't sure how far south I'd go.  When I checked my email Kayo had left a message saying she is definitely going to be in Bangkok I decided not to go to far south.

Long walk in the heat

I woke up latish and went on the hunt for breakfast in the nearby market.  Chicken and rice isn't what I would class as breakfast but it what is usually eaten in Thailand.  I assume any meal can be eaten at any time of day here.


I decide to first go looking for postcards.  Two stationary shops and two fancy hotels later I couldn't find a single postcard.  Not many tourist come to Narathiwat so there isn't much of a demand for postcards.  The post office also yielded nothing.  My next best option was the tourist information outside of town.


I walked all the way there so I could see some of the life in Narathiwat on my way.  I soon discovered I was the only person walking any distance.  The only Thais doing any walking were either going to or from their scooters.


The friendly ladies at the information center gave me more postcards than I have addresses to write to.  Not a single postcard was themed around Narathiwat.  From the info center I walked to a beach that Rene had recommended to me.


Being a Friday it was a Muslim holiday and all the kids were on their break.  I had fun chatting to them while scouring the beach of crabs to take pictures of.


On my way back to the hotel I bumped into a really nice teacher from one of the local high schools.  We chatted for a while before I ambled over to the river to watch the rowers preparing for an up coming regatta.

Fair parting

This is the last day James and I spent together!  After a curt lunch in Hat-Yai we bade our fair wells where after James hastily jumped on a songthaew.  He was in a rush to check into a hostel and then make his way to the boarder as his visa was running out.  He was doing what is otherwise known as a "visa run".


I made my way further into the deep south to a city called Narathiwat.  Besides the terrorist activity in the area it is also a quaint town.  Not much to do in the city but it's filled with lovely and friendly people.


It was easy finding Narathiwat Hotel.  I simply asked for the cheapest hotel in town and was instantly directed here.  You can't go wrong at the price.  It's clean, presentable, has a nice atmosphere and comes with 15 prostitutes.  They mostly kept to themselves and hardly acknowledged my presence.  I guess they knew I wouldn't be a customer.  Although, when I smiled at them they did smile back.


Driving south earlier in the day I could feel the heavy military presence from the many road blocks we crossed and the ample military bases along the road.  At the hotel the clerk made sure I understood that I had to be back in the hotel before 9 pm.  The doors are locked and nobody is allowed in or out.


Rene is a retired ambulance driver.  Born in Vietnam to  French and Vietnamese parents he grew up in France from the age of 18.  This means he saw the worst of the Vietnam War in his childhood years.  Like retired expats in Thailand he lives off his pension from home.  He usually lives in the north of Thailand but spends a few months of the year in Narathiwat.  I have no idea why.  He became one of my sources of information about the area as he could speak excellent English.

Museum and mooching

Quite a lazy day.  We took in the museum and otherwise just mooched around town or in the internet cafe.  The museum was ok.  We learned a fair amount about the history of the area.

Wonderings

As James had yet more work to accomplish for his UCT application so I went on a walkabout through Songkhla city.  As small as it is there were some wonderful place to discover... never mind the searing heat.