Malaysia, Singapore and some of Indonesia
Posted by Karen on November 20th 2006
Written on the 2006 London to Sydney expedition
So far…
Into Malaysia where it was back to being amongst some of the politest people in the world again. Hospitality like we haven’t seen since our Iran days. Malaysia is a beautiful country, very green and clean and Kuala Lumpur turned out to be a fantastic city to party in!
Singapore is an experience! The cleanest place, surely, in the world, with huge fines for littering, jay walking etc. (just about anything that is not considered ‘proper and correct’). The city at night was one of the most attractive we have seen on this trip, it was quite expensive compared to what we’ve been use to. Definitely worth a visit though, the shopping alone was fantastic! (that might have been why we found it so expensive - it is ‘the’ place to shop)!
The parts of Indonesia we have experienced have been a bit of a mixture for all of us, Sumatra was back to basics and considered by many the highlight so far, complete with stunning scenery and very welcoming people.
Where as in Java and Bali, although very beautiful, we have all been constantly bombarded with ‘hawkers’ (locals selling any and everything from tee-shirts to tours’) every time we stepped out onto the streets. From what we are told, since the Bali bombings, tourism here has been almost non-existent by comparison to what it use to be, forcing the locals to be more aggressive in their selling techniques as the competition is fierce, and they are all desperate just to make ends meet. The flip side to this for us, means the beaches are almost deserted and very beautiful, and the cost of living cheap. The sunsets on these islands have been simply stunning, more so than anywhere else so far.
One thing alot of us have noticed, is that, as we have been subjected to some of the most incredible scenery that the world has to offer, we are finding it harder and harder to be ‘impressed’. Had we started off going this way, we would have been in awe of all the natural beauty in the landscape we are now in. This is something we have all realised and are working hard on trying to correct! All it takes is a reminder that we could be back at work (God Forbid)! to jolt us out of our spoiltness and make us appreciate how bloody lucky we all are. After all, the hardest decisions we have to make on a daily basis is whether to sunbathe on the beach or by the pool? Should we go diving today or will our sunburn be too uncomfortable in our wet suits? What restaurant to eat at and what cocktail to have…
The rest of Indonesia to go…
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