Pining for Penang?

The previous day had not gone to plan, but not a reason to stop plans....
When you have a loose itinerary, I think it makes sense to apply some structure to it as you go along, and then work within those constraints. I had to be in Melaka for Monday evening and so I had two days, and so, decisively, I knew there was to be no day trip style travel, and I would spend my time in Georgetown. Not sure this was necessarily the right thing with there being a lot on Penang but I'm not a huge fan of beaches and lazing around them.

The hostel was pleased to inform me that I was able to retain my room into the next day (and I then stayed an extra night on top of that too). I was pleased too. It was a nice hostel and, as long as you have reasonable expectations, I have no problem recommending it [link].

Penang Hill

I got the bus out to Penang Hill from near KOMTAR which is the central bus station and so must be some form of centre (though clearly not the tourist centre!). Penang reminded me rather a lot of Hong Kong in many ways and so Penang Hill seemed similar to The Peak. Situated a little out of Georgetown (the main city in Penang), it rises 800m above sea level and so, on a clear day, to a good view. It was a fairly clear day.

While I was up there initially, a chain of events started that ended up being annoying and where a cheetah was defeated by gravity^[1]... The hill funicular tram was very busy and it was a hot day but I eventually got on the car and took it up to the top. The view from the top is pretty special and it was a pleasant day so I was taking advantage of the view and dropped my lens cap - that'd need replacing later. I spent the rest of the time up there protecting my lens whilst walking around and taking photos. There were a few things up there including a temple, mosque, bizarre snake "zoo" and a cracking owl sanctuary (museum). I had some food up there, had a little wander and then queued to get down - it was a long queue.

Once down at the bottom, a looked around for the bus stop (construction at the bottom of the hill meant things were in different places and eventually walked back to where the bus was waiting. Almost empty, air conditioned and almost quiet - except for some Bengalis. My Bengali is not good enough to entirely tune out when I hear it so I was quite glad when a few stops on, it got a little busier to drown it out. As I got near the central bus stop, I suddenly remembered that I needed to get a lens cap and jumped off. As I later found out, I had left my mobile on the bus² but I was successful in purchasing a lens cap, and it even had a little bit of string to tie to the lens. Considering the loss, I'd say it was not a successful shopping trip...

I got back to the hostel, asked them what I should do about the phone and then went out to continue looking around the city. I walked along the coast a little where the buildings were beautiful and the traffic was too much to cross. It wasn't a big city but it was pleasantly diverting and fairly walkable although there were buses through the city centre. Most of the city centre of Georgetown is a world heritage zone and so is protected from development that would be out of character. There were a lot of people out and I found a nice outdoor food court near the esplanade but, as I was not hungry so I did not get food from there.

Near my hostel, there was a "nightspot" which was a large food court called Red Garden. There was a massive choice of food and drinks were served by waitresses (may have been waiters too, but probably not). It was quite a lot of fun and I did not feel out of place on my own so that was a bonus.



Kek Lok Si

The next day, the weather was significantly less pleasant. Luckily, the hostel was happy to lend me an umbrella for the day. I also wanted to organise my trip to Melaka which they also helped me a with a little - I had wanted to take the train but the train was slower than the bus and significantly less convenient seeing as I would have to get to Butterworth from Georgetown. I booked the coach for the next morning at the ever-present KOMTAR, inclusive of a pickup from the hotel, and then made my way to the Kek Lok Si temple [link] (also known as the Temple of Supreme Bliss).

By the time I got there, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was tipping it down - I was pretty glad to have an umbrella. It was still busy there though and so I had a wander around. To get to the temple, you had to make your way through an apparent warren of stalls although there was actually only one path. It did look mysterious shrouded in mist though, and I was glad for the variety to some degree. Though dry clothes would have been nice too.

Coming into the temple through the ramshackle entrance, there are hundreds of turtles inside a small pond which is both cruel (to the turtles) and interesting (to me) as there is a small covered bridge with seats over the pond. The temple itself is fantastically located and so has great views across the city as well as some interesting architecture itself. I was wet, but it was still fun.
I made my way back on the bus, a little more carefully than the day before, (although I now had a lot less to lose) but I did not really know where to take the bus to. As Penang reminded me so much of Hong Kong, as a homage, I decided to replicate the Star Ferry crossing by taking the ferry across the Straits of Malacca. The weather didn't really improve but it did mean some rather dramatic cloud formations which I hope I did justice to. The ferry is not as popular as it once was as there is now a massive Penang Bridge (though not that close) across of which you get a nice view on the crossing.
Butterworth had a train station and bus station and appeared to be not much else for the tourist so I returned to Georgetown almost straight away.

Once back, the weather improved a little so that I could have a spot of lunch in Little India (one of many Little Indias through the trip); see a pretty nice sunset near the water and enjoy a coffee from a roaster. And that also allowed me to see that most modern of sights - friends ignoring each other whilst being in close proximity of each other.
Just after getting my coffee, a man spoke to me in  a language I didn't understand, I explained I was not from India as he thought. He walked off, and then a few moments later he returned amd asked me for some money for his son's medicine. I was dubious.
He explained what he needed and that his son needed something for his asthma - an inhaler. An inhaler I happened to have on me... I explained that I had the inhaler but he was unsure of the difference between Ventolin and Salbutamol and would not believe it was the same thing. I offered to go to see his son but eventually just gave him the money. It may have been a scam but, frankly, it had been quite a lot of effort for what was a relatively small amount so I gave it. I'd have preferred to have helped. Maybe I did.

Off to Melaka.

Penang 2013 - click for photo album

<sup>1. A few years ago, I was in Tanzania (I don't regularly partake in exotic travel so indulge me here) on a safari. On the final day, we managed to track down and follow a cheetah which was obviously an amazing and exciting experience. Exciting enough for me to drop my lens cap. Just the lens cap, mind. I wanted it back, so I got it back but this was supposedly not what you are meant to do when a cheetah is on the prowl a few metres away. It was amazing though to see one close up on the prowl (link). The lens cap spring arm was actually broken so it doesn't stay on properly and can be knocked off fairly easily↩
2. I was not that bothered by the loss of the phone, it was irritating as it was convenient for checking email and as an alarm clock but it wasn't super expensive. It was not until later that it really annoyed me when I attempted to replace it - I had a small android phone with a keyboard and that is a style that basically no longer exists. It was not a great phone but, and I have tried writing some of these blogposts on my present phone, I really miss having a keyboard to flip out. The cult of touchscreen I guess is just another sign of me feeling a little marooned in the sea of modernity.↩</sup>

The romance of air travel

A genuinely rubbish day.

My travelling companion and I both went to Yogyakarta Airport (which is apparently the only Indonesian airport with a train connection - is this relevant?) - I was off to Penang and TC was off to Bali and our flights were scheduled at similar times.

Mine was delayed by about 90mins so I got to Jakarta airport a little later. My next flight was from a different terminal (AirAsia seem to have their own budget terminal) so I made my way on the lovely shuttle bus. I checked in for my next flight and then came outside the airport buildings to find transport. It was not clear at all and there was no apparent method other than a cab. I'm not a fan of cabs but it is fine for Jakarta...
Except, when I explained that I had a flight in 5/6 hours and wanted to go into town and back out again, they just laughed at me. An actual laughter. The thought of getting into town and back out again would take 5 hours, apparently, even if I did not get out.
The day was wasted. I took the shuttle bus around the terminals to have a look and get some food. I took the shuttle bus around to fill some time. I got into the departures area early and then waited. And waited. The announcement system was not clear at all and people were getting up and getting around but there was no display to say which flights were leaving. I went and asked repeatedly, but asking does not make things quicker. The flight to Penang was also delayed, of course.

A bit of music (my addiction at the time was for "Entertainment" by SEKAI NO OWARI) and reading (recentish issues of PRIVATE EYE and New Statesman did at least pass the time).
I got to Penang a little late and without funds, I had to find a cash machine... And then a cab. To be fair, they had a centralised booking system for taxis so I was being officially ripped off rather than scammed and got to my hostel (or Guest Inn) at about 2345. Joy.
Getting there a bit later than expected, what did the receptionist say?
He said that I had not checked in by the 6pm cutoff and so my room had been taken.


Actually, not taken that night (fortunately) but the next night...
And with that news, I went to bed.

The next day was Penang...

Solo Travel

This is a follow up from the journey to Surakarta [link]

A lot of my trips are about how to fit elements together and at this point, I knew I wanted to be in Jakarta (airport) on Friday evening for a flight to Penang. I did not think this would be a particularly tricky transition but due to some circumstances to do with traffic and that getting across Jakarta is apparently very time-consuming - a flight to Jakarta from Yogyakarta was decided upon. As it was taking off fairly early, we needed to return to Yogyakarta that night, so it was a short time in Surakarta before the train back to Yogyakarta. To be honest, Solo is not massive so it was alright.
I wanted to visit the Surakarta Kraton and an antique market [a misleading link imo].
The kraton was pretty interesting although smaller than the Yogyakarta equivalent - it had some nice "residential" elements to it with the pool and tour guide.
The antique market was nothing special with it being dark and rickety and not exactly busy. I'm also not sure there were any antiques there - just a load of old stuff like a car boot sale.
Getting back to Yogyakarta, a trip to the main eating area (on JL Malioboro) was less successful this time. I had some crab, which was provided as a crab - and nothing to get to the crab meat. It wasn't that nice, to be honest, and not worth the considerable effort. I did have some Chicken Satay afterwards though (from somewhere else). There was also a brilliant band playing in the street which I really enjoyed with their percussion - it reminded me a little of an analogue Squarepusher.

And with that, Indonesia had been visited. It wasn't meant to end this way, but it did...

NOTE: The photo album is for more than this day - for further posts related to the album, please click through

Yogyakarta mixed

Surakarta - click for photo album

On to Surakarta

This is a follow up from the temples near Yogyakarta [link]

Surakarta (or Solo) is almost like a sister city to Yogyakarta and not too far away - about an hour by train. The trains are not too frequent and so we planned carefully to make the one at about 2pm in order to have a little time in the morning to investigate the Kraton [link].
The palace is still "active" and the royal family do still live there, protected by a fairly aged army of waiting men.
The palace itself is quite impressive in its own way with a lot of character and shows taking place. There is an area where a traditional puppet show takes place as well as music and some form of chanting. We were provided with an English speaking guide and so were able to get an understanding of some of the workings.... and be guided to the shops that were apparently unique and especially selected by the Sultan. I was dubious.
After leaving, we were taken by another person on a "tour" of a batik workshop and an area where they make many puppets. They were undeniably very impressive although it was clearly a live catalogue for us to buy from rather than a "tour". To be fair, I did buy a little but it was pretty obvious.
A rush to the station via the hotel and one of the longest one way detours I have ever seen meant we just about scraped onto the train (I think the next one was about 3/4 hours later).

After checking in at the hotel, there was not a lot of time left so a quick trip out for some food was all. The food was very nice actually and was also accompanied by some live music. The area we ate in had a statue of Slamet Riyadi (who re-took the city from the Dutch) which, in all honesty, reminded me of the Michael Jackson statue at Craven Cottage although it looks nothing like it.
There was to be more Solo time the next day.



NOTE: The photo album is for more than this day - for further posts related to the album, please click through

Yogyakarta mixed

Surakarta - click for photo album

Temples of Yogyakarta

This is a follow up from a day in Yogyakarta [link]

The easiest, and most sensible way to try to fit in two world famous temple complexes was to hire a car (and driver) to take us to the two places, Borobudur first.
There is not a lot to add, as it is a sensational place but there is not much I can add from a personal point of view that has not been said before.

The temple is a massive step pyramid structure made from giant stone blocks, built on a hill, surrounded by valleys and hills. The levels rise up representing the stages of enlightenment. [link]

One thing I did notice was that it was a very popular location and with many domestic tourists. It was also the first time for a very long time indeed that I was approached by young children wanting to interview a foreigner in English. This used to happen quite regularly when I used to travel about in Japan but it has not happened for a while - though this may be because of my solo nature. It was fun, actually, to talk to the kids and they were quite excitable with their questions. I'm not one to answer simply all the time though - hope it did not cause too many problems.

Borobudur is not super close to the Prambanan complex so we had some lunch along the way - while there was a torrential downpour.
Again, it was a phenomenal place which felt a little more spaced out but the detail and thoughts were stunning. 

Situated in a picturesque plain dotted with archaeological monuments amongst rice paddies and villages, you will probably be impressed by the Hindu Prambanan temple complex before you even pull in to the park, the height and pointed architecture of the temples gives an impressive welcome. [link]

The rain continued here and some entrepreneurial souls decided it would be clever to sell umbrellas to the tourists that were not equipped. I thought it was a great idea - until it stopped raining and the umbrella would not close. I couldn't discard it as the rain was intermittent but it was pretty inconvenient when holding a camera too. Not a patch on the Singaporean umbrella traditions.

It was a pretty full day and so all i did in the evening was get an incredibly painful massage. I could barely walk afterwards - and I needed to walk on the next day on the way to Surakarta.

Yogyakarta, Temples of - click for photo album

Indonesia - into Jogja

On first glance, Indonesia is fairly different to Singapore and, I'll be honest, it doesn't get more similar with subsequent glances.

Initially, Yogyakarta was the destination, also confusingly known as Jogjakarta. Yogyakarta is equidistant^[1] between the famous Borobudur and Prambanan temple complexes which is the beauty of its location. Well, that explains a lot of the tourist attraction though.
I didn't know a great deal about Indonesia generally, or the city specifically. The larger, and better known, cities of Indonesia sit on the island of Java which is big and I hear most commonly associated with coffee^[2]. 

Landing
Upon landing at the airport, a taxi was the best way out of the airport and to the accommodation. Indonesia does not seem to have embraced the idea of mass transportation so it can be a little tricky to get around. Actually, it is not that tricky as you can use taxis to get around so it is, in many ways, easier than pubic transport. 

In general, the problem I have with taxi travel is the feeling of being removed from the environment. It feels a little like being in a hermetically sealed bubble and I felt very insulated as we moved.
It was a short flight, but still strangely tiring and so food was required for a little perkiness. As seems to be the way with travel in South East Asia, I was told that Indonesia was "all about the food" by a fellow traveller - a gentleman from Singapore on the flight. 

After food, the first destination from a short shortlist was the Affandi gallery [link]. I'd never heard of Affandi [link] but I found the gallery and art there to be very much to my tastes. Not being an expert, I can't say much about the technique but I liked the fact that it was expressionist and non-realist. I don't think the website does justice, at all, to the paintings as they were vibrant and striking but they look a little washed out online [link] but they were beautifully moving.

Jogjakarta is not that large and, at night, the central street becomes very busy as people go out to shop and eat - which are classic tourist activities. There was a particular dish that had been recommended and so a search was started. A short search. 

Nasi gudeg ("this sweet flavored dish Nasi Gudeg is made of young jack-fruit cooked with coconut milk and also Javanese palm sugar")was served in most places so we picked one and sat. A "place" was a mixture between a tent, a stall and a restaurant. Seating was on the floor with long tables and pretty casual. Or relaxed, whichever you prefer. I'm generally a fan of these types of places.

Apart from being tasty, food in Indonesia is pretty cheap and this filling meal was the equivalent of £2.

After eating, the area was still pretty bustling and there seemed to be plenty of people out. Plenty of other people.

I was fairly busy the next day so....

NOTE: The photo album is for more than this day - for further posts related to the album, please click through

Yogyakarta mixed - click for photo album

<sup>1. not really, but they are close.↩
2. While in Indonesia, I asked at each hotel reception where I could buy coffee beans from and they each looked at me like I was mental. They seemed genuinely confused at the concept and so I can only assume that it is all for export. The coffee I actually had in Indonesia was of the instant and not so good variety - though I have no doubt I could have searched some out. I was presented with some ground coffee though, but I did not find it.↩</sup>

Singapore

My trip to Singapore was planned with a friend in Malaysia. Ultimately, Singapore was merely a staging post on the way to more interesting places but each trip needs an introduction, and Singapore was it. I planned to spend two nights in Singapore and, as I had planned to spend a few days in Dubai on the way back, my flight with Emirates was routed via Dubai^[1] on the way out too on a lovely A380 - it was quieter and nicer than other planes I have been on.

A friend of mine from Singapore, who I met in 2006, had spent most of the time I had known her in extolling the virtues of Singapore. She told me how great it was to get around easily, how multicultural it was, that it had the best food and that it was just a very welcoming place. I had my misgivings at the time(s).

What did she say when I told her that I was going? Well, her face dropped a little and

"Saif, I don't think you're going to like it"

This was a comment that stayed with me throughout the trip - I don't know whether I wanted to prove her right, or to prove her wrong, but it stayed with me.

The first thing that caught my eye upon landing in Singapore was the carpet (see footnote^[1] about Dubai for further details). In all fairness it was different to the identikit flooring that you get at most airports and had a design that dated it very well.

Plenty of people had told me about Singapore and so I felt I had to fill my time up and so, other than my travelling companion (henceforth labelled as TC), I had also organised some other meetups with friends (and, yeah, I am now comfortable with that designation) that happened to be there temporarily.

When I got out of the airport, I got the train towards the hotel and soaked in the atmosphere... And possibly my own sweat. Maybe some other people's too. Hot amd humid was what I expected, got and humid was what I got. After noticing how wedded people, women especially, were to their phones I got to the hotel, dropped my bags off, said a quick hello to friend and departed for rendezvous 1 with a school friend (henceforth, rz1). I was late to arrive, which is pretty uncommon, and we met by Marina Bay Sands which is a new part of the city. In my defence, I was in a new part of the world and had just been flying for about 15 hours so I didn't feel too bad. Too bad about it, obviously I felt bad - "I had just been flying for about 15 hours".

Gardens By The Bay
I found it a little confusing which was not helped by the fact that the station was in a part that was "awaiting development". After a lot of faff and walking through a little music festival, we eventually met up. And in the absence of other things to do, walked around a little in the Gardens by the Bay and chatted.

Joined by a friend a little later, we decided to eat on Arab Street so we cabbed it there. I'm not a huge fan of cabs but, even with a fairly extensive metro system, it was still easier and quicker.

I didn't know a great deal about Singapore but had been told that I should go to Raffles to go to the Long Bar - where the Singapore Sling had been invented. I'll be honest, I don't know where any other cocktail has been invented and I think most places would not be that well-known for inventing a cocktail. I'm genuinely not sure whether it is good or slightly pathetic to be in the situation where the most famous thing is that a cocktail was  invented there. The Raffles hotel (and now, complex) was quite nice in its own, not quite faded, colonial grandeur. The bar, however, was rubbish. The name, in particular, seemed a bit inappropriate as it was a pretty small place. We (minus rz1) sat, ate some monkey nuts [link] and then left to find a better place - a rooftop one. We failed but we did find a pleasant enough ground floor one. It was quite late, but still teeming with people and, judging by the clothes, quite a few football fans amongst them. This was the night of the Champions League final (with two teams from the same country) after all and the time difference meant it would be rather late at night. How wonderfully circular, ten years on.

Shopped and Dropped
The next day started with a passable breakfast and then bus to Orchard Rd. Orchard Road is famous for shopping and, when in Singapore...

I was not too interested in actual shopping but thought a look around would be fine and fun. And these cathedrals to the gods of shopping had a number of devotees, a significant number. As I walked around as a tourist, I noticed a lot of people taking photos - very much in the modern style, selfies aplenty and even the non-selfies were with a similar aesthetic. Modernity has passed me by in so many ways - but I was the one with photographic equipment. The trip, in general, made me think about the nature of tourism quite a lot and it was not right of me to begrudge them that little happiness (and not so little in many cases). Well, not until they asked me to move out of the way as I walked - moved so they could get clear photos of themselves posing in front of department stores. At this point I begrudged them, I begrudged them hard.

Upon meeting rendezvous 2 (henceforth rz2), the heavens opened and the rain was insanity in water form. It did lead to my second favourite moment in Singapore as some shop clerks stood under the roof to offer umbrellas to people walking the 5m to the next roof. Beautifully simple, but we used it to get to lunch - a colourful selection of dim sum.

And then I was left in the company of a friend of a friend. I'm socially awkward so this was pretty tar out of my comfort zone. Or was it? Do we open up or close down with not-quite strangers?

Anyway, rain closed down options but as rz2 was a local of sorts, she knew we could head to the covered, and new, Gardens by the Bay. Again.

Inside, the gardens also contained two conservatories which I went through. They were both very popular and for good reason - interesting and enjoyable although I can't say I'm the biggest fan of flowers... It was enjoyable though. I always find myself comparing places to other places (though I don't do this for people - this was the actual conversation we had when there) and the Gardens By The Bay, whilst larger and less busy did remind me of the Olympic Park in Stratford. I do not think that this is a tangible connection though. From there, a quick trip for some sunset shots from a bar called KuDeTa which was on the advice of rz2. Good advice - it was almost as if she was an experienced guide of some kind.

Singapore is all about food, I'd been told by more than one person. Food and shopping. Food, and shopping.

The one I'd been told most about was "chicken rice" which was as simple as the name suggests - though that seems to be because the "Hainanese" part is always left out. As a result, rz2 had looked up some places (well, "consulted") so I knew I had to go somewhere else for the recommendation. As it happened, as I started to make my way, I found out that I'd be dining alone. Fortunately, rz2 took pity on me and thus I did not dine alone (not that I would have minded, as such) and we made our way. And as luck would have it, this independently sourced recommendation was quite close to the hotel.
It was on the way there that the umbrella incident was overtaken as my favourite thing in Singapore:

This video instilling fear and distrust of anyone acting differently seemed so appropriate in this place.
I did not find chicken rice made me reappraise the whole concept of flavour, but it was quite nice, though not the kind of thing I'd rave about. Obviously, I have since been told that I did not have the right kind, but this was a well received restaurant so I might just say I am not a huge fan.

And with that, Singapore became but a memory, to be dredged up when necessary - quite regularly over the trip as a reference point...


First, to Indonesia.

Singapore 2013 - click for photo album

^{1. A quick stopover in Dubai was not particularly noteworthy but I was struck by the scale and design of the airport which I think was exemplified by the paving of the clearly expensive marble (or marble style flooring). It was dark and as we moved along the travelator I noticed the floor almost strobing with the movement and wondered what it was. It was an interesting effect and seemed to show the concentric rings of light moving with waves across each other. It was eye-catching and I wondered how it was done and then I realised that it was just a result of the light bouncing off slabs that were not aligned - and none were properly aligned. I toyed with the idea that it was a deliberate, and subtle effect but it was so out of kilter with the rest of the airport's supposed design that I thought that it must be accidental.↩}