Conclusion

Number of days traveled: 23days
Total distance traveled by my bike, Honda NSR150 SP: 3784km
Number of photos taken by my camera, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3 6.0Megapixel: 3029
Places traveled: Malaysia(Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka), Thailand(Krabi, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Phang Nga)

This was an experimental and learning trip for me. To see how I can traveled, the stuff I like to see or do. It was also to get me out of my comfort zone, to meet and talk to strangers and make friends, to do things I wouldn't normally do, to experience things I won't normally dare. I met quite a number of interesting people, made a few friends, had a few close encounters and learnt alot more about myself. I won't say it was overall a fun trip as there were tough times as well as enjoyable moments. But I would definitely do this again, to other places. Where shall I explore next? Calling for traveling partner.

Home sweet home

Day 23 (06/12/2010):

This was the last day of my road trip. 5 more hours of riding back to Singapore. I stopped by Melaka for food and sight-seeing. I had durian chendol at 88 Jonker and chicken rice balls at Famosa Chicken Rice Ball at Jonker Street. What is special about the desserts at 88 Jonker is their special brown sweet sauce, nicely sweet. As for the chicken rice ball, it is pretty amazing how they can make normal rice stick together in a ball, they were definitely not glutinous rice. After the food and some sight-seeing, I headed back to Singapore. Yet again cold and wet.

[caption id="attachment_248" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Christ Church"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_249" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Fort Famosa"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_247" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="St Paul's Church"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_250" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Back in SG"][/caption]

Madworld

Day 22 (05/12/2010):

When I woke up in the morning, Elma and one of her son just came back her hometown. She brought back many of different types of fruits. Elma fried one of them, known as the Breadfruit. It was probably my 1st time eating it. It has a bit of the jackfruit taste and the texture of the sweet potato.

[caption id="attachment_234" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Fried Breadfruit with tea"][/caption]

After that, I went for another dosage of Krispy Kreme before heading to the Petronas Twin Towers. At the exhibition centre, there are 4 interesting brain teasers. I had to leave the exhibition centre with 1 unsolved.

[caption id="attachment_235" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Petronas Twin Towers"][/caption]

After walking around KLCC for awhile longer, I headed for Taman Bahagia in Petaling Jaya for the pork noodles Shuling recommended. Due to the roadblock at Jalan Parlimen, the road I always take towards Petaling Jaya, my direction got thrown off and had to went with the road signs instead. I somehow managed to reach Taman Bahagia after getting a better map at a petrol station, just to find the pork noodle stall was closed at 3pm. The time was 4pm then. However, I was informed by one of the shop assistant that there is related pork noodle stall owned the sister of the owner of the shop here in Taman Bahagia. The shop assistant couldn't tell me which road or which area the shop is neither could he tell me where it is on the map. All he told me was turn left after 2 traffic light, u-turn after another 2 overhead exit which I don't exit and turn left after the u-turn. I decided to go with the directions. Those directions were pretty exactly and I could reach the area with many shops. All I need to do now is to find the pork noodle shop. After wandering around the area a little bit, I managed to find the pork noodle shop, Ah Or Chu Yuk Fun. I learnt that Ah Or is the older brother of the 2 sisters.

[caption id="attachment_238" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Ah Or Chu Yuk Fun"][/caption]

The pork noodles looks pretty simple but I totally enjoyed it. It wasn't that it tasted extraordinary but just the overall consuming experience was just simply nice.

[caption id="attachment_239" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Ah Or pork noodle"][/caption]

Heading back to KL was much simpler. I quickly headed back to Elma's place for a change of clothes before going to the "Madworld" at DUMC, yet again in Petaling Jaya. Madworld is a joint evangelistic production between SIB KL and DUMC. A combination of dances and musical put together pretty nicely. It is about 2 man, one who have everything yet a broken marriage and a broken self, the other who lost everything and wander the streets bitter and aimlessly. IMO, the production was rather short and inconclusive but I still enjoyed the dance and music very much.

[caption id="attachment_240" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Madworld"][/caption]

After "Madworld", we headed for supper at Taman Megah. I had the most delicious Sarawak handmade noodle, one of the best handmade noodle I have eaten, and a very big honeydew juice, just simply satisfying. Also tried other food like the fried oyster and banana pancake, not as nice. My day ended with a smooth Kilkenny beer at a cafe with a live performance in KL.

Day out with Miranda

Day 21 (04/12/2010):

Miranda invited me to go cycling with her cell group in some park area in Shah Alam. It was a pretty good workout, been a long time since I cycled so many slopes.

[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Cycling in Shah Alam"][/caption]

After cycling, we headed for Klang to have Bah Kut Teh lunch. The Klang Bah Kut Teh, which the Malaysians are so proud of, is indeed delicious, definitely better than what we have in Singapore. It is very different from Bah Kut Teh in Singapore. It has less of the pepper taste and added mushrooms, pig intestines and vegetables with brown base soup instead. Pretty nice stuff.

[caption id="attachment_226" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Klang Bah Kut Teh"][/caption]

In the evening, I attended Marinda's church, SIB KL. I also witness the installation of Miranda as a member of SIB KL. Congratz Marinda.

[caption id="attachment_227" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="SIB KL"][/caption]

For dinner, we went to a restaurant named Asian Food House. They have Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean food. I had the Taiwanese pork ribs noodle and bubble tea recommended by Shuling. Pretty good.

On the way back to Elma's place, I picked up half a dozen of Krispy Kreme donuts. Yes lah. Finally, I had my awesomely delicious Krispy Kreme donuts. IMO, they beat all other donuts I have tried.

[caption id="attachment_228" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Krispy Kreme"][/caption]

Familiar Faces

Day 20 (03/12/2010):

Another day of traveling. I rode out of Pulau Pinang at noon. I managed to find my way to my couchsurfing host, Elma's place in Kuala Lumpur. Elma stays in a nice cosy terrace with her sons, daughter and 5 cats at the border of KL. The cats are really playful and cute. At times during the night, one would cuddle and lie next to me.

After settling into Elma's place, I went to Miranda's cell group meeting at another side of KL. After 20 days of traveling, they were the 1st familiar faces I saw, Miranda and Shuling. They were my care group mates back in Hope Brisbane when I was studying in Australia. It was really nice to see them again. It reminded me of the days in Brisbane which I still misses.

[caption id="attachment_216" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Miranda and I"][/caption]

Regular Day in Penang

Day 19 (02/12/2010):

A lot of things I wanted to do in Penang. I wanted to trek the route to the lighthouse in the Penang National Park. I wanted to sunbath in the Batu Ferringhi beach. I wanted to checkout the Kek Lok Si temple. I wanted to see the view on Penang Hill. I wanted to checkout the historical buildings in Georgetown. I wanted to go on the Penang Food Trail. A little too many things to do with 1 day in Penang.

I decided to take it easy today so I ended up only going to the Kek Lok Si temple and the Fort Cornwallis and its surroundings in Georgetown.

[caption id="attachment_187" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Kek Lok Si temple"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_204" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Entrance to Fort Cornwallis"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_205" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Sri Rambai Cannon in Fort Cornwallis"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_206" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Penang Town Hall"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_207" align="alignleft" width="614" caption="Penang City Hall"][/caption]

Missing

I realised that when I miss a place, it isn't about how great the place really is; not about the beautiful sceneries; not about the delicious food; not about the fun activities. It is really about the connections that were developed with the people in the place; about the interactions that were made with these people; about the friendships they share. That is really what making me miss Thailand already.

Riding in the Rain

Day 18 (01/12/2010):

I hate the rain, even more when I'm riding. It's wet, cold and painful. It blurs my vision, makes the roads slippery and makes my stuff wet. Just hateful eh. It started raining just half an hour after I left Krabi and didn't stop even after I left Thailand. I waited 2 hours for the rain to stop but decided I couldn't waste anymore time if I want to get pass the Wang Prachan checkpoint 6pm Thailand time as it will be closed by then. Wang Prachan checkpoint is between Satun, Thailand and Perlis, Malaysia and it only opens from 8am to 6pm. Why o why didn't I bring my raincoat. I got into my wet attire instead and hit the cold and wet road. Just before I reach the checkpoint, I broke my front brake handle. ZzZzZz. The day just keep getting worse. Riding with my front brake really forced me to fully utilize my engine brake and keep my distance from the vehicles in front if I do not want to skit-crash into them. Nevertheless, after riding for 10 hours and 8 of them in the rain, I finally reached my Penang couchsurfing host, Michel's place, tired and cold no longer wet 'cause dried by the riding wind but still in one piece. Thank God.


Wang Pra Chan checkpoint.

Last Night in Krabi

Day 17 (30/11/2010):

Today, my travelling target was only to reach Krabi from Phuket. I decided to visit Thai Mueng, Ton Prai Waterfall and Lampi Waterfall because they were recommended by many people.

The Thai Mueng Beach, just north of Phuket, was rated 5 stars by the Tourist Beach Index Assessment, highest it can go. The Beach Index Assessment is done by the Pollution Control Department in Thailand. Criteria includes environmental management, tourism management, beach nourishment (level of erosion or deposition), aquatic environmental quality. It is a nice and quiet beach. Just one other couple were there when I arrived. If you like a quiet time on the beach with your love ones, this might be a good choice.

Both the Ton Prai and Lampi waterfalls are pretty nice. For the Ton Prai waterfall, you will need to take a short hike from the entrance while the Lampi waterfall is just at the entrance. As both the waterfalls belong to the Khao Lampi Hat Thai Mueng National Park, I have to buy the 100bath ticket to enter. The ticket allows you to enter any areas that belong to the national park within the day.


Ton Prai Waterfall


Lampi Waterfall

That evening, I had dinner with Ire and Annkht at the Steak Ta-Tor.


Ire, Annkht and I

Bike Hunt

Day 16 (29/11/2010):

This is a motorcycle parking area for one of the shopping malls in Phuket, Central Festival. This is only one part of the motorcycle parking. There are probably 3 - 4 more similar parking areas. Try spotting my bike.

Wander

Day 16 (29/11/2010):

Today, I just spend my day wandering around Phuket on my bike.

Adventures @ Phang Nga

Day 15 (28/11/2010):

Today can be summarized with just 2 words: water-rafting and ATV. I did the 9km white water water-rafting route which comprises of Grade 1 to 4. It was fun but wasn't too exciting as the controlling of the raft are done by the 2 Thai guides.



The ATV was more fun. At the beginning, I couldn't control the ATV properly. But after seeing how the Russians in my group maneuvered their ATVs really inspired me and the fun began from there.

Diving Again

Day 14 (27/11/2010):

Yay, it's diving day again. This time I am diving near Racha Yai and Racha Noi with All 4 Diving, previously known as the Sea World Dive Team, onboard their Similan Queen. The joke is that the boat never been to the Similan Islands. Dive 1 at Marina Bay, Racha Noi; Dive 2 at Camera Bay, Racha Noi. Apparently the dive site was named Camera Bay because someone lost his/her camera there, probably one of the pioneer divers there. Last dive was at Bay #1, Racha Yai, which was pretty different because there was 2 wrecks at the dive site. We were able to swim through one of the boat wrecks.



It was quite an eventful day. Just after the 1st dive, as I descended from the upper deck to the lower deck, I slipped and fell, leaving a bruise from the last step of the stairs on my back and a dent on my camera. Amazingly, after everything I put my camera through during this day, drops, smashes, rain, sand, mud, wind, dust etc, it still works almost perfectly. Just that after this incident, the battery couldn't eject smoothly anymore but the rest of camera functions still pretty much work as the day I bought it.

After the 2nd dive, we caught a glimpse of something flowing far away out in the sea. When we gotten closer, it was a body. It was pretty much rotten already. The skin turned whitish-grey. The head was gone. The hands and feet were gone. The forearms rotten til the bones. The chest area already cave in. Not a pretty sight. The guys was pretty dead for a few days already, with accelerated decomposition from the heat and sea water.

After the 3rd dive, I managed to start a conversation with this amazing Thai girl. I learnt that she is a dive instructor and brought her friends from high school to discover scuba diving. 1st Thai dive instructor I met, so far all the dive instructors and divemasters I met in Thailand are either Europeans or Japanese. She did an exchange at University of Hawaii so her english was pretty good. It was really a pity that I'm leaving Phuket in a few days time and couldn't get to know her.

In the evening, I went into Phuket Town to find a restaurant named Phuket Phochana recommended by Annkht for tim sum. However, I learnt that it only opens from 6am to 2pm. Bummer. So I went to the night market instead.

Untainted

Day 13 (26/11/2010):

After checking in to my new accommodation, I rented a scooter for fun and for the day.



My 1st stop was the Phuket TAT.



The nice lady at the counter recommended me some places for food, beaches, sceneries and museums. She also told me in chinese which translates to: If you never been to Promthep Cape, you have never truly been to Phuket. Promthep Cape was recommended to be the best place in Phuket to enjoy the sunset. And that evening the sun set at 6.06pm. The time was 11:38am that left me about 6 and half hour to wander around.

I haven't ate breakfast yet so next stop had to be for food. The lady from TAT recommended me 2 places for food. One seemed to be a night market and the other a morning market so I just ate pad thai yet again at a random local restaurant. After that I went to the Phuket ThaiHua museum which shows the lives of the early chinese immigrant to Phuket. After that, Khao Rang which shows a view of the Phuket Town, Rawai beach, Karon View Point which shows a nice view of Kata and Karon beaches and Nai Harn beach. It was 5pm then and time to head for the Promthep Cape. The recommendations were right. It is truly stunning. This is probably the only thing left untainted by massive invasion of tourism into Phuket.

5:27pm: The evening sun casting its reflection onto the Andaman Sea.


5:45pm: My silhouette watching the sun disappearing behind the clouds.


6:02pm: The sun returned as a round ball of fire.


6.05pm: The sun disappearing over the horizon.


6:13pm: The afterglow.

To Phuket

Day 12 (25/11/2010):

I didn't do much today except traveling to Phuket. I got stopped by the rain as usual for a few hours.



It started drizzling again when I reached Patong Beach so I didn't waste a lot of effort to find accommodation. Just went to one which looked decent yet not too posh. Sino House Patong; 800baht a night; got pretty much everything; wifi, mini fridge, safe, aircon, tv. However, the wifi was pretty slow though.

I took a walk around Patong, at the same time looking for better accommodation and found the Power Inn; for just 600baht a night it got everything the Sino House have and better; plasma tv, internet using cable which turned out to be much faster. So yup, decided to shift there the next day.

Riding in Thailand

Just love riding in Thailand. Helmet is optional. Road directions are optional. Traffic lights are optional. Even age limit is optional. Nah, just kidding. The only thing that is legally optional which I learnt from Ire is helmet for pillion.

However, it is probably still not a good idea to ride illegally in Thailand especially if you don't know how to dodge the traffic police's road blocks. Just in Phuket, I was stopped 3 times by the traffic police to check my driving license and twice in Krabi. Probably due to too many tourists renting scooters and riding illegally without proper licenses.

Mud spring waterfall

Day 11 (24112010):

I got back to Krabi from Koh Phi Phi today and wanted to check out Saphan Yung hot spring waterfall. Just wanted to relax and enjoy the hot spring today. However, got caught by the rain which lasted for about 2 hours. When I reached the hot spring waterfall, there wasn't much of a hot spring, more of a mud spring waterfall. The pool wasn't hot and saturated with mud.



Haiz. I was so disappointed and headed back to Krabi. In the evening, I met up with Ire and Annkht again for dinner at the local night market. I had the damn nice Thai fried rice with everything (at least that's what they claim). Highly recommended by Paul.

Diving

Day 10 (23112010):

A regular diving day trip on Phi Phi starts at 8am at the dive shop in my case is Moskito Diving Center. Moskito Diving Center is the 1st dive shop on Phi Phi Island with an interesting slogan at the back of their T-shirts "When diving was dangerous and sex was safe" which is probably true at the time when the dive shop was 1st established back in 1987. For this trip, the boat we took was the Nautica, the nicest dive boat I ever dived from.




The 1st dive was at Bidah Nok. The visibility was not so good due to the full moon that just past. I saw the usual suspects; peacock mantis shrimp, giant moray eel, cornet fish, banner fish etc. 2nd dive was at Nalong. This time we saw multiply hawk bill turtles and yellow boxfishs. It sure good to be diving again. However, it seems to me that the coral reefs are dying. There seems to be more dead corals than live ones. I'm sure there were more colours to these reefs a couple of years ago. What could be the reasons to the dying corals? Global warming? Too many divers? Too many boats moving around them? Water pollution? Whatever the reasons are, it's just sad to see our once colourful underwater world turns dull.

The day ended at the Rolling Stones Bar where they housed the live rock band "Made in Thailand".

Koh Phi Phi

Day 9 (22112010):

I reluctantly left Krabi for Phi Phi Island in the morning as Ire and Annkht have been so hospitable to me but I knew I had to continue my journey. It was a beautiful sunny day when I reached on the beautiful Phi Phi island.


Phi Phi island's pier.

I started my time on Phi Phi island with an accommodation hunt. As it was already the peak season, looking for cheap and decent accommodation wasn't easy. After a long search, I managed to find a place which has wifi, personal bathroom, hot showers and aircon and ain't too expensive, 600baht a night. Surprisingly, this combination was pretty hard to find at this time on Phi Phi island.

After a short rest and a short stroll along the beach, I headed for the viewpoint on Phi Phi island. The hike up to the viewpoints wasn't as strenuous as the Wat Thum Suea but it was pretty challenging as well. There were 2 viewpoints. By the time I reached the 1st viewpoint, I was covered in sweat. When I reached the 2nd viewpoint, the sun was almost setting behind the Phi Phi island cliffs. It was one of the most beautiful sunset I ever seen.



After dinner, I met up with some couchsurfers who work in Moskito dive center and signed up for some diving the next day. YES! I am diving in Phi Phi. Woohoo! You are all welcomed to be jealous.

After signing up and fitting all gears, we went to a pub call Reggae Bar. The special thing about this pub is that there is a fighting ring in the centre of the pub and they showcase muay thai every night. For a free bucket, customers are also welcomed to pit their fighting skills against one another. Just be ready as your opponent will not be going soft on you.


Muay Thai.


Moskito Divers.

Loi Krathong

Day 8 (21112010):

Tonight, it will be my 1st time celebrating Loi Krathong. It is a festival celebrated on the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai calender. This year it falls on 21st Nov. Loi means float and Krathong is a vessel made from banana tree trunk which allows it to float, banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense sticks. The Thais float their Krathong into the river to give thanks to the river godess for giving life to them and their crops. Annkht is sweet enough to help me make a Krathong. Check out my beautiful personal Krathong courtesy of Annkht. This is like the most beautiful gift anyone handmade for me.



The evening was pouring yet it did not dampen our determination to float our Krathongs onto the Krabi river. After some efforts, we managed to light the candles on our Krathongs and sent them floating off into the Krabi river.


Ire and Annkht releasing their Krathong.


My Krathong on the Krabi river.

Lethal Lagoon

Day 8 (21112010):

If you think what I have done so far was dangerous, you haven't seen anything yet. This was probably the most dangerous day of my trip so far.

I started the day with a fairly safe ride to Ao Nang, strolled along the Ao Nang beach through the monkey trail to Phai Plong bay. The reason the trail is called monkey trail is because you have to share the trail with monkeys. The monkeys there ain't afraid of humans. They will walk pass you on that narrow trail if they have to and occasionally greet you.



After the stroll, I took the long-tailed boat to Railay beach. Only then, I learnt that long-tailed boat gets its name from the long propellor which seems like a tail behind the boat.



On the Walking Street on Railay, I finally get to eat the real Thai pancake I was recommended. I ended up eating that for both brunch and lunch.



On the other side of Railay, I found some people doing rock climbing which I was pretty interested in but decided I didn't have enough time for it.



I decided to take a hike on the trails to the viewpoint and lagoon instead. The start of the trails was pretty steep but still manageable as there were reachable steps with occasional need for hands. After awhile, it got steeper and hands were needed for most parts.



After some climb, there came a T-junction where left turn for the viewpoint and right turn for the lagoon. Fellow hikers along the way recommended I go viewpoint 1st as it is a easier hike so I did. I was able to see most of Railay from the viewpoint.



At the viewpoint, besides the trail I came from, there was another trail which leads to somewhere else. After advising some hikers that the lagoon is the same way we came from, I stupidly decided to go against my own advise and went on the other trail out of the viewpoint. After a few minutes on that trail, it became increasing weirdly challenging. I had to climb on all fours on the limestones. It wasn't really difficult to climb, just dangerous. At some points, slipping could mean dropping off the cliff onto the beach. What made it worse was that I was wearing slippers and have no more water.



It got even more dangerous when the trail got muddier and less limestones that I could grip on. The further I went, the more reluctant I was to turn back and the more determined I was to continue. However, at one point where I couldn't go any further because there wasn't anything to step or grip on and sliding off the mud could mean a long fall. At that time, it was already 40 mins since I left the viewpoint. I backtracked for awhile and then, went on another trail branching off. After 15 mins of climbing and trekking, I managed to reach back to the viewpoint. Such a relief, I though I was going to spend hours getting lost.

After returning back to the 1st T-junction, I decided I had spare time before I needed to return back to Krabi so I went on the trail towards the lagoon. I got really dirty and muddy at this point so I wasn't taking much photos. The trail towards the lagoon was on another level of difficulty and just as dangerous. It started off with slippery muddy slopes with only ropes and tree roots as support and after that, a muddy trail which I could only overcome barefooted.



Next, were 3 4-5metres vertical drops with a rope each and some places to grip or place your foot along the way. A loose grip is a fall onto the sharp limestones on the bottom of each vertical drops. Reluctantly yet determined to overcome my fear of heights. I, somehow, managed to use both the ropes and the uneven surface on the wall to aid my climb down.

The lagoon was indeed an amazing place. It is surrounded by high limestone walls and vegetation which explains the difficult climb to reach the place.



The climb back up was much faster and easier. A little rushing for the last ferry from Railay back to Ao Nang, I quickily made my way back. I only recommend this trail to the lagoon for those who can really hold their weight with their arms and grips. Definitely not a trail for children or elderly which the locals failed to display at the start of the trail.