Sneaky City Stopovers.
Trip Start
Mar 05, 2011
1
29
42
Trip End
Dec 10, 2012
Where I stayed
The Little Red Dot Hostel
Singapore, Singapore
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday was horrendous as predicted. It started off all to plan though. 6am having managed to shower and successfully plant ourselves at the bus stop, our pick up from Ko Phangan arrived and we departed. Milne slept and Price was half conscious, it was a bus to a pier, a boat to Don Sak and another bus to Surrathani and then it all went wrong! Yes we will happily admit we were tired and hungover but the upcoming drama was not our fault! Showed our ticket and told to wait for 10 minutes till the next bus. Half an hour later we went to check (not uncommon for buses to run on a rather casual timetable) told to wait another 10 minutes. And then a little man pop by, picks us up in his taxi and takes us to his bosses office, here we are told we have missed our bus! Hum. She tells us the next available bus leaving is Tuesday but we have a flight on Monday. So we asked to look at flights…of course no internet available. In the end we got fleeced and paid a silly amount of money to get a private car to the boarder. One BIG scam. Anyway we arrived in Penang, Malaysia at 10pm with just enough time for us to watch some awful karaoke and have our first taste of some very yummy Malay cuisine. Next bus, and another night of no sleep we finally arrived in KL at 5am, it had been a long and emotional 24 hours!
No check in at Suzies guesthouse until 1pm so we showered and researched for the day ahead, but all we really ever wanted was a bed. We somehow made it to 9am and left to try and make a day of it. The weather was not on our side, so having arrived in the city centre by underground our day of sightseeing turned into a morning in the mall. But what a mall it was, (KLCC Mall) M&S Christmas displays, Harrods, Topshop and Candylicious, we were soon back in better spirits. The rain broke for a wee while and we took our photo opportunity to snap the famous Petronas Towers, job done! Came back to Suzies, and then explored Chinatown and the central market, mixing up the cultures and some good smells. Dinner was a local affair in the markets and then we attempted to go to the Botanical Gardens, but unfortunately there was a highway in the way and we had aching legs. Time for bed, it is safe to say it was a very early night!
Good nights sleep and by 10am we were boarded onto our rather fancy bus to Singapore. 5 hour journey and a hassle free border crossing, we arrived at The Little Red Dot by 3pm. Magic. Went to the Lavender food market for dinner and ate many unidentified objects, but it all was tasty and cheap. The rain was following us and so we ended up in another mall! Moseyed around and then called it a day, hoping the sun would be shining for another day in a city tomorrow.
Monday, we were up, packed and out by 10am. Hello Singapore Flyer, once the biggest observation wheel in the world, now 2nd to Beijing. We saw all the sights; the marina, F1 track and some very funky architecture. Singapore's a very cool and clean city. We decided to skip the underground and explore by foot, next on the list was Raffles Hotel, our budget didn’t quite stretch to getting THE drink, Singapore Sling so we just plodded around. We then, still on foot, went to Little India, a great Indian community. Here we went as predicted for a curry, oh my was it good, curry pick and mix on a tray. We left satisfied, and using our inbuilt compass somehow managed to find our way back. Slight panic over the complete lack of flight documentation, we left for the airport at 3.30pm. Metroed to the Changi Airport, panic station when Milne found herself on a train and the doors had closed on Price the slow walker. Luckily Milne’s bag was also trapped in the doors, so they reopened and Price sneaked on! Panic over. Checked in, spent our last Dollars on shakes and a trashy magazine, through security and boarded the plane as planned. Of course it was thunder and lightning, much to Price’s dismay but she had bear and Milne to hold her hand and 2.5hours later we were in BALI! We taxied to Keke Homestay in Senur and we in bed snoozing by midnight.
Tuesday both happily slept in without the disturbance of an alarm, before wondering down to the beach to check it out. Not a picture perfect beach but very chilled out and relaxing, we more than happy to lay down our sarongs and catch a few very HOT Bali rays. Our first Indonesian dining experience was very fine, so much flavor and a nice change from the last few months. Quizzes in bed and another early night, detox all going to plan!
Wednesday was spent doing pretty much the same, good to get some reading time in. Slight planning issues as to what we want to do over the next 3 weeks but we think we shall head to Kuta tomorrow so you’ll hear from us next then.
Peace and Love xxxxxxxxxxxxx
