HOOOOOMMMMMMMMMME!!!!

I just had the longest shortest day ever, but I'm finally home!

Flying into Edinburgh was spectacular. The sun was shining (honestly!)...I could see Kirkcaldy, Kinghorn, Burntisland, and the Forth Road Bridge really clearly - a nice welcome home. Walking into the airport in shorts & t-shirt was probably a bit ambitious, that really didn't last too long! It's so nice to be back in Scotland though, and lovely to catch up with family & friends again...just short of 3 years since I left, but home will always be home :)

It's nice to realise simple things I've subconsciously missed throughout Asia (or perhaps become used to not having!) - drinking a glass of tap water, walking on carpeted floors, and flushing a regular toilet instead of using the classic hose system. The price of everything seems outrageous (you mean I have to pay more than $1 for a drink??!) but I'm sure I'll get back to reality pretty soon.


I was really quite sad to say 'bye to my running trainers in Bangkok...it was a tough decision to leave them behind, but I think they've had a full life.

The whole trip has been amazing, and I'm definitely travel addicted - I'm already thinking about where the next adventure might be :)

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Thai Massage

It's been a tough decision to post this entry - should I really let people know that I'm now certified in Thai massage?!

It's been a seriously fun week - I've met some great people, learned loads, and got a new appreciation for Bangkok as it's much quieter and less humid than 3 months ago.





Watching and learning...practicing...messing about :)




Went out each night with Jonas (from Denmark), Christian (from Majorca) and Tee (Thai) who were all on the same course. Really nice folk, and a great atmosphere around our area. (The buckets can be a bit dangerous though :) )




My bargaining skills were put to full use...we had a great laugh with the Akha Hill tribe ladies, "good price for you my friend, i make discount!" The "croaking frogs" can be heard all night...




The view from Wat Po massage school, Temple of Dawn, and Khao San Rd by night...

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Melaka

A great wee place with loads of history, about 2 hours south of Kuala Lumpur. I spent the afternoon walking...EVERYWHERE!! Went through the Portugese Settlement, along the riverbank, through Dutch Square, and to all the historic sites. A'Famosa is a Portugese fortress built in 1512 to defend army attacks, and the Porta de Santiago was one of the four main gateways. There's a Dutch graveyard at the top, next to St. Paul's church.

Dropping down the other side of the hill is the The Stadhuys, a town hall built by the Dutch after they defeated the Portugese in 1641. It's in a beautiful area just opposite the river, with Christ Church beside it and surrounded by a garden & fountain area.



On the other side of the river there's several small side streets with a few 'bright' and interesting buildings - the Fruit & Orangutan houses, plus Discovery Cafe were just a couple I saw! Chinatown & Little India were much smaller than in KL, but not nearly as hectic so a lot easier to explore.

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Kuala Lumpur

On to Kuala Lumpur...unfortunately looks like there are lots of nice buildings and areas which have become masked by ugliness. Some of the architecture is fantastic, and the parks and gardens are beautiful, but that doesn't seem immediately obvious. High rise buildings, huge motorways and dirty streets are more noticeable. Merdeka Square was nice - old city hall and tudor style houses on either side, with an enormous flag pole at one end.




Lake Park Gardens was gorgeous - several trails went round a really well kept lake & garden area. We walked through a sculpture garden to the national monument and parliament house, then via the planetarium to the orchid garden (the aviary looked really good but it was kind of expensive). Getting out of the downtown was definitely worth it :) National mosque and Islamic Arts Museum were also impressive buildings.




In the evening we walked to the Petronas Twin Towers - great time of day to see them, they were pretty cool! Inside is a 6-story [extremely] western shopping mall, the air-conditioning was worth the trip. We watched a really late showing of "The Chronicles of Narnya" - really enjoyed it, although parts of it were pretty cheesy. The scenery, obviously, was amazing (set in NZ).




After meeting the agressive monkeys at Botanical Gardens in Penang, Mike & I thought we should learn some of the dominant traits.

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Malaysia

Leaving Tonsai: I took the boat to Ao Nang, local taxi to Krabi, and bus to Hatyai...transferred buses and crossed the border into Malaysia, making it to Penang that evening. After 5 attempts to find a guesthouse that wasn't full, I got a basic but clean room on the main strip, and in the morning moved my stuff into Stardust (still very basic, but really friendly and helpful owner).

Spent the morning exploring Penang - what really strikes as interesting is the total mix of cultures & religions. A buddhist temple, muslim mosque, and catholic church on the same street, and evidence of Chinese, Indian, Thai, Malaysian & Western influence everywhere.


Met up with a super nice American couple (Mike & Emily) and have spent the last couple of days exploring with them. Unfortunately the weather's been rubbish, but we rented bikes to follow the coastal road yesterday and had a really good laugh. The butterfly farm with plasmid garden (stick insects) was a total highlight, and our fairly unsuccessful game of "git" (Vietnamese game a bit like hacky-sack) in the botanical gardens was fun. Very aggressive monkeys though...




Trying to fix my bike (no such luck) was hilarious. The wire to the back brake snapped and flew off, which was a shame considering the front brakes were nonexistent. My running shoes are so versatile though, and they're already wrecked so they just became my brakes for the rest of the day.

We got the bus into the Cameron Highlands yesterday, but it poured with rain all afternoon. A bit disappointing, and no bikes to rent anywhere in town (very disappointing!) but we did a jungle trek today and visited a strawberry farm which was good fun. Found this restaurant in town with a really great name...

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Leaving Tonsai...

Higlights from the last couple of weeks are hard to pick...great company, beautiful surroundings (despite mixed weather) and fantastic climbing. Thaiwand Wall was probably my favourite climbing place (especially "Fit to Be Thaid", a 6A+ which hangs right out over the water), but the multipitch called "Humanality" which Dave lead us up was also superb. Vegetable Mussaman (curry) at the Banyan Tree was my favourite dish, and our dinner at Chai's (owner of "the breakfast place"!) was really special.





Learning Poi and getting loads of tips on lead-climbing (from an extremely patient and encouraging teacher - cheers Dave!) were excellent as well. I even attempted fire poi, although the soot on my trousers suggests I've still got a bit of practising to do - oops :)



Last day in Tonsai...Nicole, Dave & I tackled the steep & muddy path over to the lagoon in the morning, only to find it was low tide so didn't really resemble a lagoon. Still, I'm sure it would be beautiful when filled with water, and the track was pretty good fun. Everyone was leaving that day except Nicole & I, so we headed into Krabi to do some shopping. It poured with rain all afternoon but we still had a fun time, and shared a 'bucket' (unknown concoction) back on the beach at Tonsai.


Last few pics are of Nicole, Philip, & Glynn, plus the view from Humanality.

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