SE Asia is a destination that's high on my list for three reasons. One, it’s easy to get to from India. Two, it requires a lot of on road travel, which is possible only while I'm still young! Last and the most important - its a great destination for a foodie like me. Now that I'm into business,I knew I can't cover SE Asia at one stretch. So I decided to split it.
Day 0: Dinesh and I decided to go on a trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand only a week ago. So we got our passports with visas stamped only on the day of our departure. We also got hold of a few singapore dollars and ringgits. Hindsight: I should have just taken USD and converted it to the local currencies. My backpack (+ stuff I was wearing) consisted of the following: 2 jeans, 1 shorts, 1 swim shorts, 3 t-shirts, 1 shirt, 2 briefs, 1 towel, 1 cap, 1 pair shoes, 1 pair slippers, 2 socks, 1 point-and-shoot cam, 1 smart phone, blinders n ear plugs, chargers and toiletries. Hindsight: 1 less jeans, avoid a shirt unless needed, 1-2 more t-shirts.
Day 1 (6/10/12 - Saturday): Landed in S’pore Changi airport around 7AM. Went to the tourism desk, got a map of S'pore and few travel tips from the chick at the desk. Took a train to Chinatown and had our breakfast there. It was so-so. But I was pissed they charged 50 cents each for the wet napkins! After walking around a bit, we headed to the hostel - River City Inn. The hostel was very close to the Clark Quay MRT station. We were asked to wait until 2PM to check-in. So rather than waste time, we went to Little India. Felt like stepping into a busy street in Chennai. We walked around the entire area and finally arrived at Mustafa Shopping Center. This place was so huge. I believe they carry practically everything and anything that can be sold at a shop. Grabbed lunch ($6 PP) at a random place. The food was OK. Went back to the hostel, checked-in, took a nap, called DD and decided to meet her at the Merlion. The Merlion was only about 20 minutes of riverside walk from the hostel. Ever since I saw my chitapa’s pics near the Merlion over 15 years ago, I’ve wanted to visit it. Here I was, standing near it. DD joined shortly after we were done clicking pictures of the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands building. We walked all the way to Lau Pa Sat (the largest and most popular hawkers centre, very close to the business district Raffles Quay) for dinner. Tried a variety of local favorites. Then went to the mall by the Harbour Front MRT station. Ate coconut puttus at a chinese stall. Went back to the hostel and rested for a while. Then around mid-night, decided to check out the bars in around the hostel. There were a variety of bars - so our bar hopping proved very entertaining.
Day 2: Woke up late. Went to Jurong bird park. We had a great time checking out a variety of birds and also interacting with them!! I believe this is the world’s largest bird park. Loved feeding the birds and penguins. Highly recommended. Went to Arab street and smoked hookah. Dinner at ‘Lau Pa Sat’ hawker center. Hit the bars again at night. ‘Gangnam Style’ played at almost all bars we stepped in - everyone there loved it, and so did I!
Day 3: Did some planning for the Malaysia trip. Booked ‘Firefly Airline’ flight tickets from Johor Bahru to Kota Bahru (RM 215). Breakfast at ‘Market Street Food Center’ hawker center. Went to Gardens by the Bay. The ‘Flower Dome’ was disappointing because there wasn’t much flowers, except the ones I usually see in India. The ‘Cloud Forest’ was interesting, unique layout. In the evening, went to the top of Marina Bay Sands Building. The view of Singapore skyline was decent. (not as impressive as NYC or Chicago!). Went back to Little India for our last and final dinner in S’pore. This was the first time we ate at a proper sit-in restaurant (Banana Leaf). The food was very good. Wished we could spend another day in S'pore. But we had to move on.
Day 4: Woke up around 5:30AM and took the first MRT train to Kranji station. From there, took a bus to cross the border and then a taxi to get to the Johor Bahru airport. After reaching Kota Bahru, took a taxi to the jetty at Kuala Besut and then a express boat to Perhentian Islands. Checked-in at New Cocohut Chalet resort (RM 130 per night per room). Relaxed by the beach for the rest of the evening.
Day 5: Hired a local boat driver named Wan and went on a snorkelling trip. First spot was a small island. Saw some beautiful fishes and jelly fishes. Then went to spot on the island we were staying. I believe it was in front of the Perhentian resort. Snorkeled along with sea turtles. The best was when the turtle came upto the surface right in front on me. I was only about 10cms away from the turtle. Great feeling. Snorkeled at a few more spots before heading back to the resort. The cost of the trip was RM 80 PP. Walked around the island in the evening and hung around the beach until dawn. Ate grilled snapper for dinner at the resort. We had all our meals at the resort while we were on the island.
Day 6: In the morning, booked tickets for mini-van to Penang at ‘Ayumi House’ - a convenience store/travel agency run by a helpful woman. Then we joined Wan for another snorkelling trip. In the first spot, we saw a few colorful corals. Then we went to the turtle spot again. Then we went to the next spot where we snorkeled along with hundreds of colorful fishes. Wan had brought bread along with him to feed the fishes. He threw bread crumbs all around us and we could feel the fishes biting us. Finally, we went to a spot where we saw a couple of big sharks. It was very thrilling. We were tired by the end of the trip. So we rested for a while by the beach. Suddenly I noticed a tattoo on a lady who passed by. The tattoo was an outline of the world map. I felt an instant connection to the tattoo. For long I’ve wanted to get a tattoo, but wanted a design that I could relate to, a tattoo that says something about me. The moment I saw it, I knew that this was going to be my first one. A tattoo of the world. So I walked upto the lady and took a few pictures of the tattoo. Now the next big decision is to finalize on a good spot on my dark skinned hairy body for the beautiful tattoo. Later in the afternoon, we went fishing. This was my first fishing experience. I was a total failure. No big catches for the day. Caught only a few small ones. I thought to myself that rather than using a fishing rod, if I had used a towel or lungi, I would have caught more fishes!
Day 7: Took a boat to Kuala Besut and caught the minivan to take us to Penang. Since this was end of season, we were the only 2 passengers on board! Penang is very very popular for great food. Reached Georgetown, Penang after a 6 hour road trip. Checked in at the Red Inn hostel. The hostel was very close to Little India. Since we were hungry, we headed out to the most popular hawker centre in the island - Gurney Drive Hawker Centre. Only about half the stalls were open. But we still helped ourselves to some delicious asian food. Then checked-out a few bars in the area, had a beer and then went to bed.
Day 8: Since we were in the land of great food, we decided to forego the free breakfast and eat at some local stalls. As we walked along Little India, we noticed a couple of crowded food stalls. We ordered egg parota and appam. We were really surprised by the taste of the parota. So we ordered another one. But the one we found most delicious was the tuna samosa sold at a nearby stall. We liked it so much that we packed a couple to snack on later. Then we caught bus 101 to the butterfly farm. Since we arrived around lunch, we had to wait almost 45 minutes for a tour of the farm. But the 30-45 minute tour was really worth it. We witnessed all stages of development of a butterfly. One of the cool stuff I saw was the insect that looked like the branch of a plant - great example of how a species adapts to survive. As we waited for a bus back to town, we met a Malaysian Tamil cab driver. He was really proud of being a tamil. He told us in detail about his playboy lifestyle! He also recommended we eat at a food stall that served great thala kari, kodal and paya in Little India. On our way back, we stopped at the Gurney Drive Hawker center for a late lunch. Dinesh tried his first uncooked-salmon sushi and he was later in tears when I tricked him into eating a lot of wasabi! Since we didn’t have much else planned for the evening, we decided to watch a tamil movie. But unfortunately, the show timings didn’t work out. As we walked around Georgetown, we were lucky to watch a parade for some chinese festival. Then it started raining. So we went back to the hostel and booked a hostel for our stay in KL. We also did some research on things to do in KL. After the rain died down, we went to the stall recommended by the cab driver. We ate parota and appam with kothu kari, paya and kodal curry. The food was simply delicious. Then we caught a bus to KL.
Day 9: We were dropped off at the KL bus station around 4AM. After a lot of walking around, we finally managed to find our hostel - BackHome Kuala Lumpur. Since we were really tired, we immediately went to bed. After having breakfast at the hostel, we took a bus to Batu Caves. The murugan statue was just incredible. The view from the top of the caves was also great. I believe this is the best ever setting for a temple. The caves were beautiful in the inside. After spending some time trying to soak in the beauty around me, we signed up for a tour of a section of the batu caves. I learnt a lot about bat and the dependence of various organisms on bat excretion. Caught the train back to KL and went to the National Mosque. This was the first time I was entering a mosque. Felt really cool! Interesting note is that if women or men aren’t dressed appropriately, then they need to wear a cloak that reminded me of the movie ‘The Village’! Anyways, the architecture was different from the ones in India. Apparently, the tomb is designed in the shape of an umbrella - which signifies protection. Then we took the train to see the famous and iconic Petronas Towers. Spent some time clicking pictures and watching the fountain show outside the towers. Then went to a pub, had a drink, walked all the way to the hostel and off to bed.
Day 10: Had breakfast at a popular neighborhood chinese restaurant. Checked-out Chinatown. Went to Berjaya Times Square shopping mall so Dinesh can do souvenir shopping. The shops there carried a lot of nice and colorful clothes. Great place to shop when upgrading the wardrobe. Took a break from shopping to watch the movie ‘Taken 2’. The movie was alright. Went to a busy hawker center and had a good dinner.
Day 11: Got up early and took an express train to the KL airport. While Dinesh caught a flight to India, I continued on with my trip to Thailand. Landed in Swarnabhumi airport and got my visa stamped on arrival. Based on my research, I found this company (http://www.belltravelservice.com/) that offers Airport to Pattaya transfer for only THB 200. But since the next bus wasn’t for at least another hour, I looked at the option of taking a cab. But the charge for cab was THB 1500! Then I ran into this man who was also looking to go to Pattaya. So I asked him if he was willing to share a cab. It turned out that the man (Lahos) from Switzerland had been travelling to Pattaya for the past 20 years! So he found a cab for only THB 1000. So my share was only THB 500, not a bad deal. Throughout the ride, I got to know more about Lahos. He is part of a club called Hash House Harriers, which conducts running+drinking events! There is also a local chapter in Chennai (http://www.madrashash.com/). I need to check it out sometime. Anyway, before we parted, we decided to meet for drinks that night. After I got back to my hotel (Nova Platinum, USD 65 for executive suite), I went out and got a really relaxing massage for myself. Then met Lahos around 9:30PM. He gave me a wonderful tour of Pattaya nightlife.
Day 12: Woke up late in the day, grabbed breakfast at the hotel and headed out. Spent some time in town. And then went to Tiffany’s show. The show was really well made. Liked that they had a bollywood section. After the show, I blacked out and woke up only on Day 15! WHIPSIP!
Day 15: Checked-out of Tim Boutique hotel (awesome hotel with an in-room jacuzzi) and caught the 9AM Bell bus to Bangkok (THB 350). My only regret while leaving Pattaya was that I still hadn’t eaten any insects. After I reached the ourskirts of BKK, I was transferred to a minivan that would take me to the hostel. The van was so slow because of the traffic. On the way, I noticed on my cellphone that I was close to a train station. So I asked the driver to drop me off at that station. Since this was my first time using the train system in BKK, it took some time getting used to. But I finally managed to catch the right trains and reach the hostel ‘Smile Society’. The hostel was conveniently located near a train (Sala Daeng) and bus station. I learnt from the person at the front desk that the Grand Palace closes daily at 3:30PM. So after taking a quick shower, I headed out to the Grand Place. Got down at the “Saphan Tak Sin” station and took an express boat. The entry was about THB 400, which I felt was expensive. I was really blown away by the structures inside the palace compound. It was breathtaking. I especially enjoyed sitting inside the emerald Buddha temple. After spending about 2 hrs at the palace, I walked down the street to Wat Po. Again the structures inside were beautiful. I began to really like Thai architecture. Wat Po has a huge sleeping Buddha. Then I crossed the river to get to Wat Arun. Everyone is allowed to climb the pagoda at Wat Arun. The only challenge is that the steps are very steep, not for the faint hearted. The views from the top were nice. Got back to the hostel and rested a bit. Then went out around 9PM to the nearby Lumpinee Muay Thai Boxing Stadium. While the ticket price for Thais is only THB 100 for tickets, non-Thais need to shell out THB1500-2000!!! I saw about 8 matches that night. Some were really intense. All along, locals were betting on the matches, which proved to be an interesting sideshow. The last match of the night was the main event, which sadly didn’t end in a knockout!
Day 16: I actually wanted to visit the floating market. But online reviews mentioned that the floating market had become very touristy and wasn't worth traveling 2hrs each way. On the other hand, I was also desperate to eat grasshoppers, scorpions and other insects before the end of this trip. So I headed to Market in the hopes of finding crispy grasshoppers. The market was full of trendy and cheap clothing. Great place to shop for souvenirs and fashionable clothes. But my search for insect delicacies proved futile. Nevertheless, I stuffed myself with chocolate banana, roasted chicken balls, quail eggs, fried fish, fired prawns, orange juice, tender coconut juice, watermelon juice and minute maid milkshake (which i got for free!). Then I got a caricature of myself done by a person at an art stall (fb.com/artstreetgroup). Since I had a lot of time left before my flight and coupled with the fact that I was soooo tired, I decided to watch a movie. So went to a shopping mall with a cineplex. The theatre had a 4D show of Taken 2, which I had seen in Malaysia. There was another show that charged THB 1000. Apparently, the price includes a 15-minute massage, popcorn and soda! But since I wanted to watch Looper for a long time, I went for that movie (TMB 230). I'm usually not a big fan of sci-fi films, but this one was just great. I totally enjoyed the movie. The movie ended at about 6:50PM and my flight departure time was 9:10PM!! So I rushed up to my hostel, picked the backpack and hurried to the airport. I've never arrived so late (less than an hour before take off) for an international flight! The thrilling ride to the airport was a fitting way to mark the end of a fabulous trip.
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