KL-Hong Kong -- Day 4 -- Goodbye Again!

This was my last day in KL. I checked out of Pondok lodge, left my luggage at the guest house and went downstairs to meet Perng for breakfast. He took me to a local Malaysian-Chinese place where we had typical breakfast, noodles for me, some tripe with noodles for Perng and plenty of hot tea. We went to KLCC (below Petronas Towers) just to chat and had some soy milk beverage (it didn't taste too bad). He gave me a brief lesson in Malay history; we talked about the neo-Islamic architecture and watched some classical South Indian music played in the KLCC podium (it was nearing Diwali-time). Around 12.30 pm, I had to bid goodbye to Perng, since I was scheduled to fly out at 4.45 pm.

I went back to the lodge, picked up my luggage and took a cab to KLIA (12 MYR). From KLIA, I took the most excellent KLIA ekspres (sic) and arrived early. For 35 MYR, you arrive right at the airport within 1/2 hour avoiding all the traffic. I had the lousiest nasi goreng at the airport food court. The plane ride to Hong Kong was uneventful, but on the downside, I had almost 12 hours before my flight to Den Pasar (Bali). The time was too short to venture into Hong Kong Island for an overnight stay.

The best option was to the Hong Kong airport hotel. Unfortunately, it was too damn expensive (1,800 HKD plus 18% service charge/tax) ~ 220 USD. I could have afforded it, but in the spirit of the backpacking trip I declined and walked back to the terminal, and slept fitfully on the none-too comfortable chairs near the arrival lounge. Had I known better, I would have checked in and used the comfortable "barca-loungers" inside the terminal. Oh well! To pass time, I read, listened to my iPod, slept, woke up, read, listened to iPod, drank water, slept and so on. On to Bali!

Malaysia -- Day 3 -- Hello again, Kuala Lumpur!

I woke up early and not wanting to disturb my two roommates, Nicholas and Marianne, I stepped outside, saw the sunrise, heard the birds chirping and updated my diary entries. Since there was still plenty of time left, I took a little nap that turned into a big mistake -- I overslept and missed my ferry ride back to Jerantut that was scheduled to leave at 9.30 am. Damn! No point crying over spilled milk. So, I bade a hasty goodbye to my roommates and rushed to the pier only to see my ferry pull away. I talked to the kind lady at the counter, who miraculously arranged private transportation by car to Jerantut through Mohammad, one of the locals. To make the best of a bad situation, I had a sumptuous, leisurely breakfast.

Around 10.30 am or so, Mohammad was ready with his beat up Honda Prelude to take me to Jerantut. The ride lasted an hour-and-a-half, and I was well in time to catch my 3 1/2 hour bus ride to KL. I thanked Mohammad profusely (terimah kasih, terimah kasih, terimah kasih) and compensated him handily. Despite the lack of a common language, we were able to communicate some. Upon arrival, I had a quick bite to eat, climbed the charter bus to KL and met the Dutch couple, Nicolas and Eti again. Like all Dutch people I've met before, they spoke excellent English. We spent many a pleasant hour chatting with each other.

Nicolas is going to school while Eti works for a travel agency in Amsterdam. She is of Indonesian origin and adopted at a very young age by a Dutch family. Her biological family had to separate her from her identical twin sister for financial reasons (basically sold her for money). Her father has since passed away and only recently has she been able to get in touch with her biological family in Indonesia. She knew very little Bahasa, but she is now learning it in all earnest to reconnect. Eti told me that she was going to write a book about her experience as a immigrant adoptee in the Netherlands and about the differences and similarities of twins reared in different cultures. It ought to be interesting. I wish her luck.

We arrived in KL downtown, walked to the subway station and unfortunately, the entire system was down due to a computer glitch. Bummer! I didn't have a place to stay, but they were booked in Pondok Lodge Hostel in the Golden Triangle area and I went along with them. We took a cab from the train station and surprisingly paid according to the meter, 7 MYR instead of 25 MYR "tourist fare". I was fortunate to get an a/c room at 55 MYR (~ 15 USD) per night. Pondok lodge is a popular backpackers' destination and justifiably so. The rooms were clean, the staff very helpful, free breakfast and close to typical tourist spots. I highly recommend this place. We freshened up, met on the rooftop of the lodge, had a few beers we bought at a store and chatted. The view of the high-rises in downtown KL would have been excellent but for the ubiquitous smog.

We strolled in the Golden Triangle -- this area is filled with expensive, trendy bars with a lot of ex-pats and tourists. Did I mention it was expensive? We glimpsed at the prices in a German bar -- 34 MYR (~ 10 USD) for a glass of Paulaner Salvator! Dinner was at a local Malaysian joint (good nasi Pattaya, lousy tandoori chicken, good murtabak ayam, nasi goreng and a Malaysian fish curry). The total tab was 45 MYR. That was a great, satisfying meal.

We then walked around the neighboring Chinatown looking for mosquito repellent (yes we had to!). In Chinatown, of course, you see a lot of eateries and smelled the infamous durian fruit. The stink from this "fruit" is indescribable. Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says:

"... its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia."

See the image (courtesy Wikipedia) prohibiting the fruit in Singapore.

Once sated from food and our curiosity satisfied, we walked back and had a few cocktails at Ceylon bar, just below the guest house. Each of us had three drinks for a bar tab of 50 MYR each. Not very cheap, but harmless fun nevertheless. Nothing like alcohol give you a good buzz and to put you to sleep. So, to all a good night!

Malaysia -- Day 2 -- Taman Negara National Park

After a short "overnight" stay of 4 hours at Hotel Sri Emas in Jerantut, I had a long overdue shower and got ready at 8.00 am for my trip to Taman Negara. At 130 million years old, it is one of the oldest (and largest) living rain forests in the world. It became a protected region in 1939 and has since become one of the most popular destinations for ecotourism in Malaysia. I went to the NBK travel agency and made reservations that included bus transfer to Tembeling pier, 3-hour ferry rides to and from Taman Negara, a visit to Orang Asli (Malaysian aborigine village) and finally a bus ride from Jerantut to KL. The travel agency was very nice and the folks very helpful. The total cost of my Taman Negara stay was 130 MYR. Over breakfast, I met again the French couple, Nicholas and Marianne.

The bus ride was very comfortable and at the Tembeling pier we used the restroom, because for the next 3 hours there was going to be no opportunity. Plenty of bottled water was at hand and necessary. The ferry ride was very relaxing and refreshing, but after two hours, we were itching to set our feet on solid ground. Upon arrival in Taman Negara, Nicholas, Marianne and I checked into Tahan guest house, a strenuous 10 minute walk from the pier. There were no individual rooms, so we shared a room with bunk beds at 10 MYR per night per guest. Tahan guest house is a sweet little cottage run by Muslims. Their custom forbids alcohol usage inside the rooms and no footwear was allowed either. I felt very much at home and I shall definitely be returning there.

I had lunch (12 MYR) at the pier (a Malayan fish curry with rice and coconut juice). I had chosen to see the Orang Asli village (orang = old in Malay, asli = real) at 3.30 pm. I wanted to do the very popular canopy walk. Typically, this is a group activity and a guided tour, but since I was running out of time, I rented a ferry (40 MYR) and went bravely to do this.

Normally, the canopy walk takes 20 minutes across one of the most exciting suspended bridges in the world. I stepped off the ferry, and instead of turning left, I turned right. A colossal mistake! I ended up walking alone in the rain forest through relatively empty paths for an hour. I usually enjoy a strenuous trek, but this wasn't the time or the place for it and I ran out of -- gasp -- drinking water. I was sweating profusely, my throat was parched and I was tired. To top it all, the signs are really, really poor. Anyway, I stumbled around desperately looking for a path to the river bank and once I found it, I reached the water joyously and waited for a ferry to pick me up. I was 2 km upstream from my purported drop-off point and was literally "up a shit creek without a paddle". After an interminable half-an-hour, a flagged down a ferry and the local fisherman took me back to the drop off point. Communicating with him was a problem. My ferry took me back to the landing, and my "savior" had a big laugh at my expense with his buddies. God knows what they told each other!

I rested a few minutes, drank drink plenty of water and joined the group visiting the Orang Asli. The aborigines reminded me of the Todas I had seen many years ago in Ooty, South India. Our guide spoke good English and gave us a glimpse into their history, lifestyles and habits. We learned (a little) to make fire using rattan fiber, a piece of hardwood and bamboo shavings, to use a blowpipe and to drink water from branches cut from trees. Survival skills in the jungle apparently. Interesting stuff! The aborigines were very friendly but there was no way to communicate with them.

I had a set dinner of a vegetarian soup, chicken satay and a whole grilled fish (14 MYR) at a riverside restaurant. Excellent! At 9.00 pm, I joined a night safari that took us in open-air jeeps through palm tree plantations. I met a young Dutch couple this time, Nicolas and Eti. We were outside for an hour-and-a-half, but all we saw were a couple of owls and leopard cats -- these leopard cats were more cats than leopards. It was nice to be out in the open, though, with fresh breeze in our faces, mitigating somewhat the hot night air. It was a long, hectic day and I went to sleep immediately.

Singapore - Malaysia -- Day 1 -- Johar Bahru

Here begins the second half of my journey with a well-deserved break in India. I arrived at Singapore Changyi Airport and from Terminal 2, I took the subway to Bugis station. The subway system in Singapore is absolutely fantastic; it is clean, fast and always on time and a pleasure to use. It was around 12.30 pm and I had a bit to eat (nasi goreng and coke) on Queens Street, very close to the fish market. I then hopped over to the taxi stand and took a shared taxi (S$ 8) across the Causeway to Johar Bahru on the Malaysian side. The immigration and customs were all processed while sitting in the cab. A nice touch! Incidentally, while taking the cab ride, there are signs instructing Singapore drivers not to drive empty to Johar Bahru and fill up in Malaysia, because gas is cheaper. The fine for such a "violation" is S$ 500 (~ 350 USD). Singapore is a "fine" city indeed.

You see the difference as soon as you step your foot into Johar Bahru. It's not quite as clean and as well organized. I walked a bit to the train station and bought a second class ticket with a sleeper (34 MYR) to Jerantut, the gateway to Taman Negara National Forest. The train was to leave only at 7.56 pm (and arrive at 2.54 am); I had almost 5 hours to kill. So I left my backpack at the train station and wandered in Johar Bahru with no particular plan. After searching a bit, I found an ATM and withdrew cash for the rest of my stay in Malaysia.

Johar Bahru is filled with people of Indian descent, mostly Tamilians. It is a peculiar thing with emigrants; their behavior and taste are frozen to the time they left their place of origin -- in Johar Bahru's case the 70's. What many of them don't realize is that their places of origin have moved on, but the emigrants haven't changed in the least bit. The city was dusty and hot -- no surprise there, and in the heat, many Indian vendors were preparing for Diwali, the festival of lights. Loud music everywhere and all sorts of things to eat too. Interesting town, but not worth wasting a vacation on.

At a local pub I had a beer, which at 15 MYR is indeed very expensive, but that is the case in all of Malaysia anyway. Some more walking around, some more water, rinse and repeat. Around 6.30 pm or so, I walked into an Indian eatery and got some biriyani and roti channai. It was filling and not the best food. The people running the eatery were very nice and friendly though. I also got some tea, but did not like it all. Finally, I pickup up my luggage and got ready to board the train.

The train was similar in many ways to those in India. Families with wailing kids, upper and lower berths, somewhat mysteriously functioning doors on the trains, dull colors, squat-down toilets, faded curtains etc. It had a quaint and homely feeling to it. The train started slowly and picked up speed only gradually. In some sections, the train swayed quite a bit, but it was no cause for worry. The travel is supposed to offer excellent views during the day, but sadly I took the night train. So, no views of greenery for me. There is excellent information about train travel here and the route too.

Finally arrived at Jerantut station at 3.15 am and met a nice young French couple, Nicholas and Marianne. A bus (or rather a minivan) was waiting to take us to Sri Emas guest house, a short 10 minutes away. I took the only room available, an air-conditioned room (30 MYR) for just three hours. I didn't mind it, because I was sleep deprived and badly in need of a shower. Time to sleep.

India - - Day 4 -- Shortest Stay in India ends!

The previous night's sleep was disturbed, because it was the last night of Dussera and as a finale, devotees drew chariots through the neighborhood and set off firecrackers until 2 am. It was noisy and cacophonous. It was also raining partially; the early October rains mixed with the sulfur fumes emanating from the firecrackers reminded me of my childhood. Ah nostalgia! After breakfast, I went to the neighborhood internet cafe to figure out what I was going to do once I reached Malaysia. As an aside, internet cafes are plenty and cheap in Bangalore. After consulting the Lonely Planet guide and some web searching, I settled on Taman Negara National Park in northern Malaysia.

I contacted my old buddy, Bhaskar and met him in Brigade Road. We went to Century Club, one of the oldest clubs, where he is a member. I had a little trouble entering the place, because I wasn't "properly" attired; T-shirt and a pair of jeans are a big no-no. I managed to "borrow" a jacket from the staff to enter the club. This club is the equivalent of a country club in the US, where only members and special invitees are allowed. The atmosphere reminds one of how things used to be during the colonial days. Plenty of greenery, good and inexpensive food and drinks at hand, but only if you are lucky enough to be a member. We had some beer and snacks and caught up with some gossip. I would have stayed longer, but I had to return home for lunch and prepare to leave Bangalore.

After lunch, I repacked all my stuff, relaxed for an hour or two, and started reading up on Taman Negara National Park. I chatted with my parents and siblings and after a sumptuous dinner, I left for the airport with my brothers, who came to see me off. It was the shortest stay of my life in India and it was bittersweet to leave so soon. Life goes on! God knows when I will see my parents again.

India -- Day 3 -- Return to Bangalore

The following day, we took some pictures with uncle Ramasubbu and coincidentally, they were the last pictures of his long and active life. I was really fortunate to have made that trip, for never again was I going to see the "patriarch" of the family. As I recall, that day was sunny, he could sit up for his feeding. After many years of delightful conversations with the man, it was sad to see him a mere shell of his former self.

After breakfast and lunch at uncle Ramasubbu's place, it was time to return to Bangalore. It was also October 2nd or Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. It was a dry day, i.e., no alcohol sales, so it was probably a bad day for some of the alcohol-dependent folks. Me, Venkatesh, my brothers and Prakash squeezed ourselves into Prakash's Daewoo Matiz, a 800 cc car @ 50 bhp for the 350 km journey to Bangalore. I was thinking of what people in the US might have done with a car like this.

Traffic in Chennai was needless to say horrendous, but once we departed the city, it was nice to see a newly improved National Highway 7. Unlike in the past, the roads were much broader and smoother, although you have to pay a toll to use the roads. After a 7 hour journey, we arrived in Bangalore to encounter even more traffic. I wonder how Bangalore is going to cope with increasing traffic in the future. How do multinational companies function in Bangalore, given the horrible infrastructure? In my opinion, Chennai would have been a better choice. We had dinner and called it a day. My back was sore from the car travel, and I welcomed the chance to just rest a while.

India -- Day 2 -- A Flying Visit to Chennai

After a restful day meeting my parents and the family yesterday, I went to breakfast with my nephews, Siddarth, Arun and Vijay at Shanti Sagar, close to my house. I received word from Chennai that an uncle of mine, Ramasubbu was very, very ill and probably in his last days. So I consulted with a cousin, Venky and made arrangements to fly to Chennai despite the extremely short sojourn in India. With some difficulty, we managed to get flight tickets via SpiceJet airlines (4,600 INR for two tickets). See the boarding pass on the top!

Bangalore Airport had changed since my last visit in December 2005. It had become even more crowded. As comparison, we used to have 8-10 flights a day in 1987, while today there are 12 flights in an hour. According to some reports, it's the third busiest airport in India after New Delhi and Mumbai. Imagine that!

At any rate, after a one-hour flight we landed in Chennai and paid our respects to uncle Ramasubbu. He was looking really haggard and we could tell that he was in a pretty bad shape. After much deliberation, we decided to have a boys' night out at Gandhinagar Club. There were a whole bunch of guys, me, Venkatesh from Bangalore, Ramamurthy, Ram and Lakshman (my brothers), Krishnamurthy, Prakash (a friend of my brothers'), Ramasamy and Venky (from San Jose, CA). It was a real blast and the food was adequate. Strangely, some guys were drinking single malt Scotch Whiskey with water. Blech! As the saying goes, a good time was had by all, and we went back to Ramasamy's house for the night. I was very tired.