Day 16 - Penang to Langkawi

We need to send another parcel of souvenirs and other stuff we don't need back home so we are not hauling a load of stuff all over the place. We've come to use the mail system to lighten the load during our trips... with airlines cracking down on baggage weight limits it is cheaper to  send excess items by post rather than get a surprise at the airport and have to pay excess baggage fees. As it is we have already off-loaded about 12 kilos of items.

So we ask the front desk at the hotel for a cardboard box and they come up with the perfect one ... an A4 printer paper box. Perfect size and you can stash quite a bit of stuff. The next problem is to find packing tape and brown paper. They have some rule over here, all parcels for postage must be wrapped in brown paper. So the hunt is on... where to get them in the middle of Georgetown? The hotel manager suggests a little Chinese shop hidden amongst the hundreds along Chulia Street... Teng Bee, about 200 meteres down the street.

We join the morning mix of bikes, traffic and people on the street and manage to find Teng Bee, a very small shopfront almost hidden by hawker stalls outside. We edge past two old Chinese men sitting by the entrance and enter Aladdins Cave! We immediately spot packing tape, rolls of brown paper, small scissors and black feltpens... everything we need for the task.

Back at the hotel, we fill the box and wrap it ready for postage. Now is the time to rationalise our baggage and check the weight... 20 kilo limit for checked baggage and either a 5kg or 7kg cabin baggage limit (depending on the airline) and they are now weighing cabin baggage at check-in so you need to be on the ball.

We check out at midday and with our trusty TomTom to guide us, we ask it to lead us to the nearest Post Office. After a few missed turns in the heavy traffic, we manage to find one down by the ferry terminal. Another 8 kgs of stuff on its way home.. with what we've already sent that's like another suitcase we don't have to lug around! Got me stumped what it all is but there's quite a few souvenirs, gifts (as if Amelia needs any more clothes!)... and items for the scrapbook (The Woozie Book... long story.)

We've a few hours to kill before our flight to Langkawi at 7pm and no visit to Penang is complete without lunch or dinner at The Eastern and Oriental Hotel... E&O, or as the expats call it "The Eggs and Omelete". We stayed here with Charlie back in 2008 and it was very luxurious with a lot of history (Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and other famous people have stayed here) but is also very expensive.

They have done quite a bit of work on the building and the original restaurant the rich and famous used to haunt, Sarkies Corner, is now a la carte and the buffet is in a refurbished part of the hotel. We head for the buffet and it is as spectacular as we remember it to be when we were here last. The food, all different culinary specialties, is presented and prepared to perfection. Liz chooses freshly cooked to order Kwai Tao and I go for Hokien Mee... freshly cooked after I chose the ingredients. It's not Pho but it'spretty damned good. It allgoes down well with a couple of Tigers. If you ever get to Penang, you absolutely must do lunch at the E&O... it's a very pleasant experience. 

We spend the rest of the afternoon exploringsome of the fishing villages on the south side of the island near the airport. Batu Maung is a traditional old Malay fishing village and the only give away is a row of new townhouses facing the beach. From here though you can see the new bridge between Penang and the mainland under construction. It is going to be a very long bridge... the current one is 11 kms long, the new one will be 24 kms and it is a pretty impressive sight.

We drop the car off early and do all the check-in, security and waiting thing before our departure to Langkawi right on time in an almost empty Firefly Airlines ATR 42-500. We climb out over Penang as a spectacular sunset lights up the clouds and the Andaman Sea below. Liz is giving her new camera a work out but it's hard taking sunset shots out of an aircraft window... but she's enjoying the view and it does look spectacular.

No sooner are the wheels up and we cruise for about 5 minutes than we start our descent into Langkawi... a total flight time from takeoff to landing of 25 minutes. We see the twinkle of lights on the islands and soon enough we touch down.




We grab a taxi voucher (24 ringits or $7) and drive the familiar route to The Berjaya Resort on the western side of the island. There is a new hotel at Telaga Harbour and, according to TripAdvisor, the best restaurant on the island... we'll give it a try one evening.


Arriving at the hotel lobby, it is hot and humid but the ceiling fans are pleasant in the lobby lounge which we plan to come back to very shortly. As we check in we are introduced to the Duty Manager who welcomes us back to the Berjaya... these people really do their homework ... after being escorted to our chalet set amongst the rainforest, a young lady arrives with a cake ... "Welcome Back". 

It's a nice touch and says a lot about the way the tourism industry here in Asia wins points for service... a lesson the tourism industry back home should take note of. "Service"... what is that?

Our chalet is about 50 metres from the water and overlooks Burau Bay. We're getting closer to the chalets on the water with each trip! They have refurbished the rooms since we were here 2 years ago and they now look like a room transplanted from Traders in KL. Everything is new whereas the old rooms were functional but a little rustic.

A Tiger and a snack is in order so we wander through the resort to the Lobby Lounge where a trio is performing some oldies... for some oldies...  and there are a lot of people enjoying a cool drink and just relaxing in the ambience of the lounge. We grab a snack and then head back to our chalet... a long day and we're glad to hit the sack and maybe have a sleep-in tomorrow. 

Day 15 - Penang

Today we decide to check out the fishing villages on the northern side of the island and to visit the Tropical Spice Garden which we've missed on every previous visit. It was recommended to me by my good friend Ed Emmerick who was here a few months ago.

With the TomTom guiding us through the hectic traffic of Georgetown we finally hit the north side and hit is a good word. The road here hugs the coast and is very windy. On a previous trip we almost had a head on with a bike as he came around a blind corner on the wrong side of the road. These morons will also overtake you over double lines and on blind corners so you need to be careful. Sure enough, one idiot on a bike appears in front of us on our side of the road and we both veer left to avoid a head-on!

But we stop every now and again so that I can get some shots of the small fishing fleets which pepper these pretty inlets. They are postcard shots... very pretty but very cliched of course. 


We arrive at the Spice Garden which is set on the hillside amongst the rainforst, and opposite, right on the beach is a roadside restaurant, so we decide lunch would be nice looking out over the water. Liz asks if they have cold beer and the answer is no so, as it is so hot and a cold Tiger would be an absolute necessity... we decide to find something at the Spice Garden... and lucky we did.

We ask at the entrance kiosk and they say there is a restaurant up the hill called the Tree Monkey. Up the hill? In this heat... you have to be kidding! But the need for a cold Tiger is greater than the struggle up a steep walkway so off we go. Finally reaching the restaurant amongst the rainforest with a deck overlooking the forest and the sea, we are glad the other place didn't serve beer. It's like an oasis in the middle of a green, lush desert.

Inside the restaurant is another entrance to the Spice Shop. Liz goes to investigate while I wrestle a Tiger or two and she comes back to tell me that they have every spice known to man and the aroma is out of this world. I'll investigate shortly.

In the meantime we check the menu and decide on Satay and a couple of seafood dishes. The waiter tells us that the Satay sauce takes six hours to make and when we taste it, we can see why. It's simply the best Satay we've ever had! And the prawns and rice... just wonderful and this restaurant is definitely on the must-visit list when in Penang. Thanks for the tip Ed.

We then go treking through the rainforest trails and every plant, flower and tree is described but I can't pronounce any of the names! But it's interesting all the same and the trail is hot and humid under the canopy of the rainforest. We finally make it back to the small lake near the entrance where a bridal party is getting set up. Seems to day is wedding day as we come across several groups on the beaches.

The heat is really tough to take so we head back to the hotel via a few more side tracks... one of which leads us to a beach where a group of local guys are catching small crabs on the beach. They wander along the beach break with sieve boxes and scoop some wet sand. Any crabs or small pipis are caught on the mesh. 

Back at the Yeng Keng we sit in the shade and down a coupleof G&Ts and are joined by an English lady named Chris who is also staying at the hotel. She only has a few more days here before heading back to the cold weather in London. We are keen to try an Assam Laksa so we ask the waiter for a recommendation and he ngives us some vague directions. It's about 500 metres away... I should be able to make it so we invite Chris to join us and off we go into the bustling crowded Lebuh Chulia and head for Penang Road.

It's almost 8pm and the traffic is still bad... it seems everyone here goes out at night to eat in the relative cool of the evening and they park wherever they can. Most of the streets in this area are dotted with hawker stalls and the array of dishes and the aroma is amazing. People sit on plastic chairs around plastic tables and hook into whatever it is they have chosen for tonights dinner. Usually it is a little bit from a number of dishes... it's a great way to eat and everyone gets involved passing the dishes across the table.

We get a bit lost but finally find the place... it is called The Famous TeowChew Laksa and there are photos of celebrities on the wall to prove it! They speak little English but we order three Assam Laksas, the dish they are famous for, and bottles of cold water. They have NO TIGERS!!! What a bummer but hopefully the Laksa will be worth it.

Shortly three steaming bowls of Assam Laksa arrive and the three of us look at them with a little trepidation. Liz and I love our Laksa from Chinatown but that is Laksa Lemak from down south of Malaysia... it's made with coconut milk and, while spicy, is the food of the gods. The Assam Laksa they do up here in Penang is a different dish... it is sour and made with fish paste and tamarind. It will be an experience but at least we can say we've had one.

We all find it is surprisingly good and Liz especially commented that it wasn't as spicy as she thought it would be and really liked it. Chris insisted on a photo and then we ventured out into Penang Road to find our way back to the hotel. Once you get your bearings here it's all pretty easy to get around the town and walking rather than driving is the way to go.

We make our way through the traffic of Penang Road and then via the dark alleyways and backstreets to the beacon of our hotel... where the hawkers of Lebuh Chulia are just starting to pack up for the night. It is still hot and humid so we decide a drink before bed is in order so the three of us sit in the courtyard and sip cool G&Ts. I wonder what the rich are doing?

Day 14 - Penang

Last nights storm has cooled the weather... I think it's down to a bearable 28 degrees when we went to breakfast.

Our plan for the day is to drive around the islandand try and get someshots of the fishing villages on the western side which is largely untouched by tourist development.

The GPS gets us out of Georgetown with no problem and we start to run along the coast between Georgetown and Batu Feringhi. Each little cove is a postcard picture of large boulders sticking out of the water and spread along the ends of the beaches with the rainforest tumbling down the hillsides to the water. Even here though, they are still building large resorts and high rise developments on the sideof the hill which comes right down to the sea.

I give Liz heart failure as I stop and park beside the narrow windy road and dart across (well dart may not be the right word... amble is better) the road to get a shot of a picturesque cove or a lone fisherman on the rocks. I found my best friend is my keen sense of hearing... listen for the approaching sound of bikes or busses on the blind corners and when it's quiet... go!

We pass through Batu Ferringhi without  with themstopping... we may come back for the night markets tomorrow night. They are always fun to watch and I might even pick up a genuine, real deal, fair dinkum, fake Rolex or Brietling! Liz will be looking to add another 500 bracelets to the 5000 she already has at home!

Just past Batu Ferringhi we drive down a dirt road and come to a grassed area where they keep the horses they use to take tourists along the beach. 

A family of locals have set up a picnic under the trees and I wander along the beach and get some shots of the small fishing boats in the next cove. The locals invite us to share their lunch which is a very nice jesture but we've only really just finished breakfast so we chat for a while and leave them to it. 

Parked on the grass is a big Magirus-Deutz truck set up as a campervan. It's a rebuilt ex-German Army truck. Now this is a van! The English couple have been on the road for just over a year and have driven overland from The Czeck Republic through Iran, Nepal and  India! No kids but a bigdog which they tell us has caused a few problems with quarantine etc. We can't imaqging traveling with young kids let alone with a dog! Can you imagine Toka on a trip like that!!! 
 
We climb the mountain roads before reaching the flat area on the other side of the island. I've a habit of driving down any little side roads I come across, there might be a shot at the end, and here is no different. We drive through small villages and jungle before finally arriving at a fishing village which we suspect has not changed for hundreds of years except for the cars parked along the dirt road. There is a dirty looking narrow waterway with sheds and old wooden buildings lining the banks and colourful fishing boats lay alongside, with nets spread out drying.

We drive as far as we can down the dirt road... Liz reckons it'sonly for bikes it is so narrow... and she is correct as a couple of locals look at us a little strangely as they gingerly ride past. I reverse out anddo a 10-point turn and head the other way and come across trays of fish drying in the hot sun.

The locals are friendly and wave as we drive by and many are just sitting in the shade to get out of the searing heat. We get back to the main road and come to the fishing town of Teluk Behang which I have been to many times before. It has changed with the influx of tourists and you can no longer walk out on the long jetty and get a close-up view of the fishing fleet in the harbour.

It's bloody hot and we need a cool drink so we stop at a famous Teluk Behang eatery, The End of the World Seafood Restaurant. Other times I've been here it's always been closed but today the Tigers look invitingly chilled and there are fish, crabs and lobsters in the tanks along the walls... all just begging to be sampled... NOT!

We splurge and decide lobster thermidore and grilled tiget prawns would go down well. Back home lobster costs a furtune and while it isn't exactly cheap by local standards it's a bit of a holiday indulgence.

The cold Tiger goes down well and refreshed and fuelled up we head off to finish our island circuit. There is a lookout on top of the mountain range from where you can see the whole western side of the island but as it's Sunday parking is packed so we cross the range and head down and back to Georgetown.

Dinner tonight at the Yeng Keng Hotel Restaurant which, the 2nights we've been here, has been packed. We grab a table in the courtyard and invite an English lady traveling alone to join us and we share some excellent Haianese dishes ... a few Gin and Tonics and a Tiger or two. Around 9 o'clock it starts to spit rain and there is lightening so we call it a night. Once again the rain is torrential and we hit the sack after another day in this hot but fascinating place.               

Day 13 - KL to Penang

Looking out our window on the 23rd floor of Traders across at the Towers and KLCC, I can see a steady rain falling. Not a good day to be driving 4 hours north to Penang but that's the plan.

We grab the hotel buggy across to KLCC and have breakfast at one of the cafes. The shops don't open until 10am but already the cafes are busy. There is the Gobo Chit Chat cafe at Traders but like most big hotels, their charge for breakfast just isn't good value, notwithstanding the food and service is first class.

As we've done on previous trips, we've grabbed a cardboard box from the hotel, and packed most of the clothing and bits and pieces we've bought along the way. The tip is to buy a roll of strong packing tape and a felt pen and wrap it yourself as they don't have much in the way of parcel post here. Taking the box to the Post Office we pay $30 and save exhorbitant excess baggage rates when we fly home.  


After breakfast we head off in the rain to find the Hawk car Rental office which is located behind the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. But they are doing construction work and in the rain, we get totally lost until a kind cabbie stops and drives us 500 metres to the Hawk office which was in the opposite direction to where we were heading. He wants nothing for the ride but we slip him 10 ringits (about $3) for being so kind.


I'd not previously booked the car online but Farad organises a small 4-door sedan and says he will deliver it to the hotel for us. In future, we'll book online... much easier and you get a better choice of cars. We used Hawk last time we were in Malaysia when we drove 3000 kms and they were good to deal with.

So back to the hotel and pack again. After a while you get organised and know where everything is and can pack well. It seems that most of my bag is taken up with chargers for phones, cameras, ipods and all the conversion plugs and cables! If not for those I could get by with a small backpack!

Promptly at 12 noon Farad arrives at the front of the hotel with a black Proton Wira. It is raining hard and the hotel staff are busy with private cars and cabs coming and going. He needs photocopies of out passport and drivers licence, so our car causes a bit of a problem blocking the driveway while the concierge send the documents upstairs.

Soon enough we bid Traders goodbye and we stop just up the street and fit the new TomTom GPS I bought a few days ago. There is no way I'd be able to find my way out of the city traffic without it. Hey Ben... I wonder if this one will send us around the Twin Towers a coupleof times... LOL!

The GPS is spot on and despite the heavy traffic and rain, we are soon heading north on a 3-lane highway heading for Ipoh. The traffic is fairly light and it's just like driving back home except these freeways are much better. There doesn't seem to be any cops around as the black Mercs, Beamers and Ferraris spin past at close to 160 kph. They are impatient too... they fly up behind you with lights flashing... I just tootle along at the 110 kph speed limit.

We can't get over all the high rise apartment buildings in the outskirts of the city... and they are building more all the time. But the architecture of the buildings is different to back home. There is a kind of pleasant look about them. But it is obvious why all the roads are becoming clogged.

We drive north through occasional heavy rain and after about 2 hours we stop at an R&R... gas station, toilet facilities and small many food stalls selling traditional Malaysian food as well as the odd Western chain like KFC. We choose Nasi Nemak which is about $3 and very tasty. Liz finds 1... yes just 1, western toilet in the extensive ladies washrooms! Lucky that... she refuses to use the squat toilets. Amazingly, there are a whole line of western toilets in the cubicles in the mens washroom.

Continuing north we are suddenly stopped about 30 kms from Penang... seems there has been an accident as ambulances and police cars rush up the breakdown lane. After a half hour delay we pass 2 cars total wrecks. No wonder, the speeds they do on these freeways is insane. I wouldn't expect any survivors from this prang.

We are about 10 kms from the Penang Bridge when the low fuel light comes on. I hope and pray that we'll make it across without running out of gas... the bridge is 11 kilometres long! The GPS tellsus there is a Caltex just 3 kms past the end of the bridge so we gingerly drive to conserve fuel and make it to the Caltex. Over here you must pay for fuel in advance so I top the tank with 100 ringits ($30) worth of fuel... not bad for a 5 hour 250 km trip.

The GPS is programmed to take us to the Yeng Keng Hotel in Chulia Street which is right in the heart of Georgetown's Chinatown and after winding our way through the narrow back streets lined with old Chinese shophouses we arrive at our hotel. It's a refurbished old heritage building and is an oasis in the middle of the bustling hive of activity of Chulia Street.

It's about 6pm and the old town is coming to life with the street hawkers setting up and the night lights blazing. There are people everywhere, many walking the streets and many more sitting on plastic chairs enjoying the amazing flavours of Penang's street hawkers.

We choose to eat at the Tek Sen Restaurant, a famous old Penang eatery down in nearby Carnarvon Street. A 5 minute walk and we arrive to find it packed but they quickly find us a table. No plastic chairs and tables here... only low, 3-legged metal stools and metal tables. I've not been here but I've read about it and they say the food is sensational so we order friend rice and a couple of other dishes and find they were right. This is Haianese cooking at its best and a couple of cheap Tigers washes it all down.

Back out on the streets and we watch the street hawkers whipping up dishes at the speed of light. The smoke from some of the woks is overwhelming as the cooks wield their flat cooking spoons with dexterity and skill to produce amazing, and cheap food. 

We pass by Love Lane on the way back to the hotel and ironically a couple of working girls are standing nearby. Some may call all this seedy but it's life in an Asian city and adds to the charm and excitement of it all... the street hawkers, the street girls (and some boy/girls too!), the tourists and the locals who often go about with a bemused look, makes it an adventure and one that we love.

Liz falls into bed and is immediately asleep... the torrential rain starts outside and turns into a tropical storm. I look out the window by the yellow light of the street lamps and neon signs, see water spearing off the roofs and the gutters overflowing. The streets will get a good cleaning tonight.

Day 12 - Kuala Lumpur & Kuala Gandah

All the times we've visited Malaysia, and KL in particular, we've never been to many of the must-see sights... PutraJaya is a case in point. But there never seems to be enough time so this time we particularly wanted to visit the elephant sanctuary and orphanage at Kuala Gandah, about and hour and a half east of KL.

Rahmat has recommended a driver who he uses, so at 11am we are met by Saran outside KLCC and head off to see the elephants. As I've said before, these people really know how to build freeways (they are not free, but you pay a very low toll) and the Eastern Freeway to Kuantan is mostly three lanes in either direction. Liz and I have driven this road before and it winds its way up through the rugged jungle-covered mountains before running across the green palm-oil plantations which stretch as far as the eye can see.

We turn off the highway and wind our way through traditional Malay villages before arriving at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary which sits amid an untouched rainforest which covers a large area. The heat is almost unbearable but we are shown to a theatre room (air-conditioned thank god!) where we, along with a swag of other tourists, watch a quite disturbing documentary about how the Sanctuary experts relocate rogue wild elephants, from all over the Malaysian peninsular, which are destroying plantations. It reminds me of that old Peter Finch/Elizabeth Taylor movie, Elephant Walk. The elephants lose their traditional grazing forests to palm plantations and other human activity and they rebel, causing problems. So, rather than kill them... which somevillagers do if not stopped... the Sanctuary relocates them to the forests of Kuala Gandah. It is a sobering documentary.

The elephant activities start at 2:45 so we have an hour or so to wait so we try and stay cool under the trees near the fast flowing jungle river where naked local boys are diving off the observation platforms and generally having a fun and cool day off school.

The young elephants are brought out first and the tourists are able to feed them peanuts and bits of fruit... they are very tame and they have learned the routine well. We get some shots and then they bring out the adult elephants, each with a mahout on top.

They put on a bit of a display... the usual stuff you see at a circus, and then they are brought forward to a number of low bins on the ground filled with cut fruit. Everyone is invited to feed the elephants up close and personal as the mahouts stand by and assist.

Liz takes a bit of convincing but she finally steps up and grabs a piece of pawpaw and the elephant opens its mouth... she places the fruit right on his tongue! The elephant obviously loves the fruit and looks pleased but Liz almost faints when she brushes her hand across its tongue!

I miss the shot so she has to do it four more times before I get a good one... abit out of focus but it all happens so fast. Everyone is really loving this part of the activity and we can see where our donations go... entry to the Sanctuary is free but donations are appreciated and go towards the cost of feeding and caring for the elephants.

These are the tame ones but there are many out there in the Sanctuary rainforest... hopefully living happily without any interference. It is a real eye opener for us and we thouroughly enjoy the day, despite the bloody heat!

We then head back to KL and along the way Saran spots a roadside stall selling Durians. Rahmat has told Saran that I like durians so he stops and we dig into a couple.

 Liz and I have both had durian before and we like them. People ask what they are like and I tell them it's like eating a custard apple in a toilet! Some people hate them, some people like them.... I love them... the King of fruit!

Back on the road and we strike Friday afternoon traffic jams. The freeways are great but like any big city, there are so many cars even super freeways cannot cope. Saran drops us at Traders and we freshen up before deciding to head for the food nextravaganza of Jalan Alor. My sister Jan reckons she found a good place amongst the mayhem so we are keen to try it. 


I have some unpleasant memories from the last time I was at Jalan Alor (long story and those who know it will  know why I am a little gun-shy of the place!) but despite being stuck in solid traffic all around the Bukit Bintang area, we finally arrive at the famous KL food street. It's raining heavily so the umbrellas are out on the tables which are moved out onto the street with just enough room for one car to pass by. There are people everywhere and the sights and smells are something everyone should experience at least once.

We stop at the Tasty Corner Restaurant where the crew guides us to a table in the street and takes our order... fried rice, steamed Kailan with Garlic, Fish Balls in Broth, and BBQ Chicken Wings... plus a large bottle of Tiger and a Diet Coke for Liz. The dishes arrive like bullets from a gatling gun ... hot, fresh and delicious. It may be street hawker food but it is the food of the gods! Well maybe after being to Hoi An and Vietnam I might change my food priorities but for sheer dining excitement you cannot beat a night at Jalan Alor.

The streets are packed at 10pm and the traffic is at a standstill so we grab a coffee at The Coffee Bean at Low Yat Plaza and watch the world go by... and from where we are sitting... that's not very fast! Typical Bintang night gridlock! There is a bit of excitement in the street when a local lad, dressed in jeans, a white sleeveless Harley Davidson T-shirt, Marlon Brando sunglasses and a set of chains hanging from his leather jacket, thunders up to the front of the Plaza on a brught yellow Harley. It sounds like a B52 bombing raid as he guns the engine and the sound echoes through the narrow street. He certainly gets the attention of the slim Asian girls, dressed in not much more than something the size of a handerkerchief, who fall about with wide-eyes as they watch the guy park the hog. Even the parking attendants are impressed.

The guy heads off down the street with a gaggleof girls in tow headed for the night spots... but this old bloke is gonna grab his honey and try and get a cab back to the hotel... with any luck the traffic might ease up and we might make it back for breakfast!

We are off to Penang tomorrow and I am driving so it should be interesting. Take care all.     

Day 11 - Kuala Lumpur & PutraJaya

After a late night out with Rahmat, Zai, Zol  and Sharifah we oversleep... the alarm was set for 7am but a quick look out at the Towers and it's still dark so, just a few more minutes. 

An hour and a half later we are woken by a text message from Rahmat... he is free to take us for a tour of the Malaysian capitol, Putrajaya, about an hour south of the city. He'll pick us up from the hotel at 10am! We rush getting ready and organise clothes to be washed and find we have no time for breakfast. A quick coffee in our room will have to do... how miss my morning bowl of hot steaming Pho!

Rahmat is right on time and we head through busy city traffic on the way south. In no time we are on one of the freeways which are like a spiders web across the city. The RTA could do worse than send some of their morons up here to learn how to build transport infrastructure... the freeways here are 3-4 lane either way and are fabulous to drive on. Sure they get traffic jams but even then, it's better than sitting in a car park on Parramatta Road!

In an hour we take the exit to Putrajaya. We have often been past this new city, built about 12 years ago out of jungle and palm plantations, but have never actually been there. The tops of spectacular bridges and other buildings have looked inviting and now we are going to see what it's really like.

Once we start getting into the city environs we are presented with scenes of jaw-dropping architecture, a man-made lake, amazing bridges and wide streets. It's been well planned and some serious money has been spent here building structures that showcase the Moorish architectural influence. It quite simply is unbelieveable that all this was jungle just 12 years ago!

There is a cycling event taking place today so many streets are blocked by Police but Rahmat navigates his way to the large mosque which stands imposingly beside the lake.

There are tourists everywhere, mainly Japanese and people from Middle Eastern countries. Rahmat leads us down to the lakeside where he books a cruise on the lake and then we go and have a coffee. It's a typical Malaysian R&R... many restaurants and shops selling Malaysian food and it looks and smells delicious.

We board the cruise boat along with a rowdy group of Middle Eastern guys who should be thrown overboard... they completely ignore the guide giving his talk about the city sights and they insist want to go out on deck. Some people!!!

The cruise runs along the length of the lake and you get a great view of the architecture and buildings not to mention a close up view of the bridges which are stunning. Rahmat and Zai have bought a house in Putrajaya and will be moving there next year.

Rahmat then takes us to the club by the lake where we grab a bite to eat before heading back to our hotel as Rahmat has to pick up his daughter from school at 3pm.

Liz and I freshen up... it's hot and humid outside... and then we grab a cab to Cap Square where I find a camera store that sells camera straps. After almost losing the G2 in Vietnam I need something more substantial. CapSquare is a new shopping centre and half the shops are empty but amazingly one of the camera stores has just what I want and at a good price. While there we also visit the Tom Tom GPS store and buy a GPS to guide us on the next leg of our trip to Penang.

Rahmat and Zai have invited us to join Zol and Sharifah for a Brazilian dinner and arrange for us to be picked up at 6:30pm. Right on time, a flash Mercedes pulls up at the hotel lobby and to our surprise the driver advises that he is there to pick us up and take us to dinner. It turns out that this is Zol's driver! Zol holds a very senior position in a large health company and one of the perks is a new car and a driver on call. Talk about doing it in style!

We navigate the evening traffic and drive to Zol's gated-estate apartment where Zol givers his driver the night off and he and Sharifah drive us to meet rahmat and Zai and the restaurant.

We've never tried a Brazilian restaurant before so it turns out to be a real experience. The servers hover around with various meats on skewers and deftly wielding long knives, like Errol Flynn in a buccaneer movie, they carve off a slice of lamb or chicken or fish. It is absolutely delicious and all halal of course as our hosts are strict Muslims. 

We start with the stories and before long we are laughing and joking in between tasting the food which comes thick and fast. Zai recommends the Mango dessert which is just heavenly but will no doubt send my BGLs to the moon!

After another wonderful evening amongst perfect hosts and good company, Rahmat and Zai load us into their BMW (top of the line model no less) and drive us back to Traders. Maybe we'll catch up with them before we head back home... they have been marvelous and have made us feel very welcome. Malaysian hospitality at its best.

Tomorrow we're off to the elephant sanctuary so stay tuned.

Day 10 - Kuala Lumpur

We wake early and are greeted with one of our favourite scenes... the Petronus Twin Towers from our room on the 23rd floor of Traders Hotel. 

Shopping starts at 10am so at this early hour there are only cleaners and morning joggers and walkers below in the park and the front of KLCC.

We have some chores to do so we get ready and head for the Gobo Chit Chat restaurant at the hotel where we'll have breakfast. Wendy and Jan will know how busy this place gets in the mornings and it is packed with people from all over the world. I'm after some Pho but the closest I get is noodle soup so I go with Roti Chennai instead... not as good as Ben or I make but it will do for now.

It's then onto the hotel buggy and across to KLCC. As usual it is busy and there is always a lot of people out the front taking photos of the towers. The fake watch sellers are absent ... seems the cops or security are doing their job.

First job is to get sims for our mobiles at Maxis and it proves to be an ordeal as usual. A long line of other travelers wanting to get a sim aqnd only one slow-working guy serving. Here's a tip for anyone wanting a sim card here... head out to the Maxis office at CapSquare, about 10 minutes away by cab, and there is an office there with no waiting.

Now we are "on the air" again I can let everyone know our mobile numbers and check in with Ben and Rahmat. Ben is having car problems but Rahmat invites us to dinner with his wife Zai and their friends Zol and Sharifah tonight. Jalan Alor will have to wait Jan! 

The rest of the day is taken up with Liz looking at the shops (seen one you seen 'em all I reckon!) and I head over to Times Square to chase a lens for the 40D. By 4pm we are done so we grab a nap before Rahmat picks us up at 8:15. He's been battling horrendous traffic to get here to Traders and the situation is compounded by the arrival of a Police-escorted motorcade which flashes past our hotel... we thought Rahmat hadput it on specially for us but it was probably just another VVVIP (they don't just have VIPs here... they are VVVIPs!)

Anyway, Rahmat and Zai pick us up and we navigate the traffic to the Lala Restaurant where Zol and Sharifah have claimed a table for us. They have all been here before so we let them order the dishes which we share and meanwhile the stories tall and true start emerging. At one stage I thought we would have to recussitate Zai she was laughing so much. Ian, you know what it's like when we get started! We took a few shots for posterity and Rahmat and Zai drove us back to the hotel... it was almost 11:30pm. 

What a fabulous evening we had. Rahmat and Zai were wonderful hosts and at first meeting them, Liz immediately fell in love with Zai's infectious smile and happy nature. They chatted away like old friends while Rahmat and I gave Ben no mercy as we compared notes. Zol and Sharifah were great too and we must have all had a good time because they invited us to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner tomorrow night. 
 
 

Twin Towers at night from outside our hotel.