Choices

Day 304
As soon as I woke up I quickly got the last of my things together and left. The bus station was only a few minutes walk away and I picked up breakfast and some snacks on the way. I didn't want to eat junk food for the entire trip like I usually do and picked up some fruit instead.

I slept for most of the ride but did manage to get a bit of reading done. When I got to Hat Yai I had two choices, either go the rest of the way to Krabi and arrive around 1 am or stay in Hat Yai. I was tired of doing nothing and even though I had already spent about 8 hours on a bus. In the end I decided to go for it and get to Krabi.

I had a few hours to kill before the next bus and went for dinner. I really wanted to have some Thai food but I didn't want to chance getting sick on another long bus ride so I went to Pizza Hut. Oddly, they were out of pizza and I had a salad instead.

I had been assured by the guy who sold me the bus ticket that the bus station was right in the middle of town and that I wouldn't have any problems find a place to stay. This wasn't true at all. The bus dropped me off about 4 kilometers from the center of town and all of the hotels. I had the choice of walking there at 1 am on a street that I didn't know, or I could go with the only guy around offering me a ride on a motorbike. There weren't any cabs around at all. I went with the latter option.

The hotel I had wanted to stay at was shut for the day so I had to keep looking. The first place that was open offered me a room on the 6th floor with no elevator for 250 bhat. There was no way I was walking up and down all those stairs. I went up the street a bit more and found a room for only 100 bhat and I wouldn't need any stairs at all. That seemed perfect.

As soon as I was in the room I went to sleep. It had been a long day.

Still Waiting

Day 303
There was no need to set my alarm and I tried to sleep in. The beds were awful though. Not only were they uncomfortable but they were very loud and soon I was up. After a McDonald's breakfast I went in search of a different internet cafe. The one I had been going to wouldn't read my memory stick and I wasn't able to work in the blog there. My search proved fruitless though and I ended up there anyways just to watch tv and to type of some entries.

Eventually it was time to make my third and last trip to the Thai Embassy. I was a bit early and grabbed lunch nearby. Eventually the doors opened and in just a few minutes I had a shinny new visa in my passport. As I was checking it out I heard several screams from outside. There was some sort of protest march going on. By the time I was ready to leave it had just about passed and I had no problems leaving.

It's probably not too difficult what I did next. I went to the mall to see another movie. However I didn't stay for dinner. For some reason local food was once again not appealing to me and I had been eating far too much fast food again. I made myself go to a place near my hostel in Chinatown. It wasn't bad, it wasn't that good either, but it sure beat McDonald's.

After dinner I spent a bit of time online and then headed up to the bar. There was a going away party for a couple at the end of their trip. I chatted with a few people but didn't stay long. I wanted to be sure to make my 9 am bus to Thailand in the morning.

Waiting

Day 302
I was up before my alarm clock and tried to climb out of my super creaky bed without waking everyone up.

Malaysians must be some of the most patient people in the world. Just to go 10 minutes on the subway you have to wait in line to buy a ticket, then you have to wait in line to board, several trains may go by while this happens. Next you have to wait in line to get on the escalator and finally there is one last line just to leave you destination station.

I got to the Thai Embassy a bit early and waited outside a bit before getting to go in. When I did I filled out the paper work and waited in line for about 20 minutes. It seemed like everyone had to chat for a bit but I just dropped mine off without any problems.

After I was done I headed towards the train station. Enroute a French guy stopped me to ask about my Thailand plans. He was rather attractive and I said yes when he asked if I would like to have lunch with him. As it turned out he didn't speak English well and no matter how slowly I spoke or how careful I was with my word choice he didn't seem to understand me. He was on the rude side as well and all I could think of was how quickly I could leave. Right when the check was about to arrive he asked me something very dirty and inappropriate. I was so shocked that he thought he had the wrong word and repeated it. After paying my portion of the bill I made sure to quickly walk off in the other direction.

I headed to the mall and watched another movie. When it was over I made another stop at the internet cafe. After dinner I headed back to the roof bar. Once again not much was going on and I soon went to sleep.

Reflections

Day 302
I was up before 3 am and quickly finished packing. It was much easier to get a cab than I thought it would be. In no time I was at the airport. It was still closed but there were a lot of people around. It looked like most of them had come straight from the bar. When I did get on the flight I fell asleep instantly.

The last 29 days in Indonesia have been some of the best in my trip. Well, all except for the jungle mishap. The only reason I even did the trip was because I was a bit nervous about being on my own. I just didn't want to say it at the time. Indonesia is a place that I will definitely be returning to in the future.

The worst part of Indonesia was the garbage. No one recycles let alone uses a bin. It makes some of the most beautiful sites lose their appeal. I did find out that several NGO's are working on that so hopefully that will change in the future.

The best part was the people. They were friendly and chatty and over all just nice people. I did get a few odd questions though, one guy asked if Obama was the only black man in the US, another if everyone looks like me there.

I woke up when the plane touched down. Immigration back to Malaysia was a breeze and in no time I was at my hostel. As soon as my stuff was in the room I headed to the Thai Embassy. Since I arrived in Asia Thailand has changed it's visa rules. It used to be that you received 30 days upon arrival, now it is just 15. I'm just too tired after rushing around Indonesia to do it again. Getting a visa for Thailand will give me plenty of time to see the country. Unfortunately I got there just as the embassy was closing. A guy offered to sneak me in for 30 ringget but then he pulled the necessary paperwork out of his trunk. This felt really sketchy and I decided to just wait until the next day.

Afterwards I went back to my hotel and spent some time on the internet. When I got bored I headed to the mall for a movie. I don't like KL and I did all the things I had wanted to see here on my first trip through. This is really just killing time time.

When the movies were over I headed back and after showering I went up to the rooftop bar at the hostel. Not much was going on and soon I just went to sleep.

Cultivating a New Fear

Day 269
Today was my last day in Kl and I wanted to make sure that I actually accomplished something. I made sure that I got up early to do it. In no time I was at the Batu Caves.

The Batu Caves were made into a Hindu shrine in the mid 1800's. There are a lot of caves to check out, but most of them require a guide and even special permission. I was just there to check out the one main cave.

The first thing I saw was a giant standing golden god. I have no idea which one it was. Next to him were the 273 steps to the cave. I moaned to myself, I hate steps and it was really hot out. There was no way that I actually wanted to do this. Well, I wanted to do it, I just wanted it to be air conditioned and for there to be an elevator. Just then I thought I saw a rat run by me. At second glance I realized that it was a monkey. Suddenly I could see them all over the place. I love monkeys.

As I slowly climbed the stairs I took pictures of the monkeys and the view. I figured that the monkeys would just ignore the people. The staircase was split into three by two long railings. I had picked the middle one. There was a man to my right who was a couple of steps ahead of me. I didn't see what happened but I heard a loud noise and then saw that he was pretty much fighting off a monkey. When the monkey finally left he had a huge gash in his arm. Blood was flowing from it quickly. I have no idea if he someone taunted the monkey, or if it was just a mean monkey. I just stood there staring with my mouth open. Animal bites are serious business and I felt bad for the guy. He walked down to someone who I think must have been his wife. I wasn't sure if I should keep going or just leave. Suddenly the monkeys were scaring me half to death. In the end I decided to keep going, but to stay well away from the monkeys.

At one point a monkey started coming close to me and I backed away. A man climbing near by explained to me that if I held my water bottle under my arm it looked like I was hiding something. The monkey thought I might have food for him. I decided to hold my bottle by the neck instead. Another man told me that I should have brought bananas, that they could be bought at the bottom of the steps. I hadn't seen anyone selling bananas, and I wouldn't want to get that close to the monkeys anyway. He told me that the monkeys didn't like to have their picture taken if you didn't pay them with food. I really don't think the monkey knows that I was taking a picture of it.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I made it up without a scratch. Suddenly the monkeys were gone, but there were several crowing roosters. I had completely forgotten how many steps I had climbed or how hot out it was.

The cave itself was amazing. It was green and dripping and had this otherworldly quality to it. I spent some time checking out the different rock formations. There were several small alters to check out. They all seemed to have a cartoon like look to them. I asked a couple of other tourists to help me out with some pictures.

When it was time to go down I made sure to put myself in the middle of a couple groups of people. I figured that the monkeys were get to them first. I was really happy when I had reached the bottom without any monkey bites. I didn't have to wait long for the bus back. I got a bit confused though and ended up getting off too soon and taking the monorail back.

It was just noon when I got back and I stopped at a curry place and got some banana pori for lunch. I also tried to figure out what to do with myself. I really didn't care for KL and none of the sites really motivated me. I decided to just go back to the hostel and hang out. The hostel was really rather nice. It was airconditioned and the staff was fabulous. I spent the afternoon watching tv and online.

After grabbing myself some dinner I curled up in front of the tv with the hostel cat named Naughty. I thought he was anything but naughty though. I stayed up way too late watching tv on the internet and went to bed with blury eyes.

Big Difference

Day 268
I was up early but I spent some time screwing around on the internet before getting my act together. My plan was to walk to the Patronas Towers and maybe go up them. The Patronas tower used to be the tallest building in the world. It has lost this title to Taipei (I think) or perhaps Dubai, but it is still a pretty cool looking building. You can see it from all over the city and I had used it as a reference point the day before when I was out.

The walk there only takes about 30 minutes, but goes through all sorts of different neighborhoods. I passed restaurants, street vendors, fast food joints and large apartment buildings. About half way there I passed some homes that were less houses and more shacks that looked like they would blow over in a strong breeze. There were chickens running around in the yards. It was hard to believe that this was so close to such a modern building. I also saw a chicken crossing the road.

I hadn't realized that the towers had a mall in them. It was still early enough for most of the stores to be closed and I wandered a bit checking it out. I felt bad though. The mall was full of super high end shops, Versace, Minolo, and Prada were among them. I kept thinking about how one purchase in those stores was probably more than the people who lived in those shacks made a month. It seemed really unfair. I didn't go in any of the shops as I usually would have done.

In the end I decided to not go up the towers, but instead I went to a movie. It was still early and I would be able to make it to the National Museum afterwards. My plans were foiled though, it was absolutely pouring when I went to leave. I, of course, am not smart enough to carry my umbrella with me, plus I had no no traction flip flops and I tend to fall a lot in them when it rains. I was stuck. For some time I wandered the levels, but that was boring. I though I would go to the book store and do some research on India. All the books were shrink wrapped though so I couldn't thumb through them. I ended up just buying a book and having a very long lunch to kill the time.

The rain didn't slow until 4pm and I could no longer go to the museum. Instead I simply walked back in the drizzle to my hostel. At least it was cool and dry there. That evening I met some Canadian girls and we headed out to a market for some street food. On the way we got a bit grossed out because there were cats chasing around rats. We decided to go the long way after that. I had rice and chicken for dinner. It was really quite good and at less than $2 with some fresh squeezed oj it was a steal.

I thought I would be up all night, but apparently walking around a mall does in fact tire one out. So I once again was asleep far earlier than I would have expected.

Sad Day, Happy Feet

Day 267
My alarm went off early and I packed in the cool of the morning. When I brought my things down I was happy to find out that I would be sharing the taxi with a French couple. This meant the cost would be 5 instead of 15 ringgets. The cab driver tried to pull a fast one on us though. He told us that it would be 10 for them and 10 for me. I pointed out that I had already been informed that the cost is 15 ringgets no matter how many people were in the cab and eventually he agreed. It wasn't really the money, it was more about getting ripped off. Five riggets is only US $1.30

I had just enough time before my bus left to grab some water and a coconut bread roll. The ride was uneventful. I spent most of the time reading and staring out of the window.

The bus station in Kuala Lumpor (KL) was a nightmare. I ducked inside to get away from the taxi touts for a minute and to look on my map. I wasn't really all that far from where I wanted to go, but definitely further than I wanted to walk in this heat. The first driver I spoke to actually told me to just take the metro and that it was only a couple minute walk away. Well, it was slightly further, than that and I had to cross a busy highway without any lights twice. Still I managed to get there in one piece and after asking help several times and finally being led by a kind old man I managed to get to my hostel.

Inside it was air conditioned and there was a cat to play with. I decided to stay inside for a bit and work on blog. When I opened my email I had an email from Martin, one of the guys in Warsaw who I met up with again for Halloween. Another guy in our group, Jeremy, had been killed in a car accident back home. The only reason Martin knew was because he was meant to spend some time the following week staying with him and someone in Jeremy's family contacted him. If you don't remember Jeremy was the guy who I switched rooms with because of the really smelly man in our dorm room. He wasn't much older than me and on his first trip, he had planned to travel more. I wish that I had kept in better touch with him.

I wasn't really in the mood for much at this point but decided that it would be best to walk around a bit. I ended up heading to Chinatown. Now this was an actual madhouse and I was definitely not in the mood for it. I didn't stay very long. I wandered a bit more and found the tamer, but more boring, central market. It was kinda like a giant Pier One. This is really a tourist place. As I wandered I saw a sign that said 'cute fish'. I like fish and find them to be relaxing, but I don't think I would call them cute. It turns out that this was one of those places where fish give you a pedicure. I had heard about this in the States, but I remember it being quite expensive. For only 5 ringgets, or less than $2 I thought it sounded like a great idea.

After rolling up my pants and sitting down I stuck my feet in the water. Instantly loads of tiny fish were at my feet. It tickled so much that I had to pull my feet back out. After a second or two I stuck them back in. Getting used to the painless chewing sensation took a couple of minutes. I really had to force myself to stay still. Once I got used to it it actually felt kinda good. Some of the fish seemed a bit confused though and tried to nibble at the backs of my legs. When the ten minutes were up most of the fish had either gotten bored or there just wasn't any dead skin left for them to eat. The woman who worked there handed me a paper towel and I took my feet out. They definitely felt much smoother than before. That was money well spent. After taking a quick picture the woman said something to me that I couldn't understand. I then started to walk away, just to realize that I hadn't paid. Very embarrassed I apologized and gave her the money

On the way back to the hostel I accidentally bumped into a man. I apologized in English so I couldn't use my typical excuse of not understanding when he started to talk to me. He was following me a bit as well. This went on for about ten minutes. I walked slower and slower until he was a ways in front of me. Near my hostel I popped into a supermarket to get some snacks for the evening. As he was ahead of me I figured that I wouldn't see him again. Much to my unhappy surprise he was suddenly in the store as well. He must have doubled back as he had been in front on me. The creepy man kept looking for me in the different isles as I took my time waiting for him to leave. Eventually I just got in line behind a western looking person. He turned out to be from Holland. When I explained to him that I thought I was being followed and asked if he would walk out with me he asked me where the guy was. I looked around and saw that he was only two people in line behind me. When I said that they Dutch man told me that he would walk me back to my hostel, just in case. I thanked him and we went our separate ways. Oddly, I ran into him the next day on the other side of the city.

I am sure that the man was completely harmless, perhaps just confused by western movie messages, or wanted to chat. Still, I figured better safe than sorry. I do seem to be getting a lot of attention here, not just because of what I look like, but also because I am alone. Still, there is very little violent crime here, no more really than in Europe, so as long as I stay on my guard and ask for help when I feel uncomfortable everything should be fine. I did, however, decided to not wander any further than the next door 7-11 after night fall.

Back at the hostel I showered and then hung out for a bit in the common room. I thumbed through a communal China guidebook so that I could get an idea for an itinerary there. I had planned on spending the evening watching movies, but the dvd player wasn't working so I settled in with a book and called it an early night.