Back in Singapore

Yeah, you read right. Was here too, a bit over a year ago, did not have enough time then, added one more day to the city this year. But, no stress with the sightseeing this year. Just chilling.


Had a CS party lined up the first night, not my suggestion this time. No need for that, it is something going on all the time here. Meet up with 3 strangers at the Little India MRT (tube) and walked off to meet more people in Little India. Was a lot of people showing up, 25-30, and only got around to talk with a few of them, But was nice all of them living in Singapore, some born here, others living here for some time for work or studying.  Good night, but when the others went clubbing I went “home”.  Being out reminded me about that Singapore is terribly expensive, almost like Norway, just have to live with it for a few days. Sort of fun, a dinner here ending up on about the same amount of money as at Borneo, just that there I was doubling  it to get the Norwegian price, here I have to multiply with 4,45. 50 and 50 is not longer the same then.


Found electronic and gizmo heaven Saturday, just floor and floor with electronic, computers, cameras, pads, mobile phones etc.… did not buy anything, YET. Was most of all looking for a new e-book, but rot many shops had it, and the best one was more expensive than the one I broke, but maybe better. After some checking of prices home in Norway, I found out that the same model is cheaper home, no shopping, going back to old style books.




The rest of Saturday I only spent around the river, dinner at some Indian place, a few beer, a cruise on the river, relaxing at the hostel and early to bed. Sleeping in a dorm room is sometimes challenging, specially when it is 25 others in the room, it is snoring, alarms going off, people moving in bed, in and out of the room. Still, it goes fine, but not any night with full sleep.


Sunday I have a breakfast “date” with Lise, a girl I know from FB. Since I do not how much time she can spend together with me I haven’t made any other planes for the day. Have a nice breakfast and coffee together with here, great girl, but unfortunately she do not have much time to spend before she have to get back to daily life. So now, what now. Starting with a walk down Orcard street, shopping mall heaven or hell, but find me a book, and that is what I need. Checking for wi-fi, and find it outside a Burger King, someone on CS want to do a sushi lunch, I am in, and get a call back later about where an when. Great! We are 4 for sushi, and one of them is Corinna from Austria, who happen to have a plan about getting to the Night safari, my only tourist goal for Singapore this time. Really good, then we both get company for the zoo.

The night safari/zoo is good, pretty exciting to see some of the animals at night, compare to daytime. Before the safari we go to see an animal show. And who is the lucky man to get called up on stage to hold a monster python, me off course. Not scared of the snake, even if I never have had any urge to hold one. Big, at least 3 m long, and heavy, but I think I do a pretty good “performance” on stage.
Have been a good day in Singapore, turned out very good out of almost no plan at all.

Monday, last day in Singapore, just being tourist around Bugis and the Arab area, Kampong Glam. No big planes, have a small hope for some CS activity tonight, dinner and some tigers would be good.

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Came into Kuching on Sunday, February 20th, in the afternoon. Could from the plane see that this is a nice city, lots of space, nice wide streets, organised it looked like from above, and the same it does from the ground.
Grabbed the usual Taxi from the airport to the hostel, Three house B&B,  runned and owned by Bindi from Sweden who met me in the door as I arrived. I choose this hostel because it is top ranked at hostelworld, it with good reason. Nice, clean, quite, nice staff, which is at the time Bindi. The dorm is a bit warm at night since there isn’t any AC, but in total fine, and the price is just 15 ringit (30 NOK) pr night in the dorm. Almost free, and that even include breakfast, coffee, Wi-Fi, water, awesome!

Have had some good days in Kuching, a couple of them just relaxing and just had a walk true town, people watching and had a look out for something to shop, but not found anything that I need, or want, even if they have some nice stuff here. Visited a museum, eaten at the food stalls for some local cuisine. Kuching is actually a very nice city, the best I have seen in Malaysia, clean, well organised, lots of green areas and open spaces, an amazing waterfront to the river, I really like this town.

Had also a nice half day trip out to see the Orang Utan’s together with Heidi (from Malaysia), who was very good company for the trip, would probably not don it without her since I saw the Orang Utan last year in Sabah. We saw a lot of Orang Utans, and it would even if we had not seen any I know I would enjoyed the day. 

Cooking class, had to attend one cooking class here too, when I found one. It was good, but not fantastic. Made some very good curry chicken, but I know how to make curry from Thailand, same same different. Talking about food, have had most of my meal alone here, but had the luck of getting the company of Valvenera from Spain for dinner one night, nice meal and good company. Always better to have someone to share the meal with, as dining alone is what I think that can be the boring part of traveling alone. Was ears dropping at some Norwegians at a table next to me one night, did not feel for talking to them, and unfortunately they had nothing interesting to say. *hehe

Thursday as it is  today,  have I spent in Bako national park. A short trip, and unfortunately we had rain a lot of the time. But, we got to see a lot of Proboscis monkeys, which was my biggest hope to got to see. Great. Saw also 3 green viper snakes, one small and one big monitor lizard, bearded pigs and a lot of the “scumbag” long tail macaque monkeys, so the trip out there was good, even if the weather could have been better.  Weather, the rain this morning was so hard that it could not possible get any stronger, but it did, was totally insane, but it slowed down after some time.

Kuching, a big success!
Next stop, Singapore……….

I choose to not climb

as the request is at Uluru in Australia, and I did not climb there. Here in KK is the the main thing to climb, but I choose not to. A lot more relaxing to go down below and look at the fishes.
Got into KK in the afternoon on February 16th, was delayed because of heavy rain over the airport. Yes it is rain season here, but it is not to much trouble with the rain. Just some heavy showers now and then. What pissed me of from the flight is that I got my e-book reader destroyed in my carry-on, so I need to go back to paper books again. Wonder if my travel insurance cover it? Hope so, see when I get back home.
Have gotten a great hostel here in KK, Masada backpacker, recommend it a lot, good location, nice staff, clean, AC all over, quite and nice people staying here. So lucky that I got my dorm by myself for 2 nights, that is always great.  If you go to KK, stay here.

Was thinking of organising a CS meeting here too, but not up for it. Have been tired the evenings I been here after the diving, and today it is travel day tomorrow. If something comes up as a last minute today I attend one instead.

Have had 2 days out diving with down below scuba, same as last year. Good diving even if the visibility is not the best, was me and two guides on the first day, and a group on the second with Sarah as my designated buddy. Very relaxed and nice. got the message on the 2nd day that some whale sharks was spotted close by, so we vent out looking for them, but could not find them unfortunately, but we did find a sea horse instead. Have also seen a lot of blue spotted rays, stonefish, scorpion fish, frogfish, lots of nice nudy’s, lionfish, the biggest turtle I have ever seen, and more, been very good. Flickr album for pictures, even a nice python snake on land the first day, and some kind of monkey of the second day. Got the heart beat up a little bit on the search for the whale shark, but no luck this time, would have been great to see.  Been tired after the 3 dive a day, so have not been up for much action in the evening, some dinner an couple of Tiger beer.
Today, Saturday, not sure what the day brings yet, but most likely just a walk true town, maybe some shopping… so far just been relaxing at the hostel updating the photos, dive log and blog. Maybe I do an update later on.

Ok, an update.. daytime, not done much, gone for a walk and had some lunch at some Chinese restaurant, done some shopping.. or, some stuff for mosquito hardly is considered shopping I guess. Got stuck in some rain at Hunters Terrace for a coffee and a beer because of some rain. Then, the hostel for reading, internet and a shower, nothing to write about really, but I just did.
The dinner of the day was a bit interesting, some seafood at street vendor at the night marked, squid and fish w seaweed (interesting), but a cheap and good dinner, the two pints at the Irish bar after was not cheap. But, an awesome night marked, lots of vegetables and seafood to buy, raw and cooked.
Night, or close to my bedtime. Tomorrow, the journey continue to Kuching in Sarawak, still Malaysia.

Singamata

Update May 17th. 2016, since I discovered some bad reviews online, this was not going on when I was here in 2010 and 2011. Read http://says.com/my/news/singamata-resort-guests-trigger-outrage-from-diving-community

is a resort 10 minutes outside Semporna in Sabah at the Malaysian side of Borneo. I was here for 8 days a year ago, and loved it, met some Norwegian and Swedes then. This time I have been the only Scandinavian staying here, and it  has in fact been very quite, like 15 guest at the most, and I have had the male dorm all by myself all the time, great.

It has been some changes during the last year, last time it was all you can eat buffet, this time I only get a plate of food too each meal. Not that much food either, so you can safely say that I have been forced to a diet. Still it is enough, and I hope I loos some weight, would make me happy and my doctor happy.

No Scandinavian, have had some very nice company here anyway, Keiko from Japan, Phillipa from Trinidad (and Tobago), Sam and Oliver from China, been good, nice people. Since Singamata is a stilt house resort out on the sea, and you need a boat to get here, you are sort of forced to take it easy and do nothing. Nothing means, reading, snorkelling, diving (11 times under water) soaking sun and get sunburned unfortunately. Love it, total relaxing under the sun with no stress, to bed at 2200 and till breakfast at 0630

Semporna, the town inside here is a ugly town, absolutely nothing to to there, so if you should happen to come this way, get out here to Singamata or Mabul or something, and the main reason to come here is diving, snorkelling, nice beaches out on the islands, be prepared to relax. Was so lucky that I got 3 dives out at Sipadan this time too, nice diving with lots of white tip sharks, turtles and more. The best guide and dive master I ever have dived with, Santi, that worked for Singamata last year is now working for Uncle Chan at Mabul, was not diving with her on Sipadan but had the pleasure of saying hi to her at least.
For party and diving, Uncle Chan at Mabul should be your place, relax and read, Singamata is the place. for the dorm room with 3 meals a day, I only pay 50 Ringits (100 NOK), that is good. Diving, 250 Ringits (500 NOK) for 3 dives. One of the reason that it is cheap here, is maybe, and that is not good, that most of the staff working here is from the Philippines and are under 20 years old, youngest only 14 I think, after Norwegian standards, that is not good. Great people, doing a wonderful job.

When one are out on the islands diving around here you see how simple life a lot of the people are living. Lots of places people have set up their stilt house out on shallow parts of the ocean. It is very strange for a European to understand that it is possible to live like that, often a lot of kids too in the tiny houses. Guess they live of fishing, or, it can not be much else to live of, and it might be some vegetable and coconuts to find on land of the islands  around. I do not think there is any school for the children, at least I can not understand where it should be. It is interesting.


Have had 8 amazing days at Singamata this year too, and maybe I be back an other time. It is a hidden paradise.

My next stop will be Kota Kinabalu, also a repetition from last year, going there tomorrow on my 0,- Ringit ticket with Air Asia.

Kuala Lumpur

Back in KL, feels different than last time. Most likely because I have been here before, but also because I have been in more places in Southeast Asia since, so it feels safer and not that strange. Have off course booked my bed at the Red Palm, the best hostel in KL, haven’t tried anyone else, and I do not have to. One complain, a very bad water pressure in the showers. But location, staff, bed, is excellent.

After a couple of nights it sort of hits me that it feels like I haven’t been home for 10 mounts, it feels natural to go to sleep in a bunk bed in a room with strangers and eat out, maybe I should live my life more like this. Well, maybe not, will most likely be good to get back home again too, but still 6 weeks to go.

KL, i do a hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus trip around KL, which is good, gets a lot better overview of the city and have a little walk true China town and little India and a pizza stop in the Twin tower. Recommend it as a starter of KL. Must admit that I do not jump off to much, tired and are almost falling to sleep on the bus, but that is the jet leg talking. Have one of the other day a tour in KL tower, which also was good for a overview. Are all of the days in KL struggling with been sleepy after the flight, not doing to much else that the stuff mentioned, reading a lot. AND, not to forget the couchsurfing party, great success, still amazed about how many showed up, fun night out.

Next stop is Singamata outside Semporna on Borneo. Looking forward to get back there, loved it last year, which also make it a bit risky, easy to get disappointed. Will not meet the same great people that I met last year, but hopefully some new great people. Will be good diving, lots of reading and relaxing, hopefully also sunny. The monsoon season is running late this year and it have rained a lot.

CS meeting in Kuala Lumpur

 

It is just amazing that you can send out a message if someone want to go out for a drink in KL from home in Stavanger and 15 or so people show up.

That is what I did, the evening before I went to KL I posted a message in the KL group on www.couchsurfing.org asking if someone wanted to join me for a drink in KL. I was not really expecting many answers, but a lot said that they wanted to show up, great. It was around 15 people that met up, from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand. USA, France, Germany, England, Norway (me) and probably some other countries too. Was an brilliant evening, drinks, food at a street shed “restaurant”, more drinks with a group of amazing people. Loved it.

Might have to try this an other place down the road as well

Airborne for KL

Finally on my way to Kuala Lumpur, again. At the moment in Amsterdam, Schiphol airport. Had a bumpy ride over from Stavanger, But Captain Kaptain (cool name for a Captain) from KLM took us safe across the sea.

Was up crazy early, 03.20 to get the taxi for the airport. Only 4 hours sleep, hope I get some sleep on the last 12 h stretch to KL, should be tired enough.

Many sleepless hours later…..>
In KL, not more that a hour sleep on the plane, so are really tired, and it is only 9.30 in the morning, so have to keep it going for many more hours before I get my bed at the hostel, check in at 14:00.
Tired, but still good to be here, nice and warm, so have changed into my shorts, t-shirt and sandals (with no Ullvang socks inside).
Have organised a CS meeting here tomorrow, just up the street from the hostel, and it look like we will be a few people, cool.