| Submitted by: Timothy Eyre , United Kingdom |
| Submission Date: 07 February 2005 |
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Flat pink bus fare now RM0.60, bus 11 to Gua Batu leaves from same side of Central Market as Meridian YH, not overcroded and takes 1hr. The cave is now free to enter but there is some kind of fish park and art gallery that costs RM1. Monkies here amusing. The Twin Happiness Hotel near the Puduraya McDonalds is a good place to stay and around RM20 a room. Bus ticket to JB RM16.40, loads of departures, takes 5 to 6 hrs. Air con dorm at Bencoolen Street Lee's Travellers Club (now legalised and called Lee's Boarding House) is S$8, 6 beds in the room and the air con is effective. Non air con is S$7. B'fast S$1, extra slice of toast 25c. Was given a Brunei note as part of my change, not sure wheter they're legal tender or not. Bus #16 goes to the airport now, S$1 non air con, S$1.30 air con, get on Stanford Street or Orchard road. A large swathe of Chinatown has been condemmed and all the shops were shut up saying where they were moving to, so some major changes in this area. Beware of full buses to airport at about 6pm.
I travelled comfortably with a 20litre day sack which still held all my gear at the end of my trip, including mosquito net and souvenirs. Mosquitoes were an annoyance in Malaysia more than anywhere else I've been. Average daily expenditure was about UKP6 to live reasonably well. Malaysians very friendly, worth learning some Malay, my small efforts paid off massively. Three months was enough to cover the country fairly well.Cheaper to fly London S'pore than London KL and not inconvenient. No good maps of Malaysia are available in the country - Nelles map is the best. Hitching is a great way to get around but different towns have different success rates, some places are absurdly easy, you just need to stroll by the side of the road looking vaguely as if you might want a lift and get a ride, other places are hopeless even if you put on a tie, write a big sign etc. Hitching is a great way to meet locals and they buy you food and invite to their houses, I even slept over once and shared a hotel room on another occassion. Meet interesing people and comfortable if you don't get a lorry! Saving money is way down the list for advantages. Even two of us (my mother and I) got lifts easily.
Carrying a tie and wearing a proper shirt and jogging trousers formed a good set of travelling attire. I found I was very welcome at Christian Churches, which provided a good means of insight into the local life, even if your Christian faith is vestigial. Travelling in Malaysia is absurdly easy and the restaurants are almost always scrupulously clean. People tend to overlook the place and just pass through, but it was well worth three months of my life. Traditional Malay music is difficult to find, but loads of Indian stuff is available. Indian restaurants are the only suspect ones normally.
Thanks for a good trip - guidebooks make life so much easier!
Yours, Timothy Eyre
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| Copyright © - "Timothy Eyre" |
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