Bangkok - Thailand

I decided that upon leaving Surat Thani, I was to leave behind my frustration with the Thai disorganisation and embrace whatever the Capital had to offer. After the short flight from ST, we landed around 9:30pm and jumped straight into a taxi outside the airport. We had had the foresight to book the hostel in advance using our iPad whilst in Koh Phangan. We had read great reviews of this new hostel so were expecting good things. We weren't disappointed. We arrived as Saphaipae Hostel and were immediately impressed. It was new, clean, open and modern. I\'d be happy to recommend actually, if you\'re thinking of staying in Bangkok, consider Saphaipae. We were given our keys and wifi passwords then went to the room to shower. Cindy had contacted her friend from Bangkok so we went to meet her, grabbing a kebab on the way. This turned out to be an excellent end to the day as we met Tappy and her Italian friend Marco and chatted away, drinking coffee and having fruit shisha until 2am.

The next morning, feeling back in our carpe the diem mood, we woke early and caught the ferry down the river to The Grand Palace. Outside the huge white walls, we were told that we had to cover up, out of respect. I had prepared and took out my jeans from my bag, and immediately started to boil. Roger was already dying in his 'pants' (trousers) and Winnie and Cindy had to rent clothes to cover themselves up. I told them that this was a consequence of dressing like a hussy..... haha. It seemed this provided a money-making opportunity for some people, who were suggesting we hired their clothes instead of hiring those from the Grand Palace.

Inside were many wonderfully ornate and masterful examples of architecture. Many golden temples, stone statues and giant ornaments. I could easily have used up my camera\'s memory if I had taken a picture of everything I wanted to remember. I was very impressed with this place. The Grand Palace took around 2-3 hours to walk around, as we found ourselves discovering temple, after building after buddha. After we all became Buddha'd out, we left the palace (Winnie and Cindy gave back their clothes) and went for some noodles. We'd arranged to meet Sam and Mina outside Wat Pho at 1pm. Their journey had unfortunately taken them much longer than they'd anticipated so we carried on without them around 2:45. Inside Wat Pho, were many other temples. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I said that I'd seen enough 'wats' for one day and wanted to only see Wat Pho's main attraction, the laying Buddha. 







The others actually with me and we all went to see the massive, horizontal, golden Buddha. I was very impressed with it's size and detail. Although surrounded by tourists, I was actually feeling like I was experiencing the Thailand that I'd come in search for. After, we were somewhat 'watted-out', so we wanted to sleep. We returned to the Hostel for a shower and a good long nap. It was obvious that the heat and humidity was getting to us. We slept for 2-3 hours and only woke to enjoy the nightlife.

We had caught a taxi home from Wat Pho and met Kai, who was to become our very own tour guide. We'd arranged for him to pick us up from the hostel and take us to see Mambo, a Ladyboy cabaret show. This was an experience. There were many surprisingly beautiful and demure 'women' in the show, along with some not-so-demure. Winnie couldn't stop chuckling at one of them that looked like Jean Claude van Dam in a bikini! The show was full of lights, dancing, mimed music and a sprinkle of comedy. 
Kai had waited for us, and offered t take us to a ping-pong show. We were in Bangkok, we were curious, we SURELY couldn't be scarred.... could we?! He took us to a place he knew, stopping for dim-sum on the way. He came in and ate with us, which was nice. 

After arriving at the dark, seedy looking backstreet, we were unsure about getting out of the cab. I thought we'd either be mugged or killed, or both. Kai led us through a door where we handed over some money and were led into a dark square room, filled with people sitting around a square stage. We were shown to some seats for the show.

For the next 20 minutes or so, we were to see various Thai women take the stage, dance like they'd rather be anywhere else than here, take of their underwear and do various things with their organs. This included the opening of a beer bottle, shooting pins to burst balloons and pulling flags/bunting out of themselves. We were then 'treated' to the ping-pong lady followed by some live sex, which we had definitely not expected. What made this experience memorable was not the spectacle of viewing these women's 'talents', but it was the feeling of shame and sorrow I (we) felt. These women were, so to speak, dead behind the eyes. They either seemed under the influence of drugs, or experiencing such a low point in their lives that they have given up hope. They have no confidence, no self worth, nothing to show for themselves but some sordid party trick that earn the men looking after them a decent wage. I felt incredibly sorry for them and felt a pang of guilt to myself. I have since explained to Roger that I feel like I had contributed to some sex trafficking or circle of abuse. He agrees with this completely. I am glad I have seen it, so I know now that it is something I do not want to see again. It was very different to how I'd imagined a show to be.

After the 'entertainment' we went back to the hostel as it was close by. I think the intention was to freshen up a little and head out to some bars... eight hours later, we woke up! :P

We woke after passing out the night before and made our way on the river taxi to Wat Arun - The Temple of the Rising Dawn. This was very impressive and we joked that it looked like something from Mortal Kombat. Hence the Adam vs Roger fight photos and the 'Goro' photo. After managing to climb up and down the steep steps without a broken neck, we made our way to China-town and had some more dim sum for lunch. If you know me well enough, you'll know how grumpy/miserable I get when I am hungry. So I was getting quite annoyed at the surprising lack of restaurants in China-town. But once I'd had my fill of dim-sum I was smiling again. Cindy headed back to the hostel to sleep as she was feeling a little under the weather so Roger, Winnie and I went to find some authentic Thai shops. We only found a massive shopping mall though.

We decided enough was enough and that we deserved some TLC. After raving about the Thai massage in Koh Phangan, we decided to have another massage. We found a massage place and each opted for the oil massage. We we then taken upstairs. As I was climbing, I remember a friend's voice saying 'never go upstairs', but this seemed okay at the time. We were each taken to a small dark room and left there. The walls didn't touch the ceiling so we could talk to each-other. Winnie and Roger were next to each-other, I was miles away. I stripped to my boxers and waited for the lady to come back. I laid on the bed and she told me to take off my boxer shorts. I said I did\'t want anything 'special' just a massage, but she made me take them off anyway...gulp! The massage was average and she took great pleasure in tickling my feet and making my laugh like a 4 year old girl. Winnie and Roger heard this and found it hilarious. What I didn't find hilarious was that 3 times during the least-relaxing massage ever, the lady left the room to blow her nose, loudly, then returned... was that REALLY oil on my back?! Afterwards I showered and left as soon as I could. Whilst waiting for Roger and Winnie, I was given a complimentary cup of tea... and a little note asking for a tip. sigh. Thankfully, Winnie and Roger returned 2-3 minutes after me and we left.

After looking around, we walked back, finding a street market on the way (which is what we'd been looking for), bought some magnets, souvenirs, phone case etc then got back to the hostel. Cindy went back out with Tappy to shop round Khaosan Road, Roger crashed in the room and me and Winnie met Sam and Mina, who had come from their hotel to our hostel, and went to Soi Cowboy, the bar/red light area. This was full of bars, lights, women, pretend women, and foreigners looking for a 'happy ending' to their Bangkok stay. We found that unfortunately, the restaurant Cabbage and Condoms where we wanted to eat, was closed. So we found a nice Italian place and ate there, returning home after.

At 4am that morning, we were picked up by Kai, our new best friend, and taken to the Airport to catch our flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and the last stage of the EPIK journey!

Koh Phangan - Thailand

This was the day that I was to discover that everything you're told in Thailand may not necessarily be the truth. Some of it may be a version of the truth. Some of it, will be a lie.

We were told that we would be picked up around 8:30 am outside the hotel and taken in a comfortable air-conditioned minibus to Surat Thani port, where we would catch a 2 hour ferry to Koh Phangan. We were indeed met almost on-time, and the minibus was nice and cool. This is where the truth ended. The journey lasted about 10 minutes, as we were taken to a car park and huddled off the minibus like cattle and squeezed onto a bigger bus (like, 44 seats) with other travelers. This bus was hot, smelly and not strictly human-exclusive. By that, I mean there was probably 3 mosquitos for every 2 passengers! I was lucky enough to get a seat near the front. The bus had around 44 seats, yet we crammed about 49 passengers on it, stowing the excess luggage in the aisle of the bus. This meant that people had to sit ON the luggage, or stand at the front for the journey that lasted about 3-4 hours.

After listening to some music, and raising my mosquito-kill count to around 5, I managed a little nap. When we got to Surat Thani, we were then, again like cattle, herded off the big bus and told to wait for another bus. The only thing good about this was that we got off the sweaty, flea-ridden bus and Cindy bought me an ice-cream! After we'd just got settled, the Thai pseudo-farmer blew her whistle and us cattle were bundled onto an even smaller bus, which looked older than Fred Flintstone's car, which was to take us to the ferry port. We were told this journey was to take 45 minutes. 1 hour and 15 minutes later, we arrived...

I'm getting annoyed just writing this, so I'll summarise. We got to the port, ate, got the ferry, passed out, woke up, off the ferry, taxi to hotel.

The rooms were nice, basic but clean and cute. I liked that the room came with a padlock to lock the door?!?!... whatever. We changed, then caught a tuk-tuk into the town area to find food. We found a restaurant and had some much-needed grub. In the middle of eating, Roger began to shout "Ryan.... RYAN" and to our amazement, walking past the restaurant, semi-dancing, was Ryan Lilly (our friend from Korea)! Small world eh?

Ryan persuaded us to finish our meal then join him and some random Kiwis in going to a Jungle Party. After getting a cocktail in a bucket (standard) we got a mad tuk-tuk to this party. Here, in the middle of the jungle, were about 2000 drunken foreigners, dancing to

(in my opinion crappy) music, drinking and having a great time! The party was fun and I was feeling happy to not be on that damn bus. Roger was almost passing out tired though, so to wake him up and avoid getting bitten by jungle mosquitoes (they're harder to kill than bus mosquitoes, i figured) we went to a pool party. This was just what it sounded like. So, we shrugged our shoulders, stripped to our underwear and jumped in the pool! This was so much fun, drinking and dancing and splashing. The vibe was good and we were beside the beach, at last, I was happy again!

The next day was to be the day of the Full Mon Party. I wasn't sure how I was feeling about this party. From what had started out as a small party in 1985 for a few tourists, the FMP now attracted HUGE crowds, thousands of foreigners. And we all know how drunken foreigners act... We were also finally joined by Mina who had had to work an extra week. We all started this day by taking a tuk-tuk to Koh Ma Beach (we smirked at the name) which was amazingly beautiful. The sand was white and the sea turquoise. A few hundred metres from the shore was a small island, and between this beach and the island, was a sandy walkway where we could walk 'through the sea' to the island. It made some amazing pictures. 

Koh Ma

I was feeling like I deserved some TLC after yesterday, so after Roger and Cindy, I went to the beach huts and asked one of the beautiful Thai ladies for an coconut oil massage. I listened to my iPod music as her warm hands soothed my aching back and neck and I was totally relaxed... As she moved onto my legs, I suddenly noticed how large her hands were, and come to notice it... her shoulders were quite wide too for a wo..... oh.....eeeek! 
I'll give her her due though, she was a good masseuse!! :P

After the relaxing massage and a refreshing swim, we headed back to rest for the FMP. We all bought custom

FMP vests/tshirts and crashed. The hotel provided free transport to Haad Rin (beach of the FMP) and we were dropped off close. We went to a meeting point to try and meet up with the girls from Korea (we'd pre-arranged this). This wasn't to be though, as we were a tad late but we partied on late into the night. We got body paint on our arms and faces and drunk a fair amount of beer. Some of us tried laughing gas, which Roger, Cindy and Sam thought was terrible, but Winnie and I were too busy laughing to complain! 

The Full Moon Party certainly was an experience. Can I say I enjoyed it? no, sadly I can't. Again, I felt that what had been a cool hippy-style party back in the day, had been too over-customised for us westerners. The music wasn't to my liking and I was just having one of those nights. You know those, right? Those nights when you're just not feeling it, you drink, but it has no effect. You smile on the outside but the inside yawns... So thanks body, thanks a lot for choosing this night of all nights to be stubborn.

We did manage to bump into the girls though, which was great. Some of them felt sick from some food they ate but they seemed to be having fun. It was really good to think 6 months ago, I knew none of these people, we've become close friends through our shared experiences and now we were again meeting in another country on the same beach. Madness! 

Winnie and Cindy also bumped into Ryan again. I'd already decided that the FMP wasn't for me, and gone home. It was actually one of the saddest nights of the trip for me, it was only the second time since leaving the UK that I'd felt isolated and lonely, despite there being 20,000 people around me. I guess it's just my age and the aforementioned body-alcohol resistance :(

Upon reflection, I am glad that I went. Was it crazy? Yeah, I guess it was in parts. Was it fun? To me, no. But others seemed to have a decent time. Would I go again? no, been there, done that, got the purple vest....

We all woke up at a fairly decent time to say we all got back between 3-5am. We went the port area to rent some scooters so that we could spend the rest of the time exploring this gorgeous island. First we bought the Ferry tickets, as we needed to get to Surat Thani airport the following night, to catch the flight to Bangkok. The tickets allowed us to board the 12:30 ferry to the mainland, then catch the provided luxury bus and get us to the airport for 4pm. Our flight was at 8:20pm so we\'d have some time to kill but it was better than rushing, we thought. We spent the rest of the day riding round the island, taking pictures and eating ice-cream and other foods on offer. This is the day I took the magical picture sitting on the palm tree hovering over the ocean. Simply beautiful. We ended the night be going around a local market, sampling various street food and looking at souvenirs. I also bought more Imodium... ahem.

The final day, we woke early and I had breakfast with Winnie. I also heard another hotel guest talk and said to Winnie "he sounds like me", turns out he was from Leeds. Was nice to hear a Yorkshire accent this far afield! Cindy joined us and we went out on the scooters to visit the full moon beach and take some pictures on the sand. Roger slept in and Sam and Mina had left for their ferry to Koh Samui. We met back at the hotel and then rode together to return the bikes and catch the ferry. It was then to be confirmed that traveling within Thailand is NOT something I enjoy doing. We boarded the 12:30 ferry at 1:10 and were herded into a downstairs room with only white walls and a blank tv to stare at. 

Thankfully we slept the whole journey and after waiting 40 minutes to get off the boat, we got on the promised luxury bus to the airport. The luxury bus was the only truth in the promised journey. We moved on and stopped at a place where we were told to get off the bus, which we did. We we then told to get back ON the bus again. Whilst grumbling, I got back on the bus which took us to the airport, via the train station. Promised time of arrival, 4pm. Actual time of arrival, 6:10 pm! Magic Thailand, magic!

Back to the scene of the party the morning after, beautiful

We ate in the airport then boarded our flight to Bangkok, which left on-time at 8:20pm....

Phuket - Thailand

 Winter Vacation stop #2 - Phuket

We left KL at 6:55am and arrived in Phuket just over 1 hour later. At the airport we managed to get a pretty nice deal with a travel company. We bought 5 tickets to an activity day for the day after, and he threw in a taxi from the airport to our hotel. Sweet.

We arrived at our really nice hotel and unpacked some of our things. I couldn't wait to get some food down me and as I'd heard that Patong was pretty popular for tourists so I knew that a good old fry up was just around the corner. I could taste the bacon already... anyway. I managed to persuade the others to come try a fry up and we found a decent enough buffet style restaurant near the beach. What we also found was that we were completely and utterly surrounded by westerners. I mean, I'm not SO stupid, I know Phuket is popular, but I honestly didn't think it would be as crowded with Brits, Ozzies, Yanks and Kiwis as it was! It was very strange to be in a South-East Asian country and Winnie, Roger and Cindy (Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese respectively) standing out more than I did.

This day was spent on the crowded Patong beach, relaxing, swimming, drinking and for me, multi-tasking. When I say multi-tasking, I mean sleeping and getting burned simultaneously! I was then forced to get a two-hundred year old Thai woman to rub me down with aloe vera plant. Little did Roger and Sam know that their giggling would backfire, as she forced herself and her services upon them too. I think no thanks must mean please rub me down with your plant in Thai! Winnie fell victim, too.

That night, me, my red back and the others went for Thai food at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. The food was great, and at a decent price too. We then walked around and found a bar or two and a local market.

The next day was the day of the trip. We were picked up and taken to fruit garden where we sampled local fruits and delicious local recipes. I tried Musaman curry for the first time, yummy! We were then taken to the place where all the activities would take place, firstly me, Sam and Winnie had our feet eaten by tiny little fish. They LOVED my feet and I did well to not scream out in my gay little laugh! We then watched an elephant and a monkey show. I felt myself experiencing feelings of sadness and shame, more than of enjoyment and amazement. These animals do this continuously, day in, day out for little reward. I actually felt like some sadistic voyeur rather than a impressed tourist. This feeling also deepened as I rode an elephant through the jungle. This elephant was big, and strong and seemed happier and the experience was enjoyable. But as we rode him along the loop which for him was like a goldfish bowl, I also experienced the same guilt and sadness as I had moments before.

After that was over, we all went on the ATVs, which was dusty but so much fun. Roger, Sam and I were trying to over-take each other when the guide wasn't looking (we'd been told not to) and Cindy just enjoyed crashing into me whenever I pressed my brake! After that, came the buffet lunch. We stuffed ourselves with curry and rice and for me, some English tea then on to white water rafting. While the first group of people were taken rafting, we were taken up the mountain to a secluded waterfall and plunge pool. Here we could swim in the lagoon and swing into the water from a rope tied to the tropical trees. Also, some brave people (yes, that\'s me) could jump or dive from the high rocks into the pool. However, I kinda hurt my back doing this. This was cold, fresh water and utterly refreshing! After 30 mins or so we were taken back to base for our turn on the rafts. This was an awesome experience. We must have done something right that day, as just as we were about to set off in the raft, the heavens opened and a tropical rainstorm drenched us through. On the contrary to being disappointed, this added to the experience and we relished the rain soaking us whilst we navigated the rocks and waterfalls of the river. This was amazing fun and an experience I will never forget.

Back at Patong, me, Cindy, Winnie and Roger went for food. We walked around for a while and got so annoyed with ourselves that we chose the nearest restaurant to us. This was a mistake, it looked classy, felt cool, tasted like poo! Winnie felt ill and I was dead on my feet so we went back and passed out. Sam, Roger and Cindy went out and found a bar and somehow stayed out until 5 am! I was 50% jealous and 50% relieved that I didn't. I was so tired that night.

The morning after, Winnie and I went for breakfast whilst the others slept in a little. It was pretty

early so not much was open, so I grabbed a very slow McDonald's, then we went to Starbucks for coffee and pastries. After buying my much-needed Imodium, we got a cab to the port and hired a private speedboat to take us to Koh Racha Yai, a much smaller island off Phuket. The ride was amazing and the beach was something else. After spending a couple of hours in paradise and chatting to a couple who were also teachers in Korea, we moved on to a bay where we could snorkel in the sea. I saw colourful fish, shiny rocks, various creatures and finally, as I was climbing a rock... a lizard. We continued the boat tour by going to Karon island and having a wonderful seafood meal on the beach, while Sam slept off his hangover in the shade.

Back at home, after changing we went out for some phad Thai made by a street vendor, but the tour was cut short by a big downpour of rain so we sought refuge in a 7/11 until it passed. We cut our losses and bought alcohol to drink in the hotel room. On the way back from the port, we had managed to book our transport to the next destination via our helpful (and loud) driver. The next day was the travel to Koh Phangan, the next day is know as the day that shall not be spoken of....

Upon reflection, I was disappointed by Patong. I am tempted to say that Phuket wasn't what I had hoped, however I reduce that to Patong. Patong was like Barnsley but with the sun. I enjoyed the activity day and the island hopping a helluva lot. If were I to come again, I'd steer clear of Patong and look to stay in a less-popular resort, for the authentic Thai experience that has been ripped from Patong and replaced with McDonalds, 'Red Lion' type bars and drink-till-you-puke style attractions that over-cater to tourists.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

From Asia to Asia - Winter Vacation 2013

The 19th of January, 2013 was the day when 5 EPIK teachers would start an epic adventure. Six months ago, I didn't know Roger Vasak, Winnie Ku or Cindy Le, and I had met Sam Roe just once, during a boozy afternoon in Sheffield, UK. Yet during our time working and living in Korea, we had become close friends. This was to be our first winter 'vacation', so the two Brits, two Canadians and an American set off to lands unknown with 5 plane tickets in one hand and a 'cellphone' in the other.

The first destination was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, just over a 6 hour flight from Seoul. Malaysia had the task of impressing me. I had preconceived ideas of what Thailand/India/Japan could be like in Asia, but I had no idea what Malaysia had to offer.

Minutes after landing in Kuala Lumpur, after feeling warm air for the first time in what felt like years, I quickly saw that Malaysia was a place of mixed culture. Coming from Europe, one can become somewhat ignorant about certain cultures. I was interested to see that the airport foyer was bustling with people of all ages and races. Many Indian, Chinese and Western people mixing together. This sight was to set the scene for the rest of the stay.

We took the bus from the Airport to the KL Sentral station, which was a 3-4 minute walk to the hostel I had found and booked, Pods Backpackers. The rooms were basic, shared between 10 people, but most importantly, clean and cheap. I did raise my eyebrow at the corrugated iron shower, which amused me rather than scared me. Once we checked in, we were recommended to go to an Indian restaurant across the street. Upon first view, this looked like a place James Bond would be taken to be tortured, but we gave it a try. This paid off dividends as it was to be one of the best meals we had on the entire trip. We ordered about a third of the menu, plus beers and dessert, and it came to 98 ringgits, the equivalent of around $32.

After shoving dinner down our gluttonous faces, we decided to venture further afield. The only thing I knew about KL was that it was the home of the Petronas Twin Towers. We took the monorail and headed towards there. We were not to be disappointed, we weren't even half way there before we saw the 452m illuminated giant towers dominating the capital's skyline. Up close the structure was even more impressive. Dwarfing everything in sight, it's 88 floors and connecting tower bridge at floors 41 & 42 certainly impressed us Westerners. After photos were taken we strolled on to buy some beers and have a little shisha before calling it a night. This trip certainly got off to an impressive start.

I realise that I'm typing a lot, and I'm on day 2 now, wow. Okay. So the next day we decided to carpe the diem. We woke early and had our free toast and coffee, then headed out to buy tickets for the Petronas Tower tour later in the day. Once bought we left the giant skyscrapers to spend our time wisely. KL has an exciting mix of cultures, but also an impressive mix of old and new, modern and ancient. We left the 6th tallest building in the world (wiki) to head over to an ancient Hindu temple, Sri Mahamariamman (yes, I can say it aloud!). This small temple was colourful, quiet and beautiful. Despite this, I couldn't help feeling sad that this place of worship and devotion was trapped in an urban vice between shops, restaurants and hotels.

The iconic Petronas Towers

We left the Hindu temple and made our way across town, crossing culture again, to Petaling Street, KL's China Town. This part of town was very colourful, very busy and a place where you could buy anything you ever wanted... and things you didn't want if you stood still long enough! As our feet began to tire and our stomachs started to ruble, led by Roger we went in hunt of a Malaysian delicacy. Some fish dish, of which the name escapes me. We were taken to a street by a taxi and although we couldn't find the fish, we managed to escape the heat, fill our bellies and test our palates with dim-sum, BBQ pork and duck. This was of course washed down by ice cold beer and a couple of coconuts. Delicious! I also tried durian fruit for the first (and last) time!

Petaling Street

Sri Mahamariamman

With our stomachs full and spirits high, we made our way back to the Petronas towers, via colourful malls, bustling streets and new smells around every corner. Chicken, beef, roast vegetables, fresh fruit. We then ascended the Petronas Twin towers, stopping at the 40th floor to walk on the bridge, then up to the 88th floor. We learned that the two towers were built by 2 separate companies. One from South Korea (yey!) and the other from Japan (boo!). Both towers were completed on time and on budget. Impressive!

On the way back to the hostel we decided to save some money and visit the Worlds largest free bird aviary. However, upon arrival, we were charged 30 ringgit for entry. It was then that we realised that we'd read the sign wrong, and we were at the World\'s largest free-FLYING bird aviary. One where birds fly freely!! Damn!! So we decided to be tight, and take pictures of wild monkies instead. This was highly amusing, especially when one almost picked a fight with Roger (my money was on the monkey).

The day ended with another visit to Petaling street where we ate our weight in street food!

Our last day in KL was also an early morning rise. We caught the train to the Batu Caves, north of the city. Here, behind the giant gold Buddha we climbed the 272 steps to the caves where there had been a Hindu ceremony. There were bats and monkies in this cave, but it was nice to escape the heat for a short while. After descent, we ate lunch at a restaurant serving south Indian food (ghee). We hopped back on the train and changing at our favourite-named station (Titiwangsa), we got on a bus to an Elephant Sanctuary we'd heard of. This took 2 hours, everyone slept, but me. Getting off the bus, there wasn't a soul in sight, apart from a man who offered to drive us to the sanctuary for 'fift' ringgit, 'fift' there, 'fift' back , nice! What he neglected to explain was that he wasn't a taxi, he didn't have seat belts, his tank was running on empty and this speedometer didn't work. Somehow, we survived. We were too late to wash the elephants but we fed them, entertained them and had our picture taken with them. It was here that I developed an appreciation for places like this, a place where they are looked after. I was soon to see the 'before' in Phuket, and I am thankful that places like this exist. Upon return to the bus stop, the crazy non-taxi man was upset with the thirty ringgit we'd paid and demanded 100! turns out, although all 5 of us were 100% sure he'd said 'fifteen', he said he'd wanted fifty! This was utter balderdash but we clubbed together to give him 90! Malaysian Dick Turpin!

Batu Caves Entrance

Sam inside the Batu Caves

On the way back home, we visited the Berjaya Times Square shopping centre. This was MASSIVE and even had it's own Theme Park on the top floor, not to mention a roller coaster that goes around the inside of the mall. Impressive!! We ate a not-so-impressive duck lunch at 'Uncle Duck' then headed back home, for sleep and to visit our new 'local' Indian chapatti house!

Berjaya Times Square (with roller coaster)

Next stop, Phuket, Thailand.