Singapore and Kuala Lumpur

Casey writes:

We had barely set foot upon solid ground in Singapore when the reality set in that we would suddenly need to start making our own decisions - no longer was anyone going to make our beds, serve us food 24 hours a day, or bring us drinks at our beck and call. And we celebrated! Let the adventure begin...

In Singapore it was easy to navigate, easy to communicate, and even easier to perspire an entire 600ml bottle of water in about ten minutes. Yep, it was hot and humid. But a great place to visit, with lots of highlights including the Night Zoo Safari, Singapore History Museum, Merlion Statue, Raffles Hotel, Colonial District, Muslim Quarters and Little India.

Singapore Zoo:

A brilliant, modern, open plan zoo, with opportunities to come face-to-face (literally) with bats, tapirs and lions, to name a few.

Singapore History Museum:

A modern museum with an excellent design, after three hours we were exhausted to the point of collapse.

Merlion Statue:

WTF! This bizarre statue of a half-lion half-mermaid is on every postcard and plastered across every gift in every souvenir shop, and what is it? A piddly white lumpy thing that spurts water out of its mouth with hordes of oriental tourists posing with peace sign fingers for flapping photographers.

Raffles Hotel and the Colonial District:

Who the hell was this Stamford Raffles anyway? The British didn't even want to annexe Singapore and he died with a massive debt over his head. From my observations his only legacy was an overpriced Singapore Sling, and a hotel named in his honour. But I think the Singaporeans (and British) might see it differently.

Muslim Quarters and Little India:

The highlight of Singapore in my opinion. Dirty, cramped, chaotic, but fascinating all the same. Beautiful mosques, friendly people and bargains galore.

Getting from Singapore to Malaysia was a lot easier than we anticipated. A smooth transaction and we had ourselves seats on a luxury bus that travelled directly to Kuala Lumpur in seven hours. And I thought Singapore was hot! KL was 37 degrees and suffocatingly humid. Mr Taxi Driver ripped us off for the 5 minute hop to our accommodation, and the whiff of 50 pairs of sweat-soaked shoes greeted us at the door of our hostel. But it improved exponentially from there. We found ourselves in the heart of hawker row, with exquisite street food for $2 a plate. This taste of 'authentic Malaysia' was juxtaposed with an almost space-age city: monorails, the Petronas Towers and a shopping centre so huge and so white I was scared to put even one dirty sandal inside its majestic doors.

The Batu Caves were awe-inspiring: a massive cave structure housing the largest hindu temple outside of India. We dodged monkeys, snakes and millipedes throughout our time here. Richard became accustomed to hiding behind me on a permanent basis, in case a rabid monkey attacked him or a poisonous millipede ran up his trouser leg. Suffice to say we emerged unscathed.

The Bird Park was equally fascinating, with thousands of bird species flying overhead. Again, I'm not sure if Richard saw any wildlife, with his head buried in my back for fear of being eaten alive by a peacock or something equally vicious.

We are currently on an overnight train bound for Penang. The baby behind me is crying, the old dude can't stop burping up the nasi goreng he ate for dinner and the giggling girls in front of me are in for the long haul. I'd just like a few hours sleep but I think I might be kidding myself.