In 2007 I sent my kid brother Daniel a postcard from Kuala Lumpur, the postcard contained on it the Petronas Twin Towers. On that occasion I was stuck in Kuala Lumpur airport and sent the postcard as a gimmick, the “towers I didn’t see” because I didn’t have time to leave the airport. Fast forward to Read more about Backpacking in Malaysia: Visiting Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur[…]
2009 saw my second trip to Kuala Lumpur, but in reality my first. I say this because I had stopped in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before, back in 2007 on my whirlwind world tour. My aeroplane from Auckland (New Zealand) would arrive in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and I would stay there for only 8 hours before Read more about Backpacking in Malaysia: Touring Kuala Lumpur[…]
We made the trip to the town of Batu, which is north east of Kuala Lumpur, and only about 1 hour by bus. The reason for the trip would be to visit the Batu Caves, a famous Hindu Shrine built within natural caves and rock formations on the edge of the town of Batu. The Read more about Backpacking in Malaysia: Batu Caves, Hindu Shrine and Snake Handling[…]
It was all a big rush leaving Singapore. We had been to Night Safari, leaving it around 8.30 pm, having to get to Keppel Road Train Station for our 10 pm Singapore to Malaysia sleeper Train across the border into Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. WE had left it tight, and we had also left our bags at Read more about Last Minute Buses, Slow Trains, Lost Passports and Sleeper Train to Kuala Lumpur[…]
You’re thinking what the hell is “Night Safari”? But it’s obvious. The answer’s in the title. Singapore had the world’s first night safari. So while there and with one of the world’s most famous zoos so close, we couldn’t resist the temptation to do the “Night Safari” in Singapore. It would mean being up close Read more about Backpacking in Singapore: Night Safari[…]
Singapore, in case you didn’t know is a hat-trick of things all in one. It’s an island (or strictly, lots of islands), it’s a big city (or metropolis) and its a country. It’s also used by many people as a half way point between the United Kingdom and Australia. Without wanting to be obvious or Read more about Singapore: The Island; The City; The Country[…]
It had to be done. It was so obvious. There we were in Singapore, Asia and staying in a hostel just 25 minutes walk from the world famous Raffles Hotel. The Raffles Hotel is possibly the most famous hotel in Asia. It began life in 1887 and was founded by the Armenian Sarkies brothers. Monarchs Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Drinking a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, Singapore[…]
Knowing we had made it to the correct terminal in Kuala Lumpur Sentral was such a relief. I had already swapped a few Malaysian Ringitts in Taouyan Airport rather than aimlessly spend my final few Taiwan Dollars on junk at the airport. This barely gave us time to buy anything for the train. Natalja managed Read more about World Borders: Kuala Lumpur to Singapore (Malaysia – Singapore train)[…]
Millwall Neil suggested we go to watch some “English comedy” in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. “You’re kidding” I said, as the only people I had spoke to in the previous 2 weeks could speak no English at all. He said that he had read it in the only English newspaper in Taiwan, The Taipei Times. In Read more about An Evening Of Shorts: Comedy in Taipei, Taiwan[…]
I have been up many tall/high buildings before (Empire State Building, USA; CN Tower, Canada; Sky Tower, Auckland; Scrabatar, Northern Ireland), but never in the world’s “tallest” building. Taipei 101 was finished in 2003 and claims to be the world’s tallest building (of any description). It is certainly by no means the world’s “highest” building Read more about Backpacking in Taiwan: Going to the Top of The World’s Tallest Building Taipei 101[…]