Malacca Off

Last day in Malacca and we are going to take it kind of chill. I want to check out the biggest Museum in town plus we need to do the ultimate tourist kitsch and ride on one of the pimped out trishaws. It also gives us the chance to check out some more of the local food, in particular one of the celup satay stores that are a thing over here.

First up we headed into the town square to check out the History and Ethnography Museum located in the old governors house at the centre of Malacca. Everything from the first Sultan through all of the European colonial powers (Portuguese, Dutch and English) along with the Japanese invaders in WWII are catalogued here in some detail.

Then it was time time to do the stupid tourist trick and have some poor person ride us round using an over the top pushbike and sidecar contraption called a “Trishaw”. We took an ever so brief spin, grabbed our photos, saw a little of Malacca that had remained unseen thus bringing this must do experience to an end and ticking an all important experience off the bucket list. 

From there we decided to escape the heat and grab a quick drink and a snack in cool air conditioned comfort of the Locahouz Cafe. What an amazing place that turned out be. Totally staffed by\Chinese offering a full western menu and coffee so good I ordered a second. Oui had a Duck Special that was divine and I had a Mango Cheesecake that was heavenly. It was in a questionable part of town but well worth the effort to find this little oasis.

The hotel was calling and we headed back for a siesta (not the lingua franca I know but you get the drift) this was in readiness for our evening out at a Malacca institution Capitol Satay. This venerated establishment needs to be seen to be believed. There is a display fridge along one wall where you make your selections, it would look perfectly in place on the set of 50’s horror movie. There are about 6 tables in total, each with a hole in the centre and BBQ gas underneath ready for the pot of juicy satay goodness that is added once you have made your choices. And what choices they are; pork, beef, chicken, abalone, prawns, scallops, processed meats, three varieties of mushroom, and assortment of vegetables along with too many things I didn’t recognise to mention. You put them on this dented stainless steal tray (from the same horror movie were we got the fridge) and make your way back to table to cook your choices in the now steaming cauldron of satay sauce simmering away at the centre of your table. When it comes to paying the bill they multiply the number of empty skewers by 1.20 ringgits, add the drinks and your on your way. Dinner cost $36.00 ringgits (about $13.50 in Aussie dollars) and it was awesome.

So its on the bus to Kuala Lumpar tomorrow, or KL as the locals call it, to see what we will see.

Ah Melacca

After the huge night we had at the Oriental Cottage Cafe I thought I would be in a pretty bad state but amazingly I bounced back pretty well. Breakfast was in the dress shop, I kid you not. Breakfast is included in the hotel package and to get there you exit through the front door, cross the street and walk three shops down and enter through the dress shop. The hotel breakfast bar is at the rear. What more can I say.

Melacca goes off, everywhere you turn there is an old building being renovated into a new business. There are a multitude of languages being spoken and everyone is out to make something of the them self.

We took a cruise along the Melacca River. It has undergone a makeover in the last twenty years apparently. Previously it was the sewerage dump for the shops facing the street, now it is the focal point of a very pleasant riverside walk. Lined with cafes, bars and other shops, water monitors patrol the shore looking for fish and if you have a Thai partner that is craving some home cooking she can have her needs met here as well.

Speaking of sewerage, it does permeate the air. Travelling certainly brings home how good we’ve got it. Things that wouldn’t even be considered as acceptable at home are just the normal way of life here. Exposed electrical wiring, water that needs filtration before drinking, open sewer drains are just a few things we haven’t had to worry about for a while. Don’t let these things fool you though, this will be the Asian century and before long it won’t be we westerners who visit to see a different life, they will blow right past us on the progress front and in 100 years their great great grand kids will be visiting us to witness our quaint customs and strange ways.

To finish the day we skipped lunch and wandered up and down Jonkers Walk, grabbing street food as we pleased. Oui was keen on a massage and I was keen on a drink so we parted company and I found myself a seat at the Geographer Cafe and listened to the live music. I enjoyed their extensive wine list with the collection including just the two items, white and red. After some procrastination I settled on the white and by the fourth glass I couldn’t even tell you how bad it was.

One of the real joys in staying here at the Courtyard @ Hereen is that old fashioned pleasure of having the local paper delivered to your door every morning. I love absorbing the local news. The awful atrocity in Christchurch is getting plenty of coverage. It makes me ashamed to be an Aussie. They too are having their own water crisis and desalination is very much on the agenda. 

Museums and a village are on the agenda for tomorrow. We’ll see what it brings.

Malacca

I think that someone should come up with itinerary where you visit all the towns, cities and villages that have questionable names. I mean I could visit the town of Intercourse, no doubt for a great conversation, Hooker when I need to improve my batting. Climax when I need a good ending for the book I am reading. But right now I need to swear a bit and I can really say with a good deal of passion.....Malacca!!!!

We grabbed the bus from downtown Singapore to cross over into Malaysia. It was torturous. Almost six hours to go 240 kilometres. The schedule was 3 - 4 hours but sadly the traffic was horrendous. It was 3 kilometres of bumper to bumper traffic just to get processed through Malaysian customs. I’m not really sure why they bothered, once we’d arrived at the counter my passport was stamped, my bags were perfunctorily put through a scanner then I was sent on my way. We fought our way back to the bus then got dropped in front of this very impressive hotel before walking a few hundred meters to our less salubrious but still very nice digs for the next three nights, Courtyard @ Hereen. 

Oui was a bit worse for wear after the bus trip so a short nap was in order. The street food was calling however so we hit the pavement and started exploring Malacca. We keep trying different street food but have yet to find anything astounding. We tried an Indian/Pakistani restaurant. The tandoor ovens were right out on the street and at least 100 people were eating there. I quite enjoyed mine but Oui was still searching for her street food Nirvana and described it in her inimitable style as “so so”.

After satiating ourselves we pushed on to the Jonkers Street night markets which happen every Friday, Saturday and Sunday 6.00pm till midnight. The stalls were endless and the crowds were pushy like a gaggle of bingo ladies at a free buffet. We were on our way back to the hotel when Oui suggested a drink so we braved the throng near our digs and I heard this band playing a reasonably obscure Deep Purple song from 1974 called “Soldier of Fortune”. I had to check it out. Well after a beer, a bottle of white and a bottle of red it was time to get up and do a couple of numbers with the band. I can now say my international performance itinerary includes both Singapore and Malacca. I may need a t-shirt!

I will tell you about the hangover when I next post.

Singapore Slow

The day began with another fabulous breakfast here at the Quincy. I can’t recommend it enough. Grabbing our trusty MRT passes we headed in to town to check out the Casino. It was perfectly cookie cutter, 1600 jackpot machines (pokies to you and I) and a plethora of table games along with some hybrid stuff I didn’t really recognise. It did have a cool self service drink robot. I lost $100 in a perfectly pleasant manner and moved on to the next event.

As we were in the same building we decided to ascend to the 56th floor of the Marina Bay Sands and check out the Skypark. The cost for two was $46 and you are up there for maybe half an hour. I’ve got to say I thoroughly loved it. You look right out to sea and on a clear day you can see Batam. You look inland and the stunning modern architecture along with the colonial highlights are on show for your viewing pleasure. Oui however got a little ill from the height so we headed in to Chinatown for some lunch.

I have never had the privilege of eating Michelin starred street food before so today was my first go. It was no doubt the best street food we had tried in Singapore. We headed to Hawker Chan for some Soya Sauce Chicken and Rice. I must say it was excellent but in all honesty either Mr Michelin was having an exceptional day when he visited or Mr Chan was having an average one when I visited.

After lunch we wandered around some of the back streets of Chinatown soaking up the atmosphere then headed back to the hotel to take a dip in the hotel pool. It’s on the 12th floor and goes right to the edge of the building, very refreshing. We were both exhausted from our three big days in Singapore so stayed in and availed ourselves of the complimentary buffet.

Tomorrow we head to Malacca, Malaysia. We are on a bus with the locals looking forward to seeing what it brings.

Singapore Sloth

We slowed it down a bit today. After a huge sleep and an enjoyable breakfast we jumped on the ever trusty MRT and headed off to the Sultan Mosque. Originally constructed in 1824 the current building dates from 1924 and is quite impressive. Someone told me that the gold domed minarets are made from local bottle glass. supplied by members of the mosque, that way even the poorest members could contribute to its construction.

From there we headed to the Bugis Street Markets, where once again I failed in my mission to find quality Singaporean coffee. Also trying to find a Singapore t-shirt in size small tent is proving somewhat difficult, it seems they have not previously had to consider someone of my proportions. 

In rather dull news the new Reebok’s I purchased fell apart after three days of wear. Finding the supplier of size 14 shoes in this town has not been easy but I am now the proud owner of a a pair of Asics sports shoes. I have donated my old ones to the local surf club to be broken down and used as canoes.

For a bit of fun we tried a different part of town for the street food, without much luck sadly. It’s not like we’re starving or anything and we haven’t given up trying. Also we did something touristy and impulsive, we grabbed some tickets for a drive/boat through the bay on an old WWII army duck. It was a pleasant if somewhat expensive way to take a load off your feet and enjoy a nice sea breeze. 

Back to Chinatown for another shot at some street food. Oui has been researching tirelessly and is routinely disappointed, she is such an excellent cook herself I think her standards may be impossibly high. I quite enjoyed it but Oui was underwhelmed, oh well there is always tomorrow.

Sadly today ended with was a bit of a disappointment, Raffles the famous Singapore Hotel is closed for renovation and I also found out that the Changi prisoner of war museum is also closed for refurbishment. Two things I have really wanted to do are no longer on the itinerary. We may have to come back.

Thats it for now. Tomorrow we will take it easier and get ready to head to Malacca.

Singapore Flyer Indeed

We woke up after a restful sleep and indulged ourselves in a leisurely breakfast. Nothing to fault here, except the coffee. I have even succumbed to drinking Starbucks, a taint I may never be wash off. We grabbed a three day tourist pass for the public transport and walked to the nearest MRT (I think it stands for Mass Raid Transport) station and hopped a train to the Gardens By The Bay but before we got there we were sidetracked and jumped on the Singapore Flyer and got a pretty amazing overview of the city, literally.

From there it was on to the Gardens by the Bay which has this sphincter tightening skywalk, two of the biggest indoor gardens you have ever seen and an expansive outdoor park that if it weren’t so hot and humid would be a delight to explore. We dined in an indifferent cafe called Pollen where they really tried hard but just weren’t up to the task. You could not have asked for more pleasant surroundings however. My words won’t be enough but the pictures say it all. Plus you have to watch out for the mosquitos.

To finish off the day time we took the cable car out to Sentosa which is full of theme parks and has a multitude of ways for you to waste your money. If you had kids this place would be awesome and while I always feel like you need to sell an organ to go to these places the prices weren’t too bad. The views were amazing though and we got to see the Merlion up close and personal. 

After heading back into the city we took a weight off our feet at a Bavarian Cafe (I know right) and while planning only to drink stayed when some awesome entertainment fired up. We finished the night at the world’s most amazing whisky bar. It was everything a good bar should be, dimly lit, over dressed wait staff, over stuffed chesterfields and over the top drink prices. The menu came in a book that ran to eighty tightly spaced pages, the whisky section was thirty of these. I ordered a 30yo Speyside and sat back and enjoyed it. If was a resident I think i’d need a second job so I could start at page one to drink my way through the list.

All in all it was a massive day and we slept really well. 

Singapore Slung

After a fairly pleasant flight and a straight forward exit through customs we followed my time honoured tradition of catching a cab to the hotel. I love to get the feel of a new city by soaking the atmosphere in a cab. You can get a real feel for the place just based on the cab driver’s behaviour. Does he weave in and out of traffic, does he blast his horn, does he have three mobile phones on the go at once all while he is cursing the shortcomings and parentage of the drivers around him. I do hate to sound sexist but invariably he’s a he. Imagine the misogynistic behaviour would be enough to make anyone change jobs. What can I say but the trip was safe, pleasant and efficient. The driver was well spoken, took us the correct route and did not over charge. It was almost too good.  

So we checked into this amazing boutique hotel in a nice part of town. Get this, free breakfast, two pieces of laundry are done complimentary every day, there is all day dining at no charge and apart from this very weird tinted window separating the bathroom from the bedroom all is good at The Quicy.

We headed back in to town for some street food ending up at a hawker place called the Maxwell Food Centre. It had probably 80 food vendors all vying for your business. What can we say but we chose the wrong one. My experience with food carts is go to the one with the longest queue, you may have to wait a bit but the food is assuredly good. Well it had been a long flight and it was 11.00pm home time (8.00pm Singapore time) by the time we ate. We should have taken the free hotel option, oh well hopefully it will get better.

Anyway tomorrow we try and do a few things, the Singapore Flyer, the cable cars, the Gardens by the Sea and whatever else takes our fancy. I’ll let you know how we go.

The Sydney Reality Check

As many of you would know I spent many many years living in Sydney (and loved every minute of it). That being said there were certainly some annoying things as well. Let me tell you about two of them.

Good old state rail, or whatever the NSW Government’s PR department is calling it this week, was it usual tardy self. We arrived fifteen minutes late to Central. We then took to the tiles to perform the time honoured dance of the many bags as we moved our luggage along with ourselves to the airport line.

That’s when it got interesting. Something fell off the train and got jammed in the undercarriage. One platform was now essentially shut. People kept flooding in, many of them like us carrying our first world burdens. All I can say is lucky I spent some time in the second row and still have faint recollections of packing down a scrum. We got on the first departing train leaving hundreds stranded on the platform, none of whom will be sending me Christmas cards this year.

Hotel check in was fine and to belatedly celebrate Oui’s birthday we dined at Meat District Co and had some indifferent ribs. Oui however enjoyed them but we both agreed we have had much better.

Now we sit at the airport and wait, we board shortly and take off at 11.30am. A little over 8 flying hours and we’ll be landing in Singapore. Asia here we come.

The Asian Fusion Tour Begins

After learning that Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX will not be our jet of choice for tomorrow’s flight I am breathing a little easier. The tickets are booked, the shots have been had, the bags are all packed and we’re on the train to Sydney. The magical whisky tour is about to go check out Asia and this time I quite literally won’t be flying solo. 

I have the beautiful Oui with me who is crazy enough to follow me on this little jaunt. First stop is Singapore, then Malacca quickly followed by Kuala Lumpar, both in Malaysia. From there we head to Cambodia to check out Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields near Phnom Penh. Then we hit Saigon or Ho Chi Min City, depending our your vintage. From there its up to Hoi An, via Da Nang and on to Hanoi. After that we aim to make Luang Prabang in Laos. From there we will head to Vientiane on the Mekong River and cross over into Thailand where we’ll improvise, not really that just means Oui’s in charge. 

But tonight its far less exciting. We spend the night at the Rydges Hotel and awake refreshed ready for our 11.30am flight to Singapore. 

It's Over

The trip is done, the flights are over and the money's spent. All that's left to do is several loads of washing, read my Board papers for Tuesday night's meeting and turn up for work and forget it ever happened. 

I truly love the U.S. of A. It is a great place to visit and there are many places I could easily live. It is such a diverse place, there really is something for everyone. Having said that there's no place like home and it will be a good thing to sleep in my own bed for the first time in 52 nights. I won't have to pack my bags, load up the car and head off for anywhere tomorrow. At least that's what I'm telling myself. 

Here's the edited highlights of things that were amazing, things I would do differently, and things that truly sucked along with a few things in between.

I clocked up 6,000 miles in the mighty Chevy Cruze, thats nearly 9,600 kilometres. It cost about $20.00US to fill the tank. I filled it (I think) 25 times so that's about $700AUD. Half price petrol, what's not to love?

Avoiding Hurricane Joaquin was important (who am I kidding I didn't avoid anything, it had mostly petered out by the time it reached the US). It killed 34 people in the Bahamas, blacked out 15,000 premises and left a $200,000,000.00US damage bill in its wake. It made for some miserable travel between South Carolina and Washington. I was extremely fortunate that I wasn't seriously caught up in it.

I would also definitely rent a bigger car. I do have to say one thing however. I know people who own sports cars, powerful trucks and exotic European tourers. I often hear them debate which car is the best. I can now without any doubt conclude that debate. The best performance is a rental car. It can do everything your top of the class car can do in each and every vehicle category. It goes quicker than anything you've driven, it brakes better, it goes round corners on two wheels with ease, handles off road surfaces like sand, rock and water with complete aplomb and best of all when you're done with it you just give it back.

Playing MLK's piano at the 2nd Black Baptist Church of Montgomery Alabama was both powerful and humbling. It is an experience I will never forget.

Some places like Key West you just do because you can, and still you have the most amazing time.

There were not too many things to complain about. Of all the things that could have annoyed me the one that sticks in my mind was the tour guide at Gettysburg. He was an overblown pompous arse. I hope he gets laryngitis and loses the ability to make dull and boring what should have been exciting and stimulating.

There were nineteen states, thirty two different hotels rooms and a hangover from each and every one of them. Seven weeks was not nearly enough but nor was my bank balance. I love the country and I love the people. When they are not getting their gun on, being attacked by terrorists or having horrific weather events the USA really is a great place to be. I'm truly going to miss it.

Well that it's for now. I think I have one more epic adventure left in me who nows its either Africa, Asia or Europe. Then its off to the retirement home, at least I've had some practice.

Note: The bulk of this post was written in October 2015 and it is only just now (January 2018)  that I realised it had not been posted. Ever late and ever the completionist.