22 Mar - 25 Mar 2009 Perhentian


Negeri Terengganu Darul Iman
Pulau Perhentian Kecil
Coral Bay
Fatimah Chalets
Basic but clean beach chalet, managed by our German/Malay friends Milena & Fais, for MYR 45.- or US$ 12.- per night.


Click below for an interactive road map of Fatimah Chalets on Pulau Perhentian Kecil and for directions:










Lulling our senses into seventh heaven while hanging out under the warm tropical sun at the powdery-white sand beach at Coral Bay, waiting for the coconuts to drop (caution: more people die from falling coconuts than shark attacks in the world), swimming in the crystal-clear aquamarine water and hiking through the lush tropical rain forest (up to the 105-m high top of the northern hill) thus spotting a pair of white-bellied sea eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) spiralling in the sky and a 2-m long water monitor (Varanus salvator) disappearing into the jungle with a chicken between its jaws.



Taking a half-day snorkel trip to Pulau Perhentian Besar with a speedboat for MYR 30.- or US$ 8.25 per person and spotting (i) blacktip reef sharks and barracudas at Shark Point, (ii) green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Turtle Point and (iii) a diversity of sad but still colourful reef fish at Coral Garden whose name (with 80 % of the corals being dead) could easily be changed to Coral Cemetery; game seems to be over, folks.



DM Konni: Teaming up with PADI dive master John from Steffen Sea Sports +60126978349 steffenseasports@yahoo.com and diving the Sugar Shipwreck located at a depth of 16 m.

Taking the speedboat from the Coral Bay jetty back to Kuala Besut for MYR 30.- or US$ 8.25 per person, one way, taking the SKMK bus no. 639 to Kota Bharu for MYR 6.- or US$ 1.65 per person, visiting the colourful new central market aka pasar besar siti khadijahin at Kota Bharu, taking pictures of the market women-turned-supermodels (who were all dressed in the customary Malay dress, the baju kurung, a rather shapeless long-sleeved knee-length blouse with a closed neck, a long maxi-skirt and the required scarf) and flying with Firefly (“Your Community Airline”) in a turboprop ATR 72-500 from Kota Bharu’s Sultan Ismail Petra Airport back to Kuala Lumpur's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at Subang for all inclusive MYR 35.- or US$ 10.- per person, one way.



Click below for more blog posts about West Malaysia's east-coast islands

Click below for a summary of this year's travels


Recommended gear - click below for your Amazon order from the United States:

For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here
For Amazon bargains from Canada, please click here
For Amazon bargains from the United Kingdom, please click here

05 Mar - 22 Mar 2009 Kuala Lumpur


28 Tengkat Tong Shin
Mutiara Villa Condos
Fully-furnished one-bedroom 700-sqft apartment (no. A-25-F) on 25th floor for MYR 1,750.- or US$ 483.- per month, with balcony and including free access to gym and swimming pool with Jacuzzi. Stunning views over the city.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Mutiara Villa Condos in Kuala Lumpur and for directions:










Discovering Little India, the bustling neighbourhood north of Masjid India (the main place of worship for Indian Muslims in Kuala Lumpur), and being enticed by the sights, sounds and smells of South India: shops which are piled high with Ganesh statues and colourful saris, loudspeakers which blast out Bollywood soundtracks and smouldering incense sticks which pollute the air with thick smoke of sandalwood and myrrh.



Experiencing the sensory overload of pungent Pudu Market, Kuala Lumpur’s biggest wet and dry market, where stalls sell everything from slaughtered frogs to live duck chicks and from crates full of durian to bucket loads of chilli padi (extremely hot small chilli) and stacks of daun pisang (square cut banana leaves, used as plates for rice dishes).



Flying with Firefly (“Your Community Airline”) in a turboprop ATR 72-500 from Kuala Lumpur's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at Subang to Kota Bharu's Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kelantan on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, where Malaysia is at its most Malayan, for all inclusive MYR 35.- or US$ 10.- per person (one way), taking the SKMK bus no. 639 from Kota Bharu to the fishing port of Kuala Besut for MYR 6.- or US$ 1.65 per person for the 65-km ride and hiring a speedboat to Pulau Perhentian Kecil’s Long Beach for MYR 30.- or US$ 8.25 per person for the 30 min long 10-nm trip.



Click below for more blog entries about West Malaysia's east-coast islands 
22 Feb - 10 Mar 2013 Pulau Tioman
19 Jul - 22 Jul 2011 Pulau Tioman

Click below for a summary of this year's travels


 Recommended books - click below for your Amazon order from the United States:

For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here
For Amazon deals from Canada, please click here
For Amazon deals from the United Kingdom, please click here

27 Feb - 05 Mar 2009 Saigon






Southeast Asia
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon
40/11 Bui Vien Street
Nhu Lan Hotel +84838360566 dangnhulan@yahoo.com
Clean double room, with air con, for VND 262,000.- or US$ 15.- per night.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Nhu Lan Hotel in Saigon, which we would recommend, and for directions:




 





Southeast Asia
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Can Tho City
Huy Hoàng Hotel
Double room, with fan, for only VND 120,000.- or US$ 6.90 per night.


Click below for an interactive road map of the Huy Hoang Hotel in Can Tho City and for directions:





Strolling through the heavily noise-and-air polluted urban bustle of Vietnam’s largest metropolis, practising how to cross collision-free the never-ending stream of 5 million Chinese (advertised price: only VND 5,000,000.- or US$ 285.-) and Japanese motorbikes which mercilessly dash along and watching the world spin by (with the help of 333 Beer [“ba-ba-ba”] - the leading local beer) in several of the many open-air sidewalk cafes in this “Pearl of the Far East”.



Exploring the colourful Chinatown of Cholon (districts 5 and 11) by means of cyclo (3-wheeled bicycle rickshaw), visiting centuries-old temples and pagodas (Tam Son Hoi Quan Pagoda - dedicated to Me Sanh [the Goddess of Fertility], Giac Lam Pagoda - the oldest pagoda in greater Saigon, Giac Vien Pagoda - boasting some 100 lavish carvings of various divinities), bargaining at the teeming local markets (our favourite: Binh Tay Market, a Chinese-style architectural masterpiece with a great clock tower) and always wondering what life in this area had been like in the late 1970s, when - after the Communist take-over of Saigon - our Chinese-Canadian son-in-law’s Hoa parents fled the country.



Regularly using the excellent city buses (a bliss in this crowded city: clearly marked bus stops, air-con busses were always almost empty, with helpful drivers and honest attendants) of the Saigon Bus Company for VND 3,000.- or US$ 0.17 per ride per person; despite the official, nonsensical travel tips from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security: “It is not recommended for foreigners to travel by bus because they are more suited for locals”.



Buying two excellent “genuine” Deuter internal-frame backpacks (locally made under license): Air Contact 65+10 (for VND 360,000.- or US$ 20.-) and Air Contact SL 50+10 (for VND 270,000.- or US$ 15.-) - real bargains.

Touring the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s “rice basket”, by bus and motor/rowing boat: (i) exploring the lush river islands, orchards and small stilt-house hamlets along the creeks and canals between My Tho and Ben Tre, (ii) testing fierce local spirits such as snake wine, banana wine, rice wine, ginger wine and honey wine, (iii) feasting on tropical fruits, (iv) watching locals playing traditional music, cooking coconut candy and manufacturing banh trang (rice paper, something of a misnomer: this stuff is not very good for writing on, but is very good for eating - people use it to wrap Vietnamese spring rolls) and (v) cruising the Cai Rang Floating Market, the biggest floating market in the Mekong Delta.
   
 
Flying with Air Asia (“Now Everyone Can Fly”) in an Airbus A 320-200 from Saigon's Tan Son Nhat International Airport back to Kuala Lumpur's KLIA-LCCT for all inclusive MYR 183.- or US$ 50.- per person, one way, and being issued with another 90-day-visit pass for a “social visit” to Malaysia on arrival - free of charge; tạm biệt, Saigon and once more selamat pagi, Malaysia.


Click below for more blog posts about South Vietnam
22 Jun - 24 Jun 2010 Hue
16 Jun - 22 Jun 2010 Hoi An
13 Jun - 15 Jun 2010 Nha Trang
07 Jun - 13 Jun 2010 Saigon
05 Jun - 07 Jun 2010 Chao Doc

Click below for a summary of this year's travels

 
Recommended books - click below for your Amazon order from the United Kingdom:

For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here
For Amazon bargains from the United States, please click here
For Amazon bargains from Canada, please click here