20 Feb - 27 Feb 2009 Kuala Lumpur

Southeast Asia

Flawed-Democratic Federation of Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Golden Triangle

Tengkat Tong Shin 28

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 intractive road map of the Mutiara Villa Condos in Kuala Lumpur and for directions:

N 03° 08.77' E 101° 42.45'

Checking out the vegetarian and pescetarian side of Kuala Lumpur’s many mamak restaurants (huge canteens for the people which are a modern update to the traditional hawker stalls) which offer some of the best Indian and Malay food in town, from spicy fish curries via fried rice with veggies aka nasi goreng sayur and fried noodles with seafood aka mee goreng to all kinds of roti (e.g. roti canai, roti telur, roti kaya, roti tisu and murtabak) and naan; best washed down with huge mugs of teh tarik (literally meaning “pulled tea”, essentially hot tea with condensed milk that is poured back and forth between a pot and a mug in order to give the tea a head of froth and a rich consistency and to help in cooling the tea for easy drinking).

Supporting the post-Communist Vietnamese economy and buying for our German books two expensive tourist visas (single entry, valid for 30 days) from the Vietnamese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for MYR 180.- or US$ 50.- each.

Crossing the Gulf of Thailand for a week-long “visa run” and flying uneventfully with Air Asia (“Now Everyone Can Fly”) in an Airbus A 320-200 from Kuala Lumpur's KLIA-LCCT to Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport for all inclusive MYR 153.- or US$ 42.- per person, one way; xin chào, Saigon, aka Good Morning, Saigon!

Click below for more blog posts about food in Malaysia
22 Feb - 10 Mar 2013 Pulau Tioman
04 May - 05 May 2012 Kuala Lumpur
29 Nov - 31 Dec 2011 Kuah
15 Oct - 21 Oct 2011 Ipoh
30 Jun - 13 Jul 2011 Kota Kinabalu

Click below for a summary of this year's travels

2009 Map Konni & Matt

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-06 Mekong Delta
Photos 2009-05 Saigon

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16 Feb - 20 Feb 2009 Pulau Pangkor

Southeast Asia

Flawed-Democratic Federation of Malaysia

Perak Darul Ridzuan

Pangkor Island

Teluk Nipah

Seagull Beach Villa Resort +6056852878

Adequate double room for MYR 55.- or US$ 15.30 per night.

Proselytising, zealous and unnerving Christian resort management which helped us to remember the atheistic words: "Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it. If you meet someone who wants to share it, that's wonderful. However, don't whip it out in public and start waving it around, and never once shove it down my child's throat, then I'll find you and cut it, hallelujah."

Click below for an interactive road map of the Seagull Beach Villa Resort at Teluk Nipah, which we would not recommend, and for directions:

N 04° 13.86' E 100° 32.84'

Touring Pangkor Island in a clockwise circuit by a hired 80-cc Honda motorbike (MYR 25.- or US$ 7.- for a 24-hour rental from our resort) and exploring (i) the pristine beaches on the west side of the island (Pasir Bogak, Teluk Nipah, Teluk Coral), (ii) the traditional fishing villages on the east side (Sungai Pinang Kecil, Sungai Pinang Besar, Pangkor Town), all famous for their multitude of dried fish products with its distinctive smell, and (iii) the islanders' colourful temples (the Chinese Foo Lin Kong Temple with many hanging spiral joss sticks and the South-Indian Pathirakaliaman Temple with its small gaudy gopura).

Finding our balance between lazily blobbing on the beach at Teluk Nipah and to the point of exhaustion hiking over the jungle-clad hills of the island’s interior thus spotting arboreal hornbills (great hornbill [Buceros bicornis] and oriental pied hornbill [Anthracoceros albirostris]) with their distinctive casques, watching and listening to white-bellied fish eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) high above us, following a 1.5-m long water monitor (Varanus salvator) into the undergrowth and being watched by a gang of curious gray langurs.

Taking the Mesra ferry boat from Pangkor Town to Lumut for MYR 5.- or US$ 1.40 per person, and hereafter the Plusliner express bus (quoted from their terms and conditions on the back of the ticket: “…indecent and immoral activities are not permitted on board the bus…”) from Lumut all the way back to Kuala Lumpur's convenient and well-organised Puduraya Bus Terminal for MYR 24.40 or US$ 6.80 per person for the 290-km ride.

Click below for blog entries about other islands in the Strait of Malacca
11 May - 21 May 2013 Pantai Cenang on Langkawi
17 Feb - 20 Feb 2013 George Town on Penang
01 Feb - 17 Feb 2013 Batu Ferringhi on Penang
20 Mar - 07 Apr 2012 Iboih Beach on Pulau Weh
01 Jan - 04 Jan 2012 Kuah on Langkawi

Click below for a summary of this year's travels

2009 Map Konni & Matt

Visit the Konni & Matt online albums and order high res photos
Konni & Matt Travel Photos


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

For your orders from Germany click here

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06 Feb - 16 Feb 2009 Kuala Lumpur

Southeast Asia 

Flawed-Democratic Federation of Malaysia 

Kuala Lumpur 

Golden Triangle

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:

N 03° 08.77' E 101° 42.45'

Reading in the news that Malaysia was battling its worst ever outbreak of dengue fever (centred on Kuala Lumpur), with officially 16 deaths and some 6,240 cases of this mosquito-borne disease for this year, so far, and increasing our prophylactic daily intake of Greenvale’s excellent merlot from Down Under (MYR 20.95 or US$ 5.80 per 750-ml bottle from the nearby Giant supermarket, located in the basement of Sungei Wang Plaza Mall).

       

Joining the more than 1.2 million “Vel! - Vel!” chanting Indian devotees to honour Lord Subramaniam and celebrating Thaipusam (the most spectacular Indian festival in Malaysia, banned in India, and a wild orgy of body piercings: (i) fruit and milk pots connected to the skin by [mostly one-inch fishing] hooks, (ii) mayil kavadi, cages of spikes that pierce the skin of the carrier, and (iii) pins, skewers and tridents through cheeks and tongues) at the Batu Caves, c. 15 km north of Kuala Lumpur, from the small hours till noon.
    

(more photos)

 

Ammunitioning in the Junk Book Store (“The biggest second-hand book store in Malaysia,  since 1998”) +60320783822 where the shelves are closely packed up to the ceiling with all kind of fiction and non-fiction, including a great selection of rare Asiana and Malaysiana.

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”

(Oscar Wilde)

 

Taking the Transnasional express bus from Kuala Lumpur’s Puduraya Bus Station to Lumut (MYR 24.40 or US$ 6.80 per person for the 290-km ride), and herafter the Mesra Ferry from Lumut to Pangkor Town for MYR 5.- or US$ 1.40 per person.

 

Click below for more blog posts about fantastic Asian festivals
13 Mar - 18 Apr 2013 Bangkok (Songkran Festival)
12 Apr - 23 Apr 2011 Madurai (Chittirai Festival)
05 Feb - 09 Feb 2010 Chiang Mai (Flower Festival)
28 Jan - 04 Feb 2010 Penang (Thaipusam Festival) 
14 Sep - 24 Oct 2008 Phuket (Vegetarian Festival) 

Click below for a summary of this year's travels 

2009 Map Konni & Matt

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

 
For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here 
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03 Feb - 06 Feb 2009 Tanah Rata

Southeast Asia

Flawed-Democratic Federation of Malaysia

Cameron Highlands

Tanah Rata

Father’s Guest House +6054912484 fathersonline@hotmail.com

Basic double room in a genuine WWII Nissen hut for MYR 30.- or US$ 8.40 per night.

Click below for an interactive road map of Father's Guest House in Tanah Rata, which we would recommend, and for directions:

N 04° 28.15' E 101° 22.35'

Exploring the pleasantly cool Cameron Highlands, a large hill station (between 1,300 m and 2,000 m above sea level) which takes its name from William Cameron, the surveyor who mapped the area in 1885 CE und who was soon followed by British tea planters, Chinese vegetable farmers and Tamil labourers.

Bush-whacking with a tracker-guided and chauffeur-driven Land Rover Defender from Kang Tours & Travel +6054915828 in the muddy rainforest near Gua Musang, hiking through dense jungle for hours, and finding eventually a beautiful red exemplar of the rare rafflesia flower (Rafflesia arnoldii) in full bloom, the world’s largest flower which gives off a smell of rotten meat to attract flies in order to carry its pollen to other rafflesias; many thanks (i) to our orang-asli native tracker Man (for teaching us field craft), (ii) to our orang-cina driver Spencer (for his superior driving skills) and (iii) to our orang-putih Czech friends Katarin & Petr (for being great buddies).

"And on the 8th day God created Land Rover."

(Ralph Speth)

Visiting Boh’s (Malaysia’s dominating tea brand) plantations at their Sungai Palas Tea Estate and extending our knowledge about the processing of tea leaves via tea bags into our favoured brew.

Meeting a non-headhunting tribe of native Orang Asli people in their jungle village, learning about their life and their culture, which includes a very impressive target-shooting demonstration with a well-used hunting blowpipe (loaded with poisoned darts, firing range up to 80 m), and Konni giving her best blowjob ever on camera.

Climbing the summit of Mt. Gunung Brinchang (at N 04° 31.09' E 101° 22.97' and 2,031 m above sea level) and enjoying magnificent views from the top onto the misty Malaysian rainforest.

Taking the Kurnia Bistari express bus (business-class like “snoozer seat”) +60320318307 from Tanah Rata back to Kuala Lumpur’s Puduraya Bus Terminal for MYR 30.- or US$ 8.40 per person for the smooth 210-km ride.

Click below for more blog entries about Orang Asli
22 Jul - 23 Jul 2011 Kuala Rompin
23 Jan - 24 Jan 2010 Dabong

Click below for a summary of this year's travels

2009 Map Konni & Matt

Recommended books - click below for your Amazon order from Canada:

For Amazon schnaeppchens from Germany, please click here

For Amazon bargains from the United States, please click here

For Amazon bargains from the United Kingdom, please click here