Leaving Borneo we made our way back across the South China Sea to Singapore. This time however we were to actually venture out of Changi Airport and into the city state itself. We based ourselves in ‘Little India’, quite possibly the cleanest Little India on the planet. This is Singapore after all, a country where the sale of chewing gum is prohibited, jay walkers can be imprisoned and failure to flush a public toilet can result in a hefty fine. Ok, maybe some of these statements are a little outdated but the overriding premise of Singapore being one of the cleanest cities on the planet stands true today.
We stayed just for a few nights and enjoyed a long weekend with a couple of friends who had flown in from Hong Kong (thank you Karine & Samy, so great to see you!). This also offered a chance to take advantage of the lounge access at the more stylish Swissotel than our backpacker hostel! First up on our list of things to do was to check out the incredibly impressive Marina Bay Sands, the three towering structures holding aloft a boat like structure housing a bar, restaurant, rooftop gardens and an infinity swimming pool. A very remarkable structure which is even more striking when all lit up at night. We made our way up to the top, and managed to sneak our way in without having to purchase the obligatory $25 drink. The views from the top are equally impressive as you gaze down over the marina to the looming skyscrapers of the Central Business District. Another great night spot is Clarke Quay with a whole array of international bars and restaurants, we went for a mix of shisha and mojitos!
From Singapore we made our way across the kilometre long causeway bridge to pick up a bus to the town of Melaka. Melaka is a town steeped in history. As one of the busiest and most important trading towns of the 15th and 16th centuries, it had enormous value and has fallen under the rule of the Portuguese, Dutch and British Empires. As a UNESCO world heritage site it’s a nice colonial town built along a river in Peninsular Malaysia and is rich in culture from its historical proprietors. We spent a few days checking out the awesome night market in China Town, eating ‘the best naan in Malaysia’ (this is true, the Kashmiri is incredible here), looking round the old Portugese/Dutch/British fort and colourful house art on the riverside.
We read somewhere about Melaka Zoo, and the variety of animals, all for 8 MYR (£1.60), a snip compared to Singapore zoo. Situated a fair way outside of town, it’s not on most peoples to do list, but we decided to brave the irregularity of the local buses to make our way there. Without too much hassle and a bit of uncertainty as to whether the second bus would actually arrive we made it, and the sticky humidity of local buses was worth it. They had all manner of big cats and primates, as well as white rhinos, elephants, black bears, the local hornbills a whole host more. As an attraction it’s a little rough around the edges but the animals seem to be have as much space as at any other zoo, and look to be well looked after.
From Melaka we made the short two hour journey up to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Another big city, and this one home to the very remarkable and unforgettable Petronas Towers. The tallest twin towers in the world, and also THE tallest building in the world between 1998 and 2003. Here we did the local free city tour, donned some robes to check out the mosque, visited the planetarium and started to make the most of our last few days in Malaysia (it will be nearly seven weeks by the time we leave). Kuala Lumpur is a great mix of contrasting local markets and giant shopping malls, anything Singapore can do, KL wants to do better! It certainly offers a very strong sense of diversity from one part of town to the next. The development around the East part of the city around the Petronas Towers houses several shopping malls all next to each other which make Westfield look like a convenience store.
As it was our last destination in Malaysia we were making the most of the local meals, Nasi Lemak, rice served with a boiled egg, anchovies, chilli paste and cucumber.... for breakfast. As well as lasts, it was also a place for firsts, as we tried the trending ‘fish pedicure’ which started in this part of the world and made its way over to the UK last year. For just five MYR (£1) we had the extraordinary sensation of having some very extrovert fish nibbling on our toes and cleaning off any dead skin. After some serious giggles (you can’t help but laugh nervously at first) the sensation starts to become more tolerable and with less knee jerks you soon have hundreds of fish munching away at you.
Kuala Lumpur marks the end of the road in Malaysia for us, we were planning on bussing it up to Thailand but you only receive a 15 day visa exception with a land entry, so we will be flying in to get our full 30 days. The last seven weeks or so in Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia have been a great starter to South East Asia, the people have all been so friendly, the food awesome and the backdrops incredible.
