(I've fully updated my blog; to get to the start of the update please scroll down three posts)
MP3 track of the day: Christmas time – Cliff Richard
Weather: Taman Negara NP = warm and sunny with the cloud breaking / Kuala Lumpur = heavy rain
Again up early I was glad to leave the hostel. I went for breakfast and I took all my bags with me. A guy there from Han travel asked if I was leaving, to which I replied yes. He wasn't happy; he asked to see my travel voucher which he then pushed into my face and said that I should have confirmed yesterday that I was leaving today. I told him that, as I had booked a two day tour with Han travel, why did I have to reconfirm. He said that some people decided to stay longer to which I replied that surely then I should let you know that I'm staying longer, not that I've decided to leave on time. I was a little worried that I couldn't leave as it looked like no one else was leaving that day. The guy ummed and arred until he said ' do you mind taking the boat back instead of the bus' … mind I thought, great. I quickly eat my breakfast and I was ready to get on the boat with ten minutes to spare.
As I sat there I reached into my back pocket, in horror I found that I still had the dorm key for my hostel. I said to the Han travel agent that I would be back in two minutes and I ran to the hostel, dropped my key off, and then ran back again. I couldn't run all the way as I was out of breathe; it was only a 10 minute run ... was I really that unfit or was it the humidity and air content here, I dunno. I made it back to the jetty on time and a little sweaty.
The boat ride cooled me down; it was better than before because the sun was out and the clouds were dispersing leaving blue sky that surrounded the rainforest canopy. As we were heading downstream the trip took only two hours, I had an hour to grab an early lunch before my coach turned up to take me back to Kuala Lumpur.
I had sometime to eat, read a bit more of my Vietnam book and, when it was time, I was then escorted to my coach. I saw that 'spit a lot' was my driver … wonderful. I was the only one on the coach and so I sat near the front. With only ten pages of my book left I finished my book, which was a mission as the coach jumped and moved around all over the place. After this I saw the same scenery as I did coming to the Taman Negara National Park, but in reverse. I also watched 'spit a lot's' driving; at that point I wish I had more of my book to read as I held my breathe every time the driver squeezed through the smallest of gaps, under-took vehicles and nearly rode thousands of mopeds off the road … and it all seemed normal to the other road users.
Once in Kuala Lumpur the rain was throwing it down; the driver dropped me off in China town and I had to make my own way back to my hostel. Once back I got a bill for the storage of my luggage (ten ringgit, which I felt was a little cheeky considering that I had stayed here six nights). I then re-packed my bags, took a long and lovely shower, changed my clothes and handed in a bag of washing which would cost me fifteen ringgit. This was all done before I sat down, with a mountain of snacks, to update said blog.
I have spent far too much money so far in Malaysia, partly due to me shopping for necessary items and also due to lack of information, and struggling to know how to move around this country. The £200 I got out ten days ago has almost gone resulting in a spend of £20 per day … double what I hoped for. This second part of my Malayan trip I hoped to spend less, however things are already complicated as I can't find a dorm in the Cameron Highlands, only singles … it's so difficult here.
Tomorrow I need to confirm accommodation in the Cameron Highlands, or plan to just move onto Penang. I then need to find out how to get to the temporary bus station here in Kuala Lumpur, do a dummy run and pick up a bus ticket. Only after this can I look at sightseeing; apparently there's a mountain full of monkeys nearby which is only two ringgit and fifty sense to get to ... oh and I quite fancy seeing the Petronas Towers at night.
Toodle Pip!
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