travel

Salang Beach

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Kristen

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Damien has already told of our days on Salang Beach before our return to Sydney, so I will be brief here. I would like to share my photos though as they tell  a story in themselves.

I loved Salang Beach because it was so laid back and quiet, most days it felt as if we were the only ones there. Maybe this was because it was just at the tail end of the monsoon season or maybe it just isn’t overrun by the hoardes like so many Thai islands are. Either way, I didn’t care. The sun, the sand and the warm ocean were ours to enjoy.

So in brief my favourite aspects of our stay there were (in no particular order):

  • The view from our hillside balcony.
  • The wildlife – cheeky monkeys and impressively huge monitor lizards.
  • The local cats with their stumpy little tails. My favourite was a little furry friend who would meet me at tea time when we would dine at the seafood BBQ. She would mostly sit patiently at my side, sometimes gently patting my leg expectantly with her paw, waiting for a tidbit. I invariably succumbed to her charms as she had the ability to turn on those Puss in Boots eyes (if you have seen Shrek, you will know what I mean).I could not resist the cuteness 🙂
  • Long hours spent laying on the sand and in the water.
  • Having enough time to devour three books.
  • The abundance of beautiful tropical fish and coral. Which on a still day, I could see through the water with the same clarity as I would have through goggles.
  • The friendliness of the locals.
  • And the knowledge that we had picked the best Tioman beach to chill out on.

I hope we return one day!

Categories: Malaysia, travel | Leave a comment

TIA

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Kristen

Before our trip to Scandanavia pretty much all of my overseas travel has been concentrated in Asia. So I feel that I have a reasonable handle on the quirks of Asia and have developed a comfort level with all it can present to you.

However, after three weeks in Northern Europe when we arrived on Salang Sayang, Pulau Tioman and we trudged laden with backpacks to the far end of the beach I admit to being somewhat unthrilled with our chosen destination to dethaw. I like to think that perhaps I was suffering from a little jet lag and this was colouring my experience…ask anyone who knows me well…I am not a happy camper when I am tired! But my first impressions as we walked along were, well, this isn’t the travel brochure pictures I was expecting, I mean what’s with that run down piece of so and so there, and what’s with that dilapidated piece of crap there and has anyone heard of a coat of paint???

Anyway, jet lag quickly whisked me away and I pretty much slept through my grumpy introduction to Salang Sayang with the soothing sounds of a monsoonal downpour no less…it’s not all bad, you see.

So I had to admit to myself that I had indeed suffered a little from that old chestnut…culture shock.

Jet lag dealt with, I awoke with my rose-coloured Malaysian sunnies on and all was good in the world again. Suddenly all those little  bits and pieces that were no good yesterday started to seem OK, good even. I mean TIA afterall!  This is why we love it, if it was perfect, it wouldn’t be Asia and it wouldn’t endear itself to me quite as much as it has over the years.

Let me explain TIA. It’s a phrase we have stolen from Leonardo DiCaprio…well, his character in Blood Diamond anyway. Not long before we went on the trip we were watching Blood Diamond and there is a line in the movie where in an effort to explain all that is Africa, his character simply says matter of factly, TIA ‘This is Africa”.

And as I was adjusting to life in Asia again, TIA (This Is Asia) sprung into my mind and I was not at all surprised when without me even mentioning this thought to Damien, a couple of days into island time, he of his own accord casually said TIA in reference to some little oddity we were experiencing and I knew exactly what he meant!

Here’s a few examples of TIA:

  • We were staying in a hillside bungalow with a million dollar view of golden sand and azure waters….but we had to flush the toilet in the good old way…using a bucket. Oh and when I cleaned my teeth my feet always got wet, I realised halfway through the stay that was because the basin had a pipe that emptied straight onto the bathroom floor. TIA.
  • The salt on the restaurant tables, is in fact not salt at all. Careful inspection of the label reveals that it is MSG (with possibly some ‘trace’ elements of salt…but I couldn’t taste it). Even closer inspection of the ingredients label on the pepper uncovers that it too has MSG. WTF? TIA. Consequently, on our brief return to Sydney we purchased some salt to bring with us as we both recalled that (although we had forgot) the other Asian countries also have this love affair with MSG.
  • An off the island example, and not a pleasant one, is when we were waiting at the bus station in Mersing and I spied a table with no one seated at it. Success! As I descended to stake my claim, I soon realised why no one was there…the back end of what was once a kitten was left under the table (in food court area). TIA.
  • We are now staying in Melaka in a lovely little Guest House on the Melaka River. The owners are friendly, the place is clean, quiet and backs onto the Melaka River which is charming in bucket loads….but more about that later. Our room may be basic but it has a MASSIVE bed, air con and our own little balcony – which is actually quite gross…but it’s a balcony.TIA. But on the first day as I arose to greet the morning I went to pull back the curtain to take in the less than salubrious view out onto our balcony and the whole curtain rail came off the wall. TIA. Told the owner and her response was, whilst smiling sweetly of course, “I don’t know how to fix it’. TIA.

There will be ample more of these experiences all the way but all I can say is that I love it. When things are sometimes a little more basic, not so perfect, not always bright and shiny it just seems somehow more fun and dare I say it, more real.

So I’ll step out today and hunt down the next Melakan culinary masterpiece and try to ignore the occasional waft of eau de toilet and marvel at how fine this little slice of Malaysia is.

Categories: food, Malaysia, Melaka, travel | Leave a comment

Tioman

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Damien

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Pulau Tioman, or Tioman Island, is a slice of beachy perfection located 30 kms off the east coast of Malaysia. Almost entirely forested with just a handful of beaches scattered along the coastline, Tioman is remarkably free of mass tourism. After extensive research into island locations within a day or so of Singapore, it was our chosen destination to warm up after three weeks in wintery Scandinavia and it exceeded our highest expectations for tranquility, isolation and relaxation. In short it’s an absolute gem that somehow remains off the mainstream radar, and I pray that continues to be the case for many years to come.

Its quiet profile is all the more remarkable because this island has form. In 1958 it was the location for Bali H’ai in the Hollywood movie South Pacific, and in the 1970s Time Magazine named it one the world’s most beautiful islands. You might think that would lead to the tourist hordes arriving en masse in the following decades, like the real Bali or Phuket. But no, although it’s obviously popular with weekending KL’ers and Singaporeans the tendency to over-development has been resisted well by the islanders.

There are half a dozen villages on the west coast of Tioman that are regularly serviced by the mainland ferry, and our research said that the northernmost village of Salang was the pick of the crop. And on Salang one accommodation place was supposedly the pick of the bunch: Salang Sayang. After five nights there we can say with certainty that both choices are correct, and staying there was the best Asian island holiday I’ve had to date. Salang is a place where monitor lizards well over a metre long cruise languidly down the stream that runs through the village; where monkeys rummage through your balcony rubbish bin when you’re not there; where at the height of the day during our time there perhaps only two or three dozen people were on the beach. And do you like coral? Well at low tide you can simply walk out and gaze at it at your feet.

We were content to just lay on the beach most of the time and read, in between extended soaks in the bath-like water which is as clear as glass on a windless day. However if you’re energetic there is good snorkelling at several sites along the beach, surf skis and canoes can be hired for paddling and good diving is to be found both near the beach and at adjacent islands. Food is a little hit and miss on Salang and the variety is not great, but several places have nightly seafood barbeques which rarely fail to hit the mark. One day I was forced to head to the administrative centre of Tekek, which is home to the local airport and the island’s only ATM (which was why I went). There are no roads between Salang and the other villages so that required a short taxi boat ride, and my brief time in Tekek reinforced just how good Salang is as an idyllic escape.

Accommodation is best defined as rustic: we opted for the budget option of a simple shack on the hillside with balcony overlooking the beach, cold-water shower only, scoop flush toilet (it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those) and just a fan for cooling. But it was very comfortable and well-built, easily withstanding the occasional tropical downpour that punctuated most days. And with a fine view from the balcony and the beach just a short stroll away, we could not ask for more.

It whetted our appetite for some serious beach-bashing in Thailand, which will include our first visit to truly famous places such as Ko Phi Phi. But Tioman has firmly secured a place in my heart as the perfect island getaway. It takes about two days to get there from Sydney (via Singapore or KL), and the same again to get home. Not as simple as Bali or Phuket, it’s true, but totally worth the effort to avoid the crowds and enjoy absolute tranquility.

Categories: travel | 1 Comment

Interregnum

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Damien

… and we’re back. Well, almost.

The last two weeks have been blog-free for a number of reasons. Firstly because after leaving Europe we decided to head to a Malaysian island to warm up after so long in the chill. Where we were on Pulau Tioman was largely internet-free so we didn’t get the chance to comment on that wonderful place, but will soon.

Secondly, we returned to Sydney for five days before resuming our trek around the world. The return was primarily due to how our flights worked out, but it was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and family one last time, do some administrative chores that still had to be done, and dump all our winter gear that won’t be needed for the endless summer to come.

We’re now sitting at Sydney airport, sipping a fine Alsace white and letting the feeling sink in: we’re finally under way for good this time!

Categories: travel | Leave a comment

The Vasa

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Damien

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Stockholm loves a museum. Walking around the central suburbs of the city, it seems like you can’t go more than a block without passing a stately building housing a museet of some kind. There is even a free tourist map detailing Stockholm’s museums that lists no less than 84 options such as the Postal Museum, the Toy Museum, Museum of Spirits, The Tobacco and Match Museum and something called Tom Tits Experiment (I kid you not!).

While we both appreciate a good museum we are not huge museum-goers, and after visiting a number of them in Helsinki, Tallinn and Oslo we had little desire at the end of this part of our journey to see another one. Just like temple fatigue can set in while travelling around Asia, museum mortis is certainly a risk in Europe (and don’t get me started about churches). However several people recommended the Vasa Museum as a Stockholm highlight and it sounded very interesting, so we checked it out today. I can testify that it’s well worth the hype, and now ranks as one of the best museum experiences I’ve ever had.

The dry facts of the Vasa are impressive enough, but when you first walk into the cavernous museum space and see the ship towering above you it’s quite breathtaking. Commissioned in 1625 as one of four new warships for the Swedish fleet – then at war with Poland and others – it was launched in 1628. But its maiden voyage lasted for just 20 minutes before the ship tipped over in a breeze and started taking water through its gun ports, which caused it to sink into the mud of Stockholm’s harbour. There it lay for 333 years until it was finally raised again and revealed to be in a remarkable state of preservation.

The Vasa Museum was purpose-built on the garden island of Djurgarden just a short stroll from the city centre, and its modern and sometimes interactive displays give a real sense of what life must have been like on board. We arrived just in time for one of the three daily English-language guided tours which in a rather entertaining way told the story of the ship, and also placed it in its historical context. We thought we would only be there for a fairly short time, but before we knew it three hours had passed and it was time to leave.

Taking 400 people about 2.5 years to build, the Vasa is 69 metres long and bloody tall when viewed from the keel – it’s simply enormous to behold. The level of detail is astonishing, even more so as it was built in a rush to have it added to the Swedish fleet as soon as possible so it could fight in the war against Poland. As someone with a passing interest in technology, the scale of this ship is magnificent when you consider it was designed and built almost four centuries ago. It’s state of preservation is phenomenal which allows a real appreciation of the craftsmanship involved. The Vasa’s sinking was due to a design flaw in that it was too narrow for its height, which meant the centre of gravity was too high for good stability. Its sister ship, Apple, was very similar but just one metre wider which made all the difference; it was in service for more than 30 years and became the most successful warship in the Swedish Navy of the time.

From a sea of museum choices, giving the Vasa a shot was one of the best things we could have done on our last full day in Stockholm. We’re ready to move on in our journey now, and Malaysia beckons loudly, but this was a highlight well worth remembering.

Categories: Scandinavia, Stockholm, Sweden, travel | Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started