Pics in Bui Vien Street and Van Tanh HCMC

Well here are some pics I took. The first is one where I got out of bed and put my head on the wrong way up. Next is a very odd dolphin at Van Tanh followed by banh mi and then crabs, with the new buffalo on the Bui Vien/De Tham crossroads. There was a lovely old Indochine type hotel on the site but who is to stand in the way of progress.

The Quiz at Le Pub, Saigon

We Won!!!!

Although one housemate was the writer/producer of the quiz, she did not tell us any of the answers. Our other housemate also took part in writing the quiz but stuck to her guns and also refused to tell us any answers.

The quiz was very international and we had a very international team. So that is why we won a whole bottle of wine!

The last quiz I won, in Wolverhampton, UK, with Daniel (hello Dan), we won £50!!! and were fortunate that night, too.

Tonight's questions were incredibly hard, about things like when were certain cheeses, like cheddar and Gouda invented, where were french fries first eaten and where was the plant rhubarb first discovered.

So altogether, I think we deserve a round of applause, and so does the quizmistress, Arielle, but I won't hold my breath...

Urban Dictionary Definitions of Graham

1. Graham 303 up, 64 down love it hate it

Graham is an old SCOTTISH name (not english you limey bugger). It means Grey Home and the earliest known Graham was the Earl of Mountrose.
Read the definition of Graham.
graham gram greame grey home scotland scottish graham crackers golden grahams
by C.W. Graham Oct 26, 2006 share this
2. Graham 86 up, 11 down love it hate it

A tall handsome and utterly fuck worthy dude that has no place on this earth as it is entirely beneath him. Women fall at his feet and are often found exploding in orgasm as he may pass them by.
"Whoa dude is that a 'Graham'?"

"Yeah, what's he doing on earth, I thought he was like on another level"

"Oh my god I think I just came"
graham grum gorgeous handsome fit
by MandaLovesIt Apr 1, 2009 share this
3. Graham 50 up, 53 down love it hate it

A tall, skinny, permanently awkward boy.
Someone who explodes every time he is given a compliment, and is likely to fall over if ever given a hug.
A Grahams natural habitat is in the cold confines of his own room, and is rarely seen in any other surroundings.
Despite tendencies to fall over and say the wrong thing in any situation, he's also lovely, and obviously one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
Graham's awesome :)
grumpy tall brilliant alcoholic daft
by lakencake;; Feb 7, 2009 share this
4. Graham 135 up, 159 down love it hate it

A guy who is incredibly good looking, athletic, smart, and loves to get blumpys
Graham's the man. He got the biggest blumpkin last night from Ronald McDonald
blumkin blowjob hot carl alabama hot picket cum
by Grambo Oct 29, 2007 share this
5. Graham 46 up, 74 down love it hate it

Guy who constantly says the wrong thing to girls and his peers. Completely oblivious to the fact that everyone thinks hes a douche. Often says "hilarus" instead of "hilarious" and waggles his hand around when he talks.
Dude, why were you such a graham yesterday? The was really lame.
douche wigger cracker duncan racist
by johnlewis42 Jan 29, 2009 share this
6. Graham 97 up, 151 down love it hate it

"Graham" is a simplistic term used commonly to describe thy holy father that resides in the heavens. Rumour has it that the only remaining specimin lives in an area called parkwood among other inbred bastards. This is only legend however.....
Holy shit, its a graham! BLESS ME WITH THY PANTLESS GENETALS!!!
graham god bible hooper allah
by Steven Dickinson Aug 10, 2006 share this
7. graham 42 up, 127 down love it hate it

A fresh bloke that constantly hooks up with fat ugly girls.
Oh my god i did a graham
Dude ur so out the group
grahma grigga brett howdy lolw
by winngerwanger Aug 7, 2006 share this

Looking for New Housemates and House

The year has flown by and it is nearly time to leave this house. My housemates are going travelling and not staying in HCMC so not only am I looking for a house I have to find new people to live with! The contract finishes on March 15th, so not long to go..

So if you know of anyone in HCMC who needs a good housemate or who wants to start looking for a new house then tell them to get in touch at
grahamhibbins at hotmail dot com

Christmas in Nha Trang

Vi and I had a lovely time in Nha Trang over Christmas. We could only manage about 5 days, and it rained a lot, but we managed to pack a lot into those days. We had a day visiting islands on a boat trip and another day visiting VinPearl island which you get to by cable car, and has lots to do, including a huge tank full of fish, sharks and other sea creatures, a water park, which was fun, computer/fair type games, including boxing and shooting, as can be seen in the pics, fair rides and lots of other "free" stuff. We also went to a fantastic spa type place where, amongst other things, we had a mudbath together, which we enjoyed and there is a fantastic hot, thermally heated swimming pool. Here are a few of the pics.

Pics of Cambodia

For Christmas I went with my girlfriend to Nha Trang, where we had a great time, then for Tet/Lunar New Year Vi went to Vung Tau with her family and I went to Sihanoukville in Cambodia for a week on my own. My housemates went to Phu Quoc, the Phillipines and stayed home working.

I really enjoyed the beach and especially the food in Sihanoukville and had a really nice room right on the beach for $20. So it was a little lonely but still an enjoyable week and it was better to go there on my own for Tet than stay at home in empty HCMC.

A Post at Long Last

If anyone still reads my blog:

I have plenty of time now because my school, who said at the end of the 12 week course I had been teaching on, there would be a new course for me. However, it transpired that all they had was a link to someone else who had a "live in" job somewhere in the provinces. Which, of course, I turned down.

So I am looking for work again, just at the wrong time of year when there are few jobs around. With Christmas and Tet holiday coming up and bills to be paid I hope something comes up soon. I have applied for a few so far, so now waiting for replies.

Pics of my birthday

Pics of my birthday spent with my girlfriend Vi followed by cocktails with Kevin and John my housemates



Please let me know if you can see the pics, as I cannot.

Back thanks to a Saudi Arabian proxy

I am having to go via Saudi Arabia using a proxy to get into my own blog! It is very strange that all Blogger sites seem to be blocked in Viet Nam.

Oh well at least I'm in...

I am on holiday from work this week, so have a little more time for blogging.

Hope everyone hasn't forgotten me.

Edit: A Saudi proxy which won't allow me to upload pics...

A long forgotten blog...

Well it has been a while and I apologise to my reader for that. I spent 8 days of wine women and song in Cambodia, then when I got back the internet connection was down. I had to buy a new modem and hub even though the hub was only a few weeks old. Then the internet company had to come and configure it so it all took time. Also I am still working seven days a week, which leaves little time for blogging.

But for some good news I have just sent my resignation email to the school I work weekends for, so soon I should have a lot more time.

It is exhausting teaching 2 hours for teenagers, a 15 minute break then having to teach boisterous ten year olds for another two hours... It is a great school with very helpful staff and great facilities, but it is just too tiring. After leaving home at 9.20am to getting home at 7.30pm 4 days a week, plus teaching two hours on Friday, I don't need weekend work I need to get out and meet people and have some fun...

And write my blog...

My favourite blogs

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/

http://anenglishmaninosaka.blogspot.com/

http://gaijintonic.com/

http://gorillasushi.com/

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Housewarming Party and John's Birthday

We had our housewarming party Thursday night. About 20 or so people came. I cooked Mashed potatoes with Scrambled egg and ham, two types of sausages, what were called Arabian sausages in the gourmet shop, but as they were pork sausages I think it's unlikely they came from Saudi Arabia, lol and pork sausages from a local shop. They were quite both tasty sausages, which was surprising. Vietnamese sausages have a different taste to Western sausages and are not usually nice, for me anyway. We also made a big salad with Emental cheese and ham. As I didn't get home from work until 7.30 I didn't have time to do everything, so two of our guests, Elizabet and Thuy made the salad, thanks guys, and it was very good. Heidi prepared some sandwiches and make-your-own spring rolls.

We started off with Bia Hoi, with John buying 4 or 5 litres for 30,000 Dong, £1 or $2, with ice. We had a couple of crates of Tiger and 333 beer but had to put them in the freezer to cool. Someone bought a bottle of brandy and there was some bourbon and Heidi bought a bottle of Absolut vodka.

As ever, the Vietnamese had to leave by around 10ish but the rest of us continued until late. I fell asleep in my chair and had to go to bed at sometime in the early hours and the last people, I hear were still going strong until 3.30am.

We moved up to the balcony around 11 or 12 and John played his guitar with Louis, one of the guests, playing along on his harmonica. Which was the highlight of the night for me. They are both superb musicians and played some excellent blues type music.

The guy who puked in the toilet, all over the walls, floor and toilet, and didn't even try and clean it up wasn't so much fun, as I had to clean it the next morning. The only pictures that were taken were by the guy who puked in the toilet, so I doubt if I'll be able to see them or put them up...

So a great night seemed to be had by all. All the food I cooked was eaten and everyone said it was good, so the effort was worth it. Everyone seemed to have a good night and we had no complaints from the neighbours, which was pleasing. It does seem a good place to live and it was a great party.

Bun Cha in HCMC

I went for a walk this evening and after about an hour's walking I came across a very unusual sight in HCM. It was a Bun Cha restaurant! In Hanoi Bun Cha was my favourite food, so how could I not go in? In Hanoi Bun Cha restaurants are the dirtiest in town because it is barbecued pork in a soup with rice noodles and a big bowl of herbs and salad. So the charcoal gets everywhere and Hanoi people throw all their rubbish on the floor and then it gets swept up at the end of mealtime, which makes the places look a bit messy, but, of course doesn't affect the taste of the food. They are not only the most delicious places but also one of the cheapest. Bun Cha generally costs 10,000 Dong, or 60 cents US, 30p Brit. If you have a couple of equally delicious but very filling Nem or spring rolls then it may be 15,000 VND altogether.

This place had shiny silver tables, no sign whatsoever of charcoal dust or rubbish strewn floor. It had waitresses in uniforms and everything was sparkling clean and spotless.

So in I go "Bun Cha va Hai Nem" (bun cha and two spring rolls) I say. They were amazed at my perfect Hanoian accent... (well they didn't laugh too loud, anyway). It arrived at the table fairly quickly and I put in some garlic, a little chilli and looked through the herbs for the coriander/cilantro, but none there, only the normal herbs you get in HCM food, which was disappointing. Bun Cha needs coriander. I began eating, but the chilli, even though I only put two small pieces in, was extremely fiery, and I began coughing. "Mot Chai Coca." (a bottle of Coke) I said and waited for it to arrive. After a few minutes and asking where it was, I got a glass of iced tea and was told in English, your coffee is coming soon. Oh well, so much for my perfect Vietnamese accent! I don't think I have ever managed to ask for Coke and got them to understand. I need to do more work on my pronunciation... But at least it was better than a few days ago at a different restaurant when I asked for "mot chai bia" (bottle of beer) and was brought a spoon, which made everyone in the restaurant piss themselves when I took her over to the beer and showed her what I wanted. The bill for a coffee, the Bun Cha and two spring rolls? 48,000!

It never pays to eat in a clean restaurant, always look for the grubbier ones, it's always easier on your wallet.

It is another week til I get my first wage paid into my bank account, which took three weeks to open, endless form filling and lots of patience. My passport was needed for each of the six visits, even though they photocopied it several times on the first visit, but it's now ready to accept the money and I have an ATM card all ready to go...

House in District One

Well, last week I promised pics of the new house and never delivered. The camera battery died on me so time ran out. So now I have taken some pics of the house and here they are. The two small bedrooms are not there, but they are sorta square with a balcony, bed and wardrobe and AC. My room is great, with 3 seater and two seater sofa plus chair, great furniture, a small balcony but no wardrobe. We all have wired internet which has got a bit quicker since we moved in and now isn't too bad, but not shockingly fast.

The house has four bedrooms and a shower room/toilet on the ground floor (1st floor for u Americans) The ground floor is mainly open plan spans two smalls alleys and has electric shutters on both sides of the house. There is plenty of room for motorbikes and a small room we don't use much which can be converted to a guest room. At the top of the house is an open sided washing area with a good quality washing machine. We all share the big balcony off of Kevin and Sandrine's room but we need to buy some chairs as there are only two now.

The Big Move

The internet at the hotel I was staying in was awful and wouldn't let me into Blogger. So here is my first blog for a long time...

Well I have eventually moved into a house in HCM City, it's in District 1. I moved my bags by Cyclo! Which cost just over three dollars, and I have a lot of bags. It is a fantastic house with four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, brand new hand-built kitchen, great furniture, big LG flat TV with good cable, balconies off each room and two roof terraces. It costs double what the house in Hanoi cost, but it is worth it. I am sharing with a French couple, an American guy, and an American woman. They all seem very nice and we seem to get along well. My room is huge and has a big, comfortable bed, a two and a three seat sofa plus a chair, some lovely furniture (but mosquitoes by the hundred!) and a small balcony.

So altogether I am enjoying HCM now. It has been a bit difficult, but I have found well paid work and soon I will be working seven days a week, and taking home good money. But for now I am a bit broke as the rent and deposit has to be paid plus I had to pay for a month at the hotel, and I don't get paid til the fifth of next month and that'll soon get eaten up. The area we are living (Hai Ba Trung) has lots of good, cheap restaurants and local food, so it won't cost too much to live, but it'll take a couple of months to get back some fiscal resources.


I will put up some pics of the house soon...

Phnomh Penh, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat around Christmas 2007

In Limbo

I am sitting in limbo now.

Before Tet I applied for a job, had an interview, which I passed, was asked to do a 15 minute lesson plan which the was happy with and was told I had got the job teaching the employees at a factory in District 2. I was promised an email about the hours while in Malaysia. But it never arrived and no replies to emails. So when I got back from holiday I tried emailing the school head office in Hanoi. I eventually got a reply telling me the guy who interviewed me had left the company and had not mentioned me to them.

They asked me for another interview... This was getting repetitive... I met the director of the company and was told I still had the job (at a reduced rate of pay!) and it was starting 25th Feb. So I rented a motorbike, which I would need to get to work. Then a couple of days ago they rang to say the company wanted to put off the course for one week. GGGRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr

Bear in mind I have been to Cambodia for three weeks for Christmas and New Year and then Malaysia for Tet, so have little money left. They won't pay me til a month after the start of work and I have to pay $10 a night for the hotel plus my food, etc. So I am trying to live as cheaply as possible now and hope my money lasts out.

So it really pisses me off when I get overcharged. I am still angry about dinner last night. I ate the night before in a small local place, had pork, rice and salad which was 15,000 VND. Then last night I returned, had 2 chicken legs, rice, salad and vegetables. 40,000 VND! Which is ridiculous. This happens quite often here. They see a non-local and try to get as much as they can out of you, probably thinking you are a tourist.

On a plus point I met a nice French couple: Kevin and his girlfriend who are working in a restaurant in HMC. We are all looking for a house to share around District 1, so wish us luck

A couple of days in Singapore

Tioman Island, East Malaysia

The Journey to Tioman

Was a tad difficult to say the least. Even tho it was further from Taman Nagara than the Perhentian Islands we decided to go there because it was said to be quite beautiful, with both forest and good beaches, coral you can swim to from the beach, and best of all has cheap alcohol!

Tioman has duty free areas where you can buy beer and spirits cheaper than we saw it anywhere else in Malaysia. Some of the bars in the resort we chose (ABC) had happy hours from around 5 til 7pm with three beers for 10 Ringitts. so I think it was the right decision to go there.

So we set off on the early morning bus from Kuala Tahan and arrived in Jerantut three hours later and waited for around an hour for the next bus , not to Temerloh as we had been told but to Kuantan. From there we were told you can catch a bus to Mersing, which is where the ferry to Tioman goes. So eventually we got to Kuantan. I waited with the bags while Ju and Fi went upstairs to the ticket office. After about 10 or 15 minutes they came down looking pissed off. The buses were all full as it was the first day of Tet holiday. It was Fi's birthday and we really wanted to get to the island so we could celebrate it properly. While they were gone a taxi driver's man had approached me offering me a taxi to Mersing for 180 Ringitts. So after getting him down to 150 R we took it. We were all totally exhausted by now and didn't care about the money. It was between 3 and 4 hours to Mersing, the driver spoke no English, so we all just took it easy and tried not to get angry with each other. There was also an undercurrent that we were worried there would be nowhere to stay on the island as it was Tet. We had tried to ring them with Skype from the forest but had not managed to book anywhere.

Around 5.30pm we got to Mersing. We stopped at a ferry before Mersing which if running would have left at around the right time, but it was low season and wasn't running. So on we went to Mersing, stopping at the jetty. "Is there a ferry to Tioman?" we asked. "No, not tonight!" was the disheartening reply. But there is one at 5am tomorrow! "But it is full", they said. "Totally full?" We implored. "Well, maybe we can get one or two on", they said. So luckily, they squeezed us on. So we went and looked for a guest house in Mersing and stayed the night at a 45 R hotel with AC, balcony and hot shower! They put a mattress on the floor for Julian, which he was ok with, as we were only going to be there a few hours. So we celebrated Fi's birthday, not on Tioman, but not far away, and at least we had tickets and knew we would get there. Early the next morning but not 5am (more like 6am) we set off for Tioman.

The fast ferry took 90ish minutes to the island, stopped at three places before ABC resort and off we got onto the jetty. On Skype we had managed to talk to the boss of South Pacific Resort, the friendly Tony. He said he would bear us in mind but had heard it many times before and people rarely turned up. So we set off from the jetty to look for Tony with a worrying feeling that everywhere might be full. But fortunately, Tony had a chalet for us at 35 Ringitts, with cold shower and fan and a nice balcony overlooking the sea. It was a bit rough and ready, and when the tap was blown off by the power of the water in the bathroom, Tony eventually tied it on with string and and said his "brother" would come and fix it properly, but he never did. But we had 4 nights there and really enjoyed it. Tony was friendly and helpful and it was well positioned. When we wanted a snorkel, we asked Tony and instead of charging us 10 R a day like most places, he gave us his for the duration of our stay. It was that sort of place.

So we enjoyed the island, walking everywhere, as no motorbikes are available to rent. There is a path used by the locals on motorbikes, but not for foreigners. When you get to our end there are steps anyway which would have been difficult if not impossible to negotiate on a bike.

We walked to Monkey Bay which was a long 2 hour walk through forest, but very enjoyable, with a stop at a totally deserted beach on the way, with hermit crabs and snorkelling. Monkey Bay was even better, with two swings on the beach, but no people so we had the beach all to ourselves again. We climbed rocks, seeing the macaques playing in the trees, snorkelled over coral and generally had a good time on the lovely golden sands and pure, clean water, before eventually walking back.

Another day we went snorkelling around an island off the coast, catching a boat for 65 R each, including snorkels, fishing (which we had asked for but in the end never bothered with) and a trip to Salang for lunch, where we saw huge monitor lizards swimming in an inlet and after lunch the boat took us to the next bay to Monkey Bay, which was another good area for snorkelling. So altogether a good day and well worth the money. A Malaysian couple took underwater pictures of us snorkelling which would have been great to see. I gave them my email addy, but haven't seen the pics in my box yet, unfortunately.

The next day Ju and Fi went sea fishing but I didn't fancy any more time on a boat so stayed at the beach. They caught a good catch of around a dozen fish and brought them home to be barbecued for dinner, which was nice. We shared dinner with the Taiwanese (I think) couple who were also on the fishing trip. So a good time was had by all.

We tried to walk to the Southern part of the island and walked for several hours, but the track (and our energy ran out) and we caught a free resort bus back to Teket jetty and walked back from there to our resort. The Northern part of the island is better and less developed we found, anyway. There is a huge resort, with golf course, and all those things that go with a luxury resort, including pollution and vast quantities of rubbish hidden away in the South. So we were happy with our location choice and even Tony's shacks, lol

After one more night we caught the ferry back to the mainland and had to go our separate ways. Me to Singapore for a couple of days before returning to HCM and Fi and Ju back to KL and onto Hanoi.

Taman Nagara National Park, Malaysia

Taman Nagara is a fantastic place place to spend a few days. I had brought boots and boot socks and even women's tights (as recommended by a website for keeping out the leeches) I covered myself in mosquito repellent which they are not supposed to like and set out for a good long walk in the wilds of a proper forest.

Within a few minutes of setting out wearing a long sleeve shirt, boots and socks and tights over the top of the socks, I found out why no one else was wearing this get up. I was sweating my nuts off! And we hadn't seen a single leech yet... So off the tights came and I would fight the leeches on the beaches... well in the forest.

Leeches are supposed to be found in the less well touristed areas and if you find them it means you are more likely to see wild animals as that is what they are looking to prey upon. So if you see leeches then you are going the right way. And so it proved. As soon as we got off the beaten track the leeches appeared by the million. They sit on brown leaves waiting for your muddy boots to pick them up and work their way towards your feet. After having had a few in your boots you start to realise that you can keep an eye out for them and knock most of them off before they can get in.

So we walked around 10 kilometres the first day (it seemed like 100 kilometres and I was soaked with sweat and totally exhausted by the end of the walk) and found the canopy walkway, and walked that too. As someone who hates heights I found it a little wobbly and some bits I didn't like, but it was very well constructed and not too scary. The views over the forest and seeing the giant squirrel made it well worthwhile and enjoyable. The sounds of the forest were amazing and Fi saw a flying snake and we saw and heard many birds including a woodpecker which wasn't scared of us taking pics at all.

That evening Julian arrived and we did an organised night walk which was fun. We saw kingfisher type birds sleeping in the forest, snakes, tarantulas, other spiders, almost saw scorpions but they escaped down their hole before we got to take a look. We also saw various stick and other insects and were able to see deer when in a hide, but couldn't take any decent pics.

The next day's walk through the forest was even longer but very enjoyable and I even managed to see a macaque, but it quickly disappeared into the forest before I could get my camera out. As we were completing our walk we came to a swimming area with lots of butterflies on the riverbank. The biggest and most beautiful butterfly suddenly decided it liked the look of my blue and yellow t-shirt and landed on it sucking up my sweat. We were able to take pictures and it didn't leave until I started walking again. Most butterflies never come near humans and I have always struggled to take pictures of them, so it was a nice few minutes, to be sucked on by a butterfly, lol.

The food in Kuala Tahan was pretty crap but we tried a restaurant that night which proved the best so far. It was the first one you would see when arriving from KL, cannot remember its name.

The next morning we caught the bus out of there at 7.30am and headed for Tioman Island. Which proved a hell of a journey.

Journey to Taman Nagara

The journey to the Centre of the Earth Taman Nagara was a long journey by bus and boat but enjoyable nonetheless. We set off at about 7.30am without Julian who had failed to materialise. We left a note and the ticket and hoped he would join us the next day. Luckily the company believed us and allowed him to use the ticket once AirAsia had actually managed to transport him from Hanoi to KL. AirAsia may be cheap but if they cancel flights their reputation is hardly likely to grow as it makes a huge difference to people's short holidays, especially at Tet/Lunar New Year.

So me and Fiona set off on the 3 hour bus journey to Kuala Tembeling. This is just a small village/jetty location with a couple of good value restaurants and some offices offering places to stay within the national park. The whole journey was 60 Ringitts ($20)

According to the 'Take the Path Less Travelled' website, which is well worth a look: "Most travellers, especially ones on tour packages, are dubbed into believing the only way to reach Kuala Tahan gateway is by chartered boat at Kuala Tembeling. Well, the fact is, you CAN drive into the park yourself. There is a rural road (C163) that takes one straight to Kuala Tahan village side from Kuala Tembeling, where most budget hotels and chalets are found (DIY travellers, pay attention to this!). The road is a good option if you arrive Kuala Tembeling late and there’s no boat available."

http://malaysiaupclose.wordpress.com/category/map-taman-negara/

As we found out later, a bus can be got to Jerantut and on to Temerloh so no need to do the river trip twice. But the river trip is a good way to get to Taman Nagara. The boats are relatively peaceful compared to some long-tailed boats in other parts of Asia as they use Japanese outboard motors, which makes for a very pleasant journey.

So after lunch we got on the small boat to Kuala Tahan which takes another 3 hours and does get a little uncomfortable as there is a shortage of room for long legs, but the views make up for a little bit of discomfort.

Upon arrival I was a little disorientated and didn't quite know where to go. We knew we didn't want to go with Han on a package type tour, preferring to get off the beaten track and save a bit of money. We were trying to do the trip on $20 to 30 a day and that would never be possible with Han. I had read somewhere that there were cheaper places to stay across the river and it was worth paying the 1 Ringitt to go across the river. However, I was mistaken and the only accommodation across the river was from 60 Ringitt a night each in a Dorm room to 1500 Ringitts. So after meeting some body builder types who had arrived a few hours ago and had set off for a hide about 3 kilometres from the river but had been put off by the 20 leeches each had had to remove from their boots on the short one-way trip and were leaving to catch the bus that evening for anywhere but "this hellhole" without having seen any animals (unless you count leeches).

So back across the river to search for somewhere to stay. The first bungalow place we tried was full, which was a bit worrying, and it was starting to rain heavily. It was near the end of the rainy season and we were in a rainforest, so it wasn't too surprising. The friendly people at the bungalows suggested we go through their gardens and look behind the place, which we did. There was a hotel behind which was from 50 to 90 Ringitts. I waited there while Fiona went looking for a room. While I waited I was told about a chalet with a double and single bed available for 60 Ringitts with fan and cold water shower. When she eventually got back from the other bungalow places which were well away from the centre and a bit manky, we decided to stick with the chalet and talked them into 50 Ringitts a night, and it turned into a good place to stay. Not a great view, of Woodlands car park, but birds and a squirrel in adjacent trees gave us something to look at as we sat on our balcony drinking the vodka Fi had brought with her.

Alcohol is very expensive in Malaysia and even more so at Kuala Tahan and so a bottle of vodka was very useful. There were two places you could get beer there, at Woodlands Resort where it was 10 Ringitts a small can, or across the river where it was 18 Ringitt for a glass of draught Tiger. So not a place for heavy drinkers with long pockets and short arms.

A couple of days in Kuala Lumpur

The early morning flight to Singapore on JetStar ($191 return) was pleasant. The leather seats were impressive and comfortable and the legspace was ok. Even though we were going to spend Tet holiday in Malaysia I was heading for Singapore because it was the cheapest way to get to Kuala Lumpur (KL). Fiona and Julian were travelling straight to KL from Hanoi. After arriving in Singapore I had to work out how to catch the bus to KL. To get to KL I had read you can get a bus from Lavender Road that goes directly there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find Lavender Rd on the MRT (overhead railway), which itself was quite difficult to work out. There is an overhead railway between air terminals, but that isn't the MRT, you have to catch that from terminal one to terminal two and then catch the MRT from there. So once I had found the MRT I headed for Queen Street. From Queen St. you can catch a bus to Johor Bahru (JB) and then a bus onto KL.

The bus from Queen St was the bright yellow Causeway Link and was a reasonable S$2.40. This takes you to the Singapore side of the border (making sure you keep your bus ticket) where you get off with your luggage and pass through the Singapore passport necessities, wait for the next bus, which takes you to the Malaysian border. You exit the bus with your luggage and pass through the Malaysian border controls, before catching the next yellow canary which takes you to Larkin JB, where you can catch a bus to KL. At Larkin I was charged 30 Ringgit for the bus to KL. I had read it should have been 24 Ringgits, but was just too tired to argue and paid the money and got on. It was two minutes to 3pm by this time and the bus was said to be leaving at 3. I had not had any food and little water by then, as every time I got through customs the yellow bus was leaving and I had to rush to get on it. The guy who sold me the bus ticket took some money off me and went to buy me a large bottle of water. He returned with two small bottles, one for me and one for him! Too tired to argue I just accepted it. When the bus didn't go immediately I asked if I had time to get some food and was told ok if I was quick... I quickly bought three sweet bread with filling things that you get in Asian bus stops, not great but food... So after this rush I expected the bus to fly off to KL, but waited til 3.30 for it eventually to fill up and head off. If I had known I could have had KFC or found some decent food. GGGRRRrrrrrrrrr!!

I slept like a baby for the first two hours of the bus journey and upon awakening I looked out of the window to see more of the oil palm trees I had seen covering Cambodia. For the next two hours it was pretty much the same sight. What is supposed to be an environmental benefit and saving oil is turning most of Asia into a single species plantation with no bio-diversity whatsoever. I read somewhere during the holiday that even Sabah, one of the most beautiful, natural and forested parts of Malaysia/Borneo is now covered with 16.6% palm oil, surely the ugliest and least environmentally friendly plant ever seen.

After 4 hours I arrived in KL and headed for Chinatown which was pretty close to the bus station. I then spent from 7.30 to 9pm looking for a reasonable priced room. The ones I had read about on the internet were not as cheap as advertised and the cheaper ones I looked at were totally manky, fairly manky or diabolical shitholes, but luckily when I arrived at the bus station a tout had given me a card for Wheelers guest house, which said it had a rooftop sunbathing place (only open after 6pm!), bar, restaurant, and reasonably priced rooms. So I eventually found it and was told they had an air-conditioned room with en-suite, but only for one night as it was booked from then on (by this time I was sweating my nuts off and would have given my anal virginity for AC) I paid 55 Ringitts, which is about $18. They had single matchboxes with a bed with shared bathroom for 28 Ringitts.

It turned out I was on the next road to Chinatown so in a good position for sightseeing, as I waited for Fiona and Julian. I wandered around and looked for some food and beer and found a restaurant within Chinatown. Noodles were reasonably priced and delicious, but beer was 15 Ringitts a small bottle, which is around $5! As a glass of beer in Vietnam can be had for 2000 Dong (8 for a dollar) and a bottle for 10,000 Dong, this came as a bit of a shock! But there was no getting away from it. Almost everywhere we went in Malaysia beer was expensive and unavailable except in Chinese owned places.

Fiona turned up next day, we booked the trip to Taman Nagara National Park with a company called Han, through the guesthouse, and waited for Julian to arrive on the 2nd. Unfortunately his flight was cancelled and he eventually arrived on the 3rd, but we had to leave for the forest and left him a message to follow us, which he did.

Off to Malaysia for Tet

I am off to Malaysia in the morning so there probably won't be many posts for the next two weeks.

I still haven't managed to put up my pics of Cambodia, Angkor Wat, etc. But when I get back I will definitely putting up pics of my holiday.

Last year for Tet I went to Vang Vien in Laos and had a fantastic time. I hope this Tet will be as good. I am meeting up with Fiona and Julian, my buddies from Hanoi so I can see it being a fantastic time.

First I have to get to Singapore (it's cheaper from HCM), catch a bus to Kuala Lumpur where they are going to (it's cheaper from Hanoi) before heading off to Teman Negara for some forest trekking, etc. Then hopefully go to Tioman Island for some beach time.

Considering it's rainy season now all the above is open to negotiation.

Link to 7 day weather forecast for Teman Negara:

http://www.kjc.gov.my/htdocs2/data/R139E.html

Three Good Teman Negara sites:

http://community.iexplore.com/planning/journalEntryOverview.asp?JournalID=20717&EntryID=20717&n=Overview

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4608e/138ed5/4/

http://malaysiaupclose.wordpress.com/category/map-taman-negara/

Link to 7 day weather forecast for Teman Negara:

http://www.kjc.gov.my/htdocs2/data/R139E.html

Tioman Island sites:

http://helenandben.blogspot.com/2007/04/tioman-island-lovely.html

http://wikitravel.org/en/Pulau_Tioman