Jake's Latest News
Malaysia - Monday 26th February 2001
A couple of days ago I left Singapore and got a coach to Malaysia. Pretty cool views out of the coach - saw a lot of rainforest, but also a lot of clear patches where the rainforest had been cut down. Pain when I arrived because I couldn’t find anywhere to change my money into malaysian ringits - so I had to ask the taxi driver to stop off at a cash machine along the way.
The guest house I’m staying in is excellent! Until now, I’ve just been staying in impersonal hotels, but the guesthouse is great because it’s a really social atmosphere with peole talking all the time and doing stuff together. Most of the people there have already been through uni (apart from one guy) and some have been travelling around for a year or two now non-stop! Getting some great advice and just having a good time - although I wasn’t too impressed by the result of the footy match last night.
The place has got a kitchen which is great news because it has meant I’ve been able to have pasta for the first time in a month - in fact, I’ve had it the last two days running. I’ll probably stay here (in Melaka) for about another 3 or 4 days, or maybe even longer because there’s such a great atmosphere. The town itself is pretty bland, but there’s no real need to go out that much, apart from to the supermarket and Internet cafe. Might go for an ‘educational and adventure’ day-trip, but I need to find four others to go as well - and most say it’s too expensive (at just $10 for the day). It sounds like good fun though - getting to see them getting rubber out of trees, and going under a waterfall and other educational and adventurous activities.
Next stop is Kuala Lumpur where I’ll see the twin-towers - apparently the tallest building(s) in the world, and you can go up to the bridge that goes between them and look out across the town, which is nice.
Night Safari, The Beach & Underwater World - Friday 23rd February 2001
Last night I decided to go on the night safari, which was pretty fun. Got a bus and a tube (called MRT - mass rapid transport) which is just like in England, but a little more snazy and modern. The safari was basically going around a tropical rainforest in a train/tram and looking at all the animals, and then getting out and walking around. It was pretty cool - saw girafes, lions, rhinos, bats, snakes, deer… you know, the lot, but especially nocturnal animals. The best bit was going through a free-flying bat enclosure - a fruit bat was hanging two inches above my head at one point.
This morning, I set off on a long trek (about 3 hours) through town to get to Mt. Faber (it’s only about 100m high, but still the highest point in Singapore). On the way, I was distracted by an IT mall as you might expect - and started looking at wicked laptops and stuff like that, much cheaper than in England.
When I arrived at Mt. Faber I got a cable car (you know, like at ski resorts) which I took to get down to Senosa Island which is just south of the main island, and is quite small. Amazing scenes of Singapore from the cable car - could see all the sky-scrapers, dock area, rainforest bits and stuff like that.
Sentosa Island is like a pleasure island, with themed zones which you have to pay to go to, and an entrance fee as well. I decided just to go to the beach there, and to go to the underwater world and Dolphin Lagoon. Went to see the Dolphins first - bloody hot weather - I had to keep looking at the floor because the sun was so bright. The dolphin show wasn’t very amazing.
Walked a few metres to The Beach - white sand and basically no-one there. Had a quick dip, then decided to cross the excellent wooden bridge over to the even smaller island, which is the southern most point of the Asia continent, only a couple of hundred kilometres from the equator. Absolutely amazing there, such an unspoilt (and probably totally artificial, but hey, I didn’t mind) beach - like out of the film The Beach - that’s how it felt.
After the beach, I went to the underwater world, where you look at fish and things like that, believe it or not. The cool part was where you go through an acrylic tube where you can see fish all around you, like you’re under the sea, hence the name. That was pretty sweet.
I’m thinking of maybe going to Malaysia tomorrow - I’ll go as far as Kuala Lumpar up the West coast, then cross over to the many wicked beaches on the east coast, and see if I can find some nice islands to visit as well.
Time Travel - Thursday 22nd February 2001
On arrival in Singapore airport it felt as thought the plane had taken me forward in time. If you’ve been to Singapore airport you’ll know what I mean - shiny surfaces everywhere, latest gizmos and cools stuff, fountains and proper, Western-style toilets, rather than the crap bit I had to squat over and pay one rupee for just outiside Mumbai station the morning before (not the nicest experience, having to hold the shit-covered walls for balance and trying to direct your butt hole above the hole in the floor without falling or pissing/shitting all over your trousers). Decided to talk to some people whilst waiting for my baggage, and ended up getting a bus with them into town. The whole way it was just like being in a daze - back in the western world, whilst at the same time being in the heart of south-east asia - what a paradox.
Everywhere in Singapore seems spotlessly clean - partly because they’ll chuck you in jail if you drop anything. It’s just so well thought out and laid out and it’s like being in a better version of London, with nice weather and lots of chinese girls to keep NG happy (btw NG, I’ll try and get some pics for you if I see some stunners, just like you asked for).
My hotel room is quite good, but also quite expensive compared to India, but cheap for here (S$28, about 12 pounds a night). The main problem though is I have to climb five floors of stairs to get up there, then go through a maze of rooms! The good thing is that it’s air-conditioned… and it has a real bed, rather than a manky train thing, or a plane’s semi-reclinable-chair.
Well, thought I’d go to sleep but then decided I actually, remarkably, didn’t seem that tired after all. Instead, I wandered around town and half-agreed to go to a Night Safari tonight with a like-minded couple who’ve just graduated from Leeds. I say half-agreed because by 7.30pm I may find myself far too tired to do anything if I don’t get some sleep soon.
Went for a walk which took me through a shopping centre, ending up here, in an internet cafe. I feel like a kid in a candy store in the mall though - seven or so floors of camcorders, tvs, dvds, computers… and all at rock-bottom prices. I’m tempted to buy a camcorder to record my travels, but I think I’ve decided against that now. If anyone wants me to send anything back to England for them though they’re welcome - just tell me what it is you want (make, model no. etc.) and what the highest price is you’re prepared to pay. I’ll try and get the price as cheap as possible, and then pass it off through DHL at a fraction of the cost it would cost you to buy in the UK. For example, if someone wants a PS2 I can send it home for about 250 pounds - I’ve no idea what it would cost in England, but I expect more. Other stuff is far cheaper here, like half the price to England, and all the latest models not released in England too. If you do want to take me up on this offer, try and email me today or tomorrow, because I think I’ll be moving on within three or four days.
On the 19th, I had a train booked from Puri, on the East coast of India, where I’d been staying for a week, to Mumbai/Bombay on the West coast. When there, I was planning to stay a night, then get a plane out to Singapore the next day.
Well, to get to the station, I had to get a bus, about a one and a half hour drive - the first bus (and only bus) I got in India. Alright at first, it was a ‘luxury’ bus, which basically meant it had some soft stuff on the chairs. Got on the back of the bus where there was some room, and put my bag on the chair next to me, and started wafting my t-shirt around because it was quite hot. Then, on piled the locals, and I had to move my stuff to below my chair and on my lap. Then more people got on… and then more. By the time the bus started to actually move, I was cramped in the corner of the bus sweating like a pig, sticking my head out the window to try and get some air.
The journey wasn’t that bad, and like on all journeys I started talking to a local. “What’s your name?… Where do you come from?… What is your job?” - it just gets boring after about the seond time you get these questions. Argh! Well, like always, the friendly conversation ends with them trying to give me their phone number and/or address and then I’m supposed to contact them. I dunno, maybe I will someday when I’m home, but I’ll probably just forget. Half way along the journey there was a bang by the side of the bus and then some woman started shouting, then there was a big brawl outside, and it turned out that we’d rammed over a woman with the bus. After a few minutes of shouting and pushing, the bus started moving again. I thought there was going to be a bust up - but it was all vocal and a bit of pushing, and the woman didn’t even look hert - no blood at least.
Got to town, and after a cycle-rickshaw got to the station. I’m not going to bother talking much about the train journey again because I’ve done that before - but what I will say is that it’s extremely hard to sleep. The noise is defening, and then at 4am, when I’m finally starting to get to sleep, the stupid baby below started crying and they turn the light on, and don’t bother turning it off again - bastards. Then some guy keeps walking up and down the isle shouting “Kof-eee, kofe kof-ee, kofe kofe kofe kofe ko-feee” - obviously he’s trying to sell coffee, but noone wants the damn stuff, so why doesn’t he give it a rest and let us find him if we want some? All this before it’s even light outside as well. It wasn’t very pleasant when the baby opposite me started shitting in it’s nappy/rag either - you just heard a kind of blubbering sound, like a wet fart, and then the smell just hits you. And, it seemed to me, the woman just kind of wiped the rag around, then hung it out the window that I was trying to look out of (and get some fresh air).
Finally arrived at Mumbai station at 4.30am, and then I just waited there until dawn, which unfortunately came later (at 7am) than I expected, which was quite boring. Went to a hotel I wanted to stay at for the night, and the stupid cab driver didn’t have an idea where it was, and couldn’t read a map, and didn’t know the road name. I mean, what does he do all day? It’s not like he’s never been there before, like me, and I was having to tell him exactly where to go. My directions weren’t all that good with all the crap he was telling me, and I ended up with a half hour walk with all my bags to the hotel - only to find out it was booked up, but they did let me use their shower, which was bliss! After that, I phoned the airline and got the flight put forward to midnight that evening, and then got another stupid cab to the airport.
Got to the airport at 11am, after two nights on the train, and very little sleep. Thought I might sleep in the airport a bit, but instead I got speaking to a 60 year old bloke from the Rotary Association who’s just been to Gujarat to help with the earthquake tragedy. Interesting conversations, and somehow I managed to waste my entire day doing nothing, so that I could get the plane at midnight.
By the time I got into the departure loung my eyes were involuntarily closing, and I lay in a very comfy chair/lounger there and almost fell asleep - before going through security checks and into a far more uncomfortable area.
Plane was nice, but I sat next to boring people - I hoped to sit next to one of the girls or boys who I’d seen and talked to a bit, who’re also travelling and stuff, but instead I got two oldies. Just tried to sleep - but had to have the food as well. I think I got about one hours sleep, maybe two. Arrival at Singapore wasn’t too spectucular because I was dozing off on touchdown.
Indian Work: Child labour, wage and baksheesh - Monday 19th February 2001
People work for literally pennies a week here. Taxi drivers get paid about $50 a month, and a child who works in a restaurant here gets paid around $1 a week. The child works all day, but also eats and sleeps in the restaurant. It was a little disturbing though to find that he gets bitten by his boss on his arm if he does something wrong. Still, he seems to enjoy his job, but he was saying that he hardly ever sees his family - he’s only about 10 or 11.
Other places are similar to sweat shops. One man who was trying to sell me a marble piece was telling me, boasting, how he has a factory with about 200 young children working in it. Nobody even gives a second thought about this kind of thing here - it’s just how the economy works.
Baksheesh can be one of three things: a tip, money for a beggar, or a bribe. People tip far less than in England here, and at a cheap restaurant you’re not expected to tip anything. 10% is certainly not expected. Beggars are everywhere - crippled or skin and bone, coming up to eveyone and rubbing their bellies and saying they want food and money. Corruption is also rampant - almost everyone can be corrupt. Someone was telling me yesterday that they were on the train and some people paid the ticket inspector a bribe to have a seat - the man was outraged, but it’s perfectly common, and the inspector couldn’t care less.
Regarding my travel plans - I’m about to get a bus which will take me to a train station, and from there it’s a 38 hour journey to Mumbai/Bombay. When there, I’ll find a room for the night, and then get the plane to Singapore the next evening just before midnight (22n d February).
Books and Weird Shit - Thursday 15th February 2001
As is my nature, whilst in England I can neve be bothered to read anything at all. I’ll find a book and think ‘yes, that’ll be good to read’ and then watch tv or go on the computer. Being on holiday or travels is totally different, because you have a lot more time to just relax and reading is a gread thing to do during that time.
So far I’ve read a mixture of Ben Elton and Michael Chriton, but today I devoured a wickedly relevant book for me called ‘Are you experienced?’ - it’s all about a boy in his gap year who goes to India for three months, mostly by himself. Excellent stuff, some of it had me in hysterics whilst other parts just amazed at how identical to my experience some of this boy’s fictional experience was. I suggest to read it if you want to know what it’s like here - even if the truth may not be quite as action-packed and exciting as some of the stuff in the book.
Went for about a two and a half hour walk along the beach today. Went past a huge fleet of fishing boats, and along that stretch the beach is basically, no… actually, a huge public toilet. I’d read in the Rough Guide how it was a shitting ground, but I didn’t quite expect this. Everywhere you look are piles of the most bazarre looking brown lumps that you’ve ever seen - small light-brown ones, big dark-reddy-brown ones, splobs here and there… it’s frightful to think of the way some people’s intestinal system must be working to make some of the multicoloured human dung heaps.
Decided to dump my small backpack on the secluded beach at one point and jump in the sea. Very refreshing and warm, also salty of course, and after I’d fully submerged myself in the Bay of Bengal I jumped straight back out again to ensure someone wasn’t going to run away with my pack. As I continued walking I kept getting harassed by poor indians trying to sell me stupid little beads and rides on their boats - I agreed to the later… until I realised that the boat was simply two or three pieces of manky wood stapled together. I wasn’t going to get in that, mainly for fear of falling out or it breaking, and then all the money in my bag getting sodden and so rendered unuseable. A nice swim back to shore would have been my cup of tea, but it was my bags contents that I was worried about.
To Spew Or Not To Spew - Wednesday 14th February 2001
T’was 3.30am and I was finally getting some sleep after two nights of very little sleep on the train. Admittedly my room was skanky and small, with a stupid squat toilet, but a room none the less, and at less than 2 pounds a night. Well, there I was, waking up at about 3.30 and I could sense my stomach wasn’t best pleased about something I’d eaten. Damn it - it was getting ready to chunder, I knew it. Being as sleepy as I was, I thought I could hold it off for a bit, and so tried to stay in bed. Well, enough was enough at about 4am so I went into the bathroom/ses-pit and started puking up into a nice bucket that they have in all these indian bathrooms. Disgusting stuff, it’s not that I haven’t been sick before, but when I have, I’ve usually been so drunk anyway that it didn’t hert or bother me at all. Well, urgh, this was disgusting. After about six bouts of coughing up the stuff, I finally decided it was all gone, and so managed to somehow squat over this stupid toilet and let all the world-goodliness come out the other end as well. Regarding the spew - fasciniating really how identical it looked to the indian food that went in, just smelling distinctly more vile with all the byle.
Well, today I’m doing fine though. Took one of those wicked rehydration packets and moved to a nicer hotel at 8am in the morning, and had a few more hours of lovely sleep. Then, spent all day reading Ben Elton’s ‘Stark’ in my room, before going for some very spicy and exotic plain rice and chapati bread in the evening.
Imprisoned for 42 hours! - Monday 12th February 2001
Well, it felt like it at times. This morning I stepped off a train that had been my home for 42 hours including two, pretty sleepless nights. I smelt sweaty and horrible, and I had become almost as brown with dirt as the locals are naturally!
The journey cost me a measly $8 and I bought the ticket the day before I was travelling from Agra in the North East, to Puri down here on the East coast. I had a waiting list 20 ticket which meant I would have a seat reserved if 20 people decided not to go - I was lucky that they didn’t go. Bloody confusing at the station because it didn’t say what train was on what platform, but I managed to find some nice army bloke who told me which platform to stand on, and how to find my seat when onboard. About half an hour late, at 4.15pm the train finally arrived. I managed to find my carriage and squeezed my way on with my bags. Someone was sitting in my seat! Well, that didn’t matter though, because when I showed him my ticket, he showed me a vacant seat and we swapped seats. Oh my God! I looked around on the train and it was jam packed and I was felling a little claustraphobic. Luckily I was sitting next to an open window - but the windows have bars on them (so you can’t fall out I guess) so it felt a little like a jail cell. Well, it was very packed, and then a few stations along, after a few hours of sitting in a half-lotus position on what was like a window ledge, but was actually my seat, a whole bunch more people got on.
For those unfamiliar with a second-class sleeper carriage on an Indian train, it’s a little like this. You have normal seats during the day - like 2 benches of three seats facing each other, and then like a window-sill bench where two people sit, cross-legged, although this can also be transformed into normal seats, if there wasn’t any luggage below. Then, there’s the beds. At first, I thought the beds where just above, like where the luggage racks normally are. But later, I found out there were more - the seats transformed so that they turn into beds instead.
Anyway, this bunch of people came on and I was squashed. I had to sit squeezed in a minute space for about half an hour - my legs going dumb and really starting to aching, before finally the people got off the tain.
By the evening I was talking to other indians that were on the train about all the usual stuff like life in India, whether or not I played cicket and similar rubbish! When it came to going to bed, I whipped my sleeping bag out and tried to curl up in that - there wasn’t enough space to stretch out fully. I got about an hour or maybe two hours of sleep all night - it’s extremely noisy on the train and I stuffed toilet paper in my ears to try and muffle the noise. There was also a horrible draft coming in the slightly-open window, which was very annoying.
Well, morning came and I felt pretty skanky and dirty. Another very similar day, but I talked to more people and finished the book which I’d started the day before - Congo. In terms of food, I just ate a few things here and there like grapes and crisps and some rice, but not nearly as much as you should eat in two days.
I thought I would arrive at my station at around 2am the next morning which would be terrible, but luckily it arrived at 10am instead, which meant I could find a hotel far easier and safer.
But, of course, in two days you’ve got to go the the toilet at least once, and the toilets on one of these trains are pretty much just scum buckets which stink of urine and faeces, and you can literally see human shit lying around the squat-style hole on the floor of the train. Eugh… probably the worst thing about the train, and when it was all over, I was just thankful that I’d finally be able to find my self a real, clean toilet in a hotel.
Museums, forts, palaces and temples - Friday 9th February 2001
What do all of those things have in common? Well - to me, they’re all bloody boring, and yet this is what I’ve been paying over the odds money for so far. Bloody hell, what a stupid fool I was to ever go to that daft tourist agency, but… today I managed to get a handsome some back from them for cancellation, and so now I’m living the way I wanted from the beginning - I have no idea what I’m going to do this afternoon, let alone tomorrow!
The moon and stars here are much brighter/bigger than in England - the moon looks about twice it’s normal size, and I can see Venus (I think it’s Venus) very clearly from the early evening.
I think I might buy a train ticket to Puri, on the East coast, which is a total of three train journeys, all about 12 - 24 hours each! From there, I’ll go a little further south and then head to Mumbai in about three/four weeks to get an (earlier than originally planned) plane to Singapore.
Horn Please - Monday 5th February 2001
In India, you need three things to drive: “good horn, good brakes and good luck!”… or so I’m constantly told, and driving here is quite mad. They go all over the place and honk away every time they overtake anyone. You’ll see a person on a camel coming towards you on a highway, and then a little further down the road, a cow crossing not giving a damn what he’s up to.
Talking about damn - I’m a god-damned stupid fool. So far, I’ve been staying here as a ’stupid tourist’ and it’s about time I start living like i want to live - like an independent traveller/explorer… far more up my street. Hopefully, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing from tomorrow.
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