...someone has to do it. Jim is in Singapore for training, "suffering" the heat and humidity. Here's the view out of his hotel window. He can see real, green, plants!
He is really feeling sorry for his colleagues back in Bellingham (where?) and Ulaanbaatar. It is snowing and below freezing in UB, so I'm sure he wishes he were back there instead of the tropical paradise of Singapore. Hello to all our friends who chose to go to the nice, cool Gobi this week! Hello, also, to Chris and Anna. They didn't go to the Gobi or Singapore. They snubbed us all, just for a little grass shack in Hawaii, and a shiny, new marriage certificate!!!!
Kelly is in Beijing and will soon be in Singapore, as well. We will explore the country/city/island of Singapore, then head north into Malaysia. The current plan is to, at least, visit Kuala Lumpur and Penang and...?
As the helpful Korean AirLines display shows at the end of the flight from Seoul to Sing, it is an easy overland journey north to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore (if travelling through an equatorial jungle is easy.) You can't see the island of Penang, which is further north on the west coast of the Malaysia, right there in the Straits of Malacca.
Yes, that is Indonesia, specifically, the island of Sumatra, just to the west...across the Straits. The Straits of Malacca are nothing much, just the main body of water connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. And just one of the most strategically important shipping lanes in the world. (which reminds me of the naval theory of strategic choke points--which reminds me of the space warfare concept of strategic choke points...oh, my...wait...that was another life!)
So, we head outside the hotel, leaving behind the dining room with waterfalls crashing into fourteen foot tall picture windows and discover that is is Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights. Little India, right outside our door is dressed for the occasion....
But, there is also Chinatown, Arab Town, and La Pau Sat...world cuisine available to you at the corner hawker centers for pennies...
After a little of Singapore, we are off to Kuala Lumpur, via train. The Lonely Planet has it wrong, here. Do not take the train...well, go ahead! Spend fifty dollars and seven hours to get to KL, all the while knowing you have paid for the priviledge of viewing a million acres after million acres of palm oil plantations. You can also watch the single train employee scurry to fix the power so that some doors will open and so that the air conditioning can at least pretend to work. Take our word for it...fly to KL from Singapore. You get there in less than two hours and the tickets only cost $15. There is way too much to see in Malaysia to spend seven hours lumbering through palm oil trees. We thought it would be jungle.
KL is magical. There are well known tourist traps, of course, but they are fun. For example, you must take the obligatory picture of the Petronas towers, the tallest twin towers in the world. They will soon be the tallest building in the world when they add more length to the antennas on top. They are trying to beat out Taipei. But keep on exploring. There is a beautiful garden nearby and more...
KL is magical. There are well known tourist traps, of course, but they are fun. For example, you must take the obligatory picture of the Petronas towers, the tallest twin towers in the world. They will soon be the tallest building in the world when they add more length to the antennas on top. They are trying to beat out Taipei. But keep on exploring. There is a beautiful garden nearby and more...
Then we flew on to Penang, an island on the northwest shore of Malaysia, in the Straits of Malacca...and fell in love...
Nothing could stop us from loving Penang, not even the pit viper that tried to join us for lunch! A picture of him and more...to come. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the same jungle sounds we enjoyed, one night, from the top of Penang hill. Just play the video...
