Melaka: A Poor Man’s GT

One of the benefits of colonialism is that you get towns with plenty of character, and in the case of Melaka & George Town that'll get you world heritage status too. Well either that, or someone at UNESCO has taken a bung from the Malaysian tourist board. Melaka is the older of the two (by…

KL: The Second Coming

It's been 6 years since I was last in KL, but that was a honeymoon and sightseeing weren't exactly a priority, so we're back for another look... One thing we missed on our last visit (much to the disappointment of the missus) was a trip up the Petronas Twin Towers. So we book ourselves in…

A Town Called George

After 2 and half weeks on Borneo, where it’s all wildlife and trees. It was time to get back to a proper city; 5 days in George Town, Penang was just the ticket. One of the first things I noticed was the amount of street art. Most of it painted by a Lithuanian fella (Ernest…

Ancestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

For some reason, I've always had an interest in human evolution and how we got here. So when the guidebook told me that the oldest human remains in SE Asia were found in a nearby cave, I could feel a day trip coming on. The Niah Caves are about an hour and 45 minutes from…

Borneo Done

A few of my favourites from the 17 nights we spent on Borneo. Where we stayed (nights)... Sabah; KK (3) -> Sandakan (2) -> Kinabalu Park (2) -> KK (2) -> Brunei; Bandar Seri Begawan (2) -> Sarawak; Miri (1) -> Kuching (5)

The Friendly Dictator

Our journey along the north coast of Borneo takes us to an old stomping ground - Brunei was a British protectorate until 1984. These days it's a "dry" country (you can't buy booze anywhere)... Did we not teach them anything? We arrive on a Friday (their day of rest), the streets are eerily quiet. A…

Parklife

I'm no David Attenborough, but if they've made somewhere a world heritage site it must be worth a butchers... So off we set for a couple of days in Kinabalu Park. Our accommodation was just outside the park at Borneo's equivalent of the Villa Bella* - a rundown homestay; cold and damp, with grubby bed…

Hanging with the Orangs

It's not everyday you get to see an endangered species in its natural habitat. So the opportunity to visit an orangutan sanctuary was too good to miss. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre aims to return orphaned or injured orangutans back to the wild. Orangutans only exist on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra and are…

“Meat Bone Tea” to You & Me

One of the drawbacks of being married to a Chinese Doris is that from time to time you can end up in some decidedly suspect eating establishments. One such establishment was Yu Kee Bah Kut Teh in Kota Kinabalu. From the outside it looks like a low grade canteen, which is due a visit from…

Photo Essay: Macau – Part 1

Macau's become like a second home and as a result I've been a bit lazy with the camera. But the few half decent photographs I did take are below. I'm back in January for Chinese New Year and part 2.

Wide Awake in Macau

The locals tell me Macau used to have a sleepy village feel. Not so now. It's not only woken up, it's practically an insomniac. The little former Portuguese colony, is the only place in China you can gamble legally. Since changing the gambling laws in 2002, new casinos have been springing up all over the…

The Wisdom of the “Fool”

  Visiting Big Buddha* reminded me of that old Beatles tune - The Fool on the Hill**. Not because he's a fool, but because people don't seem to be taking much notice of him. In a place where Buddhism is the most popular religion, I find it ironic that there's so much consumerism going on.…

The Day We Caught The Plane

Wednesday 24th July 2013: It’s a lovely English summer’s day and I’m in the car on the way to the airport. John Denver's words play out of the radio: “I’m leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know when I’ll be back again”. How apt I thought, but I’m glad he’s not a pilot for Cathay Pacific!…