Heaven On Earth

If you ever listen to me once and not dismiss these words as simle ramblings then please for your own sake, GO TO PENANG. Anyone who reads this knows how much of a foodie I and the other two fatties are. The city might not have the greatest tourist attractions but what it lacks there it more than compensates with hundreds of restaurants and hawker stalls dotted along everywhere.

Don't worry though, we did manage to stop stuffing our faces to do a few things. Firstly, we did the usual routine and walked all day, stopping off at Fort Cornwallis which could hardly be named a fort when you can simply bail over walls and make it sturdier with big lego pieces. We also kept up our museum visits with a drop in at the Penang State Museum to understand the rule under the East India Company and the invasion of those pesky japs, but no matter how much history we take in, children's games always appeal most. As you can all see below, Victor and Leo trying to decipher some old malaysian game and failing after half an hour and then getting shown by the 6 year olds behind them, that's set one maths for you.

The hostel here in Penang was top notch with a shower that had five different nozzles, yes we were so amazed by this that it has to be in the blog. The nightlife didn't really get touched by us in Penang, mainly because we had two or three meals per sitting so that by nightime all we could muster up is getting the bevvies in and drowning in the hostel. But this turned out pretty well as the Lychee and Watermelon vodka soon found us new friends.

There hasn't been any hiccups along this trip as of yet, but our second day had us nearing tears. Having decided for a lie in of around 1pm, we set off to visit the Tropical Fruit Farm to make up for our lack of five-a-day but after getting off a 1.5 hour bus journey to catch a connection, we were told the bus doesn't come until 4pm meaning the place would be shut by the time we got there... thus wasting 3 or so hours on mad bus journeys falling off cliff edges. Our rescue came in the form of Kek Lok Si Temple which provided immense views of Penang as seen in the vlog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6-3nQ-vcK8).

Penang has everything a food lover wants, great meals for dirrrrrty dirty prices. Next stop HK, let's see if the dim sum sessions can compare.

Keep watching.x

We sleep all day and scran all night

Gem Island Resort is one of the most beautiful places on this Earth and is most definitely on my list of places to go again at least more than a couple of times. Our coach journey wasn't too bad until Victor realised he was sat next to a murder suspect on the run and stupidly told the coach driver he wasn't back from our stop over as we were pulling out.

We turned up in Kuala Terengganu in the dead of morning and then hopped into a taxi towards the jetty, it seemed like were getting taken into the slums of Malaysia, but out of nowhere we were at the jetty and staring out into the sunset (it was indeed extremely romantic) and by 9am we were on the island, crystal clear water and white sands with the sun beaming down upon us.

Gem Island Resort

Our few days spent in the resort gave us a much needed break from the travelling round of Asia and the hustle and bustle of the city life. We helped ourselves to buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner and squeezed in a few cheeky snorkelling and kayaking sessions. There was so much marine life just a fingertip away and unfortunately one of us got a bit too close, yeah you guessed it Victor Truong getting stung by a jellyfish and then cupping his own urine on his arm, what a sight to see.

The resort wasn't one of the most popular ones around but it was just about busy enough to have a good chilled atmosphere, there might not have been many people our age but we schooled a few kids at beach volleyball (great for the ego) to keep us busy.

The one problem being stuck on the island is that there is no internet and electricity is switched off for a couple hours a day, this led to a few logistical problems for us meaning we had to risk it to find a coach on the day towards Penang. Fortunately, Ramadan is over and nowhere is going anywhere en masse so we managed to get a ticket onwards.

Victor chilling like a badman

 

We managed to sneak a ticket for 9pm overnight coach but it meant we had 10 or so hours in Kuala Terengannu to kill. No worries though, no sooner we began to wander round we found ourselves in full muslim outfits and so it started, my big muslim day out.

Walking round in muslim head gear and shirt paired with some shorts and scouse nike webs drew a few looks but at the same time I found myself getting nods of approval from my `brothers and sisters' but then when we ventured to Chinatown I sort of got told off... We discovered the history of old forts and temples but the real gem of this spontaneous trip was the discovery of a local football match and both me and chen getting signed on there and then with name and numbered shirts, too scouse.

A nine hour coach journey with a crying baby made us all a bit grouchy, but here we are in Penang ready to experience our last taste of Malaysia for now.

Keep watching.x

P.S. Victor forgot his pin again....

It's A Dog Eat Bat World

I know asked a few people to come looking for me if I didn't post for a while but don't worry, we're all alive and well we were just disconnected from the outside world for a while.

Kuala Lumpur is such a diverse city and offered our first real adventures, firstly meeting up with Bex and Kat to head off to the Batu Caves (which were at the top of 272 very steep steps....) and watching monkeys rob Walkers off niave tourists (not us) and then cave adventures with little torches wandering about hoping all the creepy crawlies would stay away from us. Not being able to see your hand infront of your face because it was so dark provided plenty of opportunity to mess around, much to the disapproval of the tour guide.

The tour of the cave concluded with something that the tour guide didn't exactly want us to see, Chen spotted a little baby bat on the floor and as we all began to shine our torches on it.... a dog came out of nowhere and began to gobble it up, crunch after crunch. The circle of life and great value for money.

Our hostel being next door to Chinatown allowed us to explore the markets that reminded of us of HK, plenty of haggling went on with a three day feud for Chen trying to acquire a Jordan jersey. I wish I could get some photos on this blog for you to see, especially of some of the scrans we've had, but you'll just have to take our word for it that we did ourselves proud, even other tourists commented on just how much we ate.

The nightlife in KL varies quite a bit, there's a few backpacker bars etc but we opted for the local nightlife which consisted of a strip of bars. Myself and Chen ventured down to watch the football and then headed out for a few bevvies, to say the least it was something reminiscent from the afterparty of Chester Races or Amsterdam, very seedy indeed but we threw the shapes and knocked back the tequila nontheless until it was time to go back to the hostel and be greeted by a sleeping Victor Truong.

A visit up the KL tower gave us a taster of something much bigger to come... It was here that we got our first real taste of the monsoon weather but we came fully prepared with rain jackets and marched on towards the Petronas Twin Towers, unfortunately they were shut due to the end of Ramadan but we still managed to get a visit in once the sun re-emerged.

Moving onwards to the Island Resort, we had to first get a coach... and it was nothing comapred to the luxury coaches of Singapore, we turned up to the station along with 200 people which at first we thought nothing of... until we realised they were all heading the same place as us. Before we knew it, we were running to grab a seat which we didn't manage to get until luckily some people got chucked off and three seats magically appeared for us, it was a bit of a tight squeeze, but what came next was most definitely worth it....

Our visit to KL has seen us maintain our rule of one western and one local meal a day. Fat KF buckets for nothing more than change and then ridiculous number of local dishes in little hawker courts accompanied with copious Carlsbergs and Tigers, living the high life.

Keep watching.x

Don't eat the leaves.

One city down into the trip and it already feels like we've been away for weeks on end. The jet lag is still knocking us about despite being here for a couple of days. Late nights are accompanied by 8 o'clock rises and 4pm power naps.

Singapore has been pretty much what I expected, a major tourist hub of Asia and a powerhouse of the culinary world. It's safe to say we have eaten very well here for next to nothing. No matter what time of the day it is you can find some little restaurant open that will sell some freshly cooked wholesome food, healthy definitely but not in the portions we eat.

The first visit of our jouney to Singapore was Universal Studios where we released our inner child and let loose on all the rides from the kiddies Madagascar ride to the full on roll a coaster that would definitely challenge Port Aventura's Dragon Khan and certainly make Carney shit his keks.

The nightlife here seems to be buzzing but our inability to cope in pants restricted us in some places, but there's nothing wrong with chilling on a bridge full of people having bevvies and saying hello. Either way, KL will be sure to make up for it. Pub crawls are most certainly a necessity of any city that wants to thrive.

With a slight hangover we headed down to Chinatown, we couldn't not go there really. A visit to the Chinese Heritage Museum and a walking tour gave us a great insight to the history and culture of this city and how it's always stayed traditional even in modern times. We experienced the first drops of rain today but it wasn't a tropical storm that we feared thankfully so we ventured to Marina Bay to take in the sights of some incredible buildings and to soak of the sun.

 

All in all Singapore is definitely on the list for a return visit, a bit more homework and this city could be right up there with the likes of Berlin and Amsterdam. Tonight is the start of something similar to Mexico's Day of the Dead which should be interesting. Everyone will be glad to know that nothing disastrous as happened as of yet, apart from Chen cutting his heel and pouring blood all over Universal Studios. Tomorrow is Kuala Lumpur and the return of Victor Truong to the adventures.

Keep Watching.x

What could possibly go wrong...

The start of the trip is just a few days away and there just seems to be more and more things to do. Packing is one thing, but getting jabs and sorting out transport takes some thought plus having realised that we fly out the day after the Olympics from Heathrow could add a bit of stress, or it could be a chance to do some Olympic Hunting of our own.

The trip starts Saturday with a cheeky weekend back in the big smoke in the E&C residence and then onwards to Singapore, the line up remains just the three chinas but I'm sure there will be many friendships formed along the way, taking inspiration from the rest of the boys adventures in Benni.

But what adventure would be compelte without a new set of custom kicks? This year nike was the brand of choice with a navy and green colour scheme, fit perfectly and hopefully will be sufficient to stamp on any sort of threatening wildlife that could give me any of a host of tropical diseases.

Nike Paul Rodriguez customs

On a serious note, please pray for us all to come back unscathed. There's a few surprises along the way and if you don't see a blog or vlog (http://www.youtube.com/user/MrKwingkwong?feature=mhee), you'll know something's gone wrong. But here's to another bigger and possibly better adventure, let's see how it unfolds.

Keep watching.x