Quick Update

Sorry for the delay in updates, and there will be even longer to wait.  I’ve been crook with a gastro thingy since I left Sabah, but am still active enough to get all the things done I want to do.  However, whenever I am not diving or travelling I am sleeping – literally.

Right now I am waiting for a ride to see some of Cebu before I take a plane back to Manila.  Tonight I’ll be taking a private car to Anilao for my final dives of the Philippines. So far I’ve dived Boracay and Cebu.  My camera setup has proved to not be suitable for dive photography, although it is great for snorkelling.  If I do this again I’ll be buying a hard case and another camera body.

I still have to blog my entire week in Sabah, and I suspect I’ll be in Japan by the time I next get online.  That means Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong will all go by in a hurry.

Well, got to go.  Look out for my photography updates once I feel better and get time to edit photos and write guff to go with them.

Stoned in KK

No, it’s not what you think it is. The death penalty stands in Malaysia for such things.

I’ve been taken out to a hardcore seafood restaurant. One in which there is no menu. It’s much the same as the one in Penang, except this time we have a very large range of high quality and unusual sea creatures to choose from. With a lot of help from the main man, we chose a very large King Lobster, two very large Tiger Prawns (each about the size of a Coles lobster at home) and some “vegetable” which is actually some crunchy green thing that looks like a cross between a string bean and spring onion.

But that wasn’t all. We were walking around the tanks looking at what else was available, taking good care not to push any of the unsuspecting tourists – oops – diners, standing around photographing their dinner, into the drink. We were looking for oysters, and we found them, but not before stopping at a tank full of rocks. I was about to ask how they best prepare rocks for consumption when one of them moved. It turns out they were stonefish! I asked him why they were there, and he said they make great eating – if prepared correctly. He never did say whether the resident chef knew how to prepare them correctly. Regardless, I just had to try it.

Conclusion – a very tasty fish with a consistency not unlike scallops or crab meat. BUT, the entire skeleton is green! You have to see it to believe it, and I hadn’t brought my camera. Not only that, but I swear that as I sat at my table reflecting on my meal, my tongue and lips were tingling, my brain was a little fuzzy, and my body was very heavy. Could it have been the stonefish, or was it a combination of 660ml of guzzled Tiger Beer, mild sunstroke, tired contact lenses and sore paddling muscles?

I say it’s the stonefish.

Can I get jail for consuming a fish of dependency in Malaysia?

Footnote: Warning, truth follows. Stonefish venom is contained only in the dorsal fins, and is destroyed by heat.

Now, onto Japan where I hope to try some Fugu…

Sabah – Über-tourists and White Water Rafting

My friend Veena booked me onto a white water rafting trip, sight unseen by me. Sounded like a good idea, so off I trotted to the van this morning at 8:15am.

The trip started in dubious fashion, but proved to be probably the most fun I’ve had since being away. White water rafting in Malaysia, on a hot day, in warm water, is absolutely fantastic!

On entering the van I proceeded to the back where the one remaining seat was. On my way I passed an Asian couple, the female telling me I can sit in the front. How nice of her to suggest that I sit in the child seat in between the driver and the guide, when there is a perfectly good seat available behind her. I muttered a polite “I’m right thanks”, and kept going. I don’t know whether she was looking after her Hong Kong mates (I found out later they were all from HK) or simply had a brain fade, but either way I was going to sit where I wanted to sit. The girl who’s belongings were taking up the last remaining available seat seemed terribly offended at having to move them, but my raised left eyebrow seemed to get the message through. Ultimately, I got the best seat in the house, with room to stretch my legs on what turned out to be a three hour ride. For the best part of these three hours, the Über-tourists (1 Portugese, 1 Macau, 2 very HK, 2 modern HK) alternated between Nintendo DS, iPod and sleep, behind either ridiculously Japanese super-sunglasses or those plastic sunvisors that pull down to create tinted welding masks, with towels placed over legs and any nearby windows (except mine – and they wouldn’t have wanted to try!).

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

Meanwhile an absolutely fascinating, thrilling and at times nerve-wracking ride through Malaysian villages over twisting, turning, rising, falling and bumpy roads ensued. It seemed that the driver was getting us in the mood for the rapids. The tourists missed the lot. I didn’t.

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

I tried to begin a conversation at a meal stop with the girls who were sitting next to me, and I initially thought they were just plain rude as they looked away then walked off. I discovered later that they simply didn’t understand English and didn’t know how to say so. Conversely, the girl who suggested I sit in the front turned out to be very nice, and we chatted about photography for a couple of hours on the trip home. Asians certainly aren’t anything like me, but so far they all seem pretty good once you get to know them. I am a little more nervous about Hong Kong though, now that I’ve met a couple of them. It could take a lot of work to make friends there.

Pedro and Donna turned out to be good company throughout the day. I approached Pedro as we waited at the train station for the final transfer to the rafting location. His accent led me to believe he may have been German, and he could speak good English, so I thought he would be worth getting to know. Turns out he is Portugese but with a German mum. His partner, Donna, was very quiet but sweet, and is based in Macau (effectively HK). I’m going to a nearby island tomorrow with them to do some snorkelling.

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

Pedro and I were the two front paddlers on our craft, led by Snoop Dogg. So named because that’s exactly who he looks like. It seems that tour group guides in both Thailand and Malaysia never have real names. They always go with something memorable.

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

The rapids themselves were rated 3-4. This made them moderate, and although I was apprehensive when first seeing them from the train, once I got into the water I felt totally at home. I think I’m a natural at this as I was able to easily ride the waves and used my paddle intuitively to keep balance. Three or four of the half dozen rafts capsized during the run, so I think we did well to remain in control for the entire 30-odd kilometres. I took four opportunities during the trip to leave the boat for a body-ride down some of the more gentle rapids, as the water was warm and my camera was in it’s waterproof case.

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

The second half of the day was spent in torrential rain, making it even more fun. The ride home was via large speedboat and the surrounding dense tropical mountains were very much Jurassic Park. All in all, it was an awesome day, and one that I could repeat daily if time and money allowed.

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

From Asia – Malaysia, Padas River rapids

Day 2 in Sandakan, and back to KK for an upgrade

Today I set off for the Rainforest Discovery Centre where I was hoping to stumble across some hornbills amongst other things. I did end up seeing one, but it was too far away to photograph. Instead, I saw what looked like a goanna (it was a monitor lizard), and some very interesting flora.

From Asia – Malays…

From Asia – Malays…

From Asia – Malays…

After lunch and a rest back at the lodge, where I continued to try to photograph these giant “bees” (can anyone tell me what they are?), it was off to the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary.

What an interesting drive. We were transported in a small minivan over extremely bad roads for about an hour. To make it more precarious it started to rain steadily. Of course we got bogged, when the transmission bottomed out, and we had to get out to help push the van free. Other than that, no real dramas ensued on the way. The sanctuary itself was great. Plenty of monkeys around, four groups apparently, and they either had no fear of the rain or they were very hungry.

From Asia – Malays…

From Asia – Malays…

From Asia – Malays…

Four hornbills were around too, so I was thrilled to finally get a shot of one in the wild.

From Asia – Malays…

The rain stopped not long after we arrived, however the trip back would not prove to be so easy and I asked that we get the number of the sanctuary in case we had to send for a 4WD to bail us out. For one, the roads were now very muddy and slippery, and secondly we needed to be back at the airport in 2 hours. It took nearly that long, but our driver did a fantastic job of negotiating the almost impassable bogs. We got stuck once, but after moving me into position over the rear wheels my recent excess baggage helped regain grip and off we went.

Not helping was the grumpy water buffalo that seemed ready to gore the van to death whenever we got too close. The thing had been tethered by the horns to a tree, and was none too happy about it – tossing it’s head around and constantly crossing the road just as we were ready to rush past. After about 20 minutes debating what to do, I was about to get out and pull it back to it’s original tether location whilst the van got past, then all of a sudden he looked the other way for long enough that we floored it. In hindsight I am sure he was very gentle and just wanted to let us get on with our life so he could get on with his.

From Asia – Malays…

Arriving back to the Magellan Sutera Resort in KK (Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) I’m completely exhausted. However I’m told by reception that I’ve been upgraded to the Premium Suite (or whatever it’s called) as the room I was meant to be in has been in very high demand. This upgrade is sensational. It’s a suite nearly as big as my house, and it’s right on the ocean edge so I get to hear the waves crashing all night. Perfect – I might not go anywhere now.

From Asia – Malays…

From Asia – Malays…

Actually, I’m off to do 30kms of Grade 3-4 whitewater rafting tomorrow, so better get to bed.

Arrival in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah, Borneo

I’ve got a lot of preconceived ideas about Borneo, or more specifically Sabah. My friend Veena has been telling me how much better it is than KL so expectations are high, and I also am very keen to see Orang-Utans in the wild. I imagine there should be plenty of opportunity to see wildlife and rainforest. Let’s see…

It’s a 5am start as I have to get to KLIA by 6:30am to check in. Once again it was raining at the airport. However once we are in the air, it’s a totally different story. This is what a stormy sky can look like when you’re above it, and the sun is rising. Notice there are storm clouds still higher than the plane (at about 33000 feet) over to the left.

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

It’s very hot when I reach KK. The Magellan Sutera resort is spectacular, and the views across the sea to the nearby islands are postcard-worthy. I’m writing this a few days after the fact and I can tell you that it gets even better than today. You’ll have to wait for that one. The sea is crystal clear and green, and the fish by the jetties and in the shallows are aquarium quality, able to be seen so easily as the water visibility is perfect.

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

We take lunch at the Waterfront, where Veena knows the local restaurateurs by first name. I haven’t been to the Aussie bar yet, and as it’s not in keeping with my mission here, I doubt I will.

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

The surroundings are too idyllic to leave, so late lunch turns into early tea as we wait for the sunset, watch the fishing boats meander in and out of the harbour, and duck as the local public transport system roars overhead every 15 minutes.

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

They seem to have an aversion to putting alcohol in the cocktails in Asia, but at least it looks good as the sun sets into the nearby island.

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

From Asia – Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu

KL – Bird Sanctuary and Royal Selangor Club

My final day in KL and I still had a list of things I wanted to do. I wanted to catch up with my Melbourne friend (and model) Natasha Shan

and I also wanted to see Lake Garden along with some of the parks within. Tash wanted me to try some more local food, so we combined both. She and her sister, Tania, picked me up at KLCC after I took the monorail to get there. Along the way you can see inside the old jail. I’m told that it was closed before the monorail was built, which is a good thing, as I can’t imagine how it would feel to actually be able to see the prisoners on your way to work each day.

First stop was a street corner offering with authentic Indian breads, curries and chicken pieces. I stuck with non-spicy stuff (surprising both girls at how sensitive my taste buds are), banana roti (I think) and fried chicken. Lovely. Later we stopped for “tea”, which is apparently an actual meal between lunch and dinner. KL-ians (sounds like something from Battlestar Galactica) eat six small meals a day!

Worrying about rain which eventually stayed away, we navigated to the Bird Park in Lake Garden. This kept me clicking away for quite some time, whilst Tania stalked peacocks with her new Nikon D60 until it decided it had taken enough photos and wouldn’t let her take any more. Of course I told her that a Canon would be far more receptive to her needs.

The day started well when this brat of a Lovebird decided to eat my finger. I had been watching another guy tempt it into sitting on his hand by offering his finger to nibble on. When it came my turn the bird decided my finger was far more tasty than the one he is sampling right now (stunt hand used for photograph) and took a chunk out instead. I hope he gets food poisoning.

I fell in love with Hornbills the moment I saw these two clumsily hopping and flapping their way around their cage. I’ve been looking for them in the wild ever since, and whilst they look awkward on the ground or whilst hopping between branches on trees, they look fantastic when gliding in flight.

I love this stork. I can tell it has a sense of humour by the look in it’s eyes, and I think it’s only putting on a typical stork pose because it knows we expect that and it likes to entertain.

I’ve never seen an orange Ibis and I must have taken about 20 shots of this one. You can see he really wants to scream, “Leave me alone you freak!”.

Dinner was with Tash and Tan’s family and friends at the Royal Selangor Club. This is a rather exclusive cricket club with spectacular night views.

I arrived early to find that I couldn’t enter via the public entrance because I was wearing jeans. I also had to wait in the foyer as I was not a member. Being yet another hot and humid day I was rather thirsty so asked if there was a nearby bar in which I could wait. The answer was no, but a good samaritan named “Henry” was on his way out as I asked the question. He came over to me and asked if I would like to join him in the “Cellar”, much to Tash’s later amusement as she wondered at my seeming ability to pick up anyone. Henry was great company, and it turned out he knew Tash’s Dad. I learnt all about his kids, where they were studying, and how much his 14yo daughter racks up in phone and internet bills (A combined $1000 a month!). I resisted the urge to tell him that it serves him right for having children, as I doubt much of the world feels the way I do about that topic. Henry was quite happy to keep buying me beers, but Tash eventuated to rescue me.

The food was, as expected, very very good, and the company even better. Sorry about me spoiling this one – I look like a well-fed deer caught in headlights. Do you now see why I am usually the photographer?

Ken, this is especially for you…

Leaving for home I noticed a building on which an entire side has become a digital advertising screen. Both video and stills run on this giant screen. I believe this is called City Hall. Blows Melbourne’s meagre efforts at looking modern out of the water.

KL – Batu Caves and Chinatown

Batu Caves is a very sacred and popular spot for Hindus – look it up in Google to save me having to write about it.  I decided to take the 20 minute taxi ride to see it.  The most significant things about the caves are the 272 steps to get to the entrance, and the largest statue of a particular Hindu deity in the world.

Another attraction that everyone told me about was that there were monkeys everywhere and to watch out that you didn’t have things stolen by them.  None to be seen, I’m afraid – except the two sad ones in a cage.  There were, however, a couple of fairly nondescript and tiny “temples” and a man with a big yellow python.  These girls were pretty excited about that.

The view back down to the ground, and overlooking the city wasn’t bad, and some of the architecture was OK too.  I think this place would be more interesting when the special events you can read about in Google are taking place.

An unspoken significant experience to be had at Batu Caves is being torn apart limb by limb by rabid taxi drivers fighting over who is going to take you back to your hotel.  I had to physically restrain one “gentleman” after he started to get a little over-enthusiastic.

Later that evening I decided to walk down to Chinatown.  This is like a little Bangkok, with fake everything for sale and hawkers trying everything to get your attention and business. I probably paid too much for leather Mont Blanc carry-on luggage, but I needed it and it is probably cheaper than I could get at home.  Well, I hope it is.

The food was fantastic however, and it was a lot of fun to watch the tourists go by as I ate.

KL – 24 hour neon

Kuala Lumpur went by in almost a total blur. So much to do, so many people to catch up with (where did they all come from, and why are they all in KL?), and so much food to eat.

There are a few things that really stand out for me in KL. One is that every time I have been at the airport (3 times now, soon to be 4), it has been raining. It’s the only time it has been raining for me in Malaysia. Therefore I still don’t really know what the airport looks like.

KL seems to be a city of contradictions. It is very modern, yet has much old charm, early 1900s British architecture, and Bangkok-style people-chaos. I stayed on Jalan Pudu, between Bukit Bintang and Chinatown, in an area known as the Golden Triangle. (Jalan means “street”). This seemed to be the busiest road in KL, and it didn’t help that it is also the home to the largest and oldest bus terminal in KL. All day, hundreds of buses would constantly crawl down this two lane road on their way to the terminal. At night this would turn into hundreds parked for a kilometre or so as they can’t get into the terminal itself. It seems that everybody wants to travel by bus to Singapore, Penang, Bangkok and more, 24/7. I can only assume it is because the television selections are almost non-existent here.

So to get anywhere I usually walked to the Imbi monorail station and travelled to a better place from which to source a taxi or walk further. Coming back to the hotel, I had to direct the driver to keep him out of traffic jams. A few things I have learned about Malaysians:

• They don’t like to walk – even very short distances. They think I am mad because I walk everywhere.
• They are scared of the rain. They seem to think it is acidic (I think it is refreshing)
• They are not very good at finding their way around their own city
• They don’t know terribly much about their own city.

This may seem like a short list of negatives, but in fact it worked to my benefit. It meant I got to show some of them sights they hadn’t seen, and it made me feel better about knowing where I was going and that I can handle finding my way around strange cities.

KL also uses a massive amount of electricity. I am told that this is because it generates too much, and has to have an outlet (???). All I will say is that they are obsessed with pretty lights and neon. I am not complaining because it makes for a beautiful skyline and attractive street-scapes (assuming you like that sort of thing).

So much of my time in KL was spent lunching and having dinner with friends and acquaintances. People love to entertain and look after you here. A really big thanks goes out to all my new friends who took such good care of me, especially to Natasha and Tania who did everything and more to ensure I enjoyed the local food, treated me at Royal Selangor Club and were better than perfect hosts.  Tania, you are going to love that Nikon (too bad it’s not a Canon).   See you back in Melbourne.

As I spent a lot more time being entertained, and a lot less time being a tourist, I’ve a lot less photos to share from KL.  Here’s a brief selection.

I’ve asked a lot of people, and I still don’t know what “chicks” are in this context.

Bukit Bintang and Chinatown are the closest things I could find to Bangkok. Bukit Bintang is much more accessible, but has some unusual sights.  This kid was supposedly selling bubble guns, but judging by his appearance and demeanor I got the feeling that his job was to attract  and distract tourists whilst his mates surreptitiously lightened the load of said unsuspecting tourist.

Every weekend there is a free concert right in the middle of the very wide Bukit Bintang walkway.  Tonight was some modern Indian pop.  I was watching them set the stage up earlier in the afternoon, and they pull out all stops.  This show was very well lit, with all the effects and a great sound system.  Not bad for free.

Neon nights.  Apparently you avoid the karaoke bars in KL. The brighter the lights, the more dodgy the venue.  This sign was the size of a small building.

Jen and Dee introduced me to Vincenzo and his fantastic Italian restaurant.  This is where I received a taste from home in a magnificent Black Angus steak. It was so tender you could cut it with a spoon.   He’s a great guy and I hope I’ll meet up with him again when he decides to visit Melbourne.

After dinner we tried to find a decent bar with a band. Closest thing to rock apparently was this band at “Backyard”. They played unusual versions of Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix tunes.  This guy could really solo, but like most Asian bands I’ve seen so far, was struggling quite a bit with the English lyrics and phrasing.  It didn’t matter because he was so into the music.

OK, I still have some KL nightlife, Chinatown and Batu Caves shots to post but I’m out of time and have another 5am start tomorrow.  I won’t have internet for a few days as I’m being Tarzan of Borneo right now, so my next post is not likely until at least Friday.  Maybe…

First night in KL

On arrival at KL I was met by a couple of journalist acquaintances. One works locally as a researcher, and the other is a photojournalist working out of Singapore. They were both quite focussed on the Anwar issue amongst other things, so I didn’t really get to spend much time with them, but we did get dinner.

KL is a city of neon and traffic jams. It also has the busiest and most chaotic bus terminal I’ve ever seen. In fact, Jalan Pudu, the road on which my hotel resides, seems to be the one road that all buses and taxis in Asia use.  Therefore if I want to get anywhere in a hurry I walk to another, better flowing road first before calling a cab.  I don’t understand why so many people want to travel to other parts of Asia by bus every night, at all hours, but I guess the TV isn’t good enough to keep them home. The Indians seem to do it more than most.

It’s also an intriguing mix of modern architecture with run-down or old dwellings.  At nights, think Bangkok meets Sydney.

Another Asian city, another Scorpions reference – this time on the busiest road in KL, outside my hotel’s bus stop.

Dinner was at a curbside, open Chinese restaurant. But not the type we have at home.  I couldn’t read the menu, understand the staff, or recognise anything in the pictures, so I left my fate in the hands of my local guide and dinner partner. I did OK with some well-cooked, white fish, some watery soup that seemed to be just there to use up table space, and some fried frog legs that tasted like spicy chicken.  I had no idea that the Chinese ate frogs, but I didn’t care as I was starving and it was the only substantial food on offer.  I ate all of them!

Whilst savoring roasted ribbits, I noticed some fairly significant movement out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to see what I initially thought was a squirrel scurrying from one piece of vegetation to another. It wasn’t a squirrel.  Apparently it’s also quite common in KL and nothing to make a fuss about, even if it is running around the outsides of a restaurant.

A respected photojournalist hard at work in a dark hotel room at 11pm. Our news-bringers never sleep.  I know that first hand now.  All I’ll say about that is that they should.  The results are rarely appreciated as much as the effort that is invested.

Neon neon neon.  Oh, and Canon.  Not a single Nikon sign anywhere so far.  KL is also Coca Cola city, as opposed to Bangkok’s obsession with the sickly sweet and relatively flat beverage that is Pepsi.  I also discovered that the reason Asia serves terrible hot coffee is that they do very good iced coffee.

The highlight of supper was exploring the wine list.  Chilean and Spanish wines are big here. There are some Aussie wines, but surprisingly few. I think the Asian taste bud prefers the more tangy or unusual South American grape varieties.  Shiraz is rare here.

Penang – Day 2, circumnavigation with a professor

The weather not only behaved itself, it became what one usually expects from a holiday destination. Once again, no sunscreen for me as I know my really olive skin can handle this equatorial ozone overload. My blisters are starting to heal thanks to open thongs (fresh air, salt water), and generous doses of Betadine. So I’m all set for another long day of exploring.

Professor Sam (I’ve since had it explained to me that I’m not using the right terminology, but this blog is not intended to be wholly factual, as you may have already figured out) picked me up around 10-ish and we headed to the chinese clan jetties. There are 7 or 8 jetties, each belonging to one Chinese family, or clan. They build outward towards the sea, rather than up or in. This view is looking back to Georgetown from the end of the Lim jetty.

Once again, temples are an important part of any tourist’s agenda in Asia. This is a very large one on a big hill in Penang, and I have a feeling this one is Buddhist, judging by the thousands of little Buddhas lining the walls.

Next stop was Penang Botanical Gardens, where I proceeded to frighten Sam when I suggested we stray off the beaten path and up a deep, dark, twisty, steep jungle path (which happened to be quite well paved). Originally we were looking for monkeys, but none were in the park. Instead I started looking for bugs and other interesting things. Once we stopped puffing and panting from the trek, I noticed large bullants, black termite type things, and this – a spider trying to cross a pond whilst being stalked by a couple of spider-eating inch-long fish.

Sam thinks she saw a sea snake (would that possibly be a pond snake?) so we shot through and headed back to the car to continue our search for monkeys. We found theme eating Hokkien Mee in the car park. Well, this one had western tastes and was sampling condensed milk instead.

And this one seemed to subscribe to Cleopatra’s theory that strawberry milkshakes would be great to bath in.

Once we got enough of the monkeys we continued west and eventually stumbled upon the world’s first tropical butterfly garden. There was so much to see here, lizards, snakes, tortoises, fish, plants and some pretty amazing butterflies. This is not one of the most amazing ones, but let’s not hold that against it. It just happens to be one of my better photos from the place.

Filed under the “really cute creature” category is this white squirrel. It’s not albino because it’s eyes are not pink, and it’s mate was brown, so I guess it’s just blonde.

In the “not so cute but I hope it tastes good” category are these scorpions. I say that because there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be eating some roasted ones in either Philippines or Vietnam.

I saw a few of these iguanas being paraded around Bangkok streets, where tourists were charged 20 baht to pat them. This is the first that actually looks alive and has any color. Perhaps it’s relatively happy.

I reached the leaf and stick insect display and spent about 10 minutes trying to actually find one. They really do have amazing camouflage, and I only found one leaf and two stick insects. Here you can see why.

We spent quite a bit of time at the Butterfly Farm, and I could easily have found a quiet spot in the garden and read a book for a day. However, it was time to move on. After another 5 minutes driving through Durian, Mango and Coconut trees planted in very precarious mountain sides and valleys, we entered the Fruit Farm. This was a lot of fun and very informative. Not only did we get to sample about a dozen different tropical fruits that I would struggle to find at home, but we were treated to a very funny and educational discourse from one of the farmers. He had an anecdote or phrase for every fruit and introduced to the group some ways many of the fruits could be used by a husband or wife to annoy each other.

Arriving back in the shop I found a jar of me. Actually it’s a herb from the sunflower family, probably used for cooking.

One of the fruit trees in the orchard is home to a giant moth.

The final stage of our tour around Penang was a return to the fishing village from the night before, to get some decent sunset/dusk shots. The previous night I had left my SD card in the laptop, so didn’t have enough internal memory to take a decent shot. This was my chance to rectify that.

There were about 7 or 8 kids po ttering around in the mud left by the deeply receding tide. This guy was a little more focussed than the rest so I watched him for a while. He was skating around on a board, with a bucket on top then, when he saw bubbles of a certain type, would stop and start reaching down as far as he could with his hands.

These mantis shrimp is what he was fishing for. The locals called them millipede prawns. Each would fetch him about 20 ringgits (approx AUD $6.50).

I’d had two very long but enjoyable days in Penang, and I was exhausted, so an early night was required. Penang itself doesn’t seem to sleep, and there were still plenty of people enjoying themselves on the main road directly under my 15th floor window at 3-4am. There’s no rest for the wicked, or me. So, with little sleep to fuel me I took a midday plane back to KL, where the rain met me again.

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