World Travel Guide Online

In the search for more unusual, out-of this-world travelling experiences, travellers are being lured to the ends of the earth to find the most eccentric, wacky and exciting activities, sights and venues. So if you’re fond of a tipple or two, you might want to try one of these bars. Their locations and gimmicks are sometimes enough to pique your interest, but add alcohol to the mix and you’re in for quite a fun time. Here are 13 of the world’s most strange, exciting and different watering holes that will leave you thirsty for more.

1. Clinic – Singapore

Many people don’t like visiting hospitals so this bar might be a little questionable in taste for some. Clinic is a hospital themed bar located within the shopping and entertainment district, Clarke Quay.

It’s not surprising that the architect of the bar was wacky artist Damien Hirst, famous for such works as the cow in formaldehyde. The pill shaped rooms are all interlinked and are designed to give a drug ‘trip’ effect. Guests can drink from test tubes and IV bags, sit in wheelchairs instead of sitting on bar stools, lie on hospital beds with white curtains, and boogie on the capsule-shaped dance floor in the nightclub, Morphine.

The restaurant is designed like an operating room where guests can dine sitting in gold wheelchairs and eating from kidney shaped steel trays. Yum, I just hope the food doesn’t taste like hospital food…

2. Absolut Icebar – Sweden

The very first bar to be made entirely of ice can be found in the small town of Jukkasjarvi in Sweden. Although novelty ice bars seem to be popping up everywhere these days, even in the baking hot Niger desert, the Absolut Icebar, within the Ice Hotel, is the original ice bar.

Guests don thermal capes and huddle together in freezing cold conditions surrounded by carefully-crafted ice sculptures. The Absolut vodka cocktails are served in ice glasses, just make sure you don’t get your lips stuck to them!

The ice is sourced from the Torne River in the village of Jukkasjarvi and the frosty bar is only open during the winter from December to April.

3. Red Sea Star Underwater Restaurant, Bar and Observatory – Israel

The world’s first underwater bar, the Red Sea Star, is submerged six meters below the Red Sea in Eilat. Each table has Plexiglass windows – two either side and one above – so that diners can admire the fish, coral, and other sea life from their dinner table. The décor is even marine-inspired with jellyfish stools, urchin cushions, and anemone lighting fixtures.

Before the Red Sea Star was built in 1998, the area on which it stands was a damaged seabed, but four years before it opened the Red Sea Star team started growing a coral nursery surrounding the reef to save and preserve what used to be an active and colourful coral reef.

4. Bojangles – Australia

In the town of Alice Springs in the red centre of Australia, backpackers and travellers on their way to visit Uluru will almost certainly end up at this curious bar.

Walk through the closely guarded saloon doors and you’ll be amazed at what you see – boots hanging from the ceilings, snakes in tanks, and a coffin with a suit of armour inside which says ‘How Much To Touch Ned’s Nuts?’ Pull out some peanuts and throw the shells on the floor, because at Bo’s anything goes.

Sounds like a quirky bar already, but wait – it gets better. If you go to the bathroom you might get a little surprise, for when you come to wash your hands, each tap turns on the water in a different sink!

5. DM Bar – Estonia

If you’re a huge fan and you just can’t get enough of Depeche Mode, this bar in the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn, is entirely devoted to the band.

It doesn’t seem the most obvious choice of band to dedicate a bar to, but the synth-poppers from Basildon in the UK are extremely popular anywhere east of Berlin. The bar’s walls are filled with Depeche Mode memorabilia and guess what’s on the playlist for the night? You guessed it, Depeche Mode songs.

Members of the band Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher have actually partied the night away in the bar which is sure to be one of the strangest hat tips to the band.

6. Hobbit House – Philippines

Hobbit House in the Philippines is based on the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, “Lord of The Rings,” and all the staff in the bar are friendly and charming dwarfs. The dark, smoke-filled bar offers around 100 different kinds of beer and is a great live music venue.

Opened 35 years ago, The Hobbit House has been around in Manila so long, it is a famous institution. The Iowa-born owner, Jim Turner, is an ex-Peace Corps volunteer who has rescued these dwarfs from the slums and streets of Manila and given them an honest place to work. He has given them new cultural identities and they are no longer shunned or avoided; they are respectable business people.

The bartenders are merry characters and entertainers who are up for a laugh and will happily pose with tourists for photos. The Hobbit House features possibly the world’s smallest Elvis impersonator, hobbit jugglers, comics, dancers, flame-eaters, and singers.

7. Baobab Bar – South Africa

Drinking a beer inside a tree? You wouldn’t think anyone would even fit, but you will inside this 6,000 year old Baobab tree.

The hollow 72-foot high tree offers a cool interior to step into from the heat outside and now has a bar, dart board and benches.

It was created in a Baobab tree in Sunland Farm in Limpopo to keep the thirsty locals happy and now thousands of tourists travel from miles around to have a pint in this interesting establishment.

The trunk has a 155-foot circumference and is wide enough to fit 40 people inside it. It even has its own cellar with natural ventilation to keep the beer cool!

The pub is owned by the van Heerdens, who decided to open a pub when they discovered a natural hollow in the tree in the 1980s. While clearing out the hollow centre of the tree trunk, the van Heerdens found historical evidence of Bushmen who may have once lived in the tree.

8. Das Klo Bar – Germany

One of the most bizarre drinking experiences ever, Klo Bar in Berlin is reputed to attract more tourists than Charlottenburg Castle and the Museum Island. Klo 1 and 2 no longer exist, but Klo 3, which started life on Christmas Day 1971, still does. Part flea market, part zoo, and part theme park, Das Klo (German for “the toilet”) is meant to evoke the inside of a toilet, but it ends up giving visitors the feel of stepping onto an Indiana Jones movie set.

Prepare to be shocked – expect red wine in blood transfusion packs, electric shocks from tables, rotating bar stools, a hammer that comes down unexpectedly, and a bird spider, boa constrictor and iguana. It’s an attack on the senses – upon entering Klo you’ll be sprinkled by water, spooked by skeletons and a gust of air might blow ladies’ skirts up. Lightning flashes across the rooms and there is a false ceiling of paper mâché rocks that fall in a giant avalanche every 10 minutes. A kilted figure in the ladies loo is booby-trapped so that whenever a lady lifts the kilt to see if he is going commando, a siren goes off in the bar.

Seating is a choice of coffins or toilet seats, the beer is served in new urine specimen bottles, and the food is sausages with sauerkraut fetchingly presented in huge enamel potties. Supposedly most of the owner’s ideas came to him sitting on the loo.

9. Skeleton Bar – Switzerland

This odd museum-bar was designed by Swiss man Hans Rudi Giger who worked as a designer on the Oscar-winning Alien movies. Giger designed the title character, the human-eating Alien monster, and won an Oscar for best special effects in 1980.

The bar in Gruyere, Switzerland, will remind you of the alien – or perhaps sitting inside a monster’s stomach, with its spinal chord-like skeleton decoration.

The creepy, horror movie-inspired bar is decorated with skeleton bones throughout, from the walls and chairs to the flower vases.

10. Floyd’s Pelican Bar – Jamaica

Floyds has to be the coolest bar in the Caribbean. Looking out from the shore at the dot on the horizon, your first reaction might be “is that really a bar?”

Perched on stilts on a sandbar, Floyds is made completely of driftwood and palm leaves. Bring a sharp object and you can carve your name in the floor. It looks like it might fall over, but it’s surprisingly sturdy.

Floyds sits about a mile off the south coast of Jamaica in Parottee Bay and local fisherman will take you out there. There’s nothing like a cold beer in the middle of the ocean, doing a bit of snorkelling and enjoying a fresh lobster meal prepared by Floyd himself. You might spot some pelicans and a few sting rays too.

11. Alux Restaurant & Lounge – Mexico

Alux, in Playa Del Carmen, is one of only two restaurants in the world inside a cavern.

The whole Yucatan peninsula in Mexico is riddled with an interconnected system of caverns and subterranean rivers and after years of planning and restoration, Alux restaurant and lounge was opened for the public to enjoy this natural environment with a drink in hand.

The Flintstones-like cavern has numerous chambers where you can lounge, drink, dine, and dance amongst the stalagmites and stalactites, which are lit up in shades of violet, blue and pink. Small, magical beings called ‘Aluxes’ are said to occupy these caverns, so look out for one as you dance the night away! It’s a drinking spot you mustn’t miss if you’re staying in Playa Del Carmen.

12. William Thornton Floating Bar & Restaurant – British Virgin Islands

The William Thornton is a steel 100-foot schooner with a restaurant and bar on board, moored at The Bight off Norman Island.

The Willy T, as it is affectionately known, began life in the 80s as a wooden Baltic vessel. But after the boat sprung a leak and sank at its anchorage, the owners, Annie and Mick Gardner, replaced it with the larger steel boat everyone knows today.

The William Thornton who the floating bar is named after was born in the British Virgin Islands and is the man behind the design of the United States Capitol building.

13. The Rock Bar – Bali

Perched 14 meters above the Indian Ocean, this open-top bar is literally served straight up on the rocks.

It’s a perfect place to sit and watch the sunset, sip cocktails and admire the view of the perfect Bali waves splashing against the rocks below. What makes it even more novel is the outdoor elevator which takes you down the cliff to the bar. Beware though, it only holds four so you might end up taking the stairs!

Live musicians play on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays so you can sit back and enjoy some tunes with a view. Located within the Ayana Resort & Spa in Jimbaran Bay, The Rock Bar will certainly leave a lasting impression and is Bali’s most chic sunset and after-dark destination.

Malaysia and Singapore

Malaysia, food Food FOOD!!! (Great food)
Today is Tuesday the 13^th of August, and we are back in KL for a short stopover to sort out yet more visas, do some shopping and amongst other stuff, reacquaint ourselves with the megastastic food capital of the world!!! The food here is absolutely unsurpassable, for the sheer variety and tastiness of the grub on offer is mouth-wateringly, stomach-gurglingly, mind-bogglingly amazing! This is of course a purely personal view maybe not shared by others who are blind to the intensity of taste and tingling flavors available at every street corner 24 hours a day.

Other than that, to us KL is busy and expensive to stop around in for too long. There are of course a few touristy things to do here but it seems to me that most travelers use KL as a stopover for essential needs and as an entry and departure point to anywhere else that’s cheaper than here, of which, in Asia, the choice is massive. Our first time here was about three months ago, where we flicked in and out of KL to visit the various parts of Malaysia in-between visits to the dentist for essential work on Eddie’s masticating molars.

I have to mention the place we stay: Pudu Hostel, (not in the travel books yet, thank God) conveniently opposite Pudu Raya, the main bus terminus in KL. For not only is it (I would be fairly sure in saying) the most popular place for backpackers, but also the business of an incredibly unassuming man called “Big Pete”, a huge bulk of a man (which his name suggests) who is one of the most interesting men I have met on my travels. You would not guess to look at him; long unkempt hair, his faded jeans with saggy back pockets, his old heavy metal t-shirt and worn out flip flops, that this man is the creator of a massive tourist backpacker empire stretching all the way to Singapore, and with it the cash one would expect. Just to buy him a beer and cajole him into a few stories will entertain you for hours giving you a very inexpensive evening in a very expensive city. Beware though, he is not a man to annoy, his presence is enough not to want to meet him on a dark night, let alone offending him.

Just nearby there are markets galore offering the variety of cheap and copy goods that you can find anywhere in Asia’s capital cities, however the most fascinating and most certainly the cheapest form of entertainment is the great pastime of people watching. Another of my favorite things. We found a curbside food hall, where we have whiled away a few hours now and again with a chilled bottle of beer and a packet of ciggies watching the amazing goings on of the market street.

In front of us is the doughnut man, effortlessly and silently working away at his little stall making deep fried dough breads that sell as fast as he can make them, constantly rolling dough, cutting, shaping and frying. Turning, draining and tossing them onto his tabletop rack where eager locals scurry every time a new batch is delivered to the rack. At 50 Sen. a stick the job is labour intensive for little return, but that is the way of many of the people here in KL, it’s a rich city with most of the inhabitants scratching a wage. On he goes, all day long until his bucket of dough is finished, and a lady with one leg shorter than another arrives on a motor scooter with wheel chair attached to take over his patch for the evening trade. She sells aluminum wire sculptures that hang from a colourful golfing umbrella attached to her wheelchair. She sits there, after the doughnut man has left, constantly arranging her wares around the table top attachment on her lap, still wearing her helmet and her scarf firmly wrapped around her face hiding the features of what I imagine is an old wrinkled lady underneath.

KL is an amazingly cosmopolitan place, Indians mix freely with Malays, as do the strong presence of Chinese and Muslims, this is, to me, what makes KL interesting, yes we can visit the Mosques and the Caves, go up the Petronas Towers and visit the museums, but the real KL is in the people. Its alive with culture, from the distinct smells of spices in the small Indian shops and the sweet tantalizing wisps of roast duck in the Chinese restaurants (food again…), colourful clothes that originate in Indonesia line the markets streets where black hooded Muslim women walk with purpose, avoiding anyone’s gaze, especially mine. The younger generation flog CD’s and VCD’s, next to fruit stalls selling spiky rambutans and mangos, then more “Rolex” watches and “TAG” next to fake designer leather goods that the 22 week tourist seem to lap up by the sack full. KL keeps the original, the culture and the feel of Asia, but mixes it so well with the modern and the never ending tourist trade…

Stepping back in time momentarily, back to about a week before KL to when we entered Malaysia, crossing the border on a train from Hat Yai in Thailand. It was the easiest thing, one moment you were in Thailand, the next Malaysia. A brief stop at the border station to show passports and get the good ol’ stamp in the ever filling passport pages (another place, another stamp) and onward to Butterworth, in itself a nothing kind of place but the ferry port for Penang. Penang is rambling, looks like it may fall to bits in places at any time. The back streets remind me of places I’ve been in other countries, same scenes, smells and of course bicycle rickshaws.

To tell you the truth, I’ve not much to say about Penang, as in fact, I don’t of Malaysia as a whole. It’s a nice enough country, but it lacks the vibrancy and shocking-ness of other Asian countries. It’s all too civilized you know, there are little pockets of tradition like in Penang, but few and far between. This came home to me in Penang. I was excited to show Eddie the island, the snake temple, the fishing villages that I had once before nine years ago visited. But nine years is a long time to pass in these modern days and times. A multi-laned freeway now encompasses the island where a small single lane each way road was, high rise buildings of business parks and estates loom around you as soon as you leave central Georgetown. What could I expect, life moves on and so do countries. They can’t stay in limbo just for me to come back and re-visit? (Why not?)

The snake temple, once a magnificent temple set back from the road with trees and bushes out front adorned with sleepy snakes of all shades of green and the heavy scent of incense in the air, an entrapment of senses and awareness, now belittles itself as a “major” tourist attraction, tour buses arrive here, as it’s easily accessible being only meters from the new freeway. Gimmicky shops selling plastic key rings and mobile phone covers flank either side of the diminished front courtyard, now a shadow of what was. The temple now empty of local people that used to come for solitude and prayer, has only a couple of bushes where dopey snakes hang, cheap incense fills the air. The man hassles us as he tries to give us a whirlwind tour showing all the places where snakes lay, unmoving, before asking us if we wanted a photograph with a snake?

Go away…

Fishing villages now deserted, beached dirty with tar and rubbish, the long road along the northern side of Penang now a row of bars and fancy ship-shaped restaurants, reminding me of Koh Samui. Now I paint a sad picture, one of change and sadness, but this is for me, not for anyone else. It’s my opinion not yours or theirs, but it is my travelogue, and I will write what I feel. Let’s get back to food…

My first taste of Malaysian Roti, not like a chapatti in India, although sold and eaten largely by Indian vendors and clientele. Like a pancake lightly fried and folded, served with a dipping sauce like spicy curry or lentil dhal. The food for breakfasts, and the breakfast we ate every morning we were in Malaysia. (Food freak) Well, I had to say something nice about Penang, didn’t I!?

Skipping KL, onto Cherating by bus, a sleepy seaside village on the east coast where there was nothing much to do but laze, eat great food, and make your own batik. So this is what we did. Noah looked like he was on drugs, but assured us he wasn’t, and that he was teetotal (Yeah right!). We decided on T-shirts and Eddie did a teddy bear and named it Eddie Teddy, I drafted my encounter with the whale shark in Similans. Unfortunately the T-shirts were quite thick and so hot, thus Eddie uses hers as a slouch shirt in the room and mine never sees the light of day. Doh! But it was all good fun doing it and that’s what matters.

Melaka was interesting for a day, not much more than that as you could see every thing that was worth seeing in a day! How convenient… the only reason that we stayed for longer is that in our vain attempts to excite ourselves about Malaysia we got shit-faced plastered one evening (sorry about the language but they seem the appropriate words to describe just how drunk we got) and the photographs that were just recently developed showed scenes that we just don’t remember happening, but we won’t go into that. (Bribes will be accepted for private notations on the events depicted by the photographs of that evening). And so a day was spent in bed moaning and swearing never to pass another drop of alcohol over our lips.

Having once again dashed yet another town of Malaysia into oblivion, I have to say that it wasn’t all bad, just most of it. The most interesting area was around Jonglers Walk, where Chinese temples rub shoulders with Muslim Mosques, and the streets are lined with old colonial style houses with courtyards and jazz bars. The area is famous for it’s “Antique” shops, where you can wander around in musty shops wondering if that really is a real Ming vase sitting next to that clapped out wind up gramophone player, and is that a 300 year old relic of ancient Chinese origin, or not?

Well then, back to KL, and onto Selangor, home of the spectacular, that is the largest, colony of fireflies this side of Bognor Regis, which are purported to flash in unison along the banks of some mangrove around two hours down west of KL town. Full of expectation we bused it down to check this out and spend a night in what has to be said, one of the dullest places I have ever been. The Fire flies were however an impressive sight, we glided in silence in an electrically powered boat through the darkness where we watched a massive show of flashing fireflies, which were, as promised, flashing in unison. Unfortunately the trip was around 45 minutes long, about 35 minutes too long actually, and the flashing lights reminded me of Christmas fairy lights which kind of spoilt the moment, and a bored comment to Eddie regarding the ability to make your bum light up without the aid of bodily gas and a lighter lost us into a pile of giggling mirth at the back of the boat, trying desperately to keep it quiet not to spoil the moment of serenity and quietness obviously being beholden by the other passengers of our boat. Sorry about that… (If any of you were on the boat might be reading)

Probably the nicest place to visit for us in Malaysia was the Cameron Highlands, although Taman Negara National Park might have been if we had time to get round to it and do it justice. Unfortunately a time constraint kept us from there, but I am sure we will get to it in the future. Only one Bus Company goes between KL and Cameron Highlands (CH from now on), which was probably why they didn’t feel the need to update their fleet, seeing as there wasn’t any competition. The bus rattled and whined up the twisting road to CH, poorly hand painted in red and white in an effort to refurbish the vehicle, through some of the most beautiful countryside I’d seen in Malaysia, lush green fields, forests and tea plantations evident on the hillsides as we climbed.

Through Ringlet, a small town that possessed a number of old English style, country manor house like hotels, posh and expensive, for the higher excellence of Malay society. Then onto Tanah Rata where we were destined to stay for a few days. For a quiet getaway in a sleepy town in the hills of the CH, this is not the place to come, it was pretty much a one street town lined with tourist tat shops, bars and restaurants, people trying to get you into their taxis and take you on tours. This was the first immediate impression that we got. But so not to be too negative, after a day or so the place grows on you. The tourist shops you avoid, the restaurants (most of them anyway) are great, this is one place where you can sample the traditional “steamboat” and it’s great. A volcano pot of bubbling spicy broth, in which you dip all sorts of yummy stuff from meats and veggies to noodles and fish balls. A kind of make your own meal from an assortment of ingredients, but a different meal each go!!!

We stayed at Fathers Guesthouse, up overlooking the town, away from the bustle and situated in gardens, this was what I felt the CH was meant to be about. Calm, serene and peaceful with a nice homely and friendly family that looks after the place. Our room looked out onto the garden through patio doors. And it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Apart from savoring the wonderful food, which was pretty damn wicked, we did a couple of walks and visited a few places like the fruit farms and tea plantations and wandered through beautiful, mossy, laden, pristine, first generation rain forest, apparently some of the finest in Malaysia. Heaps of those upside down trumpet-like plants whose name escapes me at the moment, the bright orangey red ones that have an umbrella and entices insects into the trumpet where they get stuck and are devoured by these carnivorous plants. Amazing stuff, the guide that took us was really up on his stuff, had traveled throughout Malaysian forests and seen sights that few will ever, now that the environment is wasting away these incredible places. Once gone, never to return. Walking through these areas is like walking on a trampoline, you fairly bounce on the mossy ground and it’s a weird sensation, it’s like putting a spring in your step.

We were at the CH during the beginning of the World Cup, and we are not major fans of football. But even though, it still amazes me how travelers stop and work their entire days and weeks around the football schedule. “Oh, no, can’t do this or see this fantastic sight because there is a football match on between two sides I have absolutely no interest in, even though it means I’ll will have left the CH without really seeing anything…”

It rained nearly every day for about an hour or so, not enough to disrupt your day and not hard usually, drizzle mostly. The air stayed cool and refreshing which is a great respite from the humidity of the lowlands of Malaysia, there’s something about this area of Peninsular Malaysia that makes people who come here more friendly and talkative, friends are easily made here or even just part time acquaintances. It’s easy to find yourself talking or drawn into conversations with people and arranging meals out and stuff. It’s a far cry from the usual “clich�” traveler scene that you can come across that we don’t want to be a part of. Maybe it’s the climate that puts people at ease and more themselves; maybe it’s just purely the friendly atmosphere at Fathers, whatever it is it makes time here comfortable and rewarding.

One of my favorite memories of Malaysia (apart from the food, enough, enough about food already!!!) was an old Chinese temple we visited. Now I’m not totally sure of where we found it, but the place sticks in my mind. The air was mixed with the exotic scents of incense, the sticks that smoldered creating a heavy layer of pungent smoke that lay on the air, like early morn mist. This place was exquisitely decorated with bright red and gold carved wood, and strange brightly coloured mythical creatures adorning the roofs, looking down on the front square watching over the people making offerings below. The people waving incense sticks of varying sizes to the gods within, all with a concentrated and deep looks within them, the area was near to silent, small fires crackled either side of the square where people burnt symbols of wealth in the form of elaborate paper money. A tramp-like person wandered around the ground with a childlike expression, creating the only voice we could hear, talking to some people, making faces at others. Sitting in the sidelines watching this theatre unfold before us; the offerings, the prayers, the peace and serenity, the man with old blood and young mind, were the nicest moments in Malaysia for me.

Singapore (Short but sweet…)
KL to Singapore by overnight train, we love the trains over here, it’s such a great way to travel. No paying for a night’s accommodation, no trying to sleep in a coach seat, just a nice clean and comfortable bed. A good night’s sleep and a wake up call will suffice, to let you know that the passport control is nearing, where we jump off the train and get our passports stamped and jump back on. No cricked necks, swollen ankles or cramped legroom. It’s all great stuff, matey.

Unfortunately we arrived and realized that we had left a large package of washing at Pudu Hostel that we forgot to pick up. It contained the majority of our commonly worn clothes leaving us particularly up effluent waste creek. The night we left KL was the night of the England vs. Argentina game, and we were down the Bull’s Head cheering the good ol’ boys on with a few pints, and in our rush to get back and off to catch the train we forgot the laundry… Our old pal Big Pete came to the rescue again, (good man that Pete lad); he sent the package down with a couple of travelers coming to Singapore in the next few days. Beers were bought all round for the saviors of the day. Thanks.

Singapore, home of great shopping, electronics, cameras, designer clothes, dive equipment, you name it, it’s here. It’s claimed that Singapore is the food capital of the world, I disagree as you may have worked out, but in my opinion, it is the shopping capital of the world. Not necessarily the cheapest for some stuff compared to BKK and Hong Kong, but the variety of goods at reasonable prices can’t be beat, especially in the electronic and audio visual arena. Orchard Road is like all the major shopping streets of the world rolled into one. A haven for the fanatical shopper, and a great place to wander around too.

However, it is not a place for the budget minded to hang out, cheap accommodation is not cheap, the food is but almost anything else to do with having a look around and checking out places of interest isn’t! At 1.7-ish Singapore dollars to the US$, a day trip to a couple of botanical gardens will set you back around S$10-12, a trip to Sentosa S$30-40!! Although, Sentosa is worth a day trip if only to travel on the cable car to it over the port area at a staggering height, swinging in the breeze, and the underwater world where you can watch cuttlefish, sharks and rays being fed. Otherwise the attractions are average and overpriced, but a good place to wander woods and paths and have a picnic on one of the many good beaches. I sound like a tour guide, sorry about that, but unfortunately there’s not much more to say about Singapore, stop over and get out is the best thing to do here.

Our one extravagance was a night out at the Singapore Hard Rock Caf�, the best Hard Rock I’ve been to, we stayed all night, ate loads and drank more, and ended up being invited to a staff party out in the suburbs that continued through the night. It was a real insight to local Singaporean life, which isn’t so different to our own back home. The guys were great and in true Asian style shared everything they had from booze to food and a little swapping of trinkets as signs of true everlasting friendships. Everlasting until the morning when we got into a cab, Eddie being slightly worse for wear after challenging one of the lads to a shooters contest in the garden. We continue to spread the good reputation of the English as we travel!

After our short stay in Malaysia and Singapore, we were to head off to Indonesia, a large dent in our pockets. These two places were the most expensive so far of our travels, and not places to hang about in. I’m still glad we did them, especially Malaysia, just because I wasn’t sure that I really understood the country the last time I was there, but I was right the first time. It’s not the place for me, although I am sure I will return, I still want to see Taman Negara National Park, and it’s an easy place to get to for a visa run from South Thailand.

We made it to our desired guesthouse without getting lost or turned around only to find that it had been taken over by the neighboring place, Willies. We walked around the block to a second place only to be led through a few alleys right back to the first place. Although the room was a partitioned cube, it was cheap and clean. The unique feature of our accommodation was that the only way up to the second floor reception was through the kitchen and up the stairs of a streetfront restaurant. It was eye-opening to see all the chicken parts, squid and other unmentionables in the back of a Chinese kitchen.

We were feeling much better and decided to take our first whack at the local hawker stalls. For us, Singapore was the perfect place to get accustomed to ordering from these types of restaurants. The reason being that although the country is 78% Chinese, just about everyone speaks English and all signs are in English.

Eating at the stalls was an experience in itself. First, we had to master using our new utensils – chopsticks and a mini ladle. Essentially, you pick what you want from different vendors and scramble to find a seat while waiting for your meal to find you. It was quite common to have someone lingering, waiting for our seats, if we were nearly finished. All and all, the stalls were a cheap ($2-3 U.S.) and yummy option.

Singapore, being a degree above the equator, the temperature and humidity were are pretty high, even at Christmas time. Nonetheless, Christmas is still celebrated in grand style. Orchard Road, Singapore’s shopping and high-end hotel area, was fully decked out: a million white lights, carolers everywhere, Christmas trees and Santa Claus images adorning every hotel and store front. Most evenings, we found ourselves window shopping and enjoying the Chrstmas atmosphere.

We were fortunate to have mostly fine weather and days that were not too terribly hot. We spent one afternoon just walking the city. This tour took us to the top of the tallest hotel in the world (72 stories up – quite a view), around the very Chinese Chinatown, through the Financial District and to see our first Hindu temple – with a celebration in the midst.

Our other major outing was to the zoo, considered one of the world’s finest. The reasonable entry fee included half-hour monkey, snake, seal/sea lion and elephant shows. Before the heavy rains flooded the park, we did get to see swimming polar bears, kimodo dragons, tigers and tons of natural habitat monkeys.

For Christmas Eve, we planned a little splurge – Singapore Slings at the Raffles Hotel, one of the highlights of Singapore. The hotel is considered one of the world’s finest; we were more interested in the hotels’s Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling was invented nearly 100 years ago. For $US26 we had Slings in the very tropical, very old-fashioned, but also classy, bar. The ceiling has spade-shaped, wicker fans set in a row, which are drawn, ever so slowly, by a belt and pulley system. They even encourage tossing the peanut shells on the floor.

Since we had been roughing it in hostels, tents and bamboo bungalows for over five months, we decided to spend two nights in a flash four-star hotel for Christmas. With the Christmas present from Tracy’s Grandmom Bev, we spent Christmas Eve and Day enjoying CNN, tasty all-you-can-eat breakfasts, hot showers, newspapers and a comfy bed. (Thanks Grandmom!!)

Our last day in Singapore proved to be an adventure. December 26th was the last day of the Muslim fasting known as Ramadan or the holiday Hari Raya. The fact that we were heading to Malaysia, which has a huge Muslim population, meant that buses would be full. Unfortunately, we did not consider this until we turned up at the bus station around 1pm, ready to buy tickets for the 2pm bus, to be told that the next available bus to Melacca, Malaysia was not until 6:30 pm. So, we spent the afternoon in a cafe watching the torrential rain come and go.

The five hour bus ride to Melacca was absolutely freezing (A/C buses are usually freezing). We reached Melacca around 11:45pm and promptly grabbed a taxi to our hotel. Our second mistake of the day was that we did not convert any money before leaving Singapore. So, here we were in Malaysia, in the middle of the night, with no local currency. We figured it would not be a huge problem and asked the driver to swing by an ATM. We went to five or six ATMs, all of which would not accept any of our cards. After growing a little concerned, the driver told us that they shutdown all the ATMs at midnight.

Giving up on the machines, we went to the guesthouse, where we had made a reservation, to find that the doors were locked up. After banging on the door, the owner came around the street corner and ushered us to his sister’s guesthouse. We explained the ATM problem to the kind folks at the guesthouse and their idea was that the holiday had something to do with it. Regardless, the lady at the Pelican Guesthouse was kind enough to pay our taxi and spot us some cash to hold us over. The next morning we found a machine that would accept our card (and never had another ATM problem in Malaysia) and then headed out to see the town.

Melacca has a colored history. The Portugese, Dutch, British and the Chinese have all had a hand in its past. The buildings around the town center stand to verify the town’s history. We spent the next few days figuring out Malay food and visiting the few sights around town.

With New Year’s looming, we decided to head up to Kuala Lumpur (KL). The bus ride to KL was nice enough but seemed too short. In fact it was. Once again the Hari Raya holiday threw us a curve. Because of the holiday, KL’s bus station was moved outside the city proper. Fortunately, two Australians that we had met on the bus knew this and led us to the nearby subway station.

After getting turned around looking for a particular guesthouse that we never found, we settled into a little place in KL’s Chinatown. KL’s Chinatown was the best we had encountered. The streets were teeming with people and vendors of everything from watches to bootleg CDs to exotic fruits. The streets of Chinatown are so busy with people, hawker stalls and vendors that cars can barely crawl through.

One of the many dining pleasures we experienced was called a Chinese Fondue – a table with a sunken, boiling pot of water in the center and all around the table are skewers of all kinds of meats, fish, sauces and veggies. Each skewer can be cooked in the boiling water in one to two minutes. (There is a picture of our Chinese Fondue on the website)

We found KL to be just what it is, a big city. The few bits of charm that the city has can be seen in a few days. By far the city’s most impressive feature is the world’s tallest building(s), the Petronas Towers (made famous by the movie Entrapment). The twin towers are connected by a skywalk about 25-30 stories up. In normal times, one can go up and walk across the skywalk but, because of Hari Raya, the buildings were closed until the day after we left. Needless to say, we were dissapointed. Instead, we walked around the tower’s beautiful shopping mall and huge courtyard.

New Year’s Eve being a day away, we decided to comb the English language New Straits Times newspaper for possible events or celebrations. Bingo! Fifteen people, mostly Americans, were planning a base skydive jump from the top floors of the Petronas Towers.

On New Year’s Eve, we turned up at the Petronas early to have dinner and find a decent spot to watch the festivities. Around 11pm, we made our way to the courtyard to find 200,000 people. We fought our way through, even passing a mob surrounding the country’s Prime minister, to a comfy spot to watch the jump and ensuing fireworks. At the stroke of midnight, 15 parachutes appeared all over the sky.

Afterward we attempted to catch the subway under the towers but the 1,000’s of other people mobbing to do the same deterred us. Instead, we decided to walk down to the next station, avoiding the lines, and squeeze our skinny butts in the train. On the walk, we could hardly take a breath or hear due to the noise and fumes from the flag bearing motorbikes zooming through the streets.

On New Year’s Day, we left and headed to the Cameron Highlands, the jungle covered mountains of north-central Malaysia. The highlands offered us a nice break from the 90 degree plus days. The weather was mostly overcast and cool and evenings warranted a blanket.

One afternoon was spent on a self-guided jungle walk throught the inadequately marked trails. The muddy trails had few signs and even where there were signs, a fork in the path would usually follow. So, we picked our way through the semi-dense, mountainous jungle for three hours.

The next afternoon we visited the largest tea plantation in Malaysia. The 4,000 acre Boh Tea plantation was peacefuly beautiful. The lush, green hills/mountains were shrouded in a low ceiling of light rain clouds and a blanket of mist that rose of the maze-like design of the hills. Our very knowledgeable guide explained all about tea and the process of making tea.

After 2½ days of damp weather, we headed for our last stop in Malaysia, Penang. Penang, aka Georgetown, is a somewhat unimpressive large island off the Northwest coast of Malaysia. Besides the vibrant Chinatown, people come here to get to other islands or, as we planned, as a departure point for southern Thailand.

Although both Singapore and Malaysia are very rich culturally and historically, one would need to spend more time than we have to come away with a richer experience. We completely enjoyed our time in both countries and learned quite a bit about both cultures. Truthfully, Singapore was more of a destination and Malaysia became more of a segueway to Thailand, as the more naturally beautiful islands on the east side of Malaysia were experiencing the monsoon season. So, we zipped up the West side of the country instead. All and all it was good fun, and we would definitely recommend it to all those interested.

My final week in Australia can only really only be described as lazy, with not much going on apart from my first Cricket International, Australia A vs Zimbabwe (the Aussies won easily) and a tour of the local Castlemaine XXXX Brewery, including 4 free beers after the tour. I must admit that as I left it felt really strange: eight months in a country is a long time.

First stage of my trip in SE Asia was Singapore, which from many of the people I had talked to was not their favourite place. They describe it as too sterile, safe and boring. However, for me as a first stop in Asia, it seemed like an ideal place to start. Yes it’s safe, conservative, but it’s still very Asian, and made a real change from Australia.

First thing that strikes you about Singapore is how amazingly clean and organised everywhere is. No rubbish on the streets, the buses all run exactly on time and the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit – their underground system) is by far the cleanest and the most well run I have ever seen.

Another thing that you notice is the Singaporeans love of shopping. Not even America has as many malls, it’s truely a mecca of consumerism. With that love of shopping comes the fact that the Singaporeans have to be the best turned out group of people that I have ever seen. Designer names rule, if you don’t have the latest designer gear, you seem to be a no one.

Despite this modern sophistication, Singapore has its old world charm and echoes of its Colonial day splendours, from the Raffles Hotel (home of the Singapore Sling cocktail), Chinatown to Little India, it’s all pretty different. My hostel was situated just off Little India, an area steeped in Indian history and traditions, with old Mosques and roads with names such as Baghdad Street, Jahore Road and Haji Lane. It all gave real sense of India.

It also helped that the hostel I was staying in was located directly on top of a group of 24 hour restaurants, the smell was really quite awesome. The hostel was also situated about 2 minute walk away from Bugis Street, an area with a huge night market, selling everything from Tibetean Antiques to the latest designer watches and T-Shirts (fake, of course).

I was only going to stay a few days in Singapore, but due to the fact that it was Chinese New Year (there is a huge Chinese community, and massive celebrations), and the people in my dorm were all pretty cool (yet more Canadians and another surfer guy from LA), in the end I ended up staying for six days, doing the usual window shopping, exploring the ethnic areas and eating the most amazing food. However, as with everything, it was time to move on.

Catching a local bus in Singapore for the three hour coach trip to Melaka was quite an event, with seemingly no organisation. People crowded onto the bus as the driver tried to leave 10 minutes early, much to the protests of locals who were running down the hill to catch up with us!!

The crossing into Malaysia was perhaps the most pain-free customs check that I had ever gone through. In the end, the whole bus was through in a little over seven minutes (who said security in Asia was tight??). The transition from Singapore to Malaysia was also instant, with huge palm forests (for the rubber), and hundreds of people milling around trying to sell anything they could get their hands on!!!

Melaka is a fascinating place to start a journey in Malaysia. It’s the birthplace of the Nation and has a long history of Colonialism, starting in 1511 with its invasion by the Portugese, then in 1641 by the Dutch and then finally in 1824 when the British took over. It was also the location that the Malaysian people gained independance from the British in the 1950’s. With a background such as this the town has a huge variety of architecture (the town square has a mini windmill and the oldest Dutch Church in Asia, it was really quite surreal), and an amazing selecton of food. With a full day of visiting historical sites, there really was not much else to do, so time to make my way to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Again the coach journey can be described as erratic, with the air conditioning breaking down 10 minuites into the journey (outside air temperature was 93°F), so to say that it was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Everyone cheered as we arrived at the coach terminal an hour and a half late, due to heavy rain and an amazing volume of traffic with people returning home after the new year celebrations.

I have been here for two full days, and this is everything Singapore isn’t: overcrowded, polluted, dirty but in its own way, it has its own charm and vitality. I have gone up the tallest building in the world, the Twin Towers (although this is disputed by the Canadians (yet more, for sure!!) who I have met up with who claim that it’s the CN Tower in Toronto!!) It also has a real mix of ultra modern high rises, which sit right beside the old colonial buildings. It really is a stunning mix, that in fact works really well.

Today has been spent in the local Batu Caves, an amazing formation of caves that are used by Hindu Pilgrims and is reached by a climb up 272 steps, with a massive selection of monkeys all begging for food. The main cave is a vast open space known as the Temple Cave, containing many small temples, as well as the main temple located in a huge cavern. There are several other smaller caves in the same formation, including one with elaborately painted Hindu figures. Just stunning.

One of the joys of Asia are the markets. I have already bought myself a fake Tag Heuer watch (for the grand total of £7), the fun of night market browsing and the challenge of haggling with the stall holders was just too much fun.

It may seem strange that I’m only going to be in the capital of Malaysia for only a few days, but I’m starting to get bored of major cities. I want to see some countryside, and the real locals, so tomorrow I’m off to the tranquil surroundings of the Cameroon Highlands for some serious hill walking and some cooling down after the heat and humidity of the cities.

My overall plans are changing all the time here, with conflicting reports of what is currently open due to the fact that it’s cyclone season on the east coast. Despite the guidebooks, I have met people who have been to some of the Islands, mainly the Perithentian Islands and describe it as one of the most beautiful places they have ever been. I would be mad to miss it out, so I’m taking the risk and seeing whats out there.

So after the Cameroon Higlands, I will be heading to the Taman Negara National park, for some wildlife spotting, the Perithentian Islads on the far North East before cutting across the top to take on the beach resort island of Penang, before heading into Southern Thailand. Should be fun.

Gong Hi Fa Choi (Happy New Year)