And so I was back in Malaysia, after the worse flight of my life turbulence-wise. It was like King Kong was trying to shake us out of the sky. Maybe it was a space lizard?
The leaving of Hong Kong was fun, with drinks on Friday night. I put in a request for the next job [...]
Entries Tagged as ‘Malaysia’
February 8, 2010
Goodbye HK, Hello KL
July 10, 2009
Here’s our Graham…
Dear diary, Sorry it’s been so long since I have updated you on what’s going on. I am going to post some blogs now that have been accumulating on my computer but first to give you a little overview of where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to. It’s been the best of times [...]
July 10, 2009
Injurious times (4th July)
Injurious times (4th July)
It’s no secret that I’ve always been accident prone. Just in the last 3 years I have managed to get hit by a car, fall down a flight of stairs and chip my elbow, and skid on a pair of shiny shoes and chip my chin (thus giving myself a fetching black [...]
July 10, 2009
Better down where it’s wetter?
For most gap-year adventurers or career gappers, as well as for a huge variety of other keen travellers, getting a deep sea diving proficiency qualification is a must. The most common of these is the Open Water level from PADI, which more than 200,000 people complete every year.
Top of most young divers’ lists is still [...]
June 30, 2009
Tealand
With a name like The Cameron Highlands we should have guessed that the impact of colonialism on this hilltop area would still be profound, but we were somehow unprepared for just how western the place would be. Swiss-style chalet hotels cheek by jowl with half-timbered woodland cottages told of homesick Europeans who settled here more [...]
June 22, 2009
Whiter shade of pale
Malaysian women are OBSESSED with skin whitening. I picked up a copy of Malaysian Women’s Weekly the other day (in a purely professional capacity you understand) and more than half of the advertising was for skin whitening lotions, pastes and creams.
One of the biggest companies, SKII, uses Cate Blanchett for its campaigns. In my mind [...]
June 22, 2009
The dark side of Penang
Some say it’s the heat that drives people bonkers here. Others the humidity. Or the strange mix of ex-pats who cross the border here from Thailand on visa runs, keeping themselves topped up with Chinese beer and Indian whisky while they while away the days doing little.
Bonkers it certainly is though. From the Japanese [...]
May 25, 2009
Peace in Penang
Some places that are overrun with backpackers make a real effort to keep them happy, with others it seems sometimes that you can’t leave quickly enough for their liking.
Some locals act like you’re a walking moneybox, or some kind of blonde western sex toy, rather than just have a chat or treat you like [...]
May 24, 2009
Thin end of the wedge
Night markets, I have found, are the perfect place to strike up a political conversation. The low lighting, the free-flowing lager, people of all cultures, ages and races – all this seems to be conducive to delving into the nitty-gritty of governance, the shoulda, coulda, woulda of those in control of our lives.
And so [...]
