Back in London, I had been planning our Malaysian itinerary when something in the guidebook caught my eye: “Wah Aik, 103 Jalan Kubu. Renowned for making silk shoes for bound feet. With foot binding no longer practised, the shoes are now lined up in the window as souvenirs, at a mere RM75 per pair.” I…
Category: Malaysia
Malaysia Part 11 – In the Night Market
Melaka was livelier in the dark than she had been in the daylight. Once we’d bade farewell to Cedric, we walked across to Jonker Street, past the miniature windmill surrounded by a perfect bed of flowers that would look more appropriate in Disneyland. It was a very different place to the one we’d left that…
Malaysia part 10 – Cedric makes Melaka
Owning a rickshaw is serious business in Malaysia. It’s not just about cycling your heart out as you transport passengers from A to B in exchange for Ringgits. You need and an eye for clashing colours, a friend in the plastic flower business and Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen flair; anything to make your ‘shaw stand out from…
Epic postcard moments 1
I’m not getting much time to write at the moment, so I’ve decided to post some of my favourite photos. In Langkawi, Monsieur and I experienced some of the most astounding sunsets imaginable. It’s as if the earth is on fire all around you, with a blaze of colour hanging in the sky and…
Malaysia Part 9 – Melaka Moments
As Monsieur had selected most of the hotels for our Malaysian holiday, I decided to find something a bit different for our time in Melaka. Trawling tripadvisor, I found repeated reference to the Hotel Puri, its fabulous antiques and themed rooms and the über-efficient Madame Jo who ran front desk. If the five-star hotels we’d…
Malaysia, Part 8: Hey Mambo, Melaka!
We were soon to leave the island state of Singapore to return to Malaysia, but first we enjoyed a last breakfast on the terrace outside The Line. There was no more rain. Isn’t that typical? It had rained off and on the whole time we’d been in Singapore but on our day of departure the sun…
Malaysia/Singapore Part 7: Bumboats and hotpants
Monsieur and I left the bowling ball bullfrog behind on Clarke Quay as we jumped on a bumboat (a.k.a. junk) to take us up the Singapore River. It was late afternoon grey as our almost empty boat set off from the jetty. Up the green river we went, under the pedestrian Riverwalk bridge and adjacent…
Malaysia/Singapore, Part 6: From Fortunes to Frogs
Today Monsieur and I swam before breakfast. Down at the pool it was raining hard and an attendant wearing bright orange gators stopped us before we could swim. “If there’s thunder or lightning, you must get out of the pool EE-ME-DEE-AT-LEE.” he stressed each syllable and looked us hard in the eyes to be sure…
Malaysia/ Singapore, Part 5: In the Night Zoo
I’m not really a zoo person, but I’d been assured that the Night Safari in Singapore was different. Curious to see for ourselves if it was as animal-friendly as we’d heard, Monsieur and I went back up the road for Johor Bahru to talk with the animals. The park itself was opened in 1994 and…
Malaysia, Part 4: A Cold Bus to Singapore
The morning of our journey to Singapore, we were woken by an orchestra of wake-up calls and alarms, set the night before to ensure that we did not sleep late. With somewhat fragile heads, the legacy of hitting the KL night life the previous evening, we made it to Pudu Raya bus terminal intact. There,…
Malaysia, part 3: Biba’s, The Batu Caves, The Beatles and Beer
Today, miracle of Malaysian miracles, Monsieur and I made it to breakfast on time. This was of particular importance as Biba’s, the hotel breakfast restaurant, had been cited as being a favourite destination for martial arts man, Jackie Chan, apparently fuelling his lethal flying side kicks. I wondered what it would do for us. The…
Malaysia, part 2: Immersion
Apparently Monsieur and I were not immune from jet lag, in spite of keeping to local time on arrival. We slept fitfully that first night and when we finally dragged our heavy bodies down to breakfast, it was all gone. What next? We decided to talk to the concierge about our sightseeing options, but he…
Epicurienne 