the world

I arrived at Bali airport and I had to wait as Julia was coming 2 hours later. Their flight was late and I sat at the airport looking at everyone coming out one by one. It was a fun thing to do for few hours. Finally a bule arrived, he was from U.K and had a very pretty prostitute with him. The whole airport was looking at them as she was pretty. They sat right next to me. So it was becoming interesting here. Finally Julia arrived with Sonia in tow. As soon she came out she remembered that she had for gotten a bag in the plane. We had to wait another half hour or so to get the bag. It was found finally. We were lucky.

While waiting for the bag to be found I was chatting with Sonia and I realized she was in a bad mood. God knows what was wrong with her but I think it was me who was upsetting her. I was too friendly with Julia i think. She was the type of person you just dont want to hang around with more than 5 minutes.

Sonia had booked a hotel in Sanur beach which was a normal hotel with triple the price. She has badly messed up. I wasn’t happy but I had no choice as it was just a normal hotel mentioned in the guide book. The one I wanted to go was better and cheaper, I found out later.
I told her and she wasn’t happy. She wasn’t happy at all since she arrived. She was fed up of Julia who arranged her holiday. She was just fed up of every thing. Sonia wanted to sleep on the beach and do nothing. Julia had arranged an adventure holiday for her. I really doubted she would ever come back to Asia. This wasn’t for her. She missed her flat in Germany, she missed her bathroom in Germany, she missed her city streets, she kept on telling us.

why do people like her exist, i fail to understand. why do they ever come out of their cities and their clean beds? they dont deserve any sympathy and least of all from me. i dislike them.

Also there was really a big jealousy thing going on with Sonia. She was really jealous of Julia and me speaking several languages and getting along so well. The next day I just told Julia that I don’t want to travel with them. I don’t want Sonias moody behavior. She was becoming rude and I was getting really angry. I don’t tolerate such behavior from any one. If it wasn’t for Julia I was going to tell Sonia what she really was or what I thought of her.

Julia had a chat with her at night and told her to behave I think. The next day we rented a car and all left for exploring the island. This again was a kid’s holiday. Sonia being the kid who was looked after by Julia. Julia was asking her every minute if she wanted this or that etc etc. Sonia was just a spoiled and moody girl who deserved no ones sympathy. I told Julia that I doubt she would see her again. Julia was also very surprised with her behavior. Well some people just don’t grow up.

Our first stop on the journey was a beach in Bali for surfers. We got there and Julia and I went for a swim in raging waves. The route was through a cave and a lot of steps coming down from the cliff. Sonia was on periods so she didn’t go. She took photos of us from the top of the cliff. After we finished swimming, suddenly there was a flood of brown river water coming down. It was so fast that it was difficult to climb the stairs to get back to the village at the top. Sonia just refused to climb it. I had to hold her hand again to get her up there. She was not thankful at all for all my help. It was a thank you that was difficult to come out from her throat.

There were baths and they both took baths as we thought the water was from a drain. It was actually from a river as it had suddenly rained in the mountains around and the water reached the sea now.

Our next target was a temple on the sea shore where they perform dance in the setting sun. The location was just magical. It was cloudy though when we went there but this was a cliff hanger. You could see miles away in the sea. Thick black clouds were coming at us while we watched the dance performance. After the dance we met Julia’s parents who also were doing an organized trip here. We were the last people to leave when it started to pour down. This was a heavy storm coming our way and the sky was just black in colour.

We managed to find a hotel here with a massive swimming pool and us only. Julia and I went straight in to the pool as there was no water in the bathroom. Electricity had gone and it was pitch dark with heavy rain. As soon as we jumped in the pool, all I could hear was Sonia saying I am hungry I am hungry. We had to get out as she was complaining as usual. Dinner was in an empty restaurant with a storm and candle lights. It was nice to sit and watch the rain hit everything hard and eat in candle light.

Next day we left for a temple in Bali which is on a little rock which is separated from the mainland by shallow water. This shallow water becomes deep when it is high tide. We did not know that we won’t be able to access it in the after noon. So it was a bit of a disappointment. We walked through along line of shops till the sea shore where we could see it but not visit it. There was one shop with all sorts of animals to take photos with and I chose a python. Julia and I went to take photos with the python wrapped around out necks. It was heavy and very big, it weighed 40 kilos.

I just sat in a cafe afterwards to drink a cup of tea and they both went for shopping. After 2 hours or so they both came back and we left in pouring rain, heading for a beach for surfing. This was a black sand beach and by the time we got there it was almost dark. Sonia went for a walk while I ordered the food. They just had only one dish, Chicken with rice.

After eating we sat looking at the surfers, surfing in big waves, and then Julia decided to go for a swim with me. She was fun to be with so I changed into my swimming trunks and we both went for a swim, playing with the waves while Sonia just sat there doing nothing, looking at us.

When we came back Julia started to talk to the surfers and one guy was French. Sonia spoke fluent French so I asked her to talk to him jokingly. She went for it and later in the car told us proudly that we both could not talk any French. She had inferiority complex too as we both spoke so many languages.

Our next target was Ubud, a relaxing artistic city with temples around it. We reached Ubud at 9.30 pm and everything was closed. The hotel where we were supposed to stay was full and the receptionist sent us to the next door bungalows. This was heaven as the bungalows were the best hotel I have ever stayed in throughout my journey. Run by a very nice pregnant woman, there was a manicured garden surrounded by bungalows with each with a balcony. There was a thermos with hot water and tea bags and sugar to make tea when ever you wanted. It was no doubt very clean with white linen every where. It was a very very nice pace to stay. Shame I don’t remember the name but it was in an alley off the monkey forest road. Price was also nice....Rs 100,000 for one night with breakfast.

We went to the local bar to have dinner as everything else was closed by now. With the music Julia went to dance and Sonia had to follow suit. They were joined by a waiter in a goatee beard, high on drugs. He was hugging Sonia and even asked her to stay the night with him. Sonia was really happy with this attention.

Diner was pizza only as they had no other food. After eating we left and next morning we went to see the city. This was a one lane town with the most beautiful restaurant I have ever seen in my life. The restaurant was inside the temple and there was a big pond with water lilies in it, going all the way up to the stairs till the temple door. It was magical. Sitting there watching the lilies, the water, the temple covered in green moss, and reflection of all that in the water.

This was the last day for the girls as they had booked a taxi to take them to the airport. We left after lunch and they left immediately afterwards. We hugged and when the taxi left I could see Julia waving back until the taxi did a turn and disappeared. I waved back with a pinch in my heart. It was saddening to see her leave. I really enjoyed her company and she was fun to be with. I had gotten used to her, I went back to the hotel with a heavy heart.

Next day my trip was to see the local temples and then leave for seeing the rice terraces of Bali. I managed to do all that in one day but the temples around Ubud were nothing special. By the time I reached the village where they have the rice paddies, through, a green as green can be, country side, it was dark and I just went to the first guest house I found. I woke up early morning and went to see the sunrise over the Bali.

It was spectacular as the sun rose, it went through the clouds spreading its rays. All i could see were distant volcanoes with clouds below their peaks. It was mystical no doubt.

After breakfast I went to see the most spectacular temple I had ever seen with no one at the temple. I was alone and I could do what ever I liked there. I took the chance and climbed all holy things to take photos at my pleasure. There are two temples but the one mentioned in guide books is nothing special. The second one is not in any guide book and I found it through a banner hanging in the village. I lfet after spending an hour or so there.

I drove all the way back to the main road to Singaraja and continued my journey to Singaraja. I went all the way up to the mountains and then went down. Along the way is a lake which has a beautiful temple in the water. It was really serene to watch the clouds bounce off the water and with the setting of a temple there. I had a buffet lunch there. Balinese were coming there to pray as this was their festival to remember the dead. All women dressed in their most colorful. Whole families in their colourful dresses coming to pay respect to the dead, carrying the offerings on their heads. while eating my lunch i just sat there watching them come and go.

Next was another lake called Lake Batur. I was looking for it when I asked a man who happened to be the brother of a hotel owner. He took me down to the Crater Lake till his brother’s hotel. Lake Batur was again a crater lake with volcanoes surrounding it. Batur was an active volcano and last erupted in 1990, lava was every where, Agung volcano was on one side too. It was a Beautiful lake with vegetable fields around it especially red hot chillies. Touts were rough here and they were trying to grab any one they could to make money, another reason no one comes here.

I stayed one night without going to the thermal waters. I was pushed really hard to buy a trek to see the sunrise but I declined. It was US$60 for the 30 minutes trek. It was too expensive for such a little trek and I could see the sunrise from the main road if I went there by car.
I left in the morning and drove around the lake. You could easily spend few days here just staring at the lake. Where clouds bounce off the water surface, volcanoes covered with green trees and people. who work around it, planting the crops, tending their fields. Women and men taking baths in the same lake and most did it naked, children oblivious of any worry in the world, swimming just naked as their fathers did the same.

I went back up to the main road to see another beautiful temple full of devotees in a ceremony to remember the dead. You could see the volcanoes in all their glory from the back of the temples. This was the rim of the crater where the temple had been placed.

Remember you have to pay to enter these temples and this is very touristy. Though there were no tourists in sight except me.

Afterwards I left through the Bali interior till Singaraja. Here there are no tourist and hence people are really nice. I had to ask my way again and again as the signage was really bad. I had managed to escape the Australian hordes and get to real Bali. I was really enjoying it by now. The route itself was so beautiful, I climbed all the way up in the clouds and went down to sea level. I missed the waterfall that I was supposed to see. It was cold up there and I wasn’t in a mood to get colder.

Traveling alone in a car is fun while listening to Spanish, Turkish and Arabic music. Music makes the journey more romantic than it is, but this time all fitted perfectly. If you get here do not forget to do that by car. Motor bikes are useless on going up and dangerous on turnings.
My route took me from one end of Bali to the other. I was going to Pura Besakhi temple now which, meant doing a U turn and travel parallel to my journey but back wards.

I found no tourists and this was a scene from a movie. It was so so beautiful. I had to ask several times to find the temple. But I finally found it. It was the biggest and the most beautiful temple in Bali. Stairs going all the way till the top of the temple with multi layered pagodas and golden doors and not forgetting the constant hassle by the touts. It was infuriating to be asked for money constantly. I was also upset as I was stopped by the police along the way and I had to pay Rs 100,000 bribe to get away. My driving license from U.K was useless and I was supposed to have an international license which, I was not told I do not need, by the car rental company.

I really enjoyed the beauty of this massive temple but I left quickly. I was the last one leaving as it started to rain. My next stop was a water temple right in the heart of Bali. I finally found it among the green rice paddies and terraces with every shade of green you could ever imagine.
It was almost dark when I got there. I stayed in the hotel which was right next to the water temple. This was a built by a water loving local king and it was ponds upon ponds with statues of monsters and funny looking Chinese statues. Some ponds were full of water lilies and you could imagine the toads sitting on them, waiting to be kissed.

I saw it first ting in the morning as me being the only tourist. You can swim too in 2 ponds but I didn’t. I had to return the car in Sanur which was good 2 hours away. I left after seeing it and I made it just on time to return the car. I took a taxi to the watering hole hotel where I originally wanted to stay. This was again 2 minutes to the beach and very nice well maintained hotel.

After staying one night I left for Kuta the main holiday destination for all things Australian. It was bound to be crap with partying Australians getting drunk. Well it didn’t disappoint me. It was actually worse than that but it had its own charms. The beach was a surfing beach with lovely sunsets. Kuta was a heaven for shopaholics. Full of everything and of course the famous Kapu Kapu Malam. It means a butterfly which sits on different flowers, call it a traveling butterfly or an exploring butterfly.

Yes, it meant a local prostitute. Their lives fascinate me and I wanted to talk to some.

I stayed in Kedin 2 hotel with a swimming pool built around some bungalows. I received an email from Alvaro and Marta that they are also here. We set up a meeting in El Kabron restaurant. I have never ever seen such a beautiful setting for a beach restaurant. It was perched on a cliff, with a swimming pool in front and then you could see the waves roaring all the way to the heaven. Sunset was amazing from there. Unfortunately I lost the photos due to a virus from el Kabron. If you ever go to Bali and don’t go to El Kabron, you just didn’t see Bali.

Marta and Alvaro were staying in another hotel in Ulu Watu and were surfing all the times. We had Spanish food in the restaurant though it was expensive. They left promising to meet again but fate had other plans. We could not meet again. I really liked them and they were genuinely nice people. Sort of people you stay in touch forever. I invited them to London when my flat would be empty.
this is the type of people which make your journey a pleasure. World has few of them.

I came back on my rented scooter to Kuta, then I went out to Sky Garden, a mix of several dance floors. With fire shows and the lot, I didn’t meet any Malam there but I could see some.

Then the following night I went to Seminyak beach to dance salsa in Bahiana. It was nice music with Cuban salsa. I met a couple from Miami, the guy was actually a Greek and the girl was a tall Chilean. Both had been traveling for 3 months and been to Nepal. We laughed a lot about the cold and the treks there. They went to India too and were full of stories about it. They could dance salsa better than me I think, but Cuban salsa. I like Colombian salsa more as it is more rhythmic. It was fun night to be and we had a good laugh about things.

And then I met a Malam. She was from Java and 35 years old, with a 12 years old son. She came as she was poor, two years ago. Her name was Noor Yanti. Good looking too she was.

She told me that she was offered by an Australian to marry but she could not. He wanted to visit bars and clubs and drink and drink. She wanted to stay at home and be a wife. Apart from that no one asked her to marry. She told me stories of a lot of girls who got married to Bules from all over the world. These girls were Muslims and hated prostituting themselves. They had no chance in life as her old job she was earning RS 20,000 per month in Java. Yes that’s 2 dollars a month.

She told me that to stop working she needed a lot of money. Which she was never going to earn. She spent her money paying off her rent and school for her son, and fulfilling her son’s wishes. She didn’t want to go back to working in a Warung (a local restaurant in Bhasa indo).

Some of her friends made it out of the game and opened food stalls in java and were happy. She got married at 17 and then got divorced some time later, ending with a son. Her sister knew she was a prostitute but others didn’t know.

No one cared for her and she was alone, looking after herself. Sad story I think, to have no one who loves you or cares about you. No one ever calls to find out if you are ok or not, or are dead or alive. Reminded me of my life which is probably the same, though in different professions.

She was living on the edge as sometimes for weeks she has no customers so she has to borrow money from loan sharks to pay things. So she is forever in debt. Just paying off her bills and living from day to day basis. I wanted to help her but she wanted more money to live. These girls can very rarely go back. Some do most don’t. Easy life with more money is something you cant leave easily. She took my phone number and kept on sending me text messages, asking me to hire her. I politely declined as she was playing with my soft side. Tomorrow is my flight to Bandung to visit my school and the city where i will live for the next 4-5 months.

It is 29th of January 2012 and time now is 2225.

It was an amazing journey through all those countries. My last thoughts are, beauty and ugliness of life just exist side by side. This world is full of immense beauty and immense pain which, I saw in the faces of the people who live and die as i write this blog. One day we all will be gone too where we came from. Every sunset, every mountain, every beach, every desert, every wave and every wind will still be here, without us.

I arrived by ferry at Dumai port in Indonesia with a young Dutch couple. They were led away by the customs and their bags were thoroughly checked. No one asked me anything.

After the immigration we were asked by a tout if we want a taxi to the bus station etc. I said yes and now the tout was walking with me. While the bags of the Dutch couple were searched I asked him why my bags were not searched. We were joined by a customs official and now we were all smoking inside the arrivals hall under the no smoking sign. Customs officer told me that there is a serious Ecstasy problem in Indonesia which is brought in by these young Europeans to sell. Hence the through check.

Once they finished the check the tout took us outside where all the other touts were waiting like vultures for the Bules (foreigners in Bhasa Indonesia) dollars. I knew that on ports this is always the case and its best to stick to one tout so the others can leave you alone, will cost you a dollar extra but it will save you from all the haggling and hassle.

I wanted to go to Bukit Tinggi but it was over 12 hours by car, a bus would take ages. I had no plans of spending my life in cars or buses. I don’t do that usually. My limit is 8 hours max in any vehicle. I had to make a night stop in Pecan Baru to break the journey and then continue the next morning.

Sumatra has really bad roads and the public transport is the cherry on the cake as it is also very poor. Buses are cramped and take forever to go any where as the roads are all single lane. Only idiots and locals take a bus in Sumatra. I was dropped off at a private taxi office where I would share the 6 seater with 4 other people. This is a nice new Toyota 6 seater which is comfortable and you can stop any where you like within reason.

Price for 8 hours was 125,000 rupees. That’s US$12, not bad for an 8 hour journey. I sat right at the back with all Indonesians who were very curious as to why Bules come to Sumatra. So the usual questions were asked, where I am from, why am I single still, do I want to marry, etc etc.

After 8 hours we arrived safely in Pecan Baru which is a massive city. Oil was discovered here and the city grew over night with zero planning. The streets were dark with no signs and it was a total maze. The driver dropped everyone to their doorstep. My door was to be a hotel which was full. I went to another and then another and then the driver dropped me to a hotel where a young man could speak English. It was reasonably clean but had seen better days. Price for a room was Rs 100,000 which is US$10. I was starting to like this country.

I went out of the hotel to have my first dinner in Indonesia. It was an eye opener. In Indonesia they just don’t have hot food. Food is cooked once a day in the morning and then put on display. All you get is cold food with hot rice. So in theory the rice warms up the food a little. Well this theory wasn’t working n my case. I went to a local restaurant which looked clean but and there is a big but here. The food in display always has flies on it. Considering this is a tropical country the flies are inescapable. You just find them in every nook, cranny and crevice and hole. This is what I found out later that my companions on my journeys would be flies every where.

I had no choice but to eat cold food with hot rice and watch the little cockroaches doing a walk about here and there.

Next morning I went to the bus station to catch another taxi to Bukit Tinggi which itself was another 8 hours away. Indonesians have a word for time. They call it Rubber time as it can be what ever, meaning stretchable to few hours up and own. Dumai was not 12 hours from Bukit tinggi but 16 hours by car. By bus it would take you an eternity which I didn’t have the luxury of.

I made the right choice by staying the night in Pecan Baru and breaking the journey in half. Only zombies could do such long distance in buses.

I found a shared taxi immediately and it left after 2 hours for Bukit Tinggi, though I was told we would leave in 30 minutes. Like I said it was flexible time. But finally when all the passengers had arrived, we left and wow...I was literally made to pray on every turn. The driver was driving like mad max on bumpy roads and over taking on every blind turn. I had no choice but to pray and pray more for my safe arrival.
I think we should introduce these loving God fearing dare devils to Europe. I am sure they would make a lot of atheist believe in God after a journey.

The route to Bukit Tinggi goes through mountains and the scenery was spectacular. Lush green paddies with coconut trees and techni coloured mosques. It was spelling binding; all I needed was some music to just get lost in this beautiful scenery. People living as they have lived for ages , busy in their daily lives, totally oblivious of the rest of the world. Ignorance is bliss indeed. But all i could do was to keep one eye on the road and one on the scenery.

After 8 hours through this beauty and with my blood pressure some where in the sky, we arrived in Bukit tinggi. BT was a hill resort of some type with 2 volcanoes guarding the town. Merapi is active and is churning out smoke every now and then; reminding the residents that life is indeed short and can be cut really short if it exploded.

I checked in to Orchid hotel which was mentioned in the lonely planet. As always I was paying Rs 100,000 for a room. This was cold town as at night it would get chilly. I booked a trek to see Merapi volcano. There was a finish man staying here too who was looking for a Bule to share his costs. As it happened that I was the only other Bule in town and so we both decided to share the costs of the trek and the guide.

This gentleman extraordinary was here on a short holiday and was found drunk every night. He managed to locate a prostitute and found out that this town had only one prostitute. I am sure the whole town knew her as there was no other prostitute. I wanted to take her photo if I found her but she was indeed a busy girl. The finish man was desperately looking for sex.

Next day we took the trek leaving at 530 am but the finish man was late as he had been drinking last night. It was a one day trek and we were supposed to leave very early but instead we left late in the morning, at around 8am. I waited 2 hours for the idiot and it really pissed me off. I didn’t talk to him much on the trek. He was finish anyway so there was no point talking to these unfriendly sons of bitches as I call them now. They have nothing to talk about in the first place except drinking and screwing prostitutes and girls.

By the way most men think and talk about women as if they all prostitutes, though they would never say it in front of any woman. With me or other men, they just open up their loving personality, being a man has its advantages I suppose. What makes me really smile is that when a woman turns up they just change like a chameleon to a gentleman. I could see the lust in their eyes even though they might just be with a wife or a girl friend.

Ilham was our guide and he was a very nice young man who finished university with major in 2 languages. I spent my time talking to him and he was a Muslim. So we had some thing in common to talk about. Mr. Finnish man wasn’t so happy about being left out of the conversation but I really didn’t care.

The trek itself wasn’t anything special. It was cloudy when we started but it didn’t rain. Ilham told me that it will be 4 hours trek, well again this was a flexible time and the trek wasn’t over in 6 hours. As an experienced climber I looked at the peak and I could calculate the time which Ilham couldn’t do.

But by the time we reached at the lava scree, it started to rain and heavily. I was just fed up as I had seen nothing and looking at a dead volcano with no view was not my idea of fun. Everything was covered in clouds as far as i could see. I wasn’t planning on drenching in rain just so that I could reach the top of this little hill. We were about 600 meters away from the top and it started to rain too much. That was it, I refused to go up and I left them two to go up. I walked down and the trees were at least stopping the rain to some extent. I was totally wet from the rain. And then I saw a Gibbon sitting on a tree a bit far away form me. I had been walking for 1 hour now. As soon as I saw him, I heard Ilham from behind. They both also decided to come back after some climb so they were right on my tail.

The Gibbon had disappeared as soon as he heard Ilhams shouting. This is wild jungle and Gibbons or any animals do not like seeing us.

We walked back finally to the starting point and there were tomatoes and carrots in the fields. I wanted to steal some but Ilham asked the owners who allowed us to take some. I love taking vegetables out form the ground, wash them and eat them. Tomatoes and carrots were a little compensation for this useless trek. If it was sunny this would have been a lovely trek to see all the peaks around us but being monsoon, it was not to be.

We took a mini van which dropped us in a village. There was a famous shop there selling and cooking fresh hot coconut cakes. These were special cakes as they had other stuff in it too. They were being cooked on an open fire and it was nice to eat them and dry ourselves in the heat.

This was monsoon season in Sumatra and the rain finally caught up with us. It rained so much that it was just difficult even to walk till the road to catch a taxi or a mini van. We waited drinking teas and eating more coconut cakes. Finally we found a mini van where I had to stand up. Not forgetting that these mini vans are made for Indonesians who are very small. I had to bend myself all the way as there was no space.

Ilham had become my friend and he asked me if I wanted to attend a wedding. There was no way I would refuse to attend a wedding in a foreign country. He promised to take me the next day.

Next day another guide took me to the wedding. The bride was stunningly beautiful. Dressed up in a traditional Chinese wedding dress she was a sight to behold. The wedding dress was the one you usually see in Hong Kong kung fu movies or Chinese period dramas. Some times I wonder how such beauty is hidden in those little villages, in mountains, in deserts with no one to appreciate it, they get married and spend the rest of their lives producing children and cooking and cleaning. This was such a wedding with such an ending as well. This was her one and only finest moment in her life.

Food was on low tables in front of the bride and groom and I ate with the guide and I was asked a lot of questions by the women there. After the food we took photos with them and shook hands. They didn’t mind a bule coming here as I was a Muslim and that was fine by them. I think a Christian man would not be made welcome as the finish man was not brought here. I think the family refused to have unwanted guests and exception was made for me as I was a Muslim and a guest according to Islam.

This was no doubt a beautiful moment. These people were poor peasants and the poverty was obvious from all angles. I had to give some money as a gift and I gave generously.

Near Bukit Tinggi is Lake Maninjau which is among the most beautiful lakes in the world. Well if its not then it should be as it is a crater lake. It was just magical. Reminded me of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Maninjau was a bit smaller than Atitlan. But Beauty which can’t be explained in a blog. I spent a day there. It was cloudy as this was monsoon but I can just imagine its beauty in full sun.

My time was almost up there but I took another tour of the local country side which was full of water falls. I wished it was better weather so I could swim in the water falls but no luck. Next time I suppose, with someone, I promised myself.

I left for Sibolga but it was a big problem. There is no transport at day time. Sibolga is 12 hours from Bukit Tinggi. I had to talk to a lot of agencies to finally find a van rented by a girl who was taking her massive bales of clothes for her shop. I sat on the front with her. She was good looking girl with few extra kilos. I think she was about 28-30 which I found out that she was. She tried talking to me but I didn’t know any Bhasa Indonesia. So the other family was translating it for us. She was chatting me up. At the end of the journey she took my telephone number and asked me to come to Sibolga again to learn the language for free with her. I doubted if she would call me. She didn’t.

The journey was through the Sumatran country side which never gets any bules coming this far or deep into the country. Peaceful, lush green villages with very few people, rice paddies and raging rivers, hills covered with clouds and mountains which had no names as far as I was concerned. It was amazing journey with no tourist in sight and real Sumatra all around me. This was why I travel.

My plan was to visit the Nias islands where they have a tribe living in virtual isolation and they are usually naked. Women are all topless. But I decided to visit north of Sumatra first. I left following morning to Lake Toba. Well it was supposed to be a short journey but ended up 7 hours by so called public transport. I finally made it at night time and all the boats to the island had stopped by then. I had to crash in to a local crappy hotel.

Following morning I took the boat to Samosir Island. Lake Toba is massive. Well size of Singapore and bang in the middle is an island called Samosir Island. This is Christian country and these people are Bataks. Samosir was an up and coming area for tourism but all back packers just disappeared from here. Now only lost souls come here.

Bataks were converted to Christianity by the Dutch and some to Islam. But mainly they are Christians. Bataks were living in virtual isolation until the early 19th century. It was only 100 years ago that they stopped eating each other. They were all cannibals. They were always fighting with each other and hanging skulls of the enemies in the house as trophies was a common practice. They were so distrustful of their neighbors that there were no paths connecting two villages. Not surprisingly as they had to kill an enemy even to get married.

This cannibalism was only stopped by the Dutch about 100 years ago. So now they don’t kill each other but the distrust of the outsiders is still common. Locals are not very friendly and it is obvious in their behavior. Visa problems and locals trying to screw back packers played its part and now it is off the pancake trail.

I rented a motor bike and did a full circle of the island. I still did not find any charming villagers. It was suspicious behavior all the way through. The setting is again extremely pretty but it was cloudy. Still in the light rain and clouds I could see the view of the lake. Bataks are famous for their multi story graves. They build funny looking graves and top it with a statute of the dead.

I spent my days walking around in the island and going on lakeside at different spots. It was spectacularly pretty but sadly due to the behavior of the locals no one wanted to come here.

I left after few days for Medan. A megapolis in Sumatra which according to lonely planet gets rave reviews as the worst city you ever been to. Choked with traffic and smoke, without much to see and roads that you can’t cross unless you are a trapeze artist, no wonder it was on the top of the worst cities in the world.

I spent one night there and left for Bukit lawang. This is where you find Orangutans. I met two girls in the morning in the taxi which was supposed to take us all the way to Bukit lawang. They were Germans. As soon as I got in Julia introduced herself with her name and a shake hand. Sonia followed her example. I was shocked, Germans and friendly?

As the journey progressed I found out that Julia also speaks 7 languages like me. She spoke Spanish and Turkish too as she lived in Adana in Turkey, where my sister lives. I was shocked. I have never ever met anyone who spoke as many languages as me. No wonder she was very friendly as she had lived in different countries. On top she studied religions and was pretty fluent in Sufism. We chatted and became friends very quickly. I had serious suspicions that our friendship would go on for a very long time.

We stopped at several places along the way to take photos. Julia was a tree hugger. She was hugging all tress and feeling them. Which I found very funny. I started to joke about her behavior but she didn’t mind. She just laughed about it which was a plus point in itself. People who can’t laugh at themselves are mean bad tempered people.

Julia was a red head with a very pretty photogenic face, she been teaching German here in Indonesia and could also speak Bhasa Indonesia a little. She did a course in Bhasa indo she told me. Sonia was a total opposite. She was a brunette, skinny and looked fragile. I doubt she ever did any adventure traveling before as she didn’t look the type who would do such things. She was doing a PhD in some migrant worker movements in Europe.

They were friends since childhood. But totally opposite.

We arrived in Bukit lawang and met up with the group with whom we were to do trekking in the jungle to see the orangutans. Luz and Arnie were Dutch, hardly 19 and were travelling together as a couple. Luz was very pretty and Arnie was a male model look alike. Both were very friendly too. Marta and Alvaro were from Pais Vasco. Marta was a teacher who just finished her teaching diploma plus she was a competition swimmer. Alvaro was a typical Spanish man, funny and joking all the time, worked as a tourist guide. Marta had black hair and body of a swimmer. She was pretty in a sultry way. Alvaro had a stubble with a slight moustache. Handsome man if he shaved his stubble. Both were very funny. All we did was made jokes with them.

Next morning we all left for the trek. It wasn’t a hard trek. We met Thomas lee monkey and that’s all. Then finally we saw the semi wild orangutans. They were all females with babies. We could not go near as they were in trees but the guides were calling them so they came hoping for some food I suppose.

After midday we met the famous orangutan called Meena. Meena was the naughty one with a baby too. She came charging at us. The guide panicked and told us to run. I was the first in the line and Meena came right at me. As we all turned back and ran, Meena was frantically running after, well me. As I was the last in the queue. I looked back while running and she was only a meter or 2 behind me. I knew she would grab me and bite me. Marta was in front of me so I had no choice. I jumped a bush and got in front of Marta. Now Marta was the last one and Meena was after her. Well I did think for a second about Marta but I had no choice. Save my self or Marta...well myself at the end.
This chivalry was never forgotten and we kept on laughing about it for days.

Luckily the guide was running after Meena too. He managed to call of the attack with some bananas. This was a hairy tricky moment.
We finally left the area quickly as Meena was busy eating bananas. We were all scared as these orangutans do attack humans sometimes. With a baby the females can be lethal. You don’t want to mess around with an 80 kilos female with 4 legs.

We walked upwards and upwards but it wasn’t tough. Sonia was getting tired as she was losing control of her feet. This usually happens when you have never walked too much and suddenly walk a lot. The feet just can’t take it any more and you start to loose control and start to slip. She was having the same problem. She kept on saying that she had been exercising in a gym etc but this was too much for her. The trek was a very easy trek with plenty of rest as well. I had to hold her hand many times as she was slipping. She managed to fall few times too. She was on breaking point and was about to cry as I could see or refuse to walk any more. It was only after I encouraged her to walk and hold her hand that she did.

The camp was on the banks of a river and we all took bath in the raging water which was refreshingly cold. No one told us that there are leeches in the water. When I came back at night I found blood on my bed. Then I found blood on my leg and I didn’t remember that I had injured my self any where. Then finally at night I told every one that there are leeches as I found one in the tent.

I looked at my self too and found blood on my bum. It looked like as if I had periods. The leech had gone inside my shorts and sucked the blood and then fell off after drinking enough. Now the blood was coming out non stop and I didn’t even realize it. My shorts were full of blood. The shorts still have blood marks as I use them for sleeping only.

Next day we were taken to see a very fast waterfall and Sonia also went. Julia went skinny dipping with the guide some where else. It was a nice waterfall with water so fast that it was equal to someone doing a massage.

We came back from the waterfall in truck tubes and then left on tubes as well to go back to the hotel. These are truck tire tubes and big enough for 4 people to sit in them. They are fun way to travel in the river which had lots of rapids. After 1 hour we reached the hotel as it was on the banks of the river too.

It was going to be New Year night the next night and I decided to stay here and celebrate it with the crew. As it turned out this was a beer drinking, money making New Year night and we had no stereo to play music. I was bored and I asked Marta and Alvaro to go to a local bar with music. Julia also agreed and Sonia refused to come as she wanted to sleep. Luz and Arnie also wanted to go. But now the problem was I had not much money left. There was no ATM here and my money way running out. Luz and Arnie had the same problem too.

We left after midnight after spending it with cold boring sados from England and Germany and France. Alvaro was laughing when he saw the behavior of these people on New Year eve. In Spain you hug people and kiss them and party where as these idiots were not even shaking hands.

No wonder I dislike these cold selfish people who usually are from northern Europe. Our trekking group was a total exception and we all went to the bar. Two English men tagged along with out even telling us their names.

We had fun dancing. I had a cd with some Spanish music which warmed up the party a little bit. There were a lot of local men there who were drunk or on drugs. At the end one man tried to put Marta’s hand on his private parts in the toilet. The toilet had no locks. Marta and Alvaro left while I was dancing with Julia.

Most of these guides had European girl friends. I often talk to them and they all are only interested in sex. Well so are the tourist girls so they think that all women are loose as they screw just about every nationality. I just don’t like these guides and their attitudes are really shitty. They all offer drugs as the first thing or alcohol. Having no money they want you to pay for them. They behave as if they are also rich but the reality is very different. Every time I look on their faces I find crookedness. This was in every country I visited.

We came back the next morning from the club. It was 6 am and Julia and me walked back on a flimsy bridge. She said hello to the sunrise and then we went to sleep. I had no time as I was to leave at 12 which I managed. As soon as I left he hotel I found thousands of people in the river. It was public holiday and the Indonesians were every where. I took a public bus from the bus station. As soon as the bus got on the main road, there was a traffic jam for miles. Bukit lawang was full of Indonesians holidaying in the river and there were thousands of them.
I sat with an Indonesian girl who was quite pretty and looked educated. She was studying law and could speak English too. She came from Pecan Baru which was really far away. I wondered what she was doing here so far away all alone. Her name was Devi.

After 2 hours stuck in traffic jam the driver called it quits. We all had to get off as he didn’t want to go any where. Me and Devi managed to squeeze into another van with full of returning holiday makers. It took us to do the 3 hours journey in 7 hours. I managed to reach Medan as my flight to Banda Aceh was from here. Devi managed to drop me in front of my hotel in a local van.

Next morning I took the flight to Banda Aceh, the last city in Sumatra. From Banda Aceh I was going to Pulau Weh islands, the last islands of Indonesia. Banda Aceh took the brunt of the tsunami and about 60,000 people died here, the city was really rebuilt after that. I stayed one night there in a local hotel. Next day I took the ferry to Pulau Weh. While I was waiting for the ferry I received a text message from Julia that she, Sonia, Marta and Alvaro are coming too. They all took buses and reached in the morning. I found Alvaro and Marta at the jetty and after an hour or so Julia and Sonia turned up too.

Julia bought the first class ticket and Sonia was with us in the second class. Julia had a little cut on her foot which was really bugging her. She wanted to sit in air con so it can heal quickly. Hot weather makes wounds heal slowly.

After we reached Weh islands, a paradise, and colour of the sea as blue as you could imagine. During the day it would change colours with every hour or so. All there was to do here was snorkeling or diving. I don’t do diving and Julia was scared of the fish and the depth. I too had the fear of the depth but with a life jacket my fear just goes away. I held Julias hand to help her as she was really scared. Fish was plenty and I could see them right outside my beach hut. This was a lazy paradise with nothing to do except snorkel or eat and look at the sea.
Julia and me had long nights on my terrace talking just about everything under the sun. The more I knew her the more I liked her. Her points of views were good and she always came to the right conclusion, a rare quality.

Sonia always went to bed as she just could not stay awake. Some people just do not have much energy regardless of what they eat or how much they sleep. On top she didn’t have much to say either except talk about relationships. I doubt she had many due to her loving personality.

Julia and Sonia left 2 days before me as Julia’s parents were coming to Indonesia. She had to get back to Bandung. I rented a motor bike and did a full tour of the island.

It was no doubt beautiful but the most beautiful part was where my hut was. I just sat outside, on my balcony, looking at the ever changing colours and admiring the beauty, which has no words to explain. It was breathtakingly beautiful, a view that you never get bored of watching for ever. The blue planet is no doubt a sight to behold with all its majesty and beauty.

Alvaro and Marta went diving each day and then finally Luz and Arnie turned up too. This was the old gang getting together. Alvaro and Marta were leaving with me so we had a last night with Luz and Arnie.

Luz was not only young and pretty and nice but with a talent to sing. She could sing really nicely. She was about to start her degree in music in Holland. We all became friends and exchanged face book and emails etc. It was rare to see someone young as hers but with a nice personality and a mature outlook. I read her hand and told her that she will be a traveler like me in future and will never stay in one country for long.

Marta and Alvaro and me all went back to the mainland and I took my flight to Jakarta. My visa was getting short and I needed to get it extended.

Jakarta is a mess of humans, with not many historical buildings, it just has people. Millions of them, using all sorts of transport which means the city is always clogged with traffic and pollution. I got to Jalan Jhaksa where all the bules stay.

There is nothing much to see in Jakarta except night life. Jakarta is the clubbing Mecca for Asians. I wanted to do clubbing seriously and check out all clubs but it was not to be. She had asked me to come to Bali. Julia had found me a language school also where she studied in Bandung where I could do my intensive Bhasa Indonesia course and at a very cheap price.

I stayed in hotel Tator in Jalan Jhaksa which was safe and clean. Ihsan who works there speaks fluent English and is very vey helpful. He took me to the immigration office and did everything for me. There was no info there in English. Everything was in Bhasa indo. Ihsan refused to take money from me. Instead he took 5 liras from me as his nephew collects money from around the world so I was happy to give him the Liras. It was embarrassing that he spent a whole day with me but wouldn’t take the money. The following day he went with me on his motor bike and we collected my passport again.

I walked in Jakarta in the old port and went to cafe Batavia in the old district. While having a tea I met a retired Old Dutch man who was alone. He was happy to chat with me.

It was history with him as he was a retired civil engineer and his father was a famous person in Maastricht during the early 1900s. His wife had died 7 years ago and he was looking for some adventure. He found a Cambodian girl who went with him to Belgium where he was living. He paid everything or her and gave her a credit card too. Bad mistake. One day he found her driving a brand new Renault sports car, bought with money from his credit card. The girl was young and was partying all the time, he was an old man. So they parted ways but she kept the car and a lot of money too.

He wanted to move to Cambodia permanently as he wanted young girls. He had 3 daughters all married with kids. So there was nothing for him in Europe any more. For young girls you have to come to the third world. He was rich no doubt. We chatted for 2-3 hours and then I had to leave as it was getting late.

I said good bye to him and left to do a walk about in the area. Finally took a tuk tuk to go back which was a mistake as Jakarta was full of traffic.

Next day I went to the port area to see those massive wooden boats unloading cargo on the port. They were really colourful and all looked like a scene form the Sinbad and the 40 thieves.

I saw the independence monument which was a new construction. It wasn’t far from Jalan Jhaksa (Jalan is street in Bhasa Indonesia).
I couldn’t see any bars or clubs or even the museum of Indonesia which is the only thing to see here. I left immediately as Julia asked me to come to Bali straight away. She was already coming there so I booked my flight and the cheapest was leaving the next day.

Its been few weeks that i wrote a blog. I took the Bus from Had Yai in Thailand. I arrived too late in Had Yai and all the mini Vans had gone by that time. There is no mini van after 3 pm in Had Yai for going to Penang in Malaysia. I had to catch a Bus going to Kuala lampur which would have dropped me in George Town in Malaysia. This was the last Bus going to Malaysia and it left Had Yai at 6pm. Once we got to George town i changed my mind and decided to continue to KL. I had to pay the fare for KL so it was my choice where i got off.

Once we entered Malaysia the bus stopped for dinner in a restaurant area. The restaurant was a Malay/Pakistani. A Pakistani man was making nans in a tandoor and delicious tandoori chicken was being roasted in the tandoor. Mana from heaven and i ate what ever i could.

Rest of the journey i was fast asleep as the bus was a VVIP bus. Massive seats and i sat on the top, right on the front with a thai man sitting
next to me.

We got to KL around 5 am in the morning the following day. It was too early to go to any hotel or guest house as i was sure they all would be sleeping. So i went to a restaurant right in front of the Bus terminal and sat with a passengers from around the Asian world. Nepalese, Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and a whole company of Malay soldiers were having their breakfast. It was the usual breakfast served all over Malaysia. Roti Canai (pronounced as chanai) which is actually a paratha in subcontinent. It is a pan cake made with thin flakes of dough all folded together, served with a curry sauce and of course a tea. The Moazzin was calling the faithful to the prayers while i was eating my breakfast.

The guest house i was going to, was in china town which, is right next to the bus terminal. It was about 7 am when i got to the guest house. Run by the Chinese as usual and credit control was very strict. You pay as soon as you have bought a anything. The price of my room with an A/C was 50 Ringgit. Cheap considering you are in the most expensive city in South East Asia.

KL was a disappointment to me as it lacks historical buildings. First day i took the open top bus just to do a complete round of the city. It is a small city as the tourist attractions are all on walking distance from china town. Rest of the city is no use for the tourists as they are all residential areas.

I jumped off the bus near the Merdeka square. This is where the Malaysian Independence was declared. It is an assortment of colonial buildings arranged around a cricket ground. The main building was topped with onion domes and the cricket club was preserved as a reminder. On one end of the cricket ground there was massive flag pole with Malaysian flag flying from the top. It was one of the highest flag poles in the world.

I walked from there to little India where little India mosque was built in Indian/Moghul style. The whole area was full of shops selling all sorts of Indian stuff including food. Opposite the mosque shops were selling all sorts of religious paraphernalia and of course gold. Shops upon shops selling beautiful gold jewelery. This was no 9 carat crap which Europeans are flogged with, this was 22 carat gold which looks and is the colour of money.

I went to a food court where Pakistani food was being served. I could see that the faces were Pakistanis. After ordering the food i asked the man who took my order where he was from. He was from Pakistan and that is why the food was all Pakistani. Malays love Pakistani food and it has taken over the Malay cuisine as has happened in the UK.

By the time i finished with little India the day was over. The guest house had a roof top breakfast area from where you could see all the high rise buildings around you. Breakfast was always cooked and served by a Malay woman wearing a scarf.

China town was always hustling and bustling with shops selling all kinds of Chinese copies of everything you could imagine. Most sellers were Chinese or immigrants. I needed a hat so i went to a stall selling hats. Seller was a Bangladeshi university graduate who asked me if he could some how migrate to some where in Europe and of course asked me about turkey. He had no idea that you need to learn the language of the country you go to work and in his imagination the whole world spoke English. Hence you don't need to learn any language except English.

These people are so backwards that they have no idea about any laws or rules. I been to Bangladesh and Pakistan and people there are living about 150 years behind than the rest of the world. They just don't know it. It is same story all over the 3rd world.

Following day i left on foot and walked all the way to the main railway station which looks like a Moghul mosque.
Next to the old railway station was the biggest mosque in Malaysia. I was stopped by an old man with a beard, who was stopping any non Muslims going in. I told him that i am a Muslim and he let me pass through. It is a new mosque and the designer tried to create some colours by using stained glass which made it look like the bridge of star ship Enterprise.

Next stop was the Petronas towers which used to be the highest building in the world. Among all skyscrapers this was by far the most beautiful building. Inside was a grand shopping center and cinemas and theater as well. I could not go on the bridge connecting the two towers as it was closed for repairs. Not far from the Petronas tower is the KL communication tower. which is few hundred meters higher than the Petronas. I had to pay to go up and look at the KL skyline, filled with skyscrapers.

Near the china town is a beautiful Tamil Hindu temple which is countered by a Chinese temple which is exactly opposite. Both were filled with devotees asking their respective gods for usually only one thing….money. It makes me angry to see these idiots because no religion likes money. Religions came to bring man closer to God and to do that you must forsake all worldly goods especially money. But humans lust for money never ends. It has no bounds.

They all flock to their churches, mosques and temples and ask God for exactly the thing that he hates the most, money. Look around you and you will see this. It always ends when it is too late or when you actually die.

There was nothing more to see in KL and i left for Cameron Highlands. It was a 4 hours journey with the bus rising slowly into the clouds through the meandering road like a coiled snake.

I checked into Daniels guest house where the signboard stated “FUCK THE LONELY PLANET”. His method worked and he was put into the lonely planet. Receptionist was a Malay woman looking like a nun. I had to ask her who she was. She was an ethnic Pakistani actually and her grand father came from Pakistan, she could not speak any Urdu and was a stateless person in her own words. World is full of people like that.

Reflexia is the biggest flower in the world which is found here too. I had to book a trek to go and see that elusive flower. It is not a flower actually but a type of fungus, which we call mushroom. The trip was fun as we walked an easy trail. There were about 10 tourists and a few Chinese too.

One of the girls who came with us worked at the Daniels as a receptionist. She was a typical northern English girl, from Liverpool actually. She was fat and had the typical face which you find up north in the UK. She had been traveling for long time too and was moving from country to country always looking for a job some where. She did not want to ever go back to UK but was fully connected with her friends in Liverpool, as I found her talking to her friends on skype every night.

I thought she needed more time away from UK to loose the connection. It is not easy to live abroad for ever and most people eventually go back at an age when they are no use in their own countries. Lost souls who have a love hate relationship with their own countries or cultures.

The trek was easy but full of muddy paths as it had rained earlier. There was a Chinese couple with a 12-14 years old daughter and a 8-9 years old son. They were not helping their daughter in walking or on steep descents at all. All attention was on the son which I found very shitty thing to do. No one else cared too as all were northern Europeans who most are really selfish anyway. I just cant stand this type of people any more and my patience has totally run out.

I had to help her all the way and hold her hand. The parents were also such idiots that they didn’t even thank me for it. This type of behaviour is just what pisses me off. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

We finally got to the Reflexia and luckily there were two flowers in bloom. It was red in colour and smells like rotten flesh to attract the flies.
rest of the trip was to a tea plantation which was owned by a Scottish family. This family “cleared” the jungle and built a massive tea estate. After the independence they moved back to Scotland but never gave up their estate. They visit the estate once a year to check up on things and of course collect the money. Hundreds of cheap Nepalese labourers were working collecting the tea leaves.

The barracks where they lived were all long and blue coloured as if they lived in paradise. Far from truth as they are paid a pittance and do a back breaking, literally, 12 hour shifts. I asked and they are paid about US$300 per month. Payment is according to the amount of tea leaves they pick. Wearing baskets on their backs they work like worker bees in a bee hive or donkeys, take your pick.

Tea estate was lush green with hills covered with clouds and of course tea plantations. It reminded me of Kipling visiting the Darjeeling tea estates in india during the raj. Kipling writing his books sitting in a veranda of a house, drinking tea form a tea pot covered with a tea cosy, biscuits in one plate, over looking the hills and watching the locals collect tea leaves.

There was of course a cafe too which was selling tea. Where you could buy tea and drink it too, Which of course I did with chocolate croissants. We were given a tour of the tea factory where every machine was from the 18th century. All tea was for the domestic market and I found the brand every where in Malaysia. After this trip we were offered a tour of the usual SE Asian crap i.e an orchid farm, a butterfly/insect farm, and a bird sanctuary. It was raining buy the time we got back.

I took the next day bus straight to Kota Bharu, gateway to the Perhentian islands and the famous Jungle railway. The guest house i went to was run by an old Chinese man who was in his 70s. All the time he was insulting the Malays as right opposite his guest house was a 4 star hotel. I suppose owned by a Malay.

Chinese in Malaysia are not happy as even though they are the richest in the country they want Malaysia to become a tourist attraction like Thailand. Well a big brothel to be exact. No Malay wants the same shit in his country. I agree with the Malays. No decent person with a little bit of self respect would want his country to turn into a massive brothel.

Chinese visit Thailand regularly to enjoy the "Thai hospitality" and are thoroughly screwed by the Thais. This they dont like, they rather have the same brothel in Malaysia so they can make money and do it in an "organized way". At night i was sitting in the garden having a cup of tea and a Chinese man joined me who was a friend of the owners son. He told me that he been to china and it was “heaven”. In the brothels they bring a constant stream of prostitutes and you choose as many as you like. He told me that roughly 1000 prostitutes were paraded in front of them to choose from. But "sadly" you cant do that in Malaysia. He was of course married with kids.

Malays are the nicest people i have encountered so far in SE Asia. They are calm and honest which, is translated by the Chinese as being stupid.

Kota Bharu was in floods as the local river level was rising constantly. I could not visit the local beaches as the road was totally flooded. I left for the Perhentians but i was warned by the locals and the guide book too that they are shut down during the monsoon season. I decided to take my chances. Once i got to Wakaf Baharu from where the boats leave for the islands, i found out that there is still one hotel open even during this time. I stayed in the hotel right opposite the bus stop. The restaurant opposite the bus top was serving Roti Canai and was again run by a Bangladeshi who been living here for 20 years. He was a nice guy and was surprised when i told him that i been to Bangladesh and know Bangladesh better than him. Following morning i went to the jetty at 9am to see if any boat was leaving.

Jetty was organized by Berader who was a character in this little village. Everyone told me to see him if i want a boat to the islands. Berader was very helpful and found me a boat which charged me 60 ringgits. There were a lot of Malays going to the islands too. These were the islanders who lived on the islands and they all were stuck here for the past few days as the waves were too high for a boat.

I found a young Iranian couple with a son who were also going there. They worked in KL doing some thing which i didnt ask.
Journey to the Kecil island was rough. Waves were high and the boat was small. I was scared and i put on the life jacket too. There are many islands here but Kecil island is the one where everyone goes. It is a national park actually and is protected by law to some extent.

We arrived after a 40 minutes hair raising journey as we were tossed around like pop corns. The hotel was the best hotel on the island and it was the biggest as well. I was served by an army of staff, 49 to be exact. It was air conditioned but only during the night as there was no electricity during day time. There were no tourists on the island except me and the Iranian couple. I was charged 30 ringgits for a room which, is usually 150 ringgits during peak season. I quickly made friends with the receptionist and the manager, who were Malays, and all the other staff. They all were from either Bangladesh or Nepal. People always become friendly when you tell them that you been to their country and you liked their country.

The hotel was built on an outcrop of the island, right next to the coral beach. This was the western end of the island. On the northern side of the hotel were two beaches separated by the rocks. One was called the love beach as it was the furthest. You have to walk on rocks to get there.
A mere 10 minutes walk away was the long beach which is the eastern side of the island. This was a very small island, all around were high hills covered in lush green vegetation and were too steep to get in to. I decided to stay here for a week to relax and chill out in a paradise with no one to share it with.

The Iranian Man had brought with him a bottle of Black label and was always drinking the whiskey sitting near one end of the love beach where they had tables. He was in his early 30s and his wife was probably the same age. She was blond, reasonably good looking and was always wearing a one piece swim suit. They stayed for 2 days and then left as there was nothing to do there.

I spent my time everyday, having breakfast on the wooden northern terrace all alone, over looking the sea. Then i would go to the beach and sit under a tree and just listen to the waves crashing on the rocks on the sides. This was the kind of place where you think about the meaning of life. Though there is none but you do think about it. I thought about where my life was going, where I wanted to go actually and about my friends.

People I met through the mist of years, faces and names, some are still here and some got lost in the mist. Never to be seen again. My friends who have never seen what I saw, they probably never will Which, makes me sad to think about.

I thought about this world, how nice it would be if life was fair to the poorest of poor. Whom I saw and see in my journeys but then again who wants to know about that side of traveling. People love the fotos of tropical beaches, coconut trees and lush green vegetation thinking all is well in this paradise. No one sees the poverty which lurks right behind every foto I took. The sadness and feeling of guilt which accompanies any “human” traveler. Which, again there arent many.

The misery is some times unbearable and I always counter it by justifying that I am not God. I am just a passer by who is a peeping tom, who just wants to see everything without changing anything. Ok ok no more philosophy. I know its boring for most people.

I was hoping for a tropical storm but none came during my time there. Long beach was the beach with white sand and I had human company only once there. Normally the monitor lizards which stick their tongues out like snakes and can be 2 meters long were my companions. They look really scary but are not dangerous. I was always sitting in verandas of empty hotels and guest houses and deserted shops and monitor lizards were always looking for turtle eggs. This was the turtle egg laying season. Then one day a man appeared from no where. He looked like a character from pirates of the Caribbean.

His name was Ali, same age as me and he never wore a shirt, always barefoot with a machete in his hand.He looked really spooky in that deserted beach and he was spooky. There was some thing about him that was strange. He ran snorkeling tours during the dry season and in rainy season he looked after all the beach. He been watching me for few days from his huts window. We got talking and he offered me tea which I accepted as there was nothing open. I was dying for a cup of tea. He started to tell me stories of ghosts and the jungle was full of them.I told him that they are probably Ginis and he agreed. He had seen many and they were all Ginis.

While I was talking to him another bearded man appeared who didn’t have a typical malay face. This was the rush hour.

The old man was actually Turkish as his grandfather came form turkey during the ottoman times. He belonged to the nakshbandi sufi order. He had also seen Ginis in the island. He had 11 kids from one wife and he showed me fotos of all of them on his mobile. He was building a guest house in the jungle between coral beach and long island. I left after about 8 days there.

I took a boat which, leaves at 730 am every morning. Luckily sea was calm this time. I caught the local bus to go to Kota bharu, staying one night in Kota Bharu I went to catch the train which leaves at 6 am.

At the train station I met Becky, the only other tourist on the train. Becky was an Ex IT manager for the Metropolitan police in London but she was actually from Liverpool. Mid thirties I think and was good looking. She was totally lost as she resigned her job and never wanted to go back to UK. She was on her way to Singapore and then to Chile, where she was going to teach English. She was looking for a new life in a new country with new people. She asked me if I would like to accompany her to Singapore but I politely declined.

I spent my time in 8 hours journey standing in the door smoking and watching the jungle pass me by or talking to Becky. This was the interior of Malaysia. Palm oil plantations were never ending and the train stopped just about every station there was on the track. Some stations didn’t even have a platform. Just a sign board announcing that it is that Kampung. Kampung is village in Malay.

This was the real Malaysia that I came to see. Houses on stilts and people living the way they have always been, living off the land and living their entire life in their Kampung. This train itself was an engineering marvel as it cuts right through the Malaysian interior. Makes you wonder what humans are capable of, sometimes good and mostly bad.

I got off at Jerantut without saying goodbye to Becky as she was fast asleep. I stayed in this kampung for one night as next day I had to catch a boat to visit the famous Taman Negara forest. I was dropped to the jetty by the tour agency mini van and I was again the only tourist in sight. Boat was wooden and wide enough for 2 people to sit together. We passed Kampung upon kampung along the muddy river with gigantic trees bending and falling into the river and people catching fish .

After 4 hours we got to the Kuala Tembeling, where I was received by the tour agency rep. This was a floating restaurant where I was dropped off. I had my lunch on the floating restaurant and checked into first guest house over looking the river, called River front guest house of course.

In the evening I met a Chinese guide who was the strangest man you could ever meet. He was in his mid 50s, skinny and shirtless. His name is in the lonely planet guide book and all other guide books. He started to talk to me and eventually after few hours of talking I found out why I felt strange. He had few near death experiences and he could read peoples minds. Though he never said it. He told me things only I knew but I just pretended i wasn’t surprised. He was a Chinese but became a Muslim and knew just about everything there is to know about every thing.

Taman Negara is the oldest primary forest in the world, about 150 million years old. People have seen pygmies living in the jungle. This tribe of pygmies is still not discovered yet.This Chinese guide also confirmed it. There are luminescent fungus in the forest and lots of birds and animals. I did the one day trek on my own and walked on the longest canopy walk in the world. Watching the 80 meters tall trees, you feel so small, these trees are thousands of years old.

I wanted to do the 9 days trek into the jungle but there were no tourists. I had no choice but to leave by bus after 2 nights.
I went to Kuantan and after staying a night there, took a bus straight to Singapore.Border crossing was well organized and I stayed in little India as it was the only area of Singapore where you would find any history or culture or buildings.

It was a Saturday when I got there and I to check into a guest house called No 28 Dunlop street. All others in the lonely planet were full. It was clean and new with good staff.

Little India was on full swing as it was a weekend. Smell of curries and colours of saris was every where. All Indians were from south India and immigrant workers there. Internet cafes were full with Indians calling home using skype and western union office had a massive queue of people wanting to send money home. Indian music was blaring every where.

I walked around just feeling the place. There were Hindu temples and mosques and Chinese temples all calling the faithful to some type of God or to their own version of a god. It took me 2 days to see all Singapore from the famous orchard street to colonial area. Singapore was a city and that’s all. It seriously lacks any culture apart from little India. If retail therapy is your thing then jump in by all means. Things don't interest me any more.

I had my lunch at khans restaurant, with cheap and delicious food, in Dunlop street. Dinner was at a restaurant in the same street in a restaurant which had a massive banner declaring they had the best biryani in Singapore, a statement by a tourist. So I decided to try it. No doubt it was one of the best biryanis i have eaten. If you ever go there don’t forget to try it.

Orchard street was a mecca for shopping just like oxford street but I found it the least interesting place in Singapore. Clinically clean with Chinese girls, who all looked like models right out from a glossy magazine, all hanging a shopping bag in their arms.

I went to see the temple of Kali. Kali is the goddess of death in hindusim. She is exactly the same goddess called Medusa in greek mythology and Umme Sabyan in arabic mythology. During the second world war the hindu devotees of Kali asked her to protect them and she did. Bombs rained down on Singapore and all around the temple but none fell on the temple as it was a refuge for the hindus. She is often used for black magic in india and the damn thing works. It was a day to worship lakshami, goddess of money. Temple was full of colourful women singing and bowing to both Kali and lakshami.

After 3 nights in Singapore I left for Melaka in Malaysia. Melaka is probably the most historic city in Malaysia,with red buildings all over town and the old part was particularly nice. This is Dutch and British colonial architecture mixed together.

There were ruins of a church which, over looked the Melaka straits. Inside were many grave stones of dutch nationals who died here during the 1600s. it was a sad and reminder to all that time and death waits for none. Death awaits us all around the corner. The grave stones had full history of the person who died in Dutch language. There was some translation too under the grave stones. They all came here looking for a fortune and died of tropical diseases instead. The whole church smelled of unfulfilled desires. It was upsetting for me.

There were cycle rickshaws in Melaka which were richly decorated with flowers and a sound system too, blaring pop music.
I only stayed here for one night and took the ferry next morning to Dumai in Indonesia.

I arrived in a ferry, ticket was arranged by Newhut bunglows where I stayed in Koh Samui. As ssoon as i landed in koh Phangan I was greeted by rent a motorcycle agents and of course hotel touts. I did some research on the internet and found a place called coco garden resort. It wasnt on hadrin beach where the full moon party is held but few kilometers away, on a beach called lamai beach.

It was a pleasant surprise of wooden huts under coconut palms and the sea was calm like a swimming pool. There is usually no beach here but due to some reason the beach was long as far as you could see in both directions and you could actually walk a kilometer or so before you would find some deep water. bliss. Sea was having a low tide for a week now and it wasnt coming back up.

Run by of course an Englishman who married a local nun (read prostitute) and ended up opening a resort. Service was good as the Mrs owner could speak English. Room were big and clean. Food was good with a very nice service.
While eating your meal you could watch the sun play with the colours of the gulf of Thailand. There was a bar too which was in between the restaurant and the beach. It was run by an english speaking thai barman who only opened it at night. Nice fellow who could tell you all about the island in fluent English.

These kind of places you always find Psychos, weirdos and I dont know what to do with my life types. First guy i met was Eric who actually was a normal, run of the mill, decent and handsome guy from Florida. He was a Sky diving instructor and everyday was reading some books which didnt look like any stupid fiction books. So i asked him. Found out he is studying to pass his final exam of becoming an accountant in USA. Its called CPA there, stands for certified public accountant. He advised me to go to Empuria Bravas in catalonia for a sky diving course as i want to do it too. I told him i already been to Empuria Bravas. He came to study here as he found it cheaper and peaceful to prepare for his exam.

Then i met an Irish middle aged man in his 50s who also married a local Star (again as usual read prostitute) and ended up buying a house here and some other properties. Sadly for him and luckily for the girl, she dumped him after 7 years for?.....yes you guessed it (i think) a 78 years old, young at heart man. He was drunk as Irish usually do and was talking to any one who would end up sitting on his table. Obviously he was very bitter. i think the insult was too much and he was left with nothing to look forward to. He was in love with the Thai girl and she dumped him for an older man for financial security.
All this info was disclosed as i was eating my dinner one evening with a Dutch gilr sitting on my table. She seemed nice and worked as a seller in a dutch fashion company. She met the brother of the owner in a previous visit and was going out with him, when ever she was here. She had met the Irish man before so out came the water works. Irish man was looking for someone who could actually talk in English as a mother tongue. That was me unfortunately. I had to listen to his "sad" story agreeing with everything he had to pour out.

Dutch girl was looking for another boyfriend with whom she could travel some where and after finding out i was "retired" she figured out i had money. She wanted to know me in detail but her boy friend was watching her from a distance. He even came few times to check on her. He realised that she was trying to chat me up. It was easy by her body language. He came suddenly and said lets go. She didnt want to go but the look on her boyfriends face was not a nice one. Even the Irish guy realised what was going on. He said to her boyfriend when he left fuming that wait for her, she is coming aswell.

I rented a motorbike and started to explore the island. It was small and we could do a full circle in a day. though there was no way you could on a moped, the roads were really bad at some parts. I should have rented a trail bike. I was going out everynight to Hadrin beach where the party was always on. I actually managed to go out 4 nights in a row. Every night i would meet with some new thai girl who would end up being a prsotitute at the end. That familiar sentence "you want a boom boom" was the last thing always at the end of some drinks and some dancing.
There were of course a lot of people in their 20s and 30s and 40s too. All trying to get drunk and of course hoping to catch a swedish or a german girl for a good free boom boom. Sadly the girls have grown up since and except a few Irish girls i didnt see any girls going that far. Since i was going everyday i started to recognise girls who were coming everyday.

The sysyetm worked like this. There were hotels facing the beach who all had massive sound systems playing all kinds of silly music. Next to each speaker was a stall selling bucket loads of fake whiskey. All for a mere 300 bahts. The DJs were paid a comission from the drink sales. There was only one decent bar called cactus who was doing a big party every night. There was always games to play after midnight when people were drunk. Most common was a rope doused in petrol and set on fire then swung in circular motion. All you had to do was jump to skip it just like you would do in a gym. Difference was that you are drunk and the rope is on fire. well a lot drunks were trying it but the thai boys swinging it dindt want a falang to do it fo rtoo long and the speed went up and up. The burning rope of course ended up hitting you in the face, hair or legs. A lot of people got burnt trying to skip it. Even girls tried it too and they always ended up being hit in the hair with the burning rope. One drunk was set on fire actually and had to be rescued by people by putting sand on his clothes which were on fire.

Then there was the foam party every night. A massive foam was pouring out of a nozzle and all we had to do was dance in the foam. which made our clothes all wet but the sea was right next to you so all you had to do was take a dip and wash of the soapy foam.

By the fourth night, which was full moon, i knew all songs that were being played and it was a disaster for me. I was fed up of going out and the music was terrible. A mix of oldies and a few new songs, but mostly a continuous bang bang bang. With absolutely no rythem. as long as you were drunk it was ok for you. I wasnt of course and that was my mistake.

Thousands of people decended upon the beach on full moon night from all over asia along with a lot of thai people. Actually I think it was 50-50 mix of falang and thai. As the night went on and it was becoming hard to walk as there were so many people every where. Finally by 3 am people were tired and you could see people in groups sitting around, sleeping and just chilling out. The hard core was high on Ectasy and kept on dancing crazily. I was also fe dup and by 330 i could not tak eit any more. I was sleepy and i actually dozed off for a while resting my head in the lap of a thai girl i met.
Funniest thing that happened was while dancing, a pretty looking thai girl started to dance with me on top of a table. There wasnt much space there as you could imagine. The DJ played some salsa typ emusic and we jumped down on the sand to dance a bit of salsa. She grabbed my face and started to kiss me passionately. Well it was a short kiss luckily but after wards the thai girl who was with me at the time told me smiling " you just kissed a lady boy".
There were a lot of lady boys there and you cant tell the difference. So now I can safely say i kissed a Man/woman at the same time. I suppose it can be classified as a threesome kiss. Well you be the judge of that.

I think i can improve the party easily by bringing better music and i think they would happily play my music as there were so many stalls selling drinks who all had their own speakers blaring out music. Next time i hope but with some friends who are not lady boys.

there wa sone beach which was pretty far to go to as the road was horrendous. But it was really nice. Rest of all the other beaches were so so. Most were even dirty with a lot of rubbish on the beach.

best way to do the full moon party is that dont get too drunk and take your camera and anything expensive with you or leave it in the hotel safe. My room was broken into along with few other rooms in the vicinity. My small back pack was taken with the only thing to steal in my room, cigarettes. My camera was with me and my wallet too. People had their Laptops, ipods, phones etc stolen from the rooms. There is no security in most beach huts and anyone can just walk in and break in.

Dont drink too much as you want to enjoy the party which will become a bit boring after a while as all the DJs play the same music again and again and again and again.
Finally I left the island for nakhon si thamarat which is on the main land. There is a very old 15th century temple which was really nice after all those hedonistic activities. Actually the temple is the second biggest after Bangkoks temple.
I only stayed one night in nakhon si thamarat whihc was famous for another reason. Its Muslim population who cooked delicious pancakes filled with chicken and chicken biryani (rice with chicken for those who dont know indian food). I tried it while chatting to a local Thai muslim sipping tea. He was a local barber and could speak just about enough english to converse.

Following day i left for Phuket again to see similan islands. I went back to my old no 37, Talang guest house. this time they all recognised me and the ladies were all praise for me. well i was the only falang who was alone, without a thai girl in tow. That was shocking for them and almost elevated me to the rank of a pious nice fellow who does not want any prostitutes. This time i finally made friends with the night receptionist who also turned out to be a muslim too. He took me to the night market for a meal.

Well it was again a surprise as we went to the stall of Mr Mohammad, a fat pakistani looking young man. He was speaking thai and then i was told that his father is a pathan from north west of pakistan. His father came to thailand and ended up marrying a thai muslim lady. There is a whole village where just about every body is a decendent of a pakistani mixed with thia.

Mr Mohammads food was to die for. It was a mix of thai with a touch of afghani food. His beef soup was the best beef soup i have ever tasted.
If you ever go there please look for him. You can easily recognise him as he has a goaty beard and always wears a hat. If he is not there you will see his pretty looking pakistani/thai wife.She looks pakistani than thai. He could not speak much english and neither any urdu or even pushto. He was lost in thailand.

The story is that about 200 years ago or more, a sufi saint came from india and settled in the jungles. He converted all people into islam and hence they are muslims. They were not sure about the dates when he came but it was a few hundred years ago.

I booked a tour of Similan island which are famous to be the most beautiful islands in thailand. There are 9 islands in total and only two have any place to stay. It is a part of a national marine park so it is some what controlled. I stayed one night on the island no 8, in a tent. All we did was snorkelling and more snorkelling. Two days of non stop snorkelling was tiring. I went to sleep as soon as jumped in my tent. A little while later it started to rain heavily. It was realy nice to see and feel the rain on my tent at full speed. I went out to take a shower in the rain. It was kinda romantic and freshing while sitting on a swing, in heavy rain and watching the sea at the same time.

Islands were really pretty and snorkelling was also good, real gems in the andaman sea. If you go there do not leave without doing this trip.

My visa was running out and i had only one day to leave the country. I met up with Full moon lady in route 68 who as usual was at her best sexy self. She gave me her card and her facebook details. I am still not sure about it. She is almost finsihed with decorating the rooms above her restaurant and will soon be looking for customers.

Following day 17th of november i left for Malaysia. It was my last day before i become a illegal immigrant. I had no choice but to take a bus going to KL. There was nothing else in Had Yai. I reached too late near the border in thailand.

I rented the electric bicycle the next day. it was a bad idea as this is a tropical island. I was sweating within minutes from every pore and hole in my body. The electric bicycle works like this. you paddle a bit and the engine kicks in. when it gets slow you paddle again and the speed goes up and the engine stops. A good idea only if the battery could last you as much as they say.

I did 20 kilometers and the battery ran out. Well, i thought i can just go back manually but that is where the catch comes in. The electric motor creates more friction than normal. This bicycle was not meant to be paddled without electricity. It was really hard as i had to use double the force to paddle and weight of the battery was a lot too. Not a good idea in tropical heat with humidity at 100%. I made it back but covered in sweat. The italian owner was a bit embarassed as he said the battery was fully charged. He knew how difficult it was to paddle this heavy bicycle without electricity.

So i had no choice but to go back on gasoline and rent a motorbike.

Every day i would go to the gym first thing in the morning, which was when ever i woke up. After a work out of 3 hours i would come back and take a shower. Then sit in my veranda with a towel wrapped around me, looking at the sea. It was nice to cool off in sea breeze after a shower.

I visited just about every beach there is on Koh Samui. The best one was actually called Bo Phut beach. It was natural, clean and not many people. Lamai beach where i was staying was my second best. Chaweng is the most famous here but it was an ordinary beach. The beach was too small and as soon as the high tide would come, it just disappeared underwater. All restaurants were playing blaringly loud music and serving whisky buckets. Yes they serve whiskey in a bucket here. Drink as much as you like and loose your mind and vomit some where afterwards. The definition of a good night out for many.

My own beach hut was on Lamai beach and i really liked my beach. It was quiet and peacful with massage places all over the town. I was getting regular masages from the two ladies, on my side of the beach, giving out massages. My favourite was a massage with Aloe Vera gel all over my body for a price of 9 dollars for one hour. How could i refuse at this price? The massage was done at the beach with cool sea breeze and sound of the waves in the background for relaxation.

In the evenings i would go the local bar to play pool. This local bar was the only one on the main road in Lamai. Run by all retired and past their sell by date prostitutes. It was sad to see the end of these women who work in this trade. They all asked me every night to have sex with them for only 400 bahts (thats 8 Pounds). Plus i was told that they will make me happy and look after me. I politely refused every night. I just played pool with them and gave them my cd of spanish music to play on the sound system. It was really nice to listen to spanish music on the sound system. I even danced salsa with a few of them.

The men who were coming here, and there were very few who did, were either old or just wanted to have a drink or wanted sex on the cheap. You can see the fotos on the facebook of these ladies. After 24-25 years of age these girls cant dance in the gogo bars and serve drinks usually and chat to customers. Hoping to have a customer for a night or one hour of Boom Boom (as they put it). Once they start to grow older they are replaced by younger girls who keep on coming. Their mothers and fathers send them here to earn money for them. A pretty looking girl is cash here and parents are well aware of it. She is the pension plan they invested in and now it is time to cash it.

Chaweng is the party beach where i went couple of times just to see. Of corse it was full of GoGo bars and dubious massage parlours and lady boys. Full of Falang (foreigners) who all wanted to get drunk and sleep with the ladyboys. These lady boys look 100% like women and when you are drunk you just cant tell the difference (Even if you are not drunk it is hard to tell). Most Falang end up having sex with them thinking they are girls.

I stayed over 7 days here and it was fun and relaxing. I wouldnt call this island a tropical paradise but it can be relaxing if that is what you are looking for, With a bit of party thrown in of course.

Tomorrow i leave for Koh Phangan which is the party island. Full moon parties are a legend there as thousands decend upon the beaches. Not only that but it is also very pretty with white sand beaches.