The Asian Adventure

When we first arrived in Singapore last October it felt like we had a lifetime ahead of us in Asia. Now, three months, six countries and twenty-four places later it's all over. For now...

The saddest part of leaving Asia is not knowing when we'll come back but I'm comforted slightly by the fact that I will definitely return at some point. Initially I'd hoped that by travelling for an entire year I'd flush this travel bug right out of my system but it's clear now that won't be the case. In fact I've discovered that the very term 'travel bug' is highly misleading, for a bug is a condition suffered only temporarily. The travel bug, if you truly have it, lasts a lifetime. 

A friend of mine recently shared a quote with me describing travelling as 'a virus, one which worms its way into your bloodstream, attacks your bank balance, holiday allowance and social life but never blesses you with the zen-life satisfaction of thinking you've seen it all.' And it's true! The more I see the more I want to see and even after three months in Asia there is still so much left to explore; Burma, China, Java and the Philippines to name but a few.

I won't ever make my way across the entire globe but I've learnt since being away how important it is that we try. We're so fortunate in the UK that we have these opportunities which so many others around the world do not and we owe it to them to take advantage. A particular occasion springs to mind here: I was speaking to a Malaysian man in Langkawi who was surprised to learn that after Asia we were moving onto Australasia and then South America too. He commented that I must have worked for a long time to save up for such an epic trip and I replied that yes, I'd worked in London for two years. He immediately burst into laughter, not able to comprehend my response. 'I worked for fifteen years just to go to Singapore!' A terrible misjudgement on my part but it really put things into perspective. We are the lucky ones.

I've been trying to think of the best way to reflect on our time in Asia but we've seen so much and made so many countless memories that nothing short of a novel would suffice (one which I'm sure I'll write one day.) The best I can do at this point is to list the top ten things I will and won't miss in the hope that the latter might ease the pain of leaving at least a little. So here goes.

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Top 10 Things I'll Miss:

#1 FOOD

From back street markets to up market restaurants, the food in Asia has been outstanding. Newfound favourites include Cambodian amok, Malaysian roti and Thai massaman curry. I'd happily fork out the price of a plane ticket to taste any of these cuisines again. 

#2 BEACH BARS

Nothing feels better than dancing the night away with the sea breeze in your hair and sand between your toes. And it's a fact that cocktails taste better from buckets. Cramped, sweaty London clubs are just no comparison.

#3 LANDSCAPE

From paradise beaches to baron deserts, high rise cities to jungle forests; Asia has every landscape you could possibly dream of but they're far more beautiful in reality than any images found in the depths of my imagination.

#4 CULTURE

Asia oozes culture. A lot of it is centred around religion, the fusion between Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam found in most places. Wherever we went golden statues and the smell of incense were never too far away.

#5 CHEAP LIVING

The money I've spent in three months in Asia would have disappeared within three weeks back home. Splashing out more than a few pounds on a meal or accommodation is really going to hurt.

#6 RELAXED ATMOSPHERE

Nothing phases Asians. Their pace of life is so incredibly slow as they take their time to actually enjoy it. We quickly adapted to their way of thinking, forgetting for the most part what day we were on and expecting everything to be late. It's amazing how much less stressful time keeping is when you just stop keeping it.

#7 MODES OF TRANSPORT

Longtail boats and tuk tuks are my favourite ways of getting around. Being in the open air allows you to absorb your surroundings and gives you a better feel for the areas you're travelling through. Our taxi to the airport will be the first car we've been in in a long time and even that is fluorescent pink! Much more exciting than black cabs back home. 

#8 7-ELEVEN

Primarily from a toastie perspective but also on a general level. We've spent so much time in 7-Elevens that I feel sad I've heard my last annoying 'ding dong' of the automatic doors.

#9 MARKETS

I wish more than anything we were flying back via Asia so we could pick up the entire market on the way home. There are so many beautiful items to be bought and for whatever price you're willing to pay, providing you can stick out the haggling game long enough. 

#10 THE SUN

Everything about the Asian sun is stunning from the second it rises to the lasting moments after it's set. In three months I can't remember more than three days where it didn't shine down on us, despite it being their winter and rainy season in some areas we visited.

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Top 10 Things I Won't Miss:

#1 ROOSTERS

I don't know what they feed their roosters in Asia but it's keeping them up all night. Which in turn is keeping us up too! The bloody things are nocturnal and happy about it, cock-a-doodle-do-ing at every hour.

#2 JOURNEYS FROM A TO B VIA Z

No journey we ever made in Asia was simple. Each time we travelled from one place to another we were carted off in a truck, made to change buses multiple times and left in the middle of nowhere for hours with nothing but a coloured sticker on to say where we were supposed to end up. We always made it eventually but never ever on time.

#3 CUSTOMER SERVICE

It comes hand in hand with their laid back nature so for the most part we've taken it in our stride but there are times when being ignored or forgotten is more frustrating than fun. And even contemplating complaining is completely pointless - Asians are programmed to forget how to speak English as soon as you do.

#4 BED BUGS

I used to think bed bugs were imaginary little monsters invented by parents to scare their children into sleeping but Asia taught me differently. Thankfully these disgusting little pests have only bothered us once but the constant threat has lingered throughout.

#5 SQUAT TOILETS

You know it's bad when you'd rather squat on the side of the road than brave one of the holes in the floor they call toilets. It will be nice to not feel in a state of panic whenever we accidentally leave the room without toilet paper in our pockets and even nicer to be able to actually flush it when we do.

#6 SPITTING

For reasons unbeknownst to me it's perfectly acceptable in Asia to grunt and snort until saliva is gathered in your mouth and then spit it out wherever you fancy. I could stay here three years and the sound and sight of this would still make my stomach turn.

#7 MANGY ANIMALS

The majority of cats and dogs in Asia can only be described as mangy. Missing limbs, covered in scabs or potentially infested with rabies - they're a far cry from the cute little pets we play with back home and they're on every street corner.

#8 WHITENING CREAM

It's typical that we always want what we can't have. Whereas English people cover themselves in fake tan all year around to darken their skin, Asians use whitening creams to make theirs lighter. It's a sign of wealth to have fair skin because it's associated with not having to work outside. Therefore, we've found it really difficult to buy any moisturisers, cleansers or sun creams which don't have whitening lotion in them to counteract our tans.

#9 SWEET BREAD & FLUORESCENT JAM

I can't fault Asia's traditional dishes but their imitations of western foods leave a lot to be desired. Many hostels now offer free breakfast but it often consists of their sweet bread and fluorescent jam combo, essentially an artificial nightmare.

#10 BEING STARED AT LIKE AN ALIEN

The Asian community are fascinated by blonde haired, blue eyed people. Despite the hundreds of westerners arriving in Asia each day, every time I was stopped and asked for a photograph or stared at in the street it felt like I was the only one.

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That all said, even with ending on the negatives there's no fooling myself into thinking that the bad outweighs the good. In fact reading over the second list brings as much of a smile to my face as the first - I might not miss these things in particular but I will certainly miss the sense of accomplishment they bring when conquered and the hilarious stories which inevitably follow. Everything about the last few months has been fantastic and I genuinely have tears in my eyes writing this goodbye. 

I best leave it there before I turn into a blubbering, waffling mess but thank you so much Asia, it's been an absolute pleasure. Australia now has a lot to live up to!

Lazing in Langkawi

Our wish was granted in Langkawi. There really is very little to do on the island so we spent the majority of our four days there lying on the beach and topping up our tans.

We felt a little guilty at first but it was just what we needed. I know it must sound ridiculous (those of you at your desks, look away now)  but travelling can actually be rather hard work and we both thought that a short break from all the activity would do us some good. A holiday from our year-long holiday...

Anyway, although we spent most of our day horizontal we still exercised every evening, running along the beach once the sun had gone down. The sand usually makes jogging a little more difficult but the Langkawi coastline is completely flat and an absolute dream to run on. We found the stunning sunset backdrop helped a lot too - it certainly beat my regular route down Tooting High Street! 

The best advantage to running was that we felt it justified stuffing our faces each evening at dinner. We found a great restaurant called Tomato which served food even cheaper than most street markets and was absolutely delicious! There's a strong Tamil influence throughout Western Malaysia and the fusion between South East Asian and Southern Indian cuisine is amazing. Both Hana and I have fallen in love with Roti, a buttery, doughy, half bread/half pancake which is dipped in various sauces as a starter. They even do a chocolate version as a dessert which is essentially obesity on a plate but too good to miss.

Langkawi was our last stop in Malaysia and we're flying to Cambodia later tonight. I imagine it will feel strange to readjust to a whole new currency and cuisine again but after this short rest, we're really looking forward to our next adventure! 

Trekking & Treetops, Batu Ferringhi

Our next stop in Penang was Batu Ferringhi, a beach town resort on the other side of the island. The sand stretches for miles along the coast giving way to beautiful beaches broken up by small bays when the tide comes in.

We intended to spend some time relaxing on the sand but got distracted by all that Batu Ferringhi has to offer and instead did quite the opposite. In just four short days we ended up on two three hour treks in two different National Parks. The first was a three hour climb up Penang Hill where we found the best views of the island and the second was through the jungle to reach Turtle Beach (where we found absolutely no turtles.) 

Another day was spent at Escape Adventure Park which is like a Malaysian version of Go Ape but much bigger and with more variety. They had all sorts of attractions, the kind that back home would be exhilarating but not so much frightening because you can pretty much always rely on the scrutinising British safety checks. In Asia though, it's a rather different story. The whole way around the park we came across fraying ropes held together with masking tape and wires that were too thin for their pullies. On one particular ride called Atlan's Leap, the guide asked us if we wanted to free fall from the higher platform even though it was closed. Of course we wanted to but why the hell was it closed? In slightly broken English he tried to assure us that it was just the netting on the stairs that was deemed unsafe and as long as we were careful in the climb we'd be absolutely fine on the jump down. He presented the idea as a such a privilege that it was difficult to say no. He was risking his job by letting us up there but I couldn't help wondering whether we were risking more by taking him up on the offer. Our lives, for example. All I kept thinking was 'this would never happen in England' and 'someone please tell my mum I love her'. 

Fortunately we survived and did the typical child-like 'again, again' thing as soon as we landed. We hurtled ourselves down six more times before deciding we'd tried our luck enough for one day and moved onto other, slightly tamer attractions. Our favourites included the Flying Lemur, a series of zip wires through the jungle canopy, Tubby Racer, a giant dry ski slope that you skid down on a rubber ring, and the Coco Tree which you had to try and climb to win a free coconut! 

I wish we'd had more time in Batu Ferringhi to explore the rest of its attractions and make the most of the beautiful beaches. However, we've been promised that our next destination, Langkawi, is home to even nicer shores so we hope to fit some sunbathing in there!