Love Lane Livin'

"Selamat Pagi" from Georgetown, Penang - Malaysia's gloriously seedy second city. This is the third time I've been here and I can't work out why I've come back again. Maybe it's to lounge around in one of the cheap and sleazy guesthouses, gazing through the cracks in the ancient ceiling of my room. Or maybe it's the fun of being propositioned by the lady-boys (not very lady-looking by the way) who ply their trade on my street, Love Lane! Or maybe it's just to sit and have a strong coffee in a half-pint glass as I watch chicken carcasses being casually chopped-up in the local street market. It's even possible to get some decent veggie food by popping along to Little India whilst being accosted by Bollywood muzak blaring from the numerous cd shops and sweet incense wafting through the air. Fascinating place.

Paradise Spoiled

Got to Pulau Pangkor nae probs in the end and checked in to a nice wee chalet in a friendly and relaxed backpacker place called Nazri Beach Camp. The beaches here are fantastic and I spent a couple of happy days lazily toasting on the sand and floating on the calm sea. I then spent about 36hrs laid low with some kind of flu bug which eventually went as speedily as it arrived. However, a disappointment awaited my much anticipated first dip in the sea following said illness - the shoreline was covered in all sorts of garbage, especially of the plastic and glass variety (fag lighters being a particularly popular component). Fook. I may be wrong, but I reckon that the crap that's washed onto the erstwhile perfect beach has been dislodged from some rubbish tip somewhere by the earthquake which occurred off Indonesia the other day. The locals have made a good attempt at cleaning up, but there's still tonnes of crap floating around, so I ain't intending to take any more swims. Shame. Ah well, time to move on. Next stop Penang!

Sleepless in KL

Been in KL for about 48hrs now and my body clock is still way out of sync. Despite having managed to sleep for most of the flight (totally unlike me) and then having a long kip when I arrived at the YMCA (yes, it is fun to stay there) I'm still operating on Dale Standard Time. Today I've got two long bus journeys ahead to take me to the supposedly idyllic island of Pulau Pangkor and I am not feeling up to it. If I can't get any zzz on the first leg I think I might have to break up the journey by overnighting in the city of Ipoh (founded on the tin mining industry it says here). Not a welcoming prospect.

Ok, moaning over. It is great to be in the orient again, even if it means acclimatising all over again. KL gets better every time I come here - it's quite buzzing actually and (like many Asian cities) the place is overwhelmed by all sorts of outdoor eateries and roadside hawker stalls, some of which are open 24hrs. Also, its got a fantastic, modern transit system (monorail, light rail, etc) which is great for getting around quickly, cheaply and (most importantly) in air-conditioned comfort.

A curious phenomenon in this part of town is the number of blind people you see wandering around tapping their white canes. I couldn't understand it at first, until I saw that there are a number of "Blind Massage" centres in the area. I suppose the loss of one sense makes the others (including touch) more keen, they give a more gallas massage...?

Better go catch that bus.