I came back to Bukit Bintang (a subarb of K.L) on the overnight train from Terengganu . I realised that the screen on the laptop was fried so I had to get a new screen. Ah well, at least the hard drive was ok. I went back to the Serenity hostel (The same place that I had stayed in when I arrived in K.L a few weeks ago) and in the meantime, they had ordered and received lockers (Actually, come to think of it, there does not seem to be many lockers in any of the places that I have stayed in.)
When I arrived, I met a couple of Philipinos at the service desk and a guest started talking to me and told me he was Philipino. A girl came out of one of the dorms and she was Canadian ..... of Philipino extraction. I think this was a sign to ask many questions about the Philippines to anyone who would listen. So, I found out that it will probably take the guts of 4 hours to get from Clark airport to Malate and that It might not b e a great idea to stay there as that's the tourist central area and the pickpocket rate is quite high (Going out after 10 p.m is not to be recommended).
I also learned that the pronounciation of the name Tagalog (the main language of the Philippines) is Tag-aaaaa-log not tagalog (I guess, it's similar to the way people say caaaaaavan).
I was also advised the following.If someone is being overly friendly to me, then most likely, they are going to ask for money. (I would be interested to see if this is true.)
I am just getting ready for the next trip so I will just spend a couple of days here and then sleep at the airport before getting a really early flight out to Clark airport (about 100 km from Manila)
I visited the local bar for the first time this evening and I can understand why there are hardly anyone in the bar.The price of a pint is RM23 (aound 5.75 euro) This is insanely expensive for the locals (and not too cheap for the tourist either!) .
no wonder drinking is not popular here
It's a blessing that I was knackered and headed home after one pint but it was quite interesting talking to Philipino's/Mongolians/New Zealanders/Swiss. At one point,Geoff (a Philipino guy who has emigrated to Malaysia to supplement an income breeding dogs) asked why was I not married at my age. I didn't know how to answer that one. I'll get back to you on that Geoff!
Sunday:
I had a Nasi Goreng with a drink that tasted like cold coffee mixed with ice and streams of green goo fo RM12 .
Nasi Goreng (with cucumbers , the cockroach of the vegetable world .....eugh)
coffee with some green goo and loads of ice cubes
I though the bill would come to 10.80 but , in some food locations, they seem to add on the government tax and local tax afterwards (It is the same in Dunkin Donuts) It's a bit weird as not all restaurants do this.
I heard that Wendys give free refills all day for their drinks and they have wi-fi.I reckon I might pay them a visit tomorrow!
As I tend to dehydrate at the flick of a switch, I have been drinking all manners of liquids over the past 3 weeks .Here are just 2 more to add to the collection.
Wong Lo Kate tastes a bit like cold herbal tea with a kick
The Qing dynasty is one of my favorite Dynasties.
This is by far the best new drink I have tasted.Export it to Europe NOW!!!!
I wonder why that is or why every can that I can think of back home is 330ml??
I wonder if there is a benign Irish influence on some of the shops here. I was walking arounf one of the Malls today and noticed a women's clothes shop with the following name.
I took a photo of an Indian brick-a -brack shop today.These shops are class as they seem to sell everything!
Cutting the meat for the customers (who can paw the meat at will)
I visited Merdeka square today.I could sense that the locals were looking at me and after a couple of minutes ,one of the local guys came up to me and asked if he could take a photo of me. I said 'ok', and then 4 others took out their phones ad started taking photos!! A couple of minutes later , the same thing happened again .Maybe, I should ask for 5 ringgit per picture!
Here is a pic of a water fountain at Bukit Bintang.It looks pretty cool at night.
Monday:
I went to the mall for some inspiration this morning....
I asked the signs in the mall - 'should I go to the Philippines this week' and they replied unanimously.
oh yeah, I almost forgot, an Indian film was filmed outside the hostel today.Here are some of the cameramen at work.
A little less sun please!
Things I learned over the past few weeks:
Koreans have 2 birthdays...the first one is the usual birthday but in Korea, when you are born , you are considered 1 year old. On January 1st - you are 2 years old.
So , you could be talking to a person who is 25 years old (in international terms) but 27 years old in Korean terms!
The following pic contains the korean alphabet with english pronounciation in brackets [Thanks for this Dave and Inji, it's just a pity that the back of this page conatins a ....ahem ... crude.... pic of a penis (those taxi drivers on the Perhentians are some artists!)...still , the page might come in handy at some stage]
The VAST majority of people traveling from north America are Canadians and every Canadian that I have met so far (and there have been quite a few) are either from Vancouver or Toronto.
Tapsilog (fried beef + rice + egg) sounds like a dish that I should try in the Philippines.
Lechon (roast pig) sounds like anothert dish that I should have a go at
Paxcio (which are scraps of Lechon) sound good also !
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