That's How I Roll...

We, Edwina and I, left the sanctuary of Singapore and headed into Malaysia to Melaka. The bus ride was only two hours and the best bus that I have taken in the last two months. They sure put the buses of Nepal and the Indian bus drivers to shame.

 

Melaka is a pretty colonial town that has been owned by numerous nations over time who have left their mark on the town. The Dutch left the bakeries, the Portuguese the buildings and the English the pubs!

 

We jumped off the bus to be immediately accosted by people from hotels, as is the custom. One old man seemed nice so we went with him to his hotel that was once his family home. His family have all moved out so we were his family for the day! He toured us around the town, showing us all the hot spots which was great as the air conditioned car was much better than walking around in the 30 degree heat.

 

The night markets in Chinatown is where it’s at! Karaoke halls line the streets ( I refrained as there was quite a long queue and I was hungry!)  as do food stalls selling every delicacy that you can imagine. There is a real mix of food, from Malay, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese to Western, great for a food lover like me! I introduced Edwina to the Pork Bun and she claims it’s the best thing she has ever had and is now obsessed with having at least one a day! Why Doha couldn’t serve Pork like this Muslim country I just don’t know!

 

One night in Melaka was enough, off to KL to meet Megan and her brothers Derek and Zac.

We can't leave Harvey out, he's in the Band too!!

Akiro might join in the fun soon.

 

Celise sent me this pic of my nephew Maxie wearing his new sunnies. Love it. He is obviously going to be a rock star like his Auntie Neenie!

After Nepal Singapore was such a treat for us, a clean, efficient, organized city that was so easy to get around and everyone could finally understand me! It was nice and warm. Pretty humid but nothing compared to Doha.

 

Edwina joined us in Singers and just in time for Paddy’s day and her birthday. We ventured out on both evenings loving being in a bar again. Edwina’s birthday was one she will definitely remember. We started with a few lazy pints in an English pub, for the English birthday girl, but soon found ourselves in a bar sounded by Indian business men and chatting about the Cricket World Cup. We of course pretended we are cricket experts and had a few good arguments with them. As soon as they worked out it was Weena’s birthday it was game over. They bought out a shot for her that would do anyone in – a flaming Lamborghini. Basically 5 shots in one! The bar staff then bought her a shot of Bacardi 151 which was again the size of 3 shots and 75.5% alcohol. All in all a very funny night, very random and loads of fun. Not so fun for Edwina the next day.   

 

I stayed at Suzie and Al’s while the girls checked into hotel Dragon in Chinatown. The Walker residence is very nice and had a lovely big pool that I lazed around in. I really didn’t do much in Singers other than catch up with my friends living there, walk around the shops and laze around. Oh I applied for a few jobs too!

 

Suzie & Al introduced me too the dumplings – crab dumplings, divine, while Bridge and Chris showed us around the Hawker stalls. The hawker stalls are basically a market where loads of different stalls operate and you can have all sorts of food, Malay, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indian just to name a few. The hawker stalls is so cheap and so delicious that we never looked back. My friend Edwina who never ate noodles or rice before Singers is now eating it for every meal.

 

Meg’s brothers joined us in Singers for the last two nights so they did the hop on hop off bus. I flagged but did go to the Night Safari at the Zoo which was very cool. So after 10 days in Singers it was time to say goodbye and hit the road into Malaysia…

Meg and I booked in for a Thai massage to help relax the muscles in our back after the trek. Oh My Goodness I can’t believe we paid for the pain they put us through. The little man basically maneuvered me into positions that I should never be moved into. I felt like I was violated and at one stage yelled out in pain! At one stage the little guy had my knees shoved up under my chin while he was balancing on my legs and rocking me back and forward. Then he rammed his knees into my back so hard that I thought I’d cry! Very odd massage and not one that I will be getting again in a hurry.

 

Well actually I told my yoga teacher that they hurt my back do he organized for me to go back and have them look at it. I thought they would give me a gentle massage but no it was all knees again into the pain in my back!! Great!