Pods, Hawkers, & Skylines

SINGAPORE // The last 7 days we have slept on a night bus, in a small diving lodge, and on a night train. Now, we have 3 days in Singapore in a pod hostel. This is like a bunch of giant 3 floor bunk beds right next to each other with a personal ladder to climb up into your little cubby hole. It was a really cool experience, but not necessarily the most spacious of accommodations. 

We were across the street from Chinatown, with over 100 different food stalls called "hawkers". One of them just received a Michelin star food award. Around 11 o’clock in the morning we got there and stood in the massive line to get a whole grilled chicken with noodles and rice from Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken and Rice stall. It took 2 hours and 40 minutes until it was our turn to order. The chicken was fantastic, but the best part was meeting the guy in line behind us Keith, who lost a bet and had to stand in this line to bring 3 whole chickens to a pot luck tonight. We chatted with him to pass the time, and when we were eating another local lady Maureen asked to sit with us and we talked about Singapore and what it was like years ago compared to now. 

After consuming pretty much the entire chicken between the two of us, we walked to the Marina Bay Sands, the famous area that when one hears about Singapore they would think of. The top of the tower has a skyline view that we had not seen in such a long time. It reminded us of New York City and what it felt like to live in Manhattan. It was the first time where we were actually somewhere really “nice” and moderately dressed up, and realized just how different our lives have been the past 10 months. Seeing all of the business people, suits, ties, bank towers on the skyline, and martini glasses, reminded us of the life that we left long ago. 

Singapore was probably the nicest city we have ever been to. It reminded us of a combination of Las Vegas, Chicago, and Waikiki. The flight home to the USA is finally booked. We fly to Tokyo to spend a few days and then home. 

Colonel Sanders on the Night Train

TANAH MERAH, Malaysia // We were finishing our last dive and on the speed boat back to the beach. The kid sitting next to us Devon was discussing how awesome the dive was and we were comparing our GoPro cameras. Eventually we started talking about Singapore and how we were cluelessly going to get there tomorrow. 

Turns out, he is from Singapore, going home tomorrow, and taking the night train. Could this have worked out any more perfect? We were skeptical of the night train, as it supposed to be 14 hours long. On the flip side, it is known to be an amazing journey through the jungle. Since Devon just came from this way a week ago, he volunteered to be our private tour guide on the way back. Times like these are when I feel fortunate for not planning too far in advance, and enjoy having flexibility to make spontaneous last minute decisions.

The decision for the night train was a good one. Not only was the trip for 2 people 27 US dollars, we would also not need a hotel room for the night since we were sleeping on the train. The only problem was that we arrived at the tiny Tanah Merah train station in the middle of nowhere Malaysia 6 hours early. We were afraid that they may sell out of tickets, but that was not the case at all, as over half the sleeper class was empty. We had 6 hours of time to kill and had to take cover from the heat and get some food before boarding. Fortunately there was one place in town and directly across from the train station - Kentucky Fried Chicken… and this place was packed! Around 2pm it felt like the meeting place for every elementary school kid in the entire town. We waited in line for 20 minutes with our backpacks, played cards, and chatted with Devon about Singapore for the next 6 hours. Devon just finished his time in the Singapore military and is just about to start University in a few days. 

The train boarded at 8pm and after sleeping pretty well (a lot better than the crazy night bus) we arrived in Johor Bharu, in southern Malaysia at 11:50am.

Devon navigated us quickly from Malaysia into Singapore, and safely into a taxi cab to go to our pod hostel in the downtown Chinatown area. Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world. After flying through here on a layover a month ago on our way to Indonesia we finally get some time to explore it. 

Finding Nemo

PERHENTIAN KECIL, Malaysia // It took a while to get to the Perhentian Islands, but in the end it was totally worth it. These islands are so far different from the Cameron Highlands and Penang, and was a perfect beach and diving spot for us towards the end of our trip. Unlike Labuan Bajo and Komodo, the Perhentian Islands are popular backpacker spots. People come here to relax and learn to dive, instead of come here specifically and only to dive. Since we are already licensed divers we didn’t have to wait through any of the learning process, and got to get right to the top dive sites in the 3 days we were here. 

Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil was full of backpackers and had a Peter Pan // lost boys type vibe. The entire beach was either dive shops, beach bars, or stage for fire shows that would last well into the night. 

Upon arriving to the island on speed boat we met a girl who was on her second trip here just to dive again with Turtle Bay Divers. We checked out this dive shop first and booked 4 dives. Each dive was only a 10-15 minute boat ride from shore and had a specific part that differentiated itself from other dives we have done in the past. The four dives we completed during our stay in Perhentian Kecil.

• Shark Point // 17 Meters, 65 minutes, 5 black tip reef sharks, porcupine fish, clown fish
• The Pinnacle // 25 meters, 50 minutes, white eye moral eel, indian ocean walkman, nudibranch, giant trevally, huge schools of snapper
• Sugar Wreck // 20 meters, 58 minutes, wreck dive, crocodile flat fish, yellow tail barracuda 
• T3 Terumba Tiga // 18 meters , 54 minutes, swim through dive approximately 5, sea turtle, blue spotted stingray, Jenny found first nudibranch, titan triggerfish

// Also on a side note, every dive in Malaysia we found a clownfish aka "Nemo"

Night Bus

KUALA BESUT, Malaysia // I have been secretly wanting to take a night bus through Asia the past few months, as it seems like a rite of passage in backpacking. We had not done one yet because there was never a need to. That is until today when the only option is a 10pm bus out of Penang to Kuala Besut, the gateway to the Malaysian Perhentian Islands.

It was 3pm and we took the free ferry to Buttersworth to book bus tickets for tomorrow. What we soon realized is the bus ride is further and longer than we thought, and the only way to get to the east coast of Malaysia in time to get on a ferry was to take the night bus.

After some quick decision making we decided today was the best day and now was the time to do it. We hustled back to Georgetown, showered, grabbed food, and once again took the ferry over to Buttersworth, where we played cards in the station and awaited the massive double decker bus to arrive. We left promptly at 10pm but stopped every 2 hours for some reason and the lights would come on waking everyone up. The bus driver drove super fast around all of the turns. When I looked out the window there was fog everywhere and I could hardly see. When we arrived at 5am my neck was killing me and I got maybe 2 hours of sleep maximum. 

At the ferry dock we clustered together with a group of other sleep deprived backpackers and got on the 7 am ferry to the remote Perhentian Kecil. At this point we had a lot to look forward to, a room already booked, and a plan to go diving. We watched the sunrise over the island and it was a slight reminder at how timing and things all work out. I’ll never forgot the sunrise from the boat, and the next few days of scuba diving are about to begin. 

Quick to Judge

PENANG, Malaysia // We left Cameron Highlands bright and early on a 7am bus from Tanah Rata to Penang. The bus was only 5 hours but there was confusion when we arrived. Penang is one huge island, and the area of Georgetown is where most people visit and is a UNESCO world heritage city. The bus will drop you off in Penang but no where near Georgetown. Instead we got off in the town of Buttersworth across the water and either could take a ferry across to Georgetown and then walk, or take a long cab ride directly to the hotel. We opted for the cab and the driver could speak no English. We didn’t have a Malaysian Sim card for our phone so GPS was useless. After blindly guessing a few times at street names and their spelling we found our hotel. 

It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon and the only meal we ate was at 6am. We were all starving and in the mood to go to little India and get food. The receptionist sent us down the wrong street and it began to pour rain. We got soaked, could not find any restaurant that was open, and were exhausted from the long bus ride. All we wanted to do was eat. In our minds we all hated Penang already and questioned what we are going to do here the next 4 days. 

Fast forward 48 hours and we have found a great local breakfast spot called Macallum in a refurbished warehouse where we went for breakfast every morning, a fitness center across the street, a Chinese place for dinner called Tek Sen that is great food and super cheap, a barber who gave me a super modern haircut and beard trim, a daily rooftop bar showing free movies, a local bowling alley where we tried for 3 people to beat 300 (we are terrible), and a local dive bar called Canteen where there is live music. 

Penang was one of those places where at first glance seems like a rundown old shipping city, but when you dig deeper and do some exploring was one of the most unique and hip cities we have been in Asia and that we truly enjoyed. 

"Cupping"

CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Malaysia // So after "Jungle Trek 1" we all decided to get a foot massage at the reflexology place next to our hotel. We basically are staying in the “Chinatown” area of Cameron Highlands so picture a few towel covered La-Z-Boys and a bright green patterned window curtains kind of place. The foot massage was the most painful thing any of the three of us had experienced. They found knots in places I didn’t know muscles existed. Adam swears they were seconds away from tearing off his big toe. They cracked all 10 of my toes which usually I’m lucky if a lady can get one of them to pop. 

Anyways I digress away from "cupping", at one point they get to my ankle and I feel like they have just stabbed me as I feel unbelievable pain. I look at my foot reflexology chart to see what part of my body this corresponds to and its my hip, which has always been unnaturally tight. He notices the pain and yelp I let out and moves up to my knee. He finds a tiny pellet size knot on the inside of both knees. He grabs what looks like a plastic pot scraper from his torture kit and starts attacking this pellet until a few minutes later he conquers the pellet and it ceases to exist. 

But before I can relax from the attack he says "cupping" and the next thing I know there is a torch on fire in front of me, little glass fish bowls on a cart and he is putting the fire in the cup and then attaching them to my knees. They don’t hurt going on but you can see as your skin under the suction starts to pull into the bowl in little red mountains. 6 cups are added, 3 per knee. One on top and two on the sides. They kind of feel like your knee is being pulled in three directions. Supposedly its the opposite of pushing on a muscle to get the blood to come to a tension filled spot. This time it pulls the blood to those spots to help heal. 

What feels like an eternity later but was probably only 5-10 minutes he starts yanking them off which he does fast like a bandaid because that part hurts. 3 days later I still had 6 circular purple and red bruises on my knees. 10 days later I still have one little bruise left. They don’t really hurt to touch but they look nasty but other than that no pain though Im not sure I feel any extra relief in my hip either. 

A first and probably a last for my "cupping" days.

First Time Being Cold

TANAH RATA, Malaysia // We have been getting air conditioned rooms and getting very used to crazy heat the past few months in Asia. Rarely is it below 90 degrees during the day, but even worse is the humidity. There is a stickiness and sweatiness that you just never become used to, especially while carrying your 20-30 pound backpack around everywhere.

After Kuala Lumpur and the big city we took a 5 hour bus north to the city of Tanah Rata which is known for the Cameron Highlands. This place is popular with backpackers and travelers due to the unique hiking, which can all be done by yourself and without a guide. Since it is up high in elevation, the temperature is much cooler, and at night it was the first time I actually needed a sweater. There are tea plantations everywhere, but the town had a very interesting vibe that we had not anticipated. It took a while for us to come up with the perfect description, and finally settled on the perfect trifecta // Swiss Alps meets Chinatown meets old run down Atlantic City. This is how the Cameron Highlands felt. It was German or Swiss type architecture everywhere, but everyplace was over 50 years old. The entire population, restaurants, and shops felt mossy.

We bought a map from the hotel and did Jungle Trek #1, which was about 3 miles uphill, and then about 5 miles down a road to a tea plantation. The view had spectacular tea terraces and farms everywhere, and in the sun was lovely, but then it started to rain. The tea plantation was closed on Mondays. Guess what? Today was Monday. There were no cabs anywhere and it started to pour really bad. We were drenched and had no where to go. This is a strange feeling being in the middle of nowhere with no plan to get home. In the United States we have been accustomed to just throw money at our problems to get us to where we want to be. In the middle of Malaysia there was no one to help us and no one to call. Even with money the cabs wouldn't stop since they already had passengers. We finally were able to hitchhiked back into the nearest town from a pickup truck, but this was still 10 kilometers away from our hotel in Brinchang. We waited in a small cafe and had them call a cab for us making it home around 3 hours later. 

The next day we did jungle trek #10, which is a climb up to mount Gunung Jasar. Due to the rainy weather all we got was a foggy view with very limited availability. The temperature was a cool 60-70 degrees the entire time we were here in Cameron Highlands and the hiking, exercise, and cold temperature was a nice change of pace from the heat and sweat. But even though it was nice to appreciate a warm shower and a steamboat soup bowl it reminded me how much I have been enjoying the sunshine. 

And then there were 3

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia // Kuala Lumpur not only brought us to our 6th country of the trip but it also brought us Bart, my fathers roommate from the Air Force academy's son, who just graduated from the University of Denver. He's basically like a cousin who I always heard about from my "Uncle Dan" but never hung out with one on one. What's funny is his dad visited us in Siem Reap a few months back so we keep saying, "It's not a party until those Repasky boys show up."

Bart came to us with a light weight pack, a gallon zip lock bag filled with tootsie pop lollipops, and an excitement that reignited Adam and my energy levels to explore. After over 100 days in Southeast Asia the rose colored glasses of traveling had started to slide down our face. We didn't see the world through fresh eyes. Bart reminded us to play and party and to appreciate the potential adventure in everyday. Bart reignited our conversations at dinner and reminded us what a gift good friends are.

Back to Big Cities

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia // It was back to the big city for us and finally time for a hostel experience that we have waited a long time for. Malaysia is packed with lots of activities just like Indonesia, but it all starts in “KL” 

After flight delays and a full day flying from Indonesia we landed at night in Kuala Lumpur, which at first glance looked super modern and clean. We checked into Reggae Mansion Hostel and joined up with a friend Bart from back home. We explored and wandered around the city for two days and planned our next few weeks around the country. During this time we got to see the Petronas Towers from Sky Bar, the fiirst bar we've been to in over a month. We got there around 6 o’clock, about an hour before sundown, to get great seats by the window. As the sun went down it began to rain and we watched as lighting struck the top of one of the towers looking like fireworks. 

The second day we navigated to a huge Hindu shrine called the Batu Caves by the public train system. It was 272 steps to the top to look out over Kuala Lumpur. There were monkeys and birds everywhere. Despite the signs that read “DO NOT feed monkeys”, many people were doing it anyways. It was so common that if you got close to monkeys with food they would snatch it right out of your hand. We watched an unsuspecting Chinese tourist eating a bag of potato chips looked shocks as a monkey blindly snatched her food from her face. 

The plan for the next few weeks is to bus to Cameron Highlands to hike for a few days, then bus to the historic city of Penang. From here we will plan our mid term flight back to the United States which will dictate our final few days in Asia. 

Under the Sea

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK, Indonesia // We booked a 4D/3N liveaboard scuba boat with Komodo Dive Center out of Labaun Bajo, Flores, Indonesia. It only takes a few hours to get out into the Komodo National Park which has some of the best dive sites in the world. They are known for their pristine waters, strong currents, and vast diversity of marine life. 

It was our first live aboard and so we weren’t exactly sure what to expect, but basically it went dive, eat, sleep, repeat. Overall I did 11 dives and Adam did 13. We did an intense 4 dives a day starting with a 6:30 AM sunrise dive and ending with 6:30 PM night dive. Each dive was around 20-30 meters and around 60 minutes. The water was 28 degrees Celsius and we had sunshine all week. Each dive had unique terrain ranging from fields of coral, reef walls, overhangs, rubble, sand, and passages. Our dive master was safe, gave thorough briefings, and loved to joke around. Our cruise director was Adam’s favorite. With over 4,000 dives under his belt, 6 years of experience in Komodo, and accompanied by his dry British humor he left us all in stitches. 

We were briefed on current and what we might see before each dive. We saw the healthiest coral with the most vivid colors I have ever seen, and more marine life than I knew could exist in one place. We saw 30+ manta rays from as big as me to larger than a car, with wingspans of up to 20 feet. We watched 15+ white tip, black tip, and grey sharks search for breakfast one morning followed by giant silver trevally looking for scraps. They came so close and could have cared less about us hooked to our rocks. We saw the biggest fish I have ever seen at about 5 feet long and 4 feet wide, the napoleon humphead wrasse, who would swim by with only feet separating us. You couldn’t miss the giant sweetlips either who looked like they had botox gone bad. We saw 20+ sea turtles, giant grouper, lion fish, barracudas, tuna, boxer crabs, unicorn fish, sea cucumbers, batfish, spadefish, needlefish, blue spotted sting rays, eagle rays, moray eels, big red eyes, sea slugs, nudibranchs, lobster, frog fish, a one inch sea horse, christmas tree worms, and a flamboyant cuttlefish. We protected ourselves against titan triggerfish who aggressively defend their nests if you get to close. We found Nemo and Dora and sang, “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming,” under the water. I also found a tank banger that a dive master had dropped, which is basically a metal rod they use to bang their tank underwater to get our attention. I had a lot of fun poking around the coral with it as well as conducting imaginary orchestras under water. I spent a lot of time in reef guide books trying to identify all that I had seen even though there was so much it was difficult to remember anything. A good problem to have.

We also ended up with a great group of 30 something year olds that instantly bonded over a deck of cards and a little Monopoly shuffle. The food was out of this world and I slept like a baby under the stars on the top deck. It will definitely not be our last liveaboard and I don’t think it will be our last time to Komodo. 

Oh yeah, and we saw the infamous Komodo Dragons on our last day on a hike through Rinca Island. How often does "Dragon Trekking" make your daily itinerary?

Dive Sites // depths, times, and main attractions

• Sebayur // 32 Meters, 55 minutes // check out dive, Grouper, Blue Spotted Sting Ray, Cuttle Fish
• Tatawa Besar // 18 Meters, 58 minutes // Shark, Trevally, Pufferfish, Trigger Fish
• The Couldron // 23 Meters, 46 minutes // Strong Current and Sling Shot, Gray Shark, Barracuda 
• Crystal Rock // 21 Meters, 51 minutes // Napolean Wrasse, Giant Sweetlips, Needlefish, 
• Golden Passage // 22 Meters, 45 minutes // Slight down current, Batfish schooling, Moray Eel
• Komodo North Bay // 20 Meters, 55 minutes // Shark, Blue Spotted Stingray, Turtle 
• Junkyard // 18 Meters, 58 minutes // Night Dive, Baby Octopus, Moray Eel, Boxer Shrimp
• Castel Rock // 30 Meters, 43 minutes // 20+ Sharks, Black Tip, White Tip, and Grey
• Batu Bolong // 26 Meters, 51 minutes // Coral Aquarium with fish everywhere, Giant Wrasse
• Makassar Reef // 10 Meters, 68 minutes // 30+ Giant Mantas, Tank Banger
• Sabina Bay // 12 Meters, 50 minutes // Night dive, slight current, Lobster, Boxer Crabs, Turtle
• Police Corner // 36 Meters, 44 minutes // Overhang, Current, Cave, Sea Horse, Sea Slugs
• Siaba Besar // 20 Meters, 69 minutes // 15+ Turtles, Frogfish, Flamboyant Cuttlefish

• Dragon Trekking // Rinca Island, 3 Komodo Dragons 10 feet long being lazy in the shade