So here begins parts of my travel experiences around South-East Asia for three weeks:
First destination was Singapore!
I arrived in the evening to catch a taxi straight to my hotel and I was overwhelmed by how beautiful this city was - the lights from all the buildings, trees strewn with fairy lights, the endless amount of shopping centres along Orchard Road - I wanted to stay there forever! Oh and did I mention that my hotel was also along Orchard Road? I was so tempted to wake up early and stay up late the 4 nights I was there to wander the streets/go on a shopping spree!
It seemed as though Singapore had EVERY shop you could ever imagine - All I needed was some cash to spend!
It was everything a true shopaholic, like me, could ever want although I wasn’t so fond of the eager shoppers as they prodded their way through the crowd!
(This was my Breakfast!)
When I wasn’t spending all my time shopping I went on the Singapore flyer and was given some audio device with commentary about the history of Singapore and how obsessed they are about feng shui but seeing the city was a wonderful experience!
Then it was off to the Botanical Gardens where I saw hundreds of orchids in so many colours!
Next stop, Malaysia!
For the first week I was in Penang and during my stay, I'm sure that I gained 5 kilos from eating non-stop as my eating habits were astonishing! The food stalls were so cheap and so yummy - you can get a plate of food for RM3 which is equivalent to $1!!!
I went on one of these rickshaws to look around Penang and although areas looked run-down (i.e the ocean opposite my room was extremely polluted) that didn’t take away the beauty of the numerous amounts of temples and buildings that I saw!
Langkawi Island
The views from my resort were absolutely breathtaking!
Waking up to this every morning, the sunrise and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks...Why would you ever want to leave? Well, actually it was an inconvenience to go all the way to the lobby as my chalet was about a 10 minute drive by what resembled a golf buggy.
This was done at a handicraft market!
Also, I tried something daring and went to a fish foot spa where you essentially put your feet in a spa and these little fish nibble away at your dead skin. Yes, it sounds disgusting but you adjust after a while. I was booked in for 15 minutes but spent most of that time screaming and jumping!
Lastly, I rode an elephant as it’s something I’ve always wanted to do although this poor fellow looked so miserable :(
On another note, if you ever find yourself in Langkawi Island, do make sure you go on the cable car!! You get to go about 700m above sea level and see amazing views such as this:
After being on a ferry for about 2 hours I arrived in Kedah. Nothing much to do there so we decided to take a road trip to the border of Thailand, Hat Yai, on the spur of the moment!
If you go to Thailand and shop around the little stalls, you need to know how to bargain! Who cares if they don’t speak any English whatsoever, this is when sign language comes in handy!
By the end of my trip I was beginning to talk just like a local adding ‘lah’ at the end of each sentence and learnt two phrases (one useful and not so useful) ‘Selamat Detang’ meaning ‘welcome’ and the other phrase ‘Tutup Mulut’ with its direct translation being ‘shut your mouth.’
On my last day I was exhausted waking up in the early hours of the morning to catch a flight from Penang to Singapore, Singapore to Melbourne and waiting around for at least 3 hours to catch each plane (this meant I could wander around the Singapore airport to spend the last of my Singaporean dollars though!)
There’s so so so much more about my travels that I haven’t mentioned I could go on for days! It was such an amazing experience and I loved every second of it so much so I’m already planning my next trip!
x Emily
