Again in South East Asia: Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

I fell so much in love with SE ASIA that I went back on the following summer. This time I went on my own and I had just my tickets and a couple of hotel bookings. I returned to KUALA LUMPUR and LANGKAWI, and visited BANGKOK, PHUKET and RACHA ISLAND in THAILAND. I made a quick visit to SINGAPORE.

MALAYSIA /THAILAND/ SINGAPORE 2001

KUALA LUMPUR

Foto: Betty Ojeda

	Fri, 12 Jan 2001 00:25:39 -0600 (CST)
	FROM KUALA LUMPUR

The flight was fine, a bit uncomfortable because there is not much room, but ok. I´m in China Town but just for today. I´m in Petaling Street where fruits, roast ducks and snacks among other things are sold. It´s one of the oldest areas in the city Tomorrow I´m moving to the same area I was last year, quite close to The Golden Triangle of Bukit Bitang.

This morning I was at Central Market. The market was completed in 1936 and renovated in 1986. It´s an art and crafts centre.I remember having a delicious drink with Gabriela last year and taking a look at lots of crafts and buying some.

After my visit to the Market I went to an agency to buy my tickets for BANGKOK. Then I´ll be flying to PHUKET, but I don´t know yet for how long I´ll be staying on the island.

I´m tired…it must be due to the jet lag.

	Sat, 13 Jan 2001 00:56:41 -0600 (CST)
	AWAKE NOW

Do you remember that last year I used to say that everybody spoke English here? Well, I was wrong…This morning I went to the bus station to buy the ticket for MELAKKA and it wasn´t that easy…There´s a market at the bus station, so it was interesting to be there. I took a walk around China Town and video recorded a bit. It´s a pity video cameras can´t record smells, because it would be great to catch all the different food aromas wafting in the streets. Then I went back to the hotel where I´m staying now. It´s called Comfort Inn, though it´s not very comfortable. Well, in fact is very simple but completely inexpensive and I´m fine. I would recommend it. The bathroom is completely tiny. About one metre and a half –one metre and a half…and I´m not exaggerating at all!!! Believe me. It´ll be interesting to take a shower there, I´m sure. I can already see an advantage…while washing my hair I´ll be able to see if I have washed the shampoo completely because I´ll be standing facing the mirrow. I must say that the staff is very kind…

Well I gotta go now. I´m going to see the beautiful Petronas. I saw in a documentary that they´re close to a park which I didn´t see last year. Tonight I´m going to the Hard Rock Café. Yes, I know, it´s not a typical place, but…

I´ve been asked about the weather…well it´s hot, really hot. Yesterday it rained and I got soaked, but rains don´t last long here.

	Sun, 14 Jan 2001 04:35:08 -0600 (CST)
	MELAKKA Foto: Betty Ojeda Foto: Betty Ojeda Foto: Betty Ojeda

As I had told you I went to the Petronas. Amazing really. I took some pics (last year I took plenty) and bought the Lonely Planet Guide for MALAYSIA. Do you want some information regarding these beautiful towers? They´re considered the world's tallest buildings. It´s said that they were not originally planned to be the tallest - the original plans were for a height of 427m - 15m shorter than Chicago's Sears Tower. They were later reworked and pinnacles were added to raise the height to 452m. and that was how the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers entered the history books. The towers were designed by the Argentine architect Cesar Pelli (yes, a guy from our country) They were officially opened by the Prime Minister on National Day in 1999. The sky bridge located on the 41st and 42nd floors was opened to the public in May 2000. You must have seen the bridge in one of Sean Conery´s latest movies.

Remember tropical weather? Well, it rained again, but I went on walking along the winding roads of KUALA LUMPUR. They´re very pretty but they must have been designed by someone who was a bit nuts…a walk that takes you five minutes takes you much longer by taxi. I stopped to have some beer in a very pretty place, outdoors, very original.

In the evening I went to the Hard Rock Café just to have a couple of delicious Margaritas. (here they´re served frozen and they taste really good) As usual, the Café was multicultural. There were Chinese Malaysian, Hindu Malaysian, and just by my side were some Germans and South Africans.

This morning I had a shower in my “enormous” bathroom and left for MALAKKA where I´m right now. Besides chatting with you I´m having an “air-con treatment” because it´s warm, really warm.  I finished my mineral water on my head  while I was taking a walk.

MELAKKA is two hours from KUALA LUMPUR, and it´s by Melakka Strait. It used to be a sultanate. There has been Chinese, Indian and Portuguese immigration here, and as you must imagine, the Portuguese were not here just to pay the Malay a visit, but to conquer lands. They left some Catholic churches, and part of the population is Catholic , quite strange for these lands. The place is small and one day is enough to visit it. There´s also a China Town which I saw when I was coming from the bus station. (at the beginning I took the wrong way and walked exactly opposite I should have) As I always ask the way I learnt I was going the wrong way. I visited the Sultan´s home, well as a matter of fact, it wasn´t the real one. Very pretty but I didn´t take pics inside the house because it´s forbidden.

Holding my map on one hand and the bottle of mineral water on the other, I went on walking till I arrived here.

My plans for tomorrow are to visit Little India and to return to the Sultan´s former residence, and Merdeka Square where  the Malayan flag was hoisted in 1957 as a symbol of the country´s freedom from the British rule. At the opposite end I remember a fountain which was very attractive.

Going back to the weather, today I was walking, wearing a T-shirt and a shirt, and I was so hot that first I tied my hair and then I finished wetting it with my mineral water I took notice that a lot of local women look fine with so many clothes, as if they weren´t uncomfortable. As a matter of fact they don´t have much choice…but, they don´t look miserable as I do with this hot weather.

The ones who accompanied me last year might be expecting descriptions of visits to temples and museums, but remember that I have already been to KL, so I´ll visit temples in THAILAND.

.

	Mon, 15 Jan 2001 03:24:07 -0600 (CST)
	ABOUT TO GO TO THE NORTH

Yesterday, alter sending you the e-mail I went on my way to the bus station. It started to rain so I stopped at a cool bar where I had some Malaysian beer. One of the girls working in the bar suggested I should take a bus to the bus station and so I did. When I arrived at the Bus Station I didn´t find it familiar…because it was the wrong station!!! I started asking for info but nobody spoke English, till I found someone who could help me and finally I arrived at the correct station to take my bus back to KL. The bus was comfortable and with air con. Morpheus took me in his arms till I arrived in KL. I took a cab and I had my first quarrel with a taxi driver. I told him to stop the car and started to walk. The problem was that he wanted to OVERcharge me three times the correct price. (he hadn´t turned on the meter) It wasn´t that I dind´t have enough money, the problem was that I don´t like when people want to take advantage of tourists. As it usually takes longer going by car than on foot, I soon arrived at the hotel.

I like walking –when I´m on holiday. Here, the problem are the winding roads, but with a map it´s less difficult to get lost…To cross the streets is really a trial…it´s like an adventure…Where there are no traffic light I just stand by the locals and when they start crossing I do the same. Fortunately, cars stop. There are also plenty of motorbikes.

Today I visited Merdeka Square, the Sultan´s former house and Little India. Jalan Masjid India runs beside Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and was named after the mosque there. Last year Gabriela and I visited it. We had to take our shoes off and cover our shoulders and head. When we went into the National Mosque we were given a long garment and a scarf to cover our heads. (we always took a scarf with us just in case we wanted to visit a mosque)  Well, going back to Little India, there are lots of shops selling perfumes, spices, incense, sarees, brassware and jewellery and Malay shops specialising in batik, songkok, prayer mats and robes. The street is deliciously lively with heady mixture of colour, aromas and sounds and there are flower vendors, food and souvenir stalls, buskers and blind musicians. Among the more interesting vendors are Malay medicine men plying jamu and various brews that claim to cure just about anything. I didn´t buy any though. I found the place absolutely  marvelous.

Tomorrow I gotta get up early because the plane leaves at 8. It´s only a two-hour flight, nothing when I compare it to the 22-four hour flight from BUENOS AIRES to KUALA LUMPUR.

	Wed, 17 Jan 2001 04:03:42 -0600 (CST)
	IN BANGKOK Foto: Betty Ojeda Foto: Betty Ojeda Foto: Betty Ojeda

Well, here I am in BANGKOK. The hotel is very good though a bit expensive for my budget. The only problem is that it´s far from downtown and the traffic here is terrible. The Lonely Planet Guide tell you about it, and believe all the information !!!

Yesterday, after arriving,. I went out just to have a walk around the area. There are a lot of embassies (ours is close) There are lots of stalls, food ones mainly.I went into a street full of colourful lights, I imagined there would be pubs, and…there were , but it was , how can I say it…a “working area” where sex was sold. I walked a bit and left without any problem.

In the evening I had dinner at Le Dalat, a Vietnamese restaurant, gorgeous restaurant. I had learnt about the restaurant reading Frommers Guide, similar to the Lonely Planet Guide. The people working at the restaurant were very kind. I asked for spring rolls, but the only ones I knew were Chinese and these ones were Vietnamese and looked different. They were wrapped in who knows what and as I had sterted unwrapping them but didn´t know whether I was supposed to do so I asked the waiter. Don´t unwrap them…I imagined a tourist here in ARGENTINA trying to unwrap canelones…I hope I hadn´t eaten anything that was there just to decorate the dish. (nobody laughed) I didn´t have problems with the main dish. Well, I found something too hard when I was trying to cut a piece, and found out that it had sugarcane in the middle, but I soon managed the situation. Yes, I know, I should read the menu more deeply. I took some pics and went back to the hotel which is quite close to this beautiful restaurant.

This morning I went to the CITIBANK. Don´t think that I´ve gone crazy so as to visit a bank when on holiday. The fact is that I had problems withdrawing money with my card, and I can only do so in the bank. The service was great. Well, I had got up at 7:30 so as to star my day early, but I left the bank at 11.

I visited the WAT SAKET where I took pics and did some video recording. I had to go up several steps…oh, my smoking…When I went down I met a Thai Airlines pilot who acted as my guide. He was very friendly and kind. In one of temples I could see an enormous beautiful Buddha.

Tomorrow I´m visiting the GRAND PALACE, the  RECLINING BUDA and the l EMERALD BUDA which is one of  the most sacred statues of the Buddha, carved from a single piece of jade. Where I was today I also saw the residences of the monks. Beautiful buildings really.

I have booked a table for tomorrow evening in a restaurant where there is typical Thai food and traditional dances.

There something extremely difficult here…to cross the streets, a thousand times worse than in KL. I look insane, I´m sure I must look scary…taking a look at both sides. Yes, I know that here they drive on the left, but I can´t help looking at the other way, as at home. You look and…hundreds of cars and motorbikes appear. People drive and ride their motorbikes pretty fast, so it´s a great adventure to be able to cross the streets without being injured.

Today I took a tuk-tuk ,a three-wheeled open-air taxi, much more interesting than a regular cab. Don´t you think?

Very few people speak English, so sometimes, it´s a bit difficult to communicate. I´ve learnt that the best way is to speak slowly and sometimes Tarzanlike. I´ve learnt a couple of words in Thai, but you can imagine how I sound…

Yesterday evening one of the waiters at Le Dalat made me repeat the words in Vietnamese as well as in Thai , and he said : “good!!!! “. Very encouraging…and to be truly honest, I don´t think I sounded so well.

Well, I´m going back to the hotel to have a shower and then a traditional Thai Massage.

PS. A lot of tuk-tuk riders and people in general wear masks to protect themselves from the terrible smog here.

	Thu, 18 Jan 2001 04:19:18 -0600 (CST)
	BUDDHA

Last night I went to the Hard Rock Café. The building was pretty, but I didn´t like the atmosphere. Too much prostitution. I had one Margarita and left. I came back by tuk-tuk with my curls floating in the air as the driver drove fast, pretty fast.

This morning I went to the historical area. I´m far and it took long because of the traffic jams. The taxi driver was a bit rude…but my anger disappeared when I arrived and saw such a marvelous place. The beautiful Grand Palace is a huge complex of wats, palaces and museums. I visited the EMERALD BUDA which I mentioned in the previous mail. I also saw Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Po) It´s not only the largest but the oldest temple in Bangkok. It contains the largest statue in Thailand. The BUDDHA is 46 metres long. It´s covered in gold leaf and absolutely gorgeous. I took some pics as you must imagine. I also visited  Wat Traimit, the GOLDEN BUDDHA, which is believed to date from the 13 th century. I bought some birds there and then, following the tradition, I set them free.

On Saturday I´m visiting the WEEKEND MARKET and on Sunday I´m flying to PHUKET to sunbathe and get some fresh air. The pollution here in BANGKOK is terrible. You wonder where the sun still exists…I don´t know yet how long I´ll be staying on the island.

Well, I gotta go now.

I forgot to tell you that after visiting the temples I decided to go to China Town, but I got lost. Some of the streets have their names in Thai only…very interesting but impossible to understand. In the more tourist areas everything is in English too, well, sometimes you don´t understand either because the “English” represents the Thai sounds, but at least you can read and see where you are.

	Fri, 19 Jan 2001 05:29:45 -0600 (CST)
	POOD THAI MAI DAI ( i don´t speak thai)

I forgot to tell you about the famous Thai Massage…It´s said it´s  superb, very good for blood circulation and plenty of other things, so I decided to have the experience…and it was…painful!!!!! While the lady twisted my arms and legs, and tied me as a parcel, I repeated to myself “this will make me good”, hoping she would know how to untie me…(lol)

As for the SALA RIM NAAN restaurant I must say that my experience was not good. The place is  beautiful. It´s across the river and there are traditional meals and dances. The show was fantastic, but the problem was that I had been told the price on the phone, but there was a difference and as couldn´t get used to the new currency yet  and hadn´t taken my credit card with me I didn´t have enough money. It was awful really. Then I was told that you can see the same show, or as good as that one in other places no so expensive.

This morning, very early, I started my journey to AYUTTHAYA ,which used to be THAILAND´s capital and home to 33 kings of various dynasties. (from 1350 to 1767) The architecture of AYUTTHAYA is fascinating. We went to the city by bus and then took a boat and sailed to BANGKOK. We could see WAT ARUM, which is an 18 th century temple, which is a melding of Sukhothai Buddhist influences with Hindu-inspired Khmer style. It´s not that I know about styles, I have just read something in my guide, and you don´t need to know much, though it always help, to appreciate the beauty of the wat.

Most tourists on the boat were German. I chatted a little with an Australian girl who looked Japanese, and mostly with a Saudi. He was very kind and we talked about our cultures, his wife who wasn´t with him because she found it uncomfortable and about Diego Maradona, as usual. Everybody mentions him immediately after I say I come from Argentina

I´ve just returned to the hotel. Tomorrow I´l be having my second dose of the vaccine. I mean for hepatitis. Then I´ll visit the WEEKEND MARKET. I´ll go by train, much faster than by taxi if you consider the traffic jams, and I don´t think I´ll have any problem with the driver…

	Sat, 20 Jan 2001 06:45:45 -0600 (CST)
	CHATUCHAK

The train was great, pretty fast, clean, comfortable, cheap and with air con.

The hospital looked so luxurious that I doubted whether it was the place I had to go. The service was excellent and I left with my second dose.

Then I went to CHATUCHAK, i.e. THE WEEKEND MARKET.

It´s huge, very huge and you can buy plants, shoes, handicrafts, clothes, live animals, ceramics, jewelry, counterfeit antiques, everything you can imagine. Some goods are superb and some others…It´s hot, very hot, as if a sauna were included, but worth visiting, NO DOUBT. It doesn´t matter whether you buy some stuff or not, the market´s an attraction in itself, colourful, and with aromas coming from the different dishes being sold. There were a lot of people, locals and tourists. The custom here is to bargain so they reduce the price. I´m not very good at it really, because I don´t insist much.

	Sun, 21 Jan 2001 05:07:35 -0600 (CST)
	WALKING AND WALKING...

Never trust appearances…The hotel looked pretty nice in the web page, but I didn´t like it when I saw it. It looked not very clean and a bit unsafe, so I started walking trying to find another hotel. A lot of hotels didn´t accept credit cards, some others were too expensive for my budget, some others had no vacancies till I found one room in a pretty hotel just opposite where I am right now. I booked five days. I´m in KATA and the place is nice. I have seen little so far, but the beach looks pretty, not as pretty as the ones in CUBA though.

Oops, I have just seen a lizard on the wall. Oops, another one… I´ll leave before its whole  family arrives…

	Mon, 22 Jan 2001 22:35:07 -0600 (CST)
	MORE RELAXED

I was to leave for KL on the 27 th but, there are no flights so I must go back on the 25 th. It´s a pity I must leave the island…

The evening I arrived in PHUKET I had a Thai dish in an Italian restaurant. There are a lot of Italian tourists and I needed something more familiar.

Yesterday morning I went to the beach !!!!!! I went with one of the books I brought with me, one of Isabel Allende´s. I sunbathed, read, and went into the ANDAMAN SEA. I also chatted a bit and had a drink with an Italian girl who was going back to Italy today. In the evening I went to PATONG BEACH. I went with the manager of the hotel, who is Thai, and an Italian who is at the hotel. He´s a pilot. We had a drink, walked a lot, and then the manager left and I had dinner in a gorgeous place with the pilot. We had tiger prawns which were delicious. As you know, I love sea food (poor little things ´cause I eat them…) There were lots of people in PATONG BEACH, Italian and German tourists mainly and locals. There were plenty of fresh sea food displays luring passersby to step in to dine, hundreds of vendors, bars with girls, and transsexuals, and motorbikes and motorbikes, and motorbikes…I wouldn´t go during the day because I guess the beach must be overcrowded but nightlife is there, in PATONG BEACH.

This morning I went to KARON BEACH. I walked along the beach, video recording and now I´m going back to the hotel to leave the video recorder so as to go to KATA NOI BEACH to sunbathe.

Everybody thinks I´m Italian, and when I say I´m from Argentina, you know who they mention.

	Wed, 24 Jan 2001 06:31:28 -0600 (CST)
	HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

Yesterday started the Chinese New Year. They´ve been celebrating since then. The celebration lasts 15 days I think, so I´ll have the chance to see something in KL.

KATA NOI is very pretty really, white sand, warm turquoise water. KARON BEACH too.

Last night I just took a walk and had sea food ( yes, again!!!)

Today I took an excursion to a couple of small islands near KO PI PI. The fisrt one is called CORAL ISLAND which was sold as PARADISE. It seemed that when we arrived Adam and Eve had just been expelled because “paradise” was a mess, overcrowded…There were hundreds of people celebrating New Year, that´s why. Nevertheless, we had fun all the same and smiled reading the brochure that said that the place was excellent to relax. I said “we” because I was with two kind couples from Sweden. We had a delicious Thai meal and left for RAYA / RACHA ISLAND (the two versions are used) The island is ABSOLUTELY MARVELLOUS !!! The warm turquoise water is calm and the sand completely white. I also met a couple from Japan, very nice, but they stayed on CORAL ISLAND. The stay on RAYA was great. Beautiful place really. Then we took the speed boat back to PHUKET.

Foto: Betty Ojeda

	Thu, 25 Jan 2001 07:00:07 -0600 (CST)
	THE CELEBRATION GOES ON AND ON...

Last night I went back to PATONG BEACH to say goodbye. I took a walk along the main street where, as I´ve already told you, are a lot of bars. The girls, transsexuals, and travesties dance trying to seduce customers. There were little temples in the bars too and after dancing some prayed a bit.

I had some squid and took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel. I resembled IT from The Adams…The tuk-tuk driver drove fast, that´s why, so imagine my curls. Obviously I didn´t care, you know that.

Today I flew back to KL, so I´m in MALAYSIA once more. I wanted to fly to LANGKAWI on Saturday but as the celebration goes on, the agencies are closed…The Chinese are mostly in business so, not only the agencies are closes, but the exchange offices and the Citibank as well. Remember that my interest in the bank is because I can withdraw money from there…

The ones who accompanied me last year know that LANGKAWI is a small island NW of MALAYSIA.

	Sat, 27 Jan 2001 00:33:47 -0600 (CST)
	PS FROM  PHUKET AND OTHER STUFF

I spoke Spanish for the first time after long in PHUKET. As the Italian with whom I had dinner in PATONG had been living in Spain, we had part of the conversation in Spanish. It was nice to speak my language.

Yesterday I arrived in KL. I went back to the PETRONAS and visited the park I had seen on cable. Then I had a delicious cold cappuccino in a bar close to the towers.

I moved again today!! And there are people who go to college to study tourism and hotel management…I moved to a new hotel not because I didn´t like it, but it was too expensive for me. It´s the same hotel I was last year, but last year I was with Gabriela, so we shared the expenses. I moved from THE FAIRLANE HOTEL to THE SEASONS VIEW. It´s simple but nice. The only thing I dislike is that my room doesn´t have..a…window!!!! The hotel is in a Chinese area. There are open-air little food stalls right outside the hotel. I´ve been told that you may savour the best of Malaysian cuisines such as Penang Laksa, BBQ, Seafood, Satay, Char Kuey Teow, Rojak, Roti Canai and many many more from the almost 200 hawker stalls that are lined along the famous hawker street. The area is colourful as you might imagine.

On Monday I´ll be flying to LANGKAWI. (is you want to learn more about the Malaysian island, go back to the mails I sent last year)

Perhaps you remember that cultures have been meeting and mixing in Malaysia since the very beginning of its history, nevertheless I haven´t seen any inter racial couples so far. There are three ethnic groups: the MALAY, the CHINESE MALAYSIAN and the HINDU MALAYSIAN. The MALAY are Malaysia's largest ethnic group, accounting for over half the population and the national language. Almost all Malays are Muslims, though Islam here is milder than in the Middle East. As I told you before, women are covered, but they don´t wear black. Their garments are colourful and you can see their faces. The Chinese traded with Malaysia for centuries and  settled during the 19th century. The Chinese are regarded as Malaysia's businessmen, and I saw it during the New Year…when shops and agencies were closed. Most Chinese are Tao Buddhist and retain strong ties to their ancestral homeland. Indians had been visiting Malaysia for over 2,000 years, but did not settle en masse until the 19th century. Most came from South India, fleeing a poor economy. I have already mentioned their extraordinary beautiful Hindu temples and gorgeous clothes. Do you remember from last year?

When you go out at night you can meet Chinese Malaysian women and a few Hindu Malaysian, but not Malay, unless in a restaurant, but they´re always with a man or in groups.

	Sun, 28 Jan 2001 04:33:30 -0600 (CST)
	WALK

Today, at middday I started my day Not really the best time of the day to go out, but I was tired and couldn´t get up early. I took my backpack, some mineral water and my camera, and took a cab up to MERDEKA SQUARE, do you remember? The square where the Malayan flag was first hoisted after getting rid of the British.

The whole area is very pretty, with its shining, modern office towers, and its cosmopolitan air together with more traditional buildings. This area, as well as the one where you can see the Petronas are the most cosmopolitan, clean, with lots of expensive modern cars that drive up and down the attractive winding roads. But not all KL is like that, there also other areas which are not so clean and where you can also see that you´re in the third world. Nevertheless, KL is a magnificent city worth visiting, once, twice, three times, as many times as you can !!! Well from MERDEKA SQUARE y went walking towards the NATIONAL MOSQUE. I have already visited it, so I didn´t visit it this time, I just took a couple of pics from outside.I rested for a while, and finished my bottle of mineral water as usual here, i.e. I used the water to wet my hair. Then, I went on my way to the TRAIN STATION which is absolutely beautiful. I went on and on and ended opposite the gorgeous Hindu Temple which had impressed me so much last year. I went in, and video recorded a bit. I crossed the street to get into a Chinese Temple and left for the CENTRAL MARKET. Fruits, vegetables and fish used to be sold there, and nowadays it´s an art and crafts centre. There are also shows in the evening, so when I get back from LGK or SINGAPORE I´ll go to say good bye to KL.

	Mon, 29 Jan 2001 07:29:36 -0600 (CST)
	JUST BEACH LIFE

I arrived at 2.30 pm, without having booked any hotel room. I knew I would get a room at the airport tourist office, but it seems I have developed a syndrome here in ASIA…it´s the change-hotel-syndrome…I´ll be the first night at NADIA INN and the rest at LANGKAPURI BEACH RESORT. ( just across the street) Both are in the Lonely Planet Guide. Well, I arrived, and went straight to the beach. I walked, sunbathed, and got into the sea. I looked for my friend NICK whom I met last year. We made friends with Suzanne, the Canadian girl, and Gabriela, my trip partner. I could´n t find him, because he isn´t in LGK, he´s in England right now. It saddened me not to see him, because I don´t think I´ll come back to LGK. When you travel you make friends, and many a times, you don´t see them ever again…I walked a lot along the beach, and took some shells as souvenirs. There are more restaurants, hotels, cyber cafés and bars than last January.

I don´t have much to tell you, I´ve only been to the beach, and my idea is to relax, read, sunbathe. I saw sunset by the sea today, which is always something worth seeing.

As for tourists, there are people from MALAYSIA and some foreigners. When I was walking I saw two kids wearing a T-shirt that read ARGENTINA. I wondered whether I was “seeing things” because of the hot weather, but…nooooooooo. They were wearing a football T-shirt with the number 9 and the name BATISTUTA on their backs. I talked a bit with the kids´parents who are locals.

	Tue, 30 Jan 2001 04:30:59 -0600 (CST)
	ANTI TETANUS

Early in the morning I took another walk along the beach, then I sunbathed a little by the hotel´s room and afterwards I moved to the other hotel. I had only to cross the street and now I´m in a wood cabin by the sea. I unpacked my backpack and went straight to the sea. Oops, something hurt…but I went on walking gracefully, till I took a look at my feet. I went back to the cabin, washed my feet and then put on some medicine. Nevertheless  I wanted to see a doc. Again MASTER ASSIST, As it´s not possible to make collect phone calls from MALAYSIA I couldn´t call MASTER CARD. I went to a little clinic which was nearby and saw a doc. She cleaned my feet more deeply and I had the  anti tetanus vaccine taken. She told me that a globefish must have hurt me. It could have been just a piece of wood too, but the globefish sounds more interesting, right? Back from the clinic I laid  on a beach chair under a palm tree and read.

	Wed, 31 Jan 2001 03:47:45 -0600 (CST)
	DIFFERENCES ON ASIAN BEACHES

First of all, a toast . The dictador Pinochet is in jail !!!

Neither in THAILAND nor in MALYSIA topless is allowed, but in PHUKET, most Europeans did it with no problem. Nobody paid any attention to them, not even the locals who have other customs. Nobody cares about people´s bodies. I mean, in ARGENTINA there´s a kind of worshipping to beauty, and if you´re not George Clooney or a goddess …well…bad…Here I saw that nobody cares. I´ve seen men and women far from being “attractive” wearing what they like and not what some people consider they “should”, just enjoying the beach. Here in LANGKAWI there are less foreign tourists than in PHUKET. Most foreign women here wear bikinis, the Chinese Malaysian cover more their body. I haven´t seen Hindu Malaysians, and the Malay women I have seen are all covered, I mean, they were their suits to get into the water.

To do topless here is considered inappropriate as well as offensive, and the men here look at westerners insistently.

Last night I found the place where we had dinner our first night on the island. It´s a very cozy place with  excellent food, good prices, friendly staff.

The restaurant has also a kind of garden, so I went straight to that area, but the waiter told me I should go to the closed area as it  was about to rain, and he was right…The people who were in the garden had to get in so we shared tables, and I had a conversation with an Austrian and a Swiss. I spoke English with her and when he heard I´m Argentinean he started to speak Spanish as he knew some words.

Today, again a walk along the beach, I had a fizzy drink in a bar by the sea, I finished Isabel Allende´s book and that´s that. There´s a little library at the hotel. The books are in German, Chinese French and Italian, so I´ll see if I can find something in Italian.

	Sat, 3 Feb 2001 04:35:54 -0600 (CST)
	AGAIN IN KL, BUT NOW TANNED

Back in KL.A bit sleepy, but tanned!!!

In LGK I mostly relaxed, sunbathed and took walks along the beach. After finishing my book I read one in Italian from the hotel´s library.

I went to a pub by the sea on my last two nights on LGK. I made friends with the barman, who is also a painter and plays the guitar. On my last night I dinned with him and a guy from South Africa. We went to a very nice place where mostly locals go.

I already have my train tickets for SINGAPORE. I´ll be leaving at 3 in the afternoon and I´ll be arriving at about 10 in the evening.

	Sun, 4 Feb 2001 02:31:57 -0600 (CST)
	JALAN MASJID INDIA

JALAN MASJID INDIA is the main street in  LITTLE INDIA. There´s a mosque I visited last year. Let me try to describe LITTLE INDIA…it´s full of colours, aromas, different ethnias and you´re wrapped  by the music. I love it. During my trip I have talked to many tourists who just thought about shopping.I just smiled because these lands have mucho more than goods, but  here, in LITTLE INDIA I´d like to buy almost EVERYTHING!!!!  I love the sarees, the suits, the jewelry, the shoes, the bags. The street is lively and full of vendors who sell lots of different things such as magic teas and brews. You can also have a head massage in this street!! The Hindu Malaysian women wear magnificent sarees or typical suits which are breathtaking.

I bought a CD. I don´t know the singer, but I was walking along the street and heard some music which I liked a lot .

Well, I gotta go now. I want to go on enjoying this beautiful place.

	Sun, 4 Feb 2001 22:27:18 -0600 (CST)
	I NEED A GUIDE

Yesterday, alter leaving LITTLE INDIA I decided to take the train back to the hotel. I took off at the station, that according to the map was closer to the hotel, but…I found myself on a highway and the area was not familiar at all. I started walking, but…the wrong way. The taxi drivers asked me if I wanted a ride but I answered I didn´t. I was determined to go back on foot, on my own. Remember that this city is full of winding roads…The hotels which were included in the map helped me on my way back, and I was very proud of myself when I arrived safe and sound.

I had a hamburger at Mc Donalds for dinner. Yes, I know…I shouldn´t have gone to Mc D, but I wanted to eat meat, or let´s say, something similar… Then I went to THE BEACH BAR. I stayed only an hour, I had some ron, smoked a couple of cigarettes and left as I disliked the music very much. I was the only one, because most people were dancing frenetically. Well, perhaps I´m exaggerating a bit, but the music was awful.  I wanted to take a cab, but the taxi driver, again…wanted to overcharge me just because, no doubt, I´m a foreigner. I left walking to the astonishment of the taxi driver. As the Spanish poet MACHADO said, “caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar”, I started my way back to the hotel. I arrived  sound and safe , though a bit warm. Remember, during the day it´s hot, and at night…it´s hot.

In a couple of hours I´ll be going to SINGAPORA ( they call it so)

PS. I can cross the streets better now. Don`t you think that I look normal, but I have improved...

	Tue, 6 Feb 2001 07:08:49 -0600 (CST)
	SHORT FROM SINGAPORE

I recommend  coming by train. The view is interesting and it´s a pity I arrived at night and couldn´t take pics. Nevertheless SINGAPORE looked pretty. Today I was in LITTLE INDIA with Nurhajan, one of Taherah´s sisters. She took me to an Indian restaurant. It was the first time I had an Indian meal. There was a little boy near us who couldn´t help staring at me and laughing. He wasn´t rude,  he found it funny just to see an adult receiving instructions to eat. At Taherah´s home we had some crab. I had a fight with the crab and I won.

It´s raining, yes...again.

	Wed, 7 Feb 2001 04:12:50 -0600 (CST)
	HOSPITAL

Well, my stay in SINGAPORE was short, really short. My friend got sick and she had to be taken to hospital. Hope she gets well soon.

I arrived a couple of hours ago and I´m back at the same hotel, that´s to say the SEASONS VIEW. I like the area and the staff is very friendly.

	Wed, 7 Feb 2001 22:39:33 -0600 (CST)
	DRAGON , HINDU FESTIVAL & MALAYSIAN AIRLINES...

Yesterday was the end of Chinese New Year so I had the chance to meet the dragon dancing several times. There was a Hindu celebration yesterday too. You might have seen i ton televisión. I remember  seeing it on a documentary.It´s not very nice to see really, they hurt themselves.

I think I´m flying back t ARGENTINA on the 11 th. I´m not sure because I was told I was on the waiting list when I phoned Malaysian Airlines today. I was also told that somebody had cancelled my ticket. (????)  I would like to stay longer really,. I could spend more days on the beach.

	Thu, 8 Feb 2001 05:59:06 -0600 (CST)
	LOST AS SERRAT´S DOVE

After sending the mail I took a cab to go to Malaysian Airlines.I started video recording and talking. The taxi driver stared at me because he thought I was talking to myself (besides I was speaking Spanish so he didn´t understand a word)  I arrived at Malaysian Airlines and learnt I was still in the waiting list, and, I wasn´t upset at all I must admit. I was already planning the extra week , but when I got back at the hotel I was told that I had received a phone call from the airline. I called and they had already solved the problem…pity…They could have provided a poor service and let me enjoy the ANDAMAN SEA again!!!

After I left the airline , with the map in one of my hands, I started walking on my way to visit the KL TOWER. I went up, and up, and up and then I realized there was another way up, easier…I was surprised to hear that the guy who sold me the ticket to go up the tower not only spoke to me in Spanish but asked me whether I was Argentinian. Psychic perhaps?  The lift is very fast. It reminded me of the one in the Empire State Building. After I went down I had a hamburger in a pub which is by a fountain.

I decided to go back to the hotel on my own again, as if the city were mine. Not all the streets are included in the map, so…Remember Serrat´s song? “The dove thought that that the north was the south…” and the same happened to me. I was walking just the opposite way. I asked a guy and he said I should take a cab, but I was determined not to, so I went on walking till I reached the Bus Station which was familiar as I had taken the bus for MELAKKA there. Just by chance I found a narrow street where there was a beautiful Hindu Temple. Lucky me!!!

I went on and arrived at the hotel where I got to know I´m flying back to ARGENTINA on Sunday 11 th at 1:05 am. I´ll be home on Sunday 11 th at about 3 in the afternoon. It´s not magic…I´m going westwards.

Now I´m going to the CENTRAL MARKET. There are shows almost every day. Hope today´s one.

	Fri, 9 Feb 2001 04:43:42 -0600 (CST)
	CHOW KIT MARKET

Some old news. When I arrived at SINGAPORE Train Station, which is not pretty at all, I saw that there were very few taxis. In fact, there weren´t any. A very tall man approached me and asked me where I was going. He worked with a van. He told me how much it would be to my friend´s home by his van and by cab. It was more expensive if I took the van, but as he was nice I took it.  There was a long queue too. He was a Punjabi and the conversation was very interesting. He spoke perfect English and he also other languages. We talked about different cultures and the journey was a pleasure. When I arrived, I paid him but he didn´t have enough change, but he didn´t get upset at all. He said it was his fault because he should have had enough change. Unbelievable.

When I went back to MALAYSIA nobody took a look at my passport, so it seemed that I had entered SINGAPORE but never returned to MALAYSIA. Hope I have no problems at the airport…

Well, last night I went to Central Market where there are usually shows, but not last night…I saw some crafts and then had dinner at a beautiful restaurant which is on the first floor and left.

Today, at midday I took a cab and went to CHOW KIT MARKET. You can  buy fruit, shoes, clothes, and amazing fabrics.

I had pizza in a Pizza Hut because it was the only place with air con. The pizza was bad…

I decided to take the Sky Train to… anywhere. I asked where the station was. Nobody could tell me till a Hindu Malaysian guy - who was very cute by the way- told me and as he was going the same way accompanied me chatting. We talked about our countries, and this time he didn´t mention the famous football player. It started to rain heavily. We arrived at the station and said good bye. When I arrived at the station I went to (I just wanted to take a ride, pity it was raining so I couldn´t take pics) I bought the ticket back. Then I went back to the hotel on foot.        

Fecha:	Fri, 9 Feb 2001 23:27:45 -0600 (CST)
Asunto:	EL NIÑO

Last year, alter going to the Hard Rock Café I went to EL NIÑO, a Latin American Disco. I wanted to go back there, but nobody knew where it was and I couldn´t remember. Finally I found the place. There was a live band which played very well. As I was clearly alone, a Hindu Malaysian girl invited me to go with her and her brothers and friends. Most of them were Chinese Malaysian, she and her brothers were Hindu Malaysian and there was a Malay so, the ethnic Malaysian diversity was present. Besides there was a Latin American, that´s to say me. I went back to the hotel pretty late, so I´m sleepy but I´ll have the chance to sleep on the plane…on the 24-hour-flight…

I´ll go to LITTLE INDIA and then to PETALING Street where I was on my first day here just to finish the trip where I started it.

	Sat, 10 Feb 2001 05:31:40 -0600 (CST)
	COLOURS, FLAVOURS, AROMAS…

Half awake I went to LITTLE INDIA. It was very hot. I took some pics, did some shopping and took the train to CHINA TOWN. I didn´t walk much because I was very tired and  the weather was too hot. I had a fizzy drink in a bar in the street , took more pics and left. I walked to the hotel. I´ve already packed and changed the last Ringgits. I´ll just take another walk near the hotel and have dinner in one of the restaurants here where the hotel is, that´s to say in JALAN ALOR, which is known as the Hawker Street.  I´m saying good bye to the city, hoping I´ll be back.

I go back home full of different colours, flavours and aromas after a month here. I´m happy I have met so many nice people, and I´d love to return. I´ve been on my own and I´ve had no problem. (hope when I leave the cyber café a line of motorbikes don´t  run over  me…oh, motor riders believe the red traffic light is only for cars)

Thanks to all the ones who have been with me through the e-mails. It was also nice to read some Spanish.

See you in my next trip.

	Mon, 12 Feb 2001 10:28:40 -0600 (CST)
	BACK IN  ARGENTINA

I had dinner in “my neighbourhood”. I had a delicious salad and squid. I asked them to be non-spicy as usual, but they were hot!!! I believe even my teeth got burnt …

I took a cab to the airport because there were no more airport coaches. The taxi driver spoke very good English and we had an interesting conversation during the hour that takes to go to the airport. He invited me a beer. I thanked him but didn´t accept. 

Do you remember that I mentioned something about my passport when I left SINGAPORE? Well, fortunately I had my train ticket because it was necessary. The flight was delayed so I had to wait an hour…The plane took off and I fell asleep as you might imagine. I slept till we reached SOUTHAFRICA, so I crossed the INDIAN SEA sleeping.  (9 hours) I smoked a cigarette at the airport and bought Amarula, a delicious typical South African liqueur. It´s a wild fruit cream liqueur made with the fruit of the marula tree. Back to the plane and another stop, this time at CAPE TOWN. Again the flight was delayed. I arrived in BUENOS AIRES tired, very tired. A suitcase was missing, but fortunately it appeared, so everything was ok.

My friend Edgardo was waiting for me, and it was RAINING in BUENOS AIRES !!!