Climbing Snowdon with Bruised Ribs

At some point last year I made it to the top of Scarfel Pike, although it did mean scrambling up some pretty dangerous scree, wading through a fast-moving river up to my crotch and seeing nothing but freezing mist at the top. This whole adventure, as is traditional, was completed with very little preparation and hardly any suitable equipment whatsoever (you could see my pants through soaked cream shorts). It was cold, wet and a terrible idea.

It was therefore inevitable that I would try to walk up Snowdon at some point. It was also inevitable that the trip would combine the essential elements of dismal weather, general discomfort and a frightening lack of planning.

A couple of days previously I had thrown myself the wrong way down an indoor piste (jumping into the air and landing on my chest for extra style points), visited the hospital and been given the "all clear" after a good examination and an x-ray. Since that time laying on my chest had been impossible and breathing had been generally less fun. This was obviously the best time to climb the highest peak in Wales.

Once I'd printed some vague guides from the internet (no real maps, but one with written instructions and some photos), we got in the car on a Saturday morning and drove to Snowdonia. The good weather experienced throughout the week turned into constant rain, which ramped up the technical difficulty of the hike. The plan was to take the South Ridge route up the mountain, and the Rhyd Ddu path back down. This was an excellent plan, except for the horrendous weather. Also, as the South Ridge path is one less-travelled, you don't see too many people coming the other way, which is rather disconcerting and doesn't help with navigation. To anyone planning to climb Snowdon, don't be as unprepared as I was, you will/may die.

The trip was basically like this: Parked at Rhyd Ddu car park, paid the £4 all day fee (as I thought it unlikely that we'd get up and down the mountain in 4 hours for the reduced rate), crossed the railway track and began ascending. It was lightly drizzling at this point and my ankles hurt for no good reason. After about half an hour, having forked away from the Rhyd Ddu route and guessed the direction we should be going in (correctly), we passed through lots of slate. This was awesome but the rain was getting harder. By the time we'd traversed the old slate mines and reached (what we, once again, guessed to be a relevant wall) it was hammering it down. Brief ineffectual sheltering at the "dry" stone wall begat following it up the hill, which got increasingly steep, windy and scary. Fortunately at this point we saw a man and a dog coming the other way, so we were probably going in the right direction. Visibility then got exponentially worse so we were simply picking our way through mist, driving rain and rocks.

Looking back, it was really rather silly to climb a mountain at the end of September without a compass, map, relevant experience or suitable trousers. As the walking became steeper, and required actual climbing up sheer sections of loose rocks, my chest began to hurt with the heavy breathing. Suffice to say, I couldn't tell you much about the route, or the views, except that at some point we reached a ridge (where the ground fell away dramatically on both sides) but the mist was still thick. Fortunately the wind had eased off as we got higher (for some reason) so it wasn't as frightening/deadly as it may have been otherwise. At another stage (this may have been the "Saddle") we started to see lots of people; presumably we'd reached the point where the Rhyd Ddu path rejoins the South Ridge. Then after a while you're at the top where there's a huge building and thousands of people all soaked wet through and looking miserable.

Walking down Rhyd Ddu was much easier, didn't involve anything like climbing really, was well signposted (well, there were those piles of rocks and lots of discernable pathways anyway) and the weather began to improve dramatically (as was always likely). Snowdon then began to afford some rather beautiful views of the area which was a joy. On the way back down there were loads of sheep and right at the end we manage to go off-course to be surrounded by lots of large scary cows. This was a disappointment. However, eventually we found the railway line, got back to the car and consumed yet more sausage rolls and lucozade whilst feeling sore, cold and damp. All in all it took less than 6 hours, but it was quite a chore and some of the climbing involved was absurd. Not really something to do on a wet, cold day.

If I ever ascend Ben Nevis I'm taking a map (and other orienteering gear) and some waterproof legwear.

Oh Canada!

Right, I've been very lazy/distracted since I got back from travelling large style, so apologies for that. I'm going to tie it all up with a short seminary about Canada. It's the most wonderful place. The landscape is epic, with vast amazing landscapes to drive through, punctuated only by the varied wildlife (which often tries to kill itself using your car). There were bears, beavers, marmots, deer and loads of different birds (including those "of prey"). I loved it.The Stanley Cup Final (all seven games of it) was ongoing throughout the visit and, as the trip only involved a short sojourn outside of British Columbia, I was swept up in the crazy Canuck madness that was happening everywhere. Excellent excuse to visit bars, drink beer and eat any number of chicken wings and pork ribs. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I especially enjoyed how Roberto Luongo's brother (interviewed at one stage) was like a regular-sized version of the massive Vancouver goaltender. I could probably wax lyrical about the many fine points of NHL and why watching a 60 minute game spread over 4 hours is so enjoyable, but I'll probably save that for later. Anyway, the main point of this post is to show some pictures and generally show you why Canada is the best place ever (even though they search all your possessions on the way in because you don't know where you're staying/going and have no currency or contacts). Also, Canadians don't say "Eh" that much.Facts: A&W (Canada) is awesome. Swimming in lakes is fun but cold. Hot springs are possibly the best thing ever. I found $10 on a glacier. Waterfalls are everywhere. There are bears EVERYWHERE, fear them. If a tree falls in the woods right next to your tent, are you lucky or unlucky? Sometimes you just stumble across chill cook-off festivals in the middle of nowhere. Time changes as you get into the Rocky mountains. Visiting huge copper mines is cool, informative, replete with all kinds of wildlife and free.Anyway, loved it, see photos (especially one of massive inflatable beaver that disappeared in five minutes).

Aloha!

The buses actually say "aloha" when you're boarding, in a low, James Earl Jones style voice. Also, most people greet you similarly and some say "mahalo" to thank you. A large number of uniformed employees wear variations on Hawai'ian shirts, which is fun, and there're still a large number of leis handed out at the airport to arriving tourists. This is all fairly fun and as you would expect.

I flew into Oahu island, which contains Pearl Harbor, lots of restricted military areas and Waikiki beach. It also contains far too many people. Driving around the island is akin to a long scenic traffic jam. On some parts of Waikiki beach, sunbathers are laying in a grid pattern, like tents at an oversubscribed festival. Some of the hillside are beautiful and some have houses built all over them. If you take the walk up Diamond Head, which is an old volcano now containing a military base (not surprisingly) you can, at once, witness the beauty of the landscape and its subsequent overpopulation.

It's a holiday island, and as such is very laid back. Honolulu/Waikiki has a kind of '60s surfer vibe and the thumb-and-little-finger-outstretched-hand-symbol is often used. A common practice is renting Harley Davidsons, mopeds or bikes (which may or may not have surfboard holsters) and slowly driving around the congested streets with sunglasses on.

The flight to Hawai'i was very bumpy due to the massive Pacific ocean. The stay in Hawai'i was very stormy with huge thunderstorms that lasted all night; cataclysmic thunder and lightning abounds and the TV is often interrupted by flood warnings in the immediate area. One day I went out running for three hours, which I was quite impressed with. I took a large bottle of water and did laps of the park (which contained lots of association football playing and the remains of the gay pride parade). The parade itself was underwhelming, with only one "float" of negligible value, a couple of convertible mustangs, a roller derby team, some people with flags, some pro-gay heterosexuals (presumably for padding) and a single drag queen. Not really worth the wait/closing the road.

The island's military history was quite interesting and there was an army museum in an old gun emplacement next to the beach. Also went to Pearl Harbor, but failed to get there in time to take the free boat to the large white memorial banana. The buses on Oahu are cheap, and have bike racks on the front, but are almost impossibly slow. You have to be unemployed to have the time to catch on any distance. The memorial area seemed pretty well done though, although it ended up being a whistlestop tour. Many thanks to the man who looked after bags who gave me change for ten dollars. Tips for visiting the area (I think it's called USS Arizona) include: don't take a bag, it's not allowed in and you have to pay to have it stowed; go before 4pm to get the boat, and before 5pm when it all closes; and leave plenty of time to get the bus from Waikiki, but know you can take an additional free transfer on the buss within 2 hours of your original journey (if, indeed, it finishes within that time frame).

To surmise, Oahu was very cool, very stormy, very hot, very overcrowded, had loads of take-away food options (though no Dominos Pizza central to Waikiki) and was pretty beach/military orientated. I liked it, am glad I went, but don't feel a desperate need to return any time soon.

Great Southern Land

So, let me tell you about Australia then. It was an incredible place with all landscape types next to one another. Endless beaches, wetlands, rainforest, mountains, prarie-lands, rivers, all of it. There was also no-one about and it was pretty warm despite being Summer. I didn't really think I'd like Australia but I really did.

Got to the Gold Coast airport with 9 days to get to Sydney, so rented a car (free upgrade, woo, which opened up the possibility of actually sleeping in it) and got to driving. However, instead of heading down towards New South Wales, first drove up to Tamborine mountain national park. It was very high up and involved lots of fun driving, despite the car being an automatic (or "tranny" as the Americans would call it). There were loads of rainforests in the mountains and some waterfalls and such. It was very nice. Also discovered there are free BBQs to use everywhere! Not only is it the national food, they encourage you to do it. Brilliant. Actually Australia is very outdoor-oriented, which probably has something to do with the weather.

However, attempts to visit the Gold Coast beaches were mostly undone by quite heavy rain. The beaches were fantastic though, and when the sun came out it was hot. Their generally extensive nature also meant you didn't have to share them with anyone else (except at Byron Bay, which was a bit touristy and rubbish really, although the widespread graffiti was often really good). Surfing happened everywhere by everyone, including old men with paddles and shiny balding pates. When the weather was good, everything was glorious, but even when it wasn't the whole place was pretty naturally spectacular. And expensive.

Drove up a very windy, unsealed (gravel) mountain road at a good pace. Unfortunately that only succeeded in wedging a huge branch in the front nearside suspension. I thought I'd heard a weird noise. The suspension had clearly compressed on it and it was pretty difficult to remove. However, the drive was lots of fun and deposited the, now-much-less-showroom-fresh, car at Dangar Falls near Dorrigo. There it became the only thing in a "campsite" with amazing views over the mountains. Dorrigo was really cool too.

To cut an increasingly long story short observe these observations. Sleeping in a car for 8 nights gets more comfortable as you buy foam padding, charity shop duvets, single mattress covers and Castlemaine XXXX (much more delicious in Australia). Some of the towns look a lot more like the Wild West than I had imagined. Camping is definitely the way forward, as it's the least expensive of the many expensive options and you often get to pitch up next to an amazing beach or headland, and get a view of all those stars (however, this can be less good when it hammers down all day and night). Sydney's alright, but not fantastically interesting to drive through. The Opera House didn't seem that big, especially when compared with Singapore's "durians." You're not supposed to drive rental cars on the unsealed roads, and should probably read the agreement before you do so. It's best if you affect an Australian accent, as people get a bit confused otherwise, peppering most sentences with the words "mate" and/or "bloody." There is a town called The Entrance. Kangaroos just turn up and inhabit campsites. It's very easy to nearly drive into wallabies, repeatedly, in the mountains. There's lots of wildlife to see, including parrots and pigeons with mohawks.

Anyway, Australia did feel very liberating, as you could get to places without risking death on all the roads. Needs a lot more time (and probably money) though.

An Update Without Honour or Humanity

Bonjour! Sorry for having not updated the blog for a while, but the manner of my travelling has somewhat inhibited possibilities for computer usage. This is just a quick overview of what has occurred since Cambodia. I will flesh out the intimacies of my travels through the various countries at a later date (probably in a week or so) with pictures!

Flew out of Cambodia, back to the LCCT in Malaysia (my second, or perhaps first, low-budget home) where a few hours were spent sleeping in a nearby hotel (to ward off potential jet-lag), eating rice and vegetables and waiting around before taking a night flight to Gold Coast Airport in Australia.

Australia was an absolute drive-fest, with many interesting sights seen and places visited in a whistle-stop tour of the East coast of New South Wales. Then flew out of Sydney to Oahu island, Hawaii, where 7 days were spent eating fast food, wandering about Waikiki beach and watching amazing American TV. Then flew to Vancouver, Canada where more road adventures have occurred, ice hockey has been thoroughly watched and campsites explored throughout British Columbia and a bit of Alberta. It's been a wildlife-fest throughout, the weather has underwhelmed, overwhelmed then underwhelmed again. My tan is slowly fading, but so are most of the insect bites. I mostly love Canada and want to live here forever, possibly working in a massive copper mine with the marmots.

Anyway, that is a mere soupcon of the enjoyment and discomfort I have experienced since Cambodia, and only hints at the massive expense incurred in stupid "first world" countries. Stay tuned for more elaborate desription, possible witty anecdotes and pictures in glorious eye-bending technicolour.

Cambodge

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dundundundundundundundun.

I've been in Cambodia for two full weeks and I have been sweating pretty much the whole time. This place is mental. I am going to just type what I perceive to be facts without any narrative strategy. It will not be interesting.

I came into Siem Reap airport which is beautiful, looks a bit like an amazing modern temple and is very well run. The rest of Cambodia is not like this.

After Siem Reap was Phnom Penh, which is a lot more like a city, but with traffic lights that mean NOTHING!

Phnom Penh begat Kampot, which is a sleepy old-ecole French settlement quite near the coast. The roads here are massive, but have very little on them.

Kep (sur Mer) was next, with a trip to the tropical paradise of Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay) at the tip of the journey.

The next four days will be spent going back over this route all the way to the LCCT Airport in Malaysia!

The roads here are mostly dirt tracks. Vehicles overtake at will, with oncoming traffic expecting to cede ground for a faster/larger vehicle. Four people and a large polystyrene cool box can fit comfortably on a moped-sized motorcycle; the comfort being provided by the box upon which the smallest child is perched. Approximately 30 people will fit on the back of a truck, sardine-style (this reduces burning from the sun, excess exposure to the road dust/grit, unnecessary being cool...) Traffic lights (only in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, circa 2008) are almost completely ignored. Turning corners/crossing roads is done by looking straight forward and avoiding anything directly in your path regardless of which side of the road you are on or anything like "right of way", it is everyone else's responsibility to avoid you. This I call "accepting the mystery." Petrol is sold everywhere by anyone with access to glass bottles. The road is mostly single lane surround by dirt tracks, houses on stilts, then mines (in that order). It variously contains cavernous pot-holes, dogs, cows, children, fowl, pigs and any number of overladen motor- and self-propelled vehicles travelling on the wrong side/across the road/stopped completely on a roundabout. The speed limit is slow as you like for motorbikes and dangerously fast for anything car sized (mostly 4x4s, pick-ups and massive trucks). Honking your horn means you are overtaking, being overtaken, in a hurry, acknowledging a friend, wishing to purchase something from a food stall, happy, or pressed up against the horn by the weight of passengers/boxes/sugar cane/durians/livestock/all of the above on your bike/truck. Some bikes are trucks (MASSIVE trailers bolted on) but not all trucks are bikes.

Happy Pizza is pizza with weed on it. The best mojitos in the world are available at a bar in Siem Reap for $1. Baguettes are readily available, butter is not (as refrigeration is not, as electricity is not).

There are at least two currencies running side by side and you have to calculate the difference for most transactions (USD$1 = 4100 R, though generally it's 4000, USD$1 = 0.6GBP approx) but most things are cheap anyway. In Siem Reap and Phnom Penh they may try to charge you more anyway çause you're foreign. In many tourist spots you official prices are higher for foreigners.

Air con is still the world's best thing, but cost (and general lack of electricity) here makes it far from ubiquitous. People go to a mall in Phnom Penh, for fun, to try out the escalator.

The whole place is pretty poor, and getting around is a chore, and anywhere you can get to probably has loads of French or English or Australian people in it. But it is lovely. The people are lovely, hospitable and friendly, the food is good, the landscape is really tropical. There are dragonflies everywhere (and every other sort of animal/bug). It's good. However the heat, constant noise and (in some places) mosquitoes can make it tiring.

I'm not sure Cambodians, or the Khmer people if you like, actually sleep. I'm assuming everyone is deaf because (except for the middle of the day) noise is everywhere. Street traders squeak toy horns throughout the night. Dogs run and bark and fight throughout the night. In Kep, storms make you fear for your life throughout the night, or any time you get onto your rented Honda Dream. Music is played at uncomfortable and unsatisfying levels for weddings in car parks day and night. One wedding was set up in a big decorative tent over one lane of the busy highway out of Kampot: lovely place for a reception, bit gritty, dangerous and in the middle of a road, but looks good in the official photos.

Anyway, it's Australia via every other place I've already been next, so looking forward to that. No pictures from this internet cafe I'm afraid, but I'll try again at some point. Hope this makes sense, but as usual I'm sweating under an ineffectual fan so have probably forgotten to include anything of interest.

Over and out.

Singapore

Singapore is absolutely amazing. Going to have to keep this fairly brief as I've, once again, moved on since then.

Stayed in Melaka (Melaka) for around seven days, enjoying the cheap prices, the relaxation and the general respite. Then got a bus back to Tampin and a train down to Gemas (which for some reason just smells really bad. Stayed there in the Hotel Tropicana (water was complimentary). Next morning got up, took the train to Singapore which is amazing (as mentioned above). It's like the future. Everything is so well done, beautifully maintained and high-tech. There's plenty of water, an incredible marina, malls absolutely everywhere, and you can even walk about the pitlanes of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix circuit!

Went to the Raffles hotel to have a look, past the Padang (which was hosting two games of cricket at the time) and various other amazing colonial buildings. Had a drink in the Penny Black Pub (a Victorian style pub on the river). Just loved the whole place. The MRT (tube) was super cheap and efficient and it was lovely and calm the whole time. It was a bit like London, but with none of the bits I don't like about London.

Anyway, suffice to say that I now want to live there. It's much more expensive than Malaysia, but that's not saying much. I hope you enjoy all these photos. I'll try to put some sort of decent up-to-date, and perhaps amusing by contemporary standards, blog on here shortly.

General Bombing About

Hello! I am in Melaka, a(nother) UNESCO World Heritage city. It's quite picturesque, having been successively occupied by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English (as usual), the Japanese (during WWII), the English (again) and then the Malays, which is only fair really. There're lots of different building styles, but most of the heritage centre (around the Stadthuys) is painted a kind of deep salmon pink. There are churches and colonial houses and all kinds of lovely architecture (the is also a Museum of architecture, as well as countless others). The foreign influences do not end with the forced occupations, however, with a massive Chinatown containing lots of Nyonya businesses (Nyonyas are traditionally mixed familys of indigenous Malay with Chinese settlers).Yesterday went out into onto Jonker Street (from the very authentic hotel) to find loads of stalls selling all kinds of everything. I'm sure people in Malaysia just eat and shop. The malls here are massive and mostly empty. It's weird but fun.

I was planning (again) to upload photos to the blog today, but once again the internet cafe computers are not playing. I've got some really good pictures too. Imagine them if you want. They'll probably be more exciting.

To get some kind of continuity let me fill you in on the various exploits filling the gap between Langkawi (previous post) and now. Left Langkawi on a ferry, having motorcycled up it's tallest, most perilously surfaced, predominantly unmotorcyclable and only mountain, visited its prettiest beaches and drank most of its water. The ferry got back in Georgetown where a night was spent (planning, always planning) before renting a new motorcycle the next day, leaving a large bag with two very confused guesthouse attendants (one of which was a lone-tooth-owning Malay human version of the film adaptation of Harry Potter's Dobby) and riding to the Cameron Highlands. It was a long way involving lots of Expressway (E1 represent), which is free for motorbikes and you ride on the hard shoulder. Also got to cross the Penang bridge which is massive and rather impressive. On the way up the hill, having naively ensured I had over 3/4s of a tank, almost ran out of petrol. Quite scary. Arrived in a tiny Kampung (village) on fumes and had to buy a bottle of petrol from a man in a shed. Best man ever! The Highlands were amazing and very cool and rainy. Got pissed wet through on the way up (cold, wet and low on petrol: I smell adventure), and practically ever other time I decided to leave the guesthouse. Happened to be there at the same time as a honeymooning friend, which I only discovered as she left on a bus, and still feel very bad for being away at the time of her wedding. Strange coincidence nonetheless.The area is rich in farms and the tea plantations are incredible. A ride up Gurung Brinchang (over 2000m above sea level) afforded some spectacular views, and a chance to take the bike to it's limit; therefore a 2.5km walk was required up the final steep ascent. They love the strawberries there, and you can get Devonshire Cream Teas all over the place... very civilised?After the Cameron Highlands came a trip to Kellie's Castle near Ipoh. This is an unfinished Scottish merchantman's Malay home that was supposed to contain the first elevator on the peninsula. He died first though, so it just contains lots of bats (and ghosts apparently). The ride was hot, the roads are dirty and sore throat-aggravating, and burning the backs of your uncovered hands is always an attractive option. God love Aloe Vera gel, the third most amazing invention ever (behind air conditioning and something that escapes me, but I've decided is definitely number two), soothing and wet. It also works on the constantly accruing proliferation of insect bites.

After that brief sojourn, it was off to Taiping. Which was the first in Malaysia for loads of stuff, having originally been rich with tin deposits. Some lovely lake gardens, good old buildings, people shouting greetings from cars (less used to tourists here, a bit off the beaten track) and delicious Pizza Hut (sometimes absolutely necessary). Also quite rainy. Hence the nickname "Raintown."

Left Taiping, rode 100km or so to Georgetown, recovered luggage, got the ferry to Butterworth, waited, took a train to KL and stayed in a YMCA (fun?) in one day. Next day took a train to Tampin (different place entirely), found a bus (full of schoolkids, or anak-anak), and went to Melaka where all the inns were full... or nearly. Stayed in a room with a window looking out into the hallway. Odd.Since then, generally looking 'round the historical areas, riverside, Chinatown and unfinished (but massive) malls of Melaka. There are unfilled malls everywhere, each containing far more staff than customers, where people buy nothing and the stores never seem to close. In fact malls are the only thing you can rely on being open: everything else seems to open and close at random. Tried to go to a vegetarian restaurant yesterday (took a while, lost it having found it) only to find it was closed at dinnertime. There's one kedai kopi type place (cheap restaurant) that has long queues outside at midday, but isn't open at 10am and seems to be closed by 2pm. In Ipoh the market started at 7am (complete with loud music) on Sunday morning, finishing before midday, some start at 8pm at night. They just spring up. If you fell asleep on a shady bench (as many people do with their sandals off) you'd probably wake up in a massive market. At least people buy stuff in the markets. Presumably the heat activates their buying glands. Note to malls: turn arctic air con off.Anyway, think that's probably enough for now.

I had the best chocolate milkshake ever for breakfast.

Langkawi: Monkeys, Lizards and a Massive Eagle

I'm now in Langkawi, which is an island in the Straits of Melaka. I have a small, rather rubbish motorcycle which it's traditional to ride very slowly (also if you can use your mobile phone and carry two small children at the same time, all the better). There're a lot more tourists here, but the food is still super cheap (I'm mostly enjoying Indian Dosai/Thosai at the moment: pancakes filled with vegetables/cheese/potato served with various curries). Also loving mango juice and mangosteen sorbet.

Yesterday, went up the longest free span single cable car (??) in the world, which is also one of the steepest cable cars (42 degrees). It was very spectacular and not the least bit frightening if you avoid thinking about it AT ALL COSTS. The oriental village at the bottom of the car was a bit like a theme park with Segways and paddle boats and a toilet with a huge water feature in. First massive thunderstorm last night, it rained hard. Staying in a nice motel off the beach and the sunsets are amazing. Currently planning what to do next, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Also keep spending money on incidentals (washing, food, cable car rides) so aren't saving quite enough, despite the 1GBP main meals. Will try and upload photos soon, but that may not go brilliantly. I've got lots of sunsets though. Good sunsets. And rain last night, woo!

Almost ran over a massive lizard in the road yesterday. And there are monkeys at many junctures. And hens. And yellow birds. And all kinds of stuff. Still, got to figure out what happens next now, can't spend my life on a beach: boring.

Georgetown

Today I have mostly visited all the World UNESCO heritage sites in Georgetown: there are 36! This place is amazing(ly hot) and wandering around can only be done for short periods of time before returning to any air conditioned place for necessary respite. The food here is super cheap still, and I've mostly been taking the vegetarian options which make it even cheaper (although, universally, the waiters offer chicken with any dish and are most confused when you decline).

There are any number of incredibly decorative Chinese temples and Konggi, Churches, Mosques and Indian temples. It's pretty spectacular all said. Also some lovely old buildings besides. Going to keep this brief again, as internet costs (very few, but still comparatively high amounts of) Ringgits. Already planning to go to Langkawi from here, but not until the whole island of Penang is thoroughly explored. Good times.

Miscellaneous facts: you can ride three-wheeled rickshaws piloted by very old men; there are lots of European types here, stinking up the place; the grass is very thick; people who drive taxis are obliged to slow down and say "taxi" at every Western-type; it's very hot; I don't really know what day it is or what my five-year mission is anymore.

Dilarang Menakok! (Malaysia)

Actually means "No Smoking" and there was a huge ship with "No Smoking" (English) written across it's big control tower part as I watched from the ferry on the way to Georgetown. I'm now there, the second biggest city in Malaysia, having already visited Kuala Lumpur (or KL as it's known) and Ipoh (numero 3). Three top cities, one week! Woo travelling!

It's absurdly hot here all the time. Average temperatures throughout the year are around 30 degrees. I have mostly been sweating into my clothes and wearing them over and over again. Woo travelling! KL was super-cool, with trips to the very high Merara tower, a theme park (with amazing rollercoaster) in the biggest shopping centre I've ever seen (Times Square), the Petronas towers and a swimming pool on the roof of a hotel. KL has a monorail, complete with Air Conditioning (the greatest invention known to man). It's brilliant.

Ipoh was much smaller, with a taxi ride to, and very old-school bus journey from the Perak Tong temple near the city. Honeyed lemon ice tea should be more widely available in England, it's the most delicious thing ever. I'm currently drinking lots (especially mango juice and water, which is complimentary with everything: rooms, meals, train journeys...) Unfortunately the only way to sleep in Ipoh (when the market started up complete with banging music at 7am on Sunday morning) was to put the deafening, one-setting-only air con on as white noise and pull over the sheet, blanket AND duvet to stop oneself from freezing to death.

Georgetown seems nice. Very colonial bits, with old buildings and a lovely padang (green space, Ipoh had a nice one too). Also seems like acquiring some form of transport will be possible here too, as there are car- and bike- rental places all over (including in here). Unfortunately I didn't think through putting pictures from my phone onto the pc/blog, so there are none forthcoming at present. Maybe later though. For now, off to enjoy the cooler sunny evening and perhaps lots of liquids. I love the way all the roads here have been translated from English and re-named, although Jalang Buckingham, Jalang Farquar etc all retain a lot of colonial feel.

I'll try and write more soon, but that's a basic breakdown of what's happened thus far.

Liking Malaysia, it's a pot pourri.

British Cities: Slaying the Dragon

Picture the scene: it's the first of February and I have only achieved 37 cities in 63 days. I decided to get back in the saddle (train) and enact a short sharp attack on the Western side of the country. Yee ha!

Cardiff (#38)
I was staying in the etaphotel in the partly-newly-developed part of the city below the railway line. There's still a lot of development going on and the train track clearly demarks a split between old and (becoming) new. Having to pass under the railway reminds me a little of Leeds. At the "top end" there is a lovely park near the large castle, with plenty of grand old buildings across the road. The museum seems pretty respectable. The shopping area has a few arcades, although isn't of the highest quality throughout. It's very impressive that the Millennium stadium sits very centrally adjacent to the river without seeming too out-of-place. The city seems to be still developing, which is a good thing, and there is obviously lots of investment in the area. For the time I stayed there the city was gearing up for the Wales - England Six Nations match, and the people appear to be quite interested in rugby. Lots of big (new) hotels around and some disparity between the old and new, but a real city nonetheless.

Newport (#39)
Newport is a lot nicer than I expected. The houses come right into the city. The new train station is like a modern japanese futuristic dream, although it sits at the far end of the platform whilst the old brick building remains at the other end gently becoming derelict. There are small tributes to the 2002 Golden Jubilee everywhere (presumably when the city gained its status from the Home Office), but they too are looking a little shabby. As a general rule, the old parts of Newport are lovely, but under-maintained. The new parts, such as the very architecturally-cool Coruscant-esque university, the bridge alongside it, and the theatre, are very nice. Most of the intermediate parts (such as John Frost Square and the coterminous library/art gallery building) are just plain ugly. The art gallery is alright though even if the exhibits are much nicer than the surroundings. There is a castle surrounded by large roads. The cathedral is up on the hill. The river is large and central, albeit flanked by rather extensive muddy flats. I felt ambivalent towards the place. I did enjoy hearing one chap say to another (presumably a close acquaintance) "why are you calling me a faggot, you faggot?" It lacked bustle or real purpose, but was nicely Welsh, had good train links and could definitely improve in the future.

Gloucester (#40)

Having returned to Cardiff for another cheap night in a "hotel," been awoken repeatedly by the fire alarm and subsequently failed to visit the Cardiff Bay area (which looked good on postcards), I caught the train to Gloucester. I'm beginning to feel that the more places I visit the less interesting they become, and the more blasé I am about the potential rich culture and heritage of new cities. Gloucester was number 40, in 65 days, what a waste of my life. The city was not great, with a shopping square comparable to Newport's, a place where the market cross would've been if it hadn't got in the way of traffic (the irony being that the crossroads was now fully pedestrianised), and a series of derelict court buildings. Nice buildings were often juxtaposed with ugly ones, as if part of some elaborate Eisenstein montage; the Priory with a generic housing estate, an abandoned indoor market next to some tasteful ruins and the crossroads tower with the standard poundland-quality shops. The folk museum was free, very random and a bit like a 1970s jumble sale. The cathedral was very nice and well-kept, with a cute little arcade of shops leading to it from one side. The historic docks area was very well done, with the old warehouses fulfilling many different functions for the NHS, city council, private residents, boat museums, restaurants and shops amongst other things. Bearland is just a big old office block, which is a shame.

Birmingham (#41)
I'm not saying I hate Birmingham, but I have no other feelings towards it. The city is built vertically, as if trying to escape the disappointment felt at ground level. Transport links (both road and rail) dominate. The city is built on a series of slopes which, when combined with the tall buildings and madness of the multi-level Bull Ring, Palladium and New Street station, make a madness of confusing, unattractive and overcrowded strata. As opposed to being Britain's second city, Birmingham feels like the confluence of all the roads and railways which connect the places with real heritage and dynamism. It's like the intestines, necessary but confusing, ugly and full of shit. However, there are some nice buildings in the very centre, and the side of Selfridges (who, incidentally, don't sell that many fridges) is quite interesting. But overall, Birmingham feels a bit like it's been abused by people who like layers of shops and transport that maximise profit, confusion and the sense of inescapable enclosure. I stayed in another etaphotel next to another big road.

Wolverhampton (#42)
Perhaps it was because I was meeting my friend for lunch, perhaps it was because I had done five cities in four days, perhaps it was because I had left Birmingham and never had to go back, but I liked Wolverhampton. Actually it's an alright little city. The gallery is really very good, and the cathedral quite attractive. The back end is not particularly pleasant, with its odd market and run-down everything, but it's not all that bad overall. I enjoyed lunch in a weirdly decorated "pub" aptly named City Bar (think exclusive bar drinks in a pensioners cafe, with tablecloths and temporary church-hall style furniture). There was stuff going on, a queue outside the butcher's, and it could've been a lot worse.

Bangor (#43)
Got back to Manchester, rented a car and went straight to North Wales. There I finally removed the last Welsh city from my list, having taken a long and scary drive in high winds along the coast. The car was very small and tall, and not designed for driving in any kind of weather. Bangor itself was tiny and strange, with housing coming right into the centre and the only large buildings of note belonging to the University (who were clearly developing some of the hillside they dominated). Handful of generic restaurants and bars, a very elaborate Debenhams, a small cathedral with a choral man and not much else. Really unsure why it's considered a city, but can only assume it has something to do with its educational heritage (if it has one). The main thing is "ending" Wales. One country down. Yee-ha.

Statistics:

England 35/50
Scotland 3/6
Wales 5/5
NI 0/5
TOTAL 43/66