Bye Bye German Guy

Week 18: 20/08/2012 - 26/08/2012

My experience of the Expat lifestyle so far has been one of socialising, meeting people and generally having fun. I have enjoyed myself greatly and met some awesome people. It’s kinda like freshers term at uni. The problem is that here people come and go (business, holidays, returning home) and you can go months without seeing people, and maybe never see them again.           

I have been truly blessed over the years to have made many long lasting friendships (shout out to school, uni, football and MM peeps!!) and the transient nature of my social circle in KL makes it challenging replicate what I enjoyed back in Bristol.          

Sometimes you meet someone who you just get on with, and Nils was one of those guys. Food, beers, Hashing, banter… all great fun… Then BOOM… he goes and gets a job in Kota Kinabalu. So it’s Bye Bye German Guy.          

Nils and KGB

As a send off he threw a bit of a house party at Anton’s place to try and drink his collection of duty free. So, to the soundtrack of Jon Lanjoie, we gave it a pretty good go…. Especially Jags! Things got a little bit wild as we headed to Zouk….. great night ;-)            

It seemed like it was only a matter of hours after getting home that it was time to get up to go out Hashing with the Malaysian Bar Hash, a great way for Elke, Jags, Anton, Nils and me to run off our hangovers. Jags and Elke had so much energy they “got lost” and ran for twice as long as everyone else.          

In The Circle Anton got given his Hash name, KGB, and I got interrogated over Prince Harry’s recent Las Vagas exposure (which I had no idea about!). The food, drink and banter afterwards was great.         

Anyway, farewell Nils. Catch you some time in Borneo. I’m going to miss you greeting me with a cry of “Hey! Brwittish Guy!” 

Lang-Hari Rya

Week 17: 13/08/2012 - 19/08/2012

The week included more over indulgence. I’m not sure I’m ever going to manage to control myself when faced with Free Flow! Anyway, Friday evening I was back at KLIA for a trip to the romantic island of Langkawi with my friend Christine.                  

With it being a holiday weekend, lots of people were getting away, and during the trip we bumped into Gavin and Ann-Marie, Jags and Rick and Helen. Jags very kindly let Christine and me join her on the outings she planned.                   

Christine taking a photo of a monkey

First up was a ferry ride to Pulau Payar followed by some snorkeling. Although it wasn’t a patch on the snorkeling I did in Western Australia, it was quite fun, especially with all the little baby sharks about.                         

Saturday evening the whole group of us met up for dinner at Orkid Ria. Not only did we get to marvel at Gavin’s incredible sunburn but we also shared some amazing seafood. I, of course, was complete pig, still eating long after everyone else had finished. Afterwards we retired to a bar on the beech.          

Team Hiking

Sunday was Hari Rya, the end of Ramadan and the start of a month of Malaysian feasting! We started the day with a great breakfast, before heading off to hike up some leech infested mountain. It was a nice climb, except for when 'Wrong Way' Rick led us up the wrong path! Thank goodness for 100 Plus. The weather started to close in, so we didn’t get great views from the top.         

Sunday evening Christine and I had more fantastic food at Cliff Restaurant just managing to catch the last of the sunset, before heading off to the airport. 

Shooting Star

Week 16: 06/08/2012 - 12/08/2012

Now fully back to strength after my week of fasting I managed to fit in a game of squash with Jon and a trip to the driving range with Charlie.       

The weekend featured a trip to the countryside for hiking and camping and watching the Perseids meteor shower. I turned up woefully under-prepared. Luckily I was travelling with Jags, Steffie and Abhi, and between them they ensured I didn’t starve or get eaten by racoons.

Abhi and his two Wives Steffie and Jags, one for cooking and cleaning, one for fun stuff.... apparently.

The weekend was not quite as we expected, as after setting up camp we only had a short hike to see some waterfalls. And that was it for the hiking. The Jarankang Waterfalls were stunning though and it was quite therapeutic to sit beneath them. Abhi taught me a lot about using my new camera too.    

Steffie, Abhi, Jags and me under a waterfall

The evening was perfect for star gazing and it was great to be away from the light pollution of KL. We laid ourselves out on a rock under the star lit sky and waited for the meteor shower. And waited. And waited. And chatted. And slept. I think I may have seen one shooting star. But I may not have. I couldn’t tell.      

So I can now cross sleeping under the stars off my list of things to do in life…… being dazzled by meteors is still on there for the time being. 

Not a shooting star in sight

Mini Ramadan - Mega Blow Out

Week 15: 30/07/2012 - 05/08/2012

I’ve never been round Ramadan before, so I thought it would be an interesting cultural experience to join my colleagues in their annual Muslim fast. 

Ramadan involves spiritual reflect and a heighten emphasis on the teaching of the Islam. The most obvious challenge is the fasting (not eating, drinking, smoking during day light hours). So I spent the week getting up at 0520 to ensure that I had eaten and drunk as much as I could before the 0545 prayers. Then nothing passed my lips until sundown at 1930. I found that I was tired most of the time, particularly in the mornings, and concentration was more of a challenge than usual. Strangely though, by the time Iftar (breaking fast) I felt that I could go on a bit longer.

This is the only picture I can find of Nils and me. Taken after a Hash Run. Officially Titled "Why is Dom Naked?"

On Monday, before going to watch Man City v Malaysia, I went to a Ramadan Buffet, and stuffed myself silly. Mistake! About an hour later my stomach felt like it was going to explode, and I sat in considerable discomfort watching the match worrying about which end was mostly likely to discharge first.... Luckily I made it home before suffering from any public mishaps!

The rest of the week was pretty low key as I conserved my energy, bar a little trip to the driving range with Charlie. 

On Friday, my final day of fasting, I managed to have a quiet meal with Marcello, before heading home for an early night. I was just about in bed when I received a text from Nils “Hey English Guy. Beer?”. Well it would be rude not to, so I headed out to Changkat…. And was still out on Jalan Alor with Nils and Dylan at silly O’clock the next morning having a high five competition with some of Nils's friends!!!!

Random photo including Me, Dylan and Zainab (to the left of the pic)

Saturday was take two for a quiet night, catching up with Dylan, Marcello and Zainab to watch some Olympics…. When Marcello arrived in his dancing shoes I knew Smash Up was inevitable. In KL you are only ever a short taxi ride from Havana….. great night!!

A Bit Chili

Week 14: 23/07/2012 - 29/07/2012

I headed to Bangalore for the weekend to see my old colleague Tim. It was great to be able to fly with my friend Abhi who was making a weekend trip to see his folks. It was lucky I did travel with a local, because without Abhi's local language skills I would never have found my pre booked taxi!!

Abhi with a bracelet made by his cousin

Friday night involved some sensational food at Samarkand Restaurant (Tim and I massively over ordered), followed by a trip to the microbrewery called Toit. I thought is was excellent, good selection of beers, a good vibe, and some eye candy too. The most memorable part of the evening was my first ride in a Tuk-Tuk..... those drivers are crazy!

KA05..... yes, absolutely!

Saturday was a carefully crafted flying tour of Bangalore via foot and Tuk-Tuk. Tim took me to see:

1. Mahatmah Ghandi Park
2. Cubbon Park
3. High Court
4. Tim's Metro construction sight
5. ISKCON Temple (bizarre opulence followed by begging for money (to build a bigger temple...))
6. Lunch at some awesome little Indian restaurant (unbelievable Dosa... Pelita will never be the same again)
7. Tipu’s Summer Palace
8. Avenue Road (post heavy shower, water cascading down the streets, live stock jostling for position with people and scooters.... just how I imagined India would be like).
9. Coconut Grove for a well deserved beer!!!

In the evening we headed out for dinner at Ente Keralam, which was absolutely ace, and then headed to Brigade Road for a few quiet beers. Bangalore is not a party town.... 11pm is hometime.

Tim and me outside Infantry Hotel (not as good as I was hoping....)

Sunday involved an epic journey to find brunch at Herbs and Spice, an indoor buffet bbq which delivered all sorts of meaty treats, followed by a superb brownie! Then off to airport to meet up with my travel companion Abhi for the flight home.

Some Observations of India

• The food was awesome
• Cows ambling through the streets whilst people run for their lives
• The head wobble happens.... as far as I could tell is means yes/no/maybe!!

Thanks very much to both Tim and Abhi for showing me India.

Tim's blog of this weekend can be found here.

On On!

Week 13: 16/07/2012 - 22/07/2012

Monday night, Dylan and I headed over to Stadium Melawati in Shah Alam to watch the US Pro Basketball Alumni Tour, featuring Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. The stadium was nowhere near full, but it was still fun to watch some of the old timers doing their thing.

Scottie Pippen

Friday night I hit WIP in Bangsar for a few drinks. Unsurprisingly bumped into Dylan in his local..... which was good because I helped him with his bottle of whiskey. A chance encounter with Liliana was also pretty entertaining.

The week's main event was my first Hash Run, with Petaling Hash House Harriers, aka PH3. A hash is basically a cross country paper trail with a lot drinking at the end. It was the first time I've run outside in Malaysia, and it was HOT. The 11km took me about 1h 45. I'm amazed that no one hurt themselves as the footing was challenging going up and down muddy trails in the jungle.

The post race festivities are rooted in colonialism. It was like hanging out with some over grown public school boys from the 1920s, which is strange with the multinational attendance, especially as my group (Elke, Anton, Nils, Steffie and Jags) were all German. Well, Jags is actually Mongolian, but she thinks she's German. Once the drinking penalties had been dealt with, Nils and I headed off to Christine's flat warming, for a bit of Austrian hospitality. Things nearly go out of hand when Abhinav and myself tried to use Bari BJ (yup, that's what he calls himself) as a projectile to demonstrate the laws of physics from the 30th floor balcony....

Rain Forest Weekend

Week 12: 09/07/2012 - 15/07/2012

Abhinav prepares to climb another rope ladder.... not really designed for anyone under 6' 5"!

On Wednesday I got an invite round to Ahbinav's for Peruvian Night. Nils cooked up some Ceviche which was awesome. Afterwards we chilled out by the pool. There was a little bit of international confusion about the difference between "pervert" and "Peruvian" which caused some amusement! 

Thursday night was my first trip to TTDI for the Expat Mingle at Sid's Pub. More free flow. More fun.

Friday rolled round and I was off to Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo! I travelled over with Becky and Cecilia. Our accommodation, kindly booked by Mun, was not quite as expected. I basically slept on a mattress in a cupboard. Perfectly fine for the price we paid though!

Bright and early on Saturday Abhi dragged me out of bed to climb (Haunted) Mount Santubong. It's lucky we set off that early as it was a pretty challenging climb.  There are plenty of rope ladders and scrambles on the assent from near sea level to 800m. It may have been a challenge for us, but the monks were almost running past us, either wearing flip flops or bear feet! We tried to take an alternative route back, but got a bit lost which was creepy.

It was all smiles at halfway.... a little less so shortly after this.

In the evening we headed off to the Rain Forest Festival, a world music festival on the edge of the rain forest. It was a great setting and a pretty good atmosphere. Managed to catch up with Dylan and his mates and tracked down Lianne too, who was strategically stood next to a random who was handing out free beer. Lianne danced soooooo hard she broke her shoe. Which apparently is standard.

The downer to the evening was the hour plus wait for a bus back into town.

Lianne and her broken shoe. As you can see, I was devastated on her behalf.

On Sunday we made our way to Semmengoh Wildlife Centre to see the Orangutans, which was great. Loads of them came out for feeding, including Ritchie the Alpha male and Delimah the Hot Mama! The weekend was rounded off with a delicious Sarawak Laksa, by far the best Laksa I've tried.

Delimah the Hot Mama

I must say thanks to Becky, Mun, Cecilia and Abhinav for organising my weekend. I really put no effort in whatsoever!! Thanks guys!

International Football Superstar

Week 11: 02/07/2012 - 08/07/2012

My colleague Jon, plays football for a KL based football team. They arranged a friendly in Jakarta, and when they were a few players short of a full squad, Jon asked me to go along. Now, first up, Jakarta is a not the most picturesque place. From what I saw it is a low rise sprawling mass, 8 lanes of gridlock everywhere you look, smelly, dirty and generally horrible.

Friday night we headed out to Top Gun Bar, which although it was slightly seedy (plenty of young Asians waiting to be picked up) it had Wimbledon on big screens and a pretty good live band. A never ending supply of beer towers ensured that everyone had a good night.

Jon didn't realise quite what a good night out he'd had until the morning. He couldn't eat breakfast and he could hardly drink water. An hour after getting up we were stood on the side of a dusty pitch in 30 degrees under clear blue skies. Despite the opposition having a much larger squad and a much lower average age, we somehow managed to do enough to win 4-0 with Jon unbelievably scoring a hat-trick (all quality finishes too).

Victorious Duo

The celebratory night out was in Malio Club, which was a bit full on after Friday night and a day of sport, so Jon and I didn't stay out long.

A welcome break from stinky Jakarta in Cafe Batavia

On Sunday we had explored the old harbour watched some dubious health and safety at the docks and headed towards Jalan Pintu Besar Utara. The place was pretty busy and Jon and I could hardly move for school kids and families wanting to have their photo taken with us, or practice their English. We had a good lunch at Cafe Batavia before heading back to airport for our flight home.