Thailand and Malaysia

The view from Mt. Jasar, Cameron Highlands

 The postcards that we sent from Australia and New Zealand to family back in the US still hadn’t arrived by the time I packed my bags to cross the Pacific again, this time back to Thailand and Malaysia! The purpose of this trip was to attend Chefoo Reconsidered, a reunion/get together of former Chefoo School students back at Chefoo, the elementary school that we attended in the beautiful Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. I have written about Chefoo previously on this blog. Chefoo Reconsidered as a movement or group has come into existence as a result of former students who have really wanted to look at our shared experience attending boarding school at a very young age and the ways this continues to impact and influence us today.

I won’t post in great detail about our days together but will say it was such a rich and rewarding time and I left with a very full heart. Our days were spent hanging out and being together, sharing our stories in intentional planned events as well as during times where we explored former jungle haunts and climbed familiar trails and trees! We were blessed and fortunate to have two good friends of all TCK’s and experts in their own right – Ruth Van Reken, who wrote Letters Never Sent and who has been involved in several previous Chefoo Reconsidered events already as well as Paul Young, author of The Shack and an adult TCK himself. Both were so great to be with for the week and poured much into us.

For any friends wanting to return to Chefoo or the Cameron Highlands, the jungle still remains pristine and beautiful in many areas but the tourist and agricultural development (closely linked) has been devastating in some areas - as you can see in the following photos. 

Big monstrosities

Awful traffic heading into Brinchang

Brinchang

Of course I would not go to Malaysia without spending some time in Thailand! I spent a week in Thailand (mainly up in Maehongson) and posted regular updates on facebook during my short time there so won’t go into too much detail here, but wanted to mention two technological aspects that were very different than when I was previously in Thailand even four years ago.

Best Secluded Hotel/Get-away Alternatives

One of the most beautiful, peaceful places where I know I will always be able to relax and be refreshed is the forested property of some good friends on the shores of Hood Canal in Washington State. Over the years I have been blessed to spend many days in various cabins that are nestled into the sloping hillside, just being still and listening to the waves lap the shore. There's not another neighbor in sight and it's far away from the hectic pace of much of the world. But if you don't have friends or family with such property what can you do to truly get away and be still?

Bing recently published a list of secluded hotels around the world - for those wanting to get away from everything- and while all their suggestions look fabulous, many of them cost so much money, which is all well and good if you have thousands of dollars to spend. So here is a short list (by no means comprehensive) of recommended places that came to mind in response to the Bing list. None will cost a fortune (you may have to pay to get there) and once there, you will never want to leave.

Lopez Farm Cottages - Lopez Island, Washington State



Easy and convenient for those in Seattle. Immaculate, cozy and clean "Northwest Scandinavian"cottages where all you will hear and see are rabbits, deer and sheep grazing. No kids under 14 and no Recreational Vehicles. This review gives a good summary. Tent Camping is also available - cheaper but obviously you will be with a few more people then!





All Seasons Guest House, Hopkins, Belize

We have only stayed here once, but have been wanting to return ever since and based on the website and reviews, it keeps getting better and better over the years. Located on the beach of the Caribbean Sea, All Seasons Guest House, Beach Apartments and Cabana is located in Hopkins, a small laid back fishing village. If you read Trip Advisor, you won't find a bad review - and it's true, the owner, Ingrid, is awesome. Check out their beautiful website which actually does begin to capture the essence of this place.

All Seasons is close to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Reserve the first Jaguar reserve ever established. They say the odds of seeing a Jaguar there are 17,000 to one but...Andrea and I were riding our rented moped from Ingrid through an orange grove one afternoon and there to our right, coming out of the jungle into the grove was a very big cat! So they are there - and was Ingrid ever jealous that night when we returned and told her as she had never seen one even after living there many years. It remains one of the highlights of our travels.

Amber Lagoon, Near Route 62, between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp, South Africa


I wrote about Amber Lagoon here, when we stayed there on our round the world trip in 2008-2009 and like All Seasons Guest House above, I can't wait to return. Similar to All Seasons the owners continue to make this property and their website even more beautiful. Lonely Planet writes “there's something magical about the vast arid Karoo. Maybe it's the wide open spaces that make you feel so tiny, or maybe it's the towns, which make you feel you've been suspended in time. The population is sparse, and off the main highways you can drive for hours without seeing another car.”




Sani Top Chalet, On the border (literally) between South Africa and Lesotho

Ok, confession, we haven't stayed here, but if you are looking for a stark, desolate, beautiful location, this is the place to come - but perhaps not in the winter. Although their upscale Rondavels all have fireplaces and ensuite bathrooms, water can freeze in the winter months. Check out their website. We stopped in here for a drink on our way up Sani Pass into Lesotho. You can read about our experience here. Remote and beautiful, the views are never ending.







And finally two general locations close to my heart...

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

The Cameron Highlands remains one of the most amazing and magical places I have lived. It is a nature lover's paradise, high in the hills, surrounded by jungle, tea estates, waterfalls, orchids and Monkey Cups (pitcher plants). It is much cooler than many places in SE Asia and thus used to be the mountain getaway for the British back in the colonial days. Although there has been much development and growth around the towns of Brinchang and Tanah Rata, once you leave the towns and start a hike into the jungle you'll be surrounded by noone - just deep jungle. There are more than enough hotels and guest houses to stay in (too many in fact), so don't linger in the towns, the jungle beckons...start hiking and exploring!

Maehongson, Thailand

Growing up in Maehongson province in the far northwest of Thailand, I have often said that if a celebrity really wanted to escape the paparazzi, I could bring them here and help them vanish. (Knowing friends in many villages and towns helps!) Though "civilization" has arrived here, I can still find many places to get away in this former Thai "outpost." Rugged mountains, steep valleys, jungle and forest, farms and rice fields in the valleys fed by clear cold rivers and streams, this in many ways is home to me.

Many travellers choose to rent a motorcycle and do the 600km loop from Chiang Mai to Maehongson and back again.


Do you have a favorite get away place that truly gets you away that you can recommend?

Duncan

Pangkor Island and KL, June 1-5

Leaving the Cameron Highlands, we took a bus to the coast and then a ferry to Pangkor Island, which I visited nine years ago. If you want a real jungle island where the jungle literally runs into beautiful often deserted beaches and ocean, this might be the place for you. Nine years ago I stayed at a place called Khoo’s which was the popular place at the time for many I knew. Not any more. Khoo sold it and it has changed hands and management several times in the past few years. Don’t go there. When I was initially calling them to see if they had availability everything was going fine until they asked where I was from...United States – “Oh sorry sir, we are all full.” But when we got there, and I checked they had all sorts of availability! Instead, try Havana Beach Resort where we stayed. It’s right across from the beach, helpful, friendly, and a great deal. (Photo to right - the view from our room at Havana Beach Resort.)


The only sad change to report about this island from nine years ago is that where before we could literally swim off the beach and see great coral and fish, it is now all gone. You can still get a quick cheap five minute boat ride to another island just off shore, where fish can be seen, but even this place will soon be gone. For snorkeling definitely go somewhere else! But the island is beautiful. Monkeys and hornbills are overhead in the trees. The beaches are nice and the swimming is good. Feels very much like a family place and like the rest of Malaysia, just a cultural, ethnic melting pot – Interesting to see Muslim women swimming in their hijab's.

I really like Malaysia, I really like KL (Kuala Lumpur – the capital city) but KL didn’t really see the best side of me. We had scheduled two days there hoping to see a few sights and also connect with a board member from Youth Compass who we had met at the conference back in Meina, Italy, who now lives in KL. Unfortunately I arrived in KL sick from something I ate or inadvertently put in my mouth, and with high expectations that we would quickly navigate our way around the city like locals. Nope, not to be. Instead KL saw one generally tired, fussy, grumpy and unprepared guy who then affects the girl he’s with.

So we didn’t do much, didn’t meet up with our YouthCompass friend and weren’t the happiest campers as we dealt with various frustrations that kept cropping up – but I really like KL and would readily return. We did go see the Petronas Towers and I wandered up the hill that the KL Tower is on. Word to anyone wanting to come to KL though – taxi’s are expensive – ok, maybe it was just a reaction to the price difference compared to Thailand but really 80 Malay Ringgit to the airport!! (which is an hour away – also not the easiest thing) That’s 800 Baht – you can do a lot with 800 Baht – yet it’s only 20+ US dollars. It’s all about perspective…Our taxi to the airport cost as much as our flight to Cambodia on Air Asia!!



(Photos to the right - Andrea in front of a Lego model of the Petronas Towers and Duncan in front of the real thing.)



Here’s a plug for Air Asia, the low cost carrier that has taken over Asia and also now flies from KL to London. It is possible to get deal after deal with them. This past month, 90 percent of our flights within Asia have been with them. They dinged us a little with excess baggage fees when we had all our belongings on our final flight to Singapore before returning to the US but we knew it was coming...














Duncan

Cameron Highlands and Chefoo, May 27-31 Part 3

The good news - fortunately some things don't change...

Cameron Highlands and Chefoo, May 27-31 Part 2

Photos revealing some of the 'bad news' from the previous post about development and sprawl in the Cameron Highlands.

What it looks like to cut a road through pristine jungle...urban and agricultural sprawl in the Cameron Highlands and Brinchang.

Cameron Highlands and Chefoo, May 27-31

(Apologies...there may be far too much detail in the following post for anyone who hasn't been to the Cameron Highlands, but I know a few folks wanted a few more details on this portion of the trip! There are two additional posts with additional Cameron Highlands photos that illustrate the good news and the bad news written about here.)

I attended Chefoo School in Malaysia from first to sixth grade and it remains one of the most amazing and magical places I have lived. It is a nature lover's paradise, high in the hills, surrounded by jungle, tea estates, waterfalls, orchids and Monkey Cups (pitcher plants). It is much cooler than many places in SE Asia and thus used to be the mountain getaway for the British back in the colonial days. It was literally 20 degrees cooler for us coming from Bangkok – 66 degrees when we woke up in the morning instead of 86! Back when I was in school there were few tourists and it was almost like the 70-100 of us students had the run of an entire jungle kingdom along with the Malay, Chinese and Indian locals that lived in the surrounding towns– many of them in the vegetable farming business due to the cool temperatures. Unfortunately word of this charming place continued to spread and now it is overrun by tourists much of the time. Busloads of tourists from the lowland come seeking the cooler climate. With them has come rampant development and sprawl – not just of buildings to accommodate them but also increased vegetable farming and deforestation. This combination has caused the temperature to begin to rise and fewer nighttime fires are lit in the cozy hillside bungalows these days.

I had witnessed this development eight years ago in 2001 (when the school closed and they held a grand celebration/reunion/decommissioning which was my first visit back to Malaysia since 1984) but it is sadly even more apparent now. The small village of Brinchang, five to ten minutes walk from the school is now almost unrecognizable and grotesque from this over development. The Hotel Rosa Passadena, which perhaps was the largest and most shocking of the new hotels in the town is now being dwarfed by buildings the size of the Equatorial Resort further up the road. Infrastructure wise there just doesn't seem to have been too much planning or control and I don't know how much more the area can handle. Interestingly, Tanah Rata (another town close by) seems to have done a better job in planning and retaining its aesthetic value – which ironically I wouldn't have said it had much of 20 years ago. Now I would pick TR over Brinchang to stay in any day! Roads are often clogged – it can take five minutes to cross the road that leads from Brinchang down to TR past the golf course – and parking is often tight, especially on weekends and holidays. (It took us almost 40 minutes to get from Brinchang to Kampong Raja past the Boh tea estates (a distance of not very many kilometers) due to the traffic one day.

The other significant change to the entire region, which is also largely responsible for the flood of tourism and development is the completion of the new road cutting through the mountains from Ipoh. Where before you took the long and windy road up from Tapah (which is still possible) most buses now go through Ipoh and the new road from the west. So now you come down through Kampong Rajah into Brinchang first and then onto Tanah Rata. It cuts down on time, twists, and turns and as mentioned already allows most of Malaysia and Singapore in for the weekend! Wish this hadn't happened – if anyone is planning a trip here, do it soon and don't do it on a weekend especially during any sort of public or school holiday.

That's the bad news for anyone familiar with this place. The good news...in spite of all this, if you get away from the towns and walk the roads and trails through the jungle, you wouldn't know too much has changed – yes there are new houses and bungalows, but it still passes for the Cameron Highlands we grew up in.

And Chefoo...is largely unchanged. Most Chefoosians know that the school was sold to the Methodist Church which now uses it as a retreat center. We arrived to discover it in a massive state of construction as they renovate the entire property. It has been well used but everything internally needs to be updated to accommodate the many visitors. Evidently retreat goers don't like using sinks that only come up to their knees! So all the buildings have been gutted as new plumbing and wiring is installed. All the dorms, classrooms and sadly even the teacher houses have been divided up into smaller rooms to house guests. The assembly hall (was that its name?) dorm one and two (or whatever it was called at the end (the big L shaped building) had the roof off as they were raising the whole building a little. The good news is that the footprint and exterior of the school will remain largely the same. - Although the swimming pool is now a fish pond and the jungle is encroaching on the ironically named Adventure Playground. Only four posts of the Pony Hut remain sticking out of the jungle. It truly is amazing to see how nature will take over again.

The OMF Bungalow also remains largely the same now run by Mrs. Chye and her family. It is still open to guests, so after 30 years or so, I was finally able to experience what so many others have experienced down through the years. Can I just say what a nice piece of real estate this is!? OMF had better not let it go! Food is also fantastic! If you need peace and quiet, this is a great place to be. One caveat though, the booking process (you have to book with another person who then lets the bungalow know you are coming) and the communication between the booking agent and the bungalow is not good at all. Won't go into all the details but it is definitely something that needs to be taken care of. If you want more info get hold of us, we can let you know details.

It was great to be here and just walk the roads and smell the Cameron Highlands smell. Two walking highlights – one day we walked from the bungalow to TR past Parit falls and a large green parrot swooped down right in front of us in the trees. Kind of cool. Another morning I got up early and walked from the bungalow to Sunlight cottage. Kept going and came to Moonlight cottage completely empty and front door unlocked and wide open. What a great place!


Duncan

Finally...Bangkok to Butterworth

Wednesday, July 1
Singapore’s Changi Airport lived up to all it’s hype even when we arrived at 3:15 this morning. If only all airports were this great! We were dragging a little but our spirits perked up a little when I was upgraded to business class from Singapore to Tokyo (already had been able to get business from Narita to LAX when we originally booked our tickets.) Andrea was given exit rows which we will also take any day especially since we have lost our elite status this year. (Since we used miles to do this trip this past year, we haven't been able to earn any miles and maintain any sort of elite status – of which one of the many perks is pretty much always being guaranteed to get exit seats for the tall wife.) Seriously, I don’t know why there are still people who fly and don’t keep track of their miles and earning status. Frequent flier plans aren’t what they used to be but if you can get a few little perks in today’s travel, it is worth it. Our flight from Narita is delayed for a couple hours so I am in Delta/Northwest’s swanky Sky Club watching all the activity down on the runway. There’s a post that will come at some point on the Delta/Northwest merger but right now we know there are a few people wanting to know what has happened in the past month. Since we didn’t take our computer with us as we traveled, we had very limited internet activity – but we have been keeping notes and writing some posts so hopefully in the next few days we will catch you up on some of the highlights. We’ve covered a lot of miles and the beds have started to add up again as have the array of experiences and people we have encountered. Apologies if it seems like you are just getting highlights or snapshots of the past month since we checked out of our apartment in Bangkok - you probably are! We’ll do our best...

Monday, May 25
I’ve only done this train journey from Bangkok to Butterworth/Penang in Malaysia one time before. Twenty years ago when I had to do a visa run (leave Thailand to get a new visa) my mom and I made the 24 hour journey. Back then the train wasn’t airconditioned – aircon is nice and keeps you from arriving with black soot in every orifice of your body, but it also keeps out all the sounds and smells of the country as you snake your way down through the fields and jungles of South Thailand into Malaysia.

One vignette from the train…we ended up in a carriage with a large loud tour group from another country close by Thailand. Every country has them whether Americans, Chinese, Vietnamese, you name it – a group of tourists that just don’t represent their country that well and perpetuate whatever particular negative stereotype that exists. This group – especially the men did a grand job of this, taking off their shoes and socks, putting their feet(!) up on the window (something you really don’t do in Thailand…) Needless to say they had not endeared themselves to us. At one point Andrea walked down the carriage to go to the bathroom. Upon return they all started calling (shouting) 'Photo Photo' to her clearly never having seen such a tall white woman. Andrea politely obliged them taking individual photos with each one until one man wanted to get a little close and started puckering up and moving in for a kiss. At this point Andrea drew the line! Did I say the men had all been drinking? No one was intoxicated but they were all in good spirits! They had all been passing around a communal wine glass which they were pouring their country's brand of whiskey. After Andrea returned to her seat, one man needed to do a reshoot so she gamely stood up again. Shortly thereafter another of the men brought us a packet of Ritz crackers to show their gratitude followed by another man who brought me...you know it the communal whiskey glass. Nothing offered to Andrea though! Not being a whiskey lover I did my part not to offend international and cultural relations... and prayed. And this from someone who doesn't drink from the communal communion cup at churches!

My parents went to Penang (an island just off the coast of Malaysia – still often referred to as the Pearl of the Orient) forty years ago for their honeymoon. When my mom and I went we stayed at the YMCA and twenty years later, Andrea and I ended up at their too. Great, cheap, place to stay. Wish the Y’s in the US were a little like this. We didn’t see too much of Penang as we were only there a night – we did walk all around Georgetown and you quickly realize why it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique culture and history most clearly revealed in the largest collection of intact pre-WWII buildings (over 1700) that show off the rich diversity of the people and architecture of this island.

Penang is now connected to the mainland with a 13KM bridge in addition to the regular ferries. It is not a sleepy little island any more but it still retains much of its charm. From Penang we caught a bus (about five hours) to the Cameron Highlands, the location of Chefoo School, where I went to elementary school.

(Photo to right - old temple in Penang)

(Photo below -Sign before you board the ferry to Penang - what you can't bring onboard with you - cats, dogs, birds and cows...clearly in the past there were some issues!)

Duncan