Kuala Lumpur

The Journey from Koh Tao took 27 hours, it began with a night boat sleeping below deck on rows of tiny beds laying shoulder to shoulder. The bus journey was more comfortable and once over the Malaysian boarder a storm wrapped around us, there was a lot of lighting, flashes more than every second as if there was a strobe light hanging from the clouds. We checked in to Reggae Mansion on the edge of chinatown, it is the most comfortable and luxurious accommodation I have stayed in all trip. The building is massive and kitted out with its own bar, gym, pool, cinema room, courtyards and interconnecting bridges. Our room was a 24 person dorm (the cheapest room) After entering the code on the frosted glass door it swings back revealing a big open space with seats running down the centre, either side there are rows of cubes one stacked on top of the other, inside them is where you sleep. It’s a nice cocoon and you have your own mirrored cabinet, power supply and light.

Exploring the inner workings of this city is exhausting, the heat here is on a different level to Thailand and it’s the humidity that really gets to you. One of the first things you notice is KL is a wealthy city, it has a mix of high rise and low buildings, the latter a mixture of neoclassical and art deco facades, a throwback to British rule. An underground and monorail system allows quick transport the city. Tropical vines growing up from the drains and between cracks in curved concrete bridges, fast food outlets everywhere you look. I think Malaysia is the first step in a staggered ascent back to the western world, but I don't think I'm ready to surface just yet. We visited the Iconic Petronius towers (the tallest twin towers in the world) it’s steel façade looks like shiny coins stacked on top of each other. One of the evenings we had drinks with a few friends from the mansion at a Skybar. The Night was stormy with low wispy clouds but the Petronius bathed in white light shone bright through and was repeatedly framed by lightning forks touching the city.

I came to Malaysia knowing very little about it but trying to unearth more I discovered the majority of the cities faces are made up of Malayans, Chinese and Indian. Malayans actually make up barely 50% of the population and one of the countries proud distinctions is that it welcomes other ethnic groups and they have a right to practice (but not preach) their own religion. Malaysia is an Islamic country and here religion and politics are deeply entwined. A Malayan is born a Muslim and cannot change religion and it is against the law to try and convert them, every citizen must carry around cards stating their faith, the government keeps a watchful eye on all media, censoring and prohibiting whatever they see fit. There are strict rules and laws on how to live and what to do with so many police enforcing them; for example the parks next to the Petronius Towers are lush and inviting but as soon as you take one step on the green to enjoy it you are whistled down or when I got told off for showering with the windows open. However Malaysia often appears to contradict itself, just enter one of KL’s enormous and plentiful shopping malls (one has a rollercoaster running round the ceiling) glittering names like Gucci, Topshop and Mark’s and Spencers greet you, they all have prints of western woman in lingerie displayed on their windows just like back home. This seems goes against Malaysia’s modest culture, yet there is clearly there is a market here and so I am left bamboozled; With one hand Malaysia seeks to uphold it’s tough laws and strict Islamic principles, but with the other it grasps and embraces modernity and western culture to a greater extent than any other Asian countries I have travelled to. I haven’t spend long enough here to grasp things fully with my opinions strung together by my own experience and facts from a handful of locals but Malaysia is fascinating county and it will be interesting to see how it responds to the ever increasing influence of westernisation.

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

So I am now an Advanced Open Water Diver, Andy and I both completed two courses within a week, accomplishing 10 open water dives. Our deepest dive was to a depth of 32.5 meters which is a fair old way when you consider the maximum for any recreational diver is 40meters. At this depth your wetsuit feels thinner, like paper, your lungs are compressed to a quarter of their normal size and you have to inhale four times more air than usual to compensate. But you don’t realise any of these things because down here it’s peaceful and relaxing, full of huge pelagic fish; groupers and triggerfish about the same size as a midget or Alana. Going this deep less light penetrates so reds look green. Here is where you also experience Nitrogen Narcosis; it’s where your body takes on far more nitrogen than normal and you feel drunk (but you never have a hangover, just maybe the bends if you don’t do a safety stop on the way up). Our instructor set us the challenge of writing your name backwards on the seabed, I managed to do it ok but Andy just wrote Andy and couldn’t comprehend the task at hand, he was a tad narc‘ed and sitting inches away from a very spiky sea urchin. But I am getting ahead of myself, before any of this we had to do our Open Water Course that allowed us to go to depths of 18metres, we started out in a classroom doing lots of theory and homework like the most important rule of diving; just keep breathing, it’s a good rule anyway but if you end up holding your breathe your lungs can rupture and that is very bad. We first learnt to dive in a swim pool and had to do certain exercises like removing your mask and swimming then refitting it and letting the water out, the next day we were transferring these skills to open water and this is where things got fun.

Diving is incredibly fun and safe, everyone should be doing it! the worse that happened to either us during dives was my BCD (buoyancy control device) leaked and my weight belt dragged me towards the bottom and Andy got into the redzone with his air consumption. But what we saw beneath the surface was mind warping. most of the dives you go down on a reference line connected to the boat and seabed and it’s such a cool feeling as you sink slowly to the bottom with nothing out there but bait balls and the infinite blue, then you see a shape, unspecific at first but as you drift closer the vibrant reds, greens and blues of coral become clear; all of it teaming life, a kaleidoscope of living colours and patterns; sea anemones, urchins, crustaceans, molluscs, fish and things I have never encountered or imagined, like the massive alien caterpillars their spaceboot like feet constantly feeling the reef for suction points. Andy and I took to diving pretty quickly and couldn’t get enough, for me it became incredibly tempting to delay flights and do a Divemaster course here too (its like the jedi knight of diving) but one step at a time. Diving as mentioned is all about breathing, you can control you buoyancy by the amount of air you take in or release so with deep breathes you can start souring above formations, below crevices and between tunnels with ease, the more dives we did the more we improved, the more we improved the more the instructors trusted us and they took us to advanced spots, like a grizzly wreck of a warship, (I sat on top of the front gun) and between tight swim throughs disturbing sleeping puffer fish (it was kind enough not to inflate and show it’s spines) We saw; Barracuda, Travail, Rasse, Angel, Parrot, Banner, Butterfly fish, even nemo, but these are the ones you see without having to look, really investigate and you see Moray Eels, Fumblina Flatworms that hypnotise and dance in the water, blind shrimp, scorpion fish (best not to touch those ones) and banned sea snake that prowling between coral.

The highlight of all the dives was probably our night dive, as you begin the descent; to begin with your torch does nothing to penetrate the all encompassing darkness, It’s how I would imagine spacemen feel, so insignificant and vulnerable nothing but pitch black above, below and all around you. The tactile rope and bubbles escaping your regulator are the only thing giving you some sense of orientation. Sinking deeper the lights begin to pick up fish and coral but it’s a completely different place now. The corals have multicoloured feathers swaying with the current filtering down plankton. We see a dozen electric blue stingrays hunting along the seabed, great groupers hiding from lights, sea stars patrolling and an octopus so well camouflaged against the environment it takes a skilled eye to spot them. We were lucky on this dive and saw a HawksBill Turtle, I was so taken back I almost let the regulator float from my mouth, she was big and swam with us for a while then left for the surface to take a breath, you could see the silhouette gracefully gliding up and disappearing. Returning to the surface our instructor pointed up we floated on our backs just gazing up at the crystal clear star constellations.

What might be a bit scary to consider is from now on I can dive with a buddy anywhere in the world, no instructor required. I am hooked because what I have experienced below the ocean has blown me away and I wish I could show you everything I have seen but take my word for it, it’s simply beautiful down there.

Koh Tao 'Turtle Island' on a stormy day

The South Islands: Part II

Koh Phangan is the island you want to be on for the full moon party, It’s basically a massive party on the beach, with fire shows, music to get your groove on until sunrise and row upon rows of vendors selling all the buckets of whisky you could possibly drink, great right? Well in all honesty the full moon is a bit too overrated, It is westernised, overhyped, overpriced and full of ‘brits abroad’ who come to Thailand just for this specific night and probably a fight. You can actually have better evenings any other occasion you venture onto the beach, or in the town in the reggae bar just playing pool and sinking deep into beanbags. The Full Moon is a party for people who don’t really know how to party, but it is an experience all the same and for me the one saving grace was that we had good people and it being alana’s birthday everyone was on top form. Early in the evening we had food in lazy bar, Alana opened a cardboard box full of presents, individually wrapped in thai newspaper. (Andy and I had been searching all day for gifts and amongst the presents was lots of chocolate, a screaming monkey, bracelets and some coral). Back at our accommodation we painted each other up in glowpaint. As the buckets of whisky emptied the painting became more inspired and artistic, I got very good at drawing crabs on legs and gorilla on chest.

By our last days on Koh Phangan we had randomly acquired Chris the aussie guy, and we three boys took motorbikes on the island’s rollercoaster roads. The girls were far too sensible to join us and decided on a taxi. We reconvened at a snorkeling hotspot; white sand beach (created by Parrot Fish Poop), clear waters and an island you could reach at low tide by walking along a sand mound where the waves met and wrapped around your ankles.

They ran out of dirtbikes..

 Koh Tao

Koh Tao is Phangan’s laid back little brother, renowned for its coral reefs, crystal clear waters and abundance of marine life; it is a diver’s paradise. We explored Koh Tao’s terrestrial highlights on scooter and tried to teach Edith and Sara how to ride one however, much of the road surface on the island is the same consistency as sandcastle mix, some roads would be better defined as streams and some of the hills are so steep you have to make your passenger walk just to get up them, not the best place for a learner to cut their teeth but eventually we found a fairly suitable stretch, it was a very anxious moment as the girls pulled away with a slight wobble like a bird attempting flight for the first time, they soon got the hang of it though.

Straying away from the island’s main beach we found accommodation on stilts situated just off the shore with steps up to a balcony and massive rooms. We rented Kayaks leaving our placid little bay for shark point where the waves got choppy but at dusk you could sometimes spot reef and bull sharks on the hunt, there had even been sightings of Great White Shark in the past. We saw nothing, not even a dorsal fin and with waves lashing over our vessels steering us towards a rocks we decided to turn back. Finding a quiet spot sheltered by mainland with huge smooth boulders that wouldn’t look out of place on the set of The Flintstones. We sunbathed on the boulders and went snorkeling; I saw schools of needlefish that would circle around you and countless other species around the coral and seabed. Some nights we went into the busy main stretch like for the Re:Earth afterparty, the stage was built just above the sea and we danced in the waves. Other evenings we chilled out sipping from perspiring beers, played mini golf and went for a spot of night swimming.

This is the island where our group sadly diminished, we had already lost Shrilaka, Sam and Harry on Pi Pi, escaped from Crazy Chris the Aussie and in the last couple of days Alana and Andi had also departed; one bound for Australia the other returning to the motherland. Our last 24 hours with the remains of our group were spent in rock pools watching crabs fight and drunk dancing in our capacious room, it was Valentines’ Day and the evening was a lot of fun, in a decorative restaurant the four of us sat round a table listing all the things we liked about each other, it was very flattering. By morning the Swedes would leave but I had something to occupy my attentions, becoming an Open Water Diver.

Re:Earth - Jag älskar er!

The location was on the island of Koh Samui, the largest of the Thai Islands, It feels more like a city and has a completely different feel from its smaller siblings; Railay and Koh Phi Phi. But this is where Re:Earth, The Swedish festival was going to be held. We explored the town for a couple of days then set off by scooter to track down the location which proved to be rather elusive. What we eventually found was a half completed stage by the beach and ocean in a completely secluded location surrounded by a fortress of high coconut trees and vegetation the only gap was towards the ocean which allowed a cool breeze to sail through. We were going to be staying in a tent with Andi and Alana on a strip of land just off the main festival arena, our mini campsite that consisted of only around 10 tents had a half moat running around it and a gaggle of geese and ducks that would invade your tent in the morning in search of food. We stocked up on festival food and drink from “Tescos Lotus”and climbing ropes and rocks all the way to the top of a waterfall and then cooled off in it.




















Meeting up with our Swedes; Edith and Sara a day before the festival we were taken to the other side of the island to do some volunteer work (as part of the Re-Earth ticket). Being thrown from side to side on the back of a pickup truck we held tight as we powered up a dirt track on massive hills. We stopped at a sloped clearing with a view over the trees and hills and way out to the turquoise sea. Here we planted coconuts and other plants. We went down to a stream where we built dams from nearby rocks and stones, one of the organisers started mixing up cement (or as how he pronounced it semen) and we all passed buckets down a line for towards the rocky barrier. It's meant to reduce the amount of rainwater spilling off the island, because too much fresh water mixed with the soil and other detritus was killing the coral reefs just offshore. It was very satisfying doing some manual labour, throwing large rocks and knowing your helping wildlife. Some of the bands that would be headlining the festival later were getting their hands dirty too, Hoffmaestro; a ska band that played with a lot much energy and Timbuktu; a Swedish rapper that Sara assured me everyone in Sweden had heard of (even grandmothers). Edith kept saying whilst he was within earshot how tiny this vertically challenged rapper was, but apparently he didn’t speak much English so it was ok.

On the subject of languages, English was defiantly a redundant at this festival. It was bizarre to be here with so many fair haired Swedes that had migrated south for the winter and gathering on a tropical island in the middle of the Thai Gulf, there was precious few English or anyone from any other country for that matter, but I preferred it this way. Granted even with Sara and Edith’s valiant attempts to teach me Swedish it was strange to see the bands all speaking in a language I had absolutely no grasp of, so perhaps I didn't appreciate Timbuktu's flow as much because I didn’t understand the lyrics but the likes of the Movits!, Jaquline Ronneklev (she sang in english!) and Hoffmaestro were incredible, during the latter's performance we managed to start a mosh pit in which Sara revealed her ‘crazy side', Edith got trampled on and Andy and I just bounced around like we know how, both of us limped away from the gig crushed toenails and bloody feet, (we made the rookie mistake of only bringing flippyfloppys to a gig). But for the most part Re:Earth had more chilled out vibes when compared to most British equivalents, it suited it well, when the bands finished the DJ’s would start up on the beach, when it got too much we would retreat to the tent laying down under the coconut trees and stars. we had a gooood time.