Tuesday, July 11, 2006
The Road South
The last few days have been very eventful. I have seen a lot of interesting things and travelled a lot of ground. I am currently in Singapore, which marks the 21st country that I have visited in my life! The trip from Cameron Highlands to Tamara Negara was uneventful. When I arrived in Tamara Negara I was delighted to see that I was sharing my dorm room with two beautiful dutch girls: Sophie and Robin. I was also disappointed to note that the town, being fairly observant of islamic traditions, was dry. I had a hard time not singing Sympathy for the Devil while I was in the shower! Tamara Negara is a very beautiful spot. It is raw, authentic, jungle. We went for a long hike up a mountain and saw lots of different plant and animal life. We also walked along a canapy high up in the trees. I also went on a trip to see a tribal community. It has been changed a lot by tourism, but the people still live in their traditional style huts, and hunt using a blow pipe, which I learned how to use. I think that I could become fairly accurate with a little practice. Finally, a group of us went on a night tour to see the wildlife that comes out after dark.
After only one full day in Tamara Negara I hoped on a boat with the Dutch girls and went on a three hour trip to Jerantut. During the ride I saw Water Buffalos. From Jerantut I got on a bus to Kuala Lumpur where I parted ways with said dutch girls and continued on my way to Singapore.
Singapore is a vibrant, modern city. It seems that the country's leaders have made the conscientious decision to promote English as the lingua franca. It is weird to be on the subway and hear Chinese people talking to each other in impeccable English. I guess they have done that because the city is quite diverse and this way no one group that lives here is favoured because it is a neutral language. As people know the country is very orderly and modern. It is a little like being in Canada. The city is quiet, tidy, and safe. Today I went to the most southerly point in the country and the most southerly point I will go on this trip. What did I do there? I went lugeing. That's right, they had a luge track! It was great fun slashing down in the rain!
After only one full day in Tamara Negara I hoped on a boat with the Dutch girls and went on a three hour trip to Jerantut. During the ride I saw Water Buffalos. From Jerantut I got on a bus to Kuala Lumpur where I parted ways with said dutch girls and continued on my way to Singapore.
Singapore is a vibrant, modern city. It seems that the country's leaders have made the conscientious decision to promote English as the lingua franca. It is weird to be on the subway and hear Chinese people talking to each other in impeccable English. I guess they have done that because the city is quite diverse and this way no one group that lives here is favoured because it is a neutral language. As people know the country is very orderly and modern. It is a little like being in Canada. The city is quiet, tidy, and safe. Today I went to the most southerly point in the country and the most southerly point I will go on this trip. What did I do there? I went lugeing. That's right, they had a luge track! It was great fun slashing down in the rain!
