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Summer Holidays 1995

Asia Trip Summer 1995

Andreas Mayer
2005-12-04 12:14:54

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instead. I lived in Hong for a few year before and was looking forward to coming back. However I was slightly different as Hong Kong on the cheap was slightly different than living there as an expat. There were hardly any people I knew left, as most had left to go to university. We stayed in Chunking Mansions, the only budget place on town, but a nasty place, and went around the island during the day. We did meet up with some of guys who were around, but after 4 days we were ready to move on and head back KL.

Malaysia

There was a bit of drama on the way back. I flew with United as I could use my dad's airmiles. United only flew to Singapore though, so I left late at night and then made my way up to KL with another long bus journey. I was completely knackered when I got home and after having a quick trip with my parents slept for about 24 hours. Marc had gotten a cheap ticket via Manila and we agreed to just meet at my parents house. By the time I got up there was no sign of him and we waited another day before he finally arrived back at the house, having missed a couple of connections.

Our original plan was to do a tough seven day trek in Taman Negara, the national park in central Malaysia. This trek goes to the highest peak on the mainland, Gunung Tahang, and I have been planning to do it for a few years, but we both decided that we were to tired. We still went to Taman Negara though, and did a shorter 3 day hike. This again was one of the nicest part of the trip, we were virtually alone in the jungle for three days, camping in huge caves with thousands of bats, but the trek was also very tough as it followed the river bank a lot and every 30 yards or so there was a small river leading into the main one and we had to scramble down the place it merged and then up on the other side. I remember the first leg, only a 9 km walk, but by the time we arrived at the campsite we were literally collapsing.

Thoughts the trip

The trip was very enjoyable but there are a number of things I have learned. Number one is regarding travelling companions: we had a good group, but there was too much tension for my liking. We had different opinions on almost everything (where do we eat, where do we go next...) and that is OK, but we were not very good at coming to decisive conclusions. Also a group of four is quiet large and we did not meet too many other travellers really. Once we were down to 2 we often joined other smaller groups and generally met more people. The second big lesson is to avoid cities as much as possible and stay in the countryside whenever possible. In short cities mean noise, lots of hassling, lots of walking in chaotic traffic, all of which combine to a feeling of tiredness and aggression. The best times, in my opinion, were on the various hikes we did, followed by chilling out on the numerous beaches, and in my trips since I certainly try to avoid long stays in cities whenever I can.