Singapore Zoo

December 13 2017

After a full day bus ride south, that we were lucky to catch, we arrived at Singapore.
(We did not book ahead for the 10 a.m. bus, which had sold out of seats for some of the journey.  The next bus would not depart until 10 p.m.. After we went to the various ticket offices in obvious  distress a local gentleman offered to be a fixxer for a reasonable fee.  For about twice the price of the fair he made a deal with the driver and "found" us a pair of seats for the entire route.)

The following day we spent mostly at the Singapore Zoo, which is one of the best we have experienced.  The climate of Singapore, itself, is tropical, so the zoo there can rather easily house tropical animals.  The zoo also seems to receive enough capital and donations to be well developed, maintained, and to run efficiently.

The most impressive part is that many of the barriers between the visitors and the animal residents feel nonexistent.

 In some areas, like the lemurs and smaller primates, indeed the barriers were nonexistent!

Some animals have been conditioned to reside in one area or set of trees beside sidewalks. 

 In one aviary the fruit bats and saki monkeys are right next to the walkways.

One enclosure housed the largest baboon troupe we had seen in a zoo; probably close to   100 members. It included this 43 year old grey haired male.

Kuantan, Malaysia (back to the beach)

December 11, 2016

After one day in the big city we decided it was time to head back to the beach. We took the bus across the peninsula to Kuantan.  We traveled on a holiday weekend, when Malaysia had a three day weekend for Muhammad's birthday. We were unprepared for the number of people and found a 1 hour wait for tickets and fortunately got tickets for a bus leaving only 2 hours later.

Kuantan is a provincial  capital with a nice mosque, a calm river promenade, and lots of food options for visitors.

We were more excited about the sand beach right in front of the Hilton resort that happened to be closed for renovations. 

On a Sunday afternoon as the weather  gradually improved more local families arrived for a picnic, festivities, or a swim.

There was a board walk that connected to a beach just to the north, where a troupe of long tailed Macaques.

Kaula Lumpur

December 8, 2017

We went sight seeing in Kuala Lumpur.

Our first stop after breakfast was the Kuala Lumpur radio tower (1381 ft) to take in the view of the skyline.  From here there was a 360 degree view of the city, including the twin 88 floor Patronas Tower (1483 ft).  At the top of the K.L. tower they provide several clear boxes with glass floors.

The K.L. tower sits on a site that is relatively green forested hill with open space and even a camping area.  We were happy to discover on our path that one of the ways down the hill was a suspended canopy walk.

We walked through Little India, past the old train station,  and the large city mosque to the tropical bird aviary.

Kuala Lumpur is a great city for eating and shopping.  There are at least 66 large shopping malls.  When we first arrived by train in the city and walked through the station to the monorail, we were walking THROUGH a four story mall complete with Christmas trees, carols, and a photo with Santa display.

There are still numerous cheap, tasty, food hawker areas where they are cooking up regional dishes.

Some popular hawkers have gained more credibility by moving into shopping mall food courts, complete with nice furnishings and wait staff.

Ahhhhh...The hum of the city!  The backs of many buildings are filled with individual air-conditioning units, resulting in cooler air for some inside, and a loud drone and added heat outside.  Ahhh..."economic progress!"

Travel Day, Ipoh, Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur

December 7, 2016

We woke early and began our travel day by walking to the ferry port.  The ferry (free returning to the mainland) delivered us almost directly to the train depot in Butterworth.  The ETS intercity electric high speed train is one of the smoothest fast trains we have ridden, traveling at up to 140 km per hour.  The train station completed 1917.

The development in infrastructure in peninsular Malaysia is apparent, as is the GDP per capita that is three times that of Indonesia.

We stopped for the afternoon at the city of Ipoh, the capital of the state of Perak.  It was a economic center of a major tin mining area. Many colonial buildings and shop houses dating back to the early 1900s still remain.  Malaysia experienced a major disruption to its tin mining and rubber production during the Japanese occupation during WW11.  The city contracted economically, but it also escaped the high-rise building craze experienced by other cities.

A number of interesting murals have been painted on the walls here.

Ipoh is also a popular branching off point for tourist visiting the tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands.
Two of the mosques in town.

1968

1898

In the late afternoon we boarded another train to Kuala Lumpur.
On the back of the free tourist pamphlet they make sure to remind you that drug trafficking is punishable my death.