Singapore & Kuala Lumpur

After a couple of lazy days spent at our apartment in Darwin’s CBD following our Kakadu trip we took an early afternoon flight to Singapore.

As we were only stopping for one night in Singapore this time we treated ourselves to a bit of luxury by staying at the lovely Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel and we even got upgraded to a superior room, so it was a shame to have to check out the next morning. It was our second visit to Singapore and the number of tourist attractions is limited so this time we were able to take things at a leisurely pace and spent most of the day in Chinatown and the Little India.

our hotel

In the evening we boarded an overnight train to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The journey was actually quite comfortable in a 2 person sleeper cabin with a shower and we arrived at Kuala Lumpur ready for sightseeing. The most iconic landmark is the 451m twin Pertonas Tower. It’s currently the second highest building in the world and the highest twin tower in the world. The viewing platform is from 170 meter high bridge connecting the towers and provides a spectacular view over the city.

An even better view of the city is from the KL Tower, which is a 421 meter tall communication tower. We visited the 276 meter high viewing platform in the evening, which added to the experience.

KL Tower

Amongst other landmarks is the Istana Negora – the location of the Malaysian monarchy,

… and the Merdeka Square, where Malaysia proclaimed it’s independence from the British in 1957. Accidentaly J the time of our visit to Merdeka Square coincided with the cycling criteruim which marked the end of the Tour of Langkawi, so we spent a couple of hour watching some good street cycling.

A trip to Kuala Lumpur wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Chinatown and a visit to one of the endless shopping malls.

Next stop – the paradise island of Bali.

Kuala Lumpur (Polski)

Po 10 godz jezdzie pociagiem dotarlismy wczesnym rankiem do KL. Do hotelu udalo nam sie wprowadzic wczesnym rankiem (o 8 rano zamiast przepisowej 13). Mielismy tu tylko 2 dni wiec nie bylo czasu na odpoczynek – od razu zabralismy sie za zwiedzanie.

Petrona Wieze (Towers) – imponujace 451 metrowe wieze ze szkla i metalu polaczone mostem, 88 pieter i tym samym 2gi najwyzszy budynek na swiecie. Na mostek (sky bridge) mozna wjechac za darmo – 41 pietro i 170m nad ziemia. Wieze zostaly wybudowane dla Petronas – firma petrochenimiczna w Malezji. 1½ wiezy zajmowane sa przez biura Petronas a na dole jest wielkie centrum handlowe. Budowa zajela 3 lata. Oddane do uzytku w 1997. Jedna z najbardziej imponujacych budowli jakie widzielismy.

KL Tower – 421m wieza z dekiem obserwacyjnym na 276m. Przepiekny widok na miasto szczegolnie wieczorem – bardzo fajny maja audio w postaci malych telewizorkow, ktore kazdy dostaje z filmem o glownych budowlach widocznych z wiezy. Na gorze jest tez restauracja ale nie dla podrozujacych na budzecie.

Istana Negora – siedziba krola, ktory jest wybierany co 5 lat. Z punktu widzenia turystycznego nic ciekawego – otoczona duzymi ruchliwymi drogami, dojechac mozna tylko taksi albo zoorganizowana wycieczka by ogladnac 4 straznikow (2 na koniach, 2 stojacych) i kawalek ogrodu i budynku przez plot.

Merdeka Plac (Plac Niezaleznosci) – tu ogloszona niezaleznosc w 1957 roku i wciagnieto flage Malezji na 110m maszt. Na srodku jest wielki trawnik z budowlami w stylu tudor (biale sciany i czarne drewniane belki) uzywany przez Brytyjczykow do gry w kriketa. Po drugiej stronie placu wznosza sie okazale budynki Sultana. Podczas naszego pobytu odbywal sie tam koncowy etap rejsy rowerowego – Turu Langkwai – wiec spedzilismy pare godzin ogladajac tur.

Chinska dzielnica i market – jak w wiekszosci chinskich dzielnic kupic tu mozna wszystko a cena zalezy od tego jak dobrze sie targuje.

Dobre miejsce na zakupy wszelkiego rodzaju – od ubran do elektroniki. Sklepy sa otwarte do 22 codziennie wlaczywszy niedziele. Zdolnosci w targowaniu sa bardzo przydatne. Restauracje sa zroznicowane – od tej z wyzszej polki do straganow na ulicy sprzedajacych zadziwiajaco smaczne jedzenie (USD3 za 2 osoby).

Wiekszosc atrakcji znajduje sie dosc blisko siebie ale chodzenie jest tu trudne, gdyz miasto jest zbudowane dla samochodow a nie dla pieszych (ciezko obchodzic wielkie wiezowce i nie ma zbyt duzo przejsc dla pieszych przez szerokie dwupasmowki).

Nastepne wiesci z Balii w Indonezji .....

Singapore (Polski)

Singapore - miasto wiezowcow, czyste i bardzo europejskie. Spedzilismy tu tylko 1 dzien ale to nasza druga wizyta.wiec traktowalismy to bardziej jako przypomnienie a nie bylismy pod presja zobaczenia ile sie da.

Przyjechalismy pare dni po Chinskim Nowym Roku – zaczal sie rok szczura. W swiatyniach i na ulicach widoczne byly jeszcze dekoracje noworoczne. Z zachwyte ogladalismy kolorowe ozdoby i przepiekne swiatynie w chinskiej dzielnicy.

Odwazylismy sie nawet zjesc na pobliskim markecie lunch - ale nie bylismy na tyle odwazni by sprobowac suszone koniki morskie.

Po poludniu polazilismy sobie po Orchard Str - najwieksza handlowa ulica w Singaporze. Niestety z braku miejsca w plecakach musielismy sie zadowolilic sie ogladaniem a nie kupowaniem - szkoda bo ceny maja tu bardzo przystepne.

I tak szybko minal nam dzien - spokojnie i relaksujaco. Wieczorem przechadzka wzdluz Singapur rzeki do hotelu po bagaze i znow w droge.



Wieczorem wzielismy pociag do Kuala Lumpur, gdzie spedzilismy 2 dni. Obecnie znow jestesmy na lotnisku czekajac na samolot do Bali - wiecej wiesci wkrotce ...

Darwin & The Northern Territory

After a 3 hour flight from Perth we were transported into a tropical paradise. The first thing that strikes you as you step out of the plane is the heat, or strictly speaking the humidity. It’s “only” 30C but with 80% humidity it feels like you’re in a steam room and you’re sweating just lying down without doing anything. Getting to our backpackers hotel was such an effort that we slept for the next 3 hours and only woke up for dinner.
The next day was the start of our 3 day organized trip to the Kakadu National Park.
Kakadu National Park is the largest national park in Australia, covering 20,000 square kilometers, and includes the traditional lands of a number of Aboriginal clan groups. It is jointly managed by traditional owners and the Australian Government and uniquely for Australia has been listed on the World Heritage List both for it’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. The name Kakadu comes from the Aboriginal floodplain language called Gagudju.
It’s a 250km drive from Darwin to Kakadu and our first stop on the way was Adelaide River where a boat was waiting for us to take us on a cruise of the crocodile infested river. There are 2 species of crocodiles that inhabit this area: a freshwater crocodile, which is quite timid and will only attack if provoked and the estuarine (saltwater) crocodile which can be found in both fresh and salt water and is very aggressive.

The period from October to March is the wet season in Kakadu and many of the areas and access roads are flooded and sometimes inaccessible even with a 4WD. Luckily the water level on the access road to Ubirr was only 0.8 m and we were able to get through.

The art sites of Kakadu are one of the greatest collections of ancient art accessible to the public in Australia and Ubirr in the South Aligator Area is one of the major of over 500 known art sites within the park. The rock art is typically present at sites that have been used as shelters, either permanent or temporary, preventing them from the effects of the weather.

Aboriginal people have a very strong connection with the land, which according to their believes was given to them by their ancestors - the spirits who came and created the land with it's all features and animals. Aboriginal people are custodians of the land, the law and the stories that go with it. The Mimi spirits were the spirits who taught the Aboriginal people to paint.

Different styles of rock art are represented at Ubirr. There are relatively simple ochre paintings, which are believed to be amongst the oldest paintings, x-ray paintings showing the internal structure of animals and contact art marking the arrival of non Aboriginal people. The paintings can not be dated exactly, however studies of the environmental changes reflected in the art suggest that some paintings can be 20,000 to 50,000 years old making them some of the oldest on earth.

The Aboriginal rock paintings often reflected events form the Aboriginal life, stories that were taught to children, like the war story below, or represented food objects - above.

An Aboriginal warroir carrying fighting equipment, spears and perhaps a shield.

The view from the 250 meters high lookout at Ubirr shows the typical Kakadu floodplains landscape.

After lunch we headed South to the Mary River Area for an overnight stop at Mary River Roadhouse. In the morning the next day we continued exploring the area and went for an easy trek to the Yormikmik Falls where we had the opportunity for a swim.

The drive back though the floodplains to the Yellow Water area was again spectacular.

This area is known to the Aboriginal people as the “sickness area” and is a sacred place. Entering this area was forbidden it it was believed that if a person cut his foot on a rock it would not heal and he could die. Coincidentally this area is also rich in radioactive uranium, which perhaps may be linked with the notion of the "sickness area". After an overnight camp at the Mardugal camp site we drove to the Nourlangie Area for a walk to another spectacular lookout with a view of the park and a rare occasion to see the timid Black Wallaroo.

After lunch at yet another waterfall and a swim it was time for the long drive back to Darwin stopping on the way to see some giant termite mounds.

The Kakadu National Park trip was a great experience, but unexpectedly more on the cultural side than the nature. For the first time we were exposed to the Aborginal and our guides were very knowledgeable and passionate about the culture, which made it a memorable experience for us.

Polnocna Australia (Darwin) – 5 tydzien (Polski)

Przelecialismy 6.5 tys km i wyladowalismy w Darwin (Polnocna Australia) i co za szok – cieplo i wilgoc – nie moglismy zbyt sie znalesc w tej pogodzie i przespalismy cale popoludnie. Nastepnego dnia wczesnym rankiem wyruszylismy na 3 dniowa wycieczke do Kakadu Park (najwiekszy park narodowy w Australii).

Nasza grupa liczyla 12 osob i przewodnicy miali duza wiedze o kulturze Aborygenow i byli bardzo entuzjastyczni a to nie czesto sie to spotyka.

Zaczelismy od przejazdzki po Adelaide rzece – domu ponad 5tys krokodyli. Nie byly zbyt widoczne gdyz jest okres skladania jaj (z tylko 5% wylegaja sie krokodyle). Plec krokodyla zalezy od temperatury w jakiej sa jaj (cieplejsza to samica, zimniejsza to samiec) dlatego w gniezdzie ze srodka wychodza samice, z zewnatrz samce. Rzeke zamieszkuja 2 rodzaje krokodyli:
- slodkowodne - miejsze i nie atakuja ludzi, chyba ze sa sprowokowane
- solnowodne - wieksze i dochodza do 8m i zjadaja wszystko co napotkaja

Kakadu Narodowy Park – 200 na 100 km2 – wazne miejsce z punktu widzenia kultury aborygenskiej jak i walorow przyrodniczych, glownie bagna i mokradla. Obenie jest tu pora deszczowa wiec drogi sa pozalewane i nie wszedzie mozna dojechac. Zastanawialismy sie nad wynajeciem 4WD samochodu i pojechaniui samemu ale dobrze, ze nie zrobilismy tego - nie przejechalisbysmy sami przez pozalewane drogi (dochodzilo do 90cm wody)

Aborygeni zamieszkiwali Australie jeszcze przed najazdem europejczykow. Do tej pory nie zasymilowali sie – w latach 60 rzad zabieral aborygenskie dzieci i oddawal je w adopcje do bialych rodzin albo domow dziecka i tym samym probowal ich zasymilowac ale sie nie udalo. 12/02/2008 po raz pierwszy rzad przeprosil za swoje postepowanie – wielkie wydarzenie tutaj. Nie maja jezyka pisanego ale cale ich prawo i historia przekazywane sa w formie mowionej z pokolenia na pokolenie.

Aborygenskie malowidla – zazwyczaj w jaskiniach, gdzie maja ochrone od deszczu i swiatla. Uzywali naturalnych skladnikow, ktore rozkruszali i mieszali z woda (jak farby wodne i parier - pigment przenikal w skale). W Aborygenskiej sztuce mozna rozroznic 3 typy rysunkow: X-ray (przedstawiaja wewnetrzna strukture zwierzat), kontakt (przedstawiaja zdarzenia z zycia aborygenow, inwazje bialych jako ludzie z rekami w kieszeniach i strzelbami), dynamic (obiekty w ruchu - ruch zaznaczony przez linie kropkowane). Nie mozna dokladnie ustalic wieku malowidel, gdyz pigment i podklad jest naturalny wiec uzywajac rozklad wegla szacuje sie wiek skal a nie malowidla, ale analizujac tresc rysunkow ekserci szacuja je na 15-20tys lat (wymarle zwierzeta, rosliny) – jedne z najstarszych malowidel na ziemi.

Przez 3 dni jezdzilismy po parku, deszcz padal z przerwami i chodzilismy na male wyprawy, glownie do wodospadow, ktorych tu mnostwo – mozna bylo w nich sie kapac.



Opuszczamy Australie – nastepny reportaz z Singapuru i Malezji.
Bor Bor (po aborygensku dowidzenia)

Western Australia - week 4/5

After arriving in Perth we rented a car and decided to drive along the coast all the way to Esperanza and then go inland and return via the outback. Without stopping in Perth we took off towards Busselton only stopping in Fremantle for a coffee.

The first stop on the way was a little town of Bunbury with a dolphin interaction center.

Busselton is a pretty little town 100 miles from Perth on the coast. It’s also a home to the Western Australia Ironman, which takes place in December, so it was an essential stop on our trip. The central feature of Busselton is the 2km long jetty with an underwater observatory at the end. The Ironman course follows the jetty around, but for more details about this head over to my training blog. In the evening we went to a drive in cinema.

Continuing heading south along the coast we drove slowly stopping at some great little beaches along the way to our next destination – the wine region of Margaret River.

Margaret River is famous from wine production and there are many great little boutique wineries within the radius of 30 miles from the town. It would be a shame not to try some of the local delicacies so we spent an entire day visiting chocolate factories, cheese factories, a local brewery and finished the day with an afternoon tour of the Leeuvin winery and some fine wine tasting

The drive from Margaret River to Albany via Augusta and Pemberton was spectacular with 600 years old Karri and Maui forests. With a stop to climb a 60 meters tall tree and a 10 km walk thought the forest.
After arriving at Albany we realised that we won’t be able to go all the way to Esperanza if we want to make our flight to Darwin, so we changed the plan and took a road north towards Hayden via the Porongurup and Stirling Range National Parks. We did a nice short walk in the first park though the forest to the Rock Castle and wanted to do a longer walk in Stirling, but unfortunately the weather got worse and visibility was poor, as you can see from the picture below, so instead we just drove straight through to Hayden.

Hayden is a small town, in the middle of nowhere (in the outback country), close to the old gold mining fields and is made famous mostly by the spectacular wave rock. Best seen at sunset the rock is shaped like a perfect wave just about to break.

The 400km drive to Perth though the outback was made a little bit more interesting by a stop for a nice swim at Bruce Rock and seeing some of the salt lakes on the way. There were not many towns on the way and we hardly seen any cars on the road – unusal seen for someone leaving in London.

Before going to Perth we had enough time to stop overnight in the Avon Valley to drive in the morning to see the spectacular limestone rock formations of the Pinnacles Dessert.

Perth unfortunately greeted us with some unusually wet weather. Even the locals who we spoke to were surprised by this weather, as it rained non-stop for 24 hours, which is unheard of this time of the year. Here is a view from the flooded Kings Park.

Perth seems really pleasant and relaxed and easy going for this size (over 1.2 mln) city, but unfortunately we didn’t really have enough time to fully explore it as we have a plane to catch to Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.