A thread for Gingerbear to chat to Hazlinh (and any other expats) about fond memories of Malaysia

[Gingerbear]

I worked in Kuantan, Telok Kalong to be precise with a lot of expats from the UK and Australia in 1993/4. I remember great times on Cherating beach on weekends off, and diving with Borneo divers on Redang and Perhentian Islands.
I remember driving up the coast in torrential rain, stopping of at the Tanjung Jara resort and drinking cocktails in the bar watching the rain and chatting to two Canadian pilots (they were very handsome and my friend and I were flirting like mad!)
My job was to train Malay technicians at a new factory. I made some good Malay friends there, and that is where I learned to cook decent Chinese food!
I lived in a company house that was impressive. Palatial sweeping staircase, galleried upper floor, and marble floors throughout.
There was even a maid! One day she rang the factory in tears, refusing to come back to the house. There was a cobra under the oven! It must have got in the house when the kitchen door to the garden was left open. I had terrible trouble finding someone to come and catch it. Eventually a vet in Kuantan found two men who came and caught it.

If no one replies, I will feel a right Billy NoMates....

Well, just so you can't feel like Billy NoMates... I have not been in Malasia but had a very nice friend from there long time ago. He used to hang up so much with mexicans that he spoke Spanish like a native. HE was called Deva, though for the friends he was a very mexican David

Hi Chandra, I had some very good malay friends.

I have not checked your other thread about the poor girls in Mexico, I noticed that Selma Hayek (actress) has been publicising this too.

Yes, and also Sally Field, Jane Fonda ( I believe), even the author of the Vagina Monologues went to the city to try to get more attention to it... and nto much done to be honest... the main problem is that police is not solving the problem, the comunity cares but it is very afraid. Violence is horrible there... in the last years around 10 people I knew have been killed or have dissapeared...

bump in case Hazlinh is around.

Perhentian Islands 93/94????

Me too! Stayed on the little Island at the Moonlight beach huts. We were also on the ferry that capsized just before it got back to the port in the monsoon storm of March 94. Spent a lot of time in Kota Baru too.

I have also spent a lot of time in Sabah, KK and Sandakan as DH's family are from there.

and travelled all around for a couple of months; Kuantan (I remember Cherating, wasn't there a guest house called the Moon Underwater or something), Cameron Highlands - those warm showers!

We are really looking forward to taking the kids to Sabah to meet all the hundreds of rellies. Hope they've got the drains sorted out by now, it used to be a bit whiffy.

What a coincidence Suzy! You weren't on the ferry when it sank were you? I was in Malaysia from September 1993, and must have gone to Perhentians about October time? my memory is terrible though, cannot recall where we stayed there as we spent a lot of time on the dive boat, but I remember Maznah (sp?) guesthouse and the Moon on Cherating. Never got as far as Sabah, KK etc, but I do know what you mean about the smelly drains.

Yes we were on the ferry when it sank.
Thank goodness we had spent the last 10 days swimming for 6 hours a day and were in good shape.

bump

whoops!! sorry gingerbear!! i never check 'other subjects' but somehow, I happened to look here today!!!!!!!!! (you couldn't be a billy-no-mates if you tried anyway!!!!)

gosh, 93 eh. that's quite a while ago!!!(i was still in school back then )

so when are you planning on coming back to Malaysia? i must say it has CHANGED A LOT since 93. you'd be shocked!! on the one hand, it's good cos there's been a lot of development, KL for instance is much cleaner and there's the new monorail and LRT (like the tube) and the futuristic airport, and there's the new administrative capital of Putrajaya which is beautiful, but on the other hand, there's just too much development, and probably (whisper) environmental damage.

i've always wanted to go up north to redang and perhentian..never been able to, for some reason or another, maybe cos am in KL and its easier and quicker to travel down south. frequently go to places like Tioman island, Pangkor, Langkawi in the north, and even went to Sipadan off Borneo island once, but never been to Terengganu or Kelantan.must've been beautiful!!! i don't dive tho, but my dh does. did u ever get to KL at all?

gosh suzywong, i'm happy you survived!! i'm surprised they were taking people on ferries in March, isn't that the monsoon season?? doh. typical malaysian ferry operators.it's always best to avoid travelling to monsoon-prone islands during october-march.well, i'm very glad you survived to tell the tale (and reveal your wonderful brownies recipe!!!)

so when will u be in sabah? the drains in KL are prolly as whiffy as they are there!

Well all the tourists had been trapped on the island for 5 days without supplies because of the monsoon and this was the first ferry to turn up.

Of course they crowded us on over filling in fatally but we still paid the money and got on. A big lesson we have learned is not to rush after that experience.

Two people died, a local who couldn't swim and a Czech woman traveller who was sitting in the hold and thus was in the worst place to escape. We only lost all our belonging includidng wedding photos (it was our honeymoon)

I think the ferry driver legged it over the border to Thailand as quick as he could. We were rescued by the local fisherman as we were only about 50metres away from the shore when it capsized but right at the worst point of the swell where the river meets the sea.

It wasn't very pleasant I can tell you.

I think we will get to Sabah for Chinese New Year 2006 with the kids and MIL. It will be great to see all the family again.

hello Hazlinh, I did not realise that you were Malaysian. I thought that you had married one and gone to live in KL!
Oh you make me feel old saying that you were still at school on 1993. 11 years is a long time, I am not suprised that Malaysia has changed a great deal in this time. I did go to KL whilst I worked over there. I remember a sprawling bustling city, and for some reason pink minibuses!! We would go mainly for 'Shopping Runs' - there was an Irishman working with us, and he would go once a month to stock up on Guiness - that was the only place he could buy imported guiness, as the east coast was very traditional muslim and none of the places sold beer (except the hotels and restaurants)

I have been back to KL since then. DH and I had a stopover in KL five years ago when we went to Australia on holiday. The new airport was built then, and the Petronas twin towers had just been finished I think.

Suzy, bloody hell!!
Your honeymoon tale beats mine - we went to the Phillipines and instead of bathing in the clear azure waters of Boracay we got stuck in Manila for three days when a Super Typhoon hit (250km/hr winds??)

OMG those pink minibuses - death on wheels!
They were absolutely terrifying and the drivers all seemed about 13.

GB your honeymoon tale is a pretty good one too!

Hi Beety, course you can join. How long did you live there, was your dad in the army?

I want to go back now. We are going to Florida with DD next year, but perhaps the following year we could take her. Will have to start saving now.

The minibuses were phased out and replaced by modern ones, I found this:

SURINDER Kaur remembers the days not too long ago when the "pink
terrors''--Kuala Lumpur's infamous bas mini _ used to rumble past her room
window every couple of minutes during rush hour.

"You knew exactly how often they came because of the distinct revving of
their engines,'' recalls the graphic artist.

Like all other minibuses, Surinder's No. 33 was a horror. Although
frequent, they were always packed to the brim. And most of the mob that ran
these buses were not exactly trained to drive safely, nor did they possess
any decent level of courtesy.

Despite the sleek (although they seem to have lost quite a bit of their
shine now), air-conditioned Intrakota "Mega-riders'' which ply the route
now, Surinder, 30, genuinely misses the era of the minibus.

Modernisation has resulted in the mini bus (left) being replaced by the
more modern and expensive stage bus. But many people feel that public
transport has not really improved.
It is certainly not nostalgia. "Those fellows did whatever they were
supposed to do rather well. Sure, it wasn't five-star service but they got
me to where I wanted to go to quickly and without me having to wait for too
long. And all for 60 sen,'' she says.

HaHa!

hi gingerbear, everyone, yes sorry about that, hope i didn't mislead anyone, didn't mean to!! i am most definitely malaysian, but have spent practically half my life in london too, so that's my second home.

LOL about the minibuses. they were horrible!! i think i've only taken a ride on a minibus ONCE in my entire life. not only were the drivers suicidal maniacs, but they also had highly questionable levels of hygiene!! (favourite hobby seemed to be picking their noses!!)

and i've only been on the intrakota ones a few times. public transport, esp buses here are a nightmare and are extremely unreliable. i'd only use them if i was truly truly desperate or had no money/mobile on me!!

having said that, the new LRT, monorail, ERL (from the airport) are extremely good, clean and modern.

do u know which parts u plan on goin to gingerbear?

Beetroot: how old were u then?

hello beety!! u changed your name?
hey, missed the fact u coming over in march!! sorry but my mind is like a sieve now, after having had dd!!
which parts u planning on goin to?

LOL at the drinks with 'plastic bits'!!! do u mean cendol? or cincau? was the drink green? or black?
they've got these new drinks with BIGGER plastic bits in them now, called BUBBLE TEA. you can get them in 1001 flavours, tea or non-tea varieties, with various-shaped and coloured plastic bits!!!

Hi, is anyone on this thread still in Malaysia or made it back recently?
Gingerbear - how on earth did one of those even get close enough to get into your home? Were you living near the jungle? It sounds terrifying!
I'm researching relocating to Malaysia and hoping to find a good coastal spot.