Tales from a Broad #11

By: Kat Blessin

Bangkok – Singapore – Sydney
Thursday, January 4, 2001

Okay, okay, so I’ve been lagging a bit on the emails. But I’ve been having a fabulous time, so sue me.

Greetings from sunny Sydney. I’ve arrived in this blessed little town a week ago yesterday and have been settling myself in well. It’s an amazing place, and clean and calm after my three months in Asia. I loved Asia and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done, but there are small subtle joys to being in a Western country. Just little things like being able to sit down on a toilet and knowing that there is almost no chance you’ll get sick from what you eat. Ahhh, I’m spoiled of course, what can I say? But before the joys of Sydney, let me take you back in time a bit.

When I last left you I was still in Bangkok (for the fifth time!) after leaving Koh Samet which is about three hours south of Bangkok. It was lovely, but with time running out on my visa, having to get to Singapore before the 28th of December, and the Christmas rush period descending upon me, I decided to head south as quickly as possible. Before that, however, I had to shop.

A good friend of mine was getting married in Sydney at the end of December and me, the consummate traveler, had two pairs of slacks, three t-shirts, one pair of shorts and two sarongs to her name, not to mention one pair of sandals. Wouldn’t be proper showing up at a wedding like that, so shopping I did go. This isn’t an easy task in Bangkok mind you, where the average female wears a size two. Yikes!

I put two days aside to buy some clothes before I headed south. But could I find anything? No! Shopping in Bangkok makes western girls feel like one of those fat ladies you stare at at the circus. It’s bloody depressing. BUT! Finally, on the last day, I found a cute little dress, picked up a size large (I had no illusions by this time) and asked a shopkeeper if I could try it on. He looked at me, whipped out a measuring tape and measured my arse in front of the very packed store. His reaction. “HA HA HA miss, we don’t have anything for you here….”.

I was mortified, but happy I was able to provide the dozen or so young Thai girls in the store with really satisfying giggling fits. Sigh. I suddenly hated all Asian women with a passion….grrrr.

So, south I was to go. I got on a train on the 18th of December to Hat Yai, which is just north of the Thai/Malaysian border. It was an overnight trip and I was able to spend the time watching a young Thai Buddhist monk apprentice flirt for his life with a really cute Thai schoolgirl. I had no illusions at this point. So, the next day at 6 am I got off in Hat Yai, waited for 10 minutes and got on the next train to Butterworth, Malaysia. That took about 5 hours in total. I then got off the train in Butterworth and got on a bus that was just pulling out of the station for the Cameron Highlands. That took 10 hours or so.

So, at about 10:30 pm we pulled into our destination and I hadn’t eaten for a good day and a half at that point. I was mucho hungry, so Paula, an Irish girl I had met on the bus, and I checked into a guesthouse and headed into Tanah Rata to eat.

I’ll take a moment here to explain where I was. Tanah Rata is in an area of Malaysia called the Cameron Highlands. True to it’s name, it’s very high up in the mountains and cold compared to the rest of Asia. The main way to make cash here is to own a tea plantation, which we glimpsed from the bus.

For only the second time in three months I wore closed-toed shoes and a jacket. It was lovely. It was also pissing down every day, so I didn’t get to go on any hikes around the area, which, along with eating really fabulous food, is the only thing to do. Sigh. So, Paula and I holed up in the Highlands for four nights and ate. I’m serious, that’s all we did. So sue me.

Then, on the 24th of December, I decided to get off my arse and get to Singapore where I would fly out on the 28th. For some reason I got the most amazing bus. It was like flying first class, huge seats, air conditioning and food provided, bliss.

So, Singapore. What can I say about Singapore? It’s big, efficient, sterile, boring, soul-less. Okay, so it wasn’t that bad. The food was fantastic, the people polite and well educated. The shopping was amazing (I actually found something in my size, but it was the biggest size they had in the store…..grrrr). I enjoyed my three days there but they can be
summed up in one easy story.

Craving some dim sum and a little taste of the rest of Asia, I headed into Chinatown to get me some grub. I was looking forward to it. Canada, England and Sydney have good Chinatowns. They are always busy, loud, a little bit dirty and have plenty of attitude. Singapore’s didn’t. It was calm, quiet, polite and clean. What a disappointment. This sums up Singapore. No soul.

There is no public art, nothing to differentiate one section from another. They’ve banned chewing gum, for God’s sake. I couldn’t wait to leave…..

For Sydney. WHHEEEEEE! I’ve been here for about a week now and I love it. It’s amazing. The people will give you the shirts off their backs. There are about 344 days a year of sunshine, it’s clean and stunningly gorgeous. It’s like a mixture of Vancouver’s outdoorsiness and Toronto’s sophistication but with better weather. I could spend a lot of time here.

To escape the craziness of New Years I decided to head North to a place called Pittwater. Pittwater is 2 hours away but it feels like a million. To get to the hostel I stayed at, you had to take three buses and a ferry. You also had to buy all your own food and take it with you. I spent two days hiking through the bush and feeding wild parrots, wallabies and possums. Have I mentioned that I love this place?

I’ve settled down in Sydney now for the next three months or so. I have a place to live, a place to work where I start on Monday (those lovely people at Newsforce have allowed me back into the fold for a while) and a cell phone. Picture in your mind the Sydney Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge. Now, think real hard and try to remember the residential neighbourhood right opposite the Opera House. That’s where I live, two blocks up. Jealous yet?

Life is good.