Into the cool

And just like that - Its a wrap. Three weeks over in a flash and now I am at Changi Airport waiting for my flight to Auckland. 

I left Malacca bright and early worried that my original bus booking might have got me here too late for my flight and now I’ve got six hours to kill doing diddly squat.   Today I travelled in a red bus adorned with Monkeys. 

There was an issue leaving Malaysia because the couldn’t find my entry stamp in my passport but after a few consultations found I had entered electronically (which I should not have been able to do). Fortunately the bus waited for me and the rest of the trip was uneventful. 

My bus dropped me near Bugis Central and from there I hopped on the MRT to the airport. Easy, cheap, fast and orderly. 

Thinking back over the last three weeks it is hard to say what I enjoyed the most. The heat has been extreme (even for locals) and today in Singapore is probably the coolest it has been.  The heat stopped me doing a number of things and made exploring difficult. 

Despite not enjoying the tour I loved Sri Lanka. The people were divine; forever gracious, kind, polite and with smiles that lit up their faces. The tour was supposed to be a food tour and yes we ate a lot, and in many private homes. Flavours of most meals were bland and there were few standouts. My only ‘street food’ in the whole trip was a rotti and it was delicious. 

We spent so much time on the bus going here and there and getting history and geography lessons in stead of doing our own thing I think we were all pleased when the tour was over. Tourist hotels were not part of my plan but must admit the last day hanging out at the beach was rather lovely. 

Highlights?  The many massages I had, the Spice Gardens, the rotti and a remarkable eggplant dish, the tea factory and lunch at the rice paddy. 

Similarly the people in Brunei were lovely. The highlights here were; doing my own thing, the two mosques, Gadong food market and the floating village trip. My hotel was perfect and located in the best area. Not set up for tourism (thank goodness) there wasn’t a lot to do but I could have gone into the jungle for a day or checked out the fancy resorts. I loved it and glad I have eventually made it. 

Malaysia (Malacca and KL) were nothing like I expected. I expected primitive third world. Instead I found two extra smart cities that I saw but a glimpse of. I would have liked to explore KL more and to discover how the ‘newer’ part of Melacca lives. I don’t know that I would go back to the heritage part of Malacca as the tourists made it very uncomfortable but I’m so glad to have been.  From what I saw of Malaysia I think I could live here. Lovely people, green as green and a nice mix between asian and western. 

And now I am in the departure lounge watching the bedlam. It is bucketing down outside and we saw some lightening. Whether we leave on time is debatable. 

There is always something insane to see at an airport. Today there was a woman riding a mechanised SUITCASE!  Neatly seated on top of her rather large suitcase steering with the ‘handle bars’ she zooms in and out of spaces with ease. How she gets that on board I have no idea. It is huge. 

Gate opening time. I take my time, it’s bedlam. There is a large contingent of Sikh families with yellow “special assistance required” stickers on the arms. They are certainly monopolising all of the staff trying hard to get us all into the gate. 

I was a big narked that I missed out on my upgrade and then changed my seat from a ‘stretch’ to a regular seat down the back. Oh dear no one next to me so have the best deal of the lot. Boarding complete now the rain has stopped.  I stretch out, have a delicious dinner and sleep for a few hours before being woken for a revolting breakfast. 

And then I am in NZ. Another easy uneventful flight. In Auckland I follow my usual routine walking to the domestic  terminal and going straight for my sausage n egg McMuffin. Tastes like rubbish but I look forward to it each trip. 

And then here I am. Waiting for my bag in a chaotic Wellington terminal where no one knows which baggage carousel our stuff is on and eventually I need my jersey. Yay it is coolish. 

Whilst away I saw 2 street sleepers in three weeks. One looked to be a taxi driver having a break. There were no drunks, druggies,  or rude people. My first foray to downtown Wellington blew those numbers away. And that is why I love third world/developing countries.