Dawn Brookes

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Asia travels

Travel Journal Asia 1982 Day 11

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Saturday June 26th 1982

Today, we diced with death and hired motorcycles. I had never ridden a motorbike before except as pillion. I had to learn to ride in 5 minutes! Not only that, I had Bernie riding pillion.

We managed to get used to the bikes and drove to the Monkey Gardens followed by Penang Hill. We took a train up a funicular railway up to the top at 2,000 feet. The journey was almost vertical – or so it seemed. There were beautiful views of the whole island from the top.

Bernie and Suzie Penang 1982

Afterwards we travelled to the Snake Temple. I was disappointed there were only three snakes, but as I don’t even like snakes, not broken by it!

We had to drive through Georgetown on the way back and J crashed into a car. Thankfully she wasn’t hurt but the car driver was not happy. As his car looked like it was falling apart – most of them did – I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about!

We were driving in the dark when my motorbike kept cutting out and the lights were intermittently failing. It was scary as we were driving in pitch darkness along winding roads with cliff edges. I prayed all the way down, driving as carefully as I could. I’ve never been so pleased to get anywhere in my life when we arrived at the hire place. Bernie had turned pale and we were all filthy from dust and fumes. We happily returned the bikes and went back to the hotel to shower and sleep, deciding to have a beach day the next day.

Travel Journal Asia 1982 Day 10

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Friday June 25th 1982

We met Suzie and Bernard at the ferry port thinking they were never going to arrive as their bus was late. Finally they did and we had a happy reunion. We found another hotel to stay at having been put of by the flasher the day before. We found a place where we could stay all in one room.

This evening, we went to a barbecue on the beach. I’ve been having stomach issues over the past few days but managed to enjoy the food anyway.

After dinner we went for a walk and paused to watch a Lion Dance which was entertaining but a bit silly at the same time! It was great to have Suzie and Bernie with us and made us feel more secure. We were all tired, though after the travelling and had a relatively early night.

Travel Journal Asia 1982 Day 9

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Thursday June 24th 1982

During the evening when we left there was tv switched on. We could see that Princess Diana had delivered a baby but didn’t know whether it was a boy or a girl as the news was in Malay.

Prince William had actually been born on the evening of June 21st but news didn’t travel quite so quickly back then.

The journey was eventful. We crossed the Malaysian border without any delays and stopped at 3:30am at a roadside stall in the middle of nowhere. A lot of people got off the bus and bought food at this unearthly hour. During the stop a guy who was clearly insane got on the bus. J pretended to be asleep so I decided that was a good option only to be bashed over the head with a newspaper! I still pretended to be asleep but he continued to whack me over the head with the paper. I was muttering to J to do something, but she ignored me. In the end, I opened my eyes and looked at him. With wild eyes, he informed me he kills people and then he left… scary.

We arrived in Butterworth which is about halfway up Malaysia and well north of Kuala Lumpar which we had decided to bypass. The main reason for being here is to go to Penang. We spent 14 hours on the overnight coach arriving at 9am this morning. We froze most of the night as the air conditioning blasted through. I had almost the whole contents of my bag draped over me by the time we arrived!

As soon as we got off the bus we had to fight off crowds of men trying to carry our bags! We went to the ticket office to buy tickets to go to Haadyai in Thailand leaving on Monday. The town had been recommended by Suzie’s father.

After this, we took the free ferry across to Penang. The journey was only 15 minutes but we met a guy called Beng who offered to drive us to a hotel. We were having to use our judgement now and decided he was trustworthy (or thin enough to be overwhelmed if we got into trouble!). During the car journey we travelled through Penang’s major city, Georgetown; it was horrible. Not only heaving with people, it was smoggy and every driver had a death wish. Horns honking, maniacs on motorcycles, no respect for right of way… I won’t go on. Beng took us to a hotel called The Park Motel in a place called Tanjong Tokong. It looks relatively new so we decided to stay.

Penang is different to Singapore but appears westernised in many ways. It’s hot at 35˚C. We took a walk along the beach only to be followed by a guy masturbating. After yelling at him to get lost, we tried to ignore him and continued our walk. What with the newspaper bashing and the sex-starved maniac, Malaysia wasn’t turning out to be a sanctuary.

Travel Journal Asia 1982 Day 7

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Tuesday June 22nd 1982

We went to Newton Circus this evening and I gave up my brief spell as a vegetarian. I enjoyed a delicious chicken satay and a pint of pineapple juice! After dinner, Suzie took us to a country & western club where a friend of hers works.

Soft drinks cost the same as alcoholic drinks at S$5.50 so J and I had Pernod. Suzie’s friend Sandra appeared with a tray of drinks from a guy at the bar with a message, could he join us? Minutes later a loud and uncouth welshman called Davy. He works in Singapore. It took us a while to get rid of him, but eventually he took the hint we were not interested. Soon after another man joined us – a rich guy with a bodyguard. His name was either Harry or Henry Douglas. He offered me a job on his private yacht along with trips to New York, Peru, and/or Australia! I didn’t ask what this job entailed and told him I wasn’t interested. When he tried the same spiel on J and got the same response, he left along with the bodyguard. It had turned out to be an amusing evening but we were pleased to leave with Suzie.

We’ll be leaving Singapore tomorrow and heading into Malaysia. Numerous people have tried to talk us out of going to Sri Lanka and India, but India is one of the places I’m most looking forward to. The whole idea of this trip was to mix with people from cultures so different to our own, neither of us felt the need to change our course although, if any country would have been able to do it, it would have been Singapore.

Travel Journal 1982 Day 5

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Sunday June 20th 1982

Awake at 8:30am, got up and went for a swim. We were going to sunbathe but the rains came pouring down. When it stopped we went out for a game of tennis, but it started to rain again! Temperature was still 30˚C.

Suzie’s father came around this afternoon and we spent the afternoon chatting with him and Suzie’s friends. We’ve changed our itinerary, missing out KL and going straight to Penang and on to Haadai in southern Thailand. From there we’ll go on to Bangkok and Chiang Mai then back to Bangkok and over to Sri Lanka. We can’t go to Burma as it would take too long by boat and it’s expensive to fly.

We did end up flying in and out of Burma as part of the trip.

I met Wai Yin at 5pm. We went to the Wesley Methodist Church; great service. He’s a really nice guy. I didn’t know when I met him in London that he’s a doctor!

We walked alongside the river after church and Wai Yin showed me the poorer side of Singapore. Here, people live in small huts and it’s filthy. There is a mix of religious symbols and artefacts in the bushes with traditions from Muslim and Chinese faiths. Numerous altars lined the way. Wai Yin told me people used to come to die here, though not so much nowadays.

Half-sunk barges lined the river, mostly empty, but some with sacks of rice on board. Singapore was once a small fishing village until Sir Stamford Raffles landed in 1819. He brought the British over, who colonised it. It was taken over by what was then Malaya in 1963 and gained independence in 1965.

Skyscrapers are being erected throughout the city and the cost of living is rising. There’s no law against prostitution in Singapore and STDs are kept under control through regular checkups. Sadly, most of the girls in the sex trade are aged between 16-25 with many coming from across the border as the pay is better.

After the walk we met up with J, Linda finally and her friend Bu at the Satay Club. We ate from a steamboat where you cook raw food from scratch. Over the past few days I’ve eaten octopus, cuttlefish and pigeon’s egg. I feel sick at the thought of the last one. Tonight, I drank juice from a baby coconut which tasted different from what I expected. Wai Yin insisted on paying for the meal. We’ve hardly spent any money since arriving in Singapore and I’m beginning to feel guilty about it. Everyone we’ve met has been so hospitable.

It seems I didn’t write anything down for Monday 21st June so the next entry will be on 22nd.

Travel Journal 1982 Day 4

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Saturday June 19th 1982

Woke feeling shattered. Jet lag has caught up with me, awake half the night and wanting to sleep all day.

J drove Suzie’s car while the Singaporean acted as guide. We visited Tiger Balm Gardens, elaborate gardens with Chinese sculptures of wise men and buddhas. The torture chamber was a trifle gruesome with models of torture etc. A group of American’s were singing Christian choruses which was a pleasant interlude.

Posing with a Buddha
Tiger Balm Gardens

After our Tiger Balm visit we went to the Chinese Gardens in Jurong where we had lunch. There was a gorgeous lily pond and botanical plants. On the way back we picked up two of Suzie’s friends and they played Gin Rummy for a while.

I phoned a chap I had met at All Souls Church in London, Wai Yin who’s going to take me to church tomorrow and then J will join us for dinner. J and I went for another swim.

Suzie and her friends took us to Chinatown for dinner. The markets are vibrant and busy throughout the evening. We also saw fortune tellers with crystal balls, tarot cards and the like trying to attract tourists. We ate at one of the street markets. One of Suzie’s friends paid, she wouldn’t let us open our purses at all. These people are so generous. The poorer side of Chinatown was laced with shanty houses, beggars on the street and poverty.

My purchases were a set of chopsticks to take home and a t-shirt.

Linda Ho called Suzie’s at the end of the evening and has invited us to spend the afternoon and evening with her. I need to call Wai Yin early tomorrow to see if we can go to church tomorrow evening.