Bombay

… is also known as Mumbai and reminds me a bit of New York City. Most of the time it feels like I’m no longer in India. I have nothing against the rest of the country but Bombay seems to me to be a tad more civilized. Here’re some reasons to back up my statement:
1. Queuing at the bus stop

2. Turning on the meter in a cab (the meter is actually outside the vehicle, can you spot it?)

Visiting Bombay with "A" was like traveling on steroids. Even though I never made it to Daravi Slum for a slum-tour (which is one of my must-do while in India), I think I saw more of Bombay in three days than any Bombayite would’ve seen in three months.


Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)

Gateway of India


Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue

Prince of Wales Museum

Elephanta Caves – an hour boat ride and you’ll be in a completely different environment. There’s a 5 minutes horizontal and 10 minutes vertical hike to the caves.

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower - It is as extravagant as they make it out to be.

Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat - Apparently 136 yr old, Bombay's oldest and biggest human power washer machine.

Hotels:

We spent a night at Taj President (the sister of and not to be mistaken with Taj Mahal Hotel) just for the fun of it.
Price: Rs11500/night


Gordon Hotel; highly recommended not because it’s allegedly the first boutique hotel in Bombay but you will find the most adorable objects in your rooms. If you are planning to party in Bombay and stay out past 2:30am, you should consider the rooms above the nightclub, which are way more affordable than the quiet rooms.
Price: Rs8000/night incl. breakfast (for rooms above the nightclub, because we stayed out past 2:30am every night)

I don’t recall partying in NYC being as hectic as partying in Bombay. On Saturday, we started off from South Bombay at Indigo Restaurant (highly recommended), then drove up to Malabar Hills and hung out at the Hanging Gardens (which is next to the Parsi Tower of Silence - a Parsi cemetary where bodies are not cremated but corpses are laid out within towers and pecked by vultures or let decompose naturally and where we were told by the tourist police to scram), then to the Dome (a rooftop bar), then Blue Frog (a must-go super cool lounge), then China Club (where I saw maybe a few hundred Bollywood superstar look-alikes) and finally to Bling (where Bollywood music was played). I think I missed a venue. We got to bed at 4:30am, drunk and happy.

Drive in Malaysia

I was very spoilt by how mobile I was in New York City. At any given day, nobody knew where I went or how I got around. The lack of mobility would be my biggest complain coming back to Malaysia. My biggest regret would be not renewing my driver’s license when I had a chance, four years ago.

The LRT system in Kuala Lumpur is reasonably convenient if you want to get to and around the city. If you are stuck in your suburban home like me, and the nearest supermarket or mall is about 15-30 minute drive or 50-120 minutes walk, it suddenly seems like the LRT is pretty damn useless. My brothers, dad and friends have been my drivers for the past few weeks and it’s time for me to take over the road.

How to renew your very-expired Malaysian Driver’s License
1. Fill out the e-rayuan form on the JPJ website with your information and hit submit. http://portal.jpj.gov.my/v5/index.php/en/erayuan-lesen-memandu-tamat-tempoh
(Confused? Yeah, I was too.)
2. You wait.
3. You get impatient after a few weeks (because your friends are hinting about not wanting to be your driver) so you go back to the JPJ site and login with your IC number and you find out the status of your e-rayuan is “berjaya”.
4. You are puzzled and (still) unsure what to do next. You call the JPJ toll-free number on the site. Someone on the line tells you that your appeal (rayuan) is successful and now a JPJ letter will be sent to you with your next steps.
5. You ask the person on the other line why this little simple information isn’t explained on the website. The person sheepishly says, “…oh ye, website will be updated soon, soon.”
6. You wait.
7. Your letter finally arrives (total wait time is 4-5 weeks). Instructions on the letter indicate you need not retake driving classes or the written test. However, you will need to get an “L” license and take a “special” test, which you can register with any driving school.
8. To get your “L” license, you will need to go to one of the JPJ headquarters (for Petaling Jaya residence, HQ is in Shah Alam. Take a GPS with you). You will also need to bring with you:
i) 3 license-size photos
ii) RM80
iii) Photocopy of your IC (front and back)
iv) A black or blue pen to fill out a form

You have to do #8 within 60 days of the date indicated on the letter but after getting your “L” license, you have 3 years to take your test. Yes, I find that strange also but not complaining since I left shortly after this and is now in India. Best of luck.

Krabi, Koh Lanta & Koh Phi Phi

First stop, Thailand.

Seven months ago in a West Village apartment, I told my sister I’ll be back in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve with my nieces and The Village (a small group of Malaysian in NYC that is on the verge of extinction) and watch fireworks set off on the Hudson River.

Boy, I was way off. Instead, this is what I did for the first 9 days of 2009.

Krabi
Hotel: Red Ginger
Price: 3000 bath/night

8 other friends and I decided to countdown to 2009 in Krabi. We stayed at a swanky boutique hotel and spent many hours on the balcony drinking whiskey, rum and vodka infused cocktails and smoking tobacco. This place, which to me had a Euro vibe has a diveresed crowd; parents with children but also young people in groups. The nearby white painted beach-side restaurants and hotels reminded me a little of Mykonos.

Tom yum gong


Foot scrub on the beach

Chicken Island


Light a red lanterns (they aren't really red but look it from a far) for good luck. These things may look pretty in the sky but don't think it was too good for the environment. On New Year’s Eve, there were at least 500 of these being set-off on Krabi beach.

Phi Phi Island
Hotel: PP Princess Resort
Price: 1700 bath/night

M and I stayed and took the ferry to Phi Phi while the rest of my friends flew back to Kuala Lumpur to their jobs. Phi Phi Leh is where The Beach movie was shot. The water surrounding Phi Phi Leh is so very clear but there are no hotels here and the only stay-over option is to camp but only for a night. Phi Phi Den, the bigger island is where we stayed and it reminded me a lot of a big frat party because most of the people who visit here are probably fresh grads from Australia or USA. We stayed at PP Princess Resort which resembles a beachfront college dormitory. Our bathroom has no hot water and the toilets are separated and shared with other hotel guests.


Stopover at Phi Phi Leh. Playing soccer (or football) on the beach.


Fire dancer at a beach party.


This little buckets are filled with mixture of 12oz local whiskey + 20oz soda + ice. Taste of the concoction is written all over M's face.




Phi Phi Den, town

Lanta Island
Hotel: Sanctuary Resort
Price: 900 baht/night

This is my most favorite island amongst the three. If you want a vacation to do absolutely nothing, come to Lanta. The island is quite undeveloped but you can get around easily on a motorcycle, which is what M and I did. We saw some of the most gorgeous beaches from hillsides and trekked down to the most remote beaches to drink fresh young coconut juice. We stayed in a hut on Sanctuary Resort which has an open air cold-water-only shower and toilet. I didn’t mind much of the cold water probably because showering under Orion’s Belt and having large big lizards and green-colored beetles around made it so much more interesting. Oh, and the lady who runs the resort teaches yoga (sea view) every morning at 9am.

Open air bathroom at Sanctuary Resort.


Sunset


Sunny


Elephant ride


Lanta Island

More pictures of Krabi, Lanta & Phi Phi