Week 3 - Malaysia and New Zealand

Our last Tuesday in Malaysia was a Public Holiday so we got the day off. However after finishing the first season of 24 (what a programme) and watching a few other films we woke up much later than expected and eventually set off to the famous Batu Caves. 

At the Batu Caves after you've gazed at the substantial statue and captured your desired picture, there are a fair few stairs for you to climb before you reach the caves, which originally put this place on the map (the statue was only built 10 years ago). 

Along the stairs there are dozens of monkeys to point, look at and be amused by, until one of the jokers try's to snatch your drink (a precious item in such heat)! 

In the actual caves there are some small Hindu temples, which you can wonder around, whilst we were there an offering of some sort was being made in one of them. A completely new experience and interesting to see the logistics of it all, it looked pretty tricky and complex! 

The next day we joined Avean in going to one of the Refugee schools that St. Mary's supports. We got to know them through the customary game of splat, then they sat for an hour and a half while Avean explained the first chapter of Ephesians. This class were supposed to be the most troublesome of all the refugee schools and yet they sat still and answered questions for 90 minutes with only a short game break in the middle, something JJ struggled to do! Malaysian kids have a much longer attention span than us Brits, both of us were struggling to keep up with the lesson near the end, certainly more complex than a bog standard Sunday school lesson. 

We were told that one thing we should do is get our feet nibbled by fish in the Central Market in KL. Having seen from afar the size of the fish in England where such treatment is offered in shopping centres the experience certainly didn't look daunting, little did we know that these fish were not small in stature, and had mouths the size of sharks! Upon donning our chosen seats where we would submerge our tootsies in the pool, a black mass moved as one to both our chosen areas, leaving the man on the other side of the pool looking rather upset with the lack of fish eating him.

Now all we had to do was put our feet in the water, a simple task you might think. However these creatures left no space in the water free, as soon as you touched the water, there they would be, nibbling. However, we'd paid the money for 15 minutes of this, there could be no turning back.

Once we'd bitten the preverbial bullet we were sat there for about 5 minutes squirming and laughing as these odd fetished beings came and ate our feet and lower legs, it was only about halfway through when we could really enjoy the sensation.

KL Tower is the 4th highest tower in the world at 425m and it would have been rude not to have gone up it at some point while we were there. We got there at the prefect time so that we saw the city in daylight, dusk and dark - the views didn't disappoint!

Our third Thursday and our third and final Crèche! I (Bertie) had just about got to know the names of them all and we had another great couple of hours playing with them. 

With it being our last day we didn't want to leave any stone unturned so we headed back to Chinatown for the 4th time just to make sure we hadn't missed any more bargains, luckily there were so many 'special deal just for you sir' that we could fill our boots yet again.

The two of us then ventured to KLCC and the Petronas Towers, where we waited to watch a fountain display. Slow starting at the beginning, however once it got going it was certainly picturesque. The finish of the display was done to the titanic theme tune, and the key change brought out a rather feminine 'wow' from Bertie, as he was filming the event, it was all rather wet if you ask me! 

The Bible talks of going through hardship and persecution for Christ as you try and pursue, follow and honour him. This was the reassurance we gave ourselves every morning as we endured cold showers in Malaysia. How frustrating to find out on the penultimate night that all that suffering could have been avoided, had we realised there was a hot water switch!

Leaving KL and Saint Mary's was more than just leaving and saying goodbye to a country and a church, it was saying goodbye to a family in Christ as well! The staff team and congregation made us feel as welcome and as at home as was possible and we are certainly grateful. It was a time and a chance to develop a greater understanding to difficult theological questions and absorb knowledge from those who have had more time to think such things over! Certainly we hope it is not goodbye forever and that at some point a visit again would be possible! 

Malaysia - over, it was time to start the next chapter of our travels. New Zealand!

An early rise, ten hour flight later and four films later, we touched down in Auckland. Time difference meant that local time it was 12:30 pm. It looked like plain sailing: pick up bags, catch the 24 hour bus service for a short while to Auckland and check in to the nomad's youth hostel. Things did not run as planned, the fall came at the first hurdle, due to no fault of ours might I add. Malaysia Airlines decided it would be convenient to leave my (JJ) bag in Malaysia! Certainly not ideal! We did however manage to catch the bus, however, we'd forgotten to book ahead a place in the hostel which was fully booked. The time was now 3 in the morning, no bag, and no bed. Things looked pretty pear shaped. Someone by the name of, Beyoncé, jolly inconsiderately decided to be holding a gig in Auckland, meaning that the by the 3rd hostel we were preparing ourselves for a rough night! However The Lord had mercy on us, and there was a room that wasn't booked in the 4th hostel, so we had the luxury of a double bed!

Arising from my slumber, I (JJ) felt an awkward tingling sensation on my left ear, understandably presuming that ones sleep is heavier down under, I thought nothing of it. Once I'd pulled myself out of bed and into the bathroom, I realised that my left ear had indeed become even more protruding than usual, and that it had also become fat. As one does I jumped to the hideous conclusion that I had cauliflower ear and I would be subject to this hideousness for the rest of my life. I started to loath my fake Dre Beats headphones that I had become so fond of and decided they were crafted by horrible dwarfs who wanted to ruin my life by making me look like Brian Moore. 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and so are mothers, as mine lovingly pointed out that it had only happened to one ear, so there probably weren't evil dwarfs out to get me, I'd probably just worn them wrong on one side - how wise! 

Whilst I was still believing that my left ear would be larger than life, for life, I started to think, (as one does whilst travelling as there is a fair bit of time to mull over things) I started to think about vanity, some may be aware that whilst I have hair on my face but not on my head and resemble a gremlin, I can be known to be fond of my image. As I looked at my reflection and was not appealed, I realised the fleeting insecurity of vanity. Rather a deep thought to be thinking and perhaps not a topic for a blog, food for thought however. 

JJ's ugly face wasn't going to stop us enjoying what Auckland had to offer. We went for a wonder and found a delightful place to perch and gaze around Auckland's Bay, the sun was shining and the scenery was bliss, we found ourselves residing there for the next few hours. After that it was more than necessary to find ourselves a sports bar, we arrived early to make sure we had suitable seats to watch NZ play Auz - we weren't disappointed with the display rugger and the choice of beer! 41-33 to NZ! 

Sunday saw us pay a visit to an excellent church under the name of Saint Paul's. It also saw the arrival of my bag and the collection of the campervan. A most successful day! 

Everything was planned, drive north a few hours, check in at Uretiti campsite (it made us laugh too) have some sleep and move on. 

After the 3 hour drive we arrived at Uretiti to find the gate closed with no way in. Due to the fact that 2 years ago NZ revoked their 'you can camp anywhere' law (technical term) we had to try and find another campsite of which there were none on our map. We thought we should get off the main road and try and find somewhere off the beaten track and camp rough and move on early in the evening. After another hour of driving a kind native drew up along side us and told us a spot which we gratefully found. We set up camp not really knowing where we were or what the surroundings were like - it was 1am by this point. The fun wasn't over for the night though...

After successfully putting up our bed for the first time and an hours sleep, I (Bertie) woke up to JJ trying to get out the door quite sharpish. I'll spare you the details but JJ was consequently quite ill by what I could hear. Luckily we were right by a toilet so he camped there for the night, while I tried to block out the noises.

I woke up and found we had turned up right next to a beach, and a stunning sunrise followed.

JJ slurped up some vitamins and we set off for our first campsite - Otamure. When we arrived we were greeted with a stunning beach framed by some amazing pohutukawa trees. We spent two days there exploring the beaches and rocks and lapping up the gorgeous NZ sunshine.

This was also the place of 'The Haircuts' you can judge for yourselves...

Having thought it could not get any better than Otamure we moved on to our next stop - Matai Bay. After 2km of dusty gravelly road we arrived to this:

The sand was soft, the sea was still and the sun was shining, it could not have got any better. We stayed out in our camping chairs until darkness and we witnessed the best night sky we had ever seen. Shooting stars were flying around and some large planet (we don't know which) was lighting up one half of the sky. It was spectacular!

In the morning, after consuming our breakfast of bacon, beans and our patented scrambled/fried eggs:

We moved on up to the north coast to a place called Cape Reinga. On the way we stopped off at the giant sand dunes where we experienced sand duning. It's the desert equivalent of tobogganing and just as much fun.

Right at the top there were some great views encompassing sand, forest and flatland and JJ the more daring of the two of us tried to put himself in the most dangerous position possible. I think he succeeded as off this little rock he is sitting on is a straight drop to the sea. I'm still not sure what he's pointing at...

We were again greeting to another awesome sunset and stellar performance before we got up at the crack of dawn - literally - for the drive back down to Auckland.

This time next week we will be in the South Island called by the locals, 'Nature's Playground' so we look forward to sharing that with you all! Thanks for all your continued prayers, we really appreciate them. Onwards!

Week 2 - Malaysia

JJ has been drawing the plaudits for last weeks post so the idea of doing a week each has been thrown out the window because his pearls of wisdom are in such high demand. For the time being though you are stuck with me, sorry guys. 

Wednesday was an early start for both of us feeding the needy at 7.30 in the morning at the Cathedral. When we arrived to set up there was already a crowd of 60 or 70 people waiting for their food - when the Cathedral bell chimed at 8 we went out bags of food in hand - by this time there was over 100 people - and I've never seen food so gratefully received and consumed so quickly! It was a humble reminder of how often we take simple things for granted.

The next couple of days were very relaxed with the two of us planning for talks and bible studies we had been assigned. The first of these was my talk on the Lost Son at a youth treasure hunt on Saturday afternoon and then JJ was leading a bible study on Ruth 2 on Sunday morning. It was a humbling experience having to learn the passages and apply then to our own lives before going and telling others but there weren't any blatant screw ups so praise be to God!

And now for more cultural musings I must hand you over to JJ (please excuse any spelling and grammatical errors - I didn't have the time to change them all)

Absorbing culture is something that we've made a purposeful decision to do. I think it's important to all who venture away from the safety net of mother's washing, to learn the way of life where they find themselves residing. To those who haven't travelled and are, like I was not that long ago, naive, I will explain to the land locked brain what that has looked like for us. We've made absolutely sure we are aware of the difference between Malaysian food and British food. 

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the Malaysian BigMac, the bread is not spongey, the sauce is not saucey, and the Muslim friendly meat, is Muslim friendly, this all combines to make a burger that is not palatable in comparison. 

Joking aside, (even though the previous assessment of the Malaysian Big Mac was not a joke) - the food here is certainly different, and is also delicious! 

We have been fortunate enough to experience consuming food in a place (of which I am unaware of the name) where membership is necessary. A club if you wish. There has been an establishment between this club and the cathedral that two memberships be granted to the cathedral free of charge (#WhyNotWorkForJesus). Andrew, the head of the Cathedral very kindly took us here, as he is one of the two workers who has adopted the membership and treated us to a Malasyian style meal called banana leaf. The reason it's called banana leaf is because you literally consume your food from a banana leaf, instead of a plate, pretty cool right. Culture also dictates that you consume the food with your hands, even cooler. Those who have visited one of the finest venues available to man (nandos) with yours truly, will be fully aware of my "gremlin like" nature as I consume with my hands, making as much mess as the chicken requires. Unfortunately, not from any fault of Mr Nando, in England occasionally people's eyes can drift onto my appearance and pull faces that look like what I can only describe as, unimpressed. This however, does not happen when eating banana leaf! I felt accepted as I proceeded to bury the delicious meal in front of me with my paws. 

Initially you receive rice, with three different types of vegetables, of which I can only remember some green type of paste which was nice, however the other vegetable I remember (potatoes) were superior, they were what I can only describe as a Malaysian version of potato salad. Then you received mutton, chicken and fish, all in different spicy sauces, for me the chicken and mutton were my favourites. Bertie loved the fried fish. Also available was  yoghurt and bits of chilli (JJ originally spelt this chilly - I (Bertie) just thought this needed to be shared with everyone) and other such condiments all in separate pots, meaning that you could turn yourself into Jamie Oliver and experiment with a 'bit a this an a bit a that', to make the whole experience even more uplifting and fulfilling, it was truly incredible! 

Thankfully, at this point in time I was already aware of a quite important piece of information that is necessary when consuming Malaysian chicken which I was not aware of when I proceeded to eat our first meal. 

Bertie and I had just arrived, in Malaysia. My mind was, as explained in the previous post, unfortunately captured by the smell. Once I had broken free from its stronghold, with a stronghold on my nostrils, smell was replaced with hunger. We proceeded to explore. Bertie had been informed that there was a 'nice little deli' down the road. We curiously explored for the destination. It takes Malayages to walk places due to the necessary pace one has to adopt with the humidity and heat found in Kuala Lumpur. After strolling for 15 minutes or so we arrived, just down the road, at what we thought was this 'nice little deli'.

The destination was to the untrained eye an innocent, honest looking shack. I chose an interesting looking curry. As I looked at the food in front of me, I was happy that I had, as usual, picked a superior meal. The food was basically free, hindsight has helped me to see why.  

It was clearly an indirect attempt at my throat, as I naively slotted a mouthful of what I thought was a perfectly good and delicious mouthful of curried chicken and rice...how wrong I was!!!! These jokers made an attempt at the J-dogg's life by leaving all the bones in the chicken and therefore as I proceeded to consume this mouthful wholeheartedly, I nearly unintentionally ended myself and my windpipe. 

So friends, be warned, when eating curry in Malaysia, there are bones in the chicken. 

Apparently it's a Sunday night tradition for motorbikes to race around the city - the police don't really seem to care. The noise is epic!

After church on Sunday we took Avean (the person who has let us invade his flat and his office as well as putting up with our banter) out for some drinks and also so that he could show us the KL night life

JJ has some incredible moves - this is an  80s classic 

Goliath, Ghandi and Gollum take to the streets - there should definitely be a film

Week 1 - Malaysia

Arriving at the airport was a somewhat surreal experience, in the sense that, all the build up, the planning (of which yours truly did none, all credit to Bertie) the shaving of heads, had finally ended up in something I thought I'd always wanted - to be rid of my mother. Waving goodbye to our weeping creators, we boarded. Upon donning my seat and applying headphones I suddenly realised why long haul flights are in such high demand...

Films covered:

Bertie: The Internship, Heat, The Way Way Back, Cheaper By The Dozen 2

JJ: The Great Gatsby, The Internship, Argo, Bridget Jones' Diary

It doesn't take Jonathan Ross to be able to tell whose film taste is not just majestically superior but great in versatility.

The Humble Abode

Upon arrival in KL, one thing in particular hit me, the smell. At the time - knowledge of my comrade's ability to clear rooms made me query as to whether instead of temporary stench, he had indeed adopted a permanent odour that was quite unpleasant, but actually it was just the city that smelt awful.

I've found my intellectual level

Breakfast of champions 

Bertie couldn't figure out why none of them liked him...

After our first malaysian evening, a bible study and a bowl of breakfast, we adopted the program set up for us, our first task was to help out at creche. I personally found that the asian children took to me like I was one of their own and they flocked to me like I was the pied piper. Perhaps a slight exaggeration, however our first 'job' required of us was certainly an enjoyable experience!

This picture sums up our desire to absorb malaysian culture and also the crushing disappointment that
I was an inferior human being because I couldn't stomach a burger as substantial as Bertie's

One experience we've had was visiting a Cheshire home. A home for disabled people. We went there to have a bible study, which Bertie lead, to sing songs and to spend time with people who are physically disadvantaged. It was an incredible experience and phenomenally humbling to see people who couldn't sing or read worship the Lord, and see the genuine experessions of joy on their faces as they worshipped God however they could, one man simply clapping 'in time with the song'.

I personally had a similar experience again visiting, Saint Mark's Cozy Homes, as Bertie patiently listened to a lady named Mary, I partook in another short bible study and singing of songs and was humbled again by the Old people's genuine joy in worshipping God through singing songs, despite understanding from talking to some of them that many of them disliked staying in the home due to loneliness.

When not following our schedule, we have had ample time to relax and enjoy the city. Despite the various attractions on offer we have always ended up in the famous Chinatown. Full of bargains to be had, we have never come away from it without some sort of tat being purchased. Our Dr. Bre headphones have been a particular highlight as well as our 'genuine fake' Ray Bans.

On our first evening, as we were perusing the DVD collection in the flat, we stumbled across the first series of 24. Ever since, our evenings, after being taken out for dinner on many occasions, have consisted of analysing Jack Bauer's every move and trying to discern what will happen in the next episode. All we have really learnt from it so far is that you can never just watch one episode - no matter what time it is - you cannot just 'leave it there'.

KLCC Shopping Centre