DEliTOUR: Sing A Poor and a brief flirtation with Malaysia

Apologies again for the lack of regular blogging. Intermittent access to quality Internet and a desire to avoid computers have been the main factors. And apologies too for the last rant. And any typos - my editor is on vacation. There will be more photos soon.

It is now deep into January and I can quickly recap our flirtation with Singapore and Malaysia (twice) that has lead us to our current location in southern Thailand.

Singapore was a revalation. From expecting a psuedo-Indian city I was shocked to find a concrete metropolis. It is impossible to escape the city's malls as each metro station feeds into another high rise air-conditioned monolith packed with shoppers, escalators and the tat of life. We loved the window shopping, and the air conditioning. And then we found the food halls. The food was awesome - varied, cheap and quality. There were always food courts in the malls but the best ones we found were dedicated, multi-storey fast food cathedrals. Like giant car parks but with every parking bay another kitchen, and with rudimentary seating in the driveways. And there was every type of food conceivable - of course Thai, Malay, Indian - endless prize winning noodles, curries, pancakes and then also American-style breakfasts, pastas and oddballs like Belgian chocolate waffles, dim sum and sushi - especially after our 'normal' diet in NZ and the limited choices we had in Latin America the food halls were a revelation - and so much cheaper and better value than anywhere else we had been.

We took plenty of MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) rides and saw some of the sights, like Raffles Hotel, and checked out Chinatown. When we had arrived there were accomodation problems but we found a Hotel 51 in Geylang. We were warned it was the red light district, and there were always plenty of weird and wonderful characters around, but it felt safe and there were loads of cheap eats around - even if they were renting some rooms by the hour.

We took the bus to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with the intention of working out which Malaysian island to head to. We already knew that it was monsoon on the East Coast and that the nicest sounding islands (the Perhentians) were closed. KL tourist info also advised us against going to Pulao Tioman in the south east because of the monsoon. We would regret not going there a few days later as we started to meet people who had just been - even though they had afternoon rain, the low season prices and great underwater action would have made our Malaysian experience more memorable - probably.

In KL we had a diet of window shopping and sightseeing, checking out the massive Petronas Towers (now the second highest building in the world, outside of New Zealand - probably) and we stayed in Chinatown in the friendly Wheeler's where our owner petted his cat, his partner did his nails and we enjoyed rooftop bar kniffle in the dark.

Then we went to Langkowi because we were assured it was paradise. It wasn't. If you were staying at one the few 5 star resorts that effectively had their own private beaches hidden in far corners of the island it probably was paradise. But if, like everyone else, you were crammed into the only budget and mid-range accomodatiom on the island on the narrow street behind Cenang beach - then it wasn't. The beach wasn't all that. The road was being dug up so walking anywhere was dicing with voracious trucks and scooters. The accomodation was overpriced. Many people were only there for the duty free booze which didn't even come cheap compared to the Thai border a few km away. It was a mess. We scootered around and found some nicer beaches but it was a nightmare for us. It was even worse for those backpackers who arrived too late and had to sleep on the beach or in the beach bars. Our room was a messed up staff room with a concreted bath - and we were lucky.

Malaysia had been a disappointment. Truly Asia? Had they employed a crack team of New Zealand copywriters?

I think that thanks to Peru, New Zealand and Malaysia in particular, I have learnt a great deal about the hard edge of tourism marketing. Can you imagine the look on my face when I read a letter the other day in the Bangkok post from a Thai gentleman, fresh from New Zealand, suggesting that what the Thai tourist industry needs is more leaflets?

Dear MEK (Finnish Tourist Board), are my new found passion for tourism marketing, my work history, your future challenges, and my future availability - just a coincidence?