I have never complained about the long summer holiday although the word Summer does seem a little bit daft to use while working in the tropics. The temperatures are summery all year round, even when it is pouring down as it was for part of the journey north today.
We planned to leave KL early this morning as word on the street said that we needed to be at our first destination, Gua Tempurang Caves, by 9.00am to get on the first tour of the day. We managed to be on the road by 7.00am ish and did well to get to the caves, close to the town of Gopeng by 9.15am. I had visions of crowds of people busily pushing and shoving to get to front of sprawling queues and all wishing they had left KL just that bit earlier than they did. The reality was very different. There were three old cars parked nearby the main entrance but precious little evidence of who might have driven them there. There was a bloke sitting outside the toilets collecting cash for wees but apart from that no-one appeared to be there. All dressed in our scruffiest clothes and ready for caving action we ambled around the place and eventually found a desk marked 'information.' A bit like the shopkeeper from Mr Benn a lady emerged upwards from behind a screen around the desk and we all stood looking at each other for a few moments. Bravely I asked for tickets, but the only information that she could tell us was that her friend who sold the tickets had not arrived yet. However she would probably arrive soon.
Soon came and fortunately so did the ticket seller. Buying tickets is not an easy process business though. Apparently we needed eight paying adults to do tour three, a wet and slidey experience that we had been recommended to take and despite Trixie's eighth birthday being in February Lawrences could not pass for eight. While considering what to do next two other blokes came up to the counter and after a bit of haggling and persuading it was agreed that seven was nearly eight and the combined money that we were happy to pay was nearly what the cost was, and tour four was slightly more challenging and exciting and so we paid up. After waiting another ten minutes for the guide to turn up we began the tour.
Overall the whole experience would have made many a cave purist weep as we seemed to ride roughshod around dripping ceilings and forming stalagmites but the clambering over, along and down well worn paths, crawling under rocks and immersing ourselves in cool river water was a three hour experience loved by young and old. Grubby, wet and gritty it was well worth it.
Next on our mission to be tourists in Malaysia we found Kellie's Castle, a bit north of Gopeng. Built by Scotish landowner, plantation manager and crop experimenter William Kellie Smith in the early 20th century he never got to finish or live on the place thanks to illness finishing him off. It was a bit of nearly experience for Lawrence's as we almost didn't get to go in, on principle, I may add. The advertised price for entry was RM5 for adults and RM3 for children. Except there was a catch. Lots of tourist places in Malaysia have a duel pricing system whereby the non-Malaysians are charged more to enter because, well, er, er, .... Yeah. Why are they charged more? And so we argued with the lady selling trying to sell us tickets. The cost for us to enter would be RM19 or RM 38 if we paid the foreigner prices (that wasn't going to happen). Explaining that we worked in Malaysia and that we paid taxes too we offered to pay RM 19 and not a sen more. The ticket seller mumbled something about her boss making to rules and so we asked to speak to the boss. The ticket seller gestured in a random direction and explained that the boss was eating. A quick search of the closed cafe and empty toilets showed that the boss was not eating nor ind