Inject Me With Travel » Inject Me With Travel

In March a cheap airfare to Tokyo was advertised, so I jumped at the chance to visit one of the world’s most vibrant and iconic cities for a week. Armed with my lens, I took to the bustling metropolis with the challenge of soaking up as much as I could with the time I had.

Living up to its reputation as one of the world’s most energetic urban centres, Tokyo took me on a wild adventure through the crazy subculture of Harajuku, the world’s largest fish market Tsukiji, amidst anime, among manga and on the wave of people that is Shibuya Crossing.

I’ve documented my whirlwind experience with a series of photographs below.

In anticipation of my return flight to Auckland, New Zealand,  the time has come to conclude this chapter and reflect upon the experience that has been Inject Me With Travel. As I have mentioned, the intention of this website was to create a photographic travelogue and to visually portray my journey through Asia as an aspiring photographer and entrepreneur. What I did not expect however, is that this experience would grow into something so much more than that…

Firstly, the success of this website would not have been possible without the support of you, the reader and viewer. I am truly grateful for the thousands of people in 68 different countries, from Pakistan to Colombia to Ghana, who have taken the time to view my entries and follow my journey. The feedback from followers has been both encouraging and enriching in a way that has contributed significantly to my upcoming portfolio and skills as an aspiring photographer.

Secondly, I would like to thank the people with whom I have shared this adventure. The people who I have encountered along the road have coloured the images within my frames and written the words of my stories. From the chaiwallah on my first day in Calcutta to the Sherpa children of the Nepalese Himalaya, from the sadhus of Varanasi to the Bollywood stars of Mumbai, from the wild travelers of Goa to the surfers of southern Sri Lanka, from soccer-playing monks in Burma to cliff jumpers in the Philippines, it is your faces who have inspired my art and furthered my passion for travel and photography.

Finally, the last point I wish to make is about travel. Although the name of the blog indicates my intention to inject people with travel, a more fitting description of my intention would be to inspire people with travel. I hope that through my photography I’ve told a story and painted a picture of the incredible world out there and inspired people to be more adventurous in their lives. Make no mistake; there are an endless number of vibrant, fascinating and captivating people out there – more than I could ever hope to photograph – and I encourage everyone to realize this for themselves. In my journeys, I have realized that some of the most rewarding experiences come from some of the most unexpected places. From the comfort of your computer screen these destinations may seem like another planet, but the developing countries of Asia are some of the most accessible, accommodating and astounding places I have ever visited. I strongly encourage you to be bold, take a risk, get out there and understand this for yourself.

“…dare to follow our dreams, to have the courage to be different and to master the fear that prevents us from truly living.”

– Paulo Coehlo, author of The Alchemist.

After months’ enduring the heat and humidity of Asia, it was time for a few days break in the cooler climate of Malaysia’s renowned Cameron Highlands. These highlands are Malaysia’s most extensive hill station surrounded by small towns and endless tea plantations. At an altitude exceeding 1300m the temperature rarely climbs above twenty-one degrees.

Tea plantations in the Cameron Highlands

I stayed here for a few days at Daniels Lodge with a lot of other backpackers following the ‘Banana Trail’ backpacking route through Asia. Even managed to catch some of the Royal Wedding live on BBC at the hostel’s Jungle Bar!

Dorming it at Daniel's Lodge

Completely by chance, a friend I met and travelled through part of Burma with, Brandon, arrived a few hours after I did at Daniel’s Lodge in the Highlands. It had been two months following different paths through Asia, so it was good to catch up for the few days we were both there.

From the Cameron Highlands I caught a bus to Kuala Lumpur, and onward to Tioman Island, the last island I’ll visit on this trip through Asia. Laid back beach villages surround the coast of the island, with a mountainous jungle interior home to all sorts of wild creatures – bats, monkeys, monitor lizards, flying squirrels and more. I had five days on the island, and stayed at two different beaches, before heading back to Kuala Lumpur and onward to Bangkok.

On the boat from Mersing to Tioman Island

Tioman Island

View from the bungalow at Air Batang Beach

On the boat from Air Batang to Salang Beach

Arriving at Salang Beach

Salang Beach

View of the Kuala Lumpur skyline from the KL Tower

Chinatown - The backpacker area of Kuala Lumpur

View of the Petronas Towers from the KL Tower

The Petronas Twin Towers in central Kuala Lumpur

My travels through Asia have come to an end. On the 9^th May I depart Bangkok and fly back to my homeland, Auckland, New Zealand. In the next post I will conclude this photographic travelogue of my six month journey through Asia. Be sure to return to Inject Me With Travel in a day or two to check it out!

Malaysia. A country of extreme contrasts, from towering skyscrapers to remnant sights of a developing nation. A melting pot of people and religions from all over the world, where Malays, Indians, and the Chinese live and work together in relative peace and harmony. From the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur to the laid-back rural countryside and pristine tropical islands, Malaysia is a cross section of life in Asia.

From Brunei I caught a flight to Kuala Lumpur, the starting point of a three week trip through Peninsula Malaysia. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see lot in KL as it rained almost the whole time I was there.

After a few days in the capital, eating good street food in Chinatown, reminiscing on great times over chai and naan in Little India, and discovering massive modern shopping malls (one even with its own theme park and University inside), I headed up north to spend a day in Penang before catching a boat to the island of Langkawi on the north western coast of the peninsula.

The rollar coaster inside the Berjaya Times Square Mall in Central KL

I found a bungalow near the beach, and chilled there for about five days, swimming a lot and hanging out at the many reggae beach bars late into the night. Unfortunately the heat here was unbearable – even with the fan on full force my room still felt like a sauna!

Langkawi Beach

From Langkawi I caught an overnight bus to the eastern side of the peninsula, and then a morning speed boat to Perhentian Island. On the boat I meet five other backpackers from Germany and Czech Republic – I shared a bungalow and hung out with them for the five days I was there.

On the bus from Langkawi Island on the west coast to Perhentian Island on the east coast

Perhentian Island was a lot nicer than Langkawi with more of a chilled-out younger backpacker vibe, and also left the beaches in Langkawi for dead. The water surrounding the island was crystal clear with many coral reefs, making it a world-class destination for scuba diving and snorkelling tours. Most people come here to snorkel, dive, or do nothing at all.

Long Beach on Perhentian Island

With no roads, bikes, or cars, the only way to get around was to take water taxis to other parts of the island, or to walk ten minutes through the dense jungle to reach more beaches on the other side. The island also had no electricity during the day making it a lot more primitive than any of the other islands I’ve been to since travelling through Asia.

Blacktip beach bar on Long Beach

Beach on the east side of Perhentian Island

For three of the five days I was here I finally got my ‘Open Water Diving’ certificate.  I was planning to get it in the Philippines but it was a lot cheaper here.  So, for three days I had to learn a lot of scuba diving theory, watch videos, sit tests every day, and do an exam at the end. It was quite a shock to the system suddenly having to learn from a text book again! The course was quite full-on, doing four dives on top of all the theory and shallow water exercises, and learnt everything from mask clearing at 12m, emergency ascents, swimming tests, buoyancy control, turning the air off and using the emergency alternate regulator etc. It was fun and luckily got one-on-one training the whole time. Sometimes when classes have four people in them the exercises take forever to do! The dives we did were really good as well (although not quite as good as in the Philippines) – saw turtles, massive rays, giant moray eels, schools of barracuda, many puffer fish etc! With the certificate now I am able to descend to a depth of 18m… I will hopefully be able to do some more diving at Tioman Island if I have time to go there before leaving Malaysia!

With the diving course taking up at least eight hours a day, I was only really able to chill at night with the other backpackers I met. The island had great seafood BBQ’s that lined the beach every night. Ridiculously cheap for only $7, you get to choose either prawns, squid, shark, ray, kingfish etc, which was grilled and included salad, potatoes, a welcome drinks and dessert! Such good value – we ate there every night!  After eating at the seafood BBQ’s we would have a few drinks at the makeshift beach bars, with bonfires and fire dancers, and which would sometimes would turn into a dance party as the night went on…

Seafood BBQ restaurants

Seafood BBQ

Fire dancers at Blacktip beach bar

Five days on the island took its toll with the pounding heat, doing the three day intensive scuba diving course, and the lure of the island nightlife…  I left exhausted, and was ready for a break in the cooler temperature of the Cameron Highlands…

After three great weeks in the Philippines it was time to move on and continue travelling through other areas of Asia. From Palawan I caught a flight back to Manila and onward to Brunei, one of the smallest countries in the world located on the northern coast of Borneo Malaysia.  This tiny country has some of the largest oil reserves in Asia making it one of the richest countries in the world by GDP per capita. The Sultan on Brunei, Hassan al Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaula, has an expected net worth of around $22 Billion.  Brunei is officially an Islamic State with over 70% of the population Muslim.

I had planned to spend four days in Brunei but changed my flight to the earliest possible departure to Kuala Lumpur. After one day in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, I left to Malaysia. There really was nothing to do there – even walking the streets there was hardly any traffic or even people. It just seemed so dull and sedated, especially after arriving from the Philippines. No wonder hardly any people travel here! It was also very expensive – A ten minute taxi ride from the airport into the city set me back $40!

I was very happy when I was back at the airport a day later to fly on to Malaysia!

Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque