Kalgoorlie or Bust

Kalgoorlie, The Wild, Wild West in WA!

Matt and I had discussed a trip to Kalgoorlie, a famous gold-mining town in the middle of Western Australia – literally the middle of nowhere. Matt wanted to see the KCGM Super Pit open pit mine, and I always want to go anywhere. After our three-day driving trip to the Pinnacles, New Norcia, and Wave Rock a couple months ago, Matt agreed that taking the train for the 7-hour journey was a good idea. Suddenly having a lot of flexible time on our hands, we began looking into it. I mentioned this to Peter and Galina during a tutoring session and they were very interested in joining us. Galina had already visited Kalgoorlie a couple of years ago for a mining conference. She was working for Barrick in Tanzania at the time and had a very rushed trip to Perth and then Kalgoorlie.

So it was settled, we would go by train and spend two nights in Kalgoorlie, giving us one afternoon and then one full day to sight see. 

On Thursday, July 18^th, we met Peter and Galina at Midland train station and boarded the Prospector at 7:20 AM. The train was very comfortable and modern with personal TVs, power outlets, and a buffet service. Unfortunately, my headset, along with Peter and Galina’s would not work. There was a lot to see out the window though, for the first few hours as we passed through Toodyay, Northam, and other Avon Valley towns.

We arrived in Kalgoorlie at 2 PM, Matt and I checked into our hostel (we booked a private room, and then found out it was the only one available) while Peter and Galina checked into the York Hotel on Hannan Street, the main drag. The hotel was very old by WA standards and really interesting inside. The only defect Galina and Peter found: the only access to the tiny women’s shared bathroom was outside via a balcony. Seeing as it is winter here and about 35 degrees at night, this is a bit inconvenient!

That afternoon we headed up Hannan Street, taking photos and visiting the WA Museum, Kalgoorlie. There was an interesting display on gold mining and the history of gold, and exhibits on the history of the area including aborigines and early gold prospectors. There was also a special exhibit on Antarctica, but Matt and I didn’t make it to that. 

On the advice of a Barrick co-worker, we also searched for and found the “world’s tallest bin.”  Apparently it was a tidy town award or something back in the 1990’s. We all tried to throw rocks in…only Peter got one.

We then headed to Paddy’s Pub for something to eat and drink. After that we stopped into the Exchange Wild West Saloon next door, one of the several bars in Kalgoorlie with “skimpys, ” or barmaids in bikinis. Over the course of the night they collect tips and then become topless barmaids when they get enough money. We didn’t witness this on the first night as we were tired and left the bar at about 10 PM.

The next morning we met Peter and Galina and caught a public bus to take us to Boulder, so we could walk to the SuperPit lookout. There is a tour bus that runs but it was fully booked and it cost $50 each…not really how we planned to spend our money. We walked up the side of the Superpit to the lookout. It was pretty amazing. 

All of the huge “jumbos” and trucks they use to excavate and work the mine looked like little toys since they were so far down. Seeing as I was with three geologists, they used a lot of terms I wasn’t familiar with, but I can tell you they located a dike, several stopes, and some other things. It is the largest open pit mine in Australia. 

Open pit mines are very economical, but not ecological at all. There is a lot of debate over what will be done with the pit when it closes in 2021.

As it was starting to sprinkle, we headed back into Boulder. We took the bus back to Kalgoorlie and had lunch at Hoover’s Café in The Palace Chambers. It is called Hoover’s because the Hotel received a mirror from President Hoover as a gift. This is because after being born in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover worked as a mine engineer and geologist in the goldfields of WA. How crazy, two Iowans hanging out in Kalgoorlie. Maybe I will send them a mirror someday. 

After lunch, and a quick stop back at the hostel, we took a taxi to what was the Mining Hall of Fame, now the Institute of Tech (or something like that). 

It is also the KCGM shop with souvenirs and posters of the Superpit. We toured the museum, which used to have interpreters and guides, but due to a lack of interest is no longer running. You can still wander the displays and see the big machinery. 

It was pretty sad, really, as it must have been a pretty cool museum before, with gold-pouring shows and underground tours.

After rushing through the museum, we took a taxi back to town and onto Hay Street, a block away from the Gold Dust Backpackers YHA Matt and I were staying at, to Questa Casa Brothel, where we took a brothel tour. It is over 100 years old and still operational. I wont go into any details as kids may be reading this, but the tour consisted of the madam telling us about the history of the brothel, Hay Street, which was once full of them, and the history if the industry in Kalgoorlie. We then saw a few rooms. The most startling aspect was when the madam’s dog scrambled out from under a bed, scaring me to death. It was a pretty interesting tour, probably not worth the money we paid, but I bet a lot of people visiting the brothel say that :).

After the tour, we returned to our respective hostel/hotels and had a rest before meeting up for dinner at the Balcony Bar, right next to Hoover’s. We had a lovely meal and then decided to stop in quickly at the Palace downstairs. Skimpys was in full force this night. I guess I am happy to say it made Matt and Peter a bit uncomfortable and we left after a drink, to go across the street to The Exchange and enjoy the people watching that Kalgoorlie provides. No need for topless waitresses when there is this to watch…

Saturday morning we were up early and on the Prospector at 7 AM to head home, tired and with a new perspective making us appreciate the civilization that is Perth.

To see more of my photos from Kalgoorlie, click here. 

To see Matt's photos from Kalgoorlie, click here.

Malaysian Me Crazy

Happy July!

Happy Birthday Uncle Dave, Alex, Aunt Yolly, Peter, and to all of the other friends with birthdays this month. Happy Anniversary to my parents as well – 34 years!

It has been a while since I have posted. We are experiencing a lot of change and I can’t say that I have dealt with all of it wonderfully, even though it was fairly anticipated. Matt has been laid off from his position as geologist in the latest round of lay-offs as Barrick prepares to close Plutonic Mine, where he worked. He was among 11 other geologists and 30 or so other employees who were let go. More lay-offs are expected in the coming months. If you pay attention to the stock market, you can see that Barrick has not been doing well for a while. They are experiencing issues worldwide due to a lot of factors and are trying to sell and close all of their Australian mines.

As I said, Matt had an idea this would happen, and when we heard that our housemate Jack and several other geos had been laid off on the first day of our vacation to Malaysia, we had a pretty good idea that when we returned to Perth, Matt would find out he was also out of a job. The good news is that Barrick have provided him with “garden leave,” so his last day of official employment is at the end of August and this means that Matt can stay in Australia on his (ended) work visa until November. I have changed my flight back to the US to early October, when our lease on the house ends. If Matt hasn’t found a new job by then (he jumped right in with looking and applying, bless him!) he will head back to England and we will go from there, figuring out what to do. Fingers crossed and positive thoughts that something will come through for him sooner than later. He is applying to jobs worldwide, which should provide better chances of finding something soon.

In the meantime, we are trying to make the most of our time together, traveling and sightseeing, we visited the Royal Perth Mint last week as well as the Mundaring Weir and John Forrest National Park, before our trip to Kalgoorlie, WA (my next post). I have been suffering anxiety with all of this uncertainty and lack of control, combined with suddenly having our housemate around all the time and barely being able to keep up with the housework, my one area of productivity and accomplishment! But it is a gift for Matt and I to have so much time together, and the chance to sell his car, our possessions, etc. and make the most of what are probably our last months in Australia. We are very excited for Matt’s mum and step-dad to arrive for a three-week visit in August, during which time we will be heading down south to Albany and Margaret River, an area that Matt and I love.

Ok, so with that out of the way, I can finally tell you about our trip to MALAYSIA!

On June 25^th, we got up at 4 AM for our early morning flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur. I didn’t sleep the night before, which seems to be my unfortunate curse before an early flight, especially as I cannot sleep on planes, trains, or automobiles. Basically, I was really tired by the time we arrived. After customs and everything, Matt and I took a shuttle to KL Sentral bus/train station. We were planning to take the monorail to our hostel in the Bukit Bintang area, but after a frustrating search in the heat, haze, and construction around the station, we took a cab, which cost all of 7 Ringit, or $3.00 AU. After arriving, locating our hostel (Paradiso B&B) behind more street construction work, and checking in, we had a late lunch in a food court under the mall across the street. It reminded me of Chinese food courts, downstairs and very smoky and overwhelming. Once we had eaten, however, Matt and I both felt better. We had a power nap, and then wandered the hawkers markets around the corner from our hostel enjoying dim sum and drinks before an early bedtime!

June 26^th, we woke up pretty early and hopped on the free city bus with the idea of taking it to the historical city square. We ended up in Chinatown...and then proceeded to walk forever and ever trying to get what looked like a very short distance on the map. Matt took the lead and was doing ok with it until we found ourselves in an underpass full of sleeping homeless people with no idea how to get across the river to where we wanted to be. Eventually, however, we found our way to the old Kuala Lumpur Train Station, a great example of Islamic architecture, 

and then at the KMT Building across the street. 

Back on track, we walked through Tun Abdul Razak Heritage Park, passing the National Mosque, the Islamic Arts Museum, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, and the Botanical Gardens until we reached the National Monument, built in 1966 to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for Malaysia’s freedom.

After that, we continued walking to Merdeka Square (our original destination!). 

Independence was proclaimed here in 1957. Around the square are the National Textile Museum, a Victorian Fountain brought over from England, the Government Office, and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, built in 1894-1897. 

We visited the Kuala Lumpur Gallery on the edge of the square, which had a pretty impressive scaled model of the city inside. And air-conditioning. Which was nice since we had walked so much, and it was so hot, I was experiencing heat exhaustion. Next we crossed the river (much more easily this time) to the Central Market, where we slowed down to look at the souvenir shops and have some lunch. We returned to Chinatown to get on the free bus again and go back to the hostel for showers and a rest before taking the monorail to Little India where we had a nice dinner and enjoyed the lights and flower stalls.

June 27^th we decided to have an “indoors day” after walking all over outside in the heat the day before. We headed to Berjaya Times Square, a nine-storey shopping mall with an amusement park inside. The size of the place was pretty impressive. The amusement park wasn’t huge, but it did have a looping roller coaster. On the first couple of floors there were some well-known stores and brands, but as you went up it became more little boutique stores selling really cheap (low quality) clothes and accessories. Mostly we just walked and people watched, and ate. There was a Krispy Kreme where we had coffee and doughnuts, and an Auntie Anne’ pretzel place. Two places I don’t think I have been to or eaten anything from for years at home, but when you are presented with the opportunity abroad, it is very exciting! And, since it was KL, it wasn’t expensive! Two doughnuts and two large coffees for $4. That buys one coffee, maybe, in Perth. After walking for hours, we worked up enough appetite for Wendy’s where I had a baked potato and frosty. Matt had never been to a Wendy’s and was very excited. I was equally excited that there was a Starbucks next to our hostel. They don’t have them in Perth. For better of worse, it is the first time in my life (excepting six months in Spain) where I have lived more than a mile from a Starbucks. There were so many in KL it was like being in the US. Funny how when in Des Moines I try not to get coffee there, but in Malaysia, it is a huge treat J.

That afternoon we wandered through more of the shopping malls near our hostel, including Pavillion, which was full of very high scale stores. Matt managed to buy a couple of nice polo shirts despite being chased off by a sales lady when he had the nerve to reach for a stack of “slim fit” shirts. 

We showered, got dressed up, and headed for Skybar at the top of Traders Hotel. It provided us with amazing views of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers and some of the KL skyline while we enjoyed dinner and drinks. 

After taking more photos than anyone would believe, we headed back to Paradiso B&B, where we forgot to lock the door to our room as we collapsed into bed.

Later that night, at about 12:30, I woke up to a noise thinking Matt had gone to the toilet. I could see a figure standing next to the bed. Upon realizing that Matt was in bed, I started shaking him saying “Matt, Matt!” The figure muttered, “I try to find Richard,” and left. Matt woke up, removed his earplugs, and asked what had happened. He looked in the lounge outside the room but no one was there. I asked if my bag and his wallet were still there, seeing that they were, we went back to sleep. It wasn’t until the next morning we realized the 75 ringits ($25) were gone from Matt’s wallet. The lesson: always lock and double-check the door. We were very happy the strange man didn’t take anything else and we told the B&B owner, though there wasn’t much he could do but tell us to always lock our door…

On June 28^th, we got cash out and got on the monorail and then the KMT Komuter train, plus a little more walking in the heat, until we arrived at the National Museum. There were interesting displays on different periods of history in Malaysia as well as lots of artifacts. After the museum, we walked to the KL Bird Park, which had very high tourist reviews, though we weren’t sure why. Mostly we saw peacocks, pigeons, pheasants and similar birds wandering around. There were some flamingos, pelicans, lorikeets, parrots, emus and so on, but they were in cages. There were also ostriches and cassowaries.

We took a taxi from the Bird Park to the National Mosque or Masjid Jamek, where I covered up my hair and skin and we both removed our shoes. We had a bit of a struggle figuring out which coins would work in the lockers, but eventually, we entered the mosque and toured the areas we were allowed in. It was surprisingly cool, even without AC, and quiet even in the middle of the city.

We headed back to Paradiso for showers and then went for dinner at the Hard Rock Café, per Matt’s request, as he had never eaten at one before. The portions were huge and we enjoyed it! Later that night Matt’s friend and former roommate Mike, along with his co-worker Andy (also English), arrived from Johor Bahru where they work as teachers. We went out at Pavillion and the Green Man Bar in Bukit Bintang for drinks.

On June 29^th, we met Mike and Andy for breakfast at an Indian corner restaurant, then Matt and I went with Mike to catch the train to the Batu Caves, a series of limestone caves outside of Kuala Lumpur, which is home to very special Hindu shrines and lots of stairs! 

We climbed the stairs and looked at the shrines and the monkeys that run wild all over the caves. It was pretty cool. There were also great views of Kuala Lumpur.

We enjoyed sodas and snacks afterward before heading back to KL where we met Andy at Chinatown. Mike and Matt haggled for watches, finally scoring a deal. We all showered and changed and then took a taxi to Petaling Jaya to watch the Lions rugby match in a South African pub recommended by a couple Mike and Andy met while traveling. Unfortunately, the Lions lost, but the drinks, company, and dinner were good. We headed to Bukit Bintang to ring in Matt’s thirtieth birthday at midnight.

June 30^th, we slept in a bit and then had lunch with Mike and Andy before going with them to TBS Bus Station so they could catch their bus back to Johur Bahru and we could buy tickets for the bus to Melaka the next day. Back in KL, Matt and I wandered “Little India Street” just north of Merdeka Square and admired the art deco shop houses before checking out the bazaar and yet another shopping mall. We made our way to KLCC Mall under the Petronas Twin Towers for a birthday dinner and then had an early night.

July 1^st, we checked out of Paradiso and took a taxi to TBS Bus Station where we caught our bus to Melaka. The journey was about two hours. Then we got a cab to Hatten Hotel, which was very nice. After checking in, we walked the Melaka Heritage Trail, which included the Porto de Santiago, St Paul’s Church, the Stadhuys (State House) and Jonker Street, which is the city’s Chinatown. 

We had lunch on Jonker Street before heading back to the hotel for a swim and drink while the sun went down. Matt tested the waterproofing of his new camera.

 Afterward, we had dinner at Papa John’s across the street. I don’t really like it in the US, and I didn’t really like it in Malaysia…

On July 2^nd, we walked down to the main square in Melaka and checked out the souvenir stalls before boarding a River Cruise, which was a fun way to see the historical town. 

We took a few more photos of the town center before cooling down with some freshly squeezed juice and returning to the hotel to collect our bags and head back to the bus station. We rode back to KL, and then took a train to Putrajaya, a suburb nearer to the airport. We found our tiny hotel, ate a nice cheap meal at the Chinese restaurant in the complex, and got some sleep before heading to the airport in the morning.

July 3^rd, we experienced an enjoyable Air Asia flight since right after take off, Matt noticed some passengers abandoning their “hot seats.” Apparently the woman was afraid of the emergency exit door. We snatched up the seats as it meant lots more legroom for the five-hour flight! Back in Perth we had pizza for dinner. Matt flew to work at 6:30 AM the next day, only to get into the office and be informed of his redundancy. He was back that evening and we tried to stay positive by celebrating the 4^th of July with hot dogs and corn on the grill and potato salad and beer! We were very glad we didn’t waste too much of our vacation in Malaysia worrying about the job situation, as there was nothing we could do. It was a good trip full of cheap food, fun, and friends.

To see more of my photos from Malaysia, click here. 

To see Matt's many photos from Malaysia, click here. 

Since then we have kept busy figuring things out, catching up with Matt’s former co-workers, sight-seeing, using our health insurance while we still have it, I have still been tutoring in Spanish, Matt has re-worked his resume and been applying like crazy. I am dealing with my anxiety as best I can and we are embracing the upcoming changes. No matter what happens, I will be in the US for a while in October, which means I can visit family and friends, enjoy everything American, and even make it to a good friends’ wedding!

Hoping all of you are well and remembering to live in the moment!