I got here early this morning off the overnight train from Taneh Merah, a small town in the North East Malaysian state of Kelantan. It was pretty uneventful in and of itself, except in the overwhelming number of abandoned cats. Not only were they everywhere, they were the mangiest, ugliest, scrawniest, most decrepit and diseased animals I've ever seen. Truly it was a miracle they were still alive. I even took pity and fed a couple (a testament to the state they were in...y'all know I'm not a cat person). I didn't see a single dog though...maybe they're on the menu here as well?
Malaysia impressed me right off the bat. I crossed over the border on my way down from Bangkok last week along with a very nice family from Barcelona, and the 4 of us were the only Westerners in sight- a welcome change from touristy and crowded Thailand. Another instant perk: the toilet in immigration had RUNNING WATER TO THE TANK. Revolutionary. I don't know why Thailand hasn't figured out this convenience, as all of the toilets have running water NEXT to them.
I made it to the Perhentian Islands as it began to rain. The speedboat hit a bit of rough weather and my fellow passengers seemed slightly nervous. I couldn't help but feel a little smug...I mean, it was nothing compared to the Bering Sea...
My first night on the island was sublime, even with the light rain. I had a lovely dinner and watched the sun set over the ocean. Ahhh I missed the smell of salt water! The island was much more crowded than I anticipated; tourist season hadn't officially started yet but both places I planned on staying were out of rooms for the night. I ended up staying in the dorm at Senja Bay which was absolutely AWESOME and when (yes I said WHEN) I go back, I will definately be staying there:
http://senjabay.com/
It poured cats and dogs all night, and I lost the war with the mosquitoes and woke up with my right eye swollen shut. Ergh. Anyhow, nothing that a little Alavert and caffeine didn't clear up. The weather was iffy all morning, so I took a short hike to the other side of the island, and area called Long Beach (ha so close to home yet SO far away). It was nowhere near as nice as "my" side of the island. The sun ended up coming out and I had a fantastic day of sunbathing and swimming (too fantastic...totally underestimated the tropical sun and got a burn right off the bat).
I was able to get a single room (with a mosquito net thank god) for the remainder of my stay. It was tucked way up on the hill...it reminded me of Swiss Family Robinson...getting to it required taking 5 or 6 flights of rickety wooden stairs up through the jungle, amid HUGE monitor lizards and squawking birds. IT WAS SO FRICKING COOL.
Day 2 was also gorgeous, and those nasty rumours circulating amongst tourists about the rain lasting for 2 weeks was put to bed. I took advantage of the weather to go on a snorkeling trip with a fantastic guide named Matt and 7 other tourists. It was FANTASTIC. We saw sharks, cucumbers, corals, a turtle...it was simply gorgeous. The only minus was falling off the boat (sooo embarassing) and dunking my camera in the South China Sea : ( No pictures for awhile...I'm going to try a distilled water rinse and see if I can salvage it.
Day 3 I was simply fried- a sunburn of epic proportions. Seriously guys, this is a record for me. I literally could do nothing else but lay in bed all day and read, taking Ibuprofin every 3 hours. Anyhow, it was relaxing and still beautiful to look out over the crystal blue cove at the reef over my frenzied bursts of reading "Sophie's Choice" (I know, it wasn't exactly carefree island fodder but it was quite good).
So here I am, back in the city swing of things. I could have stayed for a month. I'm going to go back with Johnny next year and get SCUBA certified there, and backpack through Malaysia. I like it that much. The vibe is so different than Thailand, probably due to the Muslim influence which I am enjoying for the simple fact that I am SICK and TIRED of ground pork (the only meat Thai's seem to put in their food). But also Malay culture is beautiful and intricate and I've received such a warm and genuine welcome. I also enjoyed the lack of hardcore partying; alcohol is quite expensive in Muslim countries and sort of looked down upon. The substitute was milkshakes...they were everywhere on the island (made with the ever-ubiquitous condensed milk, not ice cream).
Before I sign off, I had some random notes about Thailand written down:
- The mannequins here are downright creepy. They don't have those neutral, vacant expressions our mannequins have. They look like clowns on acid with these huge garish smiles and gaping mouths. It's so weird.
- Asians are so obsessed with lightening their skin that it's nearly impossible to find any toiletry item that doesn't have skin bleach in it (even deoderant!). What's so ironic is that the same companies producing all this crap here are the ones that back home are convincing Westerners to buy their fake-tanning products...
- The hot item at the orphanage is the Rubic Cube. Yah, I thought it went out in 1990 too but the kids are dying for them, going so far as to make their own with markers and blocks!
- I woke up one morning to a dead dog in the classroom. It was our pet girl puppy Gaia. It was quite traumatic. We think maybe she was poisoned, and her brother Thor got quite sick and sulked off and died too.
- The Thai calendar is based on a Buddhist one that adds 543 years. So this year is 2552. It's a bit confusing when trying to buy tickets online...
- Retail irony of the day: A chain store called "Freshmart" that only sells frozen processed foods
- Thais are obsessed with fried chicken. So were Kenyans. Juan and I have surmised that fried chicken is a culinary equivalent of the olive branch around the world. So when in doubt, bring KFC!
- Monks in Thailand: smoke cigarettes, have tattoos, wear sunglasses, listen to Ipods, and may even make a pass at you. Yes, this happened to me.
- Speaking of preconceived notions about Buddhism...the absolute disregard for the "life-taking" precept and lack of vegetarianism is really pretty startling. There's a way to justify it that I read in my Thai culture-shock book, but I won't go into it here. It's just a little unsettling though.
- Being a transvestite and/or homosexual in Thai culture is A-OK and it's really fun to see the Thai khakoeys (literally, "lady boys") all dressed up in drag just for a ride on public transportation or whatever.
Okay all, check ya later...I'm back up to Thailand tomorrow morning for my final month in South East Asia. Later-
