Beautiful Malaysia

Meg and I just got back from a trip to Peninsular Malaysia (as opposed to the part of Malaysia on the island of Borneo) and had an amazing time! Meg spent the last month planning a vacation to coincide with the deadline to renew her visa which required us to leave Thailand. So, last Thursday, we packed our bags and headed for the airport. We knew it was going to be an interesting trip when the Brit ahead of us in the check-in counter line was stinking drunk and bleeding all over the place from his foot. Luckily for him, security was good about his relentless barrage of profanities and escorted him to a chair where he could sleep it off.



2 hours later, we'd landed in Kuala Lumpur and spent the day exploring the Petronas Towers (the world's tallest twin towers) and Chinatown market. As cool as Kuala Lumpur was, we were eager to get out of the city and explore the countryside. The following day, we had a hectic morning at the Thai embassy submitting an application for Meg's visa. By noon though, we were on the road to the Cameron Highlands. The first 2 hours were fine highway driving but the last hour was comprised of sickening twists and turns overlooking seemingly bottomless gorges. The fact that our driver was speeding along at 70 kms/hr did little to prevent the onset of nausea. As cars whipped around blind corners in the wrong lane, their strategy was to beep their horn as a warning. I think I passed out at some point.



In the end, it was worth it though as our inn was situated next to a lake, high in the hills. We woke early the next morning and went to the BOH Tea Plantation where we wandered the fields of tea trees and had a tour of their factory. At over 5000 feet above sea level, a mist hung over the hills under mid-morning and made for the perfect setting as we enjoyed sampling our fresh tea.



We then had our cabbie drop us off at a hiking trail that went through the jungle. It started out poorly as there wasn't much of a trail, just a steep embankment just begging for us to plummet down. Slowly, but surely, we made our way in, although we had our doubts as to whether we were on the right trail or not. Eventually, it turned into a decent path and we were able to enjoy the scenery. The shade provided by the canopy 40 feet above us made for perfect hiking conditions. 90 minutes later, we were out of the jungle and quickly made our way to a nearby town for lunch. Mmmmmm...Indian food at its finest!



Later that afternoon, we gathered our gear and took another 2+ hour cab to the West coast where we caught a ferry to Pangkok Island Beach Resort. We arrived just in time to enjoy supper and an ocean sunset from the beach. It was like Christmas morning when we woke and quickly headed for the beach for some fun in the sun. We weren't disappointed. The beach was deserted and remained so for most of the day. The water was ridiculously hot. So much so that I had to go out until the water reached my neck before the temperature was cool enough for my liking. I tried snorkeling but the fine sand in the water made for poor visibility. Excitement at the beach peaked while we were enjoying ourselves on boogy boards (Andrew and Krista, we were thinking of you) and suddenly Meg was viciously attacked by a small jellyfish! I saved her though, David Hasselhoff style, and only her pinkie finger suffered. You'd be surprised how much a coconut drink can cheer a woman up.



We had an early rise the next day as we were going to Ipoh for a 9 hour trek. Our tour guide picked us up from our hotel in Ipoh at 1pm and we drove to a mangrove forest. It was so cool to walk through the mangroves. Our guide made the experience even better as he was very friendly and knowledgeable. Before long, rain was pouring down all around us but what's a walk though the rain forest without the rain!?



Afterwards, we went to a small fishing village for a snack consisting of cooked sea snails and fried baby squid. And, yes, Meg enjoyed both dishes - even if she had to close her eyes before popping them into her mouth.



With our bellies full, we drove to another fishing village and boarded a small 20 footer (quite similar to our dory, just a shade bigger). We made our way downstream on the river, enjoying the monkeys' crazy antics as we went. Much to my disappointment, we didn't see any crocs, although neither Meg nor our boat driver seemed eager to encounter one - especially considering that they can be as big as 16 ft, 2500+ lbs. We continued into the open ocean where fish farms were anchored. Touring the fish farm proved challenging as we had to walk along slippery planks. The dogs didn't seem to mind it though. Neither did the guy we saw rowing from one fish farm to another in half of a barrel - I kid you not.



Finally, it was back to the river where we watched hundreds of fireflies light up the night. This may have been the highlight of our trip. We enjoyed a quick supper in town and headed back to Ipoh for a well-deserved sleep. The next morning, we drove back to Kuala Lumpur in time to pick up Meg's visa, do some shopping, and catch our flight back to Bangkok. Whew!



You can find more pictures posted here.