Well hello!
It's been a few days since I've reported in and I blame that on the lack of infrastructure on the Perhentian Islands, but I wouldn't have it any other way (in fact, I prefer it that way). I set out early in the morning and boarded my shared minivan/taxi and set off for the pier. I was riding in this shared taxi with a family and it turns out that they are on a family vacation. Now that's not the interesting part. What's interesting is that it is the first time that the father has come back to Malaysia since he spent five years here teaching. His family gifted him this trip and is now accompanying him throughout Malaysia. He was a science teacher. It's absolutely uncanny that I meet two science teachers in two days and I was astounded. We were able to spend the hour ride to the ferry talking and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to chat with him longer for his stories were fascinating and given the circumstances, I just simply wanted to pick his brain for those little bits of information and wisdom that he picked up along the way. I hoped on the boat and little did I know I was in for the ride of my life. This little speed boat plowed it's way through the sea and would careen off the waves and as it hit the water again I would feel my spine compressing a little bit more each time. I reckon it's about as close to bull riding as I'll ever get and I was grateful when we pulled into the harbor. I've never been so jostled around in my life as on that boat. I would literally be picked up out of my seat and flung back down only to have that repeated over and over again for the next 30 minutes. Next time I'm taking the slow boat. I arrived on the island and found a place to stay right on the beach on Long Beach. It was a decent little place with a nice view and was relatively pleasant (that is until the sun set and the makeshift disco next door started up). I spent the day on the beach reading and relaxing and then wandered next door for dinner. This place looked swanky and was the fanciest place on the island, but it had a decently priced restaurant attached to it. I treated myself to a pan-fried blue marlin with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, a real green salad and a glass of white wine. I think that's as close to heaven on Earth as I've been in a while (well, since my Singapore Curry Crab and my wheat beers before that...). It was wonderful and I nursed that meal well over the two over mark and throughly enjoyed every minute of it. I head home and went to sleep not to the sounds of the waves crashing on shore, but the throbbing beats of the disco this fancy establishment next door had created. I changed guest houses in the morning. Long Beach is one of two developed beaches on the island and is know to be the louder and more crowded of the two so I headed across the island to Coral Beach and found the perfect place. Nestled up off the edge of the bay in the rocks was Senja Resorts. One would think that the beach front bungalows is what I desired but here, the rooms perched up in the rocks overlooking the bay and the beach is where I headed. It was a great little resort for a decent price and I spent the next three days there. The next few days passed with little to report home about. I read and sat on the beach. I swam and snorkeled. I ate food. There's little more to write about save the couple I met. Little side note - can you tell I've just been reading an English author? I finished Sherlock Holmes the other day and am speaking and writing with a bit of a British twist and I find that 'save' has become a part of my regular speech as it was a part of Holmes'. As for reading, I read Holmes and then moved on to Mark Twain's Roughin' It, which is wonderful. I sure picked perfect travel books, the only downside it that I've almost finished both and am less than halfway through the trip. The couple I met - I met this couple on our snorkeling trip, Marilyn and Greg. They are a husband and wife traveling duo in there mid-50's who are spending six months traveling around SE Asia. They've gone through about five months as of late and are working on their eighth country. We hit is off and spent the entire trip chatting away about this, that and the other thing. A wonderful couple and it's been really nice to have someone to chat with and reminisce about SE Asia, my time in Thailand (both as a teacher and student). We had dinner together that night and the next and have traveling back to Kota Bharu together since our schedules coincided and are going to hit the Night Bazaar together tonight. Our paths will diverge tomorrow, but it was wonderful to have met them.
So far I've been enjoying my time away. It's been really good for me and despite my initial hesitations about leaving and becoming a traveler again, I have really enjoyed it and I feel the flames being fanned. Singapore was fantastic. It was a great first stop and I'm glad that I was able to experience that. I exhausted my resources there and saw most all that there is to see in Singapore (I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but it sure felt like I was everywhere). I also indulged in the culinary experience that is Singapore. There was Chinese, Indian, Malay, Thai, Indonesian, Western - you name it, they had it. I even found a wheat beer (see earlier entry). Fantastic visit (and the country, people and culture were good too :-)). I'm becoming more and more Thai when I judge a country by it's food. Malaysia has also been wonderful. I feel I haven't done it justice yet though as one can't call a beach/island resort a typical cultural experience that differs from country to country. The beach was good. But I've done the beach and this was nothing spectacular. Glad I did, glad to have moved on. So I feel like I've just gotten to know Malaysia and am moving on. I will be back (and in the end I will spend more time in Malaysia than any other country) but that all comes after my time in Brunei. I am excited to go Brunei. But the more I read about Malaysian Borneo, the more time I want to spend there...I'm only seeing a minute amount of it. Alas, isn't that always the case. If only every county were as small as Singapore... Tomorrow is a travel day and then I'm rewarded with a nice four night stay in the Sheraton. My parents booked it for me...living the life of luxury (thanks again Mom and Dad!). I picked up some beautiful watercolors this afternoon (you know me and art...I'm a sucker for it) and will try to get a Malaysian botik shirt (wax painting on silk) tonight (fingers crossed).
So that's life in a nut shell out here. I'm enjoying it and the refections one has while traveling are all a part of this trip and at some points were overwhelming. Thinking is good, but my curse is that I think too much. But my journal has done wonders for me and it'll be good to look back on.
I've taken to treating myself and am spending my alloted budget each day...I fear I should have set my budget lower and limited my spending a bit more, however, I've enjoyed it and it's been nothing extravagant (okay, except for the 200 baht glass of wine I treated myself too...twice). Hey, it was the beach and I was eating amazing fish and it just fit. That's about on par with my 1000 baht crab lunch...absolutely unheard of in Thailand, but somehow I found myself able to justify it in Singapore.
And with that my hour of internet comes to an end and I'm signing off. I'll talk to you later from Brunei.
RM
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