I gotta get burned sometime

A trip of mine would not be complete if I did not get sunburned at least once. Well now I have that part of my trip covered.

My trip to the Perhentian Islands went rather well, even with the sunburn. As the previous entry mentioned, I stayed at Zeck's Traveler's Inn in Kota Bahru. Well mr. zeck was kind enough to give myself and a German a ride to Kuala Besut, where you catch a boat to take you to the Islands. Well he wasn't being super generous. For one, he charged us both 10 ringgit (vs. 30-40 ringgit for a taxi ride) and he was going to the the small island too, so he was going there anyway.

Regardless, we rode with him and his friends on a big speed boat. It was big enough that there was a storage area for our baggage. Apparently that was a good thing because I later found out that other travelers had their baggage soaked due to waves coming in and dumping on both the passengers and the baggage. Fun times.

I stayed on Coral Bay along with Zeck. Since he actually makes a decent living and isn't on a strict budget, he stayed in the nicest place on the beach (about 50 bucks/night). I, on the other hand, chose the one place that wasn't full and still had a decent rate (about 15 bucks/night). It was all right. Had my own bathroom, place was clean, couldn't complain except for one thing: the sporadic power.

Yes, the Islands brought back memories of Philo. Why? Everything runs on generators there. On the other hand, the power company is actually connecting the islands to the mainland power grid, and the generators will be adios by July, insha'allah. But we all know how rare utility companies actually follow the schedule. Anyway, back to my times on the beach...

First day: Zeck was kind enough to invite me to his bbq that evening. Before that, a 19 yr old Brit named Jeff convinced me that I should jump off a 12 ft. rock into the sea. I let him have the honors of jumping first. After we both jumped one time, he decided to dive; I decided my first dive in over a decade shouldn't be from a 12 ft. tall rock.
That evening the BBQ turned out pretty well. I stuffed myself on fish, squid, and "mutton" as the locals call it. Actually they might call it something else, but that is what they said to me. I was expecting really dry, tough lamb that one gets in the M.East all the time. Thankfully I was wrong- it was very tasty. Overall, a very good meal.

At the beginning, none of them really talked to me other than encouraging me to eat. As the night went on, they got more "daring" and asked me some questions. We conversed until 9 or so. At that point, I bid them good-bye.

Returned to my place, and who was right in front? Jeff. Was he looking for me? No. I would have been a little worried if he had been. He had been looking for a Swedish friend of his, and he wasn't having any success. He knocked on the door next to mine and he "discovered" a Dutch woman. She is by far the hottest neighbor I've had on this trip. While I should note that means VERY little (I think the # of women in rooms next to mine or sharing a dorm room with me is like 2), she was quite attractive. I thought, 'whoa, what are the odds of that?' So the 3 of us went out to search for others. We ended up spending the evening with a bunch of french people. Yes, more french people. I have a knack for meeting them, I swear.

Side note (french presidential election): I've asked every French person I've met (uh, so far about 15) who they voted for President. All but 3 said Sarkozy. The 3 were all French-Tunisian. Interesting that the French-tunisians voted for someone (royal) who more than likely would keep the status quo and change little in France. Also, one french woman asked me what Americans thought of the French election. I told her Americans didn't care at all, and probably few knew there was a Presidential election in France going on. She wasn't too happy to hear that, judging by her facial expression, but hey, I'm pretty sure I was accurate with my assessment. Anyway, back to beach time!

Day #2: i didn't do much. i checked out long beach. Walked around the small island a bit. Not much to report. A blah day.

Day #3: I went on a snorkling trip with 3 French-tunisian women (yup, more french people, woo woo). The highlight was being within about 5 feet of a big sea turtle as it reached the surface of the water. I followed it from the time it was at the very bottom of the sea bed until the point it came up for air. It was great watching it swim and glide upwards. Besides that, saw a couple small reef sharks.

overall, I'd say the Red Sea was better. More colorful fish and water was clearer. The perhentian islands were quite nice but didn't blow me away. Most hotels were full, not sure why exactly.

So now I'm in KL. I took a night bus from Kuala Besut to here. Arrived at the bus station at around 4:30 in the morning. Since public transportation doesn't start going until 6 am, I killed 90 minutes in the bus station reading a book and people-watching. Even at 4:30 in the morning, there was quite a bit of activity going. And unlike the states, it was perfectly safe hanging out at a bus station in the wee hours of the morning.

I really like KL. The newer part is very clean and pleasant. That's where I am staying this time (golden triangle to be slightly more precise). Back in 2002, I stayed in Chinatown, where I briefly walked through today. Much more of a dump. So glad I decided not to stay there again. Ok, this has gone on long enough. Cheers.

Hanging in the "Islamic City"

I'm presently in Kota Bahru, which calls itself the "Islamic City." Well I will tell you this much: outside Yemen, I have never seen so many women in hijab. Yes, I saw more women w/out head-coverings in Egypt, Jordan, syria, Morroco, etc than here in Northeastern Malaysia. I can in fact tell you how many Malay women I have seen w/out hijab: one. Yes, just one. And she was a teenager with her boyfriend- I think. Ah yes.. Already sick of seeing hijab. And where will I be going in a couple weeks? To another Muslim country. smart move bowman.

Besides that, I have no complaints. I am really happy at how easy it is to communicate here. Lot more English speakers. Hostel I'm staying is quite chill and the owner is nice. Zeck's traveler's Inn I believe is the name.

Bought a SIM card this evening as well. i now have had 3 phone #s in less than a week (my t-mobile #, my thai #, and now a Malaysian one). How much did it cost me to get a # here in Malaysia? about 3 bucks. Thailand? about 6 bucks. That includes about $1.50 in credit to use my phone for both countries. Question: why the hell is it so much more expensive and dificult to do this in the states? I got my SIM card and # from a freaking 7-11 in Thailand, and just a random cellphone kiosk here in Malaysia. Did I have to register? No. sign a contract? Ha ha, you're kidding right? Ok that's my rant for the day.

Anyway, my 22 hr train ride went all right. I was the only foreigner I saw on the train. I was in a train car with about 50 other people. It was amazingly silent during the night. Not one person snored; I was impressed.

For the last 1/4 of the trip we had soldiers with machine guns on board, and every station we went through had 4-5 soldiers with the same type of weapon. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have known we were going through a "hot spot." After the train, did about a mile walk crossing the border, then going to the bus station to catch a bus to kota bahru.

Tomorrow off to the Perhentian Islands. Don't think I'll be online at all there, supposed to be quite pricey. Adios for now.