Friday, March 11, 2005
Selamat Tinggal, Malaysia
Lengkawi was a pretty relaxing place. I took a boat tour of the surrounding islands. One of them has a freshwater lake right inside the island, just a few hundred meters from the sea. The island also has monkeys all over it, which have obviously been fed by a few ignorant tourists as they are awfully attentive anytime they see you going through your bag. After a very relaxing swim in the lake, we watched an an eagle feeding (the Lengkawi eagle is actually how the island gets its name) and then I saw some sort of giant lizard saunter along a beach on another small island. Met up with a South African bloke that I met on a boat tour in Lengkawi, and he and I both took the ferry here to Georgetown on Palau Penang.
I had my first local bus ride since beginning the trip today. I took a local bus out to see the third-largest reclining Buddha in the world. Needless to say, the busses here are not built for a man of my height. The length of my femur makes sitting on such a bus absurdly uncomfortable. But the temple was nice, as was the Burmese temple across the street, and I spend the rest of the afternoon strolling through the Penang botanical gardens - which weren't that nice, being it's the end of the dry season here. The afternoon was followed by a nap (undoubdetly my favorite indulgence here on the road) and a trip here to the internet cafe.
I went back and forth whether to take the bus to Phuket or fly, but in the end frugality trimphed over comfort, and tomorrow I have a 5 ayem bus to Thailand's largest island. It's supposed to be an air-con bus, so I should be able to catch a few zzz's on it, and to fly I had to change planes in KL, plus deal with relatively expensive taxi fares to and from the airports...add that to the fact that the bus picks me up at my guest house for only 45 RM (about 12 bucks) for a 10 hour bus ride, compared to $75 plus taxis to fly, seemed like an easy decision.
I'm looking forward to Thailand. Every traveller I've encountered raves about the beaches there, and rumor has it the nightlife is rather lively as well. The bus ride may be a little grueling, but I should get into Phuket Town early enough to find out which beaches still have guesthouses that are in operating condition (I hear it's most of them, but I don't want to have a tuk-tuk driver drop me off at a hotel that it currently in the Adaman Sea). Malaysia has been a lot of fun, and it's been especially interesting travelling in a "Muslim country", but I'm looking forward to learning how to scuba dive, outrageously tasty Thai cuisine, and full moon parties on sandy white beaches. So long, Malaysia, it's been good to know you.
I had my first local bus ride since beginning the trip today. I took a local bus out to see the third-largest reclining Buddha in the world. Needless to say, the busses here are not built for a man of my height. The length of my femur makes sitting on such a bus absurdly uncomfortable. But the temple was nice, as was the Burmese temple across the street, and I spend the rest of the afternoon strolling through the Penang botanical gardens - which weren't that nice, being it's the end of the dry season here. The afternoon was followed by a nap (undoubdetly my favorite indulgence here on the road) and a trip here to the internet cafe.
I went back and forth whether to take the bus to Phuket or fly, but in the end frugality trimphed over comfort, and tomorrow I have a 5 ayem bus to Thailand's largest island. It's supposed to be an air-con bus, so I should be able to catch a few zzz's on it, and to fly I had to change planes in KL, plus deal with relatively expensive taxi fares to and from the airports...add that to the fact that the bus picks me up at my guest house for only 45 RM (about 12 bucks) for a 10 hour bus ride, compared to $75 plus taxis to fly, seemed like an easy decision.
I'm looking forward to Thailand. Every traveller I've encountered raves about the beaches there, and rumor has it the nightlife is rather lively as well. The bus ride may be a little grueling, but I should get into Phuket Town early enough to find out which beaches still have guesthouses that are in operating condition (I hear it's most of them, but I don't want to have a tuk-tuk driver drop me off at a hotel that it currently in the Adaman Sea). Malaysia has been a lot of fun, and it's been especially interesting travelling in a "Muslim country", but I'm looking forward to learning how to scuba dive, outrageously tasty Thai cuisine, and full moon parties on sandy white beaches. So long, Malaysia, it's been good to know you.
