En route through Peninsular Malaysia

As the month draws to a close, so does the travel with Alex. Where I decided to go on through Malaysia and Singapore to Indonesia, he decided he wanted to go back up to Thailand to enjoy some more training, snorkeling, yoga and so on. Hard times ahead for us, but let's not dwell on that for now - we've had a great time so far.

In the end we stayed in Krabi for about 5 nights. This gave us enough time to rest up from my busted foot, infected eye and other bruises, and Alex' wounds sustained in a motor cycle crash - although not to worry folks, it could've been much worse and we've been thanking the angels above ever since, that nothing worse did happen.
5 days Krabi was nice, with good food, lazy days and some wandering around in Ao Nang (Krabi's main beach) and Krabi Town, but after that we'd quite had it and we decided to wend our ways into Malaysia at last, because Alex' visa was also almost running out so a border hop was in order.
After a few too many buses, one of which was cramped with 12 people in 11 seats, we arrived at the ferry terminal in Satun in Thailand's deep south so we could take the boat to Langkawi "The Jewel of Kedah", Malaysia - the traditional border crossing for a lot of tourists and so also for us.
Upon arrival we immediately noticed a big difference with Thailand - wide, clean lanes bordered with trees and wide pavements, a lot (but I mean a lot) more veiled women, slightly more organized traffic and less scooters. We checked into Daddy's Guest House on Pantai Cenang, just because it was so funny: the driveway was actually a big pile of rubbish and suddenly a cow crossed our path, accompanied by her flock of roosters :-).
Langkawi didn't really suit us. It seemed like a big version of Koh Phagnan, with no snorkeling to do and less beautiful beaches. So we only stayed long enough to tour the island once and meet up with people we met in Thailand, and then set off for Penang, Malaysia's second biggest city.
Now, we'd heard some good things and bad things about Penang - that it's just another big dirty city, that it's too Western, that the food is ridiculously good, ...
Well, that about the food is true - SO nice! We've already indulged in a lot of hawker stall food, Indian, Malay and Chinese alike. We'd thought Malaysia would be a lot more expensive than Thailand, but so far that has been very ok. We were even lucky in accommodation: we're checked into a very nice hotel in Love Lane, right in the heart of Chinatown, and because it's "not completely finished" (meaning all day long there's drilling, hammering and sawing ... But ahhhh :-)) we got a very decent reduction per night. Hurraahhhhhh!
As for the other comments on Penang, I don't really agree with them. Yes, it's quite Western, but I don't think it as a bad thing - I think it's a good blend between 2 cultures. The city is littered with temples, churches, mosques and shopping malls alike, which is a great combination to stay entertained. I've visited the botanical gardens as well (which were nice and quiet but nothing spectacular) and have walked around Georgetown a bit, while Alex has found his fitness heaven - enough to do for both of us!
At night we enjoy the food and nightlife and soak up a lot of atmosphere. Yes, Penang, you are a nice city.

As said, we will part ways soon. Tomorrow is our last day together and nobody knows when we'll meet up together again - will it be in Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia? Or will it rather be in New Zealand or Europe? Who knows. In any case, Alex, I want to thank you for the beautiful times we've had so far and hope we will have yet a few (or a lot) more to come.

As for the rest of you, less sentimental (;-)): my route through Malaysia will go to the Cameron Highlands next, which is more inland and higher up in the mountains, so supposed to be a lot cooler (thank the heavens!). After that I might consider a side trip via the Perhentian Islands, but that will depend on the budget - and then it's on to the big KL, the capital of Malaysia.
Obviously I'll keep you posted. Until then: keep cool (or in your case, warm)! :-)

PS: photos of Malaysia can be found in Peninsular Malaysia on Facebook.

The land formerly known as Siam

On 31 January I arrived in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. Although the meeting with Alex wasn't entirely as expected, we met in the hotel and soon headed out to Khao San Road the next day, where we bought a few very cheap fashion products. It felt good to be buying something again, as I had refrained from doing so since the beginning of my trip - everything you buy, you have to drag around ... So even then I refrained from buying more than one dress and one pair of sunnies (which I actually really needed because my previous ones died after being slept on on Fraser Island). The hustle and bustle on Khao San Road, which seems to be one of the most popular streets in BKK, was total, and I was immediately immersed in the 'Hello Asia' - feeling.
We didn't have a long time in Bangkok though, because in the evening a bus was waiting for us to go to Chumphon, where early in the morning we were to take a boat to Koh Tao, one of the islands on the Gulf Coast.
This immediately had a very relaxed atmosphere to it. With only one concrete road and 2 main tourist hubs, it's the ideal place to just get a cheap bungalow and jump into the water with your snorkel. Or lie in the beach. Or indulge in the cheap fruit shakes. Or amazing Thai food. And so on.
We stayed here for a few days (longer than we had planned) and so discovered the island a bit. It's very small so in about 15 minutes by scooter, you got from one side to the other - although every once and a while yours truly had to get off because the roads were too steep and poor Lucy (how I had baptised the scooter) couldn't handle it. Ah well, who cares!
After Koh Tao, we moved on to Koh Phagnan, which is another island just south of Koh
Tao on the same coast. We checked into a great place (Bounty Resort) where we got a cheap bungalow with an ocean view, a hammock and direct access to a very small private beach. The restaurant in the resort was heaven itself so we had no reason to complain whatsoever!
Koh Phagnan being a much bigger island, we decided to get a motorbike instead of a scooter (since I got a few bruises the first day from a skidding scooter with bad tyres) so Alex had good fun riding the thing, with or without me on the back.
Koh Phagnan has a lot more beaches, so we took our time exploring most of them. Especially Had Khom and Mae Had had our preference because the snorkelling was so gorgeous over there - literally swimming in a giant colourful fish bowl. We were also charmed by the small fishermen's village of Chaloklum. Again extended our stay on this island and stayed for about a week instead of the planned 3 days - Koh Phagnan really was another paradise!
Deliberately skipping Koh Samui (the 3rd island in the row) we went back to the mainland, where we caught the bus from Surat Thani to Khao Sok National Park. Here we arrived in the middle of the jungle. The main attraction here are the big karst mountain formations completely clad with green. We had a nice little resort called Green Mountain View Resort, which was run by a decent bloke called Tawee. We got a bungalow with an open-air bathroom, which was very interesting, especially when you wanted to have a shower after dark :-). Luckily we managed to keep all strange animals out (and luckily we had a mosquito net) although I have to say - strange noises came from somewhere under the bed and we're still not sure what it was. More disturbing was the huge golden orb spider (which I called Arabella) sitting in a web next to our door, who suddenly disappeared. I wonder where she got to ... In any case we kept our backpacks closed at all times!
The national park itself was nice but not breathtaking, as we just did a walk to a few waterfalls, although I'm sure there are much nicer things to be seen over there, like a big lake in between the karst mountains. Sadly enough, time and money aren't always our best friends ... Luckily Tawee and the other resort guests seemed good fun at night and Tawee's free whisky was even better :-).
From Khao Sok we had a pretty exhausting trip towards Krabi. The region is known for its limestone cliffs which are heaven for hardcore climbers. We decided to stay one night in Krabi Town to rest up a bit and explore the night markets (which really did serve delicious and ridiculously cheap food). The day after, we got up at 6am to climb the 1272 steps to Wat Tham Seua, or rather Tiger Cave Temple. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but let me tell you that it is only for the fit amongst us! Lucky we did this in the morning, because it was hot enough already. All this aside, the views on the top were stunning and standing below the Buddha really made you go quiet. A lovely place!
In the afternoon we headed for Ton Sai, one of Krabi's beaches. Ton Sai being very small and surrounded by the limestone outcrops, it's climber's paradise, but we didn't really feel the vibe. We wanted to give climbing a go but felt a bit intimidated. Most importantly, the heat got us really down. During the day it was nigh impossible for us to do anything, as every movement made you sweat even more. (I have the impression that every place we get to, it gets just a tad warmer and more humid - a lethal combination). And in the night, there wasn't really much to do as Ton Sai was so small. So the next day we booked a snorkel trip and went for a walk to Railay beach, which went over a very rocky path - again, we were soaked in sweat upon arrival. Luckily, Railay's beach was much nicer and we jumped into the water immediately.
In the afternoon we got on the long tail boat which would take us out snorkelling to a few places. This turned out to be a nice way to spend the afternoon and we had a nice evening with dinner on a remote beach and a night swim to watch the fluorescent plankton in the water. Magical!
Unfortunately I got an infection on my eye, which wasn't too beautiful and for which I'd need a doctor. But no doctors on Ton Sai ...
Tired of Ton Sai and with Alex sporting a bit of a foot injury, we decided to head back to Krabi Town and skip the climbing for now. Lucky, because on the way to the beach to catch the long tail boat that would get us to Krabi, I tripped and fell with 30 kg worth of stuff on my back, and I busted my ligament in my right foot. Doctor getting more necessary now ...
Again down by the immense heat, we had a little rest and then headed for the medical clinic, where the doctor had a good time looking at my foot, trying to get a tiny piece of splinter out of the same foot, and staring at my eye. At least one of us was having fun ...
So now we're back in Krabi, where we just want to relax and explore the area a bit more, before we're going down to Malaysia - where I want to continue my travel and Alex wants to go the consulate in Penang to get his Thai visa extended.
For the time being, my stay in Thailand is almost over since I'm continuing throughout South East Asia. But not to worry - I'll be back here on the end of my trip seeing as I need to get back to Bangkok.
But that is for later - now is relaxing time! :-)
See you all folks.