First, I visited Langkawi, which is a large
island on the western side of Malaysia. It was the easiest location to cross
the border from where I was in Thailand.
It was a nice beach but did not have the aqua blue waters. I stayed here
for just a few days relaxing and taking it easy. Next, I went to Cameron Highlands. Cameron Highlands is noted for its tea plantations,
strawberry & vegetable farms, and flower farms; also the Mossy
Rainforest. As we drove in, all
the mountains & hills along the road were terraced and had steps leading up
to nowhere. Later, I found out this was to prevent landslides and the steps was
for the water runoff. The tea
plantation that I visited was over 600 acres and they have 170 workers that
work there. It was very
interesting to learn about the tea trees and the process of picking and
producing. The tea trees are over 80 years old and were from the original
stock. The weather is virtually the same all year long (cold at night &
could get up to the 80’s during the day); except for a dry and wet season. The
Mossy Rainforest was incredible. I had a really interesting guide that
explained about some of the plants and their medicinal uses. You’ll see in my
pictures a flower that has two names (Insect eating flower and the pitcher
flower). The insects are attracted by the sweet smelling flower that catches
the rain. The insects go in to drink but then can’t get out. Also it looks like
a pitcher. I had such a nice time
that I ended up staying about 4 days and went on a couple of hikes in the
rainforest. I always forget how being in the forest just revitalizes me. It
felt great and it was beautiful.
One evening I went out to dinner with a young Dutch couple that I met on
a tour and we tried the traditional Malay steamboat dinner. It is sort of like
fondue. We had two different types of soup that is boiling and then you get
plates of meats, fish, noodles & veggies and then you cook everything in
the boiling soup as you eat. We
had a really nice time.
They say the Perhentian Islands are paradise
and I would have to agree. I think the water was even more blue and aqua than
it was in Thailand. I had the chance to go snorkeling and it was the best
snorkeling that I have ever done. Even out in the deeper waters, it was so
clear you could see amazing coral; all different shapes & colors. I swam
with so many different kinds of fish. Every time I thought I had seen all the
fish in an area, I’d see another kind. I also swam with black tip sharks,
little barracudas, sea turtles, and stingrays. I finally was able to get use to
swimming with all the little colored fish that you were just always surrounded
by but I always got a little nervous when I saw the sharks & barracudas.
After the beach, I made my way to Taman
Negara National Park deep in the jungle.
Here, I went on a night safari and saw a few night animals and then I
went on a couple of hikes. I usually was the only one on the path and it was so
quiet and peaceful. You could hear all the different kinds of birds. It was so
quiet you could hear the leaves falling; which sometimes startled me because I
thought it was an animal. You know the question: Does a tree make a sound when
it falls if there is no one there to hear it? I was thinking about this as I was
walking amongst all the nature and decided yes, the sound would exist because
there are so many animals, birds, insects, and living organisms that would hear
it.
Now, after islands, rainforests, &
jungles time to head back to the city. Kuala Lumpur is the capitol of Malaysia
and full of high rises and shopping malls. I stayed in Chinatown and it was
crazy especially after about 4:00 in the afternoon. They set up so many stalls
all along the street that you can only walk one by one down the narrow isle they
have left in the street. The first couple of days it was difficult even to find
my hotel because they block all the buildings. They have some food stalls but
the majority are t-shirts, shoes, purses & bags. Just stall after stall of
things made in China. One day I
went to a supposedly free flight bird park. It was really cool to see so many
different kinds of birds up close. It was kind of neat that a lot of the park
was enclosed by a screen like net that was way over the top of the trees and
walk amongst the birds; but unfortunately there were still a lot of birds in
cages where they didn’t have much room.
