Hello all,
I hail from Kuta, Bali where we'll be catching a plane to Borneo tomorrow. I last left you in Koh Samui when Jedd, Nico, Doris and I split from Ashleigh and Lauren to head to Ranong. Once in Ranong (which is one of the cheapest places in Thailand to stay), Jedd and I said our goodbyes to the other two and headed to Burma for the night to do a visa run. We loved it. Burma is a strange country with its people oppressed by the military government and there are still many areas where tourists aren't allowed. We were in the very south of Burma in a place called Kawthoung. When we first arrived, we were told by the waiting guides that tourists were not allowed in town without a guide. Knowing this was most likely a lie in an attempt to make money, we decided to go it on our own. One particular guide was still very helpful and gave us directions to the cheapest guesthouse in town. After checking in we wandered around a bit and decided to grab a cold drink and sit on a stoop on the road leading into town. This turned out to be highly amusing. The locals aren't used to seeing tourists here (we were 2 of 6 tourists staying the night) and they all did double takes as they passed on their motorbikes before grinning from ear to ear and yelling a friendly "Hello!" It was starting to feel as though we were the tourist attraction. We were having a great time, but we quickly realized we knew nothing about the area or where to go. So we headed back to the border and asked the friendly guide (Win) to show us around.
Win was very friendly and knew the area well, having moved there to care for his sick mother when she returned home from Malaysia 10 years ago after the doctors gave her 6 mos. to live. He showed us the market, a temple, and some other sights and took us to try some local food and drink for lunch and brought us to watch the sunset over the water. Then he dropped us off at our hotel for a shower before taking us out for a Valentine's Day dinner and a fancy bar for a night cap before bed. He was a wonderful guide and it couldn't have been a better V Day.
After our border run, Jedd and I headed to Krabi, Thailand to meet up with Lauren and Ashleigh again, but they were so disenchanted with the place that they had left for Koh Phi Phi, so we caught up with them there a day later. Koh Phi Phi is an island off the southwest of Thailand in the Andaman Sea and is known for its nightlife and diving. I hated it the instant we got off the boat. It was hot, expensive, and a total zoo. The town was built to absorb heat, situated on a spit between two hillier parts of the island so that there was no breeze. The streets were narrow; there was concrete everywhere and the buildings were high. I could see how the diving might be fun, but I was drenched in sweat the entire time I was there with no relief (A/C rooms cost over $30/night which is way out of our budget even though it sounds cheap). I also got food poisoning the first night I was there and that didn't help matters either. It was, by far, the worst place to be sick. Although I had fun at night with my friends, I was ready to get out, so Jedd and I left Lauren and Ashleigh again for the breezier, more laid back Koh Lanta.
Koh Lanta, a neighboring island of Koh Phi Phi, was a breath of fresh air and Jedd and I spent a couple of days relaxing and joined a local jam circle of guitars and drums on Jedd's last night. Then Jedd headed off to fly home from Bangkok and Lauren arrived that same afternoon, then Ashleigh the next day. We treated ourselves to an A/C room for $20 split between the 3 of us, before we all went our separate ways. I left for Malaysia on my own, Lauren headed to Australia, and Ashleigh to northern Thailand.
In Malaysia, I started in Langkawi, a duty-free island on the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia near the Thai border. It's the most popular vacation destination for Malaysians on the peninsula and is a big, beautiful island. I spent only a few days there, riding the cable car and hanging out on the beach with Niklas and Olaf, a German and a Norweigan who were travelling together.
Next I took an overnight bus to the east coast where I caught a short ferry ride to the fabled Perhentian islands. The Perhentians consist of two islands and I stayed on the smaller one. Its reputation as a paradise and diver's haven is well-deserved. The island I was on was tiny and you could walk from one side to the other in 12 min. I did 2 dives here, but my timing was poor, having hit the end of the monsoon season, so the weather and visibility left much to be desired. But the company was excellent and I met Paula and Leigh, a young couple from England, Stephan from Germany, and Sabina from Austria. On our last day the weather was too poor for diving, so Paula, Leigh and I booked a snorkel trip that took us to five sights. It turned out to be fantastic and we saw several sharks and sea turtles as well as tons of fish and beautiful coral reef.
After the Perhentians, I caught a ferry back to the mainland during a torrential storm and got absolutely drenched (but my bag stayed dry - thanks Todd!) before catching a bus to Taman Negara National Park. It's a beautiful place with untouched jungle, but loads of leeches. It was here where I hoped to book a 3-day trek, but no one else was booked for one, so a friendly local named Asri explained how I could see the area and do a trek on my own. He lent me a sleeping bag, flash light and binoculars and showed me the trail to take on a map. The next day, I hiked the Canopy trail, a trail that leads to a series of suspension bridges hanging in the forest canopy. It was quite a rush. Then Asri took me up the river to Nusa camp in his friend's boat and then showed me Nusa village, a nomadic aboriginal village. He hung out with me at night and got a little too friendly before I politely explained that I was only interested in being friends before excusing myself for bed. This is not unusual. All women who travel alone in muslim countries report constant harassment and propositions from local men. It's a pain, but most are genuinely friendly and I never felt unsafe.
The next day I hiked two short trails before heading to a "hide" in the jungle. A hide is a hut situated high up overlooking a clearing or waterhole where animals tend to congregate. Possibilities included tigers, deer, and tapirs. Although I was the only one in the hide, so it was completely silent (on the human front anyway), I didn't see a single animal. But the sounds were pretty cool, albeit a little frightening at times. The next day I hiked a 12.5 km jungle trail, hopping over logs, scrambling under others, crossing rivers that came to mid-thigh level, and stopping every 10 min. to pick the leeches off my shoes. It was great fun, but I was exhausted by the end of the hike, having paused only once (to let a 7 ft. snake slither out of the way before passing by) due to the constant harassment by the leeches.
Having thoroughly exhausted myself, I headed to Kuala Lumpur (KL) next to catch my flight to Bali where I'd meet up with Lauren again. I met a nice German man named Leo on the bus and we spent the entire time in KL together, exploring the city. We only had an afternoon and morning there, but were able to see Chinatown, Little India, the Petronas towers, and the KLCC, a mall where the east meets the west and you can buy everything from burkas to Birkenstocks. There was even a Chili's restaurant and a California Pizza House right above the Prada shop. We also took the time to watch "Marley and Me" in the cinema. I was scared to go to KL at first, but enjoyed it in the end. Then I was off to Bali where I've been for the last two weeks, but will save that story for the next posting.
I've been having a bit of trouble with my photos lately. The ones from Burma are stuck on a jump drive that's acquired a virus and Facebook has not been able to upload the last few times I've tried. But here is the link to the photos from Malaysia:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2703766&id=8369089&l=3e2f2829dd
More to come. . .
Hope you are all well,
Sierra
