Monsoons of Malaysia

"Don't go to the East coast of Malaysia in February" they said. "It's monsoon season" they said.

As usual, Adeena didn't really have a plan for Malaysia.

I mean, it's one of those countries that you kind of just see what happens.

...(Or at least that's what she said)

First sights and sounds of Malaysia

The first visit to the wonderful lands of Malay, back in 2009, got her lost in the jungle for hours and when she finally escaped, she was forced to sing her first ever karaoke while Barney the purple dinosaur played in the background.

The second visit got her shipwrecked and marooned on a deserted island (2011).

The third had her attacked by a stray dog (2012).

This time she promised me it would be different.
In fact, being the responsible [near] adult that she is, she stopped right at the border (Jahor Bahru) to work out where to head next.

Overwhelmed with decisions, she wondered over to the local bus station and took the first bus out of town.

It just sop happened to be heading to the East Coast.

Where everyone had told us not to go.

The welcome party that came out to meet us.

And then despite the adverse weather warnings, we jumped on a boat and headed to Tiomen island.

It was an alright kind of place....

Did the weather close in and get us stranded without a ferry for almost a week???

Of course it did!

At least when the seas get rough, Adeena finds other ways to keep busy.

There's always something bizarre for her to lick

The best fruit shakes in Malaysia - we returned to The Take Away shop 6 times in a week!

I suppose there are worse places to get stranded.

When eventually we did head back to the main land, we decided on some jungle time...

But after being attacked by a kitten...

...And marveling at a restaurant's decor...

...And having the bus driver forget to kick us off the bus to take a connecting one inland....

We would up back at the beach, in Cherating, Malaysia's number 1 surf beach.

Unfortunately, due to my unfortunate genetic make up [fluffiness] I don't water well, and I don't surf.

At least Adeena left me in good hands.

Maznah, our guesthouse owner bearby sitting me for the day.

And then rather suddenly we realised that weeks had passed and we had to get to Kuala Lampur in a hurry... so we hitched off into the abyss.

Adeena's not very good with maps, so we ended up going in the wrong direction...

Fortunately it's not so difficult to write in Malay

And these fine gentlemen saved the day.

After three weeks of beach life, the city was a lot overwhelming

But we escaped to Pods, the Backpackers Home, where smiles, and comfy beds and good showers and free breakfast and a chill out roof and peaceful retreat welcomed us.

(Totally worth a visit whether you're passing through, or staying 3 months!)

In fact it was such a haven that I didn't mind being left behind to sip good coffee and chill out while Adeena last minute Malaysia-ed and made new friends.

PODS Cafe'

(no caption needed)

No, I suppose it really was the perfect trip. Maybe some times it's better not to listen to what people tell you to do and just follow your heart. There's some flipping excellent places out there!

Losing my Asianity

It's normally easy to slide in and live amongst the 'natives' - Having dark skin and darker hair makes me practically Asian. By default. And some times I can even use chopsticks... But in the Philippines, all that's changed. I now stick out like a sore thumb - but it's mostly a sore foot that's done the damage!!


I've been 'disabled' for 2 weeks today and I take my hat off to people with real disabilities because it's not easy having people constantly asking "what happened to your foot?" and feeling sorry for you and it especially  sucks with a big backpack and a bigger teddy bear... To put it in perspective, I walk so weirdly that most people don't even notice the teddy... But if there's one place where you can rest and enjoy prettynesses, it's the Philippines... apart from all the walking and missioning and adventuring and exploring that lures you away from recovery!

There's the magical waters... and corals and clams and...

Rehab for clams

And a plethora of waterfalls...

And the people are nice and friendly....

The transport's ALL colourful...

And only a little uncomfortable... 

And karaoke bars can be found in almost anyone's back yard!

The landscape's absolutely perfect [for looking at, not s much for travelling over]

The chocolate hills, Bohol

  

Apart from the spiders, most of the animals are cute and cuddly!

The food's interesting and even when it's not particularly tasty, there's always fresh chilli about to help

You can get a massage just about anywhere for under $5 

They have real beer ... unlike China's 2.5 - 3.3% 

Philoppino's version of Maccers is the Jolibee and you can have great spaghetti for breakfast!

The beaches are perfect (both the black and the white ones - I'm not a rascist)

There's hot springs and cold springs and volcanoes and...

And other strange things you stumble across... (including the best fire poi I've ever seen, done by a 6 year old)

Miss teen

The sunken cemetery

And every day the sunset's more perfect than the last!

With my foot almost functional again I might even go ponder up a volcano in the morning (it's only a 7 hour walk) and then there's the other 7103 islands of the Philippines I have yet to see... It's the kind of place that can suck you in forever... At this rate, it might!