3/30
I meant to get up at 6 a.m. to start going around to the temples by bicycle early in the day but didn't even hear my alarm. I still got up early, about 8:20 a.m., because I couldn't go back to sleep even though I was still tired. After a Coke Light to wake me up, I wrote and messed around online for several hours. Heading out, I ate lunch and bought a Cambodian SIM card so I could call my Mom.
At 4 p.m. I met Chris and Amarita at their hotel to go out to Chong Kneas, a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake. We were driving out in the van they rented with their guide when it broke down. By the time the guide- who laughs creepily, especially when he doesn't know something or have a good answer for why he screwed up- got another car to come pick us up (about 25 minutes), Amarita and Chris didn't want to go because they would miss the sunset so we just went into the Old Market area to look around and have dinner at the vegetarian restaurant, Chamkar.
It was actually really, really good. It was definitely gourmet food, but cheap. Mains were around $5-6. The spring rolls and sauce were particularly fresh and tasty- I think it was the basil that made it so light. All the flavors were expertly combined and innovative. My Aunt asked to buy a copy of the menu since it was so interesting so the owner, a Frenchman who was no longer the chef but had created the dishes, came out and talked with us for a while all about Cambodian ingredients and told us a good restaurant to go to in Phnom Penh. He also made us a dish that wasn't on the menu but was better than any of the mains we had ordered: sauteed Cambodian spinach with soy sauce and a bit of garlic. I don't even like spinach, but this kind tasted a bit different, and somehow just felt comforting and homey.
From Old Market, we went back to their hotel, and then their guide drove me and my bicycle back into town, as I was uncomfortable bicycling back in the dark along one stretch of empty road, and dropped me off at the Night Market. I'd been by it before and had thought it looked slightly interesting but I now realized it wasn't. It was a crappy, overpriced souvenir bazaar. The part of it and reason I'd thought it would be good was just a smaller food area next door, which was mostly closed at night.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Playing La(u)ra Croft
3/29
Amazingly, I actually managed to wake up around 6 a.m., get up by 6:20 a.m. and arrived at Chris' hotel at 7 a.m. on the dot. Since she's usually very punctual, I was surprised she wasn't waiting for me with a scowl, but the people at the front desk told me she was still in her room. I told them not to call her and I'd just wait. I sat down to wait, but got up again almost immediately when I noticed the breakfast buffet Chris had told me came with their hotel. It looked so good so I went over, hoping they wouldn't charge me since I was a guest of a guest, but thinking that even if they did, it would be worth it. It's very rare for me to eat breakfast, but for whatever reason, I was really hungry and it just looked so scrumptious. So I ate a lot. Three glasses of orange juice, two croissants, an omelette with onions, tomatoes, sausage and carrots (sadly, since I hate them, Southeast Asians seem obsessed with carrots and throw them in everything for no reason,) probably 3/4ths of a dragon fruit, a bit of pineapple and a few slices of a baguette with different jams or butter. I also took an apple and a piece of their brownie-like chocolate bread with me for later. Unsurprisingly, they did charge me, but it still only came out to $5.50 and I was so satisfied with it, that seemed like a bargain.
Chris came out eventually and joined me for breakfast.
"Oh good, you're here early," she said.
"I thought you said to meet at 7," I replied.
"Yes, we're meeting the driver here at 7."
"But it's 7:21 already."
"No sweetie, it's 6:20."
"Oh."
Crap. That's when I realized that I hadn't ever changed my phone or computer or pedometer clock to Cambodian time, which is one hour behind Malaysian time. I think this is due to Daylight Savings Time because otherwise it makes absolutely no sense since time gets earlier as you go West, and Malaysia is West of Cambodia. I had to think about this for a while, so for comparison's sake, I'll tell you that it's currently 11:10 p.m. in Sydney, 8:10 p.m. in Cambodia, and 9:10 p.m. in Malaysia (in East to West order).
Anyway, that meant I'd really gotten up at 5 a.m. As soon as I realized this and thought about the long day ahead, I immediately felt exhausted. We did leave at around 7 a.m. after all and headed off in a blessedly air-conditioned van to Angkor Wat.
Even with less than ideal lighting conditions, since we were there just an hour after sunrise and Angkor Wat is West facing, an oddity among the temples in that sense, creating a block of darkness and shadows against a bright sky, it was still brilliant. The huge complex looked both ancient and yet had an bit of regality in it's finely chiseled sandstone bricks and rectangular columns. It also reminded me of Versailles; the detailing, architecture and large garden spaces.
Afterwards, Chris and Amarita said they wanted a coffee break, which turned into a lunch break, at 10:40 a.m. I was still full from breakfast, but since I had no idea how long we'd be gone, I ordered a plate of plain rice and a coconut milkshake. Coconut milkshakes are both completely obvious, completely ignored in the Western world, and freaking amazing. The coconut milk is thrown in a blender with some of the coconut meat and a bunch of ice. Some places seem to use simple sugar to make it sweeter, others use a thickener, but that's the basic recipe.
Chris ordered frogs legs in a green pepper sauce and since I couldn't remember if I'd ever tried them or not, I asked her for a bite just to be sure. The sauce was pretty good but the meat was bland and a bit stringy.
After lunch, we headed off to our next temple, Ta Prohm. You may know this as the Tomb Raider temple; it was here that they filmed part of the movie. Very cool.
Even though we'd only seen two temples, they were some of the most important ones, so we called it a day and they went back to their hotel and I rode my bike home. At 5:20 we met at the Old Market and walked around. Markets may all be nearly the same, with just slight variations, but I still love them and this one was rather interesting to see as it didn't seem particularly tourist oriented. I found two pairs of very thin cotton/linen pants, which were just what I was looking for, though pockets would've been nice. I got one long pair in dark green and one capri length pair in black. For both, I paid $11, which was too much, especially for what they were, but I am enjoying them.
Next we went to Koulen for a Cambodian buffet and to watch apsara (traditional Khmer) dancers. It was overpriced, the food was subpar, the atmosphere touristy, and the dancers obviously were not very good; horribly unsynchronized, but we probably wouldn't have gotten to see them otherwise so it was worth it. I also forgot my camera for this, so I have a few crappy cell phone pics, but nothing good. Sorry.
I had another few Angkor beers for 50 cents at my hostel's rooftop bar, talked to a couple of German guys who were actually getting the government to pay for their trip by taking advantage of a program to help unemployed people start their own businesses, so their business was building a blog about having sex and traveling the world, and trying to make money off of it, and then, after listening to one of them tell me that sex was the only thing he cared about in the world, I went to bed (ALONE- just to clarify).
Amazingly, I actually managed to wake up around 6 a.m., get up by 6:20 a.m. and arrived at Chris' hotel at 7 a.m. on the dot. Since she's usually very punctual, I was surprised she wasn't waiting for me with a scowl, but the people at the front desk told me she was still in her room. I told them not to call her and I'd just wait. I sat down to wait, but got up again almost immediately when I noticed the breakfast buffet Chris had told me came with their hotel. It looked so good so I went over, hoping they wouldn't charge me since I was a guest of a guest, but thinking that even if they did, it would be worth it. It's very rare for me to eat breakfast, but for whatever reason, I was really hungry and it just looked so scrumptious. So I ate a lot. Three glasses of orange juice, two croissants, an omelette with onions, tomatoes, sausage and carrots (sadly, since I hate them, Southeast Asians seem obsessed with carrots and throw them in everything for no reason,) probably 3/4ths of a dragon fruit, a bit of pineapple and a few slices of a baguette with different jams or butter. I also took an apple and a piece of their brownie-like chocolate bread with me for later. Unsurprisingly, they did charge me, but it still only came out to $5.50 and I was so satisfied with it, that seemed like a bargain.
Chris came out eventually and joined me for breakfast.
"Oh good, you're here early," she said.
"I thought you said to meet at 7," I replied.
"Yes, we're meeting the driver here at 7."
"But it's 7:21 already."
"No sweetie, it's 6:20."
"Oh."
Crap. That's when I realized that I hadn't ever changed my phone or computer or pedometer clock to Cambodian time, which is one hour behind Malaysian time. I think this is due to Daylight Savings Time because otherwise it makes absolutely no sense since time gets earlier as you go West, and Malaysia is West of Cambodia. I had to think about this for a while, so for comparison's sake, I'll tell you that it's currently 11:10 p.m. in Sydney, 8:10 p.m. in Cambodia, and 9:10 p.m. in Malaysia (in East to West order).
Anyway, that meant I'd really gotten up at 5 a.m. As soon as I realized this and thought about the long day ahead, I immediately felt exhausted. We did leave at around 7 a.m. after all and headed off in a blessedly air-conditioned van to Angkor Wat.
Even with less than ideal lighting conditions, since we were there just an hour after sunrise and Angkor Wat is West facing, an oddity among the temples in that sense, creating a block of darkness and shadows against a bright sky, it was still brilliant. The huge complex looked both ancient and yet had an bit of regality in it's finely chiseled sandstone bricks and rectangular columns. It also reminded me of Versailles; the detailing, architecture and large garden spaces.
Afterwards, Chris and Amarita said they wanted a coffee break, which turned into a lunch break, at 10:40 a.m. I was still full from breakfast, but since I had no idea how long we'd be gone, I ordered a plate of plain rice and a coconut milkshake. Coconut milkshakes are both completely obvious, completely ignored in the Western world, and freaking amazing. The coconut milk is thrown in a blender with some of the coconut meat and a bunch of ice. Some places seem to use simple sugar to make it sweeter, others use a thickener, but that's the basic recipe.
Chris ordered frogs legs in a green pepper sauce and since I couldn't remember if I'd ever tried them or not, I asked her for a bite just to be sure. The sauce was pretty good but the meat was bland and a bit stringy.
After lunch, we headed off to our next temple, Ta Prohm. You may know this as the Tomb Raider temple; it was here that they filmed part of the movie. Very cool.
My Aunt Chris, Me and Amarita
Yes, that is possibly a Stegosaurus on the temple wall.
Next we went to Koulen for a Cambodian buffet and to watch apsara (traditional Khmer) dancers. It was overpriced, the food was subpar, the atmosphere touristy, and the dancers obviously were not very good; horribly unsynchronized, but we probably wouldn't have gotten to see them otherwise so it was worth it. I also forgot my camera for this, so I have a few crappy cell phone pics, but nothing good. Sorry.
I had another few Angkor beers for 50 cents at my hostel's rooftop bar, talked to a couple of German guys who were actually getting the government to pay for their trip by taking advantage of a program to help unemployed people start their own businesses, so their business was building a blog about having sex and traveling the world, and trying to make money off of it, and then, after listening to one of them tell me that sex was the only thing he cared about in the world, I went to bed (ALONE- just to clarify).
Monday, April 5, 2010
As Easy As...Hard
3/28
Though I would've gone eventually, the specific reason I'm in Siem Reap right now is because my Aunt Chris is vacationing here for a week with a friend of hers so I wanted to meet them. I asked the people at the front desk how much it would cost to get a tuk tuk to their hotel, and once they agreed where it was generally, they said $3. I thought this was excessive since it was still a short trip and a couple nearby mentioned that I could probably rent a bicycle for $1 for the day and go out there. This sounded like a good idea to me, despite the fact that I hadn't ridden a bicycle since I was about 16, and even then just once or twice when my mom decided to torture us with a "family activity," which almost always meant time spent hiking or bicycling or climbing lighthouses in Nature, who I just don't get along with. I hadn't regularly bicycled or just gone out for a joyride since I was, oh, maybe 10.
Regardless, I didn't even consider the idea that I'd have trouble. It didn't even occur to me as a thought to brush off. If it had, I know I wouldn't have been bothered anyway because there are so many cliches about riding bicycles: "It's just like riding a bike," "You never forget how to ride a bicycle," "Easy as riding a bike," "If you fall down, you just get back on the bike," etc.
So I walked down the road a bit, saw a sign, "Bike $1" written in black sharpie on a square of brown cardboard and rented a bicycle with a $10 deposit. I thought the seat looked high, but what did I know? so I got on, managed to catch the pedals and force them into motion and wobbled away. I realized that while I could technically ride a bicycle, I couldn't ride it well. My balance was off and instead of traveling in a straight line, my front tire seemed to keep moving sideways so I was going in the right direction, but taking a decidedly unscenic route since I couldn't keep the bike steady. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I made this drawing for you:
You now know how well I was doing, but I was progressing. At least until I saw an ATM. I needed to get money so I pointed the tough, sticky handlebars in that direction. I didn't notice the little trough in between the road and the sidewalk until just before I got there. I had time to stop, and started to brake slightly, but then decided to go for it. Obviously this was a stupid thing to do and had I simply committed to going over it and not braking, or had I fully stopped and walked it over, I'm sure I would have been fine. This inbetweenness, though, did not work, and I realized that about two seconds before it happened. I fell down, but since I was expecting it, I like to think I fell quite gracefully, though it may not have appeared that way to the untrained eye. Or eyes, of everyone nearby; the British couple who stopped to see if I was okay, the tuk tuk driver, the motorcyclist and the bank guard. I was fine, dirty since I toppled over onto the filthy street, but not even scratched.
Moral of the story: You can forget how to ride a bike, it's not that easy, but fortunately, you can get right back on (and speed away from those looking at you pitifully).
I bicycled around the Independence Gardens, by the Royal Residence, went into a temple, then continued through the town in general and the Old Market area, stopping at the Central Market to get some weird egg/fish (paste?)/vegetable pancake thing and a dragonfruit, which I'm starting to love. Most of the food and things in the market were no stranger than anything else I'd seen, except for the crickets and cicadas which looked like they'd been baked, and could be bought by the kilo to snack on. I passed.
In the afternoon I relaxed at the hostel for a while before heading out to meet Chris for dinner at her hotel, where I'd left a note for her earlier. On my way I accidentally passed through a Buddhist monk village place because I had to escape a creepy guy on a motorcycle who was following me, but it was okay, because even just passing though, the compound was quite interesting, and I successfully lost the jerk.
I had a nice dinner with Chris and her friend, Amarita, who lived in Qatar (which is apparently pronounced "Cutter" interestingly enough) and went back to the hostel, had a 50 cent Angkor draft beer at the rooftop bar and set my alarm before going to bed in preparation for an early, very early, day tomorrow.
Though I would've gone eventually, the specific reason I'm in Siem Reap right now is because my Aunt Chris is vacationing here for a week with a friend of hers so I wanted to meet them. I asked the people at the front desk how much it would cost to get a tuk tuk to their hotel, and once they agreed where it was generally, they said $3. I thought this was excessive since it was still a short trip and a couple nearby mentioned that I could probably rent a bicycle for $1 for the day and go out there. This sounded like a good idea to me, despite the fact that I hadn't ridden a bicycle since I was about 16, and even then just once or twice when my mom decided to torture us with a "family activity," which almost always meant time spent hiking or bicycling or climbing lighthouses in Nature, who I just don't get along with. I hadn't regularly bicycled or just gone out for a joyride since I was, oh, maybe 10.
Regardless, I didn't even consider the idea that I'd have trouble. It didn't even occur to me as a thought to brush off. If it had, I know I wouldn't have been bothered anyway because there are so many cliches about riding bicycles: "It's just like riding a bike," "You never forget how to ride a bicycle," "Easy as riding a bike," "If you fall down, you just get back on the bike," etc.
So I walked down the road a bit, saw a sign, "Bike $1" written in black sharpie on a square of brown cardboard and rented a bicycle with a $10 deposit. I thought the seat looked high, but what did I know? so I got on, managed to catch the pedals and force them into motion and wobbled away. I realized that while I could technically ride a bicycle, I couldn't ride it well. My balance was off and instead of traveling in a straight line, my front tire seemed to keep moving sideways so I was going in the right direction, but taking a decidedly unscenic route since I couldn't keep the bike steady. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I made this drawing for you:
Moral of the story: You can forget how to ride a bike, it's not that easy, but fortunately, you can get right back on (and speed away from those looking at you pitifully).
I bicycled around the Independence Gardens, by the Royal Residence, went into a temple, then continued through the town in general and the Old Market area, stopping at the Central Market to get some weird egg/fish (paste?)/vegetable pancake thing and a dragonfruit, which I'm starting to love. Most of the food and things in the market were no stranger than anything else I'd seen, except for the crickets and cicadas which looked like they'd been baked, and could be bought by the kilo to snack on. I passed.
In the afternoon I relaxed at the hostel for a while before heading out to meet Chris for dinner at her hotel, where I'd left a note for her earlier. On my way I accidentally passed through a Buddhist monk village place because I had to escape a creepy guy on a motorcycle who was following me, but it was okay, because even just passing though, the compound was quite interesting, and I successfully lost the jerk.
I had a nice dinner with Chris and her friend, Amarita, who lived in Qatar (which is apparently pronounced "Cutter" interestingly enough) and went back to the hostel, had a 50 cent Angkor draft beer at the rooftop bar and set my alarm before going to bed in preparation for an early, very early, day tomorrow.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
End of an "Epic" Journey
3/27
My Lonely Planet calls the journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap "epic". If that's an epic, then I'm Odysseus and despite appearances, I am not actually an ancient Greek King. It was actually a long, reasonably hard trip, I just thought that description was a bit extreme. I got up at 10, went to the train station and bought my ticket (3rd class only, 48 baht- $1.50 USD) then bought a bag of steamed rice for breakfast. I know that sounds weird, but it was really good and just exactly what I wanted so I was happy. Since my train didn't leave until 1:05 p.m. I watched another two episodes of The Inbetweeners before heading out to get supplies for the train ride: Diet Coke, water, candied peanuts and a strange Kit-Kat-like thing and lunch at a restaurant right across the street from the train station.
The train was packed, hot and uncomfortable but I'd only be on it for, oh wait, five hours to Aranyaprathet. Oh well. The seats were hard, like the kind you'd find on a subway so I just got up every once in a while to make sure my limbs didn't go numb. Mostly I worked on my beading- I'm almost done.
Eventually though, we arrived at the border town to Cambodia. I hired a tuk tuk (a motorbike pulling a carriage) to take me to the border, then walked across the border into Poipet. This was actually way over-complicated and a big deal because the visa was more expensive than it should have been, the border guard was super creepy and it was basically a miserable time. I met up with an American couple who had been way WAY overcharged for a cab to Siem Reap; they should have paid $12 per person maximum but had paid $25 each, so basically they let me join them and I only had to pay $3. We had to take a shuttle bus to get to the taxi station, then wait for a taxi, then wait for them to get gas. Two hours later we arrived in the town of Siem Reap but for whatever reason the taxi wouldn't take us to our hotels, they had prepaid tuk tuks take us. Finally, at about 9:30 at night I got to my hostel, Garden Village. I didn't have a reservation so I had to accept their seemingly sketchy dorm option (normally I think dorms are fine, just this one was sketchy) though it ended up being fine and it only cost $1. For the next night though, I moved into a single for $3.
All in all I'd traveled through three real sized countries, unlike some of the baby countries in Europe (cough, Benelux, cough) in 30 hours so I crashed into bed.
My Lonely Planet calls the journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap "epic". If that's an epic, then I'm Odysseus and despite appearances, I am not actually an ancient Greek King. It was actually a long, reasonably hard trip, I just thought that description was a bit extreme. I got up at 10, went to the train station and bought my ticket (3rd class only, 48 baht- $1.50 USD) then bought a bag of steamed rice for breakfast. I know that sounds weird, but it was really good and just exactly what I wanted so I was happy. Since my train didn't leave until 1:05 p.m. I watched another two episodes of The Inbetweeners before heading out to get supplies for the train ride: Diet Coke, water, candied peanuts and a strange Kit-Kat-like thing and lunch at a restaurant right across the street from the train station.
The train was packed, hot and uncomfortable but I'd only be on it for, oh wait, five hours to Aranyaprathet. Oh well. The seats were hard, like the kind you'd find on a subway so I just got up every once in a while to make sure my limbs didn't go numb. Mostly I worked on my beading- I'm almost done.
Eventually though, we arrived at the border town to Cambodia. I hired a tuk tuk (a motorbike pulling a carriage) to take me to the border, then walked across the border into Poipet. This was actually way over-complicated and a big deal because the visa was more expensive than it should have been, the border guard was super creepy and it was basically a miserable time. I met up with an American couple who had been way WAY overcharged for a cab to Siem Reap; they should have paid $12 per person maximum but had paid $25 each, so basically they let me join them and I only had to pay $3. We had to take a shuttle bus to get to the taxi station, then wait for a taxi, then wait for them to get gas. Two hours later we arrived in the town of Siem Reap but for whatever reason the taxi wouldn't take us to our hotels, they had prepaid tuk tuks take us. Finally, at about 9:30 at night I got to my hostel, Garden Village. I didn't have a reservation so I had to accept their seemingly sketchy dorm option (normally I think dorms are fine, just this one was sketchy) though it ended up being fine and it only cost $1. For the next night though, I moved into a single for $3.
All in all I'd traveled through three real sized countries, unlike some of the baby countries in Europe (cough, Benelux, cough) in 30 hours so I crashed into bed.
Passing Through Bangkok
3/26/2010
I woke up the next morning still on the train, watched the scenery until I realized it was ALL rice paddies, houses on stilts and a few temples, and started talking to Angie, the Malaysian woman I'd met the night before. Graciously, she offered me some of her snacks for breakfast since I didn't have anything to eat, and the food vendors who came on the train came along only rarely. I had some pastry thing with a strange hard jelly type filling and one small pastry with what Angie said was bean curd inside. I believe her, it just didn't taste like it- it tasted like almond meal. She was from Penang and was shocked when I said I hadn't been impressed with the food there, despite the great food in the rest of Malaysia. Oh well.
I worked on my beading for a bit longer and eventually we made it into Bangkok. Since I was leaving by train for Siem Reap the next day I wanted to stay near the train station, so I looked up a hostel in my guide and wandered over slowly. Baan Hua Lamphong was actually a pretty decent place, all plants and wood in the middle of a dirty city. I splurged and got a single room ($2 dollars more than a dorm room for a total of $8) since I'd spent some much time around people lately, much as I'd enjoyed that. I was hungry, but even more tired so I took a nap from about 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. It was nice but I was even more hungry when I woke up so I went out and got a Diet Coke, two satays of flavored meat (chicken? pork?- I don't know) and rice. I gobbled them down, ignoring the scratchiness of the skewer at the back of my throat, and was still hungry.
Nearby was a little restaurant advertising odd combinations of noodles, crab meat- real crab meat, I checked, pork and dumplings. I got a smallish portion of all four together for 50 baht ($1.50). On my table were several sauces and condiments to add to the food. I tasted all the ones I didn't recognize and decided that I really liked the deer head sauce. I'm not sure that's what it's really called, but it had a picture of a deer's head on it. It tasted kind of like a heavy soy sauce, almost like a non-smoked steak sauce, but still very liquid. I was very happy with my choice overall and wanted to walk around Bangkok for a bit, but while my area was safe and well lit, the areas around it, which I'd have to go through, weren't great so I didn't want to take the risk, and again, I was tired.
Instead, I used my time wisely to finish Season Two of The Inbetweeners. I've been watching it out of order for no discernible reason, so I watched an episode in the middle of Season Two first, then went back to Episodes 1-6 of Season Two and now I'm going through Season One in order, from Episodes 1-6. Sometimes I think this blog makes it seem like I spend a lot of time doing nothing, so I just wanted to clarify with this achievement that I really am accomplishing a great deal: I've finished three books and an entire season of a tv show in three weeks! That's efficiency in action.
I woke up the next morning still on the train, watched the scenery until I realized it was ALL rice paddies, houses on stilts and a few temples, and started talking to Angie, the Malaysian woman I'd met the night before. Graciously, she offered me some of her snacks for breakfast since I didn't have anything to eat, and the food vendors who came on the train came along only rarely. I had some pastry thing with a strange hard jelly type filling and one small pastry with what Angie said was bean curd inside. I believe her, it just didn't taste like it- it tasted like almond meal. She was from Penang and was shocked when I said I hadn't been impressed with the food there, despite the great food in the rest of Malaysia. Oh well.
I worked on my beading for a bit longer and eventually we made it into Bangkok. Since I was leaving by train for Siem Reap the next day I wanted to stay near the train station, so I looked up a hostel in my guide and wandered over slowly. Baan Hua Lamphong was actually a pretty decent place, all plants and wood in the middle of a dirty city. I splurged and got a single room ($2 dollars more than a dorm room for a total of $8) since I'd spent some much time around people lately, much as I'd enjoyed that. I was hungry, but even more tired so I took a nap from about 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. It was nice but I was even more hungry when I woke up so I went out and got a Diet Coke, two satays of flavored meat (chicken? pork?- I don't know) and rice. I gobbled them down, ignoring the scratchiness of the skewer at the back of my throat, and was still hungry.
Nearby was a little restaurant advertising odd combinations of noodles, crab meat- real crab meat, I checked, pork and dumplings. I got a smallish portion of all four together for 50 baht ($1.50). On my table were several sauces and condiments to add to the food. I tasted all the ones I didn't recognize and decided that I really liked the deer head sauce. I'm not sure that's what it's really called, but it had a picture of a deer's head on it. It tasted kind of like a heavy soy sauce, almost like a non-smoked steak sauce, but still very liquid. I was very happy with my choice overall and wanted to walk around Bangkok for a bit, but while my area was safe and well lit, the areas around it, which I'd have to go through, weren't great so I didn't want to take the risk, and again, I was tired.
Instead, I used my time wisely to finish Season Two of The Inbetweeners. I've been watching it out of order for no discernible reason, so I watched an episode in the middle of Season Two first, then went back to Episodes 1-6 of Season Two and now I'm going through Season One in order, from Episodes 1-6. Sometimes I think this blog makes it seem like I spend a lot of time doing nothing, so I just wanted to clarify with this achievement that I really am accomplishing a great deal: I've finished three books and an entire season of a tv show in three weeks! That's efficiency in action.
Leaving Lovely, Lazy Langkawi
3/24
Decided that I'll actually leave tomorrow, so I spent most of today writing, planning, organizing things, replying to emails, taking pictures, and a bit of beach time. I spent part of the afternoon talking to Matt because, again, he really is an interesting person to talk to. It might seem strange but I was really impressed with his knowledge of football, simply because I don't have that depth of knowledge on any topic. I get bored too easily and move onto something new so I have quite a wide breadth of knowledge, but it's fairly superficial in a way.
Anyway, I wanted a quiet night and I did not want to go to Sunbar again, so after dinner I went with Matt and a different Dutch girl, whose name I can't recall, to a fairly low key Irish bar for a pint of Guiness that tasted particularly delicious since I hadn't had one in a very long time. We were all just hanging out and convinced the bartender to play more upbeat music instead of the vaguely depressing love songs he was listening to and then Lady Gaga came on. I missed her, even though I have her album on my netbook, I hadn't played it in several days, so I was really excited when she came on. I was so excited in fact that I got the bartender to play nearly her entire album.
We all went back to the hostel to hang out with the others and the newest new arrivals, but they were all going out to Sunbar later and I was not going to go (and they were drinking some disgusting booze and playing Kings without Never Have I Ever) so I went back to the Irish bar, and, somewhat ironically, considering that I was in Malaysia, met an Irish couple who I talked to until the bar closed. It doesn't sound exciting but it was a nice, calm evening out that was exactly what I wanted then.
3/25
I finally made it off the island! Woke up, packed, got some lunch and then split a cab with another woman who was leaving from the hostel to Kuah, the town on the island the ferries depart from. I took an hour long ferry ride to Kuala Perlis, on which I spoke to a Malaysian woman, probably in her late 40s, who had studied in the U.S. She'd been in New York City and said she'd had a great time there, but didn't wear her hijab at the time, which she was wearing now. I asked if that was because she'd become more religious since returning home and she thought about it for a bit before replying that it wasn't that exactly, but that it made her more aware of (and I'm obviously paraphrasing here) who she was and standards she should live up to. I'm afraid that I'm making it sound oppressive and sinister here, but the way she described it wasn't. My understanding of it was more like something you wear to remind yourself to be a better person and remain true to yourself.
After disembarking from the ferry I had a maybe 50 minute (?) cab ride to Arau, then got on the overnight train to Bankok for RM 105 ($34 USD). It was supposed to leave at 5:30 but didn't arrive at the station until 6- it was just like being on Amtrack! Before we'd been on the train for even an hour we had to get off, go through immigration to get into Thailand, which was an absolute breeze, despite what I'd heard previously, get some food and get back on.
I'd gotten a bunk on the lower level ocean side specifically so I might see a bit of the sea as the tracks run nearby, but it got dark even earlier than I'd expected and I couldn't see anything. I spent a bit of time talking to a group of Malaysian guys who seemed quite normal, and a Malaysian woman who was very nice and interested in my Indian bead loom work (I'm just trying to finish making a belt so I can stop lugging the damn thing around,) then went to bed. The bed was fine, nothing special or impressive, fairly similar to overnight trains I'd taken in Europe. All of this is to say: I'm still not impressed. I don't know why but I think I just don't like trains. Maybe it's the lack of control or that your path is already so set. If an emergency ever happened on a bus, the driver would divert to a hospital. On a train, all they can do is stop it.
I also wanted to mention here how much I hate Islamic (squat) toilets but normally I don't complain too much or have much real trouble with them. But squat toilets on a moving train is another issue altogether. It was not fun and what made it worse was the later realization that they actually had Western toilets, just in another area of the train.
Decided that I'll actually leave tomorrow, so I spent most of today writing, planning, organizing things, replying to emails, taking pictures, and a bit of beach time. I spent part of the afternoon talking to Matt because, again, he really is an interesting person to talk to. It might seem strange but I was really impressed with his knowledge of football, simply because I don't have that depth of knowledge on any topic. I get bored too easily and move onto something new so I have quite a wide breadth of knowledge, but it's fairly superficial in a way.
Anyway, I wanted a quiet night and I did not want to go to Sunbar again, so after dinner I went with Matt and a different Dutch girl, whose name I can't recall, to a fairly low key Irish bar for a pint of Guiness that tasted particularly delicious since I hadn't had one in a very long time. We were all just hanging out and convinced the bartender to play more upbeat music instead of the vaguely depressing love songs he was listening to and then Lady Gaga came on. I missed her, even though I have her album on my netbook, I hadn't played it in several days, so I was really excited when she came on. I was so excited in fact that I got the bartender to play nearly her entire album.
We all went back to the hostel to hang out with the others and the newest new arrivals, but they were all going out to Sunbar later and I was not going to go (and they were drinking some disgusting booze and playing Kings without Never Have I Ever) so I went back to the Irish bar, and, somewhat ironically, considering that I was in Malaysia, met an Irish couple who I talked to until the bar closed. It doesn't sound exciting but it was a nice, calm evening out that was exactly what I wanted then.
3/25
I finally made it off the island! Woke up, packed, got some lunch and then split a cab with another woman who was leaving from the hostel to Kuah, the town on the island the ferries depart from. I took an hour long ferry ride to Kuala Perlis, on which I spoke to a Malaysian woman, probably in her late 40s, who had studied in the U.S. She'd been in New York City and said she'd had a great time there, but didn't wear her hijab at the time, which she was wearing now. I asked if that was because she'd become more religious since returning home and she thought about it for a bit before replying that it wasn't that exactly, but that it made her more aware of (and I'm obviously paraphrasing here) who she was and standards she should live up to. I'm afraid that I'm making it sound oppressive and sinister here, but the way she described it wasn't. My understanding of it was more like something you wear to remind yourself to be a better person and remain true to yourself.
After disembarking from the ferry I had a maybe 50 minute (?) cab ride to Arau, then got on the overnight train to Bankok for RM 105 ($34 USD). It was supposed to leave at 5:30 but didn't arrive at the station until 6- it was just like being on Amtrack! Before we'd been on the train for even an hour we had to get off, go through immigration to get into Thailand, which was an absolute breeze, despite what I'd heard previously, get some food and get back on.
I'd gotten a bunk on the lower level ocean side specifically so I might see a bit of the sea as the tracks run nearby, but it got dark even earlier than I'd expected and I couldn't see anything. I spent a bit of time talking to a group of Malaysian guys who seemed quite normal, and a Malaysian woman who was very nice and interested in my Indian bead loom work (I'm just trying to finish making a belt so I can stop lugging the damn thing around,) then went to bed. The bed was fine, nothing special or impressive, fairly similar to overnight trains I'd taken in Europe. All of this is to say: I'm still not impressed. I don't know why but I think I just don't like trains. Maybe it's the lack of control or that your path is already so set. If an emergency ever happened on a bus, the driver would divert to a hospital. On a train, all they can do is stop it.
I also wanted to mention here how much I hate Islamic (squat) toilets but normally I don't complain too much or have much real trouble with them. But squat toilets on a moving train is another issue altogether. It was not fun and what made it worse was the later realization that they actually had Western toilets, just in another area of the train.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Motorbike, Motorbike Go So Slow, Motorbike, Motorbike, Go So Fast, Motorbike, Motorbike, Step On The Gas!
3/22
Still on Langkawi. Well, I had to go see the cable car, and it was too late to go yesterday, plus it's so simple and fun and easy to be here. So today, I took a quick morning dip in the ocean, then showered and left with Anne, a Dutch girl who's staying at the same hostel, who I met yesterday. We rented a scooter and she drove us to the cable car while I sat behind her and watched the scenery go by and held on tightly. The cable car cost RM30, a fortune here- almost $10, but it was worth it, though it wouldn't have been worth much more. It was one of those cable cars that's the world's superlative with several additions. I can't remember exactly what they were, but something like WORLD'S LONGEST CABLE CAR (That Feels Like A Skilift On An Island In Southeast Asia Surrounded By Tourist Shops And Crap Food Connected To A Bridge That Goes Nowhere). We had a nice view, though you can't tell that from any of the photos I took, walked around a bit and headed back.
We had a few new people at the hostel; a German guy, Nils, and a Danish couple, Stine and Simon, who we invited to our game of Kings, which somehow turned into several rounds. We were all having a grand time, despite their resistance to Never Have I Ever- the best part of Kings. They were almost all playing with beer. I was playing with Razz Rum and Diet Coke. Maybe it was the extra alcohol in me that gave me courage, but when we found a scorpion the boys started poking at it cautiously, and then I came over and stepped on and killed it. Later they would argue that they were playing with it and didn't want to kill it, and while that does sound juvenile and illogical enough to accept as true from boys in their mid-twenties, I still think they were simply too scared to do so. It was definitely the extra alcohol in me that later insisted I go to bed instead of going out with them to Sunbar later, but I didn't mind and it was a great night all in all.
3/23
Stine, Simon, Nils and I decided to rent scooters to go around the island, especially to see a man-made waterfall that was supposed to be cool and some of the other beaches so we rented two ($5 per person for the whole day) and set off, Stine and Simon on one and Nils driving me on the back of the other. It was fun and Nils was a good driver, though it took me a while to feel really safe. We drove around for quite a while, Stine navigating, and eventually got to the waterfall, which was as dry as desert sand. It didn't look like it would have been that impressive even if it had been falling water as it was SO obviously man-made and fake looking. We headed over to a little locals beach with the same gorgeous white sand as Cenang beach, but much clearer, prettier water. Unfortunately, we had to get out to keep our stuff safe from the monkeys, who really do like to steal anything that's not larger than themselves. So we headed to the next beach, which was astonishing because the sand was even whiter than the other beaches and it seemed to go on for a mile, but was totally empty- we didn't see a single other person on the beach. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to prove any of this or show you the monkey trying to drive a parked motorcycle because I stupidly forgot my camera.
By this point it was about 3 p.m. and Stine was starving. I'd had a croissant and Diet Coke for breakfast, but hadn't eaten anything else that day. I didn't think I was hungry, but when we sat down at the restaurant in front of the next beach we'd wanted to see, I realized I was actually starving too. A random tourist came over and told us that the fish was excellent, and since that sounded good anyway, I ordered a fish in ginger sauce. It took a while, but really was incredible- one of the best meals I've had so far. The sauce in particular was awesome and had a sort of buttery softness to it that was deeply flavored but not overpowered by the ginger.
We walked down to the new beach and they took a few pictures but didn't stay. Next we headed up a mountain almost to the highest point on the island in anticipation of amazing views. After quite a long ride, we made it to a view point with a marker, looked out to the horizon and saw...nothing. Fog was completely covering everything more than about 100 feet away from us. Oh well, none of us were too fussed, so we headed back down. They did want some panoramic pictures, so we stopped when we got a bit lower. On the tree in front of us, maybe 500 feet away, was a bald eagle, which was very cool to see. Strange as it seems, they actually have many eagles on Langkawi, and even have an eagle habitat of some kind though I didn't bother to visit.
Eventually we made it back to the hostel, rested a while, then went out to dinner at a Thai seafood place on the beach. They had the largest tiger prawns I've ever, ever seen in my life, probably just under a foot long if you'd laid them out flat but they were expensive and the crab was cheap. I went for the crab in a light curry sauce with rice, which was another amazing meal for about $5, 6 with my drink, lime juice, which is essentially limeade. Somehow neither the German nor either of the Danes had ever had crab before which I found bizarre, so Nils ordered his own, and enjoyed it, while Simon and Stine tasted it and said it was good. I'm always happy to introduce people to new (good) things.
We went back to the hostel, had a few beers and talked for a while, then headed out for a nice, but uneventful night at Sunbar. I spent most of the time just watching other people dance which really is extremely amusing as most people are terrible dancers, and everyone went home happy.
*With this post I broke the 10,000 word mark for my blog- very exciting! I know you don't care.
Cable Car and Islands
Still on Langkawi. Well, I had to go see the cable car, and it was too late to go yesterday, plus it's so simple and fun and easy to be here. So today, I took a quick morning dip in the ocean, then showered and left with Anne, a Dutch girl who's staying at the same hostel, who I met yesterday. We rented a scooter and she drove us to the cable car while I sat behind her and watched the scenery go by and held on tightly. The cable car cost RM30, a fortune here- almost $10, but it was worth it, though it wouldn't have been worth much more. It was one of those cable cars that's the world's superlative with several additions. I can't remember exactly what they were, but something like WORLD'S LONGEST CABLE CAR (That Feels Like A Skilift On An Island In Southeast Asia Surrounded By Tourist Shops And Crap Food Connected To A Bridge That Goes Nowhere). We had a nice view, though you can't tell that from any of the photos I took, walked around a bit and headed back.
We had a few new people at the hostel; a German guy, Nils, and a Danish couple, Stine and Simon, who we invited to our game of Kings, which somehow turned into several rounds. We were all having a grand time, despite their resistance to Never Have I Ever- the best part of Kings. They were almost all playing with beer. I was playing with Razz Rum and Diet Coke. Maybe it was the extra alcohol in me that gave me courage, but when we found a scorpion the boys started poking at it cautiously, and then I came over and stepped on and killed it. Later they would argue that they were playing with it and didn't want to kill it, and while that does sound juvenile and illogical enough to accept as true from boys in their mid-twenties, I still think they were simply too scared to do so. It was definitely the extra alcohol in me that later insisted I go to bed instead of going out with them to Sunbar later, but I didn't mind and it was a great night all in all.
3/23
Stine, Simon, Nils and I decided to rent scooters to go around the island, especially to see a man-made waterfall that was supposed to be cool and some of the other beaches so we rented two ($5 per person for the whole day) and set off, Stine and Simon on one and Nils driving me on the back of the other. It was fun and Nils was a good driver, though it took me a while to feel really safe. We drove around for quite a while, Stine navigating, and eventually got to the waterfall, which was as dry as desert sand. It didn't look like it would have been that impressive even if it had been falling water as it was SO obviously man-made and fake looking. We headed over to a little locals beach with the same gorgeous white sand as Cenang beach, but much clearer, prettier water. Unfortunately, we had to get out to keep our stuff safe from the monkeys, who really do like to steal anything that's not larger than themselves. So we headed to the next beach, which was astonishing because the sand was even whiter than the other beaches and it seemed to go on for a mile, but was totally empty- we didn't see a single other person on the beach. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to prove any of this or show you the monkey trying to drive a parked motorcycle because I stupidly forgot my camera.
By this point it was about 3 p.m. and Stine was starving. I'd had a croissant and Diet Coke for breakfast, but hadn't eaten anything else that day. I didn't think I was hungry, but when we sat down at the restaurant in front of the next beach we'd wanted to see, I realized I was actually starving too. A random tourist came over and told us that the fish was excellent, and since that sounded good anyway, I ordered a fish in ginger sauce. It took a while, but really was incredible- one of the best meals I've had so far. The sauce in particular was awesome and had a sort of buttery softness to it that was deeply flavored but not overpowered by the ginger.
We walked down to the new beach and they took a few pictures but didn't stay. Next we headed up a mountain almost to the highest point on the island in anticipation of amazing views. After quite a long ride, we made it to a view point with a marker, looked out to the horizon and saw...nothing. Fog was completely covering everything more than about 100 feet away from us. Oh well, none of us were too fussed, so we headed back down. They did want some panoramic pictures, so we stopped when we got a bit lower. On the tree in front of us, maybe 500 feet away, was a bald eagle, which was very cool to see. Strange as it seems, they actually have many eagles on Langkawi, and even have an eagle habitat of some kind though I didn't bother to visit.
Eventually we made it back to the hostel, rested a while, then went out to dinner at a Thai seafood place on the beach. They had the largest tiger prawns I've ever, ever seen in my life, probably just under a foot long if you'd laid them out flat but they were expensive and the crab was cheap. I went for the crab in a light curry sauce with rice, which was another amazing meal for about $5, 6 with my drink, lime juice, which is essentially limeade. Somehow neither the German nor either of the Danes had ever had crab before which I found bizarre, so Nils ordered his own, and enjoyed it, while Simon and Stine tasted it and said it was good. I'm always happy to introduce people to new (good) things.
We went back to the hostel, had a few beers and talked for a while, then headed out for a nice, but uneventful night at Sunbar. I spent most of the time just watching other people dance which really is extremely amusing as most people are terrible dancers, and everyone went home happy.
*With this post I broke the 10,000 word mark for my blog- very exciting! I know you don't care.
Lazy Langkawi
3/20/2010
Felt like crap today. Don't really know why, but didn't do much as a result. Until I started drinking cheap Tiger beer late in the afternoon, I mean. The hostel I was staying in was very much a social backpackers hostel which is nice every once in a while. This type of hostel, when it lives up to its reputation, is full of people who are happy, fun, want to be your BFF for one day only, and like to drink. Again, not something I want all the time, but a fun culture to go in and out of and I hadn't really found one on this trip so far. Anyway, so I started drinking early, convinced a group of people to play Kings with my awesome Disney Vile Villains cards and eventually our group went out to Sunbar, followed by a rickety little sports bar, then I went swimming with Marius, one of the two Norweigan guys playing Kings with us. I went in fully clothed, all made up with my dress and everything, though I did take off my shoes.
3/21
Beach Day! Also did some writing, watched The Inbetweeners, a great British show about high school kids in the style of Superbad, and cut my hair (unevenly- it was a little bit long on the right side) when I got bored because everyone was watching football. Yesterday, I said I was leaving tomorrow. Today, I said tomorrow.
Felt like crap today. Don't really know why, but didn't do much as a result. Until I started drinking cheap Tiger beer late in the afternoon, I mean. The hostel I was staying in was very much a social backpackers hostel which is nice every once in a while. This type of hostel, when it lives up to its reputation, is full of people who are happy, fun, want to be your BFF for one day only, and like to drink. Again, not something I want all the time, but a fun culture to go in and out of and I hadn't really found one on this trip so far. Anyway, so I started drinking early, convinced a group of people to play Kings with my awesome Disney Vile Villains cards and eventually our group went out to Sunbar, followed by a rickety little sports bar, then I went swimming with Marius, one of the two Norweigan guys playing Kings with us. I went in fully clothed, all made up with my dress and everything, though I did take off my shoes.
Picture of Our Island, From the Beach
Beach Day! Also did some writing, watched The Inbetweeners, a great British show about high school kids in the style of Superbad, and cut my hair (unevenly- it was a little bit long on the right side) when I got bored because everyone was watching football. Yesterday, I said I was leaving tomorrow. Today, I said tomorrow.
Colonization: Nothing New for an American and a Brit
3/19/2010
I got up late, lazily and happily and was hanging out around the hostel and starting talking to Matt, the cute British guy I was dancing with last night. I mentioned that I planned to swim out to the nearest island and he said he'd go with me so after some time we headed off. After all that heavy sleeping last night we obviously needed to rest before swimming to an island so we went to the beach, tested the waters and chatted for a bit. He was rather interesting; psych major (and all that comes with that), funny, lazy, very friendly, and a bit arrogant and superficial, though not in any way stupid. He'd had an easy life by his own admission, and while I think most of that is simply a reflection of who people are, it was also difficult in a way to compare. But, as I said, he was interesting and for me, that quality alone will almost always override any negatives, and as there weren't many this time it certainly did. Plus he smelled like blueberries.
After chatting for a bit, we went out to lunch. I had a dish with some sauce and prawns, I mean shrimp, and rice. It was fantastic, until I bit into a green bean. It was not a green bean. It was one of the spiciest chiles I've ever tasted in my entire life. I had to spit it out and could still feel it in my ears for several minutes afterwards. Once the burning sensation went away, we headed out for an adventure.
We left our shirts with some locals at a table on the beach. They did a double take when we told them our plan and said they thought it was probably 800 meters. Google maps says it's closer to a mile, so I'm going with that, especially since it sounds so much more hardcore. We went very slowly, and though Matt had some trouble initially he calmed down as we went along and we played the movie game, which he sucked at, then we played the "Make Laura Say As Many Football Teams/ Players As She Knows" game, which I sucked at.
After about 20 minutes, I said we were halfway there. After about 30 minutes, I said we were almost there. After 35 minutes, I said we were almost there. After 40 minutes, I said we were really almost there. After about 45 minutes, we were there.
Honestly, the beach itself wasn't really particularly impressive: the ocean floor was rocky and the sand was rougher and shellier than the beach we'd left, but still it was OUR island and with the effort we'd made to get there, it felt like a real accomplishment. Here's my poem about it:
A single crab King brandishes his claw,
Upset with his usurption by nature's law.
Its island invaded and now he's a slave,
He threatens but knows he must behave.
Oh how we lorded it over that crab,
As we had no other islands to grab.
Colonizers with nothing else to snag,
And sadly we didn't even have a flag.
You know you enjoyed that. Don't even try to deny it.
We stayed there for a while and then hitched a ride back with a group of people who we'd allowed to go parasailing on our island. Thus ended our lovely island day- one of my favorites so far.
*Sadly, no pictures, as I swam out to an island and didn't want to drown my camera.
I got up late, lazily and happily and was hanging out around the hostel and starting talking to Matt, the cute British guy I was dancing with last night. I mentioned that I planned to swim out to the nearest island and he said he'd go with me so after some time we headed off. After all that heavy sleeping last night we obviously needed to rest before swimming to an island so we went to the beach, tested the waters and chatted for a bit. He was rather interesting; psych major (and all that comes with that), funny, lazy, very friendly, and a bit arrogant and superficial, though not in any way stupid. He'd had an easy life by his own admission, and while I think most of that is simply a reflection of who people are, it was also difficult in a way to compare. But, as I said, he was interesting and for me, that quality alone will almost always override any negatives, and as there weren't many this time it certainly did. Plus he smelled like blueberries.
After chatting for a bit, we went out to lunch. I had a dish with some sauce and prawns, I mean shrimp, and rice. It was fantastic, until I bit into a green bean. It was not a green bean. It was one of the spiciest chiles I've ever tasted in my entire life. I had to spit it out and could still feel it in my ears for several minutes afterwards. Once the burning sensation went away, we headed out for an adventure.
We left our shirts with some locals at a table on the beach. They did a double take when we told them our plan and said they thought it was probably 800 meters. Google maps says it's closer to a mile, so I'm going with that, especially since it sounds so much more hardcore. We went very slowly, and though Matt had some trouble initially he calmed down as we went along and we played the movie game, which he sucked at, then we played the "Make Laura Say As Many Football Teams/ Players As She Knows" game, which I sucked at.
After about 20 minutes, I said we were halfway there. After about 30 minutes, I said we were almost there. After 35 minutes, I said we were almost there. After 40 minutes, I said we were really almost there. After about 45 minutes, we were there.
Honestly, the beach itself wasn't really particularly impressive: the ocean floor was rocky and the sand was rougher and shellier than the beach we'd left, but still it was OUR island and with the effort we'd made to get there, it felt like a real accomplishment. Here's my poem about it:
A single crab King brandishes his claw,
Upset with his usurption by nature's law.
Its island invaded and now he's a slave,
He threatens but knows he must behave.
Oh how we lorded it over that crab,
As we had no other islands to grab.
Colonizers with nothing else to snag,
And sadly we didn't even have a flag.
You know you enjoyed that. Don't even try to deny it.
We stayed there for a while and then hitched a ride back with a group of people who we'd allowed to go parasailing on our island. Thus ended our lovely island day- one of my favorites so far.
*Sadly, no pictures, as I swam out to an island and didn't want to drown my camera.
Lovely Langkawi
3/18/2010
I had to get up super early (7 a.m.!) to get a ferry to Langkawi, another Malaysian island that sounded nice and beachy. The ferry ride took about three hours and the air conditioning was on so strongly that I had to get a long sleeved shirt out of my backpack to keep myself from freezing. I got a taxi to take me to Patai Cenang, a beach area that my guidebook said was nice and checked into a hostel- the Gecko Guesthouse, so called because there are a lot of geckos running around. The first time I saw one, I was quite excited because I thought it was an albino gecko: white/gray with reddish eyes. It turns out that's just what they look like. Anyway, I checked into the dorm and hung out at the hostel for a while, writing and chatting with a British girl named Fern who'd been living on Ko Lipe, a Thai island just north of Langkawi, who was on a visa run, which is when you leave a country because your visa is going to expire, so you just leave for a short time, then go back and get a new one.
Then I headed down to the beach with a book from the communal shelf to read. I was really happy to see how close it really was, something I hadn't been able to discern on my way there, and that it was covered in very white sand and relatively blue and clear water and sky. There were also a few scattered islands nearby that added nicely to the view.
Several hours of sunning and swimming in water that was almost the temperature of bathwater, I returned to the hostel, went for a run along the beach, seeing several women bathing in burkas along the way, and got dressed to go out. Fern and I went out for dinner (chili crab and Tiger beers) and then headed to a bar called Little Lulias which was on the beach with live music. A guy she'd met before who was obviously trying to get with her was buying us all rounds which worked out great for me. After a bit, we headed over to another bar, Sunbar. It was an interesting place. New, old style Malay architecture and decorations, with a mix of Malays and tourists. A group of British guys from our hostel were there so while Fern talked to her guy, I went dancing with one of them, Matt. After a while, I felt I was getting in the way of other people getting together, so I went home to the hostel.
I had to get up super early (7 a.m.!) to get a ferry to Langkawi, another Malaysian island that sounded nice and beachy. The ferry ride took about three hours and the air conditioning was on so strongly that I had to get a long sleeved shirt out of my backpack to keep myself from freezing. I got a taxi to take me to Patai Cenang, a beach area that my guidebook said was nice and checked into a hostel- the Gecko Guesthouse, so called because there are a lot of geckos running around. The first time I saw one, I was quite excited because I thought it was an albino gecko: white/gray with reddish eyes. It turns out that's just what they look like. Anyway, I checked into the dorm and hung out at the hostel for a while, writing and chatting with a British girl named Fern who'd been living on Ko Lipe, a Thai island just north of Langkawi, who was on a visa run, which is when you leave a country because your visa is going to expire, so you just leave for a short time, then go back and get a new one.
Then I headed down to the beach with a book from the communal shelf to read. I was really happy to see how close it really was, something I hadn't been able to discern on my way there, and that it was covered in very white sand and relatively blue and clear water and sky. There were also a few scattered islands nearby that added nicely to the view.
Several hours of sunning and swimming in water that was almost the temperature of bathwater, I returned to the hostel, went for a run along the beach, seeing several women bathing in burkas along the way, and got dressed to go out. Fern and I went out for dinner (chili crab and Tiger beers) and then headed to a bar called Little Lulias which was on the beach with live music. A guy she'd met before who was obviously trying to get with her was buying us all rounds which worked out great for me. After a bit, we headed over to another bar, Sunbar. It was an interesting place. New, old style Malay architecture and decorations, with a mix of Malays and tourists. A group of British guys from our hostel were there so while Fern talked to her guy, I went dancing with one of them, Matt. After a while, I felt I was getting in the way of other people getting together, so I went home to the hostel.
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