Malaysia, Northwest Coast 2012

Ok I am in SE Asia once again.  This time I decided that I should see Malaysia & Indonesia, and skip to typical tour of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.  I have been solo and unsure how this trip would be with Larisa so far away.  Last time she was with me and the time before I was single.  Each of the trips would surely be different.

I found my 1st stop to Kuala Lumpur very beautiful, but very hard to meet any travelers.  My experiences now matter how much I like or dislike a new location, are mainly enlightened by the people I meet and the interactions I have.  Feeling unsure, or maybe like I was to old to interact with the typical backpacker between 21-30 I immediately started searching for nature to escape.  It was an easy choice when one of my dorm mates asked if I would like to join him to the Cameron Highland's.  It didn't seem to bother either of us that it was monsoon season up in the mountains.  It would be a great way to escape the 35 degree heat and 100% humidity.

As soon as I got there the vibe was different.  The local people and other foreign travelers were much more friendly and chatty.  I met a 3 different couples that all seemed to be into the hiking and adventure as I was.  We would drink expensive beer, and chat about our past travel experiences at the hostel, as we watched the monsoon rain flood the country side.  It made the hike the next day to the top of the highest peak a challenging one.  The ankle high hiking boots would have come in handy, as the muddle puddles in most places were up to 6 inches deep.  I lost my shoe a few times when stepping in the wrong place.  The way down through the tea plantations, was still torrential downpour but the 25 degrees temps made it easily tolerable.

 We all had so much fun together that we ended up traveling together to the next two stops.  The Island of Penang, Malaysia, was such a great time.  Renting Motorbikes for $5 for 24 hours plus $2 gas, gives you the freedom to see everything on the island, if you don't get lost.  Waterfalls, the biggest temple in Malaysia, lots of monkeys and few stops to the beach to cool down from the heat.  The last spot together before we all went separate ways was the island of Langkawi in the far northwest.

It was so hard not to go visit my favorite spot in Thailand, Rai Lei Beach, only a 5 hour boat ride away.  I new however I would get stuck there, and had to stick to my original plan of heading south to Indonesia.

Here we finally found a cheap place to drink in Georgetown.  It was basically chairs and a table in a back alley, but it was 3 drinks for $3.  That's a price we can afford.  A renowned World Heritage Site.