Pulau Perhentian Kecil

Got back from the Pulau Perhentian Islands this morning, it was absolutely stunning! Although it was a bit missionish to get there (bus to jerteh, bus to kuala besuit, ferry to the island Kecil, then a hardcore trek across the island), it was well worth the trouble! The islands are on the east coast of Malaysia, near Thailand and are just beautiful! White sands and the clearest, most beautiful torquoise water I've ever seen in my life! When I say clear i mean i would sit in the water and see schools of zebra fish swimming around me! (We named a specific one "Alpha"...for the greek letter...cuz it looks like a fish...thats what you get when you travel with a Mathie and another Engineer :P)

We decided to stay on the small island Kecil and we had a little chalet at this place called Mohsin. Met some awesome people and did a lot of reading and relaxing on the beach. Lots of fresh organic fruit and yummy malay food, including a lot of roti canai!! At night we usually had a great dinner and then chilled at Lily's and drank fresh fruit cocktails (mango, orange, etc). Just yummilicious!!

The small Island Kecil is split up in 2 sides, one side is the quiet one called Coral Bay and the side that we stayed on has about 10 chalet places and it is called Long Beach. Lots of things to do along the each including play beach volleyball, sit under coconut hut roofs and umbrellas and watch fire shows at night. The first night we slept on the beach, which was definitely something i've never done before! It was amazing, the sunrise woke us up. Met lots of malays and lots of foreigners. There are so many ppl on the island that just went to visit one day from different countries and never went back home. Some work there as staff and some own chalets...what a life! We were quite sad that we only got to spend 3 days but we needed at least 2 in Singapore. Will try to get pics up soon :)

Salaam from Kuala Lampur

Flew into Singapore on July 4th and got to take a quick look at the city...it seemed very Hong Kong-ish, very clean, very nice people, very commercial. We grabbed some food and then headed for an over night train to KL. The train basically had beds, and although they weren't the most comfortable we all were so tired that we didnt even notice when the train arrived in KL the next morning! We got woken up in the middle of the night for customs/immigration checks which wasnt too fun...but we got there alright!

Malaysia is so interesting...really neat to be in a place that is completely Muslim. For the first time in my life i heard azaan called over the whole city...what an amazing feeling. Yesterday was a very tiring day...it was quite difficult to get used to the sticky hot heat after crisp cold New Zealand. We started off in the morning by going to Masjid Jamek which is the city's oldest masjid and is also a train station hub. Then we saw Central Market which is in the heart of China Town and went to Masjid India which is in the heart of little India. Colorful bazaar full of everything you can imagine and nothing you need! We also saw Masjid Negara, or the National Mosque and also the Muzeam Negara...the National Islamic Museum. Very beautiful architecture everywhere in that area!

Then we retired back to our qaint little hostel, it is the cutest thing. It only houses about 15 guests at a time and it is right in the Golden Triangle, a central area. Very clean and super cute, great breakfast included, and only 27 ringettes! (27/3 = approx 9 CAD!!) I love it here, such friendly people, stacks of books and lonely planets, cozy rose lighting and comfy thai decor. Everything in this country is so cheap...like everything is how it would be priced in Canada but if it is converted it is 3 times less! For example, an Orange Julius is $3.90 MYR, which is only about $1.00 CAD! Food is the price it should be!

Went to Chinatown yesterday night, along Pateling street. Ate food at some hawkers, so amazing, only 4 MYR!! Still need to try durian, but i've tried jackfruit, starfruit, etc. Also had some sugar cane juice with lychees, quite yummy! The market was almost overwhelming...dirty, bustling, lots of colors, brain overload!!

Today we went to the Petronus Towers and spent a lot of the day in the mall studying the expensive purses for our purchases in Thailand! It was nice to be inside and we almost forgot about the suffocating heat awaiting us! Got to check out some of the Islamic architecture in the tower main area...8 point stars, domes and the like. Then we went back to Little India to try some Roti Canai and Lime Juice...its the best here and for 20 cents CAD it was WELL WORTH IT!!! After that we went to the Manera KL tower...communication tower that looks like the Calgary Tower. 360 degree view of the city including the towers.

Tonight we are taking a night bus to Kuala Besuit which is the gateway to the Parentian Islands on the eastcoast. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the city and relaxing on a beach!