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Published: August 17th 2008
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As I went further south in Thailand the women's clothing changed, going from shorts or jeans and halter tops to less revealing outfits. In Malaysia, long, loose clothing covers all of the body and headscarves hide hair. They remind me a little of Canadian babies all bundled up for winter, just the face peeking out. It's a Muslim country, after all, and this is their custom. The material looks gauzy and light, but with several layers on it must be nearly crucifying in the heat. Men's clothing often remains the same, although you see some traditional dress and more men wearing skullcaps, which signal that they're practising Muslims, maybe even having done a pilgrammage to Mecca.
I'm on Kecil, the smaller of the two Perhentian Islands just off the northeast coast of Malaysia. Here local dress is not quite as demure as on the mainland, influenced by the tourist industry. Median tourist age must be around 23 years. Small island with a handful of inexpensive guest houses dozing under palm trees at the edge of a beach of white, soft sand. They're rudimentary: an A-frame shack with a double bed and a fan. That's it. Restaurants serve backpacker fare: banana
Perhentian Kecil Long Beach
The owner's probably under a palm tree somewhere. Can't blame him. pancakes, burgers and fruit shakes along with Malaysian food. Open-air bars serve beer and more beer, plus you can buy a half-bottle of rum, vodka or whiskey for about the same price as two cans of beer.
But we're not here to hang around in hotel rooms and restaurants. We're here to laze on the beach, swim and snorkel. And we're here to scuba dive. The sea is transparent with great visibility and plenty of marine life - sharks, the occasional whale shark, turtles, corals, and fish (marlin and barracuda). So Kecil is laid-back, inexpensive, youth-oriented and not overly commercialized. Dive during the day, party at night. And maybe you're going to get lucky with that cute little French or Australian or Swedish sweetie who's returning your smile from the other side of the bar over her vodka and Red Bull. Call it backpacker paradise bearing in mind The Eagles' proviso about that: "You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye."
Went scuba diving to a place called Sugar Wreck. Good to get underwater again. Floating, sinking, buouancy, although I don't really enjoy that feeling of never quite having enough air. This was the first wreck dive I've ever
Perhentian Kecil Long Beach
Transparent, warm sea just calling your name. done. Ship lying on its side, mast and stack against the sandy bottom. Coral growing on it. Tons of marine life: bamboo sharks, cuttlefish, big school of barracuda, yellowtail, lion fish, kingfish (looks like a shark), remora and scorpionfish. Visiblity not great: seven metres. Lots of stuff suspended, drifting, like swimming through a snowfall.
Backpacker bohemian behaviour here on Kecil stands forth in contrast to Malaysian mores and habits. But it's the tourist industry and Malaysians not just tolerate it, they welcome it with posters inciting you to "Visit Malaysia. Celebrating 50 years of Nationhood." Tourism as another golden goose.
At the beach bar you strike up conversations easily, but they shift from intellectual to more basic issues as the evening goes on and the alcohol goes down. Do you like this song? It's my favourite. Christ, they're not gonna play that one, are they? Dude...you've gotta get this album.... Eyeballing each other across the bar, vodka and coke over ice in you paper cup. Sayyyy, she's not bad. Nahhhh, not my type...but her, now...Where? Over there...the blonde in the white top, good tan, beside the one in the green tank top with the tattoo and pierced nostril.
Staff at Bellends Bar
They're in charge and you're GOING tro have fun. Oh, herrrrrrr....
Everyone slowly getting drunker. Not like the Titanic going down, exactly, more like one of those oil tankers breaking up off the coast of Normandy. At the end of the night staggering back to the bungalow -- where the hell's my key? -- either alone, or with the friend you came out with -- Goodnight. See you tomorrow -- or with someone you barely know but, what the hell, haven't been laid in a while this one'll do and in the morning it's either Uh oh, or oh...oh.... Start of something good here, maybe, vacation romance, could last a few weeks, when did you say you were heading to Kuala Lumpur? Either that or Say...what time is it? That late? Better run, see you on the beach. Whatever, dude.
Note: forgot my spare battery and charger in Koh Samui, and my camera caught a virus from a computer, so the pictures are largely those given to me by my friend Steve Strickland. Thanks, Steve.
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