A home away from home - Emails from Melaka, August 2011

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Mel




We are in Melaka, which is lovely, and the guesthouse is the type of place we are tempted to stay in for the entire trip, but won't. We will come back here though, on the way back from Sumatra and look forward to it.




I think, there is an agent here who can sell us the ticket to and get us the visa for Sumatra. That is handy, because it will mean less immigration BS when we get there.




The music in this guesthouse is far better than what we have been forced(because I don't think Asian TVs, stereos... have volume options below the loudest few, or so it seems) to listen to. :)




When are you going back to Munich?




Dirk Jan




I'll be going back on friday.




I arrive in Bangkok on the 28th. To Chumphon on 29th, to Hat Yai on the 30th, to KL on wednesday the 31st.




Mel




This guesthouse we are staying in is so nice and so inexpensive, that some of the guests have been here for weeks. They practically live here. I told the guy who runs it about TravelBlogs hostel booking partner, and suggested that he becomes a member so he can get more internet bookings. It is incredibly difficult or almost impossible to find places of this quality for backpackers in Malaysia.




I had better take a shower and go to bed now. It is after midnight. Jet lag does not seem to want to leave me on this trip. One guesthouse worker asked me why I don't sleep at night, instead of all morning and only half the night. I don't think she has ever crossed time zones. On this trip, there always seems to be something that keeps me up late, and as well as that Lydia is becomming easier to travel with, so we can go out in the evenings instead of going to bed early.




Mel




Good morning, or afternoon here by now.




I am off to a swimming pool with Lydia, now. If there are not enough swimming opportunities, she will consider the holiday a failure and I wouldn't want that. :)




Mel

There were signs up at the swimmng pool, that head scarfs are strictly forbidden and propper tight bathing suits are to be worn, so we didn't have to circumnavigate billowing flapping black robes of other bathers, as we swam around.




There is a chill out room here at the guesthouse, for people to sing, dance, relax, paint... in. They even provide the paints and put pictures by guests on the walls around the guesthouse. Lydia painted one, and a wall space has to be chosen for it, which of course pleases her. It is a pity we don't have the camera to take a photo of her picture hanging on the wall.




We are off to Sumatra tomorrow, so I don't know exactly when the next email will be. I'll send one as soon as I can. Maybe, it will be the day after tomorrow, by the time we have email access again.
We meant to go to Sumatra today, but didn't manage to get the boat tickets.




Dirk Jan




Back home.

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