Beached

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So we decided big city life was not for us and left KL in search of some relaxation. In fact Ed has very profoundly announced you should not judge a country by its capital city. (hmmm think he may have forgotten he himself is a capital boy!)

We braved Puduraya bus station in central KL and searched among the many ticket offices for a bus to Ipoh (the capital of Perak state). Amazingly out of the chaos that is this massive bus station with perhaps 30 different bus companies comes some sort of order and we have learned to love bus travel in Malaysia. Our coach was luxurious with reclining sofa like seats and for once more leg room than Ed could use. At Ipoh we repeated the ticket counter ritual and searched for a bus heading to Lumut (the jumping off point for Pulau Pangkor). Much to the amusement of the bus driver, conductor and most of the passengers it turned out to be the same coach and we had needlessly hauled our bags into the station and paid over the odds by buying a double legged journey! Shows how our mentality has changed, it didn't even dawn on us that there may be a direct bus from KL to a small provincial port town like Lumut. The rest of the journey to the island was equally easy and comfortable (aside from Ed falling backpack and all flat on his back into a drain, while trying to put his bag in the taxi...always an incident)...so much so we forgot we had been travelling most of the day.

Pulau Pangkor was a pretty little island and just the place to unwind and catch our breath. It is frequented mainly by Malaysian tourists and it was lovely to see groups of school kids playing tug of war on the beach and Muslim ladies swimming fully clothed, head scarves and all. It was also the perfect place for two mentally and physically exhausted backpackers to put the packs down and just de-stress. We slept, read, swam and ate very well. After two days we were ready to face the world again and as our time in Malaysia is ticking down we decided to backtrack to Ipoh.

Ipoh was a really pleasant surprise even if our time there was short. Its a town built on tin mining but has a number of pretty attractions around it. One of which in the town of Kuala Kangsar we decided to visit. In Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar we were famous once more...it is such a joy to meet people who are interested in talking to us...it is always alot harder in touristed regions to get beyond the formalities. Although it did get a bit scary when two young guys on a scooter started following us. Anyway, back to Kuala Kangsar; it is home to one of Malaysias most celebrated Mosques (The Ubudiah Mosque) and it was spectacular.

Back in Ipoh we feasted on great Thai food and slept content with our bellies full. We woke naturally this morning (no alarm...glorious!) and wandered around the Ipoh Sunday market. The market had a diverse selection of lotions and potions, second hand shoes, comics and even a show being performed by a man with a King Cobra! I was terrified and thought if it even caught a glimpse of me I would drop dead but Ed brave as you like watched for a while.

So we are on our end leg of Malaysia. It has definately got better with time but a brief stopover in Kuala Lumpar today reminded us all too well why we got off to a bad start!

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Photos

Pretty in Pink
Pangkor taxis