Truly Asia

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Malaysia is an unheralded destination on the South East Asian backpackers trail, and definitely fits the description Truly Asia! I flew in from Sydney to land in Kuala Lumpur on the Peninsula Malaysia, kicking off a backpacker trip in the most populous part of the country. Only five million Malaysians out of the total population of twenty four million live in Borneo on the other side of the South China Sea. Kuala Lumpur is the very modern capital of this regional economic powerhouse, and I spent an enjoyable few days exploring the city, which included a brush with a conman straight out of the KL warning section in the Lonely Planet. This smooth talking, but very dodgy looking character started spinning me a line about having a daughter who lives in Sydney, and insisting I meet him later that day so he could drive me out to meet his family, presumably so they could rob me according to the guidebook. Yeah, yeah I said, great, I'll meet you at such and such a time. Not! This shonk was getting too famous for his own good...

I had an enjoyable time, dear reader, while exploring the city including a visit to the Petronas Twin towers, at eighty eight stories one of the tallest buildings in the world. I then organised a bus ticket for the journey north to Penang, a city on the coast of Malaysia. After spending a few days there I boarded a high speed ferry for the journey further north to Langkawi. I stayed in a bungalow right on the beach under overcast skies, but the tourist scene was extremely quiet as we were in the middle of the monsoon season. There were few tourists in Langkawi so I decided to pop across the border to southern Thailand to visit a few islands I missed on the previous trip. I caught a bus north across the border and visited Krabi, then moved on for a great visit to the beautiful Phi Phi island. Surprisingly Thailand was swarming with tourists, and I partied hard for a few days at this great travel destination over beers and some live rock and roll.

After a brief interlude, I bused back to Perlis on the north west coast, from where I organised a bus across to the east coast, and then boarded a ferry to the beautiful Pehrentian island. The weather was improving, and I spent some idyllic days relaxing by the beach but again there were very few tourists. The other problem (well for me at least) is that the east coast is more conservative, and it wasn't possible to purchase beers anywhere on the island. Never mind, there's no disputing Pehrentian is a spectacular travel destination! I took the ferry back to the peninsula, and waited in a very quiet town with no tourists for an overnight bus trip south to Mersing.

From Mersing I boarded a ferry to the equally famous Tioman island, which is the setting for the movie Bali Hai. The island features dramatic jungle cliff tops and beautiful beaches. On the island there were some tourists around, although the resort owner told me Tioman is completely heaving in the high season. For some reason they had no qualms about selling beers on Tioman, so that was an added bonus. I was chilling out near a snorkelling/diving school one afternoon and three germans walked past. I started to chat to them, and explained that I needed more starters tomorrow before the operator of the tour shop would set sail on a snorkelling trip. Things worked out perfectly as they were keen to join in; one couple booked for diving and the other girl was happy to go snorkelling with me. We had an excellent day on the water, the fish were spectacular, the water was warm and the sun was shining. That night we went out together to an island bar, having a great evening that ended nicely for my snorkelling friend and I after a walk along the beach, and later when we adjourned to my room to share in the international language of love. Looking back on my visit it proved to be a perfect day spent in paradise.

Tioman and Pehrentian Islands are as beautiful as any other islands I've visited during my travels, and the Malaysians are a quiet and gentle people with a low key approach to tourism. I doubt the tourist industry will ever be as vital to the Malaysians as it is to the Thais, but Peninsula Malaysia is an excellent destination where you can experience people living a traditional Muslim lifestyle in the small towns on the east coast. There's plenty to see and do in Malaysia where, basically all of you should be here now!

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness." Mark Twain

As I continue my travels, until next time it's signing off for now

Tom

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Photos

Tioman island
A beautiful tropical retreat and the setting for the famous movie Bali Hai.

Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Spectacular feature of the ultra modern capital city.

Tioman island
With my travel friend at the end of a perfect day snorkelling.