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Published: August 15th 2006
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Meeting the Stonefish The people who have been reading our blogs and at the same time have been following our trip more closely on our
German Homepage might have noticed that there is still a black spot somewhere in the heart of Southeast Asia. Between Thailand and Sumatra is a gap of 500 km and a lapse of about three weeks where and when nothing has yet been recorded about. This is the time to fill it in.
Malaysia has been a pleasant place to visit - eventhough we just happend to go there because it was on our route we still stayed three weeks - a fact which speaks for itself. But somehow we never had those extraordinary experiences we had in other places - neither especially remarkable nor especially irritating nor especially adventureous. And this makes it a bit boring to write about. No dramas, no comedies. So what is there to write about? Well, for example about Pulau Perhentian Besar. The Dutch couple in the bungalow next to us had chosen this island for a four week holiday from travelling. And this is exactly the place and it was also the right season to do it. One of the
only dive companies still operating in early September had only two customers: us. We would wake up in the morning, have breakfast, check the weather and then decide if we wanted to go for a dive. If we felt like it we would walk along the beach to see our divemaster who would already be preparing our suits and tanks. Over a cup of tea we would then make up our mind where we wanted to get wet. Ten minutes later the little boat is bringing us to the site of our choice where we get up close with the local fish celebrities, for example the old grumpy stonefish which lives in a Japanese wreck. Maybe it has to be noted that September wasn't the best time for diving visibility-wise, but our dives were definitely of the most relaxed we have ever done.
And this is how we remember Malaysia. Just very good value. It started right at the border: no hassle, no check of the bags (which is nowhere properly done but almost everywhere leaves you with a lot uf unpacked clothes which just can't fit into your bag anymore), no enquiries, just a friendly "Welcome to Malaysia" and
a free three month visa stamp on arrival. In the bordertown the taxi driver(!) explained to us where the public buses leave from and a nice lady in the bus changed us some Thai Baht for a better exchange rate than any bank would. Those were our first experiences with the friendly, helpful Malay. On the other hand the people always kept a distance between them and us. There was never close contact to any locals. Not much curiosity. They stick to their kind: Chinese to Chinese, Malay to Malay, Indian to Indian. Nobody would invite us to stay at their place (as it happened to us in Russia, New Zealand and Australia), nobody would invite us to a birthday party (as we were in Indonesia) or would offer us their mobile to make a phone call (as in Latvia and Poland). And nobody would ask us curious questions like if we think they should dye their hair (China) or what we wanted to achieve in life (Sumatra) or how many children we wanted to have (China again). And nobody really cared much for their picture in our camera as everywhere else on this planet. Now that I think about
this, I realize that we don't have a single address from anyone we met in Malaysia, not even from a tourist...
But still, we had a very relaxed time there and would definitely recommend Malaysia on a longer Southeast Asia trip to find some peace. There are some nice beaches there (and there would be more on any island in the area), some nice rainforest (we didn't see much wildlife though) and the people are mainly friendly and helpful. And if you need another reason to go: There are some lonely stonefish who want to meet you!
Find more stories and pictures on our
Lovelyplanet-Homepage.
Planet Portrait *
Top 3: Relax on the Perhentian Islands
Indian Cuisine
Taman Negara
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Our route: Kota Bharu - Pulau Perhentian Besar - Kuala Krai - Kuala Tahan - Raub - Bukit Fraser - Kuala Lumpur - Tanah Rata - Georgetown
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That was bad: Crazy boat captain on the way to Pulau Perhentian
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Visa: 3 months free at the border
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Money saver tip: If you want a cheap meal, we recommend roti canai with curry sauce
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We paid for a meal: 3 - 10 Ringgit
Planet Pictures
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