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Published: October 2nd 2006
Two blogs at once is a little ambitious but bear with us whilst we present you with some more beach photos, these ones were of the tropical island paradise variety you will be please to know. On the seperate recommendations of Mark and Danielle we hot footed from the mild climes of the highlands to Kecil Palu Perhentian an island off the east coast of Malaysia. We traveled down with Patrick having waved goodbye to our mate Chris at the highlands hostel. The journey involved lots of speedy minibussing down very windy roads and a quick bite to eat - we went for the old trick of ordering 3 unidentified dishes from the menu and all ended up with very similar (delicious) spicy noodle soups. The difference between the three being the size of the noodles, turns out there are lots of different kinds of noodle.
At the ferry port we met lots of other backpackers all in search of a sun tan and we stepped aboard. It we a wee bit crowded on the boat so were we herded out the the bow of the ship, a very senic spot, if a little precarious perched on the edge of
the boat. Still we sat back and watched the islands creep into view...cue heavy tropical rain storm. After a thorough soaking we managed to get back inside to the safety of the luggage hold before arriving on the island. Thanks to Chris who used to live on the island we had booked some accommodation at the Champaka guesthouse, a collection of bungalows and rooms attached to the Spice Dive Centre. Basic accommodation but clean, well ok not clean exactly but very cool. Our favorites things were: the toilets which lacked the flush function but did benefit from well positioned frogs, Rachels outside light which was a bit like one of those clap-on-clap-off affairs but conveniently was stamping-the-foot operated and the giant lizards who roamed the area - apparently there was one the size of a man but we didn’t spot that one. It was a wicked place to stay, totally recommend it, and cheap, and on the beach.
Down on the island we spent our days relaxing on the beach, going for walks and snorkels. Liz and Rachel did a couple of scuba dives and were incredibly lucky as we saw a turtle on our first dive. It was
sitting in shallow water having a little scratch against the coral whilst little fish nibbled all around it, a sort of turtle car wash. We also saw small singrays and lots of crazy fish. Oh and found nemo (a lot). One evening we walked up the highest point on the island up a long jungle path. We were going to stay and watch the sun set but despite being armed with torches we decided that walking back after dark would be too much of an adventure. Met lots of people from Leeds on the way up though which pleased Rachel a lot and got bitten by lots of mozzies. The evenings entertainment was provided by the local beach bar. Being a Muslim country there aren’t very many bars in Malaysia and the beer is (relatively) expensive so we didn’t overindulge. Ok we might have done a couple of times. Liz said goodbye to her much treasured Brazilian flip flops (translation: thongs (oz) jandles (nz) when she left them behind at the bar. Not only were they gone in the morning but when we spent another night there Rachel managed to ‘misplace’ her sandals too in the same way, so someone
out there has a rather impressive collection of used shoes.
After an amazing four days we jumped on a boat (and a taxi across the border, and a train, and two taxis and a minibus, oh and another boat) to our next destination (and current location) Koh Phi Phi, an island off the west coast of Thailand.
Bye bye kiss kiss
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