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Published: July 20th 2009
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Selamat from Malaysia!
So we have just completed two action packed weeks in Malaysia where we hit 6 different locations and managed to get a good feel for what Malaysia is like. On the whole Malaysia is a very modern country, (the only difference is the open drains, which you wouldn't expect but must have something to do with the monsoon). Malaysia is quite unlike most of it's neighbour's we have seen so far, it was strange as you could even feel the difference on the roads as you crossed the boarder, bumpy roads - see you later!
Malaysia is heavily influenced by other cultures and has a massive Indian and Chinese population, which naturally has a knock on effect to its cuisine.
First stop was GeorgeTown, which to be honest we really didn't get to see all that much but we did get to try some local street food called LOK LOK, where you choose from a selection of food on sticks, dip it into boiling water then pour on the all important Malay Satay sauce! very cheap and good, although a bit of a gamble as never quite knew what you were eating!!!
We then took an overnight sleeper bus, followed by a speedboat to Pulau Perhentian island on the east coast. The speedboat itself was something else, we literally flew there!
The beach was pretty nice but the sea was out of this world, without a doubt the clearest water either of us have ever been in! On this island we had a bit of an experience with our accommodation, which was the worst yet! Alot of package holiday makers go here so the prices are higher than normal, which meant we struggled to find a room during peak season, when we finally did we were not prepared for the ant infestation which came free of charge! Lucky for us as the girls opposite really bummed out with a rat invasion in the middle of the night!! needless to say we only spent one night there and quickly moved on to our most expensive room yet at 14 pounds!
Whilst on the island we went diving and saw a giant string ray and got our hands manicured by shrimps at a shrimp cleaning station! so cool!
Next stop was the Cameron Highlands (or should we say little England!) where we
Our Bunker
Old school! spent 3 nights sleeping in an old bunker and filled our days with such activities as Strawberry picking, Drinking tea and eating scones at a tea plantation. I even got to visit the local dentist after my filling came out whilst tucking into a super soft strawberry muffin! 12 pounds later, i was really impressed with the result.
Each evening it would rain heavily at about 3-PM which meant a few nights in watching films! (wrapped up warm, as it gets really cold in the evenings, we even had to dig out our sleeping bags! (thanks Lynnell!)
One evening we had a local Hotpot in a restaurant which involved a burner being placed in the middle of our table, a pot of 2 different broths ontop - and plate upon plate of fish, meat and vegie's to add! we sat for hours and still only managed to eat about half of it!
Moving on we headed to a city called Melaka, which although was big had a kinda quaint feel to it, with small whindy streets. We stayed in the heart of China town which meant we had plenty of street karoke to keep us entertained by night! We
Im a strawberry!
The sort of fun you would expect to find in good old Great Yarmouth! made our own sightseeing tour which involved a trip to the rather large 'Tesco" (and we have the nerve to call ours Extra!). We walked around the entire store analyzing each item for price, quality and size comparison! (Also the air con might have aided our long stay!).
We did however manage to buy the item of the century! our very own compact cooker! Which we tested out that very night down by the river, as we soon discovered its not a good idea to use on grass (especially in your hostel!!!). Yeah we get some funny looks......but we are saving money....right??? and plus we like to be different!
From Melaka we traveled to another Island on the east coast called Tioman, which could have been pricey but we had our cooker!!! we stayed in a nice hut overlooking the sea, not on the main beach.
We were kinda in the thick of it (jungle wise) so had plenty of monkeys and goats gagging to get their mits on our grub (we had macaroni cheese that night, so you cant blame them!).
We also found a happy hour beach shack serving 3 tiger beers for 10 rm (2 pound)
which is a good price for islands so we felt the need to partake, although we are such lightweights now that we only needed 3!!!!
We then headed to the capital of Kuala Lumpur, which is absolutely massive! and full of high rise shopping malls! each bigger than anything we have back in England! Ami was happy when she discovered topshop and treated herself to 2 new pairs of pants! I'm still on my original 4 sets you will all be pleased to know!
The city's transport is good and they have a sky train so it's easy to get from one side of the city to the other. Whilst searching for our Malaysian momento we stumbled across a fish massage parlour! This was an experience we just couldn't say no to! It involved placing your feet into a spa pool full of 'doctor' fish (which apparently have no teeth), the fish love to suck on your dead skin, unfortunately for everyone else present we must have had a lot of dead skin as we were absolutely covered in the suckers! such a strange feeling which completely freaked Ami out! She caused a bit of a scene as she
couldn't keep her feet in...very amusing to watch!
We have spend three nights in KL now in the cheapest room we could find, upon check out this morning we were disappointed that we didn't get a certificate for surviving 'the sauna like room' we have endured! Now we are used to not having Air con (6 months now without it!) but this was a whole new level!!!!
We leave for the Airport in about an hour, three days is long enough here as it can all get a bit much! what with the traffic, smog and endless "hey lady Taxi........ massage!" But we are both pleased we have seen it but are now looking forwarded to the beaches of Indonesia, first stop Bali!.
Hope all is good with all of our friends and family back home, we are half way through now so not long to wait till you see us again!!!! We are still having an amazing time and the smiles are still firmly on our faces!!!
Love to everyone xxxx
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muma
non-member comment
a mobile cooker!..how handy!..you make me larrf you two, youre soo self sufficient! so glad the sleeping bags are coming in handy on those cold nights, glad a little bit of mummy providing has come in handy for you!..i sooo giggled at the feet sucking senario, how bizzare, yeh ami i think ida had a bit of a scream at that one!..bet the ol fish were stuffed after chomping on you's two's hard skin! yuk!..lol..i hope you told em as they were munching away theyre eating a little bit of each part of the world!..lol..cant believe how westernised KL was, bet it was nice to get a touch of 'home life'..good ol tesco!! but did they have the 'finest' range!??..glad you got your filling sorted ruth, and at a fair price too!! youre view from that balcony looks amazing..wot a sight to wake up to first thing in the morning, yep, i think youve beat me looking at my petunias!..lol..well i hope bali is going to be great, ive a hunch itl be awesome!..sooo sad i couldnt join you!!...take care of yourselves, keep smiling round the world and absorb every precious moment on your wonderful travels! much love, hugs, and squidgy squeezes... muma and the mad fartique xxxxxxxxxxxx