Hiatus in Malaysia!

11/02/2016 11:30:00 pm






As with everything, it was a bit of a mad rush before I jetsetted off again... this time for a long time. I had gotten sick a few days before too which really sucked! So juggling work and packing and being ready kind of fell into a blur.

But before Singapore came a week in Malaysia! And it has been one of the most fun weeks EVER! What a great travel bunch we made - a group of core 6 doing KL, Langkawi and Penang. 6 is the perfect number for uber XL, water rides and hanging out in general. Everyone was so accomodating and laid-back... so chillax and what I needed. It was pretty muggy but the weather wasn't as hot as I anticipated so that was even better.

Sadly, did fall ill one of the days in Langkawi. After a 4 hour solid bike tour (and I mean a solid ride) that involved a few hiccups - bloodied hands, dodgy coconut water, flat tyre - I think I came down with a bit of food poisoning. In a stroke of good (or bad) luck, we misread the kayak tour time and missed our pick up. And it was all for the better for me because I was stuck in the hotel room most of the day. Managed to go for a very nice hot stone massage but the rest of the day was pretty blurry... stumbling to the toilet and passing out in bed. But the time that I spent to recover really helped to get me back on track as I was pretty normal the next day. Charcoal tablets and hydralyte helped. Another awesome thing about this bunch: Alex is a nurse and everyone was carrying all sorts of drugs to make sure we weren't down for too long.

Did some things I wouldn't usually have on my own itinerary. Funnily enough, the waterpark was super fun. The guided tour of an old chinese mansion in Penang was strangely educational and taking huge risks at all the hawker centres and roadside stalls was well... daring. I did always remember not to eat any cut fruit or veg though - words straight out of my Malaysian doctor's mouth. Gonna take that as gospel...

A lot of places were 'whelming' - not over, not under, just whelm. A lot of the food was much the same. Chendol, nice but can live without. Assam laksa, different but kind of fishy. Kway Teoh, I think I like the Chinese version more. Fresh coconuts... gimme more!!!

Would consider going back... things are so cheap (based on an Australian income so things are pretty much one third of the price in Australia), they speak English, the food is different and there are so many activities. You can do as little or as much as you want. Experience as much or as little of the culture you feel like. Ubers are super cheap and you can pay cash. Tons of shopping.

Now that home base is Singapore, I can't wait to see the rest of SEA.

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