If you like:
• Dilapidated buildings
• Streets, sidewalks, fields, parks, rivers, lakes and oceans strewn with trash
• Waiting 10 minutes for a waiter, getting half your order before everyone else at the table and, if your lucky, half once your mates have finished eating
• Buses crammed full like a can of sardines only to stop every 100 meters between dangerous speeds
• Transportation always being 30 minutes early or an hour late
• Hotel rooms cleaned less often than your 13-year-old brother’s bedroom
• Being constantly barraged with seedy men calling, “Hey ladee, taxsee taxsee?!”
• Being told incorrect information 4/5 times you ask for help
• People staring because you are white and blatantly taking pictures
• Dozens of never ending itchy bug bites
• Fighting ants for territory
• Countries that pillage their natural resources and haven’t a clue about sustainable practices (down to burning plastic bottles rather than recycling them)
… THEN MALAYSIA IS FOR YOU!
All that being said, Malaysia has been quite the adventure! I’ve had a grand time and have met some friendly and very caring locals. When I get past the frustrations of the different cultures and when my impatience settles into acceptance that I cannot control the boat driver who decides to drop off every cousin he has around the Island before taking me ashore, I find myself relaxing and saying to myself, ‘This is Malaysia.’
Seeing as I know you all have been patiently waiting, here is a recap of all the places I’ve been the past few weeks:
CAMERON HIGHLANDS:
After a terrifying ride on the most ghetto bus in the entire country I finally arrived in the cool mountain air of the Cameron Highlands. The grid of tea plantations and jungle covered hills were a far cry from the deforestation and miles upon miles of palm plantations I had passed on the way there. The town still had the typical shabby houses and even a few bamboo and palm frond huts but the evidence of poverty was much less abrasive than I had seen elsewhere. The hostel I had book (and confirmed twice) gave my room away to some Canadian named Stephanie so I was given the “special room” and confused as actually being Stephanie for the duration of my stay. The special room was actually a storage closet and upon meeting Stephanie, a witty Canadian lawyer, I didn’t mind the confusion. My first full day an elderly Muslim man kindly walked me through town to the trailhead of a network of trails that weave through the area hillsides. Being told my intended itinerary would take me ¾ hours, I was quite surprised to finish it in 1 1/2… The early finish meant I finally had time to wash some laundry (by hand in the bathroom sink); as soon as my clothes were handing to dry the afternoon rain showers ruined all my hard effort.
Day two consisted of another hiking mission, this time recruiting the help of a very enthusiastic Chinese man and his very shy son. I was accompanied by a Kiwi named Johnnie who had purposely lost his delightful New Zealand accent and an English girl who is possibly the biggest whinger and most argumentative person I’ve ever met. Despite the bad apple, Johnnie and I had a wonderful time hiking, even when a monsoonal downpour didn’t let up for over a half hour! We got back thoroughly tuckered out and I headed to bed early to rest before my travels to Taman Negara National Park in the morning.
TTAMAN NEGARA NATIONAL PARK:
Upon arriving at the gateway village into Taman Negara, I was reunited with my Manx mates Elly and Chris. A charming boat ride said to take 45 minutes actually took over 2 hours; by the time we arrived to the park village I was more than ready to be back on dry land! We stumbled upon a very basic hostel overlooking the river that was run by a bunch of guitar playing locals who moonlight as rainforest guides, waiters, store clerks, and boat drivers when needed. Meeting two Spaniards named Llouis (pronounced You-es) and Guilliam (William with a G), the five of us quickly teamed up to explore the worlds oldest rainforest over the next few days.
We started with a long, and very high, canopy walk that had me nearly paralyzed with fear. After trying to play tough with the crew I finally had to stop and wait for everyone to cross the series of walkways so that I could proceed at my own shaking slow pace. Not even once did Chris mischievously shake the suspended ropes on me, but he had Elly swaying like a chimpanzee! After our adventure in the jungle canopy, we had a relaxing day in preparation for a hike deep into the rainforest to one of the observation hides. A Canadian named Christopher (who has never been camping if you can believe that) joined us that evening and despite his inexperience, was a keen to join our mission to the hide.
The river had swollen over its banks following several nights straight of thunderous monsoonal rains, which made for a very exciting boat ride to the trailhead! Dodging massive logs and gunning through class 2/3 rapids (our boat was a very basic long wooden canoe with a motor attatched…not what I would be driving into whitewater) we arrived soaking wet at the jetty of an abandoned lodge. After exploring the crumbling buildings like a bunch of kids we settled down to business of walking to the observation hide. Arriving just before dusk, we were soon joined by another Canadian named Thomas. We all expected more people to walk up behind him and when we realized he was solo we were shocked: he had with him a backpack made from a Brazillian flag, a tiny sleeping bag, sandals, a small bag of crackers, and half a bottle of water. The rest of us individually easily had triple what he had carried, and he had hiked the 6 hours in! Removing the dress shoes Thomas had been forced to wear, his hiking shoes had been lost, several leeches were discovered hungrily draining blood from his ankles. We all watched in gross delight as he pulled them off and blood poured from the leech bites.
It was around dinner time that I became very aware of Christopher’s germaphobia. Nearly half the contents of his bag were different anti bacterial sprays, insect repellent, tablets, and first aid supplies. We all took delight in his cleansing rituals performed in the middle of a muddy bug infested jungle! Planning on staying up late into the night to catch sight of the large jungle animals roaming, I somehow fell asleep around 9. I was woken up by Elly whispering ‘Thomas! There’s a mouse sitting next to your head!’. Thomas, asleep on the bench, groggily looked over, saw the mouse, and shooed him away before falling back asleep. I on the other hand stayed awake for the next few hours freaked out that a tiny mouse would maim me.
We all woke early to start on the long 6-7 hour trek back to the village. Llouis went outside to take a picture of us from high in the observation hide and suddenly we burst into laughter as he unknowingly disrupted a massive nest of jungle ants! Dancing because he literally had ants in his pants, he eventually got them all off and came away with a few dozen bites to show for it. Our hike home consisted of wet muddy jungle terrain that followed a path up and down a series of small gorges and creeks. At one point we passed a tiny village of Orang Asli people, the indigenous nomad tribes of Malaysia. The beautiful kids all hid behind huts between peeks at the seven white strangers passing through. A tiring 7 hours later and we finally were back at our hostel. Watching the stunning sun set over the tembling river and listening to the local boys play “Hotel California” on their guitars, I knew this would be a special place that I’ll always remember.
PERHENTIAN ISLANDS:
Getting to the Perhentian Islands was no easy feat. A rickety bus ride from Taman Negara to the train station was jarring enough, but not nearly as rough as the 6 hour train ride that lay ahead. I had acquired two new travel partners in Llouis and Guilliam and the three of us took turns sleeping at the train station before our 3AM ride finally arrived. Exhausted, I immediately fell asleep once in my seat only to wake up at the next stop to a petite Muslim woman harassing the man across from me who was apparently in her seat. I offered to share the seat next to me and she responded with a wide smile that lit up her entire face. Through the dozen or so English words that the woman spoke we exchanged names and I learned that Za had 4 children and a police officer husband. Every time she had trouble understanding what I said (which was every time I spoke) Za either slapped or punched me while a girlish squeal escaped her laughing mouth. Za then proceeded to drag me through 12 carts to the canteen for some tea…. Nearly every hour for the duration of the ride. Hyped up on 6 cups of tea (I didn’t want to be rude so I never turned down her offer to buy me another cup) we parted ways as the sun rose over the jungle trees.
The boys and I were able to catch the last speed boat to the Perhentian Islands and held on for dear life as the boat’s driver let a much younger local man drive us. After nearly capsizing has the guy showed off his spin moves, we came to Long Beach. As I reached out to touch the crystal clear blue water I nearly jumped when I found it to be warm. We missioned to our hostel (the most ghetto on the Island but the cheapest!) and enjoyed the first of our Island meals. The next morning the three of us took a meandering path to the local fishing village. Having lunch and buying a few essentials from a market, we headed back around the other side of the Island. After about 200 meters the trail suddenly dead-ended. Half-made anything is not uncommon in these parts so we figured we’d find our own way back to the remainder of the trail. It never showed up. Tiring of climbing through the mozzy filled trees, we clamored out to the rocks and cliffs butting into the ocean. A few hours of less than safe rock scrambles and a few cliff dives (just for fun) we finally arrived back at the beach. My bread was totally smashed but the adventurous journey home was worth it!
While the Spaniards were engrossed in dive school I took the opportunity to explore the rest of the small Island. I told the boys my plan and then headed into the jungle. Quite quickly I came upon the BIGGEST lizard I’ve ever seen in my life! From nose to tail it was easily as long as me and had the girth of a medium sized dog. Once again ditching the jungle for rocks, I made my way along the cliffs to a pristine and secluded beach full of coral and fish. I swam about and nearly drown when I happened upon a school of the BIGGEST fish I’ve ever seen in my life! Gulping down water in my shock, I raced to shore only to laugh at myself for being such a wuss! When I came upon a small shark a few minutes later I was much more composed. The next few days on the Island were filled with morning hikes and swims, lazy afternoons reading, and quite evenings watching the lightening storms in the distant sunsets. The week was as picture perfect as Island life could get and I can’t wait for more of it in Thailand!
-Ash
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