Malaysia, truly Asia

Believe it or not, it was that add campaign (more like the song that was attached to that add campaign) on CNN that made us want to go Malaysia. "Malaysia, truly Aaaaaasia".



And it turned out that Malaysia was the perfect place to depart from our trip because Malaysia Airlines offers a service where you can fly into one city/country and depart from another. So we landed in Incheon, South Korea and were able to depart from KL, Malaysia which helped us to nicely plan out our trip without any back tracking! Awesome!!

Now, we had a lot on our agenda 60 days, 6 countries is no easy feat, so we knew that with Malaysia being at the end it was likely that we would get to spend less time there than in the other countries. In every country there was a delay by a day or so and this came straight out of Malaysia and then when we met up with friends in Thailand, Malaysia was pushed up even further. So in the end we only ended up with 5 days in Malaysia and now, after being there, I am determined to go back and give the country the time it deserves!

Malaysia doesn't have the ruggedness of the rest of South East Asia but there is something so nice about it! And one of the best things in Malaysia is the food! Oli and I were excited for Thai and Vietnamese food but never expected food from Malaysia to triumph. It was delectable!! You see, Malaysia is a smorgasbord of different cultures and its food has a lot of Thai and Indian influence which makes it absolutely outstanding!!! If ever you wanted a culinary holiday..I would suggest Malaysia...yum yum!!

Our first stop in Malaysia was Penang which is the Food capital of the country! I am so upset that we only spent a day there because later we found out that there was a food festival on. URG!! Penang has its own charms although I must say the service from our hotel was some sort of shit, they had really bad attitudes and didn't appreciate our business. Anyway, the time we spent in Penang was relaxed and we ate some of the most mouth-watering curry ever. After our meal Oliver told the restaurant's owner about South Africa's bunny chows....he was impressed!!

After Penang we headed to the Cameron Highlands which is described in the lonely planet as a place with roaimg hill sides and strawberry farms. Unfortunately the Cameron Highlands were somewhat of a disappointment, we stayed in a small town that had not much going on and getting to those rolling hills wasn't so easy. The beauty was also tarnished by industrial stuff going on around the area. So Oli and I found ourselves stuffing ourselves to the brim with good food and playing round after round of chess (which I'm ashamed to say I lost everytime). It ended up being quite relaxing and gave us some time to catch up on admin and plan our arrival back in SA. Considering I was leaving for Sweden soon thereafter meant that there was quite a bit to get done!

We left Cameron Highlands heading for Kuala Lumpur and not expecting too much. But we actually fell in love with the city. It had so many charms! Seeing the Petronas Towers at night was amazing! being in the towers and seeing the view from one of the world's tallest buildings was also awesome, even if we did have to stand in a queue for three hours. But just chilling out, hanging around the park and taking in the surroundings was amazing! After two months of solid travelling, lugging around stuff, and sleeping in dodgy places resting in KL was special! Again, the food was epic, the vibe was spectacular and Oliver and I were simply soaking up each other's company!

It was a great end to a great holiday and I hope to return again one day!

Thailand!!

I realise that we left you stranded somewhere in Laos and haven't given you an update since...even though our trip finished two months ago!

Apologies...its just that while backpacking you get swept up in the mix of it all and the blog becomes a secondary thing because you don't feel like sitting in a room, paying for internet and writing while all the fun is outside in the sweltering heat! In my defence...I had written an entry for Thailand and then just before submission it disappeared...the frustration sent me reeling and I just couldn't deal with the slow internet and try again! So here I am two months later, telling you a little but about our time in Thailand.

OK, Thailand is prepared....prepared for tourists and prepared on how to make us happy. After Laos where the people where indifferent (but lovely) the efficiency of Thailand came as a nice change. There were even "yes sirs" and "no maams"...Not that I'm a prude or anything but it is appealing when all you've had for the past month and a half is "Laaady, one dollar" or "I don't know" or anything in-between then someone actively listening to you and wanting to help you is a welcome reprieve.

Thailand was a mixed bag there were things about it I loved and things about it that got under my skin.

Chiang Mai was our first stop and we were lucky enough to be there on a Sunday and experience their massive Sunday Night Market which is filled with trinkets, T-shirts and art or all sorts of variety and is a real treat to roam! We would have loved to have explored more of northen Thailand but we had bigger fish to fry!! Bigger than exploring Northern Thailand?

Yip, good friends of ours from South Korea were in Bangkok and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to party with them like rock stars in one of the world's most infamous cities!

Night one in Bangkok involved us drinking some vile whiskey or brandy or something out of a glass hip flask thing while simultaneously glugging a beer and watching all the young backpackers go crazy on the only street in Bangkok that they like to keep us, Kho San.

Bangkok has its charms but I found myself getting restless in it...we spent 5 (maybe 6 ) days there...more than I would have liked especially considering all the other amazing things in the country. For me, Bangkok wore thin quite quickly but Oliver and the boys revelled in it!!! So I guess Bangkok isn't for everyone!! That said, it was fantastic to be there with our "Korean" crew.

From Bangkok it was off to Koa Tao one of the last stops of our backpacking journey and it will definitely stay in my mind as a highlight!! We stayed in simple bungalows overlooking the fantastically blue waters surrounding Thailand! I snorkelled everyday and marvelled at the cool little fish and abstract corals!! I really loved that!!! Just relaxing, playing cards and indulging in Black Cock (a locally named whiskey) were exactly what we needed!! Amazing!!!

Then it was off to Malaysia on a rocky, overnight ferry!! More on that in the next post!!