Category: Malaysia

  • The Night of the Vandal

    After breakfast of fried egg on toast at the Lemon Grass restaurant, we’re heading out for six hours of snorkeling. We have six people from France and four people from Australia on the boat with us. No one seems particularly friendly. I’ll strike up a conversation but it becomes very one-sided and seems to be an interrogation. I give up. We lather up with...

  • My First Snorkeling Trip in Malaysia

    How is it, you can wake up sweating and it’s only 8:30 am?  Oh yes, our oscillating fan goes off automatically at 8 am. Today is our first day to snorkel. We find a place not far up the beach from us that has an all-day trip for 40 ringgits ($11). The masks and snorkels are laying on the ground and we’re told to...

  • Kota Bharu to Pulau Perhentian Island, Malaysia

    Finally, leaving the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur on a full bus to Kota Bharu. We’re in the back of the bus with the a/c barely working. Hot, dripping with sweat, it’s no wonder no one smiles. It’s too hot and too much work. We all seem to be staring ahead waiting, waiting, waiting to get off the bus and be able to breathe...

  • Wheeler’s Guesthouse in KL, Malaysia

    Tonight, in KL we are staying in Chinatown at the Wheeler’s Guesthouse. I’m praying we don’t have bedbugs. We do have, however, cockroaches, lots of them, in the room and bathroom. It should make it an interesting night. That afternoon, we decide to go see a movie at Times Square (Bintulu) Megamall and get out of the heat and humidity. We see “The Mummy:...

  • Like It or Not, We’re in Kuala Lumpur For One More Day

    Traveling is a challenge.  We’re just seven days into this adventure and my journal read of several “grumpy” periods already. Learning to travel together is challenging. Navigating the transportation systems is challenging along with not knowing where we’ll be sleeping, what to see, how to get there, where and what to eat and last but not least, paying attention to details. At the Green...

  • The Batu Caves – North of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    We shower, rest, get some lunch and take an hour bus ride outside the city to the Batu Caves. The Batu Caves is a Hindu temple located in a limestone cave and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kuala Lumpur. To get to the temple caves we had to pass dozens of monkeys as we climbed the 272 steps to the...