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Hii Pals, it seems a while since I last wrote but I finally have the time and space to update you now. So we left Langkawi by the ferry to mainland and then had to wait for our overnight coach to pick us up. An hour and half after it was scheduled we boarded and it was very nice and spacious with reclining chairs and air conditioning. We got to the other side of Malaysia at about 5am and had to get a taxi to the ferry port to take us to the Perhentian Islands. The boats didn't start till 7:30am so we waited in the travel agents and fell asleep. I had a dream that my parents came to meet us at the ferry port with bacon sandwiches and then was a bit gutted that it wasn't real. We got on a speed boat and travelled for about half an hour, we then had to get off the speed boat with our backpacks and all and get into a small boat to take us to the shore. A sign for Matahari Guesthouse was right in front of us so thats where we headed, June and July is the best and busiest time to visit the islands so we had to wait till lunchtime before we could get a room. We sat in the cafe and had a bite to eat but all we wanted to do was sleep after the long journey. We stayed in a little wooden hut with a bed and a bathroom, I slept on a matress on the floor as it was my turn. After a nap we we went to the beach, it didn;t take long to realise that this is actually the best beach I have ever seen. We went in the sea and it was so clear you could see right to the bottom even when I could not stand up in it anymore. There were also no waves so it was great to go for a swim in it. These Islands also have no roads on them at all, there are a few shops and restaurants on the beach and past the guesthouses is just jungle. By the way the Perhentian's are made up of two Islands a big one and a small one, which is where we stayed.
On our second day on the island we did a day long snorkelling trip, my first time at this and I was looking forward to it. We stopped off at 6 different points between the two islands and had lunch at the bigger one half way through. We got the boat out to romantic beach to do our first bit of snorkelling and seen some very tropical fish. We also visited a lighthouse that had millions of fish swimming around you and to parts with coral. The highlights of the trip were when we went to the turtles and saw them at the bottom of the sea, they must have been feeling quite lazy because they stayed down but one of them swam to the surface and we got to swim with it, it was a lot bigger by the time if got closer to us and it swam so elegantly. We got back on the boat and after lunch we went to a part of the sea by some big rocks, this is where we got to swim with sharks. We swam for a while looking for them follwing the group leader and then when I saw one I saw loads, it was amazing having sharks swim just below you, they were only baby ones but were quite big in size. Afterwards couldn't believe that we'd swam with turtles and sharks and we all wanted to just tell everyone.
At night there was a few restuarants along side each other doing a bbq, for 20 riggit (£4) we got to choose a whole list of what we wanted and a drink, we got such a big meal and so we went back for the rest of the 3 nights we were there, although there wasn't actually many other places to go. There are two bars on the islands I only know that one was called black tip and they had little tables and mats on the sand to sit on and a bit to dance by the bar, both bars were identical and next to each other too. The next few days were spent on the beach, it was so hot we had to get umbrellas and stay in the shade, we spent quite alot of time in the sea because it was beautiful. By the 3rd day on the Island we had a bit of a fan club going on by the young malaysian lads that worked there. In the day they'd sit in the shade on the beach waiting to take people out in their boats and at night we'd see them in the bars and they'd talk to us, so when we would go to the beach in the day we would hear them call 'Fionaaa Andreaaaa, Jess' it was quite funny.
We spent 5 full days in the Perhentians and were also sad to leave, we arranged for another night bus to take us to the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. I was excited for this as I love big cities and we'd spent a lot of time on the beaches. We got to Kuala Lumpur and got a taxi to Chinatwon where we got checked into a hostel called Ferne Lodge, this was the first time during our travels that we stayed in a dormetry. We stayed in a room with 20 beds, it was a big hostel with loads of other dorms, found out it had only been open a month. When we arrived we went to the rooftop for breakfast, which was free, and then decided we'd go out and see the Petronas Towers instead of napping. We got the underground 4 stops to the Towers, when we got off the underground we walked into a massive shopping mall, we came out of the mall to look for the towers and when we looked up there they was. They are twin towers made of steal and glass and look magnificent. We tried to go up but tickets were sold out by the time we got there at 9am. We decided to look in the shops as the mall had a Topshop and other good shops. We got tired so went back for a nap. On the evening we visited the markets right next to our hostel and had a chinese meal. We went to Reggae Bar which is attached to a hostel and there are many of them in Malaysia and popular with backpackers.
The next day we were warned of a protest but told it was a peaceful one, we headed out to get breakfast and while we was there a massive group of people marched past chanting words. We walked for a bit but as the protesters grew bigger we were told to go back to our hostel and stay there so we did. There were riot police outside the hostel and we could watch them from the rooftop of the hostel. At night it had died down and we wanted to go to Menara Kuala Lumpur (Telekom Tower). This tower is taller than the Petronas Towers by over 100m and from the top you can see them. So we went up in the lift that takes 55 seconds from the ground to the observatory apparently. The views at the top were spectacular and we could see the city all lit up as we did it in the evening when it was just getting dark. Afterwards we went back to KLCC where the Petronas towers are and seen them all lit up, they looked very bright and better lit up. We went to a food hall for our dinner and then got a taxi to Pukit Bintang, where the nightlife is. We went to a few bars and met a couple of ozzy's nick and hayley who had just met aswell. We had a few drinks with them before laeving at 3am.
The next day we didn't really know what to do, we visited a market and Andrea got a Rolex watch for 10 riggit (£2) and then we got the metro to the shopping district. We did a bit more looking in shops and bought some new clothes. I bought a top and a dress in a little shop with chinese people working in it. It was cheap so it's okay, and getting a bit fed up having the same old clothes. On the evening we met Nick from the night before for a bit of dinner in Chinatown and then to Reggae Bar for some drinks. We had a taxi booked for 4am to take us to the airport, so we didn't actually go to sleep instead we ended up back at the nightlife and leaving at 3am to get our backpacks ready to leave. At the airport we got checked in and headed for Mcdonalds Breakfast and then on the plane back to Thaiand, this time to the north (Chiang Mai).
- comments
auntie maureen really enjoying reading your blog sounds like your having an amazing time espec swimming with the turtles and sharks :)
sarah and john Hi Fi Sounds like you are having an amazing time and that you are meeting lots of people. We are off to Florida for our holiday on Tuesday but will look forward to catching up with your blog again soon. Love you loads Uncle John and Auntie Sarah. Hugs and kisses from Tom and Oli XXXX