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Here we are finally writing this chapter of the blog after what's been an eventful few weeks - seeing loved ones, torrential rain and thunderstorms, violent protests, an attempted assassination and visa problems. But for inspiration we decided to jot this down whilst basking in the hot sun on a white sandy beach in Koh Samui, it's not a bad life!
So back to Malaysia over 3 weks ago now.....
Arriving in Kuala Lumpur we were full of excitement awaiting the arrival of Mick, Bev & Stiffler who were out to meet us for a holiday. Seeing the 'other half' after time apart always makes the heart grow fonder, so when Mick first walked through Arrivals, followed by Bev and Stiffler, Jim's face lit-up. Twin-club re-united!
Pork noodle soup and a bucket load of beers all round in Chinatwon eased their jet-lag for the time being before the early start the next morning into the jungle of Taman Negara - reputedly the old rainforest in the World. This visit was short-lived due to the majority wanting the beach (sorry Stiffler!) and the 5 of us having to squeeze into a sweat-box for the night, but the boys managed a night safari seeing giant millipedes, a green viper, and a chameleon to name but a few. Some poor guy had his holiday ruined by the boys after mistaking a wild boar for a rare tapia which is very clearly wasn't (one of Jim's stories he'll have to tell when he's back)
So on to the beach it was! We decided to head to the Perhentian Islands off the North East coast of Malaysia which are reported to be the most beautiful islands in Malaysia, with clear tropical waters, amazing reef and an abundance of marine life - a snorkeller's & fisherman's paradise. We were lucky enough to snorkel with black-tip reef sharks, a variety of amazing colourful fish and hung-out with a few loggerhead turtles, one of which was the size of a dinner table! A tranquil moment soon turned into panic.....A sucker fish (remora) decided to leave the turtle's under-belly and attach itself to Jim, much to everyone else's amusement as he screamed and splashed about in the water as if he'd been attacked by a shark! He even threw a poor German girl off the boat ladder in his mad scramble to escape the fish. I don't think any of us will forget the high-pitched screams of "I'm being eaten by a fish" for a long time!
This was one of only a few beautiful days on the island, as unfortunately, we were plagued by huge downpours and amazing thunder & lightning displays almost every day. And monsoon was meant to be over! So 'island fever' set-in and we had to entertain ourselves with card games, finger-pool and cable TV. When we did get a break in the weather the boys went fishing on the jetty whilst the girls hit the beach. Quite a funny view from the beach was the sight of 3 muppets running up and down the jetty attempting to land a big parrot fish, which proved to be too big as it snapped the line, the one that got away! We also took a boat out for a 'Mickey Mouse' fishing trip where a couple of barracuda were caught and some small tropical reef fish. Hardly big game fishing though!!
Being a Muslim country, booze is very scarce in some places, and on the Perhentians it was very expensive. So adorning our backpacks once again, we hit the duty-free islands of Langkawi in a last ditch attempt for good weather and a good night out, and we managed to get both! Ofcourse getting there wasn't straight forward and Mick, Bev & Stiffler's 'holiday' turned more into 'backpacking'. After a whole day's travel we had to stay overnight in Penang where, on Stiffler's recommendation, we found comfort in some of the finest Tandoori chicken ever.
Arriving in Langkawi the boys marched 5 kms to find somehwere to stay, settling for the first place they'd found. By that time yet another tropical storm had kicked in, but made way for 2 days of glorious weather after that - the last 2 days of the holiday. It was a lovely way to end the holiday and we were treated to an amazing meal on the last night (thanks again!) with plenty of cheap booze to go round, Caroline even got red wine!
Sadly the inevitable goodbyes had to come, and while we were heading back up to Thailand, the others were taking a well-deserved flight and 5 star hotel to Kuala Lumpur before heading home.
Despite the bad weather and travelling around more than expected, we are really grateful to the 3 of you for coming out here and it was just nice to spend time with you all. Jim is still walking with a limp as if he's lost a leg.....
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