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MORE ISLAND HOPPING AND A BIT OF THE CITY…
Across the boarder and into Malaysia we reached Langkawi, Malaysia's tax-free haven, a popular holiday destination for Malays, but a less frquented spot for backpackers. We spent the first 3 hours there walking around getting hot and bothered (Claire in particular!) looking for somewhere to stay that was within our budget. Eventually we found a bed for the night and with it being late evening we needed to feed our hungry and ever-expanding bellies! We found a great little restaurant at the end of the strip selling, cheap, delicious Indian, Pakastani and malay food.Needless to say, we ate there every time our bellies grumbled for the rest of our time in Langkawi. When we weren't eating we spent our time in the blistering heat on the beach, and that was about it. We spent two days there before catching another boat to the island of Penang, just south of Langkawi. We stayed away from the beach here and instead chilled out in Chinatown and Little India.We also made our way up Penang Hill, which to Claire's dismay to took us a lot of walking and asking to find.At the top were a Buddhist temple and Islamic Mosque, aswell as a view over Penang and into the distance the mainland of Malaysia.
From Penang, we took a night bus and speed boat crossing the width of Malaysia, eventually reaching the backpackers hotspot of Perhentian Kecil. Pretty tired we chilled out on our day of arrival but the next day we did some awesome snorkeling, where we saw a group of reef sharks, stingrays and some massive turtles. We also had lunch at the fisherman's village and spent the afternoon lazing on Turtle Beach, where every morning, baby turtles hatch from their eggs and make their first steps into the water. With that being our main activity, blowing the budget, the rest of the time we spent chilling out.Fortunately I was able to see Man Utd. Get taught a lesson in Champions League football by Barcelona, albeit in the middle of the night!
Having spent so much time on the beach it was nice to be heading back into the city once more, and where better than the capital city, Kuala Lumpur! Here we stayed in the bustling area of Chinatown, right on the doorstep of Petaling street market, where you will find anything 'knock-off' you can think of! We spent our first full day being tourists, visiting Merdaka Square, the National Mosque (pretty hectic as we turned up on Friday prayer), Little India, getting lost in the gardens and eating off the street vendors in Chinatown. Our second day consisted of much of the same, but this time Claire had to don a head scarf and gown for our visit to Masjid Jamek, a beautiful mosque located right in the city centre. We also caught a bus out of town to visit the Batu Caves, which have temples within, and a load of entertaining monkeys stealing food and drinks on the 276 steps up and down. Finally we visited the Petronas Twin Towers, the World's tallest twin towers.
Our next and final stop in Malaysia, was the picturesque colonial city of Melaka. Excited to see a real supermarket, none other than Carrefour, the first thing we did was impulsively buy a baguette, a couple of bags of crisps and a tub of ice cream and sat outside on the green and had a sort-of picnic. Lucky to be in Melaka at the weekend we strolled down the Jonker Street and its massive street market, which also hosted some sort of karaoke concert, with the locals were only too keen to get involved with! We also got a couple of bikes for the day and cycled around the city, which was a nice change from tried and tested walking or tuk tuk.Later that night we attempted to do some exercise and went to the swimming pool, but it was so busy that we just ended up talking and I practiced my diving.It wont keep the flab away but it was a nice way to cool down! Late into the evening we took a river cruise, which took us 9km up stream. The river banks were covered in colourful lights and it was a lovely and chilled way to finish the evening and indeed our Malaysian adventure.
Next stop, Singapore…
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