Scuba, Langkawi Style

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Langkawi was so awesome that it deserves more than one post.

After our scooter adventure, we returned to Pantai Cenang in search of something to eat. All along the main road were restaurants boasting "ikan bakar" next to chilled displays of fresh fish. Basically you got to choose your freshly caught seafood, and then they would cook it up however you pleased. I had to try it. Caz and I found a humble little place offering it; the simple, folding table type places were not only cheapest, but tastiest as well. Caz opted for fried noodles with chicken while I perused the fish selection, deciding finally on squid. It made for an extremely delicious dish, and it was nice to get a taste of the island's seafood.

The next day was a big one: our first diving excursion since getting our certification. Finally time to make use of those masks! We hopped on a bus back to the jetty, then piled on a boat to Pulau Payar, a marine sanctuary not far from Langkawi. Most of the people were going just to snorkel, but there were 6 of us certified divers and a few people trying out an introductory dive. The dive staff was made up of a group of easygoing and quite silly Malaysian guys. Caz and I got our own dive guide. His name was Sari, and he was a bit quieter than some of the goofier guys onboard.

Our first dive of the day was in an area called Coral Gardens. The first thing we noticed was that we couldn't really see a whole lot. Unlike the pristinely clear waters of the outer Great Barrier Reef, the waters of Pulau Payar were downright murky. The cause of this, I've read, is that heaps of plankton fill the area, limiting visibility, but feeding all forms of sea life. It was a good thing we had Sari, or else Caz and I would have had a very disappointing dive. Thanks to his expertise, we saw eerie ghost fish, dangerously beautiful lionfish, and even a large yellow seahorse! The coral itself was very pretty, waving branches in bunches of white and purple.

We joined the snorkelers on the beach for lunch, provided by the dive team. It was a funny combination of fried rice, some sad looking hot dog pieces, three french fries, a handful of peanuts, sponge cake, and an apple. We ignored the hot dogs, and everything else went down just fine. We caught a few rays and checked out the shallows on our break. Among the fish playing near the shore, there were quite a few reef sharks. There were a couple that were big enough to startle you, but don't worry, folks; they were totally harmless. One of the dive staff began following Caz and I around humming something akin to the Jaws theme while making the underwater signal for shark. Mr. Shark was surely after Caz's cool red and black scuba mask, as he tried to take it from her throughout the day. He was also a very able photographer!

Dive number two of the day was called House Reef, and it tookplace right around the docks where we first arrived. Admittedly, I wasn't blown away by this one. We did see a few cool things: a baby yellow boxfish the size of a die and just as spotted; weird, skinny pipefish; banded shrimps and their babies; and lots of Nemos! The atmosphere wasn't quite as enchanting as the first dive. We swam around the supports of the docks and through the beginnings of an artificial reef, complete with an underwater fact sign telling us all about it. Eventually we ended up back in the snorkeling shallows. We reached a new record for time underwater, however: 53 minutes! It always takes me by surprise; it never feels that long when you're under.

Caz and I sat on the deck in the sun for the ride back, joking with Sari and Mr. Shark and enjoying the ocean wind. When we got back to Pantai Cenang, we got cleaned up and went in search of dinner. We decided to head to the restaurant on the beach that we first ate at. We had a nice meal as we listened to waves (despite the lack of chicken satay and bananas), but thunder and lightning were making their threats known. We headed back to our guesthouse just as the rain began to fall. We repacked and went to bed.

It was up early again to make the trek to Thailand, but not without some breakfast! Before diving the day before, we discovered a little unassuming restaurant very close by that seemed to be the only one open. We headed there before our trip again for omlettes, banana roti (a naan like flatbread fried up with bananas inside), and nasi lamak (rice folded up in a banana leaf with egg, onions, sardines, and a spicy sauce. Caz and I split one both mornings, although I got all the onions and sardines). We finished just in time to catch our ride to the ferry, and then it was "Goodbye, Malaysia!" and "Hello, Thailand!"

We Found Paradise and It's Called Langkawi

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Selemat datang (welcome) to paradise! We spent our last 3 days in Malaysia on the island of Langkawi, and it didn't take us long to fall in love with this special place.

Langkawi has it all - beaches, delicious food, scooters, frozen drinks with tropical fruit garnishes, monkeys, waterfalls, friendly people, beautiful scenery, and scuba diving.

Langkawi is about 2.5 hours north of Penang by ferry and is the first place we've gone without booking any accommodation beforehand (look at us being spontaneous in SE Asia!). All we had was one recommendation from the hostel staff in Penang and another recommendation from Lauren's trusty Kindle edition of Lonely Planet - SE Asia on a Shoestring Budget (guide books on a Kindle...best idea ever). Both hostel potentials were at the same beach, so we grabbed 2 other backpackers at the pier and split a taxi to Pantai Cenang, a beach on the west coast of the island. We got really lucky and the first place we stopped, Gecko, had 2 rooms left. We were told to stay as long as we like and pay at the end, and at 35 ringgits per night for a private room (less than $6 each), we would've loved to stay longer.

Ecstatic about the sunshine and starving from our day of travel, we threw down our packs and headed to the first restaurant on the beach we could find. Freshly squeezed pineapple and lime juices hit the spot, but even better was the Pattaya Fried Rice, a delicious omelette filled with chicken fried rice and covered in hot sauce. Malaysian food really makes me grateful for all those buffalo wings I ate at the Kodiak Club in Melbourne...I'd never have been able to enjoy all this spicy food in SE Asia if I hadn't already burnt off all my tastebuds on the best hot wings ever!

After a stroll, a swim, and a sunbathe on the beach, we found another beach restaurant where conveniently enough we were right on time for happy hour! (it was 3 pm...i love islands) By the time we finished our daquiris, margaritas, and Langkawi Breezes, an afternoon rainstorm had moved in so naturally we left the safety of our beach tent and sprinted through the monsoon rains to go for a swim. If I were a doctor, I would prescribe swimming in a tropical rainstorm to anyone who wants to feel young forever. It's awesome.

The only casualty was Lauren's first ever jellyfish sting, but the restaurant was equipped with vinegar in a spray bottle and saved the day.

Our hostel's breakfast doesn't start until 9 am, so the next morning we slept in and went to order around 10 am, only to find out that the chef hadn't arrived yet. Island time! Luckily Pantai Cenang has a great strip of restaurants and shops along the coastline, so were able to grab some brekkie and head down to the scooter shop to pick up our wheels for the day. Each bike cost 25 ringgits ($8) for 24 hours...I love this country!

We puttered up the west coast to the Langkawi Cable Car, dodging cattle, water buffalo, monkeys, and giant lizards in the road. For real. The cable car took us up to the top of a mountain for some stunning views of the harbor and a walk across the Sky Bridge, a bridge suspended between two ridges by just one pole. The hike up to the observation tower was tough, but nothing compared to our lighthouse hike on Penang, so we handled it like champions and even stopped to be in a few photos with middle eastern tourists along the way (not sure if we should feel like celebrities or circus freaks here).

Once back down in the Oriental Village at the base of the cable car, we had a delicious lunch of Pineapple Fried Rice, glass noodles, and a banana milkshake. The best part was that my fried rice was actually served in a hollowed out pineapple! Bonus points for Langkawi!

We jumped back on our trusty scooters and headed next to the Seven Wells Waterfall, where after some more uphill hiking, we were rewarded with a refreshing swim at the base of the waterfall. Some locals showed us where to sit under the falling water to get the best back massage, and then we finished off the afternoon with some fresh coconut juice, straight from the coconut.

On the way home, I spotted another monkey on the side of the road and pulled over to take a photo. Seems harmless enough, right? But the monkey immediately jumped onto my bike and at least 30 other monkeys came out of the trees and started coming towards us. It was pretty intimidating, and even worse when we discovered we had unintentionally pulled over at a monkey feeding site and had no food to offer. Two monkeys were now on my bike and when they realized I hadn't brought them any snacks, one tried to eat my dashboard and the other just peed all over it. That was a pretty clear sign that it was time to leave, and I drove the rest of the way back to our beach glaring angrily at the monkey pee on my bike and thinking that monkeys are totally overrated.

Dang, Penang!

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Hello, guys and gals! While Caz and I relax at our hostel during our last night in Penang, I thought I'd catch you up. It took four buses, a ferry, and about 8 hours to get to Georgetown, Penang Island's main town, so we weren't up to much our first night. We wandered around and got some delicious food from an outdoor food court: asam laksa for me and chicken satay for Caz, topped up by some delicious banana and ice cream desserts from a cafe just down the lane from our hostel. That was enough to put me to sleep, though Caz stayed up to watch a movie.

We were up and hopping the next day. After some hostel-supplied breakfast (gotta love the free toast, jam, and coffee!), we got on a bus to the Penang National Park. We started our hike at the same time as a school group of teenage boys, which resulted in us being stalked for the first ten minutes with calls of "Wait!" "I love you!" "Justin Beiber!" Supposedly, they hate him. Luckily we took the right fork when they took the left, and the rest of the hike was a bit more peaceful. The walk took us through a few beaches and viney, shady rainforests. The heat and humidity caused quite a sweat, but we made it all the way to the end of the trail: a lighthouse on the top of a cliff head. We were very proud of our athleticism, but we did opt to take a boat ride back instead of repeating the 2 hour hike.

While waiting for the bus back to town, we had some protha at a little kiosk. It's a lot like naan, but with fillings cooked right inside it. Caz had an egg one, and we both had ones filled with banana and chocolate. We finished just in time to catch our bus. Once back in town, we stopped only long enough to cool down; then it was back on another bus to Kek Lok Si Temple. This huge Buddhist temple was comprised of many different, colorful buildings stacked up a hill and topped with a gigantic wooden statue of Kuan Yin, a Bodhisattva of mercy. Unfortunately there was no way to get to it besides climb up the hill, so we apologized to our tired legs and made one more effort. At least we managed to arrive in time to take a lift up the last part of the hill to the statue. It was a really amazing complex, and the Bodhisattva was beautiful. There were some statues of the Chinese zodiac as well, and we dutifully found our corresponding animals. Then we trekked back down and picked up a couple delicious pastries before getting the bus back again to Georgetown.

 We were pretty hungry by then, so we decided to get some Penang delicacies straight off the street. We took a seat at a metal table right on the road and got some Wan Tan Mee (noodle broth with pork and wontons) from a nearby cart. A very pushy salesman also got us to take some fresh squeezed apple juice. No harm there, really. Another man joined our table as we were finishing. He turned out to be the owner of a bar on the main strip called Reggae Bar. I was still hungry, so I got a second dinner in the form of Char Keow Teoy, a stir-fry of noodles, prawns, cockles, egg, and chilies. Caz got herself a cendol, and then we had a nightcap at Reggae Club. I guess it's pretty obviously that food was a big highlight of our time in Penang, as well as Melaka!

Next up on the schedule is an early ferry ride to Langkawi Island. Beach, diving, and lots of good times ahead!

Meals in Melaka

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The second stop on our SE Asia whirlwind was a pure "food-cation". While we're eventually headed north, we decided to take a quick detour 2 hours south from KL to Melaka. Melaka is one of those places that has been ruled by every country at one point or another - the Portuguese, Dutch, British, Chinese, and Indians have all had an influence on the port, leaving a delicious combination of culinary influences. So we only had one plan for our 24 hours in Melaka - EAT A LOT. I'm happy to say it was a most successful venture (as if anyone who knows us would have doubted that).

The day started with a surprisingly pleasant bus trip from KL to Melaka for 9 ringgit ($3), and we congratulated ourselves on successfully navigating the public transport of Malaysia. But we had barely finished high-fiving and saying "We're awesome!" when we found ourselves aboard a local Melaka bus that looked as if it had been dragged out of the bottom of the canal this morning. This bus was so busted I honestly have NO idea how it was still functioning, but it only cost us 30 cents so we just laughed as we drove down the road with the doors wide open.

After a short wander to find our hostel (i swear we weren't lost, we just love strolling around in 100% humidity with 20 kg of luggage on our back!), we headed out to explore Jonker Walk with our food spidey sense tingling. Our first stop was Famosa Chicken Rice Balls for you guessed it, some of their famous chicken rice balls. Between the two of us we had 13 rice balls, so I think we can count this stop as a win. Since dessert is a separate stomach, we finished the meal with a bowl of Nyonya Cendol, an amazing Melakan specialty. It included pandan, coconut cream, palm sugar syrup, and kidney beans served over shaved ice. Don't knock it til you've tried it - it was DELICIOUS!!

Feeling stuffed and satisfied we went for a walk around the town square and stumbled upon the Maritime Museum, which happens to be located inside a giant pirate ship! It was equal parts of informative and weird, and totally worth the 3 ringgit entry.

After more wandering and a stroll along the canal, it was finally time for satay celup! This is a Melakan do-it-yourself meal where you pick skewers of meat, seafood, and veggies from the fridge and then cook them at your table in a boiling pot of spicy satay sauce. We went to Capital Satay which, for good reason, is the most popular satay joint in town and has a steady line of customers down the block. Stoked to finally get a table, we loaded up our tray with chicken, veggies, tofu, quail eggs, shrimp, and a few unidentified objects. We were the only westerners in the entire restaurant, and while we were a bit offended that they brought us so much bread and put sugar in our sauce, they made up for it by treating us (Lauren) to two giant prawns. We really went all out on this dinner and managed to spend a whole $3 each. Overall a successful but messy meal!

Me like-a Melaka. A lot-a.

Tomorrow we head north to the island of Penang on an 7+ hour bus trip, so wish us luck and we'll check back in whenever island time allows!

Fast forward!

Alright, we'll admit it: we sucked at keeping up a blog. It was a lot harder than we expected; living in a campervan 90% of the time meant no internet access. Our posts just got more and more backed-up, and, well, you saw the results.

We will get back to the Great Trip Through Oz. For now, though, we thought it best to move ahead and blog Asia as we experience it. Backpacker hostels are almost always equipped with internet, so we should fare a lot better. Apologies for skipping forward, but trust me; it'll be better this way.

So on Friday afternoon, we landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Our friends had kept us out pretty late our last night in Melbourne, so we were quite wrecked. As soon as we got to the backpackers, we "lay down" for a rest and didn't get up until 7 the next morning.

The weather sure did let us know where we were. It was like walking into a sauna every time we stepped outside. We started the day by walking in a random direction as it began to rain. This led us to a rainforest reserve smack in the middle of the city. We followed a trail through it, stopping in the middle to check out a faux Malaysian village at the Kuala Lumpur Tower. Despite warnings of snakes, scorpions, and centipedes liking the rain, we tramped through the whole park. From there we wandered to the Patronas Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world. The two towers are linked by a glass bridge, which was unfortunately closed. We just went inside to escape the rain instead and were greeted by a gigantic 5 story mall. It was strange at first to see stores we haven't laid eyes on in two years: "Look, a GAP!" "A Banana Republic!" "A Uni Qlo!" (Okay, that last one was me.)

From there we took the train back to Chinatown to find some lunch. We decided to explore Central Market, an enclosed market and food court. We got a delicious and cheap meal of chicken, rice, and egg. Then we went looking for the "fish spa." Caz had noticed it advertised on our map of the city. We found it towards the back wall: a spa pool filled with little fish ready to eat all the dead skin off your feet. We paid RM5 (about US$1.60) for 10 minutes in this spa. However, it took us about 5 of those minutes to manage to keep our feet fully submerged. It tickled so much! It was practically unbearable! Even when you got used to the tickling, the sensation of fish nibbling on your toes was a very weird one. My feet were indeed soft afterwards, but I don't think I'll seek out a fish spa again!

The sun came out in the afternoon, and we took a walk in the opposite direction. We wandered through Lake Garden. A notable spot was the Deer Park, with the small and strange Lesser Mouse Deer. It looked rather like a large rat on spidery legs. It was cute, though, in its creepy way.

After that we headed to the National Mosque. We donned visitors' burkas and had a look around. It was very wide and austere. I had never been in a mosque before, so it was interesting to compare it to other religious establishments I've seen. It was really quite beautiful.

Finally, we hit up Petaling Street, the main market road of Chinatown. This was a true market as we think of them: lots of bootlegged goods and people calling you in to their stalls as you fight your way down crowded alleyways. We didn't do any shopping, but we did splurge on food. Pieces of fresh mango, a cheesecake tart, BBQ pork buns, and a sticky rice concoction that neither of us liked very much filled our stomachs. It was an early night after that.

From here it's on to Melaka and more delicious food!

(Click on the photo at the top of the post to view our full photo album!)