Kuala Lumpur...yet again

I was flying out of Kuala Lumpur to meet up with my family in Bali, and I wanted some time to decompress. I left the Cameron highlands with some days to spare and headed down to Kuala Lumpur. Truth be told, my last few days in Malaysia's capital city were pretty mellow. I really like KL, and this is my 3rd time here on this trip. I don't do a whole lot of sightseeing these days, after the umpteenth famous building or temple, things sort of start to blend together and lose their effect, so I just wanted to wander around and soak things in.

I met up for one day with Steffen, a friend I'd met in Thailand. We went to the Badu Caves and then spent the afternoon walking around KL. I know that I've just gone on a little rant about sights, but the Badu caves were actually cool. As far as sights go, the caves were pretty interesting and like nothing else I've seen on my trip.

KL marked the end of my solo travels. It has been an interesting road: sometimes good, sometimes tough, but I'm really happy that I decided to extend my trip and travel alone. When I think back on the last 4 months, it's the people who immediately come to mind. Everyone I've met along the way has shaped my experience and taught me something. As the details of the places start to fade in my mind, the faces, the smiles and the stories remain.

-Julia



Kuala Lumpur lightrail station


Central Kuala Lumpur: traditional buildings and modern skyscrapers


Entrance to the Badu Caves


Hundreds of steep steps leading to the caves


Taking a breather halfway up the steps


Shrines within the caves


Temple outside the caves


Monsoon rains in Central KL


Minaret of the national mosque


Kuala Lumpur at night

Cameron Highlands

After leaving Ko Lipe, Tania and I spent one evening in Southern Thai town of Hat Yi, before I headed further south into Malaysia and she flew to Bangkok. On my way to the Cameron highlands, I took a bus into Malaysia that was characteristically 30 minutes late to depart and 2 hour late in reaching the destination. I really need to stop being surprised when this happens.

I like Malaysia and was happy to return; the people are friendly and speak English pretty well, the food is good and things seem to be a bit more orderly than in Thailand. Malaysia is consistently underrated by travelers, but I think that it offers beautiful beaches, interesting cities and wild jungles without the crowds of Thailand. Don't get me wrong, Thailand is great too, and there is a reason that so many people go there, but I think that Malaysia deserves more attention than it gets.

The Cameron highlands hill station town of Tanah Rata was very quaint. I spent two days there hiking in the jungle, visiting tea/strawberry plantations and enjoying a respite from the heat in the temperate highland weather. I also visited an exhibit about Malaysian insects and reptiles, which has basically convinced me that everything in the jungle is big, mean and can kill you quickly. I stayed at a great little hostel called Daniel's lodge, which had a hip, convivial traveler's vibe. There were tons of cool people and lots of things to see and do. If I had had a few more days up my sleeve, it would have been a nice place to chill out.

-Julia


Don't mess with these Malaysian beetles


Nothing like having a Cobra stare you down, I was thankful for the plexiglass that separated me from this guy


Jungle waterfall


La mantis religiosa


Butterflies


Tea farms blanketing the hills


Hanging flowers


Hill station home


It was quite an adventure hiking trough this, good thing there were no leeches


I think this pretty much sums it up

Ko Lipe, a little slice of paradise

So, I'm not going to lie, up to the point when I left Krabi, Southern Thailand struck me as much more commercial than I had ever expected. All of the places I'd visited were beautiful, interesting, lively and full of activity, but I had been seeking something more tranquil and genuine (nice beaches, friendly travelers/locals, a handful of little beach bars...Perhentian islands, anyone?).

All was not lost, as I found what I was looking for in Ko Lipe. A Belgian friend, Quentin, who I had met in Vietnam, swore up and down that Ko Lipe was the most amazing place in Thailand, so I decided to check it out. From Krabi, I hopped on a bus and headed about as far south as you can go in Thailand, before hitting Malaysia. I spent one night in the port town of Pak Bara, in a room that was really more like a cardboard box with a bed than a proper room, and headed to Ko Lipe in the morning.

Ko Lipe was fantastic: no cars, nearly no electricity, empty beaches, goods snorkeling, nice people and delicious food. I stayed in a small thatched-roof bamboo bungalow right in front of the beach. One bed, a mosquito net and a bucket/hose shower set up. I know it sounds strange, but there is something very calming about this "indoor camping" business. Plus, it reminds me of being in the corn islands with Anna and camping with my family as a kid.

I met some great people in Ko Lipe. Tania and Ilka were my primary partners in crime. We met on the ferry and hung out pretty much the whole time that we were on the island. They taught me some fascinating German beverage consumption customs (one which involves sticking your hand on your forehead when someone burps, or risk getting smacked in the forehead by the offending party, and others perhaps too lengthy and involved to spell out in this blog entry). In turn, I taught them some important American vocabulary words (the crucial slang their English teachers probably skipped in class). Tania and Ilka are fantastic ladies, and we had a blast, thus continuing my trend of meeting wonderful female travelers in Thailand. Ilka and Tania were also my 4th or 5th consecutive group of German travel companions. There are people from all over the world traveling in SE Asia, but I seem to be a German-magnet. No complaints here, all of my travel buddies have been great, and I have learned lots interesting things (like the life-or-death-importance of looking someone in the eyes when you say cheers). Perhaps, when the dollar stops its tailspin, a trip to Germany will be in order.

I also met Miguel and Brigitte, a couple from norcal who come to Ko Lipe every year. They showed me around the island and took me to some of their favorite snorkeling reefs. Miguel and I also swam across the channel to the neighboring island of Ko Adang. Despite sucking in a lot of saltwater from the waves, we both made it across the channel and back (without fins, mind you). I'm not 100% sure, but I think that the channel is about 1-1.5 km, wide. Back in my old swimming days, 2000-3000 meters have been a cake walk, but I'm just getting back into it after an 8-year hiatus, so I was pretty proud of myself.

My original plan to stay in Ko Lipe for 5 days, turned into 7 days, which turned into 9 days, and eventually I had to go because I was out of cash (no ATM on the island) and my Thai visa was set to expire. All good things must come to an end, but I will hold dear the memories of my time on this little slice of paradise.

-Julia


The boat to Ko Lipe


My bungalow


Bungalow interior


Enjoying a relaxed evening in Ko Lipe


Longtail boats


Miguel and Brigitte


Trails through the jungle


The empty beach right outside of the bungalows


The beach and view to Ko Adang


That's Ko Adang in the background and the channel I swam across


Ilka on her bungalow balcony


The Chao Ley (sea Gypsy) village


Hanging out with Tania


This bungalow (not mine) comes complete with authentic jungle-themed decor


Relaxing in the hammock


"A hammock is same-same like a toothbrush" (in terms of being a critical item for travel) - Ilka


Live music at the beach bar


Tania and Ilka


Interesting German drinking customs


Ilka and Tania


Chao Ley fishing traps


Fishing boats at sunset


My roommate, the largest non-tarantula spider I've ever encountered


Sunset on Ko Lipe


This little monster was waiting for me under my pillow one night


Goofing around with Ilka and Tania


Saying goodbye to Ko Lipe (yes, the name of the bungalow operation is the Porn Resort, and no, it has nothing to do with pornography, Porn is a Thai surname)


Tania naps on the ferry

Ko Lanta and Krabi

From Phi Phi, I continued my journey south along the Andaman coast. I bid my friend Sonja farewell and hopped on a ferry to Ko Lanta. Ko Lanta was like a less-crowded, more spread out version of Phi Phi (minus the beautiful limestone cliffs). I was only there for 2 days, but from was I saw, it seemed like a nice place.

I had wanted to do some diving here as well, but couldn't risk hurting my eardrum, so I skipped the diving. On the ferry, I met a super-sweet French girl named Stefanie, so the two of us had fun walking around, checking out the beaches and swimming. She even convinced me to try riding a motor scooter (she was driving). I was totally terrified, but survived the experience in one piece.

The next stop was Krabi. Stefanie and I took a mini-bus from Ko Lanta to Krabi, and checked into the Sheraton (internal princess and the pea needed a little more pampering, courtesy of my hotel points....thank you very much). The hotel was a fantastic and a much needed break from the budget bungalow scene, and the coastline north of Krabi was stunning, but as it turns out our little piece of paradise was about 15 km away from civilization. This would have been ok, but as we quickly found out, the local taxi/tuk tuk mafia has a strangle-hold on all transportation, so getting around was really, really expensive. What we didn't incur in room costs, was quickly counterbalanced by what we had to shell out just to get around. I only spent a few days in Krabi and from what I saw, it was a beautiful place, but like much of this region of Thailand, there were a zillion foreign tourists and it felt very much like the beaten path.

By the time I left Krabi (early December), I had been in Southern Thailand for about 2 weeks. When I departed from Bangkok, I was expecting beautiful beaches and chilled out backpacker haunts. Southern Thailand partially delivered; there were some beautiful places, but a lot more foreign tourists than I had ever imagined (and most of them not of the backpacker variety). Southern Thailand had some of its own unexpected positives. One of them being the opportunity to connect with more female travelers. Perhaps it's Thailand's safe reputation, but there seem to be a lot more women traveling alone in the country. As I've mentioned before, I haven't met nearly as many female travelers as male travelers on this trip and I really miss hanging out with my girlfriends. No offense to all of the great guys I've met and traveled with, but sometimes I just need a little girl time.

-Julia


Arriving in Ko Lanta


Ko Lanta beach


Stefanie and another traveler we met, Katrina


Ko Lanta beach


Beachside restaurant, complete with hammocks


I love these triangular-shaped Thai lounging pillows


A storm rolls into Krabi


Late night tuk tuk ride home from civilization with Stefanie


The Sheraton pool, see what I mean about the little slice of paradise?


Hanging out in the pool


Krabi town night market


Enjoying some spicy chicken and rice at the night market


Leaving Krabi