Langkawi, Malaysia

This place is beautiful. The island is huge and there's lots to do here. It's a really strange change of pace, coming here. Since in Buddhist theology, people don't value life in the way westerners do. Because life is reincarnated, they don't tend to fear death. It's the soul you take with you, not the body. So coming here, to Malaysia, where there's more western thought, is really a change. Also the roads are paved and there are signs about "safety first" and "Keep Langkawi Clean" signs I never thought I'd see in SE Asia. There are a lot of muslims, but it doesn't have too much of a muslim feel (at least in comparison to Morocco). Alcohol is sold, but Malay people are not allowed to apply for liquor license (there's always a loophole though). The economy is stable, the locals are educated and speak English very well. It's really strange to be here after two months in Thailand and Laos.

We're staying at a guesthouse called Zackrys. It's the best place we've stayed at yet. The people are great and they have a lot of amenities for guests like free wireless, scooters on property for rent, cheap tours and a bar. The owner actually offered me a job here, maybe I'll come back and stay if things don't work out in the US.

We rented a car and toured the waterfalls and did some duty free shopping. Driving on the British side, was interesting, not as difficult as I had thought it would be.

The Last Two Weeks

So I know it's been a while since I've last written. To recap the last two weeks: New Years was fun, check typical beach party and fire dancing. The first four days afterward were detox days as we got diving certified. Diving is amazing, I feel that everyone should try it. I fell in love and am itching to get back into the water. Two days after certification, we said goodbye to our friends and hopped on a ferry to the mainland at Surat Thani heading to Krabi. Here's a snippet I wrote in my notebook about the day:

A long journey, but an amazing one. Leaving at 9:30 am to catch a 10:30 ferry to Koh Pangan, then another ferry to Surat Thani. We sat on top of the boat in pounding heat that went unnoticed because of the breeze and the beautiful open water view. Along with our Canadian friend, we baked in the sun. By the time we got to Surat Thani, we were crispy like bacon.

The boat ride itself couldn't have been more fun. We also met a guy from San Francisco on the boat, who guessed on the nose where I'm from. I guess I can't escape the valley girl persona, even 15000 miles away. He had spent 1.5 months of his two month holiday on one beach on Koh Pangan. The four of us talked about travels and our next destination while we listened to music from Dave's ipod speakers and drank some beers.

At one point, a bag had fallen off the boat and we had to turn around to fish it out of the water. We thought it was a person, because only minutes before Dave had recounted a story that two travelers had told him. They had been sitting on the boat and saw a dead body float by and didn't say anything to anyone. We had been talking about how screwed up that was and then the boat slowed. In the distance an object was floating. We were relieved when we saw it was a backpack. Regardless, it was a cause for excitement.

We docked at Surat Thani where a bus was waiting to take us to Krabi. There, I met a girl from Argentina, Sylvana, who was incredibly relieved that I speak spanish. We chatted until we reached the next stop where we all had to wait an hour for a different bus. The hour went by quickly for me because Wes had called. On the second bus, Dave and I shared music the entire ride. He's a promoter (the type of people I avoiod like the plague), but also a musician and contractor - an all around great guy.

At Krabi, Alison, Dave, Sylvana and I caught a cab to Ao Nang and then a long boat to Rai Lay beach, thus was born La Familia Rai Lay. We arrived at around 9 or 10 at night and went on a hunt for cheap rooms, which was vastly unsuccessful. I swear we must have circled the beach twice with all our luggage. The only room we could find was a severely overpriced double that Sylvana and Alison haggled down to a slightly more reasonable one, while Dave and I talked to some of the local Thais. They came back and told us that we would all have to share for the night and wake up to find cheaper accomodations.

The next day we found cheaper rooms, but they were still overpriced and twice as disgusting... the beauty of high season. So we ended up spending the next few days all together... four people in a room meant for two. It was great fun, we became a sort of family, cracking jokes and climbing mountains and enjoying the beautiful scenery. I could live on East Rai Lay. Although it is not an island, it felt like one. It was our little home (overpriced and full of smelly mangroves). Phranang was gorgeous with white sands and small islands in the distance that were truly a site. There were caves and climbing spots as well as warm green-blue water. Vendors were selling corn, mangosteen and other exotic fruits, spring rolls, beer, soda, and chicken.

I spent a lot of time climbing the mountains to the lookout point and then down to the lagoon (probably the scariest thing I've ever done). Granted, the climb was full of vertical drops with ropes (no harness) to belay yourself down. At the top of each drop, more and more tourists chickened out until I found myself alone, shitting a brick terrified. Not to mention, I was in sandals as well. I had to do it. We climbed up and over a mountain late the night before to get to Ton Sai (also in sandals and a short skirt). If I could do that, I could do this. I made down to the lagoon, which was not worth the climb at all (maybe it's better at high tide when the lagoon is actually a lagoon and not just muddy nastiness). I didn't care, I was glad to find Dave, Steve and Sylvana and proud of myself for making the journey.

Before it could get any better, or worse for that matter, Alison and I booked our way out to Langkawi, Malaysia.