Coral Bay at Pulau Perhentian

Malaysia!!! I finally managed to escape the frenzy of Hong Kong for a delightful ten days. After almost a month and a half of school, parties, suffocating heat and stuffiness, and a constant bath among billions of people I needed a break. So Sabrina and me flew to Perhentian Islands, for the second time in my long and eventful life. We first wanted to go to El Nido on Palawan, Philippines, but then a typhoon flooded the country. We then though of going to Pulau Weh, an other island in Aceh, Indonesia, but once again Mother Nature (la pachamama, caramba!) played against us and sent earthquakes on Sumatra. Really not nice. So in the end we went to Pulau Perhentian, ignoring the people suffering all around; but what is there to say, eh?

BBQ corner...

Anyways, Marco, Morten and Marcel, three friend of mine, joined us on this little piece of paradise. This (on the above picture) is where we had dinner every night: fish bbq! Amazingly really nice. There is little better in life than beach, sun, and bbq; except beach, sun and bbq on Perhentian. That is said.

But I should also praise the incredible people of Malaysia. It is really a wonder, for such nice people is definitely what makes the most of Malaysia. You may come for the Petronas Tower, or the Orang Outan, or Borneo, or even Perhentian Islands, but it’s the people who are the best asset. Every one is just so nice! And on top of it I really like the interesting symbiosis between Malays Chinese, Hindu and… me, I guess.

Malaysia is my favorite country in Asia, so far, and only Central America could equal it in terms of the “I just feel good here” scale.

A shark under the Sugar Wreck, Perhentian Island

So, I have to set myself to get some writing done now. Since Bangkok I have had a rather pleasant time, mostly diving and doing my advanced open water certification. To sum up, I left  Bangkok on the 14th and reached Koh Tao on the following day. I had bargained my course so I got the transportation included, as well as the accommodation actually. But as a result I saw myself being put on a big tourist VIP bus, packed with… tourists, all of them complaining on how horrible the trip was, too cold, too hot, bad seats, etc… So that was an experience in itself. I am not used to that.

And then I reached the fabled Koh Tao, biggest diving training center in South East Asia. On the book (Rough Guide South East Asia) it said it was a relatively quiet island, with great diving; yet I really felt like being on a production line when diving. I had prepared myself to that, and still this was much worse than I thought it could actually be.

However, I still enjoyed diving even though once again every dive site was crowded with divers, because diving is just too fantastic. I had forgotten how the underwater world is… Today I saw a big jelly fish swimming around, with in it a multitude of mini fish playing in this natural playground. Very nice!

Apart from diving I also wanted to write a bit more about Thailand, which is a very intriguing country. First of all I am amazed by how nice  and smily can the people be! As a French chick rightuously put it: “I just feel good in Thailand!” And indeed, the people are so friendly that one just feels good, even in the touristy areas. Taking the overnight train from Chumphon to Sungai Kolok was a great experience, as firstly the beds were confortable, and second it always makes me feel good to see smiles on faces!  I would even dare say Thai people are an unlimeted source of happiness! I wish I had time to explore this country.

I also went through the supposed-to-be-problematic/dangerous Southern area of Thailand (where muslim Thais have fough against the government for ages), and there also I only saw happy Thais, bhuddist and muslim.

And then I crossed the border to Malaysia, where I once again was greeted by happy people. Our taxi driver was very friendly (and not only because of the money I gave him), and in every shop I’ve been until now people were smiling to me. And now I’m on the Perhentian Islands, or Pulau Perhentian, which is a small paradise. There ARE cheap place to stay, unlike what I had heard on my way there. And tourism is still quiet, compared to Koh Tao. Diving is great, as usual. I went on a wreck this morning, called the Sugar Wreck. Very fun.