Hi All,
After arriving back on the mainland, we searched for a bus without success so hailed a taxi to take us to the little visited town of Penarik, a firefly sanctuary. The reason we hadn’t heard of anyone else who had visited there became apparent when we arrived to a beach town without any guest houses. Slightly concerned we wouldn’t find a bed for the night, we hunted until Ross decided to ask a group of guys who were having a coffee. One guy called around and found the owner of a local guest house; he arrived on his motorbike with a bundle of bedding to make up a room in a the seemingly derelict building. We then had a very enjoyable seafood dinner on the beach, a whole fried cuttlefish with a sea view. That night a local boatman took us up the ghostly mangrove river to watch the hundreds of fireflies flashing in near perfect synchronisation. It really was quite magical although impossible to photograph. We had the evening we had hoped for which certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the kindness of a stranger.
The following morning (with the help of locals again) we caught a bus down the coast of Malaysia to the small beach town of Cherating. This laid back surfer village was everything we had expected: chilled beach cafes, local restaurants, not too touristy. Except... the sea resembled glass. Definitely not the ideal surfing conditions which was the primary reason we had headed to the area! Ross was disappointed by the lack of waves but we still had a relaxing day making the most of the ropey WiFi in one of the beach bars to catch on ‘life admin’ having not had internet for a couple of weeks. Ross enjoyed an early morning walk to see the mud skippers - fish who can survive on land and in water breathing air and under the surface, walking around on their fins. Meanwhile, as Danielle was jogging through the town, she had to avoid the many monkeys causing mischief and mayhem emptying the bins in the streets. They are a bit of a problem here and most shop owners keep a slingshot handy to scare them away! It was amazing to see a pair of colourful hornbills roosting in the trees although they did fly off before we could manage a photo. We only stayed a couple of nights owing to the lack of surf before moving 7 hours east to the historical town of Melaka.
We stayed in the heart of Melaka’s Chinatown where we enjoyed dim sum breakfasts, perusing pottery workshops and marvelling at yet more ornate temples. We sampled some local favourites including: moreish pineapple tarts, slow cooked pork buns, spicy coconut laksa and blue rice dumplings. The rice is coloured with butterfly pea leaves and was traditionally used for wedding feasts but is now just for everyday decoration. Just across the river, the Dutch architecture was a huge contrast to the brightly coloured mosaic works in Chinatown. The main Building complex is now a museum which explained how the Portugese originally built a fort here which was converted by the Dutch into the red buildings seen today, later taken over by the British empire and finally the Japanese in WWII. We glanced inside the church before exploring the Malay anthropology museum housed in the former government residence. Led by our taste buds yet again we found an amazing Indian restaurant in another neighbourhood serving up mouth watering tandoori chicken and naan breads. So much for the start of the diet! We are certain that we spend at least 50% of our time either scouting out food places, eating or planning our next meal!
This miss mash of a post reflects the jumble of places we have been to over the last week. Next we are heading to our final destination in Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur, the capital city.
Love R and D xxx
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