The end of September saw a fantastic
change in schedule for the Welsh household abroad, with a few
visitors making the trip across the seas for a stay in the condo.
I think we managed to put Malaysia's
best foot forward: between noisy markets, the open air seafood and
stray cat awesomeness that is Nong and Jimmy's Thai BBQ, and probably
the best nightspot in KL, the 57th floor establishment of
Merinis, we managed to encompass the opposite ends of the spectrums
that we experience on a weekly basis.
Malaysia has a growing middle class,
but it's still a country of extremes. It takes a while to get your
head around the excess of Ferraris and Porches parked on one side of
the road, and the construction site filled with Bangladeshi workers
who make probably $200 per month on the other.
I maintain that you can see all of KL
that you need to within three or four days. At a pinch, you could
cram it into 48 hours without missing too much of the action, and
only gain two inches to your waistband.
Anyhow.
We packed our visitors in the Volvo,
and headed to Langkawi. Via the airport.
There we met Mr. Andre, the Dutch owner
of Sunset Valley, where we were staying.
Mr. Andre was sailing around the world
on his yacht with his wife when he pulled into port in Langkawi.
That was seven years ago, and he hasn't
left since. Understandable, because he lives in one of the most
beautiful tropical valleys I've had the pleasure of staying in. He
rents out five or so restored traditional wooden Malay houses on his
property, surrounded by rice paddies, green hills, and birds that
don't seem to sleep.
The place was unreal. But next time,
I'm bringing ear plugs.
Pantai Cenang is particularly nice at
sunset. Sitting on the beach, have a refreshing non-specific drink
while you watch the fat tourists go parasailing... it's awfully easy
to get used to.
We stuck a sweet deal for parasailing
ourselves, and for about $50AUD Jem, Josh P and myself went for a
lovely glide over the bay.
Seeing all the other tourists fly up,
out, around, and back onto dry land successfully, I figured I'd take
the opportunity to take some shots from the air.
I tied the camera to my arm for safe
keeping.
That worked pretty well.
The camera stayed tied to my arm on
takeoff. I took some great sunset shots, I got a shot of some
swimmers waaaay underneath me, and I took a fantastic vertically-held
shot of the sky, the islands, the boat, and my feet, and when we dry
the camera out, I might be able to confirm whether or not you could
see the tow rope coiling up in the ocean as the boat ground to a
halt, and I splashed down into the sea.
On the plus side, we were thinking
about getting another camera anyway. And they gave me a second ride
for free!
Langkawi finished up with a local
market supplied dinner by the pool, with the sun setting over the
valley. You can't get much better than that.
The next trip will be a little
different. I'm going to Cambodia, and visiting Svay Pak, the home of
sex slavery and people trafficking in Asia. I'm meeting the man who's
trying to stop it. Should be interesting...
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