Langkawi, Malaysia

After almost two entire days of travel we reached Malaysia safely. I am actually very proud of our little group for how well we travelled. We made wise decisions, made sure we were not rushed into anything we did not want to do (a common tactic with the tourism industry workers in Thailand), and stayed well fed and happy along the way. In the end it took probably three hours more than if we had made hurried decisions and we arrived safe and happy. Good for us.

Langkawi is an island in the Northwest of Malaysia. We crossed the border on the mainland in Thailand and entered Malaysia through the border on the island which means we spent a good hour and a half in no-man's-land. The island is actually a cluster of 99 islands with Langkawi being the largest and most developed. It is also the most touristy but there is good news; it is almost completely void of tourists! There are half empty resorts, beach chalets, hotels, motels, and guest houses everywhere. Unfortunately none of these places is willing to give a discount for what appears to be the offseason.

Yesterday we shared a beach that stretched 2km or more with maybe 30 people. We sat under rented umbrellas, the girls enjoying the heat while the boys longed for some sort of ball or activity to keep busy. While the sun was going down we went for dinner and ate huge rice, veggie, and chicken dishes for under $2. While we were eating we saw a place serving shaved ice which sounded like a wonderful idea. One of our friends stepped up and ordered what was on the picture. As it turned out it was not shaved ice but ice cubes in a bowl with sugar water, fruit salad, peanuts, tapioca balls, chia seeds, lychees, jello (maybe?), and other ingredients that were completely unknown to us. It made a thick fruit soup with sugar water broth. I fulfilled my role as garbage disposal unit and found that it was quite good, the peanuts were the strangest part for me.

Malaysia is one of the most stable economies in Southeast Asia. It has huge import and export capabilities and many companies have factories here that create products and distribute them all over SEA. Its tourism industry is also quite large attracting visitors from India, Australia, Japan, and China. Malaysia's "Ringitt" trades at 3.3333R to $1. It is a switch from Thailands 27 Baht to $1 or Laos 7,700Kip to $1.

Malaysia is predominantly Muslim having been highly influenced in the past by muslim traders and settlers coming from India. There is also Buddhism and Hinduism mixed in from Chinese immigrants. This mix is also makes for a unique experience to us as the locals dress reflects muslim beliefs and we are not quite sure how to be culturally appropriate to that yet, especially on the beach. Yesterday we rented chairs and an umbrella from a local woman and at the end of the day she and four of her women friends (or family) went for a swim in the ocean, in full dress! There they were splashing and laughing with long pants, sleeves, and headdresses.

Our next step here will be to rent scooters and explore the island. There is a cable car that spans the mountain range in the north that we have been told not to miss at sunset. There are also a number of black sand beaches that are begging us to pay attention to them. This morning it is raining which could mean anything from a morning shower to a steady drizzle all day to a build up and downpour to a full on lighting and thunder extravaganza. The rain is welcome though as we are all nursing sunburns.

Next steps will be travelling to another Malaysian island called Penang which is supposed to be beautiful, after that Kuala Lumpur and a hopefully cheap flight to Indonesia.