KatieTheKat

1. Lots of people smoke (and its allowed many places), but its almost exclusively men. I dont think I've seen a single woman smoking since I arrived.

2. Palm Plantations. They're everywhere. Perfect diagonal rows. And they collect the fallen fronds in neat little piles. But I don't know why!

3. Motosikals. The most popular form of transportation. Some are safety concious and wear helmets and follow road rules. Others put a helmet on their head and either let them dangle to the sides or hold them in their teeth to keep them out of the way. And they're all expected to ride on the edge of the road so they don't consume a lane when buses want to pass things on the highway.

4. Most people selling things will make every effort to get your business, rather than passively standing by. The funniest was buying a ferry ticket to Pulau Pangkor, where there were three ticket desks (for different companies, but all about the same price just leaving at different times). As soon as I approached, out of each window came a lady's hand fluttering a ticket and they all shouted at me to attract my attention. In the end I randomly chose the middle one.

5. Rivers are brown.

6. Entering a state ruled by an Islamic party this afternoon, my bus stopped first for a lunch break and later for a prayer break at a mosque en route.

7. There are CATS EVERYWHERE!!!

So here's a brief recap of what I've been doing lately. After leaving KL, my first stop was the resorty island of Pulau Pangkor (with the overly zealous ticket sellers). The place I stayed at was rather luxurious, with my own clean room, bathroom, and balcony. Unfortunately, it was a bit deserted since I had come outside of the high season. But the whole trip was made worthwhile by the DElicious and super cheap Indonesian restaurant between my accomodation and the nice beach. The fresh watermelon juice was absolutely wonderful, but that, luckily, can be had just about anywhere. The food has been good elsewhere too, but there it was incredible. I also managed to hire a bicycle (basikal) and ride around to explore some areas on the other side of the island, most interesting of which was a Chinese temple with a turtle pond and a miniature great wall. I also bought some delicious mangoes which I ate by the roadside.

After leaving the island yesterday, I planned to go to Taiping then walk up to the hill station at Bukit Larut the next day. But finding there was no direct bus to Taiping and realizing it was a bit out of the way for making it to my next destination, I opted instead to spend the night in the Royal City of Kuala Kangar, complete with a sultan's palace. My accomodation was far from palatial, but certainly spacious. In the afternoon I went for a walk out to the beautiful mosque and the palace, neither of which I could actually visit up close. Then it started pouring so I took shelter with two girls on bicycles and a couple on a motosikal in one of the little roadside covered patios designed for that purpose. I thought this would be a good opportunity to interact with some locals. I turned to the girls and said "Nama saya Katie". This brought some smiles and giggles and whisperings. I turned to the younger one and said "Nama?". She very quietly told me her name, then a little louder, but unfortunately I have forgotten it. I couldn't convince the older one to tell me hers. I opened my lonely planet to the language section looking for something intersting to say. Nothing presented itself, as asking them for directions to the nearest post office didn't really seem appropriate. I asked (in Malay) if they spoke English, but the answer was a shake of the head. We sat in silence for a little while, occasionally smiling at each other. Actually, they continued to whisper amongst themselves. Then a caterpillar wandered by. We all watched it wander its way around the bench. I pointed to it and said "Nama?", then to make sure they got the point, walked right up to it and again said "Nama?" At this point I think they must have decided I was crazy for wanting to know the name of a caterpillar, as the whispering increased but I didn't get another word out of them until the rain subsided temporarily and I saluted them with a "Selamat tinggal" and went on my way.

Today my day was consumed with the bus ride up to Kota Bharu, which is in the northeast corner of the country next to Thailand. In fact, I saw a thai license plate coming into town. I dont 'think I will hop across the border though, as my next stop is at Taman Negara where I will hopefully be able to do a little introductory jungle trekking and if I'm REALLY lucky, might even see an elephant.

Hmm looks like Im in for another wet walk back to the hostel, as the afternoon shower has set in late this evening.

Selamat petang!

Katie