Statues, Arun Wat, Bangkok
June 2007: Malaysia and Bangkok
Statues, Arun Wat, Bangkok
In June, we went on holiday with our friends
Fazillah and Bernhard and their children Sara and Johan to Malaysia and
Bangkok, Thailand. We flew to Kuala Lumpur where we met
Fazillah's sisters and then spent a few days at the Genting Highlands,
a resort area for Malaysians. Fazillah and Berhnard were
attending a family reunion there, so we had a day by ourselves.
We
ended up taking the girls to an amusement park and the girls had a
great time. Girls also found McDonalds and Pizza Hut exist
in Malaysia. Let the good times roll!
After the reunion, we all drove
to the town of Jerantut in central Malaysia where we went on a 3
hour long-boat ride
up the Tembeling river to reach Taman Negara National
Park. Here, we went hiking in one of the oldest rainforests
in
the world, and even went on a canopy walk! This is basically a
walkway suspended from the tops of trees. We also shot the rapids
in a long boat.
After a couple of days of rainforest,
we decided it was time for some beach action. So we headed east
to Cherating,
on the East coast of Malaysia and the South China sea. We spent
two nights here, but the
beach wasn't quite as nice as Bernhardt and Fazillah remembered it, so
we decided to look for greener pastures, so to speak. We drove
North up the
coast to Kuala Besut where we parked the car and from here, we took a
boat out
to the Perhentian
Islands where we stayed for 3 days at the Watercolors
resort. The islands
were really fantastic; clear water, tons of fish and coral, sandy
beaches surrouned by jungle, and of course, great food and
service. We did lots of swimming, snorkelling, kayaking, and
Bernhard, Fazillah, and I went scuba diving. It was the best
diving I've ever done, but that's not saying alot since it's only the
second time I've ever been out. However, Bernhard and Fazillah
told me it was good (they are much more experienced divers).
Unfortunately, I did not have an underwater camera with me this time.
Eventually, all good things come to an end, so
we had to make our way back to the mainland and the long drive back
West, to Penang Island. There, we stayed in a high-rise 5 star
hotel in Georgetown
which the girls thought was great. I dont think we'll get them in
3 stars again. We spent a few days
shopping, eating great food, touring Penang Island, having endless tea
taleks, and visiting with Fazillah's parents, who
live nearby in a town called Butterworth. Finally, we caught a
plane
back to Bangkok.
In Bangkok, we stayed with Srini and Neerja,
who
are friends of Bernhard and Fazillah (Bernhard and Fazillah used to
live in Bangkok so they know it very well and have lots of contacts
there). There we had 4 days
of eating, touring, eating, shopping, and more eating. We saw the
kings palace, many temples, and went on a river boat ride through
the canals of western Bangkok. We also found lots of 7-11 stores
in Bangkok, but none of them carried slurpee's. What's the point
of a 7-11 without slurpee's? Very disapointing. Somehow,
at the end of the stay, after much careful packing, we managed to leave
one of the suitcases behind. No wonder our stuff fit so easily
into one taxi. Srini and Neerja had to make a mad dash to the
airport to deliver our suitcase back to us. Thanks! Much of
our shopping would have been in vain without the case.
On the way back, we managed to squeeze in a
stop at an A&W rootbeer in Doha. Arrival back in Nairobi was
a real shock: we went from 90 degrees F in Bangkok to 50 degrees F in
Nairobi. Bbbbrrrrrrr. It's winter here.