Magnificent Malaysia

The Malaysian peninsula wasn't an area we had on our list to visit but it certainly was so much fun. We started our journey travelling from the Thailand border, to the island of Penang on a super spacious budget coach that seems to be the norm in Malaysia, the UK should take note.

We arrived in the touristy area of Georgetown at around sunset. It was beautiful but busy as all the food stalls that this area is famous for open out onto the street. It's common knowledge in this country that food from Penang is divine so we set our sights on some culinary delights after we checked into our hostel. On one day we trekked across the town towards a little restaurant called Ee Beng tucked down a side street. The idea is to load your plate up with a regular sized portion of vegan food but we tested the limits, even shocking the friendly restaurant owner, and it still only came to under five pounds. Later that day we stumbled upon a courtyard full of street art, another thing Penang is known for, and settled down in the corner next to a little wooden hut with a lady smiling from ear to ear. She beckoned us over and told us about her Kefir drink, a cultured probiotic water that she made herself in that very hut. We met so many happy people during our time in Penang, it is an area of different cultures and personalities all coming together wonderfully.

Thankfully for our waistbands, we didn't just eat and drink in this fabulous place we also explored some of the local history. This included a ride on the funicular railway up to Penang hill which was, in all honesty a pretty odd and deserted place except for some very friendly, fluffy cats. Another weird and wonderful place was the gigantic Kek Lok Si temple as it felt like we'd wandered into a beautiful maze, walking over bridges, between passageways and ending up at another stunning building. At some point during the fun, Josh decided he didn't want his big toe anymore and smashed it against the side of the path which led to a rather nasty flap with blood pouring out. He held together well, his emotions and the flap, but between the muffled groans a kind Malaysian lady inched over offering a cigarette which I assumed was to take the edge off the pain. We thankfully declined but she shook her head and motioned to shake the tobacco out and tap it onto the cut, which we later learnt is an actual thing! Safe to say I come prepared, I hope you're proud mum, and we instead covered it in antiseptic cream and bandaged it up. 

Our next stop was to venture up into the Cameron Highlands which is a hill town famous for treks and tea. No this isn't a town in Scotland although from the moment we arrived the unrelenting rain, cold temperature and strawberry farms everywhere certainly made it feel like we were back in the UK. Exploring the chilly landscape was nice as we got to see the ancient mossy forest and some glorious tea plantations, I even drank some tea which if you know me is a rare occurrence. On one rainy afternoon we decided to set off on trek number ten which had been kindly recommended to us from another traveller as a relatively flat, simple trek which was just what we wanted. Fast forward half an hour into the hike and we start to think that maybe that traveller didn't like us very much as we're both sweating and hanging on to vines to pull ourselves up the steep muddy path that looks as though it is not going to end anytime soon. We had inadvertently started the highest climbing hike in the Cameron Highlands, but once deep in the jungle the only thing to do is carry on and we were rewarded by a peaceful view over the mountains and a slippery walk back down. One huge bonus to our trip here was meeting some truly wonderful people around the fire at De'Native Hostel, hope to see you again!

Shivering our way back to the warmth of the Malaysian lowlands we decided it was time for some relaxation in the sun so we chose to visit Pangkor Island. On our journey we bumped into a Dutch couple we'd already met a few times before in Penang who were also heading over to the island so we travelled there together. We had a few days of wonderful adventures and loads of laughs with Wytze and Denise, and we loved our time on this quiet island even more for having them there. The most magical thing about this place, apart from the lack of tourists, were the amount of Hornbill Birds we saw every day. In every corner of the island you would hear them calling to each other in the trees and see them flying together overhead. We even got the chance to feed these wild birds a little piece of banana which you can see in the video and hear from a local about how much they adore these lovely creatures. Denise, the sunset expert, predicted the most spectacular sun show we have ever seen which left us speechless as we sat with the thieving monkeys and cawing hornbills. It doesn't get any more like paradise than this.

We also did plenty of exploring here including a swim across the bay to a little island and a trek through the jungle to a secret beach. This began at a seemingly random red water hydrant where from there we had to make our own path and push our way through the undergrowth, jump over logs and try not to get bitten by mosquitoes. We found ourselves on a secluded, private beach, complete with a creepy abandoned camp that we of course investigated. It was so peaceful and we managed to see some pretty big water monitors prowling through the jungle. There are too many stories we could share from our time in Pangkor as we had the most fun filled few days. This included exploring and eating Banana fritters at Daddy's Cafe whilst comparing odd things about the UK and The Netherlands. We introduced them to the show Naked Attraction and I think it made their year. 

The island was a perfect relaxing stop-over before visiting Kuala Lumpur and it was made all the better by hanging out with our Dutch friends, and occasionally our German buddy.