Diving, Malaysia

Diving was outstanding. The boat, the islands, the people, the underwater scenery, everything was so much fun. We dove the Similan Islands for 3 days on a total of 10 dives. Being my first diving experience I hardly have anything to compare it to, but with about 20 meter visibility, vibrant colors, and sea life of all kinds: coral, fish, octopus, eel, shrimp, crab, lobster, shark. It was extraordinary for sure. Unfortunately I couldn't take any underwater pictures. Rachael and I were lucky enough to have only two other divers on the boat along with the two dive masters. There was also a crew of five more Thai who did everything from cook to captain the ship. There was great food after every dive though, diving on a full stomach is not the best idea. Wow, it was awesome :D.

The weather since Khao Lak has been mostly overcast or rainy depending on the day, so after Khao Lak I decided to skip Krabi and Koh Phi Phi (amazing island I hear) and instead took a minibus to Hat Yai near the border of Malaysia to stay for a night and took an overnight train the next day to Kuala Lumpur (KL). I met a German guy, Thomas, on the train and we hung out in the city and shared a guesthouse room to save some money. The room was about $4 for the night, but was very simple and I rather enjoyed it. The next morning was a minibus trip to the Cameron Highlands just northwest of KL. That afternoon and evening was relaxed, mostly just hanging out with people I rode up with on the bus, and others at the guesthouse. Each night is a total of 8RM (Malay Ringgit, $2.60)! It's simple: just a cot in a room with maybe 10 others, you get a locker and share bathrooms and the TV room and everything; the atmosphere is nice and the people are good company.

Malaysia is very inexpensive aside from the alcohol I assume because of the Muslim influence causing high taxation. Food is about $1-3 for a meal, but a beer is $2-3 where in Thailand it was less than a dollar usually.

I'm uploading pictures as I write this so you can see for yourself, but KL is like an Asian stew pot, well, Malaysia is, but KL is a perfect example. Chinese and Indian nationalities rule the population and culture seemingly, but there is probably an equal share of Islam represented as well. It's an interesting mix for sure. Today I went on an all-day tour around Cameron Highlands and it was breathtaking. Many of the stops on our tour left much to be desired, but the landscape here is stunning, and the weather is great compared to the hot and sticky tropical weather I've been in. It's cool and misty here at about 6,000ft.

Anyway, I'm still having a great time and things are going smoothly. I'll be heading to Singapore over the next couple of days via minibus and train to catch my flight up to Seam Reap (Angkor Wat) in Cambodia. I'm really excited.

I hope all is well where you all are, and cheer extra hard for the Rox, they need all the help they can get! I'll try to watch the game tomorrow morning.


Augustana - Feel Fine
Guster - Lightning Rod