Mark in Malaysia
Well, I think most of you heard about the lovely round of flu I caught in Tioman Island in the South of Malaysia which laid me up for around 1 week. Quite a scary flu in which I had a temperature for about 2 days and had to resort to ice to get it down to a safe level. Funny enough I didn't suffer too much because it just felt like being really drunk for 3 or 4 days. You can be sure I'll be visiting my doctor when I get back to make sure there is nothing lurking in my system!
Anyhow, I'm now in a small coastal "touristy" town named Cherating, half way up the East coast of Malaysia. From here I will be travelling North to some small islands of the North East coast of Malaysia before entering Thailand.
There is a "group" of around 8 travelling together since Tioman island which is quite a mix. One of the more interesting characters, Larry from Baltimore, is a 50 year old Vietnam Vet who has more stories to tell than Hans Christien Andersen because he has been travelling the world for the last 20 years! One of the other guys, a 6 foot 6" German is a also quite a character especially when he meets the locals. They all stop and stare at his size and it has become quite a long running joke now. For example, we played soccer with some local Malaysians and whenever he got the ball they just scattered like mice from a giant cat. I also found out why Malaysia did not make it to the World Cup -- they never pass the ball to each other!
Transportation in Asia is also quite funny. Whenever you expect to get somewhere in one day, count on it taking two days. Although, not quite as hectic as Bali, the bus drivers here still try to pass trucks and other buses with no room at all. Perhaps I will try a train next time. Not all is bad, however -- the food in Malaysia is quite tasty with much of it being either Indian or Chinese. Perhaps now I can put back on the 10 pounds or so I lost while I was sick.
Oh well it's back to the beach now to read my book again. I'm currently reading the "Lord of the Rings" which is a whopping 1200 pages and I still have two thirds to go. I usually alternate between a fiction book and non-fiction. Most of the time, however, I usually end up gabbing with people (I'm sure you know I can do that!) about every subject under the sun!
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