The End is Near
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2008
1
120
122
Trip End
Jan 01, 2009
Pulau Perhentian Kecil,
Terengganu,
Malaysia
Friday, June 26, 2009
The two Perhitian Islands are as beautiful as anywhere we've been. Add to that they haven't (yet) been overdeveloped like Langkawi, Phi Phi, Phuket, or Ko Tao. That means small beachfront chalets, a handful of restaurants, no cars, no roads, and life in the slow lane. We landed on these Islands, as always, sweaty with backpacks and two day old clothes that had been through the jungle. That arrival feeling is another of the awkward moments in the backpacking world. The people already there look at you with both empathy and happiness. Empathy for the feeling of arriving in a strange place, where all these other travelers have already set-up camp and are enjoying the good life, but then happiness for the fact that they aren't lugging a 15kg bag in the hot sun to find a crash pad. It's a weird but necessary part of travel. Eventually (6 tries) we found a place to stay. Dinner our first night was a beach BBQ of Marlin, Squid, and Prawns.
The next week we switched between eating, sun tanning, swimming, Frisbee, and snorkeling. One day we booked a snorkeling tour where we saw black tip reef sharks, massive green turtles, bump head parrot fish, and a stingy ray. The water was really warm, we could snorkel right outside our beach hut, and the clarity was awesome.
One day a French girl snaps on the young men working at our hotel and starts throwing fists and trashing the reception. The poor little desk man could only retaliate with an electric fly swatter. Charis was the only one at the hotel so she tried to intervene while the hotel staff were yelling "you are just a crazy French girl". Charis was able to get the girl back into her room to cool down, to which the hotel staff cheered for Charis.
Spending time with Neil and Jay, and also getting to know Neil's girlfriend was great. Not only were Neil and Jay groomsmen at our wedding, but they made the effort to meet up with us on the other side of the world. There are few things in life as valuable as good friendship. "insert every other cliche about friendship here" Jay / Neil - Thanks again, can't wait for the next trip, stay safe on the rest of your Asian Tour!
We also started to accept that this whirlwind tour is going to end, and it's going to end very soon. We've thought about what we'll do when we're home and also to plan for the trip east in August.
And then, all of a sudden it was just the two of us again. In a strange way it felt very normal to be back on the road just the two of us, almost like going home. It makes sense considering the road has been our home for so long...
