Last Night in Malaysia

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  Langkawi, Malaysia
Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Given that I am very keen to get to Thailand, I have decided to stay in Langkawi for only 2 nights. I think this is a good move given that there isn't much to do here in Langkawi except relax and sunbathe, which Phuket, Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngang can also provide - but with better beaches.

Today, I was keen to get on the water and explore Langkawi's other islands. I found a very reasonably priced $8, 4 hour island hopping tour that ventured to 3 islands, all different in appearance. This appeared the tour to do given that there were about 50 other tourists doing it... we boarded our small boats and hit the water, passing by some pristine scenery.

On visiting the first island, we swam in a large, very deep lake. As I was walking back to the jetty, I opened my bag to get my camera out

A very cheeky monkey.

. I left the bag open for about 30 seconds before a very cheeky monkey came along, had a quick look through the bag and took my bag of nuts out ever so quickly. He ripped the bag open and scoffed every single nut down. I couldn't believe how quick and cunning the monkey was... talk about an education for the unsuspecting tourist.

I didn't enjoy the second island because unbeknown to all the tourists was a whole lot of very sharp coral at the bottom of the beach. As I was venturing out to what I thought was a very nice stretch of water, I (like many other unsuspecting tourists) stood on the coral and got a nasty shock. As I write, my foot feels ok and seems to have rid itself of the three or so bits of coral that penetrated my foot. The guides should of warned us... but hey, that would of been too much trouble. Kind of reminds me of Taman Negara where its every tourist out for themselves... the guides aren't as safety conscious as other western guides.

There seem to be quite a few Canadians around. I have met very few Australians here in Malaysia. Maybe they all bypass Malaysia for Thailand... we'll soon find out!

I am enjoying the flexibility of moving from place to place and am definitely getting into the swing of backpacking round SE Asia. I am keen to continue with my plan, but am definitely looking forward to mixing up the independent travel with group tours in Vietnam and China. The internet is absolutely fantastic for keeping up to date with what's happening.

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Having a drink	Island Hopping	One of Langkawis 300 or so outlying islands.	Some of the wildlife observed during the tour
The unsuspecting beach!

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