Welcome to Malaysia

 

March 16, 2023. View of the Skycab from the Sky bridge, Langkawi Island, Malaysia

After 40 days in Thailand (the second time around), we finally found ourselves in a new country when we entered Malaysia March 14 via ferry. We didn't know what to expect doing a customs crossing via boat, but it will probably go down as the easiest immigration/customs stop of the whole entire trip. Our speedboat left Koh Lanta a bit late, which made for a tight connection to make the switch from the Thai to Malay ferry. As we pulled into port on Koh Lipe to get our Thailand exit stamp, I was mentally preparing for not making the next ferry when a man hopped on before we were even fully docked and shouted with urgency "Who is to Langkawi?", to which I panic yelled "THAT'S ME!" as I ran towards the man with renewed hopes of making our transfer. 

We ended up making the next (and last) boat departing for the Malay Island of Langkawi and walked through the ferry terminal customs check without hardly breaking our stride. They had a very "official" looking brown cardboard box in which you dropped your customs slip without anyone even giving it a glance. And just like that, we were in country #3. 

Our first stop in Langkawi, Malaysia would be a very local night market in which my gluten-free soy sauce I carry was mistaken for hidden alcohol.  And although I cover my knees and shoulders as regular practice when in Muslim communities, that was the first time that I really wanted a head scarf to help blend in as I drew a lot of attention as I walked back and forth across the food court asking about food. After several failed attempts to figure out what I could eat, a lovely couple who was witnessing the debacle (along with the rest of the market-goers) sent me over some chicken satays with peanut sauce because they could see how flustered I was getting trying to order.

We stayed on Cenang Beach in Langkawi and, although we still had our fill of sweet cats and fire shows, our beloved pool tables were no longer to be found. We tried something a bit different and visited a local water park, a fun but unique experience in an Islamic country. Although they didn't require you to cover, to avoid drawing all the attention to myself I did opt for long sleeves and workout shorts, which turns out really hurts your momentum on waterslides. Innertubes solved that issue. 

Another day we took a motorbike to hit the island's major attractions, including the Sky Bridge, which required a ride on the steepest gondola in the world, but paid out in some pretty sweet, if not nail-biting, views. We also hit up some waterfalls and beaches on our route around the island. 

Our final day in Langkawi happened to be St. Patrick's day, so of course we had to get to the one Irish "pub" we could find. Johnny also took one for the team and drank their buy 5, get one free Guinness promotion to get a sweet t-shirt that I will insist he wear every St Patty's day from this year forth, probably for the rest of our lives. 

From Langkawi, we would be headed to George Town in Penang, Malaysia. To avoid the higher cost of booking a tourist transfer, we decided to piece it together ourselves, of which I'm rather proud of. George town is known for its street food and street art, both of which we pretty much just walked around in the heat to explore. Some highlights also include hiking up Penang Hill through the jungle with a funicular ride down, and a countryside bike tour to learn about the local culture. Part of the bike tour included a stop by a goat farm that also had a little animal petting zoo where Johnny got to feed a very rowdy Ostrich of all things. 

March 20, 2023. Countryside bike tour in Balik Pulau, Penang Island

A quick stop in Kuala Lumpur would be next on the itinerary. Our first night we treated ourselves to a bottle of wine at a sky bar on the 59th floor to admire the skyline and the famous Petronas towers. Exploring the city, we found some sweet food markets and made new friends while whiling away the evening hours at the 24 jam KK, the local equivalent to a seven-11. Johnny explored the local parks while I added some more conservative clothing to my wardrobe at the central market. From there, we boarded our first flight since we started our journey in order to get to Sandakan on the Island of Borneo. 

Seeing the forests of Borneo and its wildlife has always been a dream of mine so we centered our time there on a river cruise tour resort outside of Bilit on the Kinabatangan River. The resort we stayed at was tucked away in the forest with no wifi and lots of downtime to relax between tours. Each morning and evening we went out on the river to look for the Borneo "big five". We really lucked out in all that we got to see in our short time there, including getting super close to pygmy elephants that can only be seen from the river a couple months of the year. We ultimately saw the big five as well as lots and lots of monkeys. 

After the River Cruise resort, we again decided to go it on our own in sorting out our transportation to Kota Kinabalu, the result of which being a very comical, albeit slightly terrifying, local bus ride through the mountains, blasting Malay pop music while the bus driver set land speed records on some very narrow mountain roads. There was more to see in Borneo than we had the time for unfortunately, so after a couple days in the state capital Kota Kinabalu, it was time to catch our flight to our next country, Singapore. 

March 29, 2023, Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, Sabah, Borneo