From the Mountains to the Sea

Greetings from the South China Sea!  I’ll take a break from the Everest posts  for a moment to blog in real time.  I write from the island of Lang Tengah off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.  We flew to the city of Kuala Terengganu and spent a day with some lovely Rotarians, and collected information for Tomoko’s thesis, before hopping a small boat for 1 hour to the island.  There are several beautiful islands off the coast here including the Perhentian Islands which I visited in August when I first arrived, and Redang Island which is a very popular holiday spot for locals.  The island we are staying on only has four hotels spread out around the island so it is nice and quiet.  Tomoko is taking the opportunity to earn her dive certification, and I am indulging in relaxing on the beach, swimming every 30 minutes in the warm clear blue water, reading and napping.  Maybe if I have the energy I will go snorkelling, haha.  The beach here has redefined my concept of “white sand beach” with its powdery soft shoreline.

This part of Malaysia is well known for their batik crafts.  At the resort, everything is batik from the table cloths to the curtains...and matching robes. 

I hope everyone is enjoying springtime in America, there is no such thing here in SE Asia, it just keeps getting hotter and hotter and hotter.  I can handle the heat when all I have to do is lay on the beach and dip in the sea once in a while, but it’s a different story on the mainland when you have to wear something more than a swim suit and trek around on the hot pavement to catch public transportation to get from one place to another.  I can’t believe it’s only another few months before I return to a place with four seasons!  It seems like all of the sudden it’s almost the end of my time here, ahhh!  I will miss many many things about Malaysia, but walking out of an air conditioned building and feeling like someone tossed a hot, wet blanket over you is not one of them!