Yes, it is Asia, but mostly it's all the bad parts of Asia. The rip offs, the rudeness, the daily frustrations, the engine fumes, the lorry-loads of tourists descending on beautiful landscapes. So, Malaysia and I didn't get off to the best start, but it was intended as a week of relaxing and recharging by the sea - and for that, it lived up to expectations.
There were of course great positives, and we ate our way through most of those. Roti, dosas, iced Milo (a sweet, chocolate drink), grilled salted corn, chicken satay. We eagerly looked forward to our next opportunity to stuff our faces.
But, despite the cheap, delicisou food, the island of Langkawi seemed like one money making scheme after another. Although the island is 478 square kilometers and it’s filled to the brim with tourists, public transportation is conspicuously absent. Instead, visitors can use the over-priced taxis governed by one hell of a well-organized taxi mafia.
Then, if you want to escape the island, you have to join an over-priced island hopping tour, each one carbon copy of the next but everyone pays a different price. Thankfully, we were the ones being told to keep quiet about how little we paid for the trip.
We had high hopes of going diving around the smaller islands - but not for more than double the price you would pay across the water on a Thai island.
So, in the spirit of independent travel (and thriftiness), Med and I decided to rent a motorbike and drive around the island on our own. We wound our away along the well-paved streets past gas stations, hotels and shopping centers until we came to parts of the island that were refreshingly green and impressively undeveloped. There we found our tropical beaches, unspoilt views of soaring karst mountains and emerald waters. Peace at last.
We won't be rushing back to Malaysia, but I would give anything for a banana roti for 30p right now.
.jpg){kind=small}
No comments:
Post a Comment