The Perhentian Islands, Taman Negara, and Kuala Lumpur

Have you ever played mini-golf on a course that had a faux "river", with water dyed an iridescent blue for the obvious reason that it covered up the heinousness lurking below? That very color is what I found in the water surrounding the Perhentian Islands, but the water is so crystal clear that it is stunning. One of the days on the island, visibility underwater was 20 to 30 meters, which explains the reason why the Perhentian Islands are a hot spot for scuba diving and snorkeling. And if that doesn't win you over, the soft, white sand beaches and slowed down island atmosphere probably will.

Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil.

While I opted out of scuba diving due to an illness, I did get a bunch of hours of snorkeling in. My travelmate was also recovering from a cold, so one of the days I borrowed his underwater camera. I saw hard and soft corals, green sea turtles, baby and adult black-tip reef sharks, 1.5 meter long bump-head parrot fish, string rays, "nemo" fish, and a lot of other sea life. Consequently, I tried to take a picture of all these creatures, but often only captured the stunning blueness of the water. I assure you that was not my intention, and the human eye saw more than the camera. With a little trial and error, I picked up that macro distances captured the corals and fish best, but it was little too late to take full advantage of that knowledge. Check out the pictures I've posted from Malaysia and see what I'm talking about.

"Nemos" as they are now referred to throughout the world. 

When I wasn't snorkeling, I spent my time drawing, reading, and occasionally picking up trash from the beach. Yes, trash. People visiting the island, and the locals, were terrible with picking up after themselves. The most annoying part were the cigarettes, and I didn't see a single ashtray my entire time on the island. I feel like everyone has forgotten that cigarette butts are trash too. If, say, 40 people smoke a pack of 20 cigarettes a day for the entire tourist season (6 months), that adds up to around 146 liters or 38 gallons of perfectly sized plastic morsels that fish might confuse as food. And that's just one beach. In one group of islands. Of Malaysia.

After Perhentian Islands, I headed south to the "oldest rain forest in the world" at Taman Negara National Park. (Do you know the major difference between a rain forest and a jungle? A rain forest has less dense undergrowth because the tree canopy blocks out enough light to prevent many bushes from growing).  The first night there I did a walk through the rain forest with a guide. As we headed out, it looked like a storm in the distance and I asked the guide if he thought it would rain. His blunt response, "Rain forest." Touché.  On a night walk with a tour guide, I got to see a bunch of creepy crawling animals, which totally freaked me out for the hike I had planned for the next day.

The Timber Ant. The largest of the species in the world. This one was about 2cm long. 

The next day I didn't see many creepy insects, save for a host of pesky leeches and one enormous millipede. I  didn't have any major problems with leeches, but another American I hiked with didn't have close-toed shoes and started off the hike without socks. His feet looked like Medusa's head after a few kilometers of walking. And to give you an idea of how humid it was: my finger tips turned prune-ish from all the sweat running down my hands as we hiked.

Right now, I've arrived in Kuala Lumpur. Its been nearly 2.5 months since I've been in a major city. I'm adjusting to the pace of it all, primarily in the fact that one has to plan in order to accomplish anything -- whereas small towns I would just walk down the street and see where it took me. Regardless, the street food here is amazing with tons of Indian and Chinese options if you're willing to take the plunge and your stomach is strong. With a plenty of months training my gut, I feel confident that mine is up for the challenge.