Pangkor Beach

Sasha and me hanging at the beach
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I know last weeks entries were a bit down - something along the lines of traveling sucks, I hate the world, and I never want to go near another mountain.  This week has been much better - er, though I'm currently writing this entry out in the hot sun while waiting for the next bus to KL that doesn't leave for another 2 hours.  I missed the first one when I went in search of some coffee :P

Well, first off - I decided to go to India next, which meant getting an Indian visa.  Indian bureaucracy was at full force at the embassy.  After several various lines I discovered I must wait 4 working days (no exception - not even baksheesh will help), then come back on Thursday morning to pay for the visa, then a sperate trip Thursday afternoon to pick up the visa.  Anyway, I filled out the paperwork, then decided to leave KL, dye my hair blonde, and head to the beach.

A beach with a pirate ship - how do you beat that?
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I picked Pangkor Island, a lovely place about 4 hours away from KL - and mostly visited by Malaysian tourists.  On the bus I met Sasha, a kiwi, who I bummed around with for the first couple of days around the beach.  It was fun, though we both were in the sun a bit too long the first day and turned a shade of lobster pink.  After she left I ended up settling down in a hammock with a nice thick book.  But, after about an hour of reading I ended up meeting Pangy, a nice Malay boy who was working construction for his father's company on the island.  We started talking and he ended up taking me around the island by motorbike.  When he got tired of driving I took over, which was much more exciting.  Yes, I may have completely terrified him, especially going down some of those hills, but no accidents and it was all good fun.  The last night he brought me to dinner to his sister's house.  We had wonderful grilled fish caught that day and some other delicious Malay food - all eaten traditional style using just the hands.  I had a good time on the island and Malaysia has been great, but I'm ready to head back to India :)