Back into the swing of things (sort of)

Update finally! Photos up for all island adventures and lazy times in Malaysia below (check the last 3 posts for new photos)!

After a tearful goodbye to the Perhentians, I found myself at a loss. After a week of complete relaxation, how was I supposed to get back into high-gear travel mode and get myself down to Singapore? I couldn't get back into the zone with making travel reservations and finding accommodations. Luckily, I met a few people on the boat coming from the islands so we went together to find a place to stay in Kota Bharu.

We made sort of a ragtag group, like ships passing through the night. We were all headed in different directions but we found ourselves hanging out for a day or so. But we had a good time, drinking beers (where we could find them), watching the World Cup and walking around the city. Kota Bharu isn't much of a town but it is a more traditional Malay town without the same tourism as the cities on the west coast so it was nice to see normal Malay life. Malaysia is a Muslim country so most of the women are in conservative dress and headscarves though there are plenty of men walking around without their shirts on. Being a single female traveler, I didn't want to attract too much attention to myself so I also covered up though the weather was absolutely sweltering. Really, I will be glad to finally get out of the insane heat of SE Asia!

In preparation for the World Cup games that night. Impressive that we found so many beers in a Mulism town like Kota Bharu!

We all had night buses the next night but we spent the day wandering around without much to do. Two of the guys, Tim and Tommy, and I visited some of the local markets looking for these decorative kites that caught my eye in some travel brochures. All the kites we saw in the shops were really small but we wanted to find the huge ones we saw in the pictures. One of the shop ladies told us to catch the No 10 bus to PCB, wherever that was, to this kite-making shop and since we didn't have anything else to do, we decided to go. I really love taking local buses because its a great way to see the city and interact with local people.

The central market. It had consisted of mostly food (so it wasn't be best smelling place) but it was interesting to see what goes into a Malaysian feast!

I just liked the name of this store, though apparently they're called reject shops in the UK as well. They are for factory defected clothing not for lame people.

We finally found the bus though we ran into this really weird Malay guy with "Brasil" shaved into the back of his head. Maybe he was just distraught after Brazil's loss the night before but he kept talking to us in Malay though we obviously had no idea what he was saying and laughing. He then turned to Tim and shows him his cellphone. I only caught a glimpse of the phone and a bit shocked, I asked Tim if it was a picture of a naked girl and he calmly said yup. We just started to crack-up because the guy was totally wacko but at least harmless. The bus ride took us out of town and quickly filled up with a bunch of school kids who were pretty excited to have a group of foreigners on their bus. After taking a couple of wrong turns, we finally found the kite shop but unfortunately, they were way too big and fragile to take back home. I at least got some good photos of them!

We finally found the kites! But I couldn't really get one since they are made of delicate paper and you can't fold them up. But they were beautiful!

It was a failed kite mission, but we had a really great time taking the bus and seeing the countryside outside the city. All the Malay people, except for that weird guy, were all so friendly and helpful so we felt perfectly at ease in such a different culture.

I took an overnight bus (it was like a meat locker, it was so air-conditioned) to Melaka, a southern port town that had been colonized by the Dutch a few centuries ago. Its famed for its colonial-fusion architecture and Nonya cuisine so I decided it would be the perfect place to spend a couple of days before heading to Singapore. There were some other sights in Malaysia, namely the Tamaran Negara rain forest, that I originally wanted to see but honestly, I just couldn't be bothered. I'm so traveled and jungled-out that the thought of trekking through a sweltering forest was not very exciting to me. I just wanted to easiest route to Singapore, really so Melaka was it.

But I'm still in island mode and couldn't drum up any enthusiasm for Melaka either. There were some interesting building but after about a couple of hours, I was ready to call it quits. Honestly, the architecture wasn't as great as I expected (Macau is way more interesting) and I can't say I'm interested in seeing any museums or walking around in hot weather anymore. Its a shame to have sort of wasted these last few days in Malaysia but I don't really care ;). But I am excited about Singapore and more importantly eating in Singapore so hopefully I'll have a change of heart when I get there!

The main square in the old town of Melaka though its pretty small.

They have rickshaws in Melaka though for some reason, they are decorated with the tackiest, gaudiest things possible. Some even blare bad, cheesy music.

Some interesting windows.

But it hasn't all been a waste. I bought this really cool batik-painted mask in Melaka. Sigh, can I please stop with the shopping?? I don't even want to talk about how many scarves I've bought!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! I can't wait to BBQ with you all next year!