Malaysia – amusemusings

So while the Andaman Sea Thai islands were a bit overrun w tourists, all one needs to do is head a bit south to the Malaysian island of Langkawi. It’s actually 190 different islands but dominated by one main island as most are uninhabited. It’s real lovely & quiet. Datai Bay, on the main island & locale of my hotel, is listed as top 10 beaches in world by National Geographic & it’s the prettiest, widest, longest, nicest one I’ve seen yet. It also seems to have the most wildlife as monkeys are everywhere as are those damn monitor lizards, which I’m getting very accustomed to & don’t even bat an eye when I encounter them now. This rare, nearly endangered, flying monkey species called the colugo come out at night & I’ve been lucky enough to watch them fly from tree to tree over dinner. I spent the week relaxing, kayaking, paddle boarding, reading & treating myself to decent (but still Malaysian) food & a couple spa treatments. Real tough week.

It’s not everyday you have a sign on your patio door warning you to close it due to monkeys. Yes, they’re around.

This warning sign is on the other side of the path circling the pools. You’d think it was a joke but no, one was chillin 5 feet from me in the trees while I was laying in a sun lounger. It’s like they’re NBD anymore. I met guests who ran into 2 large wild boars the other night. After 7pm, brown bats begin dive bombing towards your head “inside” the open-air resort. And this is a 5-star luxury accommodation… or animal kingdom. It’s freaking wild. Literally.

My view from the best mani/pedi of my life. Sitting outside in open air w a great breeze, overlooking the Andaman Sea & monkeys w their babies playing in the trees. Pretty fabulous.

I only planned limited time in KL, primarily bc I didn’t hear great reviews of the city, it’s only 115 years old & I wasn’t super psyched to see another typical big Asian city (hence why I ruled out Singapore, Tokyo, etc in favor of smaller less oft-traveled places). But I did want to visit some Malaysian islands & flight times from S Thailand were such that I was going to spend a night in KL anyways, so I extended it a bit to check out the city. Seemed like a waste otherwise. Due to the limited time, I played super tourist while in town in order to check off all of the key tourist sites. I figured out the underground & monorail system in short order so I could hop stops around the city & yet still spent hours upon hours walking the city. In 2 brief days, I had it figured out & decided I liked the city but the food left something to be desired. Fellow travelers had raved about Malaysian food but I think perhaps it was primarily due to the variety & availability of international cuisines as Malaysia is home to not only Malays, but also a significant number of Chinese & Indians (but that fails to explain the Red Lobster & Longhorn Steakhouse in the mega mall across the street). I of course tried the traditional curry laksa & it was good but traditional Malay restos were pretty hard to come by so I had to do some searching. Oh well. The city sites were impressive including the 60s-chic National Mosque, a cool Central Market & the jaw dropping Petronas Towers (tallest twin towers in the world & tallest overall building until 2004). I usually am not floored by skyscrapers but I found them to be even more gorgeous from the outside than their stunning views from the 41st floor skybridge & 86th floor lookout. The people were lovely & the hotel concierge, front desk & valets were very concerned about my enjoyment of the city & were quite helpful w directions & advice (they seemed a bit protective of single white female solo traveler & also impressed at my whirlwind tours). It felt nice being back in a Muslim country, first time since Turkey a few years back, as I forgot how much I loved hearing the mosques’ calls to worship throughout the day & as an early morning wake up call. Overall… pleasantly surprised & a totally worthwhile stopover.