my endless summer

Goodbye Malaysia! I am now on my way to the final adventure: Sri Lanka. Well, I'm already here and the blog was already finished, but the wifi here is pretty bad and it took forever to upload the photos. Whoa, only one more month, and then my endless summer comes to an end. Although not really, because the summer is just starting in Germany :) I'm really glad that I'm arriving in summer.

After I recovered, I went from Terengganu to Kuala Besut, a 1.5-hour trip to get a boat to the Perhentian Islands. There are 2 islands: the small Perhentian Kecil and the big Perhentian Besar. I stayed on the small one. It's more for backpackers.. the accommodations are very simple here and if you want more comfort, it's just ridiculously expensive for what you get. The island was also the most expensive place so far (food, accommodation). Turquoise water and good for snorkeling. During my snorkeling tour, I saw 3 sharks (unfortunately too deep for the GoPro and too fast) and a huge sea turtle.. Nemos and parrotfish were also there again :) and of course, super nice people. There were only 4 tourists on the tour. The rest were all Malaysians. I liked the island, but it didn't convince me that much and I quickly moved on to Langkawi. Another long journey with a night bus and ferry, I was travelling for about 18 hours in total. Langkawi is huge.. quite beautiful too. And a popular travel destination in Malaysia. You can also tell by the prices here. The restaurants here have been the most expensive so far. By the way, there are washbasins for handwashing in every small and rundown restaurant in the whole country, always in the middle of the restaurant. So convenient.
Langkawi's beaches are wide and large. I was on Cenang Beach. The 'main beach'. Quite beautiful and crowded. You don't feel like you're on an island. It has a bit of a city atmosphere. And there is so much construction going on here. You can't even see the beach from the road because everything is built up. That annoys a lot of locals too. There is a cable car, waterfalls, and much more to explore on the island. I thought the Geo Park was great. There are apparently 3, I found out afterwards. I went up with the cable car. The steepest in the world. I just went in without knowing what to expect. At some point, I looked out and thought with my fear of heights.. 'fuck, that's hoooigh, I want to get out of here' and then I turned around and only a quarter of the way was done and the steepest part is still ahead!!! I had such sweaty hands that I couldn't take any photos or videos during the ride. It would have slipped from my hands :) and I didn't want to move at all. But I was always with nice people in the cabin.. they took photos for me🙈 Wow, it was steep and high and then you're just hanging there on a rope.
Do you know those coin machines where you insert a coin, choose a tourist motif, spin a wheel, and then a flat coin with the desired motif comes out?! I got one up there. The cable car is on it and it says above it: 'I survived'!
But the view from up there is amazing. There are 2 different viewpoints. I was also at the highest point, where there is also a sky bridge. That was also a thing, but I overcame myself :) The ticket only costs about 11€ and with that, you can also go into the SkyDome (360° cinema with a virtual roller coaster ride - really cool), into the SkyRex (4D cinema through Jurassic Park - also very cool), and into the 3D Museum. It is the 2nd largest in the world and really cool. There is a 3D laser show inside every hour. That was also amazing! It's definitely worth it.

What is good is that there is a ferry from Langkawi directly to the next island Penang. Only about 3 hours drive, whoop whoop. That was quick. Penang is the largest island in Malaysia. I stayed in Georgetown for almost a week. Lots of street art and it is the food city of Malaysia. But everything I tried was either mediocre (Popiahs, Nasi Kandar) or disgusting (Assam Laksa) :) Only Nasi Lemak was delicious. Coconut rice in banana leaf with either chicken or fish, etc..
The street art in Georgetown is mega cool! At every corner!
There was a weekend market here on Saturday. Right in front of my hotel on the street! What a coincidence! love it!
It's also crazy how different the places are on weekends. Completely different vibe. It makes such a difference to stay over the weekend. Much more life on the streets, everything is open, and of course, there are many more markets and street food stalls. It's obvious. It's like that everywhere on weekends. I'm glad I stayed in Georgetown over the weekend. When I arrived on Wednesday, everything was too quiet and it's nice to see the city blossom again.
Also, the Armenia Suite Hotel is great and the street is also very beautiful. Especially because it's the street with the most famous street art motif with the 2 children on the bicycle.
The staff at the hotel are also so sweet. I sat there again at a real PC with a mouse and all that :) I played receptionist a bit:p I had to print out my bus ticket and the older gentleman said: 'if you want to do that, you have to find the button yourself to print it. I can't do that' :) It's crazy when you sit at a computer every day and then not at all for half a year. But I don't miss it:)

By the way, this voice recording app is amazing. I use it a lot when I'm traveling. Especially when I want to remember something for the blog. So convenient because you don't have time to write everything down while on the go and it's usually too bright outside for the phone anyway. Besides, you usually have the right words at that moment. If you want to write it down later, sometimes you just don't have the right words anymore and you can't express it in the same way as at that moment. Or when you're lying in bed at night.. hello, that's usually when you come up with the best ideas. That's why it's so good. I can now understand people who use dictation devices. Just practical. I still know today that 2 years ago, I had a great idea in bed at night about what to give my best friend for her birthday. The idea was so good that I thought I didn't need to write it down because I wouldn't forget it anyway.. oh man, I wish I could remember it finally:) Ok, back to the point..

The best accommodation was my apartment on Airbnb on Penang's waterfront. Amazing view. I was so happy, even though I only stayed there for one night. For six people, it's really cheap, less than 20€ per person.

In the morning, you can see the sunrise there ♡
It's also amazing how much it matters when you feel comfortable in your accommodation. If you have a shitty hotel/room where you don't feel comfortable and you don't like going back there, it can really ruin your stay in that place.

My last stop in Malaysia before returning to KL was the Cameron Highlands.
Two days are enough there. There are some hiking trails up the mountain and you should do one of the many tours there. Just not on Mondays because the tea plantations are closed. I did an 'adventure' tour. Really cool. First, you go through a mossy forest uphill. It's foggy there and has a Lord of the Rings atmosphere :)
The Tiger Balm leaves also grow there. But Tiger Balm is not produced in Malaysia. Only in China and Thailand. In any case, the leaves already smell the same when you roll them in your hand.
Then we went to a tea plantation with the most beautiful view. Butterfly farm (they were very tame), bee farm, temple, etc. It was a really nice day and only a small group with 7 people. I met 4 Australians there. Super nice. The next day, we took the bus back to KL together. We spent the last few days together there. I also met Nur again for a day. I met her on the flight from Thailand to Malaysia. She also told me a lot about Ramadan. It started on May 27. I don't notice much of it, but in the last few days, I was in the most touristy part with the giant shopping centers. But in the evenings, there are definitely a lot more street food stalls or rather 'food festivals'. And they eat earlier than usual. It's normal when you don't eat or drink all day. I would go crazy..

One thing I noticed is that the men here don't have that feminine touch (like especially the Thai). They really look masculine here. Some even have some muscles and are not so skinny. Definitely the best-looking in Southeast Asia, I think.
Oh man, I met so many amazing people in Malaysia. That's mostly why it's difficult for me to leave. I enjoyed my time here sooo much. Definitely my favorite country so far, and it's really hard for me to leave this time. But of course, I'm also looking forward to the next country. See you soon.