After getting tired of the shopping in Kuala Lumpur, I hopped on a bus to Malacca (Melaka), the other UNESCO world heritage site in Malaysia. Malacca has a reputation amongst backpackers as being very boring, only worth a one-night stopover, but I found the city to be quite enjoyable and beautiful. A pity it was somewhat lacking in accommodation, or I would have stayed longer than 3 days before heading off to Singapore.
Travelogue: Kuala Lumpur
From the Perhentian Islands, I set off towards Kuala Lumpur, the (shopping) capital of Malaysia. Being a backpacker, I don’t have space for shopping, so I contented myself with enjoying some pretty amazing food (not as cheap as Penang, but more variety) and seeing some of the cultural landmarks.
Here’s a cool model of Kuala Lumpur:
Travelogue: Perhentian Islands
After finally sating my appetite in Penang, I took an overnight bus and ferry to the Perhentian Islands, a pair of islands with amazing scuba diving off the coast of northeast Malaysia.
The Perhentian Islands are beautiful and relatively untouched by civilization, but very touristy. Whereas places like Koh Tao have a good mix of local industry and tourism, the Perhentian Islands have only tourism – and so everything is about 50% more expensive than it should be. Absolutely beautiful, though!
Travelogue: Penang
For my first stop in Malaysia, I stayed for some time in Georgetown, the capital of Penang. As the northwestern-most state of Malaysia, Georgetown is right next to Thailand, and quite accessible once I left Thailand. As a UNESCO world heritage city, Georgetown has a lot of history!
But the real reason why I stayed more than a day in Penang, is that it is the hawker food capital of Malaysia! While staying at an amazing guesthouse near Chinatown, I discovered this huge hawker center near the guesthouse, and resolved to stay until I had eaten every single food at the hawker center.
I stayed here for an entire week. When you can get two or three delicious dishes for about $3 USD, it’s hard to walk away.
Travelogue: Koh Phangan
Koh Phangan is the home of the (in)famous Full Moon Party, probably one of the biggest parties of the world. During high season, as many as 30 thousand people will descend onto the island in one day for a wild night of drinking, dancing, and debauchery.
So of course, for the first time in my travels, I get traveler’s diarrhea, and cannot join in.
Business Analysis: Scuba Diving on Koh Tao
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present: Jonathan Lee, the certified PADI advanced open water scuba diver!
Or I would, but unfortunately all the pictures from scuba diving are still being developed, so in this post, I’ll be doing a business analysis of Scuba Diving on Koh Tao.
Interlude: Freediving on Koh Tao
When I first heard about the sport of freediving on Koh Tao, I was skeptical. In only two days, using a mask, snorkel, and fins, I could learn to hold my breath for up to three minutes, and dive down to a depth of up to 20 meters? Impossible!
But holy crap, it’s true! By the end of the course, I could hold my breath for 3:20, and had descended to a depth of 20 meters on a single breath of air!
Travelogue: Koh Tao
Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, is the scuba diving certification capital of Southeast Asia. Since the cost of getting a scuba diving certification here is 1/2 or even 1/3 the cost in Europe, many backpackers opt to pick up their certification here. I decided to do the same!
To get to here, from Bangkok I first took an overnight sleeper train (that arrived 3 hours behind schedule) to Chumphon, then a ferry from Chumphon to Koh Tao.
Approaching Koh Tao:
Travelogue: Three Days of Meditation in Bangkok
Now here’s something off the beaten track: while backpacking around Thailand, I spent three days in meditation in Bangkok – at a Buddhist temple, with monks!
Why am I doing this? Because it would be useful to learn to meditate, because it would be a great story, because I’m crazy.
Don’t I know that the ‘proper’ place to learn is in Chang-Mai? Yeah, but that’s the touristy place – they’ve got stunning views and waterfalls and shit, and I don’t want all that distracting me. Learning in Bangkok is not only the real experience (you’re with Thai people doing the same), but it’s also free!
I sound so hipster.
No, I’m not one of those monks.
Continue reading Travelogue: Three Days of Meditation in Bangkok
Reflection: being Asian in Asia
It’s a funny thing, being an Asian traveling in Asia. Whenever a westerner (white guy) travels around in Asia, he stands out, and gets certain “white privileges” – all the companies want to hire him (if only to walk around and pretend that the company is doing international business), all the girls want to talk to him, and in any setting he enjoys an automatic boost in social status. In contrast, if you’re an Asian in Asia, even if you were born in the West, you get squat. If anything, you lose out – you look more or less like a local, but you don’t speak the local language.
But as I travel and talk to people, I realize that it cuts both ways – if you’re white, sure people will always notice and (in some places) accord you more respect. But you’ll never fit in. In places like Japan, you’ll always be the odd man out, never fitting in even if you speak fluent Japanese. In places like Thailand, you will always pay higher prices when bartering, and people will forever be trying to rip you off.