Notes from a Malaysian island
Note to self: In many places in the tropics, the rainy season means that it occasionally rains. If the town you're in has cavernous storm drains every ten yards of pavement, then it is probably not one of those places.
I got to a point yesterday afternoon where all my clothing was soaked and I had nothing dry to change in to. And I believe it's only stopped raining for five minutes since.
In spite of this (and the fact that I've been here a day and a half so far) I adore Malaysia already. Pretty much everybody I've met has been absolutely lovely--in spite of the huge rain and the fact that it's early Ramadam when many Muslims can be a little grumpier than usual as they get used to fasting. Also, the language is almost unbelievably easy to pick up (I'm already at the level of knowing whether to push or pull the door and which lavatory to walk into, a level of competence I never came close to reaching in Thailand). It also helps that accommodation is cheap and food is cheap and tasty--it takes serious effort to go over budget on food, whereas in Thailand it was practically impossible not to unless you were in a city and had an unlimited capacity for rice.
(That said, thanks to the epic walk I set out on along the beach yesterday shortly before the rain started, I ended up having to shelter in a highly upmarket resort, where a cup of tea cost ... about the same as a main meal plus drink usually does. However, since they served it with a complimentary large fluffy towel I don't begrudge them a single ringgit of it.)
On the minus side, anything other than food and accommodation is rather more expensive, the beaches are quite a bit dirtier, and, oh yes. It just will not stop raining.
I got to a point yesterday afternoon where all my clothing was soaked and I had nothing dry to change in to. And I believe it's only stopped raining for five minutes since.
In spite of this (and the fact that I've been here a day and a half so far) I adore Malaysia already. Pretty much everybody I've met has been absolutely lovely--in spite of the huge rain and the fact that it's early Ramadam when many Muslims can be a little grumpier than usual as they get used to fasting. Also, the language is almost unbelievably easy to pick up (I'm already at the level of knowing whether to push or pull the door and which lavatory to walk into, a level of competence I never came close to reaching in Thailand). It also helps that accommodation is cheap and food is cheap and tasty--it takes serious effort to go over budget on food, whereas in Thailand it was practically impossible not to unless you were in a city and had an unlimited capacity for rice.
(That said, thanks to the epic walk I set out on along the beach yesterday shortly before the rain started, I ended up having to shelter in a highly upmarket resort, where a cup of tea cost ... about the same as a main meal plus drink usually does. However, since they served it with a complimentary large fluffy towel I don't begrudge them a single ringgit of it.)
On the minus side, anything other than food and accommodation is rather more expensive, the beaches are quite a bit dirtier, and, oh yes. It just will not stop raining.