Krabi, Kuala Lumpur & Cameron Highlands

Hello all!!

Krabi

On Wednesday May, 19th we caught a ferry from Koh Phi Phi over to Krabi which is on the mainland of Thailand. We spent only two nights here, enjoying our days...on the beach! Our accommodation was located on Ao Nang Beach, but we caught a longtail over to Railay Beach and Ao Phra Nang Beach, which are both only accessible by boat. These beaches were beautiful, although the day was ruined when we went in the water to snorkel and ended up covered in jellyfish stings. Lovely Thai ladies quickly mixed up a concoction of leaves (I think morning glory?) and rubbed them all over our skin which took away some of the sting. After that we were hesitant to go back in the water as thousands of jellyfish were getting washed ashore.

Limestone Caves at Ao Phra Nang Beach, Krabi

Longtail Boats at Ao Phra Nang Beach, Krabi

Ao Phra Nang Beach, Krabi

On Friday morning we left Krabi and caught a bus back to Phuket airport where we were to fly into Malaysia. The bus arrived at the airport 7 hours before our flight, so we left our luggage at the airport and caught a taxi to the closest beach, Hat Nai Yang. We spent our last day in Thailand hanging out at this quiet, less-touristy beach, seeing a different side of Phuket.

Catching the sunset on Hat Nai Yang Beach, Phuket before our flight to Malaysia

In general, Mike and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Thailand, although we wish we had the opportunity to have seen it about 15-20 years earlier, before tourism started to exploit the "Land of Smiles."

Kuala Lumpur

On Friday, May 21st, Mike and I flew from Phuket to Kuala Lumper, Malaysia. We arrive at our hotel in Chinatown at 3:00am and got a good nights sleep before conquering the town the next day. We caught the "Hop-on Hop-off" Bus, where buses continuously run around the city, stopping at KL's most popular attractions every 30mins. This was a great way to see the city in such a short amount of time. At the end of the day we "hopped off" in Chinatown where we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the night market. The shopping was so much better here than in Thailand. After spending all our money and grabbing some street food, we walked to Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) where the "Colours of Malaysia" Festival was being held. We arrived just in time to see a parade of 5500 Malaysians dressed in elaborate costumes, dancing and singing infront of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. The festival was wonderful, exhibiting the mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures that make up Malaysia. The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks show!

The Colours of Malaysia Festival

Fireworks at the festival

Sunday morning we woke up early to get free entrance tickets to go up to the skybridge of the Petronas Towers, the World's tallest buildings from 1996-2003. We arrived at 7:30am and waited in line for two hours before realising that we were not going to get tickets, as only 1400 are admitted a day. Instead, we headed over to the KL Tower, where we looked over the city from 270m, which in the end was better, as the skybridge of the Petronas towers is only 170m high. What a spectacular view of KL, with its modern architecture, historic neighbourhoods and even a rainforest right in the heart of the city. This city has a lot to offer and has really set the stage for the rest of our travels through Malaysia.

Petronas Towers

KL Tower, in the middle of the rainforest

View from the KL Tower, looking over at the Petronas Towers

Cameron Highlands

Sunday afternoon we rushed to the bus station to continue on to Cameron Highlands. Located up in the mountains, the land is lush, there are rolling hills of tea plantations and it feels quite tranquil up here in comparison to KL. It is actually quite cold, I am wearing my one pair of pants (which I was considering throwing away in the 43 degree weather of Thailand) and a sweater. This morning we woke up and were able to see our breath outside, no need for aircon here!!! We spend today, our only full day in the Cameron Highlands, 4x4ing up into the jungle, going for a long hike and checking out some of what the highlands have to offer.

Our driver Spencer, taking us through the muddy roads up to the Jungle

Camouflage!

Rafflesia, the World's largest mushroom - in bloom for about 10 days, about 3'-6"dia.

Mike hitting targets with a blowpipe

Mike and I in the tea plantations

That's it for now! Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, we are catching a bus to Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia.

Lots of love,
Kim and Mike
xoxoxoxoxoxo