Malaysia - Truly Asia

So, after being lucky enough to have spent a couple of weeks in Malaysia during the winter break, I simply cannot understand why they don't have a better tourist slogan.  Maybe something like: Malaysia - Paradise.  (For serious, y'all.)

(Even more) Seriously though, the second our feet hit the ground, we marveled at the beautiful, clean, cheery surroundings - even at night.  Everything (from the buildings to the freeways) was clean, well-lit, and seemed to function exactly as its makers intended.  In the capital city, Kuala Lumpur (KL), we found all the western food we'd nearly forgotten existed for 6 months - Dunkin Donuts, Auntie Anne's, Wendy's, and even an amazing sushi place (ok, not exactly western, but I have so not eaten sushi in China).  There were amazing malls filled with beautiful things at unbelievable prices, including western sizes!  We even watched a movie in a real theater with popcorn.  We had a few days there before heading down to a little island in the South China Sea.

That smile is for real beef - holla!

Our bus arrived in the little, port town too late to catch the ferry to the island, so we had a night at the Golden City Hotel.

Let's just say that all 3 words in the name were pretty inaccurate.

Hey, but they're looking out for our safety! Pretty confidence-inspiring, eh?

The island (including all the wonderful people there) was more than I could have ever hoped for in a place.  Since words will always fail to give an accurate description, I'll just leave you with one of the (many, many) photos of the relaxation this place embodies.

Sigh, la la.

Of course, even paradise can have its difficulties.  We went on a hike through the jungle and after heaving (read panting and profusely sweating) our way up the mountainous, boulder-filled path and wading through the swollen, rushing waters (due to an over zealous monsoon season), we were told by our new local friend and guide that we could take the easy path back down.  On said easy path, I contracted my first leech.  Ugh - so gross.  We then made it back down through the jungle to find a bridge washed out.

The shoes came off again and we each (one at a time!) tentatively gripped the remaining bamboo poles with our toes as we shimmied across.  We followed the path a bit further down and got to the lagoon.  At high tide.  The boys encouraged us that now was our time to feel like Indiana Jones.  Now?  It was like they somehow hadn't experienced the picture above...even though they were right there with us.  Thankfully, the Indiana Jones task was a bit of a pansy romp compared to the trek we'd already endured - they simply meant we'd take a pontoon with rope pull across the lagoon, where sand and a nicely finished concrete path would guide us directly back to our beach huts.  Phew.