Sunday, August 22, 2010

Some thoughts from Malaysia

-Rambutan trees are pretty funny looking. But then so are rambutans. 
-European backpackers need to shower more, have a shave, and seriously rethink those ridiculous pants. Just cause you're in the jungles of Malaysia is no reason to smell like that.  
-I must be getting old - I'm willing to pay extra for a room of my own and an indoor bathroom. Five years ago it would have been bunk beds all the way, and shower in the ocean. How bourgoise of me. 
-Don't expect breakfast on Ramadhan. Or hot water ever. Internet costs extra.
-Giant monitor lizards really are giant, and really are terrifying. They climb trees too.  
-Sunburns suck. So does "water-resistant sunscreen" that resists water about as well as Imelda Marcos might resist a shoe sale.
-Scuba diving: totally worth it.  
-Snorkeling here kicks the shit out of snorkeling in Mexico. Incidentally, add to my Christmas list for this year a really good waterproof camera and tickets back here. 
-Things I saw while snorkeling/diving: sharks, a sea turtle, rays, more sea slugs than I'd like to think about, triggerfish, sea anemones (complete with clownfish),  zebrafish, angelfish, butterflyfish, giant parrotfish, giant pufferfish, giant clams with iridescent blue frills around the edge, coral that looked like a brain, coral that looked like fungus, coral that looked like seaweed, coral that glowed in the dark, coral that looked like nothing else I've seen on this earth, plenty of other fluorescent-colored creatures, a wheelbarrow, monkeys.    
-Monkeys are adorable.   

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