landing in kuala lumpur after the relaxation of the retreat was quite a shock...i like KL, but in comparison it was really really big and crazy and LOUD...
anywho, the morning after arriving, i made my way to the US embassy (which technically meant i left malaysian soil and spent an hour in the US) and dropped off my application and way too much money...go figure, i had turned in the wrong size photos, so i had to run to a kodak shop, have proper size photos taken, and turn those in...they accepted them, and told me to come back with my receipt in a couple weeks...
that night, i met up with layna and a friend of hers, we all boarded a bus that took us to a little town called kuala besut...there is no reason to go there, except to catch a ferry to the perhentian islands...there are two islands, besar (big) and kecil (small)...they're virtually the same in terms of physical appearance (other than size of course) so we went to kecil, because accomodation is cheaper...layna had stayed on kecil when she was last in malaysia, and really enjoyed it...we stayed in the same place she stayed the last time, and i loved it...my original plan was to stay on kecil for 4 nights or so...but i ended up staying 11 nights!!
the water was SUPER clear, and warm...the sand on the beach wasn't the greatest i've ever seen, but it was far from the worst...it was mostly white, and the beach was relatively quiet...there are two main beaches on kecil, coral bay and long beach...long beach is bigger, and much better for laying out...(and we all know i'm the queen of laying out)...you could hire an umbrella for the day, but since that would block all those harmful rays of the sun, i didn't do that...the water was warm, sometimes too warm...it was really really really clear, and absolutely lovely...there were small waves, but you didn't have to worry about being knocked over when the waves came in...during my days on the beach i saw several ladies sitting in the water reading!! more sun for themselves, i'm guessing...hee hee...
anywho, my days were filled with checking email, reading novels, talking to layna and a few other random travelers, and eating yummy pakistani food...nothing strenuous or stressful...in a way, it was nice to be back in the quiet mindset i had during the meditation retreat...
one of the books i read while on that beach was moby dick...it's always been referred to as a classic, but after reading it i have no idea why...i felt like i could've written it...and i'm not a good writer...the author got off topic as much as i do!!! A LOT!!! i know that if i had ever turned in a manuscript like that one to any of my english teachers, they would've covered it in red ink, and returned it to me and told me to rewrite it entirely...there is a lot in that story that has nothing to do with the main storyline...argh...they didn't even see the stupid whale until the last 30 pages of a 580 page book!! i definitely won't be recommending that one to anyone...
the islamic holiday of hari raya took place while i was on kecil...hari raya is the last two or three days of the fasting month of ramaddan...even on the island, which basically depends entirely on tourism, nearly everything was closed...there was only one place open to eat on each beach...i was lucky to be eating with the guys who ran the place i was staying!! during hari raya, friends and family get together and enjoy time together, and eat special foods...ramaddan itself is when muslims fast in order to prove their faith to allah...at least, that's the very general idea...during the month of ramaddan, muslims don't eat OR DRINK between sunrise and sunset...i know i could go w/out eating all day, but in the heat and humidity of malaysia, it doesn't seem healthy or safe to go w/out liquid...anywho...
anywho, after 11 nights on the island, i made my way back to KL...a day trip to the nearby town of seremban, which is easily reachable by commuter train...a very quiet town, especially considering how close it is to KL...i saw a couple churches, a couple mosques, a hindu temple, and met a british lady who had just moved there with her husband who worked on semiconductors...exciting stuff i tell ya...
i often miss what is written right in front of me...the receipt i got when i turned in my passport for renewal said to come back between 0900-1100 m-f mornings...somehow, i missed that, and showed up around 1230 when i came back...oooops...the security people took pity on me, and still let me in...being in that room all by myself was kinda eerie, because it's actually quite loud when everyone is there in the morning...and it's FREEZING when there are no other bodies in there to soak up the air conditioning...i was finally called up to a window, collected my new passport (i hate the picture, the guy taking it wouldn't let me smile...argh) and made my way back to chinatown, where i was staying...i stopped at coffee bean along the way for a much looked forward to chai latte, and they said they were out of the tea they use to make those...HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN???? definitely a disappointment...
after that, i went back to my hostel, picked up my stuff, and went to the aiport...i wasn't completely aware of it, but KL has two major international airports...one is the LCCT, the low coast carrier terminal...basically almost entirely filled with air asia flights...the other is the "normal" international terminal...fully modern, efficient, etc...this time i flew out of LCCT...
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