Day8- Reflections

I caught an earlier bus than the rest. Had to meet some of the FOOT people to do some recce in Kota Tingi. Thus, the space and time to write. The 8 days travelling has somehow strengthen me this time round. This trip was with 5 other friends who all have different needs to cater to. It really stretched my "stamina" this time. Yup, I am someone who needs a lot of space to recharge. I didn't have a lot of time to myself on this trip and at some points, it really taxed me. Thankfully, these people were understanding lah.... Hostels/ Guesthouse here are a lot dirtier than those in Thailand. Almost every night I will acquire new bites from the creatures of the night. It's truly an eye-opener. Hahaha...let's just see it as preparation for the grand India Trip one day. I met a Welsh backpacker at the guesthouse in KL. We shared the same room. It was an enlightening chat. I always believe that people whom I meet in my life, be it acquitance or buddies, they are there for a reason. Pete's 28 and a periodic backpacker. In a sense, he will travel till he is broke, go back to Wales to work for a year or so, then travel again. Yup, you can term him as one of those "useless ang mohs". Someone who makes zero contribution to his family, someone who only wants to travel and have fun all the time. But there's something common between him and I. We both find Asia a truly exciting place to be in. SEA to be exact. (BEDBUGS EXCLUDED) The sights and awfully rich heritage we have in SEA. Even in Malaysia alone, each and every town has its own unique flavour. Kota Bahru is a neat and quiet. Kuala Teranganu is conversative and really clean. KL is awfully messy, dirty and loud in every sense. Melaka is so heritage rich. Even the beaches have their own unique characteristics. Perehentian for the poseurs and Cherating for the laid-backs. Travelling companions wise are really good. We had a common objective so decisions were easily reached. Though the group is big, we got our stuff at a shared rate. We stayed in dorms most of the time. Buy food in bulk. Even if the food taste bad, there's always 4 others who will take a bite each and finish it up for you. haha... Then when only 1 bathroom is available, the other 4 will entertain themselves to a game of bridge/ daidee, settling the day's accounts and killing mossies...ahahah It's really very expensive to travel in Malaysia. I spent like $360 for the entire trip. Food is expensive even in the hawker. And what makes matters worse was that my group of friends are big on food. So we tend to eat better. Indulgence like starbucks coffee, seafood and all the tibits came up to a lot. Can you imagine that we tried almost every brand of potota chips on the shelf. hahaha.... and a lot was splurge on H2O too. Otherwise, lodging was comparable to thailand. Interstate buses are a bit on the high side too. I didn't learn my lesson from the last trip and still didn't bring my chargers again! HP, CAMERA, IPOD...goodness... my camera died on day 5. Ipod on day 6. I still like my travels unplanned. Of cos, before I embarked on each trip, I have an idea what each place has to offer. Unplanned meaning, I will only decide what places are the "must-gos" for the next day, which guesthouse for the next night etc etc. I have known of a few friends who actually booked all their lodgings via internet before they even leave sg. It's like so not fun 'cos you can't stay for another day if you like the city so much. My next backpacking trip (hopefully end of the year) to Myanmar....ANYONE FOR IT? Give me a beep soon!