Taman Negara, Part 1

17-July-2010 "Open your shoes, get out the boat, and push!" After only about five minutes of our upriver longboat ride into Taman Negara we were stuck. The fifteen or so passengers looked around a little bewildered, but we all "opened our shoes", rolled up our pants, and jumped over the side of the boat. The water came up to about my knees (which...

Continue Reading...

Perhentian Paradise, Part 2

16-July-2010 Our last few days at the Perhintian Islands was spent scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, reading, watching the nightly lightening storms, and enjoying the views of neighboring islands. We both passed our scuba tests with flying colors and enjoyed a dive to a boat wreck where we saw a school of puffer fish, a huge barracuda, a lion fish,...

Continue Reading...

Perhentian Islands, Paradise

11 July 2010 The Perhentian Islands are as advertised. The white sand beaches, turquoise water, verdant forests, and diverse marine life provide a relaxed and stimulating atmosphere. We have spent the last few days here exploring offshore coral reefs, learning to scuba dive, walking along the beach, searching out the monitor lizard that frequents...

Continue Reading...

Kota Bharu

8 July 2010 Kota Bharu (KB) is an interesting city. It is a stronghold of Malay culture situated at the NE corner of Malaysia just south of the Thai border. Infamously, KB is the heart of conservative Islam in what amounts to an already very Muslim country. It is governed regionally by an Islamist party (the PAL, which seeks to combine religious...

Continue Reading...