A bit of a pickle in Pangkor

I've had quite a holiday in Malaysia. Visiting a few relatives and eating and drinking loads. My cousin planned a great trip to Pangkor Island, along the western coast of Malaysia, about 3-4 hours south of Penang. It is a small island mainly inhabited by fishermen but has really beautiful beaches too.
The 3-day trip started off well and early. The drive was only going to take about 3 hours with a 40-minute ferry ride to the island. However, as all well-planned holidays go something had to come up.
We had to make a pitstop an hour into the trip as a loud bang was heard coming from the rear of the car. A punctured tyre had unfortunately occured and resulted in a lengthy wait as the boys discovered the spare one couldn't fit properly. In the end, when the highway patrol couldn't help either, we had to be towed into the nearest town to get a new tyre. Almost 3 hours later, we were back on track.
When we arrived at Pangkor Island we hired motorbikes and took a quick tour. There is only one main road encircling the entire island, so it only took a few hours to get an idea of its layout.
Later that night, after the cheapest seafood feast I've ever had, we took ourselves to a pre-booked 2-hour massage near the hotel. We had to wait for a little while as the massage parlour was busy. So it was at this time that the boys decided to show me how to ride a motorbike.
Now, this was actually my second try (previously had been in the hotel's parking lot, which made me quite nervous as it was narrow with many parked cars). I did well, but I must have gotten too excited or nervous when turning the bike around. I didn't release the throttle in time to brake and hit the curb. The result: a damaged front wheel which cost me RM$250 (about AU$100), a few cuts and bruises to my feet and a very embarrassed Angela. It all happened in front of a small crowd who were nice enough to not laugh too much at my mishap and helped me to my feet. Oh well, at least a bruised ego was the worst of it. Still, I'm determined to learn...
Anyway, the rest of the trip wasn't so dramatic. We all had fun snorkelling and jetskiing and drinking up the sun (and beer!). Soon I'll be on the road again when I continue my adventures with Mon from Chiang Mai. Laos here I come!
See more photos here.

Challenging China

China in all its natural glory is also one of the most challenging destinations I have been to. Everyone around me, even the European tourists, spoke Mandarin except me. Whenever a bus ticket was purchased, I really hoped for the worst. And it never failed to disappoint me.
The buses are dirty, suffocatingly smoky with men who were even spitting inside!! Both Mon and I got sick separately after two long bus rides. Although I think it was also the food we ate. Our diet consisted mainly of vegetables and rice; too scared to eat too much meat as often they aren't refrigerated.
We did have really delicious meals throughout China. Surprisingly the southern Chinese eat with loads of chilli, although they aren't always spicy like the Thai food. From hotpots to steamed carp (had this twice in Yuanyang!) to dumplings. The best value dumplings were in Dali - about AU$1 for 11 pork or vegetable dumplings. The best whole steamed fish in Yuanyang for all of AU$3.75.
Lijiang was beautiful albeit very touristy. The Old Town was wholly reconstructed and lacked the quaintness of Dali. Souvenir shops sold pretty much the same thing anyway, so trying food was more challenging. We did take some time out of the tourist-filled area and ventured out on mountain bikes to Baisha, about 10km out of town. We were rewarded with a great view of the Jade Snow Dragon Mountains most of the way.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge was an experience I'll never forget. Not only was the weather divine, but the views we had were amazing. Unfortnunately, I strained my knee quite badly and started to limp before the end of the first day and for most of the second. I quite enjoyed taking a pee at the Halfway Guesthouse, which had fantastic views of the mountains (although a little chilly!) and sitting in the sun at Tina's Guesthouse at the end of the trek. The food was the most memorable part of the trip: cheap and delicious. The best coffee was at Jane's right at the start of the trek.
The trip to the rice terraces in Yuanyang was quite uncomfortable and long. It took over 24 hours of total travel time in smokey buses and pitstops at the most disgusting toilets ever. Then we arrived at quite a small town that was both dirty and gloomy. I was then struck down with the flu over the next two days. I only managed to eat vegetables and rice.
There was heavy fog over the valley which meant that you couldn't see much of the rice terraces. So we booked another night, hoping the mist would lift. When it cleared, we hired a taxi to take us to one of the terraces for sunset. What a sight! It really took my breath away. The whole valley seemed to be illuminated by the reflections off the terraces. And it was a neverending sea of undulating rice fields. So beautiful! I didn't think that farmland could look so amazing.
Then it was back onto another disgusting sleeper bus (which the men smoked and spat in) to Kunming before we split up - me to Malaysia and Mon to Thailand. A trip that should have taken only 6-8 hours dragged on for 12 hours!! It was unfortunately Mon's turn to get sick! Not much to do in Kunming anyway.
All in all, China was quite exciting. The views were amazing and the people we met along the way were really interesting and fun. Couldn't have done it without fumbling through terrible Chinese and the help of the lovely staff at the hostels who booked us tickets and also wrote out our destinations on little bits of paper, and also the help we got along the way from foreigners who spoke fluent Chinese.
Photos of Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge here. And of Yuanyang here.

More Hong Kong photos

You can see more photos here.