Thursday, August 8, 2013

Cameron Highlands/ Perhentians

The cameron highlands were beautiful with rolling tea fields in all directions.  The amount of development taking place in the area was a bit off-putting but looking past that there was much to see.




















The Perhentians
This was a beautiful place to visit though you must know what part to got to.  We avoided the party areas of the islands and went instead to the more removed beaches.  The first we stopped at was not particularly friendly and had a very rough beach with little sunshine during the day.  The next day we caught a taxi boat to "Bubbles", another out of the way spot on the larger island.  Here we found what we were looking for.  Beautiful beaches, great diving and lovely people.  The turtle conservation project here was great to witness and we even got to watch a large momma turtle laying eggs one night.   Other nights included fire dancing and partying with the staff.  This was another hard place to leave.  I guess we are just suckers for island paradise.







Melaka/ Batu Caves

The town of Melaka (Malacca) was our main historical stop along the way was an odd town mixing Dutch and Asian influences.  It is an unusual blend but the oddity of it only draws you in more.



Archery range in the mall



A delicious octopus in my chopsticks.


Batu Caves Hindu Temple

Palau Tioman

Tioman Island would have to be the grand highlight of our trip.  Here we found beauty, adventure, relaxation and serenity at our doorstep.  The SCUBA diving was incredible. The animals included Giant Fruit Bats, Crab-eating Macaque, Giant Monitor Lizards, Geckos and more. It was the perfect beach island break but tearing ourselves away proved to be even more difficult that we thought.


The view from the back of our room.





The things you find underwater





My wrinkly fingers pointing out two nudibranchs


Swim-throughs like I have never seen before


A few hour long trek to a waterfall hidden among the jungle





Singapore


Singapore was an incredible city.  It seems to have a reputation for being sterile and boring but this was not the case from what we saw.  It is a vibrant city full of such different cultures that among the many words I would use to describe it boring would never be one.  My favorite part was the beautiful botanic gardens.