Is anyone still reading this thing?
Hi all! Here in Georgetown, on an island called Penang, still in Malaysia. And boy is it H-O-T. Seriously, I’m melting. I’ll give you all the short version, cause I don’t think anyone is reading this thing anymore. My enthusiasm is certainly starting to flag…
I think I left you in KL. Well, on the spur of the moment (should that be hyphenated, AQUA staff?) I decided to fly to Sabah, a Malaysian province on Borneo, to scuba dive at Sipadan, one of the best sites on the planet, according to Jacques Cousteau, who “discovered” it in 1989. Here’s a link to wiki if you’re interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipadan
Well, if it’s good enough for Jacques, it’s good enough for me. So, I flew to Semporna thinking, who could possibly go here? A small island off the southwest corner of Borneo, surely I’ll have no trouble finding a place to stay etc. HA! Everything was booked solid. The world is very, very small, people. Remote locations = don’t exist anymore. So, I split my time between three different rooms in two different hotels and dove with two different companies, on three islands, including Sipadan. Was lucky I was able to do it at all! The dives were incredible, amazing, everything I hoped for and more. A 30-meter drop off on an underwater wall, covered in coral, swarming with reef sharks, a huge tornado-shaped school of barracuda and more turtles than I could count, some bigger than me. Inches away. Unfortunately, nine dives in three days has left me with a raging ear infection, which I guess I’ll have to deal with in Thailand. It was worth it though. I guess.
Flew back to KL and stayed in a guesthouse down the street from bedbug central. Left the next day by crappy bus (still nicer than African ones though) for a town called Tanah Rata, in the Cameron Highlands area of Malaysia. A lovely, temperate climate and tea plantations awaited, as well as two cool English dudes and an English girl, also on her own. Spent three days there, toured a tea plantation, watched movies and chilled out. The hostel had signs up all over saying “Beware of jangle rats; don’t bring food into the dorm; No food, no jangle rats.” Jangle, of course, means jungle. Though we did speculate that perhaps they were jingle jangle rats and would break into song momentarily. Anyway, the jangle rats took a liking to my backpack, my big backpack that I’m living out of, and chewed a huge hole in it, as well as in a piece of fabric called a kikoy that I got in Kenya and was using as a shawl/blanket/towel. I feel so violated – it’s like someone broke into my apartment! That thing is my apartment. And the underwire popped out of one of my bras. Sigh. I sewed them both as best I could, but some duct tape would come in handy for the bag. Try explaining duct tape to someone who doesn’t speak English.
That’s it for now. I’ll get some pictures on here, maybe later tonight, or at least on Flickr. One of the dudes I dived with is going to send me some underwater shots, so I’ll post those too once I get them. Take care all! xx
Tags: Travel
straussr
Hell yes, I’m still reading this thing! It’s really kind of sad how happy I am when I check yer blog and you’ve posted again, now that I think about it… ;-).
Good for you for grabbing life by the horns and going to the uber scuba place since it was so close by. I have to admit your description of it made me realize that my deep water fear (obtained from watching the movie “Orca” at WAY too impressionable an age) is very real and so yet again, I’ll be living vicariously through you on this adventure. Sorry to hear about the ear though. Try applying heat with a hair dryer or heating pad.
Cripes, the baby’s awake so I’ve gotta run. Keep the posts and photos coming, we love ’em!
Amy
Oh yeah
I just invented a new game, Who wants to play?
It’s called “Dinner With Becky.” Here’s how it works. Once a week (technology and scuba schedules permitting), Becky tells us about the best thing she has eaten all week, and we try to cook it or find it at a local restaurant.
Oh, and everybody wins!
Hi Becks…sorry, have some catching up to do…Try mentioning MacGyver in your pursuit of duct tape!
Hey! My friend CHallis’s friends Jeff and Lisa (they are both divers) are on their honeymoon in Pulau. Did you meet them??
Never mind…they are in Palau, not Pulau. duh.
OK, game on! Becky had some awesome Pad Thai (I was going to say “killer pad thai” but that isn’t funny). So that’s the challenge. But first Becky has to tell us what made it so awesome so we can try to approximate it. Anytime I have had pad thai in Madison it’s basically a mass of gelatinous noodles with thick brown sauce and every bite tastes the same. Kinda like all Mexican food here tastes the same: beans, cheese nondescript goo.
Also, Miss Becky, we would like to know more about the curry.
OK, so-called friends of Becky. Contrary to what you may think, and unlike the Onion, a blog –especially the travel blog of a short American girl walking around southest asia by herself– is a two-way conduit of information. You can’t just read about Becky’s adventures and not contribute to the blog. That’s like reading the magazines in Borders and not buying one. Very low class.
So let’s see some comments, questions, statements or even gibberish. (No, not gibberish.)
Don’t make me write something controversial or insulting!!
Of course we’re all still reading your blog! It’s neat that you’re wandering around Thailand by yourself…I miss you so much and wish I could talk to you on the phone. Europe was awesome by the way.
Those dives sound amazing! You know that I just read in Adventure Geographic that people do this thing where they wear only fins and a wet suit and dive as deep as 24 story buildings down into the ocean – just holding their breath! It’s Mind over Matter baby!!! (just like running right?) Deep water free diving sounds awesome to me…but don’t worry, I won’t go that hard core yet…I’ll follow your lead and wear scuba gear first! I’ll admit, I haven’t been reading your blog as much as I should, but I do miss you and miss you and miss you all of the time. I want to go eat Queso and chips with you at Taco Palace ASAP!!!! Love and kisses and hugs – Jen!
LOVE the henna tattoo in your photos! how long did it last????
I told you people were still reading this blog. Keep it up!
Barrett and I went to the Brookfield Zoo yesterday for a story on some honkin’ big pumps and filters. We got pretty up close and personal to the dolphins . . . it was wayyyy cool. Anyway, I was thinking you could use your diving skills to become an algae scrubber at the zoo, in case you don’t have anything else lined up for when you return. We saw these three young women in wet suits getting ready to go into the walrus habitat and clean the algae off the walls.
mmmm…mouse kebabs.nrnrYeah, I’m still reading and still seething with jealousy.