Langkawi… ahhh. I had never heard of it before beginning research for this trip, but apparently it’s “Malaysia’s best-known holiday destination” according to Lonely Planet, and now I can see why. Seb’s request for this vacation, well, besides being somewhere developed, was that we would find a place to spend several days in a row doing nothing but relaxing beside a beach. This was the kind of place I hoped he’d had in mind. We just had to rush through the first several stops to get here.
On Thursday morning we said goodbye to Kuala Lumpur and headed back to the train station with our $20 tickets. Seven hours later we arrived in Butterworth, then walked right on to a waiting ferry that shuttled us in 15 minutes across the Malacca Straight to the island of Penang for less than 40 cents per person! Continue reading
I love trains. They’re a comfortable and fun way to travel, not to mention much cheaper and greener than flying. And unlike flying, you get to see stuff while en route. There’s a great website for train travel that I’ve used in China, India, and throughout this trip: seat61.com. It’s written by one dude whose job I envy and is chock-full of details and travel advice. I may use it more than Lonely Planet, even.
Our train to Kuala Lumpur left Singapore a taddd early for my tastes – we were at the station by 6am if I remember correctly – just to make sure we had plenty of time for check-in. We did. Ahem. Continue reading
What a luxury to be able to travel for an entire month. This has never happened before in our working lives (and may never happen again, unless we remain expats). At first, we had quite exaggerated views of what we could accomplish in a month. “Let’s go to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and maybe Hong Kong too!” we thought. Continue reading
Adventures in Congo 