The ups and downs of Malaysia

Thanks Keruko, I will stop being cryptic and kick myself in the butt to write all the gory details :-)

Backtracking, I will start with backpacking... S and I took a one-week trip to Malaysia for two very different types of vacations. After alighting from an 8-hour flight (only 2 days following the some 18 hour journey to Tokyo), we loaded into a 4-hour taxi ride to the small town of Jerantut, outside of our destination, the 130 million year old Taman Negara rain forest. By the time of our arrival, I had pretty much had it with traveling, but I still had another bus and 2-hour boat trip into the jungle to ensure my complete travel fatigue. Transport in Malaysia is a nightmare! For backpackers who have a flexible amount of time, it's not so bad and the price can't be beat... but for weary travelers on a one-week vacation, there is nothing worse than waiting for a bus that never comes.

The rain forest was a lush, green, gorgeous landscape filled with marvelous 130-million year old sounding birds, creepy crawly insects, and even some wild boar we scared on our trek. We met a nice South African couple and Japanese traveler and joined forces for a canopy walk-- 500 meters of baby steps among the treetops on a narrow, swinging walkway, the kind that more than anything just makes you want to pee. Hiking boots, sleeping mats and some more provisions later, S and I hightailed it to our overnight budget location-- a 5 ringgit ($1; 100 yen) night in a "hide" in the middle of the jungle. It was a hard, muddy trek, and the sight of our welcoming wooden hut in a small clearing in the brush was, well, funny. We spent the night huddled in our sleeping bags (I was cold and kept slyly encroaching into S' bag) among the symphony of jungle insects and birds, perhaps doing their own nighttime "thing," some bats, and and the beating rain on our tin roof through the overnight thunderstorm. The challenge didn't end there. We had to rush back to the headquarters for our boat, only discovering that we had been attacked on the ankles by bloodsucking leeches. Forget EngRish GiRL, you can call me "jungle Joce"-- after this experience I may have been raised by wolves, who knows?

Before destination #2, we took an overnight rest in Kuala Lumpur with a friend of S' in his sweet suite in the city. It's here that I realized my jewelry was no longer in my bag. Don't be shocked yet-- it gets worse, but not 'til later. Meanwhile, we spent the final 4 days relaxing in probably the nicest resort I will ever stay in my life: Pangkor Laut Resort. The resort is planted on a private island off the west coast frequented by the likes of Pavarotti, who invested heavily in its "#1 in the world" rated spa. After the jungle, I think we appreciated these 4 days of heaven all the more. With the rain forest behind us and the beach and sea in front of us, we shared our time here with monkeys, who challenged S to a duel which he cowardly but smartly refused, 2-meter long monitor lizards, and some beautiful peacocks, one of which spread his feathers and shook his tush for us Beyonce style. The private outdoor bath just topped it all off!

Bringing me back from my honeymoon reverie, I returned home and went to upload my pictures, and found another even more important missing item: my loyal sidekick on all adventures thus far: my most prized little camera given to me last year for my birthday by my dearest Tokyo friends, many of you whom are reading this sad tale now. First my jewelry ripped off, and then my camera full of photos of our trip. I still shake with anger just thinking about it.

Needless to say, this trip had some very high ups and some very low downs. But not to end on a negative note, at least S did take some photos with his camera, so not every memory is as lost as my silver. I hate to add that this probably means my blog will be text heavy for the next however long until I can afford a new camera. This year, I'm definitely wishing I still believed in Santa...