Monkeyin' Around in Malaysia

Alright folks, brace yourselves, this is probably going to be a long post. I just got back to my room in Singapore, and let me tell you, Malaysia is AWESOME! If you're ever in Southeast Asia, go there!! Even after just stepping off the bus at immigration, I could already tell Malaysia was going to be very different from what we'd grown to be used to over the last 3 weeks. We saw a few pieces of trash on the ground and said "Yep, we're definitely not in Singapore anymore."

Our trip started with a short walk through the mangrove forest down to the southernmost tip of Asia. It was really interesting to see how all along the coast, there was absolutely no beach at all. Instead, the trees held everything down, protecting the land from erosion. There were also cute little monkeys everywhere. I swear, they were like squirrels in Chapel Hill- all over the place.

On Saturday, we got up bright and early to take a tour of the historic areas of Melaka, which is the town in which we stayed. I thought it was cool to see the really old buildings there, because they were built in the 1500's, which is something you're simply not going to find in North Carolina. Then we went shopping (of course!!) at the night market, which is set up every night on one of the streets in Melaka. It had lots of cheap stuff, and the merchants were usually ready to bargain. And with the exchange rate, the prices in US dollars ended up being way cheaper than they looked (1 US Dollar = 3.5 Malaysia Ringgits).

Finally, this morning we checked out of our fabulous hotel (one of the nicest I've ever stayed in) and headed off for our bike ride. I had a chance/obligation to use a "squatty potty," since we were away from the tourist attractions, which really just got me rarin' to go on a 6 mile bike tour! After putting to use my amazing wilder-peeing skills and being so so thankful that my mom made me pack Charmin To-Go, we hopped on our bikes and started down the trail. It actually ended up being more intense than I thought it would be, with hills and lots of really rocky terrain. But I only wiped out once, which was fun (not) and now I'm hoping to be able to go mountain biking again when I get back home. But the most important thing we got out of our bike ride was being able to see the Malaysian backcountry. The people that lived there definitely didn't have a very rich lifestyle, and were a complete turnaround from the Singaporean society. But despite their humble living, they seemed to be so much happier! When we rode by the houses, there would often be people sitting on the porch smiling and waving, or little children peering around a corner (probably to stare at the weird people with big eyes and noses). At one

house there was an elderly woman looking about as happy as she could be, waving and shouting what I am guessing was the only English she knew: "Hello! Hi! I love you!!" These people really just made my day, and they were excellent proof that you really don't need money to be happy. But finally our ride came to an end, and we left with sweat, helmet hair, and big smiles on our faces.

Even though it was nowhere near as clean as Singapore, I found Malaysia to be extremely refreshing. The atmosphere there was just so much more relaxed, and I feel like everyone I came across was so happy to see us. Given the chance, I would definitely choose to spend more time there.