Last Month in the Fragrant Harbor

At the end of the semester, my workload for classes got a lot heavier. Final exams weren't so bad, but it was a 15-page research paper that had me worried. I managed to finish it on time before I had to leave for Malaysia.

I flew to Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 11 with Kim, and we spent a week going through Malaysia from KL to Penang, to Langkawi, back to Penang and KL. Compared to Hong Kong, KL and Penang were so-so. But Langkawi Island was amazing.

We did the touristy thing in KL:

going to the National Museum

the Planetarium

the orchid garden

the hibiscus garden

and the National Mosque

We also checked out Central Market and the night market. Central Market had a lot of little shops with neat souvenirs, but it was a tourist trap with high prices. The night market was nothing compared to the ones in Hong Kong.

When we returned to KL at the end of the trip, we went to Suria KLCC, a really fancy mall that reminded me of malls in Hong Kong. We tried to get tickets to go up to the bridge at the Petronas Twin Towers, but they were sold out by the time we got there around 10 am.

In Penang, we went to Komtar (really disappointing), the Chinatown markets, Khoo Kongsi Temple, Kek Lok Si Temple, and the Botanical Gardens. We walked through Gurney Plaza (movies are only 6RM on Wednesdays at the movie theater) and ate really delicious, cheap food at Gurney Drive.

Soy Milk with Black Sugar Syrup and Laksa

Langkawi was the highlight of our trip. We stayed at the cozy Sunset Beach Resort, which had its own private beach area.

We went to the Oriental Village and took the cable car up to the top of the rainforest.

We took the Coral Island Cruise to the Pulau Payar Marine Park and went snorkeling. One of the workers took me snorkeling at the deeper parts. It was one of the best, most surreal moments of my life.

Everyone was really nice on Langkawi Island - even the taxi drivers! The island was so beautiful and had such a relaxed vibe. The beach was amazing with the softest sand my feet have ever touched.

And souvenirs were really inexpensive.

All the food we had in Malaysia was phenomenal and really cheap...

Except for the slightly expensive big dinner Kim and I shared on our last night in Langkawi at the Matahari Malaysian Restaurant. But the food was well worth it.

The public transportation in KL doesn't match Hong Kong, but it's decent. We had to pay for taxis to get anywhere in Penang and Langkawi. I think that's what gobbled most of our money up, even though taxi fares there are cheap compared to US prices.

******

We returned to Hong Kong for a day to rest, then Kim and I, plus Jiesi and Crowny, headed off to Thailand on a tour with Hong Thai Travel.

The tour was decent. Our tour guide, Woody, was really cool and funny. I wish I had understood everything he said, though, since he spoke Cantonese. Our tour group was really small and consisted of a family, a young couple and us.

We landed in Bangkok, then went to Pattaya. We rode on elephants and horse wagons.


We saw a monkey show, and were given the option to pay to shoot at a shooting range or ride ATVs. My friends and I didn't want to pay, so we just walked and sat around. We had a buffet dinner at our hotel, the Cholchan. Then we went to Mike's Shopping Center.

The next day we were taken to a beach where we could parasail. We had a really bumpy ride to Coral Island, which was so packed with tourists.

Even though the sand and water were nice, the beach was filthy with litter.

Out of the water sport options we could choose from, Jiesi and I decided to share a 15-minute jetski ride. We would have liked to do the underwater walk, but it was too expensive (1500 baht).

******

Most of my friends have left. Some for home and some on trips. I spent Christmas Eve helping Jiesi bring her luggage to her auntie's, then watching "Confession of Pain" with Sherman and his friend Edna, and barhopping with Aaron, Becca, Gaby and their friends in Wan Chai and LKF. I had Christmas dinner with Aaron and his friends at a Brazilian BBQ (not really) restaurant. Then Aaron and I just went walking around Central to see the decorations and pass by Santa's Town.


Christmas in Hong Kong is different from the US. Instead of everybody staying home with family to celebrate, everybody goes out walking around the city. There are hawkers selling glowing toys and necklaces for kids, and families walk around taking pictures of all the Christmas lights that businesses put up. A lot of people go to LKF, too. I had never seen so many locals in LKF until Christmas Eve. Even the MTR and KCR run all night.

I only have 6 full days left in this wonderful city.