East coast Malaysia....closed!

Freddy and I left Cherating I think two days ago, he went south, I went north. My plan was to go to a town called Marang and take a boat to a nearby island called Kappus. My bus driver forgot to drop me off at Marang, so I went to Terengganu and took another bus back to Marang. As soon as I got off the bus a guy on a motorbike offered to give me a ride to a hostel, no charge. He also told me that Kappus island was closed due to monsoon season....and the Perhentian islands were closed as well!! My plan for Malaysia was destroyed instantly....I had no idea what to do. Got to the hostel and met an East Indian man named John who has been living in Surrey for 20yrs, him and his wife spend the winters in Malaysia. He's the first Canadian I've met in Asia, a retired engineer who has traveled the entire world! He was unbelievably helpful and super nice, his wife even made me noodles and eggs :) He told me about some options and things I could do, awesome....I needed that, I now have a new plan.

In the afternoon I took a bus to Terengganu (no easy task, it was Friday, the day when Muslims pray....and it's a very religious state...everything is closed!), then a bus to Kuala Berang. I really didn't know what I was doing but I heard that Pengkalan Gowi was cool, so I asked around on how to get there. No buses, in fact, the cabs even said the road was closed due to all the rain! So I took a cab to Sekayu as I didn't want to just turn around. Got to Sakayu, only one chalet place was open (again, Friday....) but it was stupid expensive (50 Ringgit/night, about $15...over budget...hahaha) and the guy said there was no water as the high water from the river damaged the line or something. Whatever, I stayed...didn't want to turn around. Also, there was no food there so the manager guy offered to drive me to a whole in the wall goreng place (kinda sketchy) but I had to wait in his car for a bit while he prayed in the mosque first. Arranged with the cab to pick me up in 24hrs. Checked out the waterfall, it was a pretty cool place, everyone left at night and I was the only one renting a unit....I was alone in the wilderness...no one for miles! Hung out on the porch with a crazy cool frog, he watched me read for hours, I watched him gulp down moths.

Next day (today) I swam in the river for a bit and read some more. Tried to hike a bit in the bush but didn't get to far....leeches started clinging to me, I thought leeches were only in water. During the rain season they're in the trees and bushes, the manager guy told me last month a guy from NZ got so many that the manager had to take them all off the guy when he was naked, the guy cried a bit. Caught the cab back to Kuala Berang, then a bus back to Terengganu. I'm staying in a dorm room (multiple people stay in one room) for the first time, 8 ringgit/night, the price is right. I'm going to check out the museum tomorrow, then probably head back to Cherating for a bit and surf again, the only good place to be during the monsoon season.


Cherating

Cherating

Marang

Sekayu

View from my porch

Frog who kept me company

Swimming in the river


Oh yeah, one more thing I forgot to write about from our time in Cherating: One morning we were eating breakfast when we saw gang of wild monkeys across the road checking out the garbage can. The garbage men came and started throwing sticks at the monkeys....the monkeys were pissed off! They were screaming and shaking the trees, it was awesome! Then the monkeys made there way to our side of the street, one even came up the restaurant all stealth like, jumped on a table and tried to steal a bunch of bananas! The owner yelled and chased the monkey, the monkey got scared and dropped the bananas. I wish I had it on video, it was priceless!