On my first day, Lyn’s mom asked me how long I was staying.
“One week.”
“What?! Not enough time lah. Next time you come, must be at least one month.”

As it turns out, she’s right.

This past week has gone by in a huge blur. We set off for Penang on Monday, and basically ate our way through Georgetown while taking in whatever sights that was on the way to some delicacy. Then hopped on a ferry bound for Pulau Payar, a small island between Penang and Langkawi. Spent the day on a reef platform snorkeling, feeding sharks and trying to get our sea legs. Lyn did a great job. Me, not so much.. since little, I’ve battled motion sickness but I blame that on the catamaran we took en route to the island. Once I cleared my system however (ahem) you couldn’t drag me out of the water.

Next stop, Langkawi. It was Lyn’s idea to rent a car to get us around the island, but having seen her run over a traffic cone (and get pulled over) a few nights before – I had my doubts. But what can I say, my roomie is full of surprises. She did an awesome job of driving through the winding country roads, with me as a navigator-cum-GPS. Hey, I even do voices.

Langkawi, despite being marketed as THE tourist town in Malaysia, was surprisingly tourist-free and had plenty hidden gems for us to discover. After having saved on accomodations in Penang, we more than made up for it by staying in a tree-house chalet literally on the beach in Langkawi. Schweet. A tad rustic, but you know I can’t pass up a chance to live in a tree.

We spent our time island hopping, visiting such places as “lake of the pregnant maiden” (which I swam in, and so far seem to have avoided the side effects), watching the sky fill with the famed Langkawi eagles, where the island derives it’s name, and taking in the peaceful beach atmosphere punctuated by the occasional reggae song. Now and then I need a reminder that a holiday doesn’t necessarily need to be filled with the latest extreme sport, or waking up at 5AM to catch the perfect rays for a portrait. Sometimes, it can just be good, clean fun. My photo-obsessed, slightly masochistic self needs a reminder of that once in a while.

Despite our planning, we overlooked one vital piece of information that could have saved us a lot of time and effort. You can fly back from Langkawi to KL within an hour. Instead, we took the ridiculously long route and every form of transportation you can imagine, spending 12 hours on the road. Whew.

… and the next day we drove to Melaka.

Melaka is the oldest colonial settlement in the straits and is the most fascinating mixture of Portuguese, Dutch, English, Malay, Chinese and Nonya culture. (Nonya is the term used for straits-born Chinese who are of mixed Chinese and Malay ancestry). I’ve never seen a mosque built with such a blend of cultures.. you’ll have to wait to see what I’m talking about. Melaka reminds me a bit of Macau, the former Portuguese island-colony just off of Hong Kong. Only far less interesting and with less history. (Apologies to any Macanese out there, but.. it really is true). My favorite was visiting the incredible Baba-Nonya house museum, meticulously preserved by the descendants of the original owners. The only thing I would change, is the no-photography rule.

This evening, my awesome hosts decided to outdo themselves (yet again) by driving up to Kuala Selangor, where we saw the famed fireflies. It is one of only three places in the world where they blink in complete unison. For before there was Christmas lights on evergreen trees, there was fireflies in mangrove forests. To see them, you paddle out in tiny boats and drift along the river watching the fireflies compete with the stars. Truly a soul-recharging, magical experience.

Tomorrow morning at 6AM I set off for Singapore. An unexpected trip, born partially out of my complete inability to leave Malaysia (as auntie predicted) and a curious case of circumstances. I’m back into KL on Thursday evening, to (hopefully) go on a brief all-girls road trip with Lyn and some of her awesome friends here, which are some of the sweetest and funniest girls on earth. For reals. Can’t wait!

p.s. I’ve finally caved and joined the cult of twitter. stalk me at: www.twitter.com/evaychan

I have a sneaking suspicion that paradise tastes very much like Malaysia. It’s been a little over two days and my wonderful hosts have stuffed me like a thanksgiving turkey. Seriously. Who ever thought using condensed milk in soup could be SO good??? Or the billion different ways to cook barley in a drink? And here I thought being from Hong Kong and New York we had the corner on good food. Apparently not.

If I had to describe Kuala Lampur, I’d have to say it’s a mash-up of Hong Kong, Cuba and Vietnam. The city center with the Petronas towers is as futuristic as Hong Kong’s skyscrapers. Old KL with the colorful colonial buildings and markets reminds me a lot of wandering the ambling streets of Hanoi. But more than anything else, the ethnic diversity rings Cuba’s bells. Only shockingly different.

KL is one of the top tourist destinations from the Arab world. I’ve seen loads of women wearing hijabs, and one or two burkas. But I’ve never been surrounded by them before. I’d like to think that I adapt fairly easily, and culture shock isn’t really something that comes so much as a shock anymore. But I was surprised to see a man with a child, walking through a mall flanked by three women wearing burkas. Times like these, I realize how little of the world I’ve actually seen and experienced.

Every time I see one of the women wearing burkas, I always wonder what they’re thinking and feeling. Especially when they walk past t-shirt and shorts-pant clad asians such as myself – are they judgmental? envious? indifferent? I’ve read such different accounts of burkas both from the west and eastern world. I suppose the opinions are as different as those who wear or write them.

Before I run off – (my host family is taking me to church) a sneak peek of some of my images to come. (just for you, George)

My newest toy for the Kalashnakov, with some interesting vodka bottles I found in a hostel in Lijiang

The adventure begins. Beijing railway station, one week ago.

Rice paddy fields in Dali, Yunnan

A Naxi man with his pipe, shot in a Naxi minority village near Lijiang, Yunnan