I am sure the anticipation from the killer cliffhanger of my last post is absolutely unbearable. That is why I have decided to end the nail-biting once and for all and finish the lovely description of the glorious Asia vacation Jed and I went totally broke on.
I left off teasing you to believe that there was a possibility we might not make it to Malaysia due to the never ever updated internet sites I used to plan our trip. You'll be happy to know that we did in fact, make it safe and sound. But, I am sure you already knew that because you looked at Jed's pictures clearly labeled, Malaysia.
In the morning we called and were able to snag the last two seats on the teeny tiny plane to Tioman Island. It was either that or take a bus through rural Malaysia to some random ferry terminal. I am glad we got the flight.
I finally felt better and we made our way to the tiniest airport I've ever been to. The staff posted tidbits of comfort and reassurance such as "Don't worry if you don't see the runway - it's there!" We took off late as islands all over the world seem to be notorious for never keeping to a schedule. I was enraged that our 30 minute flight offered no in-flight entertainment or meal.
We arrived in Malaysia and went through the one-man shack customs area and since almost all of us were going to the same (one of 2) resort on the island we all piled (literally) into a tiny blue school bus. By the time we were settled I was soooooo crabby from hunger that I was in one of my lovely moods that earned me the nickname "Sunshine" from my brother. I was so set on the perfection that I saw in the brochure that when we didn't get it I was furious. After eating a gristle burger and cooling down a bit Jed helped remind me that it was hazy so nothing was going to look as blue as it did in the photo. We also stayed in a beach hut. There were so many huts on the beach and we were one of the only few that were right on the beach. We were on the top floor and it wasn't a five star room but we didn't spend that much time in there. The AC worked and we never had to walk more than 30 seconds to get to our beach chairs. Jed was especially happy because for the only time in his life the shower head was so tall he could stand normally. (I couldn't reach it) I had a chill pill and then loved everything.
Our next full day began like everyday should, with a spa treatment. We both got salt scrubs that left our skin feeling so silky that we didn't want to swim. We immediately scheduled another appointment for the next morning. We had lunch and lazed the rest of the day by the pool. We found gigantic crocodile sized lizards just roaming the property. One was right next to our little building. I was apprehensive as we approached but Jed whipped out the camera and had a photo shoot for every time we passed one. There were several of all sizes and from a good distance, they were really cool. We scrounged up enough "nice" clothes to eat at the fancier restaurant and we felt very important and adult. It was delicious and we didn't spill a thing.
After dinner we headed to the beach bar (note - happy hour lasts for 4 hours) and watched the singers that sang pop songs. They were really fun and they had a little girl with them from the audience who was obviously having the time of her life, as was the massive group of drunk Koreans next to us. We left a bit early, drained from our day at the spa, beach and restaurants and went to bed. I initiated a lovely little argument over whether or not we would be sleeping with the nite-lite on. It reminded me of the similar arguments my brother and I had every night 20 years ago. As it was back then, I won and the light stayed on.
Another day, another spa treatment. I remember the first time I dragged Jed to a spa. I booked us a mud bath and he scoffed thinking it was girly, but because we had only just started dating he went along. Now he's hooked. Today, he had the deep tissue massage and I had a body wrap that never included anything wrapping around me. After dragging ourselves out of the spa we had some lunch on the beach. I had some chicken and pineapple curry, served in a pinepple. Very Blue Sky and very deilcious! Jed ordered some fried sausage concotion that would have made Fairbanks and Chuck immensely proud. This day was the sunniest and of course, I applied lotion on myself, leaving me with a streaky finger tan. I felt better by taking a trip to the pool bar, an invention that will forever amaze and delight us both (but especially Jed).
We went into the ocean and did our version of snorkeling, which is mostly Jed trying to calm me down in between dips underwater with my goggles to see cool fish. Luckily, this water was so clear, we didn't even really need to go under. We just stood and pointed down when we saw something. It was great though there wasn't a ton of coral around us so the variety and amount was slim but still cool.
We dragged ourselves to the jacuzzi by the spa where we relaxed until my pedicure. We had the area all to ourselves, which was great since I hate to share. During my pedicure, Jed went to the beach bar to watch the sunset. It was so strange being apart after spending literally every second of the last year and a half together. I thought I would love the freedom but I missed him and couldn't wait to run back and tell him every single little thing that happened at my pedicure, like how they gave me fresh fruit and ginger tea.
We had by far, our best meal since we'd been out and then took a nice stroll along the beach. It was dark and quiet but you could hear the beach bar singers in the distance. There were some boats blinking in the water which has always looked cool to me. It was the perfect temperature and there were no bugs. There wasn't a single other person on the beach. It was absoluetly perfect.
We sat at the beach bar for a while but the little girl wasn't there and the crazy Korean group had left so things were really mellow. We decided to leave when they started playing slow songs.
We checked out the next morning and went back to Singapore. We had an entire day to kill before our flight at 1am so we went back into the city and saw War of the Worlds. It was the coolest movie theater ever, but the movie, though filled with action, completely lacked story. It didn't even try. Then we ate one of everything we liked from the previous few days in Singapore. We also looked in every single store in Singapore because Jed decided he really wanted a watch. Coincidentally, he finally found his dream watch at the grocery store in Japan for appx. $7.00US.
There is no depression like returning to work at Nova in Osaka during the rainy season. We were so bummed but knew that time would fly because we were gonig to Hawaii in just over one month. I guess time does fly because we only have 5 more working days left and in about 2 weeks we'll be back on the beach, though probably not romantic as Jed and I will be strolling the beach with my mom and aunt. We'll take what we can get, it's free.
Soon we'll be home! What on earth will New Hartford have to offer us? Will Connecticut suck as much as I remember? Will I actually go to the last 5 days of my job like a good girl? The only thing I know for certain is that Stop and Shop better stock up cause I'll be hitting that PopTart aisle like no one's business!
Posted by karen at July 24, 2005 06:13 PM