Sometimes There Are Just Days Like This!🥱
Having enjoyed numerous adventures since arriving, we sort of knew that today was bound to happen. A full day of touring yesterday meant that the things we had planned to take care of that afternoon would need to be pushed forward to today. No regrets because it was the right decision, allowing us to take advantage of the exceptional weather. Today it’s grey and cooler with the cloud down to ground level in some areas.
After going out for a fairly basic breakfast we picked up enough cash to hopefully cover our remaining time in Malaysia. We then stopped at the small bus depot to see if we could pick up our boarding passes for tomorrow’s early bus, and were informed that a pass wasn’t necessary. Perfect! There we ran into the young Dutch women from Rotterdam who we’d met on the way here. They were waiting for a bus to George Town. We said our goodbyes, and as we walked away I suggest to AM that as we’d experienced what we’d come here for then why not leave today and head for the coast? We walked back to our room where AM looked at the bus schedule and I looked to see if our George Town hotel was available tonight. Well, it was a good idea, but while there were mid-afternoon buses the hotel couldn’t accommodate us. So we stayed here and stuck to our original boring plan. 🙂 Sorting out some ferries in Thailand and figuring out an excursion from Phuket.
Three hours later we took a break and wandered in search of a simple lunch.
I restrained myself to a cold drink and we split a very likely frozen Hawaiian pizza (our granddaughters would approve!). This was a working lunch and neither of us are on expenses anymore!😅
We took stock of our morning efforts; two ferries booked, one comfortable the second not; and a means sorted out (but not booked) to travel from an island a fairly long distance to an airport for a late day flight to northern Thailand. If the weather is bad a strictly ferry only option might not work. Not bad, and we started working on the Phuket excursion. An excursion that really appealed to AM had been booked up and she had been communicating with the tour operator. We were put on a wait list, but we needed a backup plan, which we now have I think. Nope, AM just informed me that she is rethinking the plan.🤔 I will carry on writing…
After lunch I suggested a walk. We hadn’t gotten out into the immediate community very much since arriving. We typically make a point to walk out of the tourist area when we travel in an effort to better see how the local community lives.
To my eye the town appears to be building a little haphazardly in an effort to service the growing tourist industry. Wooded areas are being cleared and prepared for construction of large hotels. As we’ve walked around it’s easy to see where this is putting pressure on the existing residential community and no doubt on services. However, it’s easy to understand why this is happening.
Yesterday I asked Tamil if there was a plan to manage these projects, and he said that there is a regional planning group. I also asked about the traffic problem, and he showed me where they were working to double the road. We went on to discuss the garbage and recycling situation, particularly plastics which are a real issue in the southern hemisphere. He told me that really good progress has been made with the infrastructure, but that the population wasn’t using it very effectively yet. I remember the plastic littering Vietnam, but they didn’t yet have the infrastructure in place with too many other pressing issues at the time. It’s great to see positive steps forward, and it will be interesting to see how the leaders here can get the population to make a meaningful shift.
This area has real potential, and I hope they can keep a firm hold of this tiger’s tail in a positive way. A few photos from our wanderings;
Yesterday late afternoon we also visited a buddhist temple. It was really interesting to compare this temple with the many I visited while walking in Japan.
There was some beautiful chanting happening during a service. So many reminders of the 88. Not nearly as old as the Japanese temples, the temple was much simpler. However, we agreed that the chanting voices more than made up for this.
Tomorrow as you’ve likely figured out is a travel day. We head for George Town on a bus trip that should take 4-6 hours. We have purchased food and water and we are looking forward to new experiences. I for one would welcome just a bit more heat, and my wish is likely to be granted!
Thanks for checking in.
Geoff🇲🇾🕌☀️
Distance Walker - Wandering & Wondering! 