Pangkor island & Visa-run

With our Indonesia flight booked 2 days after Nastya’s 30 day visa was set to expire we were in need of a quick visit to Thailand and a fresh re-entry stamp. So from KL we headed west to the coast and up north on the coastal highway number 5. Through the great drivers we met we saw a lot of the region as well as the towns. We tried our new tent (still a supermarket tent for less than 20 EUR, but this time from Giant), were offered a room from a teacher that saw us reading the map and ended up driving us to the beach we wanted to camp at. Over a day of hitch-hiking we meet Malaysians of all races, ethnicities and religious groups. A great country with so much diversity. Unfortunately it’s not all that romantic as many Chinese and Indians might tell you, but nonetheless more fun than traveling a big mono-cultural nation.

After Pangkor Island and staying a night with Thomas, his daughter Cilene picked us up in the morning and took us for breakfast before she had to go for a job interview. The best Roti Canai of the trip, we were ready to hitch-hike further, direction Thailand. Again we met people of all backgrounds, a Chinese salesman for Japanese medical herbs, a Malay shrimp trader, a Chinese who leads a repair crew on the highway and dropped us at a toll station were we got lucky and hitched a ride straight to the border with a Malay social worker who was heading to his university. We crossed to Thailand after filling in our tourist form (address: Guest house, Hat Yai – was again not sufficient – oh how i love nonsense bureaucracy) and made it to Hat Yai the capital of South. In Thailand again the issue was language so the conversation with our last driver ended with “Money, money – iphone have?” after what had been a nice & cheerful ride. We got a room, accidentally met some Russian-speaking travelers who know people we met in Serbia and Bangkok and enjoyed a very spicy Papaya salad.

Next morning we hiked out of town and hitched back to the border and Nastya got a fresh 30 day stamp in her passport.

Fort in Kuala Selangor

paddy fields

a Malay consultant in Agrochemistry

in the truck

the drivers swapping before..

..approaching the police checkpoint

nice Chow Kuey Teow

1st night in the tent

good morning!

heading for Pangkor island

Bob Malay!

ferry to Pangkor

secluded beaches

falling asleep every page

studying Dostoyevski

great laksa for less than a euro

Fish wrapped in rice

Cilene

& Thomas inviting for dinner

our room

brekfast place

yumm!

bringing prawns to the town

Wadi introducing Cucur udang (prawn fritters)

thai customs wifi and water and power plugs = happy

border market

seasoned travellers

a room (less than 10$)

lady selling soup impressed with our journey

aiskrim / icecream