Melaka / Taman Negara

Sorry for the lack of updates there for a bit. We went out for dinner, checked out the night markets, and spent the night in Kuala Lumpur before heading out the next morning at 8:30 am on a bus bound for Melaka. The bus trip was quick (actually only 1.5 hours) so before we knew it, we were there. Melaka is a UNESCO world heritage site, so it was chock full of history and such. It was founded by the Portugese in the 16th century, then taken over by the Dutch, the English, and so forth. Very interesting city. We saw some old architecture and a cathedral, did a trishaw (like a rickshaw, but powered by a bicycle) tour of town, went out to eat for a couple different Chinese Malay meals (quite delicious), then spent the night in a historic old hotel.

We headed out the next morning at 7:00 for a day full of travel: two hours by minivan to a train station, waited an hour, then four hours on the FREEZING cold train (the AC was cranked up to levels beyond what could reasonably be tolerated), then a half hour bus ride to a boat dock where we boarded longtail boats for a three-hour trip up the river to the small village of Taman Negara, adjacent to the national park and nestled in the rainforest (both) of the same name. It was a long day, but nothing too grueling. We'll spend the next three nights in a very simple guest house here in the village, and do various treks and excursions in the national park. On the morning after the third night, we head out early for the Perhentian Islands.

Our tour group, as previously mentioned, consists of 12 people: three Australian couples (two of which know each other and are probably in their mid-sixties, while the other couple seems a bit--but not much--younger), a German lady of 36 along with her aunt, two British girls, each about 30, and then of course Betty and myself. So far, everyone's quite easy to get along with, and it's been a lot of fun.