Paradise

Just friggin' paradise. Today I arrived at Pangkor Island and I am in love. My hostel room is half of a A-frame bungalow and while it is basic it does have its own bathroom which was pretty much my only requirement (since i haven't had a private shower in some time). I quickly set out to the beach and caught some rays hoping to undo the months of winter that China has done to my skin. As I laid there the waves lapped up against my feet and brought with them, on one occasion, a little crab who scurried across my toes back to the water. The sun started hanging low in the sky so i set out to find a suitable place for some dinner. As i walked down the main drag I passed several curious sites. First was a group of Muslims, apparently on a corporate retreat, who were playing those akward get to know you games everyone does on the first night. The second was a camp of maybe fifty boys floundering in the water. They were all wearing life vest and it was clear that many of them were struggling against the bulk of their orange prisons. The third group I came across was a group of twenty or so young men trying to move a small hut down the beach to a more proper location. The everpresent 'supervisor' was rubbing his beer belly and shouting orders at the others. Dinner was fantastic and as the sun set the thought popped into my head to ask if Pangkor needed English teachers..........

The beach outside my hostel is home to several companies offering boat rides, jet skis (or skys), tubing, snorkeling, diving, the list goes on forever. As the sun set behind the tiny offshore islands the guides of these companies decided to go out for at little fun of their own. They seemed to be mimmicing a demolition derby out on the water and on more than one occasion two boats passed within inches of eachother. I have only budgeted for one full day here, though we will have to see if the colonial history of Melaka still beckons me after beachin' it up here for a bit.
C. Johnson