We got up early on our last morning in Tioman to pack up our stuff, grab a quick bite to eat and be at the Jetty at 9:45 for the 10 am ferry back to Mersing. It was a slow start to an otherwise perfect travel day.
It seems that the ferry between Tioman and Mersing has a bit of an infamous reputation. Some time ago, several companies offered ferry options…that is until a crash killed some folks, the government stepped in, and now only one company runs the show. The prices aren’t outrageous, but they’re still doing everything they can to increase profit…particularly overcrowding each boat. As a local told me on the ride to Tioman, our boat was overloaded and he could have demanded them to stop and unload some people for another ferry. The same thing happened on the way back to Mersing, which delayed our departure time by about an hour and a half. At the final jetty on Tioman, the boat was already full but the operators crammed a few more travelers on board, put out a couple hundred yards into the sea and just sat there. We assumed they were checking to see if we’d sink. Satisfied that we wouldn’t, they pulled back into the jetty and picked up a couple more travelers. We were then off to Mersing, over an hour and a half later than the scheduled departure.
A 1914 bank turned hostel…thankfully not our hostel.
Afraid that we would miss the 1:30 bus to Kuala Lumpur, we were thrilled to overhear a local pitching the bus service to KL to a fellow backpacker from Holland. Rather than hustling through what we thought would be a 15 minute walk, we were pointed to the idling luxury (spacious) bus only 100 yards away. We bought our tickets, grabbed some snacks, hopped on the bus and were off 15 minutes later. (Thank you to the good karma travel gods!)
Six hours later we pulled into Chinatown in KL and made our way to our hostel for the next two nights, Reggae House 2. Don’t let the name fool you…there wasn’t a dreadlock in sight. In fact, it’s one of the nicest, cleanest hostels we’ve ever stayed in. We had a single bunkbed room, and even though it was just off the lobby, it was still mercifully quiet.
Back for some delicious pork noodles and wantons!
We dropped our stuff and headed straight to the restaurant we first ate at with Jenny and her cousin Mike. It was just as good as we remembered. We ran a couple of errands before heading back to the hostel to catch up on some much-needed work online. I also stayed up to watch the England/Italy match. What a waste of wasted sleep that was. Surprisingly, I slept til 1 in the afternoon on Monday, while Amy worked on labeling photos and catching up on internet news. We had planned to keep our return to KL low key and spend much of our time working online, but we couldn’t resist a short, Lonely Planet recommended walk around our neighborhood…especially to kick off our 7th Anniversarypalooza.
Masjid Jamek
Along the walk, among all the shops and restaurants, you can visit three of KL’s most famous sacred sites, Masjid Jamek, Guan Di Temple (Buddhist), and Sri Mahamariamman Temple (Hindu). It makes for both a great, immediate study of these individual faiths and opens up opportunities for interfaith reflection. Masjid Jamek was relatively quiet…I think only Friday afternoon prayers take place there now. Many locals were content to rest in the quiet shade, while numerous tourists…all robed and/or head-covered…snapped photos or talked with the docents.
The interior of Guan Di Temple.
Our visit to Guan Di Temple was similar to other Buddhist temples we’ve visited throughout southeast Asia. The vibrant colors, intricate sculptures and intoxicating incense drew us in. For the first time, we saw large paper robes that devotees purchase, attach a prayer or blessing to and then burn in the furnace as offering. Across the street, things were more lively at Sri Mahamariamman as devotees observed and participated in one of the many worship services. The accompanying music of drum and shennai (I think) was trance-like. I found myself wanting to linger to hear more of it. The monks decorated the image of the deity with garlands of flowers and food and bathed it repeatedly with a variety of colored liquids. Parents and grandparents alternated between attention to the service and wrangling unruly kids wandering off to other parts of the temple. Tourists observed the service from a respectful distance. Amy and I stood next to a young Muslim couple (wife in full burka)…both of us filming the event. We were both awed by the service, and Amy and I felt something of a divine presence in that interfaith moment of respect and appreciation for different religious experiences.
Blessings after the ceremony.
Earlier in the day we had enjoyed an amazing lunch at Restoran Yusoof dan Zakhir with naan, daal, veggie rice and lamb masala. It was so good we went back for dinner and had chicken murtabak…a new favorite dish…along with egg and onion roti and more daal. Any weight I may have lost due to travelers illness has returned in full force.
Chicken murtabak and egg and onion roti at Restoran Yusoof dan Zakhir.
With no Euro match Monday night, I thought I would get to bed early but still found myself awake past 2:30 working on photos and our sites. Tuesday was another early start for a travel day. Our hostel’s fantastic location made getting to KL Sentral for a bus to the KL airport a breeze. For less than $3 per person, you can take an express bus to the low-cost terminal at the KL airport. We were there within the hour and after check in still had a couple of hours for lunch and WiFi. Our flight to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand was uneventful…which is perfect. We’ve already fallen in love with Chiang Mai. More on that later.
Until then…Chok dee!
MORE PHOTOS FROM OUR RETURN TO KUALA LUMPUR
