At the beach

IThBefore we left, I had an image in my mind of laying on a beach somewhere in Malaysia. I think that image is what kept me going through the process of leaving. It sort of came as a surprise when we were planning our onward travel and realized that if we didn't make an effort to get to a beach now, it wasn't going to happen for a long time! So we decided to take the ferry from Penang to Lankawi, three hours across the Andaman Sea. 

As we were in the long line to board our ferry, we saw a reasonable sized boat, but the gangplank turned us in the other direction to a huge beautiful ship, and I know I wasn't the only one who was disappointed when we took one more turn and ended up at our small, older ferry. Sorry, no photo as I was too busy being shoved on board by the baggage handlers, and I have the bruise on my shin to prove it. 

We had a bit of a bumpy ride and I was glad I travel with my sea bands to prevent seasickness, but it wasn't as bad ( or as good.) as I imagined. Once there, however, it was a 20 minute ride to our hotel, smack dab in the middle if the main beach area. 

After another delicious dinner, we flopped down in the powdery white sand to enjoy the sunset, and watch the Malaysians participate in all kinds of water sports. It seemed to have a nice family vibe, which we enjoyed. Plus, there was a bit of a breeze which felt cooler than Penang.

This is the view from our very spacious hotel room across from the ocean. It was very conveniently located to everything, including Starbucks! 

This is apparently what the well dressed Muslim woman wears for snorkeling...no skimpy swimsuits there.

The other thing to do on Lankawi is shop! There are duty free shops everywhere selling booze, chocolates, cigarettes with the most horrible photos of the harmful  effects of smoking, and everything in between. So of course 

Jim had to peruse the scotch offerings, and even found a smallish bottle of something drinkable. 

This is where we had dinner our second evening, just in time for sunset. So glad we made the effort to come to Lankawi! Even at sunset, people were still taking rides on the banana boat and paragliding.

Remember how I said Jim was a good sport about just about everything? On our way home we passed a fish foot spa, which I have wanted to try. I told him that he would have to do it too. I could barely keep my feet in the water for more than 5 seconds at a time without squealing as the dr fish nibbled at my feet, but he kept his in the whole time! Like little electric buzzing on your feet. Very strange! 

It was really hard to leave here after 3 days, as it was pretty lovely.