Birthday trip to Malaysia

I turned 40 at the end of June. In an effort to avoid even the possibility that I'd spend my 40th birthday moping alone at home, I booked a trip to Malaysia.
 
I spent the first few days in Kuala Lumpur visiting some old friends that I hadn't seen in maybe 8 years. It was good to visit with them and meet their kids. It was also good that I hadn't put it off any longer, because just before I arrived, they got another job and began the process of moving back to the States. One more proof that we don't always have the time that we think we do! (Hint hint, for those of you who said you wanted to come visit me in Japan.)

This place was a snow sculpture in Sapporo this year!

While in KL, I visited the bird park (the largest in the world) and other tourist sites around town. When my friends weren't available to play tourist with me, I got on one of those hop-on-hop-off tour buses and rode around the city. This was particularly convenient, because it was REALLY hot, and the bus allowed me to still get a view of the city attractions without melting. The first day, the city was covered in brown haze from all of the smoke created by the tree burning in Indonesia, but it cleared up in the days following.   

We also went out of town to a fort where there are (generally) nice monkeys that you can feed. If I remember correctly, the monkeys are supposed to be the souls of the soldiers who died, returning to protect the fort. After visiting the monkeys, we had dinner down by the river. It was very pretty.

Then, for my birthday, I went to Tioman Island. Tioman is on the east side of the peninsula, so it's not as touristy. In the original South Pacific movie, Tioman was Bali Hai. Once I discovered that, I had to go. It's paradise, after all! (I believe the island is also known for diving, but since I don't dive, that wasn't a big motivator for me.)

I stayed at the Japamala Resort, which was lovely. It was my second time staying at an eco-lodge/resort (the first being in the Amazon in Brazil), and I've decided I prefer staying at those types of places. Beach resorts are pretty much the same the world over, but an eco-hotel is built into the environment, so you get a sense of the uniqueness of the location. Tioman's not very developed, with no main road on the island, so the only way to get from village to village is by boat. So I took the one plane to the island, walked off the plane and waited at the stairs to the building for my luggage to be unloaded, and then I met up with the staff from the resort who took me on the boat to Japamala.

view from my boat ride to Japamala

view from my boat ride to Japamala

I had a lovely little lodge for my stay on the island. 

I went to the spa, lounged on the beach, drank pretty cocktails at the restaurant out on the dock, ate out on the dock or at the Thai/Vietnamese restaurant near one of the swimming pools, read books, played in the water… Since it's a small resort (about 13 rooms, I think), and the island isn't developed, it was a very peaceful and relaxing time on what is essentially a private beach. 

the view from my spot on the beach, hanging out under the tree

more of my view from my spot on the beach

the view from my spot at the pier's restaurant, drinking my cocktail

I have found that, anywhere I go, some of the friendliest, most fun-loving people I'll meet will be the Aussies, and that was the case here too. I met a very nice couple who were finishing up a 3-week (!!) stay at the resort. They'd been going there every year for something like six years.

All in all, it was a very nice way to turn 40!