Critter Encounters...

We have made our way into Malaysia and after a swift border crossing and nascar style bus ride we traveled to the island of Tioman.  The island has a scattering of hotels and small villages and we spent most of our day hanging with the critters of the sea.  We snorkeled among massive urchins, colorful stingray and even a few Nemos!  The hotel we were staying at was right on the beach and we had one of the more, um, ‘rustic’ rooms.  It was all we really needed but had the great touch of being able to see through the floor boards and wall panels and was equipped with an air conditioner that had an operating system that made us feel we were launching the thing into space each time we turned it on.  At night there was little to do so we spent most of the time on the beach watching the seagull size bats swoop from the trees for their dinner and large crabs diligently dig their homes for the night. 

 From one lazy beach to another we headed back to the mainland and to the town of Cherating.   Home to some serious alternative livers and a good handful of cats, we hunkered down in a little hut just off the shore.  Other than soaking in the very warn sea surf a main attraction in the area is a night boat tour to see the local lightning bugs (Fireflies).

Before heading out for the boat tour the very enthusiastic tour guide gave us a little talk on the bugs, why they glow (mating), what to expect to see, why we need to conserve them , etc and then as an almost after thought he requested that no one please put their hands in the water as there are very poisonous snakes hunting just below the surface.  But don’t worry he said it is very safe and we have for you a life jacket. The life jacket brought me little piece of mind as I felt it only transformed me into a floating entree for the waiting snakes below.  But once on the water I (almost) completely forgot of what lurked below as the guide waved a special amber light that attracted the fire lies and they came drifting from the trees over towards our boats.  With a clear sky they reflected in the water and it was like something out of a fairy tale.  We were told we could catch them and when we did our hand lit up as they crawled around us, really really cool.

 We had a final critter experience when we got back to our hut to find the biggest roach I ever did see waiting to greet us in the bathroom.  Why is it that roaches run towards us? It was big enough that when Colin finally got a bucket over the lightning speedy thing I was sure the bucket would start to move across the floor, luckily it stayed still and we got a solid night sleep before we headed to the northern town of Kota Bahru.  

R