Day 260 – Tropics are not my cup of tea…

I have to be brutally honest to Malaysia – I'm not liking it here… I mean, objectively the nature is really beautiful, although I personally prefer a bare but picturesque in its uniqueness stag of a tree to a luxurious lush green palm forest. All the trees are the same height, the same green, the same brilliance: I couldn't help thinking that this is how a group picture of a famous plastic surgeon's patients would look like – the same nose, the same arch of the brow, the same plumpness of the cheek… Rainforest is better, but still too green and too lush for my taste. I guess, I'm the "less is more" type.

I've been to Malaysia for more than a week now, and the most frequent word I use for my descriptions is "anticlimactic". When I travel, I'm not looking to be impressed, don't get me wrong. I just want to experience joy. And I'm not that hard to please, yet so far the only real happiness I've felt here was during the fireflies "show". The only hope left in my heart for Malaysia after KL was the islands, and I have to say Penang is quite disappointing. Am I a spoiled brat? I don't think so. I just have to accept that the tropics are not my cup of tea. I'm sure for some Malaysia is a paradise on Earth. Tastes differ, indeed.

But it's not like I am suffering here. No, no, no. There are still a lot of little things that I enjoy to the fullest. For example, the water around Penang – although not the brochure-promised turquoise blue – is actually quite beautiful. Light grey under the clouded sky and viscous-looking, it makes me think of clay on potter's wheel. This, naturally, brings the Gost to my mindJ.

The food is excellent: no matter whether you choose Chinese, Malay, Indian, Thai or Japanese, it's always delicious and dirt-cheap (for example, a huge plate of Phad Thai that I couldn't finish was 5RM, which is less than $2). And, of course, the best worst coffee I've ever tried - Nescafe Original iced coffee in a can or... in a plastic bag with a straw! (A note for my compatriots: it's exactly like coffee in Пышечная - with milk and sweet - but iced - yum!:)).

It is also interesting to learn about the culture, to see all those luxuriously decorated temples and mosques, to experience some of the rituals. Today, some of us received a blessing from a Buddhist monk, it was a very interesting and awe-inspiring ceremony: I actually had goosebumps all over while he was reciting a mantra-sounding prayer over my head.