Well to say that I have neglected this blog is even an understatement. For those of you still checking in once in a while, here is what's been going on the last 8 months.. . I actually had to take a look at my passport for that one. Well, a lot has happened with a lot of nothingness in between. I met a lot of people, some for a short time, others not so much, said goodbye to ones from the past and had some productive efforts towards some important goals.

So I did in fact make it back into Malaysia before I disappeared. I went to Kota Bharu first. This small traditional town was one of my top three reasons to go back. It was the home town of many people I met front the jungle and I was told it was one of the better cultural experiences to be had in Malaysia. Meaning, the best preserved Islamic way of life in an Islamic country that is changing year by year to fit that 'global look'. I crossed the 'forbidden' border advertised by the internet and lonely planet as being dangerous…the border police were as friendly as ever I must say! The place was basically deserted of tourist because of those advertisements so there were no line ups either. Bonus! I crossed with a new Mongolian friend who I met at the bus station in Thailand, which I think added to my entire experience in that town… well my first time in that town. I have to explain a little first. This man has been traveling for five years in search of information on changes in societies over the world to report back to his clan. This is family driven project covered by media and also documented in books found in Mongolia. Everything about him was different, his customs, the way he spoke was like out a Shakespeare book sometimes and he kept reminding me, 'we are very different you and I, my people are 13 000 years older then your people', it was travelling with someone from another planet, but he was nice. Our trip down to KB was going as planned until we had two hours left to get to the city and we got side tracked in conversation with some locals. Next thing we knew, we were stranded 2 hours away from town, it was getting dark and when we would mentioned the word guesthouse, people would just laugh and say ya, in KB two hours from here. After some crazy directions, 'go on this bus, at the last stop, walk straight, then go down this dark alley and over train tracks, you'll see a sign', we followed them. Well, that man was right, and we were taken into an rental apartment to spend the night. It was the first time in a long time to have such an apartment style living. It felt homey just being lazy on the couch in pajamas. That night my friend also decided he was taking a vow of silence… like I said...he was very interesting character. The next day we made an early entrance to KB, only after having my very important breakfast ROTI and TEH TARIK!!! We toured the sights, spent some time with our great GH owner, walked around town, went to the cultural center to see traditional dancing and ate some delicious food at the night market. It was really interesting to have someone point out so many things I would have never noticed, like traces of colonization and really interesting comparisons with other countries, very insightful. As promised, this was the most Islamic city I have ever been to other then Lamu in Kenya, everyone is covered, most men wear the tradition skirt and NO ALCOHOL. They were extremely friendly, always smiling and that comforting sound of the mosque at 5ish am was very welcomed. After two days we decided/ mimed to go to the Perhentian Islands, my second mission.