Kapas

When we arrived at the pier to catch a ferry to Kapas Island, it looked abandoned. Some people told us the island was closed because of monsoon season. Disappointed we walked back to the bus stop when a local asked us if when wanted to go to the island. He explained he was the owner of one of the guesthouses and planned to sail there the day after to prepare the place for the tourist season. He told there were 3 places already open for costumers but there weren't any tourist at the moment. If we wanted we could go with him to the island. We decided to stay overnight and embark his ship the next day. The captain was 2 hours late but we made it to the island.

The guy showed us his bungalows. It was clear they were not ready yet for the season. The bathroom was so dirty and food from last season still laying around, we decided to check one of the other places. We found a bungalow build against a cliff on a small private beach. The owner was a local lady with 2 children, the daughter was her trainee because she should soon take over the business. This was really good for us because the girl got cooking lessons from her mom and we always had to try her new creations. In the evenings we got a romantic decorated table from where we could watch the sunset. To make this idyllic picture complete, they brought some kittens from the mainland, which Caro fell in love with. The proud father of the cute kittens, got a rival from the neighbors. Jeff got truly unlucky getting between them while they were fighting. By accident he got bitten by the neighbors cat. He was stressing out, afraid of rabies. The next day he went to the mainland to see the doctor. Thankfully the Doctor could calm him down by telling him that there isn't any rabies on the island.

The women from the bungalows told us that there is a beautiful jungle trek to the other side of the island. After a few days of doing nothing we decided that it is maybe a good idea to get up and do the jungle trek. We walked along the beach to get to the trek. Suddenly we heard some rustling noise. We looked around and saw a huge lizard, it was more than 1,5 m long. It was starring at us and we starred back, it took us a while to get out of our trance and as we grabbed the camera, this huge animal was already running away. 

After 15 minutes we stopped and turned around because we were attacked by mosquitoes. It was not like here a mosquitoes and there a mosquito, no it was a swarm following us, stinging through our cloths and sitting in our faces. We figured out that maybe it is better to stick to our laziness.

East coast

After a few days of relaxing at this beautiful place we decided to move on to Kota Bharu, a city near the Thai border on the east coast of Malaysia. Buses were rare and overly expensive, so we decided to hitchhike the 300 km to Kota Bharu.

Hitchhiking started well and by the third ride it became really interesting. A car, with a local brand, the size of an old fiat 500 stopped. The driver, a sweaty and bit over weighted man, which made the car lean over a bit to one side, made a gesture to get in. Of course we didn't want to be picky and were thankful for his kindness to stop. We got in and together balanced the car out a bit more. From the moment he started the engine it was clear he felt like Michael Schumacher himself. He cut every corner and took them way faster than the car was ever intended to do. During our trip we have seen some crazy drivers already but never in combination with such a small and crappy car. When the hills got steeper his driving skills proofed to be to much for the car. Going full speed uphill without shifting back when we slowed down overheated the engine. He had to make a pit stop on the side of the road just before the highest point of a long hill. This was our chance. We said thanks to the driver and walked away, happy to be alive.

Not even 500 meters further we ended up with 5 young Thai guys in a pickup. Their English wasn't that good but we could communicate with hands and feet. In our lunch break they invited us for tea and a photo shoot. They were so proud to meet us, we had to make around 100 pics with them, changing sunglasses, hats and posing as cool gangsters.

We arrived in Kota Bharu and were looking for a place to stay. We found a little guesthouse in the city center where the rooms were really cheap and clean. Because it was so cheap we met there a lot of other travelers. 2 German guys who are already 9 months in Malaysia and trying to start up a diving shop on an island near by, an old man that just hangs around this place for already more than a month and some other people that are at this guesthouse because it has a television.

After all the city was not such a highlight, but it had a nice night market where really strange things happen. Every little food stand had a big television, all the chairs were in this direction and no one ever talks. Normally you choose the food stand were the most customers are because then it must be good. In this case the food stand with the most customers had the best show on TV.