Traveling to the Island... Life on the Island

Sorry it has been a few days since we last wrote... we've found already that we've very easily slipped into island time (ie, if it doesn't get done today... oh well... there's always tomorrow.)  We took a bus from KL to Marang (well, actually, because of a slight language issue the bus driver didn't exactly drop us off in Marang but instead in front of a hospital 10mi past Marang... no worries, hospitals have taxis.)  The bus ride was fantastic, not like anything we would have expected in the US.  For $13 each we had an air conditioned bus with large recliner-esque seating and TVs in the backs of all the seats (not that we watched anything because something more entertaining was going on outside.)  When we left KL we were almost immediately in a mountainous rain forest and with all the elevation changes from there to the coast we were privvy to see some very beautiful and different ecosystems in a matter of hours. 

Enough of the bus ride, when we arrived in Marang we stayed at the Marang Guesthouse, directly across the street from a small outdoor restaurant.  When we first walked in to the restaurant the place shut up and everyone stared as we picked a table... I guess somehow they knew we weren't from around there?  There were about 45 salty old men (obviously fishermen) and one Muslim woman and her two small daughters... we chose to sit next to the latter.  After a few minutes the conversation resumed and the men went back to their cigarettes and card games.  We had an interesting "fried rice" meal only it was made with spaghetti instead of rice... hadn't tried that combination but it wasn't bad.  After our meal as we were paying out the Muslim woman and her two daughters came over to talk to us, they were very sweet and curious about who we were, where we came from and what we were doing.  I believe they might have left confused after we responded we were from America, they asked which part, and the pretty one in our group responded "South America!"  She looked confused and walked off... oops!

Onward to the island, the next day we hopped a ferry and we taken to our private secluded beachfront resort.  I don't really have words to describe this place so we'll let the photos be our adjectives.  Needless to say, one wall in our shower is the side of the cliff the resort was built on, we have a secluded bungalow on top of the hill overlooking trees and beachfront and we can always hear the waves gently crashing into the shore.  Richard cleans the beach in the morning and refills the buckets the guests use to clean their feet throughout the resort, Morgan helps in the kitchen and serving guests.  The work is on a few hours and off a few hours so there is plenty of time spent on the balcony reading, in a hammock, in the water or exploring the island.  The couple we work for is wonderful... afterall, they gave up the Western lifestyle to live on an island.  They are certainly not above telling a guest to "f* off" if they're being too needy, because, as they say, they're doing this for fun.  As staff, we obviously appreciate this... it leads to doing things in "island time."