First Earthquake

Just after midnight we felt the quake, and it lasted a full minute or so. Apparently it struck Sumatra near Aceh province again about 10 minutes earlier. We were on the second floor of a guest house in Georgetown, eastern Penang island, in northwestern Malaysia, sharing a triple with a new Swedish friend for the night, Josefin. Basically we were just saying goodnight and the beds started shaking. I couldn't figure out why, because there was no music, no bar, no train or subway below. Then our resident earthquake expert, Scott Lee (his third), said the word earthquake, and we all braced ourselves in bed. We actually didn't leave the guesthouse, and nobody came to give advice, but this morning we learned that residents fled their homes here into the streets, afraid to stay inside. 8.7 magnitude and we were able to go back to sleep! I suppose we could have begun the 5 km trek across the bridge to the mainland in a huge traffic jam, but what good would that do?
Georgetown is a bigger city than I thought it would be for a small island. Penang is about as old as America, older than Singapore or Melakka. It was established when British Captain Francis Light landed in 1786 for the East India Company, and has thrived ever since. Last night we hung out with Josefin all night for dinner and drinks on Love Lane and Avenue Chulia; we met her on the bus ride in from Cameron Highlands. Great girl, from Stockholm, and has amazing taste in music! - The Kinks, Jane's Addiction, Beatles, Velvet Underground, Johnny Cash, the Pixies - I was exceedingly impressed until she said her favorite book was War and Peace (I suppose I should read it before I judge). I'm just finishing Mandela's autobiography and need something new anyhow...It's amazing how you just meet someone for a few hours on a bus and then bunk up with them for the night. This sort of thing only happens when you're travelling I suppose.

Selamat Datang!

Cameron Highlands was the stuff of postcards, a brilliant, wet landscape set high into the hills. Tanah Rata was the town center where we stayed, at Father's Guest House, surrounded by farms, flowers and rolling mists. The Highlands is Malaysia's most famous former British hill station. It rains 3-4 days a week, and makes it a perfect location for tea plantations and strawberry farming. We were so relaxed, at a great guesthouse with movies all day, fresh strawberries and jams, great Indian and Chinese food (the town is 50% Chinese and 33% Indian), and good company - we met some great girls from Glasgow in the dorms and spent the days with our Canadian friend Elissa who we met in the jungle. She's moving to London soon so I may look her up when I get there. Actaully, on our tour of the strawberries, cactus farm, tea plantation, rose gardens, honey bee farm, and Chinese Buddhist Temple, we were accompanied by an Elissa Grey and a Melissa White...weird. The tea plantation was beautiful, the way the hillsides are terraced and manicured. The plants have a lifespan of 120 years and are in their 76th year, the largest plantation having been established in the twenties by a Scottish family.
So we drank fine teas, toured the countryside, and watched movies while it rained. No Indiana Jones, but National Treasure wasn't bad! Cameron Highlands felt much like a small ski town in the mountains or something, relaxed and geared towards families and anyone needing a rest after an intense jungle trek!
Tomorrow we head into Thailand, and I will be sad to say goodbye to Malaysia. The bleak and desolate highways that led us into the country from Singapore have been replaced by fond memories of temples, skyscrapers, and rainforest and rolling hills as we move north. What I once suspected was a dangerous, primitive Muslim state (so ignorant, who plants these horrible things in our heads!) has been a warm and wonderful place to visit. When I return next I will make sure to see the east coast.
Now it's on to the beaches of Thailand!