It was an easy ferry ride over and we reached the campground nestled in its own cove south of the main resort beach area. No dock, just jump off the front of the boat. Private beach: check. A pirate and Malaysian flag, hand painted signs all over the place, several bamboo structures, and tons of friendly people greeted us as we made our way to the reception counter.

We met the other volunteers (including a Danielle from California…this was about to get confusing) and the owners who all seemed like incredibly laid back people. We were given the rundown: the cafe and bar has to be manned, tents and bathrooms need to be cleaned, and labor needed to be completed. Easy. In exchange for our time, we were fed and housed for free for a month. Kickass!
 We learned that the couple who we would be replacing slept in the treehouse, which is also where we would be staying. It came equipped with three of the most massive geckos I had ever seen (later to be named Ali, Mercury, and Falsto).

In addition to geckos, there was much more wildlife walking, flying, or swimming around our campground. Giant monitor lizards, sea eagles, stingrays, and black tipped reef sharks were things that we saw daily. Vipers, territorial monkeys, and sea turtle tracks on our beach were special sightings. I had to continue to remind myself that we were staying in a rainforest, because some of these sightings became so commonplace. Turtles and amazing snorkeling: check and check.

We learned more about the island as we explored around. Long beach is a fairly dirty, party beach where nightlife (including crappy house music) can be heard well into the early morning. It makes for great sunrises though, as it is east-facing. Coral bay, on the west side of the island is a bit classier with nicer eating and resort options. We would walk over to coral beach for milkshakes and wifi as needed. Our beach was a 25 minute walk south of coral bay, on a beautiful path leading through the rain forest. This island is unique in the fact there is not a single car, truck, or vehicle of any kind on it. Boat taxis are plentiful however, and many times we could hear tourists screaming as the drivers tend to go as fast as possible between point A and point B. The fishing “village” on the south tip of the island, is is more like a local town.

Our days would be spent snorkeling, hammocking, hiking, exploring, kayaking, or relaxing as wanted.

A couple of times we made it to the fishing “village” for breakfast (always before 8 AM to snag local prices).

We also spent a day scuba diving, which is always awesome. One spot had horrible visibility so we spent the duration of our time diving through underwater caves. It was a lot of fun. The day we spent kayaking was great because we could spot good snorkeling areas as we were cruising over them.

Another highlight was putting up a volleyball net on our beach so we could play in the evening (the daytime was way too hot). While there, an Italian couple that were patrons-turned-volunteers, spent all day preparing for homemade pizza night (cheese included). We all ate way to much that night. They also taught us how to make homemade pasta and gnocchi!

And we ended up seeing the bioluminescent plankton! Check. Apparently, it is always in the water but there is so much light pollution on other beaches on the island it is impossible to spot elsewhere. For 4 or 5 nights in a row, around the new moon, we grabbed snorkel gear and headed to the beach. It was incredible to see the little bits of light spiraling around our moving body parts. The light from the stars in the sky and ocean were almost interchangeable. It was also hilarious to see grown adults flailing around as much as possible to disturb the plankton into glowing bright. Shouts of “You’re a wizard, Harry” were screamed. We were surprised to see fireflys floating through where the rainforest hits the beach. We were surrounded by points of light in the sky, ocean, and air around us. It was one of the most magical things I have seen.

Even though my days weren’t spent doing all that much, I still found myself wishing there was more hours in every day. The volunteers, patrons, and owners of the place were all really great people to talk to and I often spent an entire day sitting in the cafe chatting with whoever was down there. Rainforest Campground is beautiful, and attracts beautiful people in return. It wasn’t uncommon to hear about folks deciding to stay with us after wondering down to our beach randomly, or extending their stay by a week or so once they see what the place has to offer. We had so many laughs there as well as deep conversations about internal struggles, politics, and dreams. One of the volunteers led beach yoga sessions in the mornings. One patron painted a beautiful mural in our cafe. People were often seen meditating on the beach. Our place was magical. I’m going to miss Rainforest quite a bit. 

But, it was time to move on after a month. I feel grateful to have the memories I will take home from this place.  Hopefully we will meet again, Rainforest.

Danielle and Grant

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Kota Bharu is a little dull compared to some of the other places we had visited. Day one we attempted to walk through a few museums that we had researched in advance, only to find them completely closed. So instead, we wandered around the city to see the sights and people watch. We did find a delicious lunch restaurant and enjoyed being the only westerners at the tiny place we were eating at. Eventually, we made it back to our hostel to relax before more food!

We made a few hostel friends and ended up tagging along to the night market.  The food was alright, but the appeal of the night was chatting with fellow travelers who were out as long as we had been. The guys we met had similar interests and a love for traveling that we felt as well. We would soon notice more and more how different the westerners were in Malaysia. As a Muslim country, Malaysia attracts a different sort of person than any other southeast Asian country we had visited so far. I think the way alcohol is frowned upon (or completely banned depending where you go) is one of the main factors.  We hardly found the ‘partying type’ in Malaysia, which was fairly refreshing after a handful of obnoxious people we met on the trip at various points (the worst were the ones in the same dorm as you with no regard for the time of day, night, or level of noise they were making). Most traveling folks we met in Malaysia had more love for experiencing people or the culture than than a night out on the town. It was one of the appeals of the country.

The owner of the hostel were staying at was a really nice local guy and ended up inviting us to a beach barbecue with his friends the following day.

He supplied cheese-filled hotdogs (“what westerners eat”, right?) along with some Malaysian dishes made by his mom that were more to my taste.  While there, we chatted with the locals and learned a lot about the Malaysian culture.  Something that surprised us was the amount of racism that Chinese Malaysians felt from some of the Malay citizens as well as the government. On a lighter note, we also learned that it is illegal in the state we were in to buy or sell any sort of alcohol.  Apparently, the beer they were passing around comes from Thailand because it is cheaper/easier to cross the boarder than to find it elsewhere in Malaysia. Crazy.

All in all, it was the people that made Kota Bharu special for us.  The city did not have much to offer in terms of activities or sights, but the people we met were all so nice and friendly that I enjoyed my time there immensely. If you do go there, however, look up the cultural shows. They are quite cool apparently, but are only on certain days of the week (days we weren’t there unfortunately).

Onto our next volunteering opportunity: a month hanging out on a resort island. It’s gonna be rough… heh. Until then!

Regards,

Danielle and Grant

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The next day, we woke up early and made the trek up a nearby mountain to watch the sunrise from a very tall peak. The view was spectacular and fog was rolling over the nearby peaks constantly. We waited around at the top for the fog to dissipate, but had no such luck. Oh well; it was beautiful anyway. Tock stole the phone for a stealthy selfie at one point.

The rest of the day was spent chatting and playing with an adorable hostel kitten. We were throwing a crumpled piece of paper for him and he was attacking it, then growing bored. At one point, he learned if he brought the paper back to Grant, it would get thrown again. Success, we taught him fetch!

The next day, it was time to hop back on a bus and head further north for more trekking in a new city.

Until the next post!

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Chaing Mai may, at this point, be the best place we've visited, especially since I could see myself moving there one day. Chiang Mai has a huge expat scene, mostly cyber nomads and yogis, but the presence of westerners hasn't destroyed it's charm. Chiang Mai still has all the delicious and cheap street food, as well as a scattering of local coffee shops and bars for the western palette. It has a temperate climate, at least in the winter, and it is surrounded by beautiful mountains that reminded us of being home in California. In the end, we spent three weeks there, way longer than anywhere else, and I wish we could have stayed longer.

Right away, Chiang Mai started off with excitement and energy. Day 1 we met up with Jessica and two friends, and after trying not to fall from flying hugs, we immediately started moving. Classic Jessica traveling. I love it.

First we went to Tiger Kingdom. We arrived and found the tigers playing and wandering around in a few adequate exhibits, but it was still a bit sad to see the caged animals. They were napping a lot of time, but the young ones were also chasing each other and playing with their toys. After paying the front desk, we were able to spend twenty minutes each with a group of babies (the size of a collie), teenagers (the size I expected them to be: big), and adults (freaking huge). After watching for a couple hours, everyone realized that they acted exactly like oversized house-cats. They played with huge strings, snuck around to scare each other, and slept most of the time. The company never let's small children in the exhibit, and after seeing a hungry tiger watching a toddler intently, I understood why.

That night we went to a Muay Thai fight with mixed results. The fights were really good, but three of the 7 fights were between local Muay Thai kids (

The next day included a trip to a elephant rescue. This place was truly amazing. They bought and rented elephants from their abusive owners who used them for circuses, basket tourist rides, and farming. Many of the elephants had scars from the abuse. Once in their new home however, they lived a simple life of bathing in the river, eating sugar cane, and playing with humans. This company, Happy Elephant Home, let the elephants decide the schedule, and if they didn't want to go in the river that day for example, too bad for us. Fortunately when we were there they did want to play, including the 1 year old elephant, and it was a ton of fun. We got to tease and feed them sugar cane (their favorite), jump in the mud with them, walk them around the preserve, and bathe in the river. A great experience, worth breaking the budget for.

That night we got a massage from Lila Massage, a company that helps licence and employ female convicts in and out of prison. Best massage so far. After that, it was time to Chang and chill.

The next day was spent on a day tour of the jungle, including a short raft through small rapids, hiking, bareback elephant rides, etc… A classic tourist day in Chiang Mai. That night we finally, after so much time in Thailand, went to a cabaret (“lady-boy”) show. It's was surprisingly classy and entertaining.

The next days slowed down after Jessica had shipped of to Pattayya, but that didn't stop us from visiting the “Grand Canyon of Chiang Mai”, which is basically an abandoned mine that had been filled with ground water. At first, it's about as exciting as it sounds, but after meeting Jo, the local lifeguard, we were quickly convinced to take the 25 – 40 ft leap into the water. It turned into a great day in the sun with our two new friends: Lenny and Michelle.

Such a long post…

Soon, we were able to meet Kanami and enjoy a day touring the city of Chiang Mai and it's dozens of temples. That night we walked through the Sunday Market, a typical outdoor market with loads of people and good food. There were so many great souvenirs here for cheap; too bad I wasn't leaving yet.

After this, we went to the North Gate Jazz Co-op for the first of many times. The first night, this place had a classic rock cover band, best I've seen (besides the Caverns in SB). The last night we were there, it was an Open Mic Night at the co-op, and they had local expats and locals with all different instruments jamming out with impressive skills. Hanging over the stage they had a great image of the King playing trumpet with the same angle as the iconic Luis Armstrong photo, and this brought the whole decor and feel of the bar together.

The final thing I can remember (besides the loads of food) is our awesome cooking class we took to learn the northern Thai style. To start, we cooked Khao Soi, the greatest soup ever. Ever. We also learned chicken chashew stri fry, pad see ew, different soups and curries, fried spring rolls, and fried bananas. I can't wait to utilize these skills in the kitchen back home.

Sorry for the long post, I hope you'll enjoy all the info and photos here and on Dropbox.

Grant and Danielle

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