Back to Long Beach, Perhentian Kecil.

After the ladies had made their way back to Spain, Rick and i spent some time back in Langkawi with our friends and took our time to relax. We then spent a couple of months helping out at my brother’s wedding and finalising the sale of our house before starting off our latest 3-month stint back on Long beach, Perhentian Island.

Long beach. White sand and blue skies.

The quieter side of the island, facing some of Perhentian Island’s popular dive sites.

The rugged coastline north of Long beach.

The other end of Long beach.

After working for 6 weeks in a dive shop at the end of last year, Rick and I were interested in returning to spend more time on the island (where we had met over 5 years ago) once the monsoon had ended and the dive season had started. We had been offered some work for a few months, which would be ideal for us, allowing us to live on a beautiful island, dive for relatively little and not spend so much money, while planning our next move.

We arrived back on Long beach in early March, when the waves and currents were still strong and the weather had just started to clear up. We heard from the locals how this year’s monsoon season had come late, and brought with it very little rain compared to previous years. Over our 3-month stay on the island, the weather was erratic. Waves and poor underwater visibility came and went, even when the sea was supposed to be completely flat. The lack of rain was a problem that had a huge impact on the water supply on the island, and that, coupled with the fact that more weekend local tourists created a higher demand meant that supply was often interrupted.

Red flag on Long beach. A warning of strong currents and waves.

We managed to rent a room for 3 months at Moonlight Chalets, our first choice on Long beach, where we had stayed and made good friends last season. Our room was basic, but had an amazing view of the beach from a beautiful balcony. We even managed living some distance from the shared bathrooms and soon we had integrated into the family of people staying and working at Moonlight.

Welcome to Moonlight!

Our home for the 3 months we spent on Long beach, Perhentian Kecil.

Our basic but cosy room at Moonlight Chalets. We brought our own mosquito net, a must on the island.

Gab and Amar working on restoring the boat. One of the projects at Moonlight.

Putting the finishing touches on the boat before launching it into the water.

Ijal and Salim, Moonlight brothers.

Our friends at Chill Out Cafe.

BBQ on the beach.

The boys.

Bonfire on the beach!

Great memories.

We are family!

Working in the diving industry is something that both Rick and i knew we would both enjoy, so in addition to doing something we both loved, we were being productive and earning some money for it! This year, we worked with Panorama Divers, and a bunch of really fun people, which made our island experience even more special. The underwater landscape was still beautiful, even though the island was slowly changing with more construction barges on the beach, and fast-expanding resorts.

Fun in the sun at Panorama Diver.

Yann and Steph’s Divemaster Graduation/ Snorkel Test at the Panorama Dive Shop.

At the beginning of the season, there was an abundance baby fish. Baby black-tip reef sharks circled in the clear, shallow water, which the locals had not seen in years, and the highlight of the dives was the first sighting of the tiny blue-ringed octopus, which has enough venom to kill 10 people. Some lucky divers even had the chance to swim with a whale shark, the sea’s largest fish, and dolphins were sighted above the surface on the way to dive sites. We even had the chance to stumble across a giant green turtle on shore laying her eggs one night. In the end, i didn’t end up diving as much as i had wanted, but i managed to get comfortable again with my buoyancy, and really enjoyed the peace and serenity that comes with controlled breathing underwater.

Enjoying being underwater again.

A tiny yellow-spotted boxfish.

Baby black tip reef sharks circling in the clear shallow water.

When the time came for us to leave and return to Kuala Lumpur, we had both decided that since we were now free of debt (having sold our house), we were free to continue traveling for a longer period of time. We had discussed the possibility of flying to Nepal and starting backpacking again, and knew that this was the perfect time to do it. In the end, we spent only a week in Kuala Lumpur unpacking, washing and re-packing, catching up with whoever we could before flying to Kathmandu to start a new leg in our new journey.

Nights were beautiful at the quieter side of Long beach.

Ipoh and around, Malaysia.

While browsing through photos to accompany this blog post, I realised that Ipoh was probably the most interesting stop for me during our Malaysian road trip with the three Spanish ladies. From the moment we arrived at the modern bus station, to dragging the ladies huge trolley suitcases through Ipoh old town, we already had local company, our friend Aniq, who Rick and i had met while working in Perhentian island last year. So right from the beginning, we felt as if we were at home. We went on to meet and catch up with other friends during our 3-night stay in Ipoh, and i have to say that this town (and Perak state) was a breath of fresh air for me. Coming from Penang and Langkawi, Ipoh is understated as a place to visit. It is not the first place that comes to mind if you are planning a tour of Malaysia. I had been here before, usually for business, or passing through to get to somewhere else, and had seen the impressive limestone cliffs and marble quarries at the side of the highway, so i knew for sure that there were some very beautiful places in the vicinity. The only problem was getting to them wasn’t going to be as easy as in a more touristy place like Penang. So the first thing we did was call a guy (i got his number from another random guy i had talked to at the bus station) and rent a car.

Me and my fellow curly-haired brother, Aniq.

Aniq took us to the New Caspian Hotel, and old, seventies-style set up, which again, was a little over our usual budget, but the ladies decided to stay as soon as they saw the room. Despite the air-conditioning being too high and the rooms a little dated, this hotel had the best hot water showers and most comfortable beds that Rick and i have had the pleasure of enjoying in a long time. And its these comforts that we are willing to pay a little more for once in a while. After getting settled, Aniq took us all across the road for our first meal, which also set the tone for the next few days in this culinary heaven. Even  the ladies got used to having dim sum for breakfast!

Marissa and Pilar enjoying breakfast.

The ladies’ favourite selection of Dim Sum.

We introduced the ladies to various other types of Malaysian flavours such as kerang/cockles, sotong kangkug and ais kacang or ABC. The food in Ipoh can give Penang a run for its money any day!

A wide array of local fruit was on offer. Since the Chinese New Year was just around the corner, pomelos were hanging everywhere.

Being able to move around independently in Ipoh opened a whole lot of opportunities for us to explore in and around the city. The area is full of beautiful limestone mountains and cliffs, which surround Ipoh town and make for some beautiful natural scenery. The caves, waterfalls and rivers, coupled with very few tourists ensured that we were going to have a good time. We had also more or less gotten used to the ladies’ rhythm, and that made everything a lot easier. Our first activity was a walk around town and to the train station in an area full of old colonial buildings.

The clock tower, a Birch memorial (Birch was the first British colonial Resident in Perak), erected on 1909.

Beautifully manicured surroundings in Ipoh. This is the Straits Trading Company building, a large tin ore exporter of days gone by.

The Town Padang Mosque.

The majestic Ipoh Train Station. The third largest in colonial Malaya.

The old City Hall surrounded by Ipoh’s city flower, the Bougainvillea.

Our first night in Ipoh also saw us heading out to party for the first time with the ladies. One of our friends (who we also met on Perhentian island), Anaz has a band with his brothers and was performing at a bar that night. We met Aniq there and the ladies had a great time doing what they love most, dancing the night away!

Eva was the first on the dance floor!

Pilar and Aniq.

Marissa had fun dancing with various partners all night.

We visited the cave temples, just outside town, which had interesting passageways into the limestone caves and stairs that took you to beautiful views of Ipoh town surrounded by its mountains. We also read about the colonial era in Kellie’s castle and the time when tin was actively mined in the state. We also visited the huge Gua Tempurung (Tempurung Cave) and the raging river around Gopeng surrounded by greenery.

The outside of one of the cave temples.

One of the alters inside a cave temple.

Entering a cave temple.

A dragon adorns this pillar in another Buddhist cave temple.

A painting on a wall of one of the cave temples of Kuan Yin.

The view of Ipoh town surrounded by its limestone mountains taken from one of the cave temples.

Up and inside the very belly of one of Ipoh’s beautiful cave temples.

A temple within a temple at Sam Poh Tong.

Rick, posing next to a tiger on the way up some narrow stairs carved into the side of one of the limestone cliffs.

Eva, next to a statue of Kuan Yin.

Kellie’s Castle, which many believe is haunted.

A depiction of what the living area inside Kellie’s Castle may have looked like.

Kellie’s House, behind Kellie’s Castle.

A butterfly taking a break behind Kellie’s Castle.

The ladies saw this beautiful Malay couple who were at Kellie’s Castle taking some wedding photos, and asked for one with the couple.

The entrance to Gua Tempurung/Tempurung Cave.

The labyrinth inside Gua Tempurung.

Beautiful scenery inside the earth’s belly.

The end of the paved and lit part of the cave system. After this, its passable with torch lights, crawling and swimming through various parts.

The fast-flowing river near Gopeng also offers white-water rafting to visitors.

Relaxing in our very own spot near Gopeng, Perak. Pilar was so happy with her natural spa experience.

The Taman Herba Perak, near Gopeng. It was absolutely stunning, but the mosquitoes and red biting kerengga ants chased us out after less than half an hour.

A lizard catching some early morning sunshine.

But the time came for us to say goodbye to our friends head southwards too soon. The ladies had fallen in love with the train station, so we booked our tickets to KL to transit there for a while (while Eva and Rick went to the Spanish embassy to sort out the lost passport problem). During our short stopover in KL, there was a little drama with getting to the right bus station to head south, but that is another, whole new blog post altogether.

Waiting excitedly early morning at Ipoh train station.

The train was on time and efficient. It showed the per-requisiite lousy movie as well as displaying its traveling speed.

A beautiful day greeted us when we arrived at KL train station.

Penang, Malaysia.

Penang was the one of the places that Rick and i had yet to visit together but he has heard me raving about the food there countless times. I used to be a regular business traveler to this island but had only come for pleasure on a handful of special occasions. We had already forewarned the ladies that the beaches in Penang were not as pretty as those in Langkawi, but that the island was far more interesting for its culture, food and history. We left Langkawi by ferry, which, if you have read the previous post, would know, was a catamaran-type boat, for the under 3-hour trip to Penang. As we were loading up on the ferry, it became clear that the ladies large suitcases, were not the best choice for moving around easily, unless you’re on a smooth, flat, seamless pavement.

So when we arrived at the ferry terminal at Swettenham Pier, we also had to figure out how we were going to cart around all that luggage, while looking for a room. We had not pre-booked any accommodation, but we knew the rough area of Georgetown where the budget guesthouses would be located. As it had started raining, we paid a taxi guy to get us and our luggage to Love Lane, a small road off Chulia street, and look for a place to stay in the area. We soon found that many places were full, so when a guy told us to follow him to a place he knew had rooms, we did. The place was a dorm in a self-proclaimed ‘party-friendly’ hostel. Completely the wrong choice for us and the ladies. In the end, we found a place called Red Inn Heritage, which cost us more than Rick and i are used to paying, but the ladies were happy and the place was nice and clean.

Street art, such as this one are dotted around Georgetown and depict local scenes.

Penang is different to how i remember it, and i mean that in a good way. We traveled mainly by bus, on foot and sometimes by taxi, which was very easy and convenient with clear directions and maps. Georgetown is a lot cleaner than i remember it being, and people friendlier. The weather was mixed. It rained at least once every day we explored Penang, but the ladies were adventurous and  started visiting places independently. We walked a lot and the ladies got to try an array of hawker food that has made Penang famous in areas such as Chulia Street and Gurney Drive. Georgetown, at least, has a very special feel about it, and it was a pleasure living among the various businesses and places of worship.

Fort Cornwallis overlooks the sea.

St. Georges church.

The ladies outside the Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Penang.

A great walk in Penang;s Botanical Gardens.

The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, or Blue Mansion, a beautifully restored building.

On the stair case at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion).

8-point-tiles.

Interesting sights all around in Georgetown, Penang.

Huge curry fish-heads at Nasi Kandar Line Clear.

Winning hands-down as favourite food in Penang was Char Kuey Teow.

After 3 nights, we packed up and arranged for a taxi to take the ladies to the bus station, while Rick and i made it there on foot. We traveled to our next destination, Ipoh, on a very comfortable bus, and were dropped off in a huge new bus station complex to continue our trip southwards.

Langkawi, Malaysia.

From the very beginning of our travels with the ladies, there was drama. First the rain and flooding in Sibu, then Eva’s lost passport. We were also beginning to notice the differences of traveling with people who have a completely different rhythm to yourselves. Rick and i take it for granted that we have the same rhythm, like the same things, are adverse to almost the same things and generally travel at a very relaxed pace. Things changed with the ladies. They had so much more energy than we did, especially seeing as Langkawi was a place that we had been to countless times before.

We realised that we had made a good choice in pre-booking a car and a room for the ladies prior to arriving, as the island was still full of people post new year celebration. But later, more options became available and the ladies got a better deal right on the beach. We stayed at Rumours Guesthouse. A quiet, budget option, away from the loud, duty-free party across the road.

The view from our porch at Rumours Guesthouse. Nice and peaceful.

Cenang Beach had changed so much since the last time i visited over a year and a half ago. And we are talking about new hotels, malls and huge concrete buildings. However, after a few days, we could still feel the charm that keeps bringing people back here.

Cenang Beach has changed since the last time we were here. Now there are so many people, and the jet skis, motorbikes and banana boats somehow take away the charm that this beach once had. But the blue skies and white sand still takes your breath away.

Cenang Beach. Beautiful when quiet.

We spent our first few days driving around the island, exploring, while Eva’s lost passport dwelled at the back of our minds. After 3 nights, the ladies decided to look for a new room as theirs had a strong sewerage smell coming out of their drains. Rick and i took everyone to look at a few options and after a discussion, a new room was found and the ladies spent the next few days relaxing on the beach, resigned to the fact that we would be staying in Malaysia for the rest of their trip now.

We visited most of the sights by car, that we rented for RM 120 a day, which wasn’t too bad. Then we returned the car and just took a few days to relax while the ladies enjoyed massages, pedicures and relaxing on the beach by the sea.

Pilar and Marissa enjoying the view from the cable car.

View from the top. It wasn’t the clearest day but it was still worth the trip up.

My favourite view of Langkawi. Coincidentally, the suspension bridge you see in the picture was closed for maintenance when we went up.

We continued enjoying our food and trying new flavours in Langkawi.

A fire and acrobatic show in Kuah town for the Magical Langkawi Festival.

Marissa swimming near the trickle of a waterfall.

Eva, checking out the monkeys, who are ever-ready to snatch a bag.

Rick met his friend’s brother who was working at one of the restaurants on Cenang Beach.

Penguins at Underwater World.

Coconuts on a hot afternoon.

Sunset from Pantai Tengah.

When it was time to leave, we were all excited to get back to the mainland and explore parts of Malaysia that we all had yet to visit.

Our ferry ride to Penang, back on the Peninsular.

All set and ready to explore Penang.

Losing a Foreign Passport in Malaysia.

Stamps in and out of Honduras. This picture is for illustration purposes only.

It could have happened to anyone, and in Eva’s case, a whole plastic envelope containing her Spanish passport and travel documents slipped out of her bag when she pulled out her jacket, without her noticing it, on our flight to Langkawi. Up until the moment we realised that Eva’s passport was missing, we were all looking forward to spending the next two weeks relaxing on some of the region’s most beautiful sandy beaches. After this all went up in smoke, we had to take some steps to ensure that Eva would eventually be allowed out of the country to travel back to Spain without carrying a passport.

Our first action was to make a report with the airline, AirAsia. They helped us to check all possible contact points for the plane where we thought the passport had fallen out of Eva’s bag. But after a few days it was clear that the passport was not going to be found. We also typed an official police report with the local police at the Padang Matsirat station, with me acting as Eva’s translator (many people commented subsequently that they thought i was a bilingual travel guide!). We also contacted the Spanish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on thier 24-hour hotline and alerted them of the situation. We made sure that they would be open when we passed through Kuala Lumpur, on our way down to the historical city of Melaka. They assured us that Eva’s temporary travel documents, for traveling back to her home country, was a simple process and would only take 5 minutes.

Fast forward to reality, a week or so later when Eva arrives at the Spanish embassy in Kuala Lumpur without a photo and unprepared for the prospect of having to go to Putrajaya to obtain a document from the Malaysian Immigration Office, in order to be able to leave the country. So after a very short last couple of nights in Melaka, Eva and i took the bus back to Kuala Lumpur and jumped into a taxi to get to Putrajaya.

The Enforcement Department was a hive of activity, packed with people standing, sitting or being interviewed. Luckily we managed to jump the queue by asking a helpful officer for assistance since Eva’s flight was leaving that very night. The whole office space was completely full, mainly with people who had overstayed in Malaysia. There were people from all nationalities that you could think of.

We spent a good 4 hours cooped up in that office, waiting for our turn to submit paperwork, pay, and finally receive back the relevant documents.

What a relief it was when the whole process was over, just hours before Eva’s flight.

The start of 2014…

All in all, the year started on a positive note. We were about to start on a two-week period of travel with three much older ladies who all had very little or no independent travel experience, so naturally, we felt a little nervously protective. We were all excited to finally be moving again.

We took a flight to Kuala Lumpur and spent a few hours at the airport before boarding our connecting flight to Langkawi Island on the northwest side of Peninsular Malaysia, bordering Thailand.

At the low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in KLIA, waiting for our flights to Langkawi.

The day went smoothly and when we arrived in Langkawi to sunshine and blue skies, we were all extremely excited to be able to be outdoors on this beautiful island. After collecting our luggage and our rented car, we left the airport and drove to a home stay i had booked ahead for the ladies as it was peak period and we were worried that it would be difficult to find accommodation.

While the ladies got settled into their room, Rick and i took a short walk to a guesthouse nearby and easily found a nice budget room for ourselves. When we walked back to check on the ladies, we found them frantically looking through their stuff. Eva had lost her passport.

We immediately drove back to the airport to make a report with AirAsia but the service was very slow, making us all feel frustrated. Without Eva’s passport, our plans to go to the southwestern islands of Thailand (we had also bought return tickets from Krabi) went up in smoke. Unsurprisingly, everyone had a very restless night, our first night on the start of our holiday.

After a few days of checking with the airline, airport, police and embassy, we finally had to come to terms with the fact that Eva’s passport was gone and it was impossible to make a replacement passport in time. We went through tears and frustration to convince everyone that we were not going to leave Eva alone, and that we were all sticking together as a group.

Rick and i made alternative travel plans, remaining in Malaysia and heading southwards through Penang and Ipoh to  the Spanish embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Then a short couple of nights in Melaka before catching their flights back to Spain. And that’s how we spent the first couple of weeks of 2014. Drama, consultation, problem-solving, plan-changing. Not a bad way to start the year, i’d say 🙂

Plans are made to be changed. Champagne on our last night in Langkawi.

The End of the Season 2013. Last Staff Dive.

The last adventure dive of the season was a wreck dive to Sugar Wreck, a 80m long cargo ship, lying on its side at 18m. As you descend, you can see the side of the ship and a multitude of fish. It looks like something out of a documentary. It is so beautiful, and the sheer variety and number of beautiful tropical fish seen there is awesome. So after returning from that dive, i was sure that nothing could top my wreck dive. Then came our staff dive…

We closed the shop and took the boat to Batu Nisan (Tombstone) to start our staff dive (my first), combined with a Discover Scuba Dive lesson for our boatman, Peja. We started off really shallow and while Peja practiced some safety skills, we swam around looking for fish. Batu Nisan is just at the end of Long Beach, and is easily accessible for snorkelers as well as divers. We swam around for 80 minutes and saw lots of cool stuff. A school of huge Bumphead Parrot fish, a huge Indian Ocean Walkman, lots of Scorpion fish and a cute friendly Bat fish that followed us. Here are a few pictures of the final dive of 2013 for Matahari Divers.

Schools of fish.

A beautiful clam.

Baby fish hiding in the coral.

I never get tired of these beautiful Blue Ringed Angelfish.

Nemos!

Another pretty anemone fish.

Spiny Urchin.

Huge Pufferfish!

Me watching a ball of tiny baby catfish swirling around!

The friendly Bat fish that accompanied us along the dive.

Handsome Kram!

Peja, posing during his first time underwater, and getting photo-bombed by a clown fish!

Rick, and that huge Indian Ocean Walkman!

Having a great time underwater together. Although now i know why i got water in my mask!

A Day in the Life of a Dive Shop Girl.

It had been a while since i had had a job. Work to get up for and earn some money. It had been just over two and a half years since i had retired from my old life and embarked on a life of travel. When Rick and I arrived at Perhentian Island, we had decided that we would spend a week or so on the beach, doing some snorkeling, diving and lots of chilling out. After doing just that, we were offered work in a dive shop as it was the end of the season and some people were leaving, resulting in some positions being open, and the one i got offered was as a “Dive Shop Girl” for the duration of a month.

It had been so long since we had committed to something, that it took us a while until we finally made the decision to stay and work. My duties involved being at the Dive Shop from 9.30am to 6pm, attending to people who walked in asking for information. My priority was to ensure that there was always enough tea, coffee and hot water for people to help themselves to, and to arrange for either the instructor or Dive Master to discuss their dives with. I also handled the paperwork and the daily payments and forms. Most of the job, however, was just talking to people. In the end, that was the part that i really enjoyed more than anything. We met some really nice people and developed a bond with each and every one.

The Matahari Dive Shop.

Temple of the sea, a pinnacle, and one of the most popular dive sites around these islands.

Some of the beautiful tropical fish found in these waters.

Playing “Rescue” at the Dive Shop.

Staff dinner on the beach in Chill Out Cafe.

During busy times, i helped set up the tanks and equipment and assisted in filling up the whiteboard. During slow times, i sat at the counter with my macrame and beads, and enjoyed making bracelets. On top of that, i also got to dive. From a nervous refresher, i learned how to relax and concentrate on my breathing, so that i could let go and really focus on the beauty that lies beneath the clear blue waters around these islands.

Last dive of the season. And what a beautiful one it was.

Me, underwater, checking out a Bat fish.

When i started work, we were living in Moonlight, in a small “emergency” room and i had to walk half way down the beach early in the morning to get to work. I really enjoyed walking barefoot along the beach while it was relatively quiet. Then later we moved to a windowless room on top of the dive shop, which is where we are still staying, so the office is just downstairs. I can’t complain. Either way, it’s a good deal. We have had a happy month. We have met some great people, whose paths we will surely cross again, now that we are in touch. And now we are on holiday again, back to our “normal life”, and enjoying this beautiful island.

Our home for the past few weeks.

The view of Matahari Chalets from our balcony.

One of the best views on Long Beach, from our old Balcony at Moonlight.

Low tide on Long Beach.

The jetty.

Catching up with Emma.

Bonfire on the beach at Moonlight.

Perhentian Kecil Island, Malaysia.

It was 2009 when Rick and i first met. And it was on Long Beach, Perhentian Kecil Island on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Rick was working as a Divemaster and i was on a short holiday with my close girlfriends. It has been over 4 years now since that chance meeting and we have been together, almost 24 hours a day, ever since.

So, as soon as we arrived back in Malaysia, after an absence of over one and a half years, we had decided that it would be nice to return to this beautiful tropical island. We arrived back in Malaysia at the beginning of September and after acclimatising in Kuala Lumpur and catching up with family and friends for 2 weeks, we decided it was time to leave the concrete jungle and get back to our roots! We took a bus from Kuala Lumpur, which in itself was a bit confusing as there are several main bus stations located in various places in and around Kuala Lumpur that buses heading to different areas in the peninsular leave from. The buses bound for the East Coast leave from Hentian Putra, and we had chosen to take the night bus, leaving at 10pm and arriving at Kuala Besut (where the jetty departs from) at around 5am the next day. It cost us RM45 each, and had huge seats.

The original plan was to spend a week in Perhentian Kecil Island, then ‘island-hop’ to Redang, Kapas and Tioman (other islands on the East Coast of Malaysia) before the monsoon season arrived. We arrived on the island, and although we noticed that it was a bit dirtier, a bit more ‘party-ish’, and there were a few more hotels/restaurants, the island still had its charm. Initially i was really disappointed with the rudeness and the low hygiene standard in most of the budget accommodation on offer. People were extremely rude and judgmental towards us, and after backpacking half way around the world, i felt so disappointed that my own country gave me such a bad feeling. Luckily for us, this all changed as soon as we rented a basic room in Moonlight, a hostel on the far side of the beach. We met genuine, nice, local people who didn’t judge us by the way we looked, and were a pleasure to be around.

Posing on the jetty on the far side of Long Beach.

Long Beach, Perhentian Kecil Island, known for its white sand and clear water.

Catching up with old friends.

The view of the whole beach from moonlight, our first home on Long Beach.

Partying at monkey Bar.

After only a week, got offered jobs. Me in a dive shop doing a bit of admin work, and Rick as a Divemaster, a sort of underwater guide. Pay was extremely low, but we both had the opportunity to go diving and enjoy the pretty underwater landscapes that lie beneath these turquoise waters. It was nearing the end of the season and some people were leaving, so it was pure chance that we had arrived at an opportune time to be able to find work. All our plans to island hop flew out of the window, but as always, things worked out good for us in the end. We had met some really nice people, we had a place to stay and were working doing something we enjoyed, meeting more lovely people. And our home was now on a beautiful beach. What more could we ask for?

Working in paradise!

Cekodok Pisang, or Mashed Banana Fritters

I decided to make these delicious Malaysian tea time snacks one morning. We had some old, mushy, brown bananas and they were the perfect ingredient! I had earlier done a little online research, looking for recipes for bananas, since they can be found relatively cheap here in Utila and had come up with this simple recipe. I had  never made Cekodok Pisang before but they were easy and delicious. We even toyed around with the idea of selling them here in the streets but let’s start by taking one step at time. I will definitely make these yummy bites again but perhaps add a hint of cinnamon next time.

Here’s the recipe for anyone with a surplus of over-ripe or ugly-looking bananas.

Ingredients
4 very ripe bananas (the uglier the better since they are easier to mash-up properly)
half a teaspoonful of salt
sugar to taste (optional)
half a teaspoonful of baking powder
one and a half cups of flour
oil for frying

Method
1. Smash up the bananas until a paste is formed.
2. Add in all the other ingredients and mix well. If the mixture is too watery, add more flour. If it is too hard, add more water.
3. In heated oil, fry spoonfuls of banana mixture until dark brown. Repeat until mixture is finished.

There it is. Nice and simple. Enjoy trying your hand at making these easy tea time bites. Again this photo of the finished products doesn’t do them much justice. They tasted great though!

My first attempt at making Cekodok Pisang. The finished product.

An update: We DID go out on the street and these sweet bites sold like hot cakes to hungry divers hanging around the dive shops. In fact, it all happened so fast, i didn’t have the chance to take any photos of us in the street. The locals also bought some but said that they also make a similar kid of fried dessert here on the island. The guy downstairs, our first customer said he may order some from us to take out diving, and we will be making more this evening to bring to a farewell barbecue for sampling to other friends working in the diving industry here.

Who knows where this will lead?

We recycled an old egg tray to hold the fritters (which look so much better now) for selling in the street. We also made samples for people to try.