Today started way to early. We had to be up by 2:30am, to get ready, packed, check out of the hotel and get to the bus station by 4am. Oh God did that suck. Jet lag still weighing us down. Not sure exactly what we are doing, but knowing that forward momentum will get us there.
And what do you know, the bus is delayed. Go figure. We sit in the terminal wondering if this delay will mean that we miss the one ferry that goes to our resort and be stuck in a town with no place to stay. Ah, adventure. Isn't it great?
Now of course, I'm hungry, and in desperate need of coffee, but the only thing open in the terminal is 7 Eleven (yes, there are 7 Eleven's in Malaysia, too bad there weren't any In n' Outs), but no coffee. Weird. I grab what I recognize as 'Pringle' like chips and wander back down to our bus gate. Dyann looks at me with my two tubes of chips and that look in her eye that says, "really, chips? For breakfast?" Yup, that's what I grabbed. Not feeling adventurous enough to grab unidentifiable food from the hot box that I have no idea how long it's been sitting there. I guess I just don't have any balls when it comes to food at 4 in the morning. What I really wanted was a coffee, with Baileys and a nice toasty pastry. No luck here.
We are about to embark on a bus ride across Malaysia to a small jetty on the eastern side of the country to catch a ferry that will take us to what is touted to be Heaven on Earth. I'm so ready to get there. But first, a 5 hour bus ride, if the bus will ever arrive.
Her shirt says 'Drinks Well With Others'
We're off. We spend the next five hours 'drafting' small cars, like NASCAR, to pass in the knick of time before getting slammed by oncoming traffic, watching the Fast n' Furious 8 (I think our bus driver thinks he's Vin Diesel), and trying to get a little sleep while staring at our chips since I'm not allowed to eat on the bus. The random transfer to a new bus in the middle of nowhere and the new bus driver looks like he's 12 as he yanks fuses from the fuse box to try and get the bus to run. A pair of elementary school scissors and a cigarette later and viola, we are on our way again.
I have to keep reminding myself, this is not the States.
Be patient.
Have faith.
It will all work out.
Not everyone is as neurotic as I am and fastidious.
Just go with the flow, Chef.
Enjoy the journey.
We get our ferry boarding passes and now we wait...And I am starving, and have the caffeine withdraw headache setting in, but unfortunately there are no street vendors open (we are coming to Malaysia during their New Year celebration and most people don't work or open their shops) and so we are relegated to what is offered at the ferry terminal. We opt for cup o' soup. And I get a Diet Coke.
The food cart in the terminal is selling waffles, popcorn and sweet corn. Literally, corn cut from the kernel and mixed with something sweet? I have to try it.
It was good. I have no idea what they put in it, but it was good. And filling. When all else fails, grab a cup of corn and enjoy.
A two hour ferry ride and a really weird Russian fight club movie later and we pull into the dock at Tioman Island, Berjaya Resort. Holy Crap! This place looks amazing.
Time to check in.
Grab a drink.
And relax.