HOPPING, HOPPING, AND MORE ISLAND HOPPING!

“When I walk to the beach I have to choose; right or left

today? Both are fine because I live on an island and I always end up where I started.” – Dr Gerry Goeden

I’m writing this blog to let you follow my adventures as my life weaves from one new experience to another. You will agree with me that I am earning impeccable credentials as an island hopper.

I started my life in a small “tongue wagging” town on the island of Borneo. Well, Borneo is pretty big but my life was pretty small. I didn’t get much of a chance to travel and never got the idea of what being on an island was all about until---I moved to another island. Much smaller and water all around.

It all began with an invitation from a Science Guy to visit …   dreams, as many of us know, do come true sometimes. I jumped at the chance.

Penang is an incredible island with Georgetown as its heart. The whole place is declared World Heritage but Penang is really all about food—glorious food. The average distance between hawker’s stalls (local cuisine), restaurants (anything goes), and coffee shops is only about 100m. Even dragging yourself along the ground with a rock tied to your foot you wouldn’t miss a meal. Yet, I haven’t tried the famous Penang laksa … go figure??

So from Penang I hopped again and went off to Langkawi. Talk about a change! From a busy city to the quiet of an ancient (10 million years!) rainforest. I’m lucky enough to be able to visit the Andaman Resort located on the Northwest tip of the island and the shores of Datai Bay. Life is tough here with a beautiful swimming pool, National Geographic’s 9^th best beach in the world, and of course even more glorious food.

My first night was something special. Gerry and I decided on a Malay cuisine at Tepian Laut (meaning seaside, I guess). A wood deck under the rainforest trees, Colugos gliding overhead, the sound of waves only a dozen metres away and…….the biggest moon I have ever seen. Trust me; it’s bigger there. Money back guaranteed!

After dinner an entirely new experience and one I’m embarrassed to talk about. That’s right. It happened right there on the beach---no not that! I took my shoes off and walked barefoot in the sand for the first time. Can’t believe it you say? Well it’s true! Decades of life on islands and never walked barefoot in the sand. Now I can’t stop.

I’m hooked. Addicted. Trapped. My life has changed from the quiet little-town girl to that of the “Barefoot Blogger”, shoeless, wind in the hair, washed in moonlight, and holding a glass of bubbly!

Check out the photos for now. Next time I’ll tell the story of the Barefoot Blogger and the Princess.  If you think the shoes thing is a laugh you won’t want to miss the next one.

http://seefoodbytes.blogspot.com/