20.07.2016, 1:20PM
.i've spent the last 7 days in malaysia. the last four pretty much in solitude here in langkawi. in the evening rastom's (my host) younger brother, tam, will turn up after finishing work at the hotel on the main island. although he lives in the town he likes to chill in his shack nearby to get some peace and quiet from his wife. the place is pretty chill, though i was a bit skeptical about it when i first saw it on airb'n'b
.previously i was in penang for about 4 days for a friend's wedding. it was the usual kind of catholic/christian wedding. the speeches at the reception were, of course, funny and sweet. i'm still trying to understand the tension going on between a friend and the bride. unnecessary drama
.each day i'm having to defend tam's shack from the local troop of grey long-tailed macaques. the alpha seems to love the shack. he's broken in, thrown pillows on the floor and made off with a food container. what an ass hole. guess i could always sit up in it. i need to charge my power bank. it's not charging properly. but rastom has taught me that these macaques are quite unique. despite how much they piss the hell out of me by coming into my camp and keeping me noisy company...trying to steal my food, i find them intriguing. usually around dusk as the tide goes out they'll go down to the rocky sandbar and actually fish for oysters. i have observed them cracking them open to have a feed.
.i'm constantly covered in bugs
.no biggie
.everything is just damp too. i'm in for a rude awakening when i get back to perth
.heading out to the pasar malam tonight with Tam
.i'm watching this water monitor swim around the island opposite my campsite. quite entertaining. on my first day here though (monday) i did a little bit of kayaking. went east along the coast. i wish i brought my camera, but alas...i broke my dry bag. so pissed about that. i need to a buy a more heavy-duty one. there's little otters that come around too. you hear them before you see them. they like to raid the floating fish farms nearby. there's also a pair of sea-eagles nesting on the island opposite.
.i've been hoping to capture photos of the dusky leaf monkey, but have had absolutely no luck at all. although, i have recently learned from the water village nearby that the the monkey has been quite heavily poached recently. i have heard a few gunshots ringing out nearby in the middle of the night
.i've done quite a bit of exploring in the past few days. i hiked into the jungle. found a small area just filled with butterflies. then confronted another troop of macaques that chased me out. soaked my socks and grew a new eco-system of mold on my boots, because i'm a accidental science idiot. i also kayaked more along the coast and got off at various points to just explore. i found a lot of plastic trash. most of those photos i took using my iphone
.today is my last full day here. i've spent most of it just doing some work here and there, relaxing and reflecting.
.i guess this is all my thoughts for now
