Just returned from a week on the beautiful islands of Penang and Langkawi in Malaysia. Penang, similar to Singapore, is rich in diverse cultures: Muslim, Hindu, and Christian.
As beaches, hiking, site seeing, eating great food, and snorkeling kept the family very occupied, it was not until the last day that I got to rent a bike and explore some of the Langkawi coast line and villages. Pristine beaches, villagers eating their breakfast outside, roosters fighting for their turf, fancy hotels, a marina with long yachts, lazy water buffaloes, and finally a large group of monkeys. They appeared to be very friendly and came towards me (I had stepped off my bike); but it soon seemed that they were after food and I wasn't convinced they're going to ask politely! When several of the 30 or so started to approach me more aggressively, I decided to continue my journey...The day before I had already had enough when a one meter-plus shark (not interested in humans, they told me) swam next to me when snorkeling.
