Tioman Island was a special treat. The Cameron Highlands were refreshingly cool and picturesque with the tea plantations.

Some observations:

Photographs of the king are everywhere. The king is now in his 80s but he is revered throughout Thailand. Most homes and businesses have a least one portrait. All public buildings and town squares have many. Some are new, but many are faded to almost black-and-white from the sun. The king is pictured in a gold tunic, in military dress like an admiral, in a business suit, and in a sport jacket with a camera. Sometimes he is pictured wearing a sword with the Queen by his side.

Obama–when I tell a Thai, I am from America, USA, he invariably replies, “Obama.” If he can’t speak English, he might add, “Hope,” and if he can, he adds, “Obama is not only the hope of USA, but Thailand as well.”

Hats–men wear ski hats and masks outdoor, I guess to keep cool in the heat.

Language–Thai is curious. The language changes depending on the gender of the speaker. If a male asks, How are you? the ending is different than how a female would ask. It doesn’t matter who you are speaking to.

Buddhism–is the national religion practiced by the king and 90% of the population. Monasteries and temples are everywhere. The vernacular practice appears to be focused on alms-giving, burning incense and visiting temples. The newspapers point to an uncertain future, however. Historically about 6 million men have entered the monk-hood each year, but that is now down to 1.5 million for 2008. Also, a methamphetamine scandal erupted when an undercover investigation revealed large numbers of monks were regular users and allegedly sold to children.

Travel–is easy in Thailand with a well-developed tourist infrastructure for transportation, lodging, eating and sightseeing. Most tourists appear to be Europeans on long holidays (3 to 5 weeks). they generally are focused on vacationing with their tour group. There are lots of Swedes who are uniformly friendly and interesting

Route: I flew into Singapore (US to Tokyo to Singapore) and spent a week recuperating from the flight, eating good food and visiting museums. Singapore is neat, clean, easy to get around and very organized.

From there, I flew to Bangkok and visited a friend from college days. He was kind enough to show me around Bangkok and provide a tour of western Thailand near Burma. I then went south by train and visited several islands (Ko Samui and Ko Taratao).

I crossed into Malaysia by sea, traveling by speed boat from Ko Lipe to Pulau Langkawi. I then alternated between cities and islands in Malaysia, visiting Penang, Kuala Lampur, Pangkor, Melaka and Tioman.

I returned to Singapore and from there flew home completing two months travel.

Overall, peninsular Asia is easy to travel with a well-developed tourist infrastructure and many European tourists. Travel English is widely spoken. Most tourists are on holiday, typically for five weeks and act more as vacationers than travelers. By the end of the trip, I, too, succumbed to this approach and checked myself into a resort in a wonderful South China Sea location with snorkeling just off the beach.

Southeast Asia is far bigger than I imagined. Originally I thought I could also visit northern Thailand, Laos, and southern Vietnam, as well as northern Sumatra. This would only be possible with air travel or a very hectic, quick schedule in major cities.

The cost of food and accommodations in Thailand and Malaysia was very reasonable with private rooms from $20 to $30 US. Singapore is more expensive but generally offers a higher standard.

During my travels I met people from the following countries:
Europe: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria, Britain, France and Italy
Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and China.
Africa: Liberia and South Africa.
Americas: Canada, Chile and USA.
Australia.

As I traveled, I kept a blog; you can read my posts for each country.

Singapore

Malaysia

Thailand

Logistics–took the ferry from Penuba Bay to Mersing, then a bus to Jalor Bahru (JB) and another bus through immigrations to Singapore.

Lodging–stayed again at the Strand Hotel, our reliable stand-by. The last night, stayed at the Crowne Plaza located in the airort to easily catch an early morning flight. Very contemporary, upscale hotel.

There’s a lot of hype about Tioman–one of the ten best island and location for movie, South Pacific. It’s well-deserved. We avoided the eastern coast of Malaysia until the end of our trip because of the northeastern monsoon season. It typically ends February or March. During our visit, the wind sometimes blew full-force and the rain poured. Most of the time, clouds hang on the upper mountains of the island.

The coral, marine life and visibility are the best I’ve seen this trip and probably the best I’ve ever seen. I saw all manner, color and size of coral and fish. Highlights included a sea turtle, large bump-head parrot fish, and yellow and purple skates. A half-hour jungle work north takes you to Monkey Beach which has good snorkeling and and black-tipped reef sharks.

Lodging–the first night, we spent in a bungalow at Nazri’s II. The view was great, but at night, the bar in front of our hut attracted a loud, partying crowd that smoked, drank, and howled until four. We moved to the Penuba Bay Inn Resort. It had a great view and a coral reef along its beach. It’s relatively pricey and the food at the only restaurant become monotonous; but the location is superb.