The other benefit of seeing my Aunty was that she came bearing lots of gifts from my family for Christmas, so obviously the first thing I did when I got to my room was have a beautifully warm bath with my new lush bath bomb, oh how I've missed baths! The next few days were spent exploring KL which was nice for me as I actually haven't spent as much time there due to us living so far south. We saw the usual tourist spots like KLCC and Merdeka square with its rather large flagpole. We also ventured out to the bird park and saw every kind of bird from peacocks to flamingoes. We also took a trip up the Petronas towers, which I had been wanting to do since I got here, and got some magical views of the city from the bridge between the two towers and also the 86th floor of one of the towers.
It was also really nice to share everything I love about Malaysia with them- mainly the food, haha! We went to get street food, on more than one occasion, at Jalan Alor in KL. We filled our tummies whilst listening to the most adorable street singer and people tried to sell us selfie sticks over and over. Chicken satay, roti canai, mee goreng and Nasi Ayam were the favourites all washed down with my beloved Milo Ice which I had definitely missed whilst travelling. It was good to be back in Malaysia and have all my favourites again.
Street food heaven
Then we hired a car and embarked on the long, winding journey to the Cameron Highlands. Now after living in Malaysia for 4 months I am getting used to the extreme heat and humidity and also the large down pours of rain. However the Cameron Highlands could not be more different- it's cold! Well by cold I mean it's 20 degrees instead of 30 but still cold enough for me to switch the shorts and vests for leggings and a jumper! The Cameron Highlands were beautiful nonetheless and were a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. Tea plantations lined the winding roads everywhere you went and there were signs advertising strawberries on every corner. We visited the beautiful BOH tea plantation and learned all about how tea was made and even tried some, it was possibly the best ice tea I've ever had.
While in the Cameron Highlands we also went to a cute little butterfly farm and obviously stopped at a little cafe to try the famous Cameron strawberries. They were delicious but have nothing on Scottish ones! We then drove back to KL where we spent one last day. We visited the Batu caves, central market and even did a little shopping in the Pavillion Mall. Then I managed to pack all my things into my rucksack as we were taking a flight to Langkawi the next day.
I was excited to go back to Langkawi, it's probably one of my favourite places ever, but not so excited when our flight was delayed for an hour and a half- nothing a good book can't solve. We stayed in a beautiful hotel in Langkawi right by the beach with stunning views. I didn't do much but lie by the pool and get a tan whilst in Langkawi, but after a manic few weeks travelling the rest and relaxation time was definitely appreciated.
After 4 days in Langkawi with a comfy bed, delicious food and a life of luxury I said goodbye to Sarah and Mark and headed for the airport, to take my 4th flight in a week, to fly to Phuket to be reunited with my faves. It was fab to see them all again and catch up on all they had been up to in Bangkok. In Phuket 10 of us were staying in a nice big villa fully fitted with a pool and even a washing machine! It was the perfect setting for a big family Christmas, sadly that's not exactly how it turned out. On Chrsitmas eve Me, Sophie and Catherine wanted to go to the beach and as we had rented mopeds, taxis were ridiculously expensive in Phuket, we got dropped off by Graeme, Ody and Hollie with the intention they would come back and pick us up in a few hours.
However after a good few hours swimming in the sea and sunbathing on the sand they hadn't appeared. We thought they had just forgot about us and as it wasn't too far back to the villa we just walked back instead. But when we got back to the villa it was dead. The door was open but no one was to be seen. Eventually one of the boys came downstairs to tell us that Hollie had been in an accident on her moped and was now in hospital. We started freaking out and didn't know what to do. We didn't know how serious the crash was, where she was or even if she was alive. It was a really scary few hours but eventually the others got back from the hospital and explained everything to us. Hollie was okay, still breathing thankfully, but was seriously injured with a swollen face and a broken wrist. It turns out she had hit a car which was parked on the road, around a sharp corner and completely smashed the bike and damaged a bit of the car.
Hollie spent Christmas Morning in hospital and the rest of the day being operated on. We had so much stuff to sort out including the insurance, the police, the bike company and just generally informing everyone who needed to be we all kind of forgot about Christmas. Everyone was extremely helpful and the boys even managed to save Christmas a little by surprising us with a cooked breakfast in the morning which did cheer everyone up a bit and was very nice of them. We also continued with inviting all the other volunteers round for a BBq it was just a lot more subdued as we weren't in the highest spirits after everything that happened.
The rest of Phuket was spent in the hospital and Sophie and I cancelled the rest of our travels and the full moon party to stay and look after Hollie. It was certainly not the Chrsitmas we planned but we made the most of what we had and our main priority was obviously Hollies health. Luckily the operation went well and thanks to the insurance she was treated with high quality care in a private hospital in Phuket. The whole experience has defintely taught me a lot, number one being not to ride a moped and pay the price of a taxi haha! During the time Hollie was in hospital there was also another Malaysia vol in too with dengue fever so we spent our time going between them both haha- I defintely had enough of hospitals for the time being. We stayed in Phuket for a little longer than expected and didn't see much other than the hospital walls but we were all extremely happy when were told we could fly home on the 31st. Sophie and I were like little carers pushing around the two of them on wheelchairs in the airport but it did mean we skipped all the cues and were the first people to board the flights- every cloud eh!!
We also managed to squeeze in a little night out in KL on our way home as we landed on New Year's Eve and wanted to at least do something and finish our holiday on a high note.
We're now back home safely in Mersing. Hollie is recovering nicely and we are all very pleased she is okay after everything that happened- even if the students are a little scared of her bruised face and bloodshot eye haha!
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