I live a weird and somewhat extraordinary life. A couple of days ago I didn’t really have any intentions of going to Malaysia and didn’t even know that much about it (still don’t, really, but that’ll change soon one way or another). Now Elani and I will be traveling there in a little over a month and staying for a month and a half. So, what changed?
Well, I’ll start by saying I don’t like to plan too early – there’s a sweet spot to planning. If you wait too long, things book up and prices rise, but if you plan too early, you can miss out on some information that would change your decision, or preferences or goals may change. Basically, I’m a big proponent of waiting until that last minute before things get difficult. That may sound like me justifying being lazy, but “lazy” is usually just a derogatory term for efficiency, and I’ll certainly never apologize for being efficient. Anyways, that sweet spot came for planning where to go after Bali, mainly because we need an exit ticket before arriving there.
Two of the top spots in Southeast Asia are Thailand and Vietnam, but the weather in general and the wind for kiting in particular aren’t great until later in the year. That meant it was time to use my favorite trick when I don’t know where I want to go –pull up the Google Flights map and see where’s cheap. It turns out that the cheapest flights out of Denpasar, Bali, other than to somewhere else in Indonesia, were to Malaysia. The next step was to check the US State Department’s website for travel restrictions and dangers (for would-be travelers out there, I recommend it as a starting place). Despite the fact that in East Malaysia (the section of the country on the island of Borneo, and definitely nowhere near where we’re going), there is a real danger of being kidnapped by pirates (I’m not being the least bit facetious about that, actual modern pirates are kidnapping tourists on Borneo for ransom – holy crap!), mainland Malaysia is actually quite safe. Visas to Malaysia are straight forward, with a generous 90 days given for tourist on entry. Okay, so a go on Malaysia then. A little more digging showed that though Kuala Lumpur is a little cheaper, Penang is a bit more chill, has more history, and is one of the best cities in Asia for street food. Sold!
At this point things were looking good, we just had to wade through some bureaucracy to get a 60 day visa to Indonesia and then after that we would fly out to Penang. It was a pretty good plan, but I was lamenting to Elani that that puts us in a non-kiteboarding spot for my birthday. Not a big deal, but it got us thinking, why bother with all the trouble of getting a 60 day visa? Instead, we could just do 30 days in Bali, head over to Malaysia for a while, then go back to Bali in time for my birthday. Boom, done, perfect plan. Sometimes you just need to step back and think about things differently.
So, that’s what we’re up to. First Bali, then to Malaysia, then back to Bali, and by that point, the weather will be starting to get nicer in Thailand and Vietnam. I love it when a plan comes together!