A quiet place

I'm at this quiet place.

Very quiet that I can hear the sounds of insects outside.

I'm writing this just to while away the time in between reading my books.

Reached this place late in the afternoon yesterday.

Tired and tried to sleep, but was unable to do so.

Just laze around instead.

This place reminds me a lot of my favorite holiday destination, Bali. Of course its without the Hindu mysticism and the favorite food of Bali, which is babi golek.

I mostly go overseas for work though, not holidaying. I'm not actually rich.

Most of the time, I spend my holiday in the country.

Actually there are a lot of beautiful places in Malaysia which we Malaysians could enjoy and appreciate.

Here are my top 10 local holiday destinations, one of which is where I am now -

10. Malacca.
    - I like walking around Jonker Walk and the authentic Chinese "nyonya-baba peranakan" cuisine, which is among the best in my food list is only available in Malacca.

9. Air Papan Beach. Mersing, Johor.
    - The first beach I had been to when I was a kid. Some sweet memories at this beach.

8. Genting Highland, Pahang.
    - Well, actually it's the surrounding areas which I really like, such as Bukit Tinggi and Janda Baik.

7. Cameron Highlands, Pahang
   - Sometimes the weather is still cool. My favorite is the Lake House at Ringlet.

6. Sepat Beach, Kuantan, Pahang.
    - Long stretch of sandy beach with not too many people knowing about it. Perhaps the most peaceful beach in the country. Of course late in the afternoon, you need to watch out for buffaloes coming from the nearby villages. They can be quite scary.

5. Sekinchan, Selangor.
    - Made it into my list because a Chinese gangster threaten to kill me if I fail to promote his favorite town. Well, actually it's because of the seafood and that it was here that I found my favorite drink - air kedondong dengan asam boi.

4. Kluang, Johor.
   - My hometown, so I have to promote it la. No matter what it is. I choose the picture of that Kluang aunty because she reminds me of my grandma.

3. Padi fields of Kedah and Perlis
   - I'm always amazed at how beautiful the scenery at the padi fields no matter how many times I've been there.

2. Teluk Cempedak Beach, Kuantan.
   - Some of my happiest memories were at this beach.

1.  Rawa Island, off Mersing Johor
    - The most beautiful island in the world...at least in my eyes...

Penang and Langkawi are not in my list.

I don't really like Penang even before the DAP took over the island. It has always been too cramped and everything there was too Chinese driven. Now it is even worse. I was in Penang last year and every one seemed so tense. Not that many smiling faces. A bit like Hong Kong.

Langkawi is beautiful but I feel that it is over commercialized.

Also not in my list are beautiful places in Sabah and Sarawak. It's simply because I have not been there enough to know the places better. Maybe in the years to come I will try to go there more often and they may move up the ranking into my top 10 list.

Okay I'm continuing with my books. It's really a beautiful morning here.