Arrived in Malaysia

This year, our journey took us back to Asia. We landed in Bangkok at 6:00 AM, and after that, we hopped on a domestic flight to Hat Yai, which is really close to the Malaysian border. The flight was just 1 hour and 10 minutes. From there, we found a minivan that would take us to the border. We didn’t want to spend much time in Thailand since we explored a lot of the country last year. Instead, we planned to pick up where we left off last year due to illness and a short hospital stay. As we sat in the minivan, we could really feel that we were back in Asia again. The heat and the low prices gave us a sense of déjà vu. The ride cost 150 baht per person and lasted about 5 hours. At the border, we were dropped off since you have to walk across. SARS was still a concern in Asia, so border control was pretty strict. They carefully checked our passports to see which countries we had visited last. Luckily, since we were coming directly from Denmark, they let us through without any issues. Once we crossed the border, we grabbed a taxi that took us to Kota Bahru. The fare was 30 RM in total, and the ride took about an hour. We found a hotel (50 RM total) close to the night market and the bus station. Finally arriving, we could breathe a sigh of relief after a long 26-hour journey. The night market lured us out of our room in the evening, where we made our first purchases. I bought a watch for 10 RM, and Honny picked up a pair of sandals for 19 RM since he had forgotten his back in Denmark. It’s unbearable to walk in closed shoes in this heat! We also discovered a cozy restaurant where we ordered the long-missed banana and watermelon shakes. We even tried one of Malaysia's specialties, Nasi Goreng Pattaya, which was absolutely delicious.