Malaysia!

March 19 2008
We arrived this morning in Malaysia, but did not wake up until around 11:00 because it took so long to get the ship cleared and all of the SAS trips got to leave first. This is a very difficult port because we aren't actually anchored to the island (due to construction) so we use our lifeboats (tenders) to leave the ship and get to land. It is a pain.
We got to land and started walking around aimlessly. We haven't really learned much about Malaysia yet so we weren't sure what to do or even what to look for. So we just walked in the humid heat. After beads of sweat started to take over our chipper moods we found sanctuary in a tea house. The woman suggested we get a "fragrance" tea and showed us how to pour everything into the multiple dishes and let the tea steep (very different than just using a tea bag). Excited to be so cultured we took big gulps and nearly spit it out on each other- I thought I had just bit into a lilac bush. It was very potent and absolutely disgusting. We couldn't drink anymore so we went back to the street.
A few more minutes in the heat and we desperately looked for air conditioning, which we found in one of the world's worst museums. There were old typewriters, desks, random pictures from around the city. Some signs were in English, but they weren't very informative. Annoyed we headed back to the ship.
We were a little lost and happened to find a tourist information center. We went inside and plopped into chairs as the men laughed at us. We looked through some pamphlets and asked how long it would take to get places and how much it would cost. One of the men offered to drive us to a chocolate factory and we took him up on it.
The "Chocolate Boutique" it was called- we got to sample every single kind of chocolate and coffee that they had. These coffees were better than any Cafe Au Lait, Kona coffee or Starbucks. The chocolates up there with France, Italy and Swiss chocolates. Don't worry I bought tons mom and dad!! When it got to the point of almost puking we had our new designated driver, Dawood, bring us to a few Buddhist temples.
They were absolutely gorgeous with the most amazing woodwork/carvings I have ever seen all over the place. Lots of Buddah statues and paintings with bright colors and a really cool wishing-well/pond!
Dawood brought us to another chocolate face and a hand-painted cloth place then we went back to the port. We ate dinner on the ship and are calling it a night so we can be refreshed for our flight to Singapore in the morning!