Going it Alone

I am starting to resent couples. How dare they be enjoying lounging about in the hostels! How dare they enjoy going to restaurants and bars together, and doing amazing things like climbing mountains and white water rafting! They even enjoy re-telling the stories of when they were ripped off/harassed/attacked by insects! The bastards.

I am having a moan, but it's very hypocritical because if Pete were here I would be just as disgusting.

The point of this trip is self-discovery and proving I can do this independently. I am learning that I have to put the effort in to meet people, but that when the effort is made, people are usually very open to you. I have to learn to put up with shitty stuff that doesn't happen when you're with anyone else - mostly leering men, cat-calls and other general forms of sexual harassment (in Penang someone drove past on a motorbike and slapped me on the arse). Touts seem much more persistent; I'm currently finding this out in Bali where my pale complexion probably doesn't help either.

Despite this moan, some of the nicest people I've met so far have been couples, and it's been very much appreciated. Viki and Debbie in KL who invited me to eat with them, Connor and Marie in the Cameron Highlands who I got lost in the jungle with (without them I would probably still be trying to find my way out). In Penang I met Liz and Tom from Melbourne, and spent a fab day out visiting the beach with Liz while Tom puked his guts up all morning (courtesy of a seemingly legit Indian restaurant). I was able to have a really good chat with her about travelling independently, as she had done so all over Europe and Russia, and also the wanky way in which long-term boyfriends usually end up treating girls. Yes I am still bitter about it.

I also spoke to a couple from LA on the plane over from KL- they've asked me to call them up when I go over to Ubud.

People- keep spreading the love! I am appreciating it.

Well, sometimes. Try not to do it in public.