Shipwrecks and sharks

I am sitting by the beach, enjoying a beautiful sunset, with a beer, recovering from my second day diving.

I am in the Perhertians, a National Park in North Malaysia, famous for its diving and snorkelling, but set in a magnificent tropical setting.

The islands are stunning, and they have been looked after much more than other places such as Ko Tao.

I am so pleased that I have come here, it is the perfect antidote for the sadness and loneliness that I was feeling after Stephen had left.

Today I've done my first shipwreck dive and I also saw my first shark, but won't bore everyone with the details of all the amazing, colourful fish I saw in the last two days.

As the sun sets, this tropical paradise becomes an eerie, slightly strange place....


The call of prayer breaks the silence, that had only previously been broken by the singing of birds and the low and gentle rumble of a distant electricity generator.

But in the distance, standing on top of the hill, two very large wind power generators remind us how Malaysia has embraced modernity, without leaving behind its traditions.

I am in a Muslim country where alcohol, at least in this part, is scarce, where most ethnic Malay women wear headscarves. A country were converting away from Islam is a crime. Nonetheless, Malaysia has also been able to integrate all the different religions that live here. They have worked and lived in peace since the troubles following independence.

So far at least, there has been no fundemantalist attacks, and the country seems to enjoy a more egualitarian prosperity than I have seen elsewhere.