We did a nest check in the morning before I left the island where I held a hawksbill turtle egg and felt the hatchling inside move. I felt a mix of emotions about leaving the island; there was sadness about the experience being over and happiness about seeing my friends back home, and eating meat and fish!
My jump of joy on Turtle Bay, Lang Tengah.
My boat arrived, full of people, and I hopped in. Just before, I gave everybody a hug and exchanged a few heartfelt words. Living with the volunteers, we were laughing most nights and cooking together and just having a great time getting to know each other. Hopefully all of us stay in touch. The boat ride lasted half an hour towards the Merang Jetty in Kuala Terengganu and it was the bumpiest boat ride I have ever had. I held on pretty tight to the railing!
The boat heading to the Merang Jetty, Kuala Terengganu. On the beach are the volunteers heading back to camp.
From the Merang Jetty I took a taxi to Kuala Terengganu airport where for about four hours I sat around until I was able to check my bag in, go through security and sit at my gate. I had a chicken curry at one of the cafés there which tasted heavenly, seeing that I went without any meat for my entire stay on Lang Tengah.
The flight to Kuala Lumpur took less than one hour and the first thing I did when I landed was grab my enormous eighty-liter bag and head towards the Sama Sama airport hotel. I was upgraded to the “hot seats” on AirAsia which was lovely and my tall self ended up having more legroom! I was also lucky when I was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu with Malaysia Airlines because I was upgraded to business class.
Waiting at the gate to fly to Kuala Lumpur from Kuala Terengganu.
Finally, I had air conditioning in the hotel room with a running shower and a flushing toilet, unlike the compost pit on camp. And a mattress! All these things I took for granted before my trip, now I appreciate.
Sama Sama Airport Hotel.
I dropped my bags, had a long shower and went back to the terminal at the airport in order to grab some food. I found a lovely curry restaurant where I ordered another chicken curry, rice and cold milo. Milo is essentially hot chocolate and it’s delicious cold. Afterwards I went and ordered two portions of fries at Burger King. My stomach felt good, I felt good, and I was ready to go relax in my hotel room. I ended up having one of the best sleeps in years.
Rice, chicken curry and cold milo.
I woke up early and checked out of the hotel. They kept my bags for me as I was going to be waiting at the airport all day for my 23:00 flight. I had just enough money in my wallet to get home and couldn’t afford a daytrip into Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport departure gates.
I was calling and texting my family and friends, sending everybody photos from my Lang Tengah Turtle Watch trip and eating at a low cost in the airport. I eventually stayed in the Sama Sama hotel lobby where it was cool and comfy. Kuala Lumpur International Airport is huge, and so I checked my bag in three hours before my departure and headed towards my gate.
Lang Tengah Turtle Watch 2017.
This was my first long distance solo trip away from home. In the beginning, I was nervous before I stepped foot on the plane, but now I am a confident traveler. I feel I have really grown up by doing this trip and venturing into new territory by myself. I met so many lovely people and I will never forget the hardships and good times that came my way. I will miss you, Lang Tengah, thank you for an absolutely incredible and once-in-a-lifetime experience working with the turtles!
ah milo! the good stuff, my thai gf is obsessed with it haha. Loving your blog so far man, quality! K.L. is an amazing place , I was there in January. Hope you got to see the aviary!
Nice to hear from you! :) Milo is so popular in South-East Asia, they sell it all over the airports. I unfortunately couldn't afford to leave the airport and go see Kuala Lumpur, but I will be returning hopefully in the near future to enjoy the food stalls and the aviary too! Glad you're loving my blog, I'm looking forward to reading yours!
Have a good one!
must have been nice to finally be able to eat some meat! where are you off to next?
Tell me about it! I'm going to be in Wilcot, Wiltshire, United Kingdom next. I'm going to dog sit for some friends for a few days!
looking forward to reading about it! congratulations on making it home in one piece!
Thanks, @pryce! It feels great to be home!
Such beautiful place. hope you check out my travel photos too.
Absolutely beautiful! I will check out your travel photos. :)
Great post
Thank you, @sunshinetraveler! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
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