Perhentian Islands, located in the north part of Malaysia, almost in the border of Thailand, are a well known destination for tourists and divers, who can enjoy the clarity of its water and beautiful underwater species.
A few days ago I went there for a weekend, with my coworkers and friends, rented a car from Kuala Lumpur to Perhentian that took us almost nine hours to reach because of the traffic jam... if I did the same thing in Spain, drive 9 hours to go to the beach, for sure I would be regarded as a fool!! (especially when the nearest beach to my place is just 30 minutes drive...!!)
Anyway...the trip was very nice, and there were many activities such as snorkeling, diving, kayak rental, trekking,... even the weather was a bit cloudy on the first day, it was good because I didn't get sun tanned and this time, unlike when I went to Tioman, I didn't look like a red lobster after all!
The friends with whom I went were also really nice and all together had a good time, taking a break from work spending the weekend far away from Kuala Lumpur where we usually stay.
So far, I do like Perhentian more than any other island I have seen in Malaysia. I haven't seen much though haha... the cottages were quite clean and few seconds distance walk to the beach.
There was also a large wooden bridge linking two different beaches, like if it was going into the jungle! The beach was very very clean, and just a few meters away you could do snorkeling and see fishes and corals, some turtles and there is also a shark point where you can see baby sharks from a distance. We didn't manage to see any, unluckily... but it's something we will keep for the next visit :) 
While being there, I realized that in european countries it's the summer time holidays these days, because Perhentian was almost booked by foreigners. Since the weather in Malayisa is very similar all through the year (hot, dry, a bit of rain for one or two hours everyday around 4pm), I seldom think - rather tend to forget-, when I am in Malaysia, that in europe the weather is changeable and we do have generally four seasons there. But in Malaysia I could find only one season so far haha...
Anyway, not only in Perhentian but also in Kuala Lumpur these days there are more foreigners than usual in the streets, bar, department stores... which is good for the malaysian economy but in a sense it intrudes part of the joy of going to local places where I can see local people... and then at the end you find that there are more foreigners than locals in the place! This happened in Perhentian :):):). 
Well... on the other hand, my friends from Spain will also come and visit me at the end of July and I feel very happy about it!
This is going to be the first time for them to be in Asia and I look forward to welcome and show them around people, culture and whatever events we can join. For me it's also going to be interesting, because this is probably the first time it becomes real that my close friends from Spain come to visit while I am living in Asia.
When I was in Spain I often had the feeling that no matter how many photos and nice videos I tried to explain about Japan, Thailand or wherever countries I had visited, there were really not enough ways to let my friends feel like wanting to visit or feel excited about it. At the same time I was developing a very close friendship with people in these asian countries that I was (and still am) proud of.
I was like living in two different worlds, my wish (Asia) and my reality (Spain). I loved both (and I still do), but I rarely managed to create a real link between my friends in Spain and these friends in Asia.
This is going to be a good chance to introduce to my Spanish friends how I live here, who my friends are, and also to introduce my friends who also like Asia to them, as a nice cultural and friendly exchange of impressions about Europe and Asia.
I am happy because finally the bridge linking two different cultures can be built and grown up bit by bit.
In Perhentian, among with these good news of my friends coming to visit me in a few weeks time, I also realized that no matter where I am, my friends network is expanding day by day, and building up a very unique and close relationship with them. My coworkers, friends in Malaysia, as well as my friends in Spain and other countries provide me really quality times and enrich my experience in life.
I lately heard that to be able to love someone, first of all you do need to love yourself. I don't totally agree with it as in my opinion, love helps to love yourself (and your partner) and can bring lot of security and determination, even change the partner's attitude towards life and own development...
One of the clues of life I discovered since last months is that life consists in how you see yourself and how you can relate to others. We walk alone when the time comes to choose what we want, where to go, how to live. Each of us has born in different conditions, different places, different culture, different environment. The choices we do according to our situation should be taken regarding personal growth and happiness. Its not easy to choose and its by trying that we will learn the way we want to go. We walk alone in the path of life and we are the only responsibles of our choices.
At the same time, once we have chosen, we will meet people who will change our views, thoughts, feelings, once our direction has taken, and these can for sure enrich our environment, knowledge and how we see others. This is how I feel here and probably my friends in Spain will feel the same when they come to Malaysia.
Wherever I am, I feel that no matter what, happy and secure, I know who I am, I will probably choose my directions alone, but in the road, at the same time, I certainly know I will never walk alone. That's life.
