Batiks & Payung Guesthouse

It may be January 13th now, but this blog picks up where the last one left off. It is my third day in Cherating, and I had just finished playing the part of the trapeze to a crazy baby monkey acrobat. The next stop on my Cherating shopping spree (all three shops) was back to the batik art shop where I browsed throught the wide array of artwork and bought a few more souvenirs.

Even though my utter exhaustion from my extremely taxing morning of reading by the beach, chilling at Muda's, and meandering through Cherating's plethora of shops may have deterred me from packing up and walking up to the highway to catch the bus, my attachment to this little beach village had already convinced me to stay another night. I had read about the Payung Guesthouse in my tour book. It is owned by a Scottish woman from Edinburgh which attracted me since my gammy (my mom's mom) was from Edinburgh (a fact which my mother has never failed to remind me of at every possible opportunity). I think that if my mom was the type to get tattooed, she would get "I AM SCOTTISH" tattooed across her forehead. I packed up and moved out of Ranting Resort, forlornly kissing my view of the beach goodbye but excited to stay on the river side of town. I walked over to Payung. The doorway opening through a stone wall was surrounded by trees with leafy limbs bending down as if pointing to the entrance, welcoming me to their hidden home. The guest house was adorable. It was not a guesthouse at all. It had a main walkway with about 8 chalets nestled among the beautiful foliage. Not completely hidden, but not totally open either. The chalet was about half the size of the one at Ranting with gaps in the wall planks and no glass in the window openings, just wooden shutters. When the shutters were closed, the chalet was very dark. Perfect for napping. There was a table fan facing the bed which had a mosquito net hanging above it. The bathroom was small. The shower was the bathroom, meaning there was no separate shower stall or tub. The drain was in the bathroom floor. There was a large piece of plexiglass along the center of the roof which was covered with vines and branches, giving the room a very organic feel. Overall, the place was minimal. It was perfect. Best of all, it was only 25 ringgits which is about $8. Payung also had a small collection of chickens and cats who lived there. They had 3 cats who would come up and sit on your porch with you. I've always found the rhythmic purring of a cat to be comforting so I was happy to have the visitors.

After I settled in, I walked back down to the beach for a few hours to soak up some energy. I came back to my chalet, took a refreshingly cold shower (there was no hot water at Payung which was fine because I was always so hot), and settled down on the porch to read. A guy came around asking if anyone wanted to go on a Firefly tour. Apparently, there are thousands of 2-3 inch large fireflies, called "kelip-kelip", living in the trees by the river. At night, they all light up in unison and create a unique light show. This had been one of the things I had read about before my trip and had wanted to do, but I decided to pass on this excursion. I decided I didn't need to experience every adventure. It was okay to just enjoy my peaceful contentment for a while. After relaxing in my chalet, I walked down the street to "The Bistro" where I enjoyed some delicious authentic Malaysian chicken satay. After digesting my meal as I sat on the beach, I returned to my chalet where I decided I would break out of my introverted, "stay at home after the sun goes down" mentality and visit the beach bar that night. I am so happy I decided to tip-toe out of my comfort zone because it turned out to be a fascinating cultural experience for me as well as an opportunity to make new friends.