Wednesday, July 30, 2008
PICTURES!
New photos in the Kuala Lumpur Gallery and a New Gallery for the Highlands Islands and Jungles I've seen. Enjoy, comment please!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Welcome to the Jungle
Taman Negara" The Jungle" more like the tourist version of a jungle. Taman Negara is a huge national preserve / jungle it is the oldest rain forest in the world 180 million years old- at least that's what they say. It contains over 200 tigers, 500+ elephants (Asian), leopards, panthers, tapirs and tons and tons of insects; of course you never get to see anything because they all come out around dark and all the boat traffic and loud tourists and children frighten them off into the deepest darkest nether regions of the jungle. The only thing you see are giants spiders and some insects oh and I did see a kick A salamander.
The Jungle is not meant to be fun in fact everything housed within it is meant to kill you, seriously; The trails are rutted from to much trekking tourists that are are slippery and muddy beyond no end, the roots of trees trip you, the rocks fall out from under you, some vines and trees are spiked with sharp blood drawing thorns and spikes and the heat covers you in sweat with in 10 minutes. But I did enjoy my self once back at the hostel and in a shower (cold, there is not hot water in the Jungle-duh.) I did go on one real hike and two touristy trips. First off Jan and I went to the canopy walk and that was kinda fun except for the loads and loads of tourist waiting in line for a turn, it took us 30 minutes for ours. Also all the tourists get on the raised platform (which you could not fall off of in a million years) and walk like they are on a tight rope. The second thing we did was "rapid shooting" which was more like going up a mild river with some ripley sections all the while the boat drive splashes back and forth to get you wet. The boat driver was actually a cool kid and we spent some time getting to know him and his story. For my real, solo trek (Jan left for Thailand in the morning) I went on a 6k (round trip) hike up and over a good sized mountain, climbing hand over foot at some points and slipping through mud at others. The first km is steep and a good exhausting climb the last k was like walking through a mire of mud 4inch's deep. All that to go to a cave with bats, I did not have a guide like everyone else (you don't need one they just boat you in so you don't have to hike- Cheaters.) Whats more I completely thought I had a torch (flashlight for us Americans) turns out I was wrong. Luckily I was able to buy a head lamp and gloves from an Italian couple for like 10 bucks and did a self guided cave exploration. It was a blast the cave had a ton of bats and guano covered rocks and I even at points had to crawl on my stomach in 8 inches of water to get under rocks (there is a series of ropes going through the cave this is why you don't need a guide you just follow the ropes.) That was where I picked up my first leech, luckily he had yet to attach himself to me and I was able to flick him off.
However later that day came the most rewarding experience I have had so far on this trip. I was asked by a Malaysian guide and school teacher to talk to part of his class in English so they could put what they have learned into practise. They turned out to be about 15 Muslim school girls all about the age of 16. I was asked to talk for about 30 minutes and ended up talking to them for an hour, they asked my questions and I asked them questions it was amazing to hear them say that they didn't get to talk to many "foreigners" (which took me a back remembering that here I am the foreigner, the outsider.) They asked typical question of me through one girl who seemed to be the leader of the group at first; questions like where I had been in Malaysia, what I thought, what I had eaten and things like that. Then they started to warm up and all started top pitch in with questions about the U.S my family, friends, habits back home, what I liked and so forth. I truly was honored to be able to have that experience. They couldn't stop telling me how much they enjoyed talking with me and how they were jealous of my eyes (they only have brown, and went nuts when I spoke of my dad and brother having blue eyes.) After our conversation I watched them play a school yard game involving the whole class and teachers it was really awesome, I took pictures with them and was on my way.
After that it was time to pack up and leave the jungle. 3 Brits (Laura, Emily, Rachel) and myself bored a hour and half local bus to a town where we would catch the 2 am sleeper train to Singapore On the bus ride we watched a huge storm cloud spit lightning over the wilds of Malaysia through the darkening dusky sky. The train ride however was not the greatest, hard to sleep it made a stop like every hour or two, but we got to Singapora(local name) and it is a gorgeous, clean, friendly and green city much different than K.L. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Malaysia I urge everyone to go, it's a glorious country steeped in culture, sights, and things to go out and do. GO GO GO. I'm in Singapore until Saturday when I fly to Sumatra where i don't know if I will find the net but keep checking hope to have 2 weeks worth of pictures up soon. Love you guys!
The Jungle is not meant to be fun in fact everything housed within it is meant to kill you, seriously; The trails are rutted from to much trekking tourists that are are slippery and muddy beyond no end, the roots of trees trip you, the rocks fall out from under you, some vines and trees are spiked with sharp blood drawing thorns and spikes and the heat covers you in sweat with in 10 minutes. But I did enjoy my self once back at the hostel and in a shower (cold, there is not hot water in the Jungle-duh.) I did go on one real hike and two touristy trips. First off Jan and I went to the canopy walk and that was kinda fun except for the loads and loads of tourist waiting in line for a turn, it took us 30 minutes for ours. Also all the tourists get on the raised platform (which you could not fall off of in a million years) and walk like they are on a tight rope. The second thing we did was "rapid shooting" which was more like going up a mild river with some ripley sections all the while the boat drive splashes back and forth to get you wet. The boat driver was actually a cool kid and we spent some time getting to know him and his story. For my real, solo trek (Jan left for Thailand in the morning) I went on a 6k (round trip) hike up and over a good sized mountain, climbing hand over foot at some points and slipping through mud at others. The first km is steep and a good exhausting climb the last k was like walking through a mire of mud 4inch's deep. All that to go to a cave with bats, I did not have a guide like everyone else (you don't need one they just boat you in so you don't have to hike- Cheaters.) Whats more I completely thought I had a torch (flashlight for us Americans) turns out I was wrong. Luckily I was able to buy a head lamp and gloves from an Italian couple for like 10 bucks and did a self guided cave exploration. It was a blast the cave had a ton of bats and guano covered rocks and I even at points had to crawl on my stomach in 8 inches of water to get under rocks (there is a series of ropes going through the cave this is why you don't need a guide you just follow the ropes.) That was where I picked up my first leech, luckily he had yet to attach himself to me and I was able to flick him off.
However later that day came the most rewarding experience I have had so far on this trip. I was asked by a Malaysian guide and school teacher to talk to part of his class in English so they could put what they have learned into practise. They turned out to be about 15 Muslim school girls all about the age of 16. I was asked to talk for about 30 minutes and ended up talking to them for an hour, they asked my questions and I asked them questions it was amazing to hear them say that they didn't get to talk to many "foreigners" (which took me a back remembering that here I am the foreigner, the outsider.) They asked typical question of me through one girl who seemed to be the leader of the group at first; questions like where I had been in Malaysia, what I thought, what I had eaten and things like that. Then they started to warm up and all started top pitch in with questions about the U.S my family, friends, habits back home, what I liked and so forth. I truly was honored to be able to have that experience. They couldn't stop telling me how much they enjoyed talking with me and how they were jealous of my eyes (they only have brown, and went nuts when I spoke of my dad and brother having blue eyes.) After our conversation I watched them play a school yard game involving the whole class and teachers it was really awesome, I took pictures with them and was on my way.
After that it was time to pack up and leave the jungle. 3 Brits (Laura, Emily, Rachel) and myself bored a hour and half local bus to a town where we would catch the 2 am sleeper train to Singapore On the bus ride we watched a huge storm cloud spit lightning over the wilds of Malaysia through the darkening dusky sky. The train ride however was not the greatest, hard to sleep it made a stop like every hour or two, but we got to Singapora(local name) and it is a gorgeous, clean, friendly and green city much different than K.L. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Malaysia I urge everyone to go, it's a glorious country steeped in culture, sights, and things to go out and do. GO GO GO. I'm in Singapore until Saturday when I fly to Sumatra where i don't know if I will find the net but keep checking hope to have 2 weeks worth of pictures up soon. Love you guys!
From Highlands to Islands
Last Sunday (the 20th) I made my way to the Perthentian Islands (Kecile) with Jine (my little Chinese friend) in tow. We picked an out of the way "resort" called D'lagoon which sits on the eastern end of the island, in a cove all by itself. The main beach (Long beach) seems over crowed and loud, good for a party but not so good for lounging around in my hammock. D'Lagoon however is extremely hammock friendly. After being shown to my dorm style bed, in a room shared with 16 other people (but you get use to this) I set about to find the perfect spot for my hammock, which turned out to be two perfectly placed palms.
I spent many of my hours lazily hanging around in the hammock napping, reading, listening to music, and sometimes just staring out to sea. Actually one night I even slept out in the hammock under a cloudless starry night with a huge full moon hanging in the deep black sky. The full moon arrived with me and made for great photographs.
During my time on the Island I became friends with most of the staff , playing Volleyball and telling stories. D'Lagoon also has two very friendly pet monkeys male and female, B.J's the male and the females name I did not learn both seem to have a sort of monkey separation anxiety and nip at your heels if you try to leave before they get bored with you. The island is also home to many monitor lizards, some just babies and others seem to be giant dinosaurs, I even got to see a monitor on monitor fight which resembled Sumo wrestling rather than a territorial struggle. Another day was spent snorkeling with "friendly sharks" in the morning and turtles in the afternoon.
At one point almost everyone I had met (and liked) in the Highlands showed up at D'lagoon, we had a dinner table most nights filled with about 10 people. I along with Andy from England and Othman a French Moroccan from Paris hiked over to L.B, not bad but something I only wanted to do once. A few days I did absolutely nothing but laid in the hammock took naps and read. I started and finished a novel in one day ( A horribly crappy Christian book about the world ending and Jesus' return, never name a main character Rayford; what kind of name is that?) But other days I was actually active and a bunch of us kayaked around the entire small island it took about 5 hours which included stopping at various beaches to snorkel or swim around and we checked out a fishing village. It was fun and we stopped by Long Beach (LB) for a relaxing break before returning to the lagoon.
The place I stayed could hardly be called a resort, here I was introduced to my very first squat toilet experience. The bowel is sunk into the floor and you have to place yourself over it, making you wish you had been a gymnast in high school. The food was descent but over priced and so was the beer but the time and experiences were priceless. All and all I only spent about $150 US staying on a private beach eating, drinking, snorkeling and kayaking for an entire week - and oh yea $30 of that was spent getting my bus to the jungle where my next installment takes place.
I spent many of my hours lazily hanging around in the hammock napping, reading, listening to music, and sometimes just staring out to sea. Actually one night I even slept out in the hammock under a cloudless starry night with a huge full moon hanging in the deep black sky. The full moon arrived with me and made for great photographs.
During my time on the Island I became friends with most of the staff , playing Volleyball and telling stories. D'Lagoon also has two very friendly pet monkeys male and female, B.J's the male and the females name I did not learn both seem to have a sort of monkey separation anxiety and nip at your heels if you try to leave before they get bored with you. The island is also home to many monitor lizards, some just babies and others seem to be giant dinosaurs, I even got to see a monitor on monitor fight which resembled Sumo wrestling rather than a territorial struggle. Another day was spent snorkeling with "friendly sharks" in the morning and turtles in the afternoon.
At one point almost everyone I had met (and liked) in the Highlands showed up at D'lagoon, we had a dinner table most nights filled with about 10 people. I along with Andy from England and Othman a French Moroccan from Paris hiked over to L.B, not bad but something I only wanted to do once. A few days I did absolutely nothing but laid in the hammock took naps and read. I started and finished a novel in one day ( A horribly crappy Christian book about the world ending and Jesus' return, never name a main character Rayford; what kind of name is that?) But other days I was actually active and a bunch of us kayaked around the entire small island it took about 5 hours which included stopping at various beaches to snorkel or swim around and we checked out a fishing village. It was fun and we stopped by Long Beach (LB) for a relaxing break before returning to the lagoon.
The place I stayed could hardly be called a resort, here I was introduced to my very first squat toilet experience. The bowel is sunk into the floor and you have to place yourself over it, making you wish you had been a gymnast in high school. The food was descent but over priced and so was the beer but the time and experiences were priceless. All and all I only spent about $150 US staying on a private beach eating, drinking, snorkeling and kayaking for an entire week - and oh yea $30 of that was spent getting my bus to the jungle where my next installment takes place.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Ramblin Man
This is Malaysia! Friendly people, quaint towns set up in the beautiful highlands. I am barely able to express how glad I am to leave Kuala Lumpur behind me. Don't get me wrong great city lots to do but not my thing. The cool mountain air, and hardly any noise, time to sit and contemplate, or just sit and stare out at a gorgeous vista is my kind of travel. I am finding however that although a person could easily spend a week in the city or here in the Highlands, it's just to tempting to keep travelling, seeing and exploring new places. If I was bit by the travel bug before I left home than what I feel now must be the equivalent of "travel venom" racing through my veins. I am leaving on Sunday to go the the Islands (Finally!) and my kind of living, I plan to be there for at least a week. For 40 ringet (about 12 bucks) a night, who can resist a bay side chalet on a white sand beach with sunsets, palm trees, azure blue water, and nothing to do? Quite excited also because some friend from the Highlands will be joining me in a few days on Pulau Kecil which you can walk a clear across in 15 minutes. Well I miss you all, hope all is well and thanks for reading.
Highland Living
Waking up at 8am to a cool cloudy, foggy morning to join a full day tour through the Cameron Highlands, I had a cup of locally produced Strawberry/Raspberry tea to get in a tea tour type of mood. After my cup of tea it was time to hop in the Landrover with Kumar our very experienced, energetic, and interestingly talkative tour guide. On our tour were an Australian couple, 3 girls from England, Jan a German dude, and Jine a funny little Chinese girl. Kumar took us to the look out tower atop the highest peak in the area (6666 feet) but we could barely see each other let alone the breathe taking view of the region. After that stop off it was time to drive down the road a couple hundred meters and go for a jungle "trek" ( they use trek in place of hike, not sure why or if there is a difference; it's all walking to me.) It was a very informative trek as Kumar is very well versed in knowing what plants are which and which ones are used for different kinds of home remedies. Kumar is also a self taught English speaker (along with 3 other languages) and photographer. Kumar truly was a wealth of knowledge the entire day. Due to the foggy conditions it was the general consensus to cut the trek short in favor of going straight to the BOH (Best of Highlands) tea plantation for a spot of tea and a scone (s-con) not (s-cone) according to the Brits and Aussies.
Talk about a view and truly unique experience, sitting out on a terrace in the bottom of a valley in which are planted 400 acres of tea bushes (which can surprisingly grow up to 20 feet, but they cut them down to about waist high so they can pick the fresh leaves form the top.) After tea we ambled around the smaller town attractions like the butterfly gardens that had a great animal collection. After lunch in town the Brits and Aussies abandoned ship and we collected a French couple for a trip through the jungle to visit a local tribe. Orang- Asle (or Original People, coincidently "Orangutan means " Organ= People and Utan= Jungle.) The oh so cunning Kumar (who by now is a good friend of mine, being photographers can talk shop for hours) parked us at the base of hill and took us on a trek/climb through dense, muddy and wet jungle trail. After about an hour of ups and downs and slipping through mud and ducking under trees we arrived at a small village about maybe 20 huts or so. Now don't get this tribe confused with super aborginal type people, they are modernizing quickly, they don't wear grass skirts or anything they wear t-shirts and wear pants and the kids all go off to school and the parents work in the tea plantation. They do have many pets several dogs, couple cats and a monkey they caught and tied to the stilt of one of the huts. After a demonstration on how to use a blow pipe and an actual go at it (I did pretty well) I walked over to the end of a hill to lookout on the scenic valley only to look down and see our truck parked a minute away at the base of the hill, with a nice worn trail leading straight to it. Sneaky Kumar, I called him on it and he said "it would have been no fun to walk straight up. I agreed and was just very glad not to have to trek back through that jungle again. By this time the rain was coming in and it was time to call it a day. We got back to the guesthouse called "Father's Guesthouse' and sat around drinking beer with the Brits, a few more new Brits, the German, the Chinawomen and of course Kumar until 2am.
Then today I woke up around 9 and went on a self guided trek with my buddy Jan. Going down of course was no problem at all of course about 2 hours down was very pleasant walking on the side of a mountain gorgeous views of farms and small homes. Who would have thought that Jan the 23 year old, chain smoking, beer drinking last one up at night German would be such a damned good hiker. Of course he elected and I followed (lets face it I need to get in shape) to take the steep / way back up the mountain. I died but got better and made it all the way up about 10 minutes behind my German mountain goat friend. On the way up fortunately I ran across a tree branch with literally 10,00's of 1000's of ants carry food and foraging. I got some great shots!
With the rest of my day I will sit and write, which I am finding to be my favorite part of the day; drink hot chocolate while the weather cools, and rain comes. I might go into town for dinner or eat here. I had hoped to edit photographs but I don't think that will happen, these computers don't have editing software.
Talk about a view and truly unique experience, sitting out on a terrace in the bottom of a valley in which are planted 400 acres of tea bushes (which can surprisingly grow up to 20 feet, but they cut them down to about waist high so they can pick the fresh leaves form the top.) After tea we ambled around the smaller town attractions like the butterfly gardens that had a great animal collection. After lunch in town the Brits and Aussies abandoned ship and we collected a French couple for a trip through the jungle to visit a local tribe. Orang- Asle (or Original People, coincidently "Orangutan means " Organ= People and Utan= Jungle.) The oh so cunning Kumar (who by now is a good friend of mine, being photographers can talk shop for hours) parked us at the base of hill and took us on a trek/climb through dense, muddy and wet jungle trail. After about an hour of ups and downs and slipping through mud and ducking under trees we arrived at a small village about maybe 20 huts or so. Now don't get this tribe confused with super aborginal type people, they are modernizing quickly, they don't wear grass skirts or anything they wear t-shirts and wear pants and the kids all go off to school and the parents work in the tea plantation. They do have many pets several dogs, couple cats and a monkey they caught and tied to the stilt of one of the huts. After a demonstration on how to use a blow pipe and an actual go at it (I did pretty well) I walked over to the end of a hill to lookout on the scenic valley only to look down and see our truck parked a minute away at the base of the hill, with a nice worn trail leading straight to it. Sneaky Kumar, I called him on it and he said "it would have been no fun to walk straight up. I agreed and was just very glad not to have to trek back through that jungle again. By this time the rain was coming in and it was time to call it a day. We got back to the guesthouse called "Father's Guesthouse' and sat around drinking beer with the Brits, a few more new Brits, the German, the Chinawomen and of course Kumar until 2am.
Then today I woke up around 9 and went on a self guided trek with my buddy Jan. Going down of course was no problem at all of course about 2 hours down was very pleasant walking on the side of a mountain gorgeous views of farms and small homes. Who would have thought that Jan the 23 year old, chain smoking, beer drinking last one up at night German would be such a damned good hiker. Of course he elected and I followed (lets face it I need to get in shape) to take the steep / way back up the mountain. I died but got better and made it all the way up about 10 minutes behind my German mountain goat friend. On the way up fortunately I ran across a tree branch with literally 10,00's of 1000's of ants carry food and foraging. I got some great shots!
With the rest of my day I will sit and write, which I am finding to be my favorite part of the day; drink hot chocolate while the weather cools, and rain comes. I might go into town for dinner or eat here. I had hoped to edit photographs but I don't think that will happen, these computers don't have editing software.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Mind Expanding
Sitting in the Malaysian port city of Malacca in their China town in a restaurant called the Geographer, eating Chinese food,watching stomp (the movie) on the television, listening to a British women sing a Billy Joel song, drinking a Danish beer and talking to a German name Michael I came to the realization this is why one travels. The feeling of being a foreigner is an exhilarating feeling, to be the one who doesn't speak the language who gets the stares for looking different really humbles a person.
Malacca was great I went there yesterday (Monday) on a 2 hour bus. The mass transit system here is amazing, I took a 65 cent monorail ride to take a 50 cent train to hop on a 2.60 dollar bus to go over a hundred miles to the coast to visit Malacca. The historic district was really neat, founded the Malays then taken over by the Portuguese then the Dutch then the British then the Japanese and once again by the British and finally in the 60's handed back over to the Malays. On the top of the hill at the south end was a church founded by the Portuguese back in the 1540's which was really neat (of course it had been expanded so it looked nothing like it did back then, but it was still cool.)
I walked across a small bridge over the canal and into China town, narrow streets lined with shop fronts and restaurants Chinese writing and lots of advertisements for any and everything you could want. I was so hungry when i stopped for lunch I thought I might pass out, it's amazing how walking can be come such a chore and a drag when you are hungry. After my meal and my talk with Michael walking once again took on a meaning of fun and adventure. I rounded a corner to find the Malacca Buddhist temple, what an amazing and quietly energetic building. All around the temple are signs asking to be quiet and remind you that this is a place of silent contemplation. I went to the second floor and on the step the separates the outside from the inside I sat and mediated for a bit, while the sun set behind storm clouds and the temple across the street played music (Chinese) I was able to look inward and woke with the most calming and joyous smile across my face. I again wondered how truly awesome getting out and experiencing the world is.
After the Buddhist temple I went across to the temple dedicated to the local deity, it was very intriguing, lots of chanting and offerings were given up. That guy must have received every type of food imaginable. The priest would chant, hold up and offering and then I'm guessing if it was unwanted they would throw it on the floor. I came then 1 ringgit (30 cents) and went on to catch the bus back to K.L
The day before Malacca (Sunday) 4 girls and I took a 30 minute bus to the Batu Caves outside of K.L up near the hills. The Batu Caves goes to show that what is holy for some is to others just a grueling 272 steep stair climb into a cave. It is a shrine to the Hindu god Muruga, and I have never seen so many Indian people in my life, and it a good chunk of Chinese too. We had lunch there which is all vegan, being that the Hindus don't eat meat or so I gather. I had rice with peanuts and carrots, it wasn't bad. Later that evening we all hunkered down in the hostel and watched movies. Sunday was a nice chill laid back day, as today (Tuesday) is panning out to be. I did not make it to the Zoo because of some rainy weather and being that I have nothing better to do today I am gonna head there now. Don't forget to check the pictures, thanks for reading.
Malacca was great I went there yesterday (Monday) on a 2 hour bus. The mass transit system here is amazing, I took a 65 cent monorail ride to take a 50 cent train to hop on a 2.60 dollar bus to go over a hundred miles to the coast to visit Malacca. The historic district was really neat, founded the Malays then taken over by the Portuguese then the Dutch then the British then the Japanese and once again by the British and finally in the 60's handed back over to the Malays. On the top of the hill at the south end was a church founded by the Portuguese back in the 1540's which was really neat (of course it had been expanded so it looked nothing like it did back then, but it was still cool.)
I walked across a small bridge over the canal and into China town, narrow streets lined with shop fronts and restaurants Chinese writing and lots of advertisements for any and everything you could want. I was so hungry when i stopped for lunch I thought I might pass out, it's amazing how walking can be come such a chore and a drag when you are hungry. After my meal and my talk with Michael walking once again took on a meaning of fun and adventure. I rounded a corner to find the Malacca Buddhist temple, what an amazing and quietly energetic building. All around the temple are signs asking to be quiet and remind you that this is a place of silent contemplation. I went to the second floor and on the step the separates the outside from the inside I sat and mediated for a bit, while the sun set behind storm clouds and the temple across the street played music (Chinese) I was able to look inward and woke with the most calming and joyous smile across my face. I again wondered how truly awesome getting out and experiencing the world is.
After the Buddhist temple I went across to the temple dedicated to the local deity, it was very intriguing, lots of chanting and offerings were given up. That guy must have received every type of food imaginable. The priest would chant, hold up and offering and then I'm guessing if it was unwanted they would throw it on the floor. I came then 1 ringgit (30 cents) and went on to catch the bus back to K.L
The day before Malacca (Sunday) 4 girls and I took a 30 minute bus to the Batu Caves outside of K.L up near the hills. The Batu Caves goes to show that what is holy for some is to others just a grueling 272 steep stair climb into a cave. It is a shrine to the Hindu god Muruga, and I have never seen so many Indian people in my life, and it a good chunk of Chinese too. We had lunch there which is all vegan, being that the Hindus don't eat meat or so I gather. I had rice with peanuts and carrots, it wasn't bad. Later that evening we all hunkered down in the hostel and watched movies. Sunday was a nice chill laid back day, as today (Tuesday) is panning out to be. I did not make it to the Zoo because of some rainy weather and being that I have nothing better to do today I am gonna head there now. Don't forget to check the pictures, thanks for reading.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Flying halfway around the World and first day in K.L
Wedged in an aisle seat between a big Indian (India) dude and a chatty German is by no means the best way to get halfway around the world, first class with a fully reclining seat/bed would have been pretty sweet. The only cool thing about being on a 747 jumbo Double Decker jet is that they have "In Demand Entertainment" with a T.V in each seat. Fortunately for me I feel asleep about an hour into the flight for about 6 hours; unfortunately for me when I woke up I still had about 5 hours to go, Yay for "On Demand Entertainment!"
We landed in Taipei, Taiwan about 6:30 in the morning Friday the 11th, weird thing is we left L.A at 2am Thursday morning. I think that means that for the rest of my life I will be a day younger? Landing in what is formally China for the very first time was a trip. Flying in and looking out the airplane window, the island is just gorgeous on the coast big cliffs lush greenery. When you are flying over Taipei it is very different huge industrial areas everywhere! Smokestack billowing white smoke everywhere, cool thing is at least now I know exactly where half the products we buy in America actually comes from. However I saw no actual sweatshops (or maybe I did from the air?) Everyone on board the plane had to grab their carry-ons and disembark the plane, go around through Chinese security and back on the plane. While sitting in the terminal waiting to get on the plane that i just got off of I noticed several signs with classic "anime" figures warning of what not to bring on the plane, this goes great with the sign the read "Welcome to the Republic of China, drug trafficking is an offense punishable by death." Back on the plane and 5 hours of ODE! later we landed in Kuala Lumpur. Just to recap that's about 21 hours spent on a plane.
Customs was as simple as giving a smile and receiving a stamp, good for 90 days in Malaysia. After a 30 minute train ride I got to the main transport hub called KL Sentral and from there hopped on the mono rail and straight to the hostel I am staying at. Friday was a sit around day, and I went to bed at about 6pm and slept until 8am Saturday morning. Feeling nice a refreshed I took a stroll around the market that is right next door and then walked to the National Mosque. I gotta tell ya those Muslims are friendly they let you tour around the grounds and take all the pictures and ask all the questions you like, you are however not allowed inside the prayer hall. After that I walked to the Hibiscus and Orchid gardens. After a lovely day of sweating my butt off taking pictures in the gardens I walked back to the Hostel grabbing a lovely bite to eat a place called "Pizza Hut" it was great tasted just like back home! I ate a P-Hut mainly because my stomach was feeling uneasy after the flight the previous day so I dared not to try anything exotic on the first day. At dark I went to the Petronas towers and photographed the two awesome towers.
It's 9pm on a Saturday and your a Malaysian teenager, what do you do? Well you go to the HUGE friggin mall just like any teenager around the World it would appear and hang out. The mall I speak of sits under and in between the two Towers. On one side of the mall is a lovely huge park area with fountains and there must have been 1000+ people hanging around, taking pictures and the like. The night was a bit cooler than the day and made for great walking around weather.
Well folks that's it for the first two days, today I am off to the National Zoo and Aquarium! Check out the photo galleries!
We landed in Taipei, Taiwan about 6:30 in the morning Friday the 11th, weird thing is we left L.A at 2am Thursday morning. I think that means that for the rest of my life I will be a day younger? Landing in what is formally China for the very first time was a trip. Flying in and looking out the airplane window, the island is just gorgeous on the coast big cliffs lush greenery. When you are flying over Taipei it is very different huge industrial areas everywhere! Smokestack billowing white smoke everywhere, cool thing is at least now I know exactly where half the products we buy in America actually comes from. However I saw no actual sweatshops (or maybe I did from the air?) Everyone on board the plane had to grab their carry-ons and disembark the plane, go around through Chinese security and back on the plane. While sitting in the terminal waiting to get on the plane that i just got off of I noticed several signs with classic "anime" figures warning of what not to bring on the plane, this goes great with the sign the read "Welcome to the Republic of China, drug trafficking is an offense punishable by death." Back on the plane and 5 hours of ODE! later we landed in Kuala Lumpur. Just to recap that's about 21 hours spent on a plane.
Customs was as simple as giving a smile and receiving a stamp, good for 90 days in Malaysia. After a 30 minute train ride I got to the main transport hub called KL Sentral and from there hopped on the mono rail and straight to the hostel I am staying at. Friday was a sit around day, and I went to bed at about 6pm and slept until 8am Saturday morning. Feeling nice a refreshed I took a stroll around the market that is right next door and then walked to the National Mosque. I gotta tell ya those Muslims are friendly they let you tour around the grounds and take all the pictures and ask all the questions you like, you are however not allowed inside the prayer hall. After that I walked to the Hibiscus and Orchid gardens. After a lovely day of sweating my butt off taking pictures in the gardens I walked back to the Hostel grabbing a lovely bite to eat a place called "Pizza Hut" it was great tasted just like back home! I ate a P-Hut mainly because my stomach was feeling uneasy after the flight the previous day so I dared not to try anything exotic on the first day. At dark I went to the Petronas towers and photographed the two awesome towers.
It's 9pm on a Saturday and your a Malaysian teenager, what do you do? Well you go to the HUGE friggin mall just like any teenager around the World it would appear and hang out. The mall I speak of sits under and in between the two Towers. On one side of the mall is a lovely huge park area with fountains and there must have been 1000+ people hanging around, taking pictures and the like. The night was a bit cooler than the day and made for great walking around weather.
Well folks that's it for the first two days, today I am off to the National Zoo and Aquarium! Check out the photo galleries!
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