Malaysia's "Party" Island: Langkawi!

After talking to a few other travelers in Kuala Lumpur, we decided to adjust our travel plans and spend a few days on Langkawi!!

Lonely Planet's description of Langkawi being a "tropical paradise: swaying palms, a cool colour contrast of jungle green and ocean blue (of set by the brilliant blood red, rich purple, and golden mellow come sunset)" sealed the deal, we headed north to the Malaysia/Thai border to check this place out!   Lonely Planet also went on to say that Langkawi is the party island of Malaysia.  To be honest, that made our decision to go easier.  However, LP failed to mention that its only a "party island" when its not low season, which happens to be... right... now.

UKers:  Personal observation.. I have noticed that often the most fun/cool people I've met while traveling have been from the UK, and my theory didn't fail on Langkawi! We shared a cab to the backpacker beach with an amazing couple from England, they worked, saved money, and sold their cars in order to take a 10 month backpacking trip around Asia together!  Hearing about where they've been and where they are going truly inspires me to keep on traveling.  We met up for dinner later that night and swapped stories and travel tips.  We met another UKer and answered all his questions about American lingo and culture.. "What exactly is a frat party?!"

Island Hopping: Fiona and I decided to sign up for an island hopping afternoon tour.  Langkawi was a little more dead than we expected so not only were we hoping to spice up our day, but we were looking to meet more travelers and thought this tour was our break.  We showed up and quickly realized that we were the only westerners on the tour, as well as probably the only non-romantic couple! We still had a blast and visited three different spots: Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, an eagle feeding spot, and some beautiful beach.

  

See the pregnant woman??

At the lake

Legend of Pulau Dayang Bunting (Island of the Pregnant Lady):  The story of this island began when a beautiful fairy princess – Mambang Sari and Mat Teja, a man who fell in love with the princess from the moment he saw her. Mat Teja met Mambang Sari at the lake and he was attracted by her beauty. Getting advices from a wise old man, Mat Teja finally managed to win the heart of Mambang Sari.  Living happily on earth, Mambang Sari bore Mat Teja a son. However, their happy moment did not last any longer as their baby died seven days after birth. Undergoing such a traumatic and tremendous pain, Mambang Sari decided to lay her child to rest in peace in the lake. At the same time, she blessed all the childless and infertile women to be conceivable after bathing themselves in the lake.  This legendary and idyllic lake lies embedded between jungle-covered mountains. In one place it is separated only by a few meters high rock from the sea.  Some people believe the water in the lake possesses mystical power of helping barren women to bear children.  As if to confirm the legend, the shape of one side of the island resembles a reclining pregnant woman.

 

Eagle Feeding: This experience was a little interesting.  Our boat basically stopped short of an island shore and our driver threw handfuls of chicken bits into the water near our boat.  Still air for about seven seconds then we watched as dozens of wild eagles swooshed down from the sky and snatched the chicken out of the water. In my opinion, this definitely teaches these wild eagles to be dependent on humans for food as well as gives them the opportunity to be more comfortable around people which could get dangerous.  Although it was cool to see, I'm not sure I 100% agree with what the "eagle feeding" concept.

Pulau Beras Basah: Our last stop was to a beautiful beach island! We had an hour just to relax and enjoy the sun and water.  And of course snap a few pics.. and swing on a rope swing.

Fiona and I went from wanting to leave Langkawi a day early to staying as long as we originally planned.  Not quite as crazy as the Thai islands (I would like to see what Langkawi is like in high season! However, we did manage to stay out until sunrise!), but I approve, Malaysia.  It probably has better food than the Thai islands!  Langkawi, you win on the food front. And it was pretty beautiful!

Cameron Highlands: Tea, Strawberries, and a FREEZING Breeze

On to the Cameron Highlands!

Our stay in the Cameron Highlands was short and sweet. We wanted to get away from the big city and experience a little of Malaysia's countryside and get a breathe of fresh air.  We came to the right place!

Number 8:  We arrived in the Cameron Highlands from Kuala Lumpur and were able to find a hostel recruiting guests at the bus stop.  After being welcomed with a cool air breeze, we took Lonely Planets advice and hopped in a van to take us to a guesthouse only to find that it was full.  The driver said he'd take us to their "other" new guesthouse to see if it had rooms available, we were a little hesitant because often drivers receive a payment for bringing guests to the guesthouses so they tend to only have their best interest in mind rather than being a nice, friendly, helpful guy.  We showed up at "Number 8 Guesthouse" which seemed to be all under construction during the day and threw our stuff into a dorm room.  The price was right but we quickly realized it was a bit of a shady situation.. our hostel was down a dark dirt road, no locks on our room door, no key, no safety box for our passport, and we seemed to be the only guests there.  We were in such a time crunch because we were trying to make a countryside tour that leaves in five minutes, so we left our big bags, brought our valuables, and ran down the street to the travel agency to make the tour.  Since we hadn't paid any money yet, our plan was to check out a few hostels down the road on the way back from the tour and sneak out of "Number 8", but all were full so we settled on what we had.  Turns out, we weren't the only people staying there, just the only western ones! **Nothing got stolen and we were fine and I don't think this place was as shady as we originally thought.. it was VERY clean!  Reggae Mansion in KL spoiled us**

Butterflies, strawberries, and tea.. oh my!: Our country side tour was a good and quick way to see the main sights around the Cameron Highlands.  We had a guide and were loaded us into a janky van with three other couples.  Very couple-y tour.. actually, we came across many couples while traveling Malaysia, we were one of the few only girl duos that we saw!  Go us!  On the tour, we were taken to a butterfly farm (which included a section of other huge rain forest bugs), tea plantation, strawberry farm, Buddhist Temple, street market, honey bee farm, and flower garden.  We had time to admire the rolling hills, sip tea, dig in on chocolate covered strawberries (as well as strawberry shakes), taste honey, and see the most vibrant colored flowers I've ever seen.  

Aloo Gooooobi: Its not a post about somewhere in Malaysia unless I mention what we ate!  Well, at dinner time Fiona and I ventured out to the one main road to find something tasty for dinner.  As the sun went down, the temperature dropped only a few degrees, probably into the mid 60s, and I was CHILLY!  Keep in mind, I have been living in Thailand, probably the heat and humidity capital of the world!  This was the coldest weather I have felt in the past year! I had on my leggings under my jeans and my sweatshirt (which luckily I threw in my bag as I was running out the door in Khon Kaen) with my hood up.  At that moment, I wished I had mittens, UGG boots, and a snow hat to warm me up! To others, the coolness was probably a refreshing change from the heat but I was barely functional.. shivering and shaking our entire walk to dinner.  We found an Indian place to get food and I think this was our best Indian of the trip! Fiona taught me that I LOVE Aloo Gobi, a dish made of potatoes, cauliflower, and Indian spices,  and Chana Masala, a chickpea dish, so thats what I ordered every time we got Indian.  I think Indian may be the Mexican food of Asia for me!

Although it was very touristy, the Cameron Highlands was a nice break from the city!  If it were a little warmer, I probably could have stayed longer.

Nummy chocolate covered strawberries!

Looks like a leaf.. its a bug!

Kuala Lumpur!

Next stop.. Kuala Lumpur!

I was a little nervous for the Malaysia part of the trip, I didn't know much about Malaysia and before I bought my Lonely Planet I didn't even know that they were a Muslim country.  Me being my picky-eater self, I also had NO idea what they ate in Malaysia and couldn't help but be wary as we crossed the border, which by the way Singapore into Malaysia by bus was the smoothest/easiest/friendliest border crossing I've ever experienced!  We decided to head to Kuala Lumpur, the capital, as our first stop in Malaysia.  

Reggae Mansion: We scoped out hostelworld.com before our arrival and narrowed our hostel options down to two and decided we'd make home base at whichever one was easier to find.  Luckily after taking the metro and walking the streets of Chinatown, we came across the amazing Reggae Mansion!  I think staying here was one of the decisions we made on the trip.  Reggae Mansion is a brand spanking new hostel in the heart of Chinatown, its only two months old and is unlike any hostel I've ever laid eyes on.  Fiona and I stayed in a 24 person room but the beds were built into the wall and each one had its own under-storage and privacy curtain.  The rooms were ACed, clean, and very comfortable.  The hostel even has a restaurant, cinema, and rooftop bar! They are in the process of building a large rooftop jacuzzi and I may need to go back to KL in the future just to check out.  The thing I liked the most about the hostel was they held activities every evening to get guests mingling with one another.  Tequila Thursdays as well as a club crawl!  On Wednesday night, they loaded everyone in the hostel van and took us down to experience the Malay club scene in another part of town. Sure was fun!

Food: I have to say, Kuala Lumpur opened my eyes to a new world of food!  I had tried Indian food in Singapore, and Fiona and I made it our mission to get to Little India in KL to get more legit Indian food.  After walking the streets in the pouring rain, ducking cover under old building ledges and gazebos in front of mosques to avoid being completely drenched, and getting lost and being redirected by the Mormon Missionaries, we found a little hole in the wall place to grab a bite.  The food was delicious but the atmosphere was interesting.  Fiona was strategic about the table we sat at to be sure we didn't over step our female boundaries (not picking the center of the room table) and we weren't too sure if other customers gave us unwelcoming looks because of our western-ness or if we were doing something wrong.  Either way, the food was good and we left with happy tummies.  That night, I tried SUSHI for the first time! And I enjoyed most of it! Okay, I tended to stay away from the super fishy ones, but I did try and like fish balls.  After, we knew we had to try a traditional Malay dessert so I chose to order the "ABC", a cup of shaved ice with flavoring as well as numerous other toppings, like red beans, creamy sweet corn, peanuts, jellys, and pine nuts.  Interesting combination and I probably wouldn't order it again. Who ever thought I'd be so adventurous.. Indian, sushi, and mystery dessert all in one day!

 Sights: Along with becoming familiar with the surrounding food stalls, shopping streets, bars/clubs,  we did visit a few sights around Kuala Lumpur! One day, Fiona and I did our very own walking tour of historical KL, hiding from the rain in the historical museum and racing past city hall.  We visited the Petronas Towers one night, the huge landmark of KL and the tallest twin buildings in the world.  We went to a mosque and were instructed to put on the body robe and head veil provided.  We went to a ten story shopping mall that was fully equiped with a Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Bowling Alley, and Theme Park!  Lastly, we went to the Batu Caves and climbed up 200 steps to see a temple that was built inside a cave as well as the huge Hindu shrine out front.

We enjoyed KL so much (probably the Reggae Mansion even more) and extended our stay, making our time in KL four days.  I was pleasantly surprised by what KL had to offer and wouldn't mind going back again!

Batu Caves

Reggae Mansion Rooftop Bar

Singapore!

I'm back from my trip and I had an AMAZING time! I made it to seven cities, three islands (four if you count Singapore), and three countries! 

First stop... SINGAPORE!

My overnight bus from Khon Kaen to Bangkok went very smoothly and I made it to BKK bright and early and had more than enough time to make it to the airport as well as Subway to grab a sandwich to hold me over for breakfast and lunch.  My JetStar flight went very well, I slept for the entire two hours of the flight, and landed in Singapore late afternoon.  Fiona's flight from Australia was delayed a few hours so I waited in our meeting spot in baggage claim until she arrived. A bit jet lagged but still excited for her first trip in Asia, Fiona arrived safely and I was SO happy to see her I was nearly brought to tears.  After we got Fiona's backpack, we grabbed a cab and headed to our hostel "Pillows and Toast" in Chinatown.  We grabbed some cheap noodles for dinner and had an early night since we were both exhausted from our full days of traveling.

Fiona and I had planned to only spend one full day and two nights in Singapore because its a very expensive city.  Fiona coming from using the Australian dollars for a month was more use to high prices, but I on the other hand have lived on Thai baht for a year and found the prices for food, accommodation, and transportation outrageous.  So we made sure that our one day in Singapore was jam-packed!  We had free breakfast at our hostel, toast, and even made some sandwiches to have on-the-go later in the day. Armed with our maps and Lonely Planet, we quickly learned how to maneuver our way around town using the MRT.  We spent the day running around Little India exploring temples, Chinatown checking out the market, and went on an expedition to find the Henderson Wave Bridge.  We made a special stop at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple which not only had an entire floor dedicated to teaching visitors about the history and life of Buddha, but it also houses what is believed to be the sacred tooth of the Buddha.  **Sidenote: Did you know Buddha was conceived by a white elephant holding a lotus flower in its trunk entering his mothers womb? And that at birth, Buddha took seven steps in each of the four directions (East, South, West and North) and that lotus flowers appeared with every step? Learning something new every day..**  

That evening, we found ourselves being the only westerns exploring a Chinese food court where all eyes were on us, and ultimately decided on getting some Indian food from a different street.. the first time I've EVER had Indian food and I loved it!  I didn't know what any of the dishes were but I told the man I just wanted veggie dishes and not spicy and he handed me a plate.  After, we took a good look at the night life around Clarke Quay right on the Singapore River.  So turned off by the high price for drinks (around 15 US dollars which is nearly 500 Thai baht!), we decided to slightly splurge for ice cream instead.. chocolate ice cream with cookie dough, the first time I've had cookie dough in a year! Back home, cookie dough is probably one of my five basic food groups!  We had our bus tickets booked to head to Kuala Lumpur early the next morning and after scoping out the various restaurants, bars, light up fountains, the reverse bungee ride, and city lights that the area has to offer, we walked back to Pillows and Toast so we were rested up for Malaysia! 

Singapore was never too high on my list of places to go while I was in Thailand, but when I began brainstorming on ideas of where to go for this break, I figured since Singapore doesn't require a visa fee and it was convenient to fly to, I may as well make the stop!  After I bought my Singapore and Malaysia Lonely Planet and began looking into things to do, I was SO excited to visit Singapore!  Its an extremely unique place; one degree above the equator, Singapore is a country and city all on one island! Singapore's first language is English but is a place where so many different cultures come together. What I was most excited for though was that Singapore is a first world country! That means clean, no stray dogs, clean drinking water from faucets, trash in trashcans instead of in the streets.. everything I miss about living in a first world country!  Singapore even goes as far as to fine those who bring chewing gum into the country as well as those who jaywalk.  Good food, beautiful city, lots to do (including Sentosa Island which has a Wave House and Universal Studios, if we were ballers we would have gone there), (minus its SO expensive), I loved Singapore!

Henderson Wave Bridge

Little India

Fantastic Friday: ANNND I'M OFF!

Nearly 12 months ago, I boarded a plane at LAX bound for Bangkok.  When we stepped foot off the plane onto Thai soil, I looked at Jenna and said “well, there’s not turning back now!”  A year later, I never guessed that I would still be here! Both Jenna and Jess are sticking to the original plan and making their way back home to America in October.  I sometimes second guess myself if I’m making the right decision to stay, but I know in my heart of hearts that I am. I know next semester may be more of a struggle since my best friends in Thailand, especially Jess, will be home in America but second semester is full of many breaks and long weekends, giving me lots of travel opportunities.  And the past year just FLEW by, five more months is a piece of cake.. hopefully.  :)

Three good things

Not my fruit lady but it looks exactly like this!

• Every day at lunch, Jess and I walk out the main road to 7/11 where our fruit stand lady is posted.  For 30 cents, I can buy a large chunk of pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe, guava, and watermelon!  I’ve realized that the fruit isn’t as spectacular during the rainy season (now) as it was a few months ago, but this week its been pretty tasty! I tend to go through phases, where I LOVE pineapple and get it every day. Now I’m in my watermelon phase, SO delicious! I can make my very own fruit salad for a dollar!

• Along with OCOP this week, we had an end of the semester party today!  My Friday of teaching today was SUPER easy, we played on the playground instead of morning calendar, ate snacks instead of teaching theme, and watched up instead of math or science.  If only my days were like this everyday!

• In a few hours, I will be boarding my bus from Khon Kaen to Bangkok! Then around noon tomorrow, I should be on my way to Singapore! Fiona and I have plans to meet at the airport as her flight arrives only 30 minutes after mine. We have our hostel booked and a vague plan for Malaysia.  I’m SO excited to see her and SO excited to start two weeks of traveling! I'm still not finished packing and cleaning up my messy room so I better get to it!

I’ll be sure to share my adventures when I return mid October! Singapore and Malaysia, here I come! 

PS Farewell to Jess and Jenna!!! I can't wait to see you both when I come home!! (I'm already making an East Coast trip plan and spending time with Jess and visiting Amish country is on the top of the list!)

Last week of the semester!

A little early for a "Fantastic Friday" but this is a busy week with a lot going on!

It took us eleven months, but Jess and I finally made it to the Khon Kaen city temple!  Last weekend was our last weekend together, so we figured it was now or never!  We walked an hour, climbed many flights of stairs, and made it to the top of the nine tier temple overlooking Khon Kaen! It was really fun to check out a new part of Khon Kaen that we've never explored before, we felt like we were traveling!  Jess and I have talked about going to the temple for months now, so we both felt very accomplished that we actually made it there. 

On Saturday night, some of the foreign teachers got together to have a sandwich party to hangout with Jess before she leaves Thailand.  The sandwiches were DELICIOUS and one of the teachers even made a bean dip with cheese!  Another teacher put together a homemade apple pie! It was the most delicious farang meal I've had in months! I LOVE CHEESE!

Today at school, we had "OCOP", or "One Class, One Product". Each class in the Kindergarten created a product to sell at the arts and crafts fair! I spent all week coaching two of my kids, Lemon and August, a sales pitch in English to present our product, the "fancy ruler".  Not only did OCOP mean I had to teach less today (wahoo!), it was fun to see the kids proud of themselves for the crafts they created and enjoy shopping at the other booths.  Lemon and August ROCKED their lines, they marched up on stage and were the only students that didn't need a teacher up with them feeding them lines, and they both spoke very loud and clear into the microphone! I'm so proud!  We sold out of our product very quickly and made a profit of 500 baht! We'll spend the money on snacks for the end of the semester party on Friday.


This week seems a bit longer than normal, but thats because I'm counting down the days until my trip.. 3 days!! :)

Fantastic Friday: Bugs and Hugs

Finally, the end of the week and another "Fantastic Friday"!

• On Monday after I tutored at Central Plaza, I went to the ground floor to do a little grocery shopping for the week.  As I walked by the small arcade in front of "Tops", the grocery store", I heard a small voice squeal "TEACHER CHELSEA!!"  I then see little Lyching, the smallest child (by far) in my class barreling into my legs to give me a mighty hug.  Most of my kids that I run into out of school are usually very shy and avoid saying "Hello Teacher Chelsea" like they are avoiding the plague.  Or maybe they think the same thing that I did when I was a child, my mom reminded me how I was shocked as a kid when i ran into a teacher at the grocery store or Blockbuster, "teachers arn't real people.. they sleep at school, right?!"  Well, little Lyching made my day and talked all week about how she saw Teacher Chelsea at Centran.  She's one of my favs.

• On Sunday afternoon, Tan's mom drops him off at my apartment where we have an hour and a half of special class.  I typically have some worksheets and games prepared to practice his conversational English.  If we have time, I'll end the last 15 minutes or so with a fun video that we can talk about, like "Planet Earth"!  Recently, Tan has been getting caught up with some of the "naughty" boys in the first grade at school.. it just so happens that this group of naughty boys were the very same boys that were in my KG 3 class last semester, they knew how to push my buttons!  But Tan always behaves very well in Special Class with me, and I actually look forward to our time together on Sundays.  He's a jokester and seriously cracks me up!

Looking thrilled

"Chelsea, you know what we have to do before we leave Thailand, right?" Jess asked me.
*long pause* "Uh oh, What?"
"EAT BUGS AT THE NIGHT MARKET!".     

• I desperately tried to chicken out but after Jess and I had some pad thai at the night market last weekend, she purchased a small bag or grasshoppers for us to try.  Its true, she leaves Thailand in just about a week and our experience wouldn't be complete without willingly eating a bug or two, an ant or fly in our soup doesn't count.  Armed with our camera to take video to prove we did it, we each ate a grasshopper.  I have to say, it was crunchy and tasted similar to a potato chip, minus this had legs and antennas.  Not as bad as I thought, but i wouldn't do it again.  Not too intimidating in the picture, but considering how picky I am, this was huge for me!  Jess and I can now leave Thailand prepared to be on an episode of "Fear Factor".

HAPPY FRIDAY! :)