A Turkeyless Thai Thanksgiving Day

I always tend to miss home a little more around the holidays.  But now that I've been gone for so long, I tend to lose track of the seasons and holidays.  It seems that I am reminded what time of year it is and what holiday is around the corner not from the music at the mall, new clothing fashion marking a new season, or changes in the weather but from the facebook status updates of my friends.  Thanksgiving day came and went just like any other warm Thai school day and didn't give me much time to dwell on the fact that I was missing another holiday the second time around.  While chowing down on my Thanksgiving day dinner of fro-yo with oreos and a cup of hot chocolate, I did reflect on what I am thankful for.  Family and friends, obviously.  I always have a home to go home to.  I'm very thankful that the heavy flooding in Central Thailand hasn't extremely affected me (other than the food trucks can't make it to Khon Kaen therefore leaving the grocery shelves very bare and my staple items of oatmeal, soy milk, bread, and cereal are extremely hard to find.. but it definitely could be worse!).  I'm safe and overall healthy.   But most of all, I'm so grateful that I'm still on this crazy thai-rrific journey of teaching and living in Thailand!
 

Onto my three good things/the highlights of my week

1. I have discovered yet another Thai dish that I'm obsessed with. I tend to get stuck on one dish, eat it so much that literally makes me sick, and not touch again for months. I'm going to make sure this doesn't happen with this tasty treat, its just too good to spoil and I'm only going to let myself have it once every two weeks or so.  Let me introduce you to Khao Niaow Sang Khaya.  Last Sunday, JJ's mom picked him up from special class at my apartment and handed me a little plastic bag with a folded up banana leaf inside.  "For teacher Chelsea. Bye Bye!"  I went up to my room, opened up the leaf, and my eyes were set on the most delicious Thai dessert I've ever had.  Inside the banana leaf was white sticky rice soaked in coconut milk/cream with an egg custard on top.  I devoured it in 5.7 seconds.  Later that week, I asked T. Nim what the dessert was called and the very next day, she brought one in for me.  I had wanted to have one for breakfast on Thanksgiving Day as my own mini Thanksgiving celebration and wondered the surrounding streets before school and was disappointed to have found just about every other rice dish/treat but this one.  I was able to have some khao niaow sang kaya for breakfast on Friday morning after I made a special request to another Thai teacher, one with white rice and one with black (or purple) rice!  The egg custard texture kind of weirds me out so I basically just love the rice, and eating out of a banana leaf is just so much fun.  New favorite thai dessert! Nummy num.

2. Being the American that I am, I couldn't let Thanksgiving come and go completely unmentioned to my wonderful students! In my Thursday special class, I had the kids color turkeys and tape them to straws as a craft.  On Friday in school, I showed the kids a power point I made in which I briefly explained the history behind Thanksgiving and what it means today.  I basically talked a minute about the Native Americans and Pilgrims becoming friends and sharing food (with the assistance of a picture of Disney's Pocahontas and John Smith), turkey and pumpkin pie (both don't exist in Thailand), and explained the concept of being thankful and grateful.  I went around the class and asked the students "What are you thankful for?". "Mommy and Daddy." "My doctor".  "My facebook".  Hmm, I dont know how I feel about the facebook answer but when my trouble-maker Batik raised his hand and proudly stated he was grateful for "My Teacher Chelsea", my heart melted.  The other children clearly saw my reaction and "my teacher Chelsea" became a common answer for the remaining kids.  Either they already know how to sweet talk a lady at age 5, or they really love me.  Either way, they sure made my day.

3. Last weekend, I popped my head into Starbucks hoping to find the American favorite Pumpkin Latte.  In my opinion, nothing says the holidays more than pumpkin and cinnamon!  Unfortunately I think Thailand doesn't feel as strongly about those flavors as I do.  But on my walk to school this morning, I saw this sign in front of Starbucks! I know I know, I'm pretty spoiled/lucky here.  I never would have guessed that while I was living in Thailand, I would walk by a Starbucks everyday.  I guess I can say that I've always lived within walking distance of the famous coffee chain!  The thing I love about Starbucks is they are all virtually the same.. same decor, same menu, same music playing.. it feels a little like home and a nice escape from Thailand reality when I need it. Now I don't go as often as you think (honestly I think I've been to Starbucks three times in Khon Kaen) but I know where I'll be spending my Saturday afternoon this weekend, its going to be tough deciding which holiday drink to treat myself with!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, AMERICA!!

PS. Don't worry, I'll be having a turkeyful Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday, post to come! :)

Interpretation of my hair with heat and humidity

Must be what my hair looks like after not cutting it for 13 months

11/11/11: Floating Krathongs and Sky Lanterns!

Another week has flown by!  This one went especially fast because there was a lot going on.. and many good things!

BEST care package EVER: Back in August, I went on an online shopping spree and purchased new shorts, beach dresses, and a bikini or two for my mom to send me in my next package.. it may seem silly but wearing the same gross clothes for the past 12 months really got to me one day and I needed a little retail therapy.  I don't mind wearing my teaching clothes in Khon Kaen but I like to look a little more put together while traveling.  After my Malaysia travels, my mom had gathered enough supplies to fill up a large box and ship it as an early Christmas package. Also, I recently had mentioned to one of my best friends, Lauren Jesperson, during a skype chat that I wish I had an iPod touch to travel with, having a small toy that could connect to wireless internet would be really convenient to have, especially when it comes to using skype and searching for info while on the go.  It just so happened that Lauren and her amazing family had an extra one that they were thinking of selling, but they graciously gave it to me instead! I am SO appreciative and can't thank them enough (I owe the Jesperson's a HUGE batch of chocolate chip cookies when I come home)!  Traveling will be super easy and now I know I'll be able to give my family a call on Christmas no matter where I am (wireless is practically everywhere I've been!)  No more paying outrageous internet per minute prices on islands!  I'll still try to limit my internet use while I'm traveling but its so nice to know I have it to use whenever I need it!  After checking the package tracking site multiple times last week, it arrived on Sunday and I arrived to school on Monday to my beautiful package waiting for me in the office.  I couldn't contain myself and opened it while my kids had milk break, sealed it back up, then opened it a second time later in the day to get a better look at my goodies!  All my clothes I ordered, butternut squash soup, tortilla soup, candy corn, peanut butter m&ms, mac and cheese, a few magazines (including Kim Kardashian's wedding edition in People Magazine.. it couldn't even get here before she announced her divorce), NyQuil, dramamine, Dove raspberry chocolate, and my new iPod touch toy!  Thank you Mama and the Jespersons!!

 Loi Krathong: Loi Krathong is a festival celebrated across Thailand on the evening of the full moon of the 12^th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, which is usually in November.  Loi means “to float” and krathong refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle made from banana leaves and flowers with candles and incense that can float on water.  The act of floating away the krathong is symbolic go of all one’s grudges, anger and defilements so one can start life afresh on a better foot.  Some people  even cut their fingernails and hair and add them to their krathong as a symbol of letting go of the bad parts of one self.. I didn’t do that one.  Many Thai people believe that floating a raft will bring good luck, the festival does have history and meaning behind it but now-a-days it’s more of a fun tradition.

 Last year, Jess and I went to Khon Kaen University for a huge carnival to celebrate Loi Krathong.  We had to push through crowds and stand in long lines to do anything and the enormous amount of people had extremely overwhelmed me so I decided that this year I wanted to do something a little more low-key.  Emily and Sam (both new teachers in KK, Emily teaches at my school and Sam is at Anuban Khon Kaen) joined me to check out the scene at the local lake.  I had bought a few rice paper lanterns from T. Nim to light and send high into the sky so the girls and I made our way to the lake by following the trail of lit lanterns floating in the full-moon sky.  We found a good spot amongst the small groups of Thai families to light our lanterns , take some pictures, and throw them into the air and hope they float away.   Our last lantern lingered a bit and began smoking heavily but it floated out of our eyesight.  A lantern from a near-by group got caught in a tree and no one seemed to be concerned except for us, guess it happens alot.  We made a spectacle of ourselves and was being paparazzi-ed like crazy, silly farangs not knowing how lanterns work.  We walked around the lake and had dinner at the night market on the way home (best pad thai EVER).. an AMAZING Loi Krathong.

 

"I'm T. Chelsea and I'll be your MC for the evening!":Friday night was the big anticipated festival of the semester, Loi Krathong!  The school magically transforms into a carnival with game booths, prizes, food, dunk tank, astrojump.. everything a Thai carnival needs!  Including a stage and show.. and a farang MC on the microphone all night.. ME!  Yes thats right, I NEVER thought I would get up in front of a huge crowd on a microphone and help host such a large event, maybe it helped that its very possible not many people in the audience could understand my native language of English.  Or maybe I'm finally over my extreme fear of public speaking and stage-fright.  Maybe its a little of both.
  
My afternoon started with school ending early for the event and me going off to my hair appointment and costume fitting.  After seeing seven different students in and out of the shop, the man fussed, teased, and sprayed my hair for about twenty minutes then twisted and pinned my now acquired lion mane into a Thai beauty style.  My hair has never been so big and I wasn't sure if it was really supposed to look that way, but once I was pinned into my costume everyone in the shop said I was "Soi Mak".  One of my student's moms said that even though my makeup wasn't on yet, I was so beautiful and looked like an angel.  Yep, guess he got the hair right.

I arrived at school, finished getting ready, and snapped some pics before it was time to get on stage.  T. Run teaches at the Thai school and was my co-MC, he's often MC for various school events because he's great on the microphone (good at filling up empty air and can think of things to talk about on the spot while making the show fun and entertaining) and a really fun and friendly guy.  We had just enough time to go over our script one final time and work out some kinks and it was our time to hit the stage and welcome the audience! I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I'd be and I actually had a blast on the microphone!  I did need to practice pronouncing some Thai names I would be announcing and I was a little concerned about butchering them, but overall I think I did okay!

Hearts because they love T Chelsea

Whats a carnival without some sort of contest?  The big event of a Loi Krathong festival is a "Noppamas Beauty Contest".  According to legend, Nang Noppamas was a consort of the Sukothai King 700 years ago and had been the first to float a krathong.  The beauty contest is tradition and the festival isn't complete without it, it reminds me of a little Miss America contest minus the talent and bikini portions.  Two students from each class in Kindergarten and one student from each grade in elementary is chosen to compete in the contest, which T. Run and I MCed for.  The students introduce themselves on stage and do a beautiful walk and wai in their amazing Thai costumes and only four winners are crowned by the judges.  One of the four winners is awarded "Most Popular" and wins that title by collecting the most balloons.. before the winners are announced, the audience has an opportunity to purchase balloons from a nearby booth and give them to the contestant they think should win, whoever has the most balloons in ten minutes is awarded "Most Popular".  My two absolute favorite students, Mon and Aiko, competed in the Noppamas Beauty Contest (two of twenty contestants) and Aiko won for the Kindergarten girls! I was overjoyed when we announced her name and I'm SO proud of her! Her mom is so nice and was already telling me how much they'll miss me after I leave in March, I took some family pictures with Aiko's family as well.  Along with the beauty contest, we had a home-made krathong contest and three dance performances, one of which my girls danced to a Thai song called "Sapalot" (translation: pineapple).

Blending right in

At one point during the show, T. Run and T. Tu handled the contest and I was able to scope out the booths and games as well as get in a few pictures with students and other teachers.  Every Thai teacher, parent, and multiple students I came across announced in awe "T. Chelsea, SO beautiful!"  Parent's of students that weren't even mine wanted me in a photo with their child or entire family.  I was paparazzi-ed like crazy and was being complemented every minute.  While on stage, I heard my student Jack Jack scream "T. Chelsea, HI!! T. Chelsea BEEAUTIFUL!"  Thai teachers pulling me to take a picture while saying "Teacher, soi mak" was a regular occurrence for the evening and I didn't mind it. It was fun being such a hot-shot celebrity with a microphone for the evening.

Being MC with T. Run was a blast and this year's Loi Krathong was SO much fun! I'm so honored that my school asked me to be the MC and be the face for this fun celebration this year. YAY Loi Krathong!!

Cutie patootie baby AJ

Thai looking farang teachers

 Me and my Thai Teacher!

Farangs X 7 and Halloween!

I can hardly believe that its already the month of NOVEMBER!  It snuck up on me this year, Halloween popped up out of no where and then I blinked and it was November. I get all turned around with the months here, for my entire life November is the beginning of the holiday season and even though we don't get too many leaves changing color in Southern California to mark the start of fall, I always feel its presence when mom puts up the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations up around the house, holiday tunes start being played on the radio and in the shopping malls, and I start to need to bundle up by wearing my only few pairs of jeans/pants and jackets.  In Thailand, November feels exactly the same as it has the past 9 months minus a little dryer now that monsoon season has come to an end.  It cools down a bit in December hitting maybe low – mid 60s/70s in the morning and the children show up to school wearing a beanie, scarf, and winter coat and even though I too get a little chilly, it still doesn’t feel like winter and it feels like the holidays are still months away. I guess that’s Thailand “Cold Season” for you!

I’ve gotten all resettled into my Khon Kaen routine, school, gym, tutoring after school and on the weekends.  Christmas is right around the corner which means my three weeks vacation is coming up quick! I’m saving/making as much money as possible so I can blow it all away during that travel time. But there have been some exciting things going on this week! Which brings me to my… Three Good Things of the Week!

1. News Flash: Khon Kaens population of farang girls has just TRIPLED! A huge group of girls have just arrived to the KK after being placed here by CIEE, the same program I came though.  4 are at another school in Khon Kaen and 1 is taking Jess' class at my school!  We all live in the same apartment building, four of us on the same floor. Its SO strange to have so many other western girls in my age range here, I've gotten very used to having my school/tutoring life as my Khon Kaen life and my traveling time as my fun life, and now I feel like my Khon Kaen life can be a fun life too!  Our group is rather large and us seven girls ventured to the night market last weekend.  I'm sure we get starred at more than ever before, but I feel like I personally am being less watched when I'm in the middle of a large group and its a good feeling.  I'm still the only blonde though!  Its really fun to have new girls to hangout with and I'm excited to see what adventures we have in store!

2. Monday was Halloween and KGE (Kindergarten English, my department) has a party with games, prizes, and a costume contest every year.  Last year, Halloween was one of my first days in Khon Kaen so I didn’t dress up as I had no idea what to wear and didn’t want the other teachers to get a strange impression of me if I showed up in the wrong type of costume.  This year, I did a little planning and took a hard look in my closet, I didn’t want to spend any money but wanted to participate in the festivities.  Luckily I had ordered a yellow dress to wear out on the town when I’m traveling and my mom had stuck in the last care package. I paired it with black leggings and a black sweater and BAM, I’m a bumble bee!  I found some black tape at the supply store next to 7/11 and made antennas out of a straw and black paper making my costume extremely easy to put together and virtually free!  The kids LOVED that Teacher Chelsea was Teacher Bee the day and the games like trick or treating, zombie tag, pin the face on the witch, and bobbing for apples was a success.  A little different than our traditional Halloween celebrations in the States and VERY different than the infamous UCSB Halloween, but it was still a great time.  Most popular costume this year: batman and dead people!

Loi Krathong 2010

3. On Wednesday, Teacher Nim took the new teacher Emily and I to "Rose Wedding" to shop for Thai costumes to wear for Loi Krathong.  For those who have been loyal readers to my blog for twelve months now, you'll remember how last year I wore a pink traditional Thai costume and looked more like a blonde barbie trying hard to be Thai.  Well, I must have left quite the impression because this year I was asked to be the MC for the event this year!  In the past, I was that girl in class that would rather write a 20 page essay than get in front of the class to give a presentation, I've actually been in situations where I have fainted in front of an audience.  In college, I was so nervous to meet potential roommates for the following school year that I fainted leaving them questioning if I was an addict of some sort.  Fortunately for me, the fainting episode was my only downfall and they liked the rest of my interview (and their other options were SO bad), that they still picked me and some of those girls are my best friends now!  I've overcome this extreme fear of public speaking and I'm not the slightest bit nervous.  I'm really looking forward to Loi Krathong (I guess it helps that many people in the audience may not understand what the heck I'm saying!), its going to be a fun evening with carnival games, dance performances, and a Thai beauty contest to award who will be little Mr. and Mrs. Loi Krathong for 2011.  I will be in my rented Thai costume with my hair professionally done, on stage, and probably have thousands of photos taken of me, celebrity for a day!  Finding a costume was a lot easier than other Thai costume searches I had in the past and I'm happy with what we found.  Pictures and details on the event will be posted next week! :)

How many batmans can you fit in one picture?

KG 3B!

Oleeeee Ole Ole Ole.. Gauchos!: Phi Phi and Bangkok!

I consider myself very lucky.. I've been in SE Asia for 12 months and have seen a good amount of faces from home! I never would have guessed I would have seen so many gauchos here in Thailand within the past year, and on this trip I got to add a few more to the list! I'm not sure if I just have a ton of super cool friends who travel or if a lot of people who went to UCSB go international, or maybe its a little combo of both.  Before this trip, I've been able to connect with seven gauchos, now my count is at eleven! With plans to see a few more at New Years!  :)

Fiona and I had plans to meet up with our friend Evan in Thailand! Evan lived across the street from me while I was living the life on oceanside DP and we had many mutual friends.  He's been living in Spain the past few months and when I saw on facebook that he was making a trip to Thailand, I was excited to meeting up!  The three of us headed to Phi Phi, my favorite island.. third times a charm.

Gauchos in Phi Phi

 

Fiona, Evan, and I were able to meet up with two other Gaucho friends in Bangkok, Rhett and Tasha!  They've been living in Indonesia working at a surf camp and are traveling more of SE Asia before they head back to the US.  

Five Gauchos on Khao San!

 

Gauchos at one of the worlds largest markets.. Chatuchak!

Gauchos in the rain in BKK

Gauchos on the roof

It was amazing to be reunited, I had a great time with my friends and was sad to say goodbye.  My wallet however was happy that my traveling time was over, I stuck to my budget very well in Malaysia and Singapore then I let it fly out the window once we all met up in Thailand.  Seeing other gauchos and reminiscing about IV life has made me start looking forward to going to alumni weekend in April! Oleeee Ole Ole Ole, GAUCHOS!

Last stop: Penang!

Final stop in Malaysia.. Penang!

Penang definitely isn't Malaysia's most beautiful island, but it is arguably one of the most fascinating islands in Asia.  An intriguing fusion of the East and West, Penang embraces modernity while retaining its traditions and old world charm.  Penang's has a rich multicultural history full of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and European influences.. and is also well known for being the "food paradise" of Malaysia!

On our ferry and bus journey from Langkawi to Penang, we reconnected with our UK friends as they were doing the same journey! The four of us all stayed in the Reggae House together, its the sister hostel to our favorite Reggae Mansion in Kuala Lumpur! It wasn't as elaborate as the one in KL, but still very nice and very clean, just no cinema and jacuzzi.  It was located on Love Lane in Georgetown, the capital of Penang; a favorite spot for tourists as it has many attractive pre-Second World War houses and shophouses, as well as 19th century churches, temples, mosques, and colonial buildings. 

Kek Lok Si Temple: Katie, Dan, Fiona and I woke up early the morning after our arrival to go explore Kek Lok Si Temple or the "Temple of Supreme Bliss", the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia.  This temple is very unique in that blends Mahayana Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals to create a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshipers.  The four of us hopped on the public bus to get there as its the cheapest way of transportation, ended up wondering the residential streets and getting a bit lost.. we could see the temple on the hill but couldn't find the path to walk up to it.  After some guidance from the locals, we walked up many stairs lined with shops and souvineer vendors and found ourselves at the heart of the temple complex with a seven tier, 30m high tower with a design that is said to be Burmese at the top, Chinese at the bottom, and Thai in the middle.  After taking the cable car higher up the mountain, we reached the 36.5m bronze statue of the Kuan Yin, goddess of mercy.  A support roof over the statue was under construction when we went with six carved dragon pillars carrying the top of a three concentric octagonal roof.  With that, the garden, and the fish and turtle ponds, it was a very impressive temple!

Mee Goreng:  In 2009, Penang was voted by New York Times readers one of 44 must-see destinations and the bulk of public opinion seemed to focus on the states cuisine.  Lonely Planet states that "coming to Penang and not sampling the local food is like going to a Thai island without ever setting foot on the sand or in the sea." I was ECSTATIC to find that our hostel had pamphlets called "Penang Food Trail" which included pictures and descriptions of famous and tasty Malay dishes and where to find them!  Often I'm hesitant to try new food because I don't know what the heck it is or what the heck is in it, but this pamphlet made my life easy.  I could just point to the picture and BAM, thats what I'd get!  After Lok Si Temple, Katie, Dan, Fiona and I grabbed some lunch in Little India and it didnt disappoint.  This time, I tried a new dish, murtabak (a vegetable stuffed pancake/bread with curry) and thosai (or dosa, similar to a crepe or pancake).. This is also where I tried masala tea (aka Chai tea) for the first time.. what a surprise, I loved it!  Later that night, the four of us headed to the nightmarket where we picked up a few souvenirs and grabbed some dinner, Fiona and I split a traditional Malay noodle dish Mee Goreng similar to Chinese chowmain. DELICIOUS! The street market was really cool and I was able to bargain down all my purchases to nearly a third of the original asking price.. they can't fool me!  Besides having a sketchy cab ride home with our drunk driver ranting and raving about Malay mafia and going through two police checkpoints while us three girls sat in the backseat squeezing our eyes shut and grabbing each others hands while Dan sat in the front and kindly kept an eye on the road as well as gave the driver an ear to talk to, it was a great day.

Chaaaarlie: When we first arrived to Reggae Hostel, we were greeted by a 50-something toothless Malay man who immediately gave us advice on what to do that night.  He asked us our names and introduced himself as "Charlie".  He gave us directions to an awesome food court/hawker stand garden with great food and music with lots of locals and tourists and when he noticed we were lost after only walking two blocks, he hopped on his motorbike to gave us the directions again.  He kept telling us that he wanted to take us to his friends "Lady Gaga" show (which we politely declined the offer) and gave us good tips on what sights to see.  I'm not exactly sure what his position was at the hostel, but he was always there and loved chatting us up.  Unfortunately since he was missing a whole row of teeth along with having an Asian accent with his English, it wasn't always clear what he was saying.. actually, I didn't understand most of what he was saying.  The day we left, he personally walked us to his friends Indian clothing shop to do some shopping and pointed out a good banana stand where I could buy a few bananas before the flight.  He insisted that his cousins wife personally drive us to the airport (which again we refused), and we insisted that we wanted to take the one hour public bus ride instead.  He was very disappointed because that meant he couldn't show us a cool temple with snakes, so he personally walked us to the bus stop to be sure we got on the correct bus.  To our surprise when the bus came, not only did Charlie pay our dollar fare, but he got on the bus with us!  We had to switch buses at a station and he wanted to be sure that we got there safely.  After asking if we needed snacks and exchanging emails, he insisted that we email him once we got to BKK so he knew we arrived safe and we said our goodbyes.  Although Charlie was being a bit TOO helpful, he was very kind and generous and meant very well.

Malaysia was AMAZING and I was a little sad to leave because that meant our trip was coming to an end. I didn't expect to enjoy Malaysia as much as I did, and I definitely didn't expect to love the food and be as adventurous with food as I was (it helped that Fiona knew what to order when it came to Indian food and she was adventurous with the local cuisine so I took her lead)!  I have seen PLENTY of Buddhist temples and ancient ruins but I had never been to a Muslim country before, so seeing some new types of sights like Hindu temples and mosques was a special treat.  I feel like our trip was very well-rounded with city, country, nightlife, beaches, islands, and culture, and it was probably my most stress-free trip yet. Malaysia was very easy to navigate and get around and everything was fairly cheap with the exception of drinks.  Traveling with Fiona was SO much fun and I hope we plan another trip together in the future after Fiona's done with nursing school! :)

Lok Si

Yep, more food pics! Indian curry rice!

Yummy noodles

Lok Si Temple

Georgetown!

Adios, Malaysia!

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!