KL, beep beep, and other nasty things I have eaten

My apologies for being so horrible at keeping up with my blog. It's really difficult when you are moving around every couple of days and I haven't really had a consistent source of internet in over a week. 

     KL came and went way to fast. I should have known to spend some more time there. I feel like MB just got a little taste of it, but I didn't get the chance to see everyone I wanted to see. I also went through a tired-ness spell. The whole on-the-go part of the trip caught up with me and I did a lot of sleeping. 

     We hit up the good spots (except Jalan Ahlor (sp?). Saturday night we did the whole Changkat BB thing complete with street-side satey and a stop for late-late night mamak. Yummy. The next day we headed out with a friend of a friend J to go to Pasar Seni and China Town for some eats and a trip to the fish spa. Surprisingly, MB did not go crazy at the fish spa like I had anticipated. He very much enjoyed it and it made for a boring video, but I took one anyway. Next stop was the Polo Club, then out with some of A's friends around my old neighborhood. At this point I fell asleep in the middle of the party on a bench. It was one of those half sleeps, where I could hear everything, but was too tired to respond. I suppose I was there in spirit. We drank some good 'ol fashioned moonshine from Borneo and the peninsula. 

     The next day we ran a few errands, went to Batu Caves, hung out around Pavilion mall and I had my favorite meal of all time, banana leaf. A was kind enough to give us a ride to the airport the next morning (think 3am) and we set off for Hanoi. We JUST made the flight and I left my jacket at a coffee shop. By the time I got back it was MIA. I wasn't too disappointed as it was starting to get a few holes in it. 

     Arrival in Hanoi was a bit crazy. We got in this taxi because the bus system seemed a bit crowded for us to just hop on with all of our shit. The taxi man got pulled over or something as we just sat around near the airport for quite some time. However, we didn't really care because it was a fixed rate and the AC was running. We got to B, our host's, place after getting lost several times. He lives in a working/maybe middle class neighborhood in a tiny shop house. The bottom floor is a drink/cigarette shop and the top floor is one room with a bathroom. I could handle the close quarters for a night or so, but I was hot, tired, and homesick and generally feeling anti-social.

     B has self-taught himself English for only 4 months which I found to be quite impressive. It's funny because he can't really communicate some very basic things, but he can talk/give speeches about politics and the like. After talking to me for about a half hour, he decided that I wasn't that interesting and turned his attention to MB for the remainder of the trip. I was ok with this simply because I didn't have the energy to deal with it anyway. 

     Lunch was an experience to be had. This was not a lunch for the faint of heart...or lover of animals. I was thankful for the mom to cook for us, so I felt the need to at least try everything. Most of the dishes consisted of various pig parts and some chicken. Lots of intestine. I have no problem with this, as I've had quite a few of these types of things throughout my travels. However, when asked if we would eat blood, I simply said no, but I would try. So there it was, plopped down right in front of us next to the rest of the family style meal. A bright red bowl of semi-coagulated blood with bits of chopped bones and peanuts in it. My stomach flipped a little and then I inquired as to what animal this blood came from. Many of you have probably already figured out the answer to this one. The response? Dog. 

     Yes, there in front of me sat two men eagerly slopping up their bowlful of dog's blood. In order not to be rude, MB and I had agreed to try some. This is by far the first time in my life that I absolutely ate something that I nearly vomited by just putting near my mouth. It was by far the most vile, disgusting, and down-right disturbing thing I have ever done. I only had about a fifth of a spoonful, but the taste in my mouth lasted for days. It's one thing to eat dog meat, it's something completely different to drain the blood of an animal and then eat it. What you are eating quickly becomes much more obvious. What bothered me the most (besides that fact that I have yet to forgive myself) is that they treat the dogs as pets before they kill them. They let the dogs wander around and play with them, they are more friendly towards humans than the rest of the dogs I've encountered. 

     Since I'm on the topic of nasty food I'll let you know what other disgusting things I ate before I get to the good stuff. Another treat in these parts is boiled duck fetus, yes you heard me right, boiled...duck...fetus. And you have the pleasure of eating the whole thing, including the beak and newly forming feathers. It is supposed to be good for health but it goes under another item that makes me want to purge. Not nearly as bad as the blood though.

     Ok so enough negativity. We did eat some awesome things, although I'm convinced that B wanted to make us try all of the nasty foods one can experience in Hanoi. We had this snack called nem ram (pronounced 'nam zam') which we were told was wok-fried minced pork dipped in a spicy sauce. Although this is true, it is also fermented pork, but who gives a damn? It still tasted awesome. We also had bun cha, a soupy dish made with thin morsels of charcoal grilled pork. Tasty tasty. Yesterday we were on our own for food and found some tasty baguettes with sausage, fried egg, basil, and chili sauce. The French colonized around these parts so there is an influence that shows in the food. I also had a tasty noodle dish with what I believe (based on the animal next to the meat pieces) to be duck. 

     Aside from the usual site seeing and the like, we did learn a few things about this place. They don't dislike Americans here. In fact, they seem to have put the war behind them more easily than we have. All people just want peace and they also have a healthy distrust of government. They call their police 'yellow dogs' while we call them 'pigs' so a lot of same-same really. Life here is definitely difficult. There is not a lot of money and very little in terms of infrastructure. Although I will say it is a bit more developed than Java. Yes, crossing the street is a terrifying endeavor but it's ok once you get used to it. 

     Overall, Hanoi was 'tak best la' but I was expecting it to be. It is a city with an attitude like that of New York and blunt like I've been told Chinese cities can be. We were there as a starting point and the plan to head south after a few days worked out so we are on the path onwards.

I'll break this post and make our Ha Long Bay experience it's own thing...

-M                                  

My apologies for being so horrible at keeping up with my blog. It's really difficult when you are moving around every couple of days and I haven't really had a consistent source of internet in over a week. 

     KL came and went way to fast. I should have known to spend some more time there. I feel like MB just got a little taste of it, but I didn't get the chance to see everyone I wanted to see. I also went through a tired-ness spell. The whole on-the-go part of the trip caught up with me and I did a lot of sleeping. 

     We hit up the good spots (except Jalan Ahlor (sp?). Saturday night we did the whole Changkat BB thing complete with street-side satey and a stop for late-late night mamak. Yummy. The next day we headed out with a friend of a friend J to go to Pasar Seni and China Town for some eats and a trip to the fish spa. Surprisingly, MB did not go crazy at the fish spa like I had anticipated. He very much enjoyed it and it made for a boring video, but I took one anyway. Next stop was the Polo Club, then out with some of A's friends around my old neighborhood. At this point I fell asleep in the middle of the party on a bench. It was one of those half sleeps, where I could hear everything, but was too tired to respond. I suppose I was there in spirit. We drank some good 'ol fashioned moonshine from Borneo and the peninsula. 

     The next day we ran a few errands, went to Batu Caves, hung out around Pavilion mall and I had my favorite meal of all time, banana leaf. A was kind enough to give us a ride to the airport the next morning (think 3am) and we set off for Hanoi. We JUST made the flight and I left my jacket at a coffee shop. By the time I got back it was MIA. I wasn't too disappointed as it was starting to get a few holes in it. 

     Arrival in Hanoi was a bit crazy. We got in this taxi because the bus system seemed a bit crowded for us to just hop on with all of our shit. The taxi man got pulled over or something as we just sat around near the airport for quite some time. However, we didn't really care because it was a fixed rate and the AC was running. We got to B, our host's, place after getting lost several times. He lives in a working/maybe middle class neighborhood in a tiny shop house. The bottom floor is a drink/cigarette shop and the top floor is one room with a bathroom. I could handle the close quarters for a night or so, but I was hot, tired, and homesick and generally feeling anti-social.

     B has self-taught himself English for only 4 months which I found to be quite impressive. It's funny because he can't really communicate some very basic things, but he can talk/give speeches about politics and the like. After talking to me for about a half hour, he decided that I wasn't that interesting and turned his attention to MB for the remainder of the trip. I was ok with this simply because I didn't have the energy to deal with it anyway. 

     Lunch was an experience to be had. This was not a lunch for the faint of heart...or lover of animals. I was thankful for the mom to cook for us, so I felt the need to at least try everything. Most of the dishes consisted of various pig parts and some chicken. Lots of intestine. I have no problem with this, as I've had quite a few of these types of things throughout my travels. However, when asked if we would eat blood, I simply said no, but I would try. So there it was, plopped down right in front of us next to the rest of the family style meal. A bright red bowl of semi-coagulated blood with bits of chopped bones and peanuts in it. My stomach flipped a little and then I inquired as to what animal this blood came from. Many of you have probably already figured out the answer to this one. The response? Dog. 

     Yes, there in front of me sat two men eagerly slopping up their bowlful of dog's blood. In order not to be rude, MB and I had agreed to try some. This is by far the first time in my life that I absolutely ate something that I nearly vomited by just putting near my mouth. It was by far the most vile, disgusting, and down-right disturbing thing I have ever done. I only had about a fifth of a spoonful, but the taste in my mouth lasted for days. It's one thing to eat dog meat, it's something completely different to drain the blood of an animal and then eat it. What you are eating quickly becomes much more obvious. What bothered me the most (besides that fact that I have yet to forgive myself) is that they treat the dogs as pets before they kill them. They let the dogs wander around and play with them, they are more friendly towards humans than the rest of the dogs I've encountered. 

     Since I'm on the topic of nasty food I'll let you know what other disgusting things I ate before I get to the good stuff. Another treat in these parts is boiled duck fetus, yes you heard me right, boiled...duck...fetus. And you have the pleasure of eating the whole thing, including the beak and newly forming feathers. It is supposed to be good for health but it goes under another item that makes me want to purge. Not nearly as bad as the blood though.

     Ok so enough negativity. We did eat some awesome things, although I'm convinced that B wanted to make us try all of the nasty foods one can experience in Hanoi. We had this snack called nem ram (pronounced 'nam zam') which we were told was wok-fried minced pork dipped in a spicy sauce. Although this is true, it is also fermented pork, but who gives a damn? It still tasted awesome. We also had bun cha, a soupy dish made with thin morsels of charcoal grilled pork. Tasty tasty. Yesterday we were on our own for food and found some tasty baguettes with sausage, fried egg, basil, and chili sauce. The French colonized around these parts so there is an influence that shows in the food. I also had a tasty noodle dish with what I believe (based on the animal next to the meat pieces) to be duck. 

     Aside from the usual site seeing and the like, we did learn a few things about this place. They don't dislike Americans here. In fact, they seem to have put the war behind them more easily than we have. All people just want peace and they also have a healthy distrust of government. They call their police 'yellow dogs' while we call them 'pigs' so a lot of same-same really. Life here is definitely difficult. There is not a lot of money and very little in terms of infrastructure. Although I will say it is a bit more developed than Java. Yes, crossing the street is a terrifying endeavor but it's ok once you get used to it. 

     Overall, Hanoi was 'tak best la' but I was expecting it to be. It is a city with an attitude like that of New York and blunt like I've been told Chinese cities can be. We were there as a starting point and the plan to head south after a few days worked out so we are on the path onwards.

I'll break this post and make our Ha Long Bay experience it's own thing...

-M                                  

My apologies for being so horrible at keeping up with my blog. It's really difficult when you are moving around every couple of days and I haven't really had a consistent source of internet in over a week. 

     KL came and went way to fast. I should have known to spend some more time there. I feel like MB just got a little taste of it, but I didn't get the chance to see everyone I wanted to see. I also went through a tired-ness spell. The whole on-the-go part of the trip caught up with me and I did a lot of sleeping. 

     We hit up the good spots (except Jalan Ahlor (sp?). Saturday night we did the whole Changkat BB thing complete with street-side satey and a stop for late-late night mamak. Yummy. The next day we headed out with a friend of a friend J to go to Pasar Seni and China Town for some eats and a trip to the fish spa. Surprisingly, MB did not go crazy at the fish spa like I had anticipated. He very much enjoyed it and it made for a boring video, but I took one anyway. Next stop was the Polo Club, then out with some of A's friends around my old neighborhood. At this point I fell asleep in the middle of the party on a bench. It was one of those half sleeps, where I could hear everything, but was too tired to respond. I suppose I was there in spirit. We drank some good 'ol fashioned moonshine from Borneo and the peninsula. 

     The next day we ran a few errands, went to Batu Caves, hung out around Pavilion mall and I had my favorite meal of all time, banana leaf. A was kind enough to give us a ride to the airport the next morning (think 3am) and we set off for Hanoi. We JUST made the flight and I left my jacket at a coffee shop. By the time I got back it was MIA. I wasn't too disappointed as it was starting to get a few holes in it. 

     Arrival in Hanoi was a bit crazy. We got in this taxi because the bus system seemed a bit crowded for us to just hop on with all of our shit. The taxi man got pulled over or something as we just sat around near the airport for quite some time. However, we didn't really care because it was a fixed rate and the AC was running. We got to B, our host's, place after getting lost several times. He lives in a working/maybe middle class neighborhood in a tiny shop house. The bottom floor is a drink/cigarette shop and the top floor is one room with a bathroom. I could handle the close quarters for a night or so, but I was hot, tired, and homesick and generally feeling anti-social.

     B has self-taught himself English for only 4 months which I found to be quite impressive. It's funny because he can't really communicate some very basic things, but he can talk/give speeches about politics and the like. After talking to me for about a half hour, he decided that I wasn't that interesting and turned his attention to MB for the remainder of the trip. I was ok with this simply because I didn't have the energy to deal with it anyway. 

     Lunch was an experience to be had. This was not a lunch for the faint of heart...or lover of animals. I was thankful for the mom to cook for us, so I felt the need to at least try everything. Most of the dishes consisted of various pig parts and some chicken. Lots of intestine. I have no problem with this, as I've had quite a few of these types of things throughout my travels. However, when asked if we would eat blood, I simply said no, but I would try. So there it was, plopped down right in front of us next to the rest of the family style meal. A bright red bowl of semi-coagulated blood with bits of chopped bones and peanuts in it. My stomach flipped a little and then I inquired as to what animal this blood came from. Many of you have probably already figured out the answer to this one. The response? Dog. 

     Yes, there in front of me sat two men eagerly slopping up their bowlful of dog's blood. In order not to be rude, MB and I had agreed to try some. This is by far the first time in my life that I absolutely ate something that I nearly vomited by just putting near my mouth. It was by far the most vile, disgusting, and down-right disturbing thing I have ever done. I only had about a fifth of a spoonful, but the taste in my mouth lasted for days. It's one thing to eat dog meat, it's something completely different to drain the blood of an animal and then eat it. What you are eating quickly becomes much more obvious. What bothered me the most (besides that fact that I have yet to forgive myself) is that they treat the dogs as pets before they kill them. They let the dogs wander around and play with them, they are more friendly towards humans than the rest of the dogs I've encountered. 

     Since I'm on the topic of nasty food I'll let you know what other disgusting things I ate before I get to the good stuff. Another treat in these parts is boiled duck fetus, yes you heard me right, boiled...duck...fetus. And you have the pleasure of eating the whole thing, including the beak and newly forming feathers. It is supposed to be good for health but it goes under another item that makes me want to purge. Not nearly as bad as the blood though.

     Ok so enough negativity. We did eat some awesome things, although I'm convinced that B wanted to make us try all of the nasty foods one can experience in Hanoi. We had this snack called nem ram (pronounced 'nam zam') which we were told was wok-fried minced pork dipped in a spicy sauce. Although this is true, it is also fermented pork, but who gives a damn? It still tasted awesome. We also had bun cha, a soupy dish made with thin morsels of charcoal grilled pork. Tasty tasty. Yesterday we were on our own for food and found some tasty baguettes with sausage, fried egg, basil, and chili sauce. The French colonized around these parts so there is an influence that shows in the food. I also had a tasty noodle dish with what I believe (based on the animal next to the meat pieces) to be duck. 

     Aside from the usual site seeing and the like, we did learn a few things about this place. They don't dislike Americans here. In fact, they seem to have put the war behind them more easily than we have. All people just want peace and they also have a healthy distrust of government. They call their police 'yellow dogs' while we call them 'pigs' so a lot of same-same really. Life here is definitely difficult. There is not a lot of money and very little in terms of infrastructure. Although I will say it is a bit more developed than Java. Yes, crossing the street is a terrifying endeavor but it's ok once you get used to it. 

     Overall, Hanoi was 'tak best la' but I was expecting it to be. It is a city with an attitude like that of New York and blunt like I've been told Chinese cities can be. We were there as a starting point and the plan to head south after a few days worked out so we are on the path onwards.

I'll break this post and make our Ha Long Bay experience it's own thing...

-M                                  

My apologies for being so horrible at keeping up with my blog. It's really difficult when you are moving around every couple of days and I haven't really had a consistent source of internet in over a week. 

     KL came and went way to fast. I should have known to spend some more time there. I feel like MB just got a little taste of it, but I didn't get the chance to see everyone I wanted to see. I also went through a tired-ness spell. The whole on-the-go part of the trip caught up with me and I did a lot of sleeping. 

     We hit up the good spots (except Jalan Ahlor (sp?). Saturday night we did the whole Changkat BB thing complete with street-side satey and a stop for late-late night mamak. Yummy. The next day we headed out with a friend of a friend J to go to Pasar Seni and China Town for some eats and a trip to the fish spa. Surprisingly, MB did not go crazy at the fish spa like I had anticipated. He very much enjoyed it and it made for a boring video, but I took one anyway. Next stop was the Polo Club, then out with some of A's friends around my old neighborhood. At this point I fell asleep in the middle of the party on a bench. It was one of those half sleeps, where I could hear everything, but was too tired to respond. I suppose I was there in spirit. We drank some good 'ol fashioned moonshine from Borneo and the peninsula. 

     The next day we ran a few errands, went to Batu Caves, hung out around Pavilion mall and I had my favorite meal of all time, banana leaf. A was kind enough to give us a ride to the airport the next morning (think 3am) and we set off for Hanoi. We JUST made the flight and I left my jacket at a coffee shop. By the time I got back it was MIA. I wasn't too disappointed as it was starting to get a few holes in it. 

     Arrival in Hanoi was a bit crazy. We got in this taxi because the bus system seemed a bit crowded for us to just hop on with all of our shit. The taxi man got pulled over or something as we just sat around near the airport for quite some time. However, we didn't really care because it was a fixed rate and the AC was running. We got to B, our host's, place after getting lost several times. He lives in a working/maybe middle class neighborhood in a tiny shop house. The bottom floor is a drink/cigarette shop and the top floor is one room with a bathroom. I could handle the close quarters for a night or so, but I was hot, tired, and homesick and generally feeling anti-social.

     B has self-taught himself English for only 4 months which I found to be quite impressive. It's funny because he can't really communicate some very basic things, but he can talk/give speeches about politics and the like. After talking to me for about a half hour, he decided that I wasn't that interesting and turned his attention to MB for the remainder of the trip. I was ok with this simply because I didn't have the energy to deal with it anyway. 

     Lunch was an experience to be had. This was not a lunch for the faint of heart...or lover of animals. I was thankful for the mom to cook for us, so I felt the need to at least try everything. Most of the dishes consisted of various pig parts and some chicken. Lots of intestine. I have no problem with this, as I've had quite a few of these types of things throughout my travels. However, when asked if we would eat blood, I simply said no, but I would try. So there it was, plopped down right in front of us next to the rest of the family style meal. A bright red bowl of semi-coagulated blood with bits of chopped bones and peanuts in it. My stomach flipped a little and then I inquired as to what animal this blood came from. Many of you have probably already figured out the answer to this one. The response? Dog. 

     Yes, there in front of me sat two men eagerly slopping up their bowlful of dog's blood. In order not to be rude, MB and I had agreed to try some. This is by far the first time in my life that I absolutely ate something that I nearly vomited by just putting near my mouth. It was by far the most vile, disgusting, and down-right disturbing thing I have ever done. I only had about a fifth of a spoonful, but the taste in my mouth lasted for days. It's one thing to eat dog meat, it's something completely different to drain the blood of an animal and then eat it. What you are eating quickly becomes much more obvious. What bothered me the most (besides that fact that I have yet to forgive myself) is that they treat the dogs as pets before they kill them. They let the dogs wander around and play with them, they are more friendly towards humans than the rest of the dogs I've encountered. 

     Since I'm on the topic of nasty food I'll let you know what other disgusting things I ate before I get to the good stuff. Another treat in these parts is boiled duck fetus, yes you heard me right, boiled...duck...fetus. And you have the pleasure of eating the whole thing, including the beak and newly forming feathers. It is supposed to be good for health but it goes under another item that makes me want to purge. Not nearly as bad as the blood though.

     Ok so enough negativity. We did eat some awesome things, although I'm convinced that B wanted to make us try all of the nasty foods one can experience in Hanoi. We had this snack called nem ram (pronounced 'nam zam') which we were told was wok-fried minced pork dipped in a spicy sauce. Although this is true, it is also fermented pork, but who gives a damn? It still tasted awesome. We also had bun cha, a soupy dish made with thin morsels of charcoal grilled pork. Tasty tasty. Yesterday we were on our own for food and found some tasty baguettes with sausage, fried egg, basil, and chili sauce. The French colonized around these parts so there is an influence that shows in the food. I also had a tasty noodle dish with what I believe (based on the animal next to the meat pieces) to be duck. 

     Aside from the usual site seeing and the like, we did learn a few things about this place. They don't dislike Americans here. In fact, they seem to have put the war behind them more easily than we have. All people just want peace and they also have a healthy distrust of government. They call their police 'yellow dogs' while we call them 'pigs' so a lot of same-same really. Life here is definitely difficult. There is not a lot of money and very little in terms of infrastructure. Although I will say it is a bit more developed than Java. Yes, crossing the street is a terrifying endeavor but it's ok once you get used to it. 

     Overall, Hanoi was 'tak best la' but I was expecting it to be. It is a city with an attitude like that of New York and blunt like I've been told Chinese cities can be. We were there as a starting point and the plan to head south after a few days worked out so we are on the path onwards.

I'll break this post and make our Ha Long Bay experience it's own thing...

-M                                  

Anak tetapi PEDAS

     I've decided that using blogger with a tablet is useless, so I'm using my notepad app to write, then transfer the post to the blog...this explains the weird font (that I'm too lazy to change).

     We are now in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Today our friend A comes to chill with us in the jungle for a bit. We spent the morning wandering around the city in search of laksa (this was a fail, as all the good places sold out, we were up too late). It's really charming here and I'm thankful for simple luxuries like sidewalks and paved roads.

     Anyways, back to Jogja. After all the intensity it took to get there, and after our first night of chaos and day outside of the city it turned out to be an awesome place. The first day in the city we did the tourist thing, except we didn't go inside of anything, just walked around the city. We did a large loop of about 5 miles. The next day we visited some galleries, as Jogja is known as an artist's town. The art was pretty interesting and forward. You can tell that Jogja is going through an identity crisis. Indonesia as a whole really, but especially Java. There is a tension between the new and the old. What to keep and what to let go of in an age of constant change in a nation that is struggling to keep up with the emerging global nations. This idea was then further solidified when we talked with our host's dad. He was worried about the corruption in Indonesia and he strongly believed that a nation cannot survive on this alone. 

     For the remainder of our time in Java we stayed with P and his family in a typical Javanese home just outside the city. It was a great experience. MB and I had to sleep in separate rooms because the family was a traditional Muslim family. I didn't mind because I got the princess room, his sister's old room. The family had a large house with a few other buildings on the property (more like a compound really). Family, extended family, and close family friends seemed to all bunk there. The place was always bustling. They also ran a catering business out of the front of the house. This not only provided us with excellent eats, but also a chance to go to a traditional Muslim Javanese wedding. 

     There were other surfers there from Germany on the first night of our stay. They were going through Indonesia for 8 weeks. It was cool to hang out with them as well, as it was their first CS experience. Friday night P took us to a food street that served up the best satay in the city. We ate on a sidewalk, which had bamboo carpets stretched across it. You simply ordered and sat (shoes off of course) then ate. We had satay chicken, intestine, cow skin, and snails. It was all really good. I was scared of getting sick at first, because it was only warm satay (this place is popular so they make a lot of it in advance). However, the fear quickly faded as the food was delicious. Out of all the satay I enjoyed the intestine the best, which came as a surprise to me. They also served up a special drink at this place called Kopi Joss. Kopi means coffee and this type of coffee was served hot with a piece of coal in it. Random as hell I know, but it tasted good. I actually had two. I couldn't imagine this type of thing ever catching on in the states, but don't hate it until you try it!

     We met some really cool people from all over. Everyone from Indonesia has been so incredibly friendly. I have yet to find a country where not one person was rude. Even the hawkers aren't too rude, just a bit pushy in Bali. The rest of the gang was heading to karaoke and that was my queue to head home. 

    The next day we wandered around the market near P's house. We bought some fruit and tried a variety of things including fried rice paddy eel and some menthol drink that is supposed to be good for your health. We then walked around a village and got lost in the paddy fields. It was really pretty. P and I had some good conversation about culture and life. His english was outstanding and if he didn't know a word he would ask how to spell it and when to use it. He was much younger than us but it really didn't matter. We both think he'll do great things with his life, he's mature and curious, always a great combo. 

     After the paddy field we washed up and headed into town to get some transport. Yes, this means another motor bike. MB didn't want anything to do with the machine, but he didn't have much of a choice, as this is the way around SE Asia. We rented a bike for 24 hours and headed back to the house. After some down time we got dressed and went with P's mom and brother to some random wedding. 

     The wedding was quite the experience. First, there was no alcohol and no dancing. There was, of course, karaoke. The whole ordeal lasts about 2 hours and the point of it seems to be for everyone they know to come by, take a picture with the bride and groom, and eat. This wedding had 600+ people and this was considered small!  It actually kind of sucks for the couple, they have to stand on this podium type thing and take pictures with all the guests. My face would hurt from smiling so much. We ate the food and it was so crowded that even P needed a break from the madness. Then P and his brother convinced us to get our picture taken with the bride and groom. Other than being mildly embarrassing it was funny to think we would be in some random wedding album on the other side of the globe.

     P left us alone for 3 mins to go and find his lens cap and we immediately got accosted by the groom's father. He wanted to practice his english with us and insisted we go into his home to eat with the family. By this point we were stuffed, so we had some fruit and juice to be polite. He asked us all sorts of questions and spoke a mix of Indonesian and english to us. We found this a lot, there really aren't a lot of tourists outside of a few places in Java, and certainly a lot less Americans. Most people here don't like America as an institution (this goes back to us scamming them into taking their mining resources in the 70s), but they love Obama and they are curious about life in America. Everyone we have encountered, even random people at events and on the street will stop and ask us where we are from. If you are waiting in a line somewhere someone is bound to ask you where you come from. This is usually followed by a question about what you are studying, if you are studying in Indonesia, or what you do for work. Answer any of this using even a word of Indonesian and you will get either a look of surprise or a smile. Indonesian got me quite far in Java. I'm hoping it does something to mend the (sometimes) mis-conception that all Americans are incapable of being courteous about anything non-American, especially in the largest Muslim country in the world. 

     The day after the wedding we awoke before the ass crack of dawn to drive the 30 miles or so to Borobodur, an old Buddhist temple complex, to watch the sunrise. The drive was cold in the early am. It was wild zooming through the towns while listening to the morning call to prayer wax and wane from passing mosques. We arrived just before sun-up and the gate to the entrance P knew about was closed. No problem, he said, we'll just hop the fence. And we did. As we giggled and boasted about not having to pay the exorbitant fee foreigners have to pay to get in. The celebration was cut short when we found another gate, this time guarded by security guys. They told us that sun rise was actually twice the price. We laughed and walked away, there was no way I was paying $40US for that. Then the guards changed their minds and decided to let us in for the regular price of $18 (still expensive!!!). We wanted to save some cash for the airport, so we offered to pay in US dollars. When the guards wouldn't take the US money we knew what had happened. We pulled out what we had (about $8US short of the actual listed price of the ticket) and bribed our way into the temple. The sunrise was gorgeous and worth the adventure.

     After wandering around the temple we headed out to get some makanan (food). We ate at this tiny, but very busy, roadside stall. I hade guedeg (stewed jackfruit and rice) with some tofu. It was soooo tasty! We took the long road home through the village backroads and enjoyed some great views. We then decided to return the bike (we didn't want to push our luck with accidents) in town. We were told to take a bus back to P's house, but this bus decided that they would only run one that day and it took forever. After waiting about an hour and having yet another Indo-lish (Indonesian/english) conversation we gave up and started the 10 km trek back to P's. After about 2 mins of walking the bus, of course, showed up. The guy was yelling to us out of the bus door and we figured our new-found roadside auto-mechanic friend had told them to pick us up. We hopped on and headed back to P's. 

     After some much needed R&R we tried to wander out to P's aunt's place, but there was some type of meeting going on at the house so we had to greet a bunch of people. I learned the Muslim greeting 'salim' (the Indo way to say salam). In Indo it is common to great someone by shaking their hand and then touching your heart. The same goes when you say goodbye. There was a lot of hand shaking and a few words exchanged. At P's aunt's house, the chicken farm, we watched all the chickens and tried a variety of fruits, cookies, sambal, and snacks. Don't expect to go hungry when staying with the Javanese. You will always be greeted with some finger foods and drink (usually water, coffee, or tea). We watched the little kids run around, then watched the sunset over the paddies. For dinner we had what was the spiciest food in the world, we went to a sambal bar. Sambal, for those not in the know, is essentially hand-ground chillies with various spices and veggies added in. It's eaten with rice and some type of meat or veg of your choosing. It was the spiciest meal I've ever had. I was dying..but damn was it good!

     All in all, Java kicked our ass, but it also treated us with some unique experiences in Jogja. I'm really glad we went there, despite what it took to get around. Java really made me appreciate the simple things and it opened my mind to so many new experiences and ideas. I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart, but if you're looking for adventure Java is one of the friendliest places I have ever had the opportunity to experience.

-M

     

     I've decided that using blogger with a tablet is useless, so I'm using my notepad app to write, then transfer the post to the blog...this explains the weird font (that I'm too lazy to change).

     We are now in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Today our friend A comes to chill with us in the jungle for a bit. We spent the morning wandering around the city in search of laksa (this was a fail, as all the good places sold out, we were up too late). It's really charming here and I'm thankful for simple luxuries like sidewalks and paved roads.

     Anyways, back to Jogja. After all the intensity it took to get there, and after our first night of chaos and day outside of the city it turned out to be an awesome place. The first day in the city we did the tourist thing, except we didn't go inside of anything, just walked around the city. We did a large loop of about 5 miles. The next day we visited some galleries, as Jogja is known as an artist's town. The art was pretty interesting and forward. You can tell that Jogja is going through an identity crisis. Indonesia as a whole really, but especially Java. There is a tension between the new and the old. What to keep and what to let go of in an age of constant change in a nation that is struggling to keep up with the emerging global nations. This idea was then further solidified when we talked with our host's dad. He was worried about the corruption in Indonesia and he strongly believed that a nation cannot survive on this alone. 

     For the remainder of our time in Java we stayed with P and his family in a typical Javanese home just outside the city. It was a great experience. MB and I had to sleep in separate rooms because the family was a traditional Muslim family. I didn't mind because I got the princess room, his sister's old room. The family had a large house with a few other buildings on the property (more like a compound really). Family, extended family, and close family friends seemed to all bunk there. The place was always bustling. They also ran a catering business out of the front of the house. This not only provided us with excellent eats, but also a chance to go to a traditional Muslim Javanese wedding. 

     There were other surfers there from Germany on the first night of our stay. They were going through Indonesia for 8 weeks. It was cool to hang out with them as well, as it was their first CS experience. Friday night P took us to a food street that served up the best satay in the city. We ate on a sidewalk, which had bamboo carpets stretched across it. You simply ordered and sat (shoes off of course) then ate. We had satay chicken, intestine, cow skin, and snails. It was all really good. I was scared of getting sick at first, because it was only warm satay (this place is popular so they make a lot of it in advance). However, the fear quickly faded as the food was delicious. Out of all the satay I enjoyed the intestine the best, which came as a surprise to me. They also served up a special drink at this place called Kopi Joss. Kopi means coffee and this type of coffee was served hot with a piece of coal in it. Random as hell I know, but it tasted good. I actually had two. I couldn't imagine this type of thing ever catching on in the states, but don't hate it until you try it!

     We met some really cool people from all over. Everyone from Indonesia has been so incredibly friendly. I have yet to find a country where not one person was rude. Even the hawkers aren't too rude, just a bit pushy in Bali. The rest of the gang was heading to karaoke and that was my queue to head home. 

    The next day we wandered around the market near P's house. We bought some fruit and tried a variety of things including fried rice paddy eel and some menthol drink that is supposed to be good for your health. We then walked around a village and got lost in the paddy fields. It was really pretty. P and I had some good conversation about culture and life. His english was outstanding and if he didn't know a word he would ask how to spell it and when to use it. He was much younger than us but it really didn't matter. We both think he'll do great things with his life, he's mature and curious, always a great combo. 

     After the paddy field we washed up and headed into town to get some transport. Yes, this means another motor bike. MB didn't want anything to do with the machine, but he didn't have much of a choice, as this is the way around SE Asia. We rented a bike for 24 hours and headed back to the house. After some down time we got dressed and went with P's mom and brother to some random wedding. 

     The wedding was quite the experience. First, there was no alcohol and no dancing. There was, of course, karaoke. The whole ordeal lasts about 2 hours and the point of it seems to be for everyone they know to come by, take a picture with the bride and groom, and eat. This wedding had 600+ people and this was considered small!  It actually kind of sucks for the couple, they have to stand on this podium type thing and take pictures with all the guests. My face would hurt from smiling so much. We ate the food and it was so crowded that even P needed a break from the madness. Then P and his brother convinced us to get our picture taken with the bride and groom. Other than being mildly embarrassing it was funny to think we would be in some random wedding album on the other side of the globe.

     P left us alone for 3 mins to go and find his lens cap and we immediately got accosted by the groom's father. He wanted to practice his english with us and insisted we go into his home to eat with the family. By this point we were stuffed, so we had some fruit and juice to be polite. He asked us all sorts of questions and spoke a mix of Indonesian and english to us. We found this a lot, there really aren't a lot of tourists outside of a few places in Java, and certainly a lot less Americans. Most people here don't like America as an institution (this goes back to us scamming them into taking their mining resources in the 70s), but they love Obama and they are curious about life in America. Everyone we have encountered, even random people at events and on the street will stop and ask us where we are from. If you are waiting in a line somewhere someone is bound to ask you where you come from. This is usually followed by a question about what you are studying, if you are studying in Indonesia, or what you do for work. Answer any of this using even a word of Indonesian and you will get either a look of surprise or a smile. Indonesian got me quite far in Java. I'm hoping it does something to mend the (sometimes) mis-conception that all Americans are incapable of being courteous about anything non-American, especially in the largest Muslim country in the world. 

     The day after the wedding we awoke before the ass crack of dawn to drive the 30 miles or so to Borobodur, an old Buddhist temple complex, to watch the sunrise. The drive was cold in the early am. It was wild zooming through the towns while listening to the morning call to prayer wax and wane from passing mosques. We arrived just before sun-up and the gate to the entrance P knew about was closed. No problem, he said, we'll just hop the fence. And we did. As we giggled and boasted about not having to pay the exorbitant fee foreigners have to pay to get in. The celebration was cut short when we found another gate, this time guarded by security guys. They told us that sun rise was actually twice the price. We laughed and walked away, there was no way I was paying $40US for that. Then the guards changed their minds and decided to let us in for the regular price of $18 (still expensive!!!). We wanted to save some cash for the airport, so we offered to pay in US dollars. When the guards wouldn't take the US money we knew what had happened. We pulled out what we had (about $8US short of the actual listed price of the ticket) and bribed our way into the temple. The sunrise was gorgeous and worth the adventure.

     After wandering around the temple we headed out to get some makanan (food). We ate at this tiny, but very busy, roadside stall. I hade guedeg (stewed jackfruit and rice) with some tofu. It was soooo tasty! We took the long road home through the village backroads and enjoyed some great views. We then decided to return the bike (we didn't want to push our luck with accidents) in town. We were told to take a bus back to P's house, but this bus decided that they would only run one that day and it took forever. After waiting about an hour and having yet another Indo-lish (Indonesian/english) conversation we gave up and started the 10 km trek back to P's. After about 2 mins of walking the bus, of course, showed up. The guy was yelling to us out of the bus door and we figured our new-found roadside auto-mechanic friend had told them to pick us up. We hopped on and headed back to P's. 

     After some much needed R&R we tried to wander out to P's aunt's place, but there was some type of meeting going on at the house so we had to greet a bunch of people. I learned the Muslim greeting 'salim' (the Indo way to say salam). In Indo it is common to great someone by shaking their hand and then touching your heart. The same goes when you say goodbye. There was a lot of hand shaking and a few words exchanged. At P's aunt's house, the chicken farm, we watched all the chickens and tried a variety of fruits, cookies, sambal, and snacks. Don't expect to go hungry when staying with the Javanese. You will always be greeted with some finger foods and drink (usually water, coffee, or tea). We watched the little kids run around, then watched the sunset over the paddies. For dinner we had what was the spiciest food in the world, we went to a sambal bar. Sambal, for those not in the know, is essentially hand-ground chillies with various spices and veggies added in. It's eaten with rice and some type of meat or veg of your choosing. It was the spiciest meal I've ever had. I was dying..but damn was it good!

     All in all, Java kicked our ass, but it also treated us with some unique experiences in Jogja. I'm really glad we went there, despite what it took to get around. Java really made me appreciate the simple things and it opened my mind to so many new experiences and ideas. I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart, but if you're looking for adventure Java is one of the friendliest places I have ever had the opportunity to experience.

-M

     

     I've decided that using blogger with a tablet is useless, so I'm using my notepad app to write, then transfer the post to the blog...this explains the weird font (that I'm too lazy to change).

     We are now in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Today our friend A comes to chill with us in the jungle for a bit. We spent the morning wandering around the city in search of laksa (this was a fail, as all the good places sold out, we were up too late). It's really charming here and I'm thankful for simple luxuries like sidewalks and paved roads.

     Anyways, back to Jogja. After all the intensity it took to get there, and after our first night of chaos and day outside of the city it turned out to be an awesome place. The first day in the city we did the tourist thing, except we didn't go inside of anything, just walked around the city. We did a large loop of about 5 miles. The next day we visited some galleries, as Jogja is known as an artist's town. The art was pretty interesting and forward. You can tell that Jogja is going through an identity crisis. Indonesia as a whole really, but especially Java. There is a tension between the new and the old. What to keep and what to let go of in an age of constant change in a nation that is struggling to keep up with the emerging global nations. This idea was then further solidified when we talked with our host's dad. He was worried about the corruption in Indonesia and he strongly believed that a nation cannot survive on this alone. 

     For the remainder of our time in Java we stayed with P and his family in a typical Javanese home just outside the city. It was a great experience. MB and I had to sleep in separate rooms because the family was a traditional Muslim family. I didn't mind because I got the princess room, his sister's old room. The family had a large house with a few other buildings on the property (more like a compound really). Family, extended family, and close family friends seemed to all bunk there. The place was always bustling. They also ran a catering business out of the front of the house. This not only provided us with excellent eats, but also a chance to go to a traditional Muslim Javanese wedding. 

     There were other surfers there from Germany on the first night of our stay. They were going through Indonesia for 8 weeks. It was cool to hang out with them as well, as it was their first CS experience. Friday night P took us to a food street that served up the best satay in the city. We ate on a sidewalk, which had bamboo carpets stretched across it. You simply ordered and sat (shoes off of course) then ate. We had satay chicken, intestine, cow skin, and snails. It was all really good. I was scared of getting sick at first, because it was only warm satay (this place is popular so they make a lot of it in advance). However, the fear quickly faded as the food was delicious. Out of all the satay I enjoyed the intestine the best, which came as a surprise to me. They also served up a special drink at this place called Kopi Joss. Kopi means coffee and this type of coffee was served hot with a piece of coal in it. Random as hell I know, but it tasted good. I actually had two. I couldn't imagine this type of thing ever catching on in the states, but don't hate it until you try it!

     We met some really cool people from all over. Everyone from Indonesia has been so incredibly friendly. I have yet to find a country where not one person was rude. Even the hawkers aren't too rude, just a bit pushy in Bali. The rest of the gang was heading to karaoke and that was my queue to head home. 

    The next day we wandered around the market near P's house. We bought some fruit and tried a variety of things including fried rice paddy eel and some menthol drink that is supposed to be good for your health. We then walked around a village and got lost in the paddy fields. It was really pretty. P and I had some good conversation about culture and life. His english was outstanding and if he didn't know a word he would ask how to spell it and when to use it. He was much younger than us but it really didn't matter. We both think he'll do great things with his life, he's mature and curious, always a great combo. 

     After the paddy field we washed up and headed into town to get some transport. Yes, this means another motor bike. MB didn't want anything to do with the machine, but he didn't have much of a choice, as this is the way around SE Asia. We rented a bike for 24 hours and headed back to the house. After some down time we got dressed and went with P's mom and brother to some random wedding. 

     The wedding was quite the experience. First, there was no alcohol and no dancing. There was, of course, karaoke. The whole ordeal lasts about 2 hours and the point of it seems to be for everyone they know to come by, take a picture with the bride and groom, and eat. This wedding had 600+ people and this was considered small!  It actually kind of sucks for the couple, they have to stand on this podium type thing and take pictures with all the guests. My face would hurt from smiling so much. We ate the food and it was so crowded that even P needed a break from the madness. Then P and his brother convinced us to get our picture taken with the bride and groom. Other than being mildly embarrassing it was funny to think we would be in some random wedding album on the other side of the globe.

     P left us alone for 3 mins to go and find his lens cap and we immediately got accosted by the groom's father. He wanted to practice his english with us and insisted we go into his home to eat with the family. By this point we were stuffed, so we had some fruit and juice to be polite. He asked us all sorts of questions and spoke a mix of Indonesian and english to us. We found this a lot, there really aren't a lot of tourists outside of a few places in Java, and certainly a lot less Americans. Most people here don't like America as an institution (this goes back to us scamming them into taking their mining resources in the 70s), but they love Obama and they are curious about life in America. Everyone we have encountered, even random people at events and on the street will stop and ask us where we are from. If you are waiting in a line somewhere someone is bound to ask you where you come from. This is usually followed by a question about what you are studying, if you are studying in Indonesia, or what you do for work. Answer any of this using even a word of Indonesian and you will get either a look of surprise or a smile. Indonesian got me quite far in Java. I'm hoping it does something to mend the (sometimes) mis-conception that all Americans are incapable of being courteous about anything non-American, especially in the largest Muslim country in the world. 

     The day after the wedding we awoke before the ass crack of dawn to drive the 30 miles or so to Borobodur, an old Buddhist temple complex, to watch the sunrise. The drive was cold in the early am. It was wild zooming through the towns while listening to the morning call to prayer wax and wane from passing mosques. We arrived just before sun-up and the gate to the entrance P knew about was closed. No problem, he said, we'll just hop the fence. And we did. As we giggled and boasted about not having to pay the exorbitant fee foreigners have to pay to get in. The celebration was cut short when we found another gate, this time guarded by security guys. They told us that sun rise was actually twice the price. We laughed and walked away, there was no way I was paying $40US for that. Then the guards changed their minds and decided to let us in for the regular price of $18 (still expensive!!!). We wanted to save some cash for the airport, so we offered to pay in US dollars. When the guards wouldn't take the US money we knew what had happened. We pulled out what we had (about $8US short of the actual listed price of the ticket) and bribed our way into the temple. The sunrise was gorgeous and worth the adventure.

     After wandering around the temple we headed out to get some makanan (food). We ate at this tiny, but very busy, roadside stall. I hade guedeg (stewed jackfruit and rice) with some tofu. It was soooo tasty! We took the long road home through the village backroads and enjoyed some great views. We then decided to return the bike (we didn't want to push our luck with accidents) in town. We were told to take a bus back to P's house, but this bus decided that they would only run one that day and it took forever. After waiting about an hour and having yet another Indo-lish (Indonesian/english) conversation we gave up and started the 10 km trek back to P's. After about 2 mins of walking the bus, of course, showed up. The guy was yelling to us out of the bus door and we figured our new-found roadside auto-mechanic friend had told them to pick us up. We hopped on and headed back to P's. 

     After some much needed R&R we tried to wander out to P's aunt's place, but there was some type of meeting going on at the house so we had to greet a bunch of people. I learned the Muslim greeting 'salim' (the Indo way to say salam). In Indo it is common to great someone by shaking their hand and then touching your heart. The same goes when you say goodbye. There was a lot of hand shaking and a few words exchanged. At P's aunt's house, the chicken farm, we watched all the chickens and tried a variety of fruits, cookies, sambal, and snacks. Don't expect to go hungry when staying with the Javanese. You will always be greeted with some finger foods and drink (usually water, coffee, or tea). We watched the little kids run around, then watched the sunset over the paddies. For dinner we had what was the spiciest food in the world, we went to a sambal bar. Sambal, for those not in the know, is essentially hand-ground chillies with various spices and veggies added in. It's eaten with rice and some type of meat or veg of your choosing. It was the spiciest meal I've ever had. I was dying..but damn was it good!

     All in all, Java kicked our ass, but it also treated us with some unique experiences in Jogja. I'm really glad we went there, despite what it took to get around. Java really made me appreciate the simple things and it opened my mind to so many new experiences and ideas. I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart, but if you're looking for adventure Java is one of the friendliest places I have ever had the opportunity to experience.

-M

     

     I've decided that using blogger with a tablet is useless, so I'm using my notepad app to write, then transfer the post to the blog...this explains the weird font (that I'm too lazy to change).

     We are now in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Today our friend A comes to chill with us in the jungle for a bit. We spent the morning wandering around the city in search of laksa (this was a fail, as all the good places sold out, we were up too late). It's really charming here and I'm thankful for simple luxuries like sidewalks and paved roads.

     Anyways, back to Jogja. After all the intensity it took to get there, and after our first night of chaos and day outside of the city it turned out to be an awesome place. The first day in the city we did the tourist thing, except we didn't go inside of anything, just walked around the city. We did a large loop of about 5 miles. The next day we visited some galleries, as Jogja is known as an artist's town. The art was pretty interesting and forward. You can tell that Jogja is going through an identity crisis. Indonesia as a whole really, but especially Java. There is a tension between the new and the old. What to keep and what to let go of in an age of constant change in a nation that is struggling to keep up with the emerging global nations. This idea was then further solidified when we talked with our host's dad. He was worried about the corruption in Indonesia and he strongly believed that a nation cannot survive on this alone. 

     For the remainder of our time in Java we stayed with P and his family in a typical Javanese home just outside the city. It was a great experience. MB and I had to sleep in separate rooms because the family was a traditional Muslim family. I didn't mind because I got the princess room, his sister's old room. The family had a large house with a few other buildings on the property (more like a compound really). Family, extended family, and close family friends seemed to all bunk there. The place was always bustling. They also ran a catering business out of the front of the house. This not only provided us with excellent eats, but also a chance to go to a traditional Muslim Javanese wedding. 

     There were other surfers there from Germany on the first night of our stay. They were going through Indonesia for 8 weeks. It was cool to hang out with them as well, as it was their first CS experience. Friday night P took us to a food street that served up the best satay in the city. We ate on a sidewalk, which had bamboo carpets stretched across it. You simply ordered and sat (shoes off of course) then ate. We had satay chicken, intestine, cow skin, and snails. It was all really good. I was scared of getting sick at first, because it was only warm satay (this place is popular so they make a lot of it in advance). However, the fear quickly faded as the food was delicious. Out of all the satay I enjoyed the intestine the best, which came as a surprise to me. They also served up a special drink at this place called Kopi Joss. Kopi means coffee and this type of coffee was served hot with a piece of coal in it. Random as hell I know, but it tasted good. I actually had two. I couldn't imagine this type of thing ever catching on in the states, but don't hate it until you try it!

     We met some really cool people from all over. Everyone from Indonesia has been so incredibly friendly. I have yet to find a country where not one person was rude. Even the hawkers aren't too rude, just a bit pushy in Bali. The rest of the gang was heading to karaoke and that was my queue to head home. 

    The next day we wandered around the market near P's house. We bought some fruit and tried a variety of things including fried rice paddy eel and some menthol drink that is supposed to be good for your health. We then walked around a village and got lost in the paddy fields. It was really pretty. P and I had some good conversation about culture and life. His english was outstanding and if he didn't know a word he would ask how to spell it and when to use it. He was much younger than us but it really didn't matter. We both think he'll do great things with his life, he's mature and curious, always a great combo. 

     After the paddy field we washed up and headed into town to get some transport. Yes, this means another motor bike. MB didn't want anything to do with the machine, but he didn't have much of a choice, as this is the way around SE Asia. We rented a bike for 24 hours and headed back to the house. After some down time we got dressed and went with P's mom and brother to some random wedding. 

     The wedding was quite the experience. First, there was no alcohol and no dancing. There was, of course, karaoke. The whole ordeal lasts about 2 hours and the point of it seems to be for everyone they know to come by, take a picture with the bride and groom, and eat. This wedding had 600+ people and this was considered small!  It actually kind of sucks for the couple, they have to stand on this podium type thing and take pictures with all the guests. My face would hurt from smiling so much. We ate the food and it was so crowded that even P needed a break from the madness. Then P and his brother convinced us to get our picture taken with the bride and groom. Other than being mildly embarrassing it was funny to think we would be in some random wedding album on the other side of the globe.

     P left us alone for 3 mins to go and find his lens cap and we immediately got accosted by the groom's father. He wanted to practice his english with us and insisted we go into his home to eat with the family. By this point we were stuffed, so we had some fruit and juice to be polite. He asked us all sorts of questions and spoke a mix of Indonesian and english to us. We found this a lot, there really aren't a lot of tourists outside of a few places in Java, and certainly a lot less Americans. Most people here don't like America as an institution (this goes back to us scamming them into taking their mining resources in the 70s), but they love Obama and they are curious about life in America. Everyone we have encountered, even random people at events and on the street will stop and ask us where we are from. If you are waiting in a line somewhere someone is bound to ask you where you come from. This is usually followed by a question about what you are studying, if you are studying in Indonesia, or what you do for work. Answer any of this using even a word of Indonesian and you will get either a look of surprise or a smile. Indonesian got me quite far in Java. I'm hoping it does something to mend the (sometimes) mis-conception that all Americans are incapable of being courteous about anything non-American, especially in the largest Muslim country in the world. 

     The day after the wedding we awoke before the ass crack of dawn to drive the 30 miles or so to Borobodur, an old Buddhist temple complex, to watch the sunrise. The drive was cold in the early am. It was wild zooming through the towns while listening to the morning call to prayer wax and wane from passing mosques. We arrived just before sun-up and the gate to the entrance P knew about was closed. No problem, he said, we'll just hop the fence. And we did. As we giggled and boasted about not having to pay the exorbitant fee foreigners have to pay to get in. The celebration was cut short when we found another gate, this time guarded by security guys. They told us that sun rise was actually twice the price. We laughed and walked away, there was no way I was paying $40US for that. Then the guards changed their minds and decided to let us in for the regular price of $18 (still expensive!!!). We wanted to save some cash for the airport, so we offered to pay in US dollars. When the guards wouldn't take the US money we knew what had happened. We pulled out what we had (about $8US short of the actual listed price of the ticket) and bribed our way into the temple. The sunrise was gorgeous and worth the adventure.

     After wandering around the temple we headed out to get some makanan (food). We ate at this tiny, but very busy, roadside stall. I hade guedeg (stewed jackfruit and rice) with some tofu. It was soooo tasty! We took the long road home through the village backroads and enjoyed some great views. We then decided to return the bike (we didn't want to push our luck with accidents) in town. We were told to take a bus back to P's house, but this bus decided that they would only run one that day and it took forever. After waiting about an hour and having yet another Indo-lish (Indonesian/english) conversation we gave up and started the 10 km trek back to P's. After about 2 mins of walking the bus, of course, showed up. The guy was yelling to us out of the bus door and we figured our new-found roadside auto-mechanic friend had told them to pick us up. We hopped on and headed back to P's. 

     After some much needed R&R we tried to wander out to P's aunt's place, but there was some type of meeting going on at the house so we had to greet a bunch of people. I learned the Muslim greeting 'salim' (the Indo way to say salam). In Indo it is common to great someone by shaking their hand and then touching your heart. The same goes when you say goodbye. There was a lot of hand shaking and a few words exchanged. At P's aunt's house, the chicken farm, we watched all the chickens and tried a variety of fruits, cookies, sambal, and snacks. Don't expect to go hungry when staying with the Javanese. You will always be greeted with some finger foods and drink (usually water, coffee, or tea). We watched the little kids run around, then watched the sunset over the paddies. For dinner we had what was the spiciest food in the world, we went to a sambal bar. Sambal, for those not in the know, is essentially hand-ground chillies with various spices and veggies added in. It's eaten with rice and some type of meat or veg of your choosing. It was the spiciest meal I've ever had. I was dying..but damn was it good!

     All in all, Java kicked our ass, but it also treated us with some unique experiences in Jogja. I'm really glad we went there, despite what it took to get around. Java really made me appreciate the simple things and it opened my mind to so many new experiences and ideas. I wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart, but if you're looking for adventure Java is one of the friendliest places I have ever had the opportunity to experience.

-M

     

Adventures in Singapore seem miles away, but better late than never

Nothing says 'cultural exchange' like a good fart joke. 

written 8/15/2012

Right now I'm sitting in an open kitchen in a location with no address deep in the rice fields of Bali, Indonesia. Although it's a simple 1hr and 45 min plane ride from the location I'm going to write about, it feels as if it is a whole different planet. However, the adventures of the last two and a half days here are left for another post. 

I'm not quite sure when I will actually be able to post this, but I'll do my best to keep all my catch-up posts organized. After our adventures in Hong Kong came to a close we headed south to Singapore. I came to Singapore for the sole reason of seeing friends, in particular R, my egyptian friend who I've seen over 5 times in the past year and in 4 different countries. The plane landed and another friend, S, who I was also looking forward to seeing did us a kind favor by picking us up at the airport and escorting us around for a Saturday night on the town.

Traveling on a budget is impossible in Singapore, which is the main reason why we spent so little time there. I was actually anticipating spending more per day in Hong Kong, but luckily this turned out not to be the case. 

We arrived late (around 10:30 pm) and got out on the town for some grub. S took us to a place that served up some unbeatable butter chicken (a ghee based curry dish) which we mopped up with some naan. The next stop was an Indian club, but not really a dance club. The best way to describe it is a strip club, except the women dance to Indian music (mostly Bhangra I believe) and wear saris. No badonkadonks, cookies, or boobies, but plenty of gawking men. Apparently in India, the men make it rain on the women (ie brush bills off of there palms into the air) but Singapore's prices don't allow for such things. We had a pint there then headed to Clark Quay, (pronounced 'key' by the way) for a tall can on the bridge. We people watched and exchanged stories, it wasn't nearly as wild as my first time to the bridge, but after a long plane ride and MB's struggle to adjust to the time zone, the fact that we were even alive past arrival time is a small feat. After a beer or two we wandered around the club area and ended up going to a cheap place with a minimal cover charge and live music. Don't get me wrong, I love live music, but in most cases in Asia a live music bar can be a terrifying nightmare. However these guys were REALLY good. Granted they were on their last set and played mostly drunk cover songs (think Journey people!) but it was awesome. We danced, had a drink and watched all the complete waste-os try to get some. Overall it was an entertaining night and we stayed up until past 4am which allowed for us to finally get adjusted to the time zone. S, if you're reading this, I left my phone in the cab (again) on the way back from the airport so sorry if you smsed me and I didn't respond. Speaking of my phone, it was on it's last leg (it fell apart multiple times a day and couldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours) so I don't miss it. Plus, R gave me an old one to borrow for my trip so no worries there.

We slept in a bit and then woke up at R's place. R was still in Langkawi on holiday so we opened the door to find one of R's roommates, L, cooking up some Roti. She made us some and gave us some teh tehrik (my fav). We hit it off quite well, she was excited that she could talk with us because two of her other roommates were French, and their guests never spoke English. She's from KL and we talked about the food vs the Singapore food. She mentioned a place nearby that had Penang food (argued to be the best in Malaysia, and therefore, some - if not THE- best in the world). I jumped on this opportunity because MB and I didn't have the time to squeeze in Penang. We all hopped on the MRT and headed over to the place. 

It was DANK...AWESOME...HAPPY...pretty much as authentic as Penang food can get without being the real thing. We got Penang Laksa, squid/cuttlefish (I can't tell the difference) curry, char keow tow (sp?), and various juices. This was the commencement meal to our hari makan (eating day). We decided to walk off the meal and headed to a few markets to pick up beer and fresh fruit. We tried these small nut looking things that actually have fruit that tastes a lot like Lychee (the name escapes me right now...I think it starts with an 'L'), and some mangosteens. It was hard not to eat everything in sight. We also learned that R lives near the 'red light' district of Singapore, which was funny because I thought Singapore was too polite to have one. Apparently it's pretty obvious at night, but it isn't dangerous or anything like that. The only thing that happens is a man might ask you 'how much?' if you are a woman out alone at night. In which case, it would probably be more dangerous for the man as my fist or foot would meet his face or happy spot.  

We headed back to wash up, enjoy some fruit, and wait for R and his girlfriend (another M) to arrive. I was so excited to meet M as I hadn't met her yet and R spoke so well of her. After the reunion we went out again for some makan and a little sight seeing. This time we got some bakuteh (again with the spelling), which is essentially a clay pot stew of broth and spare ribs. Delish and one of my favorites of Singapore. Afterwards we went to get MB some more foot pads, as his achilles had some blisters from his new sandals. Then we decided to head to Arab street, as no visit with R is complete without a shisha session. Not to mention, MB had never been to a shisha establishment so it was a must. The shisha was great despite the wind (ash) and heat, which by this point, was starting to get to me. 

After we left it was about time for buka pasar, or the fast-breaking market that happens during ramadan to start. We headed to the big mosque, which I had never seen before, and strolled through the market. It's always great to wander through these types of markets, and even better to eat at them, but I was already stuffed at this point, so I enjoyed it with my nose. However, R insisted that we stop by Singapore's signature place to buy some Murtabak, which we were planning to eat 'Egyptian style' or on the hood of one's car. This plan quickly backfired because the nastiest thing I have ever witnessed in Singapore occurred in the parking garage, a broken sewer pipe. NASTY. So we opted to take the food back to R's place instead.

Once again, we washed up and I checked my email to get some info on meeting up with my Spanish friend, N by the Marina Bay footbridge. We had agreed to meet as she had a layover there, but both of us had no way of communicating to one another. We walked by the waterfront at night, which MB hadn't seen anyways (I also haven't, despite the fact I had already been to Singapore last year). It was quite charming and really pretty. We waited around for N for about an hour then gave up to makan (eat) one last time. We headed to a hawker center near the Esplanade and I had some mee goreng (fried noodles, nothing too special as I was full enough by this point) with veggies and MB had some chicken wings (the whole wing, stretched out, with tasty dipping sauce and a delicious glaze). We bumped into other CSers there (CouchSurfers) V and his surfer. I hadn't seen V in over a year so it was cool to bump into him. The other surfer had just came from KL and stayed with someone I know there. We were laughing about the 'small world' effect. Apparently it's quite common in Singapore. They say there are 6 degrees of separation but I have been told by more than one person that in Singapore there are only three. 

R dropped us off at his place (he was staying with M for the night so we would have a bed) and wished us well. I was sad to leave, as it felt too short, but Singapore isn't a cheap place to be, and without jobs it was about as much as our wallets could handle. However, we'll be back for 12 hours at the end of our trip and we will at least get to see R and M one last time.

We passed out almost immediately after being on the go for so long. The next morning we awoke, packed our clean laundry (thanks again for letting us use your washer L!) and said bye to L. We snacked on some kaya toast at the airport before we boarded the plane to Bali.

It was a fun start to the trip to be in some of the big, worldly cities. However, I'm thankful to not have to be at an airport for two weeks and to be taking things at a slower pace. The plan is to spend one week in Bali and one week in Java giving us two weeks in Indo. Indo is my favorite country that I've visited in my life thus far and I'm excited to be back. However it's a bit late and the start of the chapter is better left for another post. It's time for me to put some aloe on my sunburns and retire to the Bale underneath the mosquito net.

selamat malam (goodnight)

-M

Nothing says 'cultural exchange' like a good fart joke. 

written 8/15/2012

Right now I'm sitting in an open kitchen in a location with no address deep in the rice fields of Bali, Indonesia. Although it's a simple 1hr and 45 min plane ride from the location I'm going to write about, it feels as if it is a whole different planet. However, the adventures of the last two and a half days here are left for another post. 

I'm not quite sure when I will actually be able to post this, but I'll do my best to keep all my catch-up posts organized. After our adventures in Hong Kong came to a close we headed south to Singapore. I came to Singapore for the sole reason of seeing friends, in particular R, my egyptian friend who I've seen over 5 times in the past year and in 4 different countries. The plane landed and another friend, S, who I was also looking forward to seeing did us a kind favor by picking us up at the airport and escorting us around for a Saturday night on the town.

Traveling on a budget is impossible in Singapore, which is the main reason why we spent so little time there. I was actually anticipating spending more per day in Hong Kong, but luckily this turned out not to be the case. 

We arrived late (around 10:30 pm) and got out on the town for some grub. S took us to a place that served up some unbeatable butter chicken (a ghee based curry dish) which we mopped up with some naan. The next stop was an Indian club, but not really a dance club. The best way to describe it is a strip club, except the women dance to Indian music (mostly Bhangra I believe) and wear saris. No badonkadonks, cookies, or boobies, but plenty of gawking men. Apparently in India, the men make it rain on the women (ie brush bills off of there palms into the air) but Singapore's prices don't allow for such things. We had a pint there then headed to Clark Quay, (pronounced 'key' by the way) for a tall can on the bridge. We people watched and exchanged stories, it wasn't nearly as wild as my first time to the bridge, but after a long plane ride and MB's struggle to adjust to the time zone, the fact that we were even alive past arrival time is a small feat. After a beer or two we wandered around the club area and ended up going to a cheap place with a minimal cover charge and live music. Don't get me wrong, I love live music, but in most cases in Asia a live music bar can be a terrifying nightmare. However these guys were REALLY good. Granted they were on their last set and played mostly drunk cover songs (think Journey people!) but it was awesome. We danced, had a drink and watched all the complete waste-os try to get some. Overall it was an entertaining night and we stayed up until past 4am which allowed for us to finally get adjusted to the time zone. S, if you're reading this, I left my phone in the cab (again) on the way back from the airport so sorry if you smsed me and I didn't respond. Speaking of my phone, it was on it's last leg (it fell apart multiple times a day and couldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours) so I don't miss it. Plus, R gave me an old one to borrow for my trip so no worries there.

We slept in a bit and then woke up at R's place. R was still in Langkawi on holiday so we opened the door to find one of R's roommates, L, cooking up some Roti. She made us some and gave us some teh tehrik (my fav). We hit it off quite well, she was excited that she could talk with us because two of her other roommates were French, and their guests never spoke English. She's from KL and we talked about the food vs the Singapore food. She mentioned a place nearby that had Penang food (argued to be the best in Malaysia, and therefore, some - if not THE- best in the world). I jumped on this opportunity because MB and I didn't have the time to squeeze in Penang. We all hopped on the MRT and headed over to the place. 

It was DANK...AWESOME...HAPPY...pretty much as authentic as Penang food can get without being the real thing. We got Penang Laksa, squid/cuttlefish (I can't tell the difference) curry, char keow tow (sp?), and various juices. This was the commencement meal to our hari makan (eating day). We decided to walk off the meal and headed to a few markets to pick up beer and fresh fruit. We tried these small nut looking things that actually have fruit that tastes a lot like Lychee (the name escapes me right now...I think it starts with an 'L'), and some mangosteens. It was hard not to eat everything in sight. We also learned that R lives near the 'red light' district of Singapore, which was funny because I thought Singapore was too polite to have one. Apparently it's pretty obvious at night, but it isn't dangerous or anything like that. The only thing that happens is a man might ask you 'how much?' if you are a woman out alone at night. In which case, it would probably be more dangerous for the man as my fist or foot would meet his face or happy spot.  

We headed back to wash up, enjoy some fruit, and wait for R and his girlfriend (another M) to arrive. I was so excited to meet M as I hadn't met her yet and R spoke so well of her. After the reunion we went out again for some makan and a little sight seeing. This time we got some bakuteh (again with the spelling), which is essentially a clay pot stew of broth and spare ribs. Delish and one of my favorites of Singapore. Afterwards we went to get MB some more foot pads, as his achilles had some blisters from his new sandals. Then we decided to head to Arab street, as no visit with R is complete without a shisha session. Not to mention, MB had never been to a shisha establishment so it was a must. The shisha was great despite the wind (ash) and heat, which by this point, was starting to get to me. 

After we left it was about time for buka pasar, or the fast-breaking market that happens during ramadan to start. We headed to the big mosque, which I had never seen before, and strolled through the market. It's always great to wander through these types of markets, and even better to eat at them, but I was already stuffed at this point, so I enjoyed it with my nose. However, R insisted that we stop by Singapore's signature place to buy some Murtabak, which we were planning to eat 'Egyptian style' or on the hood of one's car. This plan quickly backfired because the nastiest thing I have ever witnessed in Singapore occurred in the parking garage, a broken sewer pipe. NASTY. So we opted to take the food back to R's place instead.

Once again, we washed up and I checked my email to get some info on meeting up with my Spanish friend, N by the Marina Bay footbridge. We had agreed to meet as she had a layover there, but both of us had no way of communicating to one another. We walked by the waterfront at night, which MB hadn't seen anyways (I also haven't, despite the fact I had already been to Singapore last year). It was quite charming and really pretty. We waited around for N for about an hour then gave up to makan (eat) one last time. We headed to a hawker center near the Esplanade and I had some mee goreng (fried noodles, nothing too special as I was full enough by this point) with veggies and MB had some chicken wings (the whole wing, stretched out, with tasty dipping sauce and a delicious glaze). We bumped into other CSers there (CouchSurfers) V and his surfer. I hadn't seen V in over a year so it was cool to bump into him. The other surfer had just came from KL and stayed with someone I know there. We were laughing about the 'small world' effect. Apparently it's quite common in Singapore. They say there are 6 degrees of separation but I have been told by more than one person that in Singapore there are only three. 

R dropped us off at his place (he was staying with M for the night so we would have a bed) and wished us well. I was sad to leave, as it felt too short, but Singapore isn't a cheap place to be, and without jobs it was about as much as our wallets could handle. However, we'll be back for 12 hours at the end of our trip and we will at least get to see R and M one last time.

We passed out almost immediately after being on the go for so long. The next morning we awoke, packed our clean laundry (thanks again for letting us use your washer L!) and said bye to L. We snacked on some kaya toast at the airport before we boarded the plane to Bali.

It was a fun start to the trip to be in some of the big, worldly cities. However, I'm thankful to not have to be at an airport for two weeks and to be taking things at a slower pace. The plan is to spend one week in Bali and one week in Java giving us two weeks in Indo. Indo is my favorite country that I've visited in my life thus far and I'm excited to be back. However it's a bit late and the start of the chapter is better left for another post. It's time for me to put some aloe on my sunburns and retire to the Bale underneath the mosquito net.

selamat malam (goodnight)

-M

Nothing says 'cultural exchange' like a good fart joke. 

written 8/15/2012

Right now I'm sitting in an open kitchen in a location with no address deep in the rice fields of Bali, Indonesia. Although it's a simple 1hr and 45 min plane ride from the location I'm going to write about, it feels as if it is a whole different planet. However, the adventures of the last two and a half days here are left for another post. 

I'm not quite sure when I will actually be able to post this, but I'll do my best to keep all my catch-up posts organized. After our adventures in Hong Kong came to a close we headed south to Singapore. I came to Singapore for the sole reason of seeing friends, in particular R, my egyptian friend who I've seen over 5 times in the past year and in 4 different countries. The plane landed and another friend, S, who I was also looking forward to seeing did us a kind favor by picking us up at the airport and escorting us around for a Saturday night on the town.

Traveling on a budget is impossible in Singapore, which is the main reason why we spent so little time there. I was actually anticipating spending more per day in Hong Kong, but luckily this turned out not to be the case. 

We arrived late (around 10:30 pm) and got out on the town for some grub. S took us to a place that served up some unbeatable butter chicken (a ghee based curry dish) which we mopped up with some naan. The next stop was an Indian club, but not really a dance club. The best way to describe it is a strip club, except the women dance to Indian music (mostly Bhangra I believe) and wear saris. No badonkadonks, cookies, or boobies, but plenty of gawking men. Apparently in India, the men make it rain on the women (ie brush bills off of there palms into the air) but Singapore's prices don't allow for such things. We had a pint there then headed to Clark Quay, (pronounced 'key' by the way) for a tall can on the bridge. We people watched and exchanged stories, it wasn't nearly as wild as my first time to the bridge, but after a long plane ride and MB's struggle to adjust to the time zone, the fact that we were even alive past arrival time is a small feat. After a beer or two we wandered around the club area and ended up going to a cheap place with a minimal cover charge and live music. Don't get me wrong, I love live music, but in most cases in Asia a live music bar can be a terrifying nightmare. However these guys were REALLY good. Granted they were on their last set and played mostly drunk cover songs (think Journey people!) but it was awesome. We danced, had a drink and watched all the complete waste-os try to get some. Overall it was an entertaining night and we stayed up until past 4am which allowed for us to finally get adjusted to the time zone. S, if you're reading this, I left my phone in the cab (again) on the way back from the airport so sorry if you smsed me and I didn't respond. Speaking of my phone, it was on it's last leg (it fell apart multiple times a day and couldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours) so I don't miss it. Plus, R gave me an old one to borrow for my trip so no worries there.

We slept in a bit and then woke up at R's place. R was still in Langkawi on holiday so we opened the door to find one of R's roommates, L, cooking up some Roti. She made us some and gave us some teh tehrik (my fav). We hit it off quite well, she was excited that she could talk with us because two of her other roommates were French, and their guests never spoke English. She's from KL and we talked about the food vs the Singapore food. She mentioned a place nearby that had Penang food (argued to be the best in Malaysia, and therefore, some - if not THE- best in the world). I jumped on this opportunity because MB and I didn't have the time to squeeze in Penang. We all hopped on the MRT and headed over to the place. 

It was DANK...AWESOME...HAPPY...pretty much as authentic as Penang food can get without being the real thing. We got Penang Laksa, squid/cuttlefish (I can't tell the difference) curry, char keow tow (sp?), and various juices. This was the commencement meal to our hari makan (eating day). We decided to walk off the meal and headed to a few markets to pick up beer and fresh fruit. We tried these small nut looking things that actually have fruit that tastes a lot like Lychee (the name escapes me right now...I think it starts with an 'L'), and some mangosteens. It was hard not to eat everything in sight. We also learned that R lives near the 'red light' district of Singapore, which was funny because I thought Singapore was too polite to have one. Apparently it's pretty obvious at night, but it isn't dangerous or anything like that. The only thing that happens is a man might ask you 'how much?' if you are a woman out alone at night. In which case, it would probably be more dangerous for the man as my fist or foot would meet his face or happy spot.  

We headed back to wash up, enjoy some fruit, and wait for R and his girlfriend (another M) to arrive. I was so excited to meet M as I hadn't met her yet and R spoke so well of her. After the reunion we went out again for some makan and a little sight seeing. This time we got some bakuteh (again with the spelling), which is essentially a clay pot stew of broth and spare ribs. Delish and one of my favorites of Singapore. Afterwards we went to get MB some more foot pads, as his achilles had some blisters from his new sandals. Then we decided to head to Arab street, as no visit with R is complete without a shisha session. Not to mention, MB had never been to a shisha establishment so it was a must. The shisha was great despite the wind (ash) and heat, which by this point, was starting to get to me. 

After we left it was about time for buka pasar, or the fast-breaking market that happens during ramadan to start. We headed to the big mosque, which I had never seen before, and strolled through the market. It's always great to wander through these types of markets, and even better to eat at them, but I was already stuffed at this point, so I enjoyed it with my nose. However, R insisted that we stop by Singapore's signature place to buy some Murtabak, which we were planning to eat 'Egyptian style' or on the hood of one's car. This plan quickly backfired because the nastiest thing I have ever witnessed in Singapore occurred in the parking garage, a broken sewer pipe. NASTY. So we opted to take the food back to R's place instead.

Once again, we washed up and I checked my email to get some info on meeting up with my Spanish friend, N by the Marina Bay footbridge. We had agreed to meet as she had a layover there, but both of us had no way of communicating to one another. We walked by the waterfront at night, which MB hadn't seen anyways (I also haven't, despite the fact I had already been to Singapore last year). It was quite charming and really pretty. We waited around for N for about an hour then gave up to makan (eat) one last time. We headed to a hawker center near the Esplanade and I had some mee goreng (fried noodles, nothing too special as I was full enough by this point) with veggies and MB had some chicken wings (the whole wing, stretched out, with tasty dipping sauce and a delicious glaze). We bumped into other CSers there (CouchSurfers) V and his surfer. I hadn't seen V in over a year so it was cool to bump into him. The other surfer had just came from KL and stayed with someone I know there. We were laughing about the 'small world' effect. Apparently it's quite common in Singapore. They say there are 6 degrees of separation but I have been told by more than one person that in Singapore there are only three. 

R dropped us off at his place (he was staying with M for the night so we would have a bed) and wished us well. I was sad to leave, as it felt too short, but Singapore isn't a cheap place to be, and without jobs it was about as much as our wallets could handle. However, we'll be back for 12 hours at the end of our trip and we will at least get to see R and M one last time.

We passed out almost immediately after being on the go for so long. The next morning we awoke, packed our clean laundry (thanks again for letting us use your washer L!) and said bye to L. We snacked on some kaya toast at the airport before we boarded the plane to Bali.

It was a fun start to the trip to be in some of the big, worldly cities. However, I'm thankful to not have to be at an airport for two weeks and to be taking things at a slower pace. The plan is to spend one week in Bali and one week in Java giving us two weeks in Indo. Indo is my favorite country that I've visited in my life thus far and I'm excited to be back. However it's a bit late and the start of the chapter is better left for another post. It's time for me to put some aloe on my sunburns and retire to the Bale underneath the mosquito net.

selamat malam (goodnight)

-M

Nothing says 'cultural exchange' like a good fart joke. 

written 8/15/2012

Right now I'm sitting in an open kitchen in a location with no address deep in the rice fields of Bali, Indonesia. Although it's a simple 1hr and 45 min plane ride from the location I'm going to write about, it feels as if it is a whole different planet. However, the adventures of the last two and a half days here are left for another post. 

I'm not quite sure when I will actually be able to post this, but I'll do my best to keep all my catch-up posts organized. After our adventures in Hong Kong came to a close we headed south to Singapore. I came to Singapore for the sole reason of seeing friends, in particular R, my egyptian friend who I've seen over 5 times in the past year and in 4 different countries. The plane landed and another friend, S, who I was also looking forward to seeing did us a kind favor by picking us up at the airport and escorting us around for a Saturday night on the town.

Traveling on a budget is impossible in Singapore, which is the main reason why we spent so little time there. I was actually anticipating spending more per day in Hong Kong, but luckily this turned out not to be the case. 

We arrived late (around 10:30 pm) and got out on the town for some grub. S took us to a place that served up some unbeatable butter chicken (a ghee based curry dish) which we mopped up with some naan. The next stop was an Indian club, but not really a dance club. The best way to describe it is a strip club, except the women dance to Indian music (mostly Bhangra I believe) and wear saris. No badonkadonks, cookies, or boobies, but plenty of gawking men. Apparently in India, the men make it rain on the women (ie brush bills off of there palms into the air) but Singapore's prices don't allow for such things. We had a pint there then headed to Clark Quay, (pronounced 'key' by the way) for a tall can on the bridge. We people watched and exchanged stories, it wasn't nearly as wild as my first time to the bridge, but after a long plane ride and MB's struggle to adjust to the time zone, the fact that we were even alive past arrival time is a small feat. After a beer or two we wandered around the club area and ended up going to a cheap place with a minimal cover charge and live music. Don't get me wrong, I love live music, but in most cases in Asia a live music bar can be a terrifying nightmare. However these guys were REALLY good. Granted they were on their last set and played mostly drunk cover songs (think Journey people!) but it was awesome. We danced, had a drink and watched all the complete waste-os try to get some. Overall it was an entertaining night and we stayed up until past 4am which allowed for us to finally get adjusted to the time zone. S, if you're reading this, I left my phone in the cab (again) on the way back from the airport so sorry if you smsed me and I didn't respond. Speaking of my phone, it was on it's last leg (it fell apart multiple times a day and couldn't hold a charge for more than 2 hours) so I don't miss it. Plus, R gave me an old one to borrow for my trip so no worries there.

We slept in a bit and then woke up at R's place. R was still in Langkawi on holiday so we opened the door to find one of R's roommates, L, cooking up some Roti. She made us some and gave us some teh tehrik (my fav). We hit it off quite well, she was excited that she could talk with us because two of her other roommates were French, and their guests never spoke English. She's from KL and we talked about the food vs the Singapore food. She mentioned a place nearby that had Penang food (argued to be the best in Malaysia, and therefore, some - if not THE- best in the world). I jumped on this opportunity because MB and I didn't have the time to squeeze in Penang. We all hopped on the MRT and headed over to the place. 

It was DANK...AWESOME...HAPPY...pretty much as authentic as Penang food can get without being the real thing. We got Penang Laksa, squid/cuttlefish (I can't tell the difference) curry, char keow tow (sp?), and various juices. This was the commencement meal to our hari makan (eating day). We decided to walk off the meal and headed to a few markets to pick up beer and fresh fruit. We tried these small nut looking things that actually have fruit that tastes a lot like Lychee (the name escapes me right now...I think it starts with an 'L'), and some mangosteens. It was hard not to eat everything in sight. We also learned that R lives near the 'red light' district of Singapore, which was funny because I thought Singapore was too polite to have one. Apparently it's pretty obvious at night, but it isn't dangerous or anything like that. The only thing that happens is a man might ask you 'how much?' if you are a woman out alone at night. In which case, it would probably be more dangerous for the man as my fist or foot would meet his face or happy spot.  

We headed back to wash up, enjoy some fruit, and wait for R and his girlfriend (another M) to arrive. I was so excited to meet M as I hadn't met her yet and R spoke so well of her. After the reunion we went out again for some makan and a little sight seeing. This time we got some bakuteh (again with the spelling), which is essentially a clay pot stew of broth and spare ribs. Delish and one of my favorites of Singapore. Afterwards we went to get MB some more foot pads, as his achilles had some blisters from his new sandals. Then we decided to head to Arab street, as no visit with R is complete without a shisha session. Not to mention, MB had never been to a shisha establishment so it was a must. The shisha was great despite the wind (ash) and heat, which by this point, was starting to get to me. 

After we left it was about time for buka pasar, or the fast-breaking market that happens during ramadan to start. We headed to the big mosque, which I had never seen before, and strolled through the market. It's always great to wander through these types of markets, and even better to eat at them, but I was already stuffed at this point, so I enjoyed it with my nose. However, R insisted that we stop by Singapore's signature place to buy some Murtabak, which we were planning to eat 'Egyptian style' or on the hood of one's car. This plan quickly backfired because the nastiest thing I have ever witnessed in Singapore occurred in the parking garage, a broken sewer pipe. NASTY. So we opted to take the food back to R's place instead.

Once again, we washed up and I checked my email to get some info on meeting up with my Spanish friend, N by the Marina Bay footbridge. We had agreed to meet as she had a layover there, but both of us had no way of communicating to one another. We walked by the waterfront at night, which MB hadn't seen anyways (I also haven't, despite the fact I had already been to Singapore last year). It was quite charming and really pretty. We waited around for N for about an hour then gave up to makan (eat) one last time. We headed to a hawker center near the Esplanade and I had some mee goreng (fried noodles, nothing too special as I was full enough by this point) with veggies and MB had some chicken wings (the whole wing, stretched out, with tasty dipping sauce and a delicious glaze). We bumped into other CSers there (CouchSurfers) V and his surfer. I hadn't seen V in over a year so it was cool to bump into him. The other surfer had just came from KL and stayed with someone I know there. We were laughing about the 'small world' effect. Apparently it's quite common in Singapore. They say there are 6 degrees of separation but I have been told by more than one person that in Singapore there are only three. 

R dropped us off at his place (he was staying with M for the night so we would have a bed) and wished us well. I was sad to leave, as it felt too short, but Singapore isn't a cheap place to be, and without jobs it was about as much as our wallets could handle. However, we'll be back for 12 hours at the end of our trip and we will at least get to see R and M one last time.

We passed out almost immediately after being on the go for so long. The next morning we awoke, packed our clean laundry (thanks again for letting us use your washer L!) and said bye to L. We snacked on some kaya toast at the airport before we boarded the plane to Bali.

It was a fun start to the trip to be in some of the big, worldly cities. However, I'm thankful to not have to be at an airport for two weeks and to be taking things at a slower pace. The plan is to spend one week in Bali and one week in Java giving us two weeks in Indo. Indo is my favorite country that I've visited in my life thus far and I'm excited to be back. However it's a bit late and the start of the chapter is better left for another post. It's time for me to put some aloe on my sunburns and retire to the Bale underneath the mosquito net.

selamat malam (goodnight)

-M

The Journey to Fuk Man Road

     So Blogger is being ultra lame right now, making this post difficult to edit, so my appologies for exceptionally poor English...

     We have learned a few things since our arrival. First, R, our host here is amazing. Although he's an expat (from Amerrrrica) he's been here for two years and has lots of insight into the goings on in HK. He also knows all the great places to eat and we have been eating well!

More after the break

     So Blogger is being ultra lame right now, making this post difficult to edit, so my appologies for exceptionally poor English...

     We have learned a few things since our arrival. First, R, our host here is amazing. Although he's an expat (from Amerrrrica) he's been here for two years and has lots of insight into the goings on in HK. He also knows all the great places to eat and we have been eating well!

More after the break

     So Blogger is being ultra lame right now, making this post difficult to edit, so my appologies for exceptionally poor English...

     We have learned a few things since our arrival. First, R, our host here is amazing. Although he's an expat (from Amerrrrica) he's been here for two years and has lots of insight into the goings on in HK. He also knows all the great places to eat and we have been eating well!

More after the break

     So Blogger is being ultra lame right now, making this post difficult to edit, so my appologies for exceptionally poor English...

     We have learned a few things since our arrival. First, R, our host here is amazing. Although he's an expat (from Amerrrrica) he's been here for two years and has lots of insight into the goings on in HK. He also knows all the great places to eat and we have been eating well!

More after the break

A tale of two unarmed robberies...

     How can I even begin to describe this week? If I can't do that, then last night certainly has no single word to describe it either. The closest thing I can think of is A-bomb of all cluster fucks and that's what? 5 words.

     As a warm up for the story to come, you should understand the week I've had. Consider it the opening act. My parents were in KL until Wednesday. I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked because of work, but they took my housemates out to banana leaf (I should so open up a shop back home...). Wow, that seems like forever ago...and it was Sunday. Monday we grabbed drinks at the hotel clubhouse, which had a killer view of KLCC. Unfortunately, I had to finish up work back at the hotel; and by finish I mean start. It was a late night.

     Tuesday I had the pleasure of being in the office from 9am until 7am the next day. I have never pulled an all-nighter for school, so pulling one for work seemed just as pointless. Many of you probably gasp at this, but I know when to stop for the night. Plus, it gets to a point where my brain tunes out and nothing that great gets accomplished anyway. Most of the ideas that come into your head at 3am are usually things you end up having to fix later (unless you're one of those people that prefers to work at night). Anyways, I digress, the only thing I really learned from that exercise was that I could take a day and a half leave.

    After falling asleep in the bathtub at the hotel, I said bye to the fams, checked out, and slept for a bit. Wednesday night I joined the regular CS crew for Indian food and free drinks (as it is ladies night). Thursday I went into work late, saw Harry Potter (it came out here before it did in the US, which I found  bit strange, maybe because of the date change? Basically what I'm getting at with all of this is that I don't sleep all that much. I've got a month left here, I don't see the need. It's a long plane ride home.

     Time passed at the office at an exceptionally slow rate yesterday. It rained when we (C and I usually head in together) and it poured when we left. Lunch was the worst meal I've had here by far (we chose a new place...tak best lah). At about 6 the entire office decided that watching the storm was more exciting than whatever else they were doing. It was the first storm here that was similar to the ones you get back in CO. I'm sure anyone back home knows what I'm talking about, as it has rained its heart out over there. It was the kind where it gets quiet before hand, the sky turns that awful color, and you aren't too sure if it's night or day.

     C and I were supposed to go to a pool party that night, so the outlook was not so good. A was supposed to pick us up and I was meeting H, N, and...ahh screw it let's just say the Alphabet and head to a party on my side of town. I live in a mostly Malay (usually implies Muslim) area so this is a rare event. The party needed music and obviously no one was really swimming so I headed to Changkat BB (where the bars are) with the Alphabet Gang. At this point, people were starting to party and things picked up a bit.

     C and I have this thing where we always seem to be the ones stirring the pot so-to-speak. Like most parties, BYOB is a courtesy thing, and C and I had bottle of vodka as our weapon of choice. We found it hilarious that when we were out on the town and took it out people in the group were surprised. Where I am from this is called smart, I suppose it's not as common here but I could be wrong. Everyone was having a blast and it was a great night of dancing, drinking, and being with a crowd of kick ass people.

     Unfortunately dancing with a purse filled with a large camera does not really work, so I put mine down. Huge mistake, obviously, as I am now without an iPhone as well as a local phone. Luckily I insured my iPhone before I left, so all I have to do is figure out what hoops I have to jump through in order to replace it (or if worst comes to worst I'll sell the iPad my mom left me). I obviously didn't see when it happened, but it was quick, I left my purse only for a few minutes until someone in the group moved it next to theirs. No, I don't need a lecture on how dumb it was for me to leave it there (it was stupid, people do stupid stuff, no one is perfect) and about the affects of alcohol. It's the first time I've had anything stolen from me while abroad, it was bound to happen someday. As they say, Karma's a bitch. What's done is done. No biggie.

     The person who stole it needs a lecture on what to steal. I had two cameras (one is a SLR), credit cards, and cash that were all left alone. Basically the person stole a shitty burn phone and an iPhone that's locked and requires passwords to do anything with it. He or she chose this over a $2,000 camera...I would put that under EPIC FAIL.

     However, I cannot say that C had the same luck. Just before I realized my phone had gone, she left to go back. To make a long story short, she fell victim to the classic motorbike thing they do here. Essentially they come from behind, slam you on the ground or drag you until your bag strap breaks and drive away. She lost everything except her phone and keys.

     I got home about 20 minutes after her to find her with dried blood all over her back. Of course, my immediate thought was someone had tried to rape her or something. She was too angry to even get words out at this point so I went to bed. She had gone to the cops by the time I woke up, but I didn't know it at the time so I had become pretty freaked out. I was also pissed at myself for losing my phones. MB always tells me that if he got a dollar for every time I asked where my phone was he'd be a millionaire. Well now the joke is on him...kinda.

     I headed over to the mall by my place to try to sort this phone thing out. They, of course, said they couldn't do anything and wrote down a place for me to go so I hopped in a cab. Get to the place, they say they need my passport (I don't carry it around here so - ironically enough - it doesn't get stollen) and there isn't anything they can do. At this point  I'm getting that OMG I don't want to deal with this country right now, WTF WTF WTF thing going on in my head that all expats experience at least once. This is time number three for me here, not bad. You just have to suck it up and move on.

     So in my frustrated and slightly hungover state I head home. C's back and I gave her a once over and she is pretty banged up. Got huge scrapes all over one side of her body. One of them looks pretty bad and wouldn't stop bleeding. So what do we do? Burst out laughing. I mean what else can you do? Yes, it probably doesn't sound funny, it's a huge pain in the ass to have to deal with but we are both ok and it could always be worse. For the time being, I'm C's sugar momma, but I ain't got much sugar. It's been a while since I've had a night that was as much fun as it was awful.

     Bad things always come in threes, so to top this one off our shower head broke off and our shower has become more like a fountain...

     Sometimes you come to a place and it looks lovely, acts pretty, and shows little sign of a dark under-belly. Other times, you get back handed in the face. The latter makes for a better story.

-M

     How can I even begin to describe this week? If I can't do that, then last night certainly has no single word to describe it either. The closest thing I can think of is A-bomb of all cluster fucks and that's what? 5 words.

     As a warm up for the story to come, you should understand the week I've had. Consider it the opening act. My parents were in KL until Wednesday. I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked because of work, but they took my housemates out to banana leaf (I should so open up a shop back home...). Wow, that seems like forever ago...and it was Sunday. Monday we grabbed drinks at the hotel clubhouse, which had a killer view of KLCC. Unfortunately, I had to finish up work back at the hotel; and by finish I mean start. It was a late night.

     Tuesday I had the pleasure of being in the office from 9am until 7am the next day. I have never pulled an all-nighter for school, so pulling one for work seemed just as pointless. Many of you probably gasp at this, but I know when to stop for the night. Plus, it gets to a point where my brain tunes out and nothing that great gets accomplished anyway. Most of the ideas that come into your head at 3am are usually things you end up having to fix later (unless you're one of those people that prefers to work at night). Anyways, I digress, the only thing I really learned from that exercise was that I could take a day and a half leave.

    After falling asleep in the bathtub at the hotel, I said bye to the fams, checked out, and slept for a bit. Wednesday night I joined the regular CS crew for Indian food and free drinks (as it is ladies night). Thursday I went into work late, saw Harry Potter (it came out here before it did in the US, which I found  bit strange, maybe because of the date change? Basically what I'm getting at with all of this is that I don't sleep all that much. I've got a month left here, I don't see the need. It's a long plane ride home.

     Time passed at the office at an exceptionally slow rate yesterday. It rained when we (C and I usually head in together) and it poured when we left. Lunch was the worst meal I've had here by far (we chose a new place...tak best lah). At about 6 the entire office decided that watching the storm was more exciting than whatever else they were doing. It was the first storm here that was similar to the ones you get back in CO. I'm sure anyone back home knows what I'm talking about, as it has rained its heart out over there. It was the kind where it gets quiet before hand, the sky turns that awful color, and you aren't too sure if it's night or day.

     C and I were supposed to go to a pool party that night, so the outlook was not so good. A was supposed to pick us up and I was meeting H, N, and...ahh screw it let's just say the Alphabet and head to a party on my side of town. I live in a mostly Malay (usually implies Muslim) area so this is a rare event. The party needed music and obviously no one was really swimming so I headed to Changkat BB (where the bars are) with the Alphabet Gang. At this point, people were starting to party and things picked up a bit.

     C and I have this thing where we always seem to be the ones stirring the pot so-to-speak. Like most parties, BYOB is a courtesy thing, and C and I had bottle of vodka as our weapon of choice. We found it hilarious that when we were out on the town and took it out people in the group were surprised. Where I am from this is called smart, I suppose it's not as common here but I could be wrong. Everyone was having a blast and it was a great night of dancing, drinking, and being with a crowd of kick ass people.

     Unfortunately dancing with a purse filled with a large camera does not really work, so I put mine down. Huge mistake, obviously, as I am now without an iPhone as well as a local phone. Luckily I insured my iPhone before I left, so all I have to do is figure out what hoops I have to jump through in order to replace it (or if worst comes to worst I'll sell the iPad my mom left me). I obviously didn't see when it happened, but it was quick, I left my purse only for a few minutes until someone in the group moved it next to theirs. No, I don't need a lecture on how dumb it was for me to leave it there (it was stupid, people do stupid stuff, no one is perfect) and about the affects of alcohol. It's the first time I've had anything stolen from me while abroad, it was bound to happen someday. As they say, Karma's a bitch. What's done is done. No biggie.

     The person who stole it needs a lecture on what to steal. I had two cameras (one is a SLR), credit cards, and cash that were all left alone. Basically the person stole a shitty burn phone and an iPhone that's locked and requires passwords to do anything with it. He or she chose this over a $2,000 camera...I would put that under EPIC FAIL.

     However, I cannot say that C had the same luck. Just before I realized my phone had gone, she left to go back. To make a long story short, she fell victim to the classic motorbike thing they do here. Essentially they come from behind, slam you on the ground or drag you until your bag strap breaks and drive away. She lost everything except her phone and keys.

     I got home about 20 minutes after her to find her with dried blood all over her back. Of course, my immediate thought was someone had tried to rape her or something. She was too angry to even get words out at this point so I went to bed. She had gone to the cops by the time I woke up, but I didn't know it at the time so I had become pretty freaked out. I was also pissed at myself for losing my phones. MB always tells me that if he got a dollar for every time I asked where my phone was he'd be a millionaire. Well now the joke is on him...kinda.

     I headed over to the mall by my place to try to sort this phone thing out. They, of course, said they couldn't do anything and wrote down a place for me to go so I hopped in a cab. Get to the place, they say they need my passport (I don't carry it around here so - ironically enough - it doesn't get stollen) and there isn't anything they can do. At this point  I'm getting that OMG I don't want to deal with this country right now, WTF WTF WTF thing going on in my head that all expats experience at least once. This is time number three for me here, not bad. You just have to suck it up and move on.

     So in my frustrated and slightly hungover state I head home. C's back and I gave her a once over and she is pretty banged up. Got huge scrapes all over one side of her body. One of them looks pretty bad and wouldn't stop bleeding. So what do we do? Burst out laughing. I mean what else can you do? Yes, it probably doesn't sound funny, it's a huge pain in the ass to have to deal with but we are both ok and it could always be worse. For the time being, I'm C's sugar momma, but I ain't got much sugar. It's been a while since I've had a night that was as much fun as it was awful.

     Bad things always come in threes, so to top this one off our shower head broke off and our shower has become more like a fountain...

     Sometimes you come to a place and it looks lovely, acts pretty, and shows little sign of a dark under-belly. Other times, you get back handed in the face. The latter makes for a better story.

-M

     How can I even begin to describe this week? If I can't do that, then last night certainly has no single word to describe it either. The closest thing I can think of is A-bomb of all cluster fucks and that's what? 5 words.

     As a warm up for the story to come, you should understand the week I've had. Consider it the opening act. My parents were in KL until Wednesday. I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked because of work, but they took my housemates out to banana leaf (I should so open up a shop back home...). Wow, that seems like forever ago...and it was Sunday. Monday we grabbed drinks at the hotel clubhouse, which had a killer view of KLCC. Unfortunately, I had to finish up work back at the hotel; and by finish I mean start. It was a late night.

     Tuesday I had the pleasure of being in the office from 9am until 7am the next day. I have never pulled an all-nighter for school, so pulling one for work seemed just as pointless. Many of you probably gasp at this, but I know when to stop for the night. Plus, it gets to a point where my brain tunes out and nothing that great gets accomplished anyway. Most of the ideas that come into your head at 3am are usually things you end up having to fix later (unless you're one of those people that prefers to work at night). Anyways, I digress, the only thing I really learned from that exercise was that I could take a day and a half leave.

    After falling asleep in the bathtub at the hotel, I said bye to the fams, checked out, and slept for a bit. Wednesday night I joined the regular CS crew for Indian food and free drinks (as it is ladies night). Thursday I went into work late, saw Harry Potter (it came out here before it did in the US, which I found  bit strange, maybe because of the date change? Basically what I'm getting at with all of this is that I don't sleep all that much. I've got a month left here, I don't see the need. It's a long plane ride home.

     Time passed at the office at an exceptionally slow rate yesterday. It rained when we (C and I usually head in together) and it poured when we left. Lunch was the worst meal I've had here by far (we chose a new place...tak best lah). At about 6 the entire office decided that watching the storm was more exciting than whatever else they were doing. It was the first storm here that was similar to the ones you get back in CO. I'm sure anyone back home knows what I'm talking about, as it has rained its heart out over there. It was the kind where it gets quiet before hand, the sky turns that awful color, and you aren't too sure if it's night or day.

     C and I were supposed to go to a pool party that night, so the outlook was not so good. A was supposed to pick us up and I was meeting H, N, and...ahh screw it let's just say the Alphabet and head to a party on my side of town. I live in a mostly Malay (usually implies Muslim) area so this is a rare event. The party needed music and obviously no one was really swimming so I headed to Changkat BB (where the bars are) with the Alphabet Gang. At this point, people were starting to party and things picked up a bit.

     C and I have this thing where we always seem to be the ones stirring the pot so-to-speak. Like most parties, BYOB is a courtesy thing, and C and I had bottle of vodka as our weapon of choice. We found it hilarious that when we were out on the town and took it out people in the group were surprised. Where I am from this is called smart, I suppose it's not as common here but I could be wrong. Everyone was having a blast and it was a great night of dancing, drinking, and being with a crowd of kick ass people.

     Unfortunately dancing with a purse filled with a large camera does not really work, so I put mine down. Huge mistake, obviously, as I am now without an iPhone as well as a local phone. Luckily I insured my iPhone before I left, so all I have to do is figure out what hoops I have to jump through in order to replace it (or if worst comes to worst I'll sell the iPad my mom left me). I obviously didn't see when it happened, but it was quick, I left my purse only for a few minutes until someone in the group moved it next to theirs. No, I don't need a lecture on how dumb it was for me to leave it there (it was stupid, people do stupid stuff, no one is perfect) and about the affects of alcohol. It's the first time I've had anything stolen from me while abroad, it was bound to happen someday. As they say, Karma's a bitch. What's done is done. No biggie.

     The person who stole it needs a lecture on what to steal. I had two cameras (one is a SLR), credit cards, and cash that were all left alone. Basically the person stole a shitty burn phone and an iPhone that's locked and requires passwords to do anything with it. He or she chose this over a $2,000 camera...I would put that under EPIC FAIL.

     However, I cannot say that C had the same luck. Just before I realized my phone had gone, she left to go back. To make a long story short, she fell victim to the classic motorbike thing they do here. Essentially they come from behind, slam you on the ground or drag you until your bag strap breaks and drive away. She lost everything except her phone and keys.

     I got home about 20 minutes after her to find her with dried blood all over her back. Of course, my immediate thought was someone had tried to rape her or something. She was too angry to even get words out at this point so I went to bed. She had gone to the cops by the time I woke up, but I didn't know it at the time so I had become pretty freaked out. I was also pissed at myself for losing my phones. MB always tells me that if he got a dollar for every time I asked where my phone was he'd be a millionaire. Well now the joke is on him...kinda.

     I headed over to the mall by my place to try to sort this phone thing out. They, of course, said they couldn't do anything and wrote down a place for me to go so I hopped in a cab. Get to the place, they say they need my passport (I don't carry it around here so - ironically enough - it doesn't get stollen) and there isn't anything they can do. At this point  I'm getting that OMG I don't want to deal with this country right now, WTF WTF WTF thing going on in my head that all expats experience at least once. This is time number three for me here, not bad. You just have to suck it up and move on.

     So in my frustrated and slightly hungover state I head home. C's back and I gave her a once over and she is pretty banged up. Got huge scrapes all over one side of her body. One of them looks pretty bad and wouldn't stop bleeding. So what do we do? Burst out laughing. I mean what else can you do? Yes, it probably doesn't sound funny, it's a huge pain in the ass to have to deal with but we are both ok and it could always be worse. For the time being, I'm C's sugar momma, but I ain't got much sugar. It's been a while since I've had a night that was as much fun as it was awful.

     Bad things always come in threes, so to top this one off our shower head broke off and our shower has become more like a fountain...

     Sometimes you come to a place and it looks lovely, acts pretty, and shows little sign of a dark under-belly. Other times, you get back handed in the face. The latter makes for a better story.

-M

     How can I even begin to describe this week? If I can't do that, then last night certainly has no single word to describe it either. The closest thing I can think of is A-bomb of all cluster fucks and that's what? 5 words.

     As a warm up for the story to come, you should understand the week I've had. Consider it the opening act. My parents were in KL until Wednesday. I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked because of work, but they took my housemates out to banana leaf (I should so open up a shop back home...). Wow, that seems like forever ago...and it was Sunday. Monday we grabbed drinks at the hotel clubhouse, which had a killer view of KLCC. Unfortunately, I had to finish up work back at the hotel; and by finish I mean start. It was a late night.

     Tuesday I had the pleasure of being in the office from 9am until 7am the next day. I have never pulled an all-nighter for school, so pulling one for work seemed just as pointless. Many of you probably gasp at this, but I know when to stop for the night. Plus, it gets to a point where my brain tunes out and nothing that great gets accomplished anyway. Most of the ideas that come into your head at 3am are usually things you end up having to fix later (unless you're one of those people that prefers to work at night). Anyways, I digress, the only thing I really learned from that exercise was that I could take a day and a half leave.

    After falling asleep in the bathtub at the hotel, I said bye to the fams, checked out, and slept for a bit. Wednesday night I joined the regular CS crew for Indian food and free drinks (as it is ladies night). Thursday I went into work late, saw Harry Potter (it came out here before it did in the US, which I found  bit strange, maybe because of the date change? Basically what I'm getting at with all of this is that I don't sleep all that much. I've got a month left here, I don't see the need. It's a long plane ride home.

     Time passed at the office at an exceptionally slow rate yesterday. It rained when we (C and I usually head in together) and it poured when we left. Lunch was the worst meal I've had here by far (we chose a new place...tak best lah). At about 6 the entire office decided that watching the storm was more exciting than whatever else they were doing. It was the first storm here that was similar to the ones you get back in CO. I'm sure anyone back home knows what I'm talking about, as it has rained its heart out over there. It was the kind where it gets quiet before hand, the sky turns that awful color, and you aren't too sure if it's night or day.

     C and I were supposed to go to a pool party that night, so the outlook was not so good. A was supposed to pick us up and I was meeting H, N, and...ahh screw it let's just say the Alphabet and head to a party on my side of town. I live in a mostly Malay (usually implies Muslim) area so this is a rare event. The party needed music and obviously no one was really swimming so I headed to Changkat BB (where the bars are) with the Alphabet Gang. At this point, people were starting to party and things picked up a bit.

     C and I have this thing where we always seem to be the ones stirring the pot so-to-speak. Like most parties, BYOB is a courtesy thing, and C and I had bottle of vodka as our weapon of choice. We found it hilarious that when we were out on the town and took it out people in the group were surprised. Where I am from this is called smart, I suppose it's not as common here but I could be wrong. Everyone was having a blast and it was a great night of dancing, drinking, and being with a crowd of kick ass people.

     Unfortunately dancing with a purse filled with a large camera does not really work, so I put mine down. Huge mistake, obviously, as I am now without an iPhone as well as a local phone. Luckily I insured my iPhone before I left, so all I have to do is figure out what hoops I have to jump through in order to replace it (or if worst comes to worst I'll sell the iPad my mom left me). I obviously didn't see when it happened, but it was quick, I left my purse only for a few minutes until someone in the group moved it next to theirs. No, I don't need a lecture on how dumb it was for me to leave it there (it was stupid, people do stupid stuff, no one is perfect) and about the affects of alcohol. It's the first time I've had anything stolen from me while abroad, it was bound to happen someday. As they say, Karma's a bitch. What's done is done. No biggie.

     The person who stole it needs a lecture on what to steal. I had two cameras (one is a SLR), credit cards, and cash that were all left alone. Basically the person stole a shitty burn phone and an iPhone that's locked and requires passwords to do anything with it. He or she chose this over a $2,000 camera...I would put that under EPIC FAIL.

     However, I cannot say that C had the same luck. Just before I realized my phone had gone, she left to go back. To make a long story short, she fell victim to the classic motorbike thing they do here. Essentially they come from behind, slam you on the ground or drag you until your bag strap breaks and drive away. She lost everything except her phone and keys.

     I got home about 20 minutes after her to find her with dried blood all over her back. Of course, my immediate thought was someone had tried to rape her or something. She was too angry to even get words out at this point so I went to bed. She had gone to the cops by the time I woke up, but I didn't know it at the time so I had become pretty freaked out. I was also pissed at myself for losing my phones. MB always tells me that if he got a dollar for every time I asked where my phone was he'd be a millionaire. Well now the joke is on him...kinda.

     I headed over to the mall by my place to try to sort this phone thing out. They, of course, said they couldn't do anything and wrote down a place for me to go so I hopped in a cab. Get to the place, they say they need my passport (I don't carry it around here so - ironically enough - it doesn't get stollen) and there isn't anything they can do. At this point  I'm getting that OMG I don't want to deal with this country right now, WTF WTF WTF thing going on in my head that all expats experience at least once. This is time number three for me here, not bad. You just have to suck it up and move on.

     So in my frustrated and slightly hungover state I head home. C's back and I gave her a once over and she is pretty banged up. Got huge scrapes all over one side of her body. One of them looks pretty bad and wouldn't stop bleeding. So what do we do? Burst out laughing. I mean what else can you do? Yes, it probably doesn't sound funny, it's a huge pain in the ass to have to deal with but we are both ok and it could always be worse. For the time being, I'm C's sugar momma, but I ain't got much sugar. It's been a while since I've had a night that was as much fun as it was awful.

     Bad things always come in threes, so to top this one off our shower head broke off and our shower has become more like a fountain...

     Sometimes you come to a place and it looks lovely, acts pretty, and shows little sign of a dark under-belly. Other times, you get back handed in the face. The latter makes for a better story.

-M

'And we'll laugh all the way to hell'

   Well time is flying by as always. Work is work, although I've got a new assignment that I'm learning a lot from. I've been asked to do the presentation design layout for this huge competition for a major downtown building. That part is not new to me, and I have a weird thing for presentation layouts; however, I'm also working on the logo design for the building. I've never done logo design before. I like the challenge. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up being one of those graphic design nerds.

    In other news Nina is still sick. Apparently she’s also been acting super weird/acting out; which has led her to invade the trash cans where she ate something super funky. She’s a tough cookie so I know she’ll be fine (plus, my close friend S from back home is a super-vet-tech-extraordinaire and will take good care of her). However, hearing news that she’s been spending tons of time on the floor next to my side of the bed and hiding away in the closet (she’s a whore for the sun); nesting in the small pile of my laundry that didn’t manage to get washed before I came here has left me feeling a bit down and out. Many of you are probably thinking so what? You most likely haven’t rescued an animal from a shelter. If you have, you just haven’t met the hyper-sensitive, quirky ball of fluff and neck-fat that is Nina. Furthermore, she and I are pretty close. Obviously there isn’t anything I can do; clearly I’m not going home anytime soon. She’s only a dog yes, but that just means she can’t understand the situation, nor express herself. Basically, no Meggy smells means no Meggy in her mind. Plus, who wouldn’t miss this face?

     It’s hard to believe this week is almost over. I’m taking tomorrow off to head to Penang (a place up north) where I’ll be meeting the fams. Well, not all the fams, my brother declined to join on account of the fact that ‘school is hard as shit man, and dude, I have like, ya know…no free time…I’ve got a film sesh up at Mt Hood.’ Your loss little broseph, you’d love it here. I’ll see him soon enough though, for his 21^st I got him tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in D-town (read: Denver) this September. Anyways, I digress. This week has been quite fun. Monday was less blah than Mondays tend to be. I went over to A’s place for some good home cookin’. Spaghetti and red sauce, a staple, but none the less great. Since my idea of home cooking here has been whatever can be fried in a pan or heated in a toaster oven (my wages and western raw ingredients don’t exactly complement each other), a home cooked meal was just what I needed. Tuesday was yoga, Lebanese food, and shisha night with the usual crew. At dinner I met a Jordanian guy named A (again with this A thing) who is writing his thesis in English and asked if I could proof-read it for him. So I’ve found myself a second job (that will, in all likelihood, pay better than the one I currently have). Now I know many of you back home are laughing at the idea of me editing a paper. However, it’s much easier to correct someone else’s English than your own =).

     Last night C and I met up with a bunch of CSers at 21 for the ‘weekly meeting.’ Girls drink for free. Unfortunately, based upon the above paragraph I headed home early. With any luck, next week’s eminent all-nighter at the office will grant me a day off and I’ll be able to go out in a more proper fashion. However, no night out in Malaysia is ever complete without a stop at a street stall so A (a different A, I’ve noticed a large portion of my friends here have names that start with A…) took us to grab a bite of durian and some Thai food. If I told you what I ate I would simply butcher the name, but whatever the tasty concoction was I need to have it again…similar in addiction to banana leaf. How I’ve managed to actually stay in good shape here is somewhat of a miracle; I’m sure the 16+ flights of stairs I walk everyday helps. Tonight I’m headed to Sunway with H to see the new transformers movie. It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually gone to the movies (Netflix makes life so easy). It should be a good time.

     Once again, this is getting way too long.

Peace and love

-M

PS...One last thing for your enjoyment...

   Well time is flying by as always. Work is work, although I've got a new assignment that I'm learning a lot from. I've been asked to do the presentation design layout for this huge competition for a major downtown building. That part is not new to me, and I have a weird thing for presentation layouts; however, I'm also working on the logo design for the building. I've never done logo design before. I like the challenge. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up being one of those graphic design nerds.

    In other news Nina is still sick. Apparently she’s also been acting super weird/acting out; which has led her to invade the trash cans where she ate something super funky. She’s a tough cookie so I know she’ll be fine (plus, my close friend S from back home is a super-vet-tech-extraordinaire and will take good care of her). However, hearing news that she’s been spending tons of time on the floor next to my side of the bed and hiding away in the closet (she’s a whore for the sun); nesting in the small pile of my laundry that didn’t manage to get washed before I came here has left me feeling a bit down and out. Many of you are probably thinking so what? You most likely haven’t rescued an animal from a shelter. If you have, you just haven’t met the hyper-sensitive, quirky ball of fluff and neck-fat that is Nina. Furthermore, she and I are pretty close. Obviously there isn’t anything I can do; clearly I’m not going home anytime soon. She’s only a dog yes, but that just means she can’t understand the situation, nor express herself. Basically, no Meggy smells means no Meggy in her mind. Plus, who wouldn’t miss this face?

     It’s hard to believe this week is almost over. I’m taking tomorrow off to head to Penang (a place up north) where I’ll be meeting the fams. Well, not all the fams, my brother declined to join on account of the fact that ‘school is hard as shit man, and dude, I have like, ya know…no free time…I’ve got a film sesh up at Mt Hood.’ Your loss little broseph, you’d love it here. I’ll see him soon enough though, for his 21^st I got him tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in D-town (read: Denver) this September. Anyways, I digress. This week has been quite fun. Monday was less blah than Mondays tend to be. I went over to A’s place for some good home cookin’. Spaghetti and red sauce, a staple, but none the less great. Since my idea of home cooking here has been whatever can be fried in a pan or heated in a toaster oven (my wages and western raw ingredients don’t exactly complement each other), a home cooked meal was just what I needed. Tuesday was yoga, Lebanese food, and shisha night with the usual crew. At dinner I met a Jordanian guy named A (again with this A thing) who is writing his thesis in English and asked if I could proof-read it for him. So I’ve found myself a second job (that will, in all likelihood, pay better than the one I currently have). Now I know many of you back home are laughing at the idea of me editing a paper. However, it’s much easier to correct someone else’s English than your own =).

     Last night C and I met up with a bunch of CSers at 21 for the ‘weekly meeting.’ Girls drink for free. Unfortunately, based upon the above paragraph I headed home early. With any luck, next week’s eminent all-nighter at the office will grant me a day off and I’ll be able to go out in a more proper fashion. However, no night out in Malaysia is ever complete without a stop at a street stall so A (a different A, I’ve noticed a large portion of my friends here have names that start with A…) took us to grab a bite of durian and some Thai food. If I told you what I ate I would simply butcher the name, but whatever the tasty concoction was I need to have it again…similar in addiction to banana leaf. How I’ve managed to actually stay in good shape here is somewhat of a miracle; I’m sure the 16+ flights of stairs I walk everyday helps. Tonight I’m headed to Sunway with H to see the new transformers movie. It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually gone to the movies (Netflix makes life so easy). It should be a good time.

     Once again, this is getting way too long.

Peace and love

-M

PS...One last thing for your enjoyment...

   Well time is flying by as always. Work is work, although I've got a new assignment that I'm learning a lot from. I've been asked to do the presentation design layout for this huge competition for a major downtown building. That part is not new to me, and I have a weird thing for presentation layouts; however, I'm also working on the logo design for the building. I've never done logo design before. I like the challenge. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up being one of those graphic design nerds.

    In other news Nina is still sick. Apparently she’s also been acting super weird/acting out; which has led her to invade the trash cans where she ate something super funky. She’s a tough cookie so I know she’ll be fine (plus, my close friend S from back home is a super-vet-tech-extraordinaire and will take good care of her). However, hearing news that she’s been spending tons of time on the floor next to my side of the bed and hiding away in the closet (she’s a whore for the sun); nesting in the small pile of my laundry that didn’t manage to get washed before I came here has left me feeling a bit down and out. Many of you are probably thinking so what? You most likely haven’t rescued an animal from a shelter. If you have, you just haven’t met the hyper-sensitive, quirky ball of fluff and neck-fat that is Nina. Furthermore, she and I are pretty close. Obviously there isn’t anything I can do; clearly I’m not going home anytime soon. She’s only a dog yes, but that just means she can’t understand the situation, nor express herself. Basically, no Meggy smells means no Meggy in her mind. Plus, who wouldn’t miss this face?

     It’s hard to believe this week is almost over. I’m taking tomorrow off to head to Penang (a place up north) where I’ll be meeting the fams. Well, not all the fams, my brother declined to join on account of the fact that ‘school is hard as shit man, and dude, I have like, ya know…no free time…I’ve got a film sesh up at Mt Hood.’ Your loss little broseph, you’d love it here. I’ll see him soon enough though, for his 21^st I got him tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in D-town (read: Denver) this September. Anyways, I digress. This week has been quite fun. Monday was less blah than Mondays tend to be. I went over to A’s place for some good home cookin’. Spaghetti and red sauce, a staple, but none the less great. Since my idea of home cooking here has been whatever can be fried in a pan or heated in a toaster oven (my wages and western raw ingredients don’t exactly complement each other), a home cooked meal was just what I needed. Tuesday was yoga, Lebanese food, and shisha night with the usual crew. At dinner I met a Jordanian guy named A (again with this A thing) who is writing his thesis in English and asked if I could proof-read it for him. So I’ve found myself a second job (that will, in all likelihood, pay better than the one I currently have). Now I know many of you back home are laughing at the idea of me editing a paper. However, it’s much easier to correct someone else’s English than your own =).

     Last night C and I met up with a bunch of CSers at 21 for the ‘weekly meeting.’ Girls drink for free. Unfortunately, based upon the above paragraph I headed home early. With any luck, next week’s eminent all-nighter at the office will grant me a day off and I’ll be able to go out in a more proper fashion. However, no night out in Malaysia is ever complete without a stop at a street stall so A (a different A, I’ve noticed a large portion of my friends here have names that start with A…) took us to grab a bite of durian and some Thai food. If I told you what I ate I would simply butcher the name, but whatever the tasty concoction was I need to have it again…similar in addiction to banana leaf. How I’ve managed to actually stay in good shape here is somewhat of a miracle; I’m sure the 16+ flights of stairs I walk everyday helps. Tonight I’m headed to Sunway with H to see the new transformers movie. It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually gone to the movies (Netflix makes life so easy). It should be a good time.

     Once again, this is getting way too long.

Peace and love

-M

PS...One last thing for your enjoyment...

   Well time is flying by as always. Work is work, although I've got a new assignment that I'm learning a lot from. I've been asked to do the presentation design layout for this huge competition for a major downtown building. That part is not new to me, and I have a weird thing for presentation layouts; however, I'm also working on the logo design for the building. I've never done logo design before. I like the challenge. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up being one of those graphic design nerds.

    In other news Nina is still sick. Apparently she’s also been acting super weird/acting out; which has led her to invade the trash cans where she ate something super funky. She’s a tough cookie so I know she’ll be fine (plus, my close friend S from back home is a super-vet-tech-extraordinaire and will take good care of her). However, hearing news that she’s been spending tons of time on the floor next to my side of the bed and hiding away in the closet (she’s a whore for the sun); nesting in the small pile of my laundry that didn’t manage to get washed before I came here has left me feeling a bit down and out. Many of you are probably thinking so what? You most likely haven’t rescued an animal from a shelter. If you have, you just haven’t met the hyper-sensitive, quirky ball of fluff and neck-fat that is Nina. Furthermore, she and I are pretty close. Obviously there isn’t anything I can do; clearly I’m not going home anytime soon. She’s only a dog yes, but that just means she can’t understand the situation, nor express herself. Basically, no Meggy smells means no Meggy in her mind. Plus, who wouldn’t miss this face?

     It’s hard to believe this week is almost over. I’m taking tomorrow off to head to Penang (a place up north) where I’ll be meeting the fams. Well, not all the fams, my brother declined to join on account of the fact that ‘school is hard as shit man, and dude, I have like, ya know…no free time…I’ve got a film sesh up at Mt Hood.’ Your loss little broseph, you’d love it here. I’ll see him soon enough though, for his 21^st I got him tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in D-town (read: Denver) this September. Anyways, I digress. This week has been quite fun. Monday was less blah than Mondays tend to be. I went over to A’s place for some good home cookin’. Spaghetti and red sauce, a staple, but none the less great. Since my idea of home cooking here has been whatever can be fried in a pan or heated in a toaster oven (my wages and western raw ingredients don’t exactly complement each other), a home cooked meal was just what I needed. Tuesday was yoga, Lebanese food, and shisha night with the usual crew. At dinner I met a Jordanian guy named A (again with this A thing) who is writing his thesis in English and asked if I could proof-read it for him. So I’ve found myself a second job (that will, in all likelihood, pay better than the one I currently have). Now I know many of you back home are laughing at the idea of me editing a paper. However, it’s much easier to correct someone else’s English than your own =).

     Last night C and I met up with a bunch of CSers at 21 for the ‘weekly meeting.’ Girls drink for free. Unfortunately, based upon the above paragraph I headed home early. With any luck, next week’s eminent all-nighter at the office will grant me a day off and I’ll be able to go out in a more proper fashion. However, no night out in Malaysia is ever complete without a stop at a street stall so A (a different A, I’ve noticed a large portion of my friends here have names that start with A…) took us to grab a bite of durian and some Thai food. If I told you what I ate I would simply butcher the name, but whatever the tasty concoction was I need to have it again…similar in addiction to banana leaf. How I’ve managed to actually stay in good shape here is somewhat of a miracle; I’m sure the 16+ flights of stairs I walk everyday helps. Tonight I’m headed to Sunway with H to see the new transformers movie. It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually gone to the movies (Netflix makes life so easy). It should be a good time.

     Once again, this is getting way too long.

Peace and love

-M

PS...One last thing for your enjoyment...

Nostalgic for that three chord jig

     Happy birthday Momsicle! I still find it hard to believe that my parents are going to make the trip all the way out here. It should be fun and interesting...as their first day in MY will be the day of the Bersih rally...fight on my friends =).

     The past week has been filled with random adventures per usual. Aside from some sort of emotional hiccup that consumed my Wednesday morning, the rest of the day was awesome. I went with K and A to pasar malam (night market...somewhere in the south of the city proper). I would say the night was a huge success. If it was recommended that I try it, I ate it. I had my first durian experience (durian cream, on a crispy pancake thingy). As long as you don't breathe when you are about to eat it, it tastes awesome (the smell at close range does take some getting used to). Aside from various other fried bits of awesomeness I tries something else on my list, I forget the name, but they are those batter/octopus/tastyness balls that are common in Japan. However, it must be noted that in order to actually consume the thing you have to wait...a while (if you want to enjoy it that is). I was the first to try and essentially the smoldering hot inside killed my taste buds for a few days. I know K and A got a kick out of watching me suffer, but they had their turn as well. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Pasar malam...maybe a fifth of the whole thing

     Thursday I went to ArchiDex over at KLCC for most of the day. It's essentially a convention for the building design trade. It was quite cool to see everything, I especially liked the furniture/interior design section. I found some much needed inspiration. That evening our office hosted an SOM lecture. Unfortunately, the lecture was pretty disappointing. The lady didn't really seem like she wanted to be there and for all the awesome projects they have done, spending half an hour going on about the need for active pedestrian zones and public transportation access seemed a bit obvious. I mean I could have given the thing. In all honesty (although I must admit, I left, so I can only speak for the 40 mins I managed to get through) it sounded more like a sales pitch than a lecture geared towards professionals. Friday was low-key, as I've spent a lot of money recently (officially booked to Bali at the end of this month).

     Saturday C and I headed into the 'suburban' rainforest (essentially a patch of forest in the city where the feel is more kampung or village like). The reason? Well besides the fact that the jungle is awesome, there was a huge CS event. It goes without saying that they day/night was stellar. Good to see some of the usual CS crew and I met a bunch of awesome people. The jam sessions reminded me a lot of the good times I've had with my friends back home. Especially these hooligans:

Any man who demands his Chinese market-bought guitar be dowsed in beer at 3am knows how to have a good time. I donno if you get around the Great Fire Wall often enough to read this M but if you don't get your face down here you'll never hear the end of it =)

Luka....looking like a vagrant

P...I hope you've been playing more often in the streets of Peru

   I suppose the sudden outburst of nostalgia comes from the fact that tomorrow happens to be one of my favorite American holidays, the 4th...or to some Independence Day. I mean what is there not to like? Any day filled with the outdoors, grilled meats, beer, and pyrotechnics is a winner to me. I suppose last night will be my substitute, although there was a lack of close calls from drunks lighting off bottle rockets...but we did have a pool. Plus, I woke up with some very sore hands from some serious rocking out with C on the djembe - yet another win. 

Riddin' dirty...but not

The African playing the African drum...sorry C just couldn't help it

The Jig

Three different continents playing some tunes

    C and I found it quite entertaining that we got a large group of people representing a significant portion of the globe to dance to Irish jig music...but I don't think there was a single Irish there. It's funny. That classic cliche notion that we are all really the same is quite true. The more people I meet from various corners of the globe and the more places I travel to I realize that what separates us is really rather minuscule in comparison to what brings us together. My brain is a little too much like scrambled eggs to really jump on the soap box so I'll leave it at that.

     I spent most of today doing nothing. I had a butt-ton of laundry to do (yes I know, not feeling too eloquent with my vocab...deal with it...lah). I hardly got any sleep last night so I'm trying to stay awake as long as I can so I'm not too out of it come Monday. There was this cat that insisted on sharing my mattress (cats always choose me because I'm convinced they can sense allergies). This week will be a bit more killer than the past weeks. Luckily for me, I'm headed to Penang on Friday so I only have a 4 day week. 

     I'm still craving banana leaf. For those of you who do not have the pleasure of having a banana leaf place near you, or have no idea what it is, it is essentially crack. In food form. Eaten off a banana leaf. This magical delight is not only crack-like in addiction, it has the added bonus of the most exotic of chinese medicines; meaning it cures whatever it is that ails you.

     I'm too lazy to upload my pictures, although I'm overdue with this so maybe I'll get to it later...maybe...

-M

  

     

     Happy birthday Momsicle! I still find it hard to believe that my parents are going to make the trip all the way out here. It should be fun and interesting...as their first day in MY will be the day of the Bersih rally...fight on my friends =).

     The past week has been filled with random adventures per usual. Aside from some sort of emotional hiccup that consumed my Wednesday morning, the rest of the day was awesome. I went with K and A to pasar malam (night market...somewhere in the south of the city proper). I would say the night was a huge success. If it was recommended that I try it, I ate it. I had my first durian experience (durian cream, on a crispy pancake thingy). As long as you don't breathe when you are about to eat it, it tastes awesome (the smell at close range does take some getting used to). Aside from various other fried bits of awesomeness I tries something else on my list, I forget the name, but they are those batter/octopus/tastyness balls that are common in Japan. However, it must be noted that in order to actually consume the thing you have to wait...a while (if you want to enjoy it that is). I was the first to try and essentially the smoldering hot inside killed my taste buds for a few days. I know K and A got a kick out of watching me suffer, but they had their turn as well. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Pasar malam...maybe a fifth of the whole thing

     Thursday I went to ArchiDex over at KLCC for most of the day. It's essentially a convention for the building design trade. It was quite cool to see everything, I especially liked the furniture/interior design section. I found some much needed inspiration. That evening our office hosted an SOM lecture. Unfortunately, the lecture was pretty disappointing. The lady didn't really seem like she wanted to be there and for all the awesome projects they have done, spending half an hour going on about the need for active pedestrian zones and public transportation access seemed a bit obvious. I mean I could have given the thing. In all honesty (although I must admit, I left, so I can only speak for the 40 mins I managed to get through) it sounded more like a sales pitch than a lecture geared towards professionals. Friday was low-key, as I've spent a lot of money recently (officially booked to Bali at the end of this month).

     Saturday C and I headed into the 'suburban' rainforest (essentially a patch of forest in the city where the feel is more kampung or village like). The reason? Well besides the fact that the jungle is awesome, there was a huge CS event. It goes without saying that they day/night was stellar. Good to see some of the usual CS crew and I met a bunch of awesome people. The jam sessions reminded me a lot of the good times I've had with my friends back home. Especially these hooligans:

Any man who demands his Chinese market-bought guitar be dowsed in beer at 3am knows how to have a good time. I donno if you get around the Great Fire Wall often enough to read this M but if you don't get your face down here you'll never hear the end of it =)

Luka....looking like a vagrant

P...I hope you've been playing more often in the streets of Peru

   I suppose the sudden outburst of nostalgia comes from the fact that tomorrow happens to be one of my favorite American holidays, the 4th...or to some Independence Day. I mean what is there not to like? Any day filled with the outdoors, grilled meats, beer, and pyrotechnics is a winner to me. I suppose last night will be my substitute, although there was a lack of close calls from drunks lighting off bottle rockets...but we did have a pool. Plus, I woke up with some very sore hands from some serious rocking out with C on the djembe - yet another win. 

Riddin' dirty...but not

The African playing the African drum...sorry C just couldn't help it

The Jig

Three different continents playing some tunes

    C and I found it quite entertaining that we got a large group of people representing a significant portion of the globe to dance to Irish jig music...but I don't think there was a single Irish there. It's funny. That classic cliche notion that we are all really the same is quite true. The more people I meet from various corners of the globe and the more places I travel to I realize that what separates us is really rather minuscule in comparison to what brings us together. My brain is a little too much like scrambled eggs to really jump on the soap box so I'll leave it at that.

     I spent most of today doing nothing. I had a butt-ton of laundry to do (yes I know, not feeling too eloquent with my vocab...deal with it...lah). I hardly got any sleep last night so I'm trying to stay awake as long as I can so I'm not too out of it come Monday. There was this cat that insisted on sharing my mattress (cats always choose me because I'm convinced they can sense allergies). This week will be a bit more killer than the past weeks. Luckily for me, I'm headed to Penang on Friday so I only have a 4 day week. 

     I'm still craving banana leaf. For those of you who do not have the pleasure of having a banana leaf place near you, or have no idea what it is, it is essentially crack. In food form. Eaten off a banana leaf. This magical delight is not only crack-like in addiction, it has the added bonus of the most exotic of chinese medicines; meaning it cures whatever it is that ails you.

     I'm too lazy to upload my pictures, although I'm overdue with this so maybe I'll get to it later...maybe...

-M

  

     

     Happy birthday Momsicle! I still find it hard to believe that my parents are going to make the trip all the way out here. It should be fun and interesting...as their first day in MY will be the day of the Bersih rally...fight on my friends =).

     The past week has been filled with random adventures per usual. Aside from some sort of emotional hiccup that consumed my Wednesday morning, the rest of the day was awesome. I went with K and A to pasar malam (night market...somewhere in the south of the city proper). I would say the night was a huge success. If it was recommended that I try it, I ate it. I had my first durian experience (durian cream, on a crispy pancake thingy). As long as you don't breathe when you are about to eat it, it tastes awesome (the smell at close range does take some getting used to). Aside from various other fried bits of awesomeness I tries something else on my list, I forget the name, but they are those batter/octopus/tastyness balls that are common in Japan. However, it must be noted that in order to actually consume the thing you have to wait...a while (if you want to enjoy it that is). I was the first to try and essentially the smoldering hot inside killed my taste buds for a few days. I know K and A got a kick out of watching me suffer, but they had their turn as well. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Pasar malam...maybe a fifth of the whole thing

     Thursday I went to ArchiDex over at KLCC for most of the day. It's essentially a convention for the building design trade. It was quite cool to see everything, I especially liked the furniture/interior design section. I found some much needed inspiration. That evening our office hosted an SOM lecture. Unfortunately, the lecture was pretty disappointing. The lady didn't really seem like she wanted to be there and for all the awesome projects they have done, spending half an hour going on about the need for active pedestrian zones and public transportation access seemed a bit obvious. I mean I could have given the thing. In all honesty (although I must admit, I left, so I can only speak for the 40 mins I managed to get through) it sounded more like a sales pitch than a lecture geared towards professionals. Friday was low-key, as I've spent a lot of money recently (officially booked to Bali at the end of this month).

     Saturday C and I headed into the 'suburban' rainforest (essentially a patch of forest in the city where the feel is more kampung or village like). The reason? Well besides the fact that the jungle is awesome, there was a huge CS event. It goes without saying that they day/night was stellar. Good to see some of the usual CS crew and I met a bunch of awesome people. The jam sessions reminded me a lot of the good times I've had with my friends back home. Especially these hooligans:

Any man who demands his Chinese market-bought guitar be dowsed in beer at 3am knows how to have a good time. I donno if you get around the Great Fire Wall often enough to read this M but if you don't get your face down here you'll never hear the end of it =)

Luka....looking like a vagrant

P...I hope you've been playing more often in the streets of Peru

   I suppose the sudden outburst of nostalgia comes from the fact that tomorrow happens to be one of my favorite American holidays, the 4th...or to some Independence Day. I mean what is there not to like? Any day filled with the outdoors, grilled meats, beer, and pyrotechnics is a winner to me. I suppose last night will be my substitute, although there was a lack of close calls from drunks lighting off bottle rockets...but we did have a pool. Plus, I woke up with some very sore hands from some serious rocking out with C on the djembe - yet another win. 

Riddin' dirty...but not

The African playing the African drum...sorry C just couldn't help it

The Jig

Three different continents playing some tunes

    C and I found it quite entertaining that we got a large group of people representing a significant portion of the globe to dance to Irish jig music...but I don't think there was a single Irish there. It's funny. That classic cliche notion that we are all really the same is quite true. The more people I meet from various corners of the globe and the more places I travel to I realize that what separates us is really rather minuscule in comparison to what brings us together. My brain is a little too much like scrambled eggs to really jump on the soap box so I'll leave it at that.

     I spent most of today doing nothing. I had a butt-ton of laundry to do (yes I know, not feeling too eloquent with my vocab...deal with it...lah). I hardly got any sleep last night so I'm trying to stay awake as long as I can so I'm not too out of it come Monday. There was this cat that insisted on sharing my mattress (cats always choose me because I'm convinced they can sense allergies). This week will be a bit more killer than the past weeks. Luckily for me, I'm headed to Penang on Friday so I only have a 4 day week. 

     I'm still craving banana leaf. For those of you who do not have the pleasure of having a banana leaf place near you, or have no idea what it is, it is essentially crack. In food form. Eaten off a banana leaf. This magical delight is not only crack-like in addiction, it has the added bonus of the most exotic of chinese medicines; meaning it cures whatever it is that ails you.

     I'm too lazy to upload my pictures, although I'm overdue with this so maybe I'll get to it later...maybe...

-M

  

     

     Happy birthday Momsicle! I still find it hard to believe that my parents are going to make the trip all the way out here. It should be fun and interesting...as their first day in MY will be the day of the Bersih rally...fight on my friends =).

     The past week has been filled with random adventures per usual. Aside from some sort of emotional hiccup that consumed my Wednesday morning, the rest of the day was awesome. I went with K and A to pasar malam (night market...somewhere in the south of the city proper). I would say the night was a huge success. If it was recommended that I try it, I ate it. I had my first durian experience (durian cream, on a crispy pancake thingy). As long as you don't breathe when you are about to eat it, it tastes awesome (the smell at close range does take some getting used to). Aside from various other fried bits of awesomeness I tries something else on my list, I forget the name, but they are those batter/octopus/tastyness balls that are common in Japan. However, it must be noted that in order to actually consume the thing you have to wait...a while (if you want to enjoy it that is). I was the first to try and essentially the smoldering hot inside killed my taste buds for a few days. I know K and A got a kick out of watching me suffer, but they had their turn as well. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Pasar malam...maybe a fifth of the whole thing

     Thursday I went to ArchiDex over at KLCC for most of the day. It's essentially a convention for the building design trade. It was quite cool to see everything, I especially liked the furniture/interior design section. I found some much needed inspiration. That evening our office hosted an SOM lecture. Unfortunately, the lecture was pretty disappointing. The lady didn't really seem like she wanted to be there and for all the awesome projects they have done, spending half an hour going on about the need for active pedestrian zones and public transportation access seemed a bit obvious. I mean I could have given the thing. In all honesty (although I must admit, I left, so I can only speak for the 40 mins I managed to get through) it sounded more like a sales pitch than a lecture geared towards professionals. Friday was low-key, as I've spent a lot of money recently (officially booked to Bali at the end of this month).

     Saturday C and I headed into the 'suburban' rainforest (essentially a patch of forest in the city where the feel is more kampung or village like). The reason? Well besides the fact that the jungle is awesome, there was a huge CS event. It goes without saying that they day/night was stellar. Good to see some of the usual CS crew and I met a bunch of awesome people. The jam sessions reminded me a lot of the good times I've had with my friends back home. Especially these hooligans:

Any man who demands his Chinese market-bought guitar be dowsed in beer at 3am knows how to have a good time. I donno if you get around the Great Fire Wall often enough to read this M but if you don't get your face down here you'll never hear the end of it =)

Luka....looking like a vagrant

P...I hope you've been playing more often in the streets of Peru

   I suppose the sudden outburst of nostalgia comes from the fact that tomorrow happens to be one of my favorite American holidays, the 4th...or to some Independence Day. I mean what is there not to like? Any day filled with the outdoors, grilled meats, beer, and pyrotechnics is a winner to me. I suppose last night will be my substitute, although there was a lack of close calls from drunks lighting off bottle rockets...but we did have a pool. Plus, I woke up with some very sore hands from some serious rocking out with C on the djembe - yet another win. 

Riddin' dirty...but not

The African playing the African drum...sorry C just couldn't help it

The Jig

Three different continents playing some tunes

    C and I found it quite entertaining that we got a large group of people representing a significant portion of the globe to dance to Irish jig music...but I don't think there was a single Irish there. It's funny. That classic cliche notion that we are all really the same is quite true. The more people I meet from various corners of the globe and the more places I travel to I realize that what separates us is really rather minuscule in comparison to what brings us together. My brain is a little too much like scrambled eggs to really jump on the soap box so I'll leave it at that.

     I spent most of today doing nothing. I had a butt-ton of laundry to do (yes I know, not feeling too eloquent with my vocab...deal with it...lah). I hardly got any sleep last night so I'm trying to stay awake as long as I can so I'm not too out of it come Monday. There was this cat that insisted on sharing my mattress (cats always choose me because I'm convinced they can sense allergies). This week will be a bit more killer than the past weeks. Luckily for me, I'm headed to Penang on Friday so I only have a 4 day week. 

     I'm still craving banana leaf. For those of you who do not have the pleasure of having a banana leaf place near you, or have no idea what it is, it is essentially crack. In food form. Eaten off a banana leaf. This magical delight is not only crack-like in addiction, it has the added bonus of the most exotic of chinese medicines; meaning it cures whatever it is that ails you.

     I'm too lazy to upload my pictures, although I'm overdue with this so maybe I'll get to it later...maybe...

-M

  

     

Singapore and some more

     After a large beer with S and sharing a cab home (the LRT was having one of its freak-outs and not running) I made some pasta and I am currently on the couch relaxing after a tiring Monday. It wasn't stressful or anything, just still tired from the weekend (so my apologies for the lack sense this post will most likely make).

     Singapore was a great time. I met so many awesome people it made my trip. I ended up staying with my host on the first night, R for the whole trip. He was one of those people that you meet in life who you truly feel like you've known for ever (I've only met two other people in my life like this). He hails from Egypt, and if you've known me for an extended period of time, you know that Egypt has been on the top of my places-to-go list for over a decade. Needless to say, we had lots to talk about. I am fascinated by Egyptian culture and now I have an even better reason to make a visit some day. We got along quite well and it was awesome to have him show me around.

     After I arrived and dropped my stuff off at R's car, I headed down to the Esplanade to check out the architecture and meet up with Y from TB. Y is so sweet, we grabbed ice cream at Marina Bay Resort and wandered around. Discussed about life, travel, and what not. I hope she (and, of course, R) come to visit me at some point (if you are reading this, you are always welcome). Either here or back in CO. Y and I were going to meet up on Saturday, but our plans didn't match up in the end.

     For dinner I met up with a bunch of CSers in Little India for some amazing Indian food (MSG free, which is a plus in these parts). There were a bunch of guys from India talking about their country, and they not only convinced me with their comments, but with their fun personalities. I've always been skeptical about going ever since my stomach had its issues in Mongolia, but honestly they've beyond convinced me. I was told multiple times that it is either a place you love or never go back. If I can get over the food/stomach thing I'm pretty positive I'll love it. I enjoy places far removed from what I am used to. Money is, of course, an issue so maybe one of these days.

     After dinner all of us headed over to Chinatown to get some cheap beers at the hawker center there. The lady who served us was like the Chinese mother I never had. You can probably picture her in your head. She gave us some discounts and even offered us free 'peanuts' (aka garbanzo beans). When I got a road soda and a water to go she gave me one of the lowest bows I've ever seen in appreciation. It was, in a nutshell, cute. However, between the huge group of us, we did buy plenty of beers, I would be thankful too.

     The next stop was Clark Quay, where all the bars/clubs are, we chilled out on the bridge, drank some more, hung out, and my camera got passed around. It is a lively place where people essentially just hang out and drink with club music booming in the background. It's the kind of place I like to be, casual and a place for good conversation. Got home late and slept in some.

     The next day R and I had Kaya toast (toast with coconut jam, butter, and soft boiled egg...basically the best thing ever for breakfast) with some dim sum. We played with the dogs (he has three mutts, loved them, as I obviously miss my own doggy at home). Next we putted around Chinatown where I bought some souvenirs. Next we went to Arab Street and had a long lunch with shesha. We had some really good conversations about culture, religion, travel, and enjoying life. We were going to go to Little India, but a relaxing lunch seemed like a better option. Next we stopped by La Salle (at this point it was night). The place made you feel like you were in a rendering.

     That night I went to one of the best parties I've been to. It was one of those things that you wouldn't have known about unless you lived there. It was a beach party at Saratosa Island. Admission was free and you could BYOB (which we did, 2 bottles of FABULOUS vodka for the group, a tube of glow sticks, three squirt guns, and light up bunny ears). There were fire dancers, a pool, kites with LED lights, a kick ass DJ, and a ton of people. Although I'm usually not  fan of this type of clubby party thing, I've been craving a big dance party with a large group of people (CSers all came) and there is nothing better than dancing on the beach in the moonlight. We stayed out quite late, got back, grabbed some food, and passed out.

     The next morning I awoke with no hangover (enhancing the awesomeness of the vodka) and R gave me a ride to the bus station. I slept the whole way home. Singapore was so much different than I expected it to be. Yes it is, at times, too clean. There are a lot of fake people hanging about. It also has a large number of foreigners which shouldn't have surprised me, but did. Furthermore, especially coming from Malaysia, it was expensive. However with all of that being said, the architecture kicks ass, the food is better than the rave reviews give it, and the people I met there were so great. It is a very cosmopolitan city. Similar to KL I can see myself living there for a year or so. I actually found this surprising because the two places are extremely different. I really wish I had a better way to explain it, but I don't. Feelings are feelings, they often don't have explanations. If I wasn't making Malaysian wages I'd try to go back.

     When I got back to KL, it did feel good to be back. There is something about KL that I can relate to. Government and laws aside, I enjoy the sometimes non-sensical way of things here. Although I'm constantly terrified of j-walking across Jalan Ampang I secretly like the thrill. Once again, I don't really know where I'm going with this, which is why this post is quite hard to write. Most people around here seem to like one or the other, but I like them both. They should mix and have a love child city.

    Well it's time to get away from the computer. One last thing, I think I've decided where I'm going to go next month. The CSers are meeting in Bali at the end of July and I hope it works out. Flights seem cheap and Bali is a place I've always wanted to visit. Here are some pics before I sign off...

Mer-lion and spaceship Marina 

Marina Bay

Chinatown

Clark Quay

V doing the coconut tree climb

Da Bridge

Chinese Medicine shop

Render world

Beach party

-M

     After a large beer with S and sharing a cab home (the LRT was having one of its freak-outs and not running) I made some pasta and I am currently on the couch relaxing after a tiring Monday. It wasn't stressful or anything, just still tired from the weekend (so my apologies for the lack sense this post will most likely make).

     Singapore was a great time. I met so many awesome people it made my trip. I ended up staying with my host on the first night, R for the whole trip. He was one of those people that you meet in life who you truly feel like you've known for ever (I've only met two other people in my life like this). He hails from Egypt, and if you've known me for an extended period of time, you know that Egypt has been on the top of my places-to-go list for over a decade. Needless to say, we had lots to talk about. I am fascinated by Egyptian culture and now I have an even better reason to make a visit some day. We got along quite well and it was awesome to have him show me around.

     After I arrived and dropped my stuff off at R's car, I headed down to the Esplanade to check out the architecture and meet up with Y from TB. Y is so sweet, we grabbed ice cream at Marina Bay Resort and wandered around. Discussed about life, travel, and what not. I hope she (and, of course, R) come to visit me at some point (if you are reading this, you are always welcome). Either here or back in CO. Y and I were going to meet up on Saturday, but our plans didn't match up in the end.

     For dinner I met up with a bunch of CSers in Little India for some amazing Indian food (MSG free, which is a plus in these parts). There were a bunch of guys from India talking about their country, and they not only convinced me with their comments, but with their fun personalities. I've always been skeptical about going ever since my stomach had its issues in Mongolia, but honestly they've beyond convinced me. I was told multiple times that it is either a place you love or never go back. If I can get over the food/stomach thing I'm pretty positive I'll love it. I enjoy places far removed from what I am used to. Money is, of course, an issue so maybe one of these days.

     After dinner all of us headed over to Chinatown to get some cheap beers at the hawker center there. The lady who served us was like the Chinese mother I never had. You can probably picture her in your head. She gave us some discounts and even offered us free 'peanuts' (aka garbanzo beans). When I got a road soda and a water to go she gave me one of the lowest bows I've ever seen in appreciation. It was, in a nutshell, cute. However, between the huge group of us, we did buy plenty of beers, I would be thankful too.

     The next stop was Clark Quay, where all the bars/clubs are, we chilled out on the bridge, drank some more, hung out, and my camera got passed around. It is a lively place where people essentially just hang out and drink with club music booming in the background. It's the kind of place I like to be, casual and a place for good conversation. Got home late and slept in some.

     The next day R and I had Kaya toast (toast with coconut jam, butter, and soft boiled egg...basically the best thing ever for breakfast) with some dim sum. We played with the dogs (he has three mutts, loved them, as I obviously miss my own doggy at home). Next we putted around Chinatown where I bought some souvenirs. Next we went to Arab Street and had a long lunch with shesha. We had some really good conversations about culture, religion, travel, and enjoying life. We were going to go to Little India, but a relaxing lunch seemed like a better option. Next we stopped by La Salle (at this point it was night). The place made you feel like you were in a rendering.

     That night I went to one of the best parties I've been to. It was one of those things that you wouldn't have known about unless you lived there. It was a beach party at Saratosa Island. Admission was free and you could BYOB (which we did, 2 bottles of FABULOUS vodka for the group, a tube of glow sticks, three squirt guns, and light up bunny ears). There were fire dancers, a pool, kites with LED lights, a kick ass DJ, and a ton of people. Although I'm usually not  fan of this type of clubby party thing, I've been craving a big dance party with a large group of people (CSers all came) and there is nothing better than dancing on the beach in the moonlight. We stayed out quite late, got back, grabbed some food, and passed out.

     The next morning I awoke with no hangover (enhancing the awesomeness of the vodka) and R gave me a ride to the bus station. I slept the whole way home. Singapore was so much different than I expected it to be. Yes it is, at times, too clean. There are a lot of fake people hanging about. It also has a large number of foreigners which shouldn't have surprised me, but did. Furthermore, especially coming from Malaysia, it was expensive. However with all of that being said, the architecture kicks ass, the food is better than the rave reviews give it, and the people I met there were so great. It is a very cosmopolitan city. Similar to KL I can see myself living there for a year or so. I actually found this surprising because the two places are extremely different. I really wish I had a better way to explain it, but I don't. Feelings are feelings, they often don't have explanations. If I wasn't making Malaysian wages I'd try to go back.

     When I got back to KL, it did feel good to be back. There is something about KL that I can relate to. Government and laws aside, I enjoy the sometimes non-sensical way of things here. Although I'm constantly terrified of j-walking across Jalan Ampang I secretly like the thrill. Once again, I don't really know where I'm going with this, which is why this post is quite hard to write. Most people around here seem to like one or the other, but I like them both. They should mix and have a love child city.

    Well it's time to get away from the computer. One last thing, I think I've decided where I'm going to go next month. The CSers are meeting in Bali at the end of July and I hope it works out. Flights seem cheap and Bali is a place I've always wanted to visit. Here are some pics before I sign off...

Mer-lion and spaceship Marina 

Marina Bay

Chinatown

Clark Quay

V doing the coconut tree climb

Da Bridge

Chinese Medicine shop

Render world

Beach party

-M

     After a large beer with S and sharing a cab home (the LRT was having one of its freak-outs and not running) I made some pasta and I am currently on the couch relaxing after a tiring Monday. It wasn't stressful or anything, just still tired from the weekend (so my apologies for the lack sense this post will most likely make).

     Singapore was a great time. I met so many awesome people it made my trip. I ended up staying with my host on the first night, R for the whole trip. He was one of those people that you meet in life who you truly feel like you've known for ever (I've only met two other people in my life like this). He hails from Egypt, and if you've known me for an extended period of time, you know that Egypt has been on the top of my places-to-go list for over a decade. Needless to say, we had lots to talk about. I am fascinated by Egyptian culture and now I have an even better reason to make a visit some day. We got along quite well and it was awesome to have him show me around.

     After I arrived and dropped my stuff off at R's car, I headed down to the Esplanade to check out the architecture and meet up with Y from TB. Y is so sweet, we grabbed ice cream at Marina Bay Resort and wandered around. Discussed about life, travel, and what not. I hope she (and, of course, R) come to visit me at some point (if you are reading this, you are always welcome). Either here or back in CO. Y and I were going to meet up on Saturday, but our plans didn't match up in the end.

     For dinner I met up with a bunch of CSers in Little India for some amazing Indian food (MSG free, which is a plus in these parts). There were a bunch of guys from India talking about their country, and they not only convinced me with their comments, but with their fun personalities. I've always been skeptical about going ever since my stomach had its issues in Mongolia, but honestly they've beyond convinced me. I was told multiple times that it is either a place you love or never go back. If I can get over the food/stomach thing I'm pretty positive I'll love it. I enjoy places far removed from what I am used to. Money is, of course, an issue so maybe one of these days.

     After dinner all of us headed over to Chinatown to get some cheap beers at the hawker center there. The lady who served us was like the Chinese mother I never had. You can probably picture her in your head. She gave us some discounts and even offered us free 'peanuts' (aka garbanzo beans). When I got a road soda and a water to go she gave me one of the lowest bows I've ever seen in appreciation. It was, in a nutshell, cute. However, between the huge group of us, we did buy plenty of beers, I would be thankful too.

     The next stop was Clark Quay, where all the bars/clubs are, we chilled out on the bridge, drank some more, hung out, and my camera got passed around. It is a lively place where people essentially just hang out and drink with club music booming in the background. It's the kind of place I like to be, casual and a place for good conversation. Got home late and slept in some.

     The next day R and I had Kaya toast (toast with coconut jam, butter, and soft boiled egg...basically the best thing ever for breakfast) with some dim sum. We played with the dogs (he has three mutts, loved them, as I obviously miss my own doggy at home). Next we putted around Chinatown where I bought some souvenirs. Next we went to Arab Street and had a long lunch with shesha. We had some really good conversations about culture, religion, travel, and enjoying life. We were going to go to Little India, but a relaxing lunch seemed like a better option. Next we stopped by La Salle (at this point it was night). The place made you feel like you were in a rendering.

     That night I went to one of the best parties I've been to. It was one of those things that you wouldn't have known about unless you lived there. It was a beach party at Saratosa Island. Admission was free and you could BYOB (which we did, 2 bottles of FABULOUS vodka for the group, a tube of glow sticks, three squirt guns, and light up bunny ears). There were fire dancers, a pool, kites with LED lights, a kick ass DJ, and a ton of people. Although I'm usually not  fan of this type of clubby party thing, I've been craving a big dance party with a large group of people (CSers all came) and there is nothing better than dancing on the beach in the moonlight. We stayed out quite late, got back, grabbed some food, and passed out.

     The next morning I awoke with no hangover (enhancing the awesomeness of the vodka) and R gave me a ride to the bus station. I slept the whole way home. Singapore was so much different than I expected it to be. Yes it is, at times, too clean. There are a lot of fake people hanging about. It also has a large number of foreigners which shouldn't have surprised me, but did. Furthermore, especially coming from Malaysia, it was expensive. However with all of that being said, the architecture kicks ass, the food is better than the rave reviews give it, and the people I met there were so great. It is a very cosmopolitan city. Similar to KL I can see myself living there for a year or so. I actually found this surprising because the two places are extremely different. I really wish I had a better way to explain it, but I don't. Feelings are feelings, they often don't have explanations. If I wasn't making Malaysian wages I'd try to go back.

     When I got back to KL, it did feel good to be back. There is something about KL that I can relate to. Government and laws aside, I enjoy the sometimes non-sensical way of things here. Although I'm constantly terrified of j-walking across Jalan Ampang I secretly like the thrill. Once again, I don't really know where I'm going with this, which is why this post is quite hard to write. Most people around here seem to like one or the other, but I like them both. They should mix and have a love child city.

    Well it's time to get away from the computer. One last thing, I think I've decided where I'm going to go next month. The CSers are meeting in Bali at the end of July and I hope it works out. Flights seem cheap and Bali is a place I've always wanted to visit. Here are some pics before I sign off...

Mer-lion and spaceship Marina 

Marina Bay

Chinatown

Clark Quay

V doing the coconut tree climb

Da Bridge

Chinese Medicine shop

Render world

Beach party

-M

     After a large beer with S and sharing a cab home (the LRT was having one of its freak-outs and not running) I made some pasta and I am currently on the couch relaxing after a tiring Monday. It wasn't stressful or anything, just still tired from the weekend (so my apologies for the lack sense this post will most likely make).

     Singapore was a great time. I met so many awesome people it made my trip. I ended up staying with my host on the first night, R for the whole trip. He was one of those people that you meet in life who you truly feel like you've known for ever (I've only met two other people in my life like this). He hails from Egypt, and if you've known me for an extended period of time, you know that Egypt has been on the top of my places-to-go list for over a decade. Needless to say, we had lots to talk about. I am fascinated by Egyptian culture and now I have an even better reason to make a visit some day. We got along quite well and it was awesome to have him show me around.

     After I arrived and dropped my stuff off at R's car, I headed down to the Esplanade to check out the architecture and meet up with Y from TB. Y is so sweet, we grabbed ice cream at Marina Bay Resort and wandered around. Discussed about life, travel, and what not. I hope she (and, of course, R) come to visit me at some point (if you are reading this, you are always welcome). Either here or back in CO. Y and I were going to meet up on Saturday, but our plans didn't match up in the end.

     For dinner I met up with a bunch of CSers in Little India for some amazing Indian food (MSG free, which is a plus in these parts). There were a bunch of guys from India talking about their country, and they not only convinced me with their comments, but with their fun personalities. I've always been skeptical about going ever since my stomach had its issues in Mongolia, but honestly they've beyond convinced me. I was told multiple times that it is either a place you love or never go back. If I can get over the food/stomach thing I'm pretty positive I'll love it. I enjoy places far removed from what I am used to. Money is, of course, an issue so maybe one of these days.

     After dinner all of us headed over to Chinatown to get some cheap beers at the hawker center there. The lady who served us was like the Chinese mother I never had. You can probably picture her in your head. She gave us some discounts and even offered us free 'peanuts' (aka garbanzo beans). When I got a road soda and a water to go she gave me one of the lowest bows I've ever seen in appreciation. It was, in a nutshell, cute. However, between the huge group of us, we did buy plenty of beers, I would be thankful too.

     The next stop was Clark Quay, where all the bars/clubs are, we chilled out on the bridge, drank some more, hung out, and my camera got passed around. It is a lively place where people essentially just hang out and drink with club music booming in the background. It's the kind of place I like to be, casual and a place for good conversation. Got home late and slept in some.

     The next day R and I had Kaya toast (toast with coconut jam, butter, and soft boiled egg...basically the best thing ever for breakfast) with some dim sum. We played with the dogs (he has three mutts, loved them, as I obviously miss my own doggy at home). Next we putted around Chinatown where I bought some souvenirs. Next we went to Arab Street and had a long lunch with shesha. We had some really good conversations about culture, religion, travel, and enjoying life. We were going to go to Little India, but a relaxing lunch seemed like a better option. Next we stopped by La Salle (at this point it was night). The place made you feel like you were in a rendering.

     That night I went to one of the best parties I've been to. It was one of those things that you wouldn't have known about unless you lived there. It was a beach party at Saratosa Island. Admission was free and you could BYOB (which we did, 2 bottles of FABULOUS vodka for the group, a tube of glow sticks, three squirt guns, and light up bunny ears). There were fire dancers, a pool, kites with LED lights, a kick ass DJ, and a ton of people. Although I'm usually not  fan of this type of clubby party thing, I've been craving a big dance party with a large group of people (CSers all came) and there is nothing better than dancing on the beach in the moonlight. We stayed out quite late, got back, grabbed some food, and passed out.

     The next morning I awoke with no hangover (enhancing the awesomeness of the vodka) and R gave me a ride to the bus station. I slept the whole way home. Singapore was so much different than I expected it to be. Yes it is, at times, too clean. There are a lot of fake people hanging about. It also has a large number of foreigners which shouldn't have surprised me, but did. Furthermore, especially coming from Malaysia, it was expensive. However with all of that being said, the architecture kicks ass, the food is better than the rave reviews give it, and the people I met there were so great. It is a very cosmopolitan city. Similar to KL I can see myself living there for a year or so. I actually found this surprising because the two places are extremely different. I really wish I had a better way to explain it, but I don't. Feelings are feelings, they often don't have explanations. If I wasn't making Malaysian wages I'd try to go back.

     When I got back to KL, it did feel good to be back. There is something about KL that I can relate to. Government and laws aside, I enjoy the sometimes non-sensical way of things here. Although I'm constantly terrified of j-walking across Jalan Ampang I secretly like the thrill. Once again, I don't really know where I'm going with this, which is why this post is quite hard to write. Most people around here seem to like one or the other, but I like them both. They should mix and have a love child city.

    Well it's time to get away from the computer. One last thing, I think I've decided where I'm going to go next month. The CSers are meeting in Bali at the end of July and I hope it works out. Flights seem cheap and Bali is a place I've always wanted to visit. Here are some pics before I sign off...

Mer-lion and spaceship Marina 

Marina Bay

Chinatown

Clark Quay

V doing the coconut tree climb

Da Bridge

Chinese Medicine shop

Render world

Beach party

-M

Definitely a case of the Mondays...

     Today was not my day. Actually, the last two days at work were quite like this. I got home today a little earlier than yesterday which was nice, but it has been frustrating. Essentially, I just don't see eye to eye with my boss for this project. This situation, as I'm sure you are all aware, is quite normal. However, this being my first official office job, figuring out how to deal with it has its ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, she's a good designer; it is simply a classic clash of form vs. function. I'm more of a function person, she's more of a form lady. It makes working on this competition quite difficult. You have good days and you have bad days, today was a bad day. Tomorrow will be easier. I think I'm just going to try to focus on getting the presentation ready because designing just isn't working out for me right now. But why you ask? Aren't you an architect? Well, technically no, I'm an intern, and yes I do like to design, but we are at a stage where things need to get done and my ideas just don't co-incide with the design. So in order to contribute in a positive manner I'm content with making diagrams and getting a coherent presentation together. I also don't mind sitting back and observing the rest of the design in order to learn a viewpoint different than my own; contributing where I feel it is absolutely necessary to discussions. Just got to take it one day at a time and stay positive. The deadline is in a week. I think the core of the team feels quite the same way, a little on the burnt-out end of the spectrum. Both of the new helpers on the team commented on the low team morale. At least I know I'm not alone.

     This weekend (aside from working Sunday afternoon/night) was spent being a tourist. It actually helped me settle in a lot better. I feel like I know a bit more of what goes on around here and I'm starting to meet more people. On Saturday I went out on my own. It was the king's birthday and I tried to find the festivities in all the wrong places, but I saw quite a bit of touristy parts of the city. I went down to Chinatown and Pasar Seni (Central Market...it might be Sini...I'm too tired to look it up). I got one of those fish massages, where you dip your legs in a large fish tank and the "Doctor Fish" as they are called eat all the dead skin away. It tickles like crazy (and I'm not very ticklish) for the first few minutes and then it feels like soft scratches or something along those lines. A totally unique experience. Afterwards it feels awesome. Your feet and legs feel so refreshed and surprisingly clean. I'd do it again and highly recommend it. I window shopped for a bit, got some fresh mango at a fruit stand, and then went to Chinatown to find MB a present. I bargained my way to what I wanted which was exciting. It's pretty easy. The price they initially offer is quite tempting if you convert it to dollars, so I probably could have done better, but I only ended up paying a Ringgit or two more than I wanted to. After this I went to the food stalls and sat down to journal for a bit. I ended up talking with these two British girls and had lunch with them. It was some amazing Peking duck, although I'm sure the real thing in China is better still. I didn't care, because nothing beats crispy skin and duck fat over rice.

    After lunch I wandered around a bit more and visited a small Buddhist temple. I made an offering and sat there in meditation for a while. I'm currently learning about the 8 Fold Path to Enlightenment so it was kinda cool to start to recognize symbols and meanings in the temple. Plus, I saw it as a chance to get in touch with the world and the present. Literally right across the street and maybe 10 meters down there was a Hindu temple. I am fascinated by the ornate-ness of the Hindu religion, as well as the colors and beauty that surround the Hindu culture. It was my first time actually inside a Hindu place of worship. Although it was quite small I did spend a lot of time staring at the statues. Shiva was depicted with quite large boobs, which I am assuming is a symbol of nurturing, but I found it rather distracting (I know I know, I'm like a 10 year old boy). You can't wear your shoes in Hindu temples, so I left mine outside and of course I stepped in pigeon poo. Fortunately there was a place to wash your feet. I guess I'll know in a few days if I get some type of weird infection or something.

     After that I tried to get a taxi to go to Independence Square because I couldn't gage how far it was by my map and there is no city grid here so navigating is quite hard. I should have known when the taxi driver refused to use his meter that I would be ripped off, but at this point I was sweating like crazy and sitting in the air con left my don't-rip-me-off attitude out in the heat. I got totally ripped off, which made me a bit upset, because I know better, but whatever, at least next time I will know how to walk there. It was completely dead (it used to be the place where most of the political activity was, but most of it has been moved to a new city called Putrajaya - coincidentally where my competition project is). Aside from the old buildings and large flagpole it was kinda blah. I was going to go to the national mosque after that, but the cabbie had aggravated me so I left the area. Plus, I want to go national mosque with an actual Muslim so they can explain things to me, so I'll explore that part of town another time.

     I decided that it was still too early to return home, even though it was the hottest part of the day, so I headed over to Little India. That area is a complete CF. Crowded, people everywhere, people shouting at you, no room to move in between street stalls, and nothing really that special. I was going to sit down and get a snack from the Mamak stalls, but it was hotter under the tents than it was outside, so I window shopped in the colorful Sari stores instead. There are also a LOT of gold jewelry stores, which was quite interesting to see. Also, and like Chinatown, there were a LOT of knock offs/junk/un-identifiable chochkies (or however you spell it). Consumerism is a funny thing. The only thing I got there was a much needed bottle of water. I sat around in the shade/air con of the LRT station before heading home.

     I quickly took a shower and then headed back out to explore my neighborhood a bit more and then grab some groceries. I stumbled upon a Carrefour and I was curious to know if it was a grocery place or what so I went it. Carrefour is essentially a Wal-Mart on speed/steroids with a much better food selection. It was a bit overwhelming, but since I had walked through an entire parking lot (they are LARGE here), a parking lot market (random?) and circled a small mall to get there I got my groceries and a few household items there. It was actually pretty entertaining. They blasted peppy top-40s music and I found it a bit funny to see all of these women covered up while tapping their feet to that S&M song. They also had a live fish section (for food, not pets) and half a cow hanging from a hook with the other half chopped up into various cuts on a table on the side. The store had very little organization aside from the aisles, but things like toys were sandwiched in between storage containers and rat poison. I managed to make it out of there spending very little money. Just grabbing some pasta, breakfast items, beer, and food containers.

     That evening F, my roomie, graciously cooked me dinner and I ate with her and her boyfriend D. D is such a gentleman. Seriously. He served us food, refilled our food and cleaned up. He says he does it because he can't cook, but I have never had a guy I hardly met fill up my plate for me. He is Hindu, and the next day I was going to the Batu Caves so I was asking him questions about the festival that goes on there (Google it, I'm getting sssssuuuuuppppppper tired and it takes a while to explain, but don't say I didn't warn you, it's quite gory. Guys pull heavy blocks to shrines of different gods through hooks pierced throughout their bodies).

     The next day I went to my first CS event to the Batu Caves. It was a blast. I met a lot of cool people from all walks of life. I really look forward to hanging out with them more as the summer goes on. The hospitality here is quite amazing and the Malaysians who are a little more outgoing really make an effort to make you feel at home. Those that are shy (which is normal here) are just as nice, you just have to make the effort to get to know them. It was fun to hang out with people from all over, and all over KL as well. I hope to travel and go on more adventures with them in the future. The Batu Caves are a sight to behold. It is obviously very touristy, but at the same time, it is the most sacred Hindu site in Malaysia, so there were a lot of people there to worship as well. There were a few weddings, where it is considered an honor (to the newly-weds) if you are from far, far away to get your picture taken with the bride and groom (see Flickr in the next few days, I'm uploading soon) and wish them a happy marriage. The colors and ornate nature of the wedding outfits are breathtaking. Batu Caves are high up, about 300 and something narrow, steep steps up the side of a mountain. Be prepared to be attacked by monkeys on the way up. I brought the end pieces of my bread to give to the monkeys (because I don't eat them and I don't want to waste food). Being around monkeys is not a new thing for me (I've been to the Amazon) and I know how clever/rough they can be so I engaged in a friendly tug of war with one.

     After sweating it out up to the caves, we headed down. As we were debating where to eat lunch we got to witness someone on a religious pilgrimage who was asking the gods for a favor. In order to do this, you roll down the main entrance, then crawl on your hands and knees up all the steps and pray the whole way there. Trust me, this is NOT an easy task (don't forget the climate conditions), and you could see in her face her determination and dedication to the task at hand. Truly an amazing thing to witness.

  We were waiting for a couple to come back down, so we had some fresh coconuts, then headed to lunch at Teman Melati. We ate at a place called Virgin Chicken (which is the way they cook it I guess), near where my host family lives. I had a great time eating and exchanging travel stories and suggestions. I've got some travel plans in the works, which is something to look forward to after all of this competition business is done. I found out that there are a few other people I know heading to Singapore the same weekend I am, so hopefully I can meet up with them.

    Anyways, this is getting WAYYYYYY too long, so I'm going to get going to bed. I have made it my mission to take at least a half-hour out of my overtime day tomorrow to do some yoga. Hopefully it will keep me centered and refreshed for the long week ahead!

-M

Batu Caves

News paper article...

Monkey...obviously

True dedication - after the first stage of rolling

     Today was not my day. Actually, the last two days at work were quite like this. I got home today a little earlier than yesterday which was nice, but it has been frustrating. Essentially, I just don't see eye to eye with my boss for this project. This situation, as I'm sure you are all aware, is quite normal. However, this being my first official office job, figuring out how to deal with it has its ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, she's a good designer; it is simply a classic clash of form vs. function. I'm more of a function person, she's more of a form lady. It makes working on this competition quite difficult. You have good days and you have bad days, today was a bad day. Tomorrow will be easier. I think I'm just going to try to focus on getting the presentation ready because designing just isn't working out for me right now. But why you ask? Aren't you an architect? Well, technically no, I'm an intern, and yes I do like to design, but we are at a stage where things need to get done and my ideas just don't co-incide with the design. So in order to contribute in a positive manner I'm content with making diagrams and getting a coherent presentation together. I also don't mind sitting back and observing the rest of the design in order to learn a viewpoint different than my own; contributing where I feel it is absolutely necessary to discussions. Just got to take it one day at a time and stay positive. The deadline is in a week. I think the core of the team feels quite the same way, a little on the burnt-out end of the spectrum. Both of the new helpers on the team commented on the low team morale. At least I know I'm not alone.

     This weekend (aside from working Sunday afternoon/night) was spent being a tourist. It actually helped me settle in a lot better. I feel like I know a bit more of what goes on around here and I'm starting to meet more people. On Saturday I went out on my own. It was the king's birthday and I tried to find the festivities in all the wrong places, but I saw quite a bit of touristy parts of the city. I went down to Chinatown and Pasar Seni (Central Market...it might be Sini...I'm too tired to look it up). I got one of those fish massages, where you dip your legs in a large fish tank and the "Doctor Fish" as they are called eat all the dead skin away. It tickles like crazy (and I'm not very ticklish) for the first few minutes and then it feels like soft scratches or something along those lines. A totally unique experience. Afterwards it feels awesome. Your feet and legs feel so refreshed and surprisingly clean. I'd do it again and highly recommend it. I window shopped for a bit, got some fresh mango at a fruit stand, and then went to Chinatown to find MB a present. I bargained my way to what I wanted which was exciting. It's pretty easy. The price they initially offer is quite tempting if you convert it to dollars, so I probably could have done better, but I only ended up paying a Ringgit or two more than I wanted to. After this I went to the food stalls and sat down to journal for a bit. I ended up talking with these two British girls and had lunch with them. It was some amazing Peking duck, although I'm sure the real thing in China is better still. I didn't care, because nothing beats crispy skin and duck fat over rice.

    After lunch I wandered around a bit more and visited a small Buddhist temple. I made an offering and sat there in meditation for a while. I'm currently learning about the 8 Fold Path to Enlightenment so it was kinda cool to start to recognize symbols and meanings in the temple. Plus, I saw it as a chance to get in touch with the world and the present. Literally right across the street and maybe 10 meters down there was a Hindu temple. I am fascinated by the ornate-ness of the Hindu religion, as well as the colors and beauty that surround the Hindu culture. It was my first time actually inside a Hindu place of worship. Although it was quite small I did spend a lot of time staring at the statues. Shiva was depicted with quite large boobs, which I am assuming is a symbol of nurturing, but I found it rather distracting (I know I know, I'm like a 10 year old boy). You can't wear your shoes in Hindu temples, so I left mine outside and of course I stepped in pigeon poo. Fortunately there was a place to wash your feet. I guess I'll know in a few days if I get some type of weird infection or something.

     After that I tried to get a taxi to go to Independence Square because I couldn't gage how far it was by my map and there is no city grid here so navigating is quite hard. I should have known when the taxi driver refused to use his meter that I would be ripped off, but at this point I was sweating like crazy and sitting in the air con left my don't-rip-me-off attitude out in the heat. I got totally ripped off, which made me a bit upset, because I know better, but whatever, at least next time I will know how to walk there. It was completely dead (it used to be the place where most of the political activity was, but most of it has been moved to a new city called Putrajaya - coincidentally where my competition project is). Aside from the old buildings and large flagpole it was kinda blah. I was going to go to the national mosque after that, but the cabbie had aggravated me so I left the area. Plus, I want to go national mosque with an actual Muslim so they can explain things to me, so I'll explore that part of town another time.

     I decided that it was still too early to return home, even though it was the hottest part of the day, so I headed over to Little India. That area is a complete CF. Crowded, people everywhere, people shouting at you, no room to move in between street stalls, and nothing really that special. I was going to sit down and get a snack from the Mamak stalls, but it was hotter under the tents than it was outside, so I window shopped in the colorful Sari stores instead. There are also a LOT of gold jewelry stores, which was quite interesting to see. Also, and like Chinatown, there were a LOT of knock offs/junk/un-identifiable chochkies (or however you spell it). Consumerism is a funny thing. The only thing I got there was a much needed bottle of water. I sat around in the shade/air con of the LRT station before heading home.

     I quickly took a shower and then headed back out to explore my neighborhood a bit more and then grab some groceries. I stumbled upon a Carrefour and I was curious to know if it was a grocery place or what so I went it. Carrefour is essentially a Wal-Mart on speed/steroids with a much better food selection. It was a bit overwhelming, but since I had walked through an entire parking lot (they are LARGE here), a parking lot market (random?) and circled a small mall to get there I got my groceries and a few household items there. It was actually pretty entertaining. They blasted peppy top-40s music and I found it a bit funny to see all of these women covered up while tapping their feet to that S&M song. They also had a live fish section (for food, not pets) and half a cow hanging from a hook with the other half chopped up into various cuts on a table on the side. The store had very little organization aside from the aisles, but things like toys were sandwiched in between storage containers and rat poison. I managed to make it out of there spending very little money. Just grabbing some pasta, breakfast items, beer, and food containers.

     That evening F, my roomie, graciously cooked me dinner and I ate with her and her boyfriend D. D is such a gentleman. Seriously. He served us food, refilled our food and cleaned up. He says he does it because he can't cook, but I have never had a guy I hardly met fill up my plate for me. He is Hindu, and the next day I was going to the Batu Caves so I was asking him questions about the festival that goes on there (Google it, I'm getting sssssuuuuuppppppper tired and it takes a while to explain, but don't say I didn't warn you, it's quite gory. Guys pull heavy blocks to shrines of different gods through hooks pierced throughout their bodies).

     The next day I went to my first CS event to the Batu Caves. It was a blast. I met a lot of cool people from all walks of life. I really look forward to hanging out with them more as the summer goes on. The hospitality here is quite amazing and the Malaysians who are a little more outgoing really make an effort to make you feel at home. Those that are shy (which is normal here) are just as nice, you just have to make the effort to get to know them. It was fun to hang out with people from all over, and all over KL as well. I hope to travel and go on more adventures with them in the future. The Batu Caves are a sight to behold. It is obviously very touristy, but at the same time, it is the most sacred Hindu site in Malaysia, so there were a lot of people there to worship as well. There were a few weddings, where it is considered an honor (to the newly-weds) if you are from far, far away to get your picture taken with the bride and groom (see Flickr in the next few days, I'm uploading soon) and wish them a happy marriage. The colors and ornate nature of the wedding outfits are breathtaking. Batu Caves are high up, about 300 and something narrow, steep steps up the side of a mountain. Be prepared to be attacked by monkeys on the way up. I brought the end pieces of my bread to give to the monkeys (because I don't eat them and I don't want to waste food). Being around monkeys is not a new thing for me (I've been to the Amazon) and I know how clever/rough they can be so I engaged in a friendly tug of war with one.

     After sweating it out up to the caves, we headed down. As we were debating where to eat lunch we got to witness someone on a religious pilgrimage who was asking the gods for a favor. In order to do this, you roll down the main entrance, then crawl on your hands and knees up all the steps and pray the whole way there. Trust me, this is NOT an easy task (don't forget the climate conditions), and you could see in her face her determination and dedication to the task at hand. Truly an amazing thing to witness.

  We were waiting for a couple to come back down, so we had some fresh coconuts, then headed to lunch at Teman Melati. We ate at a place called Virgin Chicken (which is the way they cook it I guess), near where my host family lives. I had a great time eating and exchanging travel stories and suggestions. I've got some travel plans in the works, which is something to look forward to after all of this competition business is done. I found out that there are a few other people I know heading to Singapore the same weekend I am, so hopefully I can meet up with them.

    Anyways, this is getting WAYYYYYY too long, so I'm going to get going to bed. I have made it my mission to take at least a half-hour out of my overtime day tomorrow to do some yoga. Hopefully it will keep me centered and refreshed for the long week ahead!

-M

Batu Caves

News paper article...

Monkey...obviously

True dedication - after the first stage of rolling

     Today was not my day. Actually, the last two days at work were quite like this. I got home today a little earlier than yesterday which was nice, but it has been frustrating. Essentially, I just don't see eye to eye with my boss for this project. This situation, as I'm sure you are all aware, is quite normal. However, this being my first official office job, figuring out how to deal with it has its ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, she's a good designer; it is simply a classic clash of form vs. function. I'm more of a function person, she's more of a form lady. It makes working on this competition quite difficult. You have good days and you have bad days, today was a bad day. Tomorrow will be easier. I think I'm just going to try to focus on getting the presentation ready because designing just isn't working out for me right now. But why you ask? Aren't you an architect? Well, technically no, I'm an intern, and yes I do like to design, but we are at a stage where things need to get done and my ideas just don't co-incide with the design. So in order to contribute in a positive manner I'm content with making diagrams and getting a coherent presentation together. I also don't mind sitting back and observing the rest of the design in order to learn a viewpoint different than my own; contributing where I feel it is absolutely necessary to discussions. Just got to take it one day at a time and stay positive. The deadline is in a week. I think the core of the team feels quite the same way, a little on the burnt-out end of the spectrum. Both of the new helpers on the team commented on the low team morale. At least I know I'm not alone.

     This weekend (aside from working Sunday afternoon/night) was spent being a tourist. It actually helped me settle in a lot better. I feel like I know a bit more of what goes on around here and I'm starting to meet more people. On Saturday I went out on my own. It was the king's birthday and I tried to find the festivities in all the wrong places, but I saw quite a bit of touristy parts of the city. I went down to Chinatown and Pasar Seni (Central Market...it might be Sini...I'm too tired to look it up). I got one of those fish massages, where you dip your legs in a large fish tank and the "Doctor Fish" as they are called eat all the dead skin away. It tickles like crazy (and I'm not very ticklish) for the first few minutes and then it feels like soft scratches or something along those lines. A totally unique experience. Afterwards it feels awesome. Your feet and legs feel so refreshed and surprisingly clean. I'd do it again and highly recommend it. I window shopped for a bit, got some fresh mango at a fruit stand, and then went to Chinatown to find MB a present. I bargained my way to what I wanted which was exciting. It's pretty easy. The price they initially offer is quite tempting if you convert it to dollars, so I probably could have done better, but I only ended up paying a Ringgit or two more than I wanted to. After this I went to the food stalls and sat down to journal for a bit. I ended up talking with these two British girls and had lunch with them. It was some amazing Peking duck, although I'm sure the real thing in China is better still. I didn't care, because nothing beats crispy skin and duck fat over rice.

    After lunch I wandered around a bit more and visited a small Buddhist temple. I made an offering and sat there in meditation for a while. I'm currently learning about the 8 Fold Path to Enlightenment so it was kinda cool to start to recognize symbols and meanings in the temple. Plus, I saw it as a chance to get in touch with the world and the present. Literally right across the street and maybe 10 meters down there was a Hindu temple. I am fascinated by the ornate-ness of the Hindu religion, as well as the colors and beauty that surround the Hindu culture. It was my first time actually inside a Hindu place of worship. Although it was quite small I did spend a lot of time staring at the statues. Shiva was depicted with quite large boobs, which I am assuming is a symbol of nurturing, but I found it rather distracting (I know I know, I'm like a 10 year old boy). You can't wear your shoes in Hindu temples, so I left mine outside and of course I stepped in pigeon poo. Fortunately there was a place to wash your feet. I guess I'll know in a few days if I get some type of weird infection or something.

     After that I tried to get a taxi to go to Independence Square because I couldn't gage how far it was by my map and there is no city grid here so navigating is quite hard. I should have known when the taxi driver refused to use his meter that I would be ripped off, but at this point I was sweating like crazy and sitting in the air con left my don't-rip-me-off attitude out in the heat. I got totally ripped off, which made me a bit upset, because I know better, but whatever, at least next time I will know how to walk there. It was completely dead (it used to be the place where most of the political activity was, but most of it has been moved to a new city called Putrajaya - coincidentally where my competition project is). Aside from the old buildings and large flagpole it was kinda blah. I was going to go to the national mosque after that, but the cabbie had aggravated me so I left the area. Plus, I want to go national mosque with an actual Muslim so they can explain things to me, so I'll explore that part of town another time.

     I decided that it was still too early to return home, even though it was the hottest part of the day, so I headed over to Little India. That area is a complete CF. Crowded, people everywhere, people shouting at you, no room to move in between street stalls, and nothing really that special. I was going to sit down and get a snack from the Mamak stalls, but it was hotter under the tents than it was outside, so I window shopped in the colorful Sari stores instead. There are also a LOT of gold jewelry stores, which was quite interesting to see. Also, and like Chinatown, there were a LOT of knock offs/junk/un-identifiable chochkies (or however you spell it). Consumerism is a funny thing. The only thing I got there was a much needed bottle of water. I sat around in the shade/air con of the LRT station before heading home.

     I quickly took a shower and then headed back out to explore my neighborhood a bit more and then grab some groceries. I stumbled upon a Carrefour and I was curious to know if it was a grocery place or what so I went it. Carrefour is essentially a Wal-Mart on speed/steroids with a much better food selection. It was a bit overwhelming, but since I had walked through an entire parking lot (they are LARGE here), a parking lot market (random?) and circled a small mall to get there I got my groceries and a few household items there. It was actually pretty entertaining. They blasted peppy top-40s music and I found it a bit funny to see all of these women covered up while tapping their feet to that S&M song. They also had a live fish section (for food, not pets) and half a cow hanging from a hook with the other half chopped up into various cuts on a table on the side. The store had very little organization aside from the aisles, but things like toys were sandwiched in between storage containers and rat poison. I managed to make it out of there spending very little money. Just grabbing some pasta, breakfast items, beer, and food containers.

     That evening F, my roomie, graciously cooked me dinner and I ate with her and her boyfriend D. D is such a gentleman. Seriously. He served us food, refilled our food and cleaned up. He says he does it because he can't cook, but I have never had a guy I hardly met fill up my plate for me. He is Hindu, and the next day I was going to the Batu Caves so I was asking him questions about the festival that goes on there (Google it, I'm getting sssssuuuuuppppppper tired and it takes a while to explain, but don't say I didn't warn you, it's quite gory. Guys pull heavy blocks to shrines of different gods through hooks pierced throughout their bodies).

     The next day I went to my first CS event to the Batu Caves. It was a blast. I met a lot of cool people from all walks of life. I really look forward to hanging out with them more as the summer goes on. The hospitality here is quite amazing and the Malaysians who are a little more outgoing really make an effort to make you feel at home. Those that are shy (which is normal here) are just as nice, you just have to make the effort to get to know them. It was fun to hang out with people from all over, and all over KL as well. I hope to travel and go on more adventures with them in the future. The Batu Caves are a sight to behold. It is obviously very touristy, but at the same time, it is the most sacred Hindu site in Malaysia, so there were a lot of people there to worship as well. There were a few weddings, where it is considered an honor (to the newly-weds) if you are from far, far away to get your picture taken with the bride and groom (see Flickr in the next few days, I'm uploading soon) and wish them a happy marriage. The colors and ornate nature of the wedding outfits are breathtaking. Batu Caves are high up, about 300 and something narrow, steep steps up the side of a mountain. Be prepared to be attacked by monkeys on the way up. I brought the end pieces of my bread to give to the monkeys (because I don't eat them and I don't want to waste food). Being around monkeys is not a new thing for me (I've been to the Amazon) and I know how clever/rough they can be so I engaged in a friendly tug of war with one.

     After sweating it out up to the caves, we headed down. As we were debating where to eat lunch we got to witness someone on a religious pilgrimage who was asking the gods for a favor. In order to do this, you roll down the main entrance, then crawl on your hands and knees up all the steps and pray the whole way there. Trust me, this is NOT an easy task (don't forget the climate conditions), and you could see in her face her determination and dedication to the task at hand. Truly an amazing thing to witness.

  We were waiting for a couple to come back down, so we had some fresh coconuts, then headed to lunch at Teman Melati. We ate at a place called Virgin Chicken (which is the way they cook it I guess), near where my host family lives. I had a great time eating and exchanging travel stories and suggestions. I've got some travel plans in the works, which is something to look forward to after all of this competition business is done. I found out that there are a few other people I know heading to Singapore the same weekend I am, so hopefully I can meet up with them.

    Anyways, this is getting WAYYYYYY too long, so I'm going to get going to bed. I have made it my mission to take at least a half-hour out of my overtime day tomorrow to do some yoga. Hopefully it will keep me centered and refreshed for the long week ahead!

-M

Batu Caves

News paper article...

Monkey...obviously

True dedication - after the first stage of rolling

     Today was not my day. Actually, the last two days at work were quite like this. I got home today a little earlier than yesterday which was nice, but it has been frustrating. Essentially, I just don't see eye to eye with my boss for this project. This situation, as I'm sure you are all aware, is quite normal. However, this being my first official office job, figuring out how to deal with it has its ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, she's a good designer; it is simply a classic clash of form vs. function. I'm more of a function person, she's more of a form lady. It makes working on this competition quite difficult. You have good days and you have bad days, today was a bad day. Tomorrow will be easier. I think I'm just going to try to focus on getting the presentation ready because designing just isn't working out for me right now. But why you ask? Aren't you an architect? Well, technically no, I'm an intern, and yes I do like to design, but we are at a stage where things need to get done and my ideas just don't co-incide with the design. So in order to contribute in a positive manner I'm content with making diagrams and getting a coherent presentation together. I also don't mind sitting back and observing the rest of the design in order to learn a viewpoint different than my own; contributing where I feel it is absolutely necessary to discussions. Just got to take it one day at a time and stay positive. The deadline is in a week. I think the core of the team feels quite the same way, a little on the burnt-out end of the spectrum. Both of the new helpers on the team commented on the low team morale. At least I know I'm not alone.

     This weekend (aside from working Sunday afternoon/night) was spent being a tourist. It actually helped me settle in a lot better. I feel like I know a bit more of what goes on around here and I'm starting to meet more people. On Saturday I went out on my own. It was the king's birthday and I tried to find the festivities in all the wrong places, but I saw quite a bit of touristy parts of the city. I went down to Chinatown and Pasar Seni (Central Market...it might be Sini...I'm too tired to look it up). I got one of those fish massages, where you dip your legs in a large fish tank and the "Doctor Fish" as they are called eat all the dead skin away. It tickles like crazy (and I'm not very ticklish) for the first few minutes and then it feels like soft scratches or something along those lines. A totally unique experience. Afterwards it feels awesome. Your feet and legs feel so refreshed and surprisingly clean. I'd do it again and highly recommend it. I window shopped for a bit, got some fresh mango at a fruit stand, and then went to Chinatown to find MB a present. I bargained my way to what I wanted which was exciting. It's pretty easy. The price they initially offer is quite tempting if you convert it to dollars, so I probably could have done better, but I only ended up paying a Ringgit or two more than I wanted to. After this I went to the food stalls and sat down to journal for a bit. I ended up talking with these two British girls and had lunch with them. It was some amazing Peking duck, although I'm sure the real thing in China is better still. I didn't care, because nothing beats crispy skin and duck fat over rice.

    After lunch I wandered around a bit more and visited a small Buddhist temple. I made an offering and sat there in meditation for a while. I'm currently learning about the 8 Fold Path to Enlightenment so it was kinda cool to start to recognize symbols and meanings in the temple. Plus, I saw it as a chance to get in touch with the world and the present. Literally right across the street and maybe 10 meters down there was a Hindu temple. I am fascinated by the ornate-ness of the Hindu religion, as well as the colors and beauty that surround the Hindu culture. It was my first time actually inside a Hindu place of worship. Although it was quite small I did spend a lot of time staring at the statues. Shiva was depicted with quite large boobs, which I am assuming is a symbol of nurturing, but I found it rather distracting (I know I know, I'm like a 10 year old boy). You can't wear your shoes in Hindu temples, so I left mine outside and of course I stepped in pigeon poo. Fortunately there was a place to wash your feet. I guess I'll know in a few days if I get some type of weird infection or something.

     After that I tried to get a taxi to go to Independence Square because I couldn't gage how far it was by my map and there is no city grid here so navigating is quite hard. I should have known when the taxi driver refused to use his meter that I would be ripped off, but at this point I was sweating like crazy and sitting in the air con left my don't-rip-me-off attitude out in the heat. I got totally ripped off, which made me a bit upset, because I know better, but whatever, at least next time I will know how to walk there. It was completely dead (it used to be the place where most of the political activity was, but most of it has been moved to a new city called Putrajaya - coincidentally where my competition project is). Aside from the old buildings and large flagpole it was kinda blah. I was going to go to the national mosque after that, but the cabbie had aggravated me so I left the area. Plus, I want to go national mosque with an actual Muslim so they can explain things to me, so I'll explore that part of town another time.

     I decided that it was still too early to return home, even though it was the hottest part of the day, so I headed over to Little India. That area is a complete CF. Crowded, people everywhere, people shouting at you, no room to move in between street stalls, and nothing really that special. I was going to sit down and get a snack from the Mamak stalls, but it was hotter under the tents than it was outside, so I window shopped in the colorful Sari stores instead. There are also a LOT of gold jewelry stores, which was quite interesting to see. Also, and like Chinatown, there were a LOT of knock offs/junk/un-identifiable chochkies (or however you spell it). Consumerism is a funny thing. The only thing I got there was a much needed bottle of water. I sat around in the shade/air con of the LRT station before heading home.

     I quickly took a shower and then headed back out to explore my neighborhood a bit more and then grab some groceries. I stumbled upon a Carrefour and I was curious to know if it was a grocery place or what so I went it. Carrefour is essentially a Wal-Mart on speed/steroids with a much better food selection. It was a bit overwhelming, but since I had walked through an entire parking lot (they are LARGE here), a parking lot market (random?) and circled a small mall to get there I got my groceries and a few household items there. It was actually pretty entertaining. They blasted peppy top-40s music and I found it a bit funny to see all of these women covered up while tapping their feet to that S&M song. They also had a live fish section (for food, not pets) and half a cow hanging from a hook with the other half chopped up into various cuts on a table on the side. The store had very little organization aside from the aisles, but things like toys were sandwiched in between storage containers and rat poison. I managed to make it out of there spending very little money. Just grabbing some pasta, breakfast items, beer, and food containers.

     That evening F, my roomie, graciously cooked me dinner and I ate with her and her boyfriend D. D is such a gentleman. Seriously. He served us food, refilled our food and cleaned up. He says he does it because he can't cook, but I have never had a guy I hardly met fill up my plate for me. He is Hindu, and the next day I was going to the Batu Caves so I was asking him questions about the festival that goes on there (Google it, I'm getting sssssuuuuuppppppper tired and it takes a while to explain, but don't say I didn't warn you, it's quite gory. Guys pull heavy blocks to shrines of different gods through hooks pierced throughout their bodies).

     The next day I went to my first CS event to the Batu Caves. It was a blast. I met a lot of cool people from all walks of life. I really look forward to hanging out with them more as the summer goes on. The hospitality here is quite amazing and the Malaysians who are a little more outgoing really make an effort to make you feel at home. Those that are shy (which is normal here) are just as nice, you just have to make the effort to get to know them. It was fun to hang out with people from all over, and all over KL as well. I hope to travel and go on more adventures with them in the future. The Batu Caves are a sight to behold. It is obviously very touristy, but at the same time, it is the most sacred Hindu site in Malaysia, so there were a lot of people there to worship as well. There were a few weddings, where it is considered an honor (to the newly-weds) if you are from far, far away to get your picture taken with the bride and groom (see Flickr in the next few days, I'm uploading soon) and wish them a happy marriage. The colors and ornate nature of the wedding outfits are breathtaking. Batu Caves are high up, about 300 and something narrow, steep steps up the side of a mountain. Be prepared to be attacked by monkeys on the way up. I brought the end pieces of my bread to give to the monkeys (because I don't eat them and I don't want to waste food). Being around monkeys is not a new thing for me (I've been to the Amazon) and I know how clever/rough they can be so I engaged in a friendly tug of war with one.

     After sweating it out up to the caves, we headed down. As we were debating where to eat lunch we got to witness someone on a religious pilgrimage who was asking the gods for a favor. In order to do this, you roll down the main entrance, then crawl on your hands and knees up all the steps and pray the whole way there. Trust me, this is NOT an easy task (don't forget the climate conditions), and you could see in her face her determination and dedication to the task at hand. Truly an amazing thing to witness.

  We were waiting for a couple to come back down, so we had some fresh coconuts, then headed to lunch at Teman Melati. We ate at a place called Virgin Chicken (which is the way they cook it I guess), near where my host family lives. I had a great time eating and exchanging travel stories and suggestions. I've got some travel plans in the works, which is something to look forward to after all of this competition business is done. I found out that there are a few other people I know heading to Singapore the same weekend I am, so hopefully I can meet up with them.

    Anyways, this is getting WAYYYYYY too long, so I'm going to get going to bed. I have made it my mission to take at least a half-hour out of my overtime day tomorrow to do some yoga. Hopefully it will keep me centered and refreshed for the long week ahead!

-M

Batu Caves

News paper article...

Monkey...obviously

True dedication - after the first stage of rolling

MSG MSG MSG

      After 5 hours at the office (yes I know it is Sunday....don't ask) I went to KLCC to grab a quick bite and get a thank you card for my host. Klang was fun. The trip there was quite interesting...I took the commuter rail there. It's an electric train and we had an intense lightening storm on the way over. A bolt must have struck the line and the train came to a complete halt. I had been warned that this can happen, so I wasn't really that concerned until I heard it was going to take over an hour to fix, if at all. It was pooping rain, but fortunately we broke down about a hundred yards from the last stop so I just jumped off and walked back. G picked me up at the station and we headed to her house to cook up some tasty food. We had spice rubbed garlic baked fish, cheesy potato gratin, some type of veggie, and we attempted to make mango rice, but we were all too full to eat any of it. I also met her friend R who is an awesome chef. After overcoming our food comas we headed to the mall.

      Mall going is a pastime of Malaysians, plus I really needed to get a few things. Our apartment doesn't even have filtered water, and I was in desperate need of another fan to blast in my face at night so I was going in prepared to spend some. I also bought beer for later that night. The mall, especially Jusco (kinda like a target but with more of a grocery focus) was a complete CF. It didn't really surprise me, the annual sales are going on because the schools are on break, and westerners find a lot of things in Asia a complete CF in general. This mall was medium to large size (I thought it was enormous) something like 5 floors. Pretty redic. They have stuff from all over, and yes, all the crazy things you can imagine do exist here. I got some household items, including a fan...which I just opened to set up and found that the plug only has one prong...ugh! I'm going to return it, so I went to look on Google Maps for the nearest Jusco, and it's actually quite close, but the roads here prohibit me from walking there, unless I want to wander way out of the way, so the only way to return it is to go by LRT (inner city light rail) to the next stop. So unless I want to drag this fan to work with me tomorrow (it's surprisingly heavy) I'm going to have to come back home, then go back out just to take the train one stop over, hope I don't get lost by going the wrong direction and return the fan. Total bummer cuz it's hotter than hell tonight (didn't rain today). I'm going to just shower and not dry off or something lol. We had some Indian and Chinese last night and watched House, then I passed out. I had a fitful night of sleep due to heat and bad dreams. I awoke the this morning, headed to the market (which I always find interesting) and the sweltering heat got to me. I had to lie in the AC at G's place. We stopped on the way back to KL to get some much needed Gatorade, I was pretty dehydrated. That compounded with missing my bf and doggy made for a tough morning, but I came out stronger.

     I had some really good conversations with G. She's getting ready to move to Brazil to be with her boyfriend. She get's what it's like to be in a new place, miss your significant other, and other culture shock related issues. I was so grateful I got to meet her. She made me feel better about things that bother me on the inside about being away from home. It is definitely harder than I thought. It isn't like I'm on a holiday, I'm working and living here. We talked about various global issues and Malay life. Malaysia is surprisingly international. Many kids go to school overseas, thus it's common to marry or move to another country and with a shrinking world, there is a lot of racial mixing going on. On the flip side, there is a lot of racial undertones. Maybe not like racism as we know it in the west, but she said that the one thing that bothers her is that Malaysians don't identify themselves as Malaysian first. Instead, they identify themselves as Indian, Malay, Eurasian, Chinese ect. It even goes as far as to state their race on their identity cards. I found this interesting. Countries like Rwanda did this and it led to a terrible genocide. Not that I think Malaysia is going to erupt into a brutal civil war, but it was interesting to me. The government has at the same time started a campaign called One Malaysia. You see this logo everywhere that is a Malaysian flag pattern shaped into the number one. I was wondering what that was all about.

    G's friend R also had some interesting insight. She's Malay, which usually means Muslim. However, she doesn't wear the head-dress or anything like that. I asked why and she said because she didn't grow up wearing it and it's an all or nothing kind of deal. Like you should cover everything but your face or hands or just don't do it. She doesn't believe in what I'll call the halfsies you see. People dressed in normal street clothes, usually not shorts, with the head covered. It's so hot here I really don't blame her. She also said the main reason why the people of North Africa and the Middle East cover their faces is because of the horrid sandstorms. I think this makes sense, cuz sand pelting at your face sucks no matter what religion you are, but what both of us didn't understand was the color choice. Black to me seems like it would be terribly uncomfortable in the heat, white may be a better choice. I also asked about the dog thing. She said that Muslims can't keep dogs as pets, but they can have working dogs. She also mentioned that it is un-Halal to touch a wet dog (because of the rabies outbreak back in the day) but that today they are making Halal soap for dog owners. I thought that was kinda cool. She said that the main reason why Malay Muslims don't like/tease dogs is because they are afraid of them. She's an animal lover but doesn't keep dogs. She also mentioned that drinking is forbidden in Muslim culture, it just needs to be consumed under the right pretenses. She said that a drink or two in a social occasion is acceptable, but the law was created to discourage dependency on alcohol. She said that most Muslim countries don't serve alcohol unless you are a foreigner, but alcohol may occasionally be consumed in the private of one's home. When I asked about countries (such as Brunei) that straight up ban it, she and I both agreed it was probably done for control over the population.

     I know next to nothing about Muslim culture, so I'm trying to ask as many people as I can about it. Us westerners, especially Americans, have a very skewed view and access to information about Muslim culture. A lot of practices seem contradictory to me, but I believe people have the right to believe what they choose and practice accordingly. However, I also believe in refraining from passing judgement about things you don't know about as much as possible. Asking never hurt anyone, and I find here especially, Malaysians may appear shy, but if you ask they will share in a candid manner. Obviously R can't speak for everyone, but it was interesting to get another opinion on things I know little about. I'm finding that is the best way to get to know Malaysia. Ask and observe. Everyone here is very different, much like any other place, but to a larger extent here because of so many different belief systems and cultures. I've had a couple of people around where I live ask about me. For example, I was buying street food from my favorite wok man and I guy around my age asked where I was from and was asking about America. I'm sure this was provoked by the fact that I was in a very local part of town where foreigners are rarely seen, even expats. He wanted to practice his English and I'm sure he debated a while whether or not to approach me because I caught him looking over at me several times. However, I spoke some Malay to the wok man and he started to ask me questions. He was with his girlfriend and it was a well lit area so I didn't feel threatened (plus I had a good 4 inches on the guy). I was quite impressed with his courage to just talk to me. That's not super common here. But I, in a way, understood how he must have felt.

      I'm well aware that I stand out here. I'm ok with it though. Ya, it means I have to haggle a little more, people try to pull fast ones on you. They assume you can't understand them (although they will not talk shit about you just sometimes stare and giggle). You are aware that no matter how hard you try or how well you speak the language, the color of your skin is a clear indicator that you are not and never could be from here. However, it doesn't really bother me. I'm not from here. The world is shrinking and Malaysia isn't oblivious to it. They are just as curious about you as you are of them. I mean, I don't have a British accent, being an American is much less common here. I really don't know where I'm going with all of this. I'm sure it's the heat talking. Needless to say I know I am in a place that is truly foreign to back home, and they know it as well. But I have yet to experience true malicious intent. I told G and R on the way home that I have been blown away by the hospitality here. Anyone who has done any extended amount of international traveling and has any sort of sense what-so-ever for cultural intelligence knows when you are not welcome and I have yet to have that feeling here (knock on wood). R told me this is because Malaysians value good food and good time spent with friends and family. That is something I can relate to. Family life is important here. Family includes friends. If you make the effort, you really can feel welcome.

Tired and in need of a shower.

-M

      After 5 hours at the office (yes I know it is Sunday....don't ask) I went to KLCC to grab a quick bite and get a thank you card for my host. Klang was fun. The trip there was quite interesting...I took the commuter rail there. It's an electric train and we had an intense lightening storm on the way over. A bolt must have struck the line and the train came to a complete halt. I had been warned that this can happen, so I wasn't really that concerned until I heard it was going to take over an hour to fix, if at all. It was pooping rain, but fortunately we broke down about a hundred yards from the last stop so I just jumped off and walked back. G picked me up at the station and we headed to her house to cook up some tasty food. We had spice rubbed garlic baked fish, cheesy potato gratin, some type of veggie, and we attempted to make mango rice, but we were all too full to eat any of it. I also met her friend R who is an awesome chef. After overcoming our food comas we headed to the mall.

      Mall going is a pastime of Malaysians, plus I really needed to get a few things. Our apartment doesn't even have filtered water, and I was in desperate need of another fan to blast in my face at night so I was going in prepared to spend some. I also bought beer for later that night. The mall, especially Jusco (kinda like a target but with more of a grocery focus) was a complete CF. It didn't really surprise me, the annual sales are going on because the schools are on break, and westerners find a lot of things in Asia a complete CF in general. This mall was medium to large size (I thought it was enormous) something like 5 floors. Pretty redic. They have stuff from all over, and yes, all the crazy things you can imagine do exist here. I got some household items, including a fan...which I just opened to set up and found that the plug only has one prong...ugh! I'm going to return it, so I went to look on Google Maps for the nearest Jusco, and it's actually quite close, but the roads here prohibit me from walking there, unless I want to wander way out of the way, so the only way to return it is to go by LRT (inner city light rail) to the next stop. So unless I want to drag this fan to work with me tomorrow (it's surprisingly heavy) I'm going to have to come back home, then go back out just to take the train one stop over, hope I don't get lost by going the wrong direction and return the fan. Total bummer cuz it's hotter than hell tonight (didn't rain today). I'm going to just shower and not dry off or something lol. We had some Indian and Chinese last night and watched House, then I passed out. I had a fitful night of sleep due to heat and bad dreams. I awoke the this morning, headed to the market (which I always find interesting) and the sweltering heat got to me. I had to lie in the AC at G's place. We stopped on the way back to KL to get some much needed Gatorade, I was pretty dehydrated. That compounded with missing my bf and doggy made for a tough morning, but I came out stronger.

     I had some really good conversations with G. She's getting ready to move to Brazil to be with her boyfriend. She get's what it's like to be in a new place, miss your significant other, and other culture shock related issues. I was so grateful I got to meet her. She made me feel better about things that bother me on the inside about being away from home. It is definitely harder than I thought. It isn't like I'm on a holiday, I'm working and living here. We talked about various global issues and Malay life. Malaysia is surprisingly international. Many kids go to school overseas, thus it's common to marry or move to another country and with a shrinking world, there is a lot of racial mixing going on. On the flip side, there is a lot of racial undertones. Maybe not like racism as we know it in the west, but she said that the one thing that bothers her is that Malaysians don't identify themselves as Malaysian first. Instead, they identify themselves as Indian, Malay, Eurasian, Chinese ect. It even goes as far as to state their race on their identity cards. I found this interesting. Countries like Rwanda did this and it led to a terrible genocide. Not that I think Malaysia is going to erupt into a brutal civil war, but it was interesting to me. The government has at the same time started a campaign called One Malaysia. You see this logo everywhere that is a Malaysian flag pattern shaped into the number one. I was wondering what that was all about.

    G's friend R also had some interesting insight. She's Malay, which usually means Muslim. However, she doesn't wear the head-dress or anything like that. I asked why and she said because she didn't grow up wearing it and it's an all or nothing kind of deal. Like you should cover everything but your face or hands or just don't do it. She doesn't believe in what I'll call the halfsies you see. People dressed in normal street clothes, usually not shorts, with the head covered. It's so hot here I really don't blame her. She also said the main reason why the people of North Africa and the Middle East cover their faces is because of the horrid sandstorms. I think this makes sense, cuz sand pelting at your face sucks no matter what religion you are, but what both of us didn't understand was the color choice. Black to me seems like it would be terribly uncomfortable in the heat, white may be a better choice. I also asked about the dog thing. She said that Muslims can't keep dogs as pets, but they can have working dogs. She also mentioned that it is un-Halal to touch a wet dog (because of the rabies outbreak back in the day) but that today they are making Halal soap for dog owners. I thought that was kinda cool. She said that the main reason why Malay Muslims don't like/tease dogs is because they are afraid of them. She's an animal lover but doesn't keep dogs. She also mentioned that drinking is forbidden in Muslim culture, it just needs to be consumed under the right pretenses. She said that a drink or two in a social occasion is acceptable, but the law was created to discourage dependency on alcohol. She said that most Muslim countries don't serve alcohol unless you are a foreigner, but alcohol may occasionally be consumed in the private of one's home. When I asked about countries (such as Brunei) that straight up ban it, she and I both agreed it was probably done for control over the population.

     I know next to nothing about Muslim culture, so I'm trying to ask as many people as I can about it. Us westerners, especially Americans, have a very skewed view and access to information about Muslim culture. A lot of practices seem contradictory to me, but I believe people have the right to believe what they choose and practice accordingly. However, I also believe in refraining from passing judgement about things you don't know about as much as possible. Asking never hurt anyone, and I find here especially, Malaysians may appear shy, but if you ask they will share in a candid manner. Obviously R can't speak for everyone, but it was interesting to get another opinion on things I know little about. I'm finding that is the best way to get to know Malaysia. Ask and observe. Everyone here is very different, much like any other place, but to a larger extent here because of so many different belief systems and cultures. I've had a couple of people around where I live ask about me. For example, I was buying street food from my favorite wok man and I guy around my age asked where I was from and was asking about America. I'm sure this was provoked by the fact that I was in a very local part of town where foreigners are rarely seen, even expats. He wanted to practice his English and I'm sure he debated a while whether or not to approach me because I caught him looking over at me several times. However, I spoke some Malay to the wok man and he started to ask me questions. He was with his girlfriend and it was a well lit area so I didn't feel threatened (plus I had a good 4 inches on the guy). I was quite impressed with his courage to just talk to me. That's not super common here. But I, in a way, understood how he must have felt.

      I'm well aware that I stand out here. I'm ok with it though. Ya, it means I have to haggle a little more, people try to pull fast ones on you. They assume you can't understand them (although they will not talk shit about you just sometimes stare and giggle). You are aware that no matter how hard you try or how well you speak the language, the color of your skin is a clear indicator that you are not and never could be from here. However, it doesn't really bother me. I'm not from here. The world is shrinking and Malaysia isn't oblivious to it. They are just as curious about you as you are of them. I mean, I don't have a British accent, being an American is much less common here. I really don't know where I'm going with all of this. I'm sure it's the heat talking. Needless to say I know I am in a place that is truly foreign to back home, and they know it as well. But I have yet to experience true malicious intent. I told G and R on the way home that I have been blown away by the hospitality here. Anyone who has done any extended amount of international traveling and has any sort of sense what-so-ever for cultural intelligence knows when you are not welcome and I have yet to have that feeling here (knock on wood). R told me this is because Malaysians value good food and good time spent with friends and family. That is something I can relate to. Family life is important here. Family includes friends. If you make the effort, you really can feel welcome.

Tired and in need of a shower.

-M

      After 5 hours at the office (yes I know it is Sunday....don't ask) I went to KLCC to grab a quick bite and get a thank you card for my host. Klang was fun. The trip there was quite interesting...I took the commuter rail there. It's an electric train and we had an intense lightening storm on the way over. A bolt must have struck the line and the train came to a complete halt. I had been warned that this can happen, so I wasn't really that concerned until I heard it was going to take over an hour to fix, if at all. It was pooping rain, but fortunately we broke down about a hundred yards from the last stop so I just jumped off and walked back. G picked me up at the station and we headed to her house to cook up some tasty food. We had spice rubbed garlic baked fish, cheesy potato gratin, some type of veggie, and we attempted to make mango rice, but we were all too full to eat any of it. I also met her friend R who is an awesome chef. After overcoming our food comas we headed to the mall.

      Mall going is a pastime of Malaysians, plus I really needed to get a few things. Our apartment doesn't even have filtered water, and I was in desperate need of another fan to blast in my face at night so I was going in prepared to spend some. I also bought beer for later that night. The mall, especially Jusco (kinda like a target but with more of a grocery focus) was a complete CF. It didn't really surprise me, the annual sales are going on because the schools are on break, and westerners find a lot of things in Asia a complete CF in general. This mall was medium to large size (I thought it was enormous) something like 5 floors. Pretty redic. They have stuff from all over, and yes, all the crazy things you can imagine do exist here. I got some household items, including a fan...which I just opened to set up and found that the plug only has one prong...ugh! I'm going to return it, so I went to look on Google Maps for the nearest Jusco, and it's actually quite close, but the roads here prohibit me from walking there, unless I want to wander way out of the way, so the only way to return it is to go by LRT (inner city light rail) to the next stop. So unless I want to drag this fan to work with me tomorrow (it's surprisingly heavy) I'm going to have to come back home, then go back out just to take the train one stop over, hope I don't get lost by going the wrong direction and return the fan. Total bummer cuz it's hotter than hell tonight (didn't rain today). I'm going to just shower and not dry off or something lol. We had some Indian and Chinese last night and watched House, then I passed out. I had a fitful night of sleep due to heat and bad dreams. I awoke the this morning, headed to the market (which I always find interesting) and the sweltering heat got to me. I had to lie in the AC at G's place. We stopped on the way back to KL to get some much needed Gatorade, I was pretty dehydrated. That compounded with missing my bf and doggy made for a tough morning, but I came out stronger.

     I had some really good conversations with G. She's getting ready to move to Brazil to be with her boyfriend. She get's what it's like to be in a new place, miss your significant other, and other culture shock related issues. I was so grateful I got to meet her. She made me feel better about things that bother me on the inside about being away from home. It is definitely harder than I thought. It isn't like I'm on a holiday, I'm working and living here. We talked about various global issues and Malay life. Malaysia is surprisingly international. Many kids go to school overseas, thus it's common to marry or move to another country and with a shrinking world, there is a lot of racial mixing going on. On the flip side, there is a lot of racial undertones. Maybe not like racism as we know it in the west, but she said that the one thing that bothers her is that Malaysians don't identify themselves as Malaysian first. Instead, they identify themselves as Indian, Malay, Eurasian, Chinese ect. It even goes as far as to state their race on their identity cards. I found this interesting. Countries like Rwanda did this and it led to a terrible genocide. Not that I think Malaysia is going to erupt into a brutal civil war, but it was interesting to me. The government has at the same time started a campaign called One Malaysia. You see this logo everywhere that is a Malaysian flag pattern shaped into the number one. I was wondering what that was all about.

    G's friend R also had some interesting insight. She's Malay, which usually means Muslim. However, she doesn't wear the head-dress or anything like that. I asked why and she said because she didn't grow up wearing it and it's an all or nothing kind of deal. Like you should cover everything but your face or hands or just don't do it. She doesn't believe in what I'll call the halfsies you see. People dressed in normal street clothes, usually not shorts, with the head covered. It's so hot here I really don't blame her. She also said the main reason why the people of North Africa and the Middle East cover their faces is because of the horrid sandstorms. I think this makes sense, cuz sand pelting at your face sucks no matter what religion you are, but what both of us didn't understand was the color choice. Black to me seems like it would be terribly uncomfortable in the heat, white may be a better choice. I also asked about the dog thing. She said that Muslims can't keep dogs as pets, but they can have working dogs. She also mentioned that it is un-Halal to touch a wet dog (because of the rabies outbreak back in the day) but that today they are making Halal soap for dog owners. I thought that was kinda cool. She said that the main reason why Malay Muslims don't like/tease dogs is because they are afraid of them. She's an animal lover but doesn't keep dogs. She also mentioned that drinking is forbidden in Muslim culture, it just needs to be consumed under the right pretenses. She said that a drink or two in a social occasion is acceptable, but the law was created to discourage dependency on alcohol. She said that most Muslim countries don't serve alcohol unless you are a foreigner, but alcohol may occasionally be consumed in the private of one's home. When I asked about countries (such as Brunei) that straight up ban it, she and I both agreed it was probably done for control over the population.

     I know next to nothing about Muslim culture, so I'm trying to ask as many people as I can about it. Us westerners, especially Americans, have a very skewed view and access to information about Muslim culture. A lot of practices seem contradictory to me, but I believe people have the right to believe what they choose and practice accordingly. However, I also believe in refraining from passing judgement about things you don't know about as much as possible. Asking never hurt anyone, and I find here especially, Malaysians may appear shy, but if you ask they will share in a candid manner. Obviously R can't speak for everyone, but it was interesting to get another opinion on things I know little about. I'm finding that is the best way to get to know Malaysia. Ask and observe. Everyone here is very different, much like any other place, but to a larger extent here because of so many different belief systems and cultures. I've had a couple of people around where I live ask about me. For example, I was buying street food from my favorite wok man and I guy around my age asked where I was from and was asking about America. I'm sure this was provoked by the fact that I was in a very local part of town where foreigners are rarely seen, even expats. He wanted to practice his English and I'm sure he debated a while whether or not to approach me because I caught him looking over at me several times. However, I spoke some Malay to the wok man and he started to ask me questions. He was with his girlfriend and it was a well lit area so I didn't feel threatened (plus I had a good 4 inches on the guy). I was quite impressed with his courage to just talk to me. That's not super common here. But I, in a way, understood how he must have felt.

      I'm well aware that I stand out here. I'm ok with it though. Ya, it means I have to haggle a little more, people try to pull fast ones on you. They assume you can't understand them (although they will not talk shit about you just sometimes stare and giggle). You are aware that no matter how hard you try or how well you speak the language, the color of your skin is a clear indicator that you are not and never could be from here. However, it doesn't really bother me. I'm not from here. The world is shrinking and Malaysia isn't oblivious to it. They are just as curious about you as you are of them. I mean, I don't have a British accent, being an American is much less common here. I really don't know where I'm going with all of this. I'm sure it's the heat talking. Needless to say I know I am in a place that is truly foreign to back home, and they know it as well. But I have yet to experience true malicious intent. I told G and R on the way home that I have been blown away by the hospitality here. Anyone who has done any extended amount of international traveling and has any sort of sense what-so-ever for cultural intelligence knows when you are not welcome and I have yet to have that feeling here (knock on wood). R told me this is because Malaysians value good food and good time spent with friends and family. That is something I can relate to. Family life is important here. Family includes friends. If you make the effort, you really can feel welcome.

Tired and in need of a shower.

-M

      After 5 hours at the office (yes I know it is Sunday....don't ask) I went to KLCC to grab a quick bite and get a thank you card for my host. Klang was fun. The trip there was quite interesting...I took the commuter rail there. It's an electric train and we had an intense lightening storm on the way over. A bolt must have struck the line and the train came to a complete halt. I had been warned that this can happen, so I wasn't really that concerned until I heard it was going to take over an hour to fix, if at all. It was pooping rain, but fortunately we broke down about a hundred yards from the last stop so I just jumped off and walked back. G picked me up at the station and we headed to her house to cook up some tasty food. We had spice rubbed garlic baked fish, cheesy potato gratin, some type of veggie, and we attempted to make mango rice, but we were all too full to eat any of it. I also met her friend R who is an awesome chef. After overcoming our food comas we headed to the mall.

      Mall going is a pastime of Malaysians, plus I really needed to get a few things. Our apartment doesn't even have filtered water, and I was in desperate need of another fan to blast in my face at night so I was going in prepared to spend some. I also bought beer for later that night. The mall, especially Jusco (kinda like a target but with more of a grocery focus) was a complete CF. It didn't really surprise me, the annual sales are going on because the schools are on break, and westerners find a lot of things in Asia a complete CF in general. This mall was medium to large size (I thought it was enormous) something like 5 floors. Pretty redic. They have stuff from all over, and yes, all the crazy things you can imagine do exist here. I got some household items, including a fan...which I just opened to set up and found that the plug only has one prong...ugh! I'm going to return it, so I went to look on Google Maps for the nearest Jusco, and it's actually quite close, but the roads here prohibit me from walking there, unless I want to wander way out of the way, so the only way to return it is to go by LRT (inner city light rail) to the next stop. So unless I want to drag this fan to work with me tomorrow (it's surprisingly heavy) I'm going to have to come back home, then go back out just to take the train one stop over, hope I don't get lost by going the wrong direction and return the fan. Total bummer cuz it's hotter than hell tonight (didn't rain today). I'm going to just shower and not dry off or something lol. We had some Indian and Chinese last night and watched House, then I passed out. I had a fitful night of sleep due to heat and bad dreams. I awoke the this morning, headed to the market (which I always find interesting) and the sweltering heat got to me. I had to lie in the AC at G's place. We stopped on the way back to KL to get some much needed Gatorade, I was pretty dehydrated. That compounded with missing my bf and doggy made for a tough morning, but I came out stronger.

     I had some really good conversations with G. She's getting ready to move to Brazil to be with her boyfriend. She get's what it's like to be in a new place, miss your significant other, and other culture shock related issues. I was so grateful I got to meet her. She made me feel better about things that bother me on the inside about being away from home. It is definitely harder than I thought. It isn't like I'm on a holiday, I'm working and living here. We talked about various global issues and Malay life. Malaysia is surprisingly international. Many kids go to school overseas, thus it's common to marry or move to another country and with a shrinking world, there is a lot of racial mixing going on. On the flip side, there is a lot of racial undertones. Maybe not like racism as we know it in the west, but she said that the one thing that bothers her is that Malaysians don't identify themselves as Malaysian first. Instead, they identify themselves as Indian, Malay, Eurasian, Chinese ect. It even goes as far as to state their race on their identity cards. I found this interesting. Countries like Rwanda did this and it led to a terrible genocide. Not that I think Malaysia is going to erupt into a brutal civil war, but it was interesting to me. The government has at the same time started a campaign called One Malaysia. You see this logo everywhere that is a Malaysian flag pattern shaped into the number one. I was wondering what that was all about.

    G's friend R also had some interesting insight. She's Malay, which usually means Muslim. However, she doesn't wear the head-dress or anything like that. I asked why and she said because she didn't grow up wearing it and it's an all or nothing kind of deal. Like you should cover everything but your face or hands or just don't do it. She doesn't believe in what I'll call the halfsies you see. People dressed in normal street clothes, usually not shorts, with the head covered. It's so hot here I really don't blame her. She also said the main reason why the people of North Africa and the Middle East cover their faces is because of the horrid sandstorms. I think this makes sense, cuz sand pelting at your face sucks no matter what religion you are, but what both of us didn't understand was the color choice. Black to me seems like it would be terribly uncomfortable in the heat, white may be a better choice. I also asked about the dog thing. She said that Muslims can't keep dogs as pets, but they can have working dogs. She also mentioned that it is un-Halal to touch a wet dog (because of the rabies outbreak back in the day) but that today they are making Halal soap for dog owners. I thought that was kinda cool. She said that the main reason why Malay Muslims don't like/tease dogs is because they are afraid of them. She's an animal lover but doesn't keep dogs. She also mentioned that drinking is forbidden in Muslim culture, it just needs to be consumed under the right pretenses. She said that a drink or two in a social occasion is acceptable, but the law was created to discourage dependency on alcohol. She said that most Muslim countries don't serve alcohol unless you are a foreigner, but alcohol may occasionally be consumed in the private of one's home. When I asked about countries (such as Brunei) that straight up ban it, she and I both agreed it was probably done for control over the population.

     I know next to nothing about Muslim culture, so I'm trying to ask as many people as I can about it. Us westerners, especially Americans, have a very skewed view and access to information about Muslim culture. A lot of practices seem contradictory to me, but I believe people have the right to believe what they choose and practice accordingly. However, I also believe in refraining from passing judgement about things you don't know about as much as possible. Asking never hurt anyone, and I find here especially, Malaysians may appear shy, but if you ask they will share in a candid manner. Obviously R can't speak for everyone, but it was interesting to get another opinion on things I know little about. I'm finding that is the best way to get to know Malaysia. Ask and observe. Everyone here is very different, much like any other place, but to a larger extent here because of so many different belief systems and cultures. I've had a couple of people around where I live ask about me. For example, I was buying street food from my favorite wok man and I guy around my age asked where I was from and was asking about America. I'm sure this was provoked by the fact that I was in a very local part of town where foreigners are rarely seen, even expats. He wanted to practice his English and I'm sure he debated a while whether or not to approach me because I caught him looking over at me several times. However, I spoke some Malay to the wok man and he started to ask me questions. He was with his girlfriend and it was a well lit area so I didn't feel threatened (plus I had a good 4 inches on the guy). I was quite impressed with his courage to just talk to me. That's not super common here. But I, in a way, understood how he must have felt.

      I'm well aware that I stand out here. I'm ok with it though. Ya, it means I have to haggle a little more, people try to pull fast ones on you. They assume you can't understand them (although they will not talk shit about you just sometimes stare and giggle). You are aware that no matter how hard you try or how well you speak the language, the color of your skin is a clear indicator that you are not and never could be from here. However, it doesn't really bother me. I'm not from here. The world is shrinking and Malaysia isn't oblivious to it. They are just as curious about you as you are of them. I mean, I don't have a British accent, being an American is much less common here. I really don't know where I'm going with all of this. I'm sure it's the heat talking. Needless to say I know I am in a place that is truly foreign to back home, and they know it as well. But I have yet to experience true malicious intent. I told G and R on the way home that I have been blown away by the hospitality here. Anyone who has done any extended amount of international traveling and has any sort of sense what-so-ever for cultural intelligence knows when you are not welcome and I have yet to have that feeling here (knock on wood). R told me this is because Malaysians value good food and good time spent with friends and family. That is something I can relate to. Family life is important here. Family includes friends. If you make the effort, you really can feel welcome.

Tired and in need of a shower.

-M

Heading to Klang and finally unpacking

     These last few days have been rather stressful. I have had some problems at work. If there is one true stereotype (and several locals have confirmed) it is that they are work-a-holics. Long, long hours. I was asked to come in this weekend. I am already almost certain I will be in next weekend. I've already had a 12 hour day, I have yet to leave when the office technically closes, or arrive when the work day starts. I was told (because I know architects can be crazy, so I specifically asked) that I would not be asked to work like that because I am only here for a short while, plus I'm not getting paid to. So as you can see, there is a problem. I mentioned something to the higher-ups, although both were not in, I'm hoping it gets resolved soon because I did not come across the globe to be chained to a desk. Hopefully, and I'm assuming, that it is a big miscommunication, or they are testing me to see what I am willing to do. Either way I'm not starting out by slaving away 7 days a week.

     On to more positive things. I finally moved into my apartment, although I have yet to finish unpacking. I got started yesterday and did some much needed laundry, although I forgot that the detergent here kills color so a few shirts that were neon are now dull and blah. I will probably hand wash certain things from here on out. My apartment is super nice, I will post some pix later if I have time. It is a new building and security is quite tight which I find a bit intense, although better safe than sorry I guess. Also, there is no air con, which is a bummer because it is really hot. Especially since there are also no curtains yet so the sun is beating down through my window. It's ok because most of the time I won't be here, but sleeping is an adjustment. I'm going to try to get another fan (I looked all over yesterday and couldn't find one). I've had to spend some cash recently (buying some staple groceries, some beer, some household items, rent, ect). Yesterday, since I was upset, I bought Subway, which is the same price as in the US (read: expensive for here). I am amazed at the amount of familiar brands in the supermarkets. I don't buy them, they are more expensive, but you can get things like Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker Oats, ect. The prices of groceries went up a little bit because I am in a wealthier neighborhood, but it is still less than in the US.

     I am going to Skype with my family in a little bit and then the plan is to finish unpacking, make a list of things I still need, and head to Klang. Klang is a city a bit far from here (about an hr and a half train) on the west coast. I was invited to go over to a friend of a friend's house to cook which should be a good time. Maybe I can find a place to get a fan to put near my bed (the ceiling fan only does so much). I have a feeling today is going to be hot hot hot because there are no clouds. It is best when it rains because things cool down a bit. I also find the downpour quite calming.

     Sunday I am getting a ride back from G (the friend of a friend) and I think I will figure out how to use my pool/gym pass (I'm going to gain a bunch of weight if I don't work out, too many carbs!), finish settling in, read, and journal. I have fallen a bit behind in my journal. It's hard to keep up with both the blog, emails home, and a written journal. All trips I have taken overseas have their own written journal (except a cruise I went on). I am going to try to go to church every other week so I can keep in touch with my spiritual side. I have been using a Buddhist filter to sift through the messages, I find it easier for me to relate to.

     Well I am going to cook up some breakfast before I Skype. I have much more to share, but it will have to wait for another time.

Missing home but loving Malaysia,

-M

     These last few days have been rather stressful. I have had some problems at work. If there is one true stereotype (and several locals have confirmed) it is that they are work-a-holics. Long, long hours. I was asked to come in this weekend. I am already almost certain I will be in next weekend. I've already had a 12 hour day, I have yet to leave when the office technically closes, or arrive when the work day starts. I was told (because I know architects can be crazy, so I specifically asked) that I would not be asked to work like that because I am only here for a short while, plus I'm not getting paid to. So as you can see, there is a problem. I mentioned something to the higher-ups, although both were not in, I'm hoping it gets resolved soon because I did not come across the globe to be chained to a desk. Hopefully, and I'm assuming, that it is a big miscommunication, or they are testing me to see what I am willing to do. Either way I'm not starting out by slaving away 7 days a week.

     On to more positive things. I finally moved into my apartment, although I have yet to finish unpacking. I got started yesterday and did some much needed laundry, although I forgot that the detergent here kills color so a few shirts that were neon are now dull and blah. I will probably hand wash certain things from here on out. My apartment is super nice, I will post some pix later if I have time. It is a new building and security is quite tight which I find a bit intense, although better safe than sorry I guess. Also, there is no air con, which is a bummer because it is really hot. Especially since there are also no curtains yet so the sun is beating down through my window. It's ok because most of the time I won't be here, but sleeping is an adjustment. I'm going to try to get another fan (I looked all over yesterday and couldn't find one). I've had to spend some cash recently (buying some staple groceries, some beer, some household items, rent, ect). Yesterday, since I was upset, I bought Subway, which is the same price as in the US (read: expensive for here). I am amazed at the amount of familiar brands in the supermarkets. I don't buy them, they are more expensive, but you can get things like Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker Oats, ect. The prices of groceries went up a little bit because I am in a wealthier neighborhood, but it is still less than in the US.

     I am going to Skype with my family in a little bit and then the plan is to finish unpacking, make a list of things I still need, and head to Klang. Klang is a city a bit far from here (about an hr and a half train) on the west coast. I was invited to go over to a friend of a friend's house to cook which should be a good time. Maybe I can find a place to get a fan to put near my bed (the ceiling fan only does so much). I have a feeling today is going to be hot hot hot because there are no clouds. It is best when it rains because things cool down a bit. I also find the downpour quite calming.

     Sunday I am getting a ride back from G (the friend of a friend) and I think I will figure out how to use my pool/gym pass (I'm going to gain a bunch of weight if I don't work out, too many carbs!), finish settling in, read, and journal. I have fallen a bit behind in my journal. It's hard to keep up with both the blog, emails home, and a written journal. All trips I have taken overseas have their own written journal (except a cruise I went on). I am going to try to go to church every other week so I can keep in touch with my spiritual side. I have been using a Buddhist filter to sift through the messages, I find it easier for me to relate to.

     Well I am going to cook up some breakfast before I Skype. I have much more to share, but it will have to wait for another time.

Missing home but loving Malaysia,

-M

     These last few days have been rather stressful. I have had some problems at work. If there is one true stereotype (and several locals have confirmed) it is that they are work-a-holics. Long, long hours. I was asked to come in this weekend. I am already almost certain I will be in next weekend. I've already had a 12 hour day, I have yet to leave when the office technically closes, or arrive when the work day starts. I was told (because I know architects can be crazy, so I specifically asked) that I would not be asked to work like that because I am only here for a short while, plus I'm not getting paid to. So as you can see, there is a problem. I mentioned something to the higher-ups, although both were not in, I'm hoping it gets resolved soon because I did not come across the globe to be chained to a desk. Hopefully, and I'm assuming, that it is a big miscommunication, or they are testing me to see what I am willing to do. Either way I'm not starting out by slaving away 7 days a week.

     On to more positive things. I finally moved into my apartment, although I have yet to finish unpacking. I got started yesterday and did some much needed laundry, although I forgot that the detergent here kills color so a few shirts that were neon are now dull and blah. I will probably hand wash certain things from here on out. My apartment is super nice, I will post some pix later if I have time. It is a new building and security is quite tight which I find a bit intense, although better safe than sorry I guess. Also, there is no air con, which is a bummer because it is really hot. Especially since there are also no curtains yet so the sun is beating down through my window. It's ok because most of the time I won't be here, but sleeping is an adjustment. I'm going to try to get another fan (I looked all over yesterday and couldn't find one). I've had to spend some cash recently (buying some staple groceries, some beer, some household items, rent, ect). Yesterday, since I was upset, I bought Subway, which is the same price as in the US (read: expensive for here). I am amazed at the amount of familiar brands in the supermarkets. I don't buy them, they are more expensive, but you can get things like Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker Oats, ect. The prices of groceries went up a little bit because I am in a wealthier neighborhood, but it is still less than in the US.

     I am going to Skype with my family in a little bit and then the plan is to finish unpacking, make a list of things I still need, and head to Klang. Klang is a city a bit far from here (about an hr and a half train) on the west coast. I was invited to go over to a friend of a friend's house to cook which should be a good time. Maybe I can find a place to get a fan to put near my bed (the ceiling fan only does so much). I have a feeling today is going to be hot hot hot because there are no clouds. It is best when it rains because things cool down a bit. I also find the downpour quite calming.

     Sunday I am getting a ride back from G (the friend of a friend) and I think I will figure out how to use my pool/gym pass (I'm going to gain a bunch of weight if I don't work out, too many carbs!), finish settling in, read, and journal. I have fallen a bit behind in my journal. It's hard to keep up with both the blog, emails home, and a written journal. All trips I have taken overseas have their own written journal (except a cruise I went on). I am going to try to go to church every other week so I can keep in touch with my spiritual side. I have been using a Buddhist filter to sift through the messages, I find it easier for me to relate to.

     Well I am going to cook up some breakfast before I Skype. I have much more to share, but it will have to wait for another time.

Missing home but loving Malaysia,

-M

     These last few days have been rather stressful. I have had some problems at work. If there is one true stereotype (and several locals have confirmed) it is that they are work-a-holics. Long, long hours. I was asked to come in this weekend. I am already almost certain I will be in next weekend. I've already had a 12 hour day, I have yet to leave when the office technically closes, or arrive when the work day starts. I was told (because I know architects can be crazy, so I specifically asked) that I would not be asked to work like that because I am only here for a short while, plus I'm not getting paid to. So as you can see, there is a problem. I mentioned something to the higher-ups, although both were not in, I'm hoping it gets resolved soon because I did not come across the globe to be chained to a desk. Hopefully, and I'm assuming, that it is a big miscommunication, or they are testing me to see what I am willing to do. Either way I'm not starting out by slaving away 7 days a week.

     On to more positive things. I finally moved into my apartment, although I have yet to finish unpacking. I got started yesterday and did some much needed laundry, although I forgot that the detergent here kills color so a few shirts that were neon are now dull and blah. I will probably hand wash certain things from here on out. My apartment is super nice, I will post some pix later if I have time. It is a new building and security is quite tight which I find a bit intense, although better safe than sorry I guess. Also, there is no air con, which is a bummer because it is really hot. Especially since there are also no curtains yet so the sun is beating down through my window. It's ok because most of the time I won't be here, but sleeping is an adjustment. I'm going to try to get another fan (I looked all over yesterday and couldn't find one). I've had to spend some cash recently (buying some staple groceries, some beer, some household items, rent, ect). Yesterday, since I was upset, I bought Subway, which is the same price as in the US (read: expensive for here). I am amazed at the amount of familiar brands in the supermarkets. I don't buy them, they are more expensive, but you can get things like Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker Oats, ect. The prices of groceries went up a little bit because I am in a wealthier neighborhood, but it is still less than in the US.

     I am going to Skype with my family in a little bit and then the plan is to finish unpacking, make a list of things I still need, and head to Klang. Klang is a city a bit far from here (about an hr and a half train) on the west coast. I was invited to go over to a friend of a friend's house to cook which should be a good time. Maybe I can find a place to get a fan to put near my bed (the ceiling fan only does so much). I have a feeling today is going to be hot hot hot because there are no clouds. It is best when it rains because things cool down a bit. I also find the downpour quite calming.

     Sunday I am getting a ride back from G (the friend of a friend) and I think I will figure out how to use my pool/gym pass (I'm going to gain a bunch of weight if I don't work out, too many carbs!), finish settling in, read, and journal. I have fallen a bit behind in my journal. It's hard to keep up with both the blog, emails home, and a written journal. All trips I have taken overseas have their own written journal (except a cruise I went on). I am going to try to go to church every other week so I can keep in touch with my spiritual side. I have been using a Buddhist filter to sift through the messages, I find it easier for me to relate to.

     Well I am going to cook up some breakfast before I Skype. I have much more to share, but it will have to wait for another time.

Missing home but loving Malaysia,

-M