Arriving to the Perhentians with a beautiful sunrise

After a near missed overnight bus ride from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I took a small boat to the Perhentian Islands.  Words cannot describe how beautiful the islands were.  Clear water, soft sandy beaches, and not many people.  It was a fantastic change from the bustling cities of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur but it also meant I was away from the internet for a while, hence the lack of update.  The islands only have power from about 7 pm to 7 am, though times tend to vary.  Like much of Asia, the Perhentians follow no set schedule.  Those expecting their snorkeling trip to start on time or receive their food in a timely manner would be greatly disappointed, but that’s just the pace here.  My accommodations were only 100 yards from the water and about $12 a night.  The rooms were very basic, just a couple beds and a ceiling fan, but when there is a glorious beach right outside, who cares where you sleep?

While napping on the beach this guy walked by about two feet from me
Isn't nature neat?

I went snorkeling for the first time which was amazing and the waters around the island were teeming with living things.  I saw sea turtles, sharks, rays, eels, barracuda and every color fish imaginable.  The guides were great and the trip lasted from 11 am until 5:30 pm, a full two hours longer than advertised.  As I said before, nothing is on schedule here and I love it.  I can rarely remember what day it is, let alone what time of day and it seems to be the norm.  

Stopped for lunch at a fishing village while snorkeling and
this little guy joined our table for a bit

I spent most nights on the beach meeting new people a drinking Orangutan, also called monkey juice, a local spirit similar to spiced rum I was told is only found on the island.  While no bars are open on the island during the day, two open at night and small tables and grass mats are laid out on the beach as well.  New friends, shared monkey juice, a few Chang beers, and nights swims on gorgeous island were hard to leave but the Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan, Thailand was calling.  

Sharing some Orangutan bottles on the beach with friends

I left the islands with a group of six other people.  While I started travelling alone, I’ve hardly had any time to myself.  It’s impossible to not meet people when you’re travelling and when you’re only with someone for a set amount of time before parting ways, there’s not really time for social awkwardness,.  Also, staying in hostels with a dozen beds in one room and a shared toilet makes things pretty personal very quickly.

So hard to leave this place

The trip from the Perhentian Islands to Koh Phangan involved quite the array of transport including multiple boats, buses, and trains, a walk across the border, and even a quick trip on the back of a motor bike.  We made it to Koh Phangan yesterday morning and after getting settled in a bungalow I’m sharing with a girl from San Diego, she and I decided to rent scooters to explore the island a bit.  After a few practice laps we made the journey to Haad Rin and arranged accommodations closer to where the Full Moon Party will be.  

The view from my balcony before departing the Perhentians

So far, Thailand has been fun, albeit a bit crazy.  Last night there was a pool party and tonight a jungle party, all events leading up to the Full Moon.

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia around 5:30 pm via train from Johor Bahru, the first Malay city north of Singapore.  Upon arriving at the station I made my way to the bathrooms where I met my first squat toilet, and after a brief moment of, "I'm supposed to do what?" I managed without peeing on my feet.  Small personal victory.  The walk from the station to my hostel was quick and after situating my things in my bunk and locking up my backpack, I hit the streets to find some dinner and wandered into Chinatown.  After politely declining several offers to purchase DVDs, sunglasses, and counterfeit Louis Vuitton I made it to the street vendors.  Yum.

Now, when I was still in the preparation phases of this trip I made a visit to the travel clinic to get vaccinated and prescribed what I would need to stay healthy.  I was also advised to avoid street food and to stick as much as I could to commercial and sealed foods.  To which I say, bad form, why eat what I can eat in America?  While I nodded in agreement with my physician, I had complete intentions to disregard that advice, and that disregard has thus far led me to deliciousness; tonight's prawn dumplings with noodles and a generous quantity of chili paste being no exception.

As the streets of Kuala Lumpur darkened I made my way back to my hostel to grab a drink at the roof top bar.   I joined a group of guys and one girl who were, like me, all traveling alone.  The group included individuals from Sicily, China, Germany, England, Switzerland, Florida, and one (sorry to feed into stereotypes) extremely intoxicated Irish man who continuously referred to Guiness as "Mother's milk."

New friends to see sites with tomorrow and all it took was a "Mind if I join you?"  Love meeting people in hostels.

Sorry, no pictures this time, I'll double down next post.

I spent the past two days checking out the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, and Jurong Bird Park.  Also, eating.  Lots of eating, lots of delicious things.  I started my food and fauna fest with a hearty breakfast of prata roti, chicken masala, and milk with rose syrup at one of Irene’s (the mother of the family I’m staying with) favorite food places.  Prata roti is a crispy, flaky, pancake-like food one dips in a curry sauce and it proved to be fantastic fuel for the walking that followed.

Much like the rest of Singapore, the zoo is covered in thick greenery and no animals, apart from a few reptiles and insects, are kept in actual cages.  There are also no indoor exhibits, which sounds pretty neat until you’re actually there in the Singapore heat and humidity.  But sweating is a constant here and damp clothes are the the norm for any outdoor activities.  The whole zoo reminded me of a ginormous real-life version of the Lied Jungle at the Henry Doorly Zoo, but with few active animals given the heat.  Fortunately, Singapore’s realized this and the later opening, cooler Night Safari is just next door.

Pretty much the entire zoo looks like this

I took a break between the Zoo and the Night Safari with a bowl of mee siam, noodles in a chili-lime broth, and a kinder bueno.  It was the first kinder bueno I’ve bought since being in Europe two years ago and it was glorious.  I can’t believe these delicious candy bars are not available more widely in the US, or at least the midwest.

The Night Safari had a lot more visible animals than the zoo, though I suspect the staff goes to great lengths in conditioning the animals to feed and hang around areas close to the tram path.  Between the tram (I’ve been walking ridiculous amounts since I’ve been here) and the highly visible animals, the Night Safari hands down won the best zoo component contest. Though the Bird Park I went to on the following day came in a close second.

No pictures from Night Safari because they didn't allow flash, so extra birds.

This is an overachieving pheasant.  Its plumage puts US pheasants to shame

Day two of food and fauna started with a trip to the wet market with Irene.  In Singapore, they have what are called dry and wet markets, dry being the clean supermarkets and wet being the crowded open air vendors frequented more by the locals.  In addition to the regular groceries, Irene also bought me some bao (steamed filled buns) to take to the Bird Park for lunch, and durian for later.  Durian is known for being a very pungent fruit that is actually banned in some public places because of the stench.  The smell didn’t bother me, although Irene mentioned that durians from Thailand tend to smell worse, and I actually found it to be quite tasty.  

Me about to nom on some durian

Tomorrow I depart for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  While I’m sad to leave the wonderful family I’ve been staying with I’m also excited to discover new places.  

Salutations.

After a delay in Dallas which led to a missed connection to Taipei, a night spent in LAX, and a re-routing through Tokyo courtesy of a very benevolent ticketing agent named Julio, I finally made it to Singapore!  Woot!  After leaving Omaha at 6:20 pm Wednesday, I arrived in Singapore at 12:20 am Saturday, local time, or 11:20 pm Friday, Omaha time making it a grand total of 42 hrs at airports or in flight.  Whew.

Instead of staying at a hostel as planned, I'm staying with a friend of my uncle and could not put into words the amount of kindness and generosity he and his family have shown me.  From picking me up and dropping me off to guiding me around the city and cooking one of the most delicious meals (just finished eating as I type), they are above and beyond anything anyone could ask for in terms of accomadations.

Much like my hosts, Singapore is a very welcoming city.  It is clean, safe, beautiful, diverse, and efficient.  If my mother (who I'm fairly certain is wearing out her rosary as I type) could walk around Singapore, I think even she would put off worrying a few days until I made my way to Malaysia.  As a fellow foreigner on the bus mentioned,  "There's not even graffiti here, they take that stuff very seriously".  And they do.  They being the Singapore government.  The city is kept in impeccable condition.  I have yet to see a hint of poverty, traffic is mostly incongested given its size, it's unlittered, very structured, and very green.  Highways are surrounded by vegetation, trees line sidewalks in even the most commercial areas, and even medians look as though they are in the process of sprouting tropical rainforests.

Yesterday I started my day with a boat tour before heading to Little India for lunch.  After having menus shoved into my hands by employees wearing safari costumes at every corner, I turned down a less trafficked street and entered the first place I saw with a line of people who didn't look like tourists, or people on safari.  I was rewarded with deliciousness, though I'm still not exactly sure what I ate. After, I wandered to Chinatown where I roamed street stalls and checked out a Buddhist temple where the tiniest woman wrapped a scarf around my waist and handed me a stick of incense with a smile.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Singapore

I finished my day with a trip on the Singapore Flyer, a ferris wheel 5 meters higher than the London Eye, and a fountain and lights show at Marina Bay.

Lovely night view from the Singapore Flyer

I kept today much less busy with long walks through the Botanic Gardens and the Asian Civilizations Museum.  I loved the Botanic Garden, which also had the National Orchid Garden, and it has probably been my favorite site so far.  The Asian Civilizations Museum was expansive and honestly made me feel a bit stupid and uneducated before I realized that in terms of Asian Civilization, I was pretty uneducated.  Then I just felt uneducated, not stupid.

Beautiful Botanic Garden nestled in the city

But the best part of Singapore thus far, including the Botanic Garden, was the homemade meal I just finished.  Delicious meats, seafood, and vegetables cooked at the table and washe down with a few Tiger beers.

Cheers.

Delicious food.  And my chopstick skills weren't bad either.