Well now, where to start? Here? Okay, we'll start in KL.
They like to say KL (Kuala Lumpur) is multi-cultural. It was started by rich Chinese miners, brought in some Malays and Indians, and then the Brits came to colonize. All true. That said, like America, multicultural does not mean non-exclusive. If you walk into many areas of America you can see many different races/ethnicities but normally segregated, often de-facto. The same can be said here. Though you run into many Chinese, Malay, and Indians, they are all almost always separated. There's nothing wrong with it unless you are the Malaysian government and keep promoting this united Malaysia. Its an interesting concept that deal with rule of law, respect and a shared vision of progress. They put it in the newspapers and its talked about on tv. They do seem to get along rather well, with the main Hindu temple located in Chinatown as a prime example.
The Petronas Towers are here in KL. You may recall that they had been the tallest buildings in the world back in the mid-90s. Some building in the UAE now has the title, but it is my understanding that they are still the tallest twin-buildings in the world. They give out only 1640 tickets a day to go up to the Skybridge that connects the two towers. Sadly, we have not been able to secure tickets so we have walked around the complex, stared longingly at them, and are currently in the mall at the bottom on the computer. Super-cool structures, especially at night.
Speaking on being on computers, there is a serious lack of interet cafes here. We've looked, trust me, we've looked. Our hotel does not have any computers (but does have some major issues in terms of noise). There's plenty of free wifi, but trying to blog from my IPod is a major pain in the backside.
That noise you hear, its the alarm going off at the department store under the hotel. Yes, its gone off 3 times the last 2 nights. No you haven't slept particularly well. What? That's not happened to you? Oh right, yeah, that's what has happened to us. It SUCKS. In addition to the noise, they've got this amazing shower at the hotel, except that no matter how well the door is shut, it still leaks and there is plenty of water all over the bathroom floor. Its maddening.
The trip is about over, in fact at this time tomorrow, we'll be somewhere over India I think, or some other Asian country that is north of Malaysia. I'm not sure I'm ready for it to be over and all the things that await back home. School, Cross-Country, the garden, laundry, etc. Its not that I don't like home, I do. Its great, but at the same time, this trip has been so relaxing (even if frustrating at times, like today when we couldn't get tickets to go up the Towers. Yes, I'm still bitter) and I'm not quite ready to come back. The near 20 hours of flying that will commence at 9am my time (9pm East Coast, US-time) certainly has something to do with it. Really, 20 hours on a plane. 13 to London and another 7 back to JFK. Joy! I'll probably have read the entirety of "Red Storm Rising" by the time I land.
I haven't gone into our time with Rina because I was going to save that for Reg. As we both can't be logged in and blogging at the same time, I'll go into it a little now, with the rest to be blogged at some later point.
Day 1 in Aceh: Land, wait an hour to get through Immigration. Why an hour for one plane? Well, there was 1 person taking Indonesian passports and one doing foreign passports. When the half of the plane that just had to go and smile and be waved through were done, the Officer who was doing the Indonesian passports just sat there and wouldn't take anyone else. One guy, doing about 35 people. Still, we got through with no problems. Rina was jumping up and down with excitement and her sister and father were just laughing in bemusement. They drove us around, got some food (hot, hot, hot!!!) and coffee, and then were dropped off for the ferry ride to Weh. Upon arriving at our hotel in Weh, we were shown to Bungalow 8, where we got to sit in a hammock, relax looking out at the crystal clear water in front of us and then we promptly got changed and dove in. AWESOME!!!The waves were light, the sand was soft, and the breeze glorious.
Day 2: Wake up, lay around, eat, go down to go in the water, do some snorkeling, get a little seasick from letting the waves take me wherever, take a nap, go back to the beach, read, eat, read, sleep.
Day 3: Must kill wild dogs (loose ones more like it) who fought all night. That said, go eat, go to the beach, snorkel, nap, eat, read, eat, nap, go to beach, sleep.
Day 4: Back on a ferry to Banda Aceh and Rina. What? No, Rina at the terminal? Hmmmm. Okay, 10 minutes late but thankfully Reg no longer has to endure the stares of people who've obviously never seen such a pale, fair-haired, busty woman! Drive around with Rina's sister and brother-in-law. Coffee, food, food, food, food, food. Stop at the house to meet her mom, take a nap, eat some food, and then off to the beach. The weather was breezy and cloudy, some drizzle, but into the water we went. The beach was followed by eating the best grilled fish I've ever had right next to the sand, then back to the house to eat some more. Did I mention we ate? Then we went off for some coffee.
Day 5: Eat, sleep, eat, go to an engagement party, eat, nap, eat, go around town, get some food, drink some coffee, eat, eat, talk, talk, eat.
There's plenty to talk about but I need to get going. Aceh will be done deeper sometime soon. As for now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my time on vacation.
Terima Kasih.
N
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Alive and well in Aceh
We are with Rina in Banda Aceh now and are a-ok. Will write more either tomorrow or Monday. Just know that the coffeesos good, the food full of hot chili peppers, and the company fantastic. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to learn how to cook Acehnese food.
Until next time,
N
Until next time,
N
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Away in Aceh
If you don't hear from us for a few days (almost a week) week it's because we'll be in Aceh, Indonesia. We'll be on Pulau Weh until Saturday and then with Rina until monday. We've no idea what our Internet situation will be like. If we can get on we will but there is no gaurantee.
Until we blog again selamat malam.
N
Until we blog again selamat malam.
N
Can I get a wat-wat? And a story of love and loss
Our time in Cambodia has come to an end. Angkor was stunning and magnificent; it alone would have been worth the trip. Phnom Penh was an ideal place to unwind after four days of touring the temples from dawn til dusk. There's enough to see but not too much to see.
We went to the National Museum which has some great artifacts from Angkor and other sites (although many of them were without descriptions or their descriptions read: unknown male divinity, unknown location, date unknown. I thougt it hilarious; Nick found it irritating and kept saying he wanted his $3 back.)
We went to the Central Market which is an Art Deco ziggurat with a large dome. The market was worth seeing just to see how all those attributes were possible in a single building. Sure enough, it fit all those descriptors and is among the oddest buildings I've ever seen.
We went to the Russian Market which has eveything you can imagine. I beleive you could build an entire motorbike out of the parts you could find in just one row of stalls at the market. We named one area Tom Alley; it was full of wires, switches, and outlets. You could buy all 20 seasons of The Simpsons (bootlegged, of course) for $30. Or some fresh-out-of-the-factory Adidas or American Eagle at a 90% discount. Or silk. Or casters. Or these hideous harem pants with bells that every merchant tried to push on me. It was awesome and exhausting.
But mostly Phnom Penh is about Wats. Most of what is worth seeing are the Pagodas/temples. Today we went to the Silver Pagoda and saw monks and tourists alike gawking at the 90 kg Buddha with thousands of encrusted diamonds.
And now for the story of love and loss:
In Hoi An, I decided I needed a big floppy hat to help shield me from the tropical sun. I found an awesome blue and white ribbon hat and, after I haggled down to an acceptable price($2.50 from $3), Nick bought it for me. I wore it everywhere: to the beach, hiking up temples, used it as a fan in museums. It was a great hat, crushable and of really good quality (direct from the Lane Bryant factory with price tag attached!)
I discovered it had fallen out of my bag when we were taking Nick's birthday ride on top of an elephant at Angkor. Heartbroken. We went back to the places we'd been so far that morning (one temple and a wc) but still couldn't find it. So sad.
But there's a happy ending to this story. Although I never found my hat, I did find a nearly identical hat in a market in Phnom Penh which I haggled down to $2. Not as awesome as the original, but a fine replacement.
Safely arrived in Kuala Lumpur, where we'll be for 16 hours before we leave to see Aceh, Pulau Weh, and RINA!!!!!
We went to the National Museum which has some great artifacts from Angkor and other sites (although many of them were without descriptions or their descriptions read: unknown male divinity, unknown location, date unknown. I thougt it hilarious; Nick found it irritating and kept saying he wanted his $3 back.)
We went to the Central Market which is an Art Deco ziggurat with a large dome. The market was worth seeing just to see how all those attributes were possible in a single building. Sure enough, it fit all those descriptors and is among the oddest buildings I've ever seen.
We went to the Russian Market which has eveything you can imagine. I beleive you could build an entire motorbike out of the parts you could find in just one row of stalls at the market. We named one area Tom Alley; it was full of wires, switches, and outlets. You could buy all 20 seasons of The Simpsons (bootlegged, of course) for $30. Or some fresh-out-of-the-factory Adidas or American Eagle at a 90% discount. Or silk. Or casters. Or these hideous harem pants with bells that every merchant tried to push on me. It was awesome and exhausting.
But mostly Phnom Penh is about Wats. Most of what is worth seeing are the Pagodas/temples. Today we went to the Silver Pagoda and saw monks and tourists alike gawking at the 90 kg Buddha with thousands of encrusted diamonds.
And now for the story of love and loss:
In Hoi An, I decided I needed a big floppy hat to help shield me from the tropical sun. I found an awesome blue and white ribbon hat and, after I haggled down to an acceptable price($2.50 from $3), Nick bought it for me. I wore it everywhere: to the beach, hiking up temples, used it as a fan in museums. It was a great hat, crushable and of really good quality (direct from the Lane Bryant factory with price tag attached!)
I discovered it had fallen out of my bag when we were taking Nick's birthday ride on top of an elephant at Angkor. Heartbroken. We went back to the places we'd been so far that morning (one temple and a wc) but still couldn't find it. So sad.
But there's a happy ending to this story. Although I never found my hat, I did find a nearly identical hat in a market in Phnom Penh which I haggled down to $2. Not as awesome as the original, but a fine replacement.
Safely arrived in Kuala Lumpur, where we'll be for 16 hours before we leave to see Aceh, Pulau Weh, and RINA!!!!!
There's a Blizzard in Cambodia!
We've survived torrential downpours, severe heat, disgusting humidity but we never thought we'd have to deal with a Blizzard.
Welcome to "Global Warming"?
No! There's a Dairy Queen at the airport and as a treat to ourselves we each got a Blizzard.
Hope you're enjoying your weather as much as we are.
N
Welcome to "Global Warming"?
No! There's a Dairy Queen at the airport and as a treat to ourselves we each got a Blizzard.
Hope you're enjoying your weather as much as we are.
N
Monday, July 19, 2010
"You handomse man" and other lies
Today is the last full day in Cambodia. We've managed to sleep in, see the National Museum, haggle with vendors at the Russian Market, and eaten at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. For those who watch the Amazing Race, both those last two places featured in the show recently. But before we get to today's adventures, let's take a step back or two.
Backpackers: Seriously, do you need to not wash your clothes or yourselves? Take a shower, hell, jump in a river, there are plenty around here. You're not cool, in fact you look worse than the beggars here. I get it, you like to smoke pot, but to do so right in the middle of a rest stop, knowing full well that its not something done by locals (and this is a very local rest stop) and its highly illegal, welllll, I hope your ass spends tons of time in some dark prison cell in SEA and that your consulate lets you rot there.
Frenchies: Stop smoking, ladies. Many of you are quite attractive but as soon as that cigarette hits those lips you've gone from an 8 or a 9 to a 3. Also, we understand you use to be the colonial masters here, perhaps you should go away for a bit longer or at least understand how things work nowadays. "Don't touch" signs, mean exactly that. Keep your nasty, dirty, Gallic hands to yourselves. You can be as obnoxious as those wonderful Yanks you love to hate, yeah, I said it.
This guy was smiling at me and talking to me
He was being real friendly,
But he wasn't gay, and neither am I! People here smile all the time. Even when they are bugging the hell out of you, they are doing just that. Our tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, Don, smiled and laughed all the time. We just walked past a guy who was about to offer us a ride (the 16th in less than a block) and as I smiled and got out the words, "No, thanks," he was already laughing about it. One would think that with all this country has gone through from a coup, another coup, the mass murders/genocide of the Khmer Rouge, war with Vietnam, and general poverty that they'd be wanting to slit their wrists. Nothing could be further than the truth. The smiling is actually endearing and one might say catchy. Yes, even I am smiling most of the time.
Haggling: "You buy from me," "My store right there," "You my only customer," "I make special price for you." All of those are lines we've heard on a daily basis. Often times its followed by asking where we are from. Together, we've been mostly from the US, once from Germany to get someone to leave us alone, and today, Canada. When you tell them where, they tell you about that country. In Angkor, right under the enigmatic faces of the Bayon (yeah, Ma, look that one up), a boy told us about Barrack Obama and Joe Biden and their governmental positions. Said boy was about 6 years old. We didn't buy postcards from him. One of the tricks the women use is to tell me that "You a handsome man." It may be going to my head. Actually, its pretty freakin' hilarious because Reggie just rolls her eyes when its said. One the negotiating starts, they start SUPER high, and if you've done any asking at other vendors you've got an idea on how much it "should" cost. $5 for one set of postcards is a rip-off...the going rate is $1. That scarf you're trying to sell us for $4 is going everywhere else for either $1 or $1.50. Taking even one step and all of a sudden the price comes tumbling down. We've gotten some good prices on things and at times we know we've been had, but for the most part, we've been good customers who realize that the extra $1 means way more to these people than it does to us.
Monkeys, monkeys, everywhere. From Angkor to next-door, we've seen them and heard them. Here in Phnom Penh, they are spending some time next door, mostly fighting from what we can tell, but I'm sure they're being fed by some of the locals. We saw one run across the electric line yesterday and leap a good 8 feet to the pole before climbing down. As cool as that one was, the best was watching a monkey right in front of Angkor Wat downing the last bits of someone's Diet Coke. We've got some decent shots of that.
Speaking of the Wat, we spent the last afternoon in Angkor there and still managed to find someplaces where it was just us. As Reggie stated, this is highly unusual, but most appreciated. Watching the sunset and the light change the color of the temple was one thing I'll never forget. It also felt like the closing of a chapter for me as 8 years of dreaming and planning had finally been finished. It also was a sad moment because I know just how much Dad wanted me to go there. He was saving National Geographics and cutting out articles for me, the realization that he won't hear the stories was sad.
Ever wanted a massage? If so, SE Asia is the place to come. Some of the best in the world are given here. Want a foot massage? You can have it done by a human or by fish. We've not had any done, but let me tell you, I have been offered more massages here than I will for the rest of my life. As they were offered to me for the first few days I was living in oblivion. The one night we were on the main drag in Siem Reap, Reg pointed out that she was only ever offered foot massages while, "Sir, you want massage?" was always directed towards me. Even here in PP, that holds true. I later found out they don't just do massages, but instead they oftentimes do, "happy-ending" massages. And hilarity ensued. We've joked about it ever since.
Tomorrow brings an end to Cambodia and a stopover in the airport in Kuala Lumpur before going to Banda Aceh, Indonesia. We'll be spending some time on Pulau Weh, an island of the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean, before spending the rest of the time with Rina. We're pretty stoked.
I know there's stuff I'm missing which Reggie will fill in at some point soon (its my turn at this moment).
All the best.
N
Backpackers: Seriously, do you need to not wash your clothes or yourselves? Take a shower, hell, jump in a river, there are plenty around here. You're not cool, in fact you look worse than the beggars here. I get it, you like to smoke pot, but to do so right in the middle of a rest stop, knowing full well that its not something done by locals (and this is a very local rest stop) and its highly illegal, welllll, I hope your ass spends tons of time in some dark prison cell in SEA and that your consulate lets you rot there.
Frenchies: Stop smoking, ladies. Many of you are quite attractive but as soon as that cigarette hits those lips you've gone from an 8 or a 9 to a 3. Also, we understand you use to be the colonial masters here, perhaps you should go away for a bit longer or at least understand how things work nowadays. "Don't touch" signs, mean exactly that. Keep your nasty, dirty, Gallic hands to yourselves. You can be as obnoxious as those wonderful Yanks you love to hate, yeah, I said it.
This guy was smiling at me and talking to me
He was being real friendly,
But he wasn't gay, and neither am I! People here smile all the time. Even when they are bugging the hell out of you, they are doing just that. Our tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, Don, smiled and laughed all the time. We just walked past a guy who was about to offer us a ride (the 16th in less than a block) and as I smiled and got out the words, "No, thanks," he was already laughing about it. One would think that with all this country has gone through from a coup, another coup, the mass murders/genocide of the Khmer Rouge, war with Vietnam, and general poverty that they'd be wanting to slit their wrists. Nothing could be further than the truth. The smiling is actually endearing and one might say catchy. Yes, even I am smiling most of the time.
Haggling: "You buy from me," "My store right there," "You my only customer," "I make special price for you." All of those are lines we've heard on a daily basis. Often times its followed by asking where we are from. Together, we've been mostly from the US, once from Germany to get someone to leave us alone, and today, Canada. When you tell them where, they tell you about that country. In Angkor, right under the enigmatic faces of the Bayon (yeah, Ma, look that one up), a boy told us about Barrack Obama and Joe Biden and their governmental positions. Said boy was about 6 years old. We didn't buy postcards from him. One of the tricks the women use is to tell me that "You a handsome man." It may be going to my head. Actually, its pretty freakin' hilarious because Reggie just rolls her eyes when its said. One the negotiating starts, they start SUPER high, and if you've done any asking at other vendors you've got an idea on how much it "should" cost. $5 for one set of postcards is a rip-off...the going rate is $1. That scarf you're trying to sell us for $4 is going everywhere else for either $1 or $1.50. Taking even one step and all of a sudden the price comes tumbling down. We've gotten some good prices on things and at times we know we've been had, but for the most part, we've been good customers who realize that the extra $1 means way more to these people than it does to us.
Monkeys, monkeys, everywhere. From Angkor to next-door, we've seen them and heard them. Here in Phnom Penh, they are spending some time next door, mostly fighting from what we can tell, but I'm sure they're being fed by some of the locals. We saw one run across the electric line yesterday and leap a good 8 feet to the pole before climbing down. As cool as that one was, the best was watching a monkey right in front of Angkor Wat downing the last bits of someone's Diet Coke. We've got some decent shots of that.
Speaking of the Wat, we spent the last afternoon in Angkor there and still managed to find someplaces where it was just us. As Reggie stated, this is highly unusual, but most appreciated. Watching the sunset and the light change the color of the temple was one thing I'll never forget. It also felt like the closing of a chapter for me as 8 years of dreaming and planning had finally been finished. It also was a sad moment because I know just how much Dad wanted me to go there. He was saving National Geographics and cutting out articles for me, the realization that he won't hear the stories was sad.
Ever wanted a massage? If so, SE Asia is the place to come. Some of the best in the world are given here. Want a foot massage? You can have it done by a human or by fish. We've not had any done, but let me tell you, I have been offered more massages here than I will for the rest of my life. As they were offered to me for the first few days I was living in oblivion. The one night we were on the main drag in Siem Reap, Reg pointed out that she was only ever offered foot massages while, "Sir, you want massage?" was always directed towards me. Even here in PP, that holds true. I later found out they don't just do massages, but instead they oftentimes do, "happy-ending" massages. And hilarity ensued. We've joked about it ever since.
Tomorrow brings an end to Cambodia and a stopover in the airport in Kuala Lumpur before going to Banda Aceh, Indonesia. We'll be spending some time on Pulau Weh, an island of the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean, before spending the rest of the time with Rina. We're pretty stoked.
I know there's stuff I'm missing which Reggie will fill in at some point soon (its my turn at this moment).
All the best.
N
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Hello
Bad wifi situation at our current place, so this is just to say we're currently in Phnom Penh and it's a
nice little city. Will write more from an Internet cafe tomorrow.
N
nice little city. Will write more from an Internet cafe tomorrow.
N
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