Railay Beach

Hello friends, rather than try to find accommodation where there is none, I decided to stay in Krabi and take a boat to Railay beach today. It was very beautiful, but very resort-y. I hung out there all day and read my book. The area has lots of limestone rock formations jutting out of the sea, much like Ha Long Bay in Vietnam (only it's warm here). Tomorrow, I'm going rock climbing for the day, which I'm really looking forward to.
I had delicious mango with sticky rice last night. The mango was a dream. Whenever I eat mango and sticky rice (which is as often as I can), I'm forced to think of a distant relative who could not stop exclaiming, "rice for dessert!!!" like she'd been served a moon rock for dessert or something, at Chang Mai Thai in Minneapolis at another unnamed relative's groom's dinner.
Not much else to report.
Here are some more photos for you to enjoy:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/laurenemilywinter27

Paradise Lost

Hello friends, I dragged myself away from the perfect beach. It was a welcome respite to be in one place, with nothing to do, for several days.
I was going to take a ferry to Ko Lanta, but it was full. Instead, I'm on my way to Krabi for some sea kayaking and rock climbing. Hooray. I took the speed boat rather than the slow boat this morning and got soaked! It was fun though.
Not much else to report. Yesterday I basically did nothing--read, ate, slept on the beach and snorkelled.
Stay well!
Lauren

An addendum on my earlier post:
Mo, I'm going to Railay tomorrow! Hopefully I'll do some rock climbing and kayaking there.
I forgot to tell you guys about scuba diving 2 days ago. It was fun, but visibility was poor--about 2 meters. So far, 6 out of 6 dives I've done have had bad visibility. Hopefully it'll get better as I go north. We still some some really cool hard and soft coral, fishies, sea cucumbers, etc. There were huge boulders in the ocean that looked like pillars covered in coral. It was neat.
I'm feeling really, really tired right now. I think I stayed on the beach long enough to relax, but not long enough to sleep off the 2 months of tired that come with being in a different bed every other night and never really sleeping that well. I'm also feeling like I can't be bothered with finding transportation, accomodation, etc. I'm just too tired. But tomorrow I have to do so if I want to be on the beach and not in Krabi town. The difficult thing is that it's high season here, so there are a lot of holiday-ers (think: Cancun). This makes it difficult to find cheap, backpacker-friendly accomodation. Yet I soldier on.
TTFN,
Lauren

Lauren Adrift

Hello friends, I commanded myself to do nothing today and I did it with style! Easy for some, harder than it should be for me (the nothing part, not the style part)...
You can order seafood for dinner by actually picking which fish, squid, prawns, etc you'd like. They weigh them and then grill them for you on the beach. I had the biggest prawns I've ever seen last night.
My beach bungalow is delightful. A nice breeze blows through to keep me cool and I can throw a stone and hit the beach.
I did some snorkeling today and saw lots of pretty fish right off the beach. I found I enjoyed doing the dead man's float, and then I thought of myself as "Lauren adrift." Hence the blog title.
Tomorrow, I go diving. I hope it's fun.
On my way to the internet place I cut my foot again. Sigh. Luck does not seem to be in my favor with this barefoot thing.
I had to ask a stranger to put sunscreen on my back today. She missed a spot. Strangers just don't take the same care as my mom does. This is the liability of solo travel
Anyhoo, there was a beautiful sunset on the beach this evening, which I witnessed after napping in a hammock and listening to the Les Miz soundtrack play in my head.
TTFN,
Lauren

If anyone tells you this isn't paradise....

....tell them they are lying!
Yes, friends, I'm happy to report that I've landed in the most beautiful beach destination I've ever seen. Ever.
Complaints: my back really hurts and I cut my foot painfully while walking barefoot.
But don't feel too sorry for me!!!!!!!
I wish I could adequately describe the richness of the colors here. The water is a beautiful turquoise where it's shallow and sapphire where it's deep. The island has no roads on it, only footpaths (but, there are still motorbikes! You're never safe from motorbikes!). It's very small, with little development. I had trouble finding a place to stay when I got here. Then I cut my foot. I was feeling a little down at that point. Luck turned in my favor, however! I reserved a delightful beach bungalow on Sunset Beach for tomorrow and plan to dive on Sunday. The bungalow costs about $6! And there's a hammock and you can see the ocean from the hammock!!!!!!! I'm trying to express my excitement through punctuation!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Somewhere along the line I picked up a copy of "Les Miserables" for a little light beach reading. Needless to say, the songs from the musical are now running on a continuous loop in my head. It's annoying.
I have a feeling I may get stuck in Thailand's islands for longer than anticipated....

"Stuck" in Satun

Hello friends, I'm writing to you from the small town of Satun, near the border with Malaysia. I took 2 ferries today to get here. When I arrived, I found out I can't get to Ko Lipe, my island destination, till tomorrow morning at 10:30 (only one ferry per day). Craps. So, I'm making fun of myself for feeling "stuck" in Satun. I finally changed my attitude and reminded myself it's sunny and beautiful, I'm one of possibly 3 foreigners in town and I finally have a little time to.... practice yoga!
So, I practiced this afternoon. I can't say it was my most disciplined practice ever. For those of you who are unaware, yoga affords the opportunity to meticulously study one's own feet and then pick at said feet when you're supposed to be meditating. I hadn't practiced in a while and my feet were like a whole new world to me this afternoon. I made it through the whole practice, somehow, but, again, I've done better.
Tomorrow, I head to Ko Lipe, backpacker beach, marine park, diving center! Yay. I think I'm ready for some beach time. I even bought a sarong in Malaysia in anticipation.
I'm planning to island hop as I make my way up the coast. Apparently the Similan Islands are one of the world's top 10 diving destinations. You can't stay on the islands, but I've decided to splurge on a live-aboard dive boat for either 4 or 6 days. The boat goes to the islands and you do 4 dives a day at all the top dive sites. You also do night dives. It looks unbelievable.
Not much else to report, other than I'm enjoying a little taste of solitude and a little time to hear my own thoughts.
English was the lingua franca between ethnic groups in Malaysia, which made it really easy to get around. Not much is in English where I am, which is even harder when the script is not Romanized either...
Hugs!
Lauren

Goodbye Malaysia...Hello Thailand

Today was my last full day in Malaysia. Tomorrow morning I take a ferry to Pulau Langkawi. From there I take another ferry to Satun in Thailand. I thought it would be more fun to take the boat rather than a bus.
I spent more time walking around Georgetown today. We went to a Chinese clan house this morning. When groups of Chinese people settled in new parts of the world they formed clan houses, which seem to be like community centers. They set up schools, an alter for ancestor worship, a theater, even a cemetery. It's very interesting. The community seems tight knit and its aim is to help new arrivals adjust to the local society and to help keep the clan prosperous. The building was very beautiful.
I also visited a mansion owned by a wealthy Chinese merchant. It's interesting to see the blend of cultures in the architecture and the decorations. There are porcelain statues from Germany, furniture from England, woodwork from China, etc.
We saw the wedding clothes and dishes and things used by the family. The wedding celebrations lasted for 30 days!!! While everyone else celebrated, the bride and groom got locked in a room together to get to know each other--since the marriages were arranged, they met on the first day of the wedding.
This morning, I had some extremely delicious chicken and curry for breakfast. The chicken was sweet and had a honey glaze, but was also covered in cinammon. In the curried rice were whole cloves and star anise, which I chewed by accident. It was powerful, but tasty. I'd never had something spicy that was also flavored with cloves and anise before. It had many unexpected flavors.
This afternoon I spent souvenir shopping. I bought some Malaysian batik.
It is extremely hot here. There are so many different kinds of heat. This one sort of pierces your skull and goes straight to your brain. I was getting a headache in the afternoon, so I went to the mall for a little while to get some relief. It's 7:00pm and the weather is 88, feels like 95.
In other news, my leech bites started itching today. Why? I don't know.
My next report will be from Thailand!

I Love George(town)!

Hello friends, reporting to you from lovely, sunny (hot), Georgetown! I think this may be my favorite city I've visited so far! I've been trying to think about what makes this city so great to me, compared to other cities...I've comprised a short list:
-It's clean
-The architecture is mostly colonial, yet it feels very modern. The old buildings are all very well-maintained, and don't feel like they are maintained just for the benefit of tourists.
-usable sidewalks--in other cities, sidewalks were either motorbike parking, or an alternate motorbike route. You were never safe from the motorbike.
-No constant crush of people.
Mostly, I'm really enjoying the beautiful architecture. It seems like people take pride in the heritage of the city, as opposed to Malacca, which was trying to play up the colonial heritage for the benefit of tourism.
I went to a couple great museums today. This city was founded by a British guy and replaced Malacca as the trade center for awhile. It lost its importance after Singapore was founded, but avoided getting bombed during WWII as a result. Hence, lots of nice architecture is still around.

I had a bit of a scare last night. My Zayde sent me an article he read in Business Week about the place I'm going to study yoga in India. It says the studio is closed in April and May! I was aghast, as you may well imagine. After much internet usage, I decided to go back in time technology-wise. Today, I phoned India. They are closed in April, but not in May. Never fear, friends, I will only lose about 3 weeks of yoga time. This is a more pleasing prospect than losing 7 weeks. Bridget, this means you can meet me in Northern India in April, for sure (wink and nudge).

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of the giant, killer centipede. Sorry to disappoint! But I do have photos of the nefarious leeches...
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/laurenemilywinter27
I had some pinneapple with sugar and chili sprinkled on it in Vietnam. I look forward to sampling this delightful delicacy when I'm in Thailand. The food is so good here, I'm not really missing Western food like I was in Vietnam and Cambodia. Luckily, I enjoy the spicy food.

Also, I assure you I was still roughing it, even in the Cameron Highlands. It was nice and cool there, but the hostel did not have hot water. Most don't, but this isn't a problem when it's so hot out you can't think straight. The shower I had there was thoroughly unpleasant. The area is a hotspot for local tourists. There's even a golf course there! Also scones and tea, courtesy of colonization.

Thank you all for the lovely comments!
TTFN,
Lauren

Tea for Two

Hello friends, I'm writing to you from the Cameron Highlands (again). I went on a 14 km hike today! I'm tired!
We walked on a trail through some nice forest. The only trouble was part of the trail was washed out. I had the misfortune of slipping and falling a couple feet down the side of the hill. I survived with only a few scratches, but emerged covered in mud. But no leeches (yay!).
The trail went through some forest, past a nice waterfall and then came to a road. From the road we walked up to a tea plantation. They have a factory there that gives tours. Unfortunately, they were not giving tours today, which was a bit of a disappointment after walking all the way there. We did enjoy tea and pastries at the tea office, though, so I can't complain.
The Canadian girl I'm traveling with is making me pine for solitude again. Sometimes I just want to tell her to put a sock in it. I don't need to know the details of every hairstyle you've had since you were 6. Especially not after we've walked 14 km and I'm ready to eat my own arm I'm so hungry. She's also on an unrealistically tight budget, so she's constantly counting pennies. She's unceasingly on the lookout for people ripping her off and half of what she wants to talk about is money. It's tedious--especially when all the anxiety she's causing herself is over one or two dollars. I may be stuck with her for a couple more days. Sigh. I did bring earplugs. Maybe I can wear them during the day.
Don't despair, though, friends! I will not let a less-than-ideal travel companion ruin my fun! I shall persevere! The scenery here is lovely. There's rolling mist that moves in and out of the mountain valleys in a very picturesque fashion.
This evening I ate my fill at the night market. First, I had a crepe filled with chopped nuts, sugar and a little sweet corn. Unexpected, but delightful. Then I had a burger. Then I had something on a stick. Not sure what it was. We bought some coconut and sugar-sweetened rice for dessert. After I'd gorged myself, I thought I saw an ex-boyfriend--one of those exes you hope you never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever have to see, ever again (initials: MW, for those who are in the know). I almost yuked. Why I would've thought MW would be in Tanah Rata, Malaysia at the same market as me, I do not know. It really looked like him though.
Anyhoo, tomorrow morning I will visit the mossy forest and in the evening I will make my way to Penang! Then Thailand!
Hugs!
Lauren

Cooling off in the Cameron Highlands

Hello friends, I'm writing to you feeling cooler than before! I'm in the hill station of Tanah Rata, where they grow tea, vegetables, flowers, honey, etc. There's also some kind of cool Moss forest that I intend to visit.
I met a Canadian on the bus and we're going the same way, so we may travel together for a few days. She's been teaching English in Korea for a couple years.
Not much else to share. I'm tired.
Oh, in the jungle we ate rice and canned food--chicken curry mostly. And tea. Our guide had a gas stove he used for cooking.
TTFN.

Jungle Boogie

Hello friends, I have finally emerged from the jungle, also known as Taman Negara. I will try and sum up my 4 days of fun.

Itinerary:
Day 1:
-Took a boat from Kuala Tahan to a trailhead--saw monkeys from the river! (baby monkeys too)
-walked through the jungle for about 4 hours
-completely soaked my clothes with sweat in about 5 minutes
-climbed into a bat cave, got covered in bat poo
-slept in a different cave
-made a smoky fire
Day 2:
-woke up feeling like I'd spent 2 weeks in the jungle, not 1 day, due to being extremely filthy
-hiked to a "hide"--a shelter built above ground, overlooking a salt lick. Animals come here in the middle of the night and if you are quiet and vigilant you can see them!
-napped in the hide
-stayed up half the night looking for animals
-we saw a tapir! This animal is in the rhino family.
-also saw lots of fireflies
Day 3:
-got up and saw Malay Civet Cats--mom and baby!
-hiked to the river
-got in a boat and went to an aboriginal village
-played poker with guide and friend, using cookies as chips
-learned to use blow pipe to shoot poison darts at prey
-slept in hut
Day 4:
-woke up in village
-made breakfast
-played with blow pipe some more
-went back to town
-took boat to Jerantut
-then it's now

Traveling companion:
-One wild and crazy guy from Czech Republic (dare not say "Czechoslovakia," friends!)
-He's had his ups and downs as a companion, but without him I would not have been able to do the 4 day jungle trip
-He swears a lot, in English. Swearing is a fine art he has not mastered in the English language. It comes off as gratuitous and forced.

Guide:
-Ubai, Malay guy
-jungle expert

Impressions:
-I cannot form paragraphs today
-Walking through the jungle is hard work, even when there's a "trail"--there are downed trees, mud, etc. I felt out of shape.
-I have never sweat so much in my life. It was so humid that my clothes never dried in the 4 days. My shirt stank. Well, all of me stank. My clothes are being laundered as I type.
-TGFG: Thank Goodness For Gortex! My hiking boots rock. They are bulky and heavy and I was told not to bring them because they were unnecessary. Every time I've used them, I've been soooo happy to have them. Trudging through mud is much easier with the right footwear.
-LEECHES!!!!!!!! Beware of the leeches. I don't consider myself a particularly squeamish person, but the leeches really freaked me out. They live on the ground and can sense you walking towards them. They do a little inch worm move to get over to your feet. Then they latch on and get fat off your ankle. Even through socks! This boggles the mind. They dump some kind of anti-coagulant into your blood, so after removing them (by burning them with a lighter) the hole they've made bleeds for several hours before it stops! I did not like the leeches one bit. I had about ten bites on my feet the second day! And last night I had one in my belly button. EEEEEEEWWWW!!!!!!!!!!
-I think each day in the jungle was like a full week in the Boundary Waters in terms of filth factor. I have never felt more dirty than after our first day--I was covered in bat poo, sweat, rain, mud and blood (from the leeches). Everything after that was just par for the course.
-I think I will do well to live my life in more temperate climes
-There are some cicadas that make a noise that sounds like a tiny circular saw. They are unbelievably loud!
-We saw a gynormous centipede that's very poisonous. And it jumps! Run away!
-We also saw lots of elephant footprints and elephant poo. Both were elephantine.
-The guy who works the desk at the hostel has the most unbelievably feminine, strange voice. He keeps giggling while I type--not that he's giggling at my typing. Anyway...
-I can't think of anything else right now. I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out.

Tomorrow, I take a bus to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. There is hiking to be done there. I expect to be in Thailand by next week! I'm excited to do some more diving.

Food here is very tasty. They have this Indian flatbread called "roti" and it's so delicious I could eat it all day. They also have a dish called Nasi Lemak--coconut rice mixed with chilies. It is so very delicious. I would like to find a cooking class before I leave Malaysia.

The jungle was very nice, but I was ready to leave and bathe and put on clean clothes when I did. The people operating the tours, etc were really friendly and helpful and knew a lot about the jungle. It was a pleasure just to sit and talk to them.

I'm having a lot of fun. It took me a while to get to the point where I feel comfortable and relaxed, but I'm glad I'm here!

I got an email from the U of M that I won't hear about they're decision on my application till April or May. I'm still really disappointed I haven't been accepted. They said they will accept anything additional I'd like to add to my application that will help with their decision-making, so if anyone has any ideas, insider information, or friends who work for the U of M Law school admissions office, let me know!
Oh, and I didn't see a man with a big yellow hat...
TTFN,
Lauren

The sweet taste of victory

Hello friends, I am happy to report I finally made it to Jungle-town. Tomorrow, I start a 4 day, 3 night excursion into the rainforest. It's about time! I've already seen some monkeys around and lots of cool birds.
I will report back on the jungletasticness of my trip when I return!

Jungle Fever

Hello friends, I'm not in the jungle. Yet.
I spent 12 hours on a train yesterday to get to Kuala Lipis from Singapore--a distance of maybe 400 Km. Needless to say 12 hours was a long time.
I tried to arrange something to go into the national park this morning, but I once again found that I was the only tourist in town. Literally. No tourists means no tour. The guide will only take a group of 4 or more in. So, I spent most of today on local buses getting to Jerantut, gateway to Taman Negara, a much bigger, more developed national park. I am fairly certain I will be able to arrange a 4 day excursion from there.
I wish my guide book said that if you're alone you will not be able to arrange excursions. All is not lost though. I did have the pleasure of being the only foreigner in a couple of towns I stopped in today. I was quite a spectacle.
Taman Negara is the world's oldest rainforest. Apparently, it did not freeze in the last ice age, so it's been around since before then. That's quite a long time. They have a 30 meter high jungle canopy walkway that should be fun.
I decided to go to the other park, because my guidebook said it offered the same kind of experience on a smaller scale and that a lot of the animals and whatnot have left Taman Negara because there are so many people there.
I did, however, meet a guy from Spain on the train. He was on his way elsewhere today, but I got to use my Spanish with him for awhile. It's a bit rusty after using it in such a limited context for the last few years. He teaches Catalan in Russia. I had a hard time believing anyone in Russia would want to learn Catalan, but apparently someone there does.
Anyhoo, I'm feeling a little out of it and just want a hot shower and a bed before I see some cool jungleness. The place I stayed last night was a real hole, but there was a dearth of options. The shower and bathroom can only be loosely referred to as such. They both issued forth a unique, unpleasant smell. I preferred not bathing to showering there.
I am waiting for transport into the park right now. I will try to write again before I do a jungle trek.

Singapore Sling

Hello friends, luckily, no rain today. I got up this morning and went to the Singapore Art Museum, where I saw art from all around South East Asia. It was very nice. Later, I went to the illustrious Raffles Hotel--the iconic hotel of Colonial travel in the East, or so I'm told, and home to the original Singapore Sling. It was very fancy.
I spent the rest of the day wandering through Chinatown and Little India. It was nice, but not terribly exciting.
Tomorrow, I head north to Kuala Lipis, Malaysia on the Jungle Railway. It's the original British rail line and it goes straight through the interior of Malaysia. The views are supposed to be spectacular. From Kuala Lipis I head into the jungle (finally!).
I went to services at the synagogue here last night. The community here is originally from Iraq. The synagogue is about 130 years old. I had dinner with everyone after the service. It was very nice.
Stay well friends!
Lauren

Hostel (Hostile?) Rules

I have to copy the list of rules at my hostel here for your reading pleasure. I will paraphrase:
1. We are not a non-profit charitable organization. Stop asking us for freebies and discounts.
2. Take care of your security card and key. We will charge you $20 if it is lost. Remember, we have your passport information.
3. No foreplay or display of affection in communal areas. No sharing beds. Any guest caught in the act with any human will be asked to leave.
4. We reserve the right to expel you from the hostel for any behavior we deem to be disorderly, without recourse for you. Any form of resistance will result in intervention by the police.
5. No using the sofa as a sleeping bed at any time.
6. Be considerate to the hygiene of future inhabitants of your bed. Make your bed with the bedsheets provided.
7. No drying of laundry on the balcony or any railings.
8. Men--no exposed torsos, even if you have a good looking body. Flashers will not be appreciated/tolerated.
9. Wake up calls at S$100 ($80ish). Consider renting a reliable alarm clock from us instead. This is a hostel, not a hotel.
10. Any guest who falls ill or appears to suffer from a communicable disease must seek proper medical treatment immediately. We reserve the right to ask you to leave at any time.
11. Be civil with the staff. Any usage of vulgarities or foul language in any form is a criminal offense in Singapore and offenders will be liable to prosecution.

No wonder people think of this place as severe! It is!

I went to another bird park today. It was fun, except for the unbelievable amounts of pouring rain. After about 4 hours I had enough and made it back to the hostile. Luckily, all my clothes are quick-drying.

Tomorrow, I think I'm going to stay around town. There is a rainforest reserve on the island of Singapore, but there's only so much staying out in the rain all day a person can take. I don't think I've ever seen rain like this before--rain that's so heavy for such an extended period of time.

Tonight, I'm going to the local synagogue to celebrate Shabbat, Asia-style. I think it should be interesting. I'm excited.

Stay dry, friends. I will try to stay dry, too.
Lauren

Sober as...Singapore

Hello friends, I arrived in Singapore this afternoon to be greeted by torrential rain of the extremely wet variety. I was assisted in the Metro station by a seemingly good-doing citizen with few teeth. Then he started following me around and wanted to hold my hand. I told him no thank you. He kept telling me he thought I was a man at first. He wouldn't stop telling me that. Luckily, I lost him. Unfortunately, an hour later he spotted me around a food stall area and begged me to have a meal with him. I ran for the hills. These are the liabilities of being a woman alone.
Things here seem to be quite rigid. In the hostel, there are signs everywhere telling you what you can and cannot do. "To open the door press this button. DO NOT PRESS ANYTHING ELSE." When I went through customs, I realized I had change in my pocket and put it in a little basket they provided. The basked had holes in it and the change fell through onto the conveyor belt and I was afraid I would be reprimanded for dropping change all over the floor. I was not.
Everything here is in English. Embarrassingly, I do not know what language they speak here. I will need to find this out. It definitely feels different from Malaysia. Big city, but also very very green and clean.
Ok, thanks Wikipedia, official languages are: Mandarin, Malay, English and Tamil.
Not much else to report. The country is much more expensive than other places I've been/am going to.
To answer some questions posed about food: Eating out all the time is not so bad since portions are not so big you either want to vomit after you've eaten the whole plate, or feel guilty about starving children in Cambodia when you eat a reasonably-sized portion. Also, food hasn't really been that spicy till I got to Malaysia. I didn't eat much Cambodian food after my food-sickness incident. Vietnamese food was only spicy if you added the chili-infused oil provided on the table. Malaysia's the first place I've had Indian curries, etc. I definitely have craved Western food and last night I enjoyed a mediocre cheese sandwich. They don't really know how to do cheese in this part of the world. Sigh. I love cheese.
Anyhoo, friends, be well.
Lauren

Ye Olde Malacca

Hello friends, first I couldn't post, now I can, I don't understand this "internets."
I spent today roaming Malacca, looking to take in some historical sites. I began at the Museum of Enduring Beauty. It was very interesting. It detailed the many ways people around the world alter their appearance in the name of beauty. I saw everything from lip and ear plugs to scarring, tattooing, foot binding, and corsets. Why was this museum in Malacca? I have no idea.
Later, I wandered up to what remains of the old Portuguese fort and church. The English converted it into an Anglican church after they got here. There were a number of graves--everyone seemed to die in their 20s of diptheria or childbirth. Lets hope the same fate does not befall me.
The old part of town looks a bit like a caricature of its former self. Have I said that before? I saw the oldest Dutch building in the East. They've painted everything a garrish pinkish mauve-y color. It boggles the mind.
Later, I took a stroll through Chinatown. It was very atmospheric. Narrow streets, antique shoppes, interesting architecture. I went into the "Baba-Noynya Museum." The Baba Noynyas are the Chinese-Malay community. The house where a wealthy family lived is now a museum. They were merchants who also owned (and still do) a rubber plantation. The houses are long and narrow with nice courtyards open to the sky. The most interesting part of the house to me was the kitchen. There was a giant range--underneath the burners were places for open fire to heat the range. There was a giant rice steamer also.
I had a typical Noynya lunch. It was quite delicious and spicy. It was a bowl full of coconut curry, but rather than rice, it was filled with rice noodles. There were also rice balls floating in the soup. They were about the size of golf balls and had a nugget of chicken inside (not, thankfully, a chicken nugget). They reminded me of matza balls.
Later, I went to the grocery store to buy some fruit. I haven't been anywhere with grocery stores till I got to Malaysia. The fruit here is considerably more expensive than in Vietnam and Cambodia. Why? I don't know.
Tomorrow I get on a bus and go to Singapore. I don't think there's much to see in terms of sites, but I figured I may as well go since it's a short (3 hours?) bus ride away. I think it'll be nice. I will try not to get caned.
Good evening friends! Stay well, and as my Zayde likes to say, "Keep the cards and letters coming!" (Or as my dad likes to say, "Write when you find work, send home your checks!"--either one will do).

Ancient center of commerce, contemporary center of propoganda?

Hello friends, periodically I try to blog and am unable (the computer will not connect to the web page). This happened yesterday. So, I will have to try and sum up TWO WHOLE DAYS (!!!) of activity in one blog. Sigh.
Yesterday, I began the day by visiting the Central Market. Nothing like the Central Markets in other cities I've been in. None of the pungent smells greeted me as I walked in. The market has been re-done and is now used purely for selling souveniers to tourists. So I left.
Then, I visited the National Mosque. It was built in the sixties and is the only mosque I've ever seen that looks like it was built in the sixties. I will upload a picture of it so you can see it, because I'm not sure that I can describe it.
Afterwards, I visited the fascinating Museum of Islamic Art, apparently the only one of its kind in the world. I learned a lot. I will share some fun facts with you :
-the tesselating geometric shapes you often see in Islamic art symbolize the infiniteness of G-d
-Islamic art generally does not portray living beings (humans, animals)--only G-d can create life
-The dome of the rock in Jerusalem is the oldest muslim building in the world
-the mosque in Mecca holds one MILLION people. Holy crap.
-The Taj Mahal is a mosque. How did I not realize that before?
The museum had an area with models of some of the important mosques in the world. It also featured textiles from around the Muslim world, very old Korans, weapons, jewels, and more. It was a very interesting museum.
When I finished at the museum, I walked into the 200 acre park that's in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. It was beautiful. There were wild monkeys in the trees. I saw some branches moving and at first thought I saw a really big squirrel. Nope. Monkeys.
I had a traditional Malaysian lunch. I thought it was sort of odd. There was rice, a little curry on the side, some roasted chicken, three cucumber slices and then a little pile of dried, fried anchovies and peanuts. These items were all in independent piles on my plate. It was delicious, but spicy.
Then, I went into the KL Bird Park. They have a covered bird park where they let all these exotic birds fly around. It was really cool. I saw birds I never even fathomed existed, that were all colors of the rainbow. I spent several hours in there.
Then I went to the orchid garden. Imagine, Minnesotans, growing orchids in the out-of-doors! Not in climate controlled boxes! They were very beautiful.
I know I'm forgetting to share some things. I'll probably remember as soon as I post the blog.
Today, I got up and went to the bus station and came to Malacca. I met a very entertaining Irishman, whom I sat with on the bus. He was telling me (someone told him) that the Malay, muslim majority keeps the Indian and Chinese ethnic communities as second class citizens. There's very open discrimination against them. Interesting...
Anyhoo, I arrived in Malacca and am staying at a very friendly guesthouse. I went to a rather unimpressive maritime museum this afternoon, that had more information about how great Malaysia is than any actual historical fact. On my way out I met three Indian gentlemen. I talked to them for quite some time. One lives in Malacca, one in KL and one in India. They confirmed what the Irishman was telling me earlier. They were very friendly and the guy who lives in Southern India gave me his email and phone number for when I'm in India, in case I need some help. I told him when I end up at the police station, or run out of money I'll be sure to give him a ring. Just kidding. Oddly enough, when going into the maritime museum, I was required to remove my shoes. This was very strange to me.
They were also telling me (and I heard this from another Indian lady in Siem Reap) that you have to be careful when going to India to meditate or study yoga. There are a lot of con artists posing as swamis and gurus and what-not, poised and ready to make their dollar off Westerners' search for enlightenment. I'm glad I already know where I'm going to study. They also told me how unbelievably hot it's going to be when I get there. Sigh. What can I do?
Well friends, I have uploaded more photos for your viewing enjoyment. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/laurenemilywinter27
I appreciate your emails and comments and hope you're having a lovely day!
Lauren

All hail the mighty petrol

Hello friends, before I tell you about my day, allow me to try and answer George's questions/rebut George's comments:
1. I took several hundred photos at Angkor Wat. It was truly stupendiferous.
2. Special observations now that I've got a month (and change) of travel under my belt. I don't know. Right now, I'm feeling like I didn't expect traveling alone to be so hard. Maybe that was silly of me, being an eternal optimist, but I didn't expect to be so lonely so often.
3. What would I have done differently? Honestly, nothing so far, other than bringing a good friend along, but alas circumstance did not permit. I've enjoyed the things I've done and any missteps along the way were good learning experiences.
4. I think Nepal will be a major high point. And diving in Thailand. I'm finding it's harder to do outdoorsy things here than I expected. It's frustrating me a little bit. I like being outdoorsy. So, I'm looking forward to Nepal, where I'll be trekking for several weeks.
5. If my apparition appears at the Goodrich dedication on the 27th, can you guarantee no one will have a heart attack? If so, I will send my spirit to St Paul for the duration of the ceremony.
6. I think decision making is hardest when the possibilities are endless. Really, I could decide to fly to Brazil tomorrow if I so chose. The infinite choices boggle the mind and threaten to have the decision made be...no decison at all. The truth is, though, deciding what and where to buy your food can be a thought-heavy, politically-charged, guilt-ridden experience. The global impact of your food choices far outweighs the impact of Singapore vs Bangkok. Touche!
7. They moved KL to Malaysia from Thailand in 1983.
8. Of course I went to the Petronas towers! Today in fact.
What a convenient segue...
Last night, while I was supping, a local told me about a festival that was happening. Even though I was tired, I decided to go. KL has a metro and good buses and many helpful people! I finally made it to the festival. Apparently, 2007 is Visit Malaysia year. I happened to arrive for the kick-off festifal of 2007 Visit Malaysia! It was really fun. There were fireworks and dancing, the Prime Minister was there along with some foreign dignitaries. Some locals stopped to chat with me and welcome me to the country.
There are a number of different ethnic communities here--the Malay, the Chinese and the Indians. It seems like a bit of a melting pot. Malaysia controled the Straights of Melacca, the passage between South Asia and East Asia, gateway to the spice trade! So, lots of traders came through this area from India, the Middle East (bringing Islam with them), and China. It was controled successively by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British before becoming an independent state in 1957. I went to the National History Museum today.
The country is predominately muslim, but they seem to embrace technology and a modern, pluralistic society. I've seen a lot more public-displays of affection between couples here than I have any where else so far.
I went to the Petronas towers today, the tallest twin towers in the world (there's a building in Taipei that's now the tallest building in the world) and the iconic image of KL. They were built by Malaysia's petrol company: Petronas. You can't go to the top, only to the 41st floor, where there's a bridge between the two towers. So I went and looked around. Then I came back down.
Attached to the towers is a 6-story shopping mall. It was a bit of a shock after being in Cambodia to see Prada, Cartier, Armani, Gucci, Coach, Tiffany's, etc all in one spot. Someone in Malaysia has some disposable income. I enjoyed the air con there for a while. I wandered a bit in the colonial part of town and then came back to my guest house.
I've met some really nice local people. People seem to speak good English and want to talk. I talked to one guy on the street who was Indian. It was fine till he told me how much he likes white people, wants an American girlfriend and would I like to have tea tomorrow? I said no thanks.
Have I mentioned this before? People from Vietnam to here have told me what beautiful white skin I have and how much prettier white skin is. Women literally cover themselves from head to toe, even wear gloves (!), to avoid being exposed to the sun, because they want to be as white as possible.
Anyhoo, still feeling a little bit lonesome. It comes and goes. And hot. I don't think I've ever been so hot, so continuously. Even when we didn't have air con at our apartment in the summer, I would go to work and it would be cool, or I'd hide from the heat at my parent's if I couldn't sleep. Bridget, I'm training for our next camping trip in the Everglades, if you're willing to ever attempt that with me again.
As for my itinerary, I've decided not to attempt Borneo. Sigh. I really wanted to go, but I'd have to squish it in between Thailand and Nepal when the weather would maybe be marginally better than it is now. This way, I won't have to rush through Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Laos. But I wanted jungle time!!! I'll have to find it elsewhere. Day after tomorrow I'm going to head down to Singapore for a few days, just to check it out. It's only a 6 hour bus ride from here, so why not? From there, I'll head up the West Coast of Malaysia and into Thailand.
Hugs to you all,
Lauren

KL on my mind

Hello friends, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. The city is very modern. I even took the light rail from the airport to within a few blocks of my hostel! It's been a nice mental break from the other cities I've been in.
It took me a while to realize that people here drive on the left, not the right. Maybe it took so long because in Vietnam and Cambodia, people drive on whichever side of the road suits them best.
I'm seeing McDonald's and other international companies for the first time. It's weird after not seeing that for so long.
I think I'll spend a couple days here and then I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do next. Flexibility is great, except when you read the guidebook after you've already bought the plane flight. Unfortunately, Eastern Malaysia and Borneo are currently in rainy monsoon season. As in, Borneo is off limits till late February, early March. As is the Eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. There are still some parks on the peninsula I can go to and some islands on the West coast where I can go diving. I'm considering going down to Singapore (it's a half day bus trip from here) for a few days, then heading up the west coast into Thailand. I'll do my Thailand/Laos loop and if I still care to, fly to Borneo from Bangkok. So much planning!
It occurred to me today that when you take a short trip, you come home and have time to process what you've seen in your own time. I think one of the challenges of a trip of this length is while I'm trying to process the last place, I'm in the current place, trying to plan for the next place. Se la vie.
I think I will work out my itinerary over dinner!
It looks like things are more sanitary here and I won't have to suspect that every puddle contains human waste of some sort. This makes my tummy feel happy after it felt soooo sad.
TTFN,
Lauren

Feeling Better

Hello all, I'm feeling better now that I got some rest. I'm still feeling a little weak from not having eaten much in the last few days, but I was able to eat dinner last night and breakfast today.
While I was eating last night, a Dutch guy started talking to me. We were talking about Hinduism and Buddhism and the temples and he was asking me if I believed in reincarnation, bla bla bla, then he asked me if I believe in Jesus. I said no, I'm Jewish. He could not fathom how I couldn't believe in Jesus. He starts telling me what a nice man Jesus was and how he performed miracles and the bible says so, etc. I was taken aback. Then he went into how the Jews killed Jesus and I tried to make it clear through my body language that I wanted him to go away. Moral of the story: anti-semitism is alive and well in the world. Sad, but true.
I decided to take it easy this morning and stay out of the heat. After noon, I'm going to go back to Angkor one last time. Tomorrow, I fly to Kuala Lumpur. I'm really excited to go to Malaysia. There are all kinds of national parks and rainforests to go to. Yay.
Let me share with you something my Zayde (grandpa) wrote to me. I thought it was funny and interesting:
"Your experience with the poopers in Phnom Penh broughtback memories of my Asian experiences-I'll relate. Firstly- when I was in Manila p.i. people relieved themselves wherever & whenever the urge came upon them. One day I was on Rizal ave. (our own downtown nicollet ave.)-and as general McArthur's blue cadillac went by-this guy dropped his pants and pooped
on the side walk. I thought- what a fitting salute to our esteemed general. Second incident I recall was when we disembarked from our ship after landing in Nagoya, Japan. Picture a gorgeous, clear, cloudless day and as we were marching down the street in formation I noticed a stream of water flowing down the gutter. I knew it wasn't raining -so where did the water come from? I suddenly realized that this elderly Japanese lady who was wearing a long kimono had merely spread her legs slightly and the deed was done. I had to stifle a laugh as I thought-what
a wonderful salute to our arrival.
I don't know if they do this any place in Asia any more. One of the oddities in Japan was the gathering of human waste. This was an actual business of scooping poop from their so called toilets. We calle them "honey dippers". They scooped the poop into huge wooden buckets and as they drove down the street with their horse drawn flat bed wagons the stench would knock you out(hence the name honey dippers). This waste was sold by the scoop and used to fertilize the local vegetable gardens. We we warned not to eat the veggies as well as any other food whose origin we weren't sure of. Some who didn't pay attention became very ill-some with bad cases of dysentery."
Hope you are well!
Lauren

Angkor's Stupendicity

Hello friends, writing to you wishing I were in slightly better spirits. Angkor has been amazing, but I finally got sick yesterday. Really sick. I had a fever and the chills and I threw up once and had diarrhea. There are all the gorey details. I've never had food poisoning like that before and it scared me. I finally took the antibiotic they gave me at the travel clinic before I left and I felt better almost instantly. I wasn't sure if it was the right time to take it or not, because I've never had a fever with food poisoning before. But I think it was the right thing to do, because I feel so much better, though still not 100%. I've spent most of the day convalescing.
I spent Tuesday with a Swiss woman, going around the temples and exploring. Yesterday, I went around with a guide (harder to find than you'd think in the high season), until my sickness cut the day short. The temples are truly awetaculous. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a giant moat. It's built like a mountain and has 3 levels. The topmost level was reserved for the god-king to worship at. The level of preservation is indescribable. Not only is it gynormous in scale, but every surface is intricately carved with reliefs. Originally, the reliefs were lacquered, so they were all pretty colors. When you walk up to the temple, it looks like there are only 3 towers, because the symmetry is so perfect, you can't see the back 2 towers behind the front 2.
The second temple I visited was built later, by a king who switched the religion of the area from Hinduism to Buddhism. There are 54 towers in the temple, each with 4 faces looking in the cardinal directions. A truly astoundacular sight. I also visited a temple that is being maintained in a state of partial restoration--the jungle is growing over it. It's cool to see the giant trees growing through the stone buildings.
The relief carvings on the sides of the temples show stories from Hindu mythology. The stories are very complicated and I won't try to relate them here. Fun factoid: Buddha is considered to be one of the reincarnations of Vishnu--Hinduism and Buddhism are very closely related.
I was feeling a little sad and lonely today, being sick and by myself. I called myparents this morning, and they helped me feel better. I also spent some of the day looking at pictures I've taken. I've done some really fun things on my trip so far and I'll do some more!
I was planning on spending today walking around the temples again, but haven't felt well enough to stray far from my hotel. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better and will be able to spend the day there.
Another fun factoid: at it's peak, this area had the largest city in the world, housing one million people! They traded in animal hides, silver, precious stones, etc.
Anyhoo, friends, I think I will go convalesce some more and regain my strength for tomorrow.
I will spend the afternoon trying to manufacture more superlatives to include in my next post.
Smiles,
Lauren

Holy Crap, Angkor is cool

Hello friends, thanks all for your comments.  You made me smile!
I left Phnom Penh this morning, after spending New Year's eve with a Canadian and Wisconsinite 
who are teaching English in Japan.  The girl from Wisconsin went to the U of M and has been to the
Bryant Lake Bowl.  Whoa.  We watched fireworks over the river and tried not to notice the dirty old European men with their prostitutes near by.
Yesterday I visited the genocide museum and the killing fields.  It was pretty unbelievable.  Pol Pot killed a quarter of the population in 4 years.  I just can't fathom what would drive someone to want to kill people.
Today, I arrived in Siem Riep, site of Angkor Wat, big-ahem temple.  I met a woman from Switzerland on the bus and we're sharing a room and exploring a little bit tomorrow.  This afternoon, we went to the temple for the sunset.  It was pretty fantastic to see.  Pictures do not do it justice.  Not only is it grandiose in scale, but all the surfaces are intricately carved with reliefs.  Mind-blowing, ancient spectacularness.
To answer questions recently posted:
1.  Parts of Vietnam are very high in the mountains on the border with China and Laos.
2.  I think the clothing color is what causes the ethnic groups to be labeled "black" or "Red"--but I didn't learn much from my guide.  You all saw the water pipe he was hitting.
3.  If I knew how to load a water buffalo onto a motorbike, I would try it myself!
4.  I told the pedicurest to visit my blog at www.sweetasrosesfootlauren.blogspot.com
Tomorrow, I will have more to share about the awesomeness of Angkor.