Ok folks, I didn't get a chance to wrap things up in Singapore, so here it goes. So much to tell...
From KL I headed down to Melacca with a group of CouchSurfers for the weekend. There is no doubt we tore that sleepy tourist city up, and I did notice one commonality that links all Asians, Eastern or the brand living in the West, together... photos. The first time we took 15 photos from 15 different cameras of the same thing... well, I brushed it off. "Harty har har," I said to myself. After taking 15 shots from 15 different cameras of 100 different things over the course of a weekend... well, you might say it became a bit tired. Oh well. Other than that the weekend was amazing. I can't tell you how friendly the Malaysians have been to me. My last night there I also got the chance to stay with a gentle tea-expert of a Chinese man named 'Mr. Yee'. We stayed up the last night drinking late night tea (aka: Tiger beer), as he described the philosophical reasons behind drinking tea. It was somewhere between him describing the 8 (yes 8... or maybe 9, I can't remember) senses humans have, and me getting eaten alive by mosquitoes that Mr. Yee lost me in the conversation. Super guy none the less.
The next day, in the midst of a rainstorm, I hopped on an afternoon bus to Singapore... and after 2.5 days in the country, I'll try to summarize as best I can. If you take a futuristic utopia of a society (great public transit, extremely clean, polite... umm... sterile) and throw in a healthy dose of Chinese culture, you have Singapore. It's probably one of the top 3 cleanest places I've ever been, with the only competition being from Switzerland or maybe Germany. (I haven't been to Japan) My host was extremely nice, as I stayed with her, her mother, and her 2 brothers. They cooked for me the night I arrived and her mom was worried that I wouldn't be able to use chopsticks. HA! Little did they know I've been known to catch flies with chopsticks! (in my spare time between waxing my master's car) I really did have a great time in the city/country, and met some amazing locals. I'm just not sure if I could live there long term... especially when there are other options out there.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings me to my final destination: HONG KONG. One of the undisputed heavyweights of Asia, Hong Kong is more of an attitude than a city. Anything goes, but not in the Bangkok 'anything goes' kind of way. It's a lot like New York, but it's very different at the same time. On any given MTR (subway) you'll have a mix of hipster teenagers/twenty-somethings wearing their skinniest ties and brand new Chuck Taylors, sharp dressed business men/women on their way to make a million (Hong Kong Dollars), backpackers trying to figure out which stop to get off at... and then me. I suppose I fall in the last category, but who's counting. There's amazing food at every corner, and several friends of mine here in the city took great pride in showing me some of the finest eateries. (once again, as is my reoccurring theme in this blog... I *heart* food) Granted I did have some great hosts/tourguides while here, but I'm really taken by Hong Kong. It's not perfect (Singapore), but it has a certain personality you can't seem to put your finger on. It's real... well... very real. And to be honest, I have a feeling this won't be the last this city will see of me.
Quick note on Macau: I've heard varying things about how it's either bigger, better, worse, etc etc... than Vegas, but here's my take. It's not there yet. Yes they have a Wynn, MGM and the like, but it lacks that certain Vegas personality I'm so accustomed to. Maybe I'm bias since I've been to LV a dozen times, but Macau just didn't do it for me. (granted I was only there for one afternoon, perhaps I'll give it another shot) However, the potential is huge. Las Vegas does bring in more money for the time being, but with 300 million people within a 5 hour flight compared to Macau's 2.9 BILLION... things might change in the near future. Also, Asians love to gamble. (yes stereotype, but oftentimes true) Just don't bet on the number 4.
I honestly can't believe I'll be back in the US tomorrow. It seems almost foreign to me as I'm used to living out of a backpack and moving every 3 days, but I'll be glad to see familia Miller y mi amigos again. For those of you following this blog over the last 4 months, I thank you greatly. (and apologize for typos, mis-information, racial slurs, etc.) I'm going to close this short travel book for the time being, but I have a feeling my passport will once again need some exercise in the near future. I'll keep you all updated.
Much love to everyone.
-d
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Stuck in the rain
Since I last left off, I've moved past the organized luxuries of KL, and on to the Cameron Highlands. Apparently Cameron Highlands is where the Brits living in Malaysia decided to vacation a century ago... and for good reason. Much like the Central Highlands of Vietnam, Cameron is elevated to a cool, crisp altitude above the hustle and bustle of big cities. There's only one main drag in the city I stayed (Tanah Rata), so you get to know locals and tourists pretty well. I managed to find myself a nice Indian place to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (yes, sometimes all in the same day... 3 times at the same spot... but for around $1.20USD, how can you not?!?) I wouldn't have found it, however, if it wasn't for a 75 year old English women who was walking around helping the cooks. Let me tell you something about this woman named Elizabeth (fitting eh?). I've probably asked the same tired question 500 times. "So how long have you been traveling?" I've received various responses. '2 weeks holiday'... '1 year around the world'... so on and so forth. But this woman takes the cake. Me: "So you seem to know quite a bit about Malaysia and India. When did you start traveling?" Liz: "1957". Seriously, the lady had been traveling for over 50 years. Not moving from place to place every 3 days mind you, but she would live in Spain for 5 years, Malta for 2, Australia 6 months, South America 3 years, etc. If I happen to say I wanted to visit Madagascar, she's the type to respond "I once fell in love with a man in Madagascar... we sailed the Indian Ocean for 3 years before he came down with a bad case of malaria." No joke though, this woman was fascinating. We basically had a reoccurring dinner date for 3 days. (in hindsight, was I seeing a 75 year old woman...)
One of the 4 days I spent in Cameron I decided to skip the half day tour packages where they shuffle you around to quickly knock out the sights. Instead I walked. And walked. And then walked a bit more since I was bored. In the course of walking upwards of 14km I: held a poisonous scorpion in my hand, chased butterflies through a rose garden, and walked 4km through the most majestic tea plantation I've ever seen. (not that I've seen many tea plantations, but this one is definitely one out of one) Honestly, words can't do justice to this place, so you'll just have to wait for pictures. It seriously looked like a Windows default wallpaper... basically too beautiful to be real. Once at the top, I guided myself through a personal tour of the facilities... All well and good until it started to pour outside. "What shall I do?", I asked myself. After pestering 3 or 4 tour groups for a ride back to town, I came across a Sikh who was interested in my predicament. He was up at the Boh Tea Plantation to measure some electrical readings (along with his team), but since it was raining cats and dogs, they couldn't do much outside. We got to talking, and after a couple 'Yeah, I'm from Texas' and 'Oh I studied in Montreal' he decided it was best to postpone work and have some milk tea. (Teh tarek) 3 milk teas, 1 ride back to town, and 4 hours later, I firmly decided that Malaysia is the friendliest SE Asian culture. Seriously, I've had a number of people go above and beyond what I expected of them. *High five* AND 2 points. And it's only been less than 2 weeks here...
I'm currently in Penang, and will be heading back to KL tomorrow for a day before the big Couchsurfing outing to Melacca. A word on Penang (or several), this place is probably the single most condensed culinary schmorgesbord I've met to date. (at least in Asia) Combine tastes from India, China, Malaysia, and a hint of others... and you've got one happy David (well, David + 10 lbs). It's spectacular. Other than the food, the botanical gardens are amazing as well... especially when you get to hold a 40 pound yellow python on your shoulders.
Like I said, back to KL tomorrow. Next post might be from Singapore. I can't believe I'll be back in the West in less than 2 weeks...
One of the 4 days I spent in Cameron I decided to skip the half day tour packages where they shuffle you around to quickly knock out the sights. Instead I walked. And walked. And then walked a bit more since I was bored. In the course of walking upwards of 14km I: held a poisonous scorpion in my hand, chased butterflies through a rose garden, and walked 4km through the most majestic tea plantation I've ever seen. (not that I've seen many tea plantations, but this one is definitely one out of one) Honestly, words can't do justice to this place, so you'll just have to wait for pictures. It seriously looked like a Windows default wallpaper... basically too beautiful to be real. Once at the top, I guided myself through a personal tour of the facilities... All well and good until it started to pour outside. "What shall I do?", I asked myself. After pestering 3 or 4 tour groups for a ride back to town, I came across a Sikh who was interested in my predicament. He was up at the Boh Tea Plantation to measure some electrical readings (along with his team), but since it was raining cats and dogs, they couldn't do much outside. We got to talking, and after a couple 'Yeah, I'm from Texas' and 'Oh I studied in Montreal' he decided it was best to postpone work and have some milk tea. (Teh tarek) 3 milk teas, 1 ride back to town, and 4 hours later, I firmly decided that Malaysia is the friendliest SE Asian culture. Seriously, I've had a number of people go above and beyond what I expected of them. *High five* AND 2 points. And it's only been less than 2 weeks here...
I'm currently in Penang, and will be heading back to KL tomorrow for a day before the big Couchsurfing outing to Melacca. A word on Penang (or several), this place is probably the single most condensed culinary schmorgesbord I've met to date. (at least in Asia) Combine tastes from India, China, Malaysia, and a hint of others... and you've got one happy David (well, David + 10 lbs). It's spectacular. Other than the food, the botanical gardens are amazing as well... especially when you get to hold a 40 pound yellow python on your shoulders.
Like I said, back to KL tomorrow. Next post might be from Singapore. I can't believe I'll be back in the West in less than 2 weeks...
Monday, July 7, 2008
A long sigh of relief
Ahhhh... a developed city. (KL)
First an update of how I wrapped up Vietnam. For one, spending the 4th of July in Hanoi seemed... well, almost un-American in a way, what with their lack of Shiner Bock beer, fireworks, and burgers the size of my head. None-the-less I spend the day as any good ex-pat should: cooking spring rolls in the morning, and drinking cheap beer with some Vietnamese kids at night. (I half way tried looking around for some Americans, but unfortunately most foreigners in Vietnam are NOT from the US. Go figure.) I didn't really do much the previous 4 days other than relax in Sapa and attempt to transfer that relaxation to Hanoi (to no avail).
The best story I had from Hanoi came when I went to my favorite (cheapest) smoothie place the middle of one hot afternoon. The 60 year old guy running the join was super friendly, and after a few broken English exchanges we came to the topic of where I'm from. "Texas", I replied. He leaned back, thought for a second or two, then answered "Ahhhhhh.... TESAS!!!" while making a cowboy riding a horse pose. I've noticed that when Asians do that, they aren't poking fun, they're actually really interested in the whole cowboy thing. He then proceeded to ask about the spiky things on cowboy boots (spurs). We talked about it, he drew pictures... it was nice. But the funniest part came when he was trying to explain to his friend why we use spurs when riding horses. I hadn't laughed that hard in months before seeing this older Vietnamese guy making a 'cowboy-kicking-horse-with-spur' motion. Needless to say, we struck a bond that day... me and Van. (I don't know what his name really was, but I've concluded that all Vietnamese are named some combination of Nguyen, Van, Thuy, or Phuong.)
On to Malaysia and the sign of relief. I can't tell you how much of a welcome change Kuala Lumpur has been. A temperature drop, lack of motorbike horns, crosswalks, English, and generally very polite people have made KL one of my favorite places to date. Honestly though, this place is more commercialized/developed than many US cities. (you know, a working public transit system, shopping, etc.) I've been staying with my couchsurfing host, a college prof, in the west part of the city. After a couple of days doing Malay stuff (shopping, movies, eating), he's asked me to speak to his class of 72 students about American materialism. I wasn't even aware America had a problem with consuming (although I simply MUST have that new iPhone, Wii, and Lexus E-Class...) Hopefully those business communications classes I took in college will come in handy.
Lastly for this post, I can't believe I'm actually headed back home in 3 weeks. Time's been flying by. (Every time I feel like I wrote a blog post yesterday... I check and it's been a week) In some ways I feel like I'm ready for my triumphant return to the states... in other ways I feel like another change is afoot. Viewers(readers), I'll keep you updated.
Ta ta for now.
Note: amazing Indian food WILL stay with you for the following 8 hours. Fair warning.
First an update of how I wrapped up Vietnam. For one, spending the 4th of July in Hanoi seemed... well, almost un-American in a way, what with their lack of Shiner Bock beer, fireworks, and burgers the size of my head. None-the-less I spend the day as any good ex-pat should: cooking spring rolls in the morning, and drinking cheap beer with some Vietnamese kids at night. (I half way tried looking around for some Americans, but unfortunately most foreigners in Vietnam are NOT from the US. Go figure.) I didn't really do much the previous 4 days other than relax in Sapa and attempt to transfer that relaxation to Hanoi (to no avail).
The best story I had from Hanoi came when I went to my favorite (cheapest) smoothie place the middle of one hot afternoon. The 60 year old guy running the join was super friendly, and after a few broken English exchanges we came to the topic of where I'm from. "Texas", I replied. He leaned back, thought for a second or two, then answered "Ahhhhhh.... TESAS!!!" while making a cowboy riding a horse pose. I've noticed that when Asians do that, they aren't poking fun, they're actually really interested in the whole cowboy thing. He then proceeded to ask about the spiky things on cowboy boots (spurs). We talked about it, he drew pictures... it was nice. But the funniest part came when he was trying to explain to his friend why we use spurs when riding horses. I hadn't laughed that hard in months before seeing this older Vietnamese guy making a 'cowboy-kicking-horse-with-spur' motion. Needless to say, we struck a bond that day... me and Van. (I don't know what his name really was, but I've concluded that all Vietnamese are named some combination of Nguyen, Van, Thuy, or Phuong.)
On to Malaysia and the sign of relief. I can't tell you how much of a welcome change Kuala Lumpur has been. A temperature drop, lack of motorbike horns, crosswalks, English, and generally very polite people have made KL one of my favorite places to date. Honestly though, this place is more commercialized/developed than many US cities. (you know, a working public transit system, shopping, etc.) I've been staying with my couchsurfing host, a college prof, in the west part of the city. After a couple of days doing Malay stuff (shopping, movies, eating), he's asked me to speak to his class of 72 students about American materialism. I wasn't even aware America had a problem with consuming (although I simply MUST have that new iPhone, Wii, and Lexus E-Class...) Hopefully those business communications classes I took in college will come in handy.
Lastly for this post, I can't believe I'm actually headed back home in 3 weeks. Time's been flying by. (Every time I feel like I wrote a blog post yesterday... I check and it's been a week) In some ways I feel like I'm ready for my triumphant return to the states... in other ways I feel like another change is afoot. Viewers(readers), I'll keep you updated.
Ta ta for now.
Note: amazing Indian food WILL stay with you for the following 8 hours. Fair warning.
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