Before I post about my trip to Bali, I just wanted to jot down a few things, so I can read this in 20 years and laugh at myself for trying to be reflective.
Traveling to several countries in a few short months is an amazing experience, and it makes me realize that every place offers so much. A weekend is only enough to have a small taste of an area; coming back to SE Asia is a must. The world feels a lot smaller as well. Although culture is different internationally, people are just as kind and loving. Also, everywhere in the world is just a plane trip away-so easy!
This semester is moving incredibly fast. Tomorrow morning, I leave for an 18 day trip around India with Alex, Luke, and Vincent. Coming back from there, I have a week break before heading to Bangkok with my sister. The following weekend, we're hoping to meet up with my parents in Beijing. Then it's APRIL. I think I could have easily studied abroad for a year. Maybe, I can even go for another semester or a summer trip!
Friends-wise, these people are incredible. Today, Alpal (Happy 21st Birthday by the way!!) and I had a great conversation about how we absolutely love everyone we've meet. Our friend group blends so well, and I'm learning so much. My friends are from the US, Cananda, Scotland, England, Denmark, France, and many other beautiful places. I also have SO many couches to sleep on when I travel throughout Europe in the future!
The biggest advice that I could give anyone would be to study abroad; there is nothing like this. I have already grown up an incredible amount, and I am excited to see the person that I've become. New experiences are the scariest, riskiest, and hardest things to dive into, but I have to say that I love every minute of them.
I do miss home and my family, but I haven't been too homesick. I think it's because this is temporary, and I know that I don't want to waste anytime being sad. Additionally, Lauren (my best friend from Naperthrill) got here this week! I'm planning on jumping into her arms when I see her tonight.
I should get to my work. Procrastination is even easier when I spend every weekend on a beach--not to brag or anything. :) Just kidding...well, not kidding.
Peace n Love (credits to my friend Jay),
Ishmeesh
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Phuket and Koh Phi Phi
We left for Phuket on a Thursday night from Singapore extremely excited. On the way there, it was Alex Menter, Jay, Andrew, Bagi, Arthur and me. In the morning, we were planning on meeting up with Juliana, Lucas, and Krista (Lucas' friend from home). Additionally, a few others were already in Phuket waiting for us to arrive.
When we got there, we took a cab to our hotel after running into a few other NTU students. Our hotel was surprisingly cheap, and extremely nice. We each got our own beds, and very clean bathroom (with hot water!!). That night, we spent some time wondering around the area. After getting lost, we finally found the night food market. Since were were absolutely starving, food definitely tasted better than usual. I ate some thick noodles with marinated chicken, and it was exactly what I was craving. After, I got a few 17 baht ice-cream cones, before heading to sleep.
The next morning, we met up with everyone else at the Rassada Pier. We learned that it's cheaper to buy a ticket from a private travel agent; however, since we didn't know that at the time, we spent a few extra bucks. The ferry took about two hours, and we soaked in the sun. They had some pricey snacks and a bar in case we needed some refreshments.
Koh Phi Phi was more beautiful than a postcard. The mountains and clear water lined with long-tailed boats provide an unreal view. Getting into the dock, we realized that we had no place to stay. Jay and I decided to run off and to find accommodation; however, that message was not given to anyone else. Therefore, when we finally haggled down a cheap, somewhat nice place for all 9 of us, we lost the rest of the crew. Since its better to stay in one place when people are looking for you, we set up camp on the floor of the tour shop. We bought a few beers to pass away the time, and ended up with a few more. We played cards for an hour, before stumbling upon our unhappy friends. They had gone off to find accommodation too, because they did not know where we were. After hassling the guy again, we finally booked the Sunset Pavilion resort--several cute huts with mosquito nets and a toilet/sink/shower room that just sort of blended together.
After settling down and freshening up, we went out to eat at a delicious Thai restaurant, where I ate my first of many plates of Pad Thai. Feeling pretty incredible, we explored Phuket late into the night. Phuket is a bit of a tourist trap, so everyone there was either serving a tourist or from Europe/North America.
Karen organized a tour for us the next morning on the famous Thai long-tail boats. There were 6-7 island stops, and some places were only accessible by swimming. Luckily, Alex brought her underwater camera, so we have some record of the amazing places. The boat itself was a fun ride, because the water was pretty rough. Also, our captain (Him) was hilarious! We passed by some interesting caves before heading to our first stop.
Jumping off the boat with our snorkeling gear, we swam to a secluded beach. We exerted most of our energy on the first stop, because we were all too excited. Getting back on the boat covered in salt, we were already exhausted. With 5 more beaches to see, we built up energy and continued on. Since I waited a few too many days to write this, the order is probably way off. The following account is what I remember!
Next up, we went to Maya Bay. Most boats went straight into the bay, but we were unlucky and the tide was too high. Instead we parked in this little rocky area, jumped off the boat, climbed a ladder, and walked a few meters. Maya Bay was in no way a disappointment, but the crowds slightly ruined the beauty. I felt like Leonardo DiCaprio as we looked around the area. Since we had so many more places to see, we stayed for only a few minutes. The way back to the boat was extremely difficult. The tide was rougher, and we had to hold on to a rope in the water while being swung around rocks and sharp objects. All of us were pretty cut up and bruised, but I guess that's part of the adventure.
After, we went to snorkeling sight, which was my favorite stop. The water, being incredibly clear, was filled with brightly colored fish. Hopping off the boat, a few of my friends noticed a bright blue school of fish. The fish stayed in straight rows and spanned the entire side of the cave! I swam through them a few times, felling like a character in Finding Nemo. I tried to touch them, but they moved way too quickly completely in sync with one another. The water underneath the caves is so bright that it glows.
The famous Monkey Beach was our next destination, and I could finally take pictures here. They had mango shakes--my favorite! Monkeys literally swarmed the place, which I don't really prefer since they are so rude. We relaxed for a while, before heading to another beach.
By the end of the day, we were pretty exhausted. Captain Him was driving as usual, and our sketchy car motor broke. Calling for help, we finally got another boat to tow us. Moving at half the speed, Him had a few too many swigs of rum and passed out. Gotta love Him!
Getting back, we took some time to freshen up before hitting the Koh Phi Phi night life again. We ran into a few of my favorite people, Pascal and Teo! I waited in line for a mango drink for a while, only to have a man and monkey snatch my drink and throw it on the ground. Monkey man felt pretty bad and offered to buy me another, but I didn't feel like waiting. We ate some more Thai food, went to a party on the beach, celebrated Pascal's birthday, had some more Thai pancakes, and called it a night.
We had to leave the next day, because our flight was early the following morning. Ferries only run at certain times, so it wasn't worth the risk to try and extend our time. We were also pretty exhausted, so it was fine.
Our boat was much nicer on the way back to Phuket, but it was HOT. Beyond hot. I felt like I was going to faint the entire two hours, so I lost myself in a book to try and pass away the time. Luckily the Hunger Games series is a good distraction. We returned to our same hotel in Phuket, expecting a quiet night.
We were wrong. Stumbling upon a small little bar, we played some pool and had an Egyptian Ratscrew card competition. After, a few went home, and the rest of us continued exploring. Pretty tired, we wanted to head back; however, there was a karaoke bar right ahead! How could anyone say no to that?! So we stumbled in; loud and clear we announced that we wanted to sing karaoke. To our surprise, they escorted us to a private room with a few microphones and TV. Perfect size for the few of us, we decided to get our karaoke on. We sent some of the boys out for refreshments, and they hopped on the back of local's scooter to 7/11. Coming back with the basic karaoke necessities, we had a wonderful time. We spent a few hours singing our hearts out to Disney songs, the Beatles, some popular Thai tunes, and some fun classics.
This was a great way to spend our last night, and we left Thailand in the best mood. Alex, Juliana, and I left pretty early in the morning after eating our hotel's complimentary eggs and toast. Sleeping most of the way back, I felt pretty refreshed upon landing.
I really enjoyed Thailand, but I do think it was overrun with tourists and, therefore, more expensive. I didn't feel very culturally exposed, but I don't think that Southern Thailand is the place for that. Nevertheless, the beaches are beautiful, and its worth a short visit!
When we got there, we took a cab to our hotel after running into a few other NTU students. Our hotel was surprisingly cheap, and extremely nice. We each got our own beds, and very clean bathroom (with hot water!!). That night, we spent some time wondering around the area. After getting lost, we finally found the night food market. Since were were absolutely starving, food definitely tasted better than usual. I ate some thick noodles with marinated chicken, and it was exactly what I was craving. After, I got a few 17 baht ice-cream cones, before heading to sleep.
The next morning, we met up with everyone else at the Rassada Pier. We learned that it's cheaper to buy a ticket from a private travel agent; however, since we didn't know that at the time, we spent a few extra bucks. The ferry took about two hours, and we soaked in the sun. They had some pricey snacks and a bar in case we needed some refreshments.
Koh Phi Phi was more beautiful than a postcard. The mountains and clear water lined with long-tailed boats provide an unreal view. Getting into the dock, we realized that we had no place to stay. Jay and I decided to run off and to find accommodation; however, that message was not given to anyone else. Therefore, when we finally haggled down a cheap, somewhat nice place for all 9 of us, we lost the rest of the crew. Since its better to stay in one place when people are looking for you, we set up camp on the floor of the tour shop. We bought a few beers to pass away the time, and ended up with a few more. We played cards for an hour, before stumbling upon our unhappy friends. They had gone off to find accommodation too, because they did not know where we were. After hassling the guy again, we finally booked the Sunset Pavilion resort--several cute huts with mosquito nets and a toilet/sink/shower room that just sort of blended together.After settling down and freshening up, we went out to eat at a delicious Thai restaurant, where I ate my first of many plates of Pad Thai. Feeling pretty incredible, we explored Phuket late into the night. Phuket is a bit of a tourist trap, so everyone there was either serving a tourist or from Europe/North America.
Karen organized a tour for us the next morning on the famous Thai long-tail boats. There were 6-7 island stops, and some places were only accessible by swimming. Luckily, Alex brought her underwater camera, so we have some record of the amazing places. The boat itself was a fun ride, because the water was pretty rough. Also, our captain (Him) was hilarious! We passed by some interesting caves before heading to our first stop.
After, we went to snorkeling sight, which was my favorite stop. The water, being incredibly clear, was filled with brightly colored fish. Hopping off the boat, a few of my friends noticed a bright blue school of fish. The fish stayed in straight rows and spanned the entire side of the cave! I swam through them a few times, felling like a character in Finding Nemo. I tried to touch them, but they moved way too quickly completely in sync with one another. The water underneath the caves is so bright that it glows.
The famous Monkey Beach was our next destination, and I could finally take pictures here. They had mango shakes--my favorite! Monkeys literally swarmed the place, which I don't really prefer since they are so rude. We relaxed for a while, before heading to another beach.
We had to leave the next day, because our flight was early the following morning. Ferries only run at certain times, so it wasn't worth the risk to try and extend our time. We were also pretty exhausted, so it was fine.
Our boat was much nicer on the way back to Phuket, but it was HOT. Beyond hot. I felt like I was going to faint the entire two hours, so I lost myself in a book to try and pass away the time. Luckily the Hunger Games series is a good distraction. We returned to our same hotel in Phuket, expecting a quiet night.
We were wrong. Stumbling upon a small little bar, we played some pool and had an Egyptian Ratscrew card competition. After, a few went home, and the rest of us continued exploring. Pretty tired, we wanted to head back; however, there was a karaoke bar right ahead! How could anyone say no to that?! So we stumbled in; loud and clear we announced that we wanted to sing karaoke. To our surprise, they escorted us to a private room with a few microphones and TV. Perfect size for the few of us, we decided to get our karaoke on. We sent some of the boys out for refreshments, and they hopped on the back of local's scooter to 7/11. Coming back with the basic karaoke necessities, we had a wonderful time. We spent a few hours singing our hearts out to Disney songs, the Beatles, some popular Thai tunes, and some fun classics.This was a great way to spend our last night, and we left Thailand in the best mood. Alex, Juliana, and I left pretty early in the morning after eating our hotel's complimentary eggs and toast. Sleeping most of the way back, I felt pretty refreshed upon landing.
I really enjoyed Thailand, but I do think it was overrun with tourists and, therefore, more expensive. I didn't feel very culturally exposed, but I don't think that Southern Thailand is the place for that. Nevertheless, the beaches are beautiful, and its worth a short visit!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Philippines!
Anyways, I promise I'll be better at blogging after this next trip.
Last minute decision to go to the Philippines was an amazing one!!! I had no idea what Cebu was until I saw the deal for it on flocations.com. Juliana and I were casually not paying attention during out 3-hour History of Singapore class, and we noticed that flights this weekend were only around $200 SGD round trip. Julianna, Alex, and I took a risk and booked it that night. The next day, we managed to convince our friend from Denmark, Alexander, to accompany us/be our body guard. He was a little nervous about traveling with us three girls, but we promised we wouldn't spend too much time shopping.
I also ran into a friend from Calgary, Niall, and managed to convince him to join us as well. He brought along 4 other friends, so we had a pretty big group going. Hostels are a little harder to find in Panglao Island though, so they ended up not staying in the same place. When you have no method of communication, it becomes hard to plan each day. Therefore, I spent most of the time with Alexander, Alex, and Juliana.
The trip started off a little rough, because none of us realized how long it takes to get to Alona Beach. Additionally, the two Alexs and I did not sleep at all the night before, because we had a night out at St. James Powerstation. After packing everything, and heading out by 6am, we arrived to the airport by cab. After a 4-hour flight, 1-hour ferry, and a 2-hour cab, we finally arrived at Citadel Alona--a very cute and affordable hotel only 7 mins away from the beach.
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| Fish/Skewers grilled fresh for us! |
Waking up early is always hard for me, but-thanks to Juliana-I have yet to miss a tour. Dennis, our friendly chauffeur for the day, picked us up right on time. The first stop was the amazing/famous Chocolate Hills. They were a delicious sight to see! :) We had to walk up quite a few steps to soak in the amazing view, but it was well worth it. The whole time, we were hoping to learn more about how they formed; however, there wasn't a lot of information. Still, it was incredibly beautiful!!
Next on the full day tour, we went to the Tarsier park place. Tarsiers are the world's smallest primate, and extremely hard to find. Our tour guides through the small park would point out the tiny, sleeping monkeys, because there is no way that we could ever find them ourselves. A few other creatures, such as huge spiders, also creeped around the area. It was a pretty small park, but it only cost a few pesos. Also, every monkey was sleeping, since they are nocturnal. We finished this stop pretty quickly, and went back to hang out with Dennis.
The hanging suspension bridge was another quick stop. After nearly falling out of it and taking a few pictures of Alexander's rockstar pose, we went back into the car to get to lunch. On the way out of the bridge, Alex bought some "chocolate." Taking a big bite of it, she realized it was actually a big block of concentrated cocoa, meant to make hot chocolate with on the stove. That was not exactly the best snack, but we learned something!The next stop was one of my favorites: the Loboc River cruise. When we got there, we convinced Dennis (after a lot of pressure) to join us for the river cruise lunch, because he normally doesn't get the chance to go. For being such a great driver, we treated him lunch. This cruise was beautiful!! It's just a nice wooden boat with a buffet that takes you down the bright green Loboc River. On the way, we saw some small waterfalls, and they even have a Filipino dance show. The boat stops in the water, and there's a dock with several locals singing and dancing. In one dance, they lift two big wooden pools, and the women are dancing/jumping around them. It's like a more complicated jump rope. After some time, our boat played some live tunes from back in the day, and Juliana and I provided entertainment for the boat with our old-school dance moves. Everyone wanted to take pictures with Alex, Alexander, and Juliana, because they were white and blonde. I didn't really get much attention--everyone thought I was Filipino.
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| Our new best friend, Dennis! |
Dennis suggested we add another stop on our trip--ziplining! We agreed, of course. This was a different type of ziplining, that you fly like superman head-first. After waiting for a few mins, we took our turns racing over the Loboc river from the top of a mountain. The ride wasn't scary; but, stopping was! Flying down at high speeds, there's only a small metal weight stopping your zipline, and a man with his arms out to catch you. We did it twice, and my attempts to record it on my camera failed unfortunately. |
| View of the Loboc River from Ziplining. |
Next up was the highlight our trip: the waterfall!! We paid a little extra for this excursion, but I'm incredibly glad that we did! We get to this waterfall, after climbing down at least 5 floors of steps, that is nearly empty and incredibly beautiful. Since it was not touristy, we had the waterfall basically to ourselves. Jumping into the refreshing water, we swam as close as possible to the descending water. The rocks on the side were not as slippery, so we climbed up the side and stood near the edge. We had to be extremely careful, because the water pressure could take us down if we came too close. We were standing on the edge, and Dennis was taking pictures from the deck lookout point. One of the locals pointed at us, and signalled for us to jump. I felt like my dreams were coming true! All I wanted to do was jump off this waterfall as soon as possible, before I got nervous. Alexander went first without even thinking. Alex was hesitating, so I ran right in front of her and jumped. Terrified and exhilarated, I think this was one of the best moments of being abroad so far. We played in the water, explored the caves behind the waterfall, and fell a few times on hard, slippery rocks before heading back home.
We had to wake up at 6am to see the morning dolphins, but that was (as always) well worth it! We ended up getting a discount, because they guy who sold us our tour double-booked our boat. An American man named Joe and his Filipino wife joined us for the day. Since it's supposed to be a private tour, our guy said that we could decide what time we leave each island. However, since we were swimming, we were not always in a rush. Joe was pretty nice, a little different, but still nice. His wife did not seem to be the biggest fan of us, because we stretched our day excursion pretty long, and she couldn't swim due to her hair treatment.
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| Albert & friends teaching us the island ways. |
Getting back to the island, Alex and I went exploring to find a hotel to stay in for that night. Our hotel had told us that they were all booked for that night. However, after visiting them again, we realized it was a simple miscommunication error. The Citadel was ours for another night! As it was our last, we went for another beach dinner. Luckily we ran into Niall and the crew again. We also made friends with a college student from McGill who was visiting his family in the Philippines. We all hung out for a while, enjoying our last few hours! We ate plenty of pancakes and drank a good amount of mango shakes, before calling it a night.
The next morning, Dennis gave us a bit of a scare, because he was pretty late. All of us were cranky and tired, and Alexander was not happy that we almost forgot his baby (his camera). The trip back was pretty tiring, but we cheered up after some buns at the ferry dock. I slept during every cab ride, ferry trip, plane ride, MRT, and bus during the way home. Overall, this place surpassed my expectations! So far, it's holding strong as my favorite! :)
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Melaka & KL Weekend
First of all, peanut M&Ms taste very different here. It's almost like their a little stale, but I kind of like it. They remind me of the M&Ms that I used to eat in my dad's office back in Peoria. If you can't tell, I'm currently snacking my life away on these candies that come in a much smaller portion in Asia--no wonder everyone is so little here.
So last weekend, we decided to go to Melaka (also known as Malacca) and Kuala Lumpur for Chinese New Year. Singapore also has a huge CNY celebration, but we agreed that we were ready for the trip. Since we booked our buses pretty late, we ended up on two separate buses. 5 went on the first, and the rest of us went a half hour later. I ended up with Greg and AG, because they had class, and I had some work to finish up. These two guys had very little concept of time, and left me waiting for 45 minutes at the train station. I forgive them though, because after running around the city, getting a little lost, taking a bus, MRT, and taxi, we ended up at the station right on time.
The way there started pretty normally; however, once we reached the border, we realized that AG, being an Indian citizen, needed a Visa from Singapore to enter Malaysia. The rest of us just need our student card. Unfortunately, he was sent back to Singapore at the border. :(
After AG was deported, Greg and I both realized very little information about where were going, because we both didn't think to get the address of the hostel. We knew the name, but that is definitely not enough in Malaysia. After crossing the two stations at the border, we lost cell phone service before we could call our friends on the other bus. Since we had no options or ideas, we decided to figure it out as we arrived (or as my dad would say, "cross that bridge when we come to it"). A nice couple from the US taking a 6-month honeymoon gave us a few pointers about wandering around Malaysia at night, and our prospects were not looking too good. After another 4 hours of playing Unblock-me on the bus, we finally arrived at 1am. Getting off the bus, we ended up in an extremely sketchy looking bus station with no money, no cell phone, and no address. ATMs apparently close early here, so we awkwardly just followed this couple around the station.
We get to a cab, and they thankfully offered to split it with us. We just decided to go to their hostel, because that was probably safer than the bus station. We ended up in deserted Chinatown in front of a locked gate. After calling the owner several times we managed to get inside and use wifi to find our hostel--only a km away. With more confidence, we strutted to our hostel only to see that it was closed. As we had no other options, so we stumbled upon a little outdoor cafeteria and ordered some tea to kill the time. An hour or so later, Greg and I noticed a group of western looking people unlocking the door to our hostel. Luckily, our friends were also wondering the city, so we finally got into the house around 3am.
We spent the next day eating, exploring, shopping, and just loving Melaka. It was a small place that you could see in a day, but still had tons of character. We watched a lady in the market smash a frog against the counter, and then we ate it. Delicious! I also loved Popiah, which was this delicious dough wrap with chili sauce and an unidentifiable vegetable. After a fun night of playing cards and hanging out in the Chinatown Night Market, we tried to find the beach with no success. We gave up and got ready for our trip to KL in the morning.
Kuala Lumpur was definitely a more crowded city. Everyone warned us about pickpocketers so we kept a very good watch on our stuff. We arrived in 2 hours early in the day and checked into our guesthouse called the FernLoft. It was extremely clean, and we stayed in a 24-bed mixed dorm with co-ed bathrooms. My first experience with this wasn't bad at all.
We were a little overwhelmed by the complexity and hectic crowds in KL, especially in comparison to perfect Singapore. Traveling around took a while, and we needed to take frequent food/water/bathroom breaks. Squatter bathrooms were usually the only option unfortunately. Exploring Chinatown was definitely my favorite. With so much food and shopping for cheap knock-offs, we were never bored. I love mangosteens, by the way. Google it; it looks weird, but I may like it even more than watermelon!
I may be getting my days mixed up, but we also spent some time visiting the huge Petronas Towers. It was SO hot, so I ate about 3 ice cream cones a day. Street crossing was a hassle, but finally (after splitting up with boys and escaping for an AC break), we discovered the Buddy Bears. These were painted bears that represented several countries around the world. These were definitely a tourist attraction worth seeing! India's and Canada's artwork was not the best, but Cuba's and Singapore's bears were pretty adorable.
After the Petronas Towers, we wandered around Chinatown to find a restaurant and attempt to celebrate CNY. We ate, drank plenty of nice juices among other things, and shopped some more. After we ended up at a tourist bar, called the Reggae Bar. We counted down CNY with plenty of tourists and zero reggae music. It was still a ton of fun, and we ended up running into some other NTU friends on our way out.
We woke up somewhat early in the morning, because we really wanted to see the Batu Caves. After inviting some new German friends along from another school in Singapore, Luca and Thomas, we took an easy local train for about 45 minutes. The caves were absolutely beautiful. To see the actual Hindu temples, you had to climb 272 steps, but it was worth the exercise. Bagi, my friend from U of I who is also Indian, and I felt right at home! :)
On our way back, we noticed that trains in KL have a Ladies Only coach. Alex, Julianna, Bagi, and I were unsure where to sit, but we decided to just go with the boys. After arriving closer to home, we split from our new friends and went to the National Mosque. After getting fully covered-up, we explored the quiet, simple Mosque (or Mosquee as our French friend Erwan says). This Mosque is one of the biggest in the world, and I definitely felt like I learned a lot.
We grabbed some absolutely delicious Malaysian-Indian food (Garlic Cheese Naans and Tandoori Chicken) from a local market and headed back for a nap/break. After recovering from our very spiritual day, we decided to explore the disappointed Merdeca Square. Heading back to Chinatown was the right decision, because we saw an amazing Dragon Dance show for CNY. Finally, I got my fill of a Mulan-style celebration. The firecrakers were a little painful, because they kept on hitting us, landing in our beers, and filling the streets with a think layer of smoke. All worth it though! After some more exploration, sunglasses/purse shopping, and more and more and more mangosteens, we hung out with a bunch of travelers on the rooftop of our hostel. Swapping stories and getting travel advice was one of my favorite parts of the trip! We, once again, tried to go to the Reggae Bar, but we ended up eating more ice cream instead.
The trip back was pretty rough: a 30 minute taxi, a 5 hour (luxurious massage) bus, a 30 minute line, a 20 minute bus, a 30 minute line, 20 minute bus, a 40 minute MRT, and a 20 minute bus. We left at 11am and made it back in the evening.
We randomly found a cheap deal to the Philippines, so I'm packing for that right now. The weekend after is Phuket! I'm also going to Bali and India this month, so my life is getting better and better!!
Thanks for reading!
--Ishmeesh
So last weekend, we decided to go to Melaka (also known as Malacca) and Kuala Lumpur for Chinese New Year. Singapore also has a huge CNY celebration, but we agreed that we were ready for the trip. Since we booked our buses pretty late, we ended up on two separate buses. 5 went on the first, and the rest of us went a half hour later. I ended up with Greg and AG, because they had class, and I had some work to finish up. These two guys had very little concept of time, and left me waiting for 45 minutes at the train station. I forgive them though, because after running around the city, getting a little lost, taking a bus, MRT, and taxi, we ended up at the station right on time.
The way there started pretty normally; however, once we reached the border, we realized that AG, being an Indian citizen, needed a Visa from Singapore to enter Malaysia. The rest of us just need our student card. Unfortunately, he was sent back to Singapore at the border. :(
After AG was deported, Greg and I both realized very little information about where were going, because we both didn't think to get the address of the hostel. We knew the name, but that is definitely not enough in Malaysia. After crossing the two stations at the border, we lost cell phone service before we could call our friends on the other bus. Since we had no options or ideas, we decided to figure it out as we arrived (or as my dad would say, "cross that bridge when we come to it"). A nice couple from the US taking a 6-month honeymoon gave us a few pointers about wandering around Malaysia at night, and our prospects were not looking too good. After another 4 hours of playing Unblock-me on the bus, we finally arrived at 1am. Getting off the bus, we ended up in an extremely sketchy looking bus station with no money, no cell phone, and no address. ATMs apparently close early here, so we awkwardly just followed this couple around the station.
We get to a cab, and they thankfully offered to split it with us. We just decided to go to their hostel, because that was probably safer than the bus station. We ended up in deserted Chinatown in front of a locked gate. After calling the owner several times we managed to get inside and use wifi to find our hostel--only a km away. With more confidence, we strutted to our hostel only to see that it was closed. As we had no other options, so we stumbled upon a little outdoor cafeteria and ordered some tea to kill the time. An hour or so later, Greg and I noticed a group of western looking people unlocking the door to our hostel. Luckily, our friends were also wondering the city, so we finally got into the house around 3am.
We spent the next day eating, exploring, shopping, and just loving Melaka. It was a small place that you could see in a day, but still had tons of character. We watched a lady in the market smash a frog against the counter, and then we ate it. Delicious! I also loved Popiah, which was this delicious dough wrap with chili sauce and an unidentifiable vegetable. After a fun night of playing cards and hanging out in the Chinatown Night Market, we tried to find the beach with no success. We gave up and got ready for our trip to KL in the morning.
Kuala Lumpur was definitely a more crowded city. Everyone warned us about pickpocketers so we kept a very good watch on our stuff. We arrived in 2 hours early in the day and checked into our guesthouse called the FernLoft. It was extremely clean, and we stayed in a 24-bed mixed dorm with co-ed bathrooms. My first experience with this wasn't bad at all.
We were a little overwhelmed by the complexity and hectic crowds in KL, especially in comparison to perfect Singapore. Traveling around took a while, and we needed to take frequent food/water/bathroom breaks. Squatter bathrooms were usually the only option unfortunately. Exploring Chinatown was definitely my favorite. With so much food and shopping for cheap knock-offs, we were never bored. I love mangosteens, by the way. Google it; it looks weird, but I may like it even more than watermelon!
I may be getting my days mixed up, but we also spent some time visiting the huge Petronas Towers. It was SO hot, so I ate about 3 ice cream cones a day. Street crossing was a hassle, but finally (after splitting up with boys and escaping for an AC break), we discovered the Buddy Bears. These were painted bears that represented several countries around the world. These were definitely a tourist attraction worth seeing! India's and Canada's artwork was not the best, but Cuba's and Singapore's bears were pretty adorable.
We woke up somewhat early in the morning, because we really wanted to see the Batu Caves. After inviting some new German friends along from another school in Singapore, Luca and Thomas, we took an easy local train for about 45 minutes. The caves were absolutely beautiful. To see the actual Hindu temples, you had to climb 272 steps, but it was worth the exercise. Bagi, my friend from U of I who is also Indian, and I felt right at home! :)
On our way back, we noticed that trains in KL have a Ladies Only coach. Alex, Julianna, Bagi, and I were unsure where to sit, but we decided to just go with the boys. After arriving closer to home, we split from our new friends and went to the National Mosque. After getting fully covered-up, we explored the quiet, simple Mosque (or Mosquee as our French friend Erwan says). This Mosque is one of the biggest in the world, and I definitely felt like I learned a lot.
We grabbed some absolutely delicious Malaysian-Indian food (Garlic Cheese Naans and Tandoori Chicken) from a local market and headed back for a nap/break. After recovering from our very spiritual day, we decided to explore the disappointed Merdeca Square. Heading back to Chinatown was the right decision, because we saw an amazing Dragon Dance show for CNY. Finally, I got my fill of a Mulan-style celebration. The firecrakers were a little painful, because they kept on hitting us, landing in our beers, and filling the streets with a think layer of smoke. All worth it though! After some more exploration, sunglasses/purse shopping, and more and more and more mangosteens, we hung out with a bunch of travelers on the rooftop of our hostel. Swapping stories and getting travel advice was one of my favorite parts of the trip! We, once again, tried to go to the Reggae Bar, but we ended up eating more ice cream instead.
The trip back was pretty rough: a 30 minute taxi, a 5 hour (luxurious massage) bus, a 30 minute line, a 20 minute bus, a 30 minute line, 20 minute bus, a 40 minute MRT, and a 20 minute bus. We left at 11am and made it back in the evening.
We randomly found a cheap deal to the Philippines, so I'm packing for that right now. The weekend after is Phuket! I'm also going to Bali and India this month, so my life is getting better and better!!
Thanks for reading!
--Ishmeesh
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Weekend AdveNTUres.
I think I will definitely get used to having five day weekends. A group of 8 of us finally decided about where we would like to spend our Chinese New Year long weekend (which will be a 6 day break for me). We will be taking a bus to Malacca, Malaysia and hopefully going to Kuala Lumpur after a few days as well. We're extremely excited for our first trip outside of Singapore.
The next day (Saturday), we had another party decision to make--whether to go to Sentosa for a beach party or to go to the famous Avalon club in Marina Bay. Since Avalon was free, four of us girls (Alex, Julianna, Megan, and I) decided to go to that. Since we got there extremely early, we relaxed by the absolutely beautiful Marina Bay for an hour. When we made it inside, it was pretty empty. After having the dance floor to ourselves for a little while, Avalon was all of a sudden filled with hundreds of exchange students. As we were ready to head back, it started to pour. We returned to our halls around 3 or 4am.
Now I'm sitting around dreading my next class, Finance. I'm starting to realize that Study Abroad does involve some school work, even though I only have motivation for traveling right now. Once school starts getting a little more difficult, I'm sure the "honeymoon phase" will wear off a little bit. I'm getting pretty settled, but I'm having trouble sleeping due to the heat. Hopefully, I won't stop having this much fun! I also think I have enough pictures to make a Facebook Album, so look out for that!!
Still within Singapore, we have been keeping ourselves very busy. On Friday night, we went out to Clarke Quay for a dubstep show. However, since the line was too long, we ended up at Attica. Since we have free passes for the entire semester, I bet we'll be there quite a bit. After a few hours, we finally made it to the the Skream & Benga show. I love that all of the clubs in Singapore are so air-conditioned that I actually am freezing when I enter. This makes dancing way easier, and it is always wonderful to escape the hot and humid air.
Our friend from France, Arthur, invited us to Chinatown for brunch the following morning. We found a perfect sized table at a Chinese restaurant for the seven of us. Vincent (from Montreal) took the lead in ordering us a few dishes to share. Everything was absolutely delicious. When we got the bill, we were surprised to see that Chinese restaurants charge customers for napkins! We always joke about how the canteens never have napkins or garbage cans, and now we understand why. Food at restaurants is definitely more pricey than the canteens, but it's nice to have a change.
After eating, we lost a few in the busy streets of Chinatown. In Singapore, however, you can always find your way back. All of us were craving ice cream, so we stopped by a hawker center for dessert. Instead of taking the traditional route, Alex, Luke, and Vincent ordered some ice dessert. Alex asked the guy at the stand to make his favorite dessert, and we ended up with a block of ice covered in condensed milk, red beans, molasses, and sprouts. This was definitely not our favorite thing--except for Luke. He helped us finish it off.
We wondered back to the MRT Station. With nothing to do and no place to be, we killed some more time by heading the the famous Raffles Hotel. Thanks to tour guide Luke, we got lost and stumbled upon an ice cream sandwich store. An ice cream sandwich here is literally a block of ice cream with white bread around it. It was surprisingly so delicious that Julianna had two!
After another few blocks, we found the hotel. As a Singapore must-see, we tried Singapore Slings at the Long Bar. Although each drink was $26, it's something that everyone must try. The Raffles Hotel was extremely beautiful, and it's definitely a place for people who have money to spend. We probably won't be heading back any time soon, but it was worth it for the experience.
Next on our self-guided tour, we went to C.H.I.J.M.E.S. This is a place that used to be a huge church, and now it is filled with bars and restaurants (ironic, right?). We were getting hungry for some dinner, but we wanted a break from Asian food. Just like any typical westerner, we got some pizza. Service here is extremely different than in the states. Waiters/Waitresses do not communicate with you at all, unless you tell them you want to order or get the bill. No one checks on you to make sure that you're doing alright. It's not bad--just different. The pizza was SO good, and it was a great end to our fun day.
The next morning, we made plans to visit Pulau Ubin since a lot of us do not have class on Monday. After a 2-hour journey involving 2 buses, a train, and a ferry, we made it to the beautiful remote island off the north east corner of Singapore. A few new friends from Scotland joined us on this mountain biking adventure. We attempted to explore the jungle for a little while, before escaping the huge bugs and large branches in our way. We visited the Chek Jawa wetlands for the great view. Although there was no waterfall, it was a beautiful place. Starving, we biked for another 20 minutes to eat some fresh seafood in a small waterfront restaurant. Not only was the food delicious, the experience was relaxing and peaceful.
Next we visited a Buddhist temple and went to the island's resort. They had two small lakes, one for kayaking, swimming, and snorkeling and one for sharks and other larger sea animals. We went kayaking and swimming with the fish, then we headed back home.
On the way back we stopped at a famous restaurant for Chili Crab. Although splitting the bill was a lot of work, the crab was definitely worth it. We put on our bibs and ended up with sauce and crab all over ourselves. Food here is beyond delicious!
Thanks for reading if you made it though the novel I just wrote! Talk to you soon!
--Ishmeesh
Friday, January 13, 2012
First Week of Class
The dreaded first week of classes started on Monday. Since I only have two classes (Tuesday & Wednesday), I don't really see myself stressing out about school. I'm still trying to finalize my course registration schedule, because it is extremely difficult to change classes at this school. Since courses usually have little to no vacancies, it's nearly impossible to pick up other classes.
In other news, the people of Singapore are constantly planning/renting out clubs for exchange students to meet and hang out. On Tuesday night, we had the option to go to the Pan Pacific Hotel or to a club called Attica. Most of the people I met here preferred to go to Attica, so we dressed in white and headed over the bridge. Since I'm not used to clubs, every night is new and exciting. The nightlife culture is extremely different than Champaign, but usually we feel like celebrities. Honestly, the biggest stress I have here is about which event to attend.
Wednesday was my first Ladies Night, and we went to a place called Zirca. Here, they allow women in for free on Wednesdays, while men have to pay $20-$30. This place was a blast, and the exchange students mostly ended up at the same club. We grabbed some late night food at the very fancy Burger King Bar before heading back to campus.
We also went to the Night Safari last night. It was absolutely amazing--ranked one of the best zoos in the world. Rather than have cages with animals in different areas, this zoo allows visitors to walk through the jungle. Each habitat blends in with one another hiding any signs of cages. This was a school organized trip, and (unless you don't like zoos) I think this is a must-see.
Even though this city/state/country is small, I have never been bored. With so many people to meet and trips to plan, my days fly by. Today, I'll be heading to the pool to meet some friends. I have yet to do anything academically productive, and I don't plan on changing that. Thanks for reading!
Lots of love,
Ishmeesh
In other news, the people of Singapore are constantly planning/renting out clubs for exchange students to meet and hang out. On Tuesday night, we had the option to go to the Pan Pacific Hotel or to a club called Attica. Most of the people I met here preferred to go to Attica, so we dressed in white and headed over the bridge. Since I'm not used to clubs, every night is new and exciting. The nightlife culture is extremely different than Champaign, but usually we feel like celebrities. Honestly, the biggest stress I have here is about which event to attend.
Wednesday was my first Ladies Night, and we went to a place called Zirca. Here, they allow women in for free on Wednesdays, while men have to pay $20-$30. This place was a blast, and the exchange students mostly ended up at the same club. We grabbed some late night food at the very fancy Burger King Bar before heading back to campus.
We also went to the Night Safari last night. It was absolutely amazing--ranked one of the best zoos in the world. Rather than have cages with animals in different areas, this zoo allows visitors to walk through the jungle. Each habitat blends in with one another hiding any signs of cages. This was a school organized trip, and (unless you don't like zoos) I think this is a must-see.
Even though this city/state/country is small, I have never been bored. With so many people to meet and trips to plan, my days fly by. Today, I'll be heading to the pool to meet some friends. I have yet to do anything academically productive, and I don't plan on changing that. Thanks for reading!
Lots of love,
Ishmeesh
Sunday, January 8, 2012
No Reservations
The past few days have been extremely busy, but I feel like I have a good understanding of the city and the train/bus system (MRT). Yesterday morning, I woke up pretty early, because a bunch of us signed up for a tour of Singapore. We went to different neighborhoods, such as Little India and Chinatown. We only spent about 15 minutes at each stop though, so it was mostly helpful to figure out places that we like.
I was surprised to see that some areas, such as Little India, were completely dead (on a Saturday). It was a ghost town. Only tourists filled the streets, but it was hard to find locals. Later I learned that these areas empty, because the locals work everyday besides Sunday. On our visit the next day, it was so crowded that I could not even walk!
We returned from the tour and decided on a meeting time to head to Clarke Quay. We went to the bridge to meet all of the exchange students; over 100 people from different schools in Singapore were there! We explored the nightlife by visiting a few overpriced spots. In comparison to back home, places all have very extreme themes. There were very few bars; instead nightclubs with cover bands and loud techno music attract tourists. The cost of going out will definitely be something that we all have to adjust to. Just the cab ride alone is about $10 a person.
I woke up the next morning, and Claudia/Prashant took me out for brunch (which starts at 12:30pm in Singapore). The food was amazing, and it was nice to have a break from the canteens. It was great catching up with them, and the kids are so fun. I definitely will be spending a lot of time in their condo; it feels like a vacation home! I'm incredibly grateful to have them here, because it's like having some family to visit.
Instead of heading back to campus after brunch, I decided to meet up with a few of my friends in Little India. Although it was incredibly crowded, this is one of the best decisions I have made! We all hung out with local South Indians over some freshly made naans. Our new friend, Siva, told us several stories about his time in Singapore, and took us to his favorite spots. I honestly feel like hanging out with locals is more fun, because we had the opportunity to become entirely immersed in Singaporean culture. He treated us to all of his favorite dishes and drinks, making us feel like we were on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.
Later, we climbed the Art Building, because the roof is covered in grass. Several exchange students were hanging out up there, so we decided to join them! I feel like I meet several new people each day, and I have no complaints.
Today, I spent the entire day relaxing and killing time. This is the first time in several years that I have absolutely nothing to do while school is in session. Although I skipped my only Monday class (I'm dropping it), all of the business students had a hard time registering for courses. Not only is the system entirely unorganized, most classes are always full. I'm not sure how a country so modern can have such poor systems for course registration. I still have some schedule stuff to figure out, but I don't want to worry about it right now.
After the meeting to register for classes, all of the exchange students met up at Staff Club once again. On the way back from the meeting, I--of course--got incredibly lost. Luckily, some extremely kind Europeans showed me the way, and I convinced them all to join us tonight. I actually just got back. I have to admit that every moment so far has been incredibly fun, mostly due to the wonderful local and international people. Everyday is exciting here!! We have two exchange student welcome parties tomorrow, and I never plan on studying.
Until next time,
--Ishmeesh
We returned from the tour and decided on a meeting time to head to Clarke Quay. We went to the bridge to meet all of the exchange students; over 100 people from different schools in Singapore were there! We explored the nightlife by visiting a few overpriced spots. In comparison to back home, places all have very extreme themes. There were very few bars; instead nightclubs with cover bands and loud techno music attract tourists. The cost of going out will definitely be something that we all have to adjust to. Just the cab ride alone is about $10 a person.
I woke up the next morning, and Claudia/Prashant took me out for brunch (which starts at 12:30pm in Singapore). The food was amazing, and it was nice to have a break from the canteens. It was great catching up with them, and the kids are so fun. I definitely will be spending a lot of time in their condo; it feels like a vacation home! I'm incredibly grateful to have them here, because it's like having some family to visit.
Later, we climbed the Art Building, because the roof is covered in grass. Several exchange students were hanging out up there, so we decided to join them! I feel like I meet several new people each day, and I have no complaints.
Today, I spent the entire day relaxing and killing time. This is the first time in several years that I have absolutely nothing to do while school is in session. Although I skipped my only Monday class (I'm dropping it), all of the business students had a hard time registering for courses. Not only is the system entirely unorganized, most classes are always full. I'm not sure how a country so modern can have such poor systems for course registration. I still have some schedule stuff to figure out, but I don't want to worry about it right now.
After the meeting to register for classes, all of the exchange students met up at Staff Club once again. On the way back from the meeting, I--of course--got incredibly lost. Luckily, some extremely kind Europeans showed me the way, and I convinced them all to join us tonight. I actually just got back. I have to admit that every moment so far has been incredibly fun, mostly due to the wonderful local and international people. Everyday is exciting here!! We have two exchange student welcome parties tomorrow, and I never plan on studying.
Until next time,
--Ishmeesh
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