Olivia, I found our mecca

There's a place here called Orchard Road. Its the fancy schmancy shopping district. They have everything I want and need. I would have to inherit some money first. Then I would need to inherit some style and class and maybe then they would let me in.
Today we shopped a lot. We startled at Raffles Landing where Raffles first discovered singapore 400 years ago. There were natives of course, but he was the first Brit to hang out. After that I held a python. Oh, I fogot to tell you that I ate an octopus yesterday. It was an octopus ball which was like a fried ball of octopus inside a doughy fried something. It was chewy and didn;t taste like much but at least I ate one. So after the snake and the landing spot we went to the Long Bar. Thats where the Singapore Sling was invented. Its super sweet and tastes good but it was 22 bucks. My coke was 9 bucks and the only other time I have spent 9 bucks on a coke was in a strip club in Vegas which was equally disappointing. Lesson learned is that expensive cokes do not guarantee good times. But the building was cool and well preserved for a 400 year old building. Florida should learn about the maintenance measures here and maybe it wouldn't look so dirty and rundown.
After those sights we went and shopped until my feet broke off. At the grocery store in the candy section they have tiny dried spicy crabs. They looked like sand crabs with paprika. I bought them.

Tomorrow we trek into the jungle with Daniel. He is Scott's dad's coworker and he's bringing us to dimsum and then the jungle and maybe a temple or something. It should be a great time!

Thailand continued...

ISo behind the resort was a little village. To find it you were supposed to take the path behind the bar. Well, one pat leads way into the jungle and the other path is by the OLD bar and is crawling distance. There were about 10 ramshackle huts of restaurants and one of them had like 6 kinds of seafood, for two, for 600 baht. Thats about 18 bucks. But we chose to eat at the fancy Thai fusion place instead. I couldn't find the fusion part but it was delicious and up on the hillside near the spa. So the village is a series of huts and then there is a monstrous footbridge. I'm not sure how much stuff was pre-tsunami and how much was post tsunami. There are signs everywhere with the directions to flee in case of tsunami. A small tsunami really would have made this vacation even more exciting! Or cannibals. Since it was off season you can really see evidence of how many tourists will show up in the winter months. I bet the place is hopping but luckily its not like ton sai bay where you can get Che Guevera shirts, McDoobie shirts with pot leaves and any number of cheesy bullshit american-ized crap souveniers.
When it was time to go back to Phuket we caught a ferry back. First we had to take another speedboat around to Ton Sai bay and then get on the ferry. The ferry is gross. It was packed to the gills and pretty rocky. It didn;t leave until 2:30 so we checked out at 12, caught the speedboat at 1ish, then waited some more for the ferry. Asian people, apparently mostly Chinese and Japanese, push a lot. It makes you want to pop them and tell them to cut it out. It happens getting on elevators, escalators, they steal in line for the bathroom, and yes, on ferries too. But I am much bigger and stronger and I block them well. Push away tiny lady, I'm still in front of you and a giant. Oh, and someone puked on the ferry and just left it. And then someone had to sit next to it the entire ride. I would rather bake in the sun on the upper deck. In fact I just gagged thinking about it. Once we arrived at port we had another ride and it took about an hour to get to the next hotel. It was really far from Phuket town and the debauchery of that place so we didn't get to go. I was tired from all of the travel anyway so it was nice to hang out at the Naithonburi hotel. We swam in their gorgeous pool and then ate there. The food was good and sleep was much appreciated. We had to catch our cab at 7 am so we just relaxed.
The next day we got up, ate and took our ride to the airport. We did the customs game again of stamp out and then waited for two hours in the airport. Its a tiny airport and we had much time to try and spend the rest of our bahts. I succeeded with gusto!
Once we got back to Singapore we waited to get our stamp into the country and by the time we got home it was 1:15 to 1:30. Thats the problem with travel is that it takes for-EVER. Basically from 1pm sunday until 1pm Monday we were working our way home.
Yesterday after getting home, dropping off our bags and resting for a bit we headed out to Bugis Street mall. We ate lunch in the basement food court. It was like the mall food court but there were tons of places with food on sticks and there weren;t any places to sit unless you went to a restaurant that had its own seating. I ended up with fried scallops, fried shrimp, and miso soup. YUM!!!!! Scott got a delicious noodle bowl of sorts. This place really knows how to hook up some rice and noodles! Afterwards we went to the Bugis Street market. That place sucks. It could be cool but only if you are in the mood for swealtering steamy alleys of shopping for tacky clothes and cheap trinkets. There were hundreds of pushy people and with 4 people in our group its a pain in the ass to keep up with each other. So we got out of there quick. We eventually met up with Scott's dad and we decided to go to the night safari! The animals were so close you could touch them. There were fishing cats and giant tapirs. The binturong was cool too. The night safari was completely pitch black dark except for these lights that weren't too bright but bright enough to help you spot the critters. They feed them so the animals are out and about when you're going by. Hyenas, tigers, rhinos, and a variety of cool deer. I loved the night safari!
I'm not sure what all we're going to see today. My feet are dying a slow painful death but I must press on!

PS- Susie, I will be home Friday night super duper late. The plane lands at 9:30 or so but by the time we get through customs it'll be like 11:30 or 12 I imagine.

Thailand was fantastic!

Friday morning we flew to Phucket Thailand. We flew on AirAsia. Now, many of you have never flown on the free seating airlines. Its like running the gauntlet. People push and shove and line up like 30 minutes early. Then they take you ticket and its like a sprint to the plane to ensure you get the seat you want. I guess this ensures people get to the plane in time but it sucks. Another thing that sucks about traveling in Asia is that you constantly are going through emmigration/immigration lines. It gets old and trip by trip my carryon gets lighter and lighter.

So, upon arriving in thailand you can see the ocean from the airport! We had an arranged ride to the boat and we were wisked away immediately. The scenery was so different from what I'm used to. There would be a brand new house painted vividly and almost leaning against it would be a shanty town made of scraps screating huts. Then there would be a ginormous temple all painted red and gold and very ornate. Dogs lay in the street and motorbikes zip in and out of traffic. There were even girls riding side saddle.

To continue, we were driven to the dock where we caught a speedboat to Phi Phi. I don't like boats because I am both scared and very prone to being sea-sick. My sister once told me that if you fall overboard, you will get ground up by the motor. Then the sharks will eat you. I think deep down inside I still believe this. Anyway, I held on for dear life and eventually ended up laying down trying not to puke. But we made it safe and sound to the beautiful Phi Phi islands. When we arrived they pulled up to this amphibian truck that scooped us out of the boat and drove us to land. Our bags were wisked away to our rooms and we were led by many beautiful thai people to the reception areas. They gave us delicious coconut drinks with orchids and flowers hanging out of them. Everywhere I looked were fancy flowers. They were lining the steps, sprinkled in the ashtrays, floating in decorative urns, and spilling out of the numerous fruit bowls. We were sent to our rooms to freshen up and our room was our own little thatch hut. It had ac and cable, a huge bed and yes, flowers in the toilet. Fantastic! Before dinner I promptly booked the spa session for Scott and I to have a massage the next day. For dinner I had heard that "the" place to go was a little village behind the bar. Well, we chose the wrong bar and ended up walking halfway across the island. We passed workers housing, a soccer game, chickens, toads, a mountain rise, a twisted ankle, and 2 snakes before we finally conceded that yes, its dark and maybe we should head back. So we gave up and hightailed it out of the jungle and this tiny path trailing through the wilderness. We ended up eating at the hotel restaurant and I got my first taste of thai food. I ordered a prawn something or other and asked for one spicy instead of 3. Well, it was still to hot for me to eat so I switched with scott after breaking into a full sweat. He had a rock lobster thingy. The house band played wonderful renditions of Fleetwood Mack and the Eagles. The breeze off the bay into the open air restaurant was fantastic and whatever they do for bug control works wonders! So that was our first day in Thailand.

Day 2 we got up early and had a delicious continental breakfast and then rented a longtail boat for 4 hours. Yes, after 30 minutes I was terrified and motion sick. I toughed it out and eventually spent the trip laying on the floorboards. We made it through choppy seas to the place where they filmed "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio. When you park your boat there a park ranger turns up and wants a sum of money that was paid by Scott's Dad. There were so many tourists and its kind of too crowded. But it is still beautiful and I was certainly glad to get out of the boat. So, the scenery out in the water is miles of sea with theses crazy rock formations jutting up at impossible heights. Its so foreign and beautiful, even if you're queasy and scared to death. After "The Beach" we went to a cove on the other side of the island and snorkled. I saw some HUGE angelfish, and some other cool brightly colored yellow and purple and blue fish. There were anemones and colorful coral piece everywhere as well. It was beautiful. Luckily, when Scott's mom fell into the boat the didn't hurt herself except for a bruise and a scrape. Once we were finished snorkling we headed back. We passed viking cave that has cave paintings and stuff but we didn't stop. The locals also harvest birds nest for birds nest soup. The birds make nests with spit and its a delicacy. I will eat some if I see it. I eventually puked a little but not grossly violently. I just heaved a little over the edge and laid back down. We next went to Ton Sai Bay which is where Scott and I would have ended up if we made it over the mountain. Its like a small bustling village city filled with dirty shops, expensive crappy food and hippy backpackers galore. I'm sure that it gets much worse in the on season. But it was still wonderfully dirty and gross and exciting and new. This is also the same place where we caught the ferry on Sunday. This is also the place where I broke all of the CDC rules and let a monkey sit on me. It was a gibbon and so impossibly cute in his little tank top and diaper. He gently held on to my head for the photo ops and I loved every minute of geting rabies and lice and some sort of flesh eating virus that begins in my liver. When we finished our lunch of amazing difficulty we headed back to the resort. I had to get back for the massage.

The massage was wonderful. They sent a cart to pick us up and brought us up onto the hillside. They gave us tea and then brough us to our room. Scott and I got our massages in the same room and they made us disrobe in front of them while making a halfassed attempt to pretend to sheild us with a silk scarf. Scott got a dude massage therapist and I got a chunky happy little lady. My lady immediately jumped on the table and crushed my spine. I didn't realize it at the time, it took a day or so. But she twisted and poked and prodded all of my muscles and then they put boiling rocks wrapped in towels all over us. It was wonderful unil I woke up crippled the next day. Everything they do at that resport makes it feel like their entire job is to worship you. Everyone smiles and it so sweet and they bow with the little pressed hands thing. It was truly a new kind of heaven. All of the rest of my food at the resort was fantastic and I had a variety of prawn dishes and that delicious coconut milk soup like at Surin. The soup is better in thailand.

So thats all I can write for now. Tomorrow I will tell you more about the village, the ferry, the next hotel and today. Its not as exciting as the stuff I have already told you but its still gotta wait. I'm exhausted, its 10:20pm and I've been up since 5:30 or so.

Good night!

Thai time

So we leave for Thailand today. Our flight is at 1:30 and apparently to aduls (not me, the parents) it takes hours to pack for a 2 day 3 night trip. I packed the lightest bag ever! I'm ready! I may go to the Chinese heritage museum to see the texile display but we'll see. Its hard to go away from the pack because you have to have a card to get up the elevator. But the elevator is the front door so that's pretty badass. Anyway, the trip to Thailand should be awesome. We fly in o Phuckett and then we have to check on weather to see if we can even get to Phi phi island. Yesterday was 8 foot seas so the ferries and speed boats weren't running. If its rough seas I really hope they aren't running but even if I throw up the whole 2 hours to get to the island, it will be awesome. We'll take puke picures. Once we get to phi phi we're staying at some resort with little thatch roof bungalows and the 5 of us have 3! One for Scott and I (sinners), 1 for the brother, and one for the parents. There is snorkeling, a cave to our by boa, sharks, a pool...I'm going to get fried but I will try not to. Its so awesome to have a vacation within a vacation. Scott's parents are rad for allowing this to happen. I gladly would have run my credit card up for this trip. Luckily I haven't had to very much at all!

You know whats annoying? I wake up at 6 am everyday. online sudoku, here I come.

Heaven

Today we got up and went shopping. I finally have all the crap I am going to buy. Well, unless I buy more fabric. Today we went to the art museum and saw some exhibit that Scott wanted to see. I forget the dude's name. Anyway it was cool and when we were finished there we went to little India and Arab Street. It was sooooo nice. It was storefront after storefront of fabric. Most was Sari fabric and silks but there were a few shops with cotton batiks. I bought a ton of them. Its not fantastic stuff but its still fantastic to me!
Muhammed at the rug store was kickass! He gave us many free waters and then sold me a rug for 50 sing dollars. That would be 35 dollars US and it has machine guns and grenades and helicopters and stuff. Then he only charged me 45 dollars! It ended up being about 32 bucks. Its a sweet deal. Its not huge, but its kickass.
My dogs are killing me so goodbye! Thailand tomorrow! But aparently the seas are rough so we may not get to go to the phi phi islands. Damn. Even if we're just in phucket it will be rad!

The good of Malaysia

Now that the bad has been discussed, here's the lighter side.

So it took 5 hours to get there. I told you about all of the immigration lines and such. On the bus we received a meal for lunch. It was rice with gross chicken sausages that are like hot dogs. Then there was a side of fried fish even though the tour operator told us the only meat they ever served was chicken. The chicken sausages are like vienna sausages. Wierd and yucky. Its like eating a finger. We got to watch crappy movies like Freaky Friday and some horrible movie with Mathew Brodericks wife (who I can't remember her name for some reason).

We stopped at a rest stop on the trip and it was like any rest stop- dirty, grimy, and filled with awesome trash souveniers. The food looked a little scary but I ate some on the ride back. It wasn't good. Oh, and the bathrooms....the bathrooms are soooo scary. Everywhere in Malaysia almost. Except the fancy mall and the hotel, most bathrooms were scary places. You have to pay at some of them and a little lady sits there and takes 30 ringit (10 cents) from you. So you pay to step into hell. In Singapore they have all normal toilets and maybe 1 hole in the floor toilet. In Malaysia they have all hole in the floor toilets and sometimes one regular toilet. I used many holes in the floor but its awkward. Its dirty and gross and luckily you don't have to touch anything. But there's a mysterious hose hanging on the wall that I presume is like a bidet but I don;t understand why everyone doesn't have water all over them. Also, how do the ladies in the burka things do it? Their outfits are dragging the floor and they go in THERE and don't get piss all over them? Its perplexing. Also in Malaysia, I saw a lady folding trashboags. Standing in the washroom, folding trashbags. She had what looked to be 500 to do and was on about 50. Then another day, in another washroom, I saw a lady re-rolling toilet paper. She was taking the partial rolls and putting them on the new rolls. She was a restroom attendant so why not let the rolls run out and change it when its almost done? She's in there all day. Anyway, I digress. I was talking about the bus and rest stop. Anyway, the rest stops are as brutal as a central mississippi truckstop with no AC. The scenery on the trip was mostly palm plantations. They are #1 for palm oil export and it was quite lovely. The mountains and hillsides are all stepped and loaded with palm trees.

When we arrived we went to our hotel. It was the Hotel Istana and was really nice. It takes 26 people and 3 hours to check in. But all of the employees were very nice and had awesome outfits. The dudes looked like royalty and the ladies had these asian dresses with slits to the tops of their legs. Very hot. I've never stayed in a hotel with robes to use. Oh, and the water pressure was like turning a fire hose on yourself in the shower. I think I ripped the skin off my back.

The family decided to eat at the hotel for almost every meal. I wanted to be more adventurous but I think the pickpocketing made us a little wary. Anyway, the food wasn;t great. I had something called Wanton mee and it was like hot water with noodles and shrimp dumplings. It was lame. The breakfast bar the next day was odd and while it was stocked full with everyhing under the sun, I really wish I had some bacon. But since its heavily Muslim, almost all food is halal which means safe for muslims to eat.

The first morning there we went to Peronas Towers. Its the picture above. We got there at about 8:25 and you go down one floor and stand in line for tickets. They limit the number of visitors each day so by 9:30 the tickets were all gone. We were in the early batch so we went up quickly. Its quite a view from the skybridge at the 42nd floor. And the elevators are amazing. You can't feel any movement and it took like 30 seconds to go 42 floors. Everything has a mall attached so there was a nice fancy mall at the towers that was like a 6 story Phipps Plaza.

After the tower we went to Outback Steakhouse. It was nice to have some home-ish food but I would have chosen elsewhere. But my chicken fingers were delicious! Everywhere are these open air curry houses and I would have loved to try one but they did look scary. The cleanliness factor is not like the US. Its more like the scary redneck karaoke bar I worked at in college. I can imagine the roaches and rats that scamper everywhere at night. And when I'm not looking. Nothing says great vacation like food poisoning and then a 5 hour bus ride. So all in all I'm glad we ate safe in Malaysia. I had enough bad there.

After lunch we went to Batu Caves. This is pictured above. You arrive and there are booths of people makinf flower garlands to offer to the gods I guess. Then you go in the gaes and see this huge statue. Its sooooo huge. I mean, seriosuly. Then you climb 272 steps to the top. The most awesome thing is that there are macaques everywhere! But daddy monkeys, baby monkeys, poo slinging monkeys...it was awesome! I could have touched one if I had a rabies shot and a deathwish. Some man had some bananas and the monkeys wanted them and he had them in his shirt and was trying to shoo the monkeys away. I thought it was funny. Silly, don't bring bananas to a monkey fight. Once inside the caves its beautiful. There's an opening in the top so its daylit and there are bats sqeaking and flying around. The birds are calling from their nests in the cave walls and there are shrines everywhere. I imagine 20 years ago it was much more fantastic as it is now littered and has big metal barriers to keep the tourists back and cantained away from the statues.

When it was ime to leave we grabbed a cab. They are very easy to get and you can debate your price with them. You do this at the beginning to ensure they don;t ride the meter or rip you off. We were very careful to ask at the hotel what the rates hsould be. 30 ringit from the caves was about 10 bucks. Thats very do-able. I wish we had one more day in Malaysia because the cab driver mentioned the chocolate factory "that is just fruit" and the pewter factory and the leather factory. But we were beat and it was rainy and hot and sticky, and a nap sounded just fine!

That night we ate at one of those Brazilian meat restaurants. It was tons of meat and good night to me! Oh, and we also discovered then that Scott's dad had his credit card compromised and someone in Calgary had a good time with it. Money woes abound but we did fine. Scott, Lenny his brother and I went walking around and enjoying the night markets. It was a totally different scene from the afternoon. It was like Buckhead in dayime and buckhead at night- minus the drunks and sluts. Well, they did have scantily clad girls offering Massage. heh heh.

We went to the KL towers the next day. Its like the skyneedle thing in Seattle. It has a 360 degree viewpoint and at the bottom- MONKEYS! These were different monkeys but still adorable. They had fuzzier heads. We walked around a bit afterwards and then went to catch our bus. This is when Scott decides to look for his passport. We can't find it. We emptied every bag and flipped through books and papers. Then we did it again. The bus arrived, Scott's dad is getting irritated, Scott runs upstairs to check the room again, his brother goes to the concierge and checks to see if it was turned in. I empty the bags again and Scott comes back and finds it immediately. Right where I looked 5 times. But now his brother is missing. The bus is waiting for us and where is Lenny? Finally he's back and the bus takes off. WHEW! I almost had to stay behind with Scott and go to the embassy and get a new passport. But then we would have had to stay and extra night and my credit card was turned off. But it would have been quite an adventure! Luckily we didn't have to do it though. Its nice to be back at home base. Today we go to Arab street and fabric shop!

Malaysia is number one for many things...

I'm really tired as I just got off our Luxury Coach and arrived back at home base. After calling to find out why in God's name is my credit card turned off and why did it ruin my Malaysian leg of the tour, I jumped right on the computer to talk to you all. Apparently my credit card was turned off due to worrisome spending. I bought one thing in malaysia and it sent warning flags even though I TOLD THEM I would be here and it was cool. So, since it would be a long walk to a payphone or a 1 million ringit charge at the hotel, I waited til I got here. I had to pass on all varieties of fake handbags but I'll live. I also couldn't buy any Vaierns (Vans knockoffs). Life it tough. Anyway, we arrived in Malaysia after a 5 hour trip. To cross the border you go through emmigration from Singpore and immigration to Malaysia. 2 stops about 2 miles apart. Its kind of a pain in the ass and the border fence is intense. Its what the US dreams of for the us border.
We arrived at our hotel and decided to check out the train system to get a feel of the city and locations of things. Unfortunately within 5 minutes I experienced my very first pickpocket! Yes, I got my pride and joy ganked from my bag by someone I hope chokes on a fishball. He stole my camera. I know which douchebag did it but I didn't realize it until a minute or two later. I think they saw me taking pictures, saw where I stashed the camera and made me as their mark. One bump, two bump on a bumpy overly crowded train and they can take whatever they want. Lucky for me there are lots of cameras in Asia. We got to negotiate and my tale of sorrow got me an excellent deal on the brand new latest on the market tiniest Cannon camera. So, my first few hours of Malaysia were tarnished, and my first 4-5 days of vacation are recorded for posterity, but they are out of my possession. Oh well. My mystical powers will avenge me. Oh, and in Malaysia they will walk on your feet. Muslim men look like they want to spit on you and all sausage is made of Chicken. Its a very odd place. I'm pretty tired so I will go for now but I have sooooo much more to tell you. I figured I would tell you the bad news first.