Winter Holiday

I am back and had a GREAT time. Here are some pictures of the trip.

The sun rising over Japan from the plane.


Here we are in the bus after 24 hours of traveling, sleeping in the Singapore airport, and scrambling to find a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The best part was when the air conditioner broke on the 7ish hour ride.


Malaysia in general is a pretty amazing place. It has a wonderful mixture of races and religion. It was nice to see after being in homogeneous Japan for the last six months. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet "the Prime Minister of Malaysia" and dance to "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (for those who know what I am talking about.)

The view from the hotel in Kuala Lumpur on our first day of vacation. A hundred foot tall Brad Pitt watch advertisement? No thank you. How do I close the curtains?


The Petronas Towers (Twin Towers)
These are the second tallest buildings in the world.


The World's Tallest Flagpole...don't act like you aren't excited.


And now onto Penang, Malaysia. I had a lot of fun here and met a lot of great people.


In less than a few hours, we were able to visit a Mosque and two Buddhist Temples.

Third largest reclining Buddha in the world.




The staff at the Banana Bar Guesthouse

Max, who is working in a Penang for a bit and then returning to his home in Nepal.

"Reindeer"...we didn't ever learn his real name, or didn't remember it. This guy was super hyper and crazy...but sweet nonetheless.

Adrian, by far the most helpful guy on our entire trip. He made all the necessary arrangements for us to get to Langkawi and actually followed our bus to the ferry dock to make sure we made it there safely. And it wasn't in a "creepy, overly caring way." :)

We were also lucky to come across a surprise parade right in front of our hostel. It was some kind of flag parade where guys would carry a huge flagpole. They would then perform stunts while trying the balance the flagpole, like balancing the pole on their chin, etc. At times they would lose control. One flagpole fell on a car. There were also a lot of traditional Chinese dragons as well.




Now onto Langkawi, Malaysia. This is the island where I spent Christmas Eve and Day. All the hostels were booked, so we had to splurge and stay at a resort...even then it was 30 dollars a night. Nice. Beautiful beach. Jellyfish. Pool it is! It was very relaxing and a good way to spend the holiday.


CAMBODIA
I love Cambodia...especially Siem Reap. I had an awesome time, met awesome people and I want to go back again.

Here are some pictures of Phnom Penh, the capital city. Phnom Penh was an interesting place. I can see it growing immensely in the next decade or so. However, I did not enjoy it nearly as much as Siem Reap.

Flying AirAsia...the cheapest way to go.


Mmm...crickets. There were tarantulas too. And no, I didn't get to try any. I wanted to try tarantulas, but only saw them once when I first arrived in Phnom Penh and wasn't ready to take the plunge yet. :)


Kimu, in her mosquito netted top-bunk. I was on the bottom bunk without a net. WTF! Could that explain the FIVE bugbites on my left big toe? Yes, I said FIVE...on ONE toe. Or maybe it would explain why the hostel was one dollar a night.


What are the odds? A Chichibu book in a bookstore in Phnom Penh.


A monk in Phnom Penh


The Royal Palace


SIEM REAP/ANGKOR WAT/GOOD TIMES

We ended up staying in Siem Reap for four days. We had planned to spend more time in Phnom Penh, but had too much fun in Siem Reap and extended our visit there. We stayed at the Jasmine Guesthouse and met their wonderful staff of the most precious guys. We had a blast with them.

First, Angkor Wat...
This place was pretty amazing. We went at 5:00 to see the sunrise. I managed to climb around the side of one of the entrance temples (in the pitch dark) and found a nice, secluded spot. About a half hour later a mass of Japanese tourists come climbing over me with their 'sumimasen's. Felt like home to me. I had a few old guys grab my thigh thinking I was part of the wall. Yes, it was that dark.

Sunrise





The stairs to the top of the main temple, Angkor Wat. They look a lot less intense in pictures. You had to climb them like a ladder. The steps were too tall for a normal ascent. It is awesome to still be able to climb all over these temples. One could EASILY fall to their death at Angkor Wat. And I didn't even trip once. Woo hoo!


Yup...we made it.


Here are more pics and some of the other temples...Bayon, Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider style), etc.


Here was a woman in the Bayon Temple. We had a moment. She kept touching me and saying something in Khmer. Come to think of it, maybe she wasn't a woman.


Here is our Ankgor Wat tuk-tuk driver, Lee.

We asked him to show us a side of Siem Reap that tourists don't see, so he invited us over to his eldest sister's house for lunch the day after Angkor Wat. He drove us in his tuk-tuk for an hour and a half to get to the village where he grew up. It was really sweet of him. His family was great even though we couldn't communicate in the same language. Kim and I taught Lee and his two nephews how to play the card game "Bullshit." It was hilarious. I lost both games.

Lee's Sister's House


Lee's Nephew, his brother-in-law, and Lee




The neighbors


Oh yeah...and they breed crocodiles. They had 30+ in the backyard.


A photo of the whole family minus the bro-in-law. He had to leave to go to work where he is the principal of a school.


This is a gas station. They are glass bottles filled with gas. Motorbike is by far the most popular form of transportation here.


New Year's Eve, the boys from the hostel, Hak, Chin, Rithy, and Kohp took us to a local Cambodian dance club. Those boys have some moves. We had a blast.


All of us at the Jasmine Lodge.
Rithy, Stephanie( a JET girl we met in Siem Reap), Kim, Chin, Hak, Elena, Me, Kohp


Kohp and Chin arm wrestling and showing off their massive guns ;)


And don't forget...Freak First is the most important meal of the day. Huh...you're telling me!