Back in China
Trip Start
Feb 25, 2008
1
7
Trip End
Ongoing
Shanghai, China
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
month on the fabulous Thai Islands of Koh Tao and Koh Phangan (my
absolute favorite place in the world), I headed to Malaysia. First I
stopped in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur where I spent a few days
exploring the city and eating fabulous cheap Indian food. I went up
the KL Tower (the 4th largest tower in the world, the 3rd is in
Shanghai) and saw incredible views of the city. I then visited a small
charming town south of KL called Melaka. By coincidence I was there on
the night they were celebrating the town's induction as a Unesco World
Heritage Town. There was a ornate parade and it was great seeing all
the locals dressed up for the occasion. Malaysia has three main ethnic
groups that live in complete harmony: Malays, Chinese and Indians
(Tamils mostly). In this parade all three ethnic groups were
represented by adorable 6 year old "couples" wearing traditional
wedding garb riding on the back of a tuk tuk. It was the cutest thing
ever (see my pictures to be up soon).
I headed to Singapore and spent a quick day and a half there, mainly
because it's a very expensive city. I checked out a few of the many
malls (Singapore is known for its shopping) and explored the different
neighborhoods that were sometimes rather confusing. For example, in
the middle of Chinatown there was a Hindu Temple as well as an "Arab
Street" full of Arabic food! Both Malaysia and Singapore really taught
me that people of different religions and ethnic groups can live
together peacefully. Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus all coexist and
thrive.
I went up the coast and spent a week on the beautiful Perethian
Islands (can you tell that I love islands yet?). One of the best days
of my entire trip was spent there when I went on an amazing snorkeling
trip. We cruised around to various spots and swam with 100 year old
peaceful sea turtles, black-tipped SHARKS (not harmful), a loads and
loads of fish and coral. At one point I was almost frightened by the
amount of fish around me; they came dangerously close to my face, but
then I realized I was being ridiculous. I spent the rest of my time
exploring the islands (sea kayaking has become a new favorite hobbie)
and sunning my already gorgeously tanned body.
I couldn't get enough of Thailand, so I went back to explore the
Western Andaman coast. I visited Koh Lanta, a rather large island with
a national park and beautiful beaches as far as the eye can see. I
went to Krabi and spent my birthday on beautiful Reiley Beach - it
exceeded my expectations of the pure beauty and feel of the place that
everyone talks about. Cliffs and islands and crystal clear water, as
well as a beautiful bungalow for half the price (low season discount)
and I was in heaven. I also treated myself to a 2-hour birthday
massage which was obviously wonderful. I went to Koh Pi Pi for a few
days as well - had a great time there hanging out with some locals. I
couldn't understand a thing but it was fun nonetheless; they kept on
calling me their little sister. And to top it all off, I visited one
more island near Bangkok called Koh Samet which was lovely, but no
where near as great as the islands down south.
Then I spent 4 days in Bangkok shopping my ass off! The Chatachuk
weekend market in Bangkok is AMAZING and I went on an absolute
shopping spree - but only spent $100. I also ate tons of street food
(I literally didn't eat in a restaurant once!) to fill up on all the
cheap Thai food I could before I left. I became friends with some
locals (a particular ladyboy took an obvious platonic interest in me)
and I had a great night out on the town in Bangkok drinking Singha and
trying to understand the Thai's English.
For the past week I was in Hong Kong staying with some friends who
live there. HK was nothing like I thought it would be - the first
thing I did was go on a hike to a natural waterfall and go swimming. I
thought: wait, is this really a city? HK has everything I would want:
great nightlife (I had a hilarious and amazing night on Lang Qui Fung
- the center of the nightlife), a diversity of people, great shopping,
loads of beaches, and hills with hikes galore! Everyone speaks English
(because it is a former British colony) and it is the most convenient
city I've been to. I rode the longest escalator in the world (which
was less exciting than I had hoped for) and rode a tram that dates
back to the 1800's. My time in HK was so special that I am considering
finding a job and settling down there for a bit sometime within the
next year. Anyone want to join me?
Now I'm in Shanghai at my parents apartment and it feels great. After
6 months on the road I am enjoying some simple luxuries such as
watching DVDs, additional choices of clothes (i was wearing the same
dreadful 5 outfits), cooking my own food, working out in a gym, and
having FREE internet! I'll be here for the next 4 months saving money
before I head off to India in January. I am going to look for a job
here - hopefully I can find some work short term work in production.
If not, my mother has offered me a position as her personal assistant
which I might just take up. I'm going to use Shanghai as a base to
travel all over China - next week I'm going to Beijing.
