First backpacking trip!

Last weekend I traveled to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi (an Island off Malaysia) with two classmates who are also on exchange here at NUS. The first day there we walked around, visited the Petronas towers and as always, enjoyed the flavorful food Malaysia offers! Unfortunately, and true to every trip I take to a new country, I got sick. At first I thought it was allergies and assumed I was allergic to Asia (which seemed to be the case in Spain since I was sick the entire time I was there), however, it turned out to be a full blown cold, nasty cough and all. I did my best to not let this affect me by taking as much cough suppressants and cold medicine as I could possibly find.  The second day was the best day, minus the cold, we woke up and headed straight for Batu Caves which is a Hindu cave built inside a limestone hill. We were fortunate to be traveling there during one of the most famous festivals held every year, Thaipusam, a Hindi festival (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam ) in which people make a pilgrimage from KL to the caves, which is about a 15km trek. We got a ride from one of guys staying at our hostel, Vincent, who lives in a village about 100KM away. My basic understanding of the festival is that it is the time of year to atone and cleanse the body of sins, some people actually mutilate themselves by hanging fruit off hooks that are pierced into their body. People come from all over the world to attend this festival. We even met a couple from Russia!  At one point we heard there were about 1.3 million people there the day we went. It took us about 2 hours to climb the 272 steps to get to the caves, on a normal day it should have taken about 5 minutes. In summary, I have never felt so claustrophobic, dirty (it was about 85º and 85% humidity, sunny with no clouds, and constant body contact with the millions of other people), or uncomfortable in my life, and yet it was one of the most fascinating experiences I have ever had.

Later that day we were invited to have dinner and attend a prosperity and Chinese New Year ceremony at a Tao Temple. We happened to be walking by and taking pictures the day before and a lady walked out and invited us. I was fortunate enough to sit next to the sweetest lady, who reminded me of my Nana, and did her best to explain the symbols and the ceremony in English. I didn’t understand a word of the ceremony, but it was truly an unforgettable experience to be invited into these people’s lives.

That night, at our hostel, Vincent broke out his guitar and we all sang ‘Hotel California’ together, and had great conversations about the political and economic situation in Malaysia. A truly valuable conversation as I would have never understood the racism and corruption that exists there if I was just a tourist walking around.

All in all, KL was an amazing. I don’t think I would suggest anyone visit it unless you can meet some locals and enjoy their company, or if you really enjoy big cities in Asia.

Our next stop was Langkawi, an Island off Malaysia. This Island was beautiful, and we met a lot of great people. They had some mountains that made me miss Colorado, but beaches that can’t compete with any in the US. I also got to drive on the ‘other’ side of the road and succeeded without injury, except for always turning on the windshield wipers when trying to use the turn signals.

When I finally returned back to Singapore it hit me hard why I choose to study here and use it as my home base for travel. Singapore is so CLEAN and very easy to get around, a perfec place to return to after traveling Asia, especially when sick! 

The first two weeks

The first two weeks of living in S'pore have been nothing less than chaotic and exciting. When I arrived I stayed in a hotel for two nights looking for an apartment. Needless to say, those were two very lonely and frustrating nights in which I definitely questioned what I was thinking when I choose to move to Asia. Thankfully, I found a place by the second day that is really close to school and things started to calm down, a bit. The biggest shock so far was the cost of living. It's like living in Manhattan! The best part though is that I have two roommates, who are both from India and both graduated the MBA program I am attending here at National University of Singapore (NUS), which has been extremely helpful as I adjust to a new lifestyle.
My classes are going well. I have only 3 courses here in Singapore, which I conveniently scheduled on only Monday and Tuesday. Which means, 5 days of travel every week. As you can see classes might become a second to travel during these 4 months, but of course I will make sure I will at least pass!
The first weekend I was here I traveled to Bintan Indonesia on a group trip organized by local students for all the exchange students attending NUS this semester. We took the ferry over, which proved to miserable as I get sea sick in packed boats. The way back was much worse as there was choppy seas and it took us twice as long (about 3 hours). Bintan was just okay, not a whole lot there, but I did have a chance to meet a few really cool girls that I plan on traveling with in the future, and I got to explore and meet some locals, so it was worth it in that respect. I also had a bungalow which was in the water (pics are on facebook), which has been a dream of mine for some time now.
Back to Singapore for the second week of classes I discovered that it is very difficult to figure out a new school system, but everyone has been very helpful here, so the frustration was kept to a minimum.
So, my favorite parts of Singapore so far are Hawker centers. They are essentially outdoor food courts in which families rent out a kiosk and cook various types of food and I have one that is about a 5 minute walk from my house.  It is extremely cheap, around $2.50 USD for a meal, and another $.70 for fresh juice. I eat here twice a day as its cheaper than cooking at home. Plus, it very difficult to get tired of the food as there is about 100 stalls, and every type of food, including Indian, Chinese, Malay ect. I'm trying to remember to take picture of my food, but I tend to be too hungry to remember.

Well, I don't want to scare you all off with such a long first post, so Ill continue next time with my trip to Malaysia.

...and so it begins

After many emails and phone calls to various family members in the US, I determined that while I love talking to you all about what is going on here, there never seems to be enough time to explain what is going on here and to catch up on what is going on back in the States. Which is really important to me, because no matter how cool this place is, I still miss home and need my dose of family news every week.
Over the next few posts I will attempt to catch up on the first two weeks in Singapore and will try keep the blog updated at minimum, weekly. Please feel free to comment and let me know what is going on with your lives as some days it can be easy to live so far away, but other days hearing about your world helps me get through the difficult days!