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!