Langkawi: Beach Resort

To change things up a bit from the big cities, we went to a resort on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. It turns out that I really don't like resorts very much. Someone told us when we got to Kuala Lumpur that it rained every day from 2:00 to 4:00pm every day. This turned out to be extremely true every day, even in Langkawi. And when it rains there, it's serious about it. We got scared and made sure to be inside before 2:00. Since everyone is so used to it, they just go right back out after it stops.

So, right after it stopped raining, Cody and I went for a photo walk down the beach. These chairs which were occupied right before the rain were deserted.

A GIANT DRAGON came out of nowhere and scared us away from walking on the rocks.

After we stopped running around screaming we found ourselves on another part of the beach. Look how cute Cody is taking a picture of a stick!

I managed to convince Cody to take his shirt off because it was so hot. We walked down the beach like pimps topless with our backpacks on and climbed on things.

We went for a swim in the pool but didn't feel like swimming in the ocean was safe. And it turned out we were right as there were jellyfish ALL OVER the place!

This woman braved the dangerous waters in order to help me get a good photo. Well, it was more like I stood there like a creep for 10 minutes until she moved into this exact spot.

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/LangkawiBeachResort

Kuala Lumpur: Malls!

Malaysia doesn't like drug traffickers very much.

KL has an amazing huge mall with an amusement park in it, including this roller coaster:

Raph bought a counterfeit watch from a shady guy under a bridge who was very convinced that we were his friends (he kept calling Raph "my friend"). It turned out to be a very nice watch and he's been wearing it for two months!

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/KualaLumpurShoppingMalls

Kuala Lumpur: Walking Around

I hate to sound like an asshole, but so far Kuala Lumpur seems very dirty. Most of where we've walked around has smelled like a toilet, buildings look rundown and deserted, and it seems like everyone is trying to sell us cheap knockoffs. We got in late last night and walked through Chinatown, which felt like walking through a black market. We ate some dubious Indian food and went to bed.

Today Raph and I walked around daylight Chinatown, which was nicer than at night.

Raph played with a snowman outside a mall. Yes, snowmen here are apparently yellow.

This guy was carrying trash bags down the sidewalk. I have no idea what was in them...

An electrical box was just sitting there open with its wires exposed.

This escalator was not moving. In Singapore that usually means when you walk up to it, a motion sensor will detect you and it will start moving. Here, that means it's dead.

Raph is on a constant quest for pork buns and we got some at a train station, but they turned out to be coconut buns. That was fine by us! Pretty delicious.

We went to the National Mosque, but as it's Friday and we weren't wearing long pants, we just admired it from the outside.

This is the flagpole on which the Malayan flag was hoisted for the first time at midnight on August 31, 1957, viewed through a waterfall.

While looking at a map, Raph hit his knee on the tailpipe of this motorcycle. I post this picture here as evidence of the enemy.

As it started pouring rain (it apparently rains between 2:00 to 4:00 every day) we escaped into a mall for dinner. I found a strange shirt in a clothing store. That seems odd right?

Raph bought a watch. We're pretty sure it's counterfeit, but maybe it's real? It was $6 and if it's real it normally goes for $200 or so.

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/KualaLumpurWalkingAround

Singapore to Kuala Lumpur

When we got to the airport in San Francisco, they wouldn't let us on the plane until we had some kind of itinerary proving we were leaving Singapore, so we quickly booked a cheap train online, figuring we could cancel it once we really decided on what to do. We never decided on anything else, so we took an 8 hour train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. 

This looks like Raph is exhausted from a long train ride, but this is before the train even started moving.

Rural Malaysia is pretty rural.

 This kid was adorable. He was playing with his little toys making cute noises the whole time.

Raph came up with a new card game which entertained us for a while and I read a lot of the Steve Jobs biography. Overall, it wasn't too bad.

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/SingaporeToKualaLumpur

Singapore: Marina Bay Sands

After seeing the Marina Bay Sands on the second day here, I had to see what it was like from the top. You can visit one tiny little end of the top floor for $20, but the pool is only for hotel guests. So Raph, Cody, Greg and I stayed there on our last night in Singapore, squeezing into two single beds. But it was so worth it. Check it out!

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/SingaporeMarinaBaySands

Singapore: With a Friendly Tour Guide

I met an awesome local girl (though she hates being called a local), Ambreen, who gave me a great tour of the city and showed me around the less touristy areas. 

We ate some great meals I wouldn't normally have tried and saw some ridiculous things I didn't know existed. I spent a few days with her doing normal things like walking around, eating in malls, going to movies, etc... Feeling like less of a tourist definitely made Singapore feel more like a place I could live. I'm excited about visiting the other places on my trip but it will be hard for them to beat Singapore...

This is one of those ridiculous things. It's a sculpture telling people to flush toilets. There were a few more statues like this explaining how to stay healthy in the square outside an apartment building.

Ambreen also made a great model :).

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/SingaporeWithAFriendlyTourGuide

Singapore: Marina and Chinatown

Cody and Greg arrived in the early morning so we went to the Marina to show them around. Raph is a Merlion.

This is Cody, Raph, and Greg walking around near the Marina. Aren't they cute?

I want to live in this building someday. It's called The Sail. It's the nicest building in Singapore and has huge pools and 2 tennis courts. But it's crazy expensive. It's good to have goals right?

Later that night we headed to Chinatown for dinner and went to a big hawker market. These breads looked delicious but we passed them by.

The first meal I got was way too spicy and I had to give up on it. Unfortunately I was too busy crying to take pictures of that, but here's a few of the dudes eating (and drinking).

Getting in from a 20 hour flight at 5 am and exploring all day must have been very tiring! Cody fell asleep  while reading tweets on his phone so I had to take a picture of it.

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/113790725575874436353/SingaporeMarinaAndChinatown