ANDREA HOVERSLAND

Here I am, finally back from an amazing backpacking trip through Malaysia and Thailand and I find it difficult to sum everything up in just one blog. What did I do? Well, I fed monkeys, visited many Buddhist Wats, rode a water taxi and a tuk tuk, snorkeled, enjoyed some SPICY Thai food, and sipped on tea in the Cameron Highlands while overlooking an amazing view of the tea plantations which stretched as far as I could see, among other things. I lived out of a backpack for 2 weeks and realized just how little one really needs to survive!. . . . I went with my 2 friends Jamie and Julien.

We started in Kuala Lumpur, then went to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. After the Highlands, we traveled through Georgetown to the island of Palau Langkawi off the west coast of Malaysia. We entered Thailand through Satun in the south, then eventually we went up to Koh Samui off the east coast of Thailand for a couple days of rest and relaxation. Lastly, we took a 15 hr boat/bus ride up to Bangkok.

Here is a picture of the Petro Towers in Kuala Lumpur. . . .

. . . and one of the Batu Caves outside of KL which is the home of many Hindu Shrines.

I found that the hostels where we stayed were extremely inexpensive, and who wants hot water when it’s roasting outside? Most of the hostels consisted of a shared bathroom with a hose above the toilet as the shower. . . .and I was never surprised to see a lizard/gecko/cockroach/preying mantis in the shower (or bed) with me!

The Cameron Highlands offered a cool getaway from the heat of Kuala Lumpur, and it was so interesting to learn about how tea is grown and processed. Here is a view of the tea in the Cameron Highlands. (This is also where the famous American, Jim Thompson, disappeared. Mr. Thompson basically opened up the Thai Silk trade to the world and is very famous in these areas.)

Jamie and I hanging out in the tea fields. . . . haha this place was amazing!

Palau Langkawi and Ko Samui were. . . very relaxing. It was so incredibly hot that it was sure nice to be able to relax and swim rather than be roasted by the sun. I absolutely love the water so it was lots of fun. . . the water was crystal clear in Ko Samui and great for snorkelling. It was my first time! Palau Langkawi had stinging jellyfish everywhere. . .so we didn't go into the water very much here. This is a picture of the island we visited by boat for some snorkelling.

Here are some of the "ladies" we met on the island. . . . you definitely can't leave Thailand without seeing some of interesting. . . women. I'll pretend like they don't look more feminine than myself in this picture. Guess I just couldn't fit the makeup in my backpack. . . . !!

After the 15 hour ferry/bus ride to Bangkok from Koh Samui (Jamie even survived getting stung by a bee on the roof of his mouth. . .don’t ask how that happened!) I was ready to sleep for DAYS. Of course, we got up early the next day to explore the city.

I could write so much just about Bangkok, but pictures are worth 1,000 words so here you are. . . . .

River taxi. . .

The Reclining Buddha and I. . . . .and Jamie and I at one of the famous wat complexes.

Of course, I couldn’t leave Bangkok without buying some Thai silk from Jim Thompson’s factory outlet store. . . . . .The best quality in town I was told! Well, it is good for me because I don’t know how to tell the real silk from the fake or low quality. That is one thing I discovered in Bangkok, the people who don’t know what they are doing will lose lots of money! Bartering is essential when considering a purchase, and you have to walk away an average of 5 times to get anywhere near the price you want. What did I learn about the food? Medium hot . . . to a farang (foreigner) means extra spicy, as in, you can’t feel your lips. . . . and you can’t go wrong by sticking to the street pad thai. Yummy! Here is a picture of a tuk tuk, one form of transportation available for hire.

What am I up to now? Well, I was studious and brought my Mandarin homework with me and I actually looked at it the first week. . . . . but I definitely have a lot of work to catch up on. I may not post any pictures on my next blog unless I post a picture of me in the library pulling my hair out. :) I am signing off until next time, and I hope you liked the pictures.

HAPPY BELATED CHINESE NEW YEAR!