10 notables from Malaysia

1. Reggae Mansion

This was the best hostel I have ever stayed at. They truly have thought of every need for travelers! Each person had their own bed space with curtains that kept out the sounds, so even though we were in a 24 person room, it didn't feel like it. Only problem was that I was on the top bunk, and the later was a really tough one! Free breakfast buffet was amazing! We were able to loan hair dryers/ adapters/ straightener. There was also a rooftop bar that had a good view of the city. It really was a great stay!

2. Kuala Lumpur City Tour

We went on the "7 wonders of KL" tour that was provided by our hostel. It took us around to many different sites around KL, which was perfect for us! 

 We went to Malaysia's national mosque. Pretty much the only people that were there when we were, were other tourists. It was a beautiful space to say the least. Some of the other mosques around KL were much more impressive to me though.

We also went to Thean Hou Temple, which is a 200 years old Chinese temple. 

Batu Caves was a cave that you had to walk up 272 steps to get to. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. There was a massive statue of him outside of the cave. Sad to say that this was probably the dirtiest place we saw in Malaysia, but that could have been because we saw it right after a festival...

3. Fresh Fruit

I've been deprived in Korea with the lack of fruit. It is quite expensive in Korea, or at least most of it. At every opportunity I bought fresh fruit juices, smoothies, and actual chopped up fruit! It was so good! YUM!
I gained 4 pounds. This fruit and the milkshakes helped contribute to this!

4. Petronas Towers

These towers are also known as the Petronas Twin Towers, but I'm not really into calling them that, it seems weird. Anyways, these towers were the tallest in the World between 1998- 2004, and they still are the tallest twin towers in the World. We went and saw them up close during the day and then went to Sky Bar to veiw them as the sun set. At the base of the towers, there were many shops, and Emily even got some time in a Marks and Spencers. After some shopping we went to the Sky Bar for some overpriced drinks and a great view! We took out time and milked out one drink for 2 hours. It was nice. The sky was really beautiful!

5. Langkawi Island

Apparently this island is a very popular destination for honeymooners, and it was quite obvious... There wasn't a huge crowd of travelers our age. That being said, it was still a great place. There were nice beaches and plenty of entertainment! We stayed on a beach very close to the main one, and I'm glad we didn't stay on the main one. Our was a bit more secluded and quiet.

6. Parasailing

We found someone to take us para-sailing for 55 ringget. That is less around $15.... Good deal! Anyways we got a small boat that reeked of gas, and went to an island. There we were harnessed in and without warning found ourselves in the air. It was a neat way to see the island. Some of us had some interesting landing... I never knew you could para-sail without touching one once of water...

7. Swimming Monkeys (Mangrove Tour)

We went on a mangrove tour that included seeing eagles, potentially killer snake (didn't actually happen), caves, monkeys, fish farms, and the highlight in my opinion- SWIMMING MONKEYS! They would climb a tree limb that hung over the water and when our guide threw peanuts they would dive-bomb into the water and tread water to eat the peanuts. It was an amazing sight!

8. Mopeds...(again)

We rented mopeds again for a day to get around the island. We went to a waterfall, and then the next day I explored some of the coastal region next to our accommodation. Besides the fact that we were given scooter that didn't have gas in them, (Spent an insanely small amount to fill them.) and the guy tried to scam me and not give me my deposit when I returned the scooter, it was a great time! :)

9. Chinese New Years

We happened to be in Malaysia during Chinese New Years. There were so many red lanterns placed around the country.  Everything seemed more festive I suppose. We didn't notice an influx of Chinese until New Years Eve and New Years. It got a little more busy on those days. There weren't fireworks or anything but we did get to see some people lighting lanterns on the beach and setting them off over the water, which was beautiful.

10. Some tastes from home!

Malaysia was the first time that our eyes set sight on some of our comforts from back home. We got all sorts of this to take home and our bags were much heavier going back to Korea! We got spices, seasonings, candy, toothpaste, medicines, deodorant and other random little things! I made sure to stock up on reeses cups... It was quite the treat to get to eat some of our familiar things that we can't get in Korea!

10 notables from the Philippines...

1. Puerto Princesa

After 3 flights, we finally made it to the island of Palawan, and the city of Puerto Princesa. We were all quite tired after our over 24 hours of traveling and no sleep. We took a nap and waited for the boys to join us at out hostel. We stayed a Dallas Hostel, and it was great. I mean great for the price. We paid under $10 a night to stay there and it was perfect for what we needed it for...sleep... While in Puerto Princesa we had our first glimpse of tricycles. These are just modified motorcycles with a side car! :)

2. El Nido

We got to the northern part of Palawan to a town called El Nido after a 6 hour van ride on a road that was sometimes paved and sometimes gravel. It was a long journey, but El Nido was worth it. We spent most of our time here while we were in the Philippines. It was not built up and touristy, but still had many things for tourists to do, so it was a perfect location for us. All five of us stayed in one room, which was tight, but we didn't spend a lot of time in our room when we had paradise right outside the window... 

3. Island hoping tour (tour A)

We went on a day long island hoping tour that took us to 6-7 locations. Many of these locations were beautiful lagoons with magical blue water. We were able to snorkel and swim in these places and just enjoy the scenery. We had lunch provided and I even ate some of the tuna fish with the eye balls still on it! Emily and Sian managed to get quite sunburned and my paranoid self did not! Wahoo! We went with Spur Travel and our tour guide group was awesome! So much so that we booked a second tour with them as well!

4. Eating Seafood

I don't eat seafood in Kansas. I don't. So, when I am in locations that are actually near to the sea, I do find myself eating some seafood. I took it to a new level though this trip! By the second day, I was purposefully ordering shrimp! This has never happened before.... It was so good. Also had some great fish fillets and other interesting things. I wouldn't say that I am an overall seafood lover....but I will say that I've made great strides!

5. Massages

The massages in El Nido were very cheap. They were around 350 to 400 pesos, which equals out to about $7. This was for an hour massage! I felt a little bit like Goldilocks though... the first one was too soft, the second one was "just right", but the third one was too hard! Overall though, they were really good and a great way to end the day! A lot of the group got a "sunburn treatment" massage, where they took aloe leaves and rubbed them all over the sunburn. Poor Ben had an allergic reaction to the oil, and it made him break out everywhere! There also was a notable massage time that the Filipino masseuses figured out that Ben was part Filipino and they were oohing and ahhing over him. He probably could have gotten a wife in that moment....and I'm not even kidding.. ahah

6. Mopeds for the day...

Our moped experience was interesting to say the least. We rented mopeds for 2 different places in El Nido. After we picked them up in the morning we took them out for a ride. On this first ride the boys lost the girls and when we finally doubled back to find them, we found Emily and Sian sitting in the ditch. Emily had flown off her scooter when the highway had surprised her and turned to gravel... There is a before and after photo of her above. She had a scrape on her leg, and a fat lip, but she was pretty good considering. AND, it could have been much worse.
I had chose to ride of the back of Ben's scooter for the day, so I could take pictures. This turned out to be a good thing though, because Emily was not going to drive a moped again! I ended up driving ours back into town and Ben took Emily on her scooter. I have to admit...I really did enjoy driving it for a bit though! We dropped off Emily's scooter, cleaned her up a bit, and continue to adventure around. We found a beach next to the Orange Pearl, which is where some of our friends were staying, and stayed there for most of the day.

7. Beaches

We found some beautiful beaches in the Philippines, and some were quite secluded. The weather held up for us as well. We only had a few hours of really cloudy weather... I had a great opportunity to do my beach photo at the beach next to the Orange Pearl.

8. Sunsets

Unfortunately, for some reason or another (usually getting a massage), I didn't see enough of these sunsets, but when we went to the beach that was recommended for sunset, it didn't disappoint! It was beautiful! :)
The line that you can see in the sky is a zip-line that will be ready for use in a month or so! Wish is had been ready now! :)

9. Island Hopping (Tour B)

We were wanting to go on "Tour C" but were unable to go on the day because of the rough waters. Apparently for that tour you have to cross more open waters or something...Anyways, we found ourselves on Tour B, and too be honest, I thought it was still great! This tour not only had islands, but we walked across a sandbar on Snake Island, and we also go to go inside a weird cave. It was really neat!

10. Monkeys 

I'm not used to monkeys out in the wild. I find that a crazy concept! And to be completely honest, they scare me! I've heard they like to steal your stuff and eat your food. This monkey was given a banana and I wanted to take a picture of it, so I got semi-close. If you could see the next shot on my camera, you would see the monkey coming after me! ahah! As I was running away a girl tells me, "They don't like it when you look them in the eye..." So...no eye contact ever again with me and monkeys....