Happy Canada Day!!!

Greetings from Malaysia everyone!

I figured I might as well start this blog off by wishing you all a Happy belated Canada Day from the other side of the world! It definitely wasn't quite the same celebrating it over here but it was nice to be able to spend it with a couple of really cool Canadians.

I believe my last blog ended by mentioning my trip to the Forbidden City in Beijing so I will carry on from there. Built in the early 1400's, the City functioned as the Chinese imperial palace and housed the Emperor and his family. At that time it was also used as the ceremonial and political centre for the Chinese government. Covering over 74 hectares of land, it remains the world's largest palace complex (according to Google), and took a lot of walking time to cover the whole area. There were some pretty neat historical artifacts, remnants, and architecture to see even though it was sometimes difficult to understand and interpret all of their significance.

That night the four of us went to the middle of the city to a food market that was even more wild than the night before. Sheep's weeny, sea urchins, bull testicles, dogs (I was disgusted by that), sharks, and snakes (which we tried) were just a few of the exotic foods on the menu. There were also more regular items too such as beef and chicken skewers and oysters which seemed to fit our appetites a little more. After cruising up and down a couple times we went home, packed our gear for the next day's travel to Tian Jin, and called it a night.

We arrived in Tian Jin via train (we had to stand for 2 hours because we bought our tickets too late and couldn't get seats) Saturday afternoon. This city isn't a popular travel destination and there wasn't a whole lot to see and do. After we unloaded at our hostel which I believe was the only one in Tian Jin, we went for a walk around the town. There was an enormous ferris wheel on top off one of the road bridges, a clothing and food market very similar to the ones in Beijing, and that was about it. That night we feasted at a streetside BBQ stand and enjoyed a few drinks with some super friendly locals. Since the next day was going to be a full travel day we tried to be responsible and not stay out too late.

From China we made our way down south to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After landing in the airport, busing to Chinatown where we were booked to stay, and walking up and down the streets trying to locate our hostel (Wheeler's Rooftop Sun Terrace where we were to stay for 4 nights for $4 a night!) it was about 2:30am. When we finally woke up after a great sleep our first adventure brought us to the Batu Caves. As we drove up to it the first thing we saw was an enormous golden Indian statue that must have stood about 200 feet high. When we began to walk to the bottom of the 272 stairs that lead into the actual caves there were wild monkeys everywhere! It was the coolest thing! They were a little feisty however and seemed to be a bit on the hostile side as they would randomly throw empty coconuts and garbage at us and other tourists. Regardless of their non-welcoming behaviour, we climbed the stairs to caves and explored for a good 45 minutes. Complete with stalactites, stalagmites, bats, roosters and a few Indian shrines it was a pretty cool experience.

Kuala Lumpur seemed to be a very diverse city primarily consisting of Muslims, Indians, Malaysians and other Asians. Everyone that we ran into was very friendly and helpful which definitely made it easier for us to find our way around and figure out the most important things to see and do in the few days that we were going to spend there. Everyday at our hostel we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of homemade muesli and yogurt, toast with jam, and coffee which cost us only about $2.50. A great way to start the day. Our second day in KL began with a small jungle trek. It was located in the middle of city which we found surprising and was only half an hour away from our hostel. It wasn't extremely exotic, but it was fun to see some real tropical plants, more wild monkeys, and was also a good warm up for our upcoming treks in Indonesia. The forest lead us to the KL tower, similar to the Revolving Restaurant at home, but we decided it was too pricey for our liking to go up. From there we went to the Petronas Towers which are currently the world's tallest twin towers. We didn't go up them either but again they were neat to see. That night on the rooftop of our hostel, one of the workers brought up his baby pet monkey named JoJo. Since he was only three months old we still had to wear a little diaper and be fed with a bottle. We were given the opportunity to hold him, feed him and snap a few quick pictures. He was probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Don't be surprised Mom and Dad if I bring one home with me (I can't say I didn't warn you!!!)

Day three we went to one of the most beautiful places ever in Templer Park just outside of KL. Within only 10 minutes of walking we could hear the water rushing and were beginning to get excited. We saw a huge rock waterfall that lead into a pool that you were able to swim in filled with locals. Because it was pretty crowded we thought it was better to continue the hike in the forest to see if we could find a quieter spot. It was well worth the sweat. In the middle of the jungle sat an amazing waterfall 30 feet high that pounded the pool below surrounded by heavy plants and other vegetation. Without any hesitation we jumped right in. We stayed there for a few hours until our hands and feet looked like prunes and our stomachs were calling for a refill of curry.

We are now chillin in Indonesia but haven't done anything too exciting to write about yet. I will keep you all updated though when the fun stuff goes down! I still miss you all and hope the weather at home is treating you nicely! Don't be afraid to message me and let me in on your lives!

Peace and Love,
Kalee

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