We are now back home in the U.S., so this will be the last travel blog. We had to post pics of the last place that we visited because it was just so fun. We went to Gili Trawangan which is an island known for its party scene in Indonesia. We decided to treat these final ten days of our trip as vacationers rather than backpackers and indulged. That meant staying put in one place and staying put in nice hotels that cost about 50-80 US dollars per night. Delicious meals could still be had for 2-5 US dollars though. And [View Full Entry]

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I'm behind on this travel blog, but I'll catch up soon. A couple of weeks ago we went to Sipadan--which is one of the top ten places in the world to dive—according to the scuba powers-that-be who determine this stuff. And the diving there IS amazing, partly for its variety and partly for the amount of stuff passing before us at any moment. So many sharks swam by I started looking around for some sea slugs to see something different. What also made this part of our trip so wonderful is that we stayed on an old oil derrick for four [View Full Entry]

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Okay, so I'm cheating a little and not doing an up-to-the-moment blog. Here are some pictures of my trip with Tiggy to India from a couple of weeks ago. I just wanted to post these, but couldn't while I was there. Also, I know that some of you were worried because we arrived in Indonesia yesterday right when the bombings happened. All is fine. Some Indonesians have been very sweet and welcoming because of the bombings, and as soon as they learn we are Americans, they shake our hands and say that they don't want us scared off. I don't feel [View Full Entry]

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After Adam’s trip to Thailand and mine to India, we met back up in Malaysia and have begun exploring around Malaysian Borneo. Jungly, friendly—and way more laid back than Peninsular Malaysia—we are loving it here. We first did a long house visit, which is such a must. Basically, this is a home visit with the Iban people where you stay two nights or more and do what they do. (And in case you’re wondering, a longhouse is a series of separate apartments that open into one long communal porch all under one roof that is, well, long. We wish we would [View Full Entry]

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We are now in Singapore where we are relaxing (read indulging) and celebrating my birthday. Simply, we are both quite impressed. If we would have started the trip here, I don’t think we would have appreciated it as much because Singapore is a lot like NYC—only cleaner, calmer, and more organized. (Okay, maybe not that similar....) But after a month of stern self-talk before entering any bathrooms, contraband monkey juice, and constant curries, this place is a playground. We gave up and admitted we could not begin to experience a fraction of this city/country/gastronomical Baby [View Full Entry]

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Cameron Highlands: beautiful, peaceful, and cool. We had planned on skipping these jungly hills where tea is grown, fearing that it would be too sedate. But the day we were leaving for Taman Negara, one guy we talked to in Kota Bharu made such a good case for the Highlands, that we changed plans and took an overnight bus to this place ASAP. We arrived at Father’s Guest House without reservations around 6:30 a.m., looking like some sad travelers, hoping for a room. And luckily we got one. I don’t know if I would have loved the Highlands as much without [View Full Entry]

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We’ve been doing a lot of scuba diving and snorkeling in Pulau Perentians between the two islands of Kecil and Besar, and while the diving is good, it’s the snorkeling that is amazing. We went out today with this guy named Adam. Last name: Drives a White Boat with a Black Canopy. You just ask the folks at Impiani to give him a call, and he’ll come pick you up in his boat. (Cost: 38 R* per person for about three hours.) And he is awesome. Now, this is a jump in and swim experience. No life jackets, no pre-packed snackies, [View Full Entry]

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We have stayed put on this island and are running the risk of becoming perfectly content, useless beach bums. There isn’t a whole lot to report other than the usual that one does on an island: swimming, sunning, diving, reading, kayaking, eating, drinking, etc. This hotel where we’ve now been for ten days must think us a bit odd since we are also using this portion of the trip to write a lot. With all still being deserted here (or maybe this is what it’s like busy?), the quiet and beauty make it a perfect place to write. Speaking of our [View Full Entry]

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Today was our first full day settling into a new place where we plan to stay until about the 5th of June. It’s just one beach over from where we were on Mira Beach which is all still on Kecil, (the smaller island of Pulau Perhentian.) There are two places to stay here on this beach, Impiani and Patani, each with little restaurants that serve drinks. We are staying at Impiani on one of their hillside cabanas that backs up to jungle—which will explain all the interesting critters. The cabins here are large enough for both of us to work in [View Full Entry]

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We only stayed in K.L. one day because we wanted to get to the beaches. We stopped one night in Cherating on our way up to Pulau Perentians. When we did arrive on the smaller island, I couldn’t actually believe it. This is paradise. Perfect. Adam had found on someone else’s blog this place where we are staying. The pictures show how great it is, no funky photoshopping going on. We’re doing what you can imagine: swimming and night swimming, hiking and night hiking, and I’m working on that snorkel stroke. I think we are staying here for a couple of [View Full Entry]

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