014 - Indonesia - Lombok 04/01/08 - 04/07/08 Is that a dollar sign on my face or are you just happy to see me? Indonesia is a country filled with lush green landsapes, white sand beaches, tourqoise waters, and amazing surf. Coming from six hustle and bustle days in Singapore, Hannah and I were ready for some laid back island life. More importantly, after six surf-free weeks I was itching to get back on a board and and paddle into some world renowned breaks. The surf would not dissapoint, but the people of Indonesia would take some getting used to. If [View Full Entry]

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014b - Indonesia - Lombok Side Story 04/01/08 - 04/07/08 Lucy and Rawan Our first full day in Kuta-Lombok I was recovering the first night out in a while. I got out of bed around noon and thought I would walk to the market and see what the town consisted of. Not much. The small one lane road outside our hotel was lined with small stalls selling the exact same sarongs and t-shirts, beyond them was the vibrant teal ocean. I was pointed in the direction of the market and began to walk in the hot mid day sun. Walking past [View Full Entry]

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014a - Indonesia - Lombok Side Story 04/01/08 - 04/07/08 Boss Man Boss is a 21 year old native Indonesian that works at the Segara Anak Cottages in Kuta, Lombok. He's one of the guys that keep the grounds and the rooms clean, and he was also the one that showed us to our room on the first night. I nicknamed him Boss after negotiating the price of the room down with him even though he had to first ask permission from his boss (I got the room down to about $8 per night instead of $9!). Once we checked in [View Full Entry]

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013 - Singapore 03/26/08 - 03/31/08 The Gateway to Asia Singapore is the gateway to Asia for the Western world. There are skyscrapers and shopping malls mixed in with Chinese temples and Indian hawkers. One of the main observations we made was that Singapore doesn't have any natural resources (for its use or to trade), and yet, it is a very rich country. Like Melaka (in Malaysia), Singapore is conveniently located between India and China making it a major port town for international trade. However, major corporations from around the world have chosen Singapore as a hub for the Asi [View Full Entry]

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012 - Malaysia - Melaka 03/24/08 - 03/26/08 The Once Booming Port Town of Melaka Melaka is a port town on the southwest coast of Malaysia that was once a sanctuary for international ships sailing between India and China. It's history is marked by foreign colonizations: first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, the Japanese (for a short period during WWII), and finally the British. For this reason, the city is filled with museums and landmarks from the various countries that once controlled it. The word 'Melaka' is actually a common curse word in Greek. Hannah and I repeated it about [View Full Entry]

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011 - Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur 03/20/08 - 03/24/08 After leaving the Perhentians we headed into Khota Baru for one final night at one of the friendliest guest houses we've stayed so far, Zeck's Guesthouse (run by Zeck and his wife Marium). Afterwards, it was off to Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia's capital city. KL (like the rest of Malaysia) is characterized by three main cultures and their religions: the Chinese Bhuddist or Taoist, the Indian Hindus, and the Malay Muslims. It is amazing to see these vastly different cultures living (mostly) peacefully together in such a big city. O [View Full Entry]

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010 - Malaysia - Perhentian Islands 03/13/08 - 03/19/08 The Perhentian Islands are on the northeast coast of Malaysia and are, quite possibly, paradise. But first, the trip from Ko Phayam (Thailand) to Kota Bharu (Malaysia) to give you an idea of what budget travel is like... The night before we left Ko Phayam we decided to rent a motor bike so that we could transport our stuff from Ao Yai to the pier (where the boat was leaving). Upon asking around, we rented the cheapest motor bike we could find for only 130 B for 24 hours ($4). Lesson learned: [View Full Entry]

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009 - Thailand - Andaman Coast 03/07/08 - 03/12/08 After traveling through some parts of the Gulf Coast of Thailand, we decided to slow things down with a bit of island life. We figured we would head to the West Coast, the Andaman side of Thailand, and stay in the relatively under-developed island of Ko Phayam (not to be confused with the very popular Ko Pha-Ngan on the East Coast). Upon arriving on the island we inquired about catching a motor bike taxi (they don't have cars on the island) to Ao Yai, a beach where we wanted to stay, but [View Full Entry]

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008 - Thailand - Gulf Coast Beaches 03/01/08 - 03/07/08 After a couple of days spent in the chaos of Bangkok, both Hannah and I were ready for some beaches and decided to head south. We will eventually return to Ko Tao (also on the Gulf Coast) to do our volunteer work in April, so we decided to pass on the initial (popular) Gulf Coast (East coast) destinations of Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan, and Ko Samui ('Ko' means 'island' in Thai). Still, we wanted some experience of the East side and it was on the way. First stop was a [View Full Entry]

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Thailand - Bangkok 02/27/08 - 03/01/08 Ah, Bangkok... what a relief to finally get into some warm weather, out of boots and sweaters and into some flip flops and tees. We found this cool hostel called Suk 11. A little hard to find but the people were decent enough and the rooms were clean and with a/c. The next day we went to the Royal Palace. This is the home of the king and queen and is very impressive. There is a lot of gold and intricate carvings all over the place. the Palace also houses the famous emerald Bhudda. Actually, [View Full Entry]

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