Weekend Getaway to Taman Negara

We made it! Upon arrival we checked in to our hostel, Reggae Mansion, had some chinese food for lunch and then promptly took Kerri to a clinic. Kerri had a pretty nasty ear infection and respiratory infection. The one positive is that she was able to see a doctor almost immediately, have an examination and about 6 different types of medications for about $30USD. After a relaxing evening we had dinner at the hostel restaurant then enjoyed a drink on the roof of the hostel with great views of the iconic Patronas Towers.

Struggle Cityyy at the Petronas Towers

Petronas Towers from the Gardens

Awesome jumping photo of Kerri!

The next morning we trekked into the city using the train system, which with three different lines (including different machines/tokens) is pretty confusing - but was worth it to eat delicious dim sum. We did some shopping then went across town to the Patronas towers and then we rode to the top of the KL tower to see some awesome views of the city.  

While high in the sky we were able to view an awesome thunder storm roll into the city. See pictures!

That night we went out for awesome sushi and drinks with our new lovely Aussie mate, Buela, who was luckily (for us at least!) placed in our dorm room. We went to a couple bars and did some dancing on Jin Bukit Bintang St. It was a good night!

The next morning we ran some errands, then went to two large shopping malls - including one 12 floors high. The day was pretty rainy but that evening we trekked a few blocks in the rain to Central Market, where we had hilarious/gross/outrageously ticklish fish "pedicures." We then walked through Chinatown where we had dinner and did some stall and barter shopping.

That night we got back to our hostel and packed for our weekend trip to Taman Negara National Park!

Taman Negara Boat Ride

At 830am we took a bumpy 4 hour bus ride to have lunch by the river before departing on a 3 hour boat trip to the park. We arrived at Momma Chop, a floating restaurant which would serve our meals and be the meeting point for the activities for the rest of the weekend. We checked into Liana hostel, a budget hostel up the hill, then went for dinner and departed across the river to the actual Teman Negara park for our night trek. Our knowledgeable guide, Alvin (or so we coined him as no one remembered his name), led us along a wooden path through the jungle magically spotting insects with his flashlight. We saw: an 8 inch long millipede, a fist sized tarantula (which actually is not really a tarantula - just looks like one - however is the most poisonous spider in Malaysia), a black scorpion, a cave centipede (similar and more terrifying version of house centipedes), an amazing spider creating its web that was about 2 inches big with a large "leaf" stuck to the back of his body for camouflage (we all agreed we had never seen anything like it before), multiple termite mounds, giant ant colony (each ant about 1/2-3/4in long), a few deer, some sleeping king fisher birds and a small green snake. Alexis was in nerd heaven. It was super cool! 

Huge Millipede!

Huntsman Spider

We woke up the next day and walked along a canopy tour and trekked up as small mountain on a long trail with some 1450 steps to outlook spot with a view of the Taman Negara forest. Tropical jungle is much different than what we are used too! After our morning excursion we took a brief nap then "shot the rapids" in small wooden boats (we got soaked), checked out the local village, Orang Asli, where we learned about the aborigines culture who are the only humans permitted to live and hunt in the park. There was a demonstration on the types of wood and plants they use to make a fire, how to make a blow dart, harvest and cultivate wood sap to make poison for the blow darts and how to shoot a blow dart! Malco and Laura did the best, clearly being naturals whereas Alexis, Kerri, Beula and Lucas need to hone their blow dart skills more. After our informative village trip we went for a refreshing swim in the river. 

Viewpoint Landscape at Taman Negara

Group Shot at Canopy Tour

Struggle Cityyy at Look Out

That evening we had a nice dinner then went on a 4x4 night safari ride. Although sitting on the top and back of a truck was pretty neat, the drive through a palm tree plantation was a little lack luster. We did however seen three leopard cats which was pretty cool - although their only relation to actual leopards is their shared markings, they are adorable!

Swimming in the Taman Negara River

Group Shot on one of the long boats

This morning we woke up and took a relaxing boat ride back to catch our bus back to KL! It was an incredible weekend, full of fun and adventure and incredibly refreshing to be out of a smog filled city. 

Upon returning to KL, Laura and Alexis attempted to go to the clinic (which was closed due to a national holiday) because over the weekend Laura's illness had turned to the worst. We asked our concierge who encouraged us to go to a private hospital about a half a mile away. We arrived, signed in, Laura was seen and treated immediately all for about $30USD. Not great that she's so sick, but the whole ordeal was impressively painless!

We plan to go to the Batu Caves and Kaanching waterfall tomorrow, and then on Wednesday, Malco and Lucas are back to Sydney and we are off to Phuket,Thailand!

Xoxo,

Alexis and Laura and Kerri 

"When in Melaka.."

Once on our bus, we trekked 4 1/2 hours (but in reality much longer due to traffic and customs) to Melaka, Malaysia, a historical town on the south western coast of Malaysia, about two hours south of Kuala Lumpur.  Going through customs around 8:30pm was pretty painless and we arrived around midnight at our awesome homestay, Apa Kaba, in Melaka, Malayasia. Needless to say, we immediately fell asleep after our long day. 

We woke up to a beautiful day in Melaka, had a nice breakfast at our homestay and headed out for the afternoon. We scoped some local historical landmarks - a Dutch graveyard overlooking the city with tombstones as old as 1650 -  marking the burial of early settlers - checked out a Malaysian architecture museum (which is influenced by the Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese and British), St. Paul's Church (built in 1591, which overlook the famous straits of Melaka) and Stadthuys museum - which covered the diverse foundations of Melakan culture. 

We had a traditional lunch of chicken, rice balls and cabbage and a cool Tiger beer - for about $3 USD or ($12 Malay ringgit - RM) each - we were pretty pleased. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out Chinatown, scoping the local mall and taking a ride on the Melaka Tower (Similar to the drop zone ride at Kings Dominion - but spins in a slow circle as it goes slowly to the top) to see some cool views of the small city. We entertained ourselves (and everyone around who saw us) as we rode fake pedal ponies for $5 RM..be sure to check out the video. 

Laura made an astute analogy that Melaka is like the Williamsburg or Jamestown of Malaysia. There were tons of tourists from all over - but we were definitely the only white people around. 

After a long day in the sun, Kerri was not feeling so hot so returned back to Aba Kaba. Laura and Alexis went to a satay place for dinner, recommended by the owner of our homestay. In the middle of the tables were large pots of satay/peanut/curry/awesomesauce that you cooked your selected skewers in ($0.90RM per skewer - or $0.30USD). After perusing the options - Alexis and Laura stuck with chicken, greens, tofu and wontons - unsure about most of the other items available. Although the whole restaurant stared at us, it was delicious and pretty fun! Our waitress (who did not speak any English) was wearing a VA Beach shirt and it was our cue to leave when we asked her about her shirt (she definitely did not understand) and we think she may have thought we were asking about her chest (as she became very shy and ran away). Welp.

We write while en route on a bus bus to Kuala Lumpur- we are all looking forward to our next few days in Malaysia!

Xoxo, 

Kerri-ear-ache, Alexis-whooping-cough and Laura-allergic-reaction 

The Merlion City

After a quick flight we landed in busy and clean Singapore on a Friday night. Per the usual upon arrival had an immediate Struggle Cityyy moment trying to find our hostel... Our cab driver did not know where we were going, drove around in circles for 15 minutes mumbling to himself until we busted out the map we snagged from the airport to give our cab driver directions. We stayed at BuncHostel in Little India and we all agreed it was one of the nicest hostels we have ever been in. Sadly, Alexis was still sick and spread the love by giving her illness to both Kerri and Laura. Kerri went to bed and Laura and Alexis walked around Little India to check it out. Lots of sights and smells and exciting to be in a new place!

The Merlion City!

Singapore!

Singapore Skyline

Saturday morning we got up and went and checked out some of the shopping in Singapore! We navigated the MRT - the ingenious and easy to use public transport system - and we were all pretty excited about shopping at Forever 21 and Cotton On. The weather was very rainy and we were all not feeling great so went back to our hostel to chill during the afternoon. 

Kerri's boyfriend, Malco, and his friend, Lucas, arrived in Singapore that evening. We met up, had a few drinks and went to Chinatown to scope out the Chinese New Year celebrations. We must have still been on Bali time as we showed up late and missed most of the event. It was still cool because the major road was shut down, there were tons of beautiful hanging lanterns, confetti everywhere and a large paper dragon lining the middle of the street. We enjoyed some local fare and a Tiger beer and called it a night. 

<photos at Chinatown>

Sunday we woke up to more nasty weather. Laura and Alexis went and had a really nice lunch with two Americans, Zayed and Imane (who split their time between Kuala Lumpur and NYC) that we met while in Gili T. Zayed and Imane gave us some awesome information about what to do while in Malaysia, specifically that since it is the rainy season most islands we were intending to visit do not even have transportation available during this part of the year. Lunch was lovely and it was refreshing to chat with well traveled Americans who gave us encouraging advice and useful information for our trip.

After lunch Laura and Alexis met up with Kerri, Malco and Lucas. We scoped out the Gardens By The Bay, which had some impressive views of the city, cool foliage and Super Trees - beautiful robot trees that clean the air as well as look realllly cool. We spent a lot of time indoors in the malls as well because of the inclement weather. That evening we changed hostels, took it easy and hoped the weather would be better tomorrow!

Malco, Laura, Alexis and Lucas

Gardens by the Bay

Malco and Kerri

Super Trees at Gardens by the Bay

Thankfully we did have a beautiful day Monday and checked out the amazing Singapore Zoo! Some highlights: elephant show, momma and baby Pygmy hippos, white tigers and Pandas! We really enjoyed the "open zoo concept" with no cages - so tons of free ranging monkeys and birds! We all enjoyed an afternoon ice cream, feeling like little kids!

That evening, Kerri and Malco's date night proved that anyone around us manages to increase the population of Struggle City. A nice evening at Taps Beer Restaurant, which seemed like an easy task to get to the place turned out to be a 3 hour journey to a place. After an hour of trying to hail down a cab in the rain, public transport appeared to be the only other option. After getting to Sentral Station and hunting for the KL Monorail entrance for half an hour, we tried another stab at a taxi. Finally, after 2.5 hours we were on our way to dinner. Struggle Cityyy date to the max ended with a plethora of crafted beers and some yummy gourmet pizzas.

We had yet ANOTHER Struggle Cityyy moment getting to our 6pm bus to Malaysia - as we left the zoo at 4:00 but had to wait to catch the bus to the public transit until 4:30... Once on the bus it took us about 30 minutes to get to the train station- boarding the MRT for 6 stops, changing trains (which required running across entire station - up and down two sets of elevators) then 2 more stops - a 10 minute walk to our hostel to get our stuff then a 15 minute walk with all our bags to the bus station.  Rushing around, running through the MRT station up and down escalators, we joked we felt like we were on the Amazing Race. We made it right at 5:55! But then waited until 6:30 for our bus to arrive... Typical.

Singapore is a cool city that is an interesting cultural mixing bowl and has some really impressive city planning with the large malls and mind blowing transit system. We all agree it would have been more fun if we were not sick/the weather had been better - but we had fun regardless and felt like we got a good feel for the techy and westernized city. 

Xoxo, 

The Sicklings

Farewell Bali!

We write as we are in the air from Bali to Singapore! 

Our last two days in Gili T were super fun! We went on a snorkel trip (Laura and Alexis finally saw a sea turtle) and scoped out the coral. Kerri described it perfectly when she said, "You know you are spoiled when you are unimpressed with this."  Our $9 snorkel tour would have been more fun if it was a clear day, but even with the clouds we had a nice time. Our last night we rallied and had a fun night dancing and drinking our fill of Bintang!

REAL Sea Turtle!!!

Real Sea Turtle!

Struggle Cityyy snorkelling, struggle usual

Thankfully we were able to take the fast boat back from Gili T which was loads more comfortable and pretty sweet. After arriving back on main island Bali we took a shuttle to a beautiful resort, Bali Tropic, in upscale (and a little pretentious) Nusudua. Gorgeous room (shower pressure and AC!) it was nice to be pampered. That night we scoped out downtown Nusadua which was very Westernized, including manicured lawns and three different security checkpoints. With lots of upscale shops and families, we joked it was like the Tyson's Corner of Bali. After a lovely but not so restful sleep (as Alexis has developed a sincere cold - not much sleeping with all that coughing in a room share)  we spent the day lounging by the beautiful pool and feeling worlds away from the flies at Gili T and the trash on Kuta's beaches. 

UPGRADE!

That afternoon we took a cab to Uluwatu, checked in to our homestay and hired a car to take us to the Uluwatu temple which is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. We saw a traditional Kecak fire dance (see video) and a gorgeous sunset. Afterwards we went to a cute restaurant for some live music and dinner at this awesome bar called the Single Fin. Sadly that night we bade farewell to our incredible pals from LA, Lauren and Caitlin. So grateful to meet these girls who played such a huge part in the fun had during this first leg of our trip! 

Girls at the Uluwatu Temple

Kecak Fire Dance

Thursday morning we woke up and walked to the beautiful Panang Panang beach (our first sandy instead of cut-your-feet-coral beach experience). After working on our tans we went back to Uluwatu to check out the surf during the day time. We enjoyed a coconut admiring the view (and the surfers) at Single Fin again. Then we ventured down the steep hillside of the cliff town of Uluwatu to check out where the surfers get out... Pretty crazy!

Padang Padang Beach

Uluwatu gateway cave to the ocean

Uluwatu

Uluwatu

That afternoon we caught a taxi back to Seminyak, per the Struggle Cityyy usual, we were taken to the wrong hotel and it was quite the ordeal. After we got to the right place we did some shopping then got ready for our night. Although the intention was a night on the town (our last night in Bali!) we ended up having a low key delicious (and fancy) dinner at Potato Head Beach Club. The butterfish and expertly mixed cocktails blew our minds but it is safe to say Potato Head was way out of our backpacker league (and budget!) This morning we slept in, got a $5 pedicure and then caught a cab to the airport. 

Our trip to Bali has been a lot of things. Firstly, expensive. Bali felt more (especially in our pockets) like a holiday as opposed to our new adapted backpacker lifestyle. But we all agree we had to start somewhere.. and overall are feeling more prepared for life on the road. 

Backpack lurvin'

Bali's rich culture is prevalent in all aspects of Balinese life, and although it feels at times everyone is trying to take advantage of you (could the three of us look any more like tourists?) the people overall are lovely, charming and quick with a joke. Our trip definitely showed us the many sides of Bali: temples, rituals and tradition...Rice terraces, beaches and volcanoes...Clubbing, haggling and Bintang. We got a taste of it all and when exploring a new place.. what more can you ask for? 

Xoxo,

Laura (or as the street vendors called to her, "Lady Gaga") , Alexis ("King kong foot size" - unique selling tactic used by a Balinese man) and Kerri ("Hey Little One! Come here!)

The Adventure Begins...

Greetings from Bali! 

We write from an internet cafe on the Gili Island of Trawanga! Life is pretty good on the island, beautiful beaches and we agree it may be one of the cutest places we have ever been - no cars or motorbikes (quite the change from Bali).. just bicycles and horse drawn carriages. There is only one main street lined with cafes, small charming hotels and beach bars.

Our trip this far has been fun and per the usual, an adventure. In true form we our getting our travelers legs and now are feeling more comfortable. We definitely have a better understanding of rupias ($10,000 rupia = $1 US/AU), how to aggressively barter and cross the street/navigate traffic/dodge scooters. Truthfully though, we are all cringing about money that could have been spent better (accommodation, food, souvenirs) but what can you do?

Balinese money - Rupiahs

Kerri & Laura's first night in Kuta, Bali, kissing a Balinese dwarf at the bar haha!

We began our trip in Kuta which is the most populated and touristy part of Bali, lots of clubs, lots of traffic, lots of trash and lots of people bothering you on the street to buy anything and everything (magic mushrooms, local food, souvenirs, etc.) Kerri and Laura booked a hostel ahead of time that was in a very inconvenient location in relation to the main strip of Kuta... talk about dodging cars and scooters! We only stayed there a couple nights before we found a better hotel once Alexis arrived!

Picking up Alexis from the airport

Alexis arrived the following day, Saturday, and was able to rally her first night (to the surprise of all involved). We went out to some clubs in Kuta, drinking many a Bintang (the local beer, a light and refreshing pilsner) and lots of dancing. We spent our second day relocating to a hotel with a better locale, in the more upscale Seminyak area. That afternoon we ventured to the beach where the 10-15 foot swells were impressive, but the ample trash on the beach was not. The next day, we booked a full day tour - and were privately transported around the middle and east coast of the island (which is about the size of Delaware) by a balinese tour guide. We did some shopping, saw a Balinese traditional dance performance, visited the rice terraces, walked through a traditional Balinese home compound, visited a beautiful temple, drank some crazy poop coffee, saw a waterfall and visited the monkey forest! Although it was a packed day, we were disappointed by the evening weather as we missed a beach sunset and visiting another famous temple on the ocean.  Overall was a good day and we covered nearly the entire island!

Enjoying at Bintang at the beach

Hostel in Kuta

Alexis luckily made some friends (shocking) on her layover in Taiwan to Bali. Lauren and Caitlin from LA, who have been a hilarious, clutch and fun addition to the trip. After spending two more nights in Seminyak, we met up with the two girls in the beautiful mountain town of Ubud.

Ubud is gorgeous, cleaner, low key and a little cooler in the mountains. After travelling (very hungover) that day, we laid low our first night. The next morning (and agreed by all the best day yet) we went with Lauren and Caitlin to visit a medicine man, bathed in the Tampak Siring springs and had a lovely lunch overlooking the rice terraces (serenaded by some enthusiastic roosters). Truly, Bali is magical. Words fall short to express how impressive the energy (no other way to say it) is in Bali and at these spiritual places. The medicine man experience is not one that can easily be explained, but was very moving. To overly simplify, the Balinese people are doing a lot of things right - with their culture being both inspiring and beautifully traditional. 

First temple we visited :)

Tampak Siring holy cleansing

Tampak Siring natural Spring

Tourist shot at Tampak Siring

Kintamani Volcano

An evening out with Caitlin (left) and Lauren (right)

Laura and Chakorta (the Balinese "medicine man")

One of our favorite things about Bali is the daily offerings. As part of the Balinese culture, every day before every meal Balinese people place an offering (made out of all natural items, a tiny basket made of palm fronds filled with rice/snacks, flowers and incense, money, beer, etc.) The offerings are placed on the ground or on an alter to honor good spirits and ward away bad ones. These offerings also serve to placate both the "upper gods" to bring good luck and good fortune and then"lower gods" to ward off negative energy and bad luck. They are beautiful, and everywhere! At the store, on the street, in the cab... They are the quintessential Balinese symbol. 

Balinese Offering

Next we were off to the Gili islands, which are off the coast of Lombok. Everyone who has been to Bali raves about then Gili islands and say it is supposed to be the best part of Bali. To get to the Gili islands it is typical to take a fast boat (about $30 US one way) which is  a 2 hour speed boat trip. Well, right now it is in the rainy season in Bali, so due to the weather (and choppy ocean) the fast boats are not running. We were informed as an alternative we could take the slow ferry which would take about 7 hours. In reality, it was an all day, 12 hour trek. We were picked up at 7am and took an hour long shuttle to a small town on the coast where we boarded a very large (and very dirty) ferry, which we were on for 6 hours. No one mentioned we then would get off the ferry in Lombok, drive another 90 minutes (in a packed small bus that had holes in the floor..) that for the last 20 minutes was legitimately off-roading in mud... to then board ANOTHER boat to get to Gili T. Needless to say we were tired, only made worse by taking the first room we could find, which unfortunately was located right next to Hindu prayer center which over the very LOUD (cannot emphasize enough) speaker, led the evening prayer chant...and the 4:30am and 5:00am prayer chant the next morning. Although it left little to be desired, we made the best and were happy to check into our new hotel on the beach (with pool) this morning. Had a nice day riding bikes exploring the island and then getting a little burned while enjoying a Bintang on the beach in paradise. We look forward to the next few days here, checking out the other two Gili Islands, all the cute bars and restaurants and snorkeling! 

Enjoying a "tower" of Bintang!

Monkey in Monkey Forest, Ubud!

Our "death van" ride through Lombok to Gili T!

Boat to Gili T!

Although this week had some bumps..literal poop on our hotel room floor in Seminyak, money that could have been spent better, a really long travel day (which was dirty as well as scary at times).. we are all able to laugh it off and are still having a great time.

Miss you guys...aren't you proud we blogged?

Xoxo

Lex, Kerri & Laura