Days 5-7

Thursday night we went to a festival in honor of Lunar New Year in China town (Georgetown City). We were walking around when we heard, "Heather" it was our friend Cedric from our university in Seoul!! We knew him and his wife were in Malaysia, but didn't expect to see him at the festival!! 

The Dragon Dance; performed for the Chief Minister of the state.

The crowd was a bit over-whelming!

Friday morning we boarded a ferry bound for Langkawi, one of Malaysia's most famous islands. Three hours later we arrived to sunny weather and clear blue waters. We ended up sharing a cab with a Chinese-Malay couple who were quite friendly to talk to, we even ended up staying at the same motel as them! We're right on the water, with a comfy room. After settling in, we decided to go "island hopping" as they call it here. For $10, we were able to visit 3 islands in 4 hours. There were 6 of us in the boat; we were  joined by 2 Malay couples our same age so it was nice chatting with them. 1st we stopped at the swimming island (clear water) and next we moved to a bay where we saw eagles eating (they drop chicken in the water and there were about 10 eagles swooping around us!) The 3rd place was the pregnant woman mountain, named aptly for its apprearance of a woman with a belly. This island has a lake, but to get to it you have to walk this trail inhabited by hundreds of monkeys. They have become quite rude in that if you have a bag of open snacks, they may try to steal them from you. We made it out in one piece though! For dinner we ended up a restaurant owned and operated by a Korean family. They served really excellent Malay food for reasonable prices, and we met a nice server from Bangladesh also.  

On our way to the swimming beach.

  Today we rented a motorbike for the day to cruise around the island. We stared off riding a cable car to the top of a mountain, with spectacular views! Next we went to the 7 wells water fall, where you can actually slide down the small wells into the next pool! We were having a blast doing this and met a couple from Holland. Right before leaving, B wanted another go at the slides but our underwater camera ended up falling out of his pocket and into one of the deep pools. After 20 minutes, our new Dutch friend was able to recover it! In our haste to leave, B's wallet was accidentally left behind. An hour later at the next beach we realized it was missing when we went to buy a juice...we hauled back there on our scooter, hiked up the more than 400 stairs to the top of the waterfall, only to see an empty place....after searching for 5 minutes, a man came up asking if he could help us. We told him  our wallet was missing and he said, "oh, yeah, i picked that up a bit ago" and promplty handed it back to us!! B's ID, credit card, and cash were all there!!! A man came up to us and said, "1st your camera, now your wallet?!" He had seen us searching for our cam a few hours prior!! When we got down to the parking lot, the attendants were also relieved that we found our stuff.  For dinner we returned to our new fave restaurant for another tasty meal. We're a bit burnt so tomorrow we may just relax a bit, but hopefully Monday we'll take a day tour to go snorkelling around the islands. With all of the excitement, we should sleep well tonight! 

Days 4 &5

On the fourth day of vacation my true love gave to me: 100 degrees weather. But seriously, Wednesday was bloody hot. We started the morning by using what time we had left with the scooter to go to a less inhabited beach. Turns out the beach was inhabited by a monitor lizard! Brandon spent the whole time watching and trying to take pictures of it with a small camera because we hadn't thought to bring the big gun. We checked out of the guesthouse at noon and took the bus back into the city, Georgetown. We walked to the ferry terminal to buy tickets to the next island, Langkawi, but weren't able to get them for Thursday so we figured out how to bus up the coast and take a different ferry over. I mentioned it was hot right? Well we underestimated the distance between our hotel and the terminal and were forced to stop at nearly every 7/11 we saw to but drinks, and 7/11s are on every street corner just for that reason. Also, on the way up to the ferry terminal Brandon spotted another monitor lizard, this one was living in the city's drainage system on the sides of the road and startled us quite a bit when it turned and ran away. As the day progressed and we weighed our options when we came to learn about a street parade/party here in Georgetown on Thursday for Chinese New Year. The actual New Year's Day was on Monday but there's a large Chinese population here and they observe the traditional 15 day celebration, apparently it's now time for a celebration. We decided to wait until Friday to go up north to Langkawi when it'll be much simpler to just ride one ferry rather than two ferries and two buses on Thursday. With the extra time here in town we walked around the historic downtown area in the evening.

Day 5, up to 5pm

This morning we went and bought our tickets for Langkawi, leaving Friday at 8:15am. After that we walked around the old colonial Fort Cornwallis. Then we took a tour of Cheong Fat Tze's mansion; Cheong was a Chinese businessman that went from rags to riches in the early 1900s and became the Chinese Rockefeller, but without the lasting dynasty. Around 1 o'clock we sat at the wrong bus stop for half an hour and then moved to the correct stop to catch a bus down to the Snake Temple. The name makes it sound more impressive than it really was. There were snakes in pens and ones you could pose with but it seemed more like a gimic to get people out there. Brandon did get to watch a snake show, kinda like the crocodile show we saw in Thailand but with a king cobra. The man kissed the cobra on the forehead and had what looked like a few close encounters. Meanwhile, Heather was chatting with a friendly vendor avoiding any close proximity to any kind of snake. Tonight is the CNY festival so hopefully that pans out well and tomorrow morning we'll head to Langkawi. Cheers!

Day 3: Motorbiking

\Yesterday morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and got on the bus bound for Batu Ferringgi. It took less than an hour and we arrived in the beach town. After surveying the beach inns, we chose Ali's Beach House, close to the beach and reasonably priced. We couldn't check into the hotel until noon, so we rented a scooter to tour around the island. Our first stop was an exotic fruit farm, where we taste-tested several different fruits. Next it was off to a waterfall, which wasn't as watery as we thought. After that we drove the long way around the island looking for a famous snake temple, but the road signs weren't marked well so we passed it and made it to a huge Buddhist temple on a mountain. It was so crowded with people of different religions. We met a nice family of Indian- Malays who gave us their number in case we want to visit their city sometime before we leave. 

After that we got back on the road that actually lead us back into Georgetown, at which point we were able to stop and see a Burmese Temple and Thai temple, right across the road from one another! Both were onrately decorated. 

The Burmese Temple in George Town.

Thai temple across the street from Burmese.   A monk blessing a family's car at the Thai temple.

Dat 2: In Transit

Today we awoke expecting most shops to be closed due to the Lunar New Year; surprisingly more shops were open for business than imagined. We got a quick bite for lunch, and then headed to the bus terminal with our luggage. Our bus was slated to leave at 1pm, but we were told to be there at 12:30 to be sure. We got to our counter and they hurried us to our to our platform, where at 12:37, the bus was full save our 2 seats! Luckily we got there early as we drove off as soon as we boarded. We had a road-rageous bus driver who was constantly honking and swearing at fellow drivers, and even swerved at a few cars intentionally. It was quite the 5-hour bus ride. 

    We arrived on Penang, a north-western island and took a taxi to our hotel. After checking in, we walked around the city and took in some nice sights. We dined at an authentic Indian restaurant, complete with plam leaf plates! The food was really tasty. 

   Tomorrow morning we'll board a city bus and go about 30 minutes to the beach area of this island. We're ready for a beach day!!

Day 1: Kuala Lumpur

We awoke and had breakfast at the hostel, and set off into the city. We took the tram to China Town, where we walked around enjoying the smells of all sorts of foods. We checked out a Chinese temple and Hindu temple, right across the road from one another. For lunch we dined at a cute Thai place that served tasty food for a good price. After lunch, we headed to the Natl. Mosque, but it was closed to tourists at that time. We kept walking and found a nice park in the middle of the city, complete with grass! Finally we got back on the tram and headed back to our hostel. We met a fellow traveler at the hostel, so planned to meet up for dinner after we bought our bus tickets. (We're heading outof town today and the hostel told us to get our tix yesterday to guarantee a seat). The three of us went to another Thai restaurant and enjoyed a great meal. We the hopped on the tram and headed for China Town again, where we thought we'd find lots of fireworks and celebrations due to it being Lunar New Year's Eve. We found some markets but no fireworks so we took off for the Petronas Towers. They were Amazing all lit up and such!! After snapping a few shots, it started to rain; since it was already 10:30 we figured we'd just head back to the hostel where we were sleeping by 11:30. We didn't hear many fireworks, so we're guessing the rain dampened the mood a bit.
Today at 1pm we'll take a bus north to Penang, an island on the west coast. The bus is slated for 4 hours, so we're hoping to arrive there by 6pm for sure. We'll stay in Georgetown for 2 days, and explore the city, and after that plan to head to Langkawi, a beach town renowned for their sands!! 

Jamek Mosque in KL.

Natl Mosque: KL.

Outside Sze Ya Temple: a dragon dance.

Petronas Towers by night!!

Made it

We left Wonju yesterday at 7am via the airport bus, and were greeted by 2 inches of snow on the roads to the airport (luckily we left early). While waiting for our flight we ran into a friend from our university in Seoul and chatted with him for a bit. Our plane for Beijing left at 1pm, and we arrived in China 2 hours later. We had a 2 hour layover, where we walked around the new Beijing airport and read books. Our flight to KL was about 45 minutes late in taking off due to a backup on the runways...so we didn't get into Malaysia until 11:45pm. After getting our luggage, it was 12:30, too late for the cheap train into the city, so we had to pay $35 for a cab into the city. We realized about 20 minutes into our ride that our car was infested with bugs....ewww!
We got to our hostel at 2am and crashed. This AM we woke to 90 degree weather at 9am! We explored the city a bit, enjoyed a nice lunch, and are now planning what to do for tomorrow. Since tomorrow is Lunar New Year, buses won't be running as frequently as normal, so we have to go to the bus station and get things figured out. All for now!!

Flight Itinerary

Camp is officially over. We had our performance day yesterday, and today we had a snack party, watched a movie, and had closing ceremonies. The director took us to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. Now we've got last-minute things to do before leaving tomorrow for our trip, including saying goodbye to our Aussie friends Heath & Amy, who leave while we're overseas.

Our flight schedule is this:  (Jan 24th) 

  Leave ICN (Incheon)  at 1:05pm on Air China #124 to Beijing. (2 hour layover in China)

 

  Leave Beijing at 4:55pm on Air China #971 to Kuala Lumpur.

We will arrive in KL around 11pm and go straight to a hostel, so we'll hoepfully find a computer on the 25th for a quick check-in. 

Wallaby Class Presents: Peter Pan!

Ostrich Class presents: Snow White.

The organizing of the snacks is a big deal. 

Flying By

   It's hard to believe that we have 2 days left of camp. This camp has been pretty interesting but it's getting to be that time we we wrap it up. We've each had our own class of 10-6th graders for the past 8 teaching days. We were lucky to get mid-level students, and every day they surprise us with how much they learn. (B has one bad apple who has made his days a bit more tough, but for the most part we're happy with our students).

  Last weekend we had girl's night at our place while B headed out with the guys. Us girls enjoyed food and wine, and ended up at a karaoke room (and got home at 3am). On Monday after school, H and her 2 girlfriends headed 30 minutes out of town to a hot springs sauna, where we enjoyed baths and even a massage. We've also been going to the gym every day after camp. We're leaving for Malaysia in 3 days, we're getting very excited. Yesterday H went into Seoul to get more visa pages added to her passport (good thing she noticed B4 getting to the airport). 

  Here are a few pics from camp so far:

H's class after they made "fortune tellers"

B and the kids showing off their snowflakes.

Science class was an egg drop.

One Camp Down, One to Go

   On the 8th and 9th we went to a ski resort just outside Wonju with H's school for an "English Ski Camp" with 20 of the 8th grade students. We spent a few hours in the morning going over ski terms and such, and after lunch we hit the slopes. B was in charge of helping the beginners learn how to ski, and after an hour, everyone was skiing away. We took a break for dinner, and then went back for round 2: night skiing. The weather was mild so everyone had a great time. 

  Saturday was our last uni class for the semester! We've still got a group paper that's due tomorrow, but other than that, we've officially made it through our 1st semester of grad school! That evening we celebrated our friend Jaime's B-day at  roasted duck restaurant. Today we're busy finishing our paper, and tomorrow we start our 2-week long elementary camp. 

8th graders posing for a picture.

'

Oak Valley Ski Resort: 30 mins from our home. 

B giving the students a lesson. 

A few the SSMBA gals and I, last day of class. 

Celebrating Jaime's B-day with roasted garlic duck!

Skating in Seoul

    We're still going into Seoul for university classes; our last day of class will be this Saturday the 7th though! Last Saturday after class we went to City Hall, where they've erected two ice-skating rinks for the public. We met up with H's high school friend Sara and her husband Jon, who now teach in the south-west part of Korea. 

   First we bought our tickets (3 hour wait) then we walked along the Cheon-gay Stream, which was decorated with lovely lights. After walking around a touristy area to find postcards for a friend, we found a dduk-galbi restaurant and enjoyed our favorite meal. After dinner we ducked into Cold Stone Creamery for a nice ice cream treat. On our way back to City Hall, the lights were lit up along the stream, making for a gorgeous view. 

   Sara and I got our skates (total cost $1) and finally hit the ice at 8:30pm. We didn't realize they would allow so many people on the ice, so after about 20 minutes we had had our fill and left the rink. B and I had to head to the terminal to catch our bus, but what a great time we had!!

The Cheong-gay Stream by day. 

A few hours later.

Sara & I pausing for a quick pic.

Happy New Year!!

     First, we want to wish our family and friends a very Happy New Year!  This year we rang in 2009 on the East Coast of Korea with a group of our friends.

  On Wednesday, we rented a big van and 10 of took a 3 hour road trip to Sokcho, a small city on the east coast of Korea. This was our 4th time visiting this city; it's just so beautiful with the ocean on one side and rugged mountains on the other. 

  Upon getting into town, we went to our favorite restaurant that serves a pork and veggie mix (we've only been able to find this restaurant in Sokcho). After lunch, we found a hotel that would take all 10 of us for a reasonable price. Then we loaded back in the van and took off for Seorak Mountain (a 20 minute drive outside of the city).  the park was pretty crowded; we bought our tickets for the cable car knowing that there was an hour long wait. To pass the time, we walked to the 15 foot high Buddha statue and checked out a temple surrounded by mountains.

  At 4:30pm we took the cable car to the top of the mountain. We were surprised to hear a lot of Thai and Chinese being spoken-we weren't the only foreigners on the top of the mountain! The wind was pretty chilly but the views were so amazing. The sun was just setting so we the skyline was really colorful.

  When we got down from the mountain it was dark so we headed back into Sokcho for some dinner. We went to a decent all you can eat Korean buffet; fast and simple. Then we headed back to the hotel and we all piled into our room for drinks and games.  Soon it was almost midnight so we bundled up and went outside to count down to 2009. Just after we finished counting down, we were surprised to see some fireworks in the sky (we didn't know that there would be any). 

  The next morning (Jan 1) we woke up before 7am so that we could walk down to the beach and catch the 1st sunrise of 2009. Koreans do this every year, and we had even heard that there would be a few sunrise festivals (we went to Sokcho because we thought there would be no festival). But we were wrong: there were hundreds of people on the beach at 7am. So we tried to get a decent place to stand and waited. There was a small patch of clouds that was blocking the sun, so we waited until almost 8am to see it peak out from behind the clouds. Everyone was celebrating and they released hundreds of balloons to say Happy New Year. 

  After a quick nap, we took the scenic route back to Wonju, and got in at about 3pm, just in time to return the van before its deadline. We had a wonderful time bringing in 2009~ and wish everyone a very Happy New Year~

Our road-trip friends along the east coast of Korea.

Eating at our fave restaurant.

Snow-capped temple with Mt. Seorak in the background.

The view from the cable car.

Jenga~~

So many people waiting for the sunrise...

Happy New Year Sunrise, complete with balloons.