A Few Comments on Travelling

  Kuala Selangor, Malaysia
Friday, January 13, 2006

Now that you're fairly up-to-speed on our comings and goings of late, I (Lisa) will devote this entry to a few comments on travelling in general and SE Asia in particular. Maybe these are things you're curious about...maybe not.... But I assure you that they won't be as boring as this opening paragraph.

1. People in Singapore are not all programmed robots who blindly follow all the social engineering rules. We saw a ton of jay-walking, some spitting and I even got gum on my shoe in a museum. The government must be getting lax about the canings.

2. Expectations are everything. We've stayed in some nice places (though not by US hotel standards), and we've stayed in some pretty gnarly places (by any standards). But we haven't been *too* grossed out by any of them because we generally know what to expect. When you're paying $3-5 a night, you can't get too petty about the gecko poop in the window sills and other people's hair in the drain and the 4" foam mattress and the cockroaches and not getting toilet paper or hot water or even sheets. The key to happy travelling is to set your sights pretty low, and then you won't be disappointed when you find ants in your bed and urine all over the non-working toilet.

3. I'm too lazy to be a Muslim. Islam is a very demanding religion that requires a lot of its followers - - like dressing modestly and wearing a head scarf, praying 5x a day (and washing your head/face/feet beforehand each time), fasting for 1 month a year, tithing a hefty chunk of your income to the poor and visiting Mecca at least once in your life during the Hajj pilgrimage. Muslims from poor countries save for decades for this trip. It's a lot of work, and it's not for me.

4. Asians LOVE fried chicken, and the Malyasian, Indian and Indonesian versions we've had have been unbelievably good. But KFC still does a boatload of business, even though their side dishes are appalling. Feel free to send me hate mail if you need to defend the original recipe.

5. The most important things in my backpack are:
- My ugly sarong. It's a towel, a sheet, a dress, a pillow, a curtain...a friend.
- DEET. The mosquitoes and sand flies on this trip have been satanic.
- 3 pairs of clean underwear. Never, ever take clean undies for granted.
- Baby powder. SE Asia is a moist place without air conditioning. Figure it out.
- Ambien. For those noisy/uncomfortable nights when only drugs will bring the Sandman to my bed.

Happy January to ya'll!


The Petronas Towers. Kuala Lumpur


A market selling all manners of meat, produce, spices, etc. Kuala Lumpur


Vendors selling Hindu temple offerings. Kuala Lumpur


A small section of a roof line from a Hindu temple. Kuala Lumpur


The many steps that lead up to the Hindu temple at Batu Caves. North of Kuala Lumpur


The temple had almost as many monkeys as it did vistors. Batu Caves, North of Kuala Lumpur


This baby was extremely restless and curious. Batu Caves, North of Kuala Lumpur


What a cute little monkey! Batu Caves, North of Kuala Lumpur


Lisa is doing extremely well given that she doesn't like being too close to monkeys. Everything was fine until a monkey snuck up and grabbed her ankle. Batu Caves, North of Kuala Lumpur


We found these striking red dragon flies at a Chinese Buddhist temple. Pulau Pangkor


A minature version of the Great Wall of China. Pulau Pangkor


Lisa playing the part of a beautiful Thai princess. Pulau Pangkor


One of the many dragons found at the temple. Pulau Pangkor