Back in Bangkok

Back in Bangkok again! I was a bit pissy and tired, which is not a good combination when you're lost in the airport. Luckily a kind woman pointed me to the bus stop that would take me to Kao San road. On the bus, I met this nice guy from the Netherlands and we chatted about our travels for the hour long bus ride. I felt really lucky that I had met him! He was also getting off at the same stop, so he ended up walking me to my hostel. I was finally at Coincidence Hostel again! Despite not wanting to do anything, I dragged myself to May Kaidee's Vegetarian Thai restaurant (my favorite place in Bangkok) to get some dinner.

The next morning I had a hard time convincing myself to go out and do something. I was just so drained and really needed time to relax! Eventually I did leave the hostel and went to another vegetarian restaurant nearby. At some point during my meal, a tiny (but very cute actually) mouse ran up to me, stopped for a minute, then ran into a small hole in the wall. I feel like I've dealt with so much weird shit that nothing really phases me anymore. The owner was so shocked and embarrassed when he saw the mouse and immediately came back with a big black cat. Let me tell you -that cat really sucked at his day job. He walked to the front of the shop, stared at the ground, then walked over to some pillows. At one point a fly flew by him. Then he pounced on the place where the fly had been a minute before. Eventually the cat gave up and flopped over onto one of the pillows.

It started pouring when I went back outside so I attempted to take a tuk-tuk to the Royal Palace. Instead of taking me to the palace, the driver kept trying to get me to go to other smaller temples or some dumb boat ride.  Annoyed, I got out of the tuk-tuk and ended up splitting a cab with two Chinese women to the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, you weren't allowed to cover your shoulders with just a shawl so I didn't make it into the palace. I still enjoyed the exterior though!

Instead, I decided to walk to Wat Pho, which is known for teaching the ways of Thai massage. Along the way, a tuk-tuk driver tried to tell me that Wat Pho was closed because it was a Buddhist holiday but the other temple was open. If I took that crappy boat ride, I could see the other temple. He started to get frantic when I told him I was going to see the outside of Wat Pho anyways, yelling, "lady, it's closed!" When I turned the corner I saw that indeed it was not closed and he was just being a turd. I was not having a good day with tuk-tuk drivers.

The temple was expansive and extravagant. It was definitely one of my favorite temples on my trip so far. I wasn't feeling well, so unfortunately I didn't stay there too long. I was glad that I ended up deciding to get out of the hostel though! The next tuk-tuk driver I met was much nicer than the previous two. We talked and he pointed out cool places to visit as he drove me back to my hostel. It was nice to see that not all tuk-tuk drivers are dishonest in Bangkok! I recouped for the rest of the day and ended up meeting Marcello, my Luang Prabang airport friend, that night. It was nice to see each other again, but I felt bad that I was sick and probably half as fun as normal!

Goin Koalas for Kuala Lumpur

When I arrived at the bus stop in Singapore, there was no markings. Luckily, there was a group of Indonesian women who were also waiting for the bus so I ended up joining them. The bus took us to immigration through Singapore, then to Malaysia's side. The woman who was my immigration officer in Malaysia stamped the last blank page of my passport which made me gasp. I can't believe I started with seven blank pages and am leaving with none! 

After a nice 6 hour wifi-filled bus ride, the bus dropped me off in Kuala Lumpur's Time Square. I found Sunshine Bedz KL hostel and got situated in the common room where I met two girls, Stacey and Jenny. They were also teachers, except they were teaching in Thailand. We met another guy, Pieter, and his friend Katie, then we were off to find food. On the street behind our hostel, there were a bunch of outdoor restaurants that served seafood and other local specialties and we settled down at one of them. The occasional vendor would approach us as we hung out and ate. After dinner, Katie headed back to the hostel because she wasn't feeling well. 

I got my fat backpack on and am ready to go!

Friends and food -the best combination!

The rest of us went to the nearby bar street. The first bar we passed by had ladies' night where the drinks were free till 11! We told Pieter sorry, but this was an opportunity not to be missed. He was a good sport about it though, so we hung out for awhile until deciding to move on. The next place we found had ladies' night until 2 am. We really hit the jackpot! We had fun dancing the night away with all the locals. At one point I met a woman who had been waiting for her asshole boyfriend for three hours! I invited her to party with us, so we had fun dancing together until her boyfriend showed his sorry face. 

On my way to get another drink, one of the bartenders asked me if I was pregnant. When I incredulously replied, "No I'm not pregnant!" He decided it'd be funny to keep joking about it. After that, every time he saw me, he'd joke about my baby but it was in a way that made me wonder if maybe he was interested in me? Either way it was the world's worst pickup line. Once ladies' night ended, he came up and tried to give me a hug and say hi, but I told him I was mad at him and might consider forgiving him if he bought me a drink. I was surprised that he actually did! I was going to forgive him....until he got all the other bartenders to call me pregnant as well. Talk about a fast way to crush someone's self esteem! I tried to not let it bother me though and ended up dancing the night away with my new friends.

The next morning, everyone was feeling the effects of free drinks all night, so we got a slower start to the day than expected. Stacey, Jenny, Phillip, two girls who met us on the street (Carrie and Nicole) and I set out for the Battu caves. One of the girl's shoes broke as we were walking through the mall to get to the train station. She was lucky she broke it in such a convenient place! After some brief shopping, we were back on our way to the Battu caves. Once there, we were greeted by a pack of monkeys running rampant around the park. Some of them were even jumping up into a shrine offering area to steal flowers! We took copious monkey pictures, then made our way up one hundred and something steep steps to get to the caves. Luckily, they were selling water at the top of the steps! The caves were pretty cool, but not exactly what I had expected. We made our way back down, then grabbed a drink at a restaurant before going back to the hostel.

We had plans to go to the Sky Bar where you could see the Petronas towers lit up at night, so we had to get ready! The group that went out that night was pretty big because some guys from our hostel had also joined in. By the time we had walked to the Sky Bar, the lights on the towers had unfortunately shut off. The view was still beautiful though, plus the atmosphere was nice.  Once the Sky Bar shut down, we walked back over to the bar area where we had been the previous night. Despite my attempt to ask for us not to go back to the rude bar, we ended up back there (it was ladies' night again). There were so many people that things got a bit confusing!

The towers' lights had shut off for the night.  It was still pretty though!

 The party rockin crew was ready to go!

All the bartenders warmly greeted me with hugs and asked about my baby. I really should have punched them in the face, but I reminded myself that I'm a lady. Also, I didn't want to upset the baby by starting any fights. At one point, Stacey told one of the bartenders off for being so rude to me. They all ended up apologizing and saying they didn't actually think I was pregnant...then one told me he was single if I wanted to date him. No thanks, bro! We learned why they had ladies night every night: it's because not that many women go out to the bars there! At one point, talking to all the guys got so overwhelming that I asked one of the guys we were with to be my fake boyfriend. We were probably the least convincing couple. Since we had both forgotten each other's names, we'd talk to each other like: "Hey boyfriend" "What's up girlfriend?" "Are you doin alright girlfriend?" It was incredibly entertaining though, and it seemed to work as well!

I wish I had spent more time in Malaysia. It was really fun and I met some amazing people. Plus everyone at the hostel was really kind. I think maybe I had so much fun because I had such low expectations of Kuala Lumpur from what everyone I met had said about it. Either way, I now wish I spent more time there. I'll just have to include it in my next trip!

Sleepless in Singapore

The flight to Singapore was fast enough. I made a few friends in the airport line and waiting room, which made the wait more fun. I was able to pass most the time in the air by taking a short nap. The immigration line took about 40 minutes, but it didn't take long for me to find my bag after that. Lauren picked me up from the airport and we took a $17 spd cab ride back to her apartment. During the cab ride I realized I had completely forgotten to exchange my money! Luckily there are a lot of money exchange booths that are heavily regulated, so Lauren said I wouldn't have a problem.

Check out friedgreenkimchi.com.  Lauren's recipes are seriously amazing!

Ben and Lauren's apartment was right next to the North Korean embassy, which was a pretty house with drawn blinds on all windows. Their apartment was beautiful and overlooked their apartment's pristine pool. We met up with Ben, then went to Arab street to get some food. Before we left, Lauren gave us some Korean style deviled wasabi eggs that she made for her blog. They were so delicious! I can't wait till she posts her recipe. The air was hazy as we walked through the streets, polluted by the annual illegal burning in Indonesia. We settled on some Mexican food and unfortunately there was only al fresca seating. On our walk back, we could see smoke moving through the air. It was THAT BAD. Lauren and Ben ended up having work cancelled the next day because the PSI index was over 300. Despite their comfortable couch, I didn't get a good night's sleep because I kept waking up coughing. It was a really dumb idea to have eaten al fresca!

One of the Salvador Dali sculptures on display.

The next morning, we had breakfast in. I was in charge of the eggs, Lauren made Pinterest cinnamon bun pancakes while Ben was in charge of the bacon. It's the best breakfast I've had in awhile! Lauren and I walked to the bus station to catch a bus to downtown for a bit of shopping. The air was much better than the previous night, but still pretty bad. When we got into the mall, it was like a maze. We couldn't find any shoe stores (something I desperately needed), so we made our way to Ion Orchard, which was down the way. This mall was also hard to navigate around, but at least it wasn't as confusing as the first one. We found a Forever 21 and I immediately was able to find some shoes and a cute dress in my size. Score! We wandered around and got lost again, then eventually made our way to the food court for some food and delicious gelato. Exhausted, we made our way back home to relax. We had grand plans to go to a gallery opening, but none of us wanted to leave again after such an eventful day!  Plus, Lauren was feeling sick and feverish. Ben and I ended up going to a hawker stand (street food) to get..... while Lauren stayed home.

Ben and Lauren had to go to work early the next morning, so I had the day alone to relax and sightsee. I caught up on my blogging a bit before heading out in my new red dress to see the Gardens by the Bay. Although the weather was humid and hazy, the view was beautiful. It was free admission into the outdoor gardens, but you had to pay to get into the big tree-like buildings. I decided to just stick to the free part since I only had an hour and a half. Each garden had a theme from different countries and were beautifully decorated. It was pleasant to just amble through and take pictures of the flowers and displays they set up.

Soon enough, I was off again to meet Lauren at Ion Orchard. From there, we'd be going to a cafe/gallery to meet up with Prianka and some of their friends. The gallery was two levels and featured a variety of contemporary artists. Contemporary art isn't my first choice, but there were still some really nice paintings in there.

From there, we went into a mall where prostitution is legal. There were lots of clubs and massage parlours around, but there were also some restaurants as well. We went to one of Prianka's favorite Thai places, which was pretty cheap for Singapore's standards! I made the mistake or ordering chili shrimp, thinking I could handle the heat. I was sorely mistaken and ended up chugging two bottles of water. We all chatted and hung out for a bit before parting ways. Everyone still had to work on Sunday.

Sunday was my last full day in Singapore. I put on my new dress and was out the door to see Little India. A bus took me right over there and I wandered around for a bit. I kept feeling a little surprised and uncomfortable because I was getting a lot of stares...until I realized I was the only blonde around and my dress was a bit eye catching. Whoops, I didn't think that one through! Most stuff was closed down because it was a Sunday, but I ended up finding a nice Indian restaurant to eat at. It was some of the best food I had in Singapore!

Om nan nan nan nan!

On my walk around, I also broke my sandals!! One of the straps that wrapped around my foot came off, but luckily there were two straps so I could still walk. I had no choice but to go back to the maze of a mall again! On my walk to the station, I made a friend from Bangladesh. He had lived in Singapore for seven years as a construction project manager, and he was nice enough to walk me to the train and point me off when it was my stop. Kindness everywhere.

I got lost in the mall for the thousandth time, getting mowed over by a postal carrier in the process. My poor heel was bruised and bleeding after that! I did find some shoes in my size though and shuffled on back to Ben and Lauren's apartment. We relaxed a bit, then went out for some Korean barbeque buffet. I hadn't realized how much I missed Korean food until that point. After stuffing our faces, we went to a cider house where Ben and I got the scrumpiest cider we could get. It was deliciously scrumpy (whatever that means).

I had so much fun with Lauren and Ben in Singapore. It was awesome to see some old friends from Korea! Now onto Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Japan, Korea, then finally home!

Tailors, Floods, and Friends of Phnom Penh

The Killing Fields left me without an appetite and I instead decided to take a shower when we got back to the hostel. Since my laundry was still not ready, I had run out of clean clothes! Luckily Karolin had a shirt that I was able to borrow. I went downstairs to the common area where I met the others. We ended up getting some ciders (something I've missed since leaving Korea) and teamed up to play pool. I played about one of the most embarrassing rounds and vowed to myself that I wasn't allowed to play again until I practiced more. A Nigerian soccer player named Heskay joined our merry group and we were off to the KTV (karaoke room). We all crammed ourselves into Heskay's car and then we were off to this strangely fancy karaoke room! It was only a total of $7 per hour, so we ended up staying and rocking out. The books were pretty unorganized so it was hard to find my favorites to sing. There were three attendants in the room who we're in charge of putting in our songs and clapping after we sang. Had we maybe come to a sexy noraebang?? Nevertheless, We ended up having a great time. 

After two hours of noraebang and a few beers, Laura and Karolin headed home. Dan, May, Heskay and I went to this Cat bar where a group of guys/kids were doing some awesome break dancing! Some Dutch girls joined our group and we went off to the Top Banana hostel for more drinks.

For one reason or another, all of us ended up getting home far too late. Dan was out for the count after fearlessly taking so many shots the night before. That left Karolin, Laura and I to enjoy our day. Karolin and I were determined to finally get our tailored dresses, and so our tuk-tuk driver took us around from place to place to find a place. At the beginning he kept taking us to expensive tailor shops because he was unsure of what exactly we wanted. He went into the shops and translated for us and we quickly realized the dresses were definitely out of our price range! We ended up going to the Russian Market -a huge indoors market that had it's own section of tailors. We went to the first woman that we saw. She told me I could have my two dresses done for $41, then whisked us off to get the fabric for the dresses. Since I was getting lace, my fabric was much more than the fabric than Karolin's dresses. I paid $36 for the fabric, which was a little painful to part with. However, I reminded myself that these dresses would be tailor made to fit perfectly. It was less than I would pay for two normal dresses of this style in the states!

This looks similar to other indoor markets in Asia. Always super cramped!

Once we had the fabric, she quickly measured both of us and sent us on our way. We were all really impressed with how well she knew her stuff!! We poked around the market a bit, then left to find our tuk-tuk driver. An elder woman came up to us to ask us for money. I gave her my bottle of water that I had been holding onto. I learned from Mina (my Korean friend I met on my first day in China) that if I don't feel comfortable taking out my money, I can always give water. Then we were on our way to a place with "good curry and wifi". We drove past the royal palace and ended up at a nice restaurant by the river. I FINALLY had Amok, which is incredibly delicious!! Dan and May came to join us after lunch and we got massages next door. Dan was put in a separate room, but the girls were all put in one big room together. The massages were nice but the women were SO NOISY. I could understand some quiet chatter here and there, but it was constant. loud. conversation. When we finished it was pouring rain so hard that we couldn't see any of the buildings across the river. It was insane! Our driver was a champ though and still took us back to the hostel with a grin on his face. Some of the streets were so flooded that people's feet were completely under the murky water. The rain died down by the time we made it to the hostel and we ended up giving our tuk-tuk driver a tip for being our awesome personal driver/translator for the day.

That night, we gathered up and went to the Central mall for some shopping. The mall surprisingly had a lot of Korean branded restaurants and shops! We did a bit of shopping then went to a restaurant near the river for our final dinner together. May and Dan left that night, and Laura ended up leaving early the next day. It was back to Karolin and I on our own! I did a bit of research and we set out to check out some galleries and the royal palace. The first place was alright, but I really loved the photographs at Java cafe. An artist had taken a bunch of photos of people in Phnom Penh at night. It really showed the attitude of the city that the tourists don't always see. The food smelled so delightful that we immediately decided we'd have to go back later. Instead, we got the most delightful smoothies to enjoy.

One of the photographs by Sovan Philong. His photographs were seriously really neat!

Afterwards, we tried to go to the Royal Palace, but they wouldn't let women wear scarves to cover up! It was a crappy ploy to get people to buy their overpriced $10 shirts, so Karolin and I decided we weren't buying into that. Instead, there was a park nearby that we checked out. Along the way, a tuk-tuk driver yelled to us for business. When we told him we already had a driver, he said: "But do your driver look good??" We burst into a fit of giggles as we continued walking away. What a cheeky man! One thing I liked about the park was this giant golden bird. I wanted to take a photo, but a guard came over and sat on it! So I awkwardly had to ask if I could take a picture of it/him.

A temple that was near the National Palace.

The park was so pretty!

Gettin our duck face on with Mr. Duck (and the guard).

After we took our pictures, we went to the nearby street 178. This street had a bunch of small, cute shops. It started pouring rain, so we took advantage of the indoor shopping. Our tuk-tuk driver was quite annoyed when we got back to him and asked to go back to Java cafe. We felt bad, but at the same time we were going to pay him extra. One meal later, we were on our way back to the hostel (much to our driver's joy)! We saw a group of people practicing a dance and the park and Karolin jokingly said: "Wait, We want to go here too!" We burst out into a fit of giggles as the driver continued to motor onto our hostel. Once back, we spent two hours tearing apart our bags and repacking everything. It felt good to reassemble and clean it out! Karolin threw away a bunch of stuff and showed me her face net. So much laughter and jokes for our last night!

For our last morning together, we checked out, then took a tuk-tuk to the Russian market to pick up my dresses. Our driver dropped us off on an unfamiliar side and said: I wait here. Don't lose me! We spent ten minutes running through the huge market before we finally found someone who could point us in the right direction. My red dress needed a few alterations, but the lace black dress was perfect! It was totally worth every penny. I hugged the tailor and then we ran off to find our tuk-tuk driver. Karolin had to leave for her bus shortly after we arrived. It was a sad goodbye -I couldn't believe we had traveled together for two countries and three weeks!