Third Time's the Charm

I made it back to Kuala Lumpur for the third time this month on Tuesday, just 15 minutes before the India visa office closed for the day. Luckily, my visa was ready, so it's good news that India is letting me in! ;) Gundula and I made arrangements for flights on Wednesday. Since we really don't have a travel itinerary, only a list of places we'd like to visit, we had trouble deciding which city to start with. So, Gundula literally flipped a coin down in Bali to help us decide...and off to New Delhi we go! (it was between Delhi and Jaipur...we'll get to Jaipur eventually!). I love that we're going to let fate decide our path in India, in more ways than one! Gundula arrived in KL today, and we fly out early Monday morning. It is great to see her again and I am really excited for the culture and chaos that India is sure to offer!

I went to dinner with my Father's Brother's Wife's Brother, Mark, and his two adorable daughters, Jada and Jasmine on Wednesday night. We went to a fantastic Malaysian restaurant with live music and dancing. Mark works as a geologist for a US petroleum firm here in KL. It was fascinating to learn how he goes about finding oil 5-10 miles below the surface of the ocean, and it was fun to be around children again. They have so much energy and reminded me that they are the ones amongst us who are best at living for the moment.

I found out this week that my brother, Gerad, will be able to come visit and travel with me. He lands in Bangkok on July 31st. I am very excited to see him and be able to share this experience with him. Thailand and Laos will not be the same after the Barden's visit. ;)

I spent some time shopping around town in preparation for India, and I went to the movies. I really wish now that I had watched A-Team back in the day. I don't know if it's just because I really miss watching movies or what, but I thought the movie was great! I have also eaten two Oreo McFlurry's since Tuesday. I'm trying to stock up before 6 weeks in India! And, I keep meeting people from Europe who have never had them, and so I feel it is my duty as an American to introduce them to one of the most amazing desserts quite possibly ever made.

On Friday, I went to the Batu Caves, just outside of KL. On the way, I met a German guy, Ruben, and a guy from Iraq (I can't spell his name, but I think it's something like Hairim??). We walked around the caves and the largest Murugan statue, a Hindu deity, in the world at 140'. Inside the caves are several Hindu worship areas. Unfortunately, like a lot of tourist areas in Asia, the caves were a bit too kitchy and not maintained, which is sad because it is a sacred area in sects of the Hindu religion. Every February, hundreds of thousands (some say millions) of people travel to the caves for the Thaipusam Festival. Here, they do some rituals involving hooks, needles and skin. Too bad I wasn't here in February. Hairim absolutely cracked me up when he insisted on having someone take photos of the 3 of us. He wanted the pictures to be titled Hitler, Hussein and Bush. I couldn't stop laughing at that for several hours. ;)

That night, as I was waiting for Hairim and Ruben to head out to watch the opening ceremony and first game of the World Cup, I ran into Ron and Karim, friends I made in the Perhentian Islands. It is such a small world! This added a lot of momentum to the evening, and I finally made it home at 5 AM after two football matches, some dancing, some shisha and a 'few' cocktails. I love watching the World Cup in other countries. They get so much more into it than we do back home.

I've posted pictures of my time in Malaysia and Singapore. Click on the picture below if you'd like to see them!

Malaysia & Singapore

in

Next update from somewhere in India! Selamat jalan!