Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur was a really nice place to be after Singapore. We went from an ultra-modern city, with every convenience imaginable, and super strict laws (think caning for minor offenses and the death penalty for drug possession), to the most normal city we've been to in the last two and a half years.

It wasn't like Nepal, India or Sri Lanka. There were no touts hassling us as we got off the bus, walked along the street, or went shopping. Sometimes a person would approach us wanting to sell something and we'd say "no thanks." Then they said "ok" and walked away instead of following us for a few hundred meters down the street. No one stared at us as we walked by anymore. In fact, no one even gave us a second look. We were just ordinary people again. It's so nice not to have crowds of people staring at you, some of them trying to take pictures.

We did our share of sightseeing in KL, but the highlight of our time there was being normal again and doing normal things. We went to the 7/11 and got a slurpee - it was really exciting and fun for us. We just haven't been able to do things like this! There have been no 7/11s and no slurpees in our lives for a really long time and it was nice to have these things back. We also saw our first English language movie in a theatre since the states.

I think doing these sorts of things here will make our readjustment easier when we get back home. The United States is still going to be a strange place for us when we get back, but at least we'll have started doing normal things like these again, even if it's in bits and pieces. I imagine it would have been really weird going into a 7/11 with friends or family and being so excited to get a slurpee and being like, "Oh my God, it's so delicious! And it's cold! So cold!" And them looking at me and being like "Yeah, it is" and thinking they're glad I'm back, but I'm a little strange now.

The thing is, it won't just be a few things like this that are normal to everyone else, but strange, exciting, and wonderful to us. It will be everything and that's part of what makes readjusting difficult. Thank you all in advance for your patience with us when we get back!

Singapore

We woke up from our overnight flight at 6 AM Singapore time (3:30 AM Sri Lanka time) and found ourselves in a completely different place. Often an airport doesn't tell you much about a city, but it certainly did in Singapore. The airport had free internet access, all kinds of western restaurants, free massage chairs, and even a swimming pool. There were lots more things too, but these are the ones I noticed as I was being pushed through the airport in a wheelchair by an airport worker.

You might reasonably wonder why I was being pushed through the airport in a wheelchair. Regular readers of my blog know that I carry a large bamboo stick with me for many reasons. It's very useful and we discovered a new use for it in Sri Lanka when someone droped their sandal on the rail track and needed some help. As useful as it is, it sometimes gives us problems at the wide variety of security checkpoints we come across in our travels. I tend to develop a limp as we approach security checks police officers and the like. After we pass through I'm usually able to walk normally again. Unfortunately, this isn't the case at airports.

You don't just need to pass through a checkpoint, you need to pass through two or three on your way in and even after that you have to get your passport stamped by immigration exiting one country and then entering another. This means I'd need to keep up the act for quite some time. Luckily for me I don't have to because they usually check the stick for me when I check in. That means the only way for me to get through the airport is by a wheelchair. Then the only thing I need to deal with is the guilt of wasting everyone's time, but I'm not willing to give up my bamboo so this is how it must go.

When we got out of the airport and into the city the first thing that struck us was how easy it was to do everything. There were no touts hassling us for taxi rides or tours as we left the airport. The public bus we took to the city was clean and comfortable with pleasant buttons you push to signal to the driver where you want to get off. The bus wasn't overcrowded, there were no offensive odors, and it was even air conditioned. We just sat there feeling so comfortable it was almost eerie.

On the bus and everywhere else things just seemed so sanitized and sterile. It's not that we don't appreciate being comfortable, but it was a bit too much for us. Eventually I realized that the discomfort caused by all this comfort was boredom. It's true, taking the bus in Singapore is not exciting. You might think taking the bus shouldn't be an exciting experience, but for us every bus we've taken from Nepal to Sri Lanka has been. Riding the bus entails so much in these countries.

You need to hurry up and get on so that it doesn't start leaving while you're halfway in. Then, if you're lucky, you stumble to your seat while the bus swerves left and right. If you're not lucky there are no seats and you're faced with the constant challenge of holding on and not falling over. Usually you don't know exactly where you're getting off and stops aren't announced (in a language you understand) so you have to figure this out as you go. And on and on. There is so much to do while you're riding the bus in these countries. In Singapore, whether we were on the bus, the metro, or even just walking around, there were no challenges you had to overcome. Everything was taken care of for you in a clean, comfortable, and efficient way. We appreciated a break from all the stress, but it really was a bit dull!

After settling in, we headed downtown. Everything was very modern, of course. No horns honking, no tuk tuks, plenty of blinking crosswalks. Enough about all that, you get the idea. We were in a very different place. Our first stop was Chinatown which is clearly just for the tourists these days. It was so artificial it was almost like being in Disneyworld. We walked around and found a temple that claimed to have a tooth of the Buddha, just like in Sri Lanka. Except this one you can just walk right up to and look at. I don't know how many of these Buddha teeth there are laying about the world, but the excitement has passed.

On the edge of Chinatown we saw an Indian temple that was unlike any we had seen in India. The colors were bright and bold, not faded. There were so many different carvings. It was really beautiful, but to me it didn't seem very authentic. I quickly realized the problem wasn't that it was not authentic, but there is just so much more money in Singapore. They can afford to spend so much more on making things look nice than was the standard in India. I wonder if all the temples in India would look like this one if it were a wealthier place.

The next day we went to the bayfront and noticed three large buildings with a (fake) boat on top of them. I've never seen a boat-like thing on top of three skyscrapers before so we went to check it out. It was a really fancy hotel - too fancy for us really. We couldn't get to the roof without a keycard that we weren't willing to pay for. That was fine, we're used to not satisfying our every whim. It's really not that sort of trip. But all of these things we saw had an impact on us. What kind of place has a boat on top of some really high buildings just for the luxury of it all? Singapore.

You can imagine that it was a very expensive place for us. Believe it or not, we found that the best place to eat in Singapore is at the shopping mall food courts. Yes, really. First of all, there are shopping malls everywhere. You really can't avoid them. Second, they're some of the cheapest places to eat in the city. And finally, you can get so many different things there! It's really an amazing concept that I never appreciated before. You can get Chinese, Italian, Indian, and fast food all in the same place, so cheaply. I can't ever imagine a group people in the states wondering where to eat until someone suggests the food court at a shopping mall and everyone applauds the idea as a brilliant one. But to us, it's a revalation - and just so convenient! Maybe I've been away from home too long and am going a little crazy or maybe I see the world from a broader perspective now and appreciate things more in the way we all should or maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle - I'll let you decide.

Anyway, the convenience never stopped. When it was time to go we found ourselves missing India, sad to leave the comfort of Singapore, and excited about the thought that moving on might mean returning to whatever small amount of normalcy we knew before coming to this place.

Kandy, Anuradhapura, and Colombo

From Tissamaharama we made our way to Kandy over the course of two days. The reason it took so long is not because of the distance, but because there was no direct way to get from one place to the other. We kept thinking that after getting to the next destination there would be a direct route from there, but this never seemed to be the case. We ended up taking three buses and two trains and finally arrived in Kandy after about 36 hours.

While we were en route, we arranged to stay with some new friends who live near Kandy. In fact, they were a host family for Peace Corps trainees back in 1989, so it was cool to have an immediate connection with them. In addition to the usual sight-seeing we would have done if we hadn't stayed with them, we had the pleasure of cooking meals together, going for a walk with them around their garden, and trading traveler/host stories. The grandmother was thrilled to be able play dress-up with Heather and we had a photo shoot with her sporting Indian and Sri Lankan style saris. It was loads of fun! They were a wonderful family and staying with them was one of the highlights of the trip.

The single biggest sight to see in Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth. It is said to contain the tooth of the Buddha which was found after he was cremated. Of course, we were excited to go to the temple and see this Buddhist relic. We were a little disappointed to find out that you don't actually get to see the tooth. Really, you don't even get to see the casket where the tooth is kept. What you do get to see is the door behind which is the casket in which the tooth is kept. I wasn't impressed, but all the people prostrating themselves outside the door seemed to be.

We took a day trip from Kandy to Pinnawala to see an elephant orphanage. It was by far the most elephants we've seen at one time, maybe two dozen or so. Some of these were injured or orphaned in the wild, but they have also started breeding the elephants and keeping them in captivity. This gave me some mixed feelings because that makes the place less of an orphanage and more of a zoo. Still, it was our first time seeing baby and juvenile elephants and we got to be there for feeding time and watch them take a bath in the river. Good fun, but this place had by far the most tourists we've seen so far in Sri Lanka.

After three days we said goodbye to our new Sri Lankan family and continued by AC bus to Anuradhapura. By this point in our trip we've traveled many ways, but this was our first AC bus. Now you'd think that since we're in Sri Lanka and it's 90+ degrees outside an AC bus would be a good idea, at least that's what we thought. It was the first time since we landed in Kathmandu that all the windows on our means of transportation were closed. That meant there was no air circulation from the outside and I was quite ill. The fact that we were in the hill country and traveling winding roads didn't help. It's the only time I've ever taken dramamine and still been motion sick (that stuff really works!) From here on out, no AC buses! Windows are great!

We came to Anuradhapura to see the old city and different collections of ruins and ancient stupas. We were not disappointed, there was lots to see and some were over 2000 years old! In the afternoon, we decided to travel off the map and went to see a place that isn't in any of the guide books. The reason for that is it's still under construction. 15 km outside the city, but the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere are 500 Buddha statues all standing in a line which meanders around a beautiful park. We would never have known about the place, but we'd seen pictures hanging in restaurants and hotels and asked the locals. The statues were person-sized, so having 500 of them was quite a feat even though the last several were still being painted and sculpted. In addition to the Buddhas we saw lots of wildlife including a really long snake, some kind of large squirrel, and a land monitor. We also ran across a guy who was washing each of the Buddhas individually. He wasn't just hosing them off either, but carefully rubbing his hand all over each statue to get the dirt off. It seems like a full time job, but he was a happy guy and let us take his picture.

The whole time we walked around we only ran into one Sri Lankan family that came to see the Buddhas, there were no other tourists at all. Not even an entry fee, only a small donation box. We made a small donation and asked the guy about the park and why there were 500 Buddhas (496 really, I counted). Sadly, he didn't speak much English and couldn't explain much. I'll have to look it up later to learn more.

After spending only about one full day in Anuradhapura we continued on to Colombo. We extended our time in Sri Lanka by a few days to see the Perahera which is a Buddhist festival that happens once a year. The big one happens in Kandy, but at a different time of year. By extending our time, we had just enough time to see the Colombo Perahera. I'm really glad we stayed for it. Basically, it was a really, really long parade. I don't have pictures uploaded for this yet, but look for them in the future. There were people dressed up in all different costumes, monks, elephants, guys dancing on stilts, fire twirlers, dancers, and more. The parade went on for well over two hours. I can't imagine what the Kandy Perahera must be like!

Today is our last day in Colombo and we're parting ways with my dad after traveling with him for about a month. We catch the red-eye to Singapore tonight. I'll post soon on our adventures there and in Malaysia.

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

I've finally managed to upload the photos from my camera and there are lots! You can get to them by clicking the links to the right, below my picture.

Induruwa to Tissamaharama

We spent a lot of time at the beach Induruwa. It was just so relaxing after running around India that we decided to take some time to relax while we were at such a beautiful place. Mostly all we did was play in the ocean, lie down with a good book, and eat wonderful Sri Lankan food (it's surprisingly different from Indian food). We did do a few things of note, however.

We visited a nearby turtle hatchery which was lots of fun! The turtles have a hard time making it by themselves, so the hatcheries (there are several) pay fisherman a little bit of money to bring them any eggs they find. They hatch the eggs and then keep the turtles until they're old enough to have a better chance surviving in the wild. We got to have a look at the eggs that were waiting to hatch and they had a big tank of baby turtles swimming around that we were able to pick up and hold. They also had albino and blind turtles that they keep permanently because they would not be able to survive in the wild. Their efforts are funded by private contributions and entry fees. Unfortunately, the whole place was completely destroyed by the tsunami. Our guide had a picture of himself on the site of the flattened hatchery which was pretty depressing. The good news is that they have rebuilt and are still passionate about their mission.

While we were in Induruwa I had my first Sri Lankan epiphany. One of the great things that Sri Lanka has to offer are coconuts, lots of them! These are frequently sold by the side of the road for 20 rupees (about 15-20 cents) I did some quick math in my head and realized that drinking coconut milk is cheaper than drinking water (the coconut meat is a bonus(! Since then I've been drinking coconuts exclusively when I can get them, which is most of the time. I love the tropical life!

After Induruwa we made our way to Tissamaharama which is conveniently located next to two animal reserves. We hired a jeep for a whole day to take us around the parks and spot wildlife. We were really lucky! We saw so many different types of animals - birds, monkeys, water buffalo, crocodiles, elephants, deer, rabbits, mongooses, peacocks, etc. We really loved watching the elephants, but the highlight was seeing a Sri Lankan spotted leopard. They're usually pretty elusive, but the one we saw was just walking down the road that our jeep was on. We followed him for about 10 minutes before he made a turn and simply disappeared in the jungle. We couldn't believe he let us stay with him for so long. Every once in a while he'd just turn around and look at us as if to say "Why are you following me? Stop following me!" The funny thing is, we've felt the same way about people trying to sell us rickshaw rides and hotel rooms, but we couldn't not follow him! Oh, the ironies of life...

Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Surat, Dandi, Mumbai, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Tirusulam, Colombo, and Induruwa (yikes)

At this point I'm hopelessly behind in my blogging, so I'll just put down a (very) brief summary to get you up-to-date.

Delhi

We met up with my Dad in Delhi since he decided to join us on our trip. He was in this part of the world almost 40 years ago and has never been back so it was a very exciting reunion! We visited some of the places he went to last time he was in Delhi, like the Red Fort.

Agra

There is really one reason that people come to Agra and that's to see the Taj Mahal. Last time my Dad was in India he decided it was too much trouble to make the trip from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and he's regretted it ever since! We were thrilled that we were all able to go and see it together for the first time. It's as beautiful as they say!

Mumbai, Surat, Dandi, and Mumbai

There is lots to see in Mumbai including plenty of British architecture. However, this wasn't what drew us to India's largest city. Bollywood filmmakers have a habit of picking up Westerners on the street to come and be extras in their films. Since before we even left Ukraine it's been Heather's dream to make it as an extra in a Bollywood film. It only took a day or two in Mumbai before someone approached us, it wasn't a Bollywood filmmaker, though. Instead it was a wedding planner who was hiring western women to greet guests at a very, very large and expensive wedding. Heather decided to do it, she made thirty bucks and we were all invited to by far the most lavish wedding I've ever been to. It was really incredible and now I understand why Indian weddings have a reputation of being really over the top.

The wedding was five hours away in Surat so on the way back we stopped in Dandi to see the beach where Gandhi marched to make salt in defiance of the British government. It was one of the major events on the road to Indian independence and there is a lovely monument and we saw the palm hut where he lived at this time and where he was arrested.

Kanchipuram

We stopped here on our way to the coast to take a tour of five major Hindu temples. At one of them we all got blessed by an elephant after paying his fee (we literally had to give the elephant a rupee after he reached down with his trunk!) All the temples were very beautiful, it's a shame we couldn't spend more time in southern India.

Mahabalipuram

Our last stop in India and the first beach we spent any time at. It was a pretty touristy place, but it was a good change. We got to sample the south Indian cuisine (off a banana leaf), see ancient stone carvings, go to a beach temple, and soak up the tropical air.

Tirusulam (Chennai airport) and Colombo

We left early in the morning to catch our flight to Sri Lanka. I must admit that I have a whole new perspective on flying. In the states it just seems like a pain and you spend so much time just waiting around. After taking several 24 hour trains, countless buses, rickshaws, etc. it seemed like a really pleasant experience. Sure you have to wait a bit, but everything is so clean and nice...yeah, a different perspective. We didn't stay in Colombo, but went straight to Induruwa.

Induruwa

My dad booked us rooms at a beautiful guest house on the beach. We just arrived yesterday, but I can already tell that Sri Lanka is a completely different place than India. Much, less hectic, much more relaxing. I'll write more soon, promise!

Jaipur and Jaisalmer and Udaipur, oh my!

It's been too long since my last update and a lot has happened since then. This time I'll just post some of the highlights and consider myself caught up.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan, one of the most well-traveled regions of India. It's another big, crazy Indian city, but the walled, old city was the big draw for us. Most of the business done in the old city comes from local crafts. In fact, the city is divided into specific craft sections. In one area you can watch stone statues being carved, in another textiles being weaved, bangles being made, etc. It was great fun just to walk around for a while, getting lost in the small alleys. We also visited the palace, an observatory, and other major sites.

One of the most enjoyable things we did while staying in Jaipur was take a day trip to nearby Amber to see Amber fort. The fort itself was magnificent - simply huge with beautifully decorated rooms and courtyards. But the views of the nearby mountains, each with their own fort on top, made it that much better. There were incredibly long walls leading from the bottom of each of these mountains to the each fort at the top. While we were there a Bollywood movie was being filmed, so we got to see some of the brightly colored costumes and dancing associated with Indian film. After a short stay in Jaipur we continued on by train to Jaisalmer.

There was a fortress and plenty of temples here, all worth seeing, but the reason we came to this city is because it is one of the best starting points in India for camel safaris. Our safari was only two days long, with one night spent sleeping under the stars in the desert. The first thing you notice when you're looking at a camel that you're going to ride off into the desert is camels are really tall! They aren't like horses at all. My camel in particular was especially tall, maybe the tallest one there. I am quite tall myself by Indian standards, but even though they kneel down for you to get on I had to jump and struggle to get on top of mine. I felt a great sense of relief when I was finally in my seat, but the fun wasn't even close to over because after you get on, the camel has to stand up.

This probably doesn't sound like such a big deal, but that's just because you've never ridden a camel. You see, for camels, standing up is a process. They stand up with their back legs first and later, when they are ready, they stand up with their front legs. This is fine for the camel, but if you're sitting on top you have the harrowing experience of trying to hold on while the camel remains for several seconds at a 45 degree angle before standing up the rest of the way. This might have been easier if it had been expected, but none of our four guides warned us.

Another way that riding a camel is not like riding a horse is that your legs ache. You got used to this after a while, but it was still a few days after the safari before I could walk completely normal again. Besides these challenges, the whole thing was an amazing experience. We walked most of our time in scrub desert, but we spent the night by the most beautiful sand dunes. Our guides cooked us some simple Indian camping food and we spent the evening singing songs around the campfire. We returned the next day happy we had taken the safari, but also happy to be finished riding camel.

There were no trains we could take to Udaipur, so instead we traveled via sleeper bus (man I wish they had these in Ukraine). It was bumpy, but far better than riding a regular bus. The biggest site in Udaipur is a beautiful palace sitting next to a tremendous lake. But at this point we were pretty tired of doing the tourist things. We went on the camel safari and had gone to countless palaces, forts, temples, etc. by this time. All of them were great, but we were just really tired and wanted to do something else. Our budget was also stretched to the limit from all the tourist stuff we'd done in the previous week. So we didn't even go into the palace.

Instead we went to a youth festival that was happening far from the tourist area. There were free concerts going on and we got to hear some traditional flute and drum playing. It was nice to relax and listen for a while and as a bonus, we were the only white people there! After listening for a while we went to see some traditional dancing and a puppet show at the cultural center. Both were spectacular, but the Indians really, really loved the puppet show! They were cheering and yelling throughout the whole thing, I had no idea a puppet show could incite such excitement! After a relaxing time in Udaipur, we hopped on a train for Delhi!