Hey, I can speak Chinese

I was recently talking with my parents via skype and I gave them a quick Chinese lesson. That was when I first realized that my Chinese is getting pretty darn good. I am far from fluent but I can get around by myslef now. Not that it helps much. The thing is that in China they speak many dialects while outside of China they generally speak what is known as Putong Hua, proper Mandarin that I am learning. That means that when I was in Malaysia I could understand and speak much more than I can in Liuyang. Here are two of my favorate stories concerning language and China:

I went to the bank in Changsha because I had to exchange my remaining Thai money to Chinese RMB. I walked up to a counter with a bunch of blank forms on it and said, "I have Thai money and I want Chinese money. What paper do I need?" The girl did not understand me so I pulled out my Thai money and repeated myself, and I am certain I was saying it correctly. She said she couldn't speak to me. It had been a long day so I asked her, "Ni hui shuo zhung wen ma? Ni hui ma?" This means "Can you speak Chinese? Can you?" Her response was "Bu hui." I incrediously said, "You can't speak Chinese?" and she affirmed that I had heard her correctly. The problem is that in China the assumption is that if you are foreign you are stupid and unable to say anything other than Ni hao in Chinese. I was furious, although I was ultimately able to change my money.

The other funny story occured when I was on my way home from Changsha. We have found a car company that drives regularly from Liuyang to Changsha. It is a bit more expensive but I would guess that I use it every other time I make the trip. I was sitting in the front seat and three young girls were int he back seat. The aforementioned assumption was about to come into play. I knew that they were talking about me, although this is nothing new and I didn't say anything. The conversation took a different turn when two of the girls agreed that I was very handsome. One even went as far to say that it was a shame I couldn't speak Chinese... again noone had asked me whether I was able to or not. The third girl was shocked that they thought I was attractive. She said, "No, no. He has a gigantic nose, and his ears are so big. Also he is too tall." I couldn't resist anymore. I turned around and said simply, "Wo ting dong ni men" meaning, I understand you. None spoke in Chinese or English for the rest of the ride. You could feel the akwardness in the air.

Kanchanaburi

OK! So the plan for yesterday was to lounge around and do nothing. Epically failing that, I decided to go out to the Tiger Temple which is about 45 minutes from Kanchanaburi. The thing isn't so much a temple as it is a place for doped up tigers to hang out. The idea is that the tourists get to have their picture taken with 500 lbs tigers without getting there head ripped off. Now while one cannot be certain, it does seem like they have given the tigers some downers before letting the tourists play with them. The most I got by way of a reaction from one of these beast was a bemused nod, "ya okay, you're touching me, get it over with." I do not want to sound wholly negative towards the place though. It doubles as an animal rescue and reserve housing everything from one goat and two peacocks to several large herds of cattle. Also wild tigers are something of a rarity so even if they are doping them, the money they are raising is keeping the species alive.

Last night some friends from Holland and Germany and I went out of 10 Baht drinks. Think nickel shot night. It was a glorious conclusion of the trip.

Today I will catch a bus back to Bangkok where I'll shack up for just one more night. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some final preparations for my trip home: buy a shirt or two, repack my bag, and confirm my flight. I'll also need to find Aimee and the airport, in no particular order, and then it is back to China for me. The plan as it stands now will be to spend a day in Guangzhou with Binka then get back to Liuyang on Friday... giving myself a whole two days before classes start to rest up, lesson plan, and contemplate life!

Kanchanaburi (or some such place)

So I've come to the last stop on my trip and man is it a doosy. During the Japanese occupation of Se Asia they found it very inconvenient to have to ship things by sea all the way around the tip of Singapore. They also had a surplus of captured Allied soldiers. What to do, what to do??? 'Oooh' they thought to themselves, 'We could violate the Geneva Convention (as well as many moral barriers) and put these guys to work!' The decision was made that a railway should be built connecting the rail systems of Thailand to those in Myanmar (Burma). The British had decided such a feat was impossible a decade earlier, but it is important to remember that they did not have a war time steel economy or population of indispensable workers to rely on. So at the cost of nearly 100,000 lives the Japanese managed to build their railway to Rangoon. IT SHOULD BE NOTED: While I am not trying to undervalue the sacrifices of the Western Allied soldiers who died here it should be noted that of the 100,000 lives lost almost 60,000 were Malay, Chinese, and Thai workers. That's a good bit more than half and there are shockingly few (as in none that I have seen) monuments to these people here in Kanchanaburi.

There are however a series of fabulous museums covering Japanese aggression in the region as well as life in the POW camps. My walking also included a somber visit to a POW cemetery (about the only quiet place I've been in Thailand since leaving the beaches). Of course, I also visited the famous bridge over river kwai. In reality it is just a bridge but even the most cynical would have to admit to being moved by the terrible costs it took to construct this bridge. I walked past a group of very old Brits (and am currently reading a book about a group of RAF comrades having a reunion) and I couldn't help but wonder how deeply and personally those men knew the cost of what it took to build the bridge.

My history lesson complete, tomorrow will probably just be about chillaxing all cool. We''ll see when it happens.
C. Johnson

Ayutthaya

Man, I am beat! Today was a good, if not very long, day. I rented a bike first thing this morning and headed out. Ayutthaya is actually an island surrounded by several rivers. The morning and noon time were spent rolling up to random ruins on the main island and taking copious amounts of photos (I now have over a thousand for the trip). I had planned to keep track of all the places I stopped (so I could accurately recount them here) but I soon realized that this would be far too difficult as many of the ruins were unmarked and the map my hostel gave me was pretty unreliable. I also went to several intact, and active new monasteries and temples. It definitely added to the experience of seeing the ruined temples to walk across the street and see fully built, albeit far smaller, versions.

The most impressive structure I saw was actually a few miles north of the island on Thai Highway 301. The bike ride here was smoother but far more death defying than in the city. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find the ruins with my shoddy map but trust me it wasn't hard to find over the flat farmland. I eventually ended up at gigantic the gigantic (and almost fully intact) Khmer (Cambodian) Pagoda Phrai Khoa. It was simply huge. I climbed the horrifying narrow steps to the tops just to climb back down even narrower steps to reach a crypt deep within the structure. There was a very neat series of Buddha images including one made entirely from some sort of red gem (rubies). Very cool.

This afternoon I took a boat trip around the island to see some of the harder to reach items. All in all, today I saw two sitting Buddhas over 12 meters tall, one of Thailand's oldest reclining Buddhas, and miles and miles of stupas and rundown walls made of brick. Also, very cool.

Tomorrow it is on to Kanchanaburi, or some such place. Here I will see the bridge which crossing the River Kwai which was made famous in the film The Bridge Over River Kwai, which I have never seen. Appartently this area was a huge POW camp during the Japanese occupation in WWII. The trip is winding down, part of me is excited to get back and another part is dreading it.
C. Johnson

Bangkok 4 and half a day in Ayutthaya

So my last day in Bangkok was spent walking around a bunch. I walked from the touristy Khoa San area all the way to the skyscrapers and megamalls downtown. Individually each area is beautiful but the stuff in between can be pretty gritty. I did get some nice photos of graffiti though. My walk culminated in a visit to the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American entrepreneur in the Thai silk trade. Interestingly enough, he disappeared fifty years ago in the jungles of the Cameron Highlands (where I just traveled) and no one has seen him since. His home is now a somewhat high brow museum that requires a guided tour, and a steep entrance fee. However I'm glad I payed it because his personal collection of Thai artifacts, including a few very rare Buddhist pieces was quite impressive.

Today I got to the ancient Siamese capital of Ayutthaya. This place was once a bustling metropolis, but is now mostly home to large parks, decayed and decaying temples, and stray dogs. After the Burmese sacked Ayutthaya for the second time, the Siamese capital was moved to a village near modern day Bangkok. The museum I visited this afternoon had an amazing collection of 14th to 16th Century Buddhist and Siamese artifacts. The flat landscape is constantly being disrupted by crumbling facades of ancient temples and tomorrow I will have quite a bit of temple diving to do. I can't wait!
C. Johnson

Bangkok 3

Today is rainy so I am posting early. The plan was to take a boat trip down the main river here in Bangkok and get some more photos of temples and such. However it would appear that the weather is nixing that plan. Instead I think that I am going to head to the massive modern shopping district and walk around in sweet, sweet air conditioning for a bit. I am also thinking Thai massage today, for some reason I woke up with a crick in my neck.

Yesterday was really fun. The grand palace complex, which is surrounded by high white walls, was the first place I hit. Very cool, although also very touristy. The temple section of the complex has low walls with intricate paintings adorned with gold. I have never seen anything like it and will definitely post some pictures when I get back. The main attraction of this section is the emerald Buddha temple, which houses a simply massive Buddhist shrine upon which a medium sized Buddha sits. Then there is the palace itself, which you can't actually enter but which is a very interesting blend of thai and western architecture. Around here there are several museums chronically thai religious and political life.

Wat Pho was the second place I went. Far less densely populated, Wat Pho has tons of little stupas that seem to sprout out everywhere. The main attraction here is the world's largest relaxing Buddha. The thing is absolutely massive. His feet, the bottoms of which are adorned with thousands of precious stones, are taller than I am. Crazy. As I said yesterday, it is crazy to believe that these temples survived the hundreds of tumultuous years of SE Asian history that gobbled up so many other temples. Very Cool.
C. Johnson

Bangkok 2

Okay let me be a dork for just a minute. The temples here in Bangkok are absolutely incredible. INCREDIBLE. I have never seen anything like them. In India? NO! In China? NO! Constantly when studying the Asian religions you are reminded by native tour guides of how beautiful a temple USED to be. How there USED to be gold plated paintings on this wall or that wall. How there USED to be a gorgeous wat in a given place. The temples here in Bangkok have been maintaned immaculately and i have never seen anything like them. GREAT, GREAT, GREAT. The temples here have inspired me to head up north where the temples are even more impressive. When I get back to China I will be posting pictures again. It is just too hard to do it at a new computer each time. No worries tho, I will include plenty from Bangkok. In a few days I'll be heading north again to a pair of towns that I cant yet pronounce and certainly can't spell. Seven more days on this trip for those of you who are counting.
Craig

Bangkok

Where to begin. I spent four incredible days on Koh Tao. The island is a smaller less commerciallized version of nearby Koh Samui (which is home to several hundred megaresorts). What did I do on Koh Tao. Nothing, absolutely nothing. And it was the best nothing a human could find. During the days I would meander along the beaches or take hikes up and down the few small mountain roads that slithered from one end of the island to the next. I ate all sorts of different food, from Thai curry to pizza, and still found time to read another book (Freakonomics).

The hostel that I stayed at Mr. J's was owned by a guy named, oddly enough, Mr. J! Mr. J is a charactor to be sure. He has written his own vegetarian Bible and has pages from it posted around the shop. A sample from one page: Romantic sex gets baby girl. Happy sex gets baby boy. Sexy sex gets lady boy. And: If you are a bad rat you will come back as a cockroach or a tiger. As a student of religion I found his theology facsinating. Not all of it made sense but of course I had to buy a couple of the smaller lamenated versions for myself.

Steph, John, Tom, (The British currently living in Vietnam) and I decided to travel to Bangkok together. Them to travel back to Saigon, me to take stock on what the last week of my trip will look like. I also ran into some of my friends from China yesterday. They are on the way to the group of islands where I just was, and it is probable, though not certain that I will head back south in a few days to join them down there (on an island about an hour from Koh Tao). Today and tomorrow tho I will be experiencing all that Bangkok has to offer me.

Rough plan for the rest of the trip: Be in Bangkok till the 20th. Head back down the coast from the 21st to the 24th. Fly home late on the 25th. Money is a bit tight and I have had to change my flight plans on a couple of occasions but hopefully this will all work out. Love you all and thanks for reading.
C. Johnson

One Post for Ko Tao

The internet here is crazy expensive so this will be the only time that I will be posting on the island. It is crazy beautiful here. The best part though, is that you don't have thousands of tourists lining the beaches here. It is comparitively quiet (when comparede to Bangli Road on Phuket) but still there are modern enough facilities. Ko Tao is a huge diving destination and while I will not be diving I have still had fun in the water. My hotel has three teachers working in Vietnam and one in Korea. We went out last night for the dark moon party/Chinese New Year and had a killer time. Thanks to all for reading I'll be back in full force in two days once I'm back on the mainland in Chumphon.
C. Johnson

Surat Thani

Well, today was an eventfull one! I woke up at 4 AM to dogs barking and howling. I don't just mean Albertane in her crate. This was insane. There must have been at least twenty dogs within a small radius screaming at the top of there lungs. I don't remember it stopping, just puttng the spare pillow over my head.

Then I went to the bus station. I got my ticket for the 11:30 bus to Surat Thani. Of course the bus didn't show up untill 12:10. The lady at the bus terminal decided it wouldn't be important for her to tell me that the bus which had just arrived was the one I should board. It sat in the parking lot for a few minutes when I started to get suspiscious. The conductor was impatiently searching for someone. I asked him if his bus stopped in Surat Thani and with a frustrated tone he told me that they had been waiting for me forever and, in Thai, something that I took to mean 'get your ass on the bus!'

About halfway through the trip the bus brokedown and all the passengers were herded off into a dusty area with some rundown restaurants, who did not seem to actually be serving food, and a Kwik Mart.

After finally arriving here I wandered around for a bit trying to find a hotel listed in the guide. No luck. I resigned myself to checking in to a place called the Rajthan Hotel. The room is certainly not the worst place I have stayed on this trip but it isn't great. Phang Nga is a small town without much to do. Surat Thani is a big town without much to do. No worries though, tomorrow at 7:00 I am catching a bus to the pier and then a boat to Koh Tao.

Tonight I will probably wander the night market next to my hotel bed and then get to bed early since I have to wake up so early.
C. Johnson

P.S. Quite Comical: The TV in my hotel was playing a Thai dubbed version of Pulp Fiction. It was the scene where 'Big Man Brad' gets it from Sammy J. Some parts of the scene had the guns and cigarettes blurred out while others don't. I dunno, just thought it was wierd.

Phang Nga

So my first day of Phuket has been a good one. I'll be spending the night in a small little town that is surrounded by karst topography, just like in Guilin. for those of you who don't remember, karst topography is a series of mountains made of hard rock that have withstood the harsh effects of weathering better than the soft rock which once surrounded them. The mountains here are far larger than they are in Guilin, although the peaks are much fewer in number, which leads me to believe that these mountains are younger than their Chinese counterparts. There is not much to do here, other than looking at the peaks of course, to be honest my trip here primarily serves as a way to shorten my travelling tomorrow.

However I did find two very interesting sights here. Both are temples of the Theravada persuasion. Theravada Buddhism shares a different hereditary line than the Chinese and Japanese Mahayana schools. As such the two forms of Buddhism have distinct differences with only a few shared charactoristics. When Buddhism came to Thailand it incorporated much of the native religion into its practices, much the same way Christianity did as it reached into the pagan north. Abstract visions of heaven and hell, demons and angels, good and evil, as well as Hindu Vedic symbology are present in the Thai Buddhist architecture.

These symbols were not subtle in the first temple I visited. Attacted to a monastary, most of the shrines and whatnot were outside at the Tham Tapan temple. I ewnt to enter what I took to be the center of the monastary but a monk insisted that I instead walk down a forest path to the right. Here there were ghastly and graphic images of hell. Here, and throughout this monastary, there were life sized, plaster manicans (sp?) depicting the specific scenes. In 'Hell' there were demons torturing humans in the most fiendish manners, bodies being stuck to a thorny tree, and a demon king sentencing some new arrivals who were begging forgiveness. I was directed by another monk into a frightingly deep cave where there were several small dieties. after leaving the cave I walked through the belly of a menacing looking dragon whose mouth emptied out into a pleasent clearing adorned with Hindu gods. This realm was 'Earth'. Here I recognized Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha, and Hanuman, among others. To the right was a rickety staircase that led up to a stupa on the cliffside. Within the stupa there was nothing. This was 'Heaven'. No donation box here. In Buddhism you can almsgive your way out of hell but not into heaven.

I went to a local store to get a soda after that where a local man insisted on buying me a beer. I said no, but he bought it anyways. With my mind full of the visions of hell I drank it down heartily while the man, who was clearly drunk, complaned to me about the policies of J. F. Kennedy. Don't know why, but ya, this guy hated Kennedy.

The next temple I visited was significantly less frightening but still marvelous to behold. It featured more classical Theravada architecture as well as a thai graveyard. Small stupas rose silently from a grassy field. The temple also sat at the base of a large karst which was shaped like an elephant lying down. Of course there was a legend for why this was.

Unfortunately I will only spend one night here. Tomorrow it is on to Krabi or Surat Thani... I have not actually decided yet. I'm having a good time in Thailand although today the travel weariness did start to set in. My plan is to move my flight a few days foreward in order to give me some time to reacclimate to home before classes start again. However there is still quite a bit of time between now and then and I'll try to keep updating you as I go along.
C. Johnson

Oh, what a day!

So phuket is all about the beach of course but it is also all about the night life. Seeing as I have mostly been in the jungle alone for the last few weeks I figured I would partake in the festivities a bit as long as I am here. Yesterday after lunch (at around 1PM) I stopped in at a bar alongside the beach for a single beer. About half way through it however I was bear hugged from behind by an incredibly intimidating Finnish (from Finland) man. At first I thought he was going to hit me, so i braced for impact. Instead a dopey grin came across his face and he screamed "TNT" at the top of his lungs while pumping his fists. ACDC was on the stereo system. He said to me in bearly comprehensable English, "You are very tall. You need more Tequila. Kobb! Kobb bring us five Tequilas, he will have two." That is how I met Marco, Juhan, and Janny. Several hours later, at the bequest of just about everyone else at the bar, I dragged Juhan and Marco to a tuktuk and (quite literally) tossed them inside of it. None of us were too sure where those guys were staying but Janny (also a Fin but not 'with' Juhan and Marco) could have sworn they said something about the paradise hotel... which is also where one would go should he want to find a gay prostitute. "God speed Marco," I screamed after them as they were driven off into the sunset. I returned to the bar to a round of applause and a cheers from Janny.
C. Johnson

Phuket

I'll be spending some time here! It is great... a huge beach with tons of peeps, watersports, sunning, relaxing... oh ya! Short post tonight but... oh ya, I missed my flight. I accidentally went to the wrong airport at 6:00 AM this morning and by the time I got to the correct one the check in was closed. It's cool though, I hung out with a Scottish 40 year old who was on his way to visit his kid in Namibia. Wierd. Anyways I will be able to drink tonight... finally although the finances will be a bit tight. Love all you guys,
C. Johnson

Malaysia Wrap-up

Some Pics to leave Malaysia With:

Melaka

Melaka

Charles Cham, Melaka

Pangkor

Pangkor

Singapore


KL


KL

KL

KL

C. Highlands

C. Highlands

Woof... I am exhausted! The last couple of weeks (and I still can't believe it has only been such a short amount of time) have been incredible. Malaysia was far more than I ever could have hoped for. If my time in Thailand is anything like what I have experienced here I will be super happy! So I figured for a wrap-up to Malaysia I would give my impression of each city I have visited. This is ecspecially important because when I post everyday I am really just giving snap judgements of what I am feeling.

KL- Like any good capital in SE Asia, Kuala Lumpur is gritty and rough and wonderful. The sights and sounds and smells fill your body to the maximum the second you step off whatever transport you took to get there. The PETRONAS towers are incredible. Even upon my return to KL today I was amazed at how prominantly they survey the world below them. What sets KL apart? Diversity. Each time you change neighborhoods it feels like you are in a different world, or at least a different country. From scatterbrained Chinatown, to dirty and sketchy Little India, to the sleek Golden Triangle District, KL has something for everyone to enjoy.

C. Highlands- Picture a little town high in the Appalachian Mountains. All the natives know eachother, there is no McDonalds or Burger King (just local establishments), and the indiginous handicrafts really are one of a kind. Now take that town, stick it in the jungle, and call it Tanah Rata. Oh, and don't forget the incredibly lovely calls to prayer five times daily. Treking through the jungle, strolling through a plantation, sitting by the only stoplight in town eating Indian samosas.... If you ever, EVER, go to Malaysia do not forget to make this a part of your itinerary.

Pulau Pangkor- Go native. Why not? Skip the touristy beaches of Lankawi and Panang. In my time on Pangkor I slept, read, ate, and lounged. Of course I could do this at any island destination. What set Pangkor apart though was its remoteness. Indstead of spending my hard earned dollar on drinks and wildnes with westerners, I sat and drank beers with the local bookie at my hostel while we watched soccer. Sure the time to party will come (in like 24 hours),but for the three days I was on Pangkor I just revelled in relaxation. The beaches are beautiful, as they all are in this part of the world, but what I will remember most is the town of Teluk Nippa. With just a handfull of places to stay and even fewer restaraunts... ah, I can't say enough.

Singapore- Out of order, but I want to end on a high note. Singapore is lovely, there is no denying that. For the right consumer it is definately the place to be. This is definately the place I would want to go if my parents were footing the bill. The ACM museum was fantastic, as was the Bunker Box historical site. This place is Asia's version of Disney Land (although there is actually a Universal Studies theme park on an outlying island) for those who can afford it. Not for the backpacker crowd, but hey, not every where is that accepting of foreign homeless people.

Melaka- My favorate city thus far? MELAKA! This artsy little town on the SW coast is deprived of a beautiful beach or crazy nightlife but it more than makes up for what it lacks with a laid back, easy going atmosphere. What did I do there? Visit top rate museums, buy a handprinted t-shirt from famous local artist Charles Cham, went swimming in a Speedo, ate boba nonya food while listening to some of the best live acoustic my ears have ever had the pleasure of hearing, and of course I talked. Melaka is a backpackers haven and the people I met there were awesome (including a former Lonely Planet writer... ya I was geeked out).

AHEAD- I envision myself being in Asia for long enough that I will not have to squeeze every it of SE Asia into this one trip. Thusly I plan to focus my time in Thailand around the famed Andaman Coast. Namely, Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani, Chomphon, and Hua Hin (the last few not technically being on the Andaman Coast) as well as inland locations such as Phang Nga. There will also hopefully be a short trip up the coast towards Burma to visit some friends that I made in KL. After that I will head North towards Bangkok. An addition note is that I will intermitantly be meeting up with people I know from China while I travel through this region. My flight is at 7 AM, meaning I have to get up at 5 at the latest, so this will (knock on wood that nothing bad happens) be my last post from Malaysia. For the most part the internet has been great here. I dunno what the situation will be in Thailand but I will do my best to keep you updated!

C. Johnson

Melaka Again

The decision to return to Malaysia seems to have been a good one. This morning I walked out to the striaghts of Melaka to get a glimpse at what all the fuss was about. The coast was pretty but unbearably polluted and so I opeted not to go into the water. There is an amusement park right by the shoreline with a large ferris wheel that is meant to imitate the London Eye (the park is called 'Eye on Malaysia'). However the park is closed for repairs today and thus completely desolate. I took a stroll around and felt like this was the perfect place for a Scooby Doo mystery to occur.

My next stop was a small but interesting museum that was situated in a reconstruction of a wooden Portuguese war vessel. The most interesting thing was in the museum was a series of diaramas that essentially documents the true story of the first man to circumnavigate the world. He was a Malay slave by the name of Enrique the Black (his Christian name) and, long story short, he made it around the world through a series of adventures; including being a slave on the failed Magellan voyage. While the museum nevers comes out and says it, the gist of the story is that this guy was the first human to sail around the world. Give the Malays credit here for being understated, the Chinese would have called it the 'Actually we did it first because the rest of you are simple barbarians museum' or the 'AWDIFBTROYASB Museum' for short.

I then went to a local swimming pool with a Argentinian man and a Chilean girl (no relation) I met at the hostel. Upon arrival we, being the two men, were told that we would have to rent speedos because we were not allowed to wear our 'dirty' board shorts in the water. In fact they even asked the girl to remove her board shorts and wear the bikini bottoms instead (Muslim Country????) . Being that it was vactaion I found the longest pair of sliders I could and suited up.

Chinese New Year is fast approaching. If you are single don't worry, on February 14th you can go to dinner alone and simply explain that you are celebrating the coming of the Year of the Tiger. Every Chinese holiday has its own specific snacks and today I gorged myself on lemon cakes and spring rolls. The relaxation will continue into the night.
C. Johnson

$ingapore, Day 2

Cheng Hoon Temple, Melaka

The Dutch village center, Melaka

The Ruins of St. Paul's Church high above the Straights of Melaka, Melaka

Somewhere deep in that urban jungle I've got a bunk bed with my name on it, Singapore

The best sign I have ever seen, Singapore

So I am in the internet cafe with my pack, getting ready to head back to Melaka, and I figured I would write about my wonderful (though still expensive) morning in Singapore as well as update you with some pictures. The first thing I did this morning was to make my way to the wonderful Asian Civilizations Museum (ACM). The ACM holds one of the most thorough collections of SE Asian antiquities. Very interesting stuff. I really enjoyed it there, even if it was plagued with school children.

I figured I would head to the park district today since I mostly wandered around the financial district last night. It is gorgeous. The good news about a shortened trip to Singapore is that my itinerary did not actually include that much stuff to go see. The ACM and the Battle Box were the two highlights and I did manage to experience both to the fullest. The Battle Box is the bunker where British officials ultimately decided to surrender Singapore to the Japanese, just a week after December 7th 1942 (Pearl Harbor). There are varying views as to why the British did not stand and fight; the two most prominent being that the officials simply realized they were over matched or that Churchill wanted to draw the U.S. into the war and figured a big defeat would do the trick. The museum highlights the former of the two theories with a series of, somewhat hokey, animatronic recreations of key elements of bunker life within the actual bunker itself.

I ate lunch at Hooters today. In fact the Hooters in Singapore was the first, but no longer the only, Hooters in Asia. They should really think of renaming the place 'Nice Butts and Agreeable Faces' for their branches on this side of the planet. Don't get me wrong the girls were gorgeous but lacking in the chain's infamous trademark. I'll be heading back to Melaka now to relax for a few days before I go camping (and relax) in Thailand.
C. Johnson

$ingapore

(Note the dollar sign)
It is expensive here... really expensive. To give you a hint, when I first got here I took SD$200 out of the ATM to get myself started. I got some Burger King for the first time in 7 months then I was off to find my 'hostel'. For my cramped little dorm bed it is SD$40 for the night, a bit steep. I was fine to pay the price though since the place is right downtown and in very nice shape. I must admit that I felt a bit like a homeless person in my sleeveless tank and big travellers pack but I swallowed the embarrassment then paid up. Just out of curiosity I checked the exchange rate on SD to RMB (Chinese yaun). It is five to one. FIVE TO ONE. That means that the S$200 I took out was RMB$1000. Now I have accepted that I probably won't be drinking a sip of alcohol here but even with that it is feesible that I will spend all S$200 in a 36 hour period. Let me explain to you what I would have to do to spend this much money in the same amount of time in China. First I would start by taking my closest friends and I to the nicest Western restaurant in Changsha. Next we would go to SOHO and order a bottle of Jack Daniels, and then we would drink it. After that I could buy a bottle of Grey Goose vodka, and we would drink that too. As a nightcap I would take myself to the nicest hotel in the city and sleep in the deluxe sweet there (not a crappy little dorm bed). That's why I'm calling it $ingapore.

[Craig takes a deep breath] OK, maybe this is not a fair first assesment. A fair assesment would have to note that the 'homeless backpaper' is not exactly Singapore's target demographic. More like the Real Housewives of Orange County. Singapore is, frankly, a destination for those who can't handle 'Asia'. (I swear this is my positive piece). I'm really not exagerating though, there are Mercedes meter taxis here. The city is drop dead gorgeous, just like every other woman that I walk past, and is immaculately clean. I've never been anywhere so clean. I tried to go 'slumming' in Chinatown but was instead confronted with the most organized Chinese community I have ever seen. The streets are broad, the restaraunts clean, the people quiet and polite... it is all thoroughly disapointing. I accidentally bumped into a Chinese man (OK, it was on purpose but I had to test it) and he apologized to me... so frustrating. Then I saw a group of old Chinese men. Naturally they were all smoking (a good sign), but they were doing so huddled around an ashtray and they were even dutifully ashing their cancer sticks into the receptical. Worse, not a single one of them was spitting. I actually shed a tear when I relized that. I accidentally walked in front of a car and not only did he not hit me, but he also waved me along in front of him. That was the last straw, I thought I had had enough at that point.

My sanity was saved, however, when I noticed a night market down a narrow side street. Here we go. While it wasn't nearly as crowded, or as hot, or as smelly as I would have liked it was a legitimate attempt at Chinese culture. hehehe. The housewives were pale with fear. I'd love to see them on BuShing Jia in Changsha. So yes, I am happy to be here. It is beautiful, it will be a great way to spend a day and a half. Most importantly, Singapore is reputed to have some of the best museums in all of Asia. Who cares if it costs the same as it will for my campground for the entirety of next week, I'm gonna go grab a beer.
C. Johnson

P.S. Clerical notice: CAMBODIA IS OUT. I am sad to admit it but my mind may have been to big for my legs on this trip. After spending two weeks in Malaysia I am desperately yearning for more time here. Considering that I only scheduled one week in Cambodia later this month, I have to believe this feeling will only be compounded. In liou of Cambodia I will do some camping on Phuket and then will make my way slowly up to Bangkok. I'm sorry to any of you who were excited to hear about Angkor Wat (here I am primarily addressing my professors at Elon). It will make much more sense to limit my trip this year to Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, and to schedule an over land from Siem Reap to Hanoi for next year's spring fest... but I regress.

P.P.S. Clerical notice: Several of you have been emailing me comments for my blog to my gmail account. Being that I am not in China, I now have full access to blogger so please feel free to post your comments here so that everyone can enjoy them! Thanks for reading!

Melaka

So today was great... as usual. Melaka is a really cool city because it has blended so many different societies together. I am staying in Chinatown and it reminds me a ton of home. Crowded tight alleys, steep tiled roofs, and Chinese food. I didn't realize how much I missed it. The hostel itself is just a gigantic dormitory with 20 or so beds, not the most private locale, but it is comfortable. Today I woke up super early (8a.m.) and started my day of sightseeing. First up was the old Dutch center of town. The different architectural styles made me feel like I had walked to the other side of the earth when all I had done was walk across a bridge. I visited the ruins of a centuries old Portuguese Church and took a few pictures of the famous Straights of Melaka. The area immediately to the north is the museum district and I spent the better part of my day shifting from the A/C to the heat. The museums cover everything from ancient Javanese and Siamese traders and Malaysian Sultans to the creation of the modern Islamic state. There was even a special exhibit on the history of torture... very, very scary. Then I headed back into Chinatown for some food and some temples. The most impressive temple in Melaka is the Cheng Hoon Chinese Buddhist temple, just down the street from my hostel. It was absolutely gorgeous and I was lucky enough to be there for the start of the afternoon offering service. All of this is set in the backdrop of the five times daily call to prayer from the mosques. Absolutely the most wonderful sound I have ever heard. Hopefully I'll be able to have some fun tonight as I need to budget myself in expensive Singapore.
C. Johnson

P.S. I'm having trouble uploading photos from today but hopefully they will come soon!

Travel Day

Hey guys,
Today I'm on my way down the coast to Melaka. I'm a little bit further than halfway now, currently at a short layover in Kuala Lumpur, and I figured I write to you now seeing as it'l be pretty late when I get to my destination. Melaka is worth visiting because it has been used as a shipping port for foreign powers all the way back to this Sumatran prince in who knows when. (I'm sure I'll know by the end of tomorrow). It has been controlled by the Indians, Indonesians, Dutch, and Portuguese and I am super excited to get a look at all the fusion architecture and a taste of all the fusion foods. I'll only be spending one full day there (my excursion down to Pulau Pangkor was fun but did cost me some time) and then it will be on to Singapore. Hope to update you all about Melaka tomorrow,
C. Johnson

Paradise Day 2

Joke of the day:
An old lady calls her husband while he is driving home from a round of golf....

Old Lady: Earl, please be careful driving home. There is some lunatic driving the wrong way on the freeway right now! It's all over the news!

Earl (also old): One lunatic?! There's a million of them!

Activity of the day:
Cruising around Pangkor in a rented motorbike. (They drive on the left side of the road here).

I also sat on the beach for a long while today! As the tide came up the employees of the adventure watersports companies kept having to reposition their boats, jet skis, etc. They would wade out to the craft, take it out to the middle of the bay, and then shoot as fast and straight as they could back towards shore, lifting their outboard at the last possible moment. Each time they did this they gained a few precious feet in their never ending battle against the ocean.

There is not much else that I can say about this place... it is gorgeous, enjoy the photos!

1) Corporate retreat playing tug of war... note the head scarves!
2) The watersports companies also had larger boats that they anchored in deeper water.

3) An old dutch fort on the south end of the island.


4) My hog for the day.

5) Low tide on the north end of the island.

Paradise

Just friggin' paradise. Today I arrived at Pangkor Island and I am in love. My hostel room is half of a A-frame bungalow and while it is basic it does have its own bathroom which was pretty much my only requirement (since i haven't had a private shower in some time). I quickly set out to the beach and caught some rays hoping to undo the months of winter that China has done to my skin. As I laid there the waves lapped up against my feet and brought with them, on one occasion, a little crab who scurried across my toes back to the water. The sun started hanging low in the sky so i set out to find a suitable place for some dinner. As i walked down the main drag I passed several curious sites. First was a group of Muslims, apparently on a corporate retreat, who were playing those akward get to know you games everyone does on the first night. The second was a camp of maybe fifty boys floundering in the water. They were all wearing life vest and it was clear that many of them were struggling against the bulk of their orange prisons. The third group I came across was a group of twenty or so young men trying to move a small hut down the beach to a more proper location. The everpresent 'supervisor' was rubbing his beer belly and shouting orders at the others. Dinner was fantastic and as the sun set the thought popped into my head to ask if Pangkor needed English teachers..........

The beach outside my hostel is home to several companies offering boat rides, jet skis (or skys), tubing, snorkeling, diving, the list goes on forever. As the sun set behind the tiny offshore islands the guides of these companies decided to go out for at little fun of their own. They seemed to be mimmicing a demolition derby out on the water and on more than one occasion two boats passed within inches of eachother. I have only budgeted for one full day here, though we will have to see if the colonial history of Melaka still beckons me after beachin' it up here for a bit.
C. Johnson

C.H. part 2

Today was thoroughly relaxing... I woke up late and had some breakfast before booking my bus ticket for the next leg of the trip. After that I walked a few kilometers down the main highway, which was both treacherous and beautiful, and checked out the Cameron Bharat Tea farm in the Cameron Valley. The valley is one of the most beautiful things places I have ever seen. I took a ton of pictures but unfortunately I am having trouble finding them on this comp so I included the one that I did find! Below the elevation of the valley walls there were at least twenty distinct rolling summits or soft ridges. It is undoubtedly the most unique and interesting topography I have ever seen. Unlike in the Rockies where the mighty Colorado River has carved out massive defined valleys, here in the Highlands, millions of years of monsoon rains have worn the land into a never ending horizon of undulating hills. The tea plantation created an additional effect of strangeness to the environment. The hills look as if someone punched a quilt several times from beneath it and the fabric just stayed in its disturbed state. Very beautiful. I will try to get some of the better pictures up.
C. Johnson

Cameron Highlands

Today was great. I cannot believe that I have only been on vacation for a week... so much has happened. The Highlands is a mostly ethnically Malay area that has a strong British colonial presence. Tanah Rata is an extremely small town mildly famous for its tea farms and jungle walking trails. It is actually a bit chilly up here, surprising considering the staggering heat of KL.

This morning I went for a hike on Jungle Walk #8 and Jungle Walk #2. The going was strenuous and to be honest the trails were pretty poorly maintained. At times I found myself climbing on all fours to get up steep and root infested inclines. Coming down the hills was even more exciting and I am almost surprised that I didn't roll an ankle. Twice while descending I slipped and ended up sliding several feet on my but. Nothing could have wiped the smile from my face. The jungle was absolutely gorgeous and now I can finally say that I have visited a rain forest! Along my way I saw a couple of really neat water falls as well.

I ate at a Malaysian fast food chain for lunch and it was pretty good. This afternoon I walked to the neighboring town of Brinchang and visited four religious structures of four different religions. Malaysia is great. At the Hindu temple I was transported right back to my time in India. I then visited a traditional Chinese Buddhist and Sikh temples followed by a Islamic Mosque. I did all this with a Chilean guy I met on the trails named Cris.

Now I'm sitting in a internet cafe playing American music and thinking of home... home in China. It is kind of intimidating to think about continuing to live out of a bag for another four weeks but at the same time I am super excited to have the time off work. As expected their have been some more itinerary changes. Tomorrow I will stay here in Tarah Rata. The next day I will be going to a beach near Lumut, on the west coast, for two days. Then Melaka for a day and a half, then Singapore for two days, then Thailand and Cambodia. Talk to ya when I get there,
C. Johnson

The Business End

So today was stressful.... I have been having trouble getting money out of my Bank of China (BOC) account and so today I figured that I would pay them a visit at their Kuala Lumpur branch. I got to the BOC at about 11:30 and waited patiently in line that the Malaysian BOC was not at all associated with the Chinese BOC and there was no way that I could make a withdrawal from my account at the largest Chinese Bank in Malaysia's largest city. Stressful....... Making me more angry was the fact that noone there seemed to want to help me whatsoever. I finally resolved the issue by explaining to them, in Chinese, that I was not going away untill they helped me. Desperate to find a resolution she invited me to call the BOC in Hunan to see if they could help. By the time this brilliant plan was hatched it was 12:00. The receptionist regretfulluy informed me that noone would answer the phone because they were on break. How did I resolve this issue? I went to an entirely different bank, where my card had previously failed, and asked them the name of their largest national bank. Sure enough I can pull money out of any Public Bank ATM.

After that i caught my bus to the Cameron Highlands. I have been spending too much money in KL and I'm looking foreward to actually sticking with the budget I set for myself when my trip started. My first impression of Tarah Ratah (sp?) is that I will love it. The basic idea here seems to be to relax or to hike and I've brought a couple of books and a pair of shoes that should satisfy those expectations. I think it is normal to get stressed when your travelling and sometimes it might even help you to return to calm and remember, "Hey I'm on vaca!" The main thing I hate about being stressed is that it makes it hard for me to eat. I always think, "OMG this food is gonna kill me."

When I first got to China I had trouble coping with the idea that I would be in a foreign country for so long. I became comfortable there and now have that same feeling about traveling in SE Asia. I don't want to complain too much though, I have been granted a crazy oppurtunity to see some amazing parts of the world and I'll be damned if Im gonna let a little stress get in the way of my enjoying the time I have here!
C. Johnson

KL Photos

1) The south city skyline, including the KL TV tower which is in the top ten highest towers, from Merdeka Sq
2) PETRONAS basking in the glow of the sun!
3) Park with the north city skyline.
4) Reflection.
5) Oli had to roll around on the ground to get this one of me.

Night Fight

For being such a large city Kuala Lumpur has a surprisingly limited number of options when it comes to nightlife. In fact, in the entirety of the backpacker's district there is really only one proper bar called reggae bar. A fun joint with the theme of Marley but the music of Akon, Reggae Bar throws together a huge diversity of folks. White and African travelers mingle with Malaysian beauties, while the Indian Malay staff watches closely. A regular sight at the bar is the gaggle of ten or so ladyboy prostitutes who are constantly trolling for tourists who are not vigilant enough (or too drunk) to notice their Adam's apple.

While most bars in the US with such a laid back name would have an attitude to match you must constantly be on your toes at Reggae KL. In the last two nights there have been no less than three fights. They have not been the most violent beatings I have ever seen but they have been rather one sided. Generally one Malaysian hotshot will have a problem with a foreigner (and generally that foreigner is an African) and, just like in China, once the native-foreigner demarcation has been set it is hard to erase. I have never felt unsafe there... you just have to be sure to give respect where it is perceived to be due. Interesting traveling through Asia.

A Leisurely Pace

Today I tried to see as much of KL as I could. I started by walking out of Chinatown, where my hostel is located, towards an area of the city that has large and reputably beautiful gardens. Unfortunately the gardens eluded me but I was able to enjoy my walk just the same. The first major landmark I encountered was the commuter train station which is built in the old British Raj style of architecture I became familiar with in India several years age. Unlike the ones in India, this station was tranquil, quiet, and clean. I snapped a few pictures and took a stroll through the small museum attached to the station. After that I was once again pushing through the tremendous Malay heat and humidity.

Before I knew it I found myself in the ultra modern KL Sentral Stesen (spelling correct). The differences between the old and new stations could not be overstated. KL Sentral was positively bustling. In its only terminal Sentral offers long and short distance buses, monorail, airport transit, commuter trains, and long range train services. I will pass through it no fewer than six times during my stay in Malaysia.

I next walked through a neighborhood called Chow Kit, the real Chinatown. In the past few days I have noticed that the neighborhood Malaysians call Chinatown has very few Chinese people in it and I decided to investigate by traveling to the location that many Chinese Malays consider to be the real Chinatown. Except for being devoid of trash, the presence of enforced traffic laws and the overall polite nature of its inhabitants Chow Kit could have been in China. I got my favorite Chinese breakfast, although it was my second meal of the day, and walked on.

My next destination was the Muslim hub of KL, centered around the grand Masjid (Mosque) Jamek. Surprisingly the namesake of this neighborhood actually proved difficult to find, but I did investigate the smaller Masjid India. I also went to Merdaka Square, the colonial hub of KL.

This city is remarkably clean and well managed. It is abundant with green spaces and they never seem to be forced as opiates for a downtrodden and over polluted public. Within the ultramodern interiors of KL I have found the most diverse culture that could exist in our modern world. In the food court at the PETRONAS mall you will find Muslim girls and Hindu boys with Thai men and women all eating shopping and socializing within the confines of the same society. With any luck I'll be heading to the Cameron Highlands tomorrow....
Talk to you when I get there,
C. Johnson

Day 1 in KL

Hungover. The plan for today was originally to head down to Singapore... not a short trip! However seeing as I have made plenty of cool friends here in KL I figured I would switch things up a bit and do my Kuala Lumpur stuff first. Then I will head up to the Cameron Highlands for at least two days. Next it will be on to Singapore where I may even make a day trip to Indo! Lastly I will go to Melaka, Malaysia for one full day of relaxed small town life.

Today I visited the incredible PETRONAS Towers of Kuala Lumpur. The third largest buildings on planet earth, the towers were designed to resemble a Muslim eight pointed star. I have had a secret fascination with the towers for years and going to see them today was a blast. The thing that really surprised me about the towers is how bulky they were. Nothing like the thin little Puzz 3D I made of them several summers ago. They shoot prominently up into the sky above KL's Golden Triangle district, and there are no other buildings, save the KL TV tower on the other side of town, that come within thirty stories of the PETRONAS CEO's office. PETRONAS is Malaysia's leading, and only visible, provider of fuel and natural gas and the video introduction we were shown before going to the observation deck almost made me sensitive to the interests of Big Oil... Almost. A mega mall is situated at the base of the towers and walking around it was just what I needed to soothe my anxiety over six long months in China.

Tomorrow will find me at the National Museum and hopefully a couple of mosques as well. The diversity here is incredible and it is definitely something that I will post on when I have a less exciting day.

Talk to ya when I get there,
C. Johnson

It has Begun

It is the first full day here in Kuala Lumpur so I figured it was time to update everybody on how I'm doing!

Thursday I finished up teaching and went to Changsha for the night. My students were as restless as I was to get out of there and the pace of the classes was slow and painful. That night I went to see Avatar. If any of you have not seen the movie I would recommend it as a must see. I know all of you stateside are familiar with the mythical beast known as the Chinese consumer market... let me explain to you why this market is so valuable. The IMAX version of Avatar runs24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On the day we went to see the film we had to settle for the 3D version because, and I'm not exaggerating, the only time that we could have gotten tickets for the IMAX was at 4 AM. 4 AM!!!! and in that showing Binka and I would not have even been able to sit together (they have assigned seating here and the show was nearly sold out). If you own a business... corner this market!

Friday I began the real meaty travel of my trip,but not before playing some FIFA 10 on an xbox 360 near the train station... only the bare essentials here in China. Taking trains in China is fantastic (that statement is said both genuinely and with a mouthful of sarcasm). The train system itself is wonderful. The routes are convenient and logical with multiple carriages per day travelling in any direction you want. The stations are spotless compared to the hellholes in India. The staff are generally helpful. The trains themselves are clean in the cabin and clean enough in the bathroom areas. The people are terrible. The second your train arrives you find yourself in a mob of people rushing to be the first one onto a train that isn't going to leave any of them behind. After being shoved through a single turnstile all hundred or so passengers are forced to descend a set of stairs to reach the underground tunnel that will take them to the proper platform. All those people who had just rudely bumped in front of you now come to an abrupt stop and are struggling with the handles on their rolling luggage to get down the stairs. Slow and steady, and extremely tall seems to win the race. While in the underground tunnel an odd partnership seems to be made. Little old ladies and young business men seem to be on the page here in the crowded concrete tube. They push and shove their way back to the front... Just the little old ladies and business men, an odd friendship to be sure. Of course when they get to the staircase up to the platform they must all stop abruptly and fix their luggage handles again.

I was hopping to find the paradise that first greeted me in China during my time here in Yangshuo. Unfortunately winter has brought with it some bitter cold rain that shows no sign of stopping. While that was a serious drawback the trip to Yangshuo was not a complete failure. There was a great bunch of folks at the hostel with me. Most notably were Eliza from Germany, Andrew from Ireland, Charlie from Colorado and Old Man Charlie, Jimmy, Danny and Tom from England. The latter four were hilarious and we spent all night drinking up on the rooftop bar at our hostel... Our greatest accomplishment was playing a traditional Chinese dice game that Andrew thoughtfully updated with Tequila. After the seven of us killed the bottle British Charlie asked me to sign his English flag. In my dilapidated state I thought it was a Swizz flag and proceeded to sign it, "Dudes, stay neutral". They absolutely loved it and Tom later asked me to sign his guitar with the same encouraging message. The four of them were Milwall supporters and promised to fly me to London the next time that their club faced off against West Ham so that I could have my very own Green Street Hooligans moment. Also, I got an advance on my salary for the month of January which means I'm rolling fly in Malaysia.

Last night was a blast as well. On the bus into town from the airport I met a couple of Americans who are currently trying for their dive masters in Thailand. We went out for a night of drinking that featured lady boys galore... is it bad that they were the most beautiful 'girls' in the bar??? To be honest it is quite strange seeing all these westerners, everyone has a story, everyone is on an adventure.

Talk to you when I get there,
C. Johnson

Time to Go!!!

OK people,
I've got two more classes then my break begins. I'll be rushing out the door after class because I am gonna try to catch Avatar in IMAX tonight at the Wanda Cinema in Changsha. Tomorrow I have a midday train to catch which will take me to Guilin! Since I won't be on my personal computer I may have a bit of trouble blogging for the first three days of my trip. I will try to get something up concerning my return to the location of my orientation. Everybody seemed to enjoy my post on the Yulong River this summer so hopefully I'll have another great Yangshuo adventure. Mark your calenders.... On January 25th I'll be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! See ya then,
C. Johnson

Getting Ready for an Adventure

First off I would like to thank everyone who followed my blog this fall. The last few months have been sparse with exciting details but I will try to recap a bit. Teaching, teaching, teaching... Teaching here is both a burden and a blessing. Obviously there are good days and bad days but the good days seem to outweigh the bad up to this point. I am planning on staying another year here in China although it is quite possible that I will fall in love with one the places I visit in Southeast Asia.

In just four short days I will begin my trip from Singapore to Angkor Wat Thailand and as such I thought that I would spend my first post back previewing the trip. I will spend the first few days in the same place I had my orientation, Guilin/Yangshuo, China. I am excited to meet up with a few folks from my company but mainly I am looking forward to a few days of R and R! On the 25th I will be flying from Guilin to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From the 25th to the 8th of February I will be bumming around Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. I am secretly obsessed with the Petronas Towers in Malaysia (best Puzz 3D I have ever done) and this is what I am looking forward to the most for this portion of the trip.

On February 8th I have a $37 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket Thailand... should be fun! The next two weeks will be spent in Thailand doing the Thai thing. Actually I do have a few things on the docket for this period. The beach is priority number one. Second will be temple hopping in Bangkok. I am also planning on renting a motorcycle while in Phuket and scooting around the countryside for a few days. There is also a chance I will get scuba certified although that will be dependent upon when my buddies from China are going to be in the same place I am.

Finally comes the crown jewel of my trip, a seven day excursion into Cambodia. I will be visiting the unbelievable site of the ancient city of Angkor Wat... religious studies nuts pay attention to those posts. After that I will have just 48 short hours to get back to Xin Wen Xue Xiao to start teaching again. I am super excited for my trip to begin and hope that you will all join me on this adventure by following me on this blog!

Thanks,
C. Johnson