its only the beginning...

home sweet home...

2006-06-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

just for you nikki...oh how i missed you through europe! but i saw where i could have found you! hahahaha LOVE AND MISS YOU BOO!!!

well after a very long day of flying and airports and chaos and more in flight safety instruction in case we forget how to buckle or unfasten our seatbelts...i am home. everything went smoothly getting home...from london back to brussels to london to boston and to baltimore. alls well.

daniel powter...FRONT row and it was fantastic. he was quite good. of course i will share a pic or two from that...london was fun in general.

im exhausted now so im going to try and sleep before final surgery appt. tom. morning and then headed to myrtle beach to talk about the whole trip im sure. SO MUCH to say...im still trying to figure out how to answer that question..."so tell me about your trip!" or "so how was it?" where in the world does one start? seriously?

well, thank everyone who has been reading this for keeping up with the excitement of trotting around the world. i will surely post a few more stories as i know my posting has been scattered and incomplete...sometimes its just overwhelming to try and sit to write everything thats going on...and trying to summerize it can be even more of a challenge.

london calling...

2006-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

''...Now get this
London calling, yes, I was there,
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling...''

so we are now back in brussels and just checked back into 2g04 (our hostel) and we will be back up at the crack of dawn to catch our early train out to london. we will spend an amazing day in london doing everything we can and then sit in the most clutch seats EVER to listen and watch daniel powter go to town on his piano and just sing the night away. 'jimmy ya knowww...everybody hates when your living off rock n' roll...'

saturday we will resume our rushed visit to london and do as much as we can before we catch our train BACK to brussels...yes i know...brussels loves us! we will then camp out in the lovely airport and check in for our flight to LONDON ahahahahaha at 6 a.m. back to london for a brief lay over and then hoooooooooooooome sweet home. i know i know...your thinking to yourselves...WHY is she coming home now? she's been gone for nearly 6 weeks...its been quiet...well...LOOOOOK OUT. bringin on the noise...and of course after a long flight..ill bring on the funk.

see you all soon!

until then...london's callin! off to bed now...TOP BUNK AGAIN!

omsterdom...

2006-06-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

so i had to write it out how its said...for effect of course. i try to make you all experience what i am as much as possible. soooo amsterdam...nederlands...its crazy here! just insane. if you can imagine what you might see while you're here...take that a 987,605 steps further and you might still be a ways away from what its really like. hahaha...red light district was fun and loud to stay in...after i found my drop kicked jaw somewhere at the end of wareousmstraat, we just observed the life of the red light district and walked ALLLLLL over the city...all over. my lord did we do some walking yesterday. today it is raining...our first rainy day since we left the u.s...minus that first day in singapore for 15 min...that doesnt count. anyway...its raining and the anne frank house has a line now thats wrapped around the corner and on down another building...kinda crazy. we might wait for that to disappear before trying to go do that. i think its going to be very neat to see and be inside...but i can already tell its going to be extremely weird. i dunno...we'll see. well, like i said earlier...we survived our shit hoooolllleeee of a room with no air circulation and red lights shining and reflecting off walls and into our window...the noises...the endless coffeehouses where sain people walk in and leave not knowing where they are. yeah...its all here. i wish i could video tape some of the areas but its not allowed...as ive been told, they will throw me and my camera into the river. im not up for a swim today so ill leave the camera off and in its case. thanks. but i can tell you ALL about it once im home. trust.

so home...its wednesday early evening now and we will depart amsterdam by early thursday afternoon to head back to brussels and spend the night, repack, and get ready to head HOME. BUT, first, we will go to london via the tube and channel EARLY friday morning for the night. DANIEL POWTER CONCERT...UM ITS A SMALL INTIMATE VENUE...THAT IS THE HOTNESS FOR REAL! im now jealous of myself...not even gonna lie. sorry...where was i...oh, we will be back in brussels saturday evening to spend the night in the airport...write a few books about airports...maybe make a video about brussels airport specifically...ya know...we will have a lil time im sure.

so thats the plan for now...this could change at any momemt. the only thing that is definate is our return home...sunday evening. be ready. megs coming home.

:)

miss you all and will see you soon!

all you asian trip folks...KEEP IN TOUCH!!! glad to hear you're all getting home safely...and slowly.

sveden...

2006-06-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

ok i have to start this blog off with where i actually am to write it...im sitting in the internet cafe of the nicest 7-11 ill ever see in my lifetime. sweden knows how to do 7-11!!! wow. people are definately sitting in here with coffee and pastries like they would a regular cafe. um, if you ever saw people do that in the states, well, you would be in radford. hahahahahaha...but standing in the parking lot.

ANYWAY...we are now in stockholm, sweden and i absolutely LOVE this city!! LOVE LOVE LOVE it. i especially love the smells as you walk through it. it smells of fresh waffle cones and ice cream. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....so good! while its extremely expensive (not buying anything!), its equally as lovely.

we got a 24 hour on-off boat pass and took a boat ride around and through the whole city. its such a beautiful day out and was perfect for a boat ride. we are actually staying on a boat...thats our hostel. a boat. last night i went to bed singing the gilligans island theme song...john is gilligan...i guess im mary-ann because i cant very well be the skipper...or can i? im making an executive decision and making myself the skipper...the female version. :) wow...sorry, sidetracked. we have also decided that ryan air does not take you right to your destination...it gets you ´close´ and tells you to figure out the rest upon arrival. hahaha...stories to come later with that.

what else...there was a lot i wanted to write today but now i cant think. hmmm...well we leave here tom. afternoon to head back to brussels and then we will take the train to amsterdam from there.

i will write again soon...

:)

going back to show you ireland...my bad

2006-06-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

is this a cow or a horse? who knows...so irish

woo hoo! what a walk...

here are some ireland photos...my bad for not putting all these blogs in order...getting kinda crazy keeping up with things...including myself! bear with me...

bend it like beckham baby! world cup has begun!

2006-06-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

now THATS a poland fan...one of many

all the flags were out and up...

let the games begin...three sisters pub had all the action tonight

a few more pics...

2006-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

after our insane hike to arthurs seat this morning...we deserved to sit in it after that hike...

stuck in a phone booth...the cool english ones ya know...

edinburgh...

oops...we jinxed ourselves...

2006-06-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

ok so talking about the beautiful weather and luck we've had with regards to that...screwed us...for lack of a better word. its COOOOLLLLDDDD and cloudy...blah. where did the summer go?!

today john and i got up and hiked to the tip top of edinburgh...hell, to the top of the U.K. for that matter. we joked that our plane was going to be by any minute to pick us up...hahaha...the cloud cover, however, kept us from seeing the view of the city that we hiked up for but we still got to sit in arthurs seat. thats right...arthurs seat.

world cup games kick off tonight for stage 1 matches!!! we get to see it LIVE...well LIVE from plasma tv's but still...being in europe where the games are actually being played allow us an advantage over those in the states and other parts of the world. we are going LIVE with the world cup baby!!!!

this is also our last night in scotland as we will journey over to sweden tom. evening. i hate the economy here. just a little sidenote. our money is worth squat, which simply means that we get more exercise because really the only thing we do is provide ourselves with the best self-guided tours ever. its fantastic. we learn a lot from ourselves.

well thats all for now folks...until sweden, this is meg signing off...

and more pictures will be added soon...

ohhhh where to start...

2006-06-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

ok so this whole blogging thing wasnt working out for me the last few attempts...stupid site. BUT ...i am now in edinburgh and LOVING it...its such an awesome city! its WAY bigger than i ever imagined it being and the architecture here is just out of this world. splendid. hehe. SO...shall i try to back up now and tell the tale of getting from asia to europe? well i shall try.

belgium...first steps in europe...well vienna, austria was if you want to be technical...which we should have been. its in the technicalities that allow things to make sense sometimes and relieve one from the 'oh shit' moments in life. however, the 'oh shit' moments can be quite adventurous and exciting...especially for you reading this now. SO the story begins like this...we landed in belgium, deplaned, twisted and turned through this extremely large but well marked airport, made our way to luggage, GOT our luggage and suddenly were seeing signs showing us to the door...to belgium. um...hello...noone saw our passports, we didnt go through customs, border control..nothing. a lil tiny red flag happened to go up for me because im used to going into every country and having to do this...so i leave john to ask an airport official how we made it through all of that and out the door without being checked. his response was not so encouraging...he says, 'oh no...thats not good at all? how did that happen?' i say...um yes sir thats what i would like to know and also what do we do now? he says, 'wait here and let me ask...' he comes back and sends us to the police station saying that its our best bet to resolve the situation. hahaha sweet. so we are buzzed into the police station at the airport off in some private wing that noone wants to visit...he says...oh no..thats not good...so your best bet is to go to border control at the departure area and hope that they can send someone up from arrivals to stamp your passport. super...so we go to border control and get in a line far shorter than departures that happens to say 'arrivals' and im like...score...this might work. so i ask a man standing in line what the line is for and its not what i need. so i explain to him our situation and he, at first, was like shit...how does that happen? i was like, i dont know. and then i tell him i have nothing to claim and he's like OH...THEN YOUR GOOD. im like, do what? apparently...and we had to go elsewhere to have this verified...but apparently, once we left bangkok and set foot in austria...we were done with the passport and customs crap because of the E.U. blah blah blah. wow...should have read up on that cuz i didnt recall any of it. oops...so belgium was good! hahahah but that was our welcome...we thought we were so done for. it was funny. in a scary kind of way.

moving on to ireland...BEAUTIFUL...fun...loud...amazing. the people there were absolutely awesome! i wish i had my video camera recording every cab ride we took. each driver had some sort of story, a piece of history about ireland...and all of them were hilarious to talk to. many irish use the phrase, 'ah jesus christ now!' and many more actually to accompany that...but its always a good time. so in ireland we saw cork, ballycotton, shannon, limerick, galway, and everything in between. the weather this ENTIRE trip, from asia to europe has been unbelievable. how could we get so lucky? especially in europe...as most know, its the land of mist and clouds most of the time...we have had nothing but full sun, warm weather...every single day. unreal. love it.

we arrived today in edinburgh, scotland and im loving this city like no other. its absolutely gorgeous! so we are here until saturday night as we will make our way back over to glasgow to fly to stockholm, sweden for a few days. from there we will fly back to brussels and then take the train north to amsterdam and then to london for the daniel powter concert (SO EXCITED) and then back to belgium to fly home. home. will be nice to not have to lug the bags around for a while. hahaha...they are gettin kinda heavy...

ok...OH...Kennan if you read this, i just want you to know that the restrauant directly across from john and i's hostel in belgium (the first place we were in after asia) was called...(REAL BIG MIND YOU) BANGKOK THAILAND...no kidding. it was even neon. yup...true story. i had to take a pic and was going to post it for you but i will do that later. thought you might find that as funny as we did. we looked at one another and had to question where we were again.

about those pics...

2006-06-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

so the first picture there was a naked man that im sure you could barely see...however, sadly, i cannot say the same for john and i as we were walking along the coast and got the whole show. he was just bathing...la la la la la dont mind us...or me taking the chance for a photo op. i couldnt help it. funny. by the way...this was the southern most tip of ireland...ballycotton.

the next pic i didnt mean to put on there twice but now its stuck but its in brugge...loved brugge. beautiful place.

lastly, this was a bar near our hostel in bangkok...just a funny sign. thought id share...

more to come...blogger site has been up and down so its been hard to write.

a few pics...

2006-06-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

you cant see it well, but there is definately a naked man down there bathing...dont mind us...we're just walking along...la la la la la

brugge...

what a weekend!

2006-06-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

ok so first let me say that the belgium waffles are to die for! they have stand after stand of them and the ones john and i had this morning were fresh and filled with fruit. omg my mouth is still watering 16 hours later. waffle and coffe to go for both of us is roughly 3 euros...and a train ride to ghent, brugge which was amazing and so much fun, then on to oostende which is the coast of belgium...sits on the english channel, it was cool...then on to antwerpin and then back to brussels.

the latest newes is that we managed to score tix to the daniel powter concert in london on the 16th right before we leave to head back to the states! exciting yes...but one more thing to plan and yes another country to stuff in before leaving. and get this, we didnt have to change a thing about what we had planned to do in the first place. score.

it has been a crazy time here thus far just trying to finalize all of the things we didnt have time to do before arriving but now we are finally caught up and didnt miss a beat of belgium. we have seen and done belgium to the fullest! its been fantastic and of course we have some extrememy funny stories and fun things to share. most are on video but some of the best are not.

well im still having to peck at the keys on this french keyboard so...im going to stop doing that now because as good as my french is getting, i just cant get this keyboard flowing...fluently. blah.

hope all is well and everyone who was on the trip is doing well with onward travels, work, summer fun, or whatever it is your doing...

christy jackson...if you read this...i owe you a special thank you for the postal service. thank you!!! will email soon!

you say bon jour and i say aur voir...

oy i need sleep...

ireland tom!!!! kissin the blarney stone!!

bon jor...

2006-06-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

ok so we made it to belgium...flight wasnt bad at all...long but i think, sadly, im getting used to them so they dont seem as long. it wasnt full so had a whole middle aisle to lay out on. LUCKY...noone else did. hehee...

anyway after a VERY adventurous EARLY morning...we are here. its beautiful...some people welcome us and are friendly and others...well, they dont like us at all. hahaha...such is the life of a traveler. for the most part, its been quite pleasent. feels like it should be night though. blah...time change.

i will hop on later when i get a chance...people in line as always.

love

aur voir

i suck at french!!!

still learning this upload photo blog thing...blah

2006-06-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

ok so i will now go back through my blogs from the beginning and add some pics...dont judge...its really hot and humid here...does disgusting things to the image...hehehe

mission complete...

2006-06-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

::sigh:: so its come time to wrap up my time in asia. what a journey its been and there is so much to write about yet. people have been departing in small groups leaving just a few of us left in bangkok preparing to go our own ways as well. John and I head off to europe on a late flight tom. night making the next 24 hours a long haul. We are extremely excited to get this next part of our adventure under way as we are getting ready to explore twice as many countries as we did here over the small span of the next couple weeks. Time seems to fly by faster and faster simply from the constant moving so I have a feeling europe is going to come and go. Regardless...its going to be a blast!!!

For now, im going to jump off here, finish packing, and head to bed. my head is a bit stopped up BUT, what i will miss about asia is that you can walk into a pharmacy and your antibiotics are over the counter. z-pack...yeah, got that. eurthromycin...check check. clarinase...done deal. im set and knocking this cold/sinus infection OUT like a champ. its sure done a job to me...MY TURN.

will be in touch...phone calls are coming, i swear!

bangkok to paradise...only took a flight

2006-05-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

chillaxin by the pool bar...ya just swim right up...lovely

WOW

thats just how i have to start this BRIEF blog...Phuket is beautiful. found a cheap flight last night on Nok air and flew out of bangkok this morning to the lil island of phuket and its just beautiful here. it was a perfect day followed by a perfect dinner watching an amazing sunset over the Andamen Sea. Lay out...check check. tan...CHECK CHECK. too bad ill lose it in europe. well, have all day here tom. to get some thai island sun and return back to bangkok by the evening (around 8/9). you cant come all the way to thailand and not see the islands. COME ON! ;)

wish you were here...no worries...i have tons of footage.

talk soon...

still here...promise!

2006-05-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

journal entry: May 25, 2006

ok ok ok...so as it would seem, I haven't been in here to write in a while. I left my journal in a dark little room in a rundown little town before diving deep deep deep into the vast jungle/rainforest of Tamen Negara. What an amazing experience that was.

Okay, this is going to drive you all crazy but I have to jump from past to the present moment right now as I'm sitting and sweating on the hottest train ride of my life. I am surrounded by bugs, cockroaches, and fortunately, a half open window allowing the slightest sign of a "breeze" pass through. In the back of our car, however, we have a massive flooding situation as well as we have just removed anything lying on the floor of the train, including shoes, up to keep them out of any potential flood path. How pretty, a waterfall on the train. ::sigh:: ohhhhhh the jungle. Welcome to the first 30 minutes of a 9 hour train ride to Kota Bharu. We are here for the experience. I think some are coming around and finally seeing this trip for what it truely is. Experience. Adventure. Exciting. Educational. New. It's sweat, stinch, laughs, disagreements, new colors, new languages, and stories for life. The vegetation here is a green far different from any most of us have ever seen. Shaving my legs on a small wooden boat with nothing but a razor, yet discovering it worked very well.

Going back now to our experience in the jungle. Well-my experience. We arrived at the take out jetty to a "chocolate" river as they call it. A long wooden boat with just enough boarded backings to separate seats for 2 of us between each (you'll see pics). The boat was pushed upstream against the heavy current and somewhat frequent "rapids" by a single, small motor fueled by the many tanks of gas in the back of the boat with our Cap'n. The trip to our next jetty where we would stay was a hot but breezy 3 hour journey. By the time we got off, its fair to say we all had quite a numb behind. From the floating dock we disembarked upon, we climbed up a sand dune and the first of many stairs we would get to see in our time here. With packs in tow and slung around our shoulders, we trudged on knowing our adventure had nearly begun.
Our driver, oh-happy Dave, picked us up in 2 van loads and took us-not to the tents we thought we were in, but to our amazement-a nice jungle "rainforest resort". Hey, noone complained BUT-the true outdoor adventure could have been more challenging were we forced to spend the night without air con and western toilets.

again-not complaining. :)

We unpacked our bags, relaxed for half a second and our driver was ready for us again to take us to our first jungle dinner. we made our way to a drop off point at the top of a cliff where we then walked down 7000 steps to the large pebbled "beach" area and floating, uh, eateries if you will. We had one specific location for our breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each day we were there. It was called Tahan. For dinner-rice of course, a chicken dish (I saw the chickens I believe before they were on the plate), a veggie dish, and perhaps beef. NO idea. You get desperate and you pack your plate of rice and veggies.Sometimes I try the meat. UNTIL I had the bone and marrow come out of my mouth. SICK. After dinner we took a boat to the other side of the river to go on a night trek through part of the jungle with only the guidance of our trusty flashlights. For me this meant the tiny twist on light from my keychain. You can imagine how much I saw. Ew, but I will say I definately had the lovely experience of seeing some leeches and how they make their way to human flesh. blah.

There is a ton more that happened during our stay in Tamen Negara. Let me skip ahead to getting out of there, back to the small town to grab our packs, and onto the jungle train we had the joy of riding on for 9 hours to Kota Bharu, a place we THOUGHT would get us to Bangkok...but turned out to be 25 hours away.

The jungle train...even the locals laughed when they discovered our partaking in that ride...I laughed too. What else can you do? Other than the time we spent on it, the bugs, the heat, and the chance we got to see Asia pass by the window...there isn't a whole lot more to say about this train other than...its over. We're off it and more than likely would not suggest it to anyone choosing to travel Asia, BUT, to each his own. I've seen worse.

journal entry: after arriving to Kota Bharu, May 25 (late night)

A dark, humid heat and loud malay men welcomes us to Kota Bharu. Exhausted from a disgusting, but not too bad, 9 hour train ride, or chicken haul, from Tamen Negara-we shouted out "The Renassaince" as our home for the night, seeing as though we were now stranded in the stange land of KB, not far from the Thai border. We found the train ride we thought would be 10 hours from KB to Bangkok, was really 25-30 hours. Um, hahaha...small mistake? A little mishap in the planning. Super. So Nikki and I pampered ourselves in the room that night, not worrying about getting anywhere, and the next morning jumped on planning how to get 15 people to Bangkok. And boom, we got VERY lucky and found a flight out of Hat Yai airport in Thailand on a national holiday for all of us.

The journey at THIS point got a bit crazy...its a page turner. The stories that are about to be told from this point on, especially when I return home, are ones you don't want to miss. Stay tuned...for now...I must go. Don't you hate that?

Hope everything I've written makes some sort of sense...doing what I can with time. By the way, as I'm finally writing in this again, I'm in Bangkok. Our last stop in Asia. Here until Friday and then John and I are off for our Eurotrip. I will contine my story when I get more time.

Told you to enjoy the ride...boy has it been one!

temples, monkey's, and foot massages...KL

2006-05-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have found a little internet cafe that I am able to sit down for more than half a second and write in. I'm just right down from our hostel, The Green Hut, and above a little Indian restaurant I suppose. I must flash back a couple of days to tell you of our first Malay adventure...getting here.

So, we lugged our packs from Sleepy Sams early Friday morning through the sticky heat characteristic of Singapore. With sweat pouring down each of our backs and faces, we managed to find the bus terminal and our luxurious, VERY air conditioned bus awaiting our arrival but not yet as ready for our boarding as all of us. THen it was time to load the bags in the storage area at bottom of the bus...big enough for 5 bags mind you, NOT 14...and some of the girls, including John, were not what you call light packers, therefore adding to the challenge. So where were the guys when all of this loading of packs was taking place? On the bus. Where was Meg and Katie...LOADING and reloading bags...I was practically up under the bus with these things trying to figure out the most strategic way of placing them all on there. Way to go ladies. Oh, and BK was taking pictures. hahaha.

So we finally get on the bus to oversized, reclining, first class seats. Sweet. About 45 minutes into the ride, we had made our second stop at customs in Malaysia which required the daunting and exhausting task of removing all bags IN CASE they decided they wanted to check them, and RELOADING each back on this bus. This time, I was not involved in this process...I think our driver felt bad watching us the last time and decided he knew the best way...and did it. Thanks man.

Ok so now we are on the bus making our way through Malaysia and onto Kuala Lumpur, which they refer to here only as KL. It was a beautiful drive, all countryside which means that it was just miles and miles of short, thick, palm trees. They were SO green...a deep deep green. It was just an amazing drive to look out the window and tell yourself you were driving through part of SE Asia. No words.

As we near KL, from a distance the first image of KL was Petronas Towers, as they stand so unbelievably high over a city of...not much else. At least thats what it seemed from afar. We quickly crept up on the city and found rundown building...one after another...we Americans would refer to this as "the ghetto" area of a city. We quickly pondered where we might be staying if this is all we were seeing as we kept driving through the city. We got off the bus to the same feeling that we drove through, except now we were standing in the middle of it. The traffic here is unreal and there are no rules or laws with driving. Anything goes. Watch out. Finding no signs of crosswalks, we made our way across the street to a line of cabs. All in all I think we got 4 cabs and it was so amusing to watch the cabbies in a line with trunks wide open because our packs were too big to close them. The Americans were standouts yet again...I have it on video. I made a joke about Johns bag because everywhere we go, I ALWAYS end up in an overpacked cab with MY pack in my lap, removing my sight of where we are going simply because Johns bag alone takes an entire trunk. So I told him we would start getting a cab for us and a cab for Johns bag. I think its a great idea. Not economical, but more comfortable to me. However, comfort has not exactly been a high priority on this trip. Trudging through SE Asia requires no comfort and according to me, it shouldn't. Chalk it all up to experience is what I'm saying.

As soon as our cabs pulled up to our FIRST backpacker destination...don't even recall the name now...we immediately had a feeling that this was a bit dodgy. A locked gate would keep us out and keep us in at night...one bathroom with a hose as a shower that went right over the toilet so everything was constantly wet. A small room with half a couch, a front desk, and small standing room...and a patio by the front gate alligned with painters, construction workers, etc. all trying to occupy the same 4 cubic inches. Noone was about to stay here. After dropping our bags, locking them up and running to be let out of the locked gate, we then gathered at a nearby Irish pub to find a solution to this small obstacle. A new place. Here is downtown KL...go! We broke into groups, went in search of new rates and places, came back together and boom...like that, we found another hostel down the road that was PERFECT for us. There are about 3 of us to a room here and its a great location and livable conditions. We are backpackers...not in search of 5 star accomodation...though some beg to differ at times. We must constantly reinforce reality to some. Its adventure and experience. Luxury is for later.

SO...in a nutshell...that was the first day here in KL...by midnight we were in a new place and everyone was happy. OK not to break from thought here but a very foul smell just overtook this room...they must be cranking up below us...whoosh. Speaking of smells...might I just say that one of the features of KL is its lovely smells that take over your senses as you stroll through the city in various places. I won't say its all the time...but...its often. Mmmmmmmm.

p.s. i immediately made a lil friend...his name is daniel so i like to call him daniel son (must be said with asian accent)...he's a wired, cute, whitty lil bugger...

I actually really enjoy KL. I have never seen so many malls though. Wow. Asia has just been killing me with malls and temptations that I DO NOT give into. They love labels here but we all know Bangkok is rapidly approaching and extremely cheap for those of us looking to do some shopping. Prices in KL are not bad at all. You could easily survive here on about $10 U.S./day. Thailand will be even better. As for food...I'm holding out for Thai food. You can taste any culture you desire here. Unlike Singapore (and surprisingly enough), KL has a ton of restaurants of all kinds. Singapore had a ton of hocker stalls, etc. Now, KL and its markets are unreal...they are everywhere! So...here too, we have plenty of hocker stalls and market food to choose from if thats your thing. Me...not so much. Fruit, yes. It's delicious...but food food...nope.

Okay...so we are sitting on Sunday here in KL and have seen and done pretty much all there is to see in the city...so I am looking to do some excursions...who knows what the day will bring. Last night I had the best foot massage at this reflexology place. 25 RM (roughly $7 U.S.) for a 45 min AMAZING massage. After all the walking I've done, it was more than needed. It was necessary. Our feet our nasty now. Well, at least mine are. Part of traveling around Asia is that your feet stay dirty. It's pretty grosse, I'm not gonna lie. I miss my pretty feet. I asked last night if I would be able to return them to their original state...I am told, yes. Whew. hahahaha

Okay...I must now figure out some things for Europe. More exploration of KL and then Tamen Negara. Once I face the jungle, you may not hear from me for a few days.

P.S. monkeys just roam here and take your stuff right out of your hands! They are mean little suckers!! They just take whatever they please. It's funny but...um...yeah...you must always be aware when faced with monkeys. They are kinda crazy. The babies are so cute too! I have pictures and video footage of this as well.

You are in for a treat. Mom and Dad, I'm not good at this video thing...but its been a fantastic commodity!! Thank you again for that!

I love you all, miss you...and will talk soon.

From around the world...

-me

as i was saying...

2006-05-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

ok so im still going to have to come back to the events of yesterday at another time so i can write more. BUT...as for today thus far...first full day in KL and a few of us got up at O-dark-hundred to see Petronas Towers and i must say the building is amazing. the engineering and architecture behind it is unbelievable. Each of the towers were 84 stories high leaving the entire building standing at about 450 M. Okay, so to put this in perspective...if i were to stand at the highest point of the tower (the needle tip), I would be standing at the same height as my bungee jump in New Zealand. kinda freaked me out as im still not a fan of heights. imagine that.

well we are getting ready to head out to a buddhist temple that looks incredible. I will try and upload some pictures soon....and write more than i have. time...too much. not enough. spending. wasting. time. just never enough is what i say.

love from around the world.

wow..SO... settled in KL

2006-05-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

wow...what a trip yesterday from Singapore to KL. It was a beautiful drive and the bus was actually quite luxurious! Reclining seats...plenty of room. Super. The scenery was just awesome! Of course as I start to write this blog, which may be the most interesting thus far...I have to stop because we are about to walk to Petronas Towers...you know the buildings. They are quite famous and beautiful actually. Our new hostel is right down the road from them so it's just a short jump from here. It's early in the morning here but we must leave now to wait in a very long line in order to go to the top of the building. I guess we should compare this to....mmm....Eiffle Tower, Empire State Building, etc. as far as its attraction to tourist like ourselves. I am placing a link below so you can check it out. Enjoy. I will be back at some point to tell of our traveling adventure yesterday and the events of today in KL.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Petronas_Towers.html

Love and miss you all...

-Me

I FOUND TIM TAMS!!!

2006-05-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

so being a country or so above australia is just an incredible tease and since I cannot make it back to the land down unda on this trip, I have been in search of some tim tams! for those of you who never heard me talk about tim tams after my 2 trips to OZ, im surprised actually. Tim tams, however, are an australian delicacy along with wedges, sweet chili sauce and sour cream. all so healthy i know. sarah, my wonderful lil sister, you will soon discover such delicacies when you venture off to australia SOON.

in any case, i found tim tams. Mom and Dad, prepare yourselves for the deluctible tim tam slams! i introduced John and Nikki to that sport today at a coffee shop immediately after purchasing the tams.

okay...so this is our last day in Singapore as you all know. It's been a pretty relaxing day to say the least. It's incredibly hot and humid outside. Imagine that. hahahaha...and to think it gets hotter than this! The locals say this is nothing and Thailand will be far hotter when we go than what we are experiencing here. wow.

well i am going to attempt to upload some pics...we'll see how this goes.

talk soon!

:)

last day for the singapore sling...

2006-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

so today is our last full day in Singapore, as we will be making our way to Malaysia early tom (Friday) morning on a luxurious coach bus. No kidding. It's going to be luxury.

Last night was a lot of fun! After a very successful meeting with Edelman PR downtown, we headed to an Irish pub, go figure, and had a Guinness (of course). John, Trish, Jaime, and I then went to dinner at a place called Blue Jazz where we had a declicious meal! I had something called a Yogic, which is a vegetarian stuffed pita...with special sauce. hahaha. After we ate on the patio, we moved inside to where Trish and I found drums, bongos, and tamborines...I CALL THE DRUMS! Our waiter, who pretty much seemed to run this small dive, pointed me to the drums and said go for it. Oh, the pictures and video we have from this! Good times. Trish played the bongos to my drum beat and we created a healthy balance of music i like to call euroameriasian mix... You should be excited to see this footage. They LOVED us and asked us to come back tonight. Perhaps this is a way I could travel and get money...by finding dives with drum sets and bongos. all good things.

MOVING ON IN THE EVENING...

All of us, with the exception of a few who felt sleep was more important, headed down to where the tremendous Raffles Hotel is and went to a "club" called Insomnia and as the name suggests...um, noone was sleeping. There was an $18 cover which meant that once you paid and entered, FREE drinks till midnight...of course I forgot my lisence and apparently looked the youngest of everyone so they did not let me in without showing proof that i was AT LEAST 18!!! lol...one day this will be lovely to hear. Last night what this meant was taht I had to RUN through downtown Singapore, back to the hostel before they locked the front doors to which I had forgotten the code to get in, grab my lisence, and run BACK downtown to prove my age to this big man. When I returned all hot and sweaty, he kind of laughed, surprised I had come back, and said, "I'm going to let you in for free since I made you do that...enjoy." YES SIR. hahahaha had the best lemon juice/vodka drink EVER, but only 1. Was scared to drink in this heat! whew...but we danced, laughed, took pictures, and had a blast!

So, last night in Singapore. And thats how we did it.

Today...mmmmm one last meeting and who knows what else...we just do our thing and I haven't quite decided what kind of day today is.

Talk soon...

love from around the world...

edelman...

2006-05-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ni how. Of course that is not how you spell this Asian greeting but spelling comes later. Symbols may not come at all.

We had a very long day yesterday and I cannot remember if I blogged about it already and didn't check when I got on here SO, a tiny recap:

1) Began the day at NUS (National University of Singapore) and had a U.S. professor Linda Perry (now teaching at NUS)give us a brief history on Singapore and the media and public relations business in Asia. It was VERY interesting and the students who joined her to meet us were fantastic. I learned so much about the Asian culture, specifically Singapore and its government controlled media world. I will have to elaborate later.

2) We then made our way to Bloomberg and talked with Adrienne (last name to come) who is the Cheif Bureau Officer for Bloomberg-Singapore. He liked to refer to us in PR as the "dark side of the force". He means well.

3) We ended our long, but educational, day at Singapore Press where all of Singapores newspapers and other national publications are created.

All in all, the day was amazing and I learned a great deal about our field as well as Singapore culture. It seems incredibly challenging to work in PR or any media related field here (journalism, mass media, etc.) due to government regulation.

Today we will be meeting with Edelman PR, which I am extremely excited about! Maybe a little Indonesia action to follow. Will return to tell all...

Miss and love everyone back home...

Love from around the world!

sentosa island and kamono dragons...

2006-05-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today we began with a meeting at Pan Pacific Hotel downtown with Cheryl, the Director of International PR. She was a terrific host and provided us with a lot of useful information.

OK...so this line for the computer keeps growing and i JUST got on so I am going to come back to this when there is more time.

It's still HOT AND HUMID!!!

Sorry guys...need more computers...I'll be back.

Before I go I have to say that I was on Sentosa Island today and while waundering along the beach and washing off...I look up to see a Kamono (sp) Dragon!!! The spelling isn't important! It was a dragon...it was near me, it was wild, and thats so very crazy! That thing moves WAY faster than I ever dreamed of moving. I'm ok and even got it on video.

exhausted...

2006-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Oh what a day it was today! Beautiful day in Singapore...temperature around 100 degrees, extremely humid...

The day began at 5 a.m. as it has been and will continue to do so as the Sulton Mosque neighboring our hostel cries out every morning. I'm up! And this time I was waiting for it, just lying in bed waiting to hear the voice echo down Bussurah Street, up North Bridge Street, and fade out as you near the city center and Clarks Quay. From my top bunk I could hear everyone begin to stir and soon, everyone was ready to go. It is only 7 a.m. on Sunday morning...what on earth could we do? Where could we go? Cappacino of course! When asked what I wanted to do today, my response was "to waunder".

BK, John, and I made our way to a coffee shop around the corner and I had a delicious cappacino and my first meal since I've been here! Salmon and eggs on something like an english muffin but better. It was amazing. After indulging ourselves with this breakfast, the three of us started walking. Kept walking...until we reached a Hindu Temple (name will be entered later) where we removed our shoes prior to entering the temple and observed an actual Hindu worship. It was very interesting!

After we were done observing the Hindu traditions and religious practices, we made our way through Chinatown and headed back up toward the Singapore River so I could find Clarks Quay. I loved it! Clarks Quay runs along the river (kind of like a river walk) and is made up of restaurant after restaurant, some on boats, and something for everyone. After exploring Clarks Quay we met up with the rest of the group at St. Andrews Cathedral to do lunch at nearby cafes of choice. A few of us ate at Delifrance, a french coffee shop/bakery where I had a turkey, ham, and brie sandwich on fresh baked focaccia bread. It was very tasty.

We then made our way to the Botanical Gardens of Singapore which was amazing...just...wow. Within the gardens, we bought a pass to enter the National Orchid Gardens which was just out of this world. To see orchids everywhere, of every kind, and of so many magnificant colors...it was just beautiful and such a peaceful place to be. However, it was here that the exhaustion set in after a day full of walking and hot hot sun and humidity. After we finished at the gardens where plenty more time could have easily been spent, we decided it was time to call it a day and take a break until dinner. Some of us took naps, some showers, and some went back out to do a little more walking (me). Boy am I paying for it now. I'm exhausted! And I know that in all of what I just wrote, it may not seem like much, but it filled an entire day. I feel we could have walked right into Malaysia at the rate we were going.

Tomorrow we have our first meeting with some PR practitioners at Pan Pacific Hotel downtown. I am very excited about meeting with them and learning about business in Singapore, especially within the hospitality industry of a booming and constantly growing city. I also did some research and found that I can slip into Indonesia by ferry from the southern tip of Singapore. For those who know me, when I find something that interests me, I find a way to make it happen. Take a guess at whats next on my list.

I'll let you know how it goes. Just something else for you to look foward to.

Happy Mothers Day! I'll call as soon as I can! (probably your night)

all my love from around the world...

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

2006-05-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! I LOVE YOU, MISS YOU, AND WISH I COULD HUG YOU AND TELL YOU THIS IN PERSON!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

thank you for being you...

i love you

not even rice!

2006-05-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Okay so tonight, Dr. K, myself, John, and Brandy went to Zam Zam (Indian food) which Lonely Planet apparently said was a good eat. UMMMM hahaha after all of the things I saw today, I decided that veggies and rice was a sure bet to stay okay. So I order veggies and rice but they are out of veggies so I just order rice. I get my rice and take two bites to find a black hair lying just right on my rice. I decided I was full right then. So I went for a cappacino! mmmmmm...

I just finished talking to a local about things I am interested in doing and seeing while in Singapore and have decided to head out to Sentosa Island maybe tom. or monday sometime if the weather is good. If I want, I can take the metro from here to the coast and catch a ferry to some of the islands in Indonesia. The ferry ride is only about 45 minutes to the closest island in Indonesia. This is just an idea...

I know a few of us are heading to the famous botanical gardens and to see natural growing orchids. How beatiful! You would not believe the natural vegitation here. Everything is so green, vibrant colors...birds of paradise everywhere. I have to find out what the bushes and trees are because they have the most beautiful and bright red flowers in them. Don't worry, I'll have video and pictures...

I don't know if I've already said this, but I know I'm not always grammatically correct or puncutuate everything properly, etc. Time is limited on these things and so I'm typing as many things as I can think as fast as I can. Hang with me!

For now, I'm off to my bunk to write in my moleskin. Um, thats my journal.

Goodnight America

day one...

2006-05-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

wow...so today started very early for big BK and I who we now refer to as "money". And the story goes something like this...as we were taxiing our way to a ferry point to take a small wooden boat (not ferry) to a little island called pulau ubin, our cab driver asked what he could call Dr. K. so Dr. K extends his hand and says "my name is Bill"...well the driver smiles, looks at his and motions his hand as if giving the sign for money (rubbing his thumb and middle finger together in the air) and says...yes, bill, we know what that is ...and we all crack up. You probably had to be there but it was funny. True story.

So we took this little wooden boat to this little secluded island and rented bikes to ride around it in the misty rain. JOhn and I went nuts when we saw we could get tandem bikes so of course, for those who know me, this is what I made us do! It was absolutely hysterical to see us on this bike. John thought he should be in front so I let him. I tried to get him to help me pop wheely's but he wasn't having anything if it meant we might fall off. We finally had a system set up so nicely that we deemed ourselves the LIVESTRONG Tandem Team of Singapore. It was fantastic.

I am now so incredibly dirty that I must go shower before we go in search for food. Food with no heads is my preference. As I was informed today by a local...we eat anything with 4 legs as long as its not a table and we eat anything that flys, just not an airplane. EW! ahahaha...

Will be back soon...wish you were here!

hello all!

2006-05-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

so we are here in Singapore! its hotter than hades but a beautiful place. Palm trees are everywhere and the place we are staying is right next to an extremely old temple. At 5a.m. this morning I woke to a call to prayer but at the time I didn't know this so I thought there was a crazy person outside of our hostel singing just to sing. Maybe I was just delirious from the trip. Yes, we will say that so I don't appear to be incompetent. hahaa. everyone just shake your heads and agree.

So there are only 4 of us here...me, John, Brandy, and Dr. K. The rest of the group took off from Chicago and the plane had to do an emergency turn around because of mechanical problems. SO they are all still in Chicago and we have all of today to ourselves...just exploring.

Dr. K and I have been up since 7 walking around the city center, drinking coffee, and chatting. It's been a relaxing first morning here. No planes, no airports, no sitting for extended periods of time. The jet lag is probably worse than I am letting on but I slept really good through the night so...I'm ok. Dr. K said he didn't sleep much at all and blames it on middle age...hahaa...

So there are no windows anywhere in the place we are staying...where windows would be are mostly covered by bamboo-like drapes/curtains...so the breeze is constantly coming through...in the morning or night while im standing at the sink...im just looking out into Singapore...and dry off by its air. I have discovered that towels do exist now...so...as nice as the air as been...i can now make use of a towel.

I may still be a bit exhausted...so I will come back to this when I can write more clearly.

P.S. ITS HOT HERE. Very humid...

wish you were here...ill be back

it's go time...

2006-05-11T00:58:00.000-07:00

So it's 3:56 a.m. (Thursday) and of course I haven't slept because John and I have to be at the airport by 5:15ish to take off at 6. We will be in NYC where the NASTY flight begins...mmmmm be ready for phone calls...anyone could get them seeing as though I will now see Johns face for A LONG TIME on an enclosed aircraft as we fly around the globe. hahaha I'm not sure he's ready for this but we have plenty of sleepy pills to knock him out with since we cannot count on alcohol to get the job done.

Green green green

in other words...it's go-time!

I'll get back at you all once we touch down and situate ourselves in Singapore.

I would close this with an Asian "goodbye" but I don't know one yet. Give me a day please.

the countdown begins to a world unknown...

2006-05-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

So one more week until I fly off to Asia to begin my journey around the world...This is blog numero uno to let you all know it's finally happening and also remind you to keep up with the adventure.

I'm sure you're not nearly as excited as I am at this point, but I hope you all enjoy the ride...

I will be.

Be back soon...