Oh No PO

I spoke too soon - Last week, in all my ignorance, thought I had somehow escaped the evil oil produced by this evil, evil plant.  Declared I must not be allergic and laughed about how I, walked through bushes of poison oak for 19 miles in shorts and Keens, unscathed.  Then came Friday - At first I thought I had a spider bite.  Then it spread.  Bumps, and lines of pure itch all down my legs and on the tops of my feet.  They appeared by the dozens.  

By the weekend, the ooze had begun.  It's been a week now and the itch continues.  Calagel offers temporary relief, but now I can only hope for the continued scabbing and healing.  I did read on the internet that over 85% of the population is in fact allergic to poison oak.  Oops.  Guess I am in the majority.  For now its me, my Technu and Calagel.   

Insomnia

I've got alot on my mind.  When this happens, it's hard for me to get any shut-eye. 

The last few weeks have been so busy!  I've been away almost every weekend and I'm ready to be mellow and relax here in San Diego for awhile.  

Since my last post, I was surprised with a b-day surprise party even attended by dearest Ally and Kevin all the way from San Francisco!!  (thanks Brad).  I thought I was going out to celebrate Karen and Richard's PE at Zen 5 - Imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw them all sitting there!  The night was spent downing sushi and saki bombs and then dancing the night away at the Tavern.  I was a little under the weather the next day and thus, spent that Saturday 'recovering'.  That Sunday I spent the day surfing and even got a visit by a school of dolphins :)

The following weekend, we a small group of friends and I traveled to Joshua Tree National Park - complete with the playing of the Joshua Tree album several times (it doesn't get old)!!  We did a great hike to a beautiful oasis (like out of a movie).  I had no idea the desert could be so beautiful!

The next weekend I was off to San Francisco for the 30th birthday celebration of my dear friend Kevin.  Spent the day hiking with Erika and the boys up in Berkeley and then off to the b-day party in the Mission - It was a fantastic night and got to see lots of good SF friends.

From there it was off to my now-annual trek to the Wildflower triathlon.  Richard, Justin, Sarah and I drove up to Lake San Antonio and met up with Kevin, Marian, Paul and Ana - The weekend was lots of fun and somehow even managed to finish the race despite being way out of shape (sadly, time was an hour slower than last year)....

Then, finally, a weekend in town with my dearest Mummsie - It also happened to be the first weekend of San Diego's notorious May Gray.  :(  We had a great time though checking out the sleepy beach towns and relaxing.  

Next, it was off to Seattle for Nate's 1st communion.  Seattle happened to be having record temperatures that weekend - It was about 90 and crystal clear - absolutely beautiful!  Got me started back on the "I need to move to Seattle kick".  Had a great time visiting with the family and catching up with Seascape friend, Mark.  

And from there it was Memorial Weekend and time for our annual camping trip!  This year we (10 of us to be exact) had decided to do a backpacking trip to Caribou Lakes (by Mt. Shasta in the Trinity Alps) - However, learned that the trail was in-passable due to heavy melting snowfall.... Last minute decided to switch gears and head to Big Sur where we spent a few days in back country and became one with the poison oak - We did the Pine Valley trail to Los Padres Dam - a little shy of 19 miles.  Much of the trail was coated in poison oak - there was no way to avoid it and sadly quite a few of us (me excluded) succumbed to its evil oils...  The trip was beautiful nonetheless and we had a wonderful time together!

Then finally back to San Diego.  Last weekend was spent at the beach and in the ocean on my surf board.  It's nice to be back in town for awhile!   Tomorrow (now actually today) Ally cat arrives and we will be completing the Camp P. Mud Run!  Should be fun.  All right - finally feeling like maybe I can get some zzzz's - Hope everyone is doing well out there!

Back in the USSR - You don't know how lucky you are...

Actually, we are both safe and sound in our respective cities in California.  I can't believe that we've already been back over a month!  Where does the time go?

Finally getting settled into working again - what a drag!  But, have to say, am still feeling pretty lucky!  Yesterday, I celebrated my 29th birthday with a birthday scavenger hunt which led me to Foo Fighter tickets!!!  (I am a lucky girl!!!) And no San Diego birthday is complete without a sunset surf outing - It was a perfect ending to the day!  I think 29 will be a great year!

In other little tidbits....I picked up the book, "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh in the Kuala Lumpur airport for the long trip home.  I just finished it up last week and I was throughly impressed.  It is a great read and really gave good insight into the recent history (from the late 1800s on) of India, Burma & Malaya.  I highly recommend it.

Lastly - stay tuned - Another adventure is on the horizon for next weekend!  This one will be short and sweet.  Ally cat is heading down to So Cal and we'll spend next weekend amongst friends camping at Joshua Tree National Park.  Of course we will bring the guitar and play some U2 songs :)

That is it for now.  Hope everyone is doing well out there!

Our Last Night (sniffle sniffle)

It's our last night (sniffle sniffle). I am sad and not really ready to leave yet! Kuala Lumpur is a great city and has so much to offer and we only got just a small taste! Speaking of tastes, today was a great way to end the trip food wise. We had the best Indian food we have ever eaten here in Little India - Of course the restaurant name escapes me, but I will add later - It was a LP recommendation. Then tonight for dinner we had one last Thai meal with MyThai Jim Thompson restaurant which was also extremely delicious. I am happy to report that we got our spicy eggplant. yum.

Today was a full day - We got up quite early and walked to the Petronas Towers, once the tallest buildings in the world. We went on the free skybridge tour (you can only go half way up the towers). Very cool. Next we went back to the Pekewhatchamacallit bus station and lo and behold the missing bags had reappeared. Ally played hard ball and told the woman no way in hell we would pay because we had to pay to get back there. And what do you know, we didn't pay!

Next we headed to a cool tea shop called Purple Cane. From there the day was spent walking and shopping and eating and walking and shopping. I'm so full! We visited lots of part of KL and found them all pretty interesting. We both agree we need more time! Well, as I've heard in my family "People in hell want ice water". I have to say we have been pretty lucky and spoiled to get to do such a wonderful trip!

Anyways, I must go now as we have to pack... sigh... and the taxi will be here in a little over 6 hours. We'll update the site from the US with more pictures upon our triumphant return to the US!

For now - take care!

Snake Sighting, Lost Bags and Toilets in Malaysia

Random thoughts -

So we're back in Kuala Lumpur tonight and pretty wasted, and I don't mean drunk, but tired! We got back from the jungle today, and what do you know - it's a LONG trip. We had a great time in Teman Negara.

We concluded last night with a night jungle safari - This included two pickups filled with visitors (us included) driven by a few guys that work at the floating restaurant and pretty much everywhere else in Teman Negara. We rode in their pickups (some even rode on the roof - but don't worry, we were safe in the cab) and drove through some back roads in the jungle (not the actual park as this is not {and should not be} allowed). Apparently the jungle comes to life at night. En route to the jungle (on a paved road) we saw our first slithery friend - A very large python. I closed my eyes, took deep breaths and looked the other way. Shock was avoided.

We then headed into the jungle and saw some leopard cats. Ally and I were intrigued - were these in fact baby leopards, roaming the jungle at night without their mothers? How rare! What would everyone think when we spoke of our leopard sighting? The we got home and read that they are an entirely different animal and actually just a tad bit bigger than your average domestic house cat (i.e. Calvin-sized). Still cool though and if you ask us, we may just say we saw a leopard because it sounds cooler. For example: "Yeah, Ally and I went night trekking through the jungle and saw pythons and leopards." Sounds extreme, right? Anyways, moving on... We also saw a little warthog, some birds, bats and a little teenie snake (sighting number 2). I handled this one a bit better and didn't totally spaz out. I even opened my eyes for a second but could not release my death-grip on Ally's arm...

We got back from the night jungle trek and promptly crashed to the sounds of large bugs just outside the window of our little jungle chalet (a much nicer establishment than the previous night). This morning we awoke to roosters. Yes, it's true. Roosters live in the jungle too. We got up and grabbed breakfast at the floating restaurant on the river where had eaten lunch and dinner the day before. Very exciting. Then we boarded another boat for the journey back down river - I think the name is Kuala Trembling or some business like that..? (I'll update this later). The ride in the boat back is shorter as we weren't going against the current so it took only 2 hours or so. From there we boarded a bus back our favorite town of Jerantut and stopped for lunch and to board another bus. I fell asleep on the way back and am not sure how long it actually took...

Anyways, we got back to Kuala Lumpur and were dropped in Chinatown. From there we decided to go to Batu caves. This was really worth seeing. It is a Hindu temple of sorts in a huge cave in the mountain. And my favorite part, it's swarming with "ling". Ling were everywhere. Big, little, babies, you-name-it, ling paradise! It was my favorite part although I have to say the temple was cool too.

We left Badu Caves and grabbed a cab to take us to Pekeesomethingorrather bus station (don't ask me, Ally knows where it is...) because we had left our big packs there at a bag check station for our journey to Teman Negara (who needs a big pack in the jungle??). At this point, we arrive at the bag check eager to get our bags because we are 1) tired 2) smelly 3) wearing the same hiking socks for 3 days 4) wearing the same pants for longer (ewwww)!! We go up to counter to non-english speaker - We'll call him Mr. Malay. He also happens to be on his first day on the job at the bag counter. We bring our bag counter receipt and he hands over my big green pack and smiles. Where are the other 2 bags we checked?? I'll leave out the details but panic soon ensues as Ally actually enters the bag claim room to look for the missing bags - neither are there. I ask him if the bags are taken offsite and stored elsewhere. He shakes his head no. We are mad and upset at this point. Ally runs off to tell the cab driver to wait for us (he's still waiting in parking lot to take us to our hotel)...Mr. Malay goes over to a coke stand worker who grabs a bus driver who speaks english. We'll call him Mr. English-Speaking-Malay. He communicates to me that bags are actually taken elsewhere and there must be a mix-up. The woman who had helped us will be back tomorrow and we should come back then. Ally comes back and brings me fried bananas to calm nerves and then talks to ransom offsite manager on Mr. malay's cell phone. This all takes about 45 minutes.

We leave upset (and still dirty) and our taxi who is a very nice guy drops us at our hotel the lovely Red Palm guesthouse/hostel - which is very nice - like staying in someone's house :D We unloaded my lone green pack and headed next door to grab indian food at a place run by some nepalese (not sure how you spell that one...)... Anyways, had some yummy food - still not sure what we ordered. Now we are back at the house relaxing because we are tired!!! We are up early tomorrow to check out the Petronas Towers and then go re-harass the bag check place. Then we will explore some other parts of the City - mainly Chinatown, etc. Should be fun.

You're probably wondering about the last reference in my subject line. Toilets in Malaysia. Hmm... I think about wastewater more than the average person - I get paid to think about where it goes, how it gets there and how its treated... But, up until this point I hadn't though much about the toilet itself. I would venture to guess that most of you haven't either? I mean, you go anywhere and there's a toilet, right? Sometimes when you camp or backpack you have to dig or squat, but that's camping... Not here! Here, it's a different story. You go into a bathroom and you may see a toilet (if you're having a lucky day) but most of the time its SURPRISE - a little platform just slightly elevated from the ground with a little bed pan shaped hole in the ground. And there's a hose too. Hmm... Am I supposed to pee in that? I find these a little awkward to maneuver. Maybe people here are different, but how does one (ladies only) pee in a neat little stream into the little hole in the ground while squatting without a) falling into the area around which is always wet and somewhat disgusting b) spraying urine in several directions and most likely missing the little bed pan shaped hole and getting pee down your leg and/or all over your clothes c) getting the bottom edge of your pants saturated with a fine mix of urine and dirty water d) all without toilet paper??? I don't get it?!! Squatting is hard and I wonder how all these Malay ladies in their neat and tidy dresses get the job done. One thing is for certain, I will never take a toilet for granted again. Thank God, Allah, Buddha, random Hindu Gods, etc. for the flush toilet and the ingenious seat cover. I look forward to using you again someday! Oh and in case your are wondering - thanks to whomever advised me to bring our own supply of Charmin and plenty of hand sanitizer - it has come in quite handy here!

All right - I think this is it from us for now. Please send good karma, prayers, thoughts, what-have-you, that are bags show up at Pekiwhatchamacallit station tomorrow.

Peace!

Internet in the Jungle?

We're in the oldest jungle in the world so the Malays say - Teman Negara. I have to admit it is quite fabulous. We are staying just across the river - somewhat rustic, and yet, there is internet? I wasn't going to update until we returned to KL, but knew my mom would worry so here I am. I'll blame it on her. Anyways, I'll make this short and give you the full scoop upon reaching our final destination (Kuala Lumpur) - sniffle sniffle - tomorrow. All good things must come to an end, and I know we have been quite lucky and blessed beyond all belief to be here!

So back to Teman Negara - yesterday, was somewhat of a wasted travel day. We ended up flying to KL and then taking a series of buses to Jerantut to spend the night. Our room last night cost us each $3.50. That is correct - I must tell you however that it was NO E&O. We went from the top-end to pretty skanky (please scuse my language) - We didn't really sleep last night - We'll add video of the place later... ha ha ha ha - It's good... And then got up bright and early this morning to get a van to this other town (name escapes me) where we caught a boat down the river to get to this park. The boat ride was a little under 3 hours and well worth it. It was fantastic - Jungle everywhere. I kept hearing "in the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight" except there aren't lions here - there are tigers however (which are rarely if ever spotted). We got here and stuffed ourselves with more Malay food (soo good) and a chocolate banana icey thing - Yum! We then crossed the river in a boat taxi and entered the park.

From there we did a jungle trek and ended up at this elevated canopy walk. You walk on little planks through the trees - It was awesome - (pictures to come soon). We had a great time. We ended up on another trail but after running into a Singaporian boy scout leader aborted the hike after learning it traveled (for quite some time) to some high peak somewhere... (note to self: next time purchase 3 Ringett trail map)... Anyways, hiked around a bit more and then stopped for a Tiger beer (even though we didn't see one).

Now I am itching to get out of this hot little internet cafe and head back to our little jungle chalet. We'll probably do some kind of night jungle expedition with one of the tour groups or our hotel tonight and tomorrow morning it's off to Kuala Lumpur to soak in the sights before leaving on Friday!!

I would like to add, that I have never met more friendly people than here in Malaysia. The Malays have been so excited to teach us Malay words and tell us about Malaysia and practice their English - moreso than even the Thais and Vietnamese (also very very friendly). Last night at dinner at some roadside shack we got into conversation with a Malay man who wanted to date Condaleeza Rice (??). Apparently he was also a fan of George Bush - I guess it's no crime to be uninformed here :D We just smiled.

All right - Better run. We'll try to get more pics up from KL tomorrow or Thursday. Ciao Ciao!

Penang, hot like curry!

Selamat Petang! We find ourselves on the lovely island of Penang sitting in one of the finest hotels in SE Asia - The E&O. We were only going to stay one night, but opted for two when working through the rest of our plans. We are glad we did!

We arrived here in Penang after a 3 hour ferry ride from Langkawi. The trip was relatively uneventful, but I must comment that I fear that the very worst features of our American "culture" have reached the far east... Ally and I were sitting at a Malay fast food venue eating some noodles and rice and waiting for our ferry when we heard "Hit me baby one more time". I have to say I'm really disappointed that I am halfway around the world and can't escape that train wreck who calls herself a singer? We next heard a few songs from the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album. No lie. Christmas songs, in March in a country that is predominantly Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu. Hmm....

Anyways, the ferry brought us to the town of Georgetown here on the island of Penang and we promptly grabbed a taxi to our hotel where we were given welcome drinks and cold towels because it is so hot and humid here. Our room is somewhat like a palace. I should say rooms bcause we have an entire suite that overlooks the sea all for the cost of a cheap Super 8 in the USA. Great, isn't it?

So last night, we got cleaned up and then decided to head out and check out Georgetown. We first stopped at an internet cafe to firm up a plane ticket to KL - more on that later. Upon leaving the internet cafe, we were greeted by torrential downpour and of course we had no umbrella (brilliant). We got soaked but finally got a taxi and headed back to the hotel where we ate dinner in the bar with really bad music...

Today we slept in and then had our delicious breakfast buffet here at the E&O - Anything you could ever want, including make your own sushi! It was crazy! From there we set out into Georgetown. We looked for the bus stop to no avail and then grabbed a taxi to the Kek Lok Si Temple - a very large and beautiful Buddhist temple on the hill overlooking Georgetown. It was pretty hot and humid but we had a great time climbing to the top and taking in the view. From there we found the bus and headed back to Georgetown to the Little India area where we went shopping and got a few beautiful tops. Then we were spent from the heat so we returned to the hotel and lounged by the pool with a mojito.

Tonight we headed back to Little India to a fantastic restaurant called Madras New Woodlands - It's a vegetarian Indian restaurant and we were not disappointed. I am full of lots of yummy Indian treats including real versions of all of my favorites (i.e. palak paneer). Ally and I were both inclined to remember (and thus to mention here) the delicious Indian dish that Cam and Erika made for us camping in Sequoia National Park last year (BTW - Happy Birthday (on Saturday) to Cameron!) Anyways, stuffed and happy we headed back to the hotel just in time to miss the incoming rainstorm.

Tomorrow morning we have opted to fly to Kuala Lumpur. We had originally thought of renting a car and driving to the Cameron Highlands and Teman Negara, but given our observation of driving (safer than Vietnam, but still very scary), we think it safer to stick to the sky. So instead, we will fly to Kuala Lumpur and take the bus to Teman Negara for some jungle trekking. We plan to stay away from civilization until Wednesday when we return to Kuala Lumpur so stay tuned after that. Bye for now!