A Few More Pictures

Exploring the hilltop church in Melaka

90 meter tube running under the aquarium in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Batu Caves, just outside of KL

Batu Caves.  I made Nathan walk in front of me for monkey protection.

This is a vine..on our jungle walk in Tioman

Little India, Singapore

Playing in the park, Singapore

Or you get shot.

Nathan cleaning his feet, Singapore waterfront

Singapore

Melaka riverfront

Hilltop church in Melaka

My birthday serenade

Night market in Melaka

Birthday Serenade

When I woke up this morning did I expect to have a teenage Malaysian boy on his knee before me, serenading me with a sweet little ditty called 'Bad Love' by the band 'My Chemical Romance'? No.
Did a birthday miracle make this happen? Yes.
This morning Nathan suggested visiting the torture museum, but I vetoed that on my day of celebration. Instead we spent a few minutes exploring the Melaka History, and weird life-size creepy mannequin museum. On our way out the door a gaggle of 8 teens came running up to us, begging us to buy some pickled fruits. Background: these pickled fruits are atrocious. They combine the very worst of pickle flavor with crunchy green fruits.
My first reaction to these frenzied pleas was to throw my hands up and calmly but forcefully ask, "Who are you all working for..and why do you want us to buy these terrible snacks so badly?"
This silenced them for a moment. Then a mousy girl in the back whispered, "Please buy them."
I couldn't help myself. "Listen, I'm going to be honest. We HATE these (pointing to the goods), but you all seem really intent on selling them. What's going on?"

We learned then that these kids were in some kind of competition to complete a list of tasks while running around the city looking for clues and asking for help from strangers. Nathan thinks the task in question might have been to sell something to a tourist for a 500% markup because they were asking for three dollars.
Desperation is a funny thing. Nathan thinks I may have gone too far..but kids these days need to learn proper negotiating strategy. Never show how motivated you are to buy or sell! I did the group a service. First, I negotiated down the price to two dollars. Then, I requested that one of the boys get down on one knee to serenade me. This probably wouldn't have been nearly as humiliating had it not been in a public market area. People stopped to take photos, all curious to know what was happening. When I felt this young man had earned his two dollars (it certainly wasn't the pickled snacks we were negotiating for) I shook his hand and told him the money was well earned. Nathan paid him more than our agreed price out of pity. Everyone was thrilled, and the boy seemed genuinely giddy to have completed his team's task in such an unexpected way.

Nathan took me to dinner..a lovely Portuguese restaurant where we ordered an entire fish. Delicious! On the walk back to our hotel we passed a woman doing henna body art, so I got myself a tattoo while eating ice-cream sold in the shape of an egg. Great day to turn thirty.

Zumba Volunteer?

We got kicked out of our dorm for the weekend..our beds were reserved for some other poor souls, unsuspecting of mucus face and night packer. So, we left Singapore. In another miraculous stroke of luck we navigated our way to Malaka. This is a town I was hesitant to visit. Old buildings weren't on my 'to do' list for the last two weeks of our trip. It's possible Nathan wanted to spend my birthday in a World Heritage old building sight to dim the pain I feel at turning thirty. Perhaps so he has a rebuttal for when I complain of my weak bones and tired muscles..'these buildings are a lot older than you and you dont hear them complaining'. Regardless of our motivations..we came. This is the most beautiful, quaint and mysterious river town I've ever been to. In the center of the old town roundabout where one might expect to find a giant statue of some explorer or Historical figure with a stern look on his face, instead are two tiny bronze statues of mouse deer..painted white.

It just so happens that our arrival coincided with the World Heritage Music Festival, a celebration that seemed suspiciously like a first time event. I have never whitnessed a crowd less enthusiastic. It had redeeming qualities..like the Zumba performance. Apparently they were light on music, so they hired the local exercise class to fill a thirty minute slot. About half way through their happy feet routine they started searching the crowd for 'volunteers' to get up on the stage with them. I looked over at Nathan to find he had shrunk 12 inches. If he could have sprayed self tanner on his face to 'blend' he probably would have. This was not the kind of volunteering either of us was interested in. The two awkward teen boys who tried desperately to look busy by faking cell phone calls got strong armed into the center of a pack of very focused women.

Throughout the ordeal the two boys were sweating profusely and missing every single beat. For their humiliation they were presented with an umbrella each. Just what every adolescent boy wants. It was fantastically entertaining. We watched the entire 30 minutes. When the first band came on we were shocked at how bad they were. I realized twenty seconds into the horror show that the lead vocals and guitar were the two guys who sat infront of us on the bus ride from Singapore. When we got back to our hotel Janis Joplin was flingin' some soul. A Malaysian Janis. Our hotel has live music every night, and our luck lasted straight through the evening..most talent we'd seen all night. We even got a Van Halen song dedicated to us. I attribute the dedication to my stupid grin and inability to take my eyes off of the stage. Janis was probably nervous I would follow her home if she didn't formally recognize my creepy intensity.
Tomorrow we explore Malaka.

Best Zoo In The World!

Dorm Life Part II

Dear lady who brushes her teeth and tongue so vigorously at 530 in the morning that she starts to dry heave and subsequently wakes the other five people sleeping,

Did you have a very animated conversation with yourself in the bathroom just now? What was it about? Also, what could you possibly have packed so deeply buried in your bag and so completely wrapped in plastic that it took you twenty five minutes of rustling to get it out in the middle of the night?

Kindly,
Woman in bunk four

A Few Pictures...More To Come!

Our view from the bungalow on Tioman Island

Night Market in Little India, Singapore

This was a first...

Riverfront in Singapore

Such a colorful and well designed city!

Nathan on the double helix bridge

Outside of the Artscience Museum

Nathan examining some Dali

We watched with delight as this Orangutan peed on a little girl sitting beneath his vine

Drinking Money

It costs about five dollars to buy a liter and a half of water in downtown Singapore. I was tempted to lick puddles from sidewalks but giardia medicine would probably cost me five hundred, so eventually I caved.
We walked about seventy miles today, I'm certain. From 930 AM until 730 PM we were on the move. We explored the riverfront, a fort/sculpture park on a hill overlooking the city, then made our way to the bay where we stumbled into a Dali exhibit that was well worth the three hours we spent roaming the artscience museum.
There's nothing quite like walking through the financial district of one of the most successful and driven economies on the planet to sow the seeds of panic for one's own financial stability. It was necessary to visit the Fountain of Wealth after facing thousands of men and women wearing suits worth more than my savings account. It's said that if you walk three times around the fountain with your hand in the water while making a wish, it comes true. I silently did a wealth wish for the two of us. It's the largest fountain in the world, which must make it the very best conduit for wishes. Somethings working around here.

By the time 730 rolled around, Nathan was in a bad spot. He had to deal with a meltdown, which I blame on exhaustion, foot swelling, and five dollar waters. Everything around us became an impossible, insurmountable chore. I couldn't sit comfortably on our bar stools, couldn't talk about Michelle Bachman without turning purple, couldn't even eat delicious Barfi (newest favorite Indian dessert..I know it doesn't translate well) without complaining of tooth decay. I call this my 'everything is stupid' mood. When asked to describe what is bothering me in such a mood, the only explanation I can muster is 'everything around me is stupid, not including present company'. Luckily we were close to home..Luckily Nathan didn't abandon me on the street. Good man. I got a hot shower and a foot rub (great man!) and things started looking up.

Tomorrow the zoo! I'm planning on sleeping like a baby. A baby who has five strangers farting and snoring in the same room as her, but a baby just the same.

Dorm Life - Singapore Style

Dear Lady who coughs up what I can only assume are apricot size balls of mucus every twenty minutes and loudly swallows them,

What is your condition? Is it communicable? Was it a dream..or did you really put your weird feet on my head last night? Also, you snore.

Kindly,
The woman in bunk 4

So this is what it's like to stay in a dorm.

Another Flawless Transition

It's official. My head swelling is a result of wheat. After a delightful breakfast of 'wafer cubes' (content: wafer, sugar, approved artificial flavor) we hopped on a 0700 ferry at 0800. We were transported no more than .6 nautical miles to a second identical ferry. They made us poor caffeine-less passengers get off one and onto the other. It's probably entertaining from the outside looking in. The inside of the ferry was sub arctic. My warm clothes were packed so I did the only reasonable thing. I put on a performance for the crew in hopes one might respond by turning down the AC unit. The play went something like this:

Characters:
Woman Freezing To Death
Crew Member 1
Crew Member 2
Crew Members 3-5
Nathan

Woman Freezing To Death: curls up into fetal position crying, says goodbye to loved one (Nathan)
Crew Member 1: Turns to crew member 2, mimes smoking, both men exit stage left
Crew Members 3-5: disappear.

I remained in fetal position for an hour.
We found our way onto a bus heading for the border for cheap. With cheap we received a wealth of personality in the seat behind us. A man claiming to work as a driver told us to get lost when we tried to claim our seats. He wanted the back four seats for a nap and was willing to terrorize to get them. I was tempted to walk up to the driver and report that a vagrant was squatting in the back, but a little unpredictability is healthy. Sitting infront of a man who might at any moment get a wild hair and decide to strangle you keeps things exciting.
We made it across the border without a problem. The bus dropped us off at a bus station just after 4. I admit, our tourism has gotten a bit sloppy. When we should be making plans and locating maps in our down time, we have taken to playing games like: If you could have any tool fabricated and you needed to catch a giant squid, what would that tool be and how would you use it?
As a result, we stumbled into the late afternoon sun in Simgapore with absolutely no idea where we were, where we would be sleeping, and how we would get there. As things have a tendency to do..it all worked out just fine. A group of three French girls passed, looking down intently at a map. I asked to take a peek and wouldn't you know it, they had an extra they were willing to part with. We happened to be a ten minute walk from the backpacker hostel haven. For the first time on our entire trip we will be staying in a dorm. A tiny twin bed in a room with 9 others cost us each 30 dollars. Singapore is NOT cheap. I'm hoping we can spare the cash to stay here long enough to celebrate my 30th birthday. I might insist Nathan take me to the theme park boasting a 1.2 kilometer cement luge.
So much to do. So much to see!

The Dragon

I came back to our room after writing my last post to find Nathan all worked up about something.  He barely gave me time to put my bag down before hauling me into the jungle in search of a 'dragon'.  Apparently he had heard a little scuffle on the steps outside of our stilt bungalow thirty minutes earlier.  He saw four cats piled one on top of the other on a huge boulder and wondered why they might be in such a panic.  Then, he claims, he saw the reason why.  An 8 foot lizard (dragon) had tried eating the kittens playing beneath the rock.  I was skeptical.  My skepticism resulted in mandatory jungle wandering in search of the creature.  The hotel must be doing some burning to clear the land for more bungalows, but Nathan assured me it was the dragon's fiery breath that scorched the land.  

The next day we took a snorkeling trip to another part of the island and saw several of these creatures.  We're not sure if they're Gila Monsters or Monitor Lizards, but they are indeed 8-9 feet long.  And the do indeed eat cats.  We had the good fortune of catching another much smaller lizard right outside of our bungalow as it dug through the dirt.  At first we thought it might be looking for a cool place to sleep, but shortly there after it grabbed a huge frog from an underground hiding place and swallowed it whole.  The swallowing process took about ten minutes because the frog was bigger than the neck of this thing.  It kept having to scrape its neck against the ground to help massage its meal down.  Impressive.
Our snorkeling trip was amazing.  We both got to see several sharks, a sting ray, and a lot of very beautiful fish and coral.  Despite our 50 spf sunblock, we were both torched on our back sides from floating face down all day.

Our choice of hotel (or rather..the hotel we were dropped off at without a choice) is in a great spot.  The service however...is atrocious.  Last night we waited an hour for our food..only to discover that somehow our order had been 'lost'.  It was taken again, and I am certain that we will be charged twice for it..since everything we order is added directly to our hotel bill.
Panuba Inn Resort..for those of you considering a trip.  A great place to read, snorkel and have peace and quiet.  But do not, under any circumstances..expect to be taken care of.  The staff would much rather be smoking a cigarette than doing something for you.

That said, we're having a great time.  We're both about to finish our second book since landing here, and will probably take another jungle walk today.  Although, our first jungle walk didn't work out so well for Nathan.  He tripped and fell into a pile of mystery leaves and bugs and then ten minutes later was jolted to a stop after a fern with teeth sunk its sharp little fangs into his forearm.  We're both still crossing our fingers it wasn't a poison fern..though I wouldn't be surprised.  Jungle walking is no joke.
Looks like we'll be spending my birthday in Singapore.
We'll be on a ferry back to the mainland at 0700 tomorrow and hopefully on a bus south by noon.

The Unthinkable

I have done the unimaginable. 
Six months ago, while I toiled over hostel bookings online, preparing for our trip with details, receipts, directions...I could have never in my wildest daydreams have believed this moment would come.  The moment that I, Jennifer Neves made Nathan Shenk-Boright uncomfortable with my total lack of planning.  Nathan is a man who I would describe not so much as an adventure seeker but as an adventure target.  He once explained his methodology thus:  Planning is an adventure-potential succubus.  The more you do, the less likely you are to stumble into something absolutely amazing, the less likely it is that you will learn something unexpected or be pushed to practice flexibility.  I think I probably scoffed at this explanation, assuming it was a clever excuse to justify missing plane flights, disregarding schedules, and having to make any sort of plan. 
I have changed.

Two days ago I suggested we go to the East coast of Malaysia based on some intel from my incredibly informed cousins (Thanks Simon, Niza and Adam!).  Nathan let me take the lead.  He falsely assumed I did my research before waking him at 0715 for a 0900 bus heading towards Mersing.  He accepted the 'plan' willingly, without asking any questions.  We got to the bus station, purchased our tickets and sat for an hour and a half waiting for a bus that showed on the computer screen as "on time" until 10 AM..at which point it finally rolled up.  We learned after boarding that we had purchased the last two seats on the only bus leaving for another 12 hours.  Flawless.

We arrived in Mersing six hours later and shuffled across the street to a shop selling ferry tickets to Tioman Island.  (The extent of my 'research' was that I knew an island by this name existed) We bought tickets.  The woman selling them asked where we wanted to be dropped off on the island.  I replied that we could get dropped off anywhere because we could always rent a motorcycle..at which point she rolled her eyes and told us there were no roads. 
"I see you have come here with bad information." she mocked. 
I think I caught her a bit off guard when I replied.  "No.  We came here with NO information.  Not bad."
I saw the map she was holding out and pointed at the Northern tip of the island where it said 'Salang Beach' and told her that's where we would go.
We got in line at the ferry terminal with the rest of the mob, then got herded into a boat.  Someone asked me where we were going and I replied confidently "Salang" (a word that Nathan apparently was hearing for the first time) One of the boat workers told us to get our bags and get off the boat.  This confused both Nathan and myself..Nathan, because he was certain I just made our destination up, and me because we had just been loaded onto a ferry with a ticket that did not specify which destinations were acceptable and which weren't.  Nathan started to argue with the ferry employee.
"Where is this boat going?  We'll go there." Nathan pushed. 
The guy replied "Sir, where are YOU going?" They exchanged these exact words back and forth about three times before the man grabbed onto his own hair, pulled it, and walked away groaning. 
Behind Nathan, a know-it-all tourist decided we needed a translator.  He tapped Nathan's shoulder and said "I think you're on the wrong boat man."
Nathan replied testily,  "How can I be on the wrong boat when I don't even know where my destination is?"
"Your girlfriend said 'Salang' "
"She was just making up words!"
Finally, Nathan looked over at me, flustered.  I explained that Salang was a beach in the North.  We disembarked and were sent to time-out for being poor planners (I suspect).  We sat on the pier, segregated from all of the other passengers who had not gotten on the wrong, totally unmarked boat.  When the other ferry showed up we were kicked to the back of the line.  Ferry number two seemed much more promising.  When a man asked Nathan where we were going, Nathan turned to me and shouted across isles "Hey Jenny, what was that word you used to get us kicked off the last ferry?"
"Salang."
"Right.  We're going to Salang." He said to the crew member.  The man nodded.  Things were looking up.
It took almost three hours and just before reaching 'Salang' everyone else on the boat got off.  We were tempted to follow, thinking they might all know something that we didn't..but, instead we decided to stick it out and wait for Salang.  After all, it was the reason we had endured a 45 minute time-out. 
Adventure!
We had no idea whether accommodation existed, or how much it would cost.  Nathan was brainstorming his Robinson Crusoe survival techniques as we pulled up to a dock.  Something seemed funny to the crew as we waved our goodbyes and trudged onto shore.  It all became clear when we checked in to the only hotel complex in miles.  On the reception counter there was a picture of Salang beach.  A place that we were very clearly NOT.  Nathan casually asked the guy behind the counter.."So, how far to Salang beach?" 
Twenty minutes by boat. 
In hindsight,  the ferry was likely trying to get rid of its last idiot passengers, so that it could turn around...and so it dropped us at the next available dock along the coast. 

Flawless indeed.