Estoy Terminado

One year is done. 12 months of cracking the code that is Korean culture. 52 weeks of molding young, precious minds. 365 days multiplied by saying hello 40 times daily, minus the days missed due to travel to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, divided by the two cases of food poisoning in Thailand and Busan, plus the countless trips and soju shots and 삼겹살 meals around the country of South

 Korea equals one hell of an experience. Next stop is a month's trek with Malia and Stephen through Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines before landing in Phoenix to see Kevin for a couple days before my final destination in Charlotte. Couldn't have been happier with this opportunity. Picture of all my students on the last day pending. 

The Gang Visits SE Asia. Third Stop: Indonesia

Visiting Malaysia and Singapore were just little stops we added on to the trip, as the main spot was Indonesia. For us, as budget travelers, it was considerably cheaper to fly into Kuala Lumpur, like I said in the KL post. Then we figured we could stop by Singapore since it was cheap to get to from KL, and about the same to fly into Bali, Indonesia. We got into Bali on a Tuesday night, and the following day hired a driver to take us around the best spots on the southern part of the island. After that day, we made a long, sweaty trip to the northwestern tip of Bali to take a ferry over to East Java. We went with one purpose: to hike and see Kawah Ijen, or Ijen Crater Lake, the world's largest acidic lake. We stayed in a cool hotel in a very underdeveloped area of the large island, and went from Hindu Bali to Muslim Java, a huge change. We got picked up from the hotel at 4 in the morning the next day, and after an hour got to the base of the mountain, where we then switched into four-wheel drive. The terrain was terrible, and for 40 minutes we jiggled our brain matter going up the side of the mountain, until we finally arrived on solid ground to begin the ascent. Some time later, after sunrise and passing many sulfur miners, we got to the top, where the air instantly changed from being crisp and cool to dank and smelly and visibility low due to the sulfur fumes. Clambering around we got to see some great views of the lake, and the sheer drops down to the surface. It was one of the best hikes I've ever had. The clouds and fog rolled over the tree tops, so only the mountaintops were visible, at least at the beginning. We got back to the hotel around 10 or 11, thinking we were going to pass out, but instead played in the pool doing wrestling moves all day, and all night heard calls to prayer, as it was the end of Ramadan. Fantastic.

Other highlights of the Indonesia trip were visiting beautiful rice fields of Jatiluwih, where the art of growing rice has been perfected over the hundreds of years, carved out of the hillsides. Such a picturesque beauty.

We also rented scooters in Ubud, Bali (culture area), and rode around all day to the Elephant Caves, where Steve, Fernando and I swam in the lucky river, and also rode to the Sacred Monkey Forest, where we witnessed hundreds of macau monkeys harass tourists dumb enough to buy bananas at the gate.

We stayed in the jungle 2 nights. Well, not really. But the hotel we stayed at recently added on because of lots of business, but they added on a mile down the road, in the middle of the woods, with no hot water, weird electricity, and excellent service. It was a really cool experience! The people of Bali were so incredibly friendly, and spoke very good English, that we were able to really get to know the people we stayed with sometimes.

We went to a traditional Balinese dance show, all music vocal and all costumes really well done, and it ended with a horseman running barefoot through hot coals.

Drank some liquor distilled from coconut palm tree flowers. Never again. It should be called Balinese Moonshine.

Snorkeling in the Gilis was pretty cool. We had some delicious grilled corn slathered with homemade spicy butter, and I helped the guys shuck their corn, and even raced them. They won. By a mile.

Uluwatu, Bali

Uluwatu, Bali

Uluwatu, Bali

Uluwatu, Bali

Statue at Tanah Lot temple

Tanah Lot temple, Bali

Jatiluwih, Bali

Jatiluwih

Padang Padang Beach, Bali

Pig picking in Ubud, Bali

Uluwatu, Bali

Swimming near the Elephant Caves, Bali

Near the Elephant Caves, Bali

Near the Elephant Caves, Bali

Our sweet rides

Seminyak Beach, Bali

Shrimp burger and fried noodles, chocolate banana shake, Uluwatu

The Gang Visits SE Asia. Second Stop: Singapore

After our stint in Kuala Lumpur, we figured we were close enough to Singapore that we could hop over and eat some more good food and check out the clean city before going down to Indonesia. The only thing on my to-do list was to visit a hawker center to get some cheap Singapore food, and check out the downtown area with its famed dirt-free streets and well-structured buildings. That's it. We weren't disappointed. I am curious as to how much money has gone into that city! The hawker centers are basically warehouses filled with different food vendors, all for very cheap. The food is similar to food from Kuala Lumpur; heavily influenced by Chinese and Indian cuisine. Lots of noodles and rice, of course, usually topped with chicken, pork, duck, or fish, some sort of spicy sauce to dip in. We ate as much as we could. I think my favorite was braised pork and chicken over rice with spinach. Oh yeah, in Malaysia we had bullfrog (tastes like chicken) and stingray (doesn't taste like chicken). At night, we hung around the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, located across a bay, to watch a light show put on. Maybe next time I go to Singapore (in October), I will go to the top of the Hotel and swim in their pool : O.

First meal. Chicken, curry-breaded cauliflower, rice, curry dipping sauces  and garlic cheese naan (not pictured)

Funny ad for Kickapoo Joy Juice

Marina Bay Sands Hotel light show

By the bay

The Gang Visits SE Asia. First Stop: Kuala Lumpur

Luckily, my group (college buds Fernando, Stephen, girlfriend Malia, fellow teacher Rylan) and I were fortunate enough to get a hefty summer vacation all with the same dates, so we planned out a jam-packed trip to Southeast Asia. We discovered flights to be cheaper if we stopped through Kuala Lumpur, the hub for our airline, Air Asia. Kuala Lumpur is a healthy mix of Chinese, Indian, and Malay, so it goes without saying I was excited for the food there. I wasn't disappointed. Cheap and delicious. Kuala Lumpur is a massive city and we only had a couple days there, so we planned to only see a few things. This wasn't a Malaysian vacation, anyway. It was just en route to Indonesia. So we stopped by what we deemed the essentials. Steve and I went to the top of the Petronas Towers, the world's largest twin towers. We also went to the Batu Caves, one of the most famous Hindu sites outside of India. Luckily we visited the KL Bird Park, the world's largest free-flight, walk-in aviary. Other than that we ventured around Chinatown and the City Hall-like area, basically just aimlessly browsing. It was fun. A good first step toward our end goal. As always, for more pictures, visit my blog by clicking the pictures at the top!

Toucan!

Very famous Central Market in the heart of KL

Green mango, apple, and guava

Touring the city

Our hostel-owner's macau monkey. This one liked to wrestle with cats.

View of the other tower from inside one of the Twin Towers.

Jackfruit. Smells.

Beginning of the 272-step ascent to Batu Caves.

Inside the caves!

Hiking Sorak Mountain

Looking through older pictures, I realized I never put up pictures from when we went hiking in the northeastern side of the country.

Sokcho Beach Marina