Happy Holidays!

Hoping you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sending lots of holiday cheer from the 'land of smiles'--Thailand!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I did not have high expectations for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...as in zip--zero--nada--didn't even want to go there. I thought it was only for dodging the backpacker life and it wasn't 'real' adventure. But Christian was dead set on visiting this first class city...for the very reason that I didn't want to go there, but he described it in different words: 'it's a chance to have a little break from the road and enjoy sidewalks again...sidewalks!!', he said.

Being that we had to fly to Kuala Lumpur from Bali and Christian was dying to see some of the high-tech stuff in KL (and now he's dying to go to Korea and Japan!), we stopped over in the city for a few days.

Wow was I surprised. Maybe it was that my expectations were low to begin with, maybe it was that the Petronas Towers at night were more breathtaking than I originally thought or maybe it was the Christmas decorations and multitude of shops in the fancy mall underneath the Towers. But I was definitely enjoying being back in the first world again...walking through the perfume section of department stores...eating Southwestern eggrolls at Chili's (ya we did that...in a country that is famed for food...we were those 'tourists')...riding the metro back and forth. It felt good.

Christian was on the nerd-version of Cloud 9: in one of the biggest tech malls in KL (in all of Asia!), Christian whistled and smiled as he wandered into one store and out the next...then he splurged and bought a Kratos figurine (some gaming thing) for his future Man Cave. Pfff.

Anyway, we did get our fix of culture. Turns it we picked just the right weekend to visit KL since there was an annual street food festival going on. Just a short stroll from metro stop Bukit Bintang, we returned for dinner both nights of the festival. Won Ton Soup (both nights!), Chili Shrimp, Mie Goreng, mini Japanese pancakes...all underneath Chinese lanterns zigzagging back and forth over the street. And it's true, the food in Malaysia did not disappoint.

So, would we do a quick stopover in KL again? Absolutely! And we already are, we'll be going back to KL for the Future Music Festival Asia in March...and I'm sure we'll squeeze in a wander around the Petronas Tower again...ok and the mall too.

HOSTEL TIP

*Suzie's Guesthouse was exactly what the reviews said it was: home-y and friendly! One night we just lounged indoors and chatted to some Norwegians. And the staff were so sweet! It's just around the corner from a metro stop, one stop again from KL Sentral and right in Chinatown.

{Christian in Tech Heaven at one of the biggest tech malls in Asia}

{Half day trip to Batu Caves--direct train from KL Sentral}

Deserted Gili Meno & a Swarm of Jellyfish

After spending a few days on Gili T, we yearned to find a deserted beach. And rumor had it that the island, Gili Meno, just across the water from Gili T was it! Over the years we had realized that the places we always loved the most were the small, off the beaten path towns and villages which have few tourists (Mljet, Croatia was one of them!).

We got to the ferry office at 9AM in the morning and bought a roundtrip ticket for a few bucks to Gili Meno. It's just a quick 15-20 min trip across the water and the boat picks you back up around 3:30PM in the afternoon. Again we beelined to the nearest snorkel stand and basically took off straight through the island to the other side. Immediately we had wished we could spend just one night on Gili Meno.

I heard, in passing, that Gili Meno was up and coming in previous years...until the Bali bombing in 2002. We walked past crumbling island resorts and wooden lodges, saw palmtrees which had fallen over onto bungalows and trees and vines that were starting to swallow bungalows and empty swimming pools. It was a bit creepy but we definitely felt like this was a Paradise Lost type of place. Soon after the bombings, apparently tourism took a nosedive and the owners and developers of these new resorts just left.

Anyway, the beaches and snorkeling in Gili Meno are even more amazing than Gili T...hands-down! Walking along the deserted pathways on the Western side of the island we even spotted a 6 foot long monitor lizard (kind of like a komodo dragon)! 

On our last snorkel spot, the wind had really picked up. But we saw some divers in the water and figured that it would be a great spot to snorkel. Once we started, I thought I saw a piece of floating plastic in the water...then I saw another one and got suspicious...and then after I saw yet another one SWIMMING then I realized what I was looking at: a jellyfish! 

Then I saw another and another and another and: swarm of jellyfish!

Christian was out farther than I was and I knew he'd freak. They were tiny and clear so I was a bit more at ease knowing that weren't the giant freaky ones you see in aquariums. Even the ones in Mexico looked more scary looking. But then I thought sometimes the tiniest animals come with the nastiest bite. 

So I told him to swim back..."why?" "just swim back...I just need to swim back, come to shore with me" while I try to gracefully swim back while knowing I could get stung at any moment. I mean if I could see 5-6 right in front of my mask then there had to be tons more nearby.

But then I changed my mind 10 feet offshore and thought maybe a tiny freak-out would be fun. Then I told him we were swimming in a swarm of jellyfish. Cue freak-out ;).

Snorkeling in Gili T, Indonesia

The morning after we set foot on that beautiful beach in Lombok, we were on our way to the Gili Islands between Bali and Lombok. The car whisked us the 2 hours to the port of Bangsal and through Lombok's monkey forest. It was something like out of a movie--driving through a dense, green jungle riddled with monkeys...and I mean we must have seen hundreds sitting and swinging around on the side of the road! Some with babies latched to their bellies :).

Soon we boarded the boat to Gili Trawangan (Gili T for short!). In a boat filled with 40 locals, eggs, vegetables, gasoline, supplies, etc., we were 2 of the only foreigners on the boat.

The day before we left for the Gilis we went to Agoda.com and got yet another sweet deal for Coconut Dream Bungalows in Gili T. The location is just off a small street perpendicular to the main street and only 5 min walking from Gili T's small port. We had an outdoor shower, A/C, a outdoor lounge bed and breakfast brought to our patio each morning...all for only about $25! 

Gili T is a perfect backpacker island. The beaches around the island are beautiful and the water is so warm. There is cheap happy hour, movie nights on the beach and a big party at a different bar each night. One night we cozied up and watched The Great Gatsby on a big screen right on the beach! Outdoor movies are my absolute favorite so I was stoked.

Our favorite part about Gili T was snorkeling. Christian really caught on to 'this new sport' as he would call it...lol. We used the bikes from our bungalows for free, rented some snorkel gear for $5/day and dove under. While we didn't see any sea turtles as I had hoped, we saw a good portion of the Finding Nemo cast and an eel. And a baby triggerfish tried to nip me ;). Perhaps I got a little too close. 

TIPS

*We arranged our transfer to Bangsal and boat to Gili T the day before we wanted to leave in Kuta, Lombok--super easy and there are plenty of places selling tickets and tours.

*The main street in Gili T has really cool beach bars with daily happy hour, live music and lounge chairs right on the beach. 

*Our tummies hadn't yet craved Indonesian food while we were on Gili T. Instead we split a burger at the island's only Irish bar Tir Na Nog for a couple nights and it was SO good...highly recommended! (`ya ya we're a little bit ashamed)

{The snorkel king}

Lombok, Indonesia and the MOST Beautiful Beach

We got to Kuta, Lombok in Indonesia with our sights set on surf lessons, motorbiking and eating lots of delicious food. But this didn't go quite as planned.

I mean, we did make it to an Indonesian warjung and had the most delicious chicken satay and nasi goreng and we did manage to book surf lessons for the next morning. Then disaster struck: food poisoning :(.

We made a shoddy attempt at eating poultry at KFC on Thanksgiving at Kuala Lumpur airport (and have a smiley pic of us of we sent to my family so they knew we were celebrating too)...and as a result I spent the next couple days in bed watching Youtube videos. Just as I was getting better (and still semi-bitter that we had to cancel those surf lessons), it struck Christian too...

Oy. Fortunately, we were staying at a great bunch of bungalows (Kuta Cove Hotel) and the sweet woman at the front would bring us food and tea whenever we asked. Unfortunately, we had to delay our trip to the Gili Islands by a few days. But on a positive note we didn't have any guesthouses booked anyway so that sweet lady at Kuta Cove Hotel said we could stay another night...then another night...then another night. 

Well...food poisoning was bound to happen eventually right? I hate you, KFC.

Although we had just endured a couple hell-ish days, we were in for a treat: heaven.

On our last day in Kuta Lombok, we hopped on a motorbike (for a measly $5 per day!) and attempted to explore as much of the area as we could. We zipped through jungle roads, past palm trees and banana leaves and enjoyed the sunshine. I was thinking "pffff what monsoon season?!"

As if motorbiking around the beautiful scenery wasn't enough, we found ourselves perhaps the most perfect beach we'd ever seen. The sky was blue, the clouds looked like cottonballs floating along in the sky and there it was: Tanjung Aan Beach.

This ocean was cascading shades of blues and greens, the sand was silky and smooth and the water was so warm. Soon, we (nearly) forgot about that bout of food poisoning...and said yes when one of the only other people on the beach (an old Indonesian guy) offered us a coconut for $2. Yep, this place was nearly deserted (but word on the street is that a Club Med is coming soon...so get there ASAP!).

If you ever find yourself in Kuta Lombok, get your booty on a motorbike and head East...that's where you'll find paradise.

TIPS
We got a killer deal on the Kuta Cove Hotel bungalows on Agoda.com. And we got free breakfast...when we actually ate breakfast ;)

Kuta Beach is beautiful too...don't miss it.

Bring some rupiahs with you to Tanjung Aan...parking is about 50 cents and that coconut was pretty refreshing ;)

Don't forget to rent a motorbike...we both agreed that the motorbike and this beautiful beach was a highlight of our trip so far.

{Kuta Beach}

{Tanjung Aan Beach...aahhhhh we already want to go back}

{The contrast of colors were incredible}