Swindles In Malaysia (Part Three)

Arriving back in KL (a few hours late...thanks a lot, train) we seamlessly transferred to the Hertz rental car office, and that is where the easy transport for the day ended abruptly. After filling out paper work and getting the car all loaded up, we were just in time to hit extreme KL rush hour. Translation of extreme: it took us one hour to get approximately two city blocks from the Hertz place. Yuck. Then, as luck would have it, it happened to be the night before the spike in gas prices was going to take place, and so EVERY gas station we passed had lines out onto the highway, with at least 50 cars at each station. It was crazy, and took us until around 11 p.m. to reach Ipoh, our destination. We had originally hoped to arrive around 5. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got into town, and Dad deserves all the credit for being such a trooper through the crazy roads.

We woke up mostly recovered from our horrible traffic nightmare and began to get excited about our day in Ipoh. We had scheduled a guide to take us on an outdoor tour of the rain forest and other areas, and he showed up at 9 to begin our adventure.

After taking us by the old train station in Ipoh, our first real stop with Casey was an Indian restaurant to sample some local cuisine, which we loved. We especially loved the puffy bread (that's definitely not the correct name, but I forgot) and masala tea.





























Then Casey took us to a huge cave, only recently open as a tourist attraction, and we spent about an hour weaving our way through the darkness. (Oh yeah, and we paid a visit to the gift shop where Dad found a shirt he really connected with.)





































Then it was time to hit the rain forest, but on the way we stopped by a rubber tree plantation, which was so interesting! I never knew that rubber was created this way: essentially the rubber trees just bleed pure rubber. Farmers tap the trees for rubber like New Englanders do for maple syrup.















Continuing to the rain forest, we enjoyed the beautiful and unusual scenery along the way. Casey, by the way, turned out to not only be a great tour guide but a great guy all around. We loved our day spent with him and couldn't have asked for a better Ipoh friend. He was knowledgeable fun, and energetic, and Ipoh was one of our favorite Malaysia stops largely due to him. We spent the afternoon "jungle trekking" into the rain forest, eating a traditional Malay lunch, and swimming in a cool, refreshing waterfall. We even were able to observe the Orang Asli, a group of nomadic people who live in the rain forest and who, Casey told us, are thought to be the oldest pure race in the world.

Swindles In Malaysia (Part Two)

Singapore, our only non-Malaysian stop, was a wonderfully clean and enjoyable place. We stayed at a quaint hotel in Little India, and loved the area we were in, near many delicious little cafes.















Our hotel was also within walking distance of an unbelievable store. This place sold EVERYTHING – electronics, jewelry, vitamins, shoes, soccer balls, groceries, and then some. Dad even ended up finding a great new camera for a great price.



















Because our time in Singapore was limited (we were there for only two nights) tried to make the most of our time by squeezing things in. The first night we went to the highly recommended night safari, where we saw a nocturnal animal show and then rode through the zoo looking at various animals that are active at night. We all enjoyed it, and the nighttime element meant cool animals AND cool temperatures – a win-win!



















The next day we decided to take a city tour that Mr. Lim had recommended called Hippo tours, which turned out well because we were able to see a lot of the city in a short amount of time. We had two different guides – both very good – and enjoyed seeing famous Singapore landmarks, learning more about the city’s development, and being clued into housing options in Singapore.

























































After the tour, we had some time to kill before we were going to have tea at the famous Raffles Hotel, so we checked out a nearby mall (there are malls aplenty in Singapore, we quickly learned) and took advantage of the massage and exercise opportunities we found. Here is Dad working out his abs and Mom and me getting eye massages…or getting ready to join Star Trek.























































Before long, it was teatime and we were off to the Raffles Hotel. Tea was wonderful, and an incredibly special trip memory for me. The hotel itself has an old, majestic, historic feel, and we were served delicious cream cakes, sandwiches, and scones in the lovely dining room.





































































That night, full from our fabulous tea, we completed our time in Singapore by seeing the new Indiana Jones movie and then taking a moonlight walk along the quay. We left early, early the next morning to catch our train back to KL, where we would rent a car for the remainder of the trip. During our train ride, we stopped for just a minute in Kluang, only to find the entire Lim clan waiting at the tracks for us. We were so excited to see them! We hopped off the train and quickly hugged everyone, and they had gotten us drinks and kaya buns from the cafe. Those few minutes turned out to be some of the best of the whole trip. We love the Lims!

Swindles In Malaysia (Part One)

Well, my family's trip to Malaysia was a huge success, full of precious time together, many laughs, beautiful scenery, lots of rice, and glorious air conditioned hotel rooms. I think I'll have to split this into at least two installments, just to make sure I get lots of good details and photos in.

The trip began in the wee hours of the morning a little over two weeks ago, when Richard, Dorothy, and Susan arrived in the KL airport. (They had flown through Seoul and had been on a flight with George's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Jemison, on the way over. They were on the way to visit George in Korea, and we were thrilled that they were on the same international flight -- what are the odds?)

Because I have spent several weekends in KL, I was happy to play tour guide there and take my family to some of my favorite places. Our first stop on day one: shopping on Petaling Street. This turned out to be a huge hit, especially with Susan, who stocked up on tons of fake Polo, Lacoste, Coach, and Tiffany's stuff. Poor Dad -- we quickly ran through all the ringget he had gotten from the ATM that morning.

After our shopping spree, we headed to the Batu Caves so my family could see this impressive and unique Hindu temple-in-a-cave. We climbed all 272 steps to reach the cave's entrance, and had fun watching all the monkeys who live around the caves.



















Day two in KL started bright and early because we wanted to make it to the Petronas Towers early enough to get free tickets to the skybridge. Thoroughly nourished and extremely content after our amazing breakfast at the Hilton, we happily waited in line for our Petronas tickets and then had a little time to kill before our scheduled skybridge time.



















To help pass the time, we each got hour-long foot reflexology sessions, followed by 30-minute back massages. It was pretty glorious, and we were a relaxed bunch and ready to check out the view from the towers.





























Next up: a trip to the Lake Garden's Bird Park, supposedly "the largest bird park in the world." We enjoyed seeing the many interesting birds (some more hilarious looking than others) and even got to hold newborn baby chicks. We made it out of the park just before a huge rainstorm hit, too, so we were pretty fortunate.























































For our last dinner in KL, we chose the Coliseum Cafe after reading this intriguing review in Frommer's: "What can I say about Coliseum? Okay, the place is 86 years old, and so is the staff (seriously, some have worked here their whole lives). Located in the grottiest hotel I've ever witnessed, with stained white walls, worn tile floors, and threadbare linens, this is KL's authentic "greasy spoon." It sounds dreadful, but the place is legendary, and someday it will be gone and there will never be anything else like it." Sure enough, we found the staff to be, well, quite practiced, and the building to be smoky and grungy, but the food (steak!) was excellent and we had a great experience.















The next day it was time to head south to Kluang, Johor, but we had time to squeeze in a quick visit to the National Museum before we left KL. The museum only costs RM2 (about 60 U.S. cents) and gives a helpful overview of Malaysia's history as a colonized nation. Perhaps the best discovery the Swindle family made at the museum, though, was our love for the Malaysian "corn-in-cup," which is, just as it sounds, a little cup filled with warm corn mixed with salt and butter. We went on to enjoy many a corn-in-cup over the next two weeks.



















To get to Kluang, we took the train down from KL. I love riding on trains, and we were able to see lots of beautiful countryside (including countless palm oil trees) on the way. We were so excited the whole time to visit with Sharon Lim-Harle's family and to see the town she grew up in!















Arriving in Kluang, we were met at the station by Sharon's brother J.P. and her father, Mr. Lim. From the second we arrived until the second we left Kluang, the Lim family showed us nothing but genuine hospitality and wonderful companionship. We enjoyed eating at many of the Lim-affiliated Chinese eateries in the town, and were especially impressed by the kaya buns at the Kluang Railway Coffee shop.

Our time in Kluang was limited, but Mr. Lim was a thorough tour guide and so we made the most of each minute. We even squeezed in a short visit to Melaka, where we saw the famous Portuguese-and-then-Dutch occupied city, something I had been interested to see for a while.











































Although the architecture and history of Melaka was intriguing, I think my dad's favorite part of the trip was sampling some Indian vegetable fried puff things. He talked about them for the rest of the time he was in Malaysia!















Other highlights of our time in Kluang include a visit to Mrs. Lim's grave site, a tour of Sharon's old high school, and a great breakfast send-off when we boarded the train to Singapore.

Traditional Medicine

Ever since I got back from Lake Kenyir, my eyes have been bothering me. They have been red and watery and sensitive to the sunlight, and it's been annoying. I figured that I got some kind of germ when I went swimming in the lake, and maybe something got stuck in my contacts. Anyway, when I went to school on Monday I ate breakfast with a group of teachers at the canteen, and all of them were commenting on how my eye was red and looked "sore." Many of the teachers thought I should go to the doctor to get things checked out, but Hayati, my ever-entertaining foster sister, had her own unique solution to the problem.

She announced that she knew a non-medicinal way to help heal "sore eyes," and then began to explain her method.

Hayati: "So what you need to do is find a woman who has recently given birth. One who is producing milk. Because, you know, breast milk is full of antibodies. So you lay down on her lap and have her drip a few drops of milk into your eye, and then the antibodies will get in there and and heal your eye. No medicine!"

Wait, wait, wait, wait, let's just back up there for one second. She wants me to lay on some woman's lap and have her put her breast milk in my eyeballs. Wow, Hayati, this takes your craziness to a whole new level. Even if the milk was helpful with healing, why in the world would we use that particular method to get it into the eye? It seems like the accuracy would be so off, not to mention the awkwardness of the situation in general.

It's during moments like these that I'm especially disappointed to be the only Westerner at my school, so that there's no one else to share these priceless moments with.

As a bonus, we went to the doctor and my eyes are fine (I got some drops), but Hayati told the nurse to write me a medical excuse through Wednesday, so I don't have to go back to school until Thursday (I had my appointment on Monday morning). It's perfect because the students are taking exams from now until the end of the month, and so I'm missing nothing by not being there. All in all, the eye thing was a good experience because I got an amazing story and some free time out of it.

Field Trips Malay-Style

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent my weekends chaperoning school field trips. Two weekends ago, Gwynne and I planned a joint nature day for our two schools, where we each brought a group of 30 students to Sekayu Falls, a beautiful, tropical waterfall about an hour outside of KT. The day went fine, but it was definitely very Malay at times, which can be frustrating to us Americans.

For example, Gwynne and I both had other teachers come with us to help chaperone, since there were 60 students there. However, right when we arrived at the waterfall, Hayati (one of the chaperones from my school) came up to me and said, “Okay, Anna, all the teachers will be down by the river eating fried rice if you need us,” and that was that. So much for extra help. Luckily we had brought Michael along, and he was able to help up keep an eye on everyone, especially during the jungle trek (hike).















Even though we weren’t able to get done with all the activities we had planned for the day, Gwynne and I were pleased with how the nature day turned out. I think the kids had fun, too, and that’s definitely important. We were able to go on a nature hike, write nature haiku, make individual pledges to help protect the environment and sign a group banner. By 4 o’clock, though, Gwynne and I were ready to call it a day!





























Then, last weekend I went with eight other teachers and 130 students on a camping trip at Lake Kenyir, the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia. We had a wonderful time and were in a beautiful location on an island. Here I am with a group of students and the other female teachers who went on the trip.


























The highlight for me was kayaking in the lake on Thursday. They separated the girls into three groups to do three different activities, and I liked kayaking so much that I was able to go twice, with two different groups.






























I was extremely impressed with the girls’ ability to be self-sufficient on the camping trip. Within minutes of our arrival on the island, they all had their tents set up and ready to go.















Then, for every meal, they started fires and cooked food in groups of about eight. Kids here are educated in “life skills” and learn things like basic mechanics, camping skills, and cooking. I feel like those are such useful skills, and wish American children were taught more things like that. Below is one of the 20 bags of rice we brought with us because, really, what's a good camping trip without pounds and pounds (or I guess kilos and kilos) of rice?















A few funny things from camping:

1. There was a wild boar that kept coming near our campsite, searching for food. Every time it came near, the students would start screaming and throwing sticks and rocks at it, and banging pots and pans to scare it away. I kept wanting to take pictures of “the pig,” and so every time it came near someone would yell, “Miss Anna, get your camera!” And so I would run in front of the mob of stick throwers and try to take a picture of the poor pig as it was running for its life. The kids were especially scared of “the pig” because in Islam, pigs are very forbidden; Muslims aren’t even supposed to TOUCH a pig. This made the situation funnier because they were already grossed out by the species.















2. No one would let me help with anything at the camp. They were doing it to be polite, and to treat me like a guest, but anyone who knows me knows that I need to feel needed and helpful. I would wander around while everyone was cooking, asking (begging, really) if I could help with anything, but everyone would just tell me to “sit down and enjoy.” Little did they know that “sitting down” would definitely not be the most enjoyable task for me. I know they were just trying to be kind, and I really appreciate that, but it was still hard for me to feel so un-helpful all weekend. Here I am trying to get a group to let me help them make dinner. My efforts were unsuccessful.















3. In Malay culture, things like burping and spitting are very commonplace, and are not thought of as rude. Obviously, this is a little difficult to get used to as an American where these things are so taboo. The funny thing is, not only are burps and spitting allowed, they are not even acknowledged by anyone. When someone burps, no one turns around to see who it was, or comments, “Wow, that was a good one!” or anything. It is virtually ignored. Well, one of the teachers who was on the trip with me was the biggest burper I’ve ever met. She burped during all hours of the day: while getting dressed in the morning (she hadn’t even eaten anything yet…where were these burps coming from?), during meals, during jungle trekking…it was really impressive. I had to try so hard, though, not to look in her direction whenever she burped. It is just an instinct, I think, to look for the source when you hear a strange sound like that, but here it would be rude and strange. Finally, by the end of the trip, I was good at hearing the sound and keeping a straight face and not quickly turning my head. I counted it as quite an accomplishment.

4. Before we could go kayaking, we had to take part in a “water confidence” test, which consisted of everyone jumping into a six-foot-deep pool of water while wearing a life jacket, and then basically just floating there. Easy, right? Well, apparently not if you grew up in Terengganu. Despite being a state with a huge coastline, hardly any kids in Terengganu learn to swim at ALL, and so the water confidence test was frightening for many of the girls. It was funny, too, because after kayaking a few people jumped into the lake (with their life jackets on) to swim and cool down, and I took off my life jacket and swam without it. I would just be treading water or something and all the students and other teachers would be so amazed, and asked me if I was an “expert swimmer.” Guess I passed my “water confidence” test with flying colors. Below are some girls pre-water confidence test.















Note: During the kayaking excursion, and for all other events throughout the trip, the girls wore long pants, loose, long-sleeved shirts, tudungs (head coverings), socks, and tennis shoes. It was a little extreme. Below is a photo of the kayaking instructor at the camp. Please compare his attire to the aforementioned girls’ clothing and tell me what is at all fair about the situation.