So, what's in Malaysia? {Part 2}

So..what else is in Malaysia?

Chinatown. 

KL has a great Chinatown, though the tourist shopping got a little overwhelming.

Malaysian episode of Hoarders?

We were on our trip during Chinese New Year! It is a huge deal in all of SE Asia, and they celebrate for two weeks! There were red lanterns everywhere, and we caught a couple of lions running around :)

Little India.

Though we didn't find very much shopping or food in Little India (our map absolutely sucked!), I loved the beauty of the area. So colorful!

We could do with some flowers in US streets, don't ya think?

Beautiful Money.

I am in love with Malaysian Ringgits. They are so pretty! I think the 10 MYR bill had toucans on the back. And I love how each bill is a different color, so its easy to find which one you need in your wallet. Beware though, 1 USD is equal to three MYR, so you think your getting a great deal. Turns out that instead, something in Malaysia that would be $100 in the US costs 300 ringgit. So.

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KFC.

Okay, KFC is seriously in every corner, crevice, nook, and cranny of Malaysia and SE Asia. Malaysia is predominately Muslim, so since they don't eat beef, they get their American fast food fix from the Colonel. We though it was hilarious how we literally saw it everywhere. They even sell breakfast!

Singapore coming soon..

Malaysia {Pt. 1}

So, what's in Malyasia? {Part 1}

We spent two days in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. We knew very little about the country, and it was a pleasant surprise! There are three main groups of people in KL: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. Though they all have their separate cultures, the main language spoken is English, so that everyone is able to communicate effectively. You can imagine our excitement after 5 days of pointing and speaking broken English in Thailand (no one understood our American accents), that we could talk to locals!

So I know what you're thinking, what's in Malaysia?

Good Food.

The apartment we stayed in was a few streets down from one of the greatest street-food-streets in Kuala Lumpur. We scored awesome Cantonese food, Turkish ice cream (durian flavored!), and some super amazing Indian food. My favorite was the roti canai. Mouth currently watering.

Caves. Batu Caves to be specific.

A two dollar train ticket and 20 minutes of your time will take you to the Batu Caves. We didn't get enough limestone cliff action in Thailand so we got some more here! You've really got to work for it though with all of those steps.

We lost count after 272.

Inside the caves include more steps(!), s few Hindu shrines, and (whodathunk) more monkeys!

These guys have no fear. They sit at the top of the cliffs until they hear the coconut vendor at the bottom of the cave crack open a coconut. The moment they hear it the come racing down in hopes of someone giving them a piece. We saw one steal a water bottle from an angry tourist. I love that monkeys in Malaysia are like seagulls in California. The people consider them scavengers and a nuisance.

The monkey cliff.

A cute little nuisance.

Oh my poor burnt white husband. <3

Tip: The best food I had in KL was the roti canai at the Indian restaurant just outside of the Batu Caves.  It's a buttery, flaky flatbread that comes with spicy dipping sauces. amazing. If you find yourself in Malayasia, get it.

Awesome Architecture.

 The most famous of all buildings is the Petronas Towers, of which Torrey conveniently reserved an apartment with an amazing view of them.

The first six stories of the towers are a gigantic mall with a delicious food court. And the grounds surrounding are beautiful.

The Kuala Lumpur Tower is a communication tower and the highest point in KL. We went up to grab some great views.

Like this one.

And there's like super cool fountains everywhere.

 

Ao Nang Pt. 2 // Ao Nang Pt. 1 // One Night in Bangkok

Ao nang Pt.2 - Monkey and Elephant Whispering.

Day Three in Ao nang was our favorite day. Ever. We started out early on a kayaking trip through a mangrove forest.

 

Being a geography nerd major, I was really excited to see the mangroves. They are so rare and rapidly being destroyed, so I'll probably never see them again!

Ecstatic.

 Our route took us through the mangroves to a beautiful lagoon. There were spaces that were so tight you could only fit one kayak at a time. Some parts you had to lie down to avoid being clotheslined by branches!

We went in a rather large group and met some really great people. An older couple from France were in Thailand for the past MONTH and had another week here. They spend they're lives traveling together and scuba diving wherever they can. Living the dream.

At one point we saw a monkey sitting in the mangroves watching the boats pass. I made a joke that it looked like one of the animals on Splash Mountain that is warning you before you go over the falls.
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Turns out he was the warning monkey, because after him there were monkeys everywhere! One jumped on our boat!

 He stole Torrey's water bottle, bit a hole in it and drank all of it! Then he just took a ride in our boat for a bit.

 

Just chillin with his new tourist bud.

After Torrey said goodbye to his new monkey friend, I made a new friend too.

Excited face.

 We. Rode. Elephants.They are the cutest and they're big leather ears slap your legs when they walk. And I love them.

Our last day in Ao Nang was filled with more relaxing and beach loving. We got massages every day, rented a motorcycle to drive down to Krabi, drank from coconuts, and ate lots (and lots) of noodles. But let's be honest you stopped listening after the elephants ;)

Note to Future Children: Mom and Dad need you to surprise them with a 25th anniversary trip back here. Please and thank you.

PS. If you noticed the color of Torrey's skin was a vibrant shade of pink, then you'll know he got BURNT to a crisp. Like every part of his body that was in the sun. Poor thing could barely move by our last day here, and spent the rest of our trip leaving a trail of skin flakes behind. Like a good brown wife that has never been sunburnt in her life, I bought lots of aloe to rub on his pink shoulders every night. #whitehusbandproblems

Until next time!
Ao Nang Pt 1 // One Night in Bangkok