The past two days ...

Well, I know that miss Fox blogged only two days ago, but the past two days have been epic enough for us to feel like people might be interested in a play-by-play. This form of blogging isn't our usual style: we usually prefer to keep it general. But, these past two days ... Well let me start yesterday morning.

The morning of Monday April 27th found us in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), Vietnam. Laura and I woke up in our hostel early and with purpose. Our passports, as you may imagine after 6 months of travel, have become filled with stamps of all shapes, sizes and colors. We needed more pages inserted, and that meant a trip to the US consulate. Any traveler will tell you that the consulate is a place of overly air-conditioned boredom. There are long lines, innefficient bureaucrats, and the cramped rooms always smell funny. So, expecting to spend all day trapped in the consulate vacuum we hustled out into the loud morning and made it to the consulate just before 9am only to find, to our dismay, a line out the door. Groaning, we ask the security guard for directions, but are pleasantly surprised when, after we describe our purpose, he shuttles us past the poor suckers waiting in line and before we know it we are in the overly air-conditioned room previously described. We walk right up to an empty window, and after filling out a form, the woman tells us to wait 30 minutes. Suuuure I think. This is where the real waiting starts ... Imagine our greater surprise at being outside the consulate, with newly thickened passports in hand some 20 minutes later!

Realizing that we now had a whole day ahead of us we decided to get to a bus station as quickly as possible because we had finished with Saigon and wanted to move to southern Cambodia. Our plan was to move south to a small Vietnam city named Rach Gia for the night. Then catch a bus the next morning to the Vietnam border town of Ha Tien. Then find someone to take us over the border to Kampot, Cambodia. The very nice, giggly girl booking our bus ticket was at first skeptical of our plan, insisting that we go north in Cambodia to Phnom Penh, as the border crossing there is supposed to be very easy for tourists. Well, this rustled our feathers a but and we assured the girl that we were game for a mode authentic experience. Needless to say, we decided to stick to our original plan, and called ourselves true adventurers ...

10 minutes later as I am clinging to some man for dear life as we swerve in and out of the legendary traffic in Saigon, I am regretting this bold move, and contemplating my lackluster medical insurance. The last time I found myself on the back of a motorbike, I was wearing a billowing skirt and sharing gelato with my very tall, dependable Italian man-friend as we cruised through the streets of Rome. This was decidedly NOT that situation. Now I was sweaty, smelly, and clinging to a man half my size praying that my backpack would stay in place in front of the driver where it was wedged between himself and the handles.
We make it to the bus station and are pushed into the very last two seats of the mini-van sized car we are taking on the 6 hour trip south to Rach Gia. I figured, after surviving the motorbike ride, which actually turned out to be fun, this part would be cake. There is a pattern developing here that I hope you are catching on to, being that very little turns out as I expect.

2 hours later, Laura and I have steams of nonstop sweat trickling down our faces because the air-conditioning is either off or broken, I have decided that the driver might seriously be trying to kill us all, and the small Vietnamese woman next to me (ie, sitting in my lap because I have to scrunch what must seem like my insanely long American legs into her space because I can't fit sitting forward) has already vomited for the first time. 4 hours later she has vomited again, inadvertantly thrown dried squid guts all over my leg (who carries unwrapped dry squid guts in their bag?), and has taken to fits of sleep which end up with her either falling into my lap, or the more painful crash of her skull against my poor shoulder. I tried to stay compassionate, but Laura can attest to the fact of me almost losing it. But, despite the general uncomfort, there were also moments of pure enjoyment. The act of just traveling like that is special. It was clearly the authentic way to go, as Laura was the only other tourist I saw all day, and going through the southern countryside was gorgeous. We survived the 6 hours, made it to Rach Gia and sat on the backs of more motorbikes to get to a hotel. Laura sweated he way through a bowl of spicy pho soup (really, have we mentioned that we sweat a lot? Even at night? I watched a trickle of sweat pass from her brow, down her face, off her chin, thankfully missing her soup) and then collapsed into bed after the day's adventures.

If you are still following me, you will realize I am only halfway through my story. This morning we woke up in Rach Gia, Vietnam and got back to the bus station where I was literally pushed and shoved and hustled by a small, plump Asian woman onto her bus to the border. She was a serious business woman, and also insisted on speaking rapid Vietnamese to me, but somehow we came to a price agreement. After two hours of bumping along on that vehicle (in which the woman sitting next to Fo vomited her breakfast ... Is it us, or them?), we realize we must be getting close to our destination because people are getting off every so often, but no one has said anything to us yet, so we stay put. Suddenly the bus driver signals to a man outside, who leaps on the bus and asks us if we are trying to cross the border into Cambodia. Our new friend's name is Nam, and when we give him the affirmative we are practically thrown off the bus to find ourselves ... Well, really to find ourselves in the middle of nowhere. But Nam (like Vietnam) and his friend Luk (like Luke) are standing by their trusty motorbikes and tell us that to get to Kampot, our Cambodian destination, our only option is to take their bikes. After haggling the price for a while, we agree.

We cross the border with Nam and Luk and begin our 2 hour drive through the farmland. Metaphorically or not, the paved road ended on the Cambodian side, and we found ourselves on an orange dirt road surrounded by jungle covered mountains and sprawling rice paddies and dodging huge water buffaloes. No matter what I say, no matter what pictures you may see, there is honestly nothing I can do to give this experience justice. It was magical. Well, actually, 20 minutes later it started raining, so then it was wet, but I think I can speak for Laura here when I say that I have not very often had such a strong sense of LIVING. I was soaked, we were going fast enough for the raindrops to sting my face, and I found myself again clinging to a small (I think most people from the united states over the age of 10 weigh more than this person) man for dear life. The ride was eventful as we splashed our way to Kampot. Highlights include squealing everytime we caught air going over a ditch, and sharing girl scout cookies during Nam and Luk's cigarette break. Luk was very amused by me and would point out things of interest as we sped along. Laura and I were both asked out on dates upon saying goodbye, but I warned of my 2 large, Sicilian brothers at home and our drivers left.

Now we find ourselves safe and sound in Kampot. We had dinner while watching the sunset on the river that cuts through the town. We found a very cute guesthouse and are planning on spending a few days in this quiet utopia.

We figure we have earned some days of staying put, exploring a new town, making new friends.

Love to all. Jca
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sweating -- it's what we do

Vietnam -- if you are researching the best time to go to Vietnam, you will most likely be told that April is the ideal month, lucky for us, right? It's true, the rainy season is not yet in full swing, but that doesn't mean we are dry. It is so hot here. So hot and humid that while Jessica "sweating makes me feel healthy" Caimi sits under a fan, indoors, after a downpour, in the late afternoon, her brow is still covered in pellets of sweat. It also happens that viruses thrive in weather like this so I was nice enough to pass on a little staff infection to both Jessica and my father (who sweats so much that his clothing is stained with white rings as the salt from his sweat deposits on his Tommy Bahama button-down). Now that you can imagine our oily faces and smelly clothing, I can stop complaining and describe how incredible Vietnam is. It has been a whirlwind -- just over a week ago, we flew into Hanoi, the capital city, met my father, have made our way to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City/HCMC and already said goodbye to old Bob Fox. I freely admit that I cannot do justice to the traffic here -- it's insane. There are literally millions of motorbikes driving on both sides of the street, cutting through busy intersections, and almost taking our lives on the daily. Remember what I said about the motorbike being a family car in Malaysia? The Vietnamese take it to another level and do it ingeniously at that -- we have seen motorbikes double as restaurants, florists, and beer distributors. Due to all of the motorbikes, pollution and exhaust are in your face constantly so a lot of people where face masks. Jess astutely remarked that Michael Jackson should clearly move to Vietnam to live a life void of ridicule as he could wear his face mask, gloves, umbrella etc just as the locals do, granted it is not because they are crazy, just avoiding the sun and dust.

While in the north, we took the requsite trip to Halong Bay -- yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site to check off the list (if anyone cares to research what this actually signifies and how many sites there are, let us know) -- and spent a night sleeping on a beautiful old junk and sailing around to see the various limestone karsts (stone that juts out of the south china sea due to tectonic plate movement). After a brief interlude in Hanoi, we flew to Hoi An -- a really beautiful old mercantile town that miraculously remained untouched during all of the 20th century conflicts in the region (Hoi An is within a few miles of Danang, the military base in which US troops were first deployed here in 1965, and the Demilitarized Zone which separated the Communist North from the South). Along with the Chinese and Japanese influenced architecture, beautiful beaches, and great food, Hoi An is known for its silk and general made to order clothing racket. My father had some shirts made for him which provided us with some entertainment as groups of women measured his wing span and giggled about his Buddha belly (a compliment!). Getting a pair of knock off shoes also comes highly recommended -- I now have a pair of sea foam nike high tops waiting for me at home.

As my father fancies himself a culinary world connoisseur a la Anthony Bourdain, we spent extra time in the markets where women would be selling the seafood that they just caught on their boats tied up on the nearby riverbank -- fish heads and squid galore! We also saw sea cucumber (fresh and dried), shark fins (bad,bad!) and birds nests for the soup of the same namesake (almost as bad -- some special type of bird makes its nest from its saliva and is snatched up supposedly for its medicinal benefits). Speaking of medicinal remedies...seahorses along with deer penis AND testicles are a natural substitute for viagra. After a few days of longingly looking at the food stalls at said markets, my father joined the ranks of us "adventure travelers" who eat as the locals do while disregarding the less egregious food-sanitation issues. He ate more than Jess and I dared to -- spicy dried squid, nameless meat on a stick, and shredded pig skin to name a few.

From Saigon we took a day trip to the Mekong Delta -- we chugged along on a long boat and observed the pace of life on the river which is based around fishing and the ever-present rice paddies. Just for clarification, people really do wear the conical straw hats here, or Non La as I just learned its called, including us (on occasion). They really are perfect for keeping the sun out of your face and are lightweight and roomy enough for the hatphobic amongst us.

Before coming to Vietnam, we were a little wary of the reception of US citizens here and frankly our own reactions to being in a country with whom the US has such a notorious history. Relations between the two nations were "normalized" only 10 years ago and we, like many others, conjured up images of Apocalypse Now, war protests, and napalm-ed straw huts when we thought of Vietnam. Just like in the States, there are a myriad of opinions on the purpose, outcome, and execution of the war (here, however, there is just the added aspect of the whole Communism thing that makes the retelling of events a bit "unique/unbalanced/Big Brother-ish", but overall we have been treated so kindly and have found the Vietnamese to be lovely people). Speaking of Communism -- it just doesn't work. Ideally, isn't the major benefit to be able to lift the poorest people up to a decent level of opportunity and quality of life? Little kids are putting the English they learn in school to use by selling packs of gum and cigarettes on the street at night when they should be doing schoolwork, thus receiving sub-standard marks which will not put them in contention to attend a decent school after the elementary level, finally putting them in a position to achieve very little in the professional world unless they have a lot of extra cash which is available only due to capitalist ventures. Are you seeing the cracks? I am. In large part thanks to my father the capitalist being here to influence our opinions, but it IS quite clear that the huge and rapid success that Vietnam has experienced in the last 10 years is thanks to capitalist investment. In other words, get yourself over to this incredible country and help ignite the revolution!

6 months part two by katy

the girls got a head start on this post! but yes, today is the 6 months mark of the trip, and indeed it is a momentous occasion. sometimes it seems like forever ago that we were all in the airport in dc and then on the plane to rio, and other times its seems like just the other day. either way, we have been out and about for 6 months, half a year, 180 days. that is a long time! i know i have learned so much, eaten so many yummy things, met so many awesome people, and done and seen so many cool, new things. it has been a great six months, indeed. and girls, even tho we might not be in the same physical or conceptual space anymore, we are still winners.

i am curently in tel aviv, israel where i have been for the last two weeks. i am with family and it is very nice to unpack the backpack for a while, live close to the beach and have luxuries like a full refrigorator and a washing machine at my disposal. israel is really an interesting place. i was here ten or so years ago when i was much younger and had a different appreciation for foreign travel. it is good to come back, and great to be with family, and really unusual to be in such a special place. maybe special isnt the right word, it is A right word for that israel is, but not exactly the one i am looking for. being in the middle east is pretty awesome. the weather is warm, the hummus is abundant, and the mediteranean is always much closer that i expect it to be. also, being in the worlds religious capital isn't so bad. here are the highlights of the trip so far:

1. trip to the dead sea where we floated in the actual sea (which is awesome- you are super boyant b/c of all the minerals and float at the VERY top of the water) and then sat some natural hot springs right next to the sea shore. we rubbed ourselves with mud and soaked and soaked and soaked. after this, we went to a bedouin camp and grilled delicious dinner and slept on mats on the ground. it was rustic. and DUSTY.
2. hummus! i have learned so much about so many kinds of hummus. yes, that is right, there is more than one kind of hummus. in fact, in hebrew, the chick pea is ALSO called hummus. so anythign, really, made from the hummus bean is considered hummus. needless to say, i have been eating copious amoutns of hummus, and was taught by my aunties mother how to properly make it (jess, you'll be glad to know that her recipe is very close to my own, only she adds olive oil just at the very end, when the humus is just about to be eaten). i have also learned how to make falalfel, isreali salad, roasted bellpeppers, and a thing called matza-bratza, which is like migas, only with matzo and not tortilla chips.
3. passover with the family! it was great! in the word of my friend mel, whats not to like about a holiday with tons of eating, song singing, story telling and 4 cups of wine? it was great! there were tons of cousins and aunties and uncles and a grandma around and the food was so good! my aunt tal's family is moroccan, so the food was traditional middle eastern food with a morocco twist and a little european influence (salads, spiced meat, AND gefilte fish). it was yum yum yum. i didnt; understand any of the singing or story telling, as it was all in herbew, but it was a good time and i think the jews come out of the desert at the end and triumph in some manner.
4. jerusalem, where i spent two half days, but want to go back. i don't have agreat feel for the city yet, but it is a mix of old and new, traditional and cutting edge, relgious and secular. also, of muslim, jewish, and christian although it is not quite a melting pot. what i have experience is centuries old history, still verymuch alive, bustling markets and lively folks.

for the record, becuase so many people asked me before i got here, i DO feel safe here walking around. i think that as an english speaking tourist from the us i am not in any direct danger. also, a person can't walk around scared all the time, or else the terrorists DO win. as for conflicts between the israelis and the arab/muslims, there is tension and is very palpable. i haven't figured it out yet, but i am often aware of agression, fear, and negative feelings coming from both sides, although it has been more apparent to me coming from the israeli side, (perhaps due to my present company, jewish israelis). it is a bad situation and as i learn more, i realize how much i dont know. and there are transgressions on both sides of the conflict, which is something i really didnt know until college and is soemthing that doesn;t really come across in news to the us. but that is why i am here (and traveling), to grow and learn and see things for myself and to from opinions based on my experience.

so i am here for at least another week. i am planning to get to the south of the country, to the sinai desert and maybe into egypt. i still have some exploring to do in this country, and some planning to do for the near future, but i think the next part of my trip might involve a country whose name rhymes with tofurkey. tonight, we are going to visit my aunties family in the north, in a place that is supposedly very beautiful and by the sea. i'm excited!

i hope everyone is well and i miss miss miss you!
katy jane

ps please send my choclates/champagne/a new pair of sneakers and a pretty dress to the most beautiful house on rehov kam, the one with the cute kids, adorable dog, and well loved garden.

6 months!

Today marks the momentous occasion of the completion of 6 months of travel! If you would like to send flowers or chocolates to help us celebrate, please direct your delivery man to the last bungalow on the right in the jungle at ton sai beach, krabi province, Thailand. You will know our bungalow by the wasps nesting inside and the underwear hanging on the porch trying in vain to dry in this humidity. Many thanks and love, Laura and Jess

view from the front of the bus ... and i mean the very front

Why am I on a bus squished between two Thai men at the moment? Let's just say it is all part of thailand's charm. Thailand is incredible, everything I have ever heard about it is true. The beaches really are that gorgeous. The food really is that spicy. The jungle really is everywhere. And Thai massages are a little strange.

Almost one week ago, my fair companion and I dragged ourselves out of our overly air conditioned hostel bedroom, and said goodbye to Paul the owner and were then hustled and jostled onto a minibus. Lucky for me and my long legs, the three shortest people ever were sitting on the front bench, their legs hardly reaching the ground. but at least we had an entire bench to ourselves in the back. 20 minutes later, our minibus had acquired a slew of other characters. I am now separated from the Fox, and am squished next to a poor old dude who had to relinquish half of his chair space to my crumpled legs. Observation number one in Thailand : locals are short. Very short. I bet I don't stand out even a little bit ...

The minibus experience got a wee bit more comfortable once one of the passengers got off early, but the experience was stressful none the less mainly because Lo and I really had no clue what we were doing. This bus was strange in that it had no identifiable stops, and people would just say things to the bus driver, he would pull over where ever we were (gas stations, markets, middle of nowhere roads) and people would get out. Plus, Thai rock music which can only be described as ... Charming ... Was the drivers choice of music and it was just one click too loud. But finally we were the only people left after a few hours of driving, and we hoped the driver understood we were trying to catch a boat.

Yes, a boat to ko phagnan island. Home of the famous full moon party which we were curious about. Not just any boat, but a overnight sleeper boat. Since I wasn't expecting the presidential suite on the queen Mary, I was pleasantly surprised to see that each person got a mattress and I think Laura has gotten used to me rolling into her in the middle of the night, so the overnight boat was a success ... That is until 515 in the morning when Fox wakes me up and I realized we have arrived when I hear all the cab drivers on the dock yelling "miss! Where you go? Sunrise beach? Full moon party? I have good price! Stay in my bungalow!" observation number two about Thailand: these people are all business when it comes to money. Even at 5 am.

We get in a cab, which by the way, is a truck with benches in the back, and pass out in the first hostel we find with a free bed. When we wake up a few hours later, we happily find that our bungalow is right on the beach, with hammocks and a bunch of cute dogs. The restaurant has an entire vegetarian section on the menu, the sun is shining on the private beach, and we settle in.

We discover that even beach bungalows have their drawbacks. Everything is always sandy, Laura had a few epic struggles with swarms of mosquitoes, and during one thunderstorm the power went out, leaving me to shower in the TOTAL. BLACKNESS. but here is observation number there about Thailand : it is totally intoxicating. By the time we lost power, I had been eating delicious food, and lying on gorgeous beaches, and hoofing it all over the jungles of the island for me to really care anymore. I was under the spell of thailands charm.

The big night of the full moon party at last, and it was just as good as people said. We shared traveling tips with the other backpackers we met, engaged in some serious beach dancing, and had our first experiences with drinking Thai whiskey out of a bucket, which is what all the kids are doing these days.I am proud to report that we made it home (around 7am) in one piece and to steal the famous words of one Katy Jane Tull, we were excited, exhilerated and exhausted. Thankfully the only thing we had to do the next day was lay in hammocks and eat spicy curry, so that worked out ok.

Then this morning, I somehow find myself squished between two Thai men again. One of the men is driving the bus Lo and I are on, the other is some sort of copilot situation because he gives all the orders to the driver, which inexplicably involves some sort of complicated honking turn signal situation, but my Thai isn't so good to get it yet.

This bus is taking us to the western coast of southern Thailand where we will island hop for a few more days. Then get to Bangkok to catch a quick flight to vietnam where a special guest and general leader of team Fox will meet us for a week of adventures!

Now fully under Thailand's spell, I can't wait to see what the rest of se asia brings, as long as the mosquitoes stop bothering the Fox.

I miss everyone at home and send love and baci to all.

Jca

For Marcus - it is starting to be unfair how badly we are beating the world. Sometimes days are so great we should get extra points! Alas, the copilot Thai man is blocking access to my purse, so I can't give you exact numbers, but we are KILLIng it! Xoxo

motosikal! vroom vroom!

We are currently at the border crossing between Malaysia and Thailand so at this time I think it appropriate to reflect on our time spent in Malaysia. As I already said, this might be the smiliest place I have ever been, which is lovely. So many people walk down the street saying 'hello!' Quite loudly and directly, it's a change from college campuses in the states where one often puts his head down to avoid contact with someone he knows - perhaps we will bring this attitude back to the states with us and greet anyone and everyone with an enthusiastic greeting. The motosikal( malay appropriation of 'motorcycle') is essential for many people as it is often the family vehicle - it was a common sight to see a father driving with a toddler sitting between him and the handle and his wife sitting side saddle on the back holding a toddler or two. The use of an umbrella here is key because it is either pouring rain or really hot and are often used in conjunction with said motosikal. Did I mention how hot it is here? We are sitting just above the equator and we sweat walking slowly in the shade. Indeed, Malaysia was good to us, just now at the border crossing Jess and I received two complimentary wooden 'tourism Malaysia' key chains - too bad neither of us have use for a key and thus a key chain at this stage in our lives.

We are now in Thailand and will be embarking on an overnight ferry to the island of ko phang gan for the full-moon party that is set to take place in a few days time. We very much so enjoyed Malaysia yet are so excited to be in Thailand. Our policy is that we should always be sad to leave a place but more overcome with anticipation to experience the next stop on our journey, and so far that policy has served us well.

Marcus - 160 us, 14 world!

life under a mosquito net

It's a good thing that I accidently deleted the post I was writing yesterday as I am now able to report, in real time, a momentous change in my dear fellow traveler. Jessica has just announced that she would rather stay in the wee fishing village we have found ourselves in than move to the nearby large city. After spending our first week in southeast asia in the two major cities of Singapore and kuala lumpur, it has been very nice to be be in a small town where we can get a smile out of most people and there is generally a slower pace of life. We are on the island of penang, renowned for its multicultural food, before we make our way into Thailand in a few days time. We have enjoyed the company of the other occupants of the guesthouse (our favorite of the lot just proclaimed to be on 'this' trip since 1985 - aka our entire lifespan thus far). As Malaysia is a tropical country, we took advantage and took a hike through the jungle to a nearly desolate beach where we thankfully avoided any run-ins with snakes or the monkeys that are known to run the area. The other day in kuala lumpur, however, we had a much closer encounter with some bold and hungry monkeys while visiting a Hindu temple carved out of a cave tucked into the jungle. Having seen movies like outbreak and thus knowing what havoc little monkeys can wreak, we stayed clear of them whereas other visitors to the temple thought it a good idea to make a kicking motion at the monkeys because a hissing monkey would make for good viewing on the home video they were recording. Regardless, the temples were incredible set in a most dramatic scene of caves covered in lush fauna and dripping with last nights rainfall, the scene was heightened by the 250 steps we had to climb to reach it and the giant, golden statue of the goddess kali standing guard at the base of the entrance. While in kuala lumpur we also instituted a tradition that will hopefully be sustained throughout our time in southeast asia - massage Monday. While in Australia we heard tales of the very affordable massages offered all over and decided that after nearly 6 months of sleeping in compromising positions/situations and lugging around backpacks, it would probably benefit us greatly (Please note that we pay homage to our Australian brethren by pronouncing it as 'mAHsage'). Needless to say, this past Monday was a good day for us as a small Chinese man mounted the table to work out some very large, gnarly knots in my shoulders.

Prior to our time in Malaysia we were in Singapore where we started our habits of eating delicious and cheap food and visiting temples with reckless abandon - these are some habits that we are not planning to quit anytime soon! On our first full day there we stumbled upon Hindu, Buddhist, taoist, and Islamic houses of worship all in the same neighborhood and were genuinely welcomed into all of them. The Buddhist temple was complete with an orchid-filled roof garden and text messaging monks, while the taoist temple specialized in performing marriage ceremonies for unwed souls in danger of spending eternity without a companion. We received the warmest welcome at the mosque and were given a tour and encouraged to ask any questions, which were all given thoughtful responses. The Hindu temple was covered with the colorful statues of gods, avatars, and sacred animals - the smells brought back some memories, not necessarily good or bad, of the hare krishna farm back in argentina. While at the Hindu temple Jess had yet another (soon to be) life changing moment as we saw a poster advertising that amma would be hugging in Singapore in a few days time. To those not up on current hinduism, amma is considered a saint for her endless compassion and charity - she goes around the world hugging millions of people and donates all the proceeds to humanitarian projects, not to mention that she may be the reincarnation of shiva or someone else important so she is a pretty big deal. So, Jess has been wanting to be hugged by amma for years but she continued to allude our Jessica until this past Saturday when we spent many an hour waiting in various lines until alas we were hugged! It really was a nice experience in part for amma and part for the insight into the large south Indian population living in Singapore. It is getting late but I will make a sidenote: lines do not exist here (except when at a well orchestrated amma hugging event) instead, people crowd the desired location in a crescent shape until the center point has been collapsed upon by some particularly bold members (normally older women). This is particularly important to keep in mind when boarding a bus for which you have already purchased a ticket...because it seems that it is common to overbook a long distance bus and allow the masses to work it out amongst themselves. In other words, we found ourselves stuck in the last 2 seats in the back row of our bus from kuala lumpur to penang yesterday.

That sounds like a negative way to end this post which was not my intention - we love southeast asia. I will not go so far as to say I like the squat toilets, but there is so much for our senses to experience that is new - it is truly exhilarating.