Hello Malaysia!

Pulau Sembilan (Feb. 29 - Mar. 2)

8 hours after landing in Kuala Lumpur my dad and I headed north for a 3 day dive trip. At the end of February my mom and dad did their open water and advanced certifications, respectively, in Indonesia. Lucky, I know. Now it was my turn to dive with my dad and get my advanced certification.


We did 1 1/2 days of diving near Pulau Sembilan - famous for seahorses. The first morning we woke up to rain. After breakfast and having a Spanish woman think that I was my dad's wife, we got in the water. Visibility was poor at best. I think I could see maybe a meter in front of me. And the sea was quite rough. We did 5 dives that day, including one night dive. I thought I would love the night dive, but it wasn't really that great. However, I don't think it was the night dive that I didn't like, but the crappy visibility and the fact that my mask was squeezing my face so hard I thought it might break. A few weeks later, while diving off the coast of Borneo, a Dutch woman gave me a brilliant and logical tip: loosen the straps on my mask. Wish I could have thought of that on my own...

The next morning the water was calm and clear, and we did two more dives. I love diving with my dad. I mean really, how many people get to go scuba diving with their dad in southeast asia? The whole trip was quite amazing. Even if conditions aren't perfect, I love being in the water. Plus we had an awesome Malay cook, who also thought I was my dad's wife (hmmm seeing a trend here...), and awesome Malaysian food for every meal: noodles, rice, sweet potatoes (one of my new favorites), mangoes, fried eggs, soups full of veggies, chicken, and seafood, and so much more.

On Sunday afternoon we drove back to Kuala Lumpur to meet my mom. The next morning I was off early - on a plane to Kota Kinabalu, a city in Sabah, Borneo.

And the Rest of Australia

Townsville (Feb. 19 - Feb. 28)

And I'm going to start where I left off before that Thailand interlude: After a couple wrong turns, Lachin drove me right up to Jeremy's driveway and transferred me from one group of amazing people to another.

I felt instantly comfortable with Jeremy. He and his roommates welcomed me into their home in every way possible. The very first thing we did was go to the grocery store. And Jeremy walked around the whole place barefoot. Isn't that so spectacular? I hate wearing shoes, and Australia doesn't really care whether you wear them or not (in most places). After we dropped our food off at his apartment, Jeremy showed me around the downtown of Townsville, which is really only a few streets, and took me to a diving company so that I could schedule a dive on the Great Barrier Reef: the one thing I HAD to do before leaving Australia.

Jeremy lived with two other guys: Mick and Lui. Mick is from Australia and can drink like an Australian. He always referred to me as sweetie, a name I quickly learned to accept as part of Mick's personality. He also loved to talk, and because of that I learned heaps, particularly about Borneo and Australia. He had just been to Borneo for a month long university class and absolutely loved it. He gave me all of his left over diahrrea and malaria medicine and had some fantastic snake wrestling stories. Mick also introduced me to kangaroo steaks, which surprisingly were really good.

For 3 full days, Jeremy and I hung out non-stop. We went to the aquarium, the Townsville Museum, strolled along The Strand and got icecream, explored the James Cook University Campus (and yes we even went to the library and I got some books!), and played sand volleyball. Then he and Mick returned to Orpheus Island for 5 more days of volunteering, and I moved into Jeremy's room (I had pretty much been there already as Jeremy insisted I sleep in his bed and he take the couch) and became Lui's only roommate.

Lui is from Germany, but has been going to university and working in Australia for about 6 years. I loved living with Lui. We didn't do much beyond sit on the balcony, drink Ouzo, and talk. And it was awesome. That was mostly in the evenings - during the weekdays, I was on my own since Lui had a job. I spent one afternoon/evening with Yui (remember, I met him on Orpheus, too) on Magnetic Island; we got over to the island just in time for sunset, walked the beach, and then grabbed some dinner. I also spent a lot of my time climbing up and down Castle Hill- a steep granite monolith (according to Wikipedia) with a trail to the top cutting right through Jeremy's front yard. The view from the top is amazing - you can see all of Townsville sprawled below, right up to the edge of the ocean.

I spent a full day being ferried to the Great Barrier Reef (Wheeler Reef), diving, and then being ferried back. I did 2 dives - the second was better than the first. We dove on a more interesting section of the reef on the second dive. Not to mention, my dive buddy was a cute New Zealander, but that doesn't really matter underwater. The coral was beautiful - massive rocks (bommies) were completely covered in all different types and colors of coral, and my favorite part was swimming through two closely spaced bommies, like swimming through a valley surrounded by mountains of coral and fish.

Oh, and I learned to drive on the left side of the road - really not that hard and rather intuitive. I borrowed Jeremy's car for the day and drove about an hour outside of Townsville to Crystal Creek. Crystal Creek is nestled in the southernmost section of Queensland rainforest and is a series of waterfalls, creeks, and swimming holes. I went swimming in a pool at the base of a waterfall - so cool, fresh, and relaxing. And no crocs!

When Jeremy and Mick got back from Orpheus, I drove up to the University to pick them up. Later that afternoon, my last one in Townsville, Jeremy and I drove to a little park at the edge of Townsville to which neither of us had ever been. We trekked through the mucky trail in our flip flops, frequently flipping mud all over one another. The trail led us to a secluded cove that opened up to the ocean. We climbed some rocks and then sat and talked. Beautiful, serene, and no better way to spend my last day.

Before I end this, I have to describe sleeping on Jeremy's bed. The bed itself was nice, but nothing extraordinary. The view from his bed, however, was incredible. One side of his room was a wall of windows overlooking Townsville, the ocean, and Magnetic Island. Every morning as the first rays of sunlight illuminated the night sky, I could open my eyes, without moving my body, and be completely eye level with the water-sky horizon. It was simply amazing.

Thank you Jeremy, Lui, and Mick for everything.

Thailand Interlude

Bangkok (April 8 - April 9)

I'm in Thailand! And I'm with Des!

After visiting a friend in Germany for a few days, Des flew to Singapore and then was supposed to fly to Kuala Lumpur to meet me so that we could catch a flight to Bangkok. Flights, however, were delayed and she missed connections. But Singapore Air is amazing and flew Des to Bangkok instead of Kuala Lumpur. She only arrived about 30 minutes after me. Her luggage was even on the very same carousel. It's was wonderful how well everything worked out. Plus, had she met me in Kuala Lumpur I probably never would have met Martyn.

"Is seating free?" But I heard, "Are these seats three?" Um yes, there were 3 seats. What a dumb question. Apparently I just can't understand a British accent. And that's how I met Martyn. He sat with me on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok. He shared a Kit-Kat and Ribena with me (Ribena is probably one of the best drinks in Malayasia - it's black currant sugar water). And he talked to me for a solid 2 hours. We then got our bags and sat together waiting for Des. Martyn had been to Bangkok before and gave me loads of information on where to stay and what to do. After waiting for a bit, I told Martyn he was more than welcome to hang out with Des and me while we were in Bangkok. It came out rather arrogant. But we later proved that it was more than a priviledge to hang out with us. And Martyn, we were ecstatic that you joined us.

Bangkok is crazy. But not as crazy and crowded as I expected. Martyn, Des, and I got rooms in a place one street away from Khao San Road. Khao San is full of white people (farang), clothing vendors, food stalls, 7-11s, and bars where they serve "very strong drinks and don't check ID." The first thing we did was get food. We all three got different colored curries and then shared everything. Wonderful. Des and I then walked around on our own, part of which was spent trying to call her parents and see if they could find Des' return tickets that she accidentally left in Pittsburgh. Not a very useful place for tickets to be when you're on the other side of the world. We then made our way back to Khao San and tried some of the well advertised "very strong drinks." And guess what? They didn't even check our ID. Drinks were small and we went across the street for the next round where they had buy one get one free buckets of mixed drinks.

Des and I were finishing our buckets when Martyn came to join us. We then ordered 2 more buckets, which we enjoyed while being harassed by street vendors. Very nice street vendors, though, with awesome hats, wooden frogs, fake tattoo sleeves (Megan I ALMOST bought you one), and a pen light that projected an image of a naked woman (I'm not sure why that street vendor relentlessly tried to sell that light to Des and me. I mean I'm not going to pay money for something when I can just look in the mirror). My favorite though was a little girl, beautiful and cheeky. She was selling roses, and after offering her flowers to us a few times, Des and I each bought one. In return she took pictures with us, kissed all of us on the cheeks, and did a trick for Des with a string and plastic ring.

4 buckets down and we headed to a bar where we could dance. The three of us immediately started dancing, which quickly progressed to dancing on a large table. We were soaked and covered in black soot when we left the bar - Martyn and I thought it was a good idea to drink some water and pour the rest over our and other people's heads. It was a good idea. Martyn came and hung out with us in our room until about 5AM. We told him all about Penn State and I think we really made a fan out of him. He even dreamed of being at Beaver Stadium for a football game that night.


The next day, Des and I hired a tuk-tuk. For about $2 USD he drove us to 3 temples and a few different shops - all together about 3 hours. The Buddhist temples were beautiful; the buildings are all decorately incredibly intricately and ornately. After temple hopping, we grabbed a quick dinner and went back to our hotel to get our bags, say goodbye to Martyn, and catch a taxi to the Bangkok airport. As we walked out of the hotel entrance and toward the cab, Martyn called, "We are.."
"PENN STATE!!"
"Oh my god, that really works...."

Sure, Why not?

Orpheus Island (Feb. 4 - Feb. 19)When I arrived on the island I was greeted by: the managers (Kylie and Rob, who also have 2 little girls), the assistant managers (Louise and Lachin and their little girl, Siara), and the researchers (Yui and his two volunteers - Dan and Jeremy). I spent my first week on Orpheus with Kylie, Rob, their 2 girls, and Yui, Dan, and Jeremy (Louise and Lachin had a 4-day break).

Yui is from Japan and is currently working on his master's degree at James Cook University studying black-band disease in corals. He was hilarious. Constantly talking. And he loved using Australian expressions: "git it down ya," "g'day mate,"no worries," "heaps," and then he has a few of his own: "sure, why not" (his answer to most questions) and "no, not really" (he never said no. If you asked him if there was any ketchup left, he'd say no not really, which really meant "no" there was none left at all). The best though was that all of these expressions were said in a mixed Japanese-Australian accent.

Both Dan and Jeremy were on the island to assist Yui with his research. Dan is from England and has travelled all over the world diving as a research assistant (Lizard Island in Australia, Indonesia, Oman, Hondoras, Madagascar and probably others that I can't remember). He also loves nudibranchs (sea slugs). I think one of his favorite things about them is how they have sex: nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, and when two encounter each other, they battle with their penises. The one that wins becomes the male and stabs the other (now the female) in the side with his penis and releases his sperm. That's a good piece of random trivia, huh? Jeremy is from Detroit, but has been living in Australia and studying at James Cook University for the past 2 years.

I shared a communal area and kitchen with the 3 guys and loved it. They immediately befriended me and from that first night until their last night on the island, we always had breakfast and dinner together - just like a family! Everyday the guys would go to different sites around Orpheus or to other neighboring islands to survey coral colonies for black-band disease. A couple times I worked extra long days (or not at all...) and got to spend the day on the boat with them, snorkeling at some really amazing sites.

When I wasn't hanging out with the guys, I was either cleaning floors and bathroom walls, weeding, scrubbing the hulls of boats, mowing the grass, blowing leaves off the pathways (That was a bit of a pointless job, like sweeping leaves off the forest floor), reading, or walking along/across the island.

Yui, Dan, and Jeremy left me on a Saturday and for the next week it was just Lachin, Louise, Siara, and me on the island. I thought it would be lonely at first, but I actually had a lot of fun and got a ton of reading done (3 books: You Shall Know Our Velocity, Everything is Illuminated, and Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close - all very good). I love Louise, Lachin, and Siara. During the week: Louise and Siara usually cleaned with me in the mornings, and it was such a nice change to have company doing those menial chores (I'm kind of an idiot and didn't bring my iPod with me on this trip); most mornings Louise and I would swim out along the pipeline - a pretty good swim - and then snorkel around looking at the coral and fish for awhile; Siara and I became good buddies - she is such a beautiful little girl, with a head full of soft, blonde curls and huge brown eyes; both Lachin and Louise invited my over for chicken curry one evening (one of my absolute favorites) and we spent the whole night eating, drinking, talking, and listening to some really good Australian bands (check out The Waifs, The Cat Empire, and The John Butler Trio).

Louise, Lachin, and Siara left Orpheus the same morning I did for a 1 month vacation. They offered to drive me to Townsville, which was perfect as Jeremy lived in Townsville and said I could crash at his place if I wanted. We stopped briefly in Ingham at a local bakery and Lachin bought me a chicken curry pie. Savory pies are amazing and I don't understand why they aren't popular in the States. We don't know what we're missing... The drive to Townsville was about an 1 1/2 and I sat in the back playing with Siara and dozing off and on. After a couple wrong turns, Lachin drove me right up to Jeremy's driveway and transferred me from one group of amazing people to another.

And the Volunteering Begins

En route to Orpheus Island (Feb. 3 - Feb. 4)

Toward the end of traveling through New Zealand I decided I needed to slow down, do something more substantial, find a purpose, a goal that all of this traveling achieved. I thought that as soon as I graduated in December that I wouldn't want to work for a long time. I guess a long time was only a month. I began searching online for volunteer opportunities, specifically positions at marine research stations. I applied to be a volunteer research assistant at about 4 or 5 places. I finally got a positive response while in the Blue Mountains with my mom. Orpheus Island Research Station said that I could do maintenance volunteer work at the station for 2 weeks - not exactly what I had in mind, but I was ready to accept anything at that point. The deal was that I would work for about 4 hours per day in exchange for a bed (I had to supply my own food). I also had to find my own transportation to Taylor's Beach by 9AM Monday, where someone from the research station would meet me to take me to the island.

Taylor's Beach is remote, about 4 hours south of Cairns by car. I arrived in Cairns on a Sunday morning. I had about 3 hours to get from the airport to the Greyhound bus stop, where I would catch a bus to Ingham - the closest town to Taylor's Beach - and stay the night there. Stores in Australia close early. Especially on Sundays, if they are open at all. I decided to use my 3 hour layover to buy 2 weeks worth of groceries (after a lot of encouraging by my dad; and he was right as usual), just in case no grocery stores weren't open in Ingham when I arrived. It was hot in Cairns. And I had a huge backpack - not something I wanted to drag around the town or through a grocery store. I first went to the bus stop and luckily a girl was camped out, working on her computer with lots of bags. She agreed to watch all of my stuff, which was such a relief. I practically ran to the grocery store, got 2 huge bags of food, and speed walked back. Back at the bus stop all of my bags were there, and I still had about 30 minutes to spare (and to stop sweating before I got on the bus).

The bus ride was uneventful. And much longer than necessary. Bus drivers in both New Zealand and Australia love stopping frequently, and at least one of those stops is a 30 - 40 minute break. Maybe a break of that length is necessary on an 8 hour bus ride, but not a 4 hour one. Especially when there are bathrooms on the bus, not to mention I can easily hold it for 4 hours.

I stepped off the bus into a completely dead town. Ingham's streets were empty and the stores were dark. I quickly realized I had no idea where the hotel I had booked was in relation to the bus stop. I started walking up and down the sidewalks aimlessly until I saw a sign for a taxi company, which I immediately called. The cab driver picked me up about 15 minutes later and was such a nice old man. I told him that I was going to volunteer on an island for 2 weeks and had bought some groceries, but still needed perishables, like eggs, cheese, and milk. Did he have any idea where I could go? Of course he did! And he took me there for free, waited until I got what I needed, and then took me to my hotel.

I love reaching a destination. It's such a relief and usually quite amazing how well things work out. Around 8AM the next morning, I took (a really expensive) cab to Taylor's Beach and almost immediately boarded the boat to Orpheus.

Quick Update: 26 March 2008

I’m currently sitting in my parents’ living room in Kuala Lumpur (KL). Yesterday we returned from Langkawi (an island on the west coast of Malaysia) and before that I was in Borneo for 18 days volunteering at a marine research institute. I’ll be in KL for about 2 weeks – filing my taxes, getting Visas for Cambodia and India, doing laundry, helping my parents pack up the house because they’re moving to the awesome ole USA (Tulsa, Oklahoma) on 5 April, and updating this blog – more Australia and lots of Malaysia.

I posted a few Malaysia pictures and there are still more to come....

Dance Parties in Brisbane

Brisbane (Jan. 31 - Feb. 3)

Albert totally had a crush on my mom. We arrived in Brisbane Wednesday evening and took an airport shuttle to a small bed and breakfast. We walked into the entry way, searched for someone to check us in, and were eventually greeted by Albert - a man in his mid-sixties with a thick Australian accent and a warm smile who seemed to know everything about everything (or at least he fed us some very believable bullshit). We checked-in, all the while chatting with Albert. We told him what we'd been doing while in Australia, asked what there was to do in Brisbane, and my mom got the all too common compliment - at least for me - that we looked like sisters. How nice. Either I look 50 or she looks 24. Well, maybe we look somewhere in between, and actually its really not that bad. I hope I look as good as she does when I'm her age.

After dropping our bags in our room, we found Albert and asked where we could get some food and a beer. He suggested a few bars only a block away. The first bar said no flip-flops. As those are the only shoes (besides running and hiking shoes) that I brought, we couldn't go there. The next bar had a tacky Hollywood theme, but allowed flip-flops and had a decent menu and beer, so we went in and had an absolutely awesome dinner of bruschetta, cheese bread, and Guinness. I love hanging out with my mom - sitting, laughing, sharing beers and stories for hours makes me remember just how much we have in common, that we know almost everything about one another, that we've shared countless different experiences, and that she really is one of my best friends I have and will ever have. Needless to say, we had fun.

The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel: toast and juice - although I typically prefer something more substantial like eggs and toast, or oatmeal with nuts, fruit, and whole milk, or now that I'm in Asia a bowl of noodles and a steamed bun filled with black bean paste (yes, I know that sounds gross, but it's amazing). We ran into Albert one final time and like always he talked our ears off - in a good way - and then gave us the Kangaroo Jack DVD, a movie that he claims is one of the funniest he's ever seen. My mom and I spent the afternoon at the Koala Sanctuary and then went to the Hilton where my dad had already checked-in. To pass the time before my dad came back from work, we surveyed our new luxurious accommodation, hooked up the computer to the radio so we could listen to some music, then started doing a combination of yoga and pilates, which quickly turned into a dance party - a no pants dance party (at least me); Barnard boys aren't you proud?!

My dad had to work again on Friday, so my mom and I went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the local modern art museum. Quick aside: did you know his real name is Andy Warhola? When we told my dad that we planned to go see the art exhibit, he said, "Oh Andy Warhola? I was growing up I was good friends with his nephew, Jamie Warhola!" Ha, yeah right. We didn't believe him until we got to the museum, where one of the first things we read was Andy's real last name. Anyway, after the museum my mom and I walked along the river that runs through Brisbane, and then met my dad back at the hotel and he and I went for a run before dinner. We planned on going to a local brewery for dinner. And my dad new exactly where it was...it only took a couple laps around the city to find it. Dinner was good, but the best part was stopping at the 7-11 after dinner to buy a Cherry Ripe (cherry flavored coconut covered in dark chocolate)- my dad's favorite. Of course dinner and dessert were followed by another dance party in our hotel room, and this time my dad got to participate!

The three of us spent Saturday at the Australia Zoo - home of Steve Irwin. The zoo was beautiful; the enclosures were huge and natural. It rained most of the morning, but we quickly dried in the intense Australia sun. That evening we drove up to the Sunshine Coast and walked along the water. Before leaving, we needed to rinse the sand off our feet and stopped at one of those fountains that, without warning, sporadically sprays water from different locations on the ground. Tons of kids were running all over the place having a blast. I walked over to what I thought was the edge of the fountain and waited for one to shoot water into the air. But I wasn't at the edge, and luckily neither was my mom - she got a full blast of water to the butt and blocked me completely. Thanks, mom. My dad and I had quite a good laugh at her expense.

The following morning my mom and dad returned to Kuala Lumpur and I flew to Cairns, beginning my next adventure: volunteering on Orpheus Island.