Long Day of Travels

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today we left Langkawi for Thailand. We had to leave our hostel at 7:15am in order to be at our pick-up point by 7:30am. We should have known that the cab would be late since everything seems to run on island time. We didn't realize that we would be going through immigration right away and didn't have the proper forms. Not to worry, however, we are college graduates with double degrees When we saw everyone filling out a form that, we didnt have we quickly went to work finding three extra for us. This was stressful, but we are in thailand now, so everything did work out. Our visa allows us to stay until January 21st, so if we want to stay any longer we will probably have to buy an extension. 

The cab to the ferry was 30 minutes, the ferry was two hours, the cab to the bus was 30 minutes, the bus was nine hours and finding a hostel took about one hour. Long. Day. We are resting in Phuket until tomorrow and then heading to the Phi Phi Island. The one picture of the day is of eleven of us crammed in the back of the "taxi" aka the bed of a small pick-up truck.

The exchange rate here is slightly harder than the other countries. In Singapore it was more or less $1 USD to $1 Singapore. In Malaysia it was $1 USD to $3.3 RM, and in Thailand it's $1 USD to $32 Bahts, so everything seems expensive until you divide. Numbers are not my thing, so I let the boys figure out the prices. 

We also had a one hour time change, so I'm 13 hours ahead of Iowa time and Andy is 14hours ahead of CO time. The boys each bought sunscreen to avoid anymore sunscreen fiascos. Charlie also had to buy bug repellent because he's starting to get attacked and have giant welts on his back. Other than that, no real updates. 

Love, 

Two sad Hawkeye fans and one sad Broncos fan

Scootin' Around

Dear Mom and Dad,

We had to switch hostels today because the room we had was booked, and we want to stay in Langkawi for a few more nights. The wifi is terrible, and I have been working on this update for five hours. There may not be any facetiming unless it's better in the morning. The first pic is of the boys smoking a real Cuban cigar. I don't know what the a big deal is, but the boys were really stoked. 

We rented scooters to sight see around the island. They were about $8 each for 24 hours. Andy did a great job bartering the price to be lower. These bad boys get 75 miles to the gallon. (Dumb and Dumber quote)

We took a gondola up to the top of the island for the most spectacular view.

This next pic was of charlie and I in Otavalo, Ecuador in 2011. Here, we visited two waterfalls in Langkawi, Malaysia and tried to recreate the pic. Where will our next waterfall pics be?

The boys enjoyed swimming in the pool.

Touring some of the island's beaches.

Our beds for the next three nights. We are each paying about $8.75 a night.

Poor Charlie got sunburned through his shirt. He's trying to find relief with a cold shower. He is also using the doucher to rinse the front while the shower hits his back. He had a hard day itching constantly and swears to never let a sunburn happen again.

No plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure we will find something fun to do.

Love,

The biker gang

Langkawi

Dear Mom and Dad,

The first three pictures are the last ones from Penang. I look goofy in the first one because I was trying to pose so you could see my hair, and I didn't look bald. Picture success. We are eating in a typical food court. The boys would get adventurous and try duck, crab, and unknown stir fry dishes. I, on the other hand, had pizza one night and spaghetti the other. 

We even had a little nightly entertainment. The pianist played Neil Young and Bruce Spingsteen. Dad, you would of loved it!

Langkawi has some BEAUTIFUL beaches! Finally, some beach days for me! :) We watched the sunset, and it was wonderful. 

For dinner, we at a place that had beer for 75 cents. Again, I was the big spender drinking wine that was about $2.75 a glass. Andy bought a grouper that was $16. Of course, it was served head, eyes, and bones. The meat was really tender, and he said it was better than any grouper he has had in Florida.

Before pic:

During the meal pic:

After pic:

He did a pretty good job getting every piece of meat possible. To get the servers attention, it's polite to wave them down. I find this to be very rude when customers do this to me in the states, and I refuse to do it to other servers. I really needed a second glass of wine, and this was my best attempt. I look like I belong in a classroom. 

We went out for a few drinks to finish off the night. 

We went to the beach and spent about four hours there. It was very hot. We all put sunscreen on but some had a harder time than others. If you click the pictures, you can see a larger picture to see how bad and blotchy the sunburns really are.

At the old age of 27, I was successful in not getting burnt. My momma taught me well! I tried to warn the boys they weren't doing a good enough job, but they didn't listen. Now, I'm slightly enjoying listening to them whine and moan about how sore they are. They said next time they will listen. I guess this just proves once again that girls are smarter than boys. 

Tomorrow, we are renting scooters and doing some sightseeing. Charlie said he's wearing long sleeves to prevent any additional burns. We expect to see cool waterfalls, a bat cave (not excited), more beaches, and maybe some shopping (fingers crossed).

Love,

Two burnt lobsters and one pasty white princess

Charlie's Birthday

Dear Mom and Dad,

We successfully made it to Penang. Our bus ride was not quite as long as we expected, so that was nice. They even played a movie on the ride. Our ferry cost less than $1 to get to the island. We didn't have a hostel picked out, so when we arrived that was our first mission. It took us about twenty minutes to find a hostel, and we are paying about $10 a night per person. We plan on staying here for three nights total and then taking a ferry to an island named Langkawi. This is also a Malaysian island. The ferry there is going to cost us about $33. 

We went out to dinner for Charlie's birthday. The restaurant was really fun, and you could write on the walls, chairs, and tables. 

After dinner, we went and had a few drinks at the liquor store. They set tables and chairs out in the parking lot area. Beers were less than $1 and a small bottle of whiskey with coke was about $1.50. I was the big spender drinking wine coolers that were called Moscato for $3. Afterwards, we went out with people from our hostel. Some of them we met in K.L. (the previous town). It's funny how travelers seem to find each other. Small world. The bar we went to had karaoke.

Charlie sang the entire time, which isn't that surprising since he usually does even in the states. Andy, however, got on the mic and did a great job!

After singing, we went to a dance club. Although I love dancing, I'm okay with never listening to techno music again. My ears are still ringing.

I hope I can figure out how to get pictures from Andy's phone onto the blog because he has some really nice ones of us eating frog (and by "us" I clearly mean the boys), different group pics, and just some fun traveling ones. You think it would be easy, but we have been trying for a few days and haven't had much luck.

Today, we have been relaxing and napping. Tomorrow, we might go to the beach or see some of the sights on the island. The locals say the beach isn't very nice, however, I'm dying for a beach day. 

Love,

The 27 year old, now 26 year old, and the young 23 year old

Kuala Lumpur

Dear Mom and Dad,

We left Singapore and bussed to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The bus cost $20 and was the nicest means of transportation that any of us had been on. The seats reclined, foot rests raised, and a surprisingly smooth ride. The velvet panda bear seat coverings were a bit strange

I needed a break from the boys, so they visited a cave while I hung out in the hostel and worked on my application for my master's seminar. The boys said there were a lot of bats and spiders, so I dont know how much fun I would of had. The cave cost $10.

Bird poop on Charlie's head.

We went out with people from the hostel last night. Some were from Canada, Australia, Britain, and Italy. The boys found a liqour store that sells a small bottle of whiskey for $3. I of course had a bottle of wine. That  seemed like a good idea at the time, but we were all hurting this morning. Pizza Hut was our meal of choice for lunch today. It was a great time nonetheless.



Roomates for four months. Feel the love.

Tomorrow we are taking a 9 hour bus ride and then a ferry to an island called Penag. We plan on staying there for a couple nights and then island hoping after that.

Love,

The three muskateers