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29/7/2013: A little flu in the way of adventures
As the title indicate I have unfortunately aquired myself a little lovely flu and was therefore not able to make it to Taman Negara as planned yesterday morning :( I am obviously really disappointed that I now miss out on the national park but my main priority is being on top for my trip to Vietnam and so I'm taking it slow for a few days (and am really feeling a little bit better)!!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend,
Safe flight to my family who is flying home from Tenerife right about now,
Susannah x
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26/7/2013: Last day at the office
I can't believe how fast time has passed, today I had my last day at the office which means I have been in KL for almost 3 months now!! Some parts of the internship has been super exciting and some has been less exciting but I am sure I will leave this place with new skills, new contacts and lots of experience that I will benefit from in the future :)
Am really, really excited about my trip to Taman Negara (National Park) this weekend - I leave KL early Sunday morninig and arrive back Tuesday evening! So I won't get a chance to write again until I come back Tuesday,
Until then, take care
Susannah x
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25/7/2013: Adrenaline rush
A lot of people love extreme sports because it gives them an adrenaline rush and that burst of energy that rushes through your body can be absolutely amazing I agree and that is why I will now give you a tip to get it without paying large sums!! Are you ready for it? Here we go: Take a taxi in KL!!
Getting into a taxi around here is a strange experience and if you don't like adrenaline rushes I would suggest that you close your eyes during the whole journey because they drive like absolute MANIACS!!! Indicating when wanting to make a turn or change lane? Not important!! Driving in the opposite side of the road because there is a queue in the right on? Sure why not!! Driving 120km/h on roads that says 60km/h? Not a bother!! Stopping the car in the middle of the road (again with out indicating it)? If cause!! Reverse in heavy traffic to take the high way exit that you just missed? The sensible thing to do!!
The list of insane actions on the road is endless!!!!!
The only comfort is that almost everyone seems to have equally poor driving skills and so there is no need to try to suss out which taxi will be better - the likelyhood of arriving safely is probably around the same no matter which one you take and to their defence I have actually arrived safely every single time I have taken a taxi - thankfully :D
I am looking forward to going back to Dublin though where taking a taxi doesn't mean risking your life on the roads!!
I now only have one day left at the office before holiday - YAAAY!! I'll be heading to a national park for a few days so there won't be many updates until I get back on Tuesday
Until then be safe,
Susannah x
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23rd of July: Stories from Tioman Island
This weekend I finally made it to Tioman Island and it DEFINITELY worth the wait!! Tioman island is described in Lonely Planet as an average Asian island but this island is NOTHING like the average island!!! Maybe if you get off the boat in one of the first bays you will see average, but if you stay on the boat and get off in the ABC bay, I guanratee you will fall in love with the place immediately! Arriving at the jetty all you see is a long, beautiful and almost empty beach behind which is a long line of palm trees and behind the trees you can vaguely make out a few cottages and chalets in the most vivid colours - red, pink, green, blue, yellow, all the colours of the rainbow. It is as taken out of a travel magazine, a true paradise!!
Walking along the narrow (1 meter wide) path that covers the whole stretch of beach you see little guesthouses, all different sizes and styles but all equally charming in their own way. There is something for everyone. At one end of the beach there is a more expensive and stylish resort with chalets build on a cliff just above the water, and further along the beach is at least 10 or so guesthouses, lots and lots of little shops, a few bars and restaurants schattered in between and at the very other end of the beach (approximately 1.5 km down the beach) is "Sunset bar" a gorgeous little cafe place that sells fabulous mojitos while providing first row seats to the beatiful sunset - the sun if cause setting right off the beach, nothing less would do!!
Do I have to say a whole lot more?? I mean, I'm sure you can hear that I am absolutely fascinated by this island!! Tim wasn't feeling too well when we arrived so we decided to just have a relaxing day at the beach. I had left KL at 11.30pm the night before and arrived in Mersing (the mainland harbour) at 4.30am so I was wrecked and was more than happy to just chill!!
The following is sort of out of context but if I don't write about it here I am not sure I will write about it... As you probably can imagine you meet a lot of interesting people when travelling, in Melaka I met 2 students from Singapore that are going to move to Sweden to study, in Penang an american guy who had cycled around China for months and months, in KL I have met local man who used to work for the king so he had visited Denmark to escort the Malaysian royalties, and this time I also met someone interesting! These two guys were interesting for a very different reason than many of the other people I have met (most of which have had amazing stories of great adventures), basically these two german guys and I have been living almost parallel lives for a few years: They came from just south of the Danish border, they each had an Irish parent, 3 years ago they moved to Dublin to study, they lived 10 minutes away from Temple bar, in April they came to Malaysia, in May they started an internship in KL, this week is their last week in KL and next week they are going to travel for 4 weeks before going back home............. Can you believe it??? Except for the fact that they are German it would seem like we have lived the exact same lives for the last couple of years and one of them was even in Asia last year as well but not in Thailand like me! We know the same places in KL, go to the same bars in Dublin and were now going to the same island but unfortunately not to the same bay - it would have been fun to spend a few days with them!! Even though I have never met them before it almost felt like catching up with old friends :)
Anyways, back to the actual point of this entry: My Tioman island trip!! It was a very relaxing weekend, lots of reading, catching up on all the gossip from Pom Pom Island, we ate a lot of really good food and I met a few of Tim's old colleagues and friends from the island. All of which seem to have the same story to tell: "I was here for years and years, then decided to leave but now I'm back....!!!!" - Classic story, and after spending a few days there I can totally understand why. It is like a little oasis, you land in the middle of a little village with lots of really, really sweet locals and even though there are tourists there then it really doesn't seem like it at all - you might pass a few tourists along the path when walking from one end to the other but everyone are laid back backpackers or families and you easily get chatting with them all. If you are more to activities than relaxing by the beach then this island also has lots to offer: Endless diving, snorkelling, trekking along the many forests paths, kayaking to other bays etc!! I didn't get much of a chance to engange in many of these activities since an overwhelming tiredness hit me as I arrived (it can be pretty tough to travel out here along as you always have to be prepared and on the lookout for dangers or problems) but I am hoping I can convince my family to come back to Malaysia with me soon and then Tioman will have to be on the itenerary :D
Now I only have 3 days left at office and while they will be really, really long days (am kind of still working even though it is 9pm) then I have so much to look forward to the coming weeks that it is okay!! Basically I have 3 days until HOLIDAY!!!! :D
I hope you are all enjoying the summer, holiday or not!!
Take care until I write again,
Susannah x
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19/7/2013: Tioman... FINALLY!!!
Tonight I'm finally heading to Tioman (tough wood)!!! The ticket is bought, my bags are packed and I'm SO ready to go!!! It has been a bit of a crazy week at the office - Have been working to past midnight two days in a row and today I will probably have to stay relatively late as well to finish off a few bits and pieces that our director needs on Monday. BUT at least I have Monday off so I get to enjoy 3 days at Tioman which kind of makes up for the many extra hours I've done this week!
My bus leaves KL at 11.30pm and I should then arrive in Mersing at around 5am where I'll meet up with Tim for breakfast before we take the 3 hour ferry to Tioman Island. IT WILL BE GREAT!!! When we reach Tioman we'll do a dive or two and then we should be able to do one more dive Sunday morning before Tim has to go home and I get to spend a relaxing day at the beach Monday until I catch a boat back to Mersing late Monday afternoon!
Tuesday I'll be back in the office but I have to go collect my Vietnamese Visa so it will be half a day and then I only have 3 more days left in the office before my internship ends - I cannot believe I am so close to the end already! Next weekend Tim and Sofie are probably going to come into town which means I'll stay here for a few days and hang out with them and then I have 4 days before my flight to Hanoi. I can't really figure out what to do with those 4 days (too many options!!!) - I will probably either fly to Sarawak, Borneo to stay in Kuching and visit Bako National park or maybe I'll stay here at Peninsula Malaysia and go to Tamara Negara National Park.... Or I can do one of the other million things I haven't had time to do while being here ..... So many options :)
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!
Take care of yourself and each other,
Susannah x
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17/7/2013: Numbers
Last night my website reached 1000 visits!!! I aimed to get 1000 hits before the end of my trip but never did I think I would reach it this early!! Thank you so much to all of you lovely people who read my stuff every now and again - It is so, so nice to read all the messages you leave in the guestbook :)
STATUS: Today is my 78th day in Asia, I have been in two countries, have visited both of the distinct parts of Malaysia (Peninsula and Borneo), have been in nearly 50% of the states, spent 44 days on a deserted island, saved more than 400 turtle eggs, did 70++ snorkelling surveys, have on average spent less than 2 euros on dinner, have experienced dangerous air pollution, have taken 2323 photos, reorganised a library with 3074 items (books and papers) and I have enjoyed 78 of the days on which all of this has happened!!!!
I'm looking forward to expanding the list of numbers and the numbers themselves over the next 2 weeks in Malaysia and the 3 weeks in Vietnam after that!! Tioman is waiting for me this weekend (yes I have bought a ticket this time haha) and next weekend a few of my friends are coming to town which will be the perfect way to end my time here in Malaysia :)
Happy Wednesday everyone, especially to my family who has gone to Tenerife for 2 weeks - I wish I could be there with you but that will have to be next time!!
Susannah x
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16/7/2013: Visa day
Today I'm going to apply for my Vietnamese visa in town and because we have had a crazy last week in the office our Technical manager gave me the whole day off to sort out the visa! However, it should only take a few hours which means I have most of the day off to just relax and enjoy a nice day in KL - cannot wait!!
I hope you all have a lovely Tuesday,
Susannah x
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11/7/2013: Challenge day
(This story will be continuously updated throughout the day)
10.20pm: I survived the last 1 hour and 40 minutes and enjoyed a nice meal with Andrea at our favorit street kitchen - it was delightful!! I must say that it wasn't as bad as I had feared, I was worried that I would have to quite half way due to headaches but I actually managed to go all the way.
I can honestly say that I am in awe that muslims all over the world do this every day for a whole month every year!! I managed a day, and I guess it would get easier after a few days, but there is no way I would last a whole month!!!!
It was a fun challenge but I will be looking forward to getting up at a normal time tomorrow, having breakfast and enjoying water throughout the day :)
6.20pm: The hunger is slowly subsiding now BUT replaced by thirst... P.S can reassure you that I have not yet eating the glue!!
5.51pm: There is a glue stick standing on my desk (red circle on the photo below) - I wonder how glue tastes?!?! Is glue a liquid?! Would it satisfy my thirst?? or is it better for hunger??
5.48pm: Still hungry.... just in case you were wondering!!
5.45pm: Sebastian and Louise said when they were younger "Jeg er suuuuuuulteeeeeennnnnn"!! Translated: "I AM HUUUUUUUUUUNGRYYYYYYY".. My energy level decreasing fast and I'm not really worth anything at this point!! I cannot believe that people actually do this every day for a month?!?!?! How is it possible?!?!?! I would be crumpy for the entire time if I had to fast for that long!!!
4.10pm: Am also hungry....
4.00pm: THIRSTY!!!!!!! I think I could drink a river...... 3½ hours to go
2.30pm: Still in the game!! Currently not really thirsty or hungry but the thought of another 5 hours until I can drink or eat is not particularly pleasant :)
10.45am: I think this is more of a mental challenge than anything else! Do you know the cravings you get when you know you can't have something? Silly, silly me is already starting to be slightly hungry
9.00am: Wasn't able to fall asleep again so am now at work
8.00am: Had too much to drink and woke up to go to the toilet.... This is going to be a very long day haha
6.20am: Back to bed for a couple of hours
6.00am: Oh my, this is crazy early and definitely don't feel like eating..... But I am going to make myself some oatmeal, have a few biscuits and drink lots of fluids!!!
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10/7/2013: The true Malaysian experience - with all that it entails....
As many of you probably know Ramadan started today and that means no eating or drinking anything while the sun is up for all muslims in Malaysia (and obviously around the rest of the world but that is a little less important for the point of this entry)!
I find it amazing that they are actually able to do it - I mean no drinking from 7.10am to 7.27pm?? I think it sounds insane BUT nonetheless I have taken on one of my colleagues challenge and will tomorrow be fasting from sun rise to sunset !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm fearing I'll fail miserably but I'm ready for a challenge so tomorrow morning I will get up at 6am to have an early breakfast then go back to bed for a couple of hours before heading to work! I will try to make little updates as the day passes so keep an eye out on this website for the next 24-hours :)
Do you think I will be able to do it?? One day might not sound like a lot but when you have 35 degrees heat and have to go to work I think it will pretty difficult to not eat or drink anything for a bit more than 12 hours!!!
Will write soon again,
Susannah x
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9/7/2013: Absolutely wrecked
As the title indicates I'm absolutely wrecked after a busy but really, really nice weekend (it was brutal getting up for work today)!!
It took me quite a bit of time to sort through all the photos from the weekend and I therefore haven't written any stories about my trip yet BUT the stories will come, they are just going to be a few days delayed!! I'll upload the photos from Monday's adventures tomorrow and then hopefull I'll get a chance to write a few words about the whole experience the day after. I'm extremely busy at work so I unfortunately can't steal a moment during the day (yes I admit I occationally have done that) to get it done but since it is a normal work week anyway I'm sure you won't miss out on too many other day-to-day stories by me postposning this story :)
I hope you have all had a nice weekend and that you are all enjoying the lovely weather that I'm told should have hit Europe!!
Be safe and take care,
Susannah x
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7/7/2013: An island is an island... No?
Yesterday afternoon I wrote on the welcome page that I was heading to Tioman island for the weekend but that did unfortuntaely not happen, instead I have arrived in Penang where I will spend a few quite days... What happened? Well I was all set to go and I arrived at the bus station last night at around 10pm ready to take a bus to Mersing where I was to meet Tim and his colleague and take the ferry to Tioman with them to enjoy a long relaxing diving weekend BUT when I arrived at the bus station it turned out that all busses were fully booked for the 24 hours thereafter which meant that I wouldn't be able to arrive on the island until Sunday morning which there wouldn't be much point in since Tim was leaving sunday afternoon.... My disappointment cannot even be described with words when I realized that the only place I was going was home!!!!!!!!!!!!
Determined not to spend my long weekend in KL I this morning went to the other bus station that serves northern Malaysia and after 3 hours of waiting around I finally managed to get a bus to Georgetown, Penang. Penang is also an island but a very different kind of island as it isn't exactly a diving and snorkelling heaven like Tioman is meant to be.... So no, an island is not just an island there are very different kinds but Penang is one of Malaysia's World Heritage Sites and has a lot to offer so I am sure I will have a good weekend even though it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for!
Admittedly I wasn't too thrilled about coming here as the disappointment of not getting to go to Tioman was still massive but as I arrived at the hostel Tim called me and he offered to meet me in Tioman in two weeks time and I can truly say that that made my day!!! I can now enjoy a few days here in Penang and while looking forward to going to Tioman in a couple of weeks (yes this time I will book a ticket in advance even though KL people tell me I don't need to) :D
Tomorrow I'm planning on heading to the botanical gardens, Penang Hill and Kek Lek Si Temple in the morning/early afternoon and take the walking tour of Georgetown when I get back. Monday my plan is to spend a couple of hours at the beach near Batu Ferring hi before heading back to KL Monday evening.
I hope it all goes to plan - If not I guess my weekend has already shown that I occationally (no matter if I want to or not) need to be flexible and ready for last minute changes. I guess I was just getting too used to everything working smoothly because it has been a few weeks now since I last ran into trouble. However, uncertainties and changes is certainly a big part of the Asian experience and this weekend has reminded me of that :)
Take care and be safe,
Susannah x
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4/7/2013: A first......
Today is a strange day because today is the first time in 3 months that I am just not feeling it - I have one of those days where I am just a bit tired of being away, one of those days where I would like to be home for 24 hours, one of those days where I shed a few tears when my two friends Nicole and Nadia called to tell me they missed me!!
I guess you can categories this day as one of the less good ones. Today was the first day I didn't wake up smiling but I have no reason to believe that tomorrow won't be back to normal and at the end of the day I guess it is natural that not all days are equally great - I have just been so lucky to have 90 good days in a row without feeling sad about being away (yes I did have a few days on the island when everything was a bit too much and I wanted to leave BUT not for a second did I want to go home, I just needed a break from island life!!) and I take that as a sign that I am truly enjoying myself out here!!
Not feeling my best today has made me think a little..... A lot of people talk about having 'a once in a lifetime experience' and I guess I have always thought that was a very strong statement. I mean technically very few experiences cannot be repeated but I have realized that they are absolutely right!!! They might be able to recreate the physical surroundings that frame their experience but often the biggest part of an experience is how you feel about what you experience not necessarily the experience itself. Previous experiences, where you are in your life, who you are with, your confidence and self-esteem, your world view, your values, the people you meet and what you are returning to after the experience all influences what you get out of the experience or how you perceive the experience. So in that sense most 'out of the ordinary' experiences, like for example far away travelling, will be once in a lifetime experiences because you might come back to the place you were but it will be with completely different!!
This will be the only time in my life where I will visit Malaysia being exactly who I am right now.... most likely I will by tomorrow have experienced something out of the ordinary out here and I will probably have learned something new or see something a little different because of it and by the time I arrive back home, all the new experiences will have made an impression on me... and the next time I go travel somewhere it will be with all this in my backpack and that experience will therefore be unique and I guess a "once in a lifetime experience"!
Hm, very philosophical but I think I will leave philosophy to more intelligent people from now on and go back to being silly me who don't want to waste time on deep reflection but rather want to be out there taking in new impressions, learning from it (I hope) and revising my views and opinions :)
I will now take a shower and head to bed to get a long night sleep before I am heading to Tioman island to go diving with Tim tomorrow evening - am so excited, cannot wait!!
Take care,
Susannah x
P.S Somehow writing all of this nonsense made me feel much better!! I am so lucky that I get this opportunity and I'm even more lucky that I have so many great people to miss and be missed by!! I can report that I am now smiling again (I look slightly creepy sitting on my own downstairs in the office smiling out into the open air)
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3/7/2013: Help, they want to marry me off
Some of you might have seen my post on facebook that give a brief explanation of what happens in Malaysia when people find out you aren't married but I thought I would give you guys the whole story!! Here we go:
To set the scene: At the Wild asia office we try to go for lunch together all of us as often as we can but it is not always possible as some of us have things we need/want to finish at certain times which then means that I occationally head out for lunch quite late in the day. Because it is late in the day I just want to grab something fast so I usually go to "Banana Leaf" a local curry house. So the following was the basic points in our conversation Friday afternoon:
Local staff: "You should try this rice, I made it from vegetable from my garden! Are you married?"
Me: "Looks lovely! No I'm not married"
Local staff member two: "You from Australia?"
Me: "No I'm from Denmark"
First local staff: "You are sure you are not married? You should be married!"
Me:" Haha Yes I am certain I am not married"
First staff:" You need a husband! I know many lovely men that will be happy to marry you - I have a brother... and my nephew isn't married"
Second staff member:"My cousin is not married yet and if you marry a Malay man then you won't need to go home!!!"
Me (after collecting myself for a second - gobsmacked of the turn of the conversation):"Well that is very kind of you but I am not looking to get married any time soon - I'm still in college at home"
Them: "And you are not married?" ... followed by one of them saying "My son might be a little young but he will be a great husband and you are pretty"
Me:"!?!?!?!?!? #CONFUSED#SPEECHLESS# I'm sure he will!! Can I have one more ice tea please? I really should get back to work, I'm only here for a short while longer"
First staff member:" A whole month, plenty of time!! Have a good day"
And that was the conversation that lead to me finding a new lunch place HaHa!!!!! No, they are really nice and they actually do a kick ass curry so I won't be able to not go back but maybe I should take out the "fake wedding ring" I brought and tell them that I am not married but am engaged..... I wonder if that will do the trick.....
It is strange how different their view on marriage is, they actually seemed to feel sorry for me that I wasn't married yet while I would think I was maybe a little too young to marry someone. Especially considering I'm rarely in the same country for more than a few months at a time before going off on some crazy trip to somewhere strange :)
Anyways, you won't need to worry - should they convince me to marry one of their family members then I will make sure that they send the 10 camels directly to Arne and my mum's home address (surely I should be worth 10 camels, what do you think?!) and they can then be sold and you can all come visit me for the money!!
I should stop fooling around on this page and get back to work....
Enjoy your Thursday everyone, I hope you have a lovely day,
Susannah x
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2/7/2013: Work, work, work and a little dissertation writing
As the title suggests I have been super busy the last week which is why I have neglected this website for some time - BUT, that is going to change now!! I have had a crazy week with very long work days followed by hours and hours of dissertation writing. My dissertation is not due until the middle of the second semester but since I have time here I thought I'd better finish it before I go home so that I can enjoy 4th year to the fullest :)
All of this craziness will change now though, as I this week have a lot less work I need to finish and I'm taking a little break from my dissertation to resume my book adventures. So, from today I should hopefully be better at actually telling a little bit about what is going on around here (cause as always, lots of things are going on).
The haze has cleared up completely which is so nice that I cannot even describe it!!!! We were getting really tired of being inside the office 24/7 and it slowly began to affect everyone's mood. However, we are all back to normal now, the sun is out every day, the sky is clear blue and the temperature is back up at the high end of the 30's - It is truly wonderful!!! Last night we had the most amazing storm, one minute the sky was clear and the next it was almost black. The skyscrabers in the distance disappeared as heavy, heavy rain poured down so violently that we all stopped working and went out on the (covered) balcony to have a look. After 20 minutes the sky was again clear blue, and our normal beautiful view over the hills and the skyscrabers came back as fast as it had disappeared! The storms around here are almost fascinating, with all their power and strength that engulfs the city for a short while before leaving it behind nicely refreshed :)
Right, I'm actually at work so I should go back to that. I'm currently working on preparing online training materials for the Smallholder Palm oil project - the smallfarmers don't always have the resources to get all staff members trained so we aim to provide them with an online version of the training module we do so that all staff members can be trained back at the farm after the management has met with us at the training course. It is a really interesting but also quite challenging task, since learning is very individual and as I prepare the narration (voice over/speaking) to the power point presentations it is very important to think about different learning styles and paces of learning. By the end of the week we will launch the first 6 training modules and we then hope to get feedback in the coming week so that we can adjust and finish them off completely by the time I leave! I'm also still working on the Semporna project with the WWF but it is has been on hold for the past week to push through with the creation of these online training courses..
Take care everyone,
Susannah x
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