Photos from my travels are posted here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirstyewing/

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!!! I hope it is very “oxpicious” (unfortunately I cannot claim authorship of this wonderfully tacky pun). This past weekend was the Chinese New Year, the beginning of the Year of the Ox, and a chance for exchange students to do what they love best—travel. Last Friday afternoon I departed Singapore for Malaysia. We arrived in Kuala Lumpur around 11 pm , checked into our hostel in the Golden Triangle, and then set out to find some grub. Living in close proximity to New York City has familiarized me with bright lights at night, but I think that KL deserves the new title of “the city that never sleeps”. The lights from advertisements and buildings erase all traces of night, people lounge in the streets, packed massage parlors clamor for your business, and some food hawkers don’t even bother setting up their stalls until 1 am. 

The next day we visited the Petronas Towers, Chinatown, and explored KL. The stark contrast between the houses of the city outskirts, and the modern architecture of the city center was really striking. During our city explorations we went to a Chinese restaurant where I tried bullfrog! It was actually pretty good and tasted of a mix between fish and chicken. I also tried durian ice cream which I think tastes like Calpol (durian is a fruit that smells absolutely foul and is banned from Singaporean buses due to this fact).  My friend Chris (from New Zealand) has made it his mission not to eat any western food and try as many weird things as possible. His completed list currently includes:
1.    Bullfrog
2.    Durian icecream
3.    Fish eye
4.    Pig viscera soup- wikipedia it…not pleasant
5.    And worst of all…the Prosperity Burger – a disgusting creation that McDonald’s has created to honor the Lunar New Year.
Next on his list are chicken feet; somehow I just don’t think I’ll be joining him in that endeavor.

On Sunday we visited the Batu Caves and the Malaysian national museum. The Batu caves are approximately 15k outside of KL and are visited by Hindus to honor Lord Murugan. They were really beautiful, and made me wish I had read up a bit about them beforehand. Pictures are posted on my flickr account!

On Monday we caught a bus south to Malacca. Because of the New Year we were unable to reserve accommodation in advance and so we planned on finding something upon arrival. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side and all the hostels were booked. Our desperation for accommodation eventually had us walking into a local hotel. The holes in the furniture, empty beer cans, suspicious stains, and the realization that this was the kind of place where payment is paid per hour, caused us to change our plans and aim to catch a late bus back to Singapore that night rather than the following morning.

We then decided to visit St. Paul’s church, Christ Church, and Chinatown. All were really interesting and displayed the unique mix of Malay, Portuguese, Dutch, and English heritage that is present in Malacca.  The best experience of the day was our visit to a Chinese teahouse—I never knew there were so to learn about tea!

Our trip back to Singapore proved to be a little more challenging than planned. Upon arrival at the bus terminal we were told that the terminal was soon closing. Unlike many terminals in Southeast Asia which have overnight buses, the Malacca terminal was one that closed at 10pm. As we wandered, contemplating sleeping at the local 24-hour supermarket, a stroke of luck enabled us to hop on the last bus back to Singapore. We all made it back in one piece and the weekend was a huge success!
 

I have been in Singapore for eleven days now and, seeing that this is my first post, I have managed to get a bit behind on this whole blog thing. Sorry about that. Here’s the Sparknotes version of my experience so far.

The flight was long and filled with sleeping, eating, and the occasional movie. Upon arrival, I met the other exchange students who will be here for the spring 2009 semester. Together we tackled the paperwork and errands required in order to make our stay official. Though the process was a bit tiresome, and at some points didn’t seem to make sense, (apparently you needed a cash card to get a student pass, and a student pass to get a cash card), eventually it all worked out and I met some amazing people. Though a majority of students are from the States or Canada, my peers also hail from France, New Zealand, Norway, Indonesia, India, Sweden, Mexico, Scotland, and more! My roommate, Nassera, is a French Moroccan who is studying information systems management. We get along great!

My exchange university, NTU, is incredible. It looks like a vacation resort and the professors seem really knowledgeable. My advertising professor has over 25 years of experience as an art director for Ogilvy and Mather!

This past weekend we began our travels and set sail for the island of Bintan in Indonesia. As the waves tossed our ferry, the ride soon became a test of how much we could handle. Soon a gruesome symphony of sounds and smells filled the cabin, and even those who do not suffer from motion sickness began to feel nauseous. Luckily I was ok, but I don’t think I would soon repeat the experience.

While in Bintan, we stayed in bungalows built on stilts in the water. Here we were able to relax and explore the beaches that surrounded the area. The best experience of the weekend was a trip that we took to the local fishing village. Along the mudbanks of the river, houses built on stilts were crammed together to create a village about eight feet above the ground. The pathways were made of recovered pieces of wood haphazardly nailed together – often they would bend and test your faith in Indonesian engineering. The people who lived there were so friendly; and showing them my pictures and playing with the kids was an incredible experience.

So far, I absolutely love it here in Singapore. I plan on creating a flikr account to post my pictures. When I do, I will post the link here.