To the Cities and Beyond: A more futuristic Southeast Asia than I expected!

There is no shield keeping us apart here from a Petronas Charm

This romantic picture (despite my Little Samurai ponytail) is the introduction to the great city of Kuala Lumpur. It was here that I caught the travel bug permanently. Here we come from one of my favorite beach towns:

A place I will come back to: Ko Phi Phi Island

To this: Kuala Lumpur: Ok, so this day it was raining and thus it kept all the pollution in. Quite futuristic don't you think?

I tried to be  positive until I saw our room, a cement cell with bunk-beds and a single.  Not so bad if I hadn’t just come from a bedroom with a queen size bed with sheets and a comforter (hard to come by), and a single for Alana, with two balconies and a fairly decent private bathroom. I comforted myself with the thought that there was air-con and that without a private bathroom our room floor wouldn’t get wet.  Right, well the air-con turns on at 5:30 pm and goes off at 9 am, a minor detail that our host forgot to mention, and our floor was cement, so it didn’t matter if it got wet. Plus, it was much more expensive then the last room I told you about. This was a bit of culture shock going from one island to a major city, my first time leaving the beach life this trip. However, the second I laid eyes on these towers, I felt that adrenaline pumping emotion of when you first see something that you have looked at in pictures your whole life, thinking that its just as magestic on a movie screen so you don’t need to travel to see it, and knowing that you are wrong. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to have your eyes opened to a feeling that you’ve never felt in quite such magnitude because you simply just have lived without it. It is indescribably different to see something with your own eyes; and this is why I say I am now officially infected with the travel bug.

So the feeling is exactly opposite of our expressions. Where would the towers be without us holding up the linking bridge?

Of course Alana is always here to add a little bit of charm to our trip:

This is Alana, with here tursty wand. You can see the beginning spark of the Petronus Charm (Thanks Harry Potter) at the end of her raised wand.

"Expecto Patronum!!!" A close up of the magic.

The next day we went to the fourth highest building in the world, the telecommunications tower (the picture of K.L. city at the beggining was taken from atop this tower).

Now you see it.....

....Now you don't. Yes, this is the window I am in front of in the pic above, only 10 minutes before. . It was raining, and we were approximately 540 meters up.

Kuala Lumpur's Telecommunication's Tower: We were up in the rounded glass windows part.

Alas, we were off to another big city, a city I specifically remember learning about in 6th grade. It was at this time that the U.S. citizen, I believe, was caned, and I remember learning about how it was forbidden to chew gum in Singapore.  Never had I imagined that in my future I would be dazzled by this very clean, and historically fascinating city.

One of my first looks. I think this is part of little India

Singapore has such a variety of architecture. In 20 minutes you can have navigated from Little India, to the Colonial district, to an Islamic masque, to……The city was just endless in its colors and mesmerizing architecture.

For some of you, I bet you never thought you'd see a building like this in South East Asia. I sure didn't.

We just happened to pass by this one. Yes, I took this picture in Singapore.

Can you believe the colors! Not just highrises with glass windows here.

Singapore was a fishing city that boomed when a British man by the name of Sir Thomas Raffles came and capitalized on its geographical location.  Its a city/country that, after the Suez Canal was built, was a perfect trading post for hundreds of countries spanning the world.

Small colorful fisherman buildings line the shore. Little did they know that their backdrop would be this booming metropolis.

Helping the laborers out, Alana looks exquisite against the river's city.

Once again Alana is fraternizing with the laborers.

The above pictures of sculptures were actually taken before and after we went to an exhibit in one of Singapore’s museums, “From East to West”. It featured much of Singapore’s history, from the Chinese and British influence, to the rich Islamic culture that is there now. It was fascinating!

This was one of my favorites. It took us, well Clay and I, 3 hours to get through. Alana is a little more experienced at this museum thing, and was done in an hour.

I finally pierced my ears! For those of you who don’t know the schpill, I told Clay when I first started “dating” him that I wouldn’t pierce my ears until I stopped liking him. This was a sure proof way to send a “not-so-fun” message for a fickle highschool girl. Clearly that is not the message I am sending now Clay only liked the idea because it was in some random shop among the hundreds in the market in Chinatown. What a story, eh!?

Our last, and most exciting adventure for me, was a day trip to the equivalent of Disneyland in Singapore, Sentosa Island….

Rather I’ll end with a Merry Christmas to all, a little early. Hey, in Singapore there is no Thanksgiving to break up the Holidays!

Cupcakes!!

Rather than being a woman tempted by an apple, I am more tempted by Christmas Candy!

Goodnight to all, and to all a good night!