The best of Malaysia from 2008....

 

Well, you would think that after being back in America for almost four years, I would have finished messing around with my photos from our trip. Well, you were wrong!  I'm not even close!  Maybe I'm halfway at this point in terms of time abroad, but not in terms of images.  I've got many countries to go....like most of SE Asia, Nepal, and Africa! Eke! When will it end? Actually, I love going through these photos. It is a bit like reliving the trip all over again. Can you believe it has been four years? It is easy to remember the elapsed time because we landed at JFK on election day. We got Obama, the best welcome home gift we could have asked for, in addition to friends and family. This year election day lands on Jay's birthday....let's give him want he really wants for his birthday! Another four years of a great president! Go Barack! We already voted (WA votes only by mail) and we hope you all do the same.....since I'm assuming if you are reading this you must be a leftie correct? Hope so! Otherwise shoot me an email, we should talk.

Anyway, back to Malaysia! Here is the link to all the "best of" photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/111221596171793333099/albums/5799399075851893105?banner=pwa&authkey=CJi2ipWj-9jqEg

We took a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in Peninsular Malaysia....from there we met up with Jay's dad, Buz, and his partner, Charlotte. We spent a little less than a week with them playing in the water and sands of Redang Island and also in the big city of KL. The top photo is the four of us on a dive in Malaysia and the bottom is what we look like when we are not playing fish. 

Petronas Towers - a symbol of modern and rich Malaysia....and a country that likes oil (Petronas is an oil company)

When Buz and Charlotte left us, we hopped on a flight to Malaysia Borneo to check out the famous rainforests, stalk orangutans, and go diving along some of the most famous coral reefs in the world. Borneo did not disappoint. Here we are on a river boat approaching a camp in the rainforest along the Sungai Kinabatangan (the river).

 This image speaks for itself.... these forests are dreamy.

Not the best photo - but this is a troop of proboscis monkeys. The big male on the left is showing off something boys like to show to girls (if you are a monkey). =) We were also lucky enough to see a large male orangutan feeding on honey in a tree just above the outhouse. Braving the perfume was worth it for the sights of this wild animal.

We also did a night hike, in the rain, in the rainforest. There were tons of cool creepy crawlies to see like this big ol' scorpion.

When we left the rainforest we headed for the western coast of Malaysian Borneo. This gorgeous mosque was in Semporna. We spent one night here before taking a jarring boat ride out to Mabul Island with plans to dive the famous reefs of Sipadan.

 

 Ohhh Sipadan.....

 

 Mating nudibranchs

I loved this woman, if that isn't obvious from my grin. She was fantastic.... she had lots of questions about America, so we gave her a postcard from the Adirondacks so she knew how gorgeous our country is too. She spoke English quite well and was studying to be a nurse! Yipee! There was so much more to our conversation at the bus station, but I'll keep it short by saying that we Americans have so much to learn from other people, cultures, and countries.

 Sepilok Orangutan Center 

Most of these guys and gals were orphaned (deforestation) and raised by the center, but they live free in the jungle and are offered food twice a day if they choose to come and get it.  

Once we left Borneo we returned to the Malaysian Peninsula and headed straight to the mountains of the Cameron Highlands. All these gorgeous rows of green are tea plants.

In case anyone thinks that Malaysia is behind the times....here is a photo of the inside of a mall. They are doing just fine keeping up with technology, believe me. Just remember that not all Malaysians could ever afford this stuff. This was in Penang (Georgetown).

In stark contrast to the mall, beliefs and traditions are also deeply rooted in this diverse and fantastic country. Temples were intricate and awe-inspiring. The one above is the Chinese temple called the Hainan Temple.

 Khoo Kongsi

 Malaysia.....modern and ancient....diverse yet accepting.... a wonderful example for all to follow.