Last Week Abroad

So, although this message is late, I figured I need to post on what I did the last week while I was abroad, if for nothing else than so that I don't forget it myself haha.

Thursday, August 13th was my last day of work. The group I had lunch with at Singapore Polytechnic took me out to a great lunch, where I got to have (for the last time sadly) one of my favorite dishes called coffee pork ribs. Afterwards, I took the rest of the afternoon to get a little bit of last minute souvenir shopping and packing for our upcoming trip done. That night, the host families and internship companies were invited to an appreciation dinner at Affandi's office (our internship coordinator). The food was great and we watched a slideshow of our pictures so far and took lots of pictures.

Friday we left by coach to drive into Malaysia. After passing through customs and immigration, we headed to Malacca for some shopping, dinner, and a small boat ride down a river. Afterwards, we drove the rest of the way to Kuala Lumpur.

Saturday, we did lots of sightseeing things - saw the president's house, the national monument, took pictures in front of the Petronas Twin Towers, and visited some government buildings and mosques. On Sunday, we went back to the Petronas Twin Towers, where we were able to walk across the sky bridge (tickets are really hard to get but our tour guide Zoul thankfully had connections). We then drove to Genting Highland and took a cable car up to the top of a mountain where we stayed at the First World Hotel with the world's biggest hotel lobby. We had dinner and did a little gambling in one of the casinos there, and I ended up ahead so it was a good night. Monday wasn't too exciting - we drove back to KL, where we flew to Bali, Indonesia. We pretty much had dinner, went to the hotel, walked around the streets a little, and called it a night.

On Tuesday, we had our entire day mapped out - tour of the city, went to the beach, visited some temples, and of course, took more pictures. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but it was neat to get to drive around and get a feel for Indonesia and how the people there live. We also got to do more souvenir shopping and had authentic Indonesian food for dinner (not my favorite).

Wednesday we had completely free until dinner that evening. We got up early, had breakfast, and headed to the beach. Karly, Megan, Allyssa and I took 2 hour surf lessons from some Indonesians who lived on the beach, and we had a blast! It took awhile, but I was finally able to stand up on the surfboard and get to enjoy it a little, after over an hour of falling and getting beat up by the waves. We then enjoyed the beach some more while we could before walking back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We were first taken to a coffee factory, where we were able to taste Indonesian coffee and buy some if we liked (which, of course, I did), and then we went to a sunset dinner on Jimbaran Bay, where we proceeded to take tons of pictures, watched the sunset, and then had a great seafood dinner on the beach, complete with fish, crab, prawn (shrimp), and some kind of mussel, along with some green vegetables (cabbage?) and, of course, rice.

Early Thursday morning, we flew back to Singapore, where I took a nap and then did some last minute shopping with Meredith in Chinatown. Then it was back to packing before saying bye to my host family. I didn't go to sleep because we had to be at the airport at 3 am for our 5 am flight out. Finally, after 30+ hours of travelling, I made it back to Dallas safe and sound.

All in all, I had an amazing experience travelling overseas. It definitely makes me want to travel to other parts of the world - if only it didn't take such a toll on my bank account. Soon enough :).

Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand!

I should warn you ahead of time: this message is really long, but we had a jam-packed weekend so I have a lot to update you on!

On Friday, our group flew to Bangkok, Thailand. Saturday morning we went to the Sriracha Tiger Zoo. We watched a tiger show, crocodile show, pig race, and took pictures with orangutans and tigers. We then went to Nong Nooch Village where we walked around the botanical garden, watched the Thai Cultural Show, and then immediately went over to see the elephant show. That one was hilarious – we watched elephants playing soccer, basketball, riding tricycles, and even painting! After our authentic Thai dinner, we went to the Alcazar Cabaret Show, where Thai “lady-boys” performed in various acts. Thailand is one of the top places in the world for plastic surgery, so all of the acts were centered around women that were originally born men…you can hardly tell at all, a lot of them were really pretty! After the show we just walked around a little more and then headed to bed.

On Sunday, we left Pattaya for Bangkok and stopped on the way at the world’s largest jewelry store where we took a tour and then walked around and shopped. Then, we went to Elephant Village Pattaya and got to go on an elephant ride!!!!! I have a lot of pictures from that – it was an absolute blast! Afterwards we went to Platinum Mall to kill some time before heading out for dinner. All of the places we ate were authentic Thai restaurants and they were delicious! After dinner we headed to the Pat Pong Night Bazaar, where I spent most of my money shopping and bargaining down prices as low as I could get. To get back to the hotel, we had to get one of the Thailand taxis called a “tuk-tuk” – an open 3-wheeled motorized scooter with a giant seat for 3 people (or 4 if you cram haha) that drives on the roads with all the other cars and mopeds. That was quite the experience and thankfully we were able to make it back safely to the hotel. 

Monday morning (after our 5 am wake-up call – yuck!) we drove 2 hours to the Floating Market. It was so much fun! We sat in these long skinny boats and after riding a little ways down a river, we came to the market area where Thai people were selling their goods right from their boats along the sides of the river. I also was able to bargain here to get some good souvenirs. They sell everything from souvenirs to clothes and food – pretty much anything you can think of. Afterwards, we had lunch and then drove back to the airport to fly back to Singapore.

Today after work, a few of us met up and went on the Singapore Flyer – a huge ferris wheel that takes you on a 30 minute ride and is one of the touristy things you have to do when you visit Singapore. I got some good pictures and enjoyed it. I only have 2 more days of work and full days to spend in Singapore, so we’re going to be trying to see all the places we enjoyed the most here and getting some last minute souvenir shopping done in the next few days.

Friday we leave for Malaysia, fly to Bali on Monday, and then back to the states next Friday – I can’t wait! Miss everyone back home and can’t wait to see you in less than a week and a half!

Week 4 - Haw Par Villa, Singapore Slings, & Night Safari

Hey everyone! So just wanted to do a quick update before my trip this weekend. Tuesday after work, Lisa and I went to this place called Haw Par Villa - the world's only Chinese mythology theme park. Unfortunately, the place is really run-down and is free to anyone to walk through it and see the statues and exhibits related to different stories. It was really neat to see a lot of the things, but it was kinda spooky since hardly anyone was there on a Tuesday afternoon. We then walked around Malay Village before heading to Badoque restaurant for dinner. Hidier and Zafeera have friends that own the restaurant, so they recommended we bring the group there for dinner. 9 of the ILAP people (out of 12) were able to go and the food was AMAZING! Especially the dessert - there's definitely a picture of that ice cream posted below. Wednesday, Lisa and I went to the Arab district and got some Teh Terik - it's just tea with evaporated milk, but it's really good! Then, the ILAP group met up and went to the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel to get the famous drink called a Singapore Sling. It's ridiculously overpriced ($27.05 including tax and service charge), but it's one of the signature things I think you have to do if you come to Singapore. It's where the drink originated and the bar itself is supposed to be one of the top in the world. Lots of famous people have gone there over the years, like Michael Jackson, Queen Elizabeth II, and Charlie Chaplin, to name a few. Thursday (today), Lisa and I had a farewell lunch for her with our group from work. Lisa leaves to head back to the U.S. on Saturday, so today was her last day of work. We then bought some groceries and cooked dinner as a thank-you for our host parents tonight. We made alfredo pasta, steamed broccoli and carrots, and blueberry muffins :-D. It was really good. Then, Zafeera was able to get Lisa and I free tickets to go to the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo - it's open from 7:30-midnight and you can walk through trails to see lots of nocturnal animals, not to mention there's a show as well called Creatures of the Night. It was really cool! We even walked into a cage that had fruit bats flying around us - they were the biggest bats I've ever seen in my life (see pics). We then came home and made chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Off to bed - I leave for Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand, tomorrow! 

Week 3

So we're officially over the halfway mark of our trip - 3 weeks down, 3 weeks to go! Last Wednesday I went and checked out the Little India area of Singapore. Shannon and I weren't really that impressed and then later that night went to dinner with our group and some Aggie alumni here in Singapore. We then went to the Clark Quay area and walked around and got to see some of the nightlife. Wednesday nights are "Ladies' Nights" in Singapore, so that was nice because we didn't have to pay to get in anywhere - one place even had free champagne for ladies (don't worry Dad - it was half champagne, half sprite, but not too bad). Thursday, Lisa and I walked through the City Hall area and over to the Old Parliament / The Arts House. The building used to house the parliament and now has some rooms preserved to walk through and puts on shows. We also walked around and got some good pictures of the surrounding downtown area. Friday, I met up with friends after work and went to see the Thian Hock Keng temple. Unfortunately, we got there right when it closed so I only got to see the outside, but at least got a few good pictures. We then went to the Asian Civilizations Museum and walked through there.

Saturday was a busy day. We met up with some of the ILAPers and went to the East Coast Park Beach. We walked along the beach there and the boys in the group decided to rent some tandem bicycles and ride them around, so we traded off doing that. It's definitely harder than it looks. We ate a wonderful seafood lunch and went back into town where the girls did some shopping. Meredith and I saw some of the parade for the National Day Preview (a full dress rehearsal for the actual event that happens August 9th, Singapore's independence day). We then walked over and saw the practice fireworks show too and that was really neat, and then ended the day with some good ole' Swenson's ice cream.


Sunday I went to the Church of St. Mary of the Angels with Megan and Shannon. It was a little different than the Catholic masses I'm used to in the U.S. - mainly just different songs and a few things said or done differently throughout the mass, but I enjoyed it. We met up with the group later in the Little India area of town to go to the 24-hour shopping mall called Mustafa. Once again, we weren't really impressed - we'd heard all this stuff about how great and cheap the shopping was, but it wasn't what we were expecting. We went and got tea tarik and roti parata - a light pastry that is either filled with something like eggs or cheese or it's just plain and you dip it in curry sauce. I also got some homemade ice cream from a stand nearby and they hand it to you in rainbow bread! It was really tasty - I'll have to get some again and take pictures of it. We then went to the Istana grounds, where the president's house is, to walk around and take pictures. They're usually closed to the public but they were open that day in celebration of the upcoming National Day. It was absolutely beautiful - big trees, beautiful view of the city, and we even got to see the president from like 20 feet away. We toured the first floor of his house and unfortunately couldn't take pictures but it was gorgeous. Afterwards, we walked through the National Museum of Singapore since it was nearby and was free after 6 pm. It was pretty neat but we didn't stay too long because we were pretty exhausted from walking around all day.

Although I'm having a blast here in Singapore, I want it to be the weekend already b/c we're going to Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand! I miss everyone back home, especially my family, and I'll be thinking of you this weekend in Possum Kingdom - wish I could be there but there'll always be next year!

The past week

Ok so I have an entire week to catch you up on so I'll try to hit the highlights. Last Wednesday, Michelle (another intern where I work), Lisa (intern where I work and living w/her at our host family's house) and I went to Jurong Bird Park. It was beautiful - we walked around, took lots of pictures, and saw a bird show. I also did some more shopping with them in Chinatown and started buying some souvenirs.

Friday I saw a talk about how Computational Biology can be applied to discover new drugs to treat diseases. Immediately after, I headed straight to the airport where our group flew to Phuket, Thailand. We spent Friday night there and left pretty early Saturday morning on a ferry to the Phi Phi Islands. The islands were absolutely stunning - one of the small beaches here was where they filmed the movie "The Beach." We did some snorkeling and even fed monkeys at another beach called Monkey Beach. Then, after lunch, we spent all afternoon out at the beach. Both lunch and dinner were at restaurants alongside the beach so it was wonderful. We then did some shopping around the local village and went to a Reggae Bar where there were some Thai kickboxing matches being held. There were lots of foreigners - mostly Australians and some British there as well. 

Sunday we enjoyed the beach a little more, did some more shopping, and then left on a ferry back to Phuket. To kill an hour or so in Phuket we went to a Pearl Factory and looked at how pearls are made and got to see different types. Then back to the airport for our flight back. It was a short trip and the weekend flew by but it was a ton of fun! I slept in today (took the day off from work) and am going to take it easy tonight.

Thanks for visiting my page and hope you enjoy the pictures. Have a great week!

Zoo and Chinese Theater!

So I've had a great last couple of days. Friday, a few of the girls went out to see the new Harry Potter - tickets were sold out all over town so luckily we got them early! Before the show we took a walk over to Arab Street & looked at a beautiful mosque. We also had some kind of tea (te-terie i think it was called?) that was reeeeeeeeally good. On Saturday, our whole group took a trip to the Singapore Zoo & had a great time. I was surprised with how open the zoo was - a lot of the exhibits were so close you could reach out and touch the animals. Saturday night we hung out at a bar called Wala-Wala in a neat area of town called Holland Village - a nice chill area with a lot of neat bars, restaurants and shops. On Sunday, Shannon and I attempted to make it to a 5 pm mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd but as it turns out, the mass wasn't until 6! We stopped in to read the readings for the day and then had to leave later to meet up with some friends for dinner. Hopefully we can get the timing worked out for the next weekend we're in town. At 8 pm, we saw a traveling show called "Journey to the West" - an acrobatic drama with lots of martial arts and cirque du soleil-type performing. It was amazing! Picture-taking was not allowed, but I sneaked a picture without flash of the theater before the show began.

A few of the new foods that I've tried are liver, quail eggs, and stingray. Zafeera (my host mom) cooked liver and quail eggs with some other meat, potatoes, french beans, and rice for lunch on Sunday and while the eggs were good, the liver was not my favorite food. Today for lunch I had stingray and it was really good! It was barbecued on a banana leaf with a spicy sauce - I'd definitely order it again.

In other news, I finished reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult today. Wonderful book - I highly recommend it. Now I can go see the movie :-D.

Tonight we're going to see a comedian perform at the Hard Rock Cafe. If only I didn't have to work at 9 am!

Chinatown and more

Hey everyone! I posted a few pictures that I took of Chinatown from tonight and the signs that are all written in different languages. I'm really starting to love the culture here but it's taken some getting used to being the minority. I love the people that I work with - we go to lunch as a group (7-8 of us usually) to either one of the 6 food courts in Singapore Polytechnic or one of the nearby Hawker centers - outdoor food courts with a million options of foods from different cultures to choose from. The best part is it only costs $2-4! So far I've tried Mui Fun (rice with seafood and veggies in a thick sauce), fried noodles, pork-stuffed steamed buns, chicken rice, Carrot Cake (not a cake in fact but a meal - sauted turnips and this spongy potato-like stuff and eggs) and a seafood soup that was really good. Not to mention I tried durian fruit today - it's this spiny fruit that has a very pungent smell to it and the taste isn't all that much better. Some people absolutely love it but I can definitely say now that I'm not much of a fan. I haven't done much shopping yet but I'm afraid this place is going to leave me broke by the time it's all over. 

There are a few things that I find interesting about Singapore I thought I'd share: they only use forks and spoons (no knives), everything is very open - everyone leaves windows open during the day and dries clothes on bamboo sticks hanging out of their windows because no one has dryers, they eat with two hands (fork in one and spoon in the other - or chopsticks in one and spoon in the other depending on the food), they drive on the left side of the road, there are a lot of outdoor eating facilities that provide hundreds of affordable options of foods to try, there are malls everywhere you turn, and all their outlets have a switch to turn them on and off. For instance, when we're not using a fan we turn the fan and the outlet it's plugged into off. 

Tomorrow is Friday! I'm so excited - plans for the weekend: shopping, Harry Potter, the zoo, and Chinese theatre! 

First weekend & first day of work

Yesterday, the ILAP group met up at Orchard Road to walk around and see some of the sights and malls. We then headed down to Clark Quay to walk around and found a great place there to eat dinner right on the water. If you look through some of the pictures (sorry they're out of order - I'm new to photobucket and couldn't figure out how to move the pictures around and that's how they uploaded), you'll see a very interesting one taken near a restaurant/bar in Clark Quay. Also, Singapore is easily the most diverse place I've ever seen or been to - most of the signs are written in 4 languages - English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, because of the incredibly diverse population. Some other things that are taking some getting used to are: they drive on the left side of the road (I'm constantly looking the wrong way before crossing...I'm getting better though!), they hang most of their clothes to dry (hardly anyone has clothes dryers - I guess it saves on electricity and avoids releasing more heat as well), the 13 hour time difference, and the MRT train system. I rode it to work this morning and it was packed crowded. As for my internship, I met with my professor today that I'm working with and he showed me around Singapore Polytechnic Institute and introduced me to some of the people there. They're all really nice and we even go to lunch as a group with some of the student workers and interns for the summer. Other than that, I've put pictures up of the area around where I'm staying and some pictures from the apartment as well. Enjoy!

Travel & Day 1

So we finally made it! After a 2 hour drive from College Station to Houston, 3 hour flight from Houston to Detroit, 12 hour 45 minute flight from Detroit to Tokyo, and a 7 hour 15 minute flight from Tokyo to Singapore, we arrived in Singapore around 1 am Saturday morning. After getting through Customs and getting our luggage, we stayed at the 5 star hotel right next to the airport, the Crowne Plaza. After 4 or so hours of sleep, we ate a wonderful breakfast, then took a bus tour and boat tour of the main parts of Singapore. We then ate our first Singapore meal at a restaurant not far from Little India (no idea the name). Afterwards, we met our host families back at the hotel. I'm staying with a married couple named Hidier and Zafeera, and they have been incredibly welcoming. I've uploaded the pictures I took yesterday and today as well. Seeing as it's 10:36 pm our time (9:36 am Dallas) and I haven't had much actual sleep the past few days, I'm about to go crash and slowly but surely become adjusted to the time difference. Happy belated 50th birthday Dad!

First post

Hello everyone! While I'm on the other side of the world, I'm going to post updates on here of what I've been up to and links to pictures that I've posted. I'm hoping to do this at least once a week, if not more than that depending on how often I have Internet access. Hopefully it turns out well! 3 days and counting!