Down By The Bay

I have arrived in Japan! Apart from my butt which is freezing and about to fall off I am absolutely loving it here so far.

I'm staying with a delightful Japanese fellow I met through Couchsurfing (more to come on my first Couchsurfing experience!) who lives in Yokohama, which is situated just outside of Tokyo. On my first day here my Couchsurfing host was kind enough to show me his city. Before coming to Japan I didn't think I'd be able to turn around without bumping into someone (336 people per square kilometer here!) but I was pleasantly surprised by Yokohama's lack of crowds and tourists. Its calm atmosphere combined with its prime waterfront location, plus the fact that it's less than an hour from central Tokyo, had me quite taken. It actually reminded me a little of Vancouver, and it was comforting to see a place that reminded me of home.

Seeing outdoor rinks always makes me incredibly happy.

A little one excited to go skating!

Osanbashi Pier

Coolest pier I've ever seen!

Just adorable.

View of Yokohama from the Landmark Tower

Yokohama!

A museum all about instant noodles. Amazing.

Kicking some snow

Tea, Trekking and Scrabble

When I decided I was coming to Malaysia I knew I had to visit the Cameron Highlands. A region full of tea plantations with temperatures rarely rising above 20 degrees sounded like bliss, and it was. I met a wonderful group of people, the guesthouse bed was ridiculously comfortable, the tea was heavenly, the scenery was first-class... all in all it was the perfect place to escape the heat, drink some tea, do some trekking and play scrabble, which is exactly how my two days there were spent.

View from the summit of our trek

Possibly even more trees than in Canada?!

Tea plantation!

A delicious cup of tea.

More tea leaves

The group, a bit tired post-trek

An intense game of scrabble

Penang National Park

Last week, a lovely Finnish traveler and I decided to spend a day trekking in Penang National Park. There were several different trails to choose from but we took the one that would lead us to "Turtle Beach", where at night you can apparently find great numbers of turtles on the shore. The trek lead us through what was essentially a jungle with loads of plants, streams and sounds made by different insects. We were rewarded at the end with a secluded beach that we had almost all to ourselves (we saw maybe 10 or so people the whole time we were there) where we got to tan and relax for a few hours before heading back.

An adorable but mischievous monkey

Penang National Park

Stunning scenery

My trekking buddy Henri

Pretty much our own private beach

Amazing, apart from the jellyfish in the water!

I am coming to the conclusion that Malaysia may have the most natural beauty out of any country I've ever seen. Photos to come from the Cameron Highlands!

Tropical Spices Galore

While in Penang I decided to pay a visit to the Tropical Spice Garden. Being that it's one of the main tourist spots to visit on the island I didn't want to set my hopes too high but it ended up completely exceeding my expectations. 

It was a massive tropical garden (situated right across from the beach) with lots of winding pathways lined with different types of spices. The plants filled the garden with various lovely fragrances, enhanced by the humid air. It was also home to wildlife such as monkeys, lizards and dragonflies, all of which I got to see while I was there. After wandering around for a bit I had a delicious lunch of Pad Thai and tea made with local spices on an amazing veranda from which I could see and hear the ocean.
 

Dragonfly

The veranda where I had lunch

Mmmmmm

"Cat Tails"

Mini waterfall

Huge lizard... I was happy to be far away

At the risk of sounding cheesy, my trip to the Spice Garden made for an almost magical morning.

Oh My Buddha!

I am currently in Penang, Malaysia, a city that I didn't know too much about before arriving. Although the majority of Malaysians are Muslim, it turns out that Penang is home to a number of impressive Buddhist temples built according to the style of different Asian countries. At first I was a little hesitant about going to visit yet more temples (I saw so many in Cambodia!) but I was anything but disappointed...

Burmese Temple

Chinese Temple

View from Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist Temple in all of SE Asia

Lanterns at Kek Lok Si

30m tall bronze Buddha statue at Kek Lok Si

Thai Temple that housed a 33m long reclining Buddha

After Cambodia I thought I was all "templed out" but I was wrong. These temples were extremely impressive and best of all they were nothing alike, each one was different from the last. Sometimes you miss out by not researching a place ahead of time but I definitely lucked out here!

Dengue Fever

As most of you probably know I was quite ill over Christmas and New Years. As it turned out I had Dengue Fever, a pretty common illness here in Southeast Asia that you contract from mosquitoes. There were several cases of it in Koh Tao, which is where I did my diving courses. When I wasn't under water I was constantly being bitten so I wouldn't be surprised if that's where I picked it up. 

Although it's common Dengue is far from pleasant. I don't think I'd ever felt so sick in my whole life. I had a really high fever that kept coming and going over the course of about a week, accompanied by crippling aches and pains that made a simple task like walking seem impossible. The best part is that not only is there no vaccination against Dengue, there's also no treatment, so you just have to ride it out (although some people do have to be hospitalized if it gets really bad - I came pretty close but was fortunate enough to skip that part!) Luckily I was surrounded by a group of lovely people and had a comfy hostel couch to hang out on, which made the whole thing much more bearable.

The whole thing lasted about two weeks; I've actually just began to feel normal again within the last few days. As I said before getting sick while traveling is far from fun but it definitely makes you stronger and is a small price to pay in the long run.

Being sick put a damper on my time in Thailand (sitting around while people ran off to a different party every night got pretty old) but I'm in Malaysia now and am thoroughly enjoying all that this country has to offer. Posts and photos to come!