I am posting this from Penang Island, Malaysia. A week ago we left our place in Singapore and all the amenities there; ipad, movies, nice place. We took the train all the way up to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The hotel room there was troublesome to get to and it stunk like heck there too.

   Someone must have had a durian in the room. It's a very stinky fruit that apparently tastes better than it smells. It is forbidden for people to bring durian in hotel rooms. I know why first-hand!

   The next day we were planning to take the overnight train up here to Penang, but the tickets were all sold out so we eventually found a bus to take, but by that time most of the day had gone by and we had to leave. That meant we didn't do any attraction at all there. When we reached Penang is was past midnight but a day earlier than we had planned and we still had to take the ferry out to the actual island. By the time we found a hotel it was past 1 in the morning. The hotel we stayed at was just horrid and a few rooms down there were very loud people in the night.
   The next day we eagerly left our hotel to stay  with the couchsurfing family that we had planned to stay with. It turned out that they had four young boys ages 2, 4, 6, and 8. They were absolutely crazy in the small apartment. We stayed with them two nights and then went to catch our train to Bangkok, Thailand. When we finally got to the train station on the mainland, we found that there had been a derailment and we couldn't go that day.
   We eventually decided that our best course of action was to go back to Penang, and on the ferry back over we met a kind Malaysian family who took us to a hotel they knew and got us a discount too. Overall things worked out and I enjoyed my time here in Penang. Tomorrow, though, we finally go on the train to Thailand.

Singapore

part of the Singapore skyline

a cool building

   I am currently in Singapore. I have been surfing in Kuta and it was quite fun too. Then on Sunday we flew to Singapore. It is like any big city like Chicago or New York. I like it here and it certainly is a big change from Bali. Christmas is also big here and on the main shopping road there are big displays.
   We took the tour bus around and saw the botanic gardens. We are staying at a nice place (with friends) while we try to get a visa for Thailand. I don't mind staying here a while though....

    I am now writing (typing) this from Amed, Bali. It is okay here but I have to say I like Padangbai better. We came here to snorkel and it was okay although the reef was in bad shape. Well, I've been here two nights now and this afternoon I am going to Kuta, in the south, to do surfing lessons. I am excited to learn to surf though I hear it is very crazy in Kuta.. That's pretty much it, so I'll post another blog when I get there.
   p.s. I will add photos later

Padangbai

   I have been in Padangbai Bali for nearly a week now. The time seems to fly! I have been staying at a nice guesthouse with a beautiful garden and a great pool. It almost seems that I spend more time in the water than out!
   I really do like it here in Padangbai. It hardly ever rains and it is small but not too small.There are plenty of nice restaurants and cafes and good Internet. The prices here are not bad and it was nice to stay here.
   Yesterday I went snorkeling. We went out on a boat and went out to a reef. There were plenty of fish although the visibility wasn't great. You could get fish to eat bread out of your hand if you held it underwater, in fact they would positively swarm you. I also learned that fish have teeth, because one bit me when I was feeding them.
   Tomorrow I am leaving Padangbai and going north. we will be staying in Bali for maybe two more weeks before we either go to Malaysia, Thailand or maybe another island.

Balinese Wood Carving

   In Ubud I did a class on wood carving. In three hours I carved a gecko. Geckos are everywhere here and they eat the bugs. They make a gecko gecko sound that sounds like it's spelled.

Bali (again)

Monkey from Monkey Forest

    I have been in Bali for awhile now and today I am going from Ubud to Pandangbai, on the coast. I have done some interesting things here. Once we were out on a rented motor bike and it was raining, no, pouring and in order to get back to our hotel we had to walk our bike through knee deep water on the flooded road.
    We also went to the monkey forest and I fed bananas to the greedy monkeys. It was a quite fun. They know when you have bananas and will literally climb up you to get them.
   

 

Bali

    To start off my world trip we flew to L.A. and went to Disneyland. It was fun riding all the rides like Space Mountain and The Indiana Jones ride.
    We arrived then in Bali, Indonesia. It was a long flight there, 18 hours + a 5 hour layover in Hong Kong. At the first place we stayed in Sanur we were outside and I got like 30 mosquito bites. The next place we went to had AC. It was nice and I spent hours and hours in the pool.

   Bali is really different from America. The streets are narrow and there are lots of little shops and everyone tries to sell you something (at least in the touristy areas). It is also really hot.

   Next we went to Ubud; its a lot different there. It rains a lot more and is a little cheaper. I sorta like it here but sometimes I think I would rather be at home living a normal life with my brand new lap top computer that I wasn't allowed to bring, not to mention my computer game.

Chicago

   A few weeks ago I went into Chicago. We took the train up and headed to Lincoln Park Zoo. If you have ever been to a zoo before, well they're pretty much all the same.... I mean lions, tigers, bears living in small spaces.... same ol'. It's sad to see all the animals in such small enclosures, relative to their natural roaming territory.
     Next we took a walk through the park and along Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful Indian summer day and I enjoyed seeing the cityscape from a distance.
    Later in the evening we met with a friend of my mom's, Paul, at a delicious crepe restaurant, La Creperie. After that we took a walk to his apartment building. The complex was nice but the apartment was only one room. We didn't have much time there before we had to leave to catch the train back to my Grandparent's house.
   Personally, I don't think I could live in such a small space in the middle of a mass of concrete, people, cars, and noise. It's fun visiting but if I were to live in the city, I would like a big, more open space.

Savanah and the South

      Earlier this week I was in Savanah Georgia. It may be a small town but its a great place to visit. Savanah is old and the streets are lined with beautiful southern style houses and churches. It was enjoyable just to walk through the downtown with a combo of new and old.
     The best thing though, was going to the beach at Tybee Island. Building sand castles and running in the waves was something I hadn't done in a long time. Although we left the next day we still got a taste of Savanah.

     Although Savanah was great, it's hard to beat walking through the village of Hogsmeade and seeing the castle of Hogwarts. That's what I did at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. I had a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks just like Harry might. I got a wand from Olivander's and went through the Hogwarts castle. In my opinion, The Forbidden Journey, a kind of simulated ride through Hogwarts, was best. You flew through and around the castle facing dark creatures of all sorts and helped win the quidditch game for Gryffindor.
     There were other good rides too. A log ride that got you soaked, two massive rollercoasters, a Spiderman ride that felt so realistic and still more!! I think the real thing that needed improvement was the food!       

       Check later for photos

New York City!!!!!!!

    Yesterday I returned from a short trip in NYC. From Washington D.C. I took a bus to Manhattan and that night we met with a friend of my mom's, Shana, and went to dinner in the city. It was so busy and bustling! The next day we started out by walking to the Empire State Building. We took the elevator all the way to the top!! In my opinion it was a great intro to New York, to see it from above, and you really could see all of Manhattan and more from up there.

    To conclude the day we headed to Times Square; it was quite a sight. Then we went in the huge Toys R Us, a kid's paradise. There were legos, cars, nerf guns, video games, electronics, any thing you could think of. How fun!!!
   That next day we visited a friend of my mom's, Justin, who was in the hospital with a knee injury. It was great to meet another Star Wars fan! Later that day we went to Greenwich Village in downtown. There were funny shops, parks, old houses and cobble stone streets, little cafes, and lots of street vendors. All the heat of the afternoon made one me and we stopped for a famous "Mr. Softies" (ice cream cone).
     The next day we went to the famous electronics store B&H and I ended up getting a lap top. Then we hit central park. It was huge! We had fun playing in the sprinklers at a park. That day Justin was released from the hospital and we went to his place in Brooklyn for the night. It was quite different there! All the buildings were smaller and it was much less crowded.
     The next day, Monday, was our last day and we went out to Staten Island and visited friends of Shana's at the community of Ganas. We took the ferry there past the Statue of Liberty and that night we had a barbeque at Ganas. It was night when we headed back and the NY skyline was spectacular.

     All things end and the next day as the rain came down we headed to the bus stop. We waited for the delayed bus but were soon heading back to D.C. Overall it was a good experience of NYC in a few days.

     Pictures to come later.

Washington D.C.

      Hey, I just went to Washington D.C. and I want to share the experience of it. In the short time of a few days I went to the Museum of Air and Space, the Museum  of Natural History, the White House, the Capitol, the Botanical Gardens, and the National Archives, to name a few.
      I personally liked the Air and Space Museum and the Botanical Gardens the most. I've always been interested in flying and space travel and particularly liked the interactive displays of the Air and Space Museum. The Botanical Gardens provided rare peace and quiet that was unheard of in the busy museums and the bustling National Mall. Also, I felt happy among the plants and trees, rather than the concrete, steel, and glass of the city.
      We stayed with a friend, Erika, outside of the city who was kind enough to host us. That made it easy to come and go when we wanted. It was interesting to tour the Capitol and White House, but in truth weren't very exciting. Still to sum it up, it was an enjoyable trip to Washington D.C.

A Quick Trip to the Wallowa Mountains

   On July 5, 2011 my Mom and I took a road trip to the Wallowa Mountains, in northeastern Oregon.On the way there we drove up to Portland and then headed east along the Columbia River Gorge, which forms the border between Oregon and Washington. We arrived in the evening, and after a burger in the town of Wallowa, we went to a beautiful campground by the Lostine River. The campground was in a valley, surrounded by mountains and hills. They all seemed so close!
   The next day we went to the town of Joseph. Joseph is right by Wallowa Lake, a beautiful mountain lake, and the Mt Howard tramway. The tram is an enclosed metal box and each car could hold 4 people. We took the tram up to the top of Mt. Howard, and from the top you can see way into Idaho.
    My Mom, exausted by driving efforts, decided that the next day would be spent relaxing at the campground. It was a good thing I had a plenty of books! That day we also decided that we would take it easy and stop and see some sights on the way back. So after our day of nothing, it was back to the car! 
   On the way we saw a sign for a train museum. We went in and there was a authentic steam train ride that even had a mock train robbery. Unfortunatly my Mom had left the lights on in the car and the battery died. Then thanks to the help of the railroad manager and another helpful family, we jump started the car and got back on our way. That night we went to a "crowded comercial RV" campground and it was interesting to make a comparison between the other campground we had been to; one noisy and crowded and one peaceful and quiet.
   Soon we were back at home and our spectacular trip to the Wallowa Mountains was over.

Pre-World Trip

Hey, this is my first blog! I'm doing this because I'm taking a trip around the world. I want to share my adventures with you armchair travelers.

It's going to be an amazing experience traveling around the world. 

Every day there's a little more preparation. I'm going to get rid of most of my stuff! I'm keeping only one box of things. I feel kinda sad to get rid of all my things I've accumulated over the years.

It's going to be weird getting back in a year and having practically nothing.

Our first stop will be Bali, Indonesia. We leave on October 20, 2011, going from L.A. to Hong Kong to Denpasar, Bali.

Check my blog again in mid-August, when I will have more to write about my summer travels.