Owner: Follow That Elephant! URL:http://superkimbo.wordpress.com Join Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 06:49:18 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Tales of an American expat in Malaysia... Site statistics:Click here
Couture: KL Style 2007-04-14 12:11:42 I’ve mentioned before that malls are the hangout of choice for most Malaysians - not only are they air-conditioned, but they provide a wealth of unique activities every single week. This weekend it was a runway show in One Utama.
Sadly we were not able to actually see the models walk (after waiting for 3 minutes, I find my attention wandering to other slightly more interesting things, like going to the bookstore and then leaving). Anyway, apparently the whole thing is quite popular because there was a full house around the catwalk and crowds on every level waiting patiently for the show to start.
The only advantage I can see to this whole thing is that if all the shoppers are distracted by the wild and wonderful happenings in the center court, I can more easily weave my way through the rest of the mall. Thus turning a normally horrific experience into one that can be tolerated. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s that damn shuffling.
Read more:Couture
, Style
A plea 2007-04-11 15:30:51 Vote for me! I’ve been nominated for a Blogger’s Choice Award as Best Travel Blog! Wow! What a wonderful and totally unexpected surprise! If you have a moment, please register and vote for Follow That Elephant!
In search of the perfect beach 2007-04-11 15:11:03 Having grown up in cold, wintry Connecticut, I am obsessed with the perfect beach. You know the kind - shockingly blue ocean, whiter-than-white sand, and no-one around for miles. This kind of perfection was a bit out of reach during our five years in Munich, but now that we’re living here in Southeast Asia, I’ve been able to make some real progress on my quest. Last week in Boracay was another perfect example.
Aside from the overwhelming hassle that it is to get to Boracay (start with a 1:20am flight from KL to Manila, add a five minute bus ride to get from the international to the domestic airport, tack on some horrendous lines at the domestic airport coupled with the annoyingly strict “no liquids” regulation in carry on items, topped off by a seemingly endless wait for our 45-minute flight to depart, followed by a 1 minute tuk-tuk ride to the jetty, and finally, after at least 10 hours of traveling, end with a 15 minute speedboat ride directly to the resort -
superkimbo, freelance writer 2007-04-07 11:12:26 Recently, as a result of my writing here on this blog, I was asked to write a travelers introduction to Malaysia for the Viator Travel Blog. Not only was I asked to write something, but they’re paying me to write it. Paying. Me! And, thus, I’m very excited to share with you my story, and just in case you’re interested, the little bio I wrote up about myself for the website. I suppose this begins my freelance writing career…
Photo Hunt: Clean 2007-04-07 03:40:27
In my opinion, there’s nothing better than waking up to the sound of the ocean with sunlight streaming in through clean white curtains, meandering off to breakfast (being prepared by someone else, obviously) and returning after a satisfying meal, to a perfectly clean hotel room, complete with fresh flowers and a stunning view.
Alex and I just got back from our visit to Boracay, the Philippines. What an absolutely gorgeous island! We spent every day lounging at the beach, enjoying the crystal clear, absolutely clean water - perfect for snorkeling, or just floating lazily in the sun.
More details (and pictures) to come!
Read more:Clean
, Photo
Boracay, ahoy! 2007-03-29 11:34:30 We leave tonight at 1:20 am (I wonder who’s the brains behind that brilliant departure time on Cebu Pacific Air?). We’re packing light, because apparently you’re only allowed 10kg on the little prop plane from Manila to Caticlan (plus, I’ve heard you have to wade in the water to get from the ferry to the island). Thanks to all the wonderful help from my new friends (especially Nina!), I’m sure this trip will be fantastic! Pictures and stories as soon as we get back, of course!
Read more:Boracay
Where in the world? 2007-03-27 10:42:13 I just had a short chat with a good friend that lives in the UK (previously he’s lived in the US and Korea), and he happened to mention that he likes the UK, but “there are better places.” Now I’m curious:
Where would you live, if you could live anywhere?
Brushes with the law 2007-03-26 00:30:07 To prepare for our move to Thailand, I need to apply for a Criminal Clearance Record. We were advised to do this as soon as possible, either in our current home or our country of origin. Given my lack of understanding of all things beaurocratic here in Malaysia (basically everything requires a chop (stamp), the costs of which vary by some unknown law), I’m opting to apply for mine from the State of Connecticut, which is officially a Letter of Good Conduct. Fancy. Now, obviously I expect all of this go quite smoothly, although I have had one very, very slight brush with the law.
The year after I graduated university, and was working as a Property Manager in Farmington, CT, I accidentally (and very gently, I might add) rear-ended the car in front of me at the stop sign just outside my old (and absolutely beautiful apartment) in Manchester. The guy in front of me had completely stopped, and then started to drive away, so I took my foot off the brake (I did not step on the gas). At t
Thirsty 2007-03-25 10:44:04 Lately I have found myself drinking glass after glass of cold water. Unfortunately I prefer the bubbly kind so it isn’t as satisfying as it could be. I can’t tell if it’s the hot weather or the food I’m eating, but I’ve only been this consistently thirsty once before - when I was visiting Alex’s parents in Colorado. I think it was pretty dry up there near the Rockies, so I’m not really sure why I’m so thirsty lately. But, my constant running to the toilet, combined with last week’s PhotoHunt topic, has prompted me to think about my favorite thirst quenchers:
My absolute favorite has to be Thai lemon soda - it’s not actually soda, it’s fresh lime juice, sugar syrup (which you add yourself) and fizzy water - always served with ice. So refreshingly sweet and sour! I am definitely looking forward to our move to Bangkok and the constant availability of this tasty, tasty drink.
Here in Malaysia, I would say I have two favorite Read more:Thirsty
Let the countdown begin! 2007-04-15 13:01:56 We have just about 2 months left living in Malaysia… I can’t believe how fast time flies. It feels like we moved to KL just yesterday, but it’s already been almost 2 years.
Even for people used to moving between countries frequently, these transition times are always tough. Part of me feels like we’re leaving tomorrow so I shouldn’t buy any groceries or anything I can avoid (this just leads to spending large amounts of money on unnecessary take-out). Another part feels like two months is so long, I just want to get the hassle of moving over with. The biggest part is pretty sad, though. We’ve had such a great time here in KL. Even though I’m sure we will love Bangkok just as much, it’s always sad to leave a place that has become home.
This will be our 4th move in 8 years - not too many for your average expat. I suppose it gets easier every time. So far we’ve learned to:
Send cancellation notices as early as possible (for a lease, p Read more:begin
Disconnected 2007-04-18 04:13:40 I’m going through some serious withdrawal here. Our internet has been down for almost a whole day already! Although it pains me not to be able to check my e-mail every 5 minutes, it’s probably a good thing that I have some time off line.
Yesterday afternoon I actually:
read a book
prepared a healthy and tasty meal for myself and my husband
cleaned up around the house
walked outside
got to bed early to rest my eyes
Wow! Who would have thought I could get so much done in just one afternoon?
What do you do when you’re disconnected?
Graduate School, Here I Come! (again) 2007-04-20 16:19:48 I have spent the last 2 days rushing around trying to complete my application to Syracuse University’s MS Library and Information Science program.
Seeing as I already have an M.Ed., I wasn’t really planning on going back for another Masters, but this program at Syracuse seems really awesome - totally into 21st Century Literacy and very forward thinking. Clearly just the right program for my new job at International School
Bangkok.
Plus, it has the added advantage of enabling me to work in a public or university library, if I so desire, sometime in the future.
I always say - if I end up going back to the states (not likely), I would want to work in a university, like my friend Lisa, who works at Yale (she’s a smarty-pants - when I grow up, I want to be just like her). I have this imaginary expectation that university staff get more vacation time than the standard (and pitiful) 2 weeks that everyone else in the US is allowed. Seriously, how can you live on 2 weeks vacat Read more:Graduate
Photo Hunt: Steps 2007-04-21 05:04:02
Back in October, Alex and I went to Bali for the first time. One of the things we loved most about traveling through the countryside was the stepped rice terraces. Bali is full of hills and mountains, all of which are covered in beautiful bright green rice, glimmering slightly because the rice needs a few inches of water to grow. It’s absolutely stunning. If you’re interested, you can see more pictures of Bali here.
Read more:Photo
Looking for an expat blog? 2007-04-29 03:30:09 One of my absolute favorite things to do is read the blogs of other expats - it doesn’t matter what country they’re in, I just love reading about their adventures.
So, I am very pleased to share with you the Expat Women blog database. There are around 140 expat blogs listed (all written by women), including my own. Many (if not all) of the blog authors are also mentors for Expat Women - helping women transition to life in their new country.
Another favorite site of mine is Expat Blog - the online exptriate community. Here you can find links to many blogs, written by both men and women, about their expat experiences. All of these blogs are self-submitted and could be about any aspect of expat life.
Are there any other expat blog databases out there?
Photo Hunt: Rare 2007-04-28 03:07:23
Living overseas gives us lots of opportunities to travel, and while we’re traveling, to see some crazy and rare things. For this week’s theme, I decided to post one rare thing from each of our three major trips this year (click on the pictures for a larger view):
While in Bali, we saw
a huge Banyan tree. In Bali they are used as gathering points for town meetings, or just for hanging out.
While in Vietnam, we saw
snake wine! Imagine jars and jars of grain alcohol with preserved snakes inside. Definitely something I had never seen before!
And, while in the Philippines, we saw
cool outrigger canoes. This one was made right before our eyes - on the first day there was just a big pile of lumber, but by the last day it had been built and painted - right on the beach.
Here in Malaysia, we have some very cool rare things, two of my favorites were actually posted for an earlier Photo
Hunt: Growth, but just in case you didn’t have a chance to see them then, here they ar
The flower of the sun 2007-04-27 11:24:36 Today, my wonderful husband surprised me with a bright bouquet of sunflower
s:
I love getting flowers! There’s just something about having fresh flowers in your house. I wish I could get my act together to have them more frequently - I certainly have enough empty vases lying around. I love all kinds of flowers, but my favorites are orchids and calla lilies, which is why I had them in my bouquet:
(I really can work in a wedding reference into pretty much any post… it’s quite a talent).
What kinds of flowers do you like?
Feelin’ Chilly? 2007-04-25 14:55:00 Here in the tropics I have enjoyed 2 years of wearing only capri pants, flip flops and T-shirts. Occasionally I do find myself yearning for a cool breeze, or perhaps, a crisp fall day. Alas, I know these days will never come. The weather in KL is steady at around 90 degrees, 90% humidity. It makes for an easy morning routine - definitely no worries about what to wear. And no question about the sweat - its an every day, all day affair.
However, if you’re feeling a little cold, you can always purchase yourself a downy winter coat, hats, mittens, scarves, wool sweaters and pants in any of KL’s many “winter wear” shops, like this one in One Utama:
I’m assuming these shops are for people who are going on a ski holiday, or back to their, obviously much colder, home countries for a holiday, but it’s still pretty funny to see the full-on winter gear here in the tropics.
Have I mentioned that you can buy just about anything in KL?
Read more:Chilly
Banned in China 2007-04-30 15:01:21 Is your blog banned in China
?
Because mine is! You can test any website to see if it’s censored on The Great Firewall of China website. I guess the real wall doesn’t work so well anymore…
Read more:Banned
A weekend in KL 2007-04-29 10:15:40 My next article on the Viator Travel blog is up! My budding career as a freelance writer continues!
This one is an introduction to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Take a look - maybe it will inspire you to come visit!
Hello TV! 2007-05-02 03:46:05 As if I didn’t already watch too much TV….
Astro subscribers will have reason to rejoice when the company introduces nine new channels to its current service [May 1st].
The new channels come courtesy of the recently launched Measat-3 satellite, which effectively brings the total number of channels offered to 75.
My favorite of the nine are “the entertainment-themed Discovery Home and Health, E!, Discovery Real Time and Discovery Science.” Let me tell you, we’ve been hearing about this MEASAT-3 for months now. Never did I expect a channel I would like - let alone four! Bring it on MEASAT!
Read more:Hello
How green are you? 2007-05-06 12:44:22 In Germany we had extensive recycling practices. The infrastructure was so well set up that we, the lazy Americans, actually managed to:
recycle our paper, regular trash and even compost(!) right in our apartment complex - they had bins for all three!
recycle our glass into white, clear, green, blue, brown right down the street
never buy cans (like soda) because they had an extra tax
use plastic, re-useable carrying containers to bring home our heavy duty 1L water bottles (yum! fizzy water!) which we could “rent” for 2 euros and then return. The heavy duty bottles were then rigorously washed by the company and re-used.
air-dry all of our clothes since we didn’t own a dryer
used our own collection of sturdy bags to pack our groceries. Grocery stores charge you for bags in Germany so everyone brings their own.
None of this made us special in Europe, actually, all of these things are totally common practice and definitely expected. In fact, there are fines for people
Photo Hunt: Childhood 2007-05-05 02:48:59
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this topic, because this year I finally started taking pictures of children in the different countries we visit. I’ve always wanted to take more pictures of people when we’re traveling, but I’m not sure of the etiquette and I know that different cultures have different feelings about snapping images (and then, of course, there’s the problem of my less than stellar photography skills). But, this week I have a few very cute pictures of childhood in Bali and Vietnam to share with you (click on the pictures for larger images).
These boys in Bali were having so much fun playing in the drainage pipe next to some beautiful rice paddies. They were running, jumping, dunking each other and laughing up a storm. I had so much fun just watching them that I was tempted to jump in too!
You can’t see much of this adorable little girl, but she is standing in front of the Banyan tree I mentioned in my Photo
Hunt entry last week. She was Read more:Childhood
Inked 2007-05-08 12:06:31 I’ve wanted a tattoo since high school, but I’ve never been able to decide on exactly what I want permanently inked into my skin. At this point, I have to admit that I feel more unique for not having a tattoo, but for some reason, I’m still interested…
Miami Ink is on at 5pm here in KL, so I usually end up watching a few times a week when I’m relaxing after work. Just watching them design and complete so many different kinds of tattoos is starting to inspire me again.
Of course, I still have no idea what I would want. Well, that’s not accurate, I have about 15 different things that I would want, but I couldn’t possibly decide on just one…
So, I’m curious, do you have a tattoo? If so, what is it, and why did you choose that design?
Image: http://www.happynews.com/living/bodyart/health-risks-getting.jpg
They make it so easy 2007-05-13 03:36:00 I’m often commenting on just how easy it is to live here in KL and this past Thursday night was no exception. We went out with our friends Jabiz and Mairin to see some (fantastic) local bands at a great club called Laundry. When I think about going to see a local band at a club, I think crowded, dirty, hard to find, totally unknown.
Not here in KL, even going to a club is supremely easy…
This place was:
a total of five minutes away from my house, door-to-door.
in the mall - on the nice, open air strip with all the restaurants.
associated with Italianni’s (a chain restaurant next door) so they basically had a full-service restaurant in the club.
open to the outdoor seating area on two sides so you could either stand inside, sit on the couches inside, or sit at a table outside and enjoy your dinner.
clean, comfortable and not very crowded (and apparently the night we were there was the most crowded it’s ever been).
free! When do you ever get to go to completel
Photo Hunt: Five 2007-05-12 02:30:52
Yikes! Five is the number of weeks we have left before we move to Thailand! Ironically, five is also the number of years we thought we would stay in Malaysia. I guess it turned out to be two instead. Five is also the number of years we lived in Germany, as well as the number of years we lived in the Hartford area in Connecticut. Five years seems to be a nice amount of time to live in one place. Long enough to really get to know it, and just long enough to start feeling like it’s time to move on. We’re hoping for a minimum of five years in Thailand, but you never know…
And, just in case you’re interested, this is the best wall calendar ever: The Lonely Planet Wall Calendar. I get one every year - it has a beautiful picture for every day of the year and every month is a different country. It can inspire the traveler in anyone!
Read more:Photo
A walk in the park 2007-05-16 14:37:25 Perhaps I haven’t mentioned this before, but I’m quite lackadaisical about exercise. I used to be quite energetic in high school - so energetic that I was a cheerleader - but ever since the lazy days of university life began almost 12 years ago, I have been less than rigorous about my “workout” policy (and, believe me, I use the term “workout” very, very loosely here).
For a while there I did some great work with Ashtanga Yoga and I would like to get back into that routine, but the fact that Alex and I work exactly the same hours means that I never have the house to myself. Say good-bye to private yoga time.
So, recently, my wonderful (and far more energetic and dedicated) friends Mairin, Tammy and I have been taking invigorating walks in the various parks here in KL after work. I just love being outside, and I love that I can spend the whole time chatting (instead of focusing on my impending heart attack from all the unexpected physical exertion).
H
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