From Malaysia to Thailand...

I don't know where to begin...

The last couple weeks have been great. I have been spending my time with new friends, exploring new countries, and eating good food.

After leaving Kuala Lumpur, on the nicest train I have been on since I left America over nine months ago, I landed in a city called Butterworth, in the north of Malaysia. After lugging my bags and my tired body to the ferry terminal nearby, I eventually ended up a hostel located in the city of Georgetown, on the island of Penang. It was early, only around 6am, so I booked a dorm room, threw down my bags, and slept for hours.

My first day was similar to other first days alone in a new city, which usually consists of wandering aimlessly around with map in hand, eating all the street food I can find, and trying not to give in to the endless amount of shopping that is practically thrown in my face. I ended up meeting a cool French guy that night at the hostel, and at around noon the next day we headed over to a nearby shop to rent motorbikes for the day.

The day was awesome . We manuevered through the traffic of the city, and eventually made it out to the coast, where the view was beautiful. We stopped at a national park, wandered around, took loads of photos, and ate at small roadside food stalls. We accidentally got seperated at a congested street, got terribly lost, and after an hour or so met back at the hostel, miraculously finding our way back alone.

The French guy left that night, but I ended up meeting a couple other people at the hostel that made my week long stay in Georgetown a very memorable one.

A bunch of us went to a dancing lion festival show (a bit hard to explain, but it was a competition where guys play drums, and 2 guys are dressed like a big lion and they dance and run around on these tall stilt things...you just had to be there in person for it to make sense!) After the show we got on a public bus and made our way over to Penang Hill, which takes about half an hour on an old railroad that goes straight into the hill at a very steep angle. It's a great ride, and the view from the top of the hill is amazing. Me and another French guy that I became friends with ended up wandering around and getting lost for an hour or two, and were able to see the view from the hill at night, when the lights of Georgetown and the surrounding areas make the view even more breathtaking. We eventually made our way down and took the public bus back to the hostel.

My last day in Georgetown was the best. Me and 3 of my new friends headed to the national park and hiked 3km each way to a quiet and empty beach. We spent most of the day wading around in a small river area, eating sandwiches that we packed with us, and lounging around on the beach enjoying each others company.

I didn't notice it until much later in the day, but I ended up with the worst sunburn on my legs that I have ever had in my whole life.

I ended up taking a train 20+ hours from the city of Butterworth all the way to Bangkok the next day, with another guy (Jason) that I met at the hostel in Georgetown. It was nice to have company, and even now, as I write this, we are sharing a small double room in a shitty little hotel just off of the famous Khao San Rd in Bangkok. The room doesn't have a bathroom, and the showers and toilets outside the room aren't the greatest (and we don't seem to have a sink anywhere), but it's cheap and in a great location, and that's all I need!

But, my wonderful sister is arriving tomorrow, and we will be moving into a nicer hotel (it even has it's own bathroom and hot water!!). It will be the nicest hotel that I will have stayed at since leaving America 9 months ago (and it only costs around $15!)

My two days in Bangkok so far have been spent wandering the streets and eating the great cheap food that is very plentiful on Khao San Rd. Me and Jason hopped on a public bus today and made our way to a huge shopping mall and saw an American movie at the cinema, it was even in English! (It was called The Proposal, not sure if that's been out for a while in America, but it was hilarious!) It was a nice change from the crazy streets of Asia.

At around this time tomorrow night I will be at the airport waiting for Sarah to land in Bangkok. I have never been more excited in my life!!

Not quite sure where we will go after Bangkok, but we have a lot of exploring to do, and I'll update again soon!

For now, I hope everyone is well, and I miss you all. I will be home in about a month and a week, I can't believe it!! LOVE YOU ALL!