Malaysia Day 4 Langkawi

We spent the day relaxing at the beach. We went to the side of the beach we saw the sunset. It seemed it was a little bit less crowded than the other beach. We were even lucky enough to grab a tree and have some shade. The water wasn't crystal clear and was a little bit cool, but still really nice. I won't complain compared to the weather in Seoul and even back home!

Around lunch time we went into the "town" area and went to a local place that we noticed the day before. Malaysia is made up of 3 major ethnicity's ; Chinese, Indian and Malaysian. Anyway, this was an Indian/Malaysian place. I ordered a kind of Indian chicken with sauce and naan (bread). It was really delicious!

Chicken

Naan!

After lunch we went to the beach for a little bit more. On our way back to the hotel we stopped for ice cream at Mc Donalds and then went to sit by our hotel pool. In the evening we went to dinner at a restaurant right on the beach. It was a little cloudy and hard to see the sunset, but the colors were still beautiful. Unfortunately we both got a few bug bites sitting in the sand.

Back to the beach!

Hotel and pool

Sunset

Chicken Pita Sandwich

Malaysia Day 3 Langkawi

Again we went to the hotel's Asian restaurant for the breakfast buffet. We checked out and got a taxi to take us to KL Sentral again. From KL Sentral, we went to the airport. It was pretty quick checking in and going through domestic security. We were really early for our flight! But, I'd rather be early than rushed or worse late for a flight. The airport was set up a little bit differently. We weren't able to go sit in the gate area for our flight (since we were so early we were lucky and grabbed a few seats on benches outside the gate). The gate area was blocked off and we had to wait to get our tickets scanned before we could go in there.

We boarded the plane and...again had some kind of minor delay. Finally we took off and were served a light snack of crackers and bottled water. About 45 minutes later, we landed in Langkawi. Along the way, I was able to see blue, blue water. Once we arrived at the airport, we ordered a taxi (set fare for 22MYR) and was delivered to our hotel, Fave Hotel. We arrived right at 2, which is when check-in started. Perfect timing. They were having a promotion for Chinese New Years so we got to pick a ticket off a tree and see what our prize is. I picked for us and won us 2 non-alcoholic beverages from the hotel bar! Then we got to our room. It was pretty bare; just the beds and a tv, but we didn't really need much anyway. We unpacked and got a little bit settled and then...headed to search for the beach!

This way to the beach!

We realized we were a little hungry and stopped in the Cenang (our area) Mall, which did not have too much. We found a cafe there and ordered lunch. The clerk was kind of rude and a lot of the stuff we wanted to try was out. Anyway, we ate and then walked on to find the beach. It was pretty nice! We walked along the water and then swam a little bit.

Toes in the sand!

Langkawi!

On the beach

Happy to be here!

After relaxing on the beach we went back to the hotel and cleaned up a little. We went in search of a place to have dinner. While walking to the food area, we realized the sun was setting and went to a different section of the beach to see the sunset a little. For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant.

Sunset

At the Mexican Restaurant

Chicken Nachos!

Malaysia Day 2

We slept in a bit and just took our time getting ready. For breakfast, we went to the hotel's buffet and we actually tried their Asian restaurant instead of the Western one. The food was pretty good. After breakfast, we went to the pool. The water was a bit too cold for a swim, but we did put our feet in it. Then we got ready and went over to the Pavilion again. We were meeting Jacob's friend, Bernard and his cousin there around 2. We went early and did a little bit of preshopping before we met up with our friends.

The infinity pool at our hotel!

 First we went to the food court and Bernard suggested some food for us to try. We ordered some beef noodles. They were so good. We also got some kind of fried donuts as well. After eating, we did some more shopping and left the Pavilion and went to another mall. Bernard and his cousin were going to a buffet place for dinner and invited us; so we split for a little bit and planned to meet up around 7.

Yummy noodles

Fried donuts

In KL

We went to the Starhill Mall and managed to find Bernard and his cousin. The buffet was a bit pricey, but Bernard told us it would be worth it. As we walked through the restaurant to be seated I saw tons and tons of different food stations! The only problem was...a lot of it appeared to be seafood. After we got our table and we all split up to get our own food, I realized my first glance was right. A lot of seafood. I think if I ate seafood, I could have eaten the cost and then some. Since I didn't eat any seafood, what I ate probably didn't cover it all, but it was fun being with Bernard and his cousin Marcus. The desserts were pretty good though!

Jacob and Bernard

Coconut Water!

Outside the Pavilion

After dinner we split and Jacob and I went to go see the Towers. We found out the Sky Bridge that connects the towers closed at 7pm! That is so early! And it is much more expensive for foreigners than for Malaysian citizens. We took some pictures around the area and checked out another mall that is connected to the Towers as well. Then we walked back to our hotel and crashed.

The Petronas Towers!

Fountains behind the Towers

Malaysia Day 1

Well, I woke up early--around 5am. I met Jacob at the subway that takes us to the airport. It was surprisingly busy for 6am on a Saturday morning. We got to the airport around 7 and checked in. The guy at the desk informed us our flight had a stop in Taiwan, but we could be switched to a little bit later flight that went directly to Hong Kong (and we would still arrive in time for our connection). We decided we would take that flight. After we checked in, we went to go exchange our money.

Malaysian Money!!

Then, a sort of long line to get through security, but it moved rather quickly. We had to take the shuttle to our terminal and then we just hung out and waited. Unfortunately, Jacob woke up with a bit of a cold the day before (his roommate was sick) and not feeling the greatest. We finally boarded and then...Jacob's bad traveling luck rubbed off on this trip. Our plane left the boarding place and we started on the runway, but then we sat for a little bit. And then there was an announcement that we had a minor electrical problem (or something like that) and we needed to go back. So, we were about an hour or so delayed. I slept a little bit and watched a movie. We still made it to Hong Kong with plenty of time for our connection. When we arrived in Hong Kong, we went to a restaurant there for a snack. Then, it was time to board. Already in Hong Kong, it was much warmer! From Hong Kong to Malaysia, our flight had no hiccups. We were served a meal and we landed on time.

Our plane

Flying into Hong Kong!

We found the KLIA (an airport shuttle) that runs from the airport to KL (Kuala Lumpur) Sentral (the main "central" station in town) and made the shuttle/train just in time. It took about 30 minutes. When we arrived at KL Sentral, we looked for a taxi. One taxi told us it would be 50MYR (Malaysian Ringgits) which is about $17 (1USD~3MYR). Jacob's friend, Bernard told us that we should expect around 30MYR for an average taxi ride. I'm so glad we knew that. We told the driver no thanks and looked for another taxi. We found a blue metered taxi and took that. It was about 24MYR, but Jacob tipped the driver and we paid 30 total. On the ride, we passed the Petronas Towers. They were beautiful.

Train ticket

Finally, we arrived to our hotel, The Impiana KLCC. It was quite nice. The room was pretty spacious but we didn't really have a view of the towers. Standing on the far right side of the window ducking down, I could juuuuust make out the top part of one of the towers. Anyway, we settled in a bit and checked out the cool infinity pool (it was on the same floor). Then we took the above street walkway that connected our hotel to both the Towers and a shopping complex called the Pavilion) to the Pavilion to find dinner. We were a bit worried because it was already going on 10, but there were plenty of restaurants open around the Pavilion, even though the mall was closed at 10. We found a little pub that served sandwiches. We walked around the Pavilion (the outside) and looked at the cool decorations for the upcoming Chinese New Years. Unfortunately, we didn't notice the sign that the walkway closed at 11, and so we had to walk on the streets. It was easy enough though, just look up and make sure we are following the bridge above us! It was maybe a 5-10 minute walk back to our hotel and then we called it a night!

Hotel Room

Nice Bathroom

Yummy veggie sandwich

Last Day of Winter Camp and Malaysia Minus 1 Day!

I was so sad that winter camp finished! I had a lot of fun with my students. It really made me love teaching (English). I told my COT that I actually feel like I bonded more with my two groups of students more in the 5 days of camp than with most of my other students in the semester I've been teaching them. We just did some review/wrap up and they filled out an evaluation for me. We cleaned up the classroom and...camp was over! When I left, the students were outside and we walked away from school together. They kept asking me for my phone number (which I did not give them) and kept telling me to contact them when I got married, haha. I tried explaining to them that I'm the English teacher at their school and that I will see them again soon. I got a hug from the girls, so sweet.

After school I went to get some snacks for my upcoming trip. Jacob came over and we went to a restaurant near me for japchae and kimchi cheon. We hung out for a little and then he went to get some errands done before the trip too. I had a little bit of down time and then off to Korean class. Class went well. Some of it I had learned before, but it was made a bit clearer from this class which made me pretty happy.

I got home and finished packing/organizing and now it's off to bed before the next big adventure!

Winter Camp Week 2 and Date

My COT was unable to finish the rest of winter camp because he had some other kind of training. I got a substitute COT. She doesn't speak much English; I think she knows a bit, but is kind of shy. Her desk is right across from mine in our office and her daughter is a 5th grade student. Anyway, it was really funny because yesterday I had given the extra snacks to a few students. One of the boys pulled out the hotdog bread that was in his bag and it was squished flat like a pancake. They all thought it was hilarious and were laughing their heads off for a few minutes after he showed us.

After school, I met Jacob in Hongdae and we went in search of somewhere to eat. We were going to eat bulgogi and then we thought maybe Mexican and then we ended up picking dak galbi (spicy chicken stir fry) with noodles. It was pretty good. Then we went back to Natuur Pop and I got the other flavor of ice cream I had been debating about on Tuesday. It was also very delicious. After ice cream we headed to City Hall area to go to the National Contemporary History Museum. This is now my 3rd visit there. We walked through and it was nice to have someone to enjoy a museum with-just to discuss/comment on different things we saw or noticed. We then walked to Insadong and wandered around Jongro a little. We were both still full from lunch so we went to a bookstore and sat and talked for a little. Then we went back through Insadong to go to the Italian restaurant we went to with our mentees' family a few weeks ago. We ordered a vegetable tomato soup, cesar salad, and the amazing lasagna. The soup was pretty good; sometimes I feel like Koreans can make anything with tomatoes a bit too sweet. This was a little sweet but not too sweet. The lasagna was as good as the last time. So delicious!

We took a walk around this area (I'm not quite sure the name of the neighborhood, maybe Bukcheon) and looked for a coffee shop. We found one that looked cute and check out the menu. It had brownies and ice cream. Jacob was sold. We ordered, ate and talked. When I got home and Jacob got to his guesthouse we went online and checked in for our flight and picked our seats out. It's hard to believe in 2 days we'll be in Malaysia!

Week 2 Winter Camp, Jjimjilbang and Unni Time

Today at camp, my COT had to leave a little bit early. The last period I was on my own with the students. It was a little bit difficult because of their low level of English, but we managed. I feel like our little "class" really bonded and the girls all really like me.

When school ended, I met Jacob and we went to Dragon Hill Spa in Ichon. I've seen the spa many times (it's near the other place we play soccer sometimes) and heard about it a lot as well. This was my first time here and my first jjimjilbang in Seoul. First we went to go eat. We both ordered cheese ramen. After lunch we went to some of the different sauna rooms. The best one was the salt rock one. Then we separated and soaked a little in some of the spa rooms on the designated men and women's floor. We met up and took off to I'PARK mall. I needed to grab some coffee as a gift for my Unni (older sister). I got the coffee and then we wandered around, checking out the restaurants in the mall.

Finally it was time to meet up with Hwa Sun and Jaebin. It was so good to see them again! The last time I saw them was in November. It wasn't as long as the last time since I had seen them, but pretty long! Sometimes it's hard to believe how quickly time can pass and even though I'm living in the same city (or country) as some of my friends, I don't see them as often as I would like to! We went to an upscale "bunshik" (Korean 'snack'/fast food) place. It was funny because we were trying to decide between School Food (the restaurant name) or an Italian place next to it; I asked Jaebin which one he'd rather have. He looked inside the Italian place and then said there are more people at School Food; it must have delicious food. We ordered 2 types of kimbap (one had the sesame seed leaf that I don't like. When Jaebin saw I was picking it out, he told me he can't eat it either; it makes him throw up!), ramen and a spicy chicken stew. After dinner, we went to Starbucks for coffee and chat. Hwa Sun was sweet and dropped us off at a subway station on line 6 so we didn't have to transfer at all.

One of my little cuties in my sunglasses during break time

In the salt rock room

Some strange things to lay on in the salt rock room