The 8 Dollar Tour

Today, I partook in a countryside tour that was 'meh' to 'okay'. But, in reality it cost 8.50 USD and it included transport to and from the guesthouse. So, I shouldn't complain. I did get to eat some tasty treats (not included in the price of the tour). The tour consisted of 7 sites around the Cameron Highlands, which lasted about 4.5 hours: 1)Buddhist Temple 2)Rose Garden 3)Boh Tea Plantation 4)Honey Bee Farm 5) local produce market 6) Butterfly farm 7)Strawberry farm.

The highlights of the tour was really the Tea Plantation. But, the Rose Garden and the local produce market were pretty neat. The others weren't so impressive and I didn't even enter the butterfly farm (5RM for entrance fee I didn't pay because I chose to spend it on food. A few photos here and the rest are on picasa--

The Cameron Highlands

I only stayed a night in Georgetown/Penang. I am not the one to do historical cities...hmp. I'll try again...I should've taken a photo of the place i was staying in...2 years in cambodia just barely prepared me for this place! back to the colonial times!

I'm in the Cameron Highlands now. Its in the state of Pahang. Its high up in the hills and its not hot and its beautiful. Unfortunately, still mosquitoes here. I guess this place is the capitol of where Malaysian teas are grown. Tomorrow, I'll take an early tour of the tea plantations and other attractions, like a strawberry farm...

Here is my afternoon snack: scones and jam. Strawberry Jam. Its pretty good quality jam and then i realized that strawberries are grown here. I'll see the real thing tomorrow.



More photos up on picasa now. Please take a look at my food travels...

On being Chinese

I missed the bus this morning because I purposely overslept. I've had a nice time at this guesthouse. The owner has been the most accommodating. He speaks cantonese too. I really like being in Malaysia because all the blending of cultures here. Frankly, I'm enjoying being in a place where people speak cantonese. And, not surprisingly, I am mistaken for a local here too, that is until I start speaking.

I'm known in Asia as an A-B-C, or an American Born Chinese. When people find out that I was born in America, they seem to be really surprised and confused. I'm not sure why. I'm thinking it could be one of two things: 1)they expect me to look different, or 2)they've never met a Chinese person who was born in the states. I'm thinking its the latter.

Well, here is my Chinese face in a photo. Judge for yourself. American or not?


I'm drinking a Melakan ice blended coffee, hence the happiness. Its really delicious.

Happy camper in Malacca, Malaysia!

I am going to dedicate this entire post to just CAPITOL SATAY! It was like a club—HAPPENING! You had to wait in a line outside before they let you in! I ate at Capitol Satay for dinner tonight. You know, satay, the meat on a skewer, usually served with peanut sauce. In Malacca, satay is awesome. You cook it yourself at this place and choose the skewer type you want for only 80cents in Malay Ringgit. So, I had 22 skewers and 2 cups of iced tea. This put me back 19 ringgit or a little over 6 bucks green back. It’s a nice farewell dinner in Malacca. I hope these photos will do this place justice…

Who is Durian Earl Grey?

He's not a who, he’s a what: ice cream flavors to be exact! In Singapore, I visited an ice cream/waffle place with my CS hoster, Sue. The place: Udders. Yes, like the udders of a cow. This place offers the classic ice cream flavors along with unique ones, like lychee martini, earl grey and; wait for it…DURIAN!

Since I’ve been in Asia, I’ve found a new appreciation for durian. The #1 stinky, highly prized, expensive fruit is delicious. The very first time I tried fresh durian, it was disgusting. But, over the 2 years I’ve been in Asia, I’ve come to appreciate its rich, pungent flavor.

Welcome Home--in Singapore

Hi. Good morning. Its morning time in Singapore.

The title of my post today is "Welcome Back" for two reasons. The first, Singapore is like home--DEVELOPED. The second, the flight attendant welcomed me home when I was getting off the plane :/

In the spirit of coming home soon, I stopped in the first Coffee Bean and Tea i found and had a hearty drink(in the airport of course). Ohh, I made it my goal to watch Harry Potter when I came to Singapore! Mission Accomplished!


For those who do not already know about my adventures explaining to locals that I am an American, I'll quickly explain. As part of my Peace Corps service, it was part of my job to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the people who I was serving. Basically, I told and re-told that America was a diverse place and that people of all colors come from America. So, where ever I go now, I tell people I am an American--born and raised. Actually, its a really difficult feat to accomplish as everyone seems to think I'm not an American with my asian face. Yes, I know what I look like. So, every country I have visited and not visited so far in Asia/SE Asia, I've been mistaken for a local. I've gotten Nepalese/North Indian, Japanese, Korean (I've been mistaken in Cambodia as Korean 85% of the time), Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Singaporean, Malaysian, Filipino, Taiwanese, Malaysian, you name it. People have often insisted that I was a local even after I explain to people that my ethnically, I'm Chinese.

Enough about that, I have one day left in Singapore and I need to some laundry and then go eat some food. I can't afford to shop in Singapore. Clothing seems more expensive here then it does in the states. I walked around yesterday after taking a long nap. I'm staying with a Couch Surfer host. She's been very nice and her place is clean and central to all the places in Singapore. I'll take a few more photos tonight and tomorrow, hopefully, I'll be on my way to Malaysia! By the way, I updated my picasa to include some photos of Bali.

Bali

I spent my last 3 days in the Sanur and Kuta/Legian areas of Bali. Both are beach places, but very dissimilar. Sanur is more family and senior friendly. Frankly, Sanur was a bit of a snore. I did get to visit the Orchid garden though. But, that sounds like a Golden Girls moment. I wanted to spend some time around the beach and I thought Sanur would be a nice alternative to Ubud, but it wasn't what I expected somehow. Too slow...so, I packed up and spent my last day and night in Kuta.

Kuta/Legian are for the party going crowd. In Kuta, I stayed in a $7 room located on one of the two backpacker alleys and it really reminded me of Khao San Road in Bangkok. All night partying and drunken debauchery by the 20-30 year old crowd. If I were that kind of person, I probably would've enjoyed the night life. But, the beaches are really beautiful.

Here are some more photos of Bali. I'll upload the rest to my picasa, so please take a look when you have time.


FATTY TUNA for lunch


Snack Time: Carrot cake and a cup of tea


I Heart Bali--Lime and Mint Iced tea


Kuta Beach


Bye Bye Bali

RED FACE!

Hello!

I woke up later than I wanted to this morning. But, its okay, I'm on vacation. I am staying at a themed bed and breakfast. My room was designed after the musical, South Pacific. Its the cheapest room in this place and is a fan room. Actually, the fan isn't necessary because its been cool everyday since I've arrived. I was super excited about the breakfast and afternoon high tea this place provided but, both have been a disappointment. I have failed to finish both my breakfasts, thus far. And, except for the first day, I've skipped the afternoon high tea. This morning, I supplemented my free breakfast with my own fruit. Here are some photos of this morning:


My waffel dish with butter?


The fruit I bought and ate. Similar to the passion fruit, the marquisa is sweeter tasting and not sour.


Here is the inside.

Anyway, I wanted to take a leisurely stroll through the rice fields this morning after breakfast, but since I woke up late, I was only able to do a 2-hour walk, so that I could make it to my noon time spa appointment. I should've chosen the walk over the facial because I chose the wrong facial treatment!!! I chose a cucumber honey facial program and discovered that I AM ALLERGIC! I knew something was wrong when the therapist began placing sliced cucumber on my face. Despite the cooling properties of cucumber, my face became itchy. YIKES. And, being the dummy I am, I didn't say anything thinking I was overreacting! After removing the cucumber from my face, the therapist asked if I was allergic because my face was RED. It was red, itchy and bumpy. I'm okay now though. Didn't take too long before the itchiness stopped but my neck is still sorta red and splotchy. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy after my spa treatment. LESSON LEARNED: NO cucumber facials. Sorry, no photos available of my face. But, here are some views of the rice field!





I'm just now having lunch since my 3-hour spa appointment ran into lunch. I should've know it was a bad idea interrupting lunch. I found this neat vegetarian/vegan japanese indonesian place while walking back to my guesthouse the first night. Its too bad I'm leaving Ubud tomorrow because the food here is delicious. SO DELICIOUS. This is what I ordered:


Taco Rice with avocado, beans and salsa. Truly DELICIOUS!


And, of course dessert! Vegan Coconut Pumpkin Pie. Also, tasty. Interesting texture. I was expecting custardy filling, but the filling was stiff like a hard jello.

I'm gonna post this now. I was gonna wait til after dinner, but I'm too lazy for that. I'm gonna have dinner in a bit, not sure where, but this japanese vegan indonesian place is quite tempting and is worthy of a second, consecutive visit within a 3 hour period. I purchased a ticket to see a Balinese Shadow Puppet show at 8! BYE! Talk to you tomorrow when I am in Kuta--3 more days in Bali.

Bali: The 'B' means beautiful

I'm in Bali now. It is beautiful here. As in Cambodia, Bali is in its rainy season and its unbelievably lush. It is a lot greener here than in Cambodia. It is also a lot cooler than I expected and in the evenings, its rather chilly. I only have one hooded sweatshirt and this is the most I've worn it in over two years.

I managed to snap a few photos today.


This seems to be traditional Balinese architecture. This is the entry way to a home or a shop.


I visited the Monkey Forest in Ubud today. Monkeys live inside this sacred Balinese Hindu site.


These long tailed macaques are common in southeast asia.


I treated myself to some street food after the monkey forest. For a little under $1 or 5,000 Indonesian rupiah, I was able to buy some fried tofu and spring rolls slathered in a sweet/spicy peanut sauce. Verdict: delicious and full of flavor.


For lunch, I visited this hugely popular place that specializes in Balinese suckling pig.


The pork was very, very moist!!! The rice was a really good quality too!

More to come tomorrow when I take a walk in the rice paddies!

GOODBYE CAMBODIA!

I am officially a RPCV! I have just completed my two-year service with the Peace Corps in Cambodia. Today, I got all my paperwork in, medical clearance and had my exit interviews. I took my language proficiency test the other day and scored an Advanced level in spoken Khmer! YAY!

On June 30th, I officially left site and it was very emotional. All morning, my students would repeatedly tell me "Teacher, DON'T CRY". Nevertheless, I cried. I made my host family cry. I'm too emotional for my own good.

My students and counterpart sent me off in style from site. My counterpart and the students I developed close relationships with accompanied me to the bus stop in the provincial town and waited for the bus to depart before leaving. According to my counterpart, once my bus pulled away, my students started to cry!!! Here is a photo of my last few moments in Pursat. My gang at the bus stop.



Here is my last day in Kandieng, out in the rice fields.



In a few days, I'll be leaving for Bangkok via the Poipet border in Bantey Meanchey province. From BKK, I'll be heading to Bali, Indonesia. I'll be in Bali for a week and then onto Singapore. After a few days in Singapore, I'll be going to Malaysia for 2 weeks. Then, I'll be in China and HK for about a month. I'll be home September 4th!

I'll probably post on all the delicious food I encounter(with photos) throughout my journey.

That is all for now. I am actually suffering from a bad cold and need bed rest. Being sick and traveling is a bad combination. I'll keep you all posted. BYE!

World Map Project

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to give a quick update. I just returned from an 18-day trip to INDIA!!! INCREDIBLE INDIA INDEED! Please see my photos here. But, my post is really about the world map project that my students and I finished in early April.

Over a course of five days, students from my geography and speaking clubs came together and worked on a 2.5m x 5m mural of a world map. We began by measuring and drawing a large grid of 1,568 blocks. Then, we painted the space white and drew the countries on the wall block by block. Step three consisted of painting the oceans and countries in varying colors. And, voila--world map! Here are a few photos. But, go to my picasa page for a full visual of the progression of our work!

I was such a control freak through out the whole process. I had to keep in mind that my students have never had experience painting and drawing. This project was all new to them. It was even new for the teachers at our school.

By introducing a map to my school, Cambodians now have a better grasp of their own country in respect to size and location. Most Cambodians have never seen a map before this. Most teachers at my school were surprised by how small Cambodia is compared to many countries.

Overall, I am very happy with the result of the mural. More importantly, however, my students had a lot of fun.

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So, I have 75 Days Remaining of Service!!!

Officially, I will close my service July 12th. But, I will be traveling for a little over a month before I return to Los Angeles. I am planning on going to Bali, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong...see you all very soon.

I'm really sleepy now. Apologies for typos and grammar mistakes! Good night! diana

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Fruit Part 1 (Ply Ch'r)

Here are three kinds of seasonal fruits that can be found here in Cambodia. All very delicious in their own ways.


The MILKFRUIT is perfectly round like a petanque ball. Its either a deep violet or bright apple green hue.


The khmer name is "ply dict dawh gooh" which loosely translates to fruit milk. Appropriately named, the pulp of this fruit gives a milkly like juice when squeezed. The fruit is subtly sweet. You either have a taste for it or you don't. But, I enjoy eating this fruit!


The STARFRUIT is called "ply speu". It does not translate to star, however. It is actually a name of a province in Cambodia.


But as you can see, in English, the starfuit is appropriately named for its shape.


The JACKFRUIT starts out really small, as small as your thumb...


But, it can grow as big as your head or even bigger! One can weigh up to at least 30kg or roughly 66 pounds!!!


The inside is yellow.


You take the fruit apart from its shell and eat its 'pods'.


Its very tasty and sweet when ripe. The texture is slightly tender, slightly firm. There is a big seed in each pod.

Sousadey Joel Chinam Jun Themei ! (Happy Chinese New Year!)

Hello!
Happy Chinese New Year!

Although I have dearly missed spending Chinese New Year with my parents and extended family these past 2 years, I've been lucky enough to have a host family who are of Chinese heritage. Both years, we celebrated in a way that reminded me of how my paternal grandmother would celebrate the coming of the new year--incenses, prayers, offerings to ancestors past and a vegetarian meal on new years eve. My host mother even gave me 10,000 riel (2.50 USD) sans red envelope. It meant a lot to be able to spend this holiday with my host family.

Every year, the day prior to chinese new year's eve, my host family spends an entire day making khmer 'pastries' to sell for the festivities. So, I wanted to focus this entry on the process of the making of the pastries and share some photos.

OH! OH! I'm in my final stretch of service with approximately 6 months to go!!! I'll start the official countdown when the days remaining are in the double digits!

Start here---

One of the girls who lives with us, Pheaup, is preparing the banana leaves for cutting. She is laying them out in the sun so they get some heat on them and kill germs?


Host mom cutting and wiping down the leaves for stuffing.


Some sort of bean. In Khmer its called 'sundike bai'. Maybe lentil, but I have a feeling its something other type.


The main ingredient: sticky rice.


The layers of the pastry.


My host mom spent the whole morning making these!


Looks so perfect. Oh, you see the string holding the leaves together? Well, that is just part of the giant banana leaf. Biodegradable wrappers! Ingredients are all organic!


The final product: Nom Ansom. This is a savory pastry made with pig fat. Its pretty good, but heavy. Once these are wrapped, the pastries are steamed in giant pots. These sold for 3000riel each. So, 75cents per piece.


My host sister Mite. She is the best Khmer cook ever! She knows how to make me Mac and cheese from the box and spaghetti after only one lesson. Her food always comes out great. But, she cooks like any other asian lady--doesn't use measurements. Adds ingredients based on smell, taste and experience. I haven't learned any khmer dishes. I should get crackin on that.


This is a home made tool. Its made from a top of a bottle cap with a hole punched through it. Then, its screwed onto a metal handle. The ridges of the bottle cap scrape the coconut meat easily and perfectly.


The results of scrapping the coconut.


Coco and sugar filling for the sweet pastry.


I helped last year too with the wrapping of the leaves. Its good that I enjoy baking. I like to feel involved.


My host niece, Lekena, reaping the rewards of the labor intensive cake making session. This khmer pastry is made with rice flour. The outer layer is slightly sweet and chewy! The inside filling is made only with fresh shredded coconut and sugar. That is it!!!


SO EARLY! I took this photo around 6:40ish am, but my host sister and nephew started selling at sunrise! Markets are open very early and people normally do their shopping early n the morning.


My sister, Rothmony, on the main stretch of the road, in front of the market, selling cakes.


The banana leaf wrapped cakes sold for 200 riel each. That is approximately 3 cents a piece.


Coconut milk sticky muffins. Pretty tasty. These sold for 500riel or 12 cents each.


My host nephew, Reaksmey, sold cakes in another makeshift stall at the market that morning too.


I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed eating the cakes! diana

Sorry if there are typos and grammatical errors