• Dare to Dream

    Dare to Dream

    Somewhere around six months ago, I was sitting in my apartment talking on the phone with my mom. From just outside my window I could hear Buddhist monks chanting at Ninnaji, an enormous wooden temple […]

  • An Average Night Out

    An Average Night Out

    The following is not actually a single narrative of one continuous evening, but a composite of many. It’s written as a representative summary of my average night out in Kyoto. Nothing is exaggerated. It’s Saturday […]

  • A Different World

    A Different World

    Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that this post officially marks the first time in almost two years that I’m actually writing about the country I’m in! Welcome, at long last, to Cambodia 😀

  • Golden Week 2: Archery

    Golden Week 2: Archery

    Picture yourself looking up at a blue sky peeking through a huge canopy of leaves on a perfectly clear day in Kyoto. As the faint sound of Japanese flutes recedes softly into the background, it’s […]

  • Kyoto Drift

    Kyoto Drift

    You know how I’m always seeking out new and interesting experiences? Well last weekend I went drift racing. One of my coworkers, Miki, is extremely into cars. He has a Limited Edition Impreza (one of […]

  • Magnificent Petra

    Magnificent Petra

    At long last, I made it to Petra. Petra is a place that’s intrigued me since before I even knew its name – since I first saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a […]

I was last seen 5 months ago in Los Angeles, .

KL Walking Tour: Chinatown

 Malaysia, Public  16 Responses »
Jul 262011
 
Heading towards Little India.Heading towards Little India.

Although I’ve been growing increasingly eager to move on from KL, I didn’t actually start any tourism until nearly 6pm – of my sixth day there. The combination of bedbugs, heat, and noise from outside has meant I’ve been sleeping pretty poorly, translating in turn to later and later starts.

Walking Tour Stop #2: Originally a wet market for the miners of old Kuala Lumpur, Central Market now houses a colorful collection of touristy handicraft shops and stalls.Walking Tour Stop #2: Originally a wet market for the miners of old Kuala Lumpur, Central Market now houses a colorful collection of touristy handicraft shops and stalls.

…Not to mention the guesthouse WiFi is unusably slow, so getting anything done seems to take an eternity. But late or not I didn’t want to delay any further, so I decided to just do my best at an early-evening tour.
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Justin’s First Bedbugs

 Malaysia, Public  7 Responses »
Jul 252011
 
When the doorlock on the room next to mine got jammed, the receptionist had to crawl out my 3rd floor window, shimmy across, and break in from outside. Classy.When the doorlock on the room next to mine got jammed, the receptionist had to crawl out my 3rd floor window, shimmy across, and break in from outside. Classy.

Alright, enough is enough – I’ve about had it with this place 😛

As mentioned already, I haven’t exactly been getting the best vibe from KL. Nightlife seems pretty tame, budget lodgings are terrible, and to be honest, it’s felt like one of the most polluted cities so far (walking around for too long has on numerous occasions resulted in a sore, raspy throat).

And as if that wasn’t enough, a new discovery has just sealed the deal: This guesthouse has bedbugs!

The smallish beetle-like things I’d been noticing on the walls these past few nights perfectly match images returned by Google. Ew. And although I’ve yet to feel even one single bite, the psychological effect of their presence has been crippling: I can barely sleep, constantly feeling like they’re crawling all over me. I find myself regularly jumping up to smash the 2 or 3 that’ve invariably appeared on the wall (while praying that none have worked their way into my luggage).
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More Masochistic Mayhem

 Malaysia, Public  10 Responses »
Jun 152011
 

Warning

This post contains a couple fairly graphic images. If human blood makes you uneasy, you may want to skip it.

It’s a continuation of the post “Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem,” which I suggest reading first if you haven’t done so already.

The Thaipusam festival lasts several days and nights, taking place at the Batu Caves about 13km from Kuala Lumpur. I first arrived around 11pm, by which time the crowds were already out in full force.

As far as I could tell I was the only tourist there – or at least the only Caucasian – amongst millions and millions of Indians.
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Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

 Malaysia, Public  20 Responses »
Jun 112011
 

Warning

This post contains some graphic images. If blood makes you queasy, you may want to skip it.

Steps to the Batu Caves, with the world’s biggest statue of Murugan towering out front.Steps to the Batu Caves, with the world’s biggest statue of Murugan towering out front.

I’ve mentioned a few times how, although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so within a loosely scheduled framework – certain dates by which I strive to reach a certain destination.

Well, the next such date has at long last arrived. The name of that date is “Thaipusam.”

One of the most important events in the Hindu calendar, the festival of Thaipusam marks the birthday of Murugan, son of Shiva. It takes place when the Pusam constellation is at its highest point during the Hindu month of Thai – hence the name.

Riotous and colorful.Riotous and colorful.

Although Thaipusam is celebrated in both Penang and Kuala Lumpur, the latter is significantly larger – so that’s where I was headed. With riotous processions attracting as many as 1.3 million devotees, plus all the usual traits of a big cultural gathering, it’s truly a spectacle to be seen.
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