Blogging backwards from Paradise...sorta

Um, yeah. So I don't really know why I left this, but I did.

Hello, everyone! Well, seeing that I have been negligent in my blogging duties, I suppose I'll have to write about my recent adventures in reverse chronological order. I'll try to keep it straight for you all!

After my brief internet interlude in Bangkok International Airport, I flew to Siem Reap in Cambodia where I saw the famed temples of Angkor. Amazing! Words cannot really describe it, so I won't even try. I will post pictures soon.

After a week in Cambodia, I flew (I know, I know...so posh!) to Kuala Lumpur ("KL" is what the cool kids say), Malaysia, arriving at about 3:00 PM in the afternoon. For some reason, the Kuala Lumpur Airport is ridonkulously far from the city of Kuala Lumpur (about a 1.5 hour ride!). So after I wandered around looking for cheap transport, got on the bus, arrived in KL city, it was already 5:15 PM. Some more wandering around yielded the fact that a train to Wakaf Bahru (from here, I could go to the Perhentian Islands for scuba diving!) was leaving at 6:00 PM. I originally wanted to stay a night or two so I could stroll around this cosmopolitan capital city, but I wanted to dive more, so I hopped on the night train bound for Wakaf Bahru. The 13-hour ride in Economy Class included my usual train/bus travel activity of playing with local kids. So cute!

So I have been scuba diving for 5 days at the Perhentian Islands. It was a great time. Now I'm an "Advanced" Open Water diver. Whee! Actually, this effectively means nothing...except now I can dive deeper (below 18 meters/60 feet). I saw some wonderful things during my 10 dives - including my first shark (a beautiful 1.5m long black tip reef shark!), turtles (oh, how I love thee!), and tons and tons of Nemos (i.e., Clownfish). Funny thing - I asked my instructor if anyone ever calls them clownfish anymore and he replied, very seriously, no. I guess Nemo is clear enough. :)

Now that I am more relaxed in my diving, I can concentrate on enjoying the experience instead of worrying about, say, drowning. I also realized that I sing to myself underwater. Mostly, it's the soundtrack to Disney's The Little Mermaid (personally, one of my favorite movies). I was swimming along and playing with some Nemos when I thought, "Wait...am I singing 'Part of Your World' right now?" "Under the Sea" is also a popular one...obviously!

In any case, I had a wonderful time in the Perhentians. It's hard to leave, but now I'm back on the mainland, awaiting my train to Singapore. Lots of time left, so I'll attempt a Cambodia update and start on my monster Myanmar update, which could take ages!

Keep an eye open...!