The Last Hoorah

Can it be? How could it? How is it possible that nine months have come and gone and now it’s time to return to reality… Does it seem like our time has gone by so fast only in hindsight or did it really go by this quickly? So many things have happened to us and hopefully many of the details of our trip will stick in our memories. It would be such a shame to forget the details of this magical trip.

We spent a little over two weeks in Malaysia and had a great time. Malaysia is an amazing country and we loved its diversity. It was just incredible seeing all the different types of clothes that people wore – from saris, to burkas, to western-dress, etc. Beautiful. Incredible. It astounds me that so many different cultures, religions, cuisines, and ways of life can fit peacefully in one rather small nation.

We visited the most beautiful island I have ever seen, called Perhentian Kecil. If anyone ever makes it to Malaysia you MUST go there. Turquoise waters, amazing snorkeling, even better diving, white sand beaches, and it’s not over-crowded. There isn’t even electricity on the island, only generators. We swam with sharks, turtles, and thousands of fish.


We also visited Taman Negara, a 130 million year old rainforest. Stunning… It’s impossible for me to fathom 130 million years. Somehow this forest has managed to resist ice ages and major geological disturbances. I imagined a forest of this age to be very pristine and absent of human influence, but of course this was too ideological. Walking through the forest you could hear bulldozers and carpentry. Surrounding the forests are massive palm tree plantations to support the world’s demand for palm oil.

Kuala Lumpur was probably our favorite city so far. It was so easy to walk to all of the places we wanted to visit. Simply sitting on a bench and watching people walk by was incredibly entertaining. We went to a Hindu temple and it was like being back in India… We went to the national mosque which was such a different experience…a bit awkward but very educational.

Now we’re back in Bangkok, enjoying our last 16 hours in SE Asia. Our plane will arrive in Seattle on Wednesday around noon. With so many people to see, so many things to get done, jobs that need to be found, our minds are swirling and we’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. “Reality” will not sink in for quite a while…especially when you all see the AMAZING tree house we’ll be living in with Ben and Sherri. So many things to look forward to, so many memories to reminisce upon, and so many things to be grateful for.