From trekking and ice climbing in the Andes...

Loading...

...to serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jordan...

Loading...

...and living out of a bright red backpack in India...

Loading...

Welcome to my life in pictures and words!

I'm a retired Peace Corps Jordan volunteer who's been trying to get rid of a contagious virus called The Travel Bug.

After serving in Jordan for two years, I took the long way home by traveling through India and Nepal until I got kicked out of the country (my visa ran out). I indulged in
American pop culture, ice cream, cooking in a real kitchen, and driving on highways for several months in DC, then dashed off to Peru for a short backpacking trip through Incan trails and ice climbing in the Andes. 6 months later, a convenient vacation block and a cheap flight found me in Tanzania, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and safari-ing in the Serengeti.

Back in the States, I'm discovering new passions: experimenting in the kitchen, perusing farmers' markets, eating ice cream out of the carton, dancing naked in my bedroom, and training on the bike, in the pool, and on the trails.

Hope you enjoy reading about my adventures!!

Cheers to exploring every alley, tasting any- and every-thing, riding on the roofs of buses, and living spontaneously!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Curries, Leeches, Palm Oil, and Mountains in Malaysia



1. Leech Count: One, inner right ankle. No blood when that slimy, writhing bugger was flicked off.
2. $1 curries in Kuala Lumpur in a Chinatown market. Rice spooned in a banana leaf, choice of 3 curries, eaten with the right hand while squatting on a sidewalk.
3. Coke from a roadside stand: "Take Away" translates to pouring the soda into a plastic bag, sticking a straw in there, and wrapping it with a rubber band. Glass bottles are a valuable commodity.
4. Unsuccessful attempts to rekindle my addiction to durian, but that fruit just looks like a dead blowfish and reeks.

5. Mulu National Park: an arduous climb up to the Pinnacles, limestone cliffs jutting out of Gunung Api (Fire Mountain).
6. Clearwater Cave: exploring Asia's longest cave - 177 km of stalactites, stalagmites, and gushing water carving its way through the cave.
7. Climbing SE Asia's highest peak twice in less than 24 hours. Mount Kinabalu, at 4095 meters: Despite sleeping only two hours at base camp, freezing while waiting for the sunrise, taking a bad spill and screwing up my shoulder, and sharing a dorm room with two Cantonese boys who had a bedtime of 6:30 pm, climbing Mt. Kinabalu was my favorite part of this SE Asia trip.

8. Discovering Kuala Lumpur's Little India district: veg thalis and dosas, listening to conversations in that distinct Indian-accented English, and snacking on burfi and soan papdi.
9. Caving in and succumbing to McDonald's: hard not to, when McFlurries are 33 cents!

0 comments: