Annual Trip
I took another late fall trip to Shanghai, like I did last year. I'd like this to become an annual thing, although I may consider visiting in a warmer month next time. This trip I went to check out Disneyland. I was able to stay again, with my gracious American teacher-friend, who now works in Shanghai, but whom I met in Budapest 12 years ago. We also checked out the view from the Shanghai Tower.
Disneyland
Disneyland was fun. Besides a one-day trip to Anaheim when I was 13, I hadn't been to any Disney parks before. We were some of the only foreigners, but it was busy! With my companion's Shanghai Disney and Fast Pass expertise, we got to go on all the rides we wanted to and we were front and center for the parade. It was so much fun!
Tall Towers
We ascended the, current, second tallest tower in the world, the Shanghai Tower. The tower also boasts the world's fastest elevator. Its world standing is soon to change with Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Tower scheduled to be completed and become the tallest any day now. This will make the Shanghai Tower the third tallest in the world. The Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, now holds the 'tallest' title.
It's such a blessing to be able to take affordable weekend trips to such interesting locations.
I'll Be Home For Christmas
After a grueling 3 flights, and nearly 30 hours of travel, I arrived in the 'good life' state of Nebraska, minus a suitcase. It arrived after two days, but my jet lag lingered for 8. Regardless, I had a great Christmas at 'home'. My sister and brother-n-law graciously let me stay with them again. I got to spend a lot of time with my niece and older nephew since they were out of school for Christmas break. I also had quality time with the rest of my family and got to visit with several friends.
I forgot, and loved being reminded of how easy and convenient everything is with a car and with... English.
I happily received the gift of a beautiful white Christmas. It helped to also remind me of how much I don't like being cold, and how I am not a fan of freezing wind. Flat landscapes, like the panhandle of Nebraska, are very windy. But it really was beautiful.
I have a lot of favorite memories from this trip.
- Watching movies with my oldest nephew who gets up earlier than the rest of the household, and seeing him perform in the school play as the 'Candy Cane Kid'.
- Seeing how excited my 5 year old niece was to open her spigen style ring for her phone. (She has an old iPhone for taking pictures.) The small things.
- Taking silly pictures with the above two, my sister and my youngest nephew.
- Bravely trying out the drastic foot peeling Baby Foot with my sister(her gift to me).
- Watching lots and lots of cheesy Christmas movies with her (and the others forced to watch with us)(my gift to her).
- Catching up over coffee and meals with friends and other family.
Knowing that saying goodbye also means leaving the freezing weather, made things a little easier. Nebraska isn't my 'home' right now, but I'm extremely grateful to know I always have a home there.
For my hard earned, fall break I went to exotic Malaysia. I desperately needed some time away from teaching adorable, but needy, first graders in Xiamen. Malaysia is a country I didn't really know anything about before moving to Asia over a year ago. For that reason alone it seemed exotic, and in turn very appealing.
My travel habits have changed a bit over the last couple years. Before, I tended to only hit the capital city in a 'drive-by' sight seeing manner, reasoning that the capital city would showcased the best 'taste' of the nation's treasures. Now I have begun to regularly make it to 3 different locations within a country. In the case of Malaysia, I am very happy I did. I believe Malaysia has a lot to offer, more than even my 3 diverse locations could reveal.
Kinda. Kuala Lumpur.
I am 100% sure I did not see all this urban locale offered but I only kinda liked the shopping and Islamic heavy culture I experienced. I did enjoy some famously yummy KL food and the view of the iconic towers, but I didn't fall in love with this big city.
Cameron Highland's Tea Fields
I was really looking forward to this venue which boasted expansive green fields. Need I say more? I typically prefer natural and useful beauty over glitzy buildings and glam shopping, but I went so far as to stay in a traditional bamboo hut that served local tribal cuisine.
I also booked a day tour of the area. I unexpectedly got to see the world's largest flower (Pictured below). These flowers only live a few days so village scouts tell the tour guides where to find them. As you can imagine they do not always conveniently grow next to the man-made trails, so we slipped (and slided) our way uphill (though sometimes back down) to find this fella. It had rained the day before, leaving the landscape a muddy mess, but it made it very adventurous.
I met a lot of really great people on the tour and at the 'native bamboo stay'. I didn't meet any Americans and I only saw 1 Chinese person during my time in this region though. The location may have been a bit remote for many American guests and I was told, "The Chinese like more luxury and places with shopping."
Langkawi. I'm Lovin' it.
I tried riding an electric scooter last year in Myanmar and though I was intimidated at first, it was quite thrilling. On this trip I wanted to do something new, too. I decided to ride a jet ski. In the ocean. I. Was. Terrified. Really scared. I made one of our guides ride with me while I eked along, and then had him take over as we fell way behind the others. But I kept at it and by the end I was flying right along with the other riders. There was only 2 guides and 2 'guests' on the tour this day anyhow. I will be scared again if I ride in the ocean in the future, but I did like it. I don't think a boat trip could have revealed as much island ocean beauty as the jet ski tour did.
I also took a boat tour of a mangrove and went to a beautiful bridge that presented some breathtaking views. I met up with some colleagues and friends who had booked the same place on the same dates, too. This was my favorite of the three places I visited and I hope to see more of Langkawi another time. (All pictured below.)
Yes, Malaysia has much more to bestow than Kuala Lumpur and I don't think even 3 locations were enough to showcase its riches. Malaysia really is marvelous.
