Kuching / Malaysia 
Jul 15, 2012 10 Comments We had already spent more than three months in peninsular Malaysia, but we’d heard that Malaysian Borneo was completely different. And in some ways, it was different, with the numerous indigenous cultures that are prevalent, and being closer to many national parks. However, on our 10 day visa run there, we still found it to be distinctly Malaysian, with some of the same quirks as...
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Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia Feb 12, 2012 3 Comments About 90 minutes northeast from Kuala Lumpur lies the elephant sanctuary at Kuala Gandah. Many elephants have been forced from their homes due to destruction of their natural habitat for farming. Elephants become accustomed to using the same paths their whole lives, and farmers don’t usually take well to having their fields trampled. Fortunately, it’s now illegal to kill the elephants, but many have been...
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Kuala Lumpur Feb 03, 2012 7 Comments There are a lot of tourist attractions in Kuala Lumpur. So many that we haven’t even tried to see them all. But we chose a few highlights to enjoy during our month here. One of these was the impressive Batu Caves. Guarding the entrance to the Batu Caves is a 43 meter high golden statue of the Hindu diety Lord Murugan, followed by a staircase...
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Kuala Lumpur / Malaysia / Travel Jan 25, 2012 8 Comments We’ve been in Kuala Lumpur for almost 3 weeks now and we love it! We never thought we’d say that about a big city because we don’t like concrete jungles, smog, and places where people are too busy to talk to you. But we’ve also never been in a city like Kuala Lumpur, and it has some really great things going for it. In fact,...
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Ipoh and Cameron Highlands / Malaysia / Travel Jan 22, 2012 12 Comments We recently left Penang, Malaysia for Kuala Lumpur — about five hours away by car — and we’re loving it here! But on the way, we took a short trip to the Cameron Highlands, Ipoh, and also visited Orang Utan Island rehabilitation center to view some of our closer primate relatives. Our first stop was Orang Utan island, in the middle of a large lake,...
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Costa Rica / Malaysia / Personal / Travel Jan 19, 2012 8 Comments Last year, I wrote a list of 77 Things I Did in 2010. Every time I read through it, I feel amazed at all we were able to accomplish in that short year. Compared to 2010, 2011 seems less exciting and even less productive, but it’s been richer in other ways. For example, this has been a year full of new and wonderful friendships, and we’ve spent...
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Malaysia / Penang / Travel Jan 08, 2012 6 Comments While in Penang, Malaysia, we enjoyed a few cultural celebrations, including a New Year’s Eve presentation in Georgetown featuring music, dance, and martial arts from the Malay, Chinese, and Indian populations living in Malaysia. We also went to the Lion & Dragon Dance Parade a few weeks earlier, and a small Christmas concert our kids performed in. I’m amazed at the energy level and talent...
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Malaysia / Penang / Personal / Travel Dec 22, 2011 10 Comments Have you ever gone on vacation, and after returning home felt like you needed even more time to recuperate from it? I have. This usually happens when you keep yourself busy seeing all the sites and doing all the fun activities you planned, while not leaving much down time for resting or thinking. As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve been keeping very busy...
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Malaysia / Penang Dec 15, 2011 5 Comments Wow, we’ve been having so much fun in Penang! The island is full of entertaining and free activities right now, from jazz and orchid festivals to horse shows and dragon boat races. Most kids are out of school this month, which is why there’s more going on than usual. But even without all the extra activities, there’s a lot to do in Penang, and we’ve...
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Penang / Travel Dec 09, 2011 6 Comments We’ve been having so much fun in Penang! With so many new things to experience and enjoy, it’s been difficult to write about them all. Last week, we had the unique experience of going to a fish spa. If you haven’t heard of a fish spa (we hadn’t), let me clarify that it’s not a place where fish go to get a facial. It’s a...
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