Malaysia '17

The four months of travel in 2017 began in Malaysia. Well technically it began in SF with the Aroon + Akhila wedding, but that was really only because of the cheap flight deals out of SFO :P
This post is divided into the four key areas we spent time in over the three weeks (May 30 - June 21) we were in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Penang, and Perhentian Islands.

Kuala Lumpur

• KLIA Express train from airport to KL Sentral is very convenient but is pricey. At 55 rm per person, the train is much more expensive for 2 people than a Grab (Uber of Malaysia), which costs costs around 70 rm per ride.
• Transport within KL is easiest through Grab and transport to most places on the west coast of Malaysia is easiest via bus. TBS, the main KL bus terminal, is really well built and buses seemed to be running on time.
• We had a good experience with Airbnb in KL. For ~$40/day we had a 3 bedroom apartment two stops on the monorail from KL Sentral.
• If your trip happens to fall during ramadan, as ours did, you're actually in luck! The ramadan night markets are worth checking out for the sheer volume of people and food. The food is cheap and pretty clean. The Kampang Baru ramadan market is the biggest and starts getting busy in the evening around 6:00pm.
• Other things to see include the Thean Hou Temple for a nice view of the KL skyline, Islamic Arts Museum, walking around Jalan Alor, Lot 10, and Pavilion mall.
• Our favorite restaurants included: Simple Life Healthy Vegetarian, Idli Only Cafe for breakfast, Asif Biryani, Sarang Cookery for nasi ulam, and The Majestic Hotel for ramadan buffet

Cameron Highlands

• Easybook.com lets you book buses within KL, including your seat numbers. The ride from KL to Cameron Highlands was around 4 hours. We took GT Express and it was very comfortable.
• Getting around Cameron Highlands is best done through scooters or taxi. Scooters are a little expensive, around $20 for 4 hours, but worth it to explore the tea estates.
• We stayed at Father's Guest House in Tanha Rata. No complains about the rooms, they were clean and not many mosquitoes. The common areas were nice to hang around in and drink their free tea. Its also walking distance from the bus station.
• Tea - We recommend checking out both the Boh Tea Estates. The one in north past Brinchang is much larger and the ride to it is beautiful. The one near Ringlet is smaller but has a great short walk to a hilltop viewpoint. The Bharat Tea Estate, just under the Cameron Valley Teahouse (not #2), is definitely worth the 2 rm fee for walking around in. Just don't eat there like we did. The "scones" suck and the tea is overpriced.
• Other things to see include Big Red Strawberry farm (but go early for a breakfast shake to avoid the swaths of tourists), Sam Poh Temple, and a walk around the golf course.
• Our favorite restaurants included: KHM for awesome fresh scones, tea, and pickles, Singh Chapati for Amritsar style food, afternoon food market in Tanha Rata (it's on the main road, you can't miss it). Avoid Cameron AA Curry House.

Penang

• The bus to Penang was another 4 hours from Cameron Highlands. GT express wasn't available so we took Unititi, which was good as well. Once you reach Butterworth bus station in Penang, you will be assaulted by taxi drivers wanting to drive you to Georgetown. Just follow the European backpackers or signs for the ferry, whichever you see first, and take the 2.50 rm ferry to Georgetown. The ferry takes 15 minutes and drops you off in the historic district of Georgetown.
• We stayed at B Street Hotel on Beach Street. The positives is that the hotel is newly built, so the room and bathrooms are nice. The major cons include weak ACs that take thirty minutes to really start working, and the fact that "Beach Street" or B Street Hotel does not show up on the search for Grab. Actually most of the places we wanted to go to did not show up on Grab so you just have to drop a pin and speak to the Grab driver on the phone.
• Things to see include: self guided street art tour (just grab a map from your hotel and walk!), Pinang Pernakan Mansion, Burmese and Thai Temples (right across the street from each other).
• Our favorite restaurants included: Cookoo Bird Laksa, The Leaf, Tofu House, Jawi House Cafe (we only stopped for a teh tarik but the place looked great), Yin's Sourdough Bakery for breakfast, Sushi Kitchen for surprisingly great vegan Japanese food.

Perhentian Islands

• Getting to Perhentian is a pain in the butt, but its totally worth it. We flew into Kota Bharu ($20 flight from KL), took a Grab to the Kuala Besut jetty ($15 ride), and a speedboat to Perhentian Kecil ($8 one way). Door to door this took 12 hours. But apparently this is better than the bus option based on the horror stories we heard from other travelers.
• We chose stay on Kecil instead of Besar since its cheaper. Besar is mainly high end resorts. And within Kecil we randomly chose the Coral Bay side, not Long Beach, which was very lucky. Long Beach is the drunk side, Coral Bay is the quiet side. We stayed at Shari-La Resort that I cannot recommend. Ombak, where Riddhi stayed, looked much better.
• Diving/Snorkeling - Fully recommend using Sea Voice Divers. Mohit completed this OWD course here, while Fate and Riddhi did snorkeling and a discover scuba dive. They were very nice in accommodating a mixture of divers + snorkeler. Mohit's diving instructor, Felix, was fantastic. The equipment, except wetsuits, is well maintained and the instructors/dive masters know the waters really well. Their prices are also slightly less than everyone else on Coral Bay. And they are owned by a guy who was born on the island, so if you're into supporting the local economy...
• Things to see include: do the hike up to "the windmill". The view is phenomenal, just be sure to bug spray up or you'll be eaten alive. Walk across the island to Long Beach and have a beer. You can walk out around 60 meters from the beach and still be standing. Kayaking on the western coast of the island is fun and lets you stop in at pristine beaches for however long you want.
• Our favorite restaurants included: Unanimous decision here was Ewans. They are pretty quick in the service (considering island time) and the food is good. The milkshakes (M&M, Oreo, and Mars) are all awesome. Amelia's has great food and good prices as well except the service can be sloooooow. Ombak generally sucked since it was very very overpriced. People seem to love sitting there, watching shitty English movies, and paying $6 for a small beer. Shari-La dinner buffet is meh as well, though at-least it's not as expensive as Ombak.
• Mohit made a video of our times in Perhentian!

Fun facts

• Airport yoga is a thing apparently. Middle aged Europeans were just sweating it out in a hallway in KLIA with some music blaring as people walking by them.
• Turns out that KL is not walking friendly. We thought we'd walk from Thean Hou Temple to our Airbnb but were rescued by a random British lady offering us car ride since our side was about to end and become a highway.
• Old men on motorcycles shout "yo yo yo!" to foreigners cutting off traffic. 
• Cameron Highlands has hydroponically grown strawberries and lettuce. Not sure why, but people were all about it.
• Our guide 'Too Son' at Pinang Pernakan Mansion was a real character. If you ever run into her, be sure to pretend that you're Muslim and have her convince you to convert.
• Monitor lizards are the raccoons of Perhentian Islands. 

Summary of pictures 

Having a diving master babysitting you is wonderful

Nasi Ulam was one of our favorite dishes, so many herbs!

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

The winter break continued with Mohit heading to Andaman, a chain of island in the Andaman Sea, while Fate flew back to Philly to make that mulah. Andaman and Nicobar Islands are found in the sea in between Eastern India and Myanmar. They are tropical islands with the only active volcano on Indian soil! They are also home to several native tribes, some which are still hostile and don't enjoy allow visitors on their islands.

The settlement of Port Blair was built by the British because of large number of ships that were being wrecked on nearby shores and ensuing death of most crew members by either the native tribes or the inclimate weather. Once the settlement was built (and rebuilt after several storms destroying it), the Brits made it a penal colony. The construction of Cellular Jail began in the 1850s with the start of first sign of an organized Indian Independence movement. Until 1942, when the Japanese occupied the island, the Brits sent thousands of freedom fighters to this jail where every cell was built for solitary confinement and the overall death rate ~24%. The Japanese were responsible for several crimes as well while they were occupying the islands, such as murdering prisoners for funsies, but left in 1945. This is the main attraction in Port Blair today. Most tourists spend the mandatory one day in Port Blair due to flight/ferry timings not matching, and then head to other nearby islands.

Havelock and Neil islands are probably the two most visited islands in the A&N chain. They offer awesome water activities (scuba, snorkeling, jet skiing, etc.) along with decent beaches for bumming about. The hotels are quaint and basic, exactly how island hotels should be (no Atlantis like monstrosities.)

Things to know if you visit

• The sun sets by around 5:00pm in the winter so you have to start your day early. Most scuba places start the day at 7:30am.
• Barefoot Scuba on Havelock is fantastic. The staff is great, everyone speaks fluent English, and is great to learn from. It's well worth paying the extra 20% to dive with Barefoot.
• It rains frequently here, and can do so even in the dry season. So pack a rain jacket.
• Renting scooters on Havelock and Neil islands is the best way to get around. 400-500 INR a day for the rental, you can see the whole island. And it's difficult to get lost since there's only a few roads and the locals are really helpful, even if you only speak English. You don't need a motorcycle license, just don't look like an idiot when you drive off.
• Try to book your ferries in advance with companies like Green Ocean or Makruz to avoid the risk of them being sold out once you land.

Fun facts

• Bangla restaurant owners have next to zero interest in serving their customers. They're mainly there to shout with/at their friends and drink copious amounts of tea while it rains like hell outside.
• Pro-tip: don't go scuba diving with a fever... when you come out, your fever becomes worse.
• Check the seal of you "bottled water" provided by your hotel... if the seal's broked, its filtered water, which was fine for us, but still. Maybe it was only the shitty hotel we stayed in :)
• Don't freak out if the scooter owner puts in fuel using a water bottle. Sure its ghetto, but it ensures you get the exact amount of liters that you paid for.

Summary of pictures

Jail at night

Don't expect any TP in this hotel

Nothing like a slippery hike with flip flops

United Arab Emirates

We started our 2016/17 winter break adventures with a trip Dubai, UAE. Pankul, Mohit's older brother, lives in Dubai with his wife Evi and 10 month old son Angad. The plan was to go see them for New Years. As it turned out, only Pankul was in Dubai at the time while the other two were in Delhi. So we made the most of the trip and traveled to a few emirates during the day and hung out with Pankul in the evening after his work finished.

Here's a quick summary of what we did (12/26/16 - 1/2/17), followed by some advice if you visit, fun facts, and summary of our favorite pictures.

Day 1

• Ate surprisingly great Thai food (Fucshia Restaurant) in Barsha Heights.
• Sheesha and boat ride at Dubai Marina in the evening. 

Day 2

• Jebel Hafeet Drive 
• Al Ain exploring (riding around bicycles in Al Ain Oasis, Al Jahili Fort).
• Introduction to the greatest Arab lamb experience at Al Yahar Modern Restaurant in Al Ain.
• Night time strolling in Al Bastakiya, tea at Arabian Tea House Cafe, Al Ustad Special Kabab, JBR visit and denying Mohit Turkish ice cream. 

Day 3

• Drive to Hatta for the Hatta Dam and Hatta Heritage Village. More lamb at Tanor Lahm.
• Sheesha on the beach at Jumeirah 1, Egyptian seafood at Barracuda, and the greatest kulfi flavor "malaikaa" at Kulfilicious.

Day 4

• A visit to the oldest mosque in UAE, Al Badiyah Mosque.
• Khor Fakkan beach.
• More old Dubai/Bur Dubai exploration with Betawi Cafe and Nadumuttam.
• Observed "Bollywood Trivia Night" with professional DJs/hosts at The Rooftop. The experience also included the best people watching of the south Asian community. 

Day 5

• Last day trip to see Sheikh Zayed  Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
• Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa viewing from a distance.
• JLT for more Betwai.

Day 6

• Raju Omlet near the Greens
• Dubai Creek  and 25 cents abra ride. 
• The worst train ride of all time to Atlantis.
• Chaat at Chatori Gal and Korean food at Ppop Chicken (JLT)

Day 7

• Operation Falafel breakfast and then moving weekend begins.Wagamama and then JLT again for Cafe Isan (the spiciest papaya salad of our lives), 
• NYE with ras malai.

Day 8

• Zaatar w Zeit and iKandy lounge for networking.
• Last dinner together at Fucshia Restaurant to experience the mango and coconut sticky rice.

Day 9

• Mohit has is GMC day
• Fate has solo day at Mall of the Emirates which includes Moana watching, Din Tai Fung sampling, tasting the best quality mall shwarama at Beirut, and beach time at Kite Beach.
• One last dinner at Nadumuttam.

Things to know if you visit

• Get a rental car, it makes the experience so much better. While Uber is available and there is a metro line, you won't be able to see much outside of Dubai without a car. Most American rental agencies like Hertz and Avis are in present in Dubai and the prices are very reasonable. You also don't need an International Driving Permit, your American license will suffice. But don't go over the speed limit too much, the highways are littered with speed cameras. 
• The special chicken kabab at Ustaad Restaurant is totally worth the visit to Al Karama. But when once you're in the neighborhood, check out Kulfilicious for a malaika kulfi. And while we're talking food recs, Betawi is quite good. 
• They'll tell you "oooh, take the tram to Atlantis, its a great view". Don't. Just don't. It's totally pointless, costs $10 and 1 hour of your life.
• The drives to the eastern emirates are worth doing. You go through the dessert, which is beautiful, especially during the sunset.
• Uber works pretty well in Dubai, though it is a bit more expensive than regular taxis. The metro is pretty good too.
• The Abu Dhabi Mosque is definitely worth a visit. It's stunning. But make sure you get there early or you will face some crowds. Also, check the website for allowed attire so you don't have to stand in line for an abaya. 
• If you decide to go to floor 124 of the Burj Khalifa, budget 2 hours for your visit, with 1.5 hours of it spent in line.

Fun facts

• You can easily fit two fully grown camels in the back of a medium size pickup truck. They just have to be friends, sit side by side, and not move.
• Many local Arab restaurants outside of Dubai have a limited menu, especially at lunch. But lamb is incredible. And the rice is delicious as well, though they serve enough rice to feed to you for a week.
• Everything of interest in Dubai is on Sheikh Zayed Road.
• The "Arab merge", a term coined by Fate, is a way of cutting off someone on the road, but remaining at existing speed of at-least 20 km/hr less than the person you just cut off. 

Summary of pictures

You can only drive 5 mph on this road... 

One of our favorite moments in UAE

Dramatic scenery can be found in the desert

Restored Arab village

Oldest mosque in UAE

This is our kind of winter

All rice is not created equal.

Our great host!

Anything for a shot

See you soon DXB!

Wolfsboro, NH and Portland, MN

Nothing makes a romantic trip to see the New England Fall colors better than inviting eight friends to join us :p The drive from Philly to Wolfsboro, NH is ~8 hours with limited traffic. While I'd like to say its so beautiful after you cross NYC that it doesn't matter, I can't. It's a long drive to complete in a day. Once you're there though, it's totally worth it!

Here's a quick summary of what we did, followed by some advice if you visit, fun facts, and summary of our favorite pictures.
Day 1 - Thursday 10/6

• Pick up rental cars and drive
• Check into cabin in Wolfsboro, NH
• Check out the lake on kayaks and have some dinner

Day 2 - Friday 10/7

• Drive to Portland (~2 hours)
• Have lobster rolls lunch
• Checkout a lighthouse
• Continue pigging out in Portland on seafood
• Campfire at the cabin!

Day 3 - Saturday 10/8

• Scenic drive into White Mountain National Forest (Conway to Lincoln)
• Day hike to see the fall colors (Mt. Hedgehog)
• Cook a feast, chill by the fire, then continue drinking inside while playing charades

Day 4 - Sunday 10/9

• Drive back to Philly with a pit stop in New Jersey for some Indian food

Things to know if you visit

• Avoid the hotels and get a cabin; it makes the experience so much better, especially if you're in a group. We made campfires in the evenings, cooked giant feasts (thanks Fate, Issa, and everyone who helped!), and kayaked into the lake right from our backyard.
• Try to get the cabin on either Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Wentworth. We ended staying here and definitely recommend it: Airbnb
• The drive from Conway to Lincoln in beautiful and a must do if you're here to see the leaves changing
• There's several short day hikes along Highway 112 from Conway to Lincoln. Mt. Hedgehog, Mt. Potwash, and Boulder Loop Trail were just a few that we came across in our research.

Fun facts

• You can totally live in a 3 bedroom 1 bath place with 10 people if you all follow a strict bathroom schedule: people have assigned 15 minutes shower slots that are non-refundable and non-transferable.
• The Lake Wentworth NH area is Trump Country and we went pre-election... so yeah... go in a group if you look foreign like us :)
• The game Contact! is great for car rides; pro-tip: make sure you know the meaning of the word you pick. For example, photosynthesis is NOT when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, Steph.

Summary of pictures

Look at that posture

Costco + Fate save the day

How can you say no this face?

Jonathan needs more fiber

Fall foliage